Chapter 6: Light

Stella swung her sword in a lazy circle as she kept her vigil outside the small café the group had relocated to. A meteor had come down on the hair salon an hour ago. Nabu had been on watch; he had spotted the meteor arcing across the sky and had given the order to evacuate. The group had escaped in plenty of time. They had set up camp again in the café, a half-dilapidated building, which sat on the corner of the next street over from the one they had left.

Stella had been on watch for only ten minutes, but she was already bored. Inside, Layla lay on the ground, asleep, and Tecna and Nabu were working on the bomb. Tecna had sacrificed her computer to the cause. She had rearranged the wires in it and now, she and Nabu were lacing their magic into the circuit board, discussing technicalities. Stella didn't understand exactly what they were doing or how the bomb worked, so their conversation was uninteresting and left her with no other distraction.

She swung her sword again, cutting swirls and spirals into the air. She glanced up and down the street but there were no creatures in sight. She looked upwards, but there was still no meteor. Sighing a little, she wandering out into the road, scattering the ash underfoot with each step.

"Are you okay, Stella?" Tecna called from inside the café, catching the movement. "Did you see something?"

"No," Stella replied. "Just stretching my legs."

"Any sign of Sky and Riven yet?" Nabu asked. He wiped sweat from his brow, having finished adding his magic to the computer. "They should be back by now. It's been a while."

Stella squinted towards the end of the street. "Can't see them," she said. "But I'm sure they'll be back soon. It takes time to navigate all the rubble."

Sky and Riven had gone back into the city, to the electronics store, where they had dispatched a creature a few days earlier. They were to return with its feathers, which would help make the disguises for Tecna and Layla. Even though the prospect of flying amongst the creatures to their Base terrified her, Stella wished she were able to go with her friends, but she had next to no winx. She didn't like being on the side-lines, especially when she couldn't act as backup either. Nabu had his magic, so he would be able to help Tecna and Layla if something went awry, and Riven and Sky had good throwing arms to send draggers flying at the creatures if they attacked. But she wouldn't be able to do anything.

Frustrated, Stella swung her sword around her body in a semi-circle.

"Whoa!" Layla jumped back, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Easy." She held out a muffin in a plastic wrapper.

"Thanks," Stella said, taking the muffin, which was apparently breakfast. Not what she was hungry for, but it was better than nothing.

"So, what's made you so flustered?" Layla asked, taking a bite of her own muffin; crumbs dropped from the side of her mouth. "Missing Riven?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Something's going on, isn't it? I've noticed you two getting cosy. And yesterday, you went with him to the forest to get firewood and you took ages…"

"That's because we found the Base." Stella reddened. "Nothing like what you're thinking happened!"

Layla smirked around a second mouthful of muffin. "Right."

"Believe what you want," Stella said, trying to sound light and flippant, except, she knew she was reddening even further with the memory of the night before rapidly surfacing in her mind. Riven's lips on hers. His hot skin under her fingertips. His hips pressed against her hips.

"Wait." Layla's brow pinched. "So nothing's going on?"

"It is," Stella admitted, her eyes averted and resolutely set on a folded hover-car in the middle of the street. "But I'm not entirely sure what? I mean, we've kissed and he's saved my life three times now…but I don't know what we are?"

"It's Riven," Layla said as if that answered Stella's question. But Stella was frowning, so she elaborated: "He doesn't like labelling things and he's commitment phobic. You might never know what you are. Musa had the same problem with him; she was always complaining about it."

"From what Riven said to me, it didn't seem as if he was ever serious about her." Stella's voice was quiet. She had forgotten about Musa being in the picture. A pang of guilt tightened her chest.

"Figures," Layla said, releasing her muffin case which blew away on the sudden squall of wind. "There was always tension between them, and it was always Riven causing the problem, withdrawing or just being careless with their relationship. I don't think there'd been a spark between them for a while – Musa told me as much before all this happened."

"Maybe," Stella said, but the guilt was starting to ebb.

"You and Riven though…I can't say I saw that coming." Layla gave a small laugh. "Nabu claims he saw it happening all along, the liar. While you and Riven were in the forest, he told me how he'd suspected Riven had always had a thing for you."

"If he did, he never showed it," Stella said, feeling a small flutter in her chest. Riven had always liked her?

"Riven never shows any emotion, so you can't be surprised. And you were always with Brandon, acting like crazy kids in love. Riven may not be the most noble guy in all the realms, but he does have some morals; he probably didn't want to move in on his friend's girl or maybe he felt like he never had a chance with you."

"I did mostly look like I was disgusted by him," Stella agreed, smiling. She seemed relaxed, but the mention of Brandon had brought the guilty feeling back and she felt pressure building up in her chest. She and Brandon weren't officially over, which meant she had cheated on him. She was a terrible girlfriend. She should have been sick with worry, not knowing his whereabouts. He probably was, if he was even alive. That made her feel worse: if he was dead, she had moved on far too quickly.

"Does that mean you've seen another side of him?" Layla asked, her voice laced with mild excitement. "What's it like?"

Stella smiled, pushing away the guilt. She was grateful for this, for talking to Layla as if nothing had happened, as if they were standing in their dormitory in Alfea and not on an annihilated street. "It's nice," she said.

"Nice?" Layla scowled. "Don't be coy!"

"What's Stella being coy about?" Riven's voice.

Layla and Stella turned, their gazes landing on Sky and Riven who were walking towards them from the end of the street that led into the heart of the city. Both carried bunches of black feathers in their fists.

"You got there without a problem?" Layla said.

Sky nodded, coming to a stop. "I didn't expect it, though."

"No," Riven agreed. "I expected to encounter at least one creature but…"He shook his head.

"That's good, right?" Layla looked confused. "Maybe they've decided to lay off? Realised that we're a threat, able to kill them."

Sky shook his head. He looked exhausted; there were dark circles under his eyes and his skin had a sickly pallor. "I don't think that's it. They haven't come after us in a while. Something's going on."

"Do you think they're planning to attack?"

Sky shrugged.

"They could be," Riven said, his gaze trailing to the forest behind them. "They might have changed their strategy after realising that we outnumber them. If I had to guess, I'd say they were planning to ambush us in a large group. We need to be more vigilant."

Sky nodded. "Two of us should stay on watch from now on."

"I'll stay with Stella," Layla said. "You guys go inside, help Tec and Nabu, and have some breakfast. There's a box of muffins by my bag."

Without another word, Sky turned and went inside, his steps heavy. Riven lingered, a smirk on his face. Somehow he didn't look as bad as Sky, even though they had both kept vigil for the same amount of time and had just trekked into the city and back. His skin was sallow but his eyes were bright, not tired. "You never answered my question," he said jestingly.

"About why Stella was being coy?" Layla said, amused – not only at his tone but at how he seemed almost vibrant in Stella's presence. Riven nodded, eyeing Stella, who had begun to blush. "It's really none of your business, Riven. Now go."

Riven grinned in amusement as he walked past the girls into the café. On the way, he brushed his hand against Stella's, adjusting her grip on the sword she held. Stella stood flushed, her eyes following Riven as he sauntered inside, his steps as light as his tone had been. She watched as she sat down beside Sky and picked up a muffin, his fingers deftly peeling away the paper case, just as they'd deftly peeled away her top the night before in the forest. She shuddered at the memory. Hopefully they would get to continue where they left off after all this was over – that is if they survived.

She turned back to the job at hand with renewed concentration. Survival would only be possible if she kept watch for danger and she wanted to survive, if only to feel Riven's hands glide over her bare skin once more. The sky overhead was devoid of creatures or meteors but still the same shade of dull grey it had been for what seemed like forever. The street was free of any perceptible threats too; no shadows moved in the passageways between the shops and the rubble on the street only stirred because of the wind. As Stella shifted her gaze to check the street again, she caught Layla staring fixedly at the road in front of them instead of keeping watch. Her expression had changed from being amused; it was solemn now and her fingers were clamped together.

"What's wrong?" Stella stepped forward and placed her hand on top of Layla entwined fingers, prying them apart. "Is it about the mission?"

Layla hesitated. "Sort of. But if you think I'm scared, I'm not. I'm just worried." She paused for a moment. "I was thinking last night about what could go wrong given the danger of what we're planning to do and I realised I wanted to be married; if I die, I want to die as Nabu's wife. I know destroying the Base is urgent and that we don't have time so what I want is selfish, but I want to marry him today. And I know Nabu wants the same thing, I know he's thinking the same way. When he proposed, he wanted to get married straightaway but there were other more important things to do then. Now there's time and there's even a temple near here…" She paused again and sighed. "What do you think? I know it's not like me to want this, that I'm not usually so sentimental but–"

"I'd want the same thing." Stella beamed reassuringly.

Layla's distressed expression fell away and she stepped forward, wrapping Stella in a tight hug. A hug that spoke volumes of gratefulness.

Stella squeezed Layla back and then stepped away. Her eyes glittered despite the dimness. "Let's find you a dress," she said.

"What–" Layla began but realisation quickly dawned. They were standing in Magix's shopping district; dresses were in almost every shop surrounding them. Indeed the shops had suffered damage but their insides were still mostly intact and besides, she didn't care if her dress would be a little ripped. She was grateful that she was going to have a dress at all.

They walked across the road to a dress shop on the opposite side of the street. Stella went inside while Layla waited on the footpath, keeping watch like she was supposed to. A few minutes later, Stella emerged carrying three dresses, all perfectly intact and untouched by the ash blowing into the building. The dresses were floor-length but not exactly the flamboyant sort typical of weddings, which was probably why Layla looked pleased.

Stella held the dresses up, two dangling from her hands and one clamped under her chin. Her gaze flicked up to Layla and she raised her eyebrows in question.

"That one." Layla nodded to the dress in Stella's left hand. It was strapless, a muted gold, with beading all over the bodice and a not-too-full skirt.

Dropping the other two dresses on the ground, Stella walked out the store and they headed back to their posts in front of the café. The wedding would be rushed otherwise she would have brought the other dresses with her for herself and Tecna to wear. It only mattered that Layla looked pretty anyway and she would in the gold dress, even with her tired, glazed eyes and wild hair.

The group were gathering up the supplies inside the store when Stella and Layla got there. Stella's grip on the dress tightened and her insides grew cold as if ice had materialised inside her body. The bomb was ready. It was time to attack.

Tecna walked out the café in front of the boys, the bomb – which was essentially her laptop attached to some components from the coffee machines in the café and laced with magic – held carefully in both her hands. "What's the dress for?" she asked, her forehead crinkling in confusion.

"It's for Layla," Stella said. "For her and Nabu's wedding."

Nabu raised his brows but he looked hopeful.

Stella explained. "Layla wants to get married before she goes on the mission. There's a temple only two streets away that we can hold the ceremony in."

"I know that the mission is urgent," Layla added, "but it'll be quick. All I want is to exchange vows and be pronounced husband and wife officially."

Tecna, Sky and Riven hesitated then gave in, nodding a little. Nabu took Layla's hand, a small smile on his face. They started towards the temple hastily, keeping close to the shops lining each street they walked down in case a creature appeared and they needed to take cover.

Stella walked at the front of the group, Layla's dress in one hand and her sword in the other. She knew the shopping district better than anyone else, so she was navigating, taking the group down alleyways to shorten their journey. The creatures' Base was only a short distance away; she should have been more scared, but somehow she felt almost calm. Maybe because it would all be over soon: either they would succeed in destroying the Base and save Magix or she would die along with the rest of the group after failing. Some part of her didn't care about the outcome as long it all ended. She almost wanted to simply lay down; tiredness was overtaking her.

Riven had been watching Stella, walking just behind her. Her face had become suddenly slack and she looked like she was struggling to keep the hurried pace she had started at. Panic trickled into his system. Frowning, he swung his bag around his body and dug out the bottle of pills he'd procured at the medical facility. He still didn't know whether they were appropriate for her condition – he should have checked with Tecna earlier – but they had worked before so he quickened his steps so he was walking next to her and held them out. "I think it's time you took another dose."

Stella threw the dress over her shoulder and cupped her palm. Riven placed two pills in her hand and she dry-swallowed them, her throat left feeling chalky. "You still haven't told me what's wrong with me," she said as she turned into another alley.

"It's best if you don't know," Riven replied, returning the pills to his bag. If he told her, told her that the essence that sustained her was depleting, that she was slowly dying, she would only panic and he didn't want that, especially since she had just started seeming less afraid.

"So it's nothing serious? It's just because of my low energy?"

"Pretty much." Riven nodded. He had no problem lying, but with her, he felt uneasy about it. He averted his eyes.

For a long moment, Stella stared at him. She didn't believe him, but trusted that he thought it was better that she didn't know. Besides, it wasn't like she wanted another reason to feel stressed.

She shifted her gaze back to the alley, squinting towards the end of it in the dimness. "We're here," she announced.

The temple was a large building made of beige stone. The roof was domed, carved with ancient symbols of union, peace, and forgiveness. A flight of stairs led up to a walkway lined with pillars. Some of the pillars had been knocked down, no doubt by the creatures, and craggy pieces of rock punctuated the ash dusting the walkway. The group picked their way around the collapsed pillars to the entrance, a pair of heavy doors decorated with the same symbols as on the roof. The inside of the temple was one huge room, dimly lit with magic fire, which burned in the torches lining the walls. The light washed the polished floor with shine.

There was a dais at the far end of the room. Usually, for a wedding, the platform would be decorated with flowers and draped with glittering banners, but even though it was bare, Layla found herself brimming with emotion. She changed into her dress, Stella and Tecna standing in front of her like screens, blocking her from sight. Meanwhile, the boys put down their bags and weapons and positioned themselves on the dais: Nabu stood in the middle with Riven at his side and Sky stood facing them.

"Nervous?" Riven asked Nabu as if it were an ordinary wedding. Sky gave a small laugh at the question.

"Only of losing her to the mission," Nabu replied. He was trying hard not to look towards the girls. "Marrying Layla is like a dream come true, even if it's in this situation."

Riven smiled sadly and patted Nabu's back before turning to Sky. "Ready to perform the ceremony?" he asked.

Sky gave a firm nod. "Yes. I've only been to a million royal weddings before." The comment was supposed to be flippant but Sky's voice hadn't sounded light, just tired. "I'll skip the unimportant parts, speak fast."

Nabu nodded. He knew they didn't have much time. Riven had told him that they were expecting the creatures to attack in a group, which meant they had to get to the Base before the creatures got to them. That was their only chance at victory.

"Looks like Layla's ready," Riven said, his eyes on the girls, who stood waiting by the temple doors.

Nabu shifted his gaze and tears sprang into his eyes upon seeing Layla. She looked ethereal. Flanked by Stella and Tecna, she began walking towards him, smiling widely. He couldn't bring himself to smile back, too choked up with emotion. Her hair might have been unruly and her face makeup free, but he didn't care. She was perfect to him. He swallowed back his tears and extended a hand to her when she reached the dais, helping her up onto it. Stella and Tecna climbed up after her, moving to stand by her side, their hands clasped together in front of them as if they held a bouquet of invisible flowers.

Sky cleared his throat and began with the speech. Nabu barely heard him as he spoke about the bond of matrimony; all his senses were focused on Layla. The sound of her breathing, the feel of her hand in his, the sight of her smile, the smell he associated with her mixed with sweat. She opened her mouth to speak her vows and he finally tuned in.

"I, Layla, take you, Nabu, to be my wedded husband," Layla began. "I promise to be true to you through thick and thin and to love you eternally. You're my best friend, my confidant, my everything. I love you."

Sky nodded towards Nabu, who blinked away his tears.

He squeezed Layla's hands. "I, Nabu, take you, Layla, to be my wedded wife. I vow to give you every happiness, to protect you and love you and treasure you forevermore. You mean the world to me. I give you my hand today to walk with you from this day forward, but know that you have always had my hand."

"And with that, I pronounce you man and wife," Sky said, stepping back. "You may now kiss and seal your marriage."

Eyes glittering with tears, Layla and Nabu stepped forward, their arms snaking around each other. They kissed. It was a gentle, slow kiss that sent sparks racing through them both. They parted after a moment and stood with their foreheads touching.

The rest of the group stood silently, not wanting to shatter the mood. Nabu and Layla deserved at least a few moments together wrapped in bliss.

Sadly, the blissful quiet didn't last long. A cacophony of screeches filled the air, shattering the silence suddenly, replacing it with a numbing tension. The ceiling trembled. The screeches grew louder.

Riven looked wide-eyed at the group. "The creatures!" he shouted over the noise, and then, "Tecna get the bomb!"

Tecna was already running towards it where it lay among the supplies near the door. They should never have left their weapons, especially the bomb. She dove for it as the doors of the temple burst open, the creatures flying in, heading straight for the dais. Just like Riven had predicted, there were a number of them, at least six. One creature for each one of them, Tecna realised, skidding to a halt on the floor. As fear seeped into every corner of her mind, she tucked the bomb inside her jacket and grabbed a stun-gun, getting up and running out of the temple before the fear froze her in place.

She knew that no matter what happened inside, she had to get to the Base – she was the only one who could activate the bomb and save the realm. But her friends…

She glanced over her shoulder into the temple. Sky and Riven had drawn their swords and were wielding them as best they could against the four creatures circling them. Nabu had placed himself between Stella and a creature, his sceptre glowing a blinding purple. Bursts of magic shot out from it, hitting the creature in front of him squarely in the chest; the impact though didn't seem to have much effect. The creature riled back just a little, cawing loudly before diving for them. They dodged its sword just in time, rolling to the side.

Layla was shimmying hurriedly out of her dress. A creature lay dead beside her, its wings detached from its body. She spotted Tecna standing outside in the middle of the walkway, which was littered with even more broken bits of pillars than before. "Run," she screamed, sprinting outside to join her friend. "Now's our only chance to get to the Base!"

Tecna hadn't moved; she was still staring into the temple. Sky and Riven had managed to dispatch only one creature and were struggling with the remaining three. Stella was screaming, and Nabu – Nabu lay crumpled against the wall, his sceptre still gripped in his hand. The creature that he had been fighting was still alive and was now pursuing Stella. She scrambled away from it, rushing towards the pile of weapons by the door.

Instinctively, Tecna raised her stun-gun and shot at the creature. It seized up, its armour sizzling with yellow energy. Riven came up behind it, slicing away both its wings and then shoving his sword through the slits in its armour.

"Come on," Tecna shouted, waving them both over. Stella rushed through the doorway but Riven turned towards Sky, whose face was contorted in pain as he fended off the two remaining creatures hovering over him.

"Go," Sky called, catching Riven's eye. "I'll be fine!"

Riven ran towards the door, his chest seizing up at the sight of Nabu. The wizard wasn't moving. Finally seeing his state, Layla started for him with a yelp, running over the threshold. Riven caught her around the waist and dragged her after Tecna and Stella as they sprinted towards the edge of the forest.

"Let me go," Layla cried desperately. "Let me go, please! Nabu!" She thrashed violently against Riven's arms but his grip around her was unyielding. "Please!"

"Layla, focus!" Riven said sternly.

Layla dissolved into tears, her knees buckling. Riven stopped, hoisted her over his shoulder and resumed running, desperately trying to ignore her brokenness. But he couldn't. Nabu was his best friend. Tears sprang into his eyes, slipped out the corners. They were tears of frustration, sorrow and anger.

The charred trees at the edge of the forest came into view. They stopped and Riven set Layla down. She sunk to her knees, bowed over as she cried. Stella and Tecna panted hard, their eyes averted from their friend when all they really wanted to do was hold her and cry with her.

Riven swiped away his tears and turned to Tecna. "You and Layla need to transform. The feathers are back at the temple with our supplies, so we won't be able to disguise your wings, but Layla can still use her magic to make you armour."

Layla shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes. "No–"

"Focus, Layla," Riven chided, dropping to a crouch in front of her. "You need to do this. We have to save Magix and destroy these creatures before they cause more damage and move onto other realms. You need to do this." When she shook her head again, Riven said more gently, "Nabu would've said the same thing. Do it for him." Riven's voice broke. "Avenge him."

Layla keened and buried her face in her hands. She cried for another moment and then stood up, anger replacing the grief in her eyes. She stepped back and transformed. Tecna followed suit. Once the magical energy around them both had faded, Layla raised her hands, drawing her power to her fingertips. She moved her hands, almost as if she were dancing, and shaped bulky morphix-armour around herself and Tecna. The pink jelly-like substance was bright, but Riven was hoping the darkness around the Base would conceal it.

Stella appeared from within the forest, clusters of thins tree branches with needle-like leaves clutched in both hands. Riven hadn't even noticed her leaving. He raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"We can use these instead of the feathers," she said and began attaching the branches to Tecna and Layla's wings.

Riven smirked, taking a second to admire her smartness. After she was done, he led the way into the forest. He didn't recognize any part of it; he wasn't surprised, seeing as he had been kissing Stella the last time he'd been there. Kissing her was consuming.

He decided to walk straight ahead, figuring they would reach the chasm if they simply headed deeper into the trees. Beeps sounded behind him as Tecna programmed the bomb, but it was otherwise eerily quiet. Riven usually liked silence, but now the silence only made him aware of his fear. Impulsively, he began slashing the tree branches in front of him, trying to create noise; he needed a clear head for when they arrived at the chasm.

The silence ended shortly with the sound of beating wings. Riven looked up and saw a mass of creatures flying in a perfect circle some distance ahead. They looked like broiling storm clouds with their black wings melding together. He signalled for the girls to get down and they crept forward under the cover of the trees.

Even with the noise, Riven could not ignore his fear. There were more creatures than there had been the night before, many more. And that only meant Tecna and Layla would have a harder time infiltrating them and then flying over to the Base. They might not even make it. As powerful as they were as guardian fairies, it would be nearly impossible to fend off that many creatures if attacked in unison.

He pushed the horrific thought to back of his mind. They had reached the chasm. In the half-light, it looked bigger, stretching further than he could make out to the other side of the forest. Mist rose up from the bottom of the pit, cloaking the rock-like Base in haziness, making the red windows look even more like glaring eyes. As they stood staring, the mist surrounded them and Riven choked on it, feeling it burn the back of this throat; the mist was not mist after all, it was smoke. Warily he stepped forward and peered past the smoke into the pit. The meteors he had seen the night before were alight; they glowed angrily, flames dancing over their charred surfaces.

Riven looked over at Tecna and Layla, who were seeing the Base for the first time; they looked frozen solid, their eyes wide. Part of him wanted to forget their plan. It felt like a suicide mission now.

Stella came up beside him. "We have to do this," she said softly, shakily, as if she were trying to convince herself and not just him. Her hand wrapped around his upper-arm. "There's no choice. Either they die or we do."

Riven nodded imperceptibly, turning to Tecna and Layla. "Go," he said. "We'll cover you." He walked over to them, took Tecna's stun-gun and continued along the lip of the chasm to a cave of tree roots.

"Wingspeed, girls." Stella squeezed Layla and Tecna's hands and followed Riven. They didn't have time for lengthy farewells, could not afford them or their courage would dissolve. She settled into the tree-root-cave beside Riven, who held the stun-gun poised and confident, having readied it with an attack.

Through her tear-filled eyes, Stella watched as Tecna and Layla drew in deep breaths and sprang from the ground. They flew rapidly upwards, joining the circling mass of creatures and disappearing within them.

"This is good," Riven whispered. "There hasn't been any disturbance yet, which means they haven't been spotted."

Stella swallowed against her dry throat. His words gave her little comfort, for she knew that soon Tecna would make a dash towards the Base to place the bomb and would then be spotted for sure. She waited for that moment, biting down on her lower lip. Images of both her friends falling like dead-weights from the mass of creatures flashed through her mind. The girls screamed, calling out to her to save them before they landed among the meteors – but she couldn't, powerless.

Riven's rough hand grabbed hers and she refocused, immediately catching her breath.

Tecna had broken free from the creatures, flying hard towards the Base, her body streamlined with her arms by her side. Her wings beat in a blur, making it look like she had no wings at all. There was no disturbance amid the creatures for a long while. Tecna glided in silence towards the Base. And Layla, who had appeared on the inside of the loop of creatures, hovered undetected.

But then, at the instance Tecna reached the halfway mark in the air, all hell broke loose. Screeches rippled out amongst the creatures, sounding angrier than Stella remembered them ever sounding. She took her hand out of Riven's and clapped her palms over her ears; the sound was deafening, both from there being so many of them and from her being this close.

A small cluster of creatures broke formation and darted towards Tecna. Layla had blasted them and sent them reeling backwards before Stella had realised what was going on. Tecna was three quarters of the way there now, her wings beating harder than ever. More cawing filled the air. Creatures swarmed around Layla, leaving a gap in the mass. A pink glow rayed out between the swarm: Layla, trying to blast her way free.

Beside Stella, Riven took aim, pointing the stun-gun at a creature who was tailing Tecna. He fired and three yellow orbs of energy zipped across the chasm. Two missed the creature, but the last one hit its leg. The creature seized up mid-flight and fell like a stone dropping from a great height. Stella didn't hear anything as it hit the meteors. Another creature was chasing Tecna not five seconds after the first had fallen. A horde of creatures broke formation and followed it, screeching and cawing, but Tecna had reached the Base. She landed on the rocky structure and secured the bomb in a crevice.

Stella's pulse jumped in triumph. Though it wasn't over yet. The horde of creatures were nearing Tecna, stirring the air around her. Tecna threw her arm back, firing attacks at them blindly as she set the timer on the bomb. Riven's attacks from the stun-gun joined her efforts, taking out creature after creature. Stella could feel that Tecna was sweating, panicking, could picture her fingers trembling. She willed Tecna to stay composed.

Pink light suddenly washed the chasm with brightness. Stella glanced over at Layla; she had broken free from the swarm, the creatures either dropping into the chasm or spinning backwards through the air. In her head, Stella cheered. They were doing well, no injuries so far.

She shifted her gaze back to Tecna, who was flying away from the Base, leading the creatures away from the bomb. She was taking sharp turns in the air, trying to lose them, but they pursued her easily. On the other side of the chasm, Layla was also being chased. She was weak from just attacking, so the two creatures tailing her caught up easily. She screamed, loud enough to be heard over the cawing and went tumbling through the air, blood sprinkling outwards from her body as she spun and spun, out of control.

"No," Stella whispered, her throat constricting. Riven shot furiously at the creatures as they flew after Layla, but they were too fast, the attacks missing them completely.

Layla hit the roof of the Base, rolling to a stop. Her wings disappeared; she had untransformed. The creatures pursuing her slowed to a hover over her body. The red light from the Base's windows caught on their swords as they drew them, raising them high to add power to their swings.

Stella couldn't breathe. Riven's hands trembled around the stun-gun, but the creatures were too far away to fire at anyway. He cursed.

"Layla!" Tecna's pained scream came from the opposite end of the Base, carrying powerfully on the air. A ball of green energy left her outstretched hand, hit one of the creatures, but made no impact. Streamlining her body like before, Tecna shot through the air towards Layla. The creatures' swords descended. She cried out in defeat – she wasn't going to make it.

Then, all of a sudden, the creatures were taken out, hit by purple energy. A loud whirring filled the air and everything within fifty metres stirred: the trees, the smoke, their hair.

Stella squinted through the churning smoke at the sky. She couldn't believe what she saw: an airship, silver and large, hovering over the edge of the chasm. From the guns at its nose, more purple energy shot out, taking out the creatures surrounding Tecna. Tecna reached Layla and dropped by her side, gathering her up in her arms. Then she flew towards the airship.

The airship moved closer to where Stella and Riven were hidden and the door at the side slid open. A figured loomed in the doorway and threw down a rope ladder. Riven dropped the stun-gun and helped Stella onto the ladder, clutching onto the rungs beneath her as the ladder was pulled back up into the ship. They climbed inside, Tecna flying in with Layla in her arms a moment later.

"Go," Tecna said frantically to the driver. "The Base is about to blow up!"

The airship lurched to the side, moving away from the chasm. The Base blew up not a second later. The sound of the explosion was thunderous, but not as loud as the sound of exploded rubble hitting the airship, like a sudden violent hailstorm.

"Get to the seats," the man who had loomed in the doorway shouted, ushering Riven and girls over to the metal chairs at the side of the ship.

They sat down, strapping on the seatbelts; Tecna helped Layla who was limp and barely conscious. The airship picked up speed, angling upwards into the sky. The grey clouds went by in a blur in the windows and then vanished to reveal utter blackness. They were now gliding through space, the void between the realms. Riven looked towards the back windows, seeing the giant green sphere that was the realm of Magix shrinking away; there was a giant plume of dust marking the planet where the explosion had just been. He stared through the windows until the grey spot of dust was just a speck and the realm itself was no bigger than the size of a fingernail. Then his head rolled back and dizziness overcame him.

There were voices around him, but Riven heard them as if through water. Stirring, he realised he was in an upright position and his cheek was resting against something cold – metal. He opened his eyes slowly and was met with Stella's face. She was beaming, the dirt on her skin gone. Her hair was wet.

"Hey," she whispered, touching his forearm. "You passed out from exertion."

"How long has it been?"

"Just over an hour."

He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached out to cup her face. He had doubted whether they would ever make it out of Magix alive. It had seemed as if the creatures would win, taking out Layla and then eventually Tecna after catching her, and disabling the bomb. He pulled Stella's face to his and kissed her, gently at first and then roughly, his fingers twisting in her damp hair. "We're safe," he mumbled against her mouth.

"Yes," she murmured back, drawing him closer. Their kiss deepened, his tongue snaking past her lips.

A feeling of sheer elation washed through him and he lost himself to the kiss. Then he remembered what had happened just before the ship had arrived: Layla, wounded, collapsed on the Base; Tecna rushing towards her while being tailed by a swarm of creatures; Sky battling two enormous creatures at the temple; Nabu lying motionless against the wall.

He pulled away from Stella, eyes frantic and searching. He found Layla on a gurney on the opposite side of the ship, being tended to by several people; a tube snaked from her nose to a small tank on the floor. Tecna, her hair damp just like Stella's, was standing beside the driver steering the ship, talking to him with a serious expression on her face. He scanned the ship floor again, then looked at Stella.

"Sky, Nabu…" His voice shook. "We have to go back for them."

"It's okay," Stella told him, a small smile on her face. "They're fine. Well – not exactly fine. They're injured, but we've been told they'll recover. These people rescued them from the temple and then came for us. Apparently Sky told them where to find us before he passed out."

"Where are they?" Riven asked breathily.

"They're in the room at the back of the ship. They both have serious wounds and have to be on complete bed rest for at least a week."

"Can I go see them?"

"You can, but they're unconscious." Stella took his hand. "Riven, I went in to see them after I showered and they're fine."

Riven slumped against the seat and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. "What about Layla?" he asked after a moment.

"They're just stitching up her wounds." It was Tecna who answered, coming over from the driver. "She's going to be fine," she continued. "The morphix-armour kept the blades the creatures attacked her with from getting too deep into her skin. She's just traumatised."

Riven raised an eyebrow. "And you're not?"

Tecna sat down beside him in the empty seat. "I didn't say that. I guess I'm just too shocked at the moment to feel much else."

"I think we're all shocked," Riven said. "After the creatures attacked you and Layla, I don't think any one of us truly thought we'd succeed in the mission, let alone make it out alive. These people saved us. Who are they, anyway?"

"They're from the Breconize military," Tecna said.

"What?"

She nodded. "Even though I didn't manage to send our coordinates to their captain, he still sent out a rescue ship to Magix. It took them a while to locate us, though, because they didn't know where we'd be. They looked through the entire city before they got to the temple, and they–" Her voice hitched. "They recovered Flora's body…while they were looking."

"It's in the back," Stella added, tears slipping out her eyes. "We can give her a proper funeral now. It's good; I'm glad we have her."

Tecna nodded, sniffling, and took Stella's hand, squeezing hard. From the way they broke the news, Riven realised that they had both seen Flora's body, probably to confirm that it was actually her. He bowed his head, but he was also glad that they had her. Flora deserved a proper funeral; she hadn't deserved to be simply left on the street she had died on, bloodied and in full view. She was a hero. She had gone out to battle the creature. She had in some way saved them all.

"So," Tecna said, clearing her throat. "The driver just told me that they've sent teams to Magix to kill any remaining creatures. The realm's ours again, but it's going to have to go through intense recovery. I opted us all out of being part of the effort."

"Good." Riven nodded. "I think we all need to stay away for a while."

"I wouldn't mind never going back," Layla called from the other side of the ship. She sat up on the gurney, pulled the tube out of her nose, and smiled at them. Tecna rushed over to her, launching into an explanation of what had happened and telling her that Nabu and Sky were both safe.

They were all safe. It was both surprising and stupefying. Riven still could not believe it, even though the feeling of the cold metal of his seat was unlike anything out of a dream, as was Stella's warmth as she leaned against him, hesitantly entwining her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand to let her know that it was okay and kissed the top of her head.

As horrible as the past few days had been, she had made them endurable for him. He had always thought she possessed a light and now being with her, he was surrounded in its radiance, felt it almost as if it was alive. He never wanted to be without it.

He nuzzled into her hair, letting her scent and light lull him, and closed his eyes.

That was the final chapter.

Now the question is: epilogue or no epilogue?

Xxx