Convulsion

✿ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ✿

Have I come so far just to witness this? Death after death after death? Called by the mysterious power behind the Terra Firma Gem to become a Guardian and do... nothing? Save no one? Lose the ones that just came into my life? No, no. This can't be what I'm meant to do. Who I'm meant to be. I have to save this Realm from the Gloaming, and I have to save the people I love. Right? I didn't leave my family and friends on Earth for nothing. I have to get this right. I have to save Steve. I have to save the others too. Now is the time to be strong. But... how?

I stand up, moving over to Amaryllis and grabbing her arm to help her stand up, even though she stares at me sadly. I help her walk, helping her over to the rock wall. I stop right before we reach it, staring at it blankly. What's happened in this place, the things that have transpired... no matter how hard I try, I don't think I'll be able to forget them. And that's okay. I just need to step out of here ready to make everything better.

"Are you ready?" Amaryllis asks. I blow out a slow breath, gripping her arm tighter as I take more of her weight.

"Nope." I close my eyes. It's time. I take a step forward and when my eyes fly open I'm not inside, I'm not even in the wall anymore. I'm outside, on the same dirt trail that I was on before. I look down at my feet when I notice red dirt instead of brown, lifting my head back up as I help Amaryllis across the path, following the trail of blood. Eventually we reach the end of the cliff, where the boys have laid Steve down. The glass bridge is gone, and nothing is left to show it was even there. After I fell off the Golem destroyed the rest of it, but I think the Golem fell off too. Now there's nothing more than a wide ravine with a large river flowing through it.

I shift my focus to Brayden and Ethan who are on either side of Steve, pressing their tunics against his wound. Now they're both only wearing long white sleeved shirts, and their sleeves are stained with red. When I look down at the ground next to Ethan I see the knife that was in Steve's stomach, still drenched in blood. They took it out. I stay silent as we near them. That... doesn't seem like a good decision. I let go of Amaryllis, moving closer to all the blood. Closer to what might just be Steve's corpse. He looks unconscious now, and there's barely any color in his skin at all. Is this what I was like in Ghostclaw's cavern? Is this how I looked so close to death? Even with Brayden and Ethan's tunics wrapped up and pressed against his wound I can still see blood coming through.

"Guys, why is there blood on his pants?" Amaryllis questions, edging closer to Steve. Brayden mutters something under his breath, looking through a slit in Steve's pants by his knee where the blood is coming from. When the fabric is lifted I can see the wound beneath it but I immediately turn away, covering my mouth with my hand again. The flesh was completely torn, and I'm pretty sure more than a knife wounded him. Brayden quickly moves to cover it but hearing a faint thud behind me I swivel around. Amaryllis has laid down on the ground, resting her head on her fluffy hair and closing her eyes.

"I'm gonna rest for a while. I have a headache, and I keep hearing these ringing noises..." She drifts off, closing her eyes and resting her arm on her forehead. I move to lie down next to her, sighing when my head hits the dirt path. Amaryllis is covered in scratches, though thankfully the ones that were bleeding have dried up a bit. Her arm looks broken, and even if it isn't, it looks like it hurts. A lot. And now, I don't know. I don't know how much longer she can stay alive. How much longer I'll be alive.

"Stay with me, Amaryllis," I mutter. Amaryllis doesn't respond, but I can hear her soft, faint breaths beside me. If she falls asleep, I just hope she'll wake up. I keep my eyes open, listening to Amaryllis breathing and the river cascading at the edge of the cliff.

"Lily?" The sound of Steve's voice makes me sit up immediately, and I find myself crawling over to him.

"Yeah? Steve? I'm here," I answer, kneeling down next to him. He moans, wincing as his face pinches together. He grits his teeth too, lifting his chin. He doesn't say anything but when I glance at Brayden and Ethan they both shrug, so I look back at him. Without thinking I lean down, pressing my forehead to his. I close my eyes but then lean away, taking his hand in mine.

"I'm not leaving you, Steve." Amaryllis' head is by my feet, and Brayden and Ethan are still putting pressure on Steve's wounds. We're so close to one another, but still far apart in so many ways. We are the remaining Guardians. We are responsible for the safety of the Realm of Ni'ilxus from now on. And... I don't know how we're supposed to do it after today.

I lift my head when the air in front of us starts to sparkle. Am I delusional now? Or... am I dead? But no, in front of me, I start to see a body materializing. A tall woman dressed in a ruffly, graceful, white and gold dress. Perla. Representative Perla is here. She gasps when she sees the five of us, and I realize we must look awful. Amaryllis in shreds, Brayden, Ethan, and I about ready to pass out, and Steve... bleeding to death. She looks at each of us individually, and I notice neither Amaryllis nor Steve opens their eyes. I don't think they're strong enough to. Perla sighs, tapping her crystal bracelet a few times as she looks at us, a sad smile on her face.

"We're going to get you home."