Stella stepped back as the ground beneath her squirmed and broke open. Enormous snakes began to emerge from cracks in the floor. Stella screamed, and one of the snakes lunged at her. Stella shot out a hand, and the snake erupted into flames. A circle of fire encircled Stella, protecting her from the snakes. She looked around frantically for Emma.
Emma had a snake wrapped around her ankle; its fangs sunk into her leg. Emma screamed in pain and kicked the snake away. Stella ran towards her, trying to catch the girl before she fell, not knowing if she could hold Emma's weight. Emma collapsed, but Stella held her up easily. She scooped up the taller girl and turned to face the shade. The snakes all crumbled to dust around Stella's flames, and Stella began to walk toward the shade. The shade stumbled back, standing in front of Lilly.
Stella felt the energy from Emma flowing into her as well and snapped her fingers. The hood flew from the shade's face, and Stella froze.
The shade was a young girl, about the same age as Stella, Emma, and Lilly, with long black hair and shadowy features. Her red eyes and shadowy skin were the only things that made her look different than a human. The shade grabbed Lilly around the neck, and her fingernails sharpened into claws, piercing Lilly's skin. "One more step and she dies." the girl said, staring at Stella.
Stella froze, frantically trying to think what to do. She felt her strength draining and almost dropped Emma. She gently set the girl down and nearly collapsed with exhaustion. Her abilities were overtaxed already, but she managed to maintain the fire around her.
"Why are you doing this?" Stella asked the shade.
The shade girl stared at the ground. "I don't have a choice," she said. "I have to have the power to keep me alive."
Stella reached for the shade girl, and she shrank back and then tightened her grip around Lilly. Stella watched Lilly's eyes open, and Lilly immediately elbowed the shade girl in the stomach, taking her by surprise. The shade girl grunted in pain and loosened her hold on Lilly.
Stella lunged forward and grabbed the shade by the arm. She felt magic surging under her hands as soon as she touched her. Stella used her magic to gather the energy, pull it out of the shade girl, and shove it back into Lilly. The shade girl collapsed, and a dark shadow rose from her body. The shadow disappeared almost immediately, and Stella felt something in the back of her mind, and everything went black.
Stella opened her eyes and found the seer staring at her. "Ahh, Stella."
Stella sighed. "You again? What's going on?"
"You defeated the shade, but..."
"But what?"
"Look."
Stella looked in the direction the seer was pointing. A short, brown-haired girl was standing there.
"Hey." she whispered.
"Hi." Stella replied, smiling at the girl.
"There's the shade." the seer said. "I'm letting you decide what we do with her."
"What do you mean?" Stella asked, studying the girl. She looked almost nothing like the shade had.
"She's human now. No memories of her past. Queen Idina wants her dead, but you are the one who defeated her, so it is up to you."
"Don't kill her." Stella concluded. "Send her to a foster home or something, but don't kill her. She's innocent without memories or abilities."
"She drained some of your abilities." the seer said. "Don't you want revenge?"
Stella shook her head. "I forgive her."
"Fine. But I'm going to have to wipe the three of your memories again."
"Why?" Stella asked.
"Same reason as the first time." the seer said.
"Will Emma remember?" Stella asked.
"Yes. But you won't. I'm sorry, but this is for your own good."
"Okay." Stella said reluctantly. She looked over to see Emma and Lilly lying nearby. "Is everything fixed?" she asked the seer, and the woman nodded.
"Yes, as soon as the power left the building, everything returned to normal. You'll continue your lives without memory of the shades or your abilities as soon as I finish the memory wipe."
Emma began to stir and sat up. "Stella?"
Stella looked at Emma. "Emma, I'm about to tell you everything that has happened since you passed out. Please remember it for all of us."
Emma saw the seriousness in Stella's eyes and nodded. Stella recounted the events exactly how she remembered them, and Emma listened closely. "Don't worry, Stella, I'll never forget."
The seer returned to the room a few minutes later. As the two had talked, the seer had wiped Lilly's memories and returned her to the hallway she'd been in when everything had stopped. She had also taken the other girl far away to her new home.
Stella took Emma's hands. "Please make sure we know what we're capable of," she said. "I trust you."
Emma laughed sadly. "You don't really have many other options."
Stella smiled at her friend, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I would choose you to remember anyway." Emma smiled back, revealing her front teeth.
The seer stepped up to them. "Stella, are you ready?"
Stella locked eyes with Emma and nodded.
Emma watched as the seer placed her hand over Stella's eyes, and the girl fell backward. Emma lunged forward and caught her, lifting her up.
"We were together at the end." Emma said, brushing Stella's blond hair from her eyes. She gently carried Stella back into the gym in the midst of the girls on their teams. The two teams were so intermixed you had to look closely at the jerseys to tell the different teams apart. Emma smiled to herself and gently set Stella down. Her arms hurt from the exertion, but her abilities pushed new energy through her, strengthening her. The seer disappeared through a portal, and time started up again.
Emma walked with Stella over to the first bench. "Good luck!" Emma said, and the Rosemount team left the St. Francis team and went over to their bench. The Rosemount team gathered around their coach.
"I just made a friend!" Katie said, excitement evident in her tone. "Stella."
"Whoa there, she's mine!" Emma joked, and Katie glared at her. Emma took a step back, and the coach laughed.
"No friends in this game." she said.
Emma ran onto the court and stepped into her position, watching Keira serve. A rotation later, Stella stepped onto the court. Emma high-fived her underneath the net and then turned to her own team.
"Let's go, girls!"
Emma watched as her team played the best set of the season, ending 21-20, with them ahead. Emma smiled to herself. She knew this was what her team was capable of. She sat down on the bench for the second half and then watched sadly as her team once again fell to pieces, forgetting how to pass and being smashed by the other team. Emma shook her head sadly.
After a few more games, there was a break before the bracket play. Emma searched for Stella and Lilly, but they were nowhere to be found. She went and talked with another team for a while, and then it was once again time to play. For Emma's team, it was a single elimination. They had to win the game. Emma sat on the bench, stood in the front row, and once again watched her team fall apart. After the game was over, Stella came over to play her game.
"Please tell me what happens." Emma begged.
"I'll call you tonight." Stella replied. Emma nodded thankfully and turned away, tears filling her eyes.
Emma felt emotions coming through her links with Stella and Lilly as she returned home. Their teams were playing each other for the championships. She felt stress and some sympathy from Stella and boredom from Lilly, but then it switched, and she felt the excitement from Stella and anxiety from Lilly. Emma got home but still felt random bursts of emotion. A bit later, she got a text from Stella saying they had won. Emma literally jumped up and down with joy. She was so happy for them!
Lilly sat in the locker room and listened to her team complain about the line judges on the St. Francis side. "Those girls clearly had foot faults every time they served. I mean, it was so obvious." one of the girls said. Lilly quickly changed and pulled out her phone.
We lost by 2 points in the 3rd set. She texted Emma and then set her phone down. Alyssa, one of her best friends, paced angrily past her, and Lilly bit her lip. The other girls on her team were not happy at all.
Stella sat at home trying to do homework but couldn't concentrate. At 9:10, Emma called her, and they talked about the day.
As Emma talked to Stella, the memory of Stella telling her to remember everything for all of them flashed through her head.
"I'll tell them everything one day, somehow." Emma promised herself.
Two Weeks Later...
Emma stood on the balcony watching the final game in the MACS tournament. Fourth vs. St. Francis. The score was 13-14; Fourth was ahead in the third set. "Go, Stella!" Emma cried. "You got this!"
Stella looked at her setter, Moriah. This was their chance. Their libero passed it to Moriah, and she set it up. Stella approached and hit it as hard as she could.
Lilly sat on the bench and watched Stella hit the ball toward the ground. Their libero lunged for it, and...