The next few minutes passed in something of a rush. I had questions coming at me from all sides, but I insisted that all I could tell them, in that particular moment, was that we were safe, and Casura wasn’t going to be a threat for us any time soon. I assured them all that I was fine, and that I’d tell them everything as soon as we were sure they were okay. After all, they were the ones who had actually fought the evil, overpowered bitch. Or at least tried to. And they had the injuries to prove it. But nobody was dead. And the injuries themselves could be fixed, with some help from Sierra.

  Paige was the first one she helped, dealing with the wound from the piece of metal that had been shoved through her leg. To say nothing of the dozen or so other injuries Casura managed to inflict before we stopped her. I couldn’t even start to imagine how bad it would’ve been if Octavia, Julie, and I hadn’t made it into the building when we did. Hell, even Casura’s rage had worked in our favor. If she was more cold and calculating, she would’ve just killed them immediately, before we got there and gave her those limits. She could’ve killed every last one of them in a couple seconds.

  Thinking about that, about what could’ve happened if she’d acted even slightly more coldly, or if we had been a tiny bit slower, left me feeling paralyzed. I was just standing there, staring at the ground while Sierra and the others who could move kept going around dealing with the worst injuries. In the end, it was a gasp of pain (and heavy cursing) from Murphy that snapped me out of it. They’d turned the girl over and disturbed what was apparently a pretty badly broken leg.

  Seeing that, I went to step that way. But someone else stepped into view, blocking me. It was Paige. She stood there, mask off, sweat dripping down a face that was already stained with dirt and blood. Even then, after all of that, she managed to look like one of those action stars who walked right through an explosion and came out of it with just enough smudging to be even more outrageously attractive. Staring into the visor of my helmet, she started to say something, stopped, then managed, “You’re alive.” Her voice cracked heavily with those two simple words.

  Hearing her say that, and the way her voice cracked when she did so, sent a shiver through me. It made me think about how I’d felt to stand there watching her fight Casura before, knowing she would lose. It made me… it made me… I had to gulp. “Yeah,” I managed after taking a second to pull myself together. “Like I said, I’ll tell you guys everything about what happened as soon as you’re all functional. But I’m okay. And she’s not gonna fuck with us again. Trust m--”

  That was as far as I got before Paige moved, one hand grabbing mine to pull me into a hug that was so sudden, it made me yelp in surprise. Then I didn’t care, because Paige was okay. We were all okay. The terror that had been a constant part of my life since the moment I found out she and Sierra had been taken by Casura was finally gone. It was over, and we were all alive.

  One of my hands found its way to Paige’s lower back, then my other arm wrapped around her shoulders. That first arm shifted to hold onto her. And just like that, we were hugging. I’d thought the stress had already drained out of me before. But that was nothing compared to what I felt in that moment. A heavy, lingering weight dropped away, and for a second it was like I was actually weightless. It was okay. I was actually okay, and so were the others. We were all alive. Paige was alive. I didn’t lose her. I didn’t lose her. Was I crying? My shoulders-- my whole body was shaking heavily. The only reason I didn’t slump down again was the death grip I had on Paige. No way in hell was I going to let go right then. Not after everything that had just happened.

  “You’re alive,” Paige repeated, in a voice that made it clear just how much she had expected the opposite. Her grip tightened. “Cassidy-- Cassie, you’re alive.” A pause came, and I heard her swallow hard, before repeating it again, this time so softly I could barely hear her. “You’re alive.”

  “I am, I promise,” I tried to assure her, though my own voice cracked through it so much it was a wonder the words themselves were even slightly understandable. “I’m totally alive. I’m okay.”

  “Yeah, and I’m sure we’d all like to know how that’s possible.” The voice that said that wasn’t Paige. It made me jump a bit, turning to see that Echo woman standing there. It looked like she could barely stay on her feet. Which was a marked improvement than how she’d been just a few minutes earlier. Sierra was giving that new healing power of hers a workout, that was for sure. One by one, the Biolem girl was going to all the injured people and dealing with the worst of it.

  Meanwhile, Echo was still talking. “Actually, I’d like to know how any of us are alive, let alone all. You, me, everyone else here. How the fuck are we in one piece?” Belatedly, she added a quick, “And no, I’m definitely not complaining about that, but come on, she had us. She had all of us. That bitch could’ve killed us easily. Then she just… didn’t. It was almost like she stopped trying.”

  “More than that,” Roald put in. He was sitting down next to Murphy, helping her stretch out her leg now that the broken part had been taken care of. “It was more like she was actively trying not to hit us. Except… she was still attacking. Just… badly?” He clearly recognized how weird that sounded, even as he was saying it. Hell, I thought it sounded weird and I knew the truth.

  Slowly, I released Paige and looked around. Sierra was still doing some work, but everyone was more or less put together by then. At least, everyone here. I had no idea what was going on back at the stadium, or at the spot where Casura was supposed to have been sent (where Irelyn had ended up instead). But hey, I could say for certain that she hadn’t been at either of those places, so that was a pretty big plus. These guys had been the ones facing that evil bitch, and they’d made it through, with some healing help. Even Twinkletoes had his turn with Sierra. Now he was sitting up, making soft grumbling noises while Pack rubbed his back reassuringly and whispered tender things in his ear. All the girl’s lizards were gathered around her in a tight, protective circle.

  The Cuddles were back in their separate forms, having made it out of the ice their commander mode was frozen in. They were all staring at me too, along with the entire group. Everyone, all of them, human, Biolem, lizard, and stuffed animal alike, were openly gaping at me. They all wanted some sort of real answers about what the hell had happened with Casura, and why.

  And soon, they weren’t the only ones, as a bright, glowing red portal appeared on the far side of the power-ravaged parking lot. We all jumped a bit reflexively, but it wasn’t some new threat or trap. It was Caishen, along with Skip, Flurry (Rubi), and the rest of her core Ten Towers field team. Oh, and Flea. They all came through that portal together, ready to fight, only to abruptly stop short when they saw us sitting and standing around rather than being stuck in the middle of a desperate battle for our lives. Though, from the way our surroundings (and quite frankly, all of us) looked, it was probably clear that things around here had been pretty bad until very recently.

  The first thing Caishen did was stop her people from coming any closer, raising a hand while her gaze snapped around the area. She took in the lingering signs of damage Casura’s display of power had left. And what signs they were. This place had been totally ravaged. There were large cracks in the ground, holes from things falling out of the sky, the remnants of a giant concrete golem that had stood at least fifteen feet tall while it was animated, several spots of still-burning fire, charred marks where lightning had struck, and more. Caishen looked at all of that before speaking up. “Threat?” It was just that single word, but I knew what she was asking.

  Oh, right, everyone was looking at me. All the others knew for sure was that Casura seemed to have taken off. I shifted a bit, clearing my throat awkwardly. “Um, they’re-- she’s gone, ma’am. I don’t think we’ll be seeing her for awhile. And she won’t-- that is…” My foot kicked the ground as I tried to figure out how much to get into right now. “I can explain everything that happened, but can we do it somewhere a little more secure? And… and I think my friends could use some water and… you know, help. But I swear, she’s not hiding somewhere waiting to ambush us. She’s gone. She uh, has a lot to think about right now.” Yes, that sounded awkward even to me. But what else was I supposed to say about all that before actually getting into the full details?

  Judging from her body language, Caishen wasn’t any happier or satisfied with that explanation than I had expected her to be. But she absorbed it before giving a short wave of her hand. That apparently meant she was accepting it, because the rest of her team seemed to relax, at least a bit. They were still somewhat on edge, but it didn’t look like they were all about to collectively vaporize the next mouse that dared make a sound. Not that I blamed them for feeling like that. After all, they really had come through that portal ready to throw themselves into a desperate fight against possibly the most powerful Fell in the world. I would’ve been a little bit jumpy too.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Flea, on the other hand, did more than just relax a little. As soon as it was clear that a fight to the death wasn’t imminent, she came striding closer. I was pretty sure it was taking absolutely everything in her not to throw herself at Paige and Sierra. Honestly, if she’d seen how bad the two of them looked even a minute earlier, she probably wouldn’t have been able to stop herself. At least now the two looked worn, exhausted, and dirty, but they weren’t actively bleeding out.

  She came right up to where Paige and I were, looking us up and down before her eyes shifted to take in Sierra, then Echo, and finally everyone else. When the woman spoke, her voice was very tense. “Are you-- is everyone okay? How…” She trailed off, but it was clear she had been about to ask how we were still alive after being in the middle of a fight with Casura for a single second.

  Paige’s own voice cracked a little as she replied, “They’re alive.” A moment later, she amended, “We’re alive. Everyone-- we’re all alive. She didn’t… she wasn’t trying to kill us. Or even really hurt us, after those first few seconds. It was--” She turned slightly, looking at me searchingly.

  “There’s a lot to talk about,” I managed, hearing the way my own voice cracked even more than Paige’s had. “And I will. I’ll explain it all, but after we get somewhere safer, and everyone has--”

  A hand caught my arm, and I found myself being turned toward Sierra. She looked me up and down, made a noise of disbelief, then embraced me. It was kind of surprising, and I gave a soft gasp before returning it. Considering that not so long ago, there had been a broken piece of me that had resigned itself to the idea that everyone I cared about was going to die, this was nice.

  It wasn’t just Sierra either. Eits was right behind her. He hugged me almost tightly enough to hurt. Pack followed suit, then Murphy. One by one, everyone there, everyone who had seen me get… uh, absorbed by Casura, came up to hug me. Even Broadway did, to some extent. The armored suit she wore had taken a lot of damage and couldn’t really move all that well, but she used the one functional arm to half-embrace me, murmuring softly that she was glad I wasn’t really dead. And boy was that a sentiment I could agree with. I was firmly in favor of being alive.

  When Wren took her turn, I picked the smaller girl up off the ground and held her as tight as I could. “I’m sorry,” I found myself murmuring, the tears threatening to completely overtake me. “I’m so sorry you were here, I’m sorry I put you in the middle of all that, I didn’t-- I-- I’m sorry.”

  Her small arms wrapped around me as she shook her head. “Paintball, stop, it’s not your fault. You didn’t make it happen, that wasn’t-- it wasn’t you. You didn’t do it, she did. I’m okay, really.”

  It didn’t matter what she said, I still felt that sharp pang of guilt deep in my stomach. If I’d done something better, planned better, reacted better, actually thought about the possibility that Casura might not actually physically be at the damn stadium. That whole thing was my fault. But I kept quiet and just embraced the kid more tightly, silently thanking every power out there that she wasn’t dead or seriously injured. If anything like that had happened to Wren, or to any of my friends, I… I don’t think I would’ve recovered. That wasn’t something I could come back from.

  By the time everyone who had been here through all that had a chance to hug me (and one another), Raindrop and That-A-Way had been brought through the portal. Both of them fairly sprinted across the lot, and I found myself pulled into two more embraces that left me gasping for breath. They, like everyone else, wanted answers. And once again, I promised to give them soon.

  When I had my turn with Izzy, my eyes closed and I felt a shudder of relief run through me. I hugged her even more tightly, resisting the urge to just start crying openly. Yes, Izzy had been one of the ‘safest’ people out of everyone I knew, after being left back at the stadium to help evacuate people. She hadn’t been thrown into a desperate fight with Casura. But still, there was part of me, from the moment I had found myself inside that mindscape (and even before then), that had convinced myself I might never see her again, might never be able to talk to my sister again. Now she was here, she was right there. Even if neither of us could say the things we wanted to in front of all these people, we were still there. We could still embrace each other. Which we did, quite intently. I whispered assurances that I was okay, that we were all safe now.

  There were more hugs all around. If any of the people Caishen had brought with her noticed that Way and Pack actually embraced longer than they had with anyone else, or that they whispered intently to one another for longer, they politely ignored it. Just like they ignored the extra time one of their own, Flurry, spent with Calvin and Hobbes. And, hell, the way they ignored that at least three of the Touched here, Pack, Broadway, and Eits, were active Fells. This was a day for ignoring things. To be honest, something told me that if any of them had tried to say anything about those three, Caishen would’ve made them regret ever having Touched in the first place.

  Once it was clear that there really wasn’t any sort of Casura-shaped threat about to jump out of the shadows, Caishen sent most of her people, aside from Rubi and Skip, back to both the stadium to tell the authorities there that things were okay, and to the staging area where the other Touched and Prev soldiers she’d brought together for this fight had been waiting to jump in as the second wave against that impossibly-powerful Fell. It made me wonder what that was like for those people, being left on edge for so long, waiting to be thrown into a fight against one of the worst threats ever, only to be told they didn’t have to face her after all, because it was over already.

  Eventually, it was just Caishen, Skip, Flea, Echo, and my people there. All of them were staring at me with what was clearly almost physically painful curiosity, before Caishen herself coughed pointedly and announced, “Okay, I’ve got a safe, private place where you can explain what just happened. And…” She glanced toward the three La Casa Fells. “I can offer twenty-four hours of truce. No one will try to arrest or detain any of you in that time unless you actively commit a crime in front of us. You have my word. But, of course, if you just want to walk away right now--”

  “Hell no.” That was Broadway, her head shaking as much as the damaged armor would allow. It was giving a grinding, squeaking noise of protest. “I’m not waiting to hear the full story about what the fuck just happened and how we’re alive right now. But you should know one of the things in this suit that is working is my camera, and it just uploaded what you said to the cloud. So if you think you can go back on that… well you could just say it was fake anyway. But don’t do that.”

  Snorting despite herself, Caishen gave a short nod. “I’ll keep that in mind. And don’t worry, you’re not an important enough target to go through all this just to arrest. None of you are.” She hesitated slightly before sobering. “Thank you all for… for what you’ve helped do today.” Her eyes shifted my way as she added, “Whatever that may actually be.”

  With that said, she produced some sort of remote, activating it to create a new portal. This one was greenish. “This’ll take us somewhere nice and private. And comfortable, I promise. There, I assume, you’ll be ready to give the full story?” Her eyes had locked onto me once more.

  My head bobbed. “Scout’s honor, I’ll tell you all exactly what happened. All of it.”

  So, everyone started to go through the portal. But as I moved after them, a hand caught my arm. Paige was there, holding my elbow. Her voice was strained. “Wait, just… wait a minute.”

  After everyone else had gone through, Caishen glanced back at us. She seemed to take in the sight before tossing the remote to Paige. “Come as soon as you’re ready. I’ll get them settled in.”

  With that, she went through the portal, and it disappeared. Then we were alone. Paige and I just stood there, looking at each other. When the other girl spoke, her voice was so strained, I could barely understand her. “I thought you were dead. I thought… when you… when she…” She looked away, expression twisting. I could see the tears sliding down her face. “I thought I lost you too, like Anthony.”

  Hearing that, I felt a sharp pain. My voice broke so much when I tried to respond, the words just became incoherent noise. I gave a heavy shudder and tightened my fists before trying again. “ I thought I lost you too. When I realized what happened, when I saw you with her, when she was…” I flinched, reaching up to take my helmet off before dropping it on the ground. My mask came next. Then the two of us just stared at each other silently for a few long seconds.

  In the end, I was the first one to find my voice after that. “We're alive, Paige. We're both alive.” My eyes closed and I repeated that, letting the feeling of relief come over me yet again. “We're all alive.” God, saying that out loud, letting myself soak in the realization that we really had made it through all that, was like a drug. My knees were weak. I wanted to run and scream. I wanted to fall down and sleep for a month. I wanted to throw a party. I wanted to hide and never come out of my room. I wanted… I wanted…

  “You...” That was Paige, her voice breaking through the brief silence that had come. When I opened my eyes, she went on. “... you are the most ridiculous, amazing, absurd person I have ever known, Cassidy Evans. What you manage to get into, and get out of is… I can’t--” She visibly swallowed, hands moving to touch my shoulders first, then my face. It was like she still had to convince herself I really was there. “And I almost lost you again. I did lose you. You were gone. You were gone, and I never told you… I never said… I never…”

  “Paige,” I put in, “I’m right here. I’m okay. I’m here. You can tell me anything. You can tell me, Paige. I’m right here.”

  Then she told me. But not with words. She told me in the way her hand touched my face, in the way her fingers traced their way along my cheek, the way she gently held the back of my neck, and in how her other hand slid down my arm to my hand, interlacing our fingers.

  She told me in the way her lips touched mine.

  And in that moment, we both told each other everything we had waited so long for.

  Joke Tags: That Whole Situation Was Much Less Of A Massacre Than Caishen And Her People Were Expecting To Walk In On