**** AGAIN TRIGGER WARNING *** I'M JUST PREPARING YOU ****

For years, he had been avoiding his past and hiding from his guilt. That one afternoon, when he had to choose between saving her life and their unborn child, had changed him forever. 

He never uttered a word to Mya, never told her why it broke him, even if she had always reminded him that he was not a god and that saving their child was out of his control.

He called bullshit on the whole thing, for he only had what he was about to do now, perhaps his family would be whole.

**** ****

Appearing in Cid's office that morning, Richie found the distinct difference between himself and anyone else. For he would go to any lengths when it came down to saving the people he loved.

Cid and Jesse looked on, surprised, as Richie's powers filled the room. Without acknowledging anyone, he moved towards a shelf and touched a panel that revealed a hidden compartment.

"Richie?" Jesse half rose from her seat across from Cid at the Headmaster's table.

He ignored her hesitant question, his objective was on the shelf, Richie leaned in, grabbed what he came for, and vanished.

"R-Richie?" Jesse called out to him in confusion, realizing that he had taken a crystal from the stash they had kept hidden. Instantly Jesse disappeared, tracking down where Richie's powers were pulsating from against these earths.

Moments later, Richie appeared back on the field, dropping to his knees before Mya.

***** ****

Jesse emerged having followed the exertion of powers, stunned by the sight of the blood-soaked field and the bodies strewn about. Her emerald eyes locked onto Matthew and Toni in the distance, desperately fending off the wranglers.

Turning around, she was shocked to see Richie on his knees, holding Mya tightly to his chest with one crystal hovering in his hand and another beside his knee.

"Richie?" she gasped, tears streaming down her face as she knelt beside him. "What are you doing?"

Without hesitation, Richie injected the crystal into Mya's chest, the blinding light emanating.

"Are you sure?" she looked to him, the same that nodded without resolve.

"I won't lose her." Richie had been in this position before, holding Mya close to his chest and pouring his magic into her body, desperately trying to heal her injuries. He then what he had to do - choose one life over the other. Richie knew his limitations, he knew he was not powerful enough to save Mya and their unborn child.

That was the source of his sorrow, the weight of his guilt, and the belief that haunted him constantly. If Mya ever learned the truth of that day, she could never forgive him.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Matthew's voice boomed through the air, demanding an explanation for Richie's actions. Ignoring his best friend, Jesse then moved forward, grasping Mya from his arms, and watched as Richie scrambled forward.

After injecting the crystal into Jasmine and witnessing the holy light surge through her body, Richie and Jesse watched with relief as Jasmine's wounds began to heal. Her chest rose and fell, indicating that she was breathing again.

Acknowledging that he saved them, he scrambled back to Jesse, and he took Mya back from the red-headed, cradling her into his arms, "stay, Mya. Stay"

"Do you know what you've done?" Jesse whispered, borderline incredulous that the crystal's powers were bringing them back from the brink of death, and utterly terrified at what this now meant.

Richie hadn't cared, not for a moment, there was no thought for those damn repercussions when Mya had slowly started to open her eyes.

Relieved he looked over to Jesse, "check Jaz!" And without rebuttal she crawled over to her.

Mya winced as the brightness of the snowstorm overwhelmed her senses, but she could make his voice, the voice that pulled her back from going any further into the beyond. His words that echoed very loudly into her unconsciousness, "come back to me." It was his voice that told her not to go towards the warmth of the world that was welcoming her.

She wouldn't ever admit it these days, but there was something about him that brought her back, always.

"Breathing," Jesse was back in Richie's senses, assuring him that Jasmine would survive.

"The h-hell happen...ed," Jasmine muttered disorientated. She placed her hand on her head, feeling the throbbing sensation that had been pounding around it. When she pulled her hand back, she was surprised to find dried blood on her skin instead of fresh blood.

"It's okay," Jesse reassured Jasmine and assisted her in sitting up, holding onto her hand for support. 

Jasmine watched as Richie's attention was on Mya, and he cradled her protectively in his arms. She was surprised to see the uncontrolled magic sparking at the tips of her fingers, but before she could contemplate it further, Richie's urgent command caught their attention. "Take care of her!"

Jesse nodded in response, taking Mya into her own arms as Richie continued to watch over them with fierce determination. There was something different about him now, Jasmine noticed. He seemed more resolute and less afraid, even in the face of danger.

The girls attention was drawn back to the battle before them as Richie left them, as the last herd of wranglers needed to be destroyed. Jasmine looked around, taking in the chaos and destruction that surrounded them. The men were relentless in their attack, they must have been close to the hive with the number of creatures that were attacking them.

"Look at me," Jesse's sudden grip on Mya's face forced her to focus on her. "How do you feel?"

Mya was struggling to discern reality at this stage and turned to Jasmine, who looked just as confused and shaken. Both women bewildered then looked down at their healed wounds, trying to understand what had just happened.

Mya turned back to Jesse, seeking answers. Meanwhile, Jasmine started to piece things together and asked, "wait, what did you guys do to us?"

Jesse responded, "we saved you. It was the only way."

Mya was jumbled and struggling to focus on what was real amidst the chaos of monsters around them. As she turned her attention back to the three men fighting effortlessly against the remaining creatures, Jasmine pieced together the identities of Matthew, Toni, and Richie.

"Are they?" Jasmine muttered, "Matthew and Toni-"

"-Richie?" Mya's brows furrowed.

"It's a long story," Jesse offered, turning to Mya and Jasmine. "How do you feel? The crystals? What does it feel like?"

"I am so confused," Jasmine shook her head. "You guys are them?"

The question was left unanswered as the sounds of battle drowned out their conversation, with Matthew's raging voice piercing through the air. He was ridden mad, the type that neither of the girls had seen in a very, very long time.

"The fuck were you thinking, Richie! We have never spoken about giving the crystals to them! The fuck, Richie! Fuck!" Matthew's hands had grasped Richie's uniform, pulling him towards his body, he was ready to deck his best friend with his decision.

"Let him go! Matthew!" Toni urged, trying to interfere, but Matthew's hold was too strong and this time it was Richie screaming back.

"I wasn't going to let her die again! I couldn't save her with my magic so I had to use the crystal this time. Fuck, I wasn't going to let her die, Matthew, you know that!"

Mya's attention was captured by the conversation, causing her heart to beat wildly in her chest. It triggered serious flashbacks of that evening, which she had been suppressing since they had parted ways.

She recalled the feel of gravel under her hands as her body was released, and being dragged out of the SUV. Sometimes she could only remember snapshots of the completely written-off car.

But what became clear when she saw Richie in the distance was the familiar smell that had been ingrained in her senses since that night. The same magic that had pulsed through the air then was surrounding her now.

There was magic that night, she was sure of it, and that thought alone had sunk into her reality,  Mya, however, had found it difficult to concentrate on anything but the ongoing argument between Matthew and Richie. 

She couldn't help but watch as the two men continued to engage in a heated exchange, their emotions running high as they argued about the crystals and their decision to give them away.

"Now we need to deal with these consequences. Namely now that Mya and Jasmine are one of us! We have no idea how their bodies will react with that kind of power, Richie!"

With Matthew's anger peaking, Richie managed to dislodge Matthew's grip on his shirt, "I knwo that! I know that Matthew! But I wasn't going to watch her die again either. Not when my magic wasn't fucken healing her!" 

Mya's heart continued to race with anxiety, and she tried to push away the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. She had spent years trying to suppress those memories, but now they were flooding back with a vengeance, threatening to consume her.

Matthew let out a heavy sigh as he shifted his gaze from Richie to Toni, before finally turning his attention to Jesse, Mya and Jasmine. 

"Jesse, get them home. Clara-Ace is there," pointing to the coveted titanium air craft that camouflaged into their environment. "We'll debrief in a few hours."

Jesse nodded to the command.

"Let's go, now!" Matthew ordered of Richie more then Toni. Mya and Jasmine sat there in stunned silence as they watched the men disappear, leaving them alone in the aftermath of the chaotic scene. T

Jesse rose from her feet and then helped Jasmine to stand, her legs feeling weak from the shock of everything that had just happened. Mya followed suit and stood up, her mind racing with all the new information she had just learned. 

"Come." Jesse gestured towards the ship, "I'll explain it more on the ride home. You both will need to fill in the report for the war games and what happened. I'll send the extraction team to collect the soldiers bodies, and cadets."

Mya walked slowly and silently behind Jesse and Jasmine, there had been something far heavier that sat on her chest. The raven haired women believed this entire time that she was alive because she was strong, she thought she fought through her injuries.

God, she was so utterly wrong.

She was alive because of what Richie did to save her.