Amanda's POV

The Icehearts were so close, I could literally feel their Auras on the back of my neck. It was making it hard to concentrate on the Glitchketball game. Well, they were still millions of miles away, but it had been so long since I'd sensed another Aura that I'd grown quite sensitive.

As I was thwarting Sloppie shots, I felt one of the Auras begin to stand out from the blur of the rest. It was too familiar, I had seen this Aura many times before...

Holly!

I entered her Aura with my mind, seeing through her eyes, and was shocked by what I found. Her transformation was astonishing, her adorable red hair and freckle covered face were gone. Her hair was deep black, and her skin was so flawless, she looked like a doll. She had become a full blown Iceheart!

"What do you suggest we do once we land, Miss Myers?" An Ice Guard captain asked Holly.

"We need to divide into two groups, one with our elite fighters and one of regular Ice Guards. The Ice Guards will destroy the Program and all the humans inside it, and we will find my sister and get her out safely."

"But her royal mission is not yet complete. Are you sure Queen Saralee would approve?" The captain raised an eyebrow.

"With the Program destroyed, there would be no point to her mission, whatever it is. Beside, Queen Saralee loves her, and she's the Warrior Chief now. She would really like to have Amanda back."

"Eh, true," Sierra Valior, one of Holly's childhood friends, sighed. "Queen Saralee's going to be so proud of us, Holly! Imagine us coming home, the heroes who destroyed the humans once and for all!"

"I know!" Holly smiled dreamily. "And Amanda's going to come home. I've missed her so much! Maybe, with her as Warrior Chief, we'll finally get rid of the rebels completely! Then, we can finally all be together!"

Even the Iceheart Serum hadn't destroyed my little sister's innocence. She still thought everyone could have a happy ending, she still thought I would come back the same as I was before...

As I refocused on the game, I found to my horror that Viviana had taken full advantage of my moment of distraction. The score was now 8-7! Only a one point difference between the Sloppies and the Codies! Her thinking and speed was so Saralee-like, it was almost scary. I gritted my teeth and raised my arms, strengthening my Aural shields.

Claire's POV

Ever since the injured reg was taken off the field and a replacement was sent in, Amanda seemed lost. Her eyes grew glassy, and she gazed off into the distance, as if she was looking at things only she could see. On the good side, this also weakened her defenses, and made it easier for me to maneuver my Aura and regs around the court.

When we had scored seven points in a row, nearly caught up to the Codies, Amanda snapped back to focus and her Aura returned in full strength. We were in the last quarter of the game, with nine minutes on the clock. If my gift didn't kick in now, we were goners.

I silently pleaded with whatever force was inside of me, then tried mentally threatening it, and even reasoning with it, but nothing worked. There were seven minutes left of the game, and I was barely able to keep the Codies from scoring, much less in a position to score myself.

Please, I thought one last time. Suddenly, I felt electricity surge through my body and my eyes began to glow a brilliant blue. Power surged from my hands and my Aura inflated, filling the entire court with silver-tinged blue light (I now knew that the silver hue was a symbol of royal lineage.)

Yet, this didn't feel like it did during my Awakening. It lacked the exhilaration of an Aural burst, instead, it felt...cold. Part of me hated this feeling, this wasn't how the gift was supposed to feel! Yet that part was severely outnumbered.

It was like suddenly, I had the universe in the palm of my hand. I could destroy or create. Freeze or burn. Kill or give life. I felt like a goddess.

My new power surged across the court, easily scoring two more baskets just as the buzzer sounded and Kelly let out a shriek of joy and disbelief.

"And our annual Glitchketball champions are...Team Sloppie!" Lucy announced, an expression of awe on her face.

We were the champions.

I was supposed to be hugging Kelly and jumping for joy, but in my new, Aura-powered brain, the fact didn't even register. I was too strong to care about trivial things like Glitchketball games. I glanced up at the government box to see Amanda giving me a horrified look, but I simply smirked and turned away. People were right to fear me, I was a force of destruction, an invincible terror!

"Claire? Claire!" Kelly called from behind me. The excessive blue light slowly began to fade to my normal Aura and I was ushered into the real world.

"I can't believe it! Oh my gosh Claire, you were right!" She squealed. The regs gathered around as Amanda and Megan walked down from their box, carrying the gigantic Glitchketball trophy between them.

"I knew you could do it, Claire! You really showed her!" Megan whispered excitedly as she walked past me.

She's not the real enemy, I wished I could've told her, but I just smiled and thanked her.

"What on Lessaenes was wrong with you back there?" Amanda hissed as she presented the trophy to Kelly and me.

"What? It was my gift. I think I've gotten better at activating it," I shrugged, trying my best to maintain a neutral face.

"You and I both know that wasn't your gift," she glared at me. "Look, I'm on your side here. If anything weird's happening with your Aura, I'm the first person who should know. At least until we get back to the Empire, where there's actual Aurologists."

"Okay, it wasn't my gift," I whispered quickly, before smiling with my team for a photo. "But I have no idea what it was."

That was when I felt the tingly sensation of a new incoming CT.

Anonymous: Liked that, did you, Viv? Well, that's what it feels like to be an Iceheart.