LEA

"Please. Enlighten me why I should." Chance folds his arms, and I notice with shock that he's levitating slightly off the ground.

"Because the world doesn't deserve this. I don't know what caused you to be this way, but you need to let it go." A sharp pain twists somewhere inside of me and I gasp for breath. After a few seconds it fades, and I suck in a deep breath.

"You can feel the pain that I've felt for most of my life. Now imagine someone telling you that you're fine. That nothing's wrong with you." Chance's expression is so deadpan, it gives the impression that absolutely nothing is running through his head. Nothing besides the desire to inflict pain on the rest of the world, as a result of what he suffered.

I open my mouth to say something more. To plead with him to stop this. But he raises his hand.

"You can't convince me otherwise, Lea." And then, as if a barrier broke, releasing the floodwaters, the world is filled with sound again. The rush of the wind, the throb inside my head, Brock yelling something I can't hear. I close my eyes, feeling Chance getting closer.

The power linked to the dimensions is behind a barrier somewhere inside me. I breathe in. I breathe out. And break the barrier.

Immediately, the power soaks through my veins, and my eyes snap open. My body's temperature drops, but I can barely feel it. Chance is walking towards me, his hands spread wide. He points directly at me, and I feel the power starting to sap from my veins.

No. It won't end like this. I stop his progress by using the same power, embracing the pain that comes with it. It is part of my life now. I will bend it and use it.

Chance's eyes widen, and my own narrow. The whirlwind strengthens inside of me, and I release myself to it. My hand is shaking as I point it rigidly at Chance. His own power strives against mine, and slowly I can feel it giving. With a rush of power and torture, I use both hands, sucking the power from him into me. The pain doubles, and I scream in agony. My hands never drop, and the scream is lost in the wind as Chance collapses. The rift shudders to a stop.

I shudder, closing my eyes again. The power Chance had inside him is running rampant inside of me. I need to harness this. Bit by bit I regain control of the power. I hear Brock screaming, and a monster's roar, but I can't open my eyes. My hand drifts to the sky, and I can see the two dimensions in my mind's eye, dangerously close. Channeling all my power into it, I start to move them apart.

Then, I hear a gunshot. And physical pain shoots through somewhere close to my neck. I drop to the cobblestone hard from where my feet had lifted off of it. Agony sears everything, and I can't move. I can't do anything. How can I keep going? How, how, how...

Everything is closing in on me in slow motion. I know I need to fight it, but I can't summon the energy. It's all lost.

"Lea, get up and finish!" Brock screams at me, so unlike him that it snaps me into reality. My eyes flutter open, and I inhale through my nose, exhale through my mouth. Blood is pouring from my wound, but I plant both hands on the road and push myself up. My head is pounding, and more blood is coming from it.

Regain control. I clench my teeth together, facing the onrushing storm of pain and heartache. I point a fist at the sky, and the rift starts to close. My eyes open, and I see Chance and Brock below me as my feet lift into the air. With my other hand, I point at Brock.

"Lea, no--" his voice is cut off as he disappears.

Chance is on the ground, his hands clamped to his head, pistol on the ground next to him. He raises his eyes as I point my hand at him. "My head is empty." He whispers, putting his hands down.

I take a deep breath to steady myself. "I'm giving you another chance at life." And Chance blinks out of this dimension.

I'm barely aware of my own body hitting the ground.