Emma stayed still on the ground, her heartbeat quickening. It wasn't from the constant popping of fireworks that might make her go deaf, but they were finally going to face the final endgame.

It still didn't feel right, and she knew what was missing.

If Esme had still been alive, she'd be dragging her all over the place and screaming at her. Jade would then freeze Esme's feet, planting her on plaza ground. However, that wasn't going to happen anymore.

She pressed the heel of her hand against her her cheek. She needed to grieve, but she had to focus on the final battle.

James and Jason were the exact same way, because neither had gotten the chance to grieve for someone they cared about.

Suddenly, she felt a pinch on her nose, causing her eyes to widen to look up at Will. "Got you," he teased. "You thought I was Bryce! I knew it!"

Will had been the one to give her a chocolate bar the day all of this started. He had told her that they were from adults and homework.

"We've never talked, and you've already had to deal with Mia's nonsense," he remarked.

Mia yelled at him over the fireworks, but he stuck out his tongue.

He lay across the cracked road, propping up one knee like this was some normal night instead of the hours before the battlefield.

"Plus, you've dealt with Eden," Will added, glancing across the cracked road. "She's basically Divina with some impulse control."

Emma didn't answer.

She watched Eden's eyes glowing at the sight of River nervously lighting the fireworks.

Emma assumed he thought she'd take the lighter and start burning stuff, but there wasn't much to burn anymore.

"Just wanted to be alone," Emma mumbled.

Will tapped his cheek in thought, seeming to be looking for an answer. "You're not saddened Emma, right? The girl Bryce said cried all the time."

When you miss someone who's gone, it's an awful feeling. Just like when her mom died, she felt the same hollowness and sadness over her passing.

"Esme and Jade died so..." she trailed off.

"Oh damn... I didn't know, sorry."

Nevaeh came walking over with her eyebrow raised. "Who knew you'd talk to Will?" she stated.

"She's dating Bryce, so I could help her with, like, uh..." Will trailed off, scratching his head.

He seemed lost.

"I mean, I could tell her funny stories. Okay—so one time, we were staying at this fancy hotel with a water park. Bryce was in front of me on the waterslide, so I pushed him down before diving face-first into a man's chest."

Bryce never told her any of those stories. He has said he's stayed in different hotels multiple times for fun since the hotel staff often passed him as an adult. Yet, there was apparently the odd time Eden would get violent with the staff.

"And that same night," Will continued, "he spit out chocolate milk all over Mia." He doubled over laughing.

Emma laughed softly, surprising herself.

The sound almost felt wrong with the explosions from the fireworks.

Will's stories, crazy as they were, had managed to pull her out of her spiral—only for a few seconds.

"He was so high once that he was acting like Mia. Tripping over suitcases and banging into doors just like she does," Will continued. "He really hates sleeping with thick sheets since they make him sweat. He even threw them at me after the water slide event," he added. "I'm sure you've never heard any of this because Bryce doesn't like us teasing him about it!"

Bryce whipped around from pestering Mia. He actually looked scared for a moment before slowly walking over and slapping Mia on the side of the head.

"See?" Will pointed out. "Bryce is a tease, but if you get under his skin, he hates having those memories brought up."

Bryce raised his eyebrows, looking between her and Will. She couldn't help but wonder why he seemed slightly nervous, with his lips pressed together.

"Oh, I know what he hates the most," Will said with a grin. "Truth or date night.Bryce had to kiss Mia."

Bryce immediately swore while Mia yelled across the road.

"We said we'd never talk about that!" Bryce snapped.

"They were drunk," Will said with a shrug. "Probably."

That's one thing Emma didn't expect Bryce to have done in his rambling stories with the crackheads. She had heard about him stealing, partying, trespassing, and even almost getting arrested multiple times.

"I've kissed Eden before too, so it's not that weird," Will added casually.

"Have you done that?" Nevaeh asked, letting the words hang.

Emma wasn't sure what Will meant. Eden's gaze made her hesitate.

"No, we're not that dirty."

"Well," Eden started, her innocent smile appearing. "It was a night with a lot of smoking pot and drinking alcohol, so it's only natural that wacky stuff happens."

Emma wasn't sure if she should take that as a good or bad thing. Most of the things that come out of Eden's mouth are the truth.

"Um, there aren't many fireworks left," River said awkwardly. "So, if you guys want to light some."

He held the lighter out.

Nevaeh walked toward Eden, who grabbed the lighter from River. Emma's gaze shifted up at Bryce, stranding right in front of her, his lips pressed in a thin line.

"Did I embarrass you enough?" Will laughed.

"Don't discuss what has happened between me and Mia," Bryce spat. "Now, go off and light a firework before Eden burns one of us."

Will dragged Mia away from the ground, her legs kicking out like a needy child. Emma turned her head to look at Bryce, who sighed and sat across from her.

"I knew Will would probably tell you, since I'm not proud of it. You know how whacky I was like them, so I'll tell you what else," he started. "Before Will and Mia started sleeping with each other, I unfortunately made out with her twice. I was going to wait to tell you, but Will seems to enjoy spilling some secrets. I barely remember the nights, but I do remember screaming at each other in the morning."

"You should have listened to me, lovesick fool!" Eden yelled at him.

Emma noticed the way they called Bryce lovesick. Mia's done it since the beginning, which she didn't notice until Eden started calling him a fool. It probably had to do that Eden didn't feel love, according to Bryce.

Bryce rested his hand over hers on the pavement.

"I just didn't want my crazy actions messing with your head," he admitted.

Emma glanced down at their hands before shrugging lightly.

"You already told me a lot of crazy stories for me to expect things like that."

He had opened up to her about his past, including the Walmart incident and other times when he had stolen things from those house parties. He never sugarcoated anything, even when explaining about the drug house parties.

As she looked up at him, he placed his palm on her forehead. "Don't worry, I'm not going to pressure you into anything," he stated. "I'm not like Mia and Will, who cheat with each other constantly."

Emma flushed red, but this wasn't just like hearing about Scarlett and Greyson's incident. This time, she didn't let it get to her because it was only making out.

Bryce studied her expression for a moment before huffing a quiet laugh.

"A few months ago, you would've cried about hearing all of that."

Emma instinctively moved to chew her lip before stopping herself halfway.

"Still anxious, though," he pointed out."And you still chew your lip in that cute way."

Mark walked past them, glancing over briefly. "You've gotten better at handling things."

Was it true?

Emma befriended people she would have imagined becoming friends with, and she learned not to trust people blindly. People had saved her from her immense breakdown that could have ended her life.

She looked down at her hands.

Maybe he was right.

"And old Emma would have fainted from exhaustion, since she's terrible at self-care," Bryce added with a cheeky grin, pulling back from her face. "Just like River, you learned to trust people, even after derailing."

River had learned that you can find love in friends whom you consider family. That's how the crackheads were, along with her friendship with those around her she considered close.

"Looks like we've got to go back," Will called out. "Freaks are gathering around Zane and Cassandra."

Was it really that time already? It all seemed so quickly that she didn't expect.

They used the last of the sparklers on the drive back, tiny bursts of lights flickering against empty abandoned buildings and broken streets.

Emma stayed quiet, but she had overwhelming thoughts running through her head.

Who's going to help on the battlefield?

What tricks will Ashley pull?

Did Esme or Jade die first?

When they got back, all the crackheads went running, voices overlapping in the distance.

Emma lowered herself into a lawn chair near the dying fire, not answering anyone who passed by.

The noise blurred around her.

Esme and Jade kept slipping into her thoughts like fragments she couldn't hold onto.

Esme loudly dragging everyone into her chaos even when nobody moved to move.

Jade rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Esme's behaviour.

Their voices used to fill the silence around her. Now the silence felt wrong.

She pressed her fingers against her eyes until the pressure helped her steady her breathing.

Not now.

Not before the fight.

"Emma."

The sound of her name startled her, making her jolt up. She wiped her eyes and saw Greyson standing near her.

When was the last time they had been alone like this?

In her mind, it felt like ages ago. There was always someone else in the background, listening to their conversations.

It popped into her head of the last time they were completely alone. It was when she ended it with him, and he said to make sure not to switch sides.

That would mean it has been about ten months since they had a true conversation alone.

"I don't know any other information," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "We just have to distract Ashley until Divina and Cassandra get enough powers."

Greyson wasn't someone she wanted to talk to right now, especially after everything that happened. She assumed it probably just had to do with something related to Ashley or Divina.

"Did someone die?" he blurted, catching her off guard.

Emma hesitated for a second.

The air was awkward enough that she noticed it herself. It had always been that way between them, gut it wasn't until after her breakup that she truly began to notice it.

For a moment, Esme's voice and Jade's expression flickered through her mind.

"Jade and Esme," she said quietly.

Greyson seemed surprised, which had been her exact response at first.

How was it possible for Ashley to get Esme? Did she fall?

There were so many unanswered questions, but Cassandra, Divina, and Ashley would be the only ones who knew.

"Listen," he started. "There's something that I should have said before."

Emma looked at him in confusion. Most of their conversations used to revolve around orders, missions, or small compliments.

"The relationship was supposed to be about your healing abilities," he admitted, avoiding her gaze for a moment. "At least at first."

Emma stayed silent.

Greyson rubbed the back of his neck before speaking again.

"I did care about you some," he muttered.

Emma stared at him for a moment, unable to speak.

Months ago, Cindy told her no feelings were attached. Most of the time, they had only hung around each other in awkward silence.

"Sorry for treating you poorly as a person," he whispered.

Emma froze, her chest tightening. His voice, so quiet and unfamiliar in its honesty, tugged at memories she hadn't thought about in months.

She blinked, tears prickling her eyes, and swallowed hard before they spilled. Her hands trembled as she lifted them to her face, trying to steady herself. A flood of emotions—shock, sadness, confusion, and something that almost felt like hope—washed over her all at once.

"It's... it's okay," she whispered, voice shaky. "I forgave you. I just... didn't think I'd ever see this side of you."

"Yeah, just trying to express my feelings. This doesn't mean I want to be with you or anything," he implied. "It's just... change."

Emma didn't believe this day would come. She never imagined that Greyson could change. She had expected it when he was older, but it still left her mind in disarray.

"I think we have the announcement now," she said awkwardly.

Greyson nodded once.

For a second neither of them moved.

Then he turned first and walked in the opposite direction.

Emma watched him go, just for a moment, before forcing herself to turn away and follow the others toward the announcement.

For the longest time, it felt like she was chasing him up a hill she could never reach.

At one point, she slowly walked away, eventually falling down that hill into despair.

Now, instead of chasing him like she had been since the beginning, she felt she could let go of that pain. No more running, even if it's rare in life to get closure from someone who broke you.

She knew she could do this because of the people around her. Those who picked her up off the ground when she could barely stand without tears sliding down her cheeks. If she didn't have those people, she still might be sitting in a hole of despair.

"I did it, Esme and Jade; I stopped chasing him," she murmured, wiping her cheeks of tears. "Thanks for giving me the strength and the fun memories, you two."

They sat in a circle around the flickering fire as Cassandra stood with the freaks. The others from the plaza had made it back, some lingering to discuss the final stage.

"Ashley doesn't have any powers left, while Divina is chasing her down. However, this is supposed to take place in the plaza. Divina and I need time to link our powers, which means the Freaks have to defend against whatever she uses," Cassandra started.

She scanned the crowd.

"I can't control most of the land, but I'd be taking power away when I join with Divina. Everyone can play apart, including non-freaks. Use whatever we have, but we need plans of locations people will go, since I know Jason and my father's power are an asset to harming Ashley."

Zane scanned the group quickly, sorting them in his head like a broken roster.

Will and Cindy were still useful for locating targets—tracking movement, spotting ambushes, anything that needed awareness. Angel, James, Conner, and Preston were ones who could hold the line if things get violent.

Emma was strictly support now; she could heal, but not fight. Scarlett and River were I n the same category.

Mallory and Bryce were unpredictable but could be used as a distraction or disruption if things went wrong.

Eden could help, especially if she was back to her old behaviour.

"I recommend we have Angel, Eden, and James engage them, while others remain in different areas of the plaza," Zane said.

Eden's immediately raised her hand, wearing an innocent smile. "I'm using weapons more than my powers," she said.

Zane contemplated her words, knowing Eden's power was primarily like hypnosis, but he wasn't sure how that could last. If she had the capacity to burn down a school, then there was no way he could allow her to remain on the sidelines.

"We need to do everything in our power to avoid death, especially since we have been losing people to Ashley's harm," Cassandra grated, clutching her hands in fists. "I'm not going to let that thing kill any more of you. We'll win this fight."

People went separate ways to talk as Zane watched Cassandra chew her pinkie nail.

"When are we going?" Conner asked, having his hand in his sweatpants pocket.

"The first five will be the ones leaving first, it seems," Zane said.

Just then, Mia stumbled back to the edge of the group, breaking the tense silence with a careless laugh.

"You really sending Eden away so she doesn't burn the whole place down like Ashley?" she asked.

Zane didn't answer immediately.

"I sent her away more for her destructive nature," he explained with a sigh.

"I can't believe that saint was as bad as you, Mia," Yara said.

Mia shrugged nonchalantly. "I just sell drugs, and Bryce always says my mind lives in space. Eden yells at me a lot because she always wants to be in charge."

"How can you even get drugs?" Yara asked.

"Because I'm hot," Mia said, sticking out her tongue with a mischievous grin. "Isn't that the obvious answer? I'm not some street crackhead begging for drugs on the corner."

"She used to rely on revealing clothes just to get by," Bryce snorted.

Zane felt a sick twist in his stomach at Bryce's words. He didn't want to imagine a girl in nothing but revealing clothes, buying drugs from much older adults.

"You think I'd get attacked, but that's what Eden and the boys are for," Mia said.

One thing Zane knew when he put this group together was they worked well in a chaotic way. Although they had the tendency to slack off and probably all burned down Uden Academy, they had a talent for posing a distraction.

"We have to focus on what's happening now," Zane stated.

Zane tried to think over this situation. He knew the real battle wouldn't occur until Divina and Cassandra combined their powers. Until then, most of them were being sidelined, forced to deal with whatever plan Ashley created.

"We have to bring Emma, because she might still have that second power," Zane stated. "We have the first out, but we have to move quickly if this is really starting."

He didn't expect it all to happen this quickly. Would they actually leave this horrid place? If so, what happens next? How many court sessions are they expecting, especially because laws were still in order?

"So, are we sending people while Cassandra and Divina get ready for their power to kill Ashley?" Conner asked bitterly.

Zane wasn't sure if they were lying about dying, but it did mean that Bella's body would disappears. This place has been filled with death. Somehow, those he expected to walk out with didn't survive.

"We will all be arrested or charged when we get out of here," Conner muttered.

Would they be blamed for Ashley and Divina's crimes? They didn't have much proof other than some pictures from phones that died ages ago. The government probably won't do much other than charge them for the destruction of the whole town.

Zane looked around as Mark approached him. He held up a rifle in his hand, with James and Nevaeh by his side.

"The second group will be preparing with him and Will," Mark pointed at Conner.

They had an underground plan for a sneak attack. However, Will may help but Zane didn't know the boy very well. Half the time, he was running around with Mia or yelling at Bryce.

"Let's hope this goes well," Zane said firmly. Conner walked away with the group as Zane turned to Yara. "We'll have Cindy bop Scarlett and Emma, while River and Nevaeh go with a few others. Nelson actually wants to help."

"That's surprising, considering he hasn't done much," Yara gasped.

Nelson hadn't done much since the beginning of running Party Culture or Burger King before they were both destroyed by the wind during the storm. He was now often a farmer, helping to grow crops with the seeds they found around.

Yara looked around as everyone was loading up to fight, regardless whether they were freaks or not. As Zane knew, Cassandra was going to locate Divina, and the others were just gearing up.

"The final endgame is about to begin," he said.

It will be a battle between life and death because, nobody knows what Ashley will do, especially Cassandra.

Greyson drove along the dark road, headlights cutting through the smoke and shadows. Eden lounged comfortably in the passenger seat, legs on the dashboard, gun resting across her lap. A sly smirk tugged at her lips.

"I do something eventful with your housewife, and now I get the honour of the soldier," she said.

She cast a glance towards the backseat where Jason and Angel were seated. "I don't think we're blowing up cars," Jason said dryly. "And I'm not in the mood to get drugged today either."

Eden's grin widened. "It was quite fun setting Uden on fire. We saw a cop and blamed Ashley. They can't pin it on us when they didn't see a thing."

There was nothing the police could put blame on for burning down Uden Academy. After all, Ashley had already created chaos, so they'd get away with that crime easily.

"I think there were still hidden fireworks to light, according to Highlighter," Eden suggested mischievously.

"That thing will probably give us walking trees," Greyson said. "That means Eden will be shooting off the fireworks."

Jason opened his mouth. "Don't you think—"

"No," Eden snapped. "I'm causing the one causing destruction here. You've seen me slam Luke with a golf club. You've heard about the housewife. Let me have fun before they throw me in jail."

Deep down, the knew she was going to jail, even if it wasn't for this whole event. The police will probably start digging into their pasts and actually arrest them for crimes they committed.

"Is your Jesus behaviour a facade then?" Jason shot back.

Eden smirked deviously. "It's always been a facade."

Jason narrowed his eyes at her. "Figures."

Eden smiled. "Playing the innocent card works better than breaking bones."

"You drugged people," Jason said.

"Gets them to shut up."

She had studied characters through teenage dramas, watching the different personalities like those in this bubble. She watched those who had thought they were smart or always wanted to be a superhero, but that wouldn't do. So, she had to think outside the box when she walked by a religious group classroom and saw them reading bible verses.

Violence was simple to Eden because it didn't ask questions. It gave results. People stopped talking. People moved. People learned.

That was enough.

She didn't think of it as cruelty—just correction that happened faster than explanation.

Greyson's said dryly, "You attempted to push a vending machine on Luke."

She hated Luke as much as he hated her. Their rivalry deepened after he had shoved her down one of the side staircases. Spotting a vending machine in the hall, she decided to push it on him during one of their conflicts. He managed to dodge it, but they both ended up in detention.

"Half the time we were high or partying, since we didn't normally do events on campus. The headmistress always got pissed," she sighed. "Scarlett used to say my head is as messed up as Luke's, and she might be right."

The first time she fought him, it was her first week of being at Uden, and the hall had been crowded. She bumped Luke against the wall, which caused him to push her hard to the ground. In the fight, she ended up with a broken nose and black eyes.

"I was taught to fight, so it doesn't matter to me," Eden said. "And where's my thank you, soldier? Did I not do you a favour?"

Jason furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?" he asked.

"Sending your housewife to reform when she was alive," Eden remarked with a sly smirk. "You're lucky Bryce knew where the drug house was, or you would have never gotten that letter. I did cure her controlling behaviour, didn't I? You're probably pissed because I knew about the host situation, which I figured out the second I found out."

It was easy to figure out based on her guilt she held but never confronted. It wasn't that she was playing her as a pawn, even if that was her overall intention. It was a way to exploit the truth while gaining some information on the side.

"I don't care if I didn't do much in the beginning, but I got to prove my correction points. After all, drugging is fine when you get a point across," she implied with a grin.

Drugging has always been a means of control. In Sanguine, it was used to manipulate people in to giving money or carrying out murder.

"I don't have go pretend anymore," Eden said. "That's the best part."

Greyson abruptly stopped near the town and got out, walking ahead.

She looked through the car window, her eyes locked on the area filled with chaos and destruction.

The place was empty—burned houses and collapsed buildings lined the streets.

It looked like someone had taken a blowtorch and torched the whole town with it.

"I don't see them," Jason said.

Eden opened the car door, gun held at her side. She felt like a character from a James Bond move, something she used to watch with the crackheads when they were high.

"There," Greyson pointed out.

Eden saw the creature from the corner of her eye. Ashley moved slowly, scanning her surroundings with her head darting back and forth. She may not have the power to control the earth, but she couldn't still pose a threat in other ways.

"Wait, what's that?" Angel whispered from the line they crouched in.

Ashley moved at the edge of the street, her silhouette jerking as she dragged something heavy behind her. Metal scraped against asphalt, loud in the empty town.

"Those are missiles," Jason said.

No one corrected him.

Eden followed his gaze.

Greyson studied the street. "We need to stop her means before she uses them."

Eden tilted her head. "Or we make her use them badly."

Jason shot her a look. "That's not a plan."

"It's a distraction," she said.

Greyson exhaled once. "Eden—light?"

She held it up without looking.

"Jason and I take the missiles," Greyson said. "You and Angel pull her attention off them."

"And if it doesn't work," Jason said, "we adjust."

Eden didn't respond right away.

She turned the lighter over once in her hand.

Click.

No flame.

"Yeah," Eden finally said with a smirk. "We adjust."

Old Eden is revealing more of herself and Greyson finally apologized to Emma.

What do you think Ashley wants to do with those missiles?