The world shook and trembled. Cracks formed in the sky as if it was a gigantic glass globe. The world around them fell apart then faded away, only for a very similar setting, though darker, to replace it.

What on earth is Aruna doing?

Destan glanced around, trying to find out the reason for this disruption. The Inops screamed and shouted and clung to one another, as if the world was ending. The tribers, though less terrified, weren't much more comfortable, backing away and keeping their atraments at the ready.

This wasn't something they'd planned beforehand, and Destan couldn't think of a reason for Aruna to scare everyone this way. Why would she give them control over their bodies back, before he'd managed to fully convince them to stop fighting?

As the world calmed down, Destan spotted a figure lying on the ground next to the stream a few yards away. His heart skipped a beat.

Oh no.

"Attack!"

Battle cries sounded from all around him. Now that the people had their free will back, and not enough time to change their mind about the war, they did as their leaders commanded. Shots went off and the air sparked, clanged and whooshed as weapons of all kinds filled the silence of the night.

Without thinking, Destan pushed through the advancing tribe crowd and sprinted towards the figure, kneeling down on the ground next to his trainer.

"Aruna..."

She coughed, a trickle of blood seeping out of the corner of her mouth. It ran down the side of her neck to join the rapidly growing crimson pool underneath her.

"D... I-I..."

"Oh no... No!"

Scanning her body for injuries, he found blood bubbling up in the middle of her chest, right below a trembling hand. His breath caught in his throat and an inexplicable pain pulsed through his own chest as he took in the damage.

Scrap! What do I do, what do I do?

"Help!" he shouted to the crowd behind him. "Somebody help her!"

Nobody listened, all too busy with their own survival, their own hatred and revenge, to come to anyone else's aid.

He pushed his hands on the wound to try and stem the bleeding, but it just seeped past his palms. There was nothing he could do. If only Remus was here.

"Aruna..."

"Em-mily," she sputtered, grasping his hand. "'M so-s-ry..."

She gasped, her eyes widening a fraction before they shut forever. One last breath escaped her lips as she fell back limply.

"No! Don't leave me!" Tears burned in his eyes. His trainer, the only person who believed in him for over a decade, the only one to have talked to him and encourage him, had left this world. The only triber willing to stand up when the rest did nothing but wage war. His only ally on the tribe's side, and now she was gone.

A scream bubbled up inside his throat, forcing its way out. But it was stopped in its path when something metal scraped the top of his head.

"Well, look at that," Nero hissed, a smirk on his face complementing the mad twinkle in his eyes.

His mind still with Aruna, he wondered vaguely where the boy had suddenly come from. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Destan registered the high-pitched scream of a little girl over all the other noise of the people fighting behind him.

"I guess you're not the first to die after all," said Nero, tightening his grip on the gun.

Turning his head away in a reflex, Destan spotted his little sister waving her arms in a wild gesture, eyes wide with shock at what her adoptive brother was doing.

Well, he couldn't help but think to himself, if I'm going to die, I'm happy I got to see Julia one more time.

"I'm glad I decided to go out looking for you before joining the battle. I knew you were up to something. It doesn't matter. I've got you now."

All the muscles in his body tensed when a sound like a bomb going off assaulted his eardrums. The moment seemed to last forever, as he waited for the pain to spread through his body like poison.

It never came.

For a split, confused second Destan wondered if he was already dead. After all, there was no pain in death, right? How else was it possible that he didn't feel the pain of the bullet ripping through his head?

Then he heard the thud. Turning his head, he found Nero crumpled to the ground several feet away, gun slipped out of his grip.

Frowning in surprise, he searched the crowd for his saviour. Everyone was still fighting, completely in their own world and oblivious to the struggle further down the stream. The only one paying attention to him was the little girl in the white dress with her hands still outstretched as if frozen in place.

Julia... But... Julia?

Destan looked down at his own, bloodstained hands, as if to confirm that he hadn't used his powers himself. He looked up to see Julia do the same.

"What... Did you...?"

"I don't... I don't know," Julia squeaked.

"I'll kill you both!"

Destan jumped as Nero hollered with rage. He sent all the power he could muster to his atraments, but it was already too late. Nero had picked up the gun and pointed it straight at Destan's heart. He watched as if in slow-motion as Nero pulled the trigger and another deafening crack snapped through the air.

This time, the long-expected pain tore through his shoulder. It would've been right in his heart, if the bullet hadn't changed its course mid-flight. The gun flew out of Nero's grip and flung into the air out of sight. The next moment, a large metal sheet knocked into him, sending Nero flying straight into the stream.

Grimacing, Destan clutched his shoulder. Julia came running towards him, along with someone else.

"Keara?"

A wall of metal behind her, she kneeled down beside him. "Are you alright?" she asked frantically. "I'm sorry, I wasn't quick enough. I couldn't stop the bullet. I'm so sorry, I..."

"Keara! It's okay."

"No. No, it's not." Her cheeks turned crimson as she buried her face in her hands. "You were right," she whispered. "You were so, so right. They're the same as us. Just as vile, just as savage... But also just as loving and heroic. Ruul, he... He died trying to get people to understand that. And I went and fought them anyway."

For a split second, the corners of his lips tugged upward. His only friend had come back to him. Despite everything else, a single spark of light had come back into his life. It was enough to give him the strength to push himself to his feet. On the other side of the metal barrier, screams and cries mixed with gunshots, thuds and cracks of lightning. With Aruna's body at his feet, the darkness soon overwhelmed the spark of light once more.

Clutching his shoulder in an attempt to stop it from stinging like hell, he said, "Keara... What do we do now?"

She turned around hesitantly. "We have to stop them. Ruul and Aruna can't have died for nothing. Whatever it takes, we have to stop the fighting."

"Keara, they're at war. How are we meant to stop them?"

"With teamwork."

Keara looked around in surprise when someone answered the question for her. Destan turned to find his grandfather coming out of the forest, leaning heavily on his cane.

"Destan, my dear boy..." Remus sighed. He kneeled down next to Aruna and stroked her hair back in an affectionate way. "There is much to be said, but right this moment we have a war to stop."

"I already tried," said Destan, gesturing with his good arm at the body of his mentor. "Look what happened! I fail at everything I do, and now I'm bringing down others with me. Aruna, she... It's all my fault!"

His voice cracked and fresh tears welled up in his eyes as he looked down at the lifeless woman who used to be his trainer. The one who tried to help him when nobody else would. The wound on his shoulder stung when a sob made his body shake violently.

"I know," said Remus.

Destan had already opened his mouth to argue when his grandfather's words sunk in. "What?"

"I know," he repeated. "It's my fault, too. If I'd been here sooner... I know how you feel."

Destan stared at the ground to hide the tears from his Chief.

"Let me heal that for you," said the old man, stepping forward.

He had to hold his breath to keep the sobs in, but he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks as his granddad lay his hands over the wound. It was stupid, he knew that, there was no time for this. They had to focus on stopping those people out there from murdering one another. But it suddenly seemed so much less important now. Destan wanted to just go home, curl up on his bed and forget about everything else for a while. He wanted to just...

A small hand on his arm interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Julia looking up at him with worry in her eyes.

"I'm sorry about the nice lady," she said. "I'm sorry my brother hurt you."

Unable to stop the tears from flowing freely, Destan pulled his sister into a hug. Her shoulders tensed for a moment, then relaxed. "I'm sorry you had to live with him for so long." He let go and held her at arm's length, looking down at her. "You saved me, Julia. How did you do that?"

"I mean... It was sort of by accident... I've known for a while I could pick things up just by pointing at them, but I've never really practiced or anything."

His eyes widened at her words. Pick things up by pointing at them... She has powers. The same as mine! "She has no atraments and yet she has magic," he said, his eyes fixing on his grandfather.

"It seems that way," said the Chief, the lines on his wrinkled face deepening. "There's a lot to talk about. But first, you three need to stop this war."