(The song at the top is something I listened to while writing, so I thought it suited the chapter well)

Aiden's POV

"Petra!" Jesse exclaimed as she and the rest of us rushed over to her. Katcha followed behind me.

"No," I whispered, "It can't be."

Petra laid on the ground with her arms and legs sprawled around her. Her breathing was short and inconsistent as she struggled to hold her eyes open.

"Petra? Petra! S-stay with me..." Jesse said on the brink of tears as she knelt down beside her. Petra tried to say something, but all that came out was an incoherent garble of sounds.

"Je... Jesse..." she finally managed to get out, then struggled to catch her breath.

"Katcha," I whispered as I turned around, "Can you save her? Please?"

"I'm sorry," Katcha said solemnly, "That isn't my place. You are what I protect, Aiden. Not Petra."

I nodded and turned back to Petra. Tears began to burn my eyes, knowing that this might be the last time I'd ever see her face. Hear her voice. Know that she's okay. My heart sank at the thought.

"Tell her, Aiden," Katcha said sternly.

"Tell her what?" I asked.

"You love her. Tell her. Now."

I knelt next to her, every second feeling like it mattered. I could practically hear the ticking of a clock inside my head.

"Come on, Aiden. You can do it," Katcha said.

"Petra... I..." I began. I had to fight through the lump in my throat just to get the words out.

"I love you."

She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"Really?" she asked weakly.

She couldn't say any more than that; her eyes fell shut and her head tilted back. Her mouth opened slightly and she exhaled deeply and smoothly. 

A small flame came out of her and gently fluttered away.

Lukas reached down and touched her chest. He waited a second, then his face fell and he shook his head, pulling away slowly.

"She's gone," he said.

"But, this is a dream, right?" Maya asked, "She's gonna be okay, right?"

"I don't know," Jesse said.

Lukas's POV

"I need a minute," I said softly as I got up and started walking away.

I climbed over the wall that Erin was knocked over to see if she was still over there. I felt completely numb.

"Lukas?" someone called. Erin got up weakly from the ground.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't get anything out without crying. I sank to the ground and covered my face, trying to hold back tears.

"Lukas!" she said again and ran over to me. She sank with me and wrapped her arms around my body.

"I am so sorry," she said quietly, "This is... this is all my fault."

I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Erin looked reluctant, but then said.

"You know back when you were first meeting Eva and she said that the 'thing' of that world was how when you sacrificed yourself for someone else you are restored, something like that?"

I nodded.

"Well," Erin paused and took a breath, then brushed some pink hair away from her face, "That isn't true. That was me. I saved your friend." She held out her hands and looked down at them. "It's this... power that I have."

"Why didn't she say so?" I asked.

"She was just covering for me. I don't want people knowing about it."

"But your powers are amazing," I said. 

"You don't understand," she said as she shook her head, "People knowing about my power can lead to...bad things. Petra. It gets people involved in magic too powerful for them."

I got an idea. I stood excitedly and asked, "Wait, you have powers that can bring people back to life! Petra! You could use them and... and she'll be okay!"

"That isn't... it doesn't work like that," Erin said, "Eva had turned Petra into a..." She stopped talking.

"What?" I asked.

"Something too powerful for my abilities to work," she finished quickly, "It's just complicated. But I will tell you that Eva, well, she's my sister. Adopted sister, but still a sister."

"And that's how you knew about it," I said, "About Jesse needing saving."

"Right."

"So, you can't save Petra, huh?" I asked sadly.

"I'm really sorry. I wish I could... but... but I just can't." 

She looked at me, her green eyes filled with sorrow.

"Oh," is all I said. I sat back down, "So, is Melody your sister too?"

"Unfortunately, yes," she said, appearing as if she was about to cry, "That girl is just... she's just lost. She's a sheep, lost in a forest, naïve and gullible. If only I could just, just show her that it doesn't have to be like that. But it's too late now. She's gone. There's already a barrier between her and all theuniverses." 

"I guess we've all lost something tonight," I said. Erin didn't respond.

"How're you doing?" I asked.

"I'd like to say that I'm fine, but I'm really not." she said, "I know that Mel is supposed to be evil and all, but she's still my little sister, and I love her."

"Even after everything she's done?" I asked. Erin sighed.

"Sometimes you have to love people no matter how bad they are." She paused, then continued, "I think that's what she really wanted."

"Love?"

"Yeah. She grew up all her life just wanting to make Dad proud of her. She went insane, just looking for someone to love her in return."

"What about you?" I asked, "Didn't you love her?"

"Sometimes, Lukas, people don't realize how badly they want something, so they refuse it. She didn't like me much anyway."

Another question came to mind.

"So, what is this place, anyway?"

Erin thought about it, then replied,

"It's a little more than a dream."

"So... I'm dreaming?" I asked.

"Not exactly," she said, "Like I said, it's complicated. It's where Mel has been trying to get you to be from her first nightmare. The more she got into your dreams, the more control she had over you."

"I guess that makes sense," I said, thinking it over, "In my first dream, she was hardly in it at all, but now, I'm not even sure if I'm in reality anymore. Will we ever leave here?"

"Don't worry, you'll wake up soon now that Melody's out of here."

"So, she's gone for good, right?" I asked.

"I can't say she is; but I can say that she won't be bothering you any longer. The thing about... our type... is that we're immortal. We can be cast out of a realm, though. She still has the abilities to travel into your mind, but that's it. No magic powers, no nightmares, just her. There's a barrier."

"I wish I could say the same for Petra," I said softly, "I'm gonna really miss her." 

Erin glanced into my eyes, but then looked away.

"She'll be back. Someday," she said.

"I hope you're right, but for now she's just... gone. I think you would have liked her, Erin."

"I think I would have too."

I thought back to all the fun memories of our adventures as the Order of the Stone.

"I remember," I began, "there was this time when we were training for our fighting, and she and Jesse were trying to do the 'Warier Whip.' They fell over each other so many times." I chuckled a little, "There's so much we've all done together. I wish I could have shown you."

I wasn't entirely sure how I was able to laugh now, but it was nice remembering the times we've had with Petra. Something in me was still hurting, though.

"It's also funny to think that she's the one that I had my first kiss with." I said.

"Oh, really?" Erin said, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, it was kind of scary at the time because there was this thing called The Phantom that came in and kept forcing us to do stuff, but I think he's taken care of now, though."

"Wait, what? The Phantom? You met The Phantom?" Erin asked, concern spilling from her tone.

"Yeah, " I said.

Erin shook her head.

"Oh, no, this is bad. He put a curse on you, didn't he?" she said.

"I'm not allowed to say..."

"Ugh, that creep! Why does he have to mess with everyone?!" she exclaimed. She realized that she was almost shouting and quieted down. "He's not taken care of, he never is. Nightmelody, Fire Queen, curses, what is wrong with him?"

"How do you know about him?" I asked.

"He's, well, never mind that. He's just, I mean, I've had interactions with him before."

"What ever happened to 'you have to love people no matter how bad they are?'"

Erin scoffed.

"I try. But some people are harder to love than others," she said. I smiled sympathetically.

"Hey, I think you'll be waking up soon," she said.

"I should get back to the others; they might be wondering where I went," I said.

"Go ahead."

I stood up shakily and started off. As I approached the top of the hill, I looked back at Erin.

"Thanks," I said. She smiled.

"For what?"

"This kind of got my mind off things for a little while, and, well, I needed that. So, thank you."

"Anytime. I'll be back tomorrow, and hopefully Mel will have something to say for herself tomorrow night."

"Oh, uh, one last thing," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure there's absolutely no way for Petra to come back?" I asked.

"I wouldn't think too much of it," she replied, "but I always like to have a little bit of hope. You never know."

I nodded and walked back down to my friends. They were all still sitting around Petra, but by now they all just looked tired and red-eyed.

"Where were you, Lukas?" Maya asked.

"I was checking to see if Erin was okay," I said, "How are you doing?"

"I think you know," she said. I nodded.

"Yeah."

"So, I guess this is goodbye," Jesse said softly.

"For now," I said, "You just never know."

She looked up at me with tears shining in her eyes, but a slight smiled spread across her lips.

...

Petra's POV

I opened my eyes in a dark place. The rest of me felt numb. The air had no scent and around me in the darkness were other people laying limply. Everything around me felt gloomy and dead, but there was one thing that I knew.

I wasn't gone.