In the blue-purple-black of twilight, in that moment when the sun dies and the moon is reborn and the stars spark to life, deep in the mountain ranges of Solaire are four silhouettes darting through a temple.

Looming shadows twist and turn and creep out of corners to entangle with their own, their footsteps echoing and rebounding off the crumbling stone walls, draped in twisting vines and covered in grey-green moss and lichen. The columns on either side of them tower at least two floors high, and on the walls are remnants of torches once-lit still in their sconces. Originally, this would've been a high-ceilinged, narrow corridor – an entrance hall, perhaps – but now the ceiling is gone and open to a star-spangled sky, and most of the columns are leaning and about to tip over, or already rubble and debris.

They do not bother to be silent – stealth has no use here, not anymore, not when there's only one path and anyone after them with the same knowledge will know that's where they'll be heading.

All they can do is run through the temple as fast as possible and pray they'll get to their destination before their enemies do.

"Anya said it's at the back, right?" Allioni yells over his shoulder, and Chia nods, curls flying in the wind.

"Keep going straight! We should be able to get to it that way," she pants out, "as long as there aren't any – woah!" she yelps as the stone underfoot crumbles way to open space and blackness below, and for one breadth of a second she's falling before Tam manages to yank her back – she trips, stumbles, flails a little with her arms windmilling, then skirts around the hole and continues running like nothing happened. "As long as there aren't any debris," she wheezes, "or things like giant holes from weakened structure. Jinx," she adds, and to Tam: "Thanks."

"That," Allioni start, stops, continues, "was such extremely bad luck it is, frankly, ridiculous."

"Yeah, well –" she winces, "we do have pretty bad luck. But point being, we might wanna be careful. Also, hurry, because I think I hear plane engines and I'm not sure how far back the altar is."

A pause, during which there is nothing but the sound of feet against stone and ragged breaths, and, in the far-off distance, a distinct buzz, gradually growing louder.

Tam curses. "They must have sent for reinforcements. Come on – we saw the temple from the sky, and while it's big, it can't go on forever. If we keep on cutting a straight path and pour on the speed –"

"– you should be able to reach it before anyone else is what you're thinking, isn't it?" a voice interrupts.

And then they're out of the once-corridor and skidding to a stop in what must've once been a courtyard, walled-in, the remnants of well-kept bushes and trees at the edges, now nothing more than scraggly plants on the verge of withering and desperate for water. Here, the building is two stories high, a balcony with most of its railing gone looking down on them from all sides.

And directly in front of them –

"Too bad," Argus Arcturus Landfel says, that same oily smile on his face once again, "but it looks like we got here before you."

A pause. The four of them trade glances.

We need to get past him.

Kaya steps forward, hands beginning to glow as Aehra sings through her veins –

"And next," Argus continues, "you'll be thinking that as long as you can distract me long enough, you should be able to get past me, right? Once again, too bad," and his smile widens into a predatory grin, "but I've got that covered too."

Glints of moonlight against metal barrels, several distinct clicks and Tam's eyes widen –

"Scatter!" he yells.

"Holy sh –" Chia yelps as the four of them split and scramble in different directions, diving behind pillars just before gunfire fills the air and bullets ping off stone, continuing for several seconds before stopping.

Kaya risks a peek from her hiding spot to see Argus holding his hand up – an order to stop – before he begins to head towards the nearest pillar, his stance calm and steps slow, as if he has all the time in the world. He isn't even bothering to be cautious about it – but then again, why would he need to be? Even if they did ambush him, the most they could do is slow him down for a few moments, which would in turn leave them open to gunfire from his men.

They're stuck.

And he knows it.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" His voice is mocking, condescending, a message: you can run, but you can't hide.

She ducks down behind the pillar, darts a look to the pile of rubble and debris a few paces to her left when she hears a quiet curse and finds herself locking eyes with Tam, Chia right next to him.

"We're running out of time," she mouths the words in a barely-whisper. "Plan? And where's Allioni?"

Tam shakes his head. "Must have gone in the opposite direction – he'll be fine as long as we act fast. Use Aehra as a flashbang on my count and run – we'll handle the rest." Beside him, Chia gives a rapid nod before holding up a bundle of fireworks and a single match.

"We're blowing him up," she says, sounding a bit too excited at the prospect.

Regardless, Kaya's stuck with them for a long time, and they've always pulled through one way or another – and so, as Tam raises his hand and readies the countdown, she nods and pulls Aehra to the surface and channels brightburningblindinglight into it, and, winding it back, tight as a spring, prepares it for release –

Three...

Two...

One...

Zero.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she lets go.

There is no sound, no bang or boom or whisper or torrent of voices – simply blinding, all-consuming white light, bright searing red even behind her closed eyelids (she can only imagine how it feels for those who were caught unawares) – all of this in the span of a second that stretches into an eternity, before, just as suddenly as it came, the light disappears.

And then –

Shouts –

The strike of a match –

"Go!"

And, scrambling to her feet, Kaya opens her eyes to see Chia tearing off across the courtyard to lob the sticks of lit and tied together fireworks right at Argus's face with a shout.

Sparks, burning away the fuse, almost reaching the gunpowder now –

And then she blinks, and –

There is no explosion. Instead there is a gasp, and feet kicking at empty air, a hand closed around Chia's neck as Argus says, a smirk in his voice: "Really, now? Did you think your petty tricks could stop me?" And then, turning to the shadows of the courtyard, incidentally facing Kaya without noticing it, he calls out: "Oh, Star? I've got your friend here – so unless you want her to die –" his grip tightens and Chia makes a choked, gagging noise, "– I'd suggest you come out."

Kaya freezes, Aehra still thrumming in her veins, her heartbeat resounding through her body and everything is too loud too fast she can't breathe –

There is a shout from the other end of the courtyard and then Allioni is charging at him, and beside Kaya Tam is cursing under his breath and getting up too. Then, in the momentary distraction, Chia pulls a knife out – covered in glitter and stickers and doodles (she must've gotten bored on the airship) – and she stabs Argus in the hand with a spurt of blood –

With a grunt, he drops her – probably more out of surprise and shock than pain – but before she can reposition herself, he's already kicked her hard in the ribs, enough that she flies halfway across the area before crashing into a stone column with a cry. "Well?" Argus calls out, an eyebrow raised, the wound on his hand already closing. "How about now?"

And Kaya knows – Kaya knows that this is exactly what he wants, that the smartest thing to do would be to get up and run to the back of the temple while Argus is distracted. And yet, watching as Allioni is flung off easily despite an attempt to tackle Argus, and how Tam, pocketknife out (likely borrowed from Chia) and aiming at what must probably be an artery doesn't even get close before being thrown into a nearby pile of rubble and debris –

She can't.

These are her friends.

And so again she locks on and tangles her hands around the roots of the power and summons, launching off in a burst of speed and from her hands, shaping out a ball of light, compressing fury and rage and fear and worry and her maelstrom of emotions into it –

And, in a fiery scythe, a blindingly bright cutting blade that leaves scorch marks on the floor and slices through everything with as much fire and heat as sharpness, she lets go, crashing right into Argus a moment later, and all the while she is burning burning burning, burning with the heat of a thousand suns –

She can feel it, the way her own skin bubbles and blisters only to be soothed over by the cooling feel from the healing part of Aehra a moment later. And Stars, but it hurts so bad, hurts so much she can feel her throat getting raw and tearing up from the screaming, taste the iron tang of blood before Aehra soothes that over too but still, she can't stop, not now, and so she clings onto Argus even harder and pushes that burning heat out of her body –

And then, abruptly, it stops, with all the whiplash of a rubber leash snapping back after the dog it's on has gotten too far out of bounds that it can no longer stretch any further.

What –

Kaya's eyes widen as it hits her.

Too much. I pushed too much.

"Well," Argus begins, dusting himself off, "that was quite a painful ordeal." He smiles, sinister and menacing, the smile of a predator who's caught their prey and knows it and is savoring it –

And the next moment her world tilts and she's slammed into the ground, back against rough stone that shreds her bare skin, a vice grip closed around her throat and she chokes she needs to breathe she can't breathe –

Click.

Cold, clear, a black barrel of death staring her right in the eye.

She freezes.

"You've led everyone on quite the chase, but this is the end, I'm afraid," Argus says as he points the gun right in her face. "A few days before, I'd have let the rest of the wish hunters fight over you, or perhaps passed you off to one of them, but seeing as how you've given us so much trouble..." his lip curls, "I'd rather not risk it. Goodbye."

Move.

She needs to move.

She needs to summon Aehra.

She needs to do something.

But she is shaking and she is frozen and she can't move and Aehra isn't responding why won't it respond –

Argus presses down on the trigger.

Kaya squeezes her eyes shut.

I'm sorry –

There is no gunshot.

There is no gunshot, but instead, there is the clean "shiiiiiiiink" and piercing screech of a sharp blade tearing through metal, and Kaya opens her eyes to see the barrel of Argus's gun clattering to the ground in front of her with a hollow, metallic clang –

And Shu Anya standing in front of her, a glowing white sword in her hands.

She gapes. "Anya? What –"

"Run," she interrupts. "Get to the Starstorm and don't look back."

"And what's this?" Argus begins, amusement in his voice. "I didn't think you'd appear. It's been a while, hasn't it –"

In a flash of movement, there is a diagonal, burning 'X' drawn across his chest, the smell of burning flesh filling the air as blood spatters on the ground and he's pushed back a few paces. "Shut up," Anya snaps. "I'm still talking." Then, looking behind her shoulder at Kaya. "What are you waiting for? Get up and go."

"Why?" Kaya asks. "I thought you said you weren't going to help us beyond giving us the information."

"I changed my mind," Anya replies with a shrug.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaya sees Tam helping Chia to her feet, and now Allioni is by Kaya's side and tugging her up as well, saying something that vaguely sounds like "We need to go" but she's only focused on Anya as she says, "But –"

You might die, you know.

"Believe me," Anya says, her smile a sad and bitter thing, "I know. But I can handle this – he's only one person, and the rest of his men are incapacitated anyway. I'll cover for you and hold him back."

And now Tam and Chia are beside her too, the former exchanging a single, respectful nod with Anya as Kaya is pulled to her feet, as Argus begins to get up too, and despite how she already knows Anya's mind is made up, she still can't help at one last, futile protest, opening her mouth and starting, "I –"

"Don't," Anya says, and Kaya clamps her mouth shut. "Just go." Her eyes harden as she turns to Argus once again, and with a wave of her hand, several more swords appear in the air, blinding light in the darkness. "I have a score to settle."

A pause. Kaya swallows, and says, "Thank you."

"Run as fast as you can," Anya replies, not looking away from her opponent. "Now!"

And finally, gritting her teeth, Kaya allows herself to be pulled away – and then they're running once more, not looking back even as the sounds of battle start, not looking back even as the sounds of battle fade away and it's just them again, them and the stars and the moon and the sky, footsteps on stone and ragged breaths echoing through the crumbling temple, each one of them silent and their mind abuzz with thoughts.

Chia takes point, eyes scouring the floor for more pitfalls or debris or parts where the stone has been weathered by storms and wind and rain, worn away and ready to fall to pieces to some empty, deep chamber below at the slightest touch. More than once they come across places to dangerous to cross and have to find another way around, sometimes crawling beneath collapsed arches of stone having no other way to get past, sometimes having to clamber over piles of rubble and debris with each other's help, slipping more than once when the stone shifts and skinning their knees and palms.

But still, they push on, going faster and faster as if chased by some invisible phantom, or the thoughts of the people who are likely after them and getting closer every moment, seconds and minutes whipping past faster than the wind, until –

"Up ahead!" Allioni yells. "I think I see something!"

And he's right, and there is something, carved out of stone but obviously an intentional structure, a centerpiece that might've even once been something beautiful but is now crumbling into ruin – hints of gold or silver or jewels that once gilded it, splashed with rust-red stains and signs of past offerings around the area.

And now they're beginning to skid to a stop, and Tam points up ahead and says, "It should be just up ahead, let's move", and they do –

Until, for the second time that night, there is a gunshot.

Except, this time, it hits its target.

Kaya doubles over, choking on a scream but only letting out a vague, wounded noise, something warm and red spreading from her sternum and Stars it hurts it hurts even as Aehra rushes to heal it and all there is in her mind is white-hot pain –

Alarmed shouts, a hand on her shoulder, steadying her, something metal clinking to the floor –

Through the dissipating but still present pain, a voice: "Hello, Kaya."

Her breath catches in her throat, and she feels her eyes well with unwilling tears as she turns, looks up and sees –

She does not want to say it, but she can't help saying it anyway, and the word is more painful than any wound she has ever gotten, any burn or slash or scar or gunshot.

And it shouldn't hurt this much, not when she already knows, not when she's known for weeks now – but it does anyway.

Her voice shakes.

A single tear makes its way down her cheek.

"Mom?"