Ivy took a deep breath as Maggie slid behind one of the pods, moving closer to the one that the Kagva was sitting by. The sun had begun to go down, and the light had slowly faded. The screams had been silenced, although explosions of energy could still be heard occasionally.

Finally, Maggie got to the pod, stopping on the opposite side as the Kagva. Ivy hadn't heard any shouts of alarm, or any noises that would mean they had seen her sister, and she hoped it would stay that way.

Maggie gave her a thumbs up, and Ivy had to take another deep breath before snapping the twig she had grabbed earlier. Immediately, she heard the noise of footsteps, and turned to run the other direction. She had gotten only a couple steps before a hand grabbed her, throwing her backwards.

Her head slammed against the dirt, and her vision flickered dark for a second before she scrambled to her feet. Two Stellas were standing in front of her. How in the world had they gotten there so fast?

She started backing up, fear rising. Her back pressed against a pod, and cold seeped through the back of her shirt.

One of the Stellas looked her up and down, cocking his head. "What are you doing here?" He took a step forward.

Ivy pressed her hands against the pod, wishing she could back up further. This plan needs to work quickly. We don't have a lot of time.

The red-haired Stellas took another step forward. "I asked you a question."

Before Ivy could do anything, a shout broke out through the otherwise silence around them. It took everything in her not to bolt, knowing that this would have been a good opportunity to do so. But she stayed put. She needed to stay here. "Stay here with the girl," The other Stellas, who hadn't spoken before, took off at a run towards where the shout originated.

Ivy's heart caught in her throat. Maggie.

A strong hand clamped around Ivy's arm, pulling her along as the other Stellas followed his companion towards where the kagva, Lenan, and Maggie currently were. Her heart beat faster as they came closer, and the scene came into view.

Lenan was currently fighting off the Kagva, who had set the box down inside the pod. Maggie was holding the box, looking panicked as she turned it over and over in her hands, even as the other Stellas was sprinting towards her.

In a flash, the red-haired Stellas had let go of Ivy and started to move forward. Without thinking, Ivy had stepped in front of him, and swung a fist. It connected with his face, and Ivy ducked as his own fist came swinging towards her.

"You don't want to do this." His tone was matter-of-fact.

"You're right." Ivy kicked up at his stomach and he caught her foot easily.

He let go of it a second later, crossing his arms. "Step aside."

Ivy didn't say anything, lifting both fists in front of her face. The back of her head still hurt from when it had hit the hard dirt ground, and she tried to ignore it. Hopefully Maggie and Lenan were figuring something out, but she couldn't afford to check on them.

The Stellas faked a punch to the left, and Ivy moved to the right to avoid it just as his foot came up, kicking her square in the stomach. The breath was driven out of her, and as soon as she could, she gasped in a deep breath. Ivy tightened her stomach muscles and raised her fists, concentrating. She had to keep him occupied. The Stellas punched at her head, but Ivy ducked, bringing her own fist up onto his jaw. He barely looked affected, and quickly started sending her into retreat. She ducked and blocked, for the most part succeeding, though every so often a foot or fist would get through.

She heard the sounds of the fight behind her grow louder, and she hoped it was going well.

~~~

Lenan ducked, bringing a foot up to kick the Kagva in the chest. Without waiting for him to recover, he swung at the Stellas. Maggie was a few feet behind him, turning the cube over and over in her hands.

Sweat formed, starting to drip down his forehead. It was taking everything he had to keep off both Stellas, trying to buy Maggie more time. But it was time which she didn't know what to do with.

As he ducked under a punch, he saw Ivy getting pushed back towards them. Surprisingly, she seemed to be avoiding his blows for the most part. Then he had to focus back on his opponents.

"Give it up, Lenan. It's only a matter of time before we get through to her." The Stellas looked thoroughly irritated.

Before Lenan could respond, the Stellas' legs went out from under him, and he fell on his back. Ivy darted past Lenan to Maggie, grabbing the cube.

Lenan used the distraction, putting all his muscle behind a punch that connected with the Kagva's jaw. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he dropped to the ground.

~~~

Ivy had wondered how it had taken Maggie this long to try to figure out what to do. It was only when she held it herself that she understood. It looked like a knot of old tree wood, roughly in the shape of a box. Runes were carved all over it, and she couldn't see a way to shut it off. It glowed green through the cracks as Ivy ran her hand over the surface. From her peripheral vision, she could see Lenan fending off the two Stellas defensively.

"I couldn't find anything!" Maggie sounded nearly hysterical.

"It's okay, it's okay." Ivy focused on the box, trying not to panic herself. Under her fingertips, she felt a ridge, and fit her fingers into it. Straining, she pulled on it, rewarded when a small section pulled up. There were three buttons on it, and Ivy paused, eyes flicking between the three.

A sudden movement caught her attention. Lenan had taken a hit to the stomach, and had dropped to the ground. His head was bowed, and it looked as if he had barely caught himself at all.

The Stellas lunged towards Ivy, and she did the only thing she could think of. She hit all three buttons.

One more chapter to go! Not that anyone is reading it at this point, but I'm excited to finish uploading it! *small celebration for myself*