//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Facing Your Demons and Being Brave // Story: Your Name Across The Multiverse // by DATONETWIxDASHFAN //------------------------------// During the fight with the blood alicorn and within Aaira's mind, Terra and Aaira found themselves in a spaceship hanger bay. Terra never saw this hanger bay, but to Aaira, it was where the nightmare started: on the Equestria Runner. "This place..." whispered Aaira as she stared at the ship name at the entrance to the hangar bay lobby. "Where are we?" asked Terra as she approached Aaira. "This is the Equestria Runner's hanger bay. It was a spaceship that the corporation made, but it was not a regular spaceship. It's a ship for extracting planet minerals," answered Aaira. "Wait...like mining a planet?" replied Terra, shocked to hear that. "Yes, a long time ago, it was believed that Mars's moons, Phobos and Deimos, had rich minerals that could be extracted, so the company Satakal Corporation built a ship that could mine the moon and, soon, the planets and their cores and bringing the minerals back. It was the greatest achievement of the century," said Aaira. "It doesn't sound that great. You're mining a planet," said Terra. "It was a big deal back then. Earth had a lot of issues: climate change, a poor economy, and poverty. The company wanted to solve that problem by selling the minerals from the moon and planets. It was a win-win, a way to help the people and make a profit. Soon, planet cracking became a thing, and many companies and corporations started buying planets to crack them. That's where the problem began." Terra looked around and noticed that the ship was quiet. There was no sound of life, which was a little spooky. "Where's everyone at?" asked Terra, but remembering this was all in Aaira's mind and wasn't a real spaceship. "Everyone is either dead or changed. When the Changers came, everything was chaos, and everyone died or changed," answered Aaira as she turned to Terra. "Let's keep moving; maybe the element pillar is at the storage bay, where it was before." Terra nodded and followed behind Aaira. Aaira walked past a dead body that was sitting on the floor. The body was wearing the same suit as Aaira but with a different design, but its armor had massive cuts. The person was missing its left arm, and the left side of its face was cut off. Aaira looked away and continued to move forward. Terra wanted to say something but decided not to. Aaira continued where she left off. "Soon, companies and corporations started to crack off-limits planets, which were labeled off-limits by the Earth Sector. No one knew why, but that didn't stop the greedy higher-ups from doing it. It's why my friends and I left it and started our small repair ship shop to fix ships in space. I met Faye when we repaired her medical ship and started dating. Soon, news broke out that the oldest and most legendary extraction spaceship, Equestria Runner, was planned to be decommissioned because she was becoming obsolete over the years. But the company, Satakal Extraction Corporation, or SEC, decided to have her last flight to a new planet in sector 982 to mine it. Everyone and their mothers tried to get work on it." "Why's that?" "Remember when I said she was a legendary extraction spaceship?" "Yeah, that's what you said." "It was the first ever extraction spaceship created. Everyone wanted to be on it because it was a dream for anyone to work on the first-ever extraction spaceship before it was decommissioned and broken down for parts. Faye wanted to sign up for the medical deck since the Equestria Runner was also a medical research vessel. The Runner had a dedicated medical wing where extensive research into virology, toxins, and genetics was conducted. She had a fully equipped surgery theater and an advanced medical laboratory. I thought it was the best opportunity for her," explained Aaira as she stopped walking. Terra remembers what Aaira said before, how it was her fault that she let Faye go... "It was my fault; I told her she should sign up for the job, and I was why she was on the ship. If I hadn't told her, she would still be alive with me. It was all my fault," cried Aaira as tears started to roll down her face. "Not just her, but my friends too. They would be alive, too." "Hey, hey, it's not your fault. You're not responsible for their deaths," said Terra, trying to calm her down. "It is. I let Faye go, and when an SOS came from the Runner, I made my friends join me in heading to it as we grouped up with an SEC security shuttle. I should have gone alone!" cried Aaira. "Listen, don't blame yourself. You can't control people; no one can. People are free; they do what they want, and I don't think your friends would have wanted you to blame yourself for their deaths. They chose to go with you; no one was forced into anything. They wanted to save Faye just as much." replied Terra as she placed her hand on Aaira's shoulder. "It still hurts," cried Aaira. "As it should be, my darling Aaira..." spoke a female voice in front of them. "Rhea..." spoke Aaira as she noticed a burned and charred female body limping towards them. Her body features were complicated to see due to the damage. "Rhea?" replied Terra, readying herself for a fight. "It's been a while, Aaira," said Rhea. "I'm sorry," apologized Aaira, as she was looking at the burned corpse. "So you say every time we meet. How many times will you apologize before you understand that I won't forgive you?" spoke Rhea as the fire started to blast on the walls. "Who is she?" asked Terra. "This is Rhea, one of my friends who went with me. She's an engineer like me," answered Aaira. Terra watched as Rhea walked past her and stood in front of Aaira. "You let me burn! Why!? WHY DID YOU LET BURN?" cried out Rhea as her body was set on fire. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," cried Aaira. "If you're sorry, prove it!" replied Rhea as the fire around them grew. Terra took out her rifle and fired at Rhea, but it passed through her like a hologram. She could see Aaira being touched by her as she screamed for Aaira to prove it. "Aaira, we have to move. We're getting nowhere just by standing here!" yelled Terra, as she could see the fire getting closer. "She's right; you have to move. Make us whole!" yelled Rhea as Aaira and Terra began to run. Terra and Aaira kept moving until they found themselves in the medical wing, where Aaira stopped to look at her surroundings. The whole place was a mess; blood was everywhere, and a few corpses were lying around. Terra noticed the room was a mess as if a battle had happened. Aaira walked over to the bodies and noticed that their heads were missing, almost like they were cut off. "This is..." said Terra before Aaira tackled her away from a claw blade. They watched as a humanoid monster with a blade for arms was twitching super fast. "What is that!" "Twitchers! Soldiers or people infected by the Changers and their flesh fused with their Kinesis Module, basically increasing their movements," answered Aaira as she pulled out her Horn cutter and stood in a fighting stance. "How fast can it move!" asked Terra, as the Twitcher was twitching around, not letting them have a chance to attack. "Very, so we need to be smart," said Aaira as the Twitcher stopped and ran towards her like teleporting. "Move!" yelled Terra as she moved to the left. The Twitcher didn't notice and continued its assault on Aaira as it was stabbing her. The blades didn't pierce her armor, but they made her feel a sharp pain. Aaira grabbed the Twitcher blade and slammed her head into its head, knocking the Twitcher a few feet away. Aaira quickly fired off her kinesis, slowing it down to a snail's pace, allowing Terra to shoot it in the head. "Got it!" cheered Terra as the Twitcher's head exploded and the headless corpse fell. "No! It's still alive! It would be best if you blasted off all its limbs!" yelled Aaira as she quickly ran to the body, but it stood back up and moved at fast speeds again. "What!" yelled Terra as she watched the headless corpse's arm reach for Aaira. "Quick, destroy its arm!" yelled Aaira. Terra fired her weapon, blowing off the arm, and the Twitcher's chest was rising up and down. It was breathing, and its body was shaking. Terra watched in disgust as she could hear the sound of its heart beating and the smell of rotting flesh. Aaira used her kinesis to grab the corpse and slam it to the ground. She picked up the blown-off arm and stabbed it, pinning it to the floor, quickly unloading a clip from the horn cutter, and blasting off the limbs, finally killing it. "What the hell was that?" asked Terra, slightly sick. "When they found the pillar, some people lost their minds, going berserk and killing everything in sight. They were creating bodies for the stabbers to infect and create these and other monsters," explained Aaira. "So, we should keep our eyes open for these guys." "We need to find the Element Pillar. We need to head...what?" asked Aaira, noting that the room had changed, and they were now in the Asteroid Defense System gunner room. "Did we move?" "No, this is when..." whispered Aaira. Out of the gunner's protective window, the girls could see an Earth Sector battleship heading towards the ship at alarming speed. Terra couldn't believe her eyes; seeing a ship fly fast toward them was incredible. Aaira and Terra watch as the ship crashes into the hull of the Runner, tossing them against the wall and fire and fire alarm going off. "What happened!?" yelled Terra, as she held her head and was trying to stand up. "An Earth Sector battleship crashed into the Runner, wedged inside the Runner hull. That's what caused the fire, the explosion, and soon, the loss of oxygen," answered Aaira, as she could hear a familiar sound as the room O2 warning came on. "Aaira, is this what happened in your time on the Runner?" asked Terra. "Yes... it's like reliving everything again..." "But it's not the past." "Right, we should move and...come on!" shouted Aaira as they found themselves in a reactor core room and jumped again. "Is this the Runner reactor core?" asked Terra. "No, it's the Earth battleship. This is where..." "I died?" said a bubbly female voice, as a woman with puffy pink hair and light pink skin stood behind them, wearing a pink HULL suit. "Poppy... I'm sorry," said Aaira. Poppy laughed as she skipped past them, entered the core room, and waved at them. "Why? Why did you let me die? Why did you shut the blast doors on me?" asked Poppy, as the door to the reactor core, shut in front of her, soon a giant armor Changer appeared behind her and just standing there, breathing and waiting. "I'm sorry..." answered Aaira. "Liar. You did this. You're a traitor, and you deserve to suffer, like me!" smiled Poppy as the monster grabbed her and slammed her on the blast door window, destroying her face as blood was splatting across it, and her body was convulsing. "Aaira, let's go," whispered Terra, as she noticed Aaira was grabbing her head in shame while Poppy kept blaming her and laughing until her upper body was nothing more than a bloody pile of meat chucks. "No... she's right, it's all my fault," whispered Aaira. "That's not true, and you know it," replied Terra. "You're just like them, aren't you?" Poppy smiled as the monster lifted her head, showing the rest of her bloody face. "Aaira, why don't you tell her? Tell her the truth. You are a murderer! YOU LET US DIE! YOU'RE THE REASON WE'RE ALL DEAD!" "That's not true, Aaira." spoke a female voice. "Faye..." whispered Aaira, as Terra noticed a woman with tall, pale yellow skin and long pink hair female in a doctor outfit as she entered the room. "My darling, why do you blame yourself for something you couldn't control?" asked Faye. "I could have stopped this from happening. If I didn't ask them to come along." "But if they hadn't, who knows what would have happened to you? Maybe you'll be the dead one, and they would have blamed themselves for your death." "But I'm the reason that this happened. I shouldn't have let you go! I shouldn't have let them come!" cried Aaira, tears rolling down her face. "It's not your fault, none of it. Don't blame yourself for something that's not yours. You took the first step before, learning you needed to let go. Now, do step two. Finally admitting it wasn't your fault," replied Faye as she hugged Aaira. "Remember what happened to them." Aaira could remember the events. Poppy and she got on the Earth battleship and headed towards the core, as it was going into meltdown and needed to be shut down to save both ships. She could see herself and Poppy as they ran past her. She watched the events unfold, including how she opened the door, allowing Poppy to get to the controls inside, but a giant Changer came blasting out of a wall. It was after her, so she fought it off while Poppy did her thing by shutting the core down. "Jesus..." whispered Terra as she saw the memory of Aaira fighting for her life as she was being tossed around like a rag doll by the monster but still fighting back and doing damage to it. The battle was intense and brutal. As she was tossed through the reactor, the Changer followed her and tried to crush her, but Aaira used her kinesis to push the Changer off and into the side of the room wall, and its body hit the floor, trying to get back up. Poppy finally got the core to shut down and reboot it, but she quickly blasted Aaira out of the room, activating the blast doors, as she saw the armored monster getting back up and charging at them. Memory Aaira and real Aaira watched as Poppy was killed the same way as before. "Poppy, it was her. She was the one who saved your life. You didn't let her die. She saved you and the rest of the ship." said Faye. "But..." "No buts!" laughed Poppy as she appeared before her. "There was no way I was letting you die as well. You had to live! No matter the cost, We're besties till the end, remember. Don't forget what you said to Kelly; good men mean well. But sometimes, things don't work out like you want. So, you learn to adapt, survive, and continue." "Poppy!" cried Aaira. Soon, the room changed to a large engine room. Aaira remembers this place very well as she watches Rhea's burned body standing there in front of them. She remembers this moment and what she did. "You... you're why I was in that tube!" yelled Rhea as she walked over to a large pipe tube and stepped inside. "No," answered Aaira, shaking her head. "You killed me. You could have saved me, but you let me burn!" "Rhea, no, I didn't!" Soon, a very tall and gray-muscular Changer appeared behind her and started to maul her with its substantial blade arms. Rhea screamed out in pain as her body was being torn apart until the engine came to life. Aaira was holding a switch, and fire passed through the tubes and finally blasted them. Aaira and the others could see Rhea and the monster screaming in pain as they were burning to death. "Aaira," whispered Faye. "You're the reason I'm like this. I was in that tube because of you! You let me burn! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY I'M DEAD!" yelled Rhea as her burnt skin started to peel off, showing her muscle and bone. "No..." whispered Aaira as she started to remember what happened. The memory of her and Rhea, who had white skin and purple hair and were wearing a lighter fancy gear HULL suit, came running into the room and turning to see the Grey Changer walking towards them. They fired their weapons at it, but it was useless as it healed within seconds. "What do we do?" asked Aaira. Rhea thought up a plan and told Aaira to head to the control room across from them and turn it on; she would lead it to the blast chamber, and they would burn the monster to nothing but ash. They split up, and Aaira did what she was told, while Rhea led theChangerr, who followed her but could not catch her due to her being faster than it. Rhea ran into the blast chamber and waited for the monster. It stepped inside and quickly dashed towards her, but she used her kinesis to slow it down. She ran past it to escape, but the monster somehow was able to slash her back, making her fall to the ground. Aaira could see her on the ground and quickly headed towards her but stopped as Rhea told her to shut the pipe and turn on the engine, as this thing couldn't be kept alive. "No!" cried Aaira. "Aaira! DO IT!" cried Rhea, as she could see the monster moving normally again and heading to her and the exit. Memory Aaira fought with herself as she pressed the button, sealing the pipe and watching as they burned to death, leaving nothing behind. "I killed her." "NO! I died stopping that monster!" yelled Rhea as she stepped out from nowhere and stood before her. "But you died..." "And it was my choice and the only one I could make. If you hadn't done what you did, that thing would have gotten free and killed you as well. Please don't blame yourself for something that you have no control over, darling." replied Rhea as she started to burn away and turn into ash. "She's right. You had no control, and they all knew what they were getting into," said Faye. "Right," whispered Aaira, standing up with Terra patting her back. "It wasn't my fault," said Aaira. The world soon changed into a giant void with a large purple pillar in the center, glowing and emitting weird symbols. "Steps 1 and 2 are done. Now, step 3," said Faye as she walked up to Aaira and held her purple cheeks in her yellow hands. "Are you ready?" "... I'm scared. What if I can't do it?" "Don't be silly; of course you can." smiled Faye as she kissed her on the lips and pulled back with a smile. "Faye," whispered Aaira. "Aaria, listen to me; you can do this. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for," Faye replied as tears were falling. Terra was looking at all this but felt something was wrong. She noticed something in the darkness, as she could hardly make out moving figures. She took out a flare and tossed it into the darkness, revealing millions of shadow creatures, all whispering the same phase. "Make Us Whole." Terra turned back to Aaira as they both heard Faye repeat those words. "Faye," whispered Aaira, as Faye's eyes were glowing orange. "We must be whole. Make us whole again," Faye simply said as her mouth began to grow and expand, growing large as an orange static light blasted out and blasted Aaira's mind. Aaira could feel it; the pillar was giving her information on how to create the pillar—how to create it from dead remains. She needed to kill her friends. Yes, it was the only way, Aaira thought as she smiled. "I'll make you whole again! I'll kill them all!" shouted Aaira. "What the hell!" yelled Terra. "Thank you," said Faye as she pulled Aaira closer, kissing her deeply and passionately. "Fuck!" yelled Terra as the shadow monsters charged at them. Terra was firing her sniper rifle and psychic powers at them as they kept coming. Aaira stood still as she watched Faye become a changer while kissing her. She was smiling. Terra was trying to shoot the giantChangerr, but the shadow creatures kept blocking her shots and tackling her, so she could only shoot the ones coming at her. "Aaira, come on! Snap out of it!" cried Terra. "They need to be made whole. To become one. They need me to become whole," spoke Aaira, as her mind was gone. "Shit!" Terra could hear a roar and looked back at Aaira, seeing the giantChangerr, now in entirely purple armor with a long purple horn coming from its forehead, breathing orange static energy. Soon, the pillar blasted off a power pulse, and billions of moons appeared from the darkness. One hovered over them, revealing it was alive, as its rock surface was purple flesh. "MAKE US WHOLE! Make us whole, like our brothers and sisters! SET US FREE!" "AAIRA!" shouted Terra as she was swarmed by shadow creatures blasting her with orange static. Aaira could only see her friends back in the real world. She was going to help them, make them whole, and finally be at peace. She was going to fix everything, no matter what. "Mark my words! My drill will open a hole, and that hole will be the path for those who want to help you see a better tomorrow. Tomorrow that she wants you to see! For her sake, move forward!" echoed Rain's voice as Aaira remembered those words. "Help? What she wants..." whispered Aaira as she could see the honest Faye within the purpleChangerr and her sadness. "MAKE US WHOLE!" shouted the moon "No!" whispered Aaira as the orange static faded from her face. "MAKE US WHOLE!" shouted the shadow creatures. "No!" cried Aaira as she pushed the purpleChangerr off. "I'M NOT LETTING YOU CONTROL ME!" "YOU WILL MAKE US WHOLE, AAIRA!" shouted the shadow creatures as they swarmed her, as she tried to fight them off. Everyone could see the two twitching and foaming at the mouth in the real world. "This isn't good! Wanda, what do we do?" Rain asked as she held Terra's head up. "I don't know! I have never seen anything like this! Their minds are completely in chaos!" cried Wanda as she tried to find any regular brain activity with her device but found crazy signals. As everyone was dealing with Aaira and Terra, Berry backed away and sat on the ground, crying as she tried to block out the noises. She was scared; she didn't know what was happening or why it was happening. Her friends were dying, and she couldn't do anything but sit there and be useless, as she had lost her magical girl magic. "Tank, what should I do? Without you, I'm nothing! I'm so scared. I wish you were here." cried Berry as she shut her eyes and rocked back and forth. "Berry..." called out a caring male voice. She opened her eyes and saw Tank, her partner turtle. She couldn't believe it, as he was glowing in the air. "Silly Berry, don't cry. I'm here." "Tank!" cried Berry as she jumped and hugged him, only to phase through him and fall into the dirt. "What the hay?" "Oh, silly, Berry, I'm a ghost." "Huh, a ghost?" asked Berry as she sat back up and was confused. "Yeah, Berry, a ghost. Listen, Berry, I know it's scary right now, but you must be brave. I know you're scared; we all are. But this isn't about us; it's about them." "Yeah, I know," whispered Berry, looking at everyone. "Then help them, Berry. Be brave for them and yourself. Don't let your fear control you; be brave for me." Tank said as he touched her chest. "Your magical girl power never came from me but from within you. Your loyalty, your love, and your bravery are what brought out your power. Remember, you are the Magical Blue Berry Girl." "Tank..." whispered Berry. "Being brave is another form of loyalty; don't forget that, Berry. Now, go, help your friends." Tank spoke as he touched her forehead. Her body was glowing blue, and a yellow halo appeared above her head. "Blue..." whispered Berry as her tears fell. "...Berry," said Tank as he smiled and vanished. "No!" cried Berry as he was gone. "TANK!" Berry searched but found nothing; he was truly gone, yet he wasn't. Like he was still here, within her heart, it was fueling her to be brave, like he wanted. "No more. No more being weak. No more hiding in the background. I'm not the Magical Blue Berry Girl anymore." Berry said, standing up and looking at her friends. "I'm the Magical Element Berry Girl!" yelled Berry as a giant flash of blue light covered the area, blinding everyone and making the wind blow like crazy. "What the hell is happening!" shouted Rain as she held Wanda, who was holding Terra's body, and the others covered their eyes. The blue light faded, and standing in front of everyone was Berry, back in her magical girl form but wearing a new outfit; it was white with rainbow trimming; she had a yellow halo above her head; she had large white angel wings; and finally, the ground under her was a blue magical circle. "Berry, is that you?" asked Flare. "Yes, it's me, Flare." smiled Berry as her wings flapped and hovered off the ground. "How?" asked Nightfall, having seen this power before... "I realized that I shouldn't let the deaths of others control me and make me feel scared and weak. I should be brave and strong, or I'll never live the life I want and be true to myself. And being true to myself means helping others. I'm no longer the Magical Blue Berry Girl but the Element Berry Girl. And I'm sorry for worrying all of you." "Berry..." whispered Rain, as she started to feel something, like she was indeed the most useless person here. "Aaira and Terra need me! Please let me go; I promise I'll come back." "Alright, but...promise us," replied Flare, with a worried look on her face. "I promise, now, stand back!" said Berry as she flew and landed next to Terra. "Don't worry, Terra, I'm here," Berry touched her and disappeared. Berry appeared in the dark void with millions of moons and shadow creatures. She could see everything. She looked around and noticed Aaira and Terra fighting the shadow creatures. "Hold on, girls, I'm here!" said Berry as she held up her new wand, which became a long staff, and the end had a blue star as it floated above her hoof. "Make. Us. Whole!" said the shadows as all the moons glowed and fired orange static beams at her. "Star Shine!" shouted Berry as her star glowed and fired off millions of beams, and the orange beams clashed with an explosion. "We must be whole. We must have our sister!" said the Moons as their rocky bodies began to break and their colorful flesh was shown. "Element Beam!" shouted Berry as she shot a beam and hit the closest moon, making a sizeable exposed hole. "WE MUST BE WHOLE!" cried the moon as their whole flesh broke apart, revealing thousands of Changers and shadow creatures, all charging at her. "No more!" cried Berry as her wings flapped and her staff glowed blue. "NO MORE DEATH!" The blue light from her staff grew, reaching the size of the moon and soon the size of the sun, making the monsters stop. "What the..." said Terra, watching all this as the shadow creatures stopped and looked at Berry. "LOYALTY STAR SHINE CAKE EXPLOSION!" shouted Berry as the light blasted forward and consumed the monster and the moon into a huge blueberry cake. It soon blew up, leaving nothing behind. The light died down, and there was nothing but the other few moons, the shadow creatures, and the purpleChangerr, which was looking at her. Berry charged at the shadow creatures, blasted the ones off Aaira, held her head, and could see her opening her eyes. "I'll never let someone die again; I'll be brave and strong for everyone like you would have," smiled Berry. "I'm sorry," whispered Aaira. "No, no, it's fine. I'll always be here for you, no matter what. So please, stand up and smile. I'll always protect you, no matter what." "You promise?" "I promise. So please, Aaira, stand up and finally face your demons. Finally, end it. I'll be by your side. Everyone will be by your side, so don't be scared of what you need to do; we're all here for you," Berry said with a sweet and warm smile. "Thank you, Berry. And I'm sorry." Aaira said as she stood up and turned to Terra, protected by a blue barrier from Berry. Aaira turned to the purpleChangerr and faced it down. "Faye..." whispered Aaira. The purple-changer just growled and charged at her. With its blade arm up, it impaled Aaira through the chest and was face-to-face with her, but Aaira wasn't in pain and showed no signs of blood. "Who am I? Your lover? The one shred, one light, one bright, shining star you clung to in this universe? Or am I your guilt? Because you can't get over the fact that I'm dead? Do you feel responsible? Who… Am… I?!? Why do you keep fighting me? Why can't you let go?" shouted theChangerr as it had tears in its eyes. Aaira couldn't hold her emotions in anymore and began crying. She could hear all the other Changers and shadow creatures repeating her question as they surrounded and watched them. "Why can't I let go? Is it because you remind me that I'm the reason you're dead? Is it because if I let you go, it makes it final? You were my everything. And I let you go. I had nothing left, but I finally got to let you go. It wasn't my fault. You're not her. She's gone. It's just the guilt, sorrow, and regret I cling to, but I must accept it. Faye is gone, and I need to move forward because that's what she wanted for me; same with the others, " Aaira said with tears. TheChangerr pulled its blade out and changed back into Faye as she touched Aaira's cheek. "Step 3: acceptance," said Faye as she glowed into a bright purple light and became a tiny moon the size of a basketball. "MAKE US WHOLE!" cried the other moons, but the tiny moon flew towards the Aaira side and spoke. "No, I would rather make Aaira whole again. You and the rest will die by our hands; you won't have your way anymore!" spoke the moon as the other moons glowed. "YOU DARE GO AGAINST US, SISTER!?" cried the moons. "Yes, being part of Aaira and seeing her suffering made me realize that you all were the ones that caused all this suffering. I may have been created from her grief and sorrow, but it was because of her pain and suffering that I was able to think, feel, and...love, which made me part of her. So, no, I will not make her suffer anymore so that I will stop all of you. Tell Mother we're coming for her, my dear brothers and sisters." "SO BE IT." The moons glow and fire a massive orange beam at them, but Berry and the tiny moon deflect it back at them, destroying the void and finally freeing Aaira from them. "You can open your eyes now, Aaira," said the small moon. "Huh?" asked Aaira as she opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness and the purple pillar, which slowly glows with a rainbow aura pulse. "The Pillar...me...use me to get inside the comet. Let's help that little girl with her suffering. Let's free her as well." spoke the small moon. "Right," replied Aaira as the pillar grew small and became one with the moon. "Let's go, Aaira...together." the small moon softly said as Aaira held her like a child. Aaira closed her eyes and could hear the moon singing Faye's little song, Finally calling her by her new name. "Yes, let's go..." "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world, so high, like a diamond in the sky! When the blazing sun is gone, when nothing shines upon it, you show your little light. Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. Then the traveler in the dark said, Thank you for your little spark. He could not see which way to go if you did not twinkle. In the dark blue sky, you keep, And often, through my curtains, peep, For you never shut your eye till the sun is in the sky. As your bright and tiny spark lights the traveler in the dark, Though I know not what you are, twinkle, twinkle," sang the moon as Aaira hugged her tightly. "Let's go, Little Star," whispered Aaira, as they became a little light within the darkness, soon becoming a diamond in the sky and soon a tiny star as the others watched them in the sky. Soon, a blue and black star joined them as the blood-crying comet looked at them. Shedding a tear and sadness in its huge eye... End of ch. 9