The group had met downstairs to be briefed on their mission. It was nine, but the night sky shone vibrantly with stars since it was during the lapse where no sun rose for twenty-five hours. There was a light ring in the sky surrounding the planet were a field of rock and debris orbited. Terra hadn’t spent much time outside since her adventure in the desert, but she found the night sky to be more pleasant than the daytime. Something about how the stars watched over her but couldn’t interfere with her life was soothing and the night air always dropped to a comfortable temperature. She wondered if it snowed on this planet.

Breaking herself out of her night air daydream, she meandered back inside where Vazerio had finished pulling up a city schematic on the screens and everyone had settled down into their respective chairs. She settled in on a chair in front since she was two heads shorter than Dexai, the shortest one there.

“Alright guys, the Rebellion managed to get their hands on a medicine shipment headed to the Capitol. It’s filled with vaccinations and antibiotics to bandages and anti-infection cream. There are eight crates total that we’ll be picking up here,” He used his pointer to show the rendezvous point. “In Peterian City.”

Everyone let out a groan, so Terra asked why.

“We’re not the only ones with abilities. There’s a group of mercenaries the Capitol keeps on retainer there and they don’t mess around. If we slip up even once, it might be the end of us.” Podinal stated, his shoulders sagging.

“Needless to say, the shipment will be waiting for us if we’re there or not and thousands depend on it. We’ll be taking it out of the city and dropping them off in six outskirt cities. This will be the first time in six years that such a large shipment of medical aid will be distributed to the outskirts, and they are in desperate need of it. There are a total of four shipments they managed to steal, and the people in our sector are depending on us to get it out to them. Is everyone still on board?” Vazerio looked at the group of unsteady faces, but they all gave him a weak nod to indicate they understood.

“Alright. We move out in six hours, so get ready. Roip, I need to discuss the route with you.”

And with that, the meeting was dismissed. Terra fidgeted in her seat for a bit, remembering Alter’s words that she needed to learn how to use the black crystal otherwise the group would be in danger. Well, they already would be in danger, but even more so. She needed to talk to someone about getting that crystal so she could practice. Fear still coursed through her system about the corrupt crystal she needed to purge, but she shoved it down.; she needed to trust Alter regarding the dead crystal.

She heard Vazerio and Roip finish up and stood at attention next to his desk.

“I need to see the black crystal.” She announced.

“Are you sure?” Vazerio asked, remembering the last time she had seen it. “I don’t know if we can handle Roip getting injured right before a mission.” But he brought it out anyway.

When he lifted the fabric, the black crystal just sat in his hand, unmoving. Hesitantly, Terra reached out and grasped it in her hand, feeling the cool rock nestle perfectly in her hand. A wave of calm washed over her and she felt as if the rock were absorbing all the turbulent feelings she had been bottling up. Despite it being just a rock, her mind felt calm with it in her hands.

“Are--are you okay?” She heard Valerio's voice pierce her serenity.

She gave him a gentle smile and nodded, too lost in the calmness to give a verbal response.

“You say that, but you seem really out of it.” He clasped her chin with his forefingers and brought her eyes up to meet his. “And your eyes are black.”

He ripped the crystal from her small fist, uncomfortable at this sudden change in demeanor. Terra retorted, trying to reach for it again, but he was much taller than her and there would be no way unless she hurt him somehow, but she had too much self-control for that option. For now.

“Hey, Terra! It’s time to test out a uniform for you!” Podinal came down the stairs excitedly, catching the sight of Vazerio playing keep-away with Sun. “Woah, what’s going on here?”

“I want to hold onto the crystal but Vazerio won’t let me.” Terra pleaded, trying to get Podinal on her side.

“You mean that crystal that made you go berserk? I might be a bit against that too.” He said, siding with Vazerio. “You do realize Roip is our driver, right? Shouldn’t hurt her any more than you already have.”

Terra turned to Vazerio, hoping to play on his logical side.

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“Can I just keep it on my person? I won’t even touch it, promise.” And she meant it. Well, whenever Vazerio was around she’d keep in the pouch, the other times she’d try and ‘manipulate’ it or whatever.

Vazerio must have seen a hint of deception in her blue eyes because he tucked it away.

“You know what, I’ll hold on to it. Stay close to me and you’ll be near it, but you won’t be able to touch it.”

Holding back a wave of annoyance and needing to get away before injuring Vazerio, she stormed upstairs to the bathroom to have a chat with Alter.

“You really should just get a portable mirror or something,” Alter said when Terra entered.

“Vazerio isn’t giving it to me.” Terra pouted.

“Don’t blame him. I told you that you needed to learn to control the crystal, not let the crystal control you. Even though it’s dead doesn’t mean it can’t dominate you, it just means that its power was used up. It’ll feed on emotions and energy until there’s nothing else to take. Don’t let yourself get sucked into its void of energy, you need to take charge. Keep Vazerio in your sights. You’ll know when you need to use the crystal.”

“Hey Terra, I know you’re upset, but we do need to get you a uniform and some weapons,” Podinal told her through the bathroom door.

Terra swung the door open and followed him upstairs where the rest of the group minus Vazerio was getting suited up. The bright colored costumes they had worn the day they’d met were gone, replaced with a matte black suit similar to the one she had used in the training simulator. She stripped to her underwear and put on the suit, pressing and holding the button until the suit felt like a thick second skin.

“Hey, Terra. Next time you dress, there is a bathroom right over there.” Beiwot pointed out.

Terra shrugged, not really getting what she was hinting at, but Dexai was bright pink, Podinal had turned away, his ears were flush red, Beiwot and Roip looked amused, and Unter just looked uninterested.

“What was that on your back anyway?” Roip chimed in.

“My back? Is there something on it?” Terra questioned, trying to feel around but not quite reaching.

“Yeah, it’s like a giant black scar or something. How’d you get it?”

Black scar? Terra had no clue what Roip was talking about. Roip read the look of confusion on Terra’s face, dropping the issue and telling Terra not to worry about it. But how could Terra not worry about it now since she’d never even seen her own back?

“Alright guys, we’re rolling out in four hours,” Vazerio stated while coming up the stairs. “Does anyone have any questions before we head out?”

Terra’s eyes immediately fell to Vazerio’s pocket where she could see the outline of the crystal.

“Yeah, “ Dexia piped. “Are you coming with us mister stay-here-where-it’s-safe?”

“Today I’ll be joining you. It’s been awhile since I’ve been out, but I’m confident my powers are still working.”

The group around Terra cheered. Was Vazerio really that good of a fighter that it lifted their spirits up that much? He left to put on his uniform while Podinal materialized an assortment of weapons on the table for the group to pick out. Terra immediately went for a short-sword, but the instant she grabbed a hold of the handle it dissolved.

“Wha--?” The group said in unison.

She tried grabbing the handle of the staff, but it, too, disappeared under her touch. Podinal summoned up more swords for her, but they all vanished the instant she made contact with them.

“I don’t understand what’s going on, but I think Terra might need an actual weapon,” Roip stated.

“I don’t think we have actual weapons,” Podinal replied, “We never needed them since I could just make them instantly.”

“So what should I use?” Terra asked. She wanted to go into a battle situation with a little more than just her fists.

“I think we’ve got a prototype gun downstairs she could probably use,” Unter commented.

“That thing? Last time we used it I nearly blew my arm off!” Roip revealed. “Considering she’s pretty skilled with a sword, I think we have a crowbar around here somewhere.”

Terra followed Roip down the stairs where they hunted for the elusive crowbar. It took them an entire hour to find it hidden under a pile of chips tucked behind a box of old DVDs. It was heavier than the sword she was used to swinging around, but it would have to do. It definitely looked like it could deal some damage, and that’s what she was there for.

Three hours flew by. The group had swapped stories and anxiously tried to calm their nerves, but the quiver in their voices as the time counted down was noticeable. In that time, however, Terra started making astute observations about the people she was surrounded by.

Podinal was the most energetic and outspoken of the group, so when he stopped talking the group typically fell silent. Roip and Beiwot were snuggled together on the couch, and they would more often than not hold conversations between the two of them rather than with the group. Dexai seemed to exude energy and was constantly in the kitchen making snacks and munching on things in the fridge. Unter was quiet and reserved, usually curled up on an armchair reading, but when he thought no one was looking he’d sneak adoring glances at Podinal, his eyes sparkling and cheeks flushing a slight pink whenever he did. Vazerio was the team leader and seemed to love giving orders, and despite his bossy behavior, she could see a veil of doubt behind his eyes, as if he was wondering if he was making the right call. It was interesting to see the group’s dynamic nearing the time of reckoning.

“Alright, guys. It’s time to go.” Vazerio announced with a slight tremor in his voice.

They all silently walked down the stairs and exited the building, squeezing into the vehicle and driving into the night. The night air Terra had found so calming before had a bite to it that sent buds of cold down to her bones, while the stars that had watched over her without judgment seemed to be scrutinizing her every move.