Letting out a small gasp, they collectively began to huddle.

“Shit- what do we do? That’s gotta be Cornet’s base!” Katie was whisper screaming.

“It makes sense he’s guarding the portal, maybe he could tell we were coming back.” Raleigh, quietly.

“We can… maybe we can just pass by? If we’re careful, I don’t think he’d be just… waiting there, so we just make a bridge like normal and go by to that island there.” Amity pointed to the final island in the chain.

That idea, although it garnered some suspicious pauses as people considered it, ended up being the best idea presented that moment, so it was what they did.

Standing with her feet barely out of the water, the foundation of ice dug into the sand, and the surface began to freeze. One step, then another, while the bridge formed. Amity saw the island approach, but a quick bang beside her, and water splashing, stopped progress as she froze.

“So, you’re back. He won’t be pleased with this… unless I can handle you myself.”

A figure leaped into the air from the top of the shack, jumping well over them as manipulating the wind beneath kept them afloat. It landed, crouched, on the next nearest island. Working together, two of the magic wielders expanded the ice platform while Amity guided a few lightning shots towards the attacker. Sand flew up, dusting their eyes and eventually allowing one of the many shots to connect.

The figure managed to dart behind a hill of sand on an island, and send another crack of lightning over it, shattering the ice that they’d been standing on. Amity jumped to the part of the path closest to the portal, growing it out and making more room for those still on the shattered chunks to stand, which everyone managed to make it to.

Three of them stood on the island, while the two without magic slipped back behind an ice wall formed by Himiko. Once again, the figure sent a lightning bolt, striking Amity in her leg, but she remained steady. Sending another one out, this time hitting a cleverly thrown smoke bomb, obscuring everyone’s vision. The group closed their eyes, coughing as it entered their lungs.

The smoke cleared quickly, thanks mostly to the consistent wind, and Amity managed to get a shot off to the spot the figure stood.

Where they used to stand, at least.

Amity felt something pierce her side, going an inch or two deep before rending itself free, allowing her blood to gush. It flowed down her side as Amity fumbled around, sending the most powerful kick she could backwards while finding the rock that was meant to heal her. All she could think was I have a way out of this, if I can just-

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The green aura flooded her side as it sealed back up, sewing back together, before shearing apart again.

Right. The healing magic. I can’t actually use it on myself.

The small period where it had managed to seal vastly helped the blood stop flowing just by nature of her body being able to repair, but the wound still gaped. The last thing she could think of while her mind remained clear was using ice, which managed to seal onto her skin and help close the wound. The energy from using so many varied forms of magic in so many intensive ways drained her, and the knees that solely supported her up to that point finally let her fall, hitting the ground hard.

Shots from the lightning echoed around her as she faded out of consciousness, for the time being.

***

The jolt of electricity striking her foot, followed by the grinding against sand and cold ice against her back as she was propped up on the wall, woke Amity up. She held her head, then immediately shifted to clenching her side, before Katie pushed her arm away.

“Don’t do that, you’ll make it harder.”

…?

“I’m using a glyph to heal you, because Kaiya and Himiko are still fighting. You’ve only actually been out for a minute or two, so when this is done, you should be able to get back out there.” Katie glanced at the wound, seeing how close it was to closing back up.

“How did they… get behind me like that?”

“I’m not sure, but I know that their knife is busted. The blade was on the floor right next to you, so they only have magic attacks now.”

Amity felt Katie poke at the wound, and when she didn’t even wince, she cleared her to start fighting again.

This time, there was a much better plan.

She blew a gust of wind, strong enough to launch the assailant backwards and make them miss the next shot attempted. The sand was still disturbed, but nobody was affected. A sphere of water sent to surround made them nearly entirely immobile, and they were frozen in place before being brought back towards the group.

Mysterious shadows that seemingly followed them had faded away, aura of mystery vanished. Amity lifted the hood that had already been charred and split in a few places to reveal…

It collapsed. The hood, supported by seemingly nothing although it was writhing about just a moment ago, collapsed inwards. Although there should’ve been a person there, nothing of the such remained.

“What… the fuck?” Amity recoiled at the unexpected behavior.

“Are we going insane? There was totally someone attacking us, in that hood.” Katie looked inside, confirming the absence of any life.

“If nobody’s inside, we- we can probably just go away. We can quit wasting time.”

Himiko kicked over the mass of ice, with the cloak and hood still fell inside, and let it float away. She led the party forwards, over the next gap and skipping an island to make it to the obvious shrine waiting at the end of the path.

The sun was setting again. This is only the second time. Yet, nights never seemed to last for that long. A painting in the air above them, fading from the purple-shifted red at the edge of the horizon to the warm yellows that too went into the cool blue sky.

It was getting warmer. Not the colors. But Himiko felt a lot warmer inside. Cozy, despite the situation.

Home was just within reach, they could see it.

The portal that would take them finally home. Really, this time. It’s not going to be another falsehood, another make-believe or misdirection.

She would get home. All of her friends. Amity. They would be truly together.

They were together, but it wasn’t enough.

All anyone in that group wanted was just to get home.

Just to get back to living their normal life. Going to school felt desirable at this point.

All they wanted was to open the door that, at this point, they were standing in-front of.

It hadn’t quite occurred to her just how close they were to it when a cough echoed behind them.

The cough was rough. It was cold, and tense. They couldn’t tell how they could tell that. But it was clear who they were hearing.