~FINN~
"Finn! Open the fucking door or I'll burn it to fucking ash!" Hunter shouted, banging on the door. I trembled on the floor, feeling extremely weak after vomiting three times already into the toilet. The thoughts and memories of everything that had happened continued to course through me like a movie on replay and I just couldn't stop it from repeating no matter how hard I tried.
With each replay, I could feel the fear I had felt during the trial, watching my race go extinct before Celestia turned into a Forsaken. It seemed so fucking real, so vivid I almost vomited a fourth time thinking of it.
I laid on the cold tiled floor, my body trembling but I felt hot. I'd tried not to break down back there for the sake of Celestia, but watching her break down only contributed to the agony I was currently facing. I'd heard the rumors about this test, how intense and hard core it was and how it literally could break a person, but I hadn’t realized it would be that bad.
I never imagined they would have chosen our worst insecurities and fears and brought them to life so they shattered any hope you had. I felt terrible that throughout the entire experience, I had been more affected by the loss of Celestia than losing my own family.
She'd been fine, smiling and laughing as she always did, but slowly...little by little, she got weaker and weaker, and it got harder for her to fight. When she turned to a Forsaken it wasn't because she wasn't strong enough, it was because her very soul was tired of fighting. She'd been drained until there was nothing left of her and she faded into darkness, turning into a Forsaken, one so powerful none of us could stop her.
She killed all those she loved: Orion and Hunter, Cairus and Cairus, Theo and Magnor, her father, the professors, everyone. I watched everything and the pain that tore at me was the knowledge Celestia was within the Forsaken, watching helplessly as she killed every single person she knew. There was such sadness and regret in her glazed eyes with each kill that followed until I was the only one left.
"FINN! Fucking open this door!" Hunter huffed.
"Orion?" Theo's astonished voice called out.
"Move," Orion instructed and the hall was quiet. I closed my eyes, trying to pull out of the memory that was consuming me. Celestia raised her black sludge hand and aimed the endless amount of tendrils towards me. They all struck out at me, piercing through my weak flesh and consuming me. I'd be added to the growing darkness that would spread and destroy the world thanks to Celestia. She was the center of it all.
The sound of the door opening piqued my interest, unsure whether I'd fallen unconscious or not. Orion knelt down and I wanted to move away, but I just couldn't find the energy.
"Shit, Finn. Is he okay?" Hunter questioned. It made me sad to hear how worried he sounded about my current predicament, knowing he usually tried not to show how important I was to him as a friend. I always felt we were like brothers, but I didn't know if he felt the same way, but his worry confirmed he did care, which was a comforting thought to have.
"Finn, you're going to be okay," Orion reassured me.
"No...Celestia. She'll disappear. She'll leave..." I breathed, trying to get up, but felt so cold. I couldn't afford to lose her. Not without telling her how I felt. Not without seeing her smile one more time. She couldn't become one with the darkness. She was ours. How dare someone else try to take what they had no ownership of? She loved us and protected us. Misfits who others thought were just a pain in their asses or too weak to be of importance.
She didn't care about our flaws. Instead, she loved us wholeheartedly, all the while thinking she wasn't good enough. I needed to prove to her she was worth the world, and nothing could possibly replace her.
Orion placed his hand on my shoulder. "Finn, relax. She's okay. Magnor stabilized her. She won't disappear. There no signs of darkness in her at the moment. We just have to keep an eye on her until then. Magnor's watching her and I'll go back and stay with her, but you need to calm down and rest. You can't protect her this way."
He understood me. He understood why I was so afraid. I knew Hunter did too, but Orion and I had gotten to know more about each other pasts thanks to Celestia. I'd told him things I hadn't even told Hunter.
Hunter doesn't need to know what happened last week. He'd just pity me. From Celestia falling ill and getting the phone call from back home, everything felt like it was crumbling around me. Now after that traumatic trial, I was struggling to keep it together anymore and Orion knew it.
"Let's get him cleaned up and in bed," Hunter suggested. Orion rubbed my back soothingly and they waited till I wasn't feeling nauseated to help move me. I must have fallen asleep at one point, because I woke up in bed. I heard quiet whispers from the left of me.
"That trial was fucked up. I've known Finn for years and never seen him break down like that," Hunter whispered, his voice sounded aggravated.
"They say they do it to weed out the weak. Even if it traumatizes the remaining ones left?" Theo sighed. "How does that possibly help?"
"If they break down your walls, what do you do?" Orion asked. There was a moment of silence before he continued. "You build stronger ones. You harden the shell around you so no one can make you feel and go through the same pain again. They do this because they're trying to make it so we can't easily get taken over by Forsaken. If we have a hard shell and have already experienced it, we're numb to a second attempt. At least if a Forsaken attempts to take over you, it will be a much longer process, which may give your partner or team enough time to defeat the Forsaken and get you help before you're consumed."
Theo groaned. "This is fucked up."
"Is Finn going to be okay?" Hunter questioned, sighing heavily.
"He needs to rest. Magnor said he wants Finn to stay at his place tonight and tomorrow so he can make sure he's okay. You know how dangerous it is for pixies when they're unstable," Orion pointed out.
"Dangerous when unstable?" Theo sounded confused.
"Pixies lean on one another for strength. They're a race like werewolves and phoenixes in the sense that need their family and loved ones nearby or else their magic dims away. Finn isn't as reliant on his family, but he usually has us around him to help compensate for that. Now that Celestia's in the picture, you can get how important she is," Hunter explained.
He was right about Celestia, but he didn't know what I'd been hiding all week, which was slowly killing me.
"We all care about Celestia and I think this exactly why she's been in every single trial. Haven't you noticed? Four trials and she's been in all of them when on other teams, people have only been going twice at most. Why is that?" Orion mumbled thoughtfully.
"You think her father is testing her?" Hunter asked.
"I doubt it. Her father looks so damn busy, he’s barely able to pay attention to her at all," Theo grumbled.
"The person who sabotaged our exam put snakes in Celestia's locker. Maybe they’re the reason she’s been part of every Trial," Orion muttered.
"They want her to break," Theo concluded.
"So she will change into a Forsaken," Hunter added solemnly.
"And if this legend is coming to pass, then maybe the man doing all of this is the Dark Unicorn," Orion whispered.
"Wait. The legend about the reaper is true? Hunter asked.
"I think that is what's going on. I've been debating if that was the case for a while, but nothing was adding up. Now after Celestia's breakdown, it makes sense," Orion disclosed.
"Wait, you mean the legend about the Dark Rider who stole the princess’ soul in her sleep to get back at his friend who was the Prince of Light?" Theo asked.
"Everyone tells the legend differently, but that's the one." Orion nodded.
"So Celestia's the one he's after, but who's the prince?" Theo asked. There was a moment of silence.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Orion sounded annoyed.
"I think it’s the hair," Theo whispered.
"Totally his hair. If he was a prince, I'd believe it," Hunter added.
"I don't know. We can figure that out later. I'm tired and would like to go back and check on Celestia. I don't want her waking up and freaking out," Orion concluded.
"Good call. I'll stay with Finn. Theo, can you go check on the twins? I want to make sure they're holding up well," Hunter asked.
"Sure. I think they went to check on Arielle," Theo commented.
"She still hasn’t recovered yet." Hunter sighed.
"I think that's what will make this trial really hard on Celestia. Lack of sleep, her familiar still recovering from that horrible incident, along with dealing with finding out Sia will disappear," Orion whispered with a frown.
"It's too much on her. She needs a good break. Also, I've been doing some research about DEM. We may be able to figure something out," Theo revealed.
"Really?" Hunter asked.
"Ya. I need to go back home and check the Coven library. I think they'll have something about the condition in one of their ancient texts. We'll look into it after the trials. That would relieve some stress."
"Arielle will recover soon too. She just needs lots of rest, and at least she's being watched over. Faelia's been helping out too. She said if we need help, we can ask her," Orion added.
"We'll figure this out. I think it would be a good idea for Celestia to talk with her father too. If he knows the extent of everything and hears it from his daughter, maybe it would help reinforce the fact we need to figure who pulling the strings around the school," Orion concluded.
"Agreed." Hunter nodded.
"Sounds like a plan," Theo declared.
"I'll see you guys later and make sure you get some rest somewhere along the line," Orion encouraged. I heard footsteps and then the room was silent for a bit.
"Orion's really changed recently. Very leader like now," Theo pointed out after a time.
"He always had it in him. It's just his past that sometimes holds him back to be the leader he is. We all know how that kinda feels," Hunter replied.
"I hope Finn gets better. His family would be worried," Theo pointed out.
"I agree. His sister would be all sad and would nag at me for as long as she could if she found out Finn got sick. I'll have to call his family later this week to check in if Finn gets worse. Maybe they can come visit if the headmaster will allow it. Or maybe he could take a short trip to see them."
"That would help him a lot. Let's see how this all plays out. I'll go check on Arielle and the twins. Then we’ll be back and make something to eat. At least if Finn wakes up, we can get him to eat something and have some food left for Celestia when she recovers," Theo suggested.
"Perfect. I'll see you in a bit. Be careful," Hunter whispered.
"You too. Watch Lucky Charms. If he gets worse, call us. Can't have any of us falling ill for the sake of Celestia's mental health."
"Roger that," Hunter replied.
I listened to Theo's fading footsteps and then Hunter sighed. I heard the dialing tone of a phone. I listened closely, ring after ring, waiting for someone to pick up. I already had a guess of who he was calling, but my heart longed for it to be someone else.
"Hmm. No one's answering. I guess I'll try tomorrow. I wouldn't have much to report anyways and don't need to listen to his sister nagging twice," Hunter sighed.
I couldn't help but sniff, slowly turning to my side as I fought not to cry. I listened to the approaching footsteps, a hand gently landed on my shoulder but I stayed as still as possible.
"Man, he's crying in his sleep. What did you see, buddy?" Hunter whispered, agony lingering in his voice.
It wasn't what I saw that made the tears roll down my cheeks as I begged for darkness to take me. It was the reality that I knew no one would answer his call...ever.
You can't pick up the phone when you're dead.