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Hearing this broke something inside Naomi. When the man and her mother entered the house – her mother carrying the duffle bag on her shoulders like a large purse – they saw her trembling while curled into a corner.
They approached Naomi and tried to speak soothingly to her, but when Naomi's mother looked at her daughter, she saw only anger and betrayal in Naomi's eyes.
Naomi pushed her mother away with surprising strength, sending her flying out a window into the front yard.
"They say in extreme cases our bodies can display amazing feats," The man said, astonished by what he'd just seen, before shrugging it off.
"Whatever. I prefer to do this like a gentleman, but if you're gonna be this way..."
When he forcibly grabbed Naomi's arm, something in her snapped, and for the first time, all of her power was released at once, freezing everything.
When the cold fog dissipated, she was in her hybrid form, and the man was nowhere to be seen. However, his frozen hand was still gripping her arm.
Dazed, Naomi got up and treaded outside where she saw her mother alive and shivering while trying to crawl toward the duffle bag that was full of frosted cash.
Naomi walked toward the bag, then picked it up as she heard her mother say, "N-N-Noo..."
Naomi looked down at her mother with cold eyes as she watched her steadily freeze over due to Naomi's presence. Her mother smiled unnaturally, like a clown villain she'd once seen in comics, due to Naomi's Divine Presence. As her final words were "P-Please..." her eyes fixated on the duffle bag, and she became a hardened, human ice carcass.
Naomi stared at the frozen figure as one final tear froze before falling down her cheek. It was at that moment that Naomi's mind split in two.
Finally, Arne reached Naomi in the storm's center. She was the 13-year-old Naomi, curled up on the icy ground.
"Hey, come here," Arne said, grabbing hold of her shaking body with comfort.
"I'm here. We're here," Arne's trembling voice said in Naomi's ear. "No one, let alone someone as young as you were, should experience something like that. I get why you developed a resentment and identity crisis after that. You were alone and needed to protect your mind. But you aren't alone anymore. We're here. You have a team. Friends. Don't let this moment anchor you to the past anymore."
"I-I can't..."
"Accept it, Naomi, but understand that you have those who care about you, who can protect you. We will never let anything like this happen to you again, so show us that you believe in us. I know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you accidentally destroyed your friends' minds."
Naomi looked up at Arne, whose metal skin was now mostly gone, and she suffered from severe frostbite, but was no longer shivering.
Knowing how much of a bad sign that was, Naomi closed her eyes and began to face her trauma. She accepted the worst of humanity along with the best – that some are despicable, but many have kind and exceptional qualities that make them worth protecting. She accepted the events of that traumatic day: her mother's betrayal, especially. She also highlighted her friendships with Za'Fia, then Arne, Damien, Alissia, Michael, Tymon, and even her newfound understanding of Trevor and Wren.
As she did so, the cold faded away, and everyone quickly began to thaw. Having already admitted to being resentful, but now knowing the actual cause, the mindscapes were undone, and to her surprise, they were back on Earth, with the pneumarian standing before them, smiling proudly.
"We made it? Thank God," Trevor said, sighing in relief. "I thought that was it for us for a second."
"Well done, each of you," the pneumarian clasped her hands together before bowing her head slightly.
Having accepted and acknowledged her past, Naomi felt a profound difference now. Her two personalities had finally returned to being one. It even showed in her hybrid form, where she now had eight frost tails instead of four.
"Hm. Strange," the pneumarian said, tilting her head curiously as she watched Naomi. "All kitsune I have met have had nine tails..."
Now that she mentions it, while I do feel wholer, I still don't feel quite...whole, Naomi thought to herself.
"So, you plan to tell us who you are now?" Damien said, glaring at the pneumarian.
"Of course," the pneumarian said with gusto. "I am Thessa, a long-time friend of Viraa's. After she left Cindar she eventually reached out and asked me to come here. When I arrived she told me she planned to separate her power into 8 parts but before doing so, Viraa asked me to monitor you all from the moon, but I was not to interfere until a specific date – today. I believe she wanted me to help you all become closer and recognize the problems you all have either forgotten or suppressed. It seems to have allowed you all to better understand one another, no?"
"If you were watching, surely you know we could have used your help with Rabae earlier today," Damien remarked.
"Hm? Oh, had Rabae truly intended to cause you all harm, I would have intervened and aided you all in fighting him," Thessa replied light-heartedly. "Though I can't say I'd have been able to defeat him. He is much more powerful and skilled at battle than I am."
"More importantly..." Thessa leaned in closer. "Do none of you recognize me?"
Wren raised an eyebrow.
"Should we? You just said you've been on the moon."
"Hm. I suppose not... Well, I've fulfilled my promise and don't intend to interfere with your paths any further. I have confidence you all will be ready for what happens next..." Thessa said with a wink before turning into light and shooting off the planet.
"What a strange person..." Naomi commented as they all looked at the night sky.
"She left before we could ask any more questions," Arne noted.
"Probably," Naomi replied. "Hey, I'm in a great mood, why don't we have a little party to celebrate us overcoming our problems. We can use the time to get to know each other a little better."
"Yeah, I'm up for it," Trevor said as he shot a small blast that started a fire nearby. Then Arne summoned stone for seats around the fire for everyone.
Naomi sat down and stared up at the dazzling night sky before she was bumped by Trevor who chose to sit next to her. After that they spent a couple of hours sharing some experiences they'd gone through during their long lives.
At some point Damien sighed and looked at Wren and Trevor, clearly wanting to lessen the tension between them, but before he could say anything, Wren spoke.
"So why'd you do it?"
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