Chika was the first to step forward, putting a hand on the ice. “Terra?” she called. “Can you hear us in there?”

“Go away!” came a muffled reply.

All three let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. Chika pressed her lips together before shaking her head.

“No. We need to talk,” she responded. She paused. “Apologize. We… We’ve kind of sucked as teammates lately. Forever, I guess. And I know we haven’t been fair to you at all.”

Soledad stepped up next to her. “I didn’t mean what I said about not wanting to spend time with you!” she admitted. “I was upset about the situation, and… lashing out, instead of looking at myself to see what I’d done wrong.” She looked at Chika, only to find her staring right back. “I’m sorry.”

“We don’t dislike you,” Adela stated as she joined them. “In fact, I think the only thing we have been able to agree on is the fact that we each very much enjoy having you around. Leader or not.” She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. “I… I have to admit that I’ve… not entirely been as respectful to you as you deserve. Everything we went through with Tali is fresh in my mind, and… I’ve been afraid to let you take that spot.”

Chika put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve felt the same way,” she said.

“I guess we all have,” Soledad said. “Terra’s deserved this treatment the least out of all of us…”

“We at least only had Tali,” Chika pointed out. “You had three of them, and you dealt with them all on your own. And you were thrown into your position so suddenly…” She winced. “We really haven’t been fair. I haven’t been.”

“You were right to point out how little time you’ve had to adjust,” Adela continued. “Nobody becomes a leader overnight. And they especially can’t do it if no one’s following them like they should. We should have been more patient.”

Chika took her hand, and then Soledad’s. They glanced at each other.

“Look, we’ll…” She cleared her throat and licked her lips. “We’ll be better. We’ll try harder to get along, to stop picking fights and ignoring each other. I can’t promise we’ll be perfect, but… We’ll do our best.” She looked at them. “Right?”

“Absolutely!”

“Of course.”

She nodded and turned back to the ice; the glow inside was dimming. “You deserve a better chance to be our leader.”

For a moment, all was still. There was no wind in the trees, no scuffling on the sand, no wolves or monsters growling in the distance. Even the crackle of flame seemed to fall silent.

“…You’re wrong.”

The girls’ faces dropped.

“I don’t deserve another chance,” Terra continued. Her voice was low and pained. “You don’t know what I’m like. I’m— I’m a brat, and useless, and I just get in everyone’s way. I shouldn’t even be here.”

“That’s not true!” Soledad shot.

“It is. No one wants me. No one should.”

Chika puffed, despite her stomach dropping to her knees. She didn’t like hearing this. “Well, tough,” she stated. “We do want you, and that’s not going to change.”

Terra let out a shuddering breath. “You’ll change your mind when you know me.”

“Terra, I haven’t seen a single indication of anything that would imply you being a bad person,” Adela rushed out. “Even if you have flaws, it’s to be expected. You’re human.”

“I’m a monster!”

The entire orb turned a deep orange, and they could feel the heat even through the rapidly melting ice.

“I can’t even control myself!” she yelled through a sob. “All I do is hurt people and make their lives miserable! I don’t know why I even bothered leaving home; everything they’ve ever said to me is right! I can’t do this! I’m a monster!”

The crack Soledad had left was widening with every second; she stood on her tiptoes and peered through. Tears pooled in her eyes at the sight in front of her.

“Oh, Terra…,” she breathed.

At the center of a ball of fire, Terra sat on her knees with her cloak wrapped around her like a blanket. Every tear that slid down her cheek floated off into a ring of water hovering around the flames. Crackles of lightning shot off of her forearms, almost like a plasma ball. With every whimper and sob, she tensed up further, as if she was trying to stop herself.

Gritting her teeth, Soledad grabbed onto the ice and broke a piece off. Her hands burned at the cold, but it didn’t stop her from grabbing another, and another.

“What are you doing?” Adela asked, an urgent tone in her voice.

“I’m trying… to get… to Terra!”

Chika blanched. “Are you insane?! She’s surrounded by fire! You’ll get hurt!”

Soledad slammed the next piece of ice to the ground with a little more force than necessary. It snapped in two. “I don’t care! She needs us right now, and I’m not letting her suffer alone!”

Chika’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at her for a long moment, even as Adela shoved past to help. Her muscles rippled under her sleeveless romper as she chiseled the hole open, bit by bit. She clenched her jaw in a way that made her temples twitch, and there was no sight of her usual demeanor. Now that the airheaded, cocky arrogance was gone, replaced by her being truly serious for once, she was…

Had Soledad always been this…?

“Hey, Sleeping Sorrow, are you going to help, or are you just going to stand there all night?!”

Chika shook herself out of it and rushed over.