To this day, I still remember the fall.

Horrible creatures beyond the rules of the world had played with my heart in their petty squabble, making my beloved return to me only to be killed over and over again. They saw no sympathy for him, only an object pulled in an idiotic competition of their egos.

I had done what was necessary to bring him back, my love, a man who lived a selfless life protecting others. Watching him in this state, constantly thrown between life and death, I couldn’t withstand the fear and pain inside me. When they finally discarded him, I was livid. I turned against the most powerful beings in the universe with magic that seemed minuscule in comparison.

Then that being of pure light swallowed me.

I awoke in the sky, the wind howling as I plunged through the clouds, the ground rushing to meet me. My life has extended beyond bounds, my mind filled with an insurmountable collection of memories. And yet, that fall remains one I find myself lost in. A helpless descent, none of the powers at my disposal able to save me.

I plunged into a lake, a pool of life that people had spent generations worshipping on the shores. The moment I broke its surface, my life ended. The girl in freefall, scared beyond measure, heartbroken, was gone. She could never find her love again after she was thrown into the pool. She could never find rest. Her new cage, a life lived far too long, was pressed upon her.

I remember that fall as the final moment of my old life and the creation of something new. Neither was perfect, and I spent millennia struggling without end. And yet, I changed.

I took that fall, and I rose again stronger than ever.

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I opened my eyes to a sound tearing at my ears. A whistle, a roar, surrounding me. My body felt wrong, my limbs finding no purchase on the ground. My hair was whipped around my face, pulled free of Enyo’s tedious braiding. I flailed my body, trying to find my bearing as I found nothing to right myself. When I looked down, I nearly screamed.

The ground far, far, far below me, the details melding together as they were too small to make out. I looked to my right and my left only to see clouds and the blue sky stretching beyond my sight.

Then it came rushing back: the ship taking off, my relieving outburst, the heat, the hull ripping apart. I spotted it. The Chartreuse family warship was below me, open-air between me and the metal monstrosity. It was falling, a huge gash in its side. Smoke poured from the wound, fire visible inside the hull. My mind was frantic, trying to make sense of what had happened. Then I remembered the power: burning, invigorating heat that had run through my veins, making my blood sing.

I looked at my hands. I activated my Aura, projecting it so that covered my body in its protection. Mine had always been orange, a dingy shade that lacked any appeal. Now, it was bright. A fire tied to my soul that proclaimed itself with glory. I could feel the pull from the ship, begging me to reach out.

My Semblance!

Even plummeting through the air, I still felt the elation I had dreamed of for so many years. I finally found my Semblance! Something that was completely and utterly mine. And it was magnificent!

My joy was short-lived as my current situation sunk in. While my Aura could protect me, there was no way that it could withstand a fall like this. When I hit the ground, my Aura will break and the impact would still easily kill me.

I frantically looked around, looking for something to help me. Without my weapon or any Dust, I was without any solutions unless I improvised. Pieces of the ship and burnt cloth littered the air around me, thrown from the ship as I had been. I looked back at the falling ship, at the smoke billowing from the hole. As I was yelling, the ship started to get hot. I remember when I was on my back that I could feel that the metal beneath the carpet was hot. Right before I tore it, part of the hull had been glowing red or maybe orange.

My Semblance isn’t Telekinesis or Polarity. I could move the metal, but not before it was hot. That must be it. I can manipulate objects by super-heating them! I reached out, feeling my power brush up against the debris around me. I couldn’t feel the ship, so my ability has a limited range. I wrapped my power around the scraps of metal and cloth. The fabric caught burned away but the metal held its shape. I drew the shreds to me, the pieces zipping to me without resistance. I pushed them this way and that, a metal cloud catching the light of the sun. And yet it was useless. The metal, even if welded together into a set of makeshift armor, couldn’t protect me from the crash. But that gave me another idea…

I pulled the shreds to me. The metal clung to my body, the intense heat rolling off my skin without burning me. Once I was completely covered, I pulled the metal in the opposite direction as my fall, trying to force it back into the sky. It responded, pressing against me as I willed it to ascend. I began to slow, but the metal couldn’t offer enough resistance against my momentum. It began to peel away, pieces of my armor ripped away before I could repair them. When it became useless, I let the metal break apart. It hadn’t worked and now I can see the tops of trees and a span clear of foliage as I approached the ground. Fear shot through me, making the possibility that I would splatter on the ground emerge in vivid colors.

I was freed from my panic by a familiar cry, louder than I had ever heard to break through the wind’s roar. I looked to my left and, several yards away, was Obsidian, his wings tucked against his sides as he plummeted with me. A sense of security filled my chest, as it always does when I see my friend. His pure red eyes were fixed on something below him. When I followed his line of sight, another surge of joy bloomed. There, among the rubble of the ship falling through the shy, was a sleek, shiny case about the size of a duffel bag. I recognized it as the one Pem had presented before we boarded the airship, the one Keane gestured to when his arm was around my waist.

I flung my Semblance at the case, feeling the strain as it gripped the case at the edge of my control. As the case started to warm, I looked down and realized, with a fresh wash of horror, that I could now make out individual trees. I felt the case heat, the metal turning a bright orange. Finally, it was heated enough that I pulled it to me through the howling wind.

I undid the latch, thankful there wasn’t a lock, and reached in. My hand grazed my blades and arrows until I felt what I needed. Five cylinders, filled with a mixture of sand and Fire Dust. I pulled one out, gripping it hard as I heated the container. As I did, I also used my Aura to stabilize the Dust inside, preventing it from combusting in my hand from the heat. I used my Semblance to fling the cylinder towards the ground directly below me. When it was far enough, I sent a rush of heat into the container, igniting the Dust inside, causing an explosion in midair. I fell directly into it, the force of the blast slamming into me. My Aura absorbed it, preventing me from any injury.

I was thrown off course, now falling at a much slower rate, the explosion having provided resistance. I reached in and grabbed another canister, repeating the same procedure. The second blast demolished the tips of trees, throwing me clear of the forest. I was still going too fast, but I was prepared. The airship had almost crashed, the metal a second or two away from an impact. It had torn through the treetops, aimed directly at the clearing I had seen from above.

Time seemed to slow as it drew closer. I braced myself, hoping that my idea would work. With a mighty and terrible screech, the ship finally crashed. The protruding front twisted and bent. It slid across the ground for a second before the engine, having spewed smoke the entire descent, exploded. The blast washed over me, much larger than mine. I could feel myself stop, my body temporarily suspended as my fall was canceled out. Then the larger blast threw me away from the ship, flung parallel to the ground. I threw the third canister and blew it up, a final cushion before I hit the ground. My shoulder slammed into the earth, my body tumbling over itself as it skipped across the clearing. Finally, I rolled to a stop.

My head was spinning and my body stung in places, but my Aura had spared me from any serious injuries. Still, I stayed on the ground, recouping after the endeavor.

Something tapped the back of my head. I lifted myself up and came eye to eye with Obsidian, the tiny Grimm looking completely unfazed. With a trembling hand, I stroked Obsidian’s feathers, felt the softness I thought I would never feel again. My body moved on its own, scooping Obsidian into my arms and holding him to my chest. Fresh tears ran down my face, smearing the already ruined make-up. And yet, I was smiling, my heart pounding with each adrenaline-fueled beat. I had my friend, who stuck by me and saved my life over and over again. Everything was okay.

Eventually, Obsidian began to squirm. I released him. The Grimm hopped onto my shoulder, pecked my cheek affectionately, and chirped. I scratched his head one more time as I stood up and turned.

It was a mess.

The main body of the airship laid around a massive crater, but nearly half of it was gone. The missing fraction was scattered into pieces, flaming hunks of metal scattered in the trees and the clearing. The front was twisted beyond recognition, like a clay nose that had been flattened and tried to be reshaped by someone with clumsy hands. Smoke still poured from the ship, a dark cloud that rose higher into the sky. I could see a direct path of the fall in the trees, the tops and branches decimated as the behemoth crashed through them.

I took in the rest of my surroundings. The clearing was an expanse of rocky terrain with a scattering of dry grass, the ground consisting of loose dirt that the soles of my feet sunk slightly into. Behind me was what probably used to be a massive hill. Now, it looked like a hand had descended through the heavens and dug through the rise. The hill’s core was exposed to the elements, the rest must have spilled over and buried the trees underneath our feet. It was a stark contrast to the forest forming a semicircle around the barren earth. The air was noticeably colder and the surrounding forests consisted of only the most resilient species. I’m guessing we crashed in the north of Anima, approaching the sea that separated the continent from Solitas and its capital, Atlas.

I felt the weight of the case still in my hand, my hand clenched tightly around the handle. Setting it down and opening the lid, a rush went through me. There they were. My blades, Midnight, in their full glory. A quiver of my arrows with different colors of fletching was nestled beneath the weapons. The two remaining canisters of sand were on the right. Beneath, to my gratitude, was my training attire. I quickly stripped the tattered wedding dress off me and slipped into my gear. A form-fitting tunic of the deepest crimson that had long sleeves but left my shoulders exposed, gold trim at the cuffs. Black tights went on under a knee-length skirt that matched my top. I found my blue feather ornament, an accessory that made me think of Obsidian, and wove it into my hair above my left ear. It stuck up and out, so Obsidian pecked at the feathers a couple of times. Black slippers with tough soles replaced the tight-toed ones my feet had been stuffed into.

I withdrew my blades, their weight in my hands filling me with surety. The seax-scimitar mixed blades gleamed in the sunlight. I held a sword in each hand, their grip fitting perfectly to my grasp. I swung them a few times as a test. Their weight was perfect. I pressed the bottoms together, hearing the satisfying click of the weapons locking in place. I held my new weapon up, the bow seemingly stable. I pressed my fingertips to a compartment on the back of one of the blades, pulling out a string that I strung on the other tip. I pulled the bowstring back, the tension exactly the way I preferred. I unlocked my blades, the string withdrawing back into its hiding place. I checked the quiver next. The arrows seemed intact, the arrowheads razor-sharp. I could practically feel the Dust embedded in each projectile. Finally, I pulled out my belt, slipping it around my waist. A couple of extra pouches with more vials of Dust hung from the leather. I attached the quiver and blades to my back, hidden straps on my clothes and belt cradling the weapons without obstructing my movements.

A shiver ran up my spine. It felt immensely better to be back in my Huntress uniform instead of that horrid dress.

I picked up the dress and the tight slippers. The white material was in tatters and several spots were burnt. The slippers were in a similar condition, scuffed and blackened. My Semblance took hold of them, heat rising between my hands. The dress and slippers began to glow orange. And then, they crumbled to ash. No smoke, no fire. They simply turned to dust through my fingers and were gone.

Obsidian tugged at my hair. I turned my head in his direction to see the cause of his stir. A spire of worn stone stuck out on the sparse clearing, pointing upwards at a seventy-degree angle and shaped almost like the needle of a compass. Even at the tip, the stone seemed to be a different color like one of those needles. I approached the protruding stone, staring at the splotch on its surface. It glistened darkly under the sun, a deep shade of red that didn’t match the spire. I reached up, the splotch just barely out of reach. I gave up, drawing back down. When I did, I saw specks of white mixed with the spot. I looked down, seeing a splattering of droplets beneath my feet.

When I realized what it was, I walked to the other side of the stone. I saw a heap on the ground, limbs sprawled at awkward angles. Blood pooled around the body and more had sprayed in a large radius around it. The ground around it had been disrupted, the soil forming a crater that had held the body.

I approached. Obsidian clung to my shoulder but didn’t make a sound. I’ll spare the details of the corpse’s condition and merely say that it would have been unrecognizable. That is if I hadn’t been there to see the shreds of a suit that matched so many others in his closet. The Glyph on the cuff that represents the SDC.  The man I believed to be my father lay before me, body shattered, never to move again.

I felt nothing. Had he still been the smiling man that wished for my happiness, I would have felt different. For the man that hit my, damaged me, made my life miserable, I held no grief. I had cried for my loss years ago and had nothing left for him. The words I had let loose on the ship came back to me, and I actually smiled. It was weird, but I felt… satisfied.