So this is the Unreturning.
Fae gazed out over the endless, tranquil water, reflecting a watery sky above.
The question is…
“Where do we go?” Jupiter asked, hands on her hips as she surveyed the landscape. “Everything looks exactly the same.”
“No landmarks, either,” Neptune said. “Nothing to give us a clue of where to go.”
“Why not go the direction Solus was heading when he vanished?” Sonya asked.
“Ooh, great idea!” Mercury said. She looked around for a moment, then pursed her lips. “So, uh… which way was he going?”
Neptune sighed. “None of us were paying attention, were we?”
“I thought I was watching closely,” Madeline said, “but now I’m not so sure.”
“So we just pick a direction and go,” Mercury said with a shrug. “We’ll find our way somehow.” She started forward, walking past Fae towards the distant line of the horizon.
“What, because you can do everything right?” Jupiter asked, surprising harshness in her tone.
Mercury stopped, looking over her shoulder at her sister. “You got a problem?” she asked, a strange look in her eyes, like she was excited at the challenge.
Wait, what’s happening here?
“Yeah, I do,” Jupiter said, glaring at Mercury. “Always so high and mighty, acting all carefree because you’re so sure of yourself that you could never be wrong, huh?”
“Hey, wait, what are you —” Fae started.
Mercury chuckled. “Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she turned to face Jupiter. “Standing up to your sister? And for what? Or do you just enjoy making a fool of yourself?”
Jupiter’s face twisted in anger, and she balled her hands into fists. “I am sick of you and Neptune making me the butt of every single one of your stupid jokes!”
Behind her, Neptune rolled her eyes. “Stupid jokes?” she asked. “They’re only stupid because of the subject of them.”
“Shut up!” Jupiter shouted, her fists trembling. “I’m sick of your attitude, both of you! Looking down on me, making fun of me, acting like you’re both so much better than me? Get out of here!”
Next to Fae, Olivia pulled her hood up, tugged it forward and down to hide her face, and lowered her head, stuffing her hands in her pockets.
Why are they…
Oh.
“The Unreturning will try to pit you against each other.” That’s what Kairyu said.
“You should be proud of being good for something,” Mercury said, smiling at Jupiter. “Since you’re such a lousy drummer.”
“I’m a what?” Jupiter asked, staring wide-eyed at Mercury.
Mercury raised her hand, distractedly inspecting her nails. “You’re supposed to lead the rhythm, but you’re always the one to screw the rhythm up. Always so quick to up the tempo instead of staying on track. I know you’re hyperactive, but you can’t be a proper drummer without some self-control.”
Is this seriously what’s happening? The sisters who are the closest to each other are being turned against each other? But how? Why?
What can I do to…
Fae hesitated, though, as the Star sisters bickered and Jupiter grew more and more agitated.
Why try to stop them, though?
This is what I hate so much about people. No matter how much they love each other, they can still turn on each other so easily. The stupidest arguments, the stupidest bickering over senseless garbage. Put people too close together for too long and they always turn on each other.
Why bother? I’ve never bothered before. Just leave them behind, find your way through this Unreturning thing alone. The trial can’t turn me against anyone if I’m alone.
Being alone is so much better.
Strangely, Madeline and Sonya were silent as the Star sisters turned on each other. While Madeline watched, the slightest hint of displeasure on her face, Sonya was staring intently at her hands, breathing slowly and carefully.
“You’re one to talk, arrogant prick,” Jupiter said, pointing at Mercury. “Hogging the spotlight because you think you’re so pretty, so special. Neptune sings much better than you.”
“But people like me,” Mercury said, smiling that perfect smile of hers. “And I am pretty. It’s perfect for the spotlight.” She sighed dramatically. “I suppose I should consider starting a solo act. I’m sick of being pulled down.”
“Feel free,” Neptune said.
“You’d just let her leave?” Jupiter asked.
“You, too,” Neptune said, fixing her redhead sister with a steady gaze. “I’m sick of you and Mercury hanging all over me, all the time. Haven’t you ever heard of personal space? Give me a break sometimes.”
I know exactly how you feel.
But I’m sick of this. I need to leave this all behind. This is pathetic. Whatever this trial’s doing, it’s making them say things they don’t really mean, pushing their buttons and exaggerating things to…
Wait.
Things they don’t really mean?
No. That’s not right. There it is. I feel it too, playing with my own mind. But I almost didn’t notice it. Because it isn’t pushing me to things I wouldn’t do or think.
It’s pulling out the parts I don’t like. I see how this works…
But why can’t they? How come I’m the only calm one here?
Looking over at Madeline, though, she felt a bit more at ease.
She seems like she’s figured it out, too. Thank goodness.
Okay. Now to stop these three from tearing each other apart. As much as I do prefer being alone…
There are too many reasons for us to stick together. And…
I don’t want them to go. Not really.
“Guys, stop this,” Fae said, stepping forward. “We don’t need to be fighting right now. We need to beat the Unreturning. It’s trying to pit us against each other.”
“Nah, this isn’t some trial,” Mercury said. “It’s just the truth coming out after being kept hidden too long.”
“Oh, shut up,” Jupiter said. “Thinking you know everything. Give it a break! I’ll put you in your place.”
“If you’re looking for a know-it-all,” Mercury said, “look at her.” She nodded to Neptune.
“Jealousy doesn’t suit anyone,” Neptune said with a sigh. “I’m leaving.”
“No, we can’t split up!” Fae said. “That’s how we fail.”
“If I’m alone, I can’t be separated from anyone,” Neptune said, turning away. “Besides, I’ve had enough of everyone here. Especially my sisters.”
“And?” Mercury asked. Neptune stopped, looking back at her with a questioning gaze. Mercury smirked. “You’ve got special issues with more than just us sisters of yours.”
Neptune sighed. “You really think she wants to hear that?”
“Standoffish,” Mercury said, holding up a finger, and holding up others as she listed other things, “self-absorbed, overly quiet, heavy on the cold shoulder, inconsiderate.”
Turn it on me, now?
Fastest way to get me to run, normally.
Fae felt that familiar discomfort, that familiar fear, spread through her. The drama and conflict was bad enough between others close enough for her to be witness, but when it turned on her…
“She already knows she’s inconsiderate, though,” Neptune said. “She’s made that clear before. Seems pointless to point it out.”
“Oh, yes, because you’re so clever to say that,” Mercury said, rolling her eyes. “I know she already knows, but when’s the last time she heard someone else say it? That helps drive the point home, don’t you think?”
“She does think,” Jupiter said with a groan. “Too much. All the time. About everything. ‘Look at me, I’m Neptune, the smart one who thinks carefully about everything.’ Give me a break.”
“No one needs to give you a break,” Neptune said. “You’re always taking breaks on your own, whether or not it’s helpful, regardless of how much it might inconvenience your bandmates.”
“Because I work five times harder than both of you combined!” Jupiter said, glaring. “You two with your fancy fingering and stuff, while I’m in the back pounding on drums, usually really fast, doing all sorts of cool tricks. Why do you think I’m the skinniest? It’s not because I eat the least.”
“Yeah, yeah, you burn the most calories,” Mercury said. “Tell me, what does that have to do with improving your tempo?”
“Just cut it out, won’t you?” Fae asked, finding her courage again. “Leave it alone!”
“What for?” Madeline asked. “I think it’s kind of fun airing out our grievances like this. The truth sets you free, and freedom’s good for the soul.”
“Then we shouldn’t be the only ones talking,” Jupiter said. “Look at Olivia. Just hiding over there, like we can’t see her. Seriously? Say something, won’t you? Oh, I forgot, you don’t talk.”
Olivia said nothing, instead crouching down, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face in her thighs.
“I can still see you,” Jupiter said, rolling her eyes. “Honestly.”
“Don’t go picking fights,” Fae said. “Come on, this isn’t like any of you. It’s the trial, and it isn’t good. We have more important things than this.”
“Right, more important things,” Mercury said. “Like finally getting us to the Silver Star Sanctuary. After all this time, you’re finally helping us get there, only when it’s important to you, too. Because the quest is all about you, about your drawings, about your secretive powers or whatever. Ignoring what the people with you the entire time want until it’s also convenient for your own purposes.”
We didn’t even know how to get back to the Sanctuary until very recently.
But Fae didn’t point that out to the others. She understood what was happening, and she needed to find the right approach. Engaging with the bickering, fussing over details, that wasn’t going to bring this madness to an end.
It’s so easy to nitpick details. It’s so easy to get lost in the argument.
This is why I hate this stuff! This is why…
“Don’t bother with her like that,” Madeline said, her voice surprising Fae with its cold tone. “She doesn’t care about other people. Trying to make her feel guilty is like talking to concrete.”
“It gives you someone who will listen without interrupting?” Jupiter asked.
“Now you’re making stupid jokes all on your own,” Mercury said with the fakest of sweetness. “Congratulations.”
“Madeline…?” Fae asked, looking past the Star sisters at her dearest friend. Madeline was staring straight back at her, cold detachment on her face.
“Inconsiderate,” Madeline said. “You know the word. But you’re more than that, aren’t you? Inconsiderate, that’s just the word you use to make it sound nice. In reality, you just hate people. The way you run away from your family, run away from your friends, even run away from class or club activities when it suits you. Running not because you’re scared, but because you’re disgusted. Disgusted by everyone else who gives you the slightest bit of criticism, who shows the slightest bit of fire with you or anyone else. You take avoidance of confrontations to a whole new level, but you don’t even do it out of fear. You do it out of self-righteous indignation that anyone else would be anything but exactly how you want them to be.”
“You…” Fae started, fighting at tears that threatened to come up.
No. It’s the trial. It’s the Unreturning. It’s…
But it isn’t making her say things she doesn’t believe. Somewhere, deep down…
She believes all of that.
So then…
No! Don’t get caught up in the words, in how they make you feel. Words are…
Words are…
The most dangerous weapons in the world. All it takes is a few words, and the closest sisters in the world are at each other’s throats.
All it takes is a few words from your best friend to make you feel so small, so worthless.
That’s what the Unreturning does. It convinces us to destroy each other with words.
Then what we need…
Fae started to reach into her bag, but stopped.
Hope wouldn’t fix this. Ringing a bell won’t help them. Maybe Olivia, scared as she is, but the others… no.
It’s not a universal elixir. This is…
A people problem.
The worst, stupidest kind of problem. Madeline’s right. It’s disgusting, and I’m disgusted by it all the time.
But a people problem…
…needs a people solution, right?
“Just silence,” Madeline said, scoffing. “Like when we were roommates. You’d always go quiet when things got too difficult, and then you’d usually run away until I cooled off. Avoid the problem. That’s the Fae Greyson way.”
Yeah, sure. I know. I know I never handled that very well.
But do you have to say it like that? Do you have to…
Come on. Don’t listen. Move past it.
“I’m not running away,” Fae said. “I refuse to run.”
Make a stand. It feels… weird. But…
This is the first step.
“Oh, so you’re —” Madeline started.
“Just shut up and listen for a minute,” Fae said firmly, watching as Madeline stopped mid-sentence, and then slowly closed her mouth. The Star sisters stared at her, and even Sonya stopped staring at her shaking hands to look at Fae. Fae took a deep breath, but she didn’t let it out calmly.
She didn’t feel calm at all.
“We’ve all got problems with each other,” she said. “So get over it. Madeline, you’re right. I do think it’s disgusting. Because it’s almost always a gigantic waste of time, of emotional energy, just bickering and fighting and trying to put the other person down, trying to win, it’s gross and I hate it. And I do usually run. But this isn’t the place for running. Because we have a trial to complete — a trial we can only complete together. A trial that gets you —” she looked at the Star sisters, “to the place you’ve been searching for so long. A trial that gets all of us closer to such important answers.”
“But they’re always ganging up on me!” Jupiter said, pointing at both of her sisters.
“Because you’re infuriating,” Neptune said. “So small-minded, so simple —”
“If it makes you mad, keep it to yourself,” Fae said, glaring daggers at Neptune. “Talking about this crap makes everyone angry, just throwing stones at everyone, and for what? It makes you angry, so shut up about it, already.”
“What, like you never get angry at anyone?” Madeline said with a smirk. “You’ve given me a few good yells in our time as friends.”
“And most of the time you didn’t deserve them,” Fae said. “I was just angry, and said hurtful things for the sake of cutting you down. It was stupid, and selfish, and this is why I hate this kind of junk that people do to each other! Mercury, maybe you’re full of yourself, but you don’t act like that most of the time, so I know there’s more to you, a lot of good things going on in there. You saved me from the Nightmare Road. Before that, you saved me from my own questions, set me on this journey. You can be better than this. Jupiter, I’m sorry that I’ve laughed at some of the jokes made about you. They do gang up on you, all the time, and it’s got to be infuriating. So stick up for yourself without throwing them under the bus. I’ll stick up for you, too. Neptune, I want to be alone a lot of the time, too. But we’re in this together, and I know you know that. Like it or not, we have to do this right, and we can’t leave anyone behind.”
“Wait, you’re not mad at me?” Mercury asked.
“I’m mad at all of you!” Fae shouted. “Because you’re being idiots, and I know you’re not idiots, so stop it! Well, fine, we’re all idiots sometimes, but I know you’re not usually idiots. Not even you, Jupiter.”
“What do you mean, ‘even’?” Jupiter asked.
“Forget it, that was stupid to say,” Fae said, shaking her head. “Look, the point is, you need to cut your crap! And I’m not finished.” She looked at Sonya. “We just met, but I know there’s something freaking you out, that you don’t want to talk about. It’s okay to have secrets, I think. But don’t be afraid of your secrets. You look like you want to run away, but I don’t want you to. Please stay. Please keep going with us.” She looked at Madeline. “We had a lot of issues, I know that. But with all you said, the funny thing is, I know you feel exactly the same way. You’re as disgusted by this as I am, as fed up with interpersonal conflict and drama as I am.” She sighed. “Yeah, well, I think that’s all I have.” She walked over to Olivia, kneeling beside her, even though her knee went in the water and was instantly soaked. But she was still looking at the other girls. “Unless you guys have more nonsense you want to shout about. Then I’m sure I can find something else to say on the subject.”
For a long time, there was silence.
Mercury, perfectly characteristic, was the first to laugh.
“Where’d all that fire come from?” she asked, shaking her head. “You’ve been so quiet and serious for so long, I never thought I’d see you actually get mad.” She grinned. “That was cool, though. Thanks.” She rubbed her forehead. “The place got in my head, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Jupiter said. “I got so obsessed with… stupid stuff.”
“We ended up saying things we didn’t mean,” Neptune said, looking at Jupiter. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Madeline said, looking at Fae. “The things I said…”
“Were all what you actually thought,” Fae said. Everyone stared at her, confused. “You all meant it, everything you said. I have plenty of nasty things I could say about everyone I love, and I’d mean them. But… the reason we don’t say them is because we can look past them. Not because they’re untrue, or we don’t actually believe them, but because most of the time, we don’t care about them. Of course I don’t like everything about each of you. It would be stupid if I did. But I don’t have to worry about those things, and I can look past those things and not say them.” She paused, letting out a sigh. “That’s just what it means to be friends. Or family.”
Mercury was grinning wider than ever. “Oh, it feels good to hear that,” she said. “You’re right. But even still…” She turned to Jupiter and pulled her into a half-hug with one arm. “I’m not gonna make so many jokes at your expense, okay? Sorry.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Jupiter said, elbowing Mercury in the ribs. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“You okay?” Fae asked, ducking lower to try and get a look at Olivia’s face. Slowly, Olivia raised her head, pulling her hood back partway so it wasn’t hiding her face.
“I…” she started, looking like she was coming out of a daze. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m all right, now.” She nodded, smiling a small smile. “Thank you. The trial, it… I could feel that it was pushing my fears and desire to avoid conflict, but I couldn’t resist until you stopped everyone else.”
Fae smiled. “Good,” she said. She pushed herself to stand.
“Hey, look!” Mercury said, pointing. Fae and Olivia turned around to see a new sight on the glassy sea.
There was a blue door.
“Guess we pass?” Mercury asked, starting slowly up to the door. But Fae could see the answer to her question was a yes.
On the door itself was carved the symbol of the Silver Star Sanctuary: a silver star within a circle.
“Now it’s time for you to take the lead,” Fae said, nodding to the triplets. Mercury looked at her sisters, who nodded to her. So she took hold of the doorknob and opened the door, revealing a sheet of silvery light.
One by one, the girls stepped through, leaving the Unreturning behind.