Prone on her backside, Kate dared to open her eyes.  Whatever that monster had been, it was gone now--burned away by the weapon the metal man wielded.  Slowly an understanding of what had happened seeped into the woman’s consciousness.  That monster had been a man--both of them had been.  And now one had killed the other.  Why?  What had happened?  Kate found her answer easily:  they had put on those vile masks.

She grasped her own.  Why had she held onto it so long?  Had she really thought she might be able to use it at some point?  The notion was revolting.  Drawing her arm back, Kate threw the wicked object as far from her as she could; even touching it made her feel sick.  She turned quickly to find Anni and help her do the same.  [color=81fff0]”Anni!”[/color] she started, but stopped when she saw her friend’s haunted expression.

Anni watched the ash scatter in the wind.  The ash that had once been a man.  He was gone.  Anni didn’t even know when he had left; it may have been while her eyes were covered, when the dark soldier fired his gun.  It may have been some time before that, sometime after he put on his mask--his [i]Semblance.[/i]  Kody wouldn’t have attacked Stormy like that.  Or Koda.  Whoever he was before he wasn’t.

All her attempts to think, to provide reason and give meaning to what she was seeing, were futile.  Tears began to build in Anni’s eyes.  Legs shaking, the small girl took a tiny step forward.  Then she took another.  One tremulous step at a time, she walked to where a person, a friend had existed until only moments ago.  Now he was gone.

She couldn’t stand any longer.  Anni sunk to her knees, stirring up small puffs of their former comrade's dust from the grass.  The flood of emotions swirling around her came rushing out:  sorrow, terror, fear, revulsion, anger--a cup so bitter Anni couldn’t imagine trying to stand again.  Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Against despair’s onslaught, Anni did the only thing she knew she could:  she wrapped trembling arms around her stomach, clamped her eyes shut, and prayed.  Her lips moved silently, mouthing the words her heart cried.  She prayed for Koda and for his safe arrival in the next life; she poured out her feelings of horror, of pain, of being far too small in a place so big; but most of all, Anni pleaded for understanding.  She begged to know why this, all of this--the killing, the dark spells, the transformations, their very presence in Irriss--was happening.  Why Anni was here.  What she was supposed to do here.  Streams flowed from her eyes and ragged gasps escaped her lips, but her silent words never slowed.
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