Sacrifice

  “Don't waste this, kids, “ Debuu-san said with a bittersweet smile.

  And with a ripple that lingered a beat and a half along the surface of the gleaming mirror, the guardian bug passed through it decidedly, its pompon tail and triangular ears twitching one last time in a heartfelt goodbye. An incandescent green light emanated from the glass, like an alien sun against the dark evening sky; then, it turned red, mars red; and finally, it was blue. A sound, like the shattering ceiling of an invisible dome was heard above, and a powerful gust of wind overtook the world, pushing the soil and the firmament into one, joint dance.

  As the pixelated storm propagated among the snow globe's eidolon forestland, transforming the trees into abstract geometrical shapes, Inês felt a surge of strength tightening her muscles. It was as if the essence of Debuu-san had begun to course through her very veins. She knew the others were feeling it to, for on the ground, Jin and Lu had begun to move. What's more, Marcel was changing; time seemed to slow around him, his brown hair and long sokutai sleeves arresting momentarily in the air. Then, drops of suspended water, like morning dew arriving before its time, appeared around him; pendent, and a patch pooled at his feet, in which his tall, thin frame was reflected in a different outfit: a dark navy coat, with a high collar and gold pipping, adorned with a white sash that went diagonally across his chest and gold épaulettes, stylized with a water droplet fringe. With that, he wore white trousers, lined on each exterior side with navy stripes, tucked into polished cavalry boots. In his hand, he held an elegant rapier with a hilt that resembled curling waves. Around that reflection, a small, colorful flash of blue and orange, a European Kingfisher, darted gracefully; the bird surfaced out of the puddle with a balletic splash and around the real Marcel, morphing his actual clothes into the ones he had been wearing inside the mirror image in a circular pealing of white light.

  From across the yard, a sudden pandemonium resounded with rings of ultraviolence. Out of the woods, the megatruck had charged the Yuki-onna head-on. Debuu-san having passed through the mirror, the giantess had seized the sacred artifact and beaten the machine over the head with it, sending an ancient, metallic resonance through the air.

  Back on their feet, Jin and Lu had been able to witness the spectacle with their own eyes. The blood and soot had vanished from the former, his sky blue jeogori resplendissant once more, and the latter was as animated as ever, the small tassels on her jackets trailing light as she twirled.

  "I could get used to this!" she exclaimed.

  For her part, Inês was feeling more powerful than she ever had; more herself, as well.

  "It's all coming to an end," she said simply. "I think he knows it, too. That's why he's fighting so hard to stop it."

  The group exchanged a laden look. In that moment, they didn't need to speak its name aloud to know that they were all thinking of their guardian and friend; the one who had scarified its life more than once for them, for others, and for what was right. They thought of everyone else, too: Yuki Fujikawa, Henrietta, the once sentai, the trapped souls who had been brought in against their will, the tanuki…

  "Let's give him a big finish," said Jin, clenching his jaw.

  "Guys, I…" went Marcel with embarrassment.

  "We know, we know," Lu reassured him with a friendly pat on his back.

  "No, I have to," he continued repentantly.

  Turning to them, he took a big inspiration and started from the top.

  "I want to apologize for everything. I'm sorry for accepting Tyler—and, or Truck-kun's proposal, I'm not exactly sure—and I'm sorry for attacking you, Lu, and fighting you, Jin, and telling you those awful things. Also, I'm sorry for trying to be the leader at all costs and being an obnoxious owl with you, Inês."

  His eyes were wet with tears. In a tender gesture, Jin went to him and brought the boy into a tight embrace, which only made the drops fall harder. When they let go, Lu gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for which she had to bring him down a good thirty centimeters. Inês smiled at Marcel. Together, they shared a look of understanding.

  "It's good that you're back on our side," she said. "We couldn't do this without you."

  And, finally stepping forward into the beating storm of pixelated artifacts, the four teens stood side by side, tall and proud in themselves, carrying both resolve and the memory of a fallen friend in their collective heart. Up above them, Lu's Quetzal and Marcel's Kingfisher flew in circles, the one cooing low and the other calling high. On the ground, around the group, Jin's tiger and Inês' lynx danced a similar round, the one's roars and the other's growls percolating through the distorted air.

  In the midst of this deliquescing digital world, the megatruck and the Yuki-onna, two adversaries of kaijuesque proportions, stood engaged in battle. Oblivious, their combat raged through the storm with wrenching blows that stirred the dust.

  A mist arose about where the shrine once stood, flowing in languid, dark billows on all sides of the smoking ruin. At the same time, infinitesimal water droplets, glittering like minuscule diamonds, hung in space, surrounded by orbiting embers; countless stars. Finally, carnations swirled up to the sky in so many vivacious bursts of revolution.

  The forest had now completely disintegrated around the two colossi, there wasn't one tree left in its recognizable shape; the Yuki-onna pushed the megatruck through the sea of brown pixels, sending him crashing to the jagged ground. With a sinister noise that further tore through the fabric of space and time, he howled. The Yuki-onna crouched over him, her curtain of jet-black hair unconfined in the tempestuous weather. She put her hands on his shoulders, grabbing the megatruck forcefully. Lifting his arms, he feinted, drawing down her to his level. On the ground, he fired a blinding series of laser beams at point-blank range into the woman's exposed chest. In a matter of seconds, a burning hole was dug where the Yuki-onna's heart once stood. She gasped. A muffled sound, maybe a protest, left her throat. Already on her knees, the rest of her fell to the ground, frozen.

  Inês screamed; the earth trembled.