Rising Shards

I knew the next memory Tik Moonheart would show us would be difficult. None had been easy so far, mainly due to my parents being the focus, and the tragic incident that led to their exile.

Tik had warned me about how tough the next set of memories would be, and seemed reluctant to even begin showing them. This wouldn't be about my parents, but Tik's reluctance had me wondering if they'd pop up somewhere to do something horrible. But I wasn't prepared for the sight in front of me in the latest vision of the past conjured by Tik's powers.

Stella, Dr. Diast, and I were speechless as we watched a younger Tik, who was in the wreckage of that stage that my father accidentally helped cause the collapse of. Blood was everywhere. All from a wound in Tik's chest. A jagged piece of metal mangled from the stage pierced through her. And River, my aunt, stood over her.

We all turned to Tik, who was apparently somehow fine after that grisly injury.

"Please, let me explain," Tik said.

* * *

The car window still had some ice and snow caked to the outside of it, and I watched as it slowly began to melt over the course of the drive.

It was kind of a pain to go back to school on a Saturday now that I was used to going to my new apartment on the weekends. But it was for Tik, and I wanted to help her. I thought about how Tik told me we'd be going over what she was doing while the exile incident was happening. Tik had been very guarded about this, and it was clearly a sore subject, so I wanted to do my best to get through it. Stella and I both told her we could skip over it if she wanted, but she said our perspectives on it would be vital.

It was unfortunate that the only time that worked during the week was a Saturday where Oka and the others were busy, but at least I'd have Stella and Dr. Diast with me for emotional support if it got too scary.

"I'll do my best not to geek out," Dr. Diast said when we got to one of the school parking lots. "Actually, do you want me to just wait in the car? I might embarrass you. The last time I talked to them was at a talk they did that had a meet and greet afterwards, and I completely embarrassed myself. So I'll probably do that again."

"I'd prefer if you came with," Stella said. "But even if you don't, please don't just wait in the car? It's freezing out."

"Come on, Dr. Diast, Tik's super nice," I said.

"It's not that she's not nice, it's just that I'm a total geek for her work and...you know what, you're right." Diast said.

Tik, Mars, and Kara waited for us in the void entry building, which was fairly empty outside of a few workers.

"H-hi," Dr. Diast looked like she was going to pass out from over-sweating within three seconds of encountering the trio. "I'm, um, we've met before. At an event. Well, a few. I go to your Lil' Haven events every year. But this is the first...I've sent letters too, and I kept all the ones you sent back. Uh, this isn't about me, though. Obviously."

"Settle down, cowpoke," Stella said, fanning Diast with her hat. "Evy's a big fan."

"Trust me, that's one of the least unhinged superfan comments we've gotten." Mars said. His jacket this day seemed to be made out of a glittery felt. We all had some brief introductions, most of the talking filled up by Dr. Diast geeking out about the River & Lyric trio.

Tik looked relatively calm, but her expression was similar to someone remembering a very sad story. She gripped her cane tightly. She kept the gameplan simple, saying, "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

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