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TWENTY-ONE- Rogue

ROGUE...

The familiar voice stirs me in my sleep.

Rogue, please help me. I'm so sorry, but I need you.

Celeste?

"Get up!" A striking pain in my torso jolts me awake. 

Calia is about to kick me again, until she realizes I'm up. I sense the weight of a grave situation in her stance and in the tension of her voice. 

"What's the matter?" I ask standing on my feet. It's still pretty dark out, but I assume it's already morning.

She doesn't waste any time waiting for me. I follow her lead as she sprints towards the river. "It's Celeste."

"What?" 

We're both running full speed now, as we round a tall boulder. "She encountered a basilisk earlier."

I curse underneath my breath. She was calling me in my sleep. 

'I'm coming, Celeste.'

No reply.

When we've almost made a complete turn around the boulder's edge, I hear the commotion before I see it. The roars of the violent river and Celeste's fearful cries make my breath hitch as I run like I've never ran before.

We've circled the towering boulder to find Mason in the form of a sea serpent battling an enormous basilisk. The two creatures snap and wrestle with brutal force, also using much energy to go against the vicious current of the vast river. 

Celeste is in the aggressive grasp of the basilisk's tail. Her long black hair is wet from the river water. I run towards the battle without hesitation, and Calia is right behind me. Celeste looks up to meet my eyes, her emerald green ones teary and sad. Then I see it.

"Celeste!" I bellow.

The blood running down the tail of the basilisk coming from... Celeste. I trace the crimson up to Celeste to find the lack of a right leg. The dark red liquid is gushing from her body down the basilisk into the uncontrollable currents of the river.

Celeste lost a leg.

Alarming fear and tension leak into my system. She'll die from blood loss if we don't save her soon enough.

Mason lurches into an agile dragon as he swoops into the air and cuts the basilisk's tail with the sharp blade of his wings. The basilisk roars in pain as Celeste drops from the grand height. Calia stomps and saves her with the boulder we circled just in time. 

But the basilisk catches Mason's wings with its large jaws and ferociously forces him back into the battle, lunging onto the boulder and sending Celeste into the river.

"Rogue!" I hear Calia shout, but she can't stop me as I dive into the freezing river after Celeste. 

After my twin, my other half.