Ivy managed to swallow her anger just in the nick of time. She dug her heels into the ground and slammed to a stop. Rage, confusion, and panic filled her. For a moment, Ivy froze. All that she could think about was the fear in Mia's eyes. It was such a deep fear. Mia’s eyes seemed to be begging her for help.
"R-Rosy! What are you doing here?" Ruby's voice brought Ivy out of the pool of confused rage. Right, panic wasn't the right response. She had to act as if nothing were wrong at all. Ivy tried to compose herself and prayed that her emotions hadn't shown on her face. "We were heading out to visit a friend. It looks like Mia followed us. Thanks for catching her," added Ruby.
"You can let her go now," Ivy added. Rosy didn't let Mia go. She also didn't smile back at Ruby.
"I want you to keep going and I will follow," said Rosy. Her voice was a sharp, breathless whisper. Yet her tone also sounded cold and stern.
"Why do you want to follow us?" Ruby laughed.
"Are you going to visit Lu?" demanded Rosy. Ivy and Ruby's eyes met. What did Rosy know? Had she followed them before? Had she listened in?
"What do you want, Rosy?" said Ivy.
"I want you to show me where Lu and the other troublemakers are," Rosy said firmly. So, Rosy knew everything except where Lu was.
"W-why are you doing this, Rosy? You're my friend!" cried out Mia. Rosy ignored Mia. Ivy saw her tighten her grip on the child's shoulders.
"Troublemaker?" Ivy snorted, doing her best to imitate Ruby's clueless expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean! Take me there now! Or I'll break her!" A note of frenzy had entered Rosy's tone. A whimper escaped Mia. "If Lu isn't hiding something that the overseers would want to know about, then there can't be any harm in leading me to her," Rosy pointed out. Ivy took a deep breath. She would make one final attempt to end things peacefully. But if Rosy didn't let go of Mia soon, things would become violent.
"Alright. We'll take you there. But you have to let Mia go first," Ivy ordered.
"I-I don't understand! Rosy, please stop!" Mia said.
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"No!" Rosy shouted. She yanked Mia back as Ivy began to approach. "If you take one more step forward, I'll shatter her!"
"Please stop! Oh! Ouch! It hurts! Please stop!" Mia's howls filled the air. Ivy couldn't take any more of that awful sound. She felt something snap within her. Ruby was looking at her now as if asking what they should do. This was totally unlike anything that Ivy had experienced during the games. Losing Mia was always a constant fear, but Ivy had never imagined that Mia would be attacked by one of her own friends outside of the games. This wasn't how Mia was going down. Mia was the thing Ivy couldn't afford to lose. Things weren't going to end like this. Rosy wasn't going to take her away. It was now or never. Ivy couldn't waste a second by hesitating.
"I mean it! If you do-" Rosy began. But she was cut off by a blow to the face from Ivy. Rosy stumbled back with a shout. While she was processing what had just happened, Ivy attacked again. This time, Ivy was able to pull Mia free from Rosy’s grasp. The child rushed over to Ruby, who was staring at Ivy with surprise. Even Ivy hadn't known that she could move that quickly. Now Mia was free. It was just Rosy now. The fight might as well be over. Fear shot across Rosy's face as Ivy charged at her. Ivy's first blow had left a crack on Rosy’s cheek. This would all be over very soon.
Catching hold of Rosy's arm, Ivy slammed her to the ground. This girl knew way too much. She couldn't live. Besides, she had threatened Mia. That was something that Ivy simply couldn't forgive. Suddenly, Rosy struck back at Ivy. Ivy leaped back, easily avoiding her blow. But that gave Rosy enough time to pick herself up. Out of the corner of her eye, Ivy spotted Ruby and Mia staring at her. Why were they still here?
"Ruby, Mia, run! Don't just stand there, get away, now!" Ivy ordered. They flinched as if her words had broken them out of some kind of trance. Ruby lifted Mia into her arms and took off running. Now Rosy had turned her gaze away from Ivy and was focusing on the fleeing pair. To Ivy's horror, a bright red light began to radiate off of Rosy. Ivy had seen this spell before, even though she couldn't remember its name. She hadn't been prepared for Rosy to have this kind of magic. No, this wasn't going to happen. Both Mia and Ruby had to make it back home in one piece. The words to Ivy's spell began to flow from her mouth as she raced towards her friends. She leaped in front of them and flung her arms out. The forti was activated.
A blindingly bright shield rose up around the tiny group. Mia and Ruby fell to the ground, clutching at their faces. Then, within an instant, Ivy felt all the strength leave her body. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she had shielded her friends from the attack.
"Keep going!" Ivy called to them as the shield faded away. Rosy stood a few feet away. She was shaking and gasping for breath. That spell had probably drained a fair amount of Rosy's stamina as well. Now there was nothing that Ivy could do as Rosy stumbled towards her. Ivy held her gaze as she stumbled forward. Could this be the end? Well, at least Ruby could take care of Mia. Strangely, Ivy didn't feel frightened. She was about to die. Shouldn't she feel frightened? If anything, Ivy felt proud. She had fought for her friends and done everything within her power to keep them safe.
Ruby's words echoed in her mind. ‘If freedom isn't worth dying for, I don't know what is’ Yes, this was for freedom and for friendship. Those were nice words. Ivy let them wash over her soul and fill her mind as Rosy struck her.