The Apotheosis of Astra Blue

Fred began to stir, still racked with pain from the strange intruder's punch, stronger than that of any human. His mind was in a fog, but he instantly remembered one thing--Astra was in danger. And somehow, he had to save her. He slowly opened his eyes. The room was lit up by bright flashes of blue, like lightning, but with no noise. It seemed as if two Astras were fighting each other, both of them human. But Fred knew which one was the one he had known. Instantly filled with resolve, he slowly rose up and prepared to strike the other Astra.

And that was when his eyes met Astra's, and they Saw each other.

Blue Astra knew about the legends of Eye Meets Eye, from her brief time as a Blue Faerie, and Fred did not. But that was exactly what was happening to them now. They saw each other as they fully were--all the character flaws and sins that they thought it was impossible for others to forgive, all the pain and joy that each one thought no one else would understand. Fred had thought he had fallen in love with Blue Astra (as he now knew she had become) when he'd merely seen her physical beauty. But now he saw her courage and determination and nobility and her great capacity for love and he knew what love truly was. And he knew that as Blue Astra saw him, she felt the same. For a moment, there was no other person in the world for them.

And at that moment, Astra Blue swung her blade and struck Blue Astra's head off.

Fred and Astra Blue, their minds both interlocked with Blue Astra's, felt her death. They felt as if they had plunged off a cliff that went down forever. It was not painful, but it left them feeling utterly empty. At that moment, the minds and souls of Fred and Astra Blue were joined together as well. As what had just happened sank in, Fred felt pain, fear, confusion, as if he himself was dying, but almost worse. For it was as if a part of himself had died, but he had to live on and grieve for his own death. And Astra Blue, besides feeling her own death, felt Fred's death too. Fred and Astra Blue screamed together.

And then deep red fire began to burn in the air around Astra Blue. She felt herself die again and again at her own hands. She wanted to reject what she was becoming, to throw back the power that was flowing into her, but it was too late. The fire covered her from head to toe. She felt the sensation of her flesh burning, but did not feel pain. And then the now white-hot fire, mixed with flames of blue, shot up to the ceiling in a shape of a bird of prey. And Astra Blue was gone.

Fred lay on the floor, his flesh scorched by the arcane energies that had been unleashed in the battle. His scream had died down into a whimper. His skin glowed with a very faint blue glow. He could only think of two things--the woman he had loved and lost and the woman who had killed her. For one brief moment, Fred had loved Blue Astra, his own Astra, more than he thought it was possible to love. And so he hated Astra Blue more than he thought it was possible to hate. But Blue Astra's and Astra Blue's minds and souls had joined together as well, and at the moment of Blue Astra's death, they were truly one just as surely as as Fred and Blue Astra were one. And so Fred and Astra Blue were one as well. And just as Fred had seen her mercilessness and vileness, he had also seen her own courage and determination and great capacity for love, which was exactly what had led her to become a murderer. And so he loved her just as much as he hated her.

Fred stopped sobbing and began to hum a song. It was an ancient Aqualarian song, about the two sisters Hippolyta and Emelia, who had died over the love of the knight Palamon. And then he began to laugh. It was the laugh of one who had gone utterly mad.

1. For several months, Fred remains alone in the library.

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