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Everly/Nova's POV:
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I rushed after Emma. She was acting so unlike herself. So...dark.

As I caught up to her, I had to pause and take in her appearance. I knew her powers were very emotion driven. Storms cracked when she was upset, and when she was happy, the sun shined. But now, that was made even clearer than ever as her darkness was reflected in her appearance.

Her hair was darker now, a black, tinted amethyst where the sun's rays caught it. Her eyes were darker too. They shone a deep purple, and I could swear I saw bolts of lightning in them.

I huffed through my nostrils and tried to block her path. ::Stop it, Emma, you're not thinking,:: I said. But she couldn't hear me. She couldn't understand. The Dimension-bender took that away from her; from me.

Emma stopped as if realizing she didn't even know where she was going. "I know you're out there, Cam!" she yelled. "I've made up my decision! Why don't you come find out what it is!"

::Emma, don't! This is wrong! I'm not worth it!:: I yelled in my mind. But she still couldn't hear. She couldn't understand.

And I was convinced even if she could, she wouldn't.

I pushed her over with my nose, making her drop the lightning and blood stones. I lunged for them, trying to grab them between my teeth.

Emma scrambled over to them and snatched them up into her grasp again, her narrowed eyes darkening. "Knock it off, Nova, I'm doing this for you!"

::I don't want you to!:: I replied, growling so she could hear my protest.

Both of us stopped as the forest became eerily quiet.

::No...::

Every bird in the forest stopped singing, every bug stopped humming noisily in the trees. No running water from the stream bubbled, and even the wind didn't dare to whisper.

The whole forest was holding its breath, and I knew why.

::No, no, no, gods, no!::

I froze in place as the Dimension-Bender was suddenly beside us. He smiled, tilting his head slightly. It reminded me of a wolf watching its prey.

Emma stood up again and straightened. "I'll give them to you," she said.

I growled softly, and Cam held up a hand, silencing me. Not with powers or magic, but with the fact I was still terrified of him.

His smile widened, flashing bright teeth. "Excellent. Give them to me."

"Everly first. Make her human again. And never come near her again."

Camber chuckled, amused. "And how would I know you won't run off once I do?"

"Because I know you'd catch us. You're stronger than me."

He studied her quietly for a moment.

::Emma, don't do it!:: I pleaded in my head.

"Very well," the Dimension-Bender said, eyeing Emma carefully.

He waved a hand over me and I gasped as I changed form, now the human girl I once was. I looked down at myself from where I sat on the ground.

Camber grabbed my arm and wrenched me to my feet, making me squeak in surprise. When I was up, he didn't let go, holding my arm tightly.

"Emma, please, this is a mistake," I said desperately. "Don't do this, especially not in my name, people will undoubtably die because of this decision right here."

"Quiet," Cam said, his voice calm, yet soaked in a heavy authority as he lightly put pressure on my throat with his powers, just enough to choke me slightly.

I inhaled sharply and coughed a couple of times, breathing shallowly as the pressure remained there at the gesture of his hand.

"Stop," Emma snapped. "I will give these to you when you let her go. I don't trust you."

Cam dropped his hand and I coughed again as the pressure was released from my throat. He shoved me out of arm's reach before holding his hand out for the stones.

Emma took a deep breath and stepped up to him, placing them in his hand.

Cam inhaled sharply and cried out in pain, dropping them. His fingers slowly turned black where the gems had touched his skin. He glared intensely at Emma. "What did you do to them?! Is this some sort of trick?!"

Without waiting for her answer, he extended his an arm, yanking me back toward him with his powers. I yelped as I was jerked over to him and fell to the ground at his feet. He crouched behind me and wrapped an arm around my neck with one arm, holding his other hand toward me threateningly, making it clear he could kill me if he wished.

I gasped and clutched at the arm he was holding me with, as if that would do me any good.

"I will make her suffer," he hissed into my ear, though it was directed toward Emma.

"No! I didn't do anything to the stones, I swear!"

"Liar," Cam sneered.

I cried out as he held his hand to my head. A sharp ringing screamed in my ears as pain filled my head. I didn't know what he was doing to me, but I knew I needed it to stop.

"Don't hurt her!" Emma lunged toward him.

"Ah-ah-ah, I wouldn't," he warned through gritted teeth, making me cry out again as he amplified whatever he was doing to my head.

Emma stopped. "Okay, okay! You win! Just tell me what you want!"

He dropped his hand for a moment, still holding me tightly with his other arm. I slumped against him in relief and breathed heavily, closing my eyes for a moment.

"I want those stones. I want to be able to use them. What did you do to them?" He demanded quietly, his voice like the earth just before lightning strikes. His eyes flashed dangerously.

"I swear, Cam, I swear, I didn't do anything to them. Maybe you just...can't touch them."

Camber pursed his lips. "Then Evie here gets to pay for it. And lucky you, you get to watch." He drew Emma close with a gesture. "Then you're next," he whispered into her ear. "And maybe we can even have some fun first. You are quite a pretty little thing."  He pulled her closer, kissing her neck as she struggled against him.

Before I knew what was happening, Camber was knocked away from us. Emma and I yelped in surprise and I scrambled away from him before turning to see what had happened.

Ezra had tackled the Dimension-Bender to the ground and was punching him mercilessly in the face over and over again. "Get out of here, now!" He said to us, not looking up from what he was doing.

After the surprise wore off, Cam growled angrily and threw Ezra off of him and to the ground beside him. The Bloodhunter cursed in pain when he hit the ground hard. Cam straightened and wiped the blood from his jaw, eyeing Ezra with hatred. "You're about to wish you didn't do that."

He raised a hand and began suffocating Ezra.

I gasped, knowing we had to do something. I grabbed the stones and shoved them into Emma's satchel before closing my eyes and letting instinct take over. I concentrated hard until I transformed into a night fury again. I lunged forward, knocking Cam over and shot a plasma blast at him. To my surprise, he absorbed the blast with his powers, holding up a hand. I waisted no time in grabbing Ezra by the back of his shirt and waiting for Emma to climb on my back before shooting into the air and flying away.