Pythia lifts Sam towards the last remaining massive ship from the Baroness, just as fast as Finley could fly. They've already agreed to help one another see this through.
She lifts her over the barrier and into the deck.
This place is different than a normal ship, set out from the rest.
Beds of dirt are scattered around neatly, trees, vines, and flowers all sprouting from them. A fountain rests in the middle.
And just beyond that fountain is what's left of Candra Nerium.

She stands with her back to Sam and Pythia, arms crossed in front of her. She inhales deeply, taking in the various smells of the flowers around her. "Hello, Pythia."

Sam glances at Pythia nervously. Pythia freezes for a split second, but doesn't let it stop her. Her voice is still so familiar. She hasn't heard it in so, so long. "I'm here to kill you." Pythia replies.

"Will you run away this time?" Candra's head turns. She smiles softly.

"No."

And this time, Pythia means it.

"Good."


The Oracle reminds herself that Candra is gone.
The Baroness turns around and launches into the air, twirling her trident in her hands above her head.
Pythia's sword never left her hand. Sam's sabers click on.
The fight that began all those years ago on top of that crystalline waterfall will meet its end today, one way or another. The Oracle is the jury, the judge, and the executioner, but to her, her friend is already dead.


They've been fighting. There's no point in describing it.
Not a touch on any of the three of them before now. Only destruction to the garden around them.
At a pause in the battle, without warning, the Baroness flings a hand out towards Sam.
A tree-like vine lashes out and hits Sam square in the chest, knocking her back into a wall. It wraps around her and weaves itself into the ground again, anchoring her in place. She wiggles and twists uselessly.

The fight is down to two now.
Pythia and the Baroness swing and swing back. Sword and trident; a fake rust and a fake fuchsia.
The Baroness is focused. So is Pythia.
Pythia isn't thinking about who this is. She isn't thinking about who she's going to kill. She's fighting. That's all that matters.
If she starts thinking, she will stop fighting. If she stops fighting, she will fail.
If she fails, she dies.

Does it matter?
The Baroness gets Pythia's sword between the prongs of her trident and twists, jerking up.
The sword flies across the garden, clattering to the floor.
Sam only watches in horror.
The last expression the Baroness makes is a grin. It's not Candra. It never was.
She stabs Pythia in the chest without hesitation.

Pythia sets her jaw grimly, not moving a muscle.
"Holograms don't bleed."

Sam's holographic pyramid switches off and the fake Pythia vanishes, leaving the Baroness floundering for just a second too long. The real Pythia raises her sword behind the Baroness, poised to strike, aim to kill.
Her sword swings down in an arc.

A screaming violet comet bowls Pythia over before she can make contact.
Finley swings around, keeping their momentum, pivoting around in front of the Baroness.
They draw their hands back and she jerks forward, dropping the trident.
A thick black shadow pulls only inches out of Candra's body, completely unwilling to let go.
Parker lands behind her and raises his hands, rendering her immobile.
Finley roots themselves on the ground, leaning away. They squeeze their eyes shut and grunt.
The Baroness, though immobile in theory, hisses in pain.
The shadow pulls further out. Finley hisses back. Their foot slips, but they're quick to recover.

"Come on, Finley! You can do it!" Parker cheers desperately. "If anyone can, it's you!"
Pythia watches, slowly rising to her feet. Sam stares.
Finley bends their knees slightly and launches themselves backwards in one final tug.
The massive black shadow living inside Candra's body funnels out, swirls around, and vacuums itself straight into them. Candra falls to the ground, limp, as does Finley.
"FINLEY!" Parker shouts, running to their body.
Pythia rushes over to Sam and quickly slices her free. The two run to Finley, standing over Parker, who kneels beside them.

They both seem to be breathing. Finley curls into themselves.

You immediately see them wince in pain, clutching their arms. The black cracks on their arms begin to visibly spread, slowly creeping up to their shoulders. The most prominent emotions you feel from Finley are panic and fear. True, real fear. The longer you try and feel it, the more real it becomes, as if they're realizing how much trouble they're in with you.

"Oh no." Parker traces a finger over the cracks slowly. "No, no, no. Please no."

"They- they must have pissed her off. Which means..." Pythia looks back to Candra, then to Finley regretfully. "It worked."

"They're in the shadow plane." Sam announces grimly. "Katanalosi must be punishing them somehow."

To your surprise, Candra stirs. One of her eyes drifts open lazily. "Mmm...?" Pythia whirls around, eyes wide. You, Quin, fail. This thing is glued to them. Katanalosi isn't letting them go.

It doesn't do anything. Their arms feel hot under your hands. Candra raises her arms and hugs you back. "Hey, buddy. Good hugger." "Candra." Pythia whispers hoarsely. Finley whines in pain, gasping for breath. They curl into themselves even further, legs kicking.

Sam is silent for a moment before she abruptly rises to her feet. "They're drowning. Kat knows our fears." "I'm going into the shadow plane to help them."

"Like you can stop me." She narrows her gaze. "I have to do this. Unless some OTHER motherfucker in the near vicinity is both terrified of drowning and wants to help Finley, I'm going in."

Sam frowns. "You don't even know what you're doing. You want to help? Be my guest." She turns and marches over to the fountain. "Ten second shadow plane lesson here, listen close."

"M-" Candra goes stiff for half a second before completely wrapping her arms around you, squeezing you. "Mom. Mom." "Mom?" Candra cradles the back of your head. "Son."

"To go in the shadow realm, you have to immerse yourself in your fear and let it drag you there." Sam pats the stone edge of the fountain, offering you her other hand. "Exhale out of the water, inhale in. Easy."

Sam squeezes your hand, continuing more quietly for your sake. "It's easier to do it quickly. I'm right here with you. Older sister, remember?" She gives you a weak and quick smile. "Let's go save Finley." She steps in front of the fountain and stares at the water, sparing a glance at you. "Ready when you are."

Sam bends over and exhales deeply, muttering something with the last of her breath before she plunges her head underwater and inhales.

She rubs your back with the hand that isn't currently cradling your head, humming softly. "Silas."

"I think so. I just need..." She props herself up and her eyes wander past you. "Oh." "Hello, beautiful." Pythia smiles as she talks. Her voice breaks in a thin whisper. Candra grins widely and leans forward, wrapping her arms around Pythia with a giggle. "Hello, darling." Pythia bursts into a full sob into Candra's shoulder. Parker tangles his hands in his hair, pulling at it intermittently. "No. No, I'm not." Parker gently takes Finley's hands as they cough hoarsely again, silent. Pythia wraps her arms under Candra and stands up, lifting her into the air. Candra laughs lightly, arms still around her moirail's shoulders. Sam digs her fingers into the stone side of the fountain, scraping her nails against the surface.

Sam jerks violently out of the water, wheeling backwards and falling over. She turns and begins to cough violently, water expelling from her lungs.

Parker turns his head to the fountain, then looks back at Finley with disdain. They don't move. Blood leaks out of their nose. Parker leans over and tentatively pulls one of their eyelids open, but quickly releases it. His ears fold back. He turns his head and glances from Hale to Sam. "Thank you." Sam lets herself fall to the ground, laying sideways tiredly. Pythia gently sets Candra down on her feet. "Mom?" Lirium stands far away from the rest of you. Her hands are clasped in front of her nervously and she's leaned forward like she wants to be closer, but can't muster up the courage to approach. Her tone is tentative and soft. She looks like Candra, too. Horns, height, outfit. The colors are different, hope instead of life, and she certainly looks hopeful. Hope that this is her mom, maybe, or hope that she knows who she is. Candra's eyes light up and she smiles again, slowly. "Lirium..?" Lirium breaks out in a sprint towards her mother. Candra only takes a few steps forward before they collide. Lirium practically throwing herself into Candra. They wrap their arms around one another. Lirium starts to cry softly, burying her face in Candra's shoulder.

"Oh, Lirium! I wasn't sure it was you!" They pull away from each other shortly, and Lirium nods at Candra without words. "I mean, I thought... you. You were a lot smaller last time, haha..." "When did you... get so big?" She mutters, frowning. Pythia freezes. "Mom...?" Lirium starts softly. "I'm sixteen." Candra goes pale, letting go of her shoulders, smile dropping. "Sixteen?" She whispers hoarsely. "But- how long was I-" Candra wheels around, staring at Finley's unmoving body in horror. "Candra..." Pythia starts hesitantly, taking a step forward. Candra's hands go up to her temples. You can see realization bloom on her face. "What have I done?"

She lowers her hands again and stares at them. "Sixteen... plus... four. Twenty." "I've been killing people." She continues hoarsely, voice barely even a whisper. "For twenty years." "It's not your fault." Pythia is quick to interject, taking another small step forward. Candra takes a step back this time, hands starting to tremble. She looks up, eyes darting around everyone in the room. Finley and Parker, Hale and Finn, Sam and Quin, Silas, Pythia, Lirium. "I did this."

Candra makes eye contact with Quin for only a second. That's how long it takes for her to realize who he is. She turns on her heel and sprints away. Pythia is quick to chase after her. Candra launches out of the garden and lands on the edge of the ship, teetering over the cliff to open space. Below is destruction. Ships litter the air, shattered and split apart. Dead bodies float around, mostly from what used to be her army, along with broken shrapnel from various drones. Smoke trails off into the sky from the other ship from the worshipers. Down below is the city. Many buildings are broken from the bombardment, smoke pluming from several different places throughout. The place where the bridge over the river used to be is now only a field of debris. The gardens are charred and ruined. Her shoulders droop as she examines all that is left behind. "I did this." She repeats. Pythia stops behind her, frowning regretfully. "I have..." Candra takes a step forward. Her toes stick out over open air, leaving only her heels rooted to the ship. "I have to fix this." Candra raises her hands in front of her. A soft green flow envelops them. She spreads her arms out to the sides. The glow falls from her hands and crawls over the ship, both back through the garden and over the edge. It sprawls out like vines, creeping and growing. It spreads over the dead bodies floating in the air. Pythia watches in amazement as their wounds stitch themselves back together. Slowly, they open their eyes again. It grows back towards the rest of you. It washes over Sam and Quin, Hale and Finn. It surrounds Pythia, Levett, Cavall, slowly inching its way to Parker and Finley. Parker stares at it, and for once, just sits there and waits. His ears slowly perk up. The glow surrounds the two. Parker quickly turns back to Finley and scoops his arms under them, lifting them up onto his lap and waiting hopefully. It curls around them, sinking into their arms. Finley hisses softly. The cracks that only recently expanded up to their shoulders slowly sink back down, fading to normal skin. Slowly, they open their eyes. To Parker's delight, they aren't Xs anymore, like they were the last time he checked. Parker grins widely, tail starting to swing back and forth. "You're close." Finley mutters. Parker pulls them into a hug.

It resists the healing.

Far below, in the city, the gardens come back to life. The charred grass turns green again, sprouting tiny daisies, and the trees all grow their bark back. Candra slowly lowers her hands. Pythia blinks, amazed. "You were... so bad at healing, before." Pythia laughs a little nervously. "Seems I gotta step up my game." "I've been practicing." Candra gives Pythia a weak smile over her shoulder. Rigel and Etoile fly up towards the ship by everyone else, holding someone between them, each ancestor holding a hand and letting the person swing. Etoile's side is completely healed. "Hey Cash! What's up!" Cashel's eyes go wide as they set the woman down. She grins and rushes towards Cashel at the same time he rushes for her. The formerly deceased Tidebound's clothes are still sliced, but she's as alive as ever, both eyes bright and lively to boot. Cashel laughs as he squeezes her, lightheadedly. "You were fucking dead. I saw you." "Well, like Ivisra always says. You only live once, but you can die twice!" She laughs too and pats his back, pulling away.

Her eye is completely healed, not even a scar left. She nods at you. "Thank Tidekeeper you're okay, Novime." Cashel sighs. "Ivisra would've killed me." "Nah." Novime waves a hand, grinning. "You would've beat yourself up over it for the rest of your life. I had to come back to tell you to knock that shit off." "WHERE'S MY GODDAMN SWORD?" Ryker comes to land in the gardens, carried by Seth. "Where's Flo." Sam rolls over and wobbles to her feet, glancing from Ryker to Cashel. "Wasn't she with you?" Seth shakes his head. "She wasn't there when I woke up." "Yes, we already had this discussion." Ryker glances from Seth to Sam. "I thought she was with you." Etoile groans.

Ryker's eyes go wide. "She fucking what? Oh I am SO done with today." "How did she get there?" Etoile asks desperately. "Are you sure it was really her?" "Where's Navy?" Sam frowns. "Damnit." Pythia and Candra speak quietly to one another by the edge of the ship. The conversation ends with a quiet nod from Candra. She take's Pythia's hand and the two walk back to the garden area, setting down by everyone else. Ryker blinks at Candra and turns around, walking away. She avoids looking at him once she sees that he's clearly not interested in talking to her. Sam scowls and marches over to Ryker. Cashel follows.

Sam steps in front of him and hisses something under her breath, pointing at him accusatively. Cashel stands in front of him too, arms crossed, adding to Sam's speech occasionally. Finley pushes themselves away from Parker and off his lap, getting to their knees and trying to stand. Their arms and legs shake like a newborn deer's, which they scowl at. Parker jumps up to support them, quickly wiping a thumb under their nose to remove the blood. Finley pats his shoulder with a sideways glance and his ears fold back, slowly stepping away from them. They straighten and sigh, eyes landing on Candra. Candra smiles nervously, hand sliding out of Pythia's. Finley walks over to Candra and she squeezes her eyes shut tightly. They hug her, of course, despite her visibly thinking they had planned to punch her. She softens into their hug and returns it gladly. "I thought you were going to hit me." She mutters. "No, no. If you wanted me to punch you," Finley pulls away, smiling at her, "You should have leaned over and said you'd make it easier for the height difference." "Why would I do that??" Candra frowns. "That's so mean!!" Finley pats her shoulder with a chuckle. "Never change, Candle." "Been a while since you've called me Candle." She rubs her arm sheepishly. "Been a while since I've used any of those old nicknames." Finley remarks, glancing around. "Speaking of, we should probably find Birdbrain. No idea where he ran off to." "He's underground helping everyone get back into the city and clean up." Pythia smiles at the name.

"Sleep." Pythia announces, looking over the room. "I'm not kidding. We should all clean up, help where we can, eat, and get a solid night of sleep."

No idea what you're actually asking.

There isn't any rubble in here, but there's plenty pretty much everywhere else. "Alright then!" Parker nods, putting his hands on his hips. "I'll go down and start helping." Finley nods. "Might as well." Sam and Cashel hook arms with Ryker, one on either side, and drag him over to Candra.

"Hey." Ryker greets her. Finley steps aside and flies away at a much slower pace than earlier. Parker follows. Sam elbows Ryker and he winces. "Hey." Candra replies, smiling faintly. He's silent for a second. "...Am I done now?" "Ryker, you fucking asshole! Talk to your mother!" Sam elbows Ryker harder and he groans.

"Listen. Okay. Fine." He huffs. "I don't know what to say." "Would you like a hug?" Candra offers hopefully. Ryker deflates with a sigh. "Sure." The other adjuvants let him go and he hugs Candra weakly.

"Sorry. I don't do parents." Ryker mutters, releasing Candra. The other adjuvants take the hint and walk away. Rigel and Etoile offer them a lift down. They take it. First, Cashel mutters something to Novime, who nods. She turns and leaves the garden on foot. "It's okay! Me neither." Candra smiles. "Any of us, really. We kinda suck." "You're not too bad." He admits. "I just didn't want to find out, I guess." Pythia squeezes Candra's hand lightly and whispers something to her. She then steps back and flies away.

"Walk with me?" She offers. Ryker nods. The two walk through the gardens, alone.