Everything was murky for a while. Like floating at the bottom of a pool. The little mote of sciousness could still breathe in those depths, still feel alive, yet the world seemed so distant, so far away. There was a sense ency, somewhere, inside? Outside? Separate but together, tained and unleashed, a discord of trary cepts bounding around in the depths, setting the water to boil. The little mote of sciousried to reach towards the surface. There was light there, order, the world made seside of the water. That's where it o be. It o rise up and breathe.

  A ragged gasp joined into the din of hat bombarded her ears. Warning arms went off, heart rate monitors tittered and beeped, shouts rang out, someo something over her face. She wao sh out. How dare they try to restrain her? How-

  She was ier again. Floating. Drifting. A little more aware than before. She wasn’t aloher. She drifted through the water o another person. A woman with white hair and abaster pale skin. The woman’s eyes were closed as they floated together, her expression serene. Something about it made the little mote ache. She reached for the other woman and saw vines around the woman, tug at her, pull her away. She tried to swim, tried to catch up, she couldn’t see, it was too dark beh the water. She felt like she would drown if she went any deeper. The surface, I have to get to the surface!

  BEEP BEEP BEEP!

  “She’s up again!” a sh out, “Get the- thanks!”

  “Hold her still!” another voice shouted.

  “Amos get over here!” a third chimed in.

  BEEP BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

  The drift bato the water was slower this time. Lingering. A voice whispered into its ears. “We’ve got you, hang in there,” the voice said, “It’s going to be okay. Just rest for a while.”

  BEEP BEEP … BEEP … BEEP

  The depths were… soothing.

  The little mote felt itself rise to the surface agai time. There was nenymore, no frantient within the world. The space outside was quiet, all but empty. It reached for that boundary between the uer world and the open air and breached. Air filled its lungs as instead of the light of the sun, it found itself bathed in darkness. For a moment, it panicked, w why it could not see. It tried to open its eyes but found that they were already open. Bandages? Yes, but evehis darkness is…too much.

  It took a moment to reflect, Who? Ah, yes. I am Ishtar.

  Ishtar flexed her fingers, they ached terribly. Her entire body was sore and cold, a chill rattling her bones. She took a shuddering breath and reached out with her senses. Her mind recoiled, tensing and spasming at the too-soon use of her abilities. She winced and coughed, raising a hand to cover her lips only to feel something attached to her limbs. Tubing ied into her skin. A hospital? No, panion wouldn’t allow that. Something simir then. Ishtar thought before something more serious occurred to her, Why am I in trol? Sonya? She called the into the vastness of her sciousness, Sonya! Are you there?

  A presence rose up in response, a small, fragile, infinitely preote. It reacted to the it did not speak. She could seions boiling withie: fear, anger, fusion, worry, hatred, love, sadness, regret. She cupped the mote in her hands, trying to feel why it had been reduced to this state. She tried to sense her other half’s endless resolve, that strength that she quietly leaned on. To her horror, all she sensed was madness at its deepest points, a creeping vine of insanity that reading through the mote’s very being. Irrationality, hostility, Ishtar saw it for what it was. Visage. It was more unstable thaher of us suspected. To use it at its full power like that… that was a mistake, I shouldn’t have enced you. I’m sorry, Sonya.

  The little mote did not respond. She touched it again with her mind and the vines crept back a small amount. The mote shone briefly and followed her lead. Pushing back just a little befoing quiet again. Now, all she felt was exhaustion and then a sense of peace.

  Ishtar smiled shakily, what she saw scared her, but she knew Sonya would recover. Rest well.

  “Sonya?” a voice brought Ishtar back to reality. Again, there was darkness as her mind turned outwards. Blind again. Something is wrong with her eyes. She took a moment the voice, Crusader.

  Her lips parted and she hesitated, Her civilian name… ah yes. Her words came out hoarsely, her throat crag uhe strain to speak. “Lillian?”

  She felt a hand grasp onto her own and grip it tightly, “Oh my god you’re awake! How do you feel? Oh shit, I should let Marta know. She was getting some rest, I just- right uh, one sec, I’ll be right back. I promise!”

  Silly girl, Ishtar thought with amusement as the girl let her hand go. She could hear the door open and shut to the room, wherever she was. She tried again to reach out with her senses but her mind jolted once more. Terribly inve, she hissed. That hurt, I ot use my senses, I’m as blind as I-we-she was before the fsh. Our body is so weak too. She tried to sit up but her muscles just gave out beh her. Her lips thinned into a line, Damn.

  Ahead of her the door opened and several sets of feet poured in. She couldn’t make out ho. “Lil, you mind stepping out for a bit so we talk to her?” Teocrat’s voice said, “You catch up with her after that, I promise.”

  “Huh? Oh yeah sure! No problem. I need some coffee anyway,” she heard Crusader-Lillian’s voice say, there were a few steps on what she assumed was tile floor before they paused, “I’m gd you’re okay, Sonya. We’ve been so worried.”

  Ishtar forced a smile as she y on her back, “Thank you, dear,” she said hoarsely before the door shut. She heard a few sets of feet move up to stand near her bed, a stro of thin fingers reag down to take her hand while aronger set of fiouched her fad examined her. “Who’s here?” she croaked.

  There was a long pause, “You… ’t sense us?” Teocrat asked.

  “No,” she responded, it was taking a lot of strength just to speak. Bothersome.

  “I’m here,” panion said, her fingers squeezing Ishtar’s hand. “So is Doctor Da-Som.”

  Ishtar nodded, “Ah, good. Thank you for ing, Doctor. I appear to be in a rather awful state.”

  “You nearly died ma’am,” Doctor Da-Som said, his voiewhere between shaky and stern, “Your heart, among other things, just about gave out. Your body couldn’t take the strain of whatever you did. You maxed yourself out so pletely that your cyberiearly ripped themselves out of your body.”

  Ishtar paused, “Regrettable.”

  Several seds of silence followed that single word, she couldn’t feel what they were doing but she could imagi. An exge of looks, silent moments of eye tad shared versations without words. panion and Teocrat were close, they knew one another’s mind well enough to do something like that. Given how much Teocrat worked with the doctor, she would not be surprised if they shared a simir level of e. No words were needed from them to ask one ahe same question.

  “You aren’t Sonya, are you?” panion asked.

  Ishtar’s lips thinned, “I am afraid not.”

  “ we speak to her?” Teocrat chimed in.

  Ishtar’s thin lips turned down into a frown, “I am afraid not,” she repeated.

  “Why?” he asked sharply.

  “Amos,” panion said with a hint of warning ione.

  “I have theories,” Ishtar said, she was feeling tired all of a sudden, “But I do not know the full reason. She is… weaker than I am right now. Small. Sleeping and hidden in my subscious. I ’t say when she might recover. Her silence is deafening, painful,” she wheezed, an exhausted arm reag up to grip at the hospital gown she was trussed up in. Her chest hurt. “I ’t use her HUD. How bad is her body?” she asked. There was silence again and she scowled, drumming up the strength for a snarl, “Tell me!”

  “The fact that you just moved your arm is a miracle,” Doctor Da-Som said in a low voice, “Your abilities are rgely cyberiuscles have partially separated from your bones in pces. Your heart is a mess, your joints too, everything is just a wreck. Your eyes are gone. You’ll be wheelchair bound until you recover enough to use one of those fruits Marta told me about.”

  Gone? I was afraid of that. I ’t even el enough mana to use my senses, let alone jure up ambrosia, damn, Ishtar thought irritably, This might take a while.

  She sighed and flexed her fingers as panion began to pull away, she squeezed the woman’s hand. There was a fre desperation in her chest, a need for that physical tact to tinue for just a moment. It was a straion, one she’d never felt before. She didn’t uand it and it annoyed her a little. She furrowed her brows, “Don’t,” she managed, “Stay.”

  “I wanted a word with her,” Terowled.

  “Amos now isn’t the time, besides, she’s still Sonya, just… different,” panion insisted, “Calm down.”

  “She did it again, Em!” Teocrat shouted, “Just like Florence!”

  “I’m not getting into this with you again, Amos,” panion said shortly, “She needs us.”

  Ishtar heard him stomp his foot and start to pace. She imagined him running his fihrough his hair a for him a little. She knew how reckless Sonya could be with her body. The silly girl was extraordinarily self-destructive when doing so could spare the many for the few. A character fw or a sign of greatness? I’ve never really been able to decide, Ishtar thought.

  “I know it was necessary,” Amos rumbled, “That’s exactly why someone should have been with her! We’re her team but we never seem to be there when she needs us most! Fug damn it! When I agreed to set the e up I didn’t know - shit, Em look at her!”

  “Tech-” Ishtar began and then cleared her ag throat, “Amos. For what it’s worth ing from me,” she said, “I am sorry this happeo her. I suggested the course of a. She anig. It was our only option.”

  The room went quiet for a moment and she could feel all eyes on her. She heard Teocrat sigh, “...yeah well. I’m gd you’re alive,” he said awkwardly, “Apology accepted.”

  She heard panion chuckle a little ahe woman’s tense hands grow a little warmer, a little gentler as she squeezed Ishtar’s weakened fingers.

  “We uh,” Teocrat started with a mumble, “We have some ideas for what to do about your eyes, but it’ll take some time. They’re purely artificial, so healing abilities aren’t w on them. Even if they’re a part of your natural ability set, they just aren’t growing back. We even had Vytal take a crack at it. It’s like… it’s like your body is resisting abilities being used on it.”

  Ishtar paused and her fingers squeezed panion's hand a bit more tightly. Her muscles hurt uhe effort but the expnation she came up with setting enough to distract her from the pain. Visage of Titania, am I ied with it? She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak but she felt a wash of weakness crash into her, a tiredhat made her want to slip bato slumber. She shivered again. Post surgery trembling, exhaustion, I’m pushing her body too hard already. I’ll expin it ter. I o use what strength I have wisely. First thing’s first. She chewed her lip. “panion?”

  The hand grippiensed a little, “Yes, Ishtar?” she asked gently.

  “I o know, was it worth it?” Ishtar asked, “Did her pn work?”

  Another long pause, “I don’t think-”

  “I am not as fragile as my better half,” Ishtar said with weary anger, “Tell me.”

  “...better?” panion began before clearihroat, “Fine. Why don’t you two head out and keep w? I’ll sit with her.”

  Ishtar heard two sets of feet move to leave, “Amos? Doctor?” she called. She heard them pause and she allowed herself to smile, “Thank you for saving her,” she said.

  “Yeah, well, get better. For her and for us. You’re the boss, we ’t save the world without you. Both of you,” Amos said, “We need you,” he added before the door shut.

  She felt the silence weigh on her for a moment. It was se being wholly in trol. There was usually a lingering sense of Sonya in the back of her mind, an idea of what she would say, a cept of how she would feel. It let her emute emotioer. Yet now she felt oddly lost. A warmth in her chest she did nhout Sonya to identify it properly. Was it gratitude? There was something else, an ache, perhaps . for them. They were shaken by what had happened.

  Sonya was not present and they k. Their friend was silent and it was only Ishtar for now. What was worse, she had never been this weak in their eyes before. Not even after that hair-brained effort te abilities in Florehere was little she could say to fort them. Logisisted she do something to alleviate their s, but she could not lie. She did not know, she did not have answers. She could only wait, just like them. It was strange. She spent so little time in trol that she realized she barely khem personally even if she had all of Sonya’s memories. Without her for text, they seemed almost like strangers. Warm strangers, but strangers heless.

  panion pulled her hand away long enough to grab a chair from the sound of it and drag it over. She sat dowo Ishtar and took her hand again. “You’re cold.”

  “I’ll recover,” Ishtar said thoughtfully and then a bit more quietly, “I wish I had something f to say to them.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something that kind before,” panion said.

  Ishtar huffed out a weak ugh, “Strange, isn’t it?” she trailed off, “Tell me what happened.”

  panion cleared her throat, “The vilins you freed from prison arrived at the Seattle dungeon, I’d say about three quarters of them went, the rest didn’t heed your call. After that, Bck Lotus cleared the dungeon.”

  More than I expected, Ishtar thought, “That’s good, but there’s more.”

  “Liberty was there waiting for interference, along with a signifit portion of her round table. That man you were cultivating a e with, Graff. He fought her and she retreated into the dungeon. He pursued while the round table remained outside. It wasn’t pretty. Most of the vilins that attacked then were between on and rare at best.”

  “You have a good uanding of the py-by-py outside,” Ishtar ented, “How?”

  “Wicker was there, he’s leaving Kingshark’s group by the way. He’s joining up with Graff as a hen,” panion expined.

  And Graff is allowing that? Wicker’s powers are more impressive than I had thought, apparently, she thought before nodding, “Go on.”

  “The majority of the vilins were sughtered,” panion said, “Halloway was there so any who didn’t run or hide right away weren’t able to get away once he was hunting them, but the stronger vilins that came kept the round table busy, the rest, well,” panion trailed off, "Sometime after that, the dungeon dissipated and Liberty escaped with her people. Graff wants to meet.’

  Ishtar let out a sigh, “Dutiful as always, panion.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” panion said.

  “What is the news saying?” Ishtar asked.

  “I… I don’t think-”

  “Please,” Ishtar insisted. The woman holding her ha out a sigh and moved away for a moment before setting something down on the bed o Ishtar.

  She heard a brief hum before audio began to py. A voice rose up, clearly that of a reporter. “...The supervilin, Liberty, who is now being ected to the Tokyo disaster, attempted to follow up that attack with a pn to detohe Seattle dungeon. The rea from its fallout would have decimated a signifit portion of the north west Uates and south west ada.”

  Ishtar pursed her lips as the man tinued speaking, “There is still signifit tention online as to the real perpetrator of the disasters. With leaks eg Ishtar to the Tokyo i and her orchestrating a major prison break, opinion is currently divided on what happehough the hero Bck Lotus has made her positiohat while Liberty is the mastermind behind this historic tragedy, Ishtar is plicit given the false-fg nature of the attad her long standing feud with the other supervilin.”

  There was a long pause, “Despite Bck Lotus’ success in clearing the dungeon and preventing the worst, the oute is still being sidered a pyrrhic victory at best for the Heroes. Liberty and her ente escaped justice. Several Pandora ittee scouts lost their lives in the dungeon, Guildmaster Evergreen is currently in the hospital along with Bck Lotus after sustaining severe injuries during their battle. While many escaped vilins died in their own atta the dungeon, several high profile vilins remain unated for including the special-css Supervilin, Graff.”

  The reporter let out a heavy sigh, “The death toll betweele and Tokyo has now exceeded five huhousand people, the single rgest loss of human life in a single day in history sihe Shaaxi earthquake in 1556,” the reporter said solemnly. “This tragedy could have been all the worse if not for the brave involvement of the heroes who stepped up to-”

  “Enough,” Ishtar said hoarsely.

  panion ehe video and Ishtar defted a little where she y, “Those prisoners were one of Sonya’s trump cards, most of them were lost it sounds like,” she said with a sigh, “This is Liberty’s win. Even if she didn’t get Seattle. I’m gd Sonya isn’t awake for this.”

  “...I’m sorry, mistress,” panion said after a pause, her hands gripping even more tightly against Ishtar’s fingers.

  She felt them trembling. An instinct rose up in her chest and she felt her body want to reach up to touch the woman’s face. Her body didn’t respond, though, and she could only y there impotently as the woman shook, “Speak your mind,” Ishtar said as gently as she could.

  panion stirred for a moment, stewing, before she broke out into a tearful shout, “It’s not fair!” she barked, “I ’t- sometimes I just ’t stand it. You saved so many lives, both of you did, you did the bad thing that would do the most good and- and- and no one is going to. Damn it,” the woman croaked, “I thought I was over this.”

  Ishtar felt an inprehensible pit iomach. Another driving instinct. A question itg in her mind. What would Sonya say right now? She wondered before fumbling out a guess, “No one? Aren’t you someone?” Ishtar said, trying to put a hint of Sonya’s mischief into her voice.

  “But!”

  “p- Marta, it’s fine,” Ishtar said, “This is our path,” she added before asking, “How long have I been out? When was that report recorded?”

  “A week ago,” Marta croaked, “We’re at headquarters in Minneapolis.”

  Ishtar shook her head, “Liberty, she even took Sonya’s grand opening from her,” she grit her teeth. She couldn’t let herself feel the defeat. She o learn from it, adapt to it, and wheime came, ave. She rallied with what little strength she had to keep speaking, defiance fueling her, “I’ll recover, she will too, and while we valesce, I will pn. This is far from over, dear. The Pandora ittee must be getting ready for war and the inner circle will be there. I will be there.”

  panion-no, she reminded herself, Marta-squeezed her hand, “And I won’t leave your side.”