Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Ecoterrorism

Chapter Eighty One: Ecoterrorism
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence sighed as she rested her head on her forelegs, leaning over the battlements of one of the high towers of the castle as she gazed up at the faint light of the rising sun. Below, Canterlot and the surrounding mountains were all covered by thick, hanging mist: they still hadn't figured out a way to get rid of it, but Cadence thought that La Croix was right: it was just a distraction. Just something to keep them busy while Bondye did... whatever he was doing here.

Hell, maybe this whole thing was a distraction. Cadence couldn't stop thinking about that, worrying about Shining and Miss Take and... was Archon even still alive? She hoped so, she hoped he was stubborn enough to have survived that inferno, but... no, stop it. Focus.

“So you are up here. Keeping Luna company?” Thesis asked softly, and Cadence smiled a bit as she glanced back over her shoulder at him as he slid a foreleg around her, stepping up beside her and gazing at her silently as he joined her in leaning over the battlements.

Her eyes shifted, gazing at another tall tower in the distance, where Luna was watching the sun rise as she sipped at a cup of steaming coffee. The princess' eyes flicked towards them, and Thesis waved energetically until Luna politely rose a hoof in return, then pointedly turned her attention away as Cadence said softly: “I think we both like our privacy in the mornings.”

“If that's a hint I should go away, I'm not taking it.” Thesis said bluntly, and Cadence smiled despite herself before the Replicant said quietly: “You need to rest.”

“I am resting. I did rest. And I don't even... know how much I really need to anymore, with my dumb Swan-body...” Cadence muttered, rubbing grouchily at the tattoo across her breast before Thesis gently tapped her on the head.

“Hey. You're not dumb and your body isn't dumb, either.” Thesis said mildly, and the mare gave him a sour look before she winced when he tapped her firmly on the nose. “You need to rest your brain, not your body. Even Mom needs to do that sometimes, you know.”

“I'm fine.” Cadence grumbled, But Thesis only smiled at her, and Cadence both loved and hated that he didn't back off and relent like just about every other person in her life did. That with that one look at her...

She softened, then leaned in and kissed him, and he kissed her quietly back before their mouths parted and she leaned her head against him, closing her eyes as she murmured: “I'm worried.”

“Yeah. I know. We all are.” Thesis reached up and gently stroked her mane back, before he chuckled softly and said quietly: “Maybe you should spend some more time worrying about yourself, though. Look at your mane. It's already gotten long enough to cover up your eyes. You aren't half as intimidating when you're glaring at me under schoolgirl bangs.”

“Hey, screw you. I never was a schoolgirl.” Cadence retorted, and Thesis snorted before he winced when she shoved a hoof against his face. “Look, I'm fine. You're the one who keeps spending all his time with Shining Armor and that other-me.”

“Other-you is a lot nicer than you-you.” Thesis said mildly, before he grimaced when she whapped him firmly on the nose. “See? You're just proving my point here. You don't have to sound so jealous, though. I'm not going to leave you for a better version of you. Even if she's better. And nicer. And probably less stalliony.”

Cadence rolled her eyes and smacked him again, before she grasped him gently but firmly by the face, the stallion huffing a bit as she firmly turned his head back and forth before she asked in a quieter voice: “How are you? I mean, really, how are you? You just... you know. You don't seem...”

“I'm fine. I really am.” Thesis smiled a bit as he reached up and gently grasped her forelegs, carefully pulling them away from his face. “I'm not hurting and, unlike you, I've learned to just accept that what will be, will be. As hard as that is.”

Cadence smiled briefly, and Thesis studied her for a few moments before he continued reassuringly: “I do promise that we're going to figure out what's going on here, though, one way or another. And that as soon as we deal with whatever's happening here, we can move on. We can't just sit around forever, after all. It would be better if we dealt with that goop down in Canterlot, then headed back to Endworld. We can call in a protection team to replace us.”

“Yeah.” Cadence hesitated, then she murmured: “Thank you.”

Thesis simply shrugged with a smile, before the ivory mare asked: “So what do you think of these ponies?”

“Stronger than they look. This world isn't too distant from the core, but La Croix showing up here has changed the standard timeline a lot.” Thesis shrugged a bit. “Whatever he helped them stop made them realize there were bigger, scarier things out there they had to prepare for, and Twilight's a little... weird, but...”

“She has some disorder. I do not know. It did not exist in my day.” remarked a voice, and Cadence glanced up in surprise as Thesis squeaked and spun around, clinging to the mare in his forelegs.

Luna only smiled at them wryly, her mug of coffee between her front hooves, perched calmly on the nearby battlements. “Yes. Twilight Sparkle is exceptional. That is not to say my sister and I are weak by any means, of course, and Twilight is also... naive. Child-like. We are all very fond of her, but also very aware of the fact that she is perhaps... not quite ruling material, as cruel as it is for me to say.”

Thesis nodded even as Cadence shouldered him off, the stallion asking: “But she's been training hard, hasn't she? She has enough magic at her disposal to revert dimensional disruption.”

“She had enough magic at her disposal to banish a centaur whom both Celestia and I nearly died in battle against.” Luna remarked wryly, and Thesis cocked an eyebrow in surprise before Luna gave a slight smile as her eyes flicked towards Cadence. “But you warriors are of a different mold than us entirely. As powerful as she is, I do not think Twilight Sparkle would make a very good soldier.”

“We're not recruiting, don't worry. Besides, you have to be an Orphan. Well, except for me. My Mommy runs the Orphanage so I'm special.” Thesis said proudly, raising his head high, and then he winced when Cadence firmly slapped the back of his skull, making him huff and rub awkwardly at his forehead for a moment. “Well, it's true. But the first thing to really pop out at us has been this distortion that's led to all this, so... assuming Twilight doesn't rip a hole in space and time...”

Luna smiled in amusement, then she nodded once before she sipped slowly at her coffee. She studied Thesis and Cadence for a few moments, then turned her eyes to the mare and asked bluntly: “What made you this way?”

Cadence smiled a bit, but she appreciated the forwardness more than if Luna had tried edging around the subject, the mare sighing a little before she said finally: “I have something... inside me. No, that's not quite right, to be honest. It's more like... I don't think I'm really Cadence, or I've ever really been Cadence. Daddy said I fell to earth like a shooting star, and ever since I was a foal in the Crystal Kingdom, I've always felt a need to... fight.”

She flexed a hoof slowly, before she grimaced and shifted as the Swan said softly inside of her: You have explained this too many times. I shall show them.

Cadence tried to struggle, but it was useless: it was so useless now, and with such ease, the Swan pushed her down and made her relent before Danzsöngr calmly rose her head and opened her eyes, Luna recoiling slightly and dropping her mug, but the Swan reached out, lightning fast, and caught it before it could hit the ground, saying softly: “We have always been. We shall always be. We are the Swan Maiden, stolen from the depths of the Underworld, merged with ice and flesh not our own.”

Thesis frowned slightly at this, but the Swan only smiled as she slowly straightened, calmly holding out the mug to Luna, who hesitantly took it back before she said quietly: “I had thought you were perhaps as I was, Cadence, but... I see that I was not correct in my assumption.”

“My name is Danzsöngr.” the Swan said softly, and then it turned its eyes out over Canterlot, and Cadence felt a subtle shift before she flinched when the Swan peeked into the Astra: but unlike her, the Swan was in total control, not wincing in the slightest as its eyes flicked back and forth before it remarked: “Mfalme Kuoza is in the catacombs beneath Canterlot. He is with a Voidborn... a dangerous one. One that is nothing but madness and spite. Mfalme Kuoza is afraid of it. He yells at his inferiors to work faster. He is terrified he will be caught.”

“The catacombs?” Luna asked sharply, before she muttered: “Of course. Our magic cannot permeate this fog. But why hide within the blanket when you can hide beneath it? I must warn-”

“No.” Thesis interrupted, and Luna looked up with surprise. “I'll assemble my team and sneak in, then ambush him before he knows what's going on. I'm guessing he's near one of the rivers that feeds into the reservoir, right? It would be easy to poison Canterlot from there.”

Danzsöngr nodded, then she tilted her head to the side and said softly: “We have time. In two hours, the waters will be poisoned. Many will die. Then they will rise again as puppets of Bondye. Their tormented spirits will be anchored to this world. Madness will reign.”

“Not if we stop it. I need Cadence back, and I need her to quietly gather everyone together.” Thesis instructed, before he turned his eyes towards Luna. “I'm going to give you and Celestia my Mission Drive so we can stay in contact. It looks really complicated, but if I set it to receive mode, you won't have to worry about doing more than pressing one button. I'll show you what button that is.”

“Alright.” Luna said slowly, before she glanced over at Cadence as the ivory mare shook herself out, blinking several times as Danzsöngr receded without a fight. “I see that at least the reaper works with you.”

“She's no reaper. Reapers make sense.” Cadence mumbled, before she rubbed grumpily at her eyes and added grouchily: “I'll go get the others.”

Yet she hesitated, and Thesis noticed her hesitation, giving her a curious look, and after a moment Cadence finally sighed and said almost apprehensively: “The Swan... didn't seem to think anything of it, but there was something else weird. Not the Voidborn, the Voidborn is... awful, whatever it is... but there was something... it looked like a tiny little box.”

“You're worried more about the tiny box than the psychopath zombie or what I'm guessing is probably Sol Seraph?” asked Thesis bluntly, and Cadence shook her head quickly.

“It's not Sol Seraph. It doesn't look like any Voidborn I've seen before. It's all... weird.” she said slowly. “I mean, the Swan didn't want to look too deeply into the Astra, but it was indistinct, changing, just... weird.”

“Shapeshifter, then. Cancer, maybe.” Thesis muttered, before he scowled and punched a front hoof into the sole of his other hoof. “Good. Hope it is that bastard. I owe him a few punches to the face for what he did to Thorn.”

Cadence grunted, then she turned and headed inside, Thesis smiling briefly after her before he turned back towards Luna, who was frowning at him curiously: “We uh... it's a long story.”

“Yes. I can see that.” Luna replied after a moment, measuring the Replicant with her eyes before she asked: “Were you a spy, or are you a turncoat?”

“Both, I guess.” Thesis smiled briefly, before he tapped on the side of his head and said softly: “I wasn't thinking right. I know now that's no excuse, either. It's not even much of a reason. But for a long time, I wasn't thinking right. I'm... better now, though. And I'm determined to make up for my mistakes.”

“That is good, and I hope that you do, even if I cannot help but think of the old saying: a traitor will always and forever be...”

“A traitor.” Thesis finished, and he smiled briefly before he said quietly: “I can't make you trust me-”

“I do not trust any of you. I am still not even sure of La Croix: only that he is what he says he is. But I also have a long history of... not trusting others.” Luna said softly, and she studied Thesis for a few moments before she bowed her head and continued: “But my sister trusts you. Cadence trusts you. So I will do my best to assist.”

“Although not trust, huh?” Thesis remarked ironically, and Luna only looked up at him mildly. “No, hey, it's cool, I get it. But come on. Let's not waste too much time, or Cadence will leave without me, and I don't want that to happen again.”

Luna bowed her head politely, then she sipped one last time at her mug of coffee before she turned to follow the stallion as he headed inside, studying the machinery on his back as she wondered how these ponies could be so much the same as they were, and yet so different, and so much more.

Moonflower wheezed and winced as he carefully squeezed his way through the narrow chasm, closing his eyes tightly and blindly feeling his way forwards until he finally popped free of the crack with a hail of stone and gravel, landing with a thud beside the rest of the team before he opened his mouth-

Cadence immediately clapped a hoof over his muzzle, giving him a horrible look before she whispered: “Quiet.”

Moonflower nodded lamely a few times, and then he whispered loudly back: “Yes, I am being as quiet as possible!”

Considering the volume of his 'whispering,' and the fact that him wiggling into the cave had nearly caused a small avalanche, Cadence was loathe to wonder what his idea of 'stealthy' was. But at least the size and shape of the cavern distorted sound, and the scraping and clanking and crashing had likely gone unnoticed, since she could hear plenty of other echoes and bangs throughout the cavern...

“That almost sounds like mining equipment.” Thesis murmured, and Sombra cocked his head before he gave a quick shake, Thesis glancing over at him curiously.

“No, listen closer. It is a pump: we had similar devices, powered by magic, to bring water up from the underground lakes in the Crystal Kingdom. The lakes and rivers around us were often covered by ice, and it was easier to tap into the underground wells, once we had discovered them.” Sombra explained, as he slowly examined the cavern: it widened as it moved away from the wall, the broken floor sloping in all directions, natural stone bridges forming here and there across gaping pits and trenches. “We will have to be careful. There are many places to fall here.”

“Yeah.” Thesis agreed, before he reached back and fumbled through his satchel, then pulled out a helmet, Cadence cocking an eyebrow at him as he slipped it on. A visor clicked down over his eyes as data flared to life across it, the Replicant muttering: “Let's see...”

“How long have you had that stuck in there?” Cadence asked almost accusingly, and Thesis gave her a mildly-amused look.

“Your helmet has a visor, too, you know. So does Moonflower's.” Thesis pointed out, and Moonflower blinked in surprise before he flicked his eyes up, pawing at his helmet before he squawked when he managed to yank the visor down over his eyes, which immediately flared to life with all manner of readings and data. “There. Don't throw up.”

Moonflower began to open his mouth, but this time La Croix shoved a hoof over his muzzle, grumbling: “We wastin' time here. The Nzambi hunt by scent. The lavender I gave each of y'all will help a little, but all they need is one whiff of us to know we're comin' for 'em.”

“Alright. I'm scanning for structural weaknesses, so otherwise just watch your hooves. Move quietly and carefully. We can't rush.” Thesis said, and Cadence and La Croix both nodded grumpily as Moonflower awkwardly pushed at his helmet until he managed to get the visor out of his eyes, then he he lamely saluted.

Sombra joined Thesis at the front of the line without being asked, and Cadence let herself fall to the rear of the group, hunching up her shoulders almost nervously as she moodily looked back and forth. She hated being the rear guard, but she understood that it was probably the best position for her right now, just in case.

They made their way carefully through the catacomb of caverns: it was a mess of narrow ledges, damaged natural walkways, and strange islands and pillars of stone standing, forlorn, in the middle of vast abysses. Cadence knew she wasn't the only one wondering what this might have once been, but only Moonflower vocalized their thoughts: “Was this a mine once? Or was this...”

“The old myth goes that Canterlot was built upon the ruins of a city. Not even Mom knows for sure, though.” Thesis shrugged a bit, saying quietly: “I guess we'll never really know. I've never seen an Equestria in an era that was pre-Celestia, and I've never heard of anyone figuring out the actual history of our country... Mom came here after Equestria was established, remember.”

“Cut the chatter.” Cadence said, as interesting as it was, and Thesis smiled in amusement over his shoulder at her before he reached suddenly out and caught Sombra by the shoulder.

He turned his eyes back forward, then gestured with his head at the thin bridge of stone they were about to pass over: Sombra nodded in understanding, then planted his hooves against the edge of the stone bridge, his purifier humming a little louder as corruption spread over the rock before it turned to solid black gemstone.

They crossed the fortified bridge quickly, Cadence grimacing a little at the feeling of the dark stone beneath her hooves, as the Swan murmured in her mind: But the Father turns even the worst of corruption into aid...

Cadence shrugged the Swan away as much as she could, scowling a bit before she muttered: “Gives me hope for you, at least.”

The Swan chuckled quietly in her mind, and Cadence frowned before the Swan murmured in response: Or does it give you hope for yourself, Cadence? Have you not learned by now that I am the one who can serve any purpose, while you...

“Shut up.” Cadence grumbled, and then she scowled at Moonflower when he looked back over his shoulder at her awkwardly. “You too.”

Moonflower hurriedly looked back ahead, and they continued on in silence for a few minutes, until Thesis muttered: “Detecting magic signatures ahead. La Croix?”

“No, not this time, mon ami. The moment I try and make m'self scarce, they'll detect me. And those Nzambi can see right through all my tricks, even if Mfalme Kuoza probably has his head shoved so far up his own damn ass he can't see nothin' but the back of his own neck.” La Croix grumbled in response, and then he glanced back at Moonflower. “You our best bet. Invisible yourself and sneak in real quiet-like. They'll have trouble detectin' you cloakin' yourself with your own magique.”

“Can't I just make Cadence invisible? She's much better at that than I am!” Moonflower half-whined, his eyes widening slightly, but Sombra was the one to shake his head this time.

“No. The frequency and amount of energy consumed will both be far too high, it will be noticeable. And there is no way to know how far Cadenza would have to go, or what cover will protect her, while we try and remain out of sight. You will have to do this yourself, Moonflower.” Sombra smiled, then he reassured gently: “But you can.”

Moonflower bit his lip nervously, and then he sighed theatrically before dropping his head and mumbling: “I... alright. I certainly can't be letting any of you down, can I?”

He hesitated, then nervously flicked his horn, and a moment later he simply vanished from sight as Cadence cocked an eyebrow and Sombra smiled slightly: he was leaking less energy than he had been before. Good. “Okay, remember. Don't screw up.”

“I won't.” grumbled Moonflower as he carefully strode past, and then he winced when Thesis grasped him and gently turned him towards a sloping path leading down towards a rocky tunnel, faint sounds of machinery echoing out of the passage in the distance.

“Remember to still be quiet. Being invisible is a handicap, not a guarantee. You still have to be careful.” Thesis said pointedly, and Moonflower nodded awkwardly, then winced as he remembered he was invisible. But Thesis seemed to sense the stallion had gotten the point all the same, the Replicant letting him go and gently patting his hindquarters as he said: “Okay, get going. Report back as soon as you've scoped out below.”

Moonflower lamely saluted, then he hurried down the narrow ledge, breathing slowly in and out as he focused on the passage ahead. As he descended into the tunnel, he shivered a little as he felt wetness beneath his hooves, his ears pricking at the sound of not just rumbling machinery, but rushing water.

Moonflower stumbled over something, and he looked down before his breath caught in his throat as he found himself staring in horror at a dead, rotting pony, his jaws gaping uselessly, his eyes open and frozen with the terror of whatever awful thing he'd last witnessed. The unicorn whimpered a bit, shaking his head weakly as for a moment his mind filled with feathers and broken wings and blood, oh there had been so much blood...

He caught himself, breathing slowly, insulating himself with the warmth of his magic. No. He was okay. It was just the unnatural magic and the chill in the air, playing tricks on him. He had seen dead bodies before.

He had seen dead bodies before.

Moonflower gave the corpse a wide berth, but as he made his way down the tunnel, he saw another: this one was laying on his back, throat torn open, body in tatters. The same look of horror on the earth pony's face. But Moonflower could make out the patch on the shoulder of his uniform now, recognizing it as the shield of Canterlot, but not military. Maintenance workers?

He shivered a little, making his way down the tunnel before he looked up sharply as he saw something move. He hurried to the side of the passage, pressing against the stone wall and staring as a Nzambi slowly sauntered its way into the tunnel, a strange, bird-like party mask covering its face, the rest of its strong, handsome, incredibly not zombie-like body covered by a well-fitted suit.

It approached a corpse that was sitting against the wall of the tunnel, a needle appearing in its hoof that it used to prick the neck of the dead body. It waited for a moment, then pulled the needle away with a single drop of steaming blood, then it licked this off the tip before it turned.

At the end of the tunnel, it hit a button beside an intercom and said, in what Moonflower knew had to be a flawless imitation of the voice of its victim: “Hey, okay, I got green on all systems except for the main floodgate, still ain't workin' right. Gimme like an hour or so and then we'll see if we can open 'er up, eh?”

“Yeah, no problem, Jack. Take your time, reserves still got plenty in 'em. Just glad you guys caught this today.” said an amiable voice, and the Nzambi gave a sickening grin.

“I hear you there. Nah, don't worry, we got this. You just go back to sittin' on your flank and readin' the articles of that magazine you like with all the pretty mares.” the Nzambi replied casually, and there was a chortle from the intercom before the Nzambi pressed the button again, cutting the laughs off as he said in a disgusted, far-lower voice: “Kuwakaribisha kwa kaburi lako.”

Moonflower winced as the Nzambi turned away, and then it suddenly stopped and scowled, sniffing at the air. Its eyes roved back and forth behind the mask before it growled in disgust, then it finally turned and strode slowly away.

For a moment, the unicorn remained frozen against the wall, chewing on his lip apprehensively before he finally pushed himself away and carefully strode down to the end of the passage. He leaned carefully out, and grimaced a bit as he found himself gazing into an elongated cavern with a low ceiling, a natural ramp to the stallion's right leading down into a trench in which a churning river splashed and roiled.

It wasn't flowing, though: it had been blocked off by a heavy dam gate at the far end of the tunnel, and Moonflower bit his lip as his eyes followed after the Nzzambi that was now strolling calmly along the edge of the canal in the opposite direction. The zebra zombie paused and scowled, but Moonflower dropped flat on top of the ramp, biting his lip nervously and counting to thirty before he carefully peered up over the edge of the natural plateau.

The Nzambi was gone, and Moonflower wheezed before he carefully withdrew into the tunnel and tapped at his Mission Drive until he managed to activate the communicator, whispering loudly over the closer rumble of machinery and water: “They're here. I can't see down the canal, but they've killed several ponies and taken over... this is a water reservoir, yes?”

“Sounds like they're at one of the intake pools. That would make sense. They could concentrate whatever they're doing there, then dump it into the water supply through the reservoir.” Thesis muttered, and then he said quickly: “We're coming down now. Don't let them catch you.”

“Of course not!” Moonflower declared, before he blinked and looked up as a shadow fell over him, his eyes widening in horror as he saw two Nzambi standing over his invisible form, one with a needle and the other holding a long, deadly knife. “Oh no.”

The Nzambi with the needle in his hoof lunged, and Moonflower blasted him backwards with telekinesis as he flung himself to the side. But the other Nzambi simply ducked under his flying comrade and leapt forwards, slashing out with his dagger, and Moonflower gasped as his spell was cut into like a blanket, feeling magic sizzling painfully across his body as his own energies rebelled against him.

He did the only thing he could think of doing, snapping his horn out to try and dispel the invisibility, and instead he unleashed a tremendous shockwave of tattered magical force that knocked both Nzambi flying. It thankfully also knocked the dagger away from one of the undead as the other already-airborne Nzambi was sent hurtling out of the tunnel.

Moonflower blinked several times, then he gritted his teeth when the Nzambi in front of him shoved its way up to its hooves: before it could react, he swung his horn upwards, and the zombie hissed in surprise as gravity reversed and launched it into the ceiling with a bang, where it was left pinned and helpless. The unicorn let out a short, sharp 'ha!' of triumph, which only lasted a moment before the Nzambi above kicked a rock loose from the ceiling, and it dropped straight down on Moonflower's head with a loud clunk.

The unicorn stumbled stupidly, his magic vanishing immediately, and the Nzambi fell almost gracefully to its hooves even as one of its legs loudly snapped. The zombie didn't even look back at this, however, instead striding forwards as it reached up to sweep off its mask, hissing to the stupefied stallion: “I'll have your carcass and your horn, thunder-caller!”

“My name is Moonflower!” snapped the unicorn as he blinked out of his daze, and the Nzambi's eyes widened in surprise before the unicorn flicked his horn sharply, and a blast of force erupted down the tunnel, smashing the Nzambi backwards and sending him crashing like a cannonball through the second zombie zebra just reentering the tunnel.

They were both launched through the air, splashing down into the roiling waters of the river, and Moonflower scowled as he stumbled to the edge of the tunnel, leaning out and looking apprehensively at the water. He barely contained a squeak of surprise when La Croix appeared, the zebra leaning out in surprise before he snorted and said moodily: “Not bad.”

“Uh... of course not!” Moonflower declared, but La Croix was already hurrying down the ramp towards the canal, where the zombies were struggling to get to the edge of the water with snarls of frustration as the flowing water kept pushing them into the heavy dam gate.

La Croix grinned as he stepped on the edge of the bank, then he pulled a hoof full of materials out of his cape, flinging them down into the water: flower petals, Moonflower thought dubiously. But to his surprise, the petals seemed to freeze wherever they landed, not moving with the flow of the water, and the Nzambis gave silent, furious bubbling shouts from below as they sank slowly to the bed of the river, as La Croix muttered: “Yeah, you stay down there for now, while I-”

Something smashed into Moonflower like a wrecking ball, knocking him into La Croix and sending them both smashing painfully against the short wall that supported the dam gate, the Loa shouting in pain and consternation as Moonflower looked up with shock.

A Nzambi towered over them, his eyes smoldering green, his suit ripped from the flex of his muscles as he hissed: “La Croix. I was told to make this quick. But I think I'll make it nice and slow.”

La Croix snorted, before his eyes widened as his body shivered suddenly, and the Nzambi grinned callously as he tilted his head to the side, showing off the amulet he was wearing around his neck. “Problem?”

“Oui. You too damn ugly.” La Croix growled, and then he kicked Moonflower out of the way before he flicked his hat off and punched the bottom of it, an explosion of powders and a black, ugly slime splattering over the Nzambi.

The zombie zebra roared in frustration, yanking the gooey blackness off his face before he lunged at La Croix, moving incredibly fast, but the zebra managed to just dodge out of the way as he yanked a bottle loose from his cape, flinging this sharply at the Nzambi. It only slapped the bottle aside, however, and La Croix swore as the creature lunged at him, before Moonflower squawked as his magic bounced almost uselessly off the zombie: it at least stopped the zombie's attack, but at the same time Moonflower staggered backwards, shouting: “What the hell is that?”

“He drank some moonshine and made himself strong, that be all! Hit him with a damn rock!” La Croix snapped, before he leapt out of the way when the Nzambi lunged at him, swinging a hoof down with enough force to shatter the stony earth.

The Nzambi hissed an insult at the Loa, but the Loa replied with a packet of powder, driving the undead zebra back. It burned holes in the Nzambi where it touched, but the zombie zebra roared in frustration more than pain before he suddenly barreled forwards, ignoring the eerie green flames that burst to greedy life over his body as he threw himself into a flying tackle at La Croix.

The Loa clenched his eyes shut, then yelped when he was hefted suddenly into the air before Moonflower turned and flung him towards the top of the ramp, shouting: “Let's see how you handle my most powerful of magics, then!”

The Nzambi snorted as Moonflower's horn glowed with dark energy, bands of purple and blackness swirling around his horn before he gritted his teeth as he leaned forwards, before he squeaked in shock when the Nzambi grabbed his horn, his eyes bulging with pain as the zombie slowly began to twist to the side, hissing: “Let's see how powerful your magic is when I rip your horn-”

There was a tremendous bang, and Moonflower was launched backwards with such force he rolled painfully up the ramp before falling prone, blood spilling from his eyes and one ear down his nearly-skinned face, gasping in pain as the Nzambi staggered backwards, gargling and horrified. The walking carcass was burning and smoldering, body a miserable, mangled mess of torn flesh and gore, and yet that wasn't the most horrifying: it was the visible spirit, the steaming mass of burning, boiling ghost-zebra that was half-hanging out of the melting corpse in flayed, constantly merging-and-tearing ribbons.

The broken Nzambi staggered to the side, gurgling and trembling, then it simply collapsed with a splatter of gore and putrid ectoplasm, body twitching once before beginning to steam and rot as its spirit unraveled into threads that faded quickly into nothingness. La Croix mouthed wordlessly at this, before he looked up sharply as Cadence came charging down the tunnel, shouting: “Moony be hurt! I'm gonna cure him, but you-”

“Got it!” Cadence leapt off the ramp, landing on the side of the canal before she reacted on instinct, swinging her horn out to deflect a dart. She snarled down the river, where a Nzambi was calmly reloading a blowgun as a second zebra zombie injected potions into itself with a long needle, both of them glaring callously, fearlessly at her.

But the Swan promised they would soon be very afraid.

Another dart shot at her, but Cadence sidestepped before she streaked in towards the Nzambi, smashing it across the face with a hoof before she slammed her elbow down into its shoulder, knocking it flat. The other Nzambi lurched at her as its eyes glowed with the toxins flooding its system, jaws foaming, muscles visibly flexing, but Cadence simply caught the zebra zombie and gracefully rolled it out of the air to slam it down on top of the other Nzambi.

Her hoof burst into white flames before she even realized what was happening, and the mare swung a savage uppercut up into the back of the top Nzambi's head, her hoof shattering through flesh and bone like glass before her eyes widened as she realized she had done more than just shatter a skull with a single punch: she had torn the very spirit out of the creature, the spirit that had driven the zebra corpse wriggling helplessly at the end of her hoof before the Swan said coldly through her jaws: “Surrender.”

The spirit howled silently as white lightning crackled across it, leaving the ethereal zebra almost solid before Danzsöngr disdainfully tossed it away, switching places with Cadence so smoothly that she was barely aware of the fact she was no longer in control of her own body. But she was too shocked to do anything but watch as the zebra spirit bounced over the ground, before Danzsöngr simply drew one of her long daggers and plunged it downward when the other Nzambi tried to get up, instantly ending its existence as the glowing white blade pierced through its spinal column, and through the helpless spirit within the walking corpse.

Danzsöngr shoved the unmoving bodies aside, calmly striding forwards through the dissolving ash of the Nzambi towards the other end of the canal, where Mfalme Kuoza was standing at the edge of an immense, whirling pool of water, hissing beneath the death-mask of his new golem-body: “The malaya comes! I must finish here, she must not be allowed to-”

A blast of black flame shot through the air, and Mfalme leapt aside in surprise before he ducked away when several enormous spikes of black crystal tore out of the ground beside him. His eyes widened in horror as Sombra phased out of the black gemstone, the monster slashing a hoof out, but Danzsöngr was faster, flinging out a knife that sank into the golem's foreleg and interrupted his magic as Sombra stomped backwards into the water and smiled calmly as black gemstone spread rapidly over the surface of the pool. “No!”

“Yes.” Sombra said softly, and he didn't so much as flinch even when Bondye's disciple roared in rage, shattering the spikes of crystal into shards and shrapnel that flew harmlessly past him. “Noise and illusion solve nothing. It is not too late.”

“It is too late for you and your kind, crowbait!” retorted Mfalme Kuoza, before he straightened and shouted: “Show yourself, Mwangamizi! Bring down your wrath upon these fools!”

Cadence set herself as cruel laughter filled the air, before she glanced up as Thesis almost appeared out of thin air beside her, saying sharply: “That isn't Cancer, that's-”

Something pod-like fell from the roof, transforming in a gleam of liquid metal into a collared, emaciated monstrosity with long, gangly limbs, its huge claws tearing into stone like butter beneath it as it cooed: “Is it time? Is it time, the time we wanted, the time we've been waiting for?”

“Yes, yes. Barbarian.” said a distasteful voice, and Cadence narrowed her eyes. She recognized that voice: in spite of the modulation that was coming from it, she recognized that voice... “Well, so we meet again, Team 0-0... are you surprised? But how could you not be? With your inferiority, I suspect-”

“Yeah, hi there, Auriculos, we already figured out it was you like, the moment Decretum's systems went haywire. You're the only one with enough authorization and assholery to pull something like that.” Thesis interrupted irritably, and a frustrated buzz came from the strange object hanging from the collar around the giggling monster's neck: even as it surveyed them with the hideous, bulging bug-eyes in its draconic features, it was drooling, almost vapid, but it was also all spikes, its strange, shimmering body morphing and changing incessantly... “Cadence. Need you to take this one seriously. We'll take him on together.”

“Yes, Prince Thesis, traitor to... just about everything, yes? Your father, your mother, your sister, your brothers. And now Loki, too.” Auriculos said disdainfully, apparently missing the irony in his own words. “But you know what Fafnir is. The destruction entity that Valthrudnir used to model his Chimera Drone sequences after. Destruction that cannot be destroyed.”

Thesis snorted at this, and then he replied mildly: “I wouldn't be so sure about that. He ended up in the Void along with everyone else, after all. I remember him and Cancer always hanging out together... hey, buddy, do you remember Cancer? Cancer?”

“Cancer? Where? Are we doing a show?” Fafnir blurted, looking back and forth excitedly, and Cadence almost began to smile, before the destruction entity screamed in misery, clutching at the collar around his neck as it sizzled and crackled with malevolent energies.

“Pay attention!” Auriculos snarled, and Fafnir squealed and shrieked before he suddenly went rigid and arched his back, snarling and drooling, eyes glaring with hatred at Thesis and Cadence as Auriculos said coldly: “They are the enemy. Hurt them.”

Fafnir hissed, before he giggled insanely as he flicked his arms out to either side, his upper limbs splitting into four in spurts of liquid metal, his long-fingered hands merging into massive, deadly scythe blades as he cooed: “Which first, which first? Which one of you do I fix first?”

“Hey look over there!” Thesis shouted, and Fafnir cocked his head before he looked dumbly away, then scowled and turned back towards Thesis as Auriculos blurted static from the collar-

Thesis' hoof smashed into Fafnir's face, sending the creature bouncing and rolling across the cavern as the Replicant grinned before he pointed at Mfalme Kuoza and made a sharp cutting gesture across his own neck. The golem's eyes widened behind his death-mask, but then he hissed and swept a hoof out when Thesis lunged at him, blasting the Replicant out of the air with a wave of green flames before he roared in anguish when a blast of black crystal hammered into the back of his leg and spread rapidly over it, locking the metal limb in place.

“Your argument is with me, Mfalme Kuoza. I implore you now to find the respectable solution.” Sombra said softly, and the zebra avatar snarled before he spun around as he yanked his leg free from the hardening gemstone, glaring furiously at Sombra.

“Worthless black donkey!” The golem snapped a hoof forwards, and green lightning tore through the air, ripping across the black crystal of the pool as Sombra calmly slipped to the side. “You will die! Do you understand me? You will die!”

“We all die.” Sombra said fearlessly, and then he stomped a hoof down into the crystal beneath his hooves, his purifier humming louder and his eyes beginning to leak malignant energy, but his features remained calm, his gaze almost gentle as he moved with control and precision, a shield of black crystal snapping out of the floor to deflect the dark magic of the disciple of Bondye. “Do you truly think that by wielding death, you can hide from it forever?”

The golem hissed in fury, redoubling its attacks; meanwhile, Fafnir lunged towards Thesis, snarling as his mantid-like limbs slashed and crashed down, but Thesis only grinned as he danced easily between the strikes, the destruction entity screaming in frustration: “Stand still, stand still! I can't kill you if you don't stand still?”

“Oh, you mean like this?” Thesis stepped to the side and posed as Fafnir slashed all four limbs down, and the destroyer almost tumbled forwards as he found himself face-to-face with the stallion, who remarked mildly: “Guess you can't kill me even if I do stay still, huh?”

Fafnir snarled in fury, opening his mouth, before his jaws clanked shut as Thesis slammed an uppercut into the underside of his muzzle, knocking him hurtling into the air before Cadence slashed her horn out and blasted the beast out of the sky with a bolt of white energy, Fafnir falling backwards in a smoking hail as she leapt up beside the Replicant and snapped: “I'll handle him, you-”

Fafnir twisted around, roaring in frustration as he transformed, wings exploding from his back, his lower body becoming some hideous spiderine centaur-form that eight long legs sprang free from. He charged forwards as Cadence gaped in shock, but Thesis reacted like lightning, running forwards and sliding beneath the destroyer before he caught his two rearmost-legs and yanked him backwards, the monstrosity giving a yelp of surprise as he dropped forwards and his scythe-like arms hammered blade-first into the ground.

The Swan shoved Cadence into reacting, the ivory mare lunging forwards and slamming punch after punch across Fafnir's face, sending silvery blood splattering through the air as the creature howled in misery and pain. Then its shrieks rose in volume even as Cadence and Thesis were both forced to back off when electricity erupted across its liquid-metal form, wincing away as Auriculos snarled in frustration: “Why is it that none of you Voidborn can do a single thing right?”

“Stop it stop it stop it stop it!” Fafnir wailed as he writhed violently, body transforming in great swirls and ripples as he grabbed uselessly at the collar around his neck, until he finally ended up laying on his back, twitching weakly, two legs kicking at the air and two hands grasping uselessly at his collar as a long, slender tail twisted back and forth under him.

Suddenly, this last appendage coiled and then launched the destruction entity up into the air, the monster's wings flapping once before he shot down towards Cadence, but she retaliated with a volley of throwing knives that hammered into the shapeshifter's face and knocked him out of the sky with a squeal. Except the moment he crashed down to the earth, he transformed again, head twisting upwards on a suddenly-long neck, legs and tail vanishing in exchange for serpentine coils that sent him lunging forwards and wrapping violently around Cadence before she could do anything to protect herself.

She swore in pain, her eyes bulging in shock as the monster giggled wildly, before she screamed in agony as his coils tightened and she felt blades and thorns and spikes sawing through her armor and into her flesh. The destroyer grinned down at her, manic, eager to see her pain, and Cadence clenched her jaws shut as she glared up at him in challenge and fury.

Fafnir's jaws stretched wide, but then his head snapped to the side when both of Thesis' rear hooves smashed across his face in a flying kick, drool and silver blood spurting out of his mouth before he caught the monster's head and slammed his face down into his own coils with enough force to let Cadence pry herself free and backwards. She was caught by a slap of one of the monster's claws, however, while Thesis was slammed into the air by its tail before a third arm tore suddenly out of Fafnir's back, ending in a long spear of metal that ripped upward into Thesis' stomach and left him skewered and helpless.

Cadence stared for a moment, and Fafnir grinned before his head twisted almost all the way around on his shoulders so he could gaze at Cadence, mocking: “What's wrong, what's wrong? Little ponies, driven by their feelings. I feel too! I feel his heart! It beats, it beats, it beats, it...”

Fafnir grinned, and Cadence's eyes widened in horror as Thesis vomited black blood, his eyes staring helplessly, his hooves clutching weakly at his chest as Fafnir whispered: “It beats no more.”

Fafnir flung Thesis' body to the ground, cackling loudly, and Cadence snarled in fury. Fury and rage and hate and despair, but as she lunged forwards, she felt the Swan seize her. Not control, no: she would fight the Swan for control.

Instead, she felt that merging,and she felt the Swan guide her as Fafnir turned towards her: living destruction in the impossible and ever-changing mutation of liquid metal, all claws and fangs and pain and suffering...

But what it was, did not matter. It did not matter that it was raw destruction, that it was perhaps invulnerable, evolving, that if it caught her, it would torture and kill her like a cat playing with a mouse.

It was destruction, but she was death.

Fafnir's third arm stabbed in, but Cadence twisted out of the way before she caught its wrists when it tried to grab her with both hands, vaulting over them and twisting around to slam both rear hooves into the monster's face. Fafnir's head snapped back with a gush of silver metal, but a second head exploded out of its chest, lunging upwards, all teeth and fangs and-

Cadence twisted around and blasted a raw, unfocused bullet of white flame down its gullet, and Fafnir's second head exploded as it screamed in misery, falling backwards. But Cadence moved faster than gravity alone, spinning and lunging into Fafnir's back as her whole body glowed white, slicing the destruction entity cleanly in half before she spun around and flapped her wings hard as she focused her rage into a raw release of energy.

White fire exploded across Fafnir's lower body, turning it entirely to stone as his upper body bounced once before he grabbed at the ground and wildly yanked himself away, squealing and shrieking, leaving a trail of silver blood behind himself as he gibbered and stared over his shoulder in horror at the sight of Cadence striding through the rapidly-disintegrating embers of his lower body. She breathed hard in and out as she slowly approached the destruction entity, the collar around its neck fizzling and sparking as Fafnir whimpered: “N-No, no, no! No! You can't, you c-can't! You can't!”

Cadence bared her fangs at the destroyer, leaning forwards as the Swan said coldly from her jaws: “We will send you back to whence you came. What do you know of destruction? Petty things. You are but dust and sand and fragments, edges of an entire picture. We are the whole blade. We are the-”

The collar around Fafnir's neck whirred loudly before electricity exploded around the destroyer, making it scream and writhe in agony, but the Swan was driven backwards as well by the fury of the lightning, wincing away as Auriculos snarled: “Pull yourself together, Fafnir!”

“It hurts, it hurts, stop the hurt stop the pain!” Fafnir squealed, before he suddenly rolled backwards, new legs springing free from its waist, body flexing with power as it healed instantaneously with its transformation as the lightning vanished from its body, hissing: “You hurt me! Now I'll hurt you!”

The monster lunged forwards, clawing outward, and the Swan backpedaled before she began to strike-

New, bladed arms tore out of Fafnir's chest, and Danzsöngr was barely able to twist out of the way in time before a foot came up and punted her viciously in the chest, knocking her off balance long enough for a long tail to snap out from behind the beast and stab down into her. Cadence screamed in agony, but Danzsöngr barely grimaced, only shrugging the scorpion-stinger loose before she leapt backwards, ignoring the bleeding, gaping wound in her back as Fafnir giggled and suddenly dropped to his knees in front of her, hands and long, eager claws scraping at the ground as he almost purred: “This is fun, this is delightful, this is good good good! I haven't felt so alive in so long! Hurt me hurt me give me more!”

Cadence shivered inside the Swan, but Danzsöngr only calmly rose her head, her eyes flashing as she saw into the Astra-

She saw it too late, before little cube hanging from Fafnir's neck flashed: not in reality, but somehow, through the Astra. And Cadence screamed as Danzsöngr's eyes widened, blood bursting from her eyes and her ears as she staggered stupidly backwards, her mouth falling open and drool spilling from her jaws as Auriculos ordered: “Kill her, kill her now!”

Fafnir looked dumbly to the side, before he squealed as electricity tore across his body, the insane Kirin neurocenter snarling: “I said kill the bitch, or I'll make you-”

“No, no, no! Stop hurting me, stop hurting me!” squealed Fafnir, grabbing wildly at the collar before he fell on his back, tantruming and wailing as Auriculos uselessly electrocuted him.

Cadence laid on her side, twitching weakly, hearing her father shouting at her, but the unicorn was blocked by Mfalme Kuoza. She was barely aware of anything: all she could see were shapes and all she could hear were vague sounds as her jaw opened and closed, the Swan silent and unconscious inside her, nothing but a dead, heavy weight that made it oh so difficult to move, but it was almost pleasant, the numbness, compared to the utter agony that had been...

Sombra leapt towards his daughter, and Mfalme Kuoza created a wall of green flames that cut him off: for a brief moment, a furious snarl flashed over Sombra's features, but it was gone as soon as it came as he turned his eyes to the golem, even as it mocked: “You see? You and yours are no match for the Mwangamizi! Now lie down, horned donkey, and maybe I'll let you say goodbye to your-”

“Y'never did learn to shut up, did you?” growled a voice, and Mfalme Kuoza spun around as his eyes widened, before he howled in agony when La Croix simply blew a black powder into his eyes. As the golem staggered helplessly away, La Croix jerked his head quickly towards Sombra, who nodded with a brief smile before he ran quickly past towards Cadence.

Fafnir, meanwhile, had rolled back up to his feet, eyes maddened and jaws drooling and furious as he screamed at Cadence, as the last of the lightning sizzled over his frame: “You! You! Stop hurting me! I hurt you, you don't hurt me, not that kind of pain! That kind of pain comes from-”

“It comes from someone else.” said Thesis tiredly, and Fafnir stiffened before his head twisted several times around as his neck lengthened hideously, but Thesis didn't so much as flinch as he moodily rubbed at the sealed wound in his chest, breathing slowly as he said calmly: “She can't hurt you. She's dead.”

Fafnir scowled at this, before he snorted in disdain as he looked down at the still form of Cadence, then he grinned widely as Sombra quietly approached his daughter and dropped beside her to gently touch her neck. “No. She breathes and twitches and that's how you know they're still alive! Weak flesh trembles! Weak flesh is so very hot before it grows oh so very cold...”

“No, she's dead. She's dead and gone and the only person hurting you is that nasty one around your neck.” Thesis said, keeping his voice calm and level, his eyes never moving from Fafnir's as the destruction entity scowled at him. The monster paced back and forth nervously, before it squeaked and grasped at its collar as a sizzle of lightning passed over its body.

It shook itself vehemently as Auriculos said contemptibly: “Even you aren't stupid enough to believe the enemy, are you? Do you see that body? Stop it from moving. It's still moving, so Cadence is still alive, so cut off all her limbs!”

“He thinks you're stupid.” Thesis said gently, and Fafnir snarled at this, leaping forwards and shoving his face into Thesis' own, but the Replicant remained calm, not flinching, not turning away, and the destroyer hesitated instead of biting or clawing or mutating. “I don't think you're stupid.”

Fafnir frowned and leaned back slightly, clicking his teeth together uncertainly before Thesis said softly: “I know you. You just wanted your magic ring, didn't you? You just wanted to be left alone, and happy and content forever with your precious. But they dragged you away, didn't they? And they took you away from your best friend, Cancer. Wasn't that mean of them?”

“Y-Yes.... yes! Yes, it was! Where is my magic ring? They promised it to me! But I didn't want it, I didn't need it, I was so happy...” Fafnir rambled, looking back and forth before he suddenly screamed as the collar around his neck electrified, grabbing wildly at it as lightning sizzled across his body, but Thesis forced himself not to do more than flinch backwards even as arcs of electricity whipped against his body and made stars dance in front of his eyes.

Fafnir wailed as he whipped his head back and forth, Auriculos snarling in exasperation: “You don't need your stupid ring anymore, and your duty is to serve Loki and to listen to my orders! Now either listen to me or-”

“No no no no no!” Fafnir howled, before he suddenly turned to silver liquid that splashed straight down, the collar popping almost comically up into the air before a massive, spiked tail formed out of the ooze and swung viciously to the side, sending the collar flying far across the cavern. Then Fafnir suddenly reformed, the long tail swaying sinuously behind him, his teeth bared in a wide grin as he stared down at Thesis and cooed: “Much better.”

“What have you done? What have you fools done? The Mwangamizi is free! It was supposed to be-” But before Mfalme Kuoza could finish, Fafnir suddenly leapt over Thesis and tackled the golem, slamming him down into the ground before he giggled loudly as his head twisted all the way around on his shoulders, his eyes glowing with joy and madness.

The golem trembled as he looked up in horror at Fafnir, as the destroyer purred: “You, you, you. You were with him. That means you hurt me too. So I should... I should...”

Fafnir halted, then looked back over his shoulder with a snarl as Cadence slowly sat up with a groan, and the destruction entity turned his eyes towards Thesis as he screamed in a horrified, surprisingly hurt voice: “You lied to me!”

“Yep.” Thesis said bluntly, and Fafnir spun around, hauling Mfalme Kuoza over his head to fling the golem with a snarl at Thesis like a toy. But Thesis simply ducked under the puppet of Bondye, which squealed as it shot by to smash painfully into a wall and bounce off, chunks of metal and bone hailing down as it landed with a thump on the rocky floor. “And you fell for it, because you're dumb. You're as dumb as a rock. You're even dumber than a rock. You're dumb as dirt.”

Fafnir snarled in fury, before he roared as he leapt forwards, completely ignoring everything else in his way as wings exploded from his back and propelled him with all speed towards Thesis. But Thesis was ready, his exoskeleton roaring to life as he grinned before he simply vanished from the spot when the countless claws and blades of Fafnir all slashed down towards him, leaving the destroyer gaping for a moment before the Replicant appeared behind him, slamming a savage kick into the back of the destruction entity's head.

Fafnir rocked forwards with a squawk that rose into a squealing scream as Thesis blinked in and out of existence around the destroyer, slamming blow after blow into every vulnerable part of Fafnir's body he could reach. The monster was knocked back and forth like a rag doll by the strength and precision of Thesis' strikes, before a tomahawk sent him hurtling face-first towards the ground, only for his muzzle to meet both of Thesis' rear hooves with a sickening crack and a burst of silver blood.

Fafnir flipped violently backwards into the air, his body moving in a boneless whirl before he suddenly flipped and twisted, landing on his feet as the extra limbs and claws fell away from his body, pinwheeling two arms as he staggered on two legs. Chains clicked and clanked around him as his eyes rolled almost comically in his head, and Thesis snorted before Fafnir trembled and hugged himself... but strange, black bruises were rapidly spreading through his body, the destroyer asking almost desperately: “What did you do to me? W-What did you do to me?”

“A bit of corruption. Voidborn-to-Voidborn.” Thesis replied coldly, and Fafnir snarled before he gasped as he fell forwards, grasping at the veins of darkness spreading through his body and interrupting his ability to transform. Thesis grinned, but his own legs quavered under him as he stepped backwards, saying mildly: “I think I'm going to let you guys take over from here.”

“Yeah. I got it.” Cadence muttered as she dragged herself up to her hooves: her vision was fuzzy, her body hurt, but she could feel the unnatural regeneration of the Swan rapidly restoring her strength, and with her father beside her and the edge Thesis had given her... “I can kill it.”

“Mwangamizi! You have to destroy them!” roared Mfalme Kuoza, but he sounded desperate, almost pleading now, as he shakily shoved himself up to his hooves. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to shake the dust off his damaged puppet-body, his skinned zebra features contorted with fear as he tried to cram himself backwards against the wall, steam hissing up from his body from the powders that La Croix had covered him with. “Mwangamizi!”

“Stop calling me that!” screamed the destroyer, before Fafnir turned and swung an arm out, which extended hideously before a single claw pierced viciously through the golem's eye, driving him back into the wall with a surprised 'hurk' of pain before it yanked backwards.

Slowly, Mfalme Kuoza slid down the wall, gurgling and clutching at his socket as it bled spiritual essence as much as poison, and Fafnir turned with a snarl as his arm returned to normal, flexing slowly as he faced Cadence.

But Cadence faced him back without fear, her father at her side, Thesis ready to step in at any time. She knew she was not alone in this fight, and she was not afraid.

She would never waste her time being afraid again.