"This bit I don't miss," Kathy chuckles. She, like her daughter and her friends, is shackled securely in the shuttlecraft's cargo bay; everyone's collars have been removed.

"Perils of the job," Hanna chuckles in return.

"I suppose I should explain why your father and I left you at the orphanage," Kathy sighs.

"I read the letter," Hanna assures. "And while I may not understand fully, know that I forgive you both. What I'm more interested in is how you know Captain Psycho."

"Aquila?" Kathy begins. "He was just a kid back then. It was his father I knew; his name was Shankara. He was obsessed with these five crystals; Elemental Crystals, he called them. Anyway, it turns out I had found one of them. It was a ruby about the size of a deck of cards-"

"The Crystals are why we're all in this mess," Hanna informs.

"Oh. Well, that saves me a lot of explaining then!" Kathy smiles. "So I had found the Fire Crystal. I never did work out how to tap into it on demand, but it did save my life on a couple of occasions. However, soon after, I fell pregnant, and of course that meant no more missions, which meant no using the Crystal.

"A few months after you were born though, I was able to go on missions again, and I always took the Fire Crystal. Eventually, I was noticed by a couple of Shankara's goons; they started tracking me while I was working. After a while, they started following your father too. Fearing something bad was going to happen, we did the only thing we could; we left you at the orphanage, and fled into hiding. We felt that was the best chance you'd have at living a normal life.

"It wasn't enough though. Just a week later, they found us. We were kidnapped in our sleep. In our attempt to escape, your father was…" A tear rolls down Kathy's cheek. "Sorry, I just… Let's just say I never saw him again.

"Ever since, I've been living in solitude by that river," Kathy finishes. "Apart from an occasional trip to Shang Mu for supplies and funds, I haven't really had contact with others. That is, until I found you tied to that tree."

"About that," Rob interrupts. "Hanna, I-"

"I know," Hanna winks. "And I forgive you."

"You never explained why you were tied to that tree," Kathy asks Hanna.

"Because she was being a big scary meanie!" Maria answers.

"What she means is, me and the Fire Crystal, we have…" Hanna begins; she starts to cry as she recalls the memories.

"You can tell me," Kathy assures. "I promise not to judge."

"If I may?" Rob offers; Hanna nods. "When Hanna originally found the Fire Crystal, she became attached to it very quickly. Pretty soon, it began to corrupt her. Despite my best efforts, it drove her to madness. And while I tried to stop-"

"I killed two children!" Hanna wails, crying freely. "I got so obsessed with neutralising a target, I torched his whole family!"

"I… don't know what to say," Kathy breathes, shocked by Hanna's revelation.

"She wasn't herself," Rob explains. "The Crystal had corrupted her, turned her into a monster. And fearing a reunion with the Crystal would trigger a regression, we took precautions. We were correct to do so. We jumped her as she chased Maria out of the river, sedated her, and bound her to the tree. It was the only way we could be sure she wouldn't succumb to the Crystal's influence again."

"It was really scary," Maria adds. "I'd never seen Hanna that angry before. It was like she was possessed or something."

"We took no pleasure from doing it," Danny assures Kathy.

"We did it because we care though!" Maria exclaims. "When I broke my leg fighting that big praying-mantis thing, Hanna was there to comfort me, and tell me everything was going to be OK. And she was right! She was also there for me after I was scared witless after I was nearly crushed in the valley in the Snowfields. I call her a meanie, but she's always the one I go to if I'm scared."

"Only when on a mission together," Xander corrects.

"Well, yeah, obviously!" Maria retorts cheekily.

The shuttlecraft shudders; the engines shut off.

"We've landed," Rob concludes.

"The captain has ordered you six to be transferred to the brig," the lieutenant barks as he enters the cargo bay. "You will be escorted by six armed guards, so don't try anything funny."

"Can we have a moment first?" Kathy snaps at the lieutenant.

"It's OK," Hanna sniffs. "We're all going to die here; what's another few minutes?"

No-one has an answer.