With a violent crash, Estela and Lila smash through a glass door, tumbling into the snow. I follow them out, watching helplessly, not daring to intervene. Estela's hands are wrapped around Lila's throat as they roll over and over each other in the drifts.

"Wait!" Lila gasps, clawing at Estela's hands. "Please! Let me explain!"

"Shut up!" Estela snarls. "It was you! You killed her!"

She drives her fist into Lila's face again and again. Lila doesn't even raise an arm to defend herself now that she can breathe again.

"P-please...I'm sorry..."

The commotion draws the rest of the group outside.

"Estela!" Quinn cries. "What is she-?"

"There was a video in the Lodge," I explain flatly. "It showed Lila...killing Estela's mother."

"What?!" Sean cries. He rushes in to break up the fight, but Estela catches him by surprise, shoving him into a snowbank.

"Estela, come on!" Sean snaps. "Enough!"

I take the opportunity to dive between Estela and Lila, who huddles on the ground, shivering. I very nearly catch a fist to my face.

"Woah! Easy!"

"Get out of my way, Alodia!" she growls.

"Estela, please! We should talk to Lila. Find out what she knows."

"I've had enough talking! She has my mother's blood on her hands!" She tries to push past me, diving at Lila again, but Sean and Craig grab her by the arms, barely managing to hold her back. "No! Let me go!"

"Lila, you'd better explain quick," I snap at the woman on the ground.

"Tell us it's not true," Quinn pleads.

"I wish I could," Lila answers sorrowfully. "It's true. Olivia was my friend and I...I ended her life. Mr. Rourke said it was the only way. She was going to ruin us. He insisted that I do it."

"Oh, my god..." Aleister whispers. He looks like he's about to be sick. Estela strains against Sean and Craig's hold.

"Is this supposed to save your ass?" she snarls. "Because it isn't working!

"Please! I know it sounds bad, but my mission now is to protect you! All of you!"

"Somehow, I get the feeling that won't mean much if he changes his mind!" I answer flatly. "God, Lila, what could possibly be worth all this?!"

"This oughta be good," Craig mutters.

Lila shakes her head. "You wouldn't understand. What Mr. Rourke is doing will fix the world." Her gaze flicks from one stunned face to the next as if she's trying to outrun her own thoughts.

"So she's a killer and crazy," Jake mutters.

"It's the culmination of Mr. Rourke's experiments!" Lila protests. "His life's work! He has a machine at MASADA..."

"The Lernaean Gate," I supply.

"No. A different machine. One that can erase all of the pain and suffering people like us have had to endure."

I feel my veins turn to ice. "...What?"

"Heard enough yet?" Estela growls. "I have!" In a burst of strength, she tears free of Sean and Craig and shoves me aside to lunge at Lila. I nearly land in a snowbank, but Jake reacts quickly, catching me before I topple. That's when I notice Diego staring at something in the opposite direction. I follow his gaze and see several large clumps of snow fall simultaneously from the Lodge's roof. I feel a faint tremor pass through the ground beneath my feet. And then another.

"Guys...?" Diego's voice trembles. "I think something's coming...Something big."

And then it comes around the corner. A massive creature, at least twenty-feet high all white fur and black claws with the body and head of a polar bear, with a ram's black horns curling out of the top of its head.

"By the Endless," Varyyn breathes. "The Mountain Guardian!"

"Guardian!" Jake exclaims. "That's a goddamn Yeti!"

Even Estela freezes when she catches sight of the massive creature. "What the hell?!"

With Estela distracted, Lila scrambles to her feet and makes a break for it.

"She's getting away!" Grace cries. Estela whips around to go after, but slips on a patch of ice under the snow.

"Grace!" Aleister screams. "Watch out!"

Grace whips around just in time to see the beast looming next to her and shrieks in surprise. Apparently angered by her cry, the Yeti reaches down and scoops Grace up in one of its huge claws, roaring.

"Grace!"

"Let her go!" Aleister shouts. He immediately runs to her defense, but stops short, unsure of what to do. I don't know what possesses me to do it, but I run up to the creature, waving my arms, ignoring Jake's shouts of protest as I pull away from him.

"We're not your enemy!" I cry. That's when I notice the wounds along the Yeti's left arm and side. They look like they might be bullet holes. The creature turns towards me, teeth bared, but it slowly returns Grace to solid ground. Grace collapses against Aleister, quaking violently and struggling to catch her breath.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod..."

"Are you all right?" Aleister asks anxiously, quickly ushering her to safety. I hear a yipping sound and turn to see Murphy bounding over towards me. He plants his paws in the snow beside me and exhales a cone of frost at the enormous beast. Icicles sprout from the Yeti's fur, but it does not appear to be harmed. It bends down, bringing its huge, wet snout to sniff the tiny fox. It grunts softly. Then, in one swift motion, it plucks Murphy out of the snow and bounds toward the forest.

"Murphy!" I scream, running after the beast even though I know I can't hope to catch up. "Get back here! Where are you taking him?!"

"Oh, man!" Raj moans. "Is it gonna eat him?!"

The Yeti is gone in a few massive steps, vanished into the trees. Everyone stares in disbelief.

"What even just happened?!" Diego cries. "Are we into full-blown Christmas special territory?!"

Estela's gaze flicks from the direction the Yeti took off in to Lila's fresh tracks in the snow. "She ran away. Like the backstabbing coward she is."

Varyyn kneels to examine the Yeti's footprints. "The guardian is larger than I'd expected from Uqzhaal's stories. We'll need to move quickly to catch up."

"A frickin' abominable snowman?" Craig exclaims. "Really? And there are still super evil soldier dudes out there? I dunno, guys..."

"We might never make it to the Gate if we try to save him," Michelle says uncertainly.

"Listen, if it weren't for Murphy, most of us would have been torn to shreds by that sabertooth," Sean points out. "We owe him this!"

"And leave that murderer to get away with what she did?!" Estela snarls. "We need to catch her!"

"Estela, please!" I cry, feeling tears in my eyes. "It's Murphy! I want to hold Lila accountable as much as you, but that creature could kill him!"

Estela huffs in frustration. "Fine! For Murphy. But when we do find her, none of you better get in my way!"

Endless rows of pine and fir trees stretch ahead, lining the trail left by the Yeti's footprints. As we weave from one print to the next, I notice tears dripping down Estela's cheeks. She weeps softly, enough that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't look right at her. I make my way over to her.

"Estela..."

"...What?" she asks sharply. I don't balk.

"I'm so sorry about your mother. I can't imagine what this must be like, but I'll do whatever I can to help."

Her expression softens just a little. "...All this time, I thought it was Rourke. ...It was easier that way. Knowing that someone she trusted so deeply...betrayed her...it's just..." She draws in a shuddering breath, raising her eyes to the sky. "...It goes to show that you can never really trust anyone."

"...You can trust me, Estela." She scrubs at her eyes. I place a gentle hand on her back, and we walk on in silence.

"Hey, guys!" Jake calls. "You see that snow coming down up ahead?"

"Uh, yeah," Craig replies. "That's actually how it gets all over the ground."

Michelle rolls her eyes. "Craig, give it a rest."

"What? He's from Louisiana! I didn't know if he knew about that stuff."

"Thanks, Al Roker," Jake snaps, glaring at Craig. "What I'm saying is, that snow's only falling in an isolated area next to that tree."

"Something's up there!"

I squint. Murphy is clinging to a branch on the top of the tree, his breath crystallizing and turning to snowflakes.

"That's totally where I'd put a snack if I wanted to save it for later," Raj remarks.

Movement among a distant cluster of firs catches my attention. The ground shakes with the Yeti's footfalls, but it doesn't seem to be approaching.

"I think it's far enough away that we could try to get him down," Sean says. I immediately search for footholds and begin to scale the trunk. "Woah! You sure you got this, Alodia?"

"Hope so. I guess we'll find out in a minute or two."

"Be careful!" Quinn calls.

"Foolish is more like it," Aleister hisses. "Now is not the time to throw caution to the wind!"

I ignore him. Moving from branch to branch, I gradually make my way up towards Murphy. I'm nearly halfway there when the pine needles around me begin rustling.

"Kongzilla incoming!" I hear Jake hiss below me. "Everybody hide!"

Everyone scatters below me, running for cover. High among the branches, I try to hold perfectly still. The Yeti emerges from the trees with, of all things, a buzzing beehive grasped in its claws. It doesn't seem to notice anyone. It's just a little further to reach Murphy. I reach for the next branch, only to have it snap loudly in my hand. Shit!

The Yeti roars furiously, dropping the hive and whirling towards the tree where I'm huddled. In the commotion, Murphy tries to scurry down the trunk, but loses his footing. To my horror, he falls, plummeting dozens of feet to the snow-covered ground below.

"No!" I scream. "Murphy!" Frantic, I scramble down the trunk. The rest of the group stops and turns towards the spot where Murphy landed. The beast also stops, apparently concerned. I jump the last few feet to the ground, scrambling back from the Yeti towards my friends, hardly daring to look at the spot where my little fox landed.

"Oh god, please no..." Quinn whimpers.

There is no movement from the hole in the snow where Murphy landed. The Yeti lumbers over and brings its face down, sniffing at the spot. A cloud of snowflakes swirls out towards the Yeti's nose. It flinches, pawing at its face. Murphy digs himself out and shakes off, looking annoyed but unharmed.

"He's okay!" I cry, feeling tears of relief in my eyes.

"I dunno if I am!" Diego declares. "Almost had a heart attack!"

The Yeti leans towards Murphy and gives him several gentle licks with its massive tongue. The gesture is...almost tender.

"Um...I don't think it wants to eat Murphy," Grace says. "I think its trying to care for him like a parent!"

"Aww, that's adorable!" Quinn cooes. Murphy whuffles, clearly finding the whole situation much less adorable than Quinn. He backs away and scampers over to her. She picks him up. "You're a good li'l pupper, Murphy."

Seeing Murphy in Quinn's arms seems to awaken the Yeti's protective instincts. It growls at her deep in its throat, a warning sound.

"Quinn!" Zahra hisses. "I think you're pissing it off!"

The Yeti lets out a furious roar, rising to its full height and advancing on Quinn.

"Quinn!" I shriek.

"Shit, this is like the custody battle from hell!" Diego cries.

Quinn glares at the Yeti, standing her ground. "You know what, I've had just about enough of you!" she snaps. "Just...stop!"

… I hear something in her voice on the last word. Something I've heard once before and never forgotten. It's faint enough that the others might not pick up on it, but I can. I can hear the voice of the Island inside Quinn's voice. The Yeti seems to hear it, too. It seems suddenly hypnotized, a faint glow appearing in its eyes. It continues walking forward, causing snow to slide off the surrounding trees with each heavy step.

"Quinn, what are you doing?!" I scream.

"I...I don't know. It feels like I'm somehow in her mind..."

"...'Her'...?"

"I think I can bring her to our side, Alodia."

I swallow hard, looking from Quinn to the hypnotized Yeti. "...Okay...everybody stand back! Quinn, go for it!"

"This fox is our friend," she tells the Yeti, her voice at once commanding and soothing. "We're not going to hurt him."

The Yeti growls lowly and continues to advance. I feel my heart pounding in my throat.

"It's not working!" Grace cries.

Quinn gulps audibly. "Please..." Her voice wavers. But when she speaks again, the island's voice is back, still buried inside her own. "...We need your help!"

Abruptly, the creature stops, dropping down on all fours. She lays her head low in submission to Quinn.

"Hell yeah!" Craig says triumphantly. "I think Quinn just got us a Bigfoot!"

"Quinn, are you the Three-Eyed Raven?" Diego asks. "Can you wharg into animals?!"

"Guardian," Quinn says, addressing the Yeti. "We need to get to the northern penninsula. Can you help us?"

The Yeti drops her whole body low, and Quinn carefully climbs on her back, hoisting herself up in the creature's shaggy fur. She reaches her shoulders and tentatively reaches out to pat the side of her new mount's head. The Yeti nuzzles her rider affectionately. Quinn giggles delightedly.

"I think she likes me! Come on, Alodia!"

"Wooooah," Zahra breathes. "That's, like, a legendary-level mount..."

"Aaaand, we have a Yeti now," Michelle sighs. "That's a thing."

"Yeah," Sean agrees. "I'm just rolling with it at this point."

Quinn beckons for me to join her. I shake my head in disbelief. "This is totally crazy..."

"...Says the woman who mind-melded with Varyyn," Diego mutters.

"...Fair point. What the hell. Here I come!" I climb up behind Quinn. "Think the Guardian will let us grab our supplies from the Lodge first?"

The Guardian indeed does allow us to stop at the Lodge for our supplies. Properly supplied and bundled up, my coat and backpack of idols and Island's Heart on my back, I ride the Yeti with Quinn and Murphy, the rest of the group following beside us. The ride is surprisingly smooth, certainly no rougher than a boat on calm waters.

"This is amazing!" I breathe. "I can see for miles up here!"

"This is the only way to travel!" Quinn agrees. Murphy yips, and it sounds like agreement.

After a few hours of travel, we emerge from the evergreen forest at the shore of a vast, frozen lake. The Yeti comes to a stop and bows to let us off her back. Quinn climbs down and strokes the beast's snout.

"Thank you, my friend."

The Yeti whuffles, nuzzling her. I climb carefully down, clinging to the long tufts of white fur. As I descend, something dark catches my eye. Looking closer, I find strands of black, metallic netting wrapped tightly around the Yeti's shoulder.

"Hang on...there's something stuck to her..." I work carefully to detangle the net, and discover it's connected to a central device with a spider-shaped mark etched into it. "There! It's off."

"That's an Arachnid tracker!" Jake says, coming up behind me. "What the hell would Lundgren want with her?"

The Yeti raises an enormous paw to point across the lake, indicating the direction of our goal. She gazes down at Murphy. Murphy holds her gaze steadily for a long moment. Then, the Yeti turns and heads back into the forest.

"I...don't know how I know this," Quinn says, "But I think she'll come back to us if we need her."

"The Guardian recognized her own kind," Varyyn murmurs.

"What do you mean?" Diego asks.

"She must believe that Murphy will one day take her place. It is the only reason she would try to keep him safe."

"That would explain his unusual abilities," Aleister concedes.

"Our very own guardian-in-training," I remark. "Who knew?"

Murphy skitters across the shore toward the icy surface.

"Those cliffs are gonna be too steep to climb," Sean points out. "Looks like we're headed over the lake."

"Is it solid enough?" Michelle asks. "I don't need to deal with hypothermia from anyone falling through."

"The ice is clear," Grace says, "which means there's less air trapped inside."

"Well-observed," Aleister agrees. "Given the thickness and high density, it should be safe enough."

"Good thing we brought Pierre and Marie Curie along," Jake remarks, earning himself raised eyebrows from Grace and Aleister. "What? Don't give me that look! I know scientific...stuff!"

I put a tentative foot down on the ice. It holds under me, and I take another step. Diego follows, his feet sliding a little.

"Woah! It's slippery!" Varyyn comes up beside him, taking his hand.

"Don't worry. I will keep you steady."

We all gradually make our way across the smooth, glass-like surface.

"If only I had my ice-skates," Quinn sighs ruefully. "This would be a great place to perfect my double axel."

"I didn't know you figure skated," Michelle remarks.

"Well, I'm not great at it or anything."

"If we ever get home, remind me to show you my medals from the Collegiate Championships."

"Medals...plural?" Quinn asks, incredulous. Michelle just grins.

As we near the center of the lake, Estela abruptly stops and kneels.

"Estela? You all right?" She doesn't respond immediately. With one gloved hand, she brushes away the frost from the ice, revealing an object frozen a few inches below. My knees almost give out. The object gleams faintly gold. Amber. Half of my brain is screaming at me to run. To grab Estela and tear her away. But that half is rapidly being drowned out by the part of me that is convinced that if I know what is to come, I can save her life. I can save all of them. I can prevent the future my own idol revealed.

"I...don't know how I knew it was there," Estela murmurs.

"Draco," Varyyn says. "I remember Uqzhaal talking about that vaalta."

Raj is rummaging around in his messenger bag. He produces a blowtorch and presents it to me. "You could probably melt it out with this, right?"

"...Where did you get this and what were you going to do with it?" I ask warily. He blinks at me, confused.

"In the kitchen at the lodge. It's for making crème brulee, but I thought we might find other uses for it in a snowy mountain."

"...Oh. That...actually makes a lot of sense. Never mind." I switch on the torch and hold the flame over the spot where the idol is frozen. It takes several minutes, but we melt enough of the ice to dig out the idol. It's a partially-clad woman with long, flowing hair and dragon wings sprouting from her back. I almost wonder if anyone notices me bracing myself as I pass the idol to Estela. The sensation of falling though time is almost familiar by now, even though it seems to become rougher each time...

The Hartfeld University library. Estela sits alone at a table, her attention focused on a thick, black volume. The title on the spine reads, The Executioner's Song. Aleister comes up to the table, a stack of law textbooks wobbling in his arms.

"Do you mind if I sit here? All the other tables appear to be full." Estela nods without looking up. He sets his things down, and ventures a glance at her book. "True crime. I also enjoy that genre."

Estela hums disinterestedly, her eyes flicking toward him just brieftly before returning to her book.

From a nearby row of shelves comes the sound of soft giggling and whispers.

"Did you see that transfer student? Her face looks like she got in a fight with a Slap Chop and lost."

"She's way creepy. I heard her entire family died a bunch of years ago."

Estela's fingers tighten around the edges of her book. She glares at the page, but I don't think she's reading anymore.

"Yeah, super sketch. I hope she doesn't come on the dorm retreat. I don't wanna worry about getting stabbed in my sleep, you know?"

"Oh my god, for real!"

The two girls walk toward the library's exit. Estela sits in silence. She closes her eyes, but not before I see the film of tears coating them. Aleister seems to notice as well.

"I...ah...I wouldn't worry about them," he ventures a bit shyly. "Even the sorority queens and head athletes end up falling to the bottom of the pecking order eventually. Trust is a fragile thing, and nowhere is it more brittle than among the 'popular' crowd."

"Longing for acceptance from those kinds of people is a waste of time," Estela concedes.

Aleister ventures a smile. "Indeed. And if they underestimate people like us, they do so at their own peril."

"Exactly." She gives Aleister a slight nod, and then returns to her book. Aleister smiles to himself and pulls a weathered textbook from the top of his stack. The two of them pour over their reading in comfortable silence...

...I'm moving faster than ever before, away from the past, toward the future...

… A red cloud billows in the reflecting pool of The Celestial's grand atrium. Lila's body is crumpled over the basin. The fountain's jets sprinkle onto her, washing away the blood of several stab wounds. Estela, a spear resting in a sling on her back, stands over her. Estela's shoulders heave, her breath coming out in hard puffs. A knife slips from her bloody grip, falling to the floor.

"...It's over, Mom...I did it..."

A figure looms in the shadows on one of the balconies. Rourke, nude as he was when I saw him through the Centaurus idol, with double the madness in his eyes, sneers down at her.

"I owe you so much, Estela."

Estela whirls to face him, fury in her eyes. "You!"

"Gratitude, apologies...perhaps a bereavement package? Lila was a liability, and I should have seen to her eradication long ago. Now you've saved me the trouble." Estela draws her spear and makes ready to throw it. Rourke continues, apparently unconcerned. "As for Olivia, I respected her greatly-"

"Snake! Don't you dare speak her name!"

"I would never have been able to bring myself to kill her. That's why I needed Lila. What an elegant development that her own daughter would finally close the loop."

"Die, you filth!"

Estela puts everything behind her throw. Every tear. Every ounce of rage and hatred she has. It flies up into the balcony and right through Rourke. His image flickers as the spear sticks in the wall behind him.

"If only I had your perfect aim."

The sound of a gunshot cracks through the air like a whip. Estela gasps in agony and slumps to her knees. Bloodstains blossom like roses across her abdomen and lumbar. She clutches the wound at her abdomen in disbelief.

"...No..." She turns to see Rourke—the real Rourke—standing behind her with a gun in his hand. The figure on the balcony disappears, and a small, spherical drone floats down to hover beside him. "You...bastard...!"

She staggers to her feet and lurches towards him. He shoots her again, ripping another bloody hole in her abdomen. She cries out, but she keeps advancing.

"I...didn't come...this far..." Her voice is somewhere between a furious snarl, a sob of pain, and a frightened whimper. Rourke's lips curl into an angry sneer.

"Stay. DOWN!" he growls.

He shoots twice more. Blood oozes from wounds in her chest. Her legs betray her and she crumples. But she continues to advance, clawing her way across the floor, eyes burning with fury and hatred.

"K...kill...you..."

"My god. You're persistent, aren't you?" There is admiration in his voice. "Like mother, like daughter, I suppose." He squats down over her and presses the barrel of the gun to her forehead. She looks up at him with furious tears in her eyes.

"...Rourke..."

"Goodbye, Estela Montoya. I wish this could have worked out differently."...

I am returned to the frozen lake. Estela looks at me with concern.

"Are you all right? You look frightened. What's wrong?"

I swallow. I'm tired of hiding the truth, but I don't know what else to do. The longer I hide, the more unbearable the thought of telling becomes. "...Let's...just keep moving," I murmur.

Estela still looks concerned, but she doesn't argue. As we move onward, the lake narrows sharply, becoming a strait lined with imposing cliffs. Jake suddenly stops walking, a look of alarm on his face.

"Oh, crap," he groans. "Bad timing."

"You eat the raw octopus at the Vaanti feast, too?" Raj asks. That's when we hear the chorus of revving motors.

Arachnid troops on ski bikes roar out from around the cliffs. They speed across the frozen lake, encircling us before we can flee, staring at us through whatever eye slits exist in those mechanical masks. Leading the group is the hulking brute with the mechanical fists.

"Surprise!" he sneers gleefully, stepping off his bike. "Looks like you've reached the end of the line."

"You're new," Jake says flatly. "Lundgren ain't what you think, pal."

"I'm not just a recruit," Mecha-Fists replies, smirking. "I'm your replacement, Jakey-Wakey."

"Listen up, Amateur Hour. If you can't even come up with a decent nickname, don't waste my time. Lundgren must be packin' those cigars with something funny if he thinks he can put Inspector Gadget's idiot cousin in my spot."

"That's Tetra to you!" Mecha-Fists—Tetra—growls. "And talk all you want, traitor. I have the upper hand. In fact, I have two."

The motors on his mechanical fists whine as he takes up a fighting stance. Jake gets on the balls of his feet, prepared to defend himself. That's when Sean catches my eye. He looks at me intently, mouthing something I can just make out: keep talking.

"So, Tetra, was it?" I ask. "Why do you want us dead so badly?"

"Oh, it's nothing personal, cupcake. A job's a job, and Mr. Rourke happens to know how to put his money where his mouth is."

"It's too bad that Rourke always seems to kill his hired help."

"You would be smart to get out now," Estela agrees.

"And that's if Lundgren doesn't stab you in the back first."

"Which he will," Jake confirms. "I'm with the ladies. I don't think you know what you've got yourself into, Tin Man."

"Oh? And why would he backstab me?"

"Lundgren's loyal only to himself. The moment that bastard thinks he can get you to take the fall for him, you're gone. You'll never see it coming."

"And if you somehow survive Lundgren, you'll find that Rourke is far too paranoid to leave you alive."

Tetra ignores me, focused on Jake. "Last I checked, it was you who did the betraying, Jakey-Wakey."

Sean rushes at a pair of soldiers, but Tetra spots him and raises one of his mechanical arms. He deploys a fist toward Sean, who barely manages to jump out of the way. The hydraulic limb slams into the surface of the lake. The ice heaves beneath us, cracks spreading over the surface like veins. I feel my feet slide out from under me and I land hard on my back. The collection of idols in my backpack jams painfully into several points along my spine, hard enough to bruise. I can't hold back a cry.

"Alodia!" I hear a series of clicks as the surrounding soldiers raise their rifles at the group.

"Freeze!"

As I sit up, winded, Tetra retracts his arm and grins at Jake, stepping between him and me. "You can come with us, or we can kill you right here." He points one fist at me. "Your choice."

No one seems keen to stop me as I climb back to my feet, but I feel something slip out of my bag and go rolling across the ice.

"The Island's Heart!" Varyyn cries.

"Someone grab it!"

I dive for it, but I land just short. It slides over the ice towards Quinn.

"Got it!" she calls, reaching for it.

"No, Quinn! Don't!"

An unseen force lifts Quinn into the air as she takes the Heart in her hands. Her eyes shift from sapphire blue to blazing green, the whites vanishing in the glow. Everyone gathered stops, staring at her hovering form.

Diego backs away, murmuring, "...What kind of freaky B-grade..."

"...Mushrooms did I-" Raj stops himself and clears his throat. "I mean...are we in a horror movie?"

"Shoot her!" Tetra shouts.

"Sir, her radiation levels are off the-"

"Do it!"

The Arachnid troops open fire, all at once. I scream. But Quinn has already extended a hand, her expression placid.. The bullets slow until they're crawling through the air. She drops her hand, and they clatter harmlessly to the ice.

"I didn't sign up for this kinda stuff..." Jake mutters.

Quinn reaches toward a group of soldiers, as if to push them away. She speaks with the voice of the Island, just as she did back in the village.

"Get...out of here!" she orders, her voice reverberating like thunder. Green fire erupts around the soldiers. Their bodies gradually become translucent, as if they're being phased out through time. Their screams seem to cut in and out.

"Run!" Sean shouts. The remaining soldiers hurry to block our path. Estela, Michelle, and Raj manage to evade them, racing towards solid ground.

"Oh, yes! Run!" Tetra snarls. "With your tail between your legs! Not that it'll do you much good!" He points both fists at the ice and deploys them again and again. The web of fissures under our feet widens until it crosses the lake.

"He's freakin' crazy!" Craig yells.

"The ice is breaking up!" Grace cries.

Tetra grins manically at us, his eyes wild. The remaining troops scatter, fleeing towards the cliffs. Everyone else follows their lead.

"Wait!" I cry. "We can't leave Quinn!"

Quinn is ascending, the ethereal green light that engulfs her catching on falling teardrops.

"I am in pieces," she moans. "They've taken everything."

"Quinn! Or...whoever! Please, listen!" I glance around wildly and point to Tetra. "That man broke you!"

"...What...?" She turns her eerie green gaze on Tetra, still jamming his mechanical fists repeatedly into the thick ice.

"Yeah!" Zahra chimes in. "Look at him! Now he's breaking more stuff!"

The Quinn-creature hisses, stretching a hand towards Tetra, who finally seems to realize what we've done.

"This time..." she growls, "YOU WILL BREAK!" Her voice rises into a shriek that sounds like a bird of prey. Tetra's mechanical limbs rust and implode before his eyes. He screams, eyes rolling in terror, and sets off fleeing across the fracturing ice. Quinn hovers after him.

"This is just like Frozen!" Diego cries, his voice breathy and strained with fear. "Except with, like, The Exorcist happening at the same time!"

"She has to let it go!" Varyyn shouts. "Quinn! Let it go!"

Diego looks at him with disbelief. "Wait, how did you-" He's cut off by a sharp crackling noise that rises from the ice to fill the air around us. We barely have time to register the inevitable before the ice sheet gives way.

"Go!" Jake shouts. "Get off the lake!"

I look around frantically for a path to solid ground as the jumble of uneven surfaces shifts beneath my feet. My friends...where are my friends?! My eyes find Sean, just in time to see him slide off an ice block, straight into the frigid water. As the brutal cold hits him all at once, I see his strength immediately fail him.

"Sean!" I scream. I leap onto an ice floe beside him and drop to my belly to stretch a hand toward him. Trilling anxiously, Murphy follows me. "Sean! Grab on!"

His skin is already turning blue. He tries to call out, but his teeth are chattering so badly that he can hardly speak.

"Al-alod-ia, I d-d-don't..."

"Do it, Sean! Please!" Summoning his strength, he reaches out and grasps my arm in both hands.

"Aleister!" Grace wails. "Somebody help him!"

"Zahra!" Craig cries.

I glance around and see that Zahra is trapped on a fast-moving ice floe, hurtling toward the far end of the lake. Aleister clings to a sheer cliff face above churning plates of ice. I pull at Sean's arm, dragging him through the water toward me. As he gets closer, Murphy grabs the collar of his coat and tugs with all his might, planting his paws firmly on the ice. Between us, we manage to drag Sean onto the floe. He slumps into my arms, soaking wet and shivering violently. He struggles to open his eyes and find my face, his blue-tinged lips curving into a feeble smile.

"Th-thanks..."

"Hold on, Sean," I murmur. I'm trembling myself, but it's not from the cold. "Oh god, please just hold on..."

I look around. Zahra has managed to pull herself up onto a rock ledge with Craig's help. Blood drips from a dark gash at her side. Grace helps Aleister struggle to shore. He holds one arm to his chest, his expression twisted with pain. Behind me, I hear the roar of water crashing down, and feel a spray of mist on the back of my neck. I dare to twist around and see the floe beneath me is rapidly approaching a massive waterfall.

"Allie!" I hear Diego scream.

"Oh, god! Alodia!" I look up and see Jake standing at the shore, watching me with helpless terror. "Alodia! Get to shore! Please!"

"Sean, we have to get to shore! We have to jump!" I brace him, dragging him upright with me. There is a larger floe just a foot away, and a clear path to the shore. "You can do this! I've got you!"

He nods, struggling to control the tremors in his limbs. A shadow appears on the water before me. Quinn...or whatever creature is inhabiting her, descends from the sky, blocking my path.

"Broken..." she moans. I feel hot tears running down my cheeks. I gulp, reaching out to touch her. She glares at me, emerald flames smoldering in her eyes. "I will never be whole...Never!"

"Quinn, it's me! I need you to fight it! Please! Remember who you are! Think about the things we've been through together!" My voice cracks with a helpless sob. All the terror I have been carrying around since we emerged from the portal, since I first touched the Pavo idol, seems to come pouring out of me in a rush. "Remember the bridge at Elyys'tel? I've never been more devestated in my life than the moment I thought I lost you. We'd won the battle and I thought everything would finally return to normal. Instead, my worst nightmares started coming true, and there was nothing I could-"

"...But you did." Hearing Quinn—my own Quinn—speak, I glance up sharply.

"Quinn?!"

"...You saved me, Alodia..."

She closes her eyes. The roaring waterfall is suddenly silent. The bobbing of the ice floe beneath my feet ceases. Even the churning tide stops in place. The quiet presses heavily on my ears, almost painful, but so, so blessed. Quinn slowly floats to the shore. Sean leans heavily on me as I guide us after her, Murphy following behind me. Varyyn and Diego rush over to take him from me while Jake catches me in a crushing embrace.

"...Get him warm..." I manage to murmur before surrendering to Jake's frantic kisses. He pulls back just enough to take my face in his hands and look me over.

"You okay, Princess?" he asks, brushing sweat-damp strands of hair from my forehead. "You okay?"

I manage to nod before he presses his lips to mine again and then crushes me in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck, clinging to him as if he's my anchor to the world.

Crack! Estela's fist connects with the Island's Heart in Quinn's hands, knocking it from her grasp. Quinn drops to the snowy ground, crumpling into Estela's arms. The pounding of the waterfall resumes instantly. Quinn's eyelids flutter.

"Estela...? What...happened?"

Estela clears her throat. "...Sorry. You were...uh...um...you were..."

"You were floating in the sky using superpowers!" Raj cries. "Super powers!"

"Is she all right?" Michelle asks. "Let me see her!" She hurries over to help Quinn to her feet. The others look at her, not quite knowing what to say. I manage to free myself from Jake just enough to look over at her.

"Are you okay, Quinn?"

"I...I think so..." She looks past us, her gaze focused somewhere in the distance. She frowns. We all turn to look.

A tall building looms atop a spire of rock that rises out of the lake, alone in the white haze.

"Oh, god...that's it," Aleister murmurs. "My father's facility."

Quinn swallows. "...Our way home..."