A/N: Well, here is the next chapter, but I warn you: a lot of stuff happens in it. Also, thanks, Guest reviewer Mogor for commenting on my last chapter!
o-o-o-o
Chapter 20: A New Beginning
"...and then we came out of the Capitol and found you," Hera finished up after telling the Courtmember the rebels' story. For a moment, the man was silent, and he rested his hand on his chin as he thought. Finally, he looked up.
"Well, that is certainly...quite the tale," Nyon said solemnly, yet coolly. "Thank you for telling me. I will have to convene the Court about this conspiracy with the Saviors. It's clear that we've allowed them too much leeway, hoping they would just die out. But clearly, that's not going to happen unless we do something about it. I'll have my finest on the case."
Ezra let out a sigh of relief. He had been wondering if the Kalifan would believe their story since, even though it was true, it sounded kind of far-fetched, like the part about the leader of the Saviors being a disillusioned magical student of Rebecca Storm's. But for some reason, Nyon hadn't commented on that part.
Suddenly, the group heard a commotion from inside the building and looked up. Ezra's eyes widened and narrowed when he saw a squad of Kalifan officers exiting the Capitol building, whose fire had finally been put out, dragging a familiar enemy. The leader of the Saviors, Kent Daladob, who was currently attempting to fight his way out of the police officers' holds, but, surprisingly, to no avail. That surprised Ezra, who had seen the power the leader of the Saviors had first-hand. But it was like he had never even had magical powers to begin with.
"You'll pay for this!" Daladob shrieked crazily as he was pushed into the police speeder. "You'll see! I'll be back, and make all of you pay! Especially that traitorous witch!"
"Witch?" Ezra said curiously as he turned to Nyon. "Do you know what he's talking about?"
"Well...according to the police, the officers found him unconscious in the back courtyard of the Capitol, and there were signs of a struggle. And, since not many people without a physical connection to the Force are known for defeating magicians, it's safe to assume that another magician probably fought him before we were able to get to him."
"Any idea who that might be?" Hera put in.
The older man shook his head. "Not really; all the cameras in the courtyard were burned up in the fire, and I don't think Daladob will be able or willing to tell us who fought him at this point. We'll be at a dead end about that for a while. In the meantime—"
"Courtmember Nyon!" The captain ran up to Nyon hurriedly with a trepidous look on his face. "I think...there's something you should see. The firefighters just pulled a body from the building. Come with me."
Ezra's head jerked up at those words. A body. It couldn't be who he was thinking of, could it? And yet, as Ezra scanned the area around the Capitol as he and the rebels followed the captain with Nyon, his heart began to sink lower and lower. There was still no sign of her. And, if she wasn't outside, then that could only mean one thing.
The captain finally stopped where a few firefighters were kneeling on the ground by some the Capitol's rubble. One of them had knelt by her side, and was attempting to resuscitate her by pumping his hands repeatedly on her chest. But the firefighter's attempts had no effect on the body. And as Ezra's gaze traveled from her feet and burned clothes to her face, he knew who it was without a doubt.
Alena Dimitte.
Her face was covered with scorch marks, her eyes closed, and Ezra was sure that he could see what appeared to be bits of ash in her short, dark hair. He clenched his jaw angrily. She shouldn't have died that night. It should have been Kent.
"What happened to her?" Nyon asked the firefighters, staring sadly at the body as the one trying to resuscitate Alena finally quit, smashing any hope that she could have been saved.
"It's difficult to say, sir, but based on the rather minimal physical injuries she has, it's safe to say that she most likely succumbed to smoke inhalation rather than being burned to death." One of them answered. "We'll have to wait for the official report from the coroner's office, though."
Nyon nodded solemnly. "Alright, then, the next thing we should do is—"
Suddenly, with no warning, a huge explosion sounded out around the group. Ezra winced at the intensity of the apparent blast as he looked to the Capitol for any signs of a recurring fire. But it hadn't come from the Capitol.
As the group continued to look around, Ezra saw that Nyon realized where it had come from first as the older man's gaze fell on a location behind the young Jedi. Turning to follow the Kalifan's gaze, Ezra was struck still by the amount of flame rapidly spitting out of a building that looked to be only a few blocks away. He looked to Nyon as the Courtmember nodded to the police captain, who pulled out a speeder control and activated it, resulting in one of the speeders to scream around the corner to meet the group. As Nyon and the captain got in, he looked back to the rebels, who were standing in stunned silence.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get in!"
The group began to pile in, and Ezra snuck another look back at Alena's body as they drove away, feeling like he was abandoning her, even if she was already dead.
Pulling up to the burning building in what seemed like a matter of seconds, Ezra looked at the fire in amazement, which appeared to have started on one of the higher floors. He wasn't any firefighter, but he was pretty sure the fire at the Capitol hadn't been half as bad as the one that he was currently seeing as he watched the flames rapidly streak down the sides of the building with a crowd watching. Even as the firefighters began to arrive, Ezra had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to save the building from burning to the ground.
A witch...
o-o-o-o
Later, Rex stared at what remained of the building, hardly able to believe that one fire could have burned down an apartment building over twelve stories high in just thirty minutes. It was like the fire had been unnatural, glowing a terrible white color as it had licked at that building. Not even the firefighters had been able to stop it, as the fire had turned the water from their hoses to steam. The best the firefighters had done was manage to vacate the building with a body.
A body. Rex clenched his jaw at the thought of Alena's body. He still couldn't believe that she was...dead, gone as suddenly as Rebecca had been, out of his sight. And he hadn't even realized it. Another person he cared about, gone.
Rex focused back to the present as he looked at the Courtmember, who was staring at the body with a look of disbelief on his face. The old captain sidled up beside the man as he looked at the body, which had been covered up with a sheet except for the part that had been lifted up by a doctor kneeling next to it. All except for the face. "Any idea who this man is...was, sir?"
Nyon startled as he looked at Rex, then back at the body. "Un-unfortunately, I do. He's a member of the Court. Scales Daladob."
Rex raised his eyebrow at the other man's words as he looked at the now-familiar body, surprised not only at the fact that the only casualty to come out of that building had been a member of the Kalifan Court, but also because of something else. "Did you say...Daladob?"
Nyon sighed as he looked away from the body. "Yes, I did. The man who died in that building was Kent Daladob's father."
"That seems a little too...coincidental," Rex said as he narrowed his eyes in thought, "that the father of the man who was just arrested was suddenly killed in a freak fire."
"Actually, the fire wasn't what killed him," the doctor examining the Courtmember's body interrupted as he stood up, being careful to re-cover it. "His most severe injuries are deep tears and scratches all over his body, which are consistent with the attack of a large animal; perhaps an anuba."
"So...an animal killed Daladob?" Rex said incredulously. "But that doesn't explain the fire, or why the firefighters couldn't put it out until after it'd burned the building to the ground. It doesn't make any sense."
"As unlikely as it may seem, that is where the facts of the injuries that killed him lead to," the doctor said. "There is no doubt about it: this man was literally slaughtered by an animal. And I wouldn't lift that sheet, either," he added as he began to pack up the bag he'd brought with him. "The injuries are quite...graphic."
As the doctor left and the paramedics began to move the covered body, Nyon was silent, most likely deep in thought about what they'd just heard. Rex thought hard about it, too, but, like he'd told the doctor, it just didn't make sense. How did a large animal even get into that apartment building and, by some coincidence, manage to kill the father of the leader of the Saviors the night he was arrested?
Rex was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of Nyon speaking with the captain again. "Have you learned anything from the residents, captain?"
The Kalifan captain shook his head. "Not really, sir. The closest we've gotten to any information is that every single one of these residents remember feeling a sudden urge to leave the building just moments before the explosion happened."
"All of them felt that?" Nyon said incredulously. "You're sure? Every last one?"
"Positive, sir; that's what they all recall."
Nyon pressed his lips to a thin line, an unreadable look washing over his face as the clone captain studied him. Finally, the Kalifan spoke. "Well, I don't think that we'll be able to get much else out of here, so—"
"Oh, wait, there's one more thing." The captain interrupted as he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to the Courtmember. "We found this in Scales's pocket, completely unharmed. Not even a scratch."
"I see." Nyon said solemnly as he stared at the comlink resting in his hand. "I think it's time I call the rest of the Court in for this, if this reveals what I think it will. Afterwards, I believe we'll comm you."
o-o-o-o
"You called for me?" Victoria said doubtfully as she walked into the building the Court had promptly decided to use as a temporary Capitol building, apparently. The teenager narrowed her dark green eyes suspiciously at the Court minus one. Scales. The one who had, ultimately, ruined her life. So, in a way, she had gotten what she wanted, just like in the beginning when she had first left Kalifa.
Revenge.
Not that it mattered anymore. It was already too late.
Her attention was brought back to the Court as Alexander Nyon, the unofficial spokesperson of the Court, began, a soft look entering his topaz eyes. "Victoria, we are here because of something brought to our attention we could not ignore." The softness disappeared as he adopted a sterner expression. "Tonight, not only was Kent Daladob, the leader of the Saviors, arrested, but his father and fellow Courtmember, Scales Daladob, was also killed in his apartment. We found a comlink on Scales's body, as well. We've just finished examining it, and do you know what was on it?"
Victoria pressed her lips into a thin line. She'd have to play her cards right. No matter how understanding Nyon would probably be, he was bound by the laws of Kalifa, which prohibited trivial things like murder and vigilantism. "No, sir, I do not."
"Well, on that comlink, we found an archived conversation between Scales Daladob and Rebecca Storm from five years ago. According to it, Scales had convinced Rebecca to give him the coordinates for the location of Shadow Squadron. He'd claimed he was asking on the orders of the Court, but we never had any meetings about anything close to that at that time. Based on this conversation, and the fact that we have never been able to figure out how the Empire had found the Squadron in the first place, the Court believes it is safe to conclude that Scales Daladob most likely gave that information to the Empire. But," Alexander held up his hand as Victoria opened her mouth again, "there was more we found, too. There was also another recorded conversation on that comm that looks like it had been recorded very recently. In it, there was a one-sided audio recording of Scales Daladob implicating himself in not just the Empire defeating Shadow Squadron, but also in the founding of the so-called 'Saviors of Kalifa' themselves," Alexander said distastefully, his face twisting into a sneer as he spoke, no doubt angry about Daladob's betrayal. The other members of the Court nodded in agreement as Alexander continued. "Now, Victoria, the Court wants to know the truth from you: did you have any knowledge about any of this information?"
Victoria felt her left eye give a slight twitch as she readied herself to lie, though she hated lying to one of her mother's oldest friends, speaking clearly, "I'm afraid I don't, Courtmember Nyon. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
"I see." Alexander answered, an unreadable expression crossing his face. "Well then, now that we've gotten that out of the way, there is one more thing the Court wishes to speak to you about, Victoria."
Victoria raised an eyebrow incredulously as she absentmindedly tugged on her tight ponytail. What could they possibly want with someone like her? "And what is that, sir?"
o-o-o-o
Afterwards, Victoria walked out of the building the Court meeting had been held in, still finding it hard to believe. How could they all put her in that position? What was wrong with them? With Alexander? She knew that he knew about her, and he still decided to see fit to trust her. How could he even think that, after what she'd done? It didn't make any sense.
"Victoria." The teenaged girl turned at the sound of her name being called out, seeing Alexander walk out to join her. The older man had a kindly twinkle in his eyes, just like he'd looked at her when she was young. When she was...not the same as she was then.
"What is it, Nyon?" Victoria asked, crossing her arms in front of her as she studied the Kalifan Courtmember. There was absolutely no sign whatsoever that he appeared to regret his decision, or, rather, the decision the Court made.
"I just wanted to tell you..." Nyon began, looking uncertain for a moment, before settling his hand on Victoria's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, and that I wasn't there for you."
Victoria blinked in surprise. Nobody, not even Alena, had actually said that they were sorry for her loss since she'd returned to Kalifa, and even beforehand, what with the Empire invading and all. "Uh...thanks?" Victoria settled on uncertainly, not really sure what to say to a condolence that had been five years too late.
"And...I also want you to know that, I know things have been hard for you lately." Alexander said, his eyes looking on her kindly. "And I know that this probably won't lessen your burden, but I want you to know this: I believe in you, Victoria. You have your family's fire in your eyes, and I believe that it will get better for you, given time." He smiled kindly at the struck-silent Victoria and squeezed her shoulder before setting off into the night.
For a moment, Victoria stood silently, not sure what to make of the man's words. Then, with a toss of her ponytail, she shook off the shock she'd felt at knowing that he didn't hate her, walking with no real direction in mind until she came to a certain building that housed a certain someone. The capital's jail, with Kent Daladob inside.
Kent Daladob.
Victoria clenched her fist angrily at her side. She'd sensed the moment Alena had succumbed to the smoke surrounding her in the Capitol, and she'd known that it had happened because of Kent's idiocy and his childish tantrum tendencies. She could have killed him when she'd defeated him, but she knew she had had to act then to put an end to Scales Daladob. So, she'd pushed it aside until she had a quiet moment to herself. Then she let the anger take over.
How dare Kent do something like that? Victoria should have known better than to trust that something even slightly good for her wouldn't last. And Alena was dead. Just like Dakota. Rebecca. Her mother. Just like with them, she'd never gotten to say goodbye to Alena.
Looking at the jail, Victoria had a sudden urge to go inside, find Kent, and kill him like she'd done to his father. She felt her fingers inch toward her lightsaber as she thought about it. The world would be better off without someone like Kent around, even if he was incarcerated at the moment.
But as she grasped her lightsaber, she couldn't help but hear Alexander's words reverberate throughout her skull again.
I believe in you.
And, reluctantly, she let go of her lightsaber.
o-o-o-o
The next day, the rebels stood around a hole in the ground, watching the body of their Kalifan friend be lowered into the ground. Rex bowed his head sadly as he watched the coffin settle into the hole. Besides them, the only other person that had come to Alena's funeral was a man who called himself Odin; apparently, he had been a good friend of Alena's before her...death. He had also offered to speak at the funeral.
"We are here today in honor of someone we all knew," Odin began in an unexpectedly loud, projecting voice that the group winced at. Rex did wonder about that, even as the Kalifan man's gaze wandered off to the side of the group, as though there were someone behind them. "Alena Dimitte. She was a bright young woman who was able to see Kalifa's need, and took steps to ensure change would come on her planet by aligning with a group of people who had the power to do so." Odin nodded at the rebels as he continued. "And, like anybody, while she was not perfect, she did not let her mistakes keep her from doing what was right. Now, I knew her quite well over the years, as I was friends with her mentors, Rebecca Storm and Dakota Farthing. And while she was certainly not the strongest of their students, she nevertheless was one of the most vibrant, always optimistic about life, and seeing her teachers as ones who could be trusted to tell the truth about everything. When they died, she did lose hope for a time, however. But with the rebels came an opportunity to right her wrongs of languishing in limbo on Kalifa. She went with them to stop a large threat to Kalifa, and died doing what she wanted: helping Kalifa. While she is dead in body, I believe she lives on in the Force, and that her legacy can be lived through the lives of the people here." Odin's eyes wandered behind the group again as he finished his speech, and this time Rex followed his gaze, feeling his breath catch at who he saw standing underneath the trees a distance behind them with an unreadable expression, arms crossed over her chest.
Victoria Violetta.
Out of the corner of his eye, Rex saw Ezra turn, and the boy's eyes narrowed at the girl standing in the shadows. Ignoring the Jedi, Victoria's gaze wandered over the group solemnly, locking her dark green gaze with the clone captain's brown one for a moment. Then, when Rex blinked, all he saw again were trees, as though she had never been there to begin with.
But she had been.
o-o-o-o
Ezra walked through the cantina, jaw clenching as he saw Victoria cleaning the counter tops and tables. "Well, look what we have here. A traitor."
Victoria stiffened at the teenager's words and turned around, regarding the young Jedi coolly. "And what, may I ask, makes me a traitor?"
"Well, besides the fact that you work for the Saviors, I bet you were there last night at the Capitol. With Kent Daladob. And I bet you started that explosion at the apartment building that killed one of the Courtmembers." Ezra spat out. He hadn't been sure at first, but the more he had thought about it, the more the answer became clearer. For one thing, she was a Savior, and would benefit from the death of even one Courtmember. She was also a magician, like Kent, and Kent had talked about a witch as he'd been taken away by the police. He'd even conversed with the holocron about Victoria, and it agreed with him. Unlike Victoria, he trusted the Sith holocron knew what it was talking about. There was no other explanation.
"And how, might I ask, can you prove it?" Victoria asked as she raised an eyebrow casually. "After all, I hear all the cameras in the area were destroyed."
"Yeah, I bet you know all about it," Ezra growled out as his blue eyes drilled into Victoria's unflinching demeanor. "And my crew know me; they trust me about these things."
"Be that as it may, you still didn't answer my question." Victoria pointed out. "I asked you how you're going to prove it, not how you know it. After all, a trial is pointless without solid evidence against the defense. But I doubt you care much for the intricacies of politics, don't you?"
Ezra gritted his teeth angrily. "Well, that doesn't matter. I know what kind of threat you are now, and I'll do what it takes to keep you from ruining our plans." He started to reach for his lightsaber, but paused when he took in Victoria's small, patronizing smile. "What?"
"Oh, it's just that I think you should think hard about who you're dealing with, if I am indeed the culprit you believe I am." Victoria said, a dark shadow coming over her face. "After all, the one who defeated not just the Daladobs, but also burned an entire apartment building down, would obviously be a very strong, powerful, dangerous opponent. And, if you had no chance against Kent Daladob, what chance do you think you have against me?" The shadows seemed to gather closer to the girl as she spoke, a dark tone gradually seeping into her words. "And, I doubt randomly killing someone without real proof of their wrongdoings is something that will get you on the Court's good side, now isn't it?"
Ezra was so mad at Victoria he couldn't think straight. "You...you..."
"...have no power here, Ezra Bridger." Victoria said with narrowed eyes. "And I suggest you leave, before things turn into something you can't control. And I know how much you love to control things."
Ezra clenched his jaw again as he glared at Victoria. "Fine. Maybe I can't prove it, but I know you did it. I know you killed the Courtmember, set the fire, and killed Alena, no matter what anyone says." The last part was a bit of a stretch, but Ezra just knew Victoria had had something to do with Alena's death. He knew he was proven right as Victoria stiffened, an unreadable expression on her face.
She turned away for a moment, clenching one of her gloved hands into a fist, before regaining her composure and turning back to Ezra, sidling up beside him until they were separated by a hair's breadth. "You know nothing about what happened that night, boy. You have no idea who I am."
With those raspy words, she disappeared out the cantina's entrance, leaving Ezra behind.
o-o-o-o
"Well, this is it," Hera said later as the Ghost crew stood just outside the new Kalifan Courtroom. "We'll finally find out what the Court's decision is. Now, remember, if they've decided not to join us, don't push them. We need to respect their decision."
Rex nodded with the others as they walked through the room's entrance to finally meet the Court again. As the Court came into view, sitting at a table, Rex couldn't help but feel a little trepidation. After everything they had gone through, he wasn't sure if he could stand knowing all their efforts had been all for naught, if that was the case. Not after learning about Alena...and Rebecca. Now he'd lost the only connection he had to her.
"Phoenix Squadron," Courtmember Nyon began regally, "after much debate, especially with the new evidence that's come to light about deceased Courtmember Daladob's blatant betrayal to Shadow Squadron and his now known involvement in forming the Saviors and attempting to overthrow the Court—"
What?
"—we believe that the time has come for Kalifa to repent for these crimes. So, we have decided to allow Kalifa to give its support to the rebel cell known as Phoenix Squadron. We will join you."
Still reeling from learning of a Courtmember having planned to destroy Kalifa's government, Rex took a moment longer to process the Court's words. When he finally did, it was accompanied with a feeling of utter relief. Finally, the rebels would have support they needed. He looked back up at the Court as Hera answered, "Thank you for choosing to help us, Courtmembers. You won't regret this."
Nyon nodded at Hera as he spoke again. "I hope not, and to be sure, we're going to be sending someone with you to serve as Kalifa's representative. She will report back to us on your plans and actions regularly."
Rex raised his eyebrows in surprise as Hera spoke up again. "Oh? Well, I hope you've chosen someone trustworthy."
Nyon nodded again as he spoke and gestured behind them. "And here is our representative behind you." As Rex turned and saw who it was, he had an uneasy feeling in his stomach, but also curiosity, for some reason. "Victoria Violetta."
o-o-o-o
"You have got to be kidding me!" Ezra said later on the Ghost. "Of all the Kalifans on this planet, they had to choose her? A Savior?"
"Ezra, none of us like this any more than you do," Hera said reasonably as the rebels prepared the ship to take off back to the rebel base. "But it's out of our hands. It's not our decision who the Kalifan representative should or should not be."
"But—but it's Victoria!" Ezra said emphatically. He couldn't believe the rebels were just going to accept and trust her, after everything that had happened because of her and the Saviors.
"I know, Ezra, but the Court doesn't see her as a Savior since she gave them all the information on the Saviors in exchange for immunity. We'll just have to be careful around her."
"I wouldn't bet on that." Ezra whipped around and clenched his jaw at seeing Victoria again, still not being able to believe she was actually going with them. "After all, I am to be Kalifa's representative at your base, and the Court expects me to be treated the same as you'd treat anyone else joining your cause. Because how you treat me extends to how you treat Kalifa, and if you think you can get away with keeping secrets, don't, because I'll find what I want, one way or another," she said as a dark look entered her eyes. "The Court trusts me to do my job, and now you have to do the same, no matter how much you don't want to, since you need me to keep Kalifa's support. So, like it or not, you have no choice in this matter."
o-o-o-o
As the Ghost was en route to the rebel base via hyperspace travel, Captain Rex walked out of the corridor leading to the cockpit and immediately saw Victoria sitting at the table the ship had in its small mess. He pressed his lips into a thin line as he saw her with her small box of possessions she'd taken with her, meaning to walk right by her, but the teenaged girl looked up and saw him.
"Captain," she said noncommittally, raising an eyebrow at the old clone.
Not knowing what else to do, Rex simply said, "Victoria," and made to go on his way, but was stopped by Victoria's voice ringing out again.
"Still think I can't be trusted, old timer?"
Sighing tiredly, Rex turned back to Victoria and regarded her, not hesitating when he answered. "No, I don't think you can be, Victoria. Even if you're Kalifa's representative in the rebel cell, that doesn't erase everything you did when you were on Kalifa. Spying on us for the Saviors, refusing to heal Ezra from a deadly poison just out of spite for Alena, and then, when the Saviors were exposed for what they are, you ran to the Court to get immunity for being a Savior. You manipulated every situation on Kalifa to get what you wanted, and I don't think you have any real loyalty for anyone or anything, just what benefits you. So, no, I'm afraid I don't trust you. And I don't think I ever will, if you insist on being this way."
Rex narrowed his brown eyes at Victoria as she rolled her own green ones dismissively, even as a shadow crossed her face. "Well, then, I guess we're in the same boat. Because I certainly don't trust you, or the other rebels. Especially not that Ezra Bridger. Maybe you don't want to see it, but I can. He's becoming a person you won't like, if he keeps on his current path."
"And what kind of person do you think that is?" Rex challenged, even though he had to admit to himself there had been times lately when Ezra had seemed...different. But he had no reason to trust anything Victoria said.
"He's becoming like me," Victoria said, looking at Rex with a raised eyebrow, as though daring him to challenge her claim. "There's another reason why I didn't heal Ezra of nightlocke that night, and it had nothing to do with spiting Alena Dimitte. It's because, if he keeps on this path, dying from nightlocke poison would be far better than what he can do in the future. And you won't be able to stop him when that happens!"
"And why should I believe you?" Rex said as he narrowed his eyes at the Kalifan girl. "You haven't exactly proven that your word can be trusted, you know."
Victoria scoffed dismissively as she rose from her seat. "Oh, I didn't tell you that so you'd trust me. I'm just telling you so you can't blame me later on if it does happen, but, honestly, I don't know why I'm even telling you if you're just going to dismiss it simply because you don't like me. You'd do well to be on your guard around that boy."
Rex shook his head in disbelief at Victoria's blatant disregard for who Ezra was. "That's not who he is, Victoria."
"Maybe not now," Victoria admitted as she turned her back on Rex, picking up her box. "But it will happen; don't make a mistake about that."
"You don't know that will happen." Rex argued as he crossed his arms over his chestplate. "You don't know the future, after all."
Victoria scoffed again as she made to leave the room. "I have a pretty good idea, remember? Like I said before, Ezra Bridger is a lot like me."
o-o-o-o
A/N: So, yeah...all that just happened. While Alena's fate was sad, it was necessary for the rest of the story I have in mind, just so you all know. Sorry! Leave a comment on the chapter, please!
Anyway, up next we have the epilogue, and then Remnants of the Storm will be officially over! See you in two weeks!