The Wardens had gathered in Fossil Park Asia, hanging around the lobby as they waited anxiously for the news of Tria's condition. Not just the Wardens, but several others who were close to Tria were there as well. The murmurs were fearful, some containing sobs, but they were quiet, subdued by the situation before them.
Kowloon stood right next to the door, frightening in his hostility to all who didn't know him, especially with his kimono still covered in his alpha's blood. Olga stood next to him, attempting to comfort the distressed male. Nibbles stood nearby as well, whimpering fearfully at the smell of his friend's blood. Penny was kneeling next to him, more comfortable around Kowloon than most, with tears in her eyes. Nate was trembling violently, and Roland was sobbing with the memories of the Warden Test and the wounds Tria had suffered then. Mei Lian stood next to her roommate, eyeing Kowloon warily when she wasn't fighting back her own tears. Becky was standing with her brother, her face pained and her eyes clouded. Sean was kneading his sister's shoulder, trying to give her what comfort and confidence he could. Daisy sat on a bench next to her seniors, staring at the floor in shock. Leon sat next to Daisy, Lucky huddled against the nervous male's side as he sobbed. Dahlia paced around the lobby, her uneasy energy forcing her to move even as she sent an occasional glare toward another woman standing against the far wall of the lobby. That woman, Sapphire Bling, stood separate from the Wardens, not feeling too welcome among them. Violet stood next to her leader, staring into the gem on her wand that was connected to the Crystal Ball +1, Drake himself fidgeting as his eyes flitted around the room. Frett and Prescott stood near one another, as usual, Frett walking around his partner while Prescott watched him with a tearful gaze. Liu Ren stood nearer to the door leading into the hospital room, watching the unsettled Wardens while Yamamoto trembled next to him. Professor Little stood next to Elric, gripping his hand tightly, as the older male listened closely to the ninjas' report to the Captain.
"…So you two took a trial to become master ninjas, brought Tria along, and somehow she got involved and was injured." the Captain surmised as Hanzo and Sasuke stood before him, "Is that it?"
"Yes, Captain." Hanzo affirmed, not meeting the taller man's eyes, "I had not intended for her to take the trial, too, and I am ashamed that she was hurt this badly."
"Don't blame yourself, Brother." Sasuke said, gripping Hanzo's shoulder in support, "Tria said herself that she intended to take the trial, and the spooky voice said that she needed to be tested. We didn't know what the trial was gonna be like; you couldn't have known her shadow would be so strong."
"Her shadow?" Elric asked, the older ninja's words striking a cord in him. Beside him, Professor Little whimpered in dread.
"That was the trial." Hanzo explained, "We faced off against our own shadows. We had to overcome ourselves. That was the only part of the trial we actually knew about beforehand."
"Did Tria know about that?" Captain Stryker asked.
"Yes. I told her." Hanzo replied.
"Come to think of it…" Sasuke mumbled, "She actually seemed to perk up when you mentioned that. Like she'd been waiting for it or something."
"Like she'd been waiting for it…?" Elric whispered to himself as he looked toward the hospital door.
"What did Tria's shadow look like?" the Captain asked.
"Dunno." Sasuke replied, shrugging.
"We could not see each other's trials." Hanzo elaborated, "We were taken to different areas, and we fought our shadows alone."
"Alone, huh?" the Captain muttered, looking at the hospital door as he cradled his chin in his hand with a thoughtful look on his face, "And you said your ancestors claimed she needed to be tested?"
"Yeah. More than we did." Sasuke replied, "No idea what that meant."
"Actually…" Hanzo muttered, hesitant, and, when the Captain looked at him expectantly, he continued, "The ancestors addressed Tria directly after she had completed her trial. She managed to listen and respond, though, with her injuries, I cannot fathom how."
"Did you hear what they said?" Elric asked, his tone gaining a slight urgency.
"Kinda hard not to." Sasuke mumbled with a slight shudder.
"They told her that she had won the battle, but not the war." Hanzo reported, gulping before adding in a quieter tone, "And that, if she does not destroy the enemy within her soon, it will destroy her."
"The enemy within her?" the Captain repeated, sharing uneasy glances with the Professor and emissary, "Did they say what that meant?"
Hanzo shook his head, disappointed.
"Tria knew, though." Sasuke said, crossing his arms, "'Heard and understood.' Her exact words."
"This is quite troubling." the Captain growled, glaring at the floor as he thought. He then looked up, as did everyone else, when the hospital door opened and one of the doctors stepped out.
"Doctor! How is Tria?!"
"Is she all right?!"
"She's not dead, is she?!"
"Shut up! Of course she's not dead!"
"Silence!" Captain Stryker bellowed, quieting the frantic voices before approaching the overwhelmed doctor, "Well?"
"Commander Tria's condition is stable." the doctor replied, the group around him visibly relaxing, "Her injuries are serious, but all external. She managed to avoid any internal wounds, none of her bones are broken, and, because she was gotten here so quickly, her blood loss was minimal. She needs to take it easy for a while, but she'll make a full recovery."
The gathered humans all smiled and started chatting among themselves. Penny approached the doctor hesitantly.
"When we can see Tria?" she asked hopefully.
"Tria's resting right now." the doctor replied, "We'll let you know how she's doing tomorrow, and if she's well enough, you may visit her."
Penny sighed, slightly disappointed, before returning to her Asian comrades. Becky, Sean, and Daisy all exchanged glances with one another, their urgency painful. Sapphire stared at the floor, her own expression conflicted and unsure. Kowloon growled, and Olga put an arm around his shoulders in a consolatory gesture. As the Captain started trying to calm the Wardens enough for them to return to their Fossil Parks, the Professor following closely, Elric was called over by the doctor.
"Elric?" the doctor asked for confirmation, and when the silver male nodded, the doctor continued, "Tria was asking for you. If you'll come with me."
"Of course." Elric replied, following the doctor into the hospital room after exchanging a glance with Kowloon, Olga, and Nibbles. He gave them a reassuring nod, and they collectively returned it. At a whisper from the doctor, Elric nodded again. "Nibbles. With us."
Nibbles perked up and, after looking at the humans around him, hurried after the Captain's emissary. The door then closed, leaving the rest of the Wardens and visitors uneasy. Elric picked Nibbles up when the vivosaur whined pitifully and carried him into the room where their friend was resting. Both males cringed at the sight before them.
Tria lay in the hospital bed, different from the one she usually used, with bandages covering her left arm in an image reminiscent of when she'd been attacked by Gorgo during the Warden Test. Her right shoulder was also bandaged, as were her sides and neck. Her wings were stitched up in several places from the tears in the membrane, thin pads keeping the stitched areas covered on both sides. Her eyes were closed, but she knew they were there, and she turned her head slightly toward them in acknowledgement.
"How are you feeling, Tria?" Elric asked as he set Nibbles down gently on the bed, the little vivosaur treading softly to avoid moving the bed or its resident too much as he nuzzled her right hand.
"Tired." the girl croaked, lifting her hand to stroke the vivosaur's muzzle, "Yet I am more at ease, now that I've had a chance to face it in person."
"So that was what you were facing." Elric said, glaring at his friend accusingly, "I was wondering why you'd insist on taking the trial of Hanzo and Sasuke's ancestors." When Tria nodded, her eyes still closed, Elric approached her. "You should've at least let us know of your plan so we'd be ready."
"If I had informed you of my plan, you wouldn't have let me go through with it." Tria replied, opening her dull golden eyes to regard her friend with a knowing look, her gray iris focusing on him, "Besides, none of you could've helped me. This is an enemy I must face alone."
"Alone…" Elric muttered, his voice sorrowful as he sat on the chair next to Tria's bed.
"You are never alone!" Nibbles told her, nuzzling her with gentle urgency, "We are all here for you!"
"Just because we can't fight with you, that does not mean you have to fight alone." Elric informed her as he gripped her hand and Nibbles curled up against her side, "We support you, and we always will. You may be alone on that battlefield where we can't follow, but we still give you strength, and you carry that with you, always."
"Do I?" Tria asked, looking at Elric tiredly. She then looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "That would explain it, then. I was wondering where that power came from."
"Power?" Elric asked as Nibbles looked at her curiously, "What power?"
"When I was fighting Dart, she commented on how our powers were canceling each other out." Tria explained, "But I was able to summon Blinding Strike and defeat her. I was wondering how I was able to do that."
"Who's Dart?" Elric asked the half-dinaurian warily.
"It's what the dark side of me insists on being called." Tria replied, "She told me that she's always been within me; the dark energy just gave her the strength to emerge."
"And you believe her?!" Elric hissed, struggling to keep his voice at a reasonable volume.
"She makes sense, Elric." Tria replied easily, her calm tone troubling, "She is the power I can't control, the part of me that's been suppressed for years. She wasn't allowed a chance to live."
"How do you know that's not just the dark energy trying to trick you?" Elric asked, "How do you know what this 'Dart' says is true?"
"Think, Elric." Tria snapped, glaring weakly at him, "I've been trained to be a saint. To keep from slaughtering ignorant masses when they threaten and attack me, to be 'good' enough to be the container for the dark energy, to be the caring and compassionate protector of those around me. All of these requirements have forced me to be perfect, an angel. But I'm not perfect, Elric. Anger, hatred, sorrow, fear, all of these feelings exist within me. I make mistakes, I get angry, lose patience, get tired. I have been forced to hide these feelings, for the good of those around me, my entire life, and I thought that was what I was supposed to do, but then Dart said something that struck me."
"What?" Nibbles asked, the girl's words disturbing him, "What did she say?"
"I told her that I care about everyone around me, and she told me that I don't care about what's within me." Tria explained, looking at both of the males around her, "In other words, I've spent so long looking after the needs of others, that I don't take care of myself. That's what Dart says her purpose is. I take care of those around me, and she takes care of me, but she's been suppressed for so long that 'taking care of me', in her opinion, requires the destruction of the life I've created, the one that does not consider my well-being."
"And you're going to let her do that?!" Elric cried, choking in an attempt to avoid shouting.
"Of course not, Elric." Tria growled, rolling her eyes, "But it shows the truth in her words. Can you deny the words I have relayed to you?"
Elric glared at the sheets of the bed, gripping the girl's hand harder than intended. Tria said nothing in response, and Nibbles' eyes shifted anxiously between the two.
"…So, what?" Elric snarled resentfully, "You have to choose between yourself and your friends?"
"I shouldn't have to." Tria replied, "But the situation has become extreme enough that I might. Dart's not giving up until she can live, which she can only do be suppressing me. We've become so separate that we cannot exist simultaneously in this world. If one lives, the other must be fully suppressed, or we are locked in a constant internal struggle that will eventually destroy us both. That is where we stand, and we must operate with that in mind."
Nibbles whined as he buried his nose in her neck, his distress clear. Elric pressed his friend's hand to his face, his sigh turning into a sob when a clawed finger wiped a tear from his eye.
"What did you ever do to deserve this?" he asked in despair.
"According to Dart, I've been trying so hard to appease others that I don't take care of myself." Tria answered, her voice disturbingly apathetic, "And, because of that, the life I have built for myself doesn't allow my own well-being."
"But you do take care of yourself!" Elric argued, "You're a survivor! You're better at surviving than any of the humans and many of the vivosaurs!"
"Until the lives of others come into the picture." Tria shot back, "Then I put them first, often at the cost of my own well-being. In fact, that was my entire reason for coming here in the first place, remember?"
"I try not to, actually." Elric muttered as Nibbles whimpered in agreement. Tria sighed.
"This internal struggle is already taking its toll." she told them, "The physical strain on myself and others, the fear, distrust, and worry regarding me, even this thing." She held up her left wrist, the dark-energy detector still there despite the bandages. "All of this is a result of the internal struggle between me and my dark side, powered by the dark energy. And it's getting worse. Ever since I lost control, and especially after the Warden Test, her voice has been leaving my throat, her desires driving my actions, and her thoughts dominating my mind. This isn't something that'll go away with a little hard work and good will."
"But we can't just sit back and watch you die! Not again!" Nibbles whined desperately, tears entering his green gaze as he nuzzled Tria's neck, careful of her injuries.
"Nibbles is right." Elric agreed seriously as he stared at the clawed hand he held, "There must be something we can do to stop this dark energy from taking over."
"Dart." Tria corrected, "That entity has chosen the name 'Dart'. She existed long before I ingested the dark energy."
"But she got the strength to take over your body from the dark energy." Elric muttered.
Nibbles looked between the human and half-human thoughtfully before mentioning hesitantly, "Can you discard it like I did, Tria?"
"And do what with it?" Tria mumbled, "My purpose is to contain it. Discarding it would put others at risk."
"And it wouldn't save you either." Elric added, "As long as the dark energy exists, you'll be subjected to its influence."
The three stay there for a while, thinking. Just as Tria was starting to fall asleep from the strain of her injuries, a slight noise from Elric made her open her eyes again.
"Tria…" he just about hummed, looking at her, "You said you were able to use the light energy from us to defeat Dart this time. Does that mean that more light energy would give you a better chance of suppressing her?"
"…I suppose…" Tria replied after a few moments, "It wouldn't be a permanent solution, though. It would just be delaying the inevitable."
"But delaying it might buy us time to figure out a permanent solution." Elric argued, running his thumb over the back of Tria's hand, "It's better than doing nothing."
Tria looked between the two males, their eyes determined, and, after a few seconds, she closed her own tired eyes and sighed, long and heavy.
"…Very well." she said after a few seconds, "Do what you must to gather the light energy. It will have to be a constant endeavor, but if you think it'll help, go for it."
"Thanks, Tria." Elric said, pressing his forehead against the girl's hand again. Nibbles licked her face happily. "We're always here for you. Never forget that."
"Hard to, with how much you remind me." Tria mumbled, her eyes still closed, but she curled her fingers around her friend's in a companionable gesture before turning to nuzzle Nibbles' muzzle.
"I remind you because it's true." Elric told her before standing up, "You're tired, Tria. I'll leave you to rest." At the whimper from Nibbles, the silver-haired male smiled. "Mind if Nibbles stays here with you?"
"Not at all." Tria replied, hugging the little vivosaur to her side as he purred happily. Elric turned to leave, but paused when Tria opened her eyes and looked at him again. "Tell Kowloon to stay with Olga. Her room is close by and has an unoccupied bed, so he can remain near me in case he needs to reach me quickly. They also could do with each other's company, after a day like today."
Elric's smile widened. "Of course."
"Also." Tria spoke up again, "See that Sapphire has a place here to stay if she wants to. I know she came here to speak with me."
That made Elric flinch, and he turned to look at Tria directly. "Are you sure that's wise, Tria?" He didn't even ask how she knew the calmer of the Bling sisters was there in the first place.
"Of course." Tria replied firmly, "Sapphire wasn't the one who set me off. She came to apologize for her sister; it would be rude to not hear her out."
"…All right, Tria. I'll trust your judgement on this one." Elric agreed reluctantly, before turning around again, "Get some rest, my friend. I'll see you in the morning. Look after her, Nibbles."
"Will do." Nibbles growled as he snuggled closer to his companion. Elric smiled and nodded before finally heading back into the lobby to report to his fellow Wardens and complete the tasks the Commander had given him. As Tria settled back down again, Nibbles growled gently to her.
"Are you sure you're okay, Tria?" he asked the half-dinaurian.
"For now, Nibbles." Tria replied, stroking the little vivosaur's head comfortingly, "I won't lie to you. I'm in a precarious situation. The darker side of me, Dart, is eating away at me, the dark energy combating the light that I rely on. For now, I'm still stronger, but that's mainly because I've been experiencing more positivity lately. If the Warden Test hadn't gone as well as it had, Dart may have been able to defeat me. I'm performing a dangerous balancing act, Nibbles, and if I fall, I won't be able to get back up again."
"Don't worry, Tria." Nibbles told the girl, making her look at him, "You didn't let me fall, so I won't let you fall either."
Tria smiled at her vivosaur companion, the confidence in his voice bringing some light back into her eyes. She hugged the smaller creature to her chest as they both drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the day and lulled by each other's presence.
