"How long are you going to stay out here?"

Najia turned to see Rasmodius standing behind her. She turned away from him, staring out over the lake once more. Just on the other side of the lake, the survivors were going on with their lives without her. It had been two days since she ran into the forest, and no one had seemed to notice.

"At least come in out of the rain," Rasmodius said to her.

Najia followed the wizard inside absentmindedly. It had been raining most of the day, and the trees only provided some shelter from it. Her clothes were soaked and she was shivering.

Najia peered into the crystal ball in the middle of the room. It swirled in a silver haze before her eyes. "Crystal balls are real?"

Rasmodius shrugged as he moved past her. "Something like that."

"Can you see in it?"

Rasmodius glanced at the ball and met her gaze. "Yes."

"What do you see?" She squinted into the ball, hoping to catch a glimpse of their future.

"An army of Shadow People."

Najia's gaze shifted to Rasmodius. "They're coming for us."

"That they are," Rasmodius said with a seemingly disinterested nod. He busied himself at the far end of the room, his back to Najia.

"What's going to happen?"

"Well," he began. "That depends."

Najia looked at the wizard. He held a sword in his hands. She knit her brows together. "Depends on what?"

Rasmodius held up the sword. "Do you know what this is?"

Najia shook her head.

"It's called the Galaxy Sword," he explained. "One of Stardew Valley's hidden treasures."

"What's so special about it?"

"It's a very powerful weapon," Rasmodius said. "And with my magic, it has the potential to end this war. I've been working on it for some time, but," he hesitated, "it's not ready. And I don't have the time or the strength to continue working on the sword and fend off another hoard of Shadow Brutes." He turned the blade over in his hands. "They're strong. Only the strongest to invade the valley the way they can. I see what their power has done. What it can do. They chose to let Jas live, to serve as a warning."

Najia hesitated, watching the blade turn in his hands. "What do you mean?"

"They're touch is deadly," the wizard said. "They're not your average Shadow Brutes. They mean business, and they will not rest until they have the valley."

"I don't understand," Najia said. "What is it that they want with Stardew?"

"A number of things," Rasmodius said. "I can only begin to guess at some of them. The sword, for one thing. The magic that lies here, that could surely only strengthen their own." He met Najia's gaze. "This place, this sword… This is the only hope we have to surviving this war."

"I can hold them off," Najia said quickly. "I can do it, if it will buy you enough time."

"They're stronger than any creatures you've encountered in the past."

"Let me take care of it," Najia pressed. "It's the least I can do," she muttered.

It was just past midnight as Najia walked down the tunnel and towards the cars. She threw her bag and gun into the passenger seat before sliding in behind the wheel. She had brought so much death and suffering to them already. This was all her doing, and it was her responsibility to fix it. Even if she had to go down trying. But she had a plan, and she was confident that her efforts would give the survivors at least a fighting chance.

She turned the key in the ignition. The engine startled her; it was too loud in the stillness of night. She put the car into drive and made her way over the mountains, leaving the valley behind her for good.

John burst through the door to the community center that morning. "Where's Najia?"

They looked around the room, then back to him, staring blankly.

"Can't say I've seen her," Gil said.

"She's gone," John said, panicked. "She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Leah said.

"You fucking people drove her out of the valley and now she's gone."

"Good," Emily muttered. "She doesn't deserve to stay here."

John's face reddened with anger. "Don't you dare try to blame her for what happened," he hissed. "Morris threatened her life. Any one of you would have done the same thing if it were you."

"We're all going to die because of her!"

"You all would have been died months ago if it weren't for her," John shouted to them. "She brought you here to Stardew Valley where it was safe. She got you out of that dark hell hole, and this is how you thank her? By driving her out of the only home she has left?" John hesitated. "Najia made no mistake. It wouldn't have mattered if she let Morris leave or not. The Shadow People already knew we were here. There was nothing that would have come out of keeping Morris captive here. It would have only made the situation more dangerous if he continued to live among us."

John turned toward the door, adjusting the rifle on his back. "I'm going to find her and bring her back," he said. "And if any of you have a problem with it, then I better not see your stupid faces when I get back. You are not welcome in this valley."

Marlon and Gil stood. "You'll need some help out there, John," Marlon said. "Let us help you."

"Fine," John said shortly. "I'll take any help I can get."

Shane stood and pocketed his gun. Without a word, he joined John at his side.

"You better watch yourself," John muttered to him. "You're on thin ice with me. Don't give me an excuse to shoot ya, 'cuz I will."

Shane ignored him as he pushed passed him, leaving the community center. John, Marlon, and Gil followed close behind. Rasmodius approached them outside as they got into the old green truck.

"I suspected you would go out looking for her," the wizard said to them.

"Where is she?" John hissed at him. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, John," Rasmodius said calmly.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing."

John held his gaze as he started the truck. "I'm not finished with you," he muttered.

"I suspected as much." Rasmodius looked down the road towards the tunnel. "She went to stop an army of Shadow People, just outside the southern range."

John stepped on the gas and the truck peeled out of the town and into the valley.

The flare at her feet started to burn out, the circle of light around her shrinking rapidly. Najia pressed her back against the wall, her heart racing. She held her grip on her gun, jerking it towards every sound she heard in the darkness that surrounded her. The Shadow People were just outside the safety of light, waiting for their moment to strike their helpless victim. Najia was out of options. She had put herself in a corner and there was no way out. In just a few more minutes, she would be dead. And not long after, so would everyone in Stardew Valley. And it was all her fault. She should have just died when she jumped from that window. Why couldn't they just let her die?

The flare flickered one last time before finally burning out. In one last attempt to save the valley, Najia dashed into the darkness, shooting her gun ahead of her in hopes of clearing any Shadow Brutes out of her path.

More shooting followed hers. She ducked and ran erratically, with only her flashlight to guide her. The light moved quickly over human bodies, running full speed after her from every direction. Their eyes were covered with peculiar eyewear, which Najia assumed was some kind of night vision goggles.

The concrete under her feet turned to dirt as she ran out into the desert. She pulled the grenade out of her pocket. Her heart raced in her chest. If she was going to die, she was going to take as many as she could with her. She pulled the pin as she ran, turned quickly and threw it into the darkness before continuing to run forward. She counted: one… two… three… four… five… She dove forward, just as the explosion lit up the night for a seemingly long moment. She covered her head as the ground shook briefly and the darkness consumed her once more. The world fell silent.

She waited on the ground as still as she could, listening to the world around her. She could not hear the familiar hiss of the Shadow People, or the voices of the humans chasing after her. She could not hear her own heavy, shaking breaths.

She could not hear at all.

Until she heard the ringing. It was shrill and piercing. She squeezed her eyes shut as the pain shot through her head. She turned over and forced herself up, her head spinning. And then she heard the voices. The gunshots. The roar of an engine.

She opened her eyes and blinked at the headlights in the distance. The sounds continued to buzz in her ears, and she fought to put the pieces of sounds together like a broken puzzle.

The headlights swerved before landing on her and the vehicle came to a stop. A dark figure stepped into the light, his arm raised. Najia winced, expecting a round of bullets to hit her chest.

A figure ran towards her, and John knelt to the ground in front of his granddaughter.

"Najia." His voice was faint - distant - and fuzzy, but she recognized it. She recognized his features. She nodded as he pulled her to her feet. John gestured towards the other figures before turning back to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she muttered, her own voice sounding faint.

Shane stepped out of the headlights, standing at John's side. John put his hand on his shoulder as he turned to him. His lips moved and Shane nodded, his gaze on Najia. John left them standing alone as he returned to the Hummer.

"You threw a fucking grenade?" was all that he said to her.

Najia looked at her feet. "Plan B," she muttered.

Shane hesitated. "Are you okay?" he asked after a long moment.

"Why are you here?" Najia said through her teeth.

"Coming to your rescue, of course."

"I had it under control," she hissed. She gestured to the corpses in the distance and smiled wickedly. "I'm not a damsel in distress. I don't need a hero, especially from any stupid man."

The corner of Shane's lips twisted into the slightest hint of a smile, but his gaze remained hard on her. "I know."

"You were worried about me," she practically accused him.

Shane turned away, making his way back to the Hummer.

"What? No snarky comment?" Najia called after him.

"Nope," Shane said simply.

John returned to Najia's side and peered into her ears with a flashlight.

"I'm fine," Najia muttered. "I'm not deaf."

John pushed her forward towards the Hummer. Najia rubbed at her temples as the pain began to subside. Shane pulled her into the Hummer and the vehicle lurched forward.

Marlon was behind the wheel, navigating themselves through the left overs of the army that had made their way into the desert, chasing after Najia. An army of humans and Shadow People. Gil fired at them as they sped through the desert, standing through the moonroof with his rifle in hand. John leaned out his window with his own gun. Najia turned and met Shane's gaze.

"I thought you were mad at me, anyway?" she said.

Shane let the empty magazine fall into his hand. He slipped in more bullets, not meeting Najia's gaze.

"John would have killed me if he couldn't find you. I figured I'd probably die either way, so I could at least help look for you and try to redeem myself." He slid the magazine back into the gun with the palm of his hand. "It was my fault, anyway."

"Is this an apology?"

Gil let out a loud whoop from the moonroof as they lost sight of the army.

"No," Shane said simply. "I don't apologize to traitors."

Najia turned away and gritted her teeth. "I didn't betray you," she muttered. "Morris had me cornered. There was nothing I could have done."

"I know." Shane turned his eyes to her. "You didn't choose for any of this to happen. You were dragged into this war. I'm sorry I blamed you for what happened."

Najia looked at him from the corner of her eyes, not daring to meet his gaze. "It's my fault," she said softly. "Clint is dead. Jas almost died." She sucked in a breath. "Like you said, that's on me."

Shane pinched his lips and turned to look out the window. "Stop running off and getting kidnapped," he said. "I'm not chasing after you again."

"Good," Najia mumbled. "I don't need you to chase after me."

John and Gil returned to their seats, securing their weapons beside them.

"Ears stop ringing?" John said to his granddaughter.

Najia nodded.

"Quite a move you pulled there," Gil said from the font seat. "Could have gotten killed."

Najia turned to her feet. If only that wasn't her plan.