Kalaw returns to the common room to find Team Lilac sat in silence, seemingly uninterested in talking to each other. "Something the matter?" he asks.

His question is met with dismissive murmurs.

Kalaw thinks a moment. "Ah, you must be both tired and hungry. I'm afraid I can't offer much in the way of fancy food, but the galley is reasonably well‑stocked with the basics. And don't worry, I'll bring stuff to you. Unless you'd like to help? It's up to you." While the question was directed to all three, his attention is primarily on Lilac.

"Sure," Lilac agrees, getting to her feet.

Carol simply shakes her head in disapproval, though she elects not to speak up and cause another argument.

Milla looks between her friends, unsure who to go with. "Um…"

"Don't worry about me," Carol assures. "Go help Lilac and Kalaw."

"OK." Milla makes to get up, but a thought stops her: Carol needs me more. "Actually, I'm pretty tired. Can I nap here until you bring the food?"

"Sure," Kalaw agrees. "I want you all to think of this craft as your home‑from‑home, and you're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

"Thanks," Milla smiles, settling back down on the sofa.

"We'll be back in about half an hour," Kalaw informs.

Carol waits for Kalaw and Lilac to leave and fall out of earshot. "I know why you stayed."

"I've never seen so much tension between you and Lilac," Milla observes. "Not even on that night Torque was captured by Serpentine," she adds, referring to Team Lilac's lowest point during the Brevon Crisis.

"I know," Carol sighs. She's doing her best to keep her emotions in check, but Milla can see a hint of tears in the wildcat's eyes.

"You're upset Lilac's taking charge, even though we're chasing your sister," Milla guesses.

Carol allows herself a wry smile. "Can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"You and Lilac are my best friends."

Carol takes a deep breath. "She can be so frustrating, y'know? Hero this, hero that… Sometimes, it drives me up the wall. And she's always agreeing to these ridiculous ad campaigns for energy drinks, or demeaning TV appearances. She always claims it's to pay the bills, but the fact is we're all on permanent retainer with all the Kingdoms anyway, so it's not like we need to worry about money. So, why does she do it? Simple: validation. All these appearances, it reinforces the idea she has that she's some sort of action hero. You'd have thought that she'd have learnt her lesson after Brevon nearly killed her, and at first, I thought she had. But she's regressed. I bet you right now, she's talking nothing but hero stuff with Kalaw. And all he's going to do is make her worse than ever, thanks to his own hero act."

Milla takes a moment to absorb the unexpected rant. "Um…"

"Sorry," Carol apologises. "Guess I needed to vent."

"It's OK," Milla assures. "I understand why it bothers you; it bothers me too."

"Glad I'm not the only one."

"You know she means well, and she doesn't do it to hurt you."

"I know."

"Of course, I'm not the one you should be talking to about this."

"I know. But now's not the time."

"We're in this craft all night; there's plenty of time."

"Yeah, but Lilac's going to be kept busy," Carol grumbles. "You saw the way she was with Kalaw in the shipyard. Something tells me she won't be spending the night alone."

"Well, obviously!" Milla giggles. "She'll be with us!"

Carol's expression says otherwise.

"She… She won't be spending the night with us?" Milla asks, confused.

"How do I put this… Let's just say I expect her to drop her heropants tonight," Carol explains.

"I don't‑ Oh…" Milla pauses a moment. "Forgive me for saying this, but that's a bit hypocritical of you: I've seen you flirting with guys plenty of times since I came home."

"Shuō dé hǎo," Carol replies, surprising Milla with the sudden use of the old Mùyǔ dialect of Yǔyán. "However, I show rather more self‑control than Lilac does. But then I guess I can't be too angry with her about it: dragons have that reputation for a reason."

"A reputation for what?" Milla asks, confused.

"I'll explain when you're a bit older," Carol promises.

"I still think you should try and talk to Lilac tonight," Milla suggests.

"I know you mean well, but it won't happen," Carol replies. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to nap for a bit."

Milla wants to say more but decides to remain silent. This conflict is going to divide us, and I don't know what to do about it. I hope Lilac and Carol can resolve their differences before it's too late, but… It doesn't bear thinking about.

With a dejected sigh, Milla settles down to nap.

An hour behind Captain Kalaw's craft flies a compact shuttle of a design not normally seen around the Origin Kingdoms. Before the Brevon Crisis and the Jade Alliance's Siege of Shang Tu, the Red Scarves had no need for airships or shuttlecraft, and so did not maintain a fleet. However, the world has changed. Forced to adapt, the Scarves took full advantage of the peace treaty signed between themselves and the Jade Alliance after the defeat of Aquila Kawaguchi ended his control of the Gotoshan organisation and obtained a handful of retired yet serviceable shuttlecraft. The craft allocated for this mission to the Arctic Wastes used to bear the markings of Kasai‑dojo and has recently been rebranded with the Red Scarves insignia and vermillion‑and‑black livery. The work isn't yet complete, with some of the old Kasai insignia still visible, but there's no mistaking its new identity.

With the shuttle on autopilot, Maria Shanmao and Tai Wong are free to rest and relax. However, the leopard isn't quite ready to relax yet: she's in the bathroom, studying herself in the mirror.

"How long are you going to stand there?" Maria asks, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the noise of the shower she's washing under.

"Until I've figured out if my nose is crooked or not," Tai answers.

"My shoulder has a big chunk missing, but I'm not letting that bother me," Maria replies.

"That's easier to hide than a wonky nose," Tai sighs. "You just need a sleeve."

Maria shuts off the shower, grabs a towel, then hugs Tai from behind. "Crooked nose or not, you're still the most prettiest person I've ever known," she flirts, nuzzling Tai's neck affectionately.

Tai cannot help but blush and giggle. "Yeah, I guess I am worrying too much about it," she admits. "Though I still think it's slightly crooked."

Maria looks in the mirror. "Well… OK, maybe it is a teeny bit crooked, but it just makes you cuter."

"Perils of front‑line duty," Tai sighs. "Still, the important thing is I can breathe through it properly, I guess."

"Tell you what: while you shower, I'll see if we have stuff on board for milkshakes," Maria decides.

"Sounds good," Tai agrees.

Maria lets go of Tai and dries herself quickly, then heads to the bunks to dress in her sports bra and gym shorts. Electing to leave her dress off for now, the lynx then moves to the compact galley, where she is pleased to find it's been stocked with plenty of supplies, including ready‑made strawberry and banana milkshakes.

Ten minutes later, Tai joins her girlfriend at the small dining table by the galley, wearing only her underwear. "Can't be bothered getting dressed," she offers as explanation.

"I'm not complaining," Maria smirks, cuddling up to her girlfriend as they sip their drinks.

After a few minutes of contented silence, Tai's curiosity gets the better of her. "Did you sense any tension between Lilac, Carol, and Milla earlier?"

Maria thinks a moment. "They did seem a little on edge," she recalls. "But then I would be too if I found out my amoral older sister had returned from the dead to conquer the world. Thankfully, I'm an only child." Unless… No, I don't want to think about that.

"But this seemed… more than that, if you know what I mean," Tai continues.

"You're reading too much into it," Maria assures. "Lilac and Carol have known each other for a long time, and Milla's too sweet and friendly to be icky nasty."

"I guess you're right," Tai accepts, relieved.

Midnight, and on Kalaw's craft, Team Lilac have all turned in for the night. However, with tensions between Lilac and Carol still running abnormally high, Lilac has elected to have a room to herself. Not that this arrangement bothers Kalaw: in fact, he and his employer are revelling in the increased advantage the tensions bring them.

Kalaw heads to the cockpit to make his final report before turning in for the night. Sitting at his console, he opens a video link to the Bakunawa.

"I trust everything is going smoothly," Corazon greets.

"Yes, commander," Kalaw confirms. "Also, tensions between Lilac and Carol continue to grow."

"Which side is the mutt taking?" Corazon asks.

"As far as I can tell, Carol's," Kalaw answers. "However, I get the feeling she's more interested in defusing the tension and keeping the team united."

"Do not allow that to happen." Corazon terminates the video link.

"Yes, commander," Kalaw sighs to himself. She really should be less rude. Then again, it's a small price to pay: with Team Lilac out of the picture, there'll be no‑one to stop me becoming Avalice's greatest hero. And I'll have earned the honour properly instead of getting lucky.

After a quick check that all systems are nominal, Kalaw leaves the cockpit and heads towards his quarters. On the way, he notices Lilac has left her room and is waiting for him in the corridor. I hope she wasn't eavesdropping. "You should be getting as much sleep as you can," he advises. "Important day tomorrow."

"I tried, but I just can't," Lilac explains. "This whole Corazon situation has got me really stressed, and I need an outlet."

"Not sure how I could be of help, to be honest," Kalaw shrugs.

"Actually… No, we've only just met," Lilac dismisses. "It wouldn't be right."

"What wouldn't?" Kalaw asks.

"You and me spending the night together."

"As in… intimately?"

"Yep."

"How intimate?"

"All the way."

Kalaw cannot resist a small smile of amusement. Dragons will be dragons. "I have no issue with it," he assures. "They do say it's the best way to relieve stress."

"Are you sure it wouldn't be weird?" Lilac asks, concerned.

"Not at all," Kalaw assures. "Without wanting to sound rude, you wouldn't be the first. And it'd be an honour to spend the night with you, milady," he finishes with a theatrical bow.

Lilac does her best to stifle a giggle. "OK, if you insist," she smiles sweetly, leading Kalaw into her room, closing and locking the door behind them.

Further down the corridor, Carol emerges from the shadows. You just couldn't keep them on, could you? Shaking her head in disappointment, Carol returns to the room she's sharing with Milla, taking care not to wake the sleeping puppy as she climbs back into bed. Our mission just keeps getting harder…