Harmony, Hugo, and Yong panted as they looked over their shoulders. The big boulder was still tailing after them. With no map and no doors seemingly, that boulder could chase them forever. They had to find a way out of this...
The girl looked up ahead and saw an open doorway. She had no idea where it led to, but it was probably their only chance of escaping this boulder.
"Come on!" She grabbed their wrists while picking up speed.
"But we don't know where it goes!" Hugo protested to her.
"Well, we're about to find out! Hang on!" She called out as they ran even faster. However, as they were running, Harmony's bangs were glowing in gold. Just like how her sister's bang had glowed after the two had touched the black rocks. She didn't seem to notice as they ran through the doorway...
And came into a dark room with a short broken platform.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hugo called out as they slide to a stop. Harmony squeezed her eyes shut. Suddenly a glimmer came from her hair as it shone, and a large flash occurred as they fell off. The boulder crashed into the doorway, but didn't break through it as the boulder was too big. The crash knocked all of them off the platform. Hugo and Yong both screamed, Daisy flying backwards in alarm. Suddenly a long golden swirl appeared from Harmony and the three stopped in place. Daisy chirped rapidly to get their attention.
Harmony slowly opened her eyes, looking up at the edge of the platform. She gasped sharply as Hugo and Yong opened their eyes.
"What the...?" Hugo murmured slowly as they were all looking up at 70 feet of brown-golden hair gripping around the platform. Which was what saved them, but the most surprising part was that it was coming from Harmony's head! Yong was hugging Harmony's waist while Hugo had grabbed her bare feet, dangling there.
"Oh my hair..." Harmony whispered in shock, there had only been a few times her hair grew. Either it was because of the black rocks directly, or because she shared her sister's abilities briefly when they were defeating Zhan Tiri. So many questions were going on in her head, and she wasn't even sure if she could answer them all.
For example, how did she grow it back?
What did it mean?
And why was she just now finding this out?
Daisy flew up into view, chirping at the trio. "We're okay, Daisy. Though emotionally, not sure on that front..." She glanced up the length of her hair as she started to grip it. They obviously couldn't go back the way they came...
"W-what the hair?! You know, it would've been useful to tell us that you had the ability to grow your own hair!" Hugo stammered up at her. He had seen many things of his life, but 70 feet of magical hair was definitely not on his radar.
"I didn't know!" Harmony argued back at him. "I don't exactly have a manual on how this whole ultimate power thing works!"
"We're trapped up here, aren't we?" Yong looked up at the brunette, who sighed knowingly.
"Looks that way. Unless..." She glanced around and noted the interior looked a bit different from the hallways. As dark as it was, it was like she could picture what this room looked like with light. She released her left hand, summoning a small yellow orb from it.
"What are you doing?" Hugo asked her as they watched her eyeing the walls.
"Just trust me on this. If my hunch is correct on this..." She murmured in thought, tossing the orb and catching it. Of course, this was just speculation on her part, but she had a good feeling about this. Like when she and her sister took a joy rafting ride to Pincosta with Morgan and Stalyan.
"There's nothing in here but darkness, Harmony. I doubt you'll get any-"
She tossed the orb, interrupting him as the orb managed to get stuck in a lantern. This in turn caused more lanterns on the walls to light up one by one. They looked around, following the path until all of the lanterns lit up the circular room completely. It turned out that there were only a few feet above ground, and by the cloud symbol on the ceiling, they had reached exactly where they needed to be. They knew this because the totem they were looking for was in the room, on top of a giant pillar. There was also strange writing above all the lanterns, but it seemed almost impossible to translate. It was nothing like any writing from Corona or from the Great Tree.
"Oh! I knew it!" Harmony exclaimed happily to the disbelief of Hugo. "The sun not only generates light like my sister had, but heat also!"
"That's so cool!" Yong said happily and she smirked down at Hugo knowingly.
"What was that you were saying?"
"...Alright, I'll buy it," He commented after a few seconds.
"Now we just have to wait for the others!" Harmony stated optimistically as she started to use her long hair to crawl towards the bottom. Hugo could only stare at the girl. All of that happened on a hunch, and she ended up being right. She had such...spirit that he had never seen before—of course Donella didn't have any of that in her body. Except maybe when talking about the seven trials. But the kind that Harmony had, it was strong. And apparently unwavering considering her reaction to it.
"So, this moonstone and sundrop stuff, what even is that all about?" Hugo asked the brunette.
"Well, before I even tell you, how would you not know about them? Those stories have been going around for a while now," She turned to him.
"My home's very...traditional. We're not used to magic, and a lot of people don't believe in it there. Most think that they can do things through inventing and science. I'm indifferent, so I just never cared about most of the local gossip going on."
"Alright, that's fair," Harmony nodded in agreement. "So thousands of years ago, in a way that no one knows how or why, an ancient power got divided in two. Those two were the sundrop, the power of heavenly light and healing, and the moonstone...the power of death and destruction."
His eyes widened as she coughed awkwardly at that. "Which...the latter I used to only possess before I got both...anyway, these two sources of power were supposed to unite, but they never did. The sundrop was formed into a flower, while the moonstone formed into an opal. The sundrop has the power to heal, while the moonstone has the power to...well, you know, destroy." She then rubbed her chin. "Do you know the story of my sister?"
"The lost princess? Everyone definitely knew about that and her hair. It was all anyone talked about when she came back," Hugo told her, Daisy chirping down at Harmony.
"The moonstone opal was sent to me as a gift when I was born by King Edmund, who is my sister's fiancee's former estranged father. That's definitely a mouthful. He got sick of having it around and protecting it that he thought he'd get rid of it."
"And that didn't work," Hugo guessed correctly, earning a small hum.
"More like sort of considering my life now, but yeah, I ended up touching it and getting half its power. I had to grow up in the castle isolated from my people because of that up until my father eased up a bit on letting me have some freedom. So I left for Galcrest to help them, and then I met my sister, and the rest is history."
"Wow...sorry to hear that," He commented to her.
"It's okay. If none of that happened, I probably wouldn't have my sister back in my life or have my powers now," She smiled gratefully, remembering her family and friends back at home. "And I do have people that love me back in Corona now."
Varian, Nuru, Chang, and the three animals were still walking around the main halls of the temple. "We're almost there, everyone. It shouldn't take much longer," Nuru told them from up front. Varian glanced around at the markings.
"These symbols...these look like they've been around for years! Do you know what they mean, Nuru?"
"I don't have time to translate all of them, but they delve into our history as a kingdom, as well as memoirs from those who built it. Unfortunately, there's nothing about why my kingdom has been plagued the way it is from these markings..." She murmured that last sentence sadly, Varian and Chang glancing at each other before they turned back to her.
"You really care about your home, huh?" Chang asked her softly and Nuru nodded.
"Yes. I love Koto very much, and I hate to see it not thrive in ways your kingdoms have."
The two couldn't help but feel bad for her. Both of them came from kingdoms that were constantly changing for the better, while Koto was always in disrepair. It wasn't a question of they could actually change, but they just couldn't for some reason. And it wasn't even their fault that they couldn't earn the same luxuries and benefits. The people there surely got fed up with the frequent meteor showers...
"But if it's such a problem, then why don't you just find somewhere else to live?" Varian couldn't help but ask.
"We can't possibly do that. The area is perfect for growing our crops, and we have easy access to water there. And we have the mountains which house the mines we visit for jewels," Nuru explained to him. "No one was the wiser, as it seemed like a dream..."
"Until they found out about that tiny detail..." Chang rubbed her arm awkwardly, earning a nod from the sky princess.
"I'm...sorry to hear about that, Nuru," Varian spoke up after a few seconds. "It must feel awful to hear about all the other kingdoms when yours isn't exactly ideal..."
"It is at times, but all of us just want the same thing: for Koto to be something more. I myself don't hold resentment towards you or your homes," Nuru smiled gently at him. "After all, you're the youngest Royal Engineer and the love of your life is the youngest queen of Corona. If anything, it's admirable and things to aspire to."
Varian chuckled bashfully at the compliment. "Thanks...I guess it is inspiring once you really look at it. But those jobs weren't easy to earn."
"No one here thinks you guys don't deserve them," Chang assured him. "You two are exactly why my brother and I are the way we are now!"
Nuru nodded in agreement. "You should feel proud of yourselves. We can't get anywhere without mistakes, Varian. But it's how we deal with them that makes us who we are."
He stared at the two, letting that sink in. It was true that he and Harmony both made mistakes, and had seen them first hand. But if they didn't go through any of that, they probably wouldn't have their coveted positions or be on this journey together. And they also wouldn't had made the friends that they did.
"So how much longer?" He changed the subject as Nuru checked her dress. They stopped at a four-way intersection and she pointed to the left.
"It's not much farther. The second trial should be down this hall."
They followed her direction, hoping that they would find the missing members of their group soon. Chang bit her lip as they continued on, thinking about her little brother. All of them could be hurt, and they had no way to contact them.
"I'm getting really worried, guys. What if they're not okay by the time we find them?" The black-haired girl looked towards the ground sadly.
"We can't think like that. I'm sure they'll be alright," Nuru stated while still walking. Varian placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up.
"I used to worry about Mona a lot...and I had good reason," She glanced away sadly, as she had heard the story of Harmony losing her powers. Which...could be hard for anyone to see someone they cared about get their powers sucked out of them. And then be left for possible death. "But you have to believe in them, especially your brother. I'm sure that they're fine."
Chang nodded slowly at his words. "You're right. Thanks, Varian."
"No problem. Come on," He waved her forward as he saw that Nuru had stopped, standing on a platform that looked into the giant room. Chang and Varian ran up to the girl, coming to a stop as they saw the lit-up circular room. They had emerged from the opposite side of the room, as there were two entrances on opposite sides. The group then looked down to see Yong, Harmony, and Hugo looking up at them.
"Hi guys!" Harmony waved to them with a small smile, her hair still 70 feet long.
"Mona!" Varian exclaimed, blinking in shock.
"You guys are okay!" Chang called out in relief and then she saw the hair. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what. The. Hair?!"
"Hey, that's what I said," Hugo pointed up at her with a small grin.
Once the others had joined them on ground level, Harmony told them everything they went through before reaching the room.
"So wait, you just have your sister's hair now?" Varian held his head in shock.
"I-I guess? Though I'm not sure why," Harmony rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Maybe because my powers sensed we were in trouble that it just showed up. When I touched my black rocks for the first time, they gave my sister and I protective power. I guess when she gave me both the moonstone and the sundrop, that carried over to me solely."
"And the hair was part of the sundrop's power when it got transferred to Rapunzel..." Varian rubbed his chin in thought.
"Alright, enough conversation! We've got a totem to collect," Hugo pointed up to the highest pillar. Nuru stared at him skeptically, wondering why he was so eager to get his hand on this second totem...
"So what do we do, then?" Yong wondered as they looked up at their surroundings. As soon as he asked that question, six spots rose up from the ground. They stepped back a bit in alarm as they saw six pillars forming from the ground, all of them surrounding the totem. They came to a stop just about the same level as the doorways that they came through.
"Ciel said we had to have clarity in the dark," Chang pointed out. "But we still don't know what that means..."
Nuru looked down at her dress to see nothing new. She then took a moment to think. "...To have clarity is to have a pure sense of mind," She spoke up, getting their attention.
"What do you mean?" Harmony asked her curiously.
"All of us have things we'd rather regret in our life. Past misdeeds," She glanced at Varian and Harmony, who both gave a look of understanding. Both of them had done things to their kingdoms, intentional or not. "Past missteps with our passions," She turned to Chang and Yong, who smiled sheepishly. "And...well, clouded judgements of others. But with the bad memories we all carry, we can all better ourselves in some way. We all have our goals by being here, and...well, I see why you are all doing this. You have your own missions throughout this journey, and I have my own desire..."
"Well said, Nuru," Harmony smiled gently at her. "I don't think anyone could've described it better."
A loud shing occurred as the cloud symbol shined from the ceiling. They had to turn away, covering their eyes as it descended down. Then it formed into the same face that they saw from outside the temple.
"Your memories are the key to success for the second trial. You have proven your hearts are pure," They looked up to see him, shocked. "The bond in your group is subjective to change, but your purposes bring you together."
"So...we had to get rid of our distrust of others...to let go of negative feelings when we're supposed to be a team," Varian murmured, glancing at Hugo.
"Yes."
"Ciel," Nuru spoke up bravely. "Do you know why my kingdom is in disarray? Please...I need to do something to help my home."
"Written on these walls...is an ancient curse. A man named Boralis from many years ago trespassed this temple, with the intention to steal this temple's riches. When he stumbled upon this room, he read the curse, and with that, he doomed Koto forever. To be forever plagued with meteor showers, so that Koto would never prosper."
"A curse?" Yong murmured, glancing over to Nuru. The princess took a deep breath as she took it all in. She wanted to express anger or frustration even, but her main reason was to focus on her home, and figure out what to do.
"Is there a way to break the curse?" Harmony turned back to Ciel.
"Only the journey will carry the answer."
"The journey? You mean ours?" Varian gestured to himself. He got no answer as Ciel slightly lifted himself up, six lines of light going towards their heads. The four animals all squeaked in alarm as they watched their eyes turning pure light blue.
Nuru and her father shared a hug, looking on as they looked at the damage that the meteors had done to Koto.
Hugo was given one last glare from Donella before he left to go find the others. He held the totem tightly in his hand before placing it in his bag.
Chang and Yong built his firework together, sharing a high five as they stood up.
Harmony looked out to her kingdom from the balcony, surrounded by her family with a smile on her face. Daisy flew in and landed on her head.
Varian held his mother's book in his hand, lightly caressing it. It was the night before he and Harmony would take off to complete the trials. He had no idea what this journey entailed, or what it meant regarding his mouther. But he knew that with Harmony by his side, he'd find all the answers.
The five were running through the meteor shower, Hugo saving them. Then they ran together to follow Nuru to safety.
A bright flash occurred, knocking all six to the ground. "Ow...there needs to be a warning before our eyes get blinded," Harmony held her head, Varian sitting up in alarm.
"Uh, what just happened?" Varian raised a brow in confusion. "D-Did we just see each other's memories?"
"You saw that too?" Chang gasped in surprise.
"Not that it's my business, but that's what we call a breach of privacy," Hugo took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "Not cool, weird floating...thing!"
Nuru glanced to him, not sure what to make of his memory. There was something about that woman that didn't sit right...from what she remembered her father telling her, that was Donella, Scarlett's partner. So what was she doing with someone that she just met today? Obviously there was something Hugo hadn't been telling them...
"What did that have to do with anything?" Yong glared up at Ciel.
"To work together, it is pertinent that you knew of your pasts. Working together is the answer to getting the second totem."
"What does that mean?" Harmony murmured, but they were not given an answer as Ciel lifted up and phased through the ceiling. "What! Hey! Mr. Ciel, wait!"
They called out to him, but he did not reappear and they let out sighs of frustration. "We could just climb up and get it using her hair," Hugo jerked a thumb to Harmony.
"With how this temple is, I don't think it would be that easy," Harmony eyed the pillars. She scooped up some of her hair and threw it. A blue barrier surrounded the totem, giving the end of her hair a small zap before it fell. "Nothing here comes without a price..."
Ruddiger, Daisy, Silver, and Prometheus joined them as Varian rubbed his chin.
"I wonder...Nuru, you said you met my mother when you were young, right?"
"Yes," She nodded to him. "My father spoke to her before she and her partner took off. He told me that they completed the trial through a sense of togetherness, picking one item in the room that didn't belong."
"Okay, so what, we have to dig through this temple to get rid of an item that we don't even know what it looks like?" Hugo crossed his arms as Varian and Harmony glanced at the writing. "That'll take hours, and we don't have that kind of time!"
"My family has assisted those who sought out this trial for years! We don't control everything that goes with it," Nuru argued to him, Chang and Yong looking away uncomfortably. While the two started arguing, Harmony and Varian glanced around the room.
"This ancient writing, it looks similar to old Kotian, just with a few different markings. Kinda hard to pinpoint that out when you have no way to get up there and see it," She glanced over her shoulder to him. Kotian was the official written language for Koto, but it was hardly ever used anymore due to the fact that it mostly contained old spells that no one knew what they meant. Varian and Harmony had read up on it a few times, but they gave up on it a while ago, and the older version was almost non-existent nowadays.
"Or when there's entire walls full of it. So what we have to do is..."
"Hey guys!"
Harmony, Varian, and Chang turned to Yong, who pointed to a pillar. Strangely, a symbol was forming on it in plain view for them to see. It formed into a sun and moon symbol, not too different from a symbol all too familiar to them.
"The Corona symbol...Is this part of the trial? Technically, it doesn't belong here since everything is sky-based..." Harmony gently touched the symbol, which then lit up in dark blue and a bright yellow. She blinked in shock as it just kept glowing. Then the light bounced over to the left, showing a vial symbol.
"That looks like an alchemy symbol..." Varian touched it, and then the same thing happened as a new symbol appeared on a different pillar a few feet away.
"Guys!" Chang called out to Nuru and Hugo. "Look, we may have found the answer to get that totem down!"
They stopped arguing as they ran over to the next symbol that appeared, which was a firework. "These symbols, I think they're meant to represent us! That's why they're surrounding the totem, they must be all connected!" Chang pointed at the symbol.
"Because we're joined by someone who has clarity in the dark!" The brunette looked at Nuru. "Someone who had the potential to lead them here. Meaning that Scarlett and her partner probably had someone from your bloodline help guide them too," Harmony called out, glancing at Varian. "The room must change depending on who comes here to complete this trial. We gotta touch the symbols, they must be what we have to remove!"
"What are we waiting for? Let's get to the other ones!" Hugo, Chang, and Nuru ran off to the other pillars. Yong looked up at his symbol, which...was higher than he could reach. He jumped up to try and touch it, but it was no use.
"Really?" He sighed a bit, still jumping. Silver stepped up to him and let the boy sit on his head, raising him up to the symbol.
"Thanks Silver!"
The next one was a Chinese flower for Chang, then bright yellow goggles for Hugo, and then three stars for Nuru. Once the three touched the symbols, the pillars shook and the tallest one with the totem started descending down towards them.
"Yeah! Alright!" Varian cheered as they smiled. They waited until the totem was at ground level, moving away and running towards it. Harmony took it into her hands with a soft smile, relieved that they finally got the item. Then the other pillars descended into the ground, disappearing from sight.
"The second totem! We've got a long way to go, guys," Chang replied optimistically.
"Now let's get out of here before that creepy face thing comes back," Hugo stated and Harmony glanced up at the huge boulder still lodged in one of the doorways.
"Yeah, w-we'll just go this way," She stammered nervously as they walked towards the left.
"Mona?" Varian cleared his throat as everyone except her stopped. "Aren't you forgetting about something?"
"Huh?" She glanced over her shoulder, noticing her grown hair. "O-Oh...I forgot about that. Not sure what to do with it, to be honest."
Before she could even figure something out, her hair slowly shrunk back to her regular length. "Amazing!" Varian's eyes shone in awe. "This Ultimate Power just keeps getting better and better to learn about!"
She laughed at him in glee, glad that she didn't have to maintain 70 feet of hair. After dealing with her sister's, she wasn't sure she could deal with it again.
The group returned to the kingdom, as the meteor shower had long ended while they were gone. Nuru opened the door to the throne room, excited to see her father waiting there for them.
"Father!" She ran up to him happily. "I've found a way to save our kingdom!"
"Nuru," He started off, though not as annoyed as he was before.
"Before you turn me down, hear me out! These meteor showers, they're some part of ancient curse. But I believe that if I travel with my new friends, I can find a way to break it! I know you want to leave it alone, but I just can't, Father. This kingdom needs to change for the better..."
"Which is why I'm saying yes," He sighed a little, surprising them all.
"Wait...so I can go with them?" Nuru asked slowly to him. "What changed your mind?"
"While you were gone, I have slowly come to realize that Koto is a place for help. And this...this is not what we should aspire to. Your mother..." Etoile glanced to Varian and he blinked. "She would want the best for this kingdom. For all of the people that have continued to live in fear. She was very intelligent...I wish you the best of luck locating her."
"T-Thank you," Varian murmured quietly.
"Well, we're glad that you'll be coming with us, Nuru, but...we're starting to run out of room on our horses," Harmony rubbed her neck sheepishly.
"Which is why we have a solution for that," Etoile smiled gently, leading them towards the garden area. They glanced at each other curiously, but followed after him.
Once they reached the gardens, they were shocked to see a light blue caravan with two cars not too different from the one used to get to the Dark Kingdom. One was decorated with stars, while the other was decorated with the moon and sun.
"A caravan!" Harmony bounced up and down a bit.
"It's beautiful!" Chang smiled at it.
"What's the catch?" Hugo raised a brow, earning looks from the other five. Daisy rolled her eyes at him while Silver just snorted.
"This is a gift, for opening my eyes," Etoile gestured to the caravan. "It should assist you in your travels."
"What are we waiting for?!" Yong ran past them to take a look, Chang rolling her eyes in amusement. She and Hugo trailed after him to explore it.
"Thank you, your majesty," Harmony told him gratefully as she, Varian, and Nuru turned to him. "This'll help so much."
He nodded, placing his hands on Nuru's shoulders. "Save our kingdom, my daughter. Save us all."
"I will come back with the answer, Father. I promise," She whispered and they shared a hug.
"We'll keep her safe," Varian told him as the princess pulled away.
"So, where are we headed?" Nuru asked them and Harmony looked at the map.
"Good ol' Neserdnia, the water kingdom! They send over lots of stuff to Corona, so hopefully it's a little bit easier..." She rubbed her neck with a sheepish look. So far, these trials had been a rough start mentally...
"I'll guide you. My star chart shows a shortcut."
The three waved to Etoile as they walked towards the caravan. He waved back with a small smile. Nuru poked Hugo from behind and he turned around as he saw her giving him a suspicious look.
"I don't know who that woman was in your memory, but it will catch up to you, Hugo."
He paused as she walked past him, thinking about her warning. She didn't seem inclined to tell the others about it, but with those words in mind, he had to be prepared for whenever Donella would be brought up again...
It was quiet as Varian and Hugo were sitting up front. Varian was sitting on Sliver, while Hugo was on Prometheus. Both horses were pulling the caravan towards their next destination.
"Hugo..." Varian spoke up quietly, taking a deep breath. "Thanks."
"Freckles is thanking me? For what?" Hugo smirked a bit, earning an eye roll.
"You're enjoying my gratitude, aren't you?" Varian muttered, a bit annoyed.
"I might as well. There'll be more where that came from. Can you tell me why I earned it today?"
"I'm thanking you for keeping Mona and Yong safe in the temple," Varian looked up at him. "I know that they can hold their own, but if anything were to happen to them..." He glanced over his shoulder, peeking through the window to see Yong sleeping on Harmony's lap. She was drawing in her journal, while Nuru and Chang were talking. He smiled gratefully at the two, turning back to Hugo.
"I get it, you know. I've lost someone too," Hugo glanced away, having a look of understanding on his face.
"I guess I really can trust you," Varian stated softly and Hugo paused. It felt like he just earned his way into the group...like he was part of something. His whole life, he mostly worked alone unless under command of Donella. Being here with these people, it felt like he was experiencing life through new eyes.
But then he remembered the reason behind his place in the group and that experience soured a bit.
"Yup. Get used to it," Hugo placed his hands behind his head.
"If we're gonna do this together, I might as well tell you why I started this in the first place," Varian slowly took out Scarlett's journal, earning a wide-eyed look from Hugo. There it was, the same journal that Donella was after...and the one he tried to steal. It was so close, and yet seemed so far away because he only wanted to read it. He could've stolen it a while back, but Donella told him to leave that part to her, and to get just the totems. The key to everything was in that book.
"My mother and her partner, Donella...they completed the seven trials years ago." Hugo flinched at Donella's name, coughing awkwardly. "But then something must've gone wrong after that, because...I never saw my mom again. My father and I never had the answers, so...I'm trying to find them and hopefully..."
"...Possibly see her again," Hugo murmured knowingly.
"I hardly even knew her, so it would feel like the first time if I have to be honest," Varian rubbed his neck awkwardly.
"Yeah...I know how that feels," The blonde looked up towards the sky. "My father...he left us when I was a kid. Barely remember him."
The young alchemist couldn't help but feel bad for his judgment towards Hugo. They were more alike than different when one really looked at them...
"Seems we have more in common than we thought, raccoon boy," Hugo gave him a small smirk.
"Actually, I actually prefer Freckles. Only my girlfriend calls me that, you know," Varian rolled his eyes. "I prefer it from her."
"Noted, I'll stop," Hugo said quickly since he did not want to make Harmony angry. The sun started to set as the two looked towards the sky, feeling optimistic for the next five trials. Hugo bit his lip nervously, looking away. He had to find a way to distract them from Donella somehow...