Corazon returns to the bridge just in time to see Carol emerge from her new quarters, the latter having changed from her usual black crop top and green shorts to an amber fitted tank top and black leggings, and her regular shoes switched for more practical military‑style ankle boots.

"What do you think?" Carol asks. "Too colourful?"

"The colours suit you," Corazon compliments. "What matters most is that you're comfortable in it."

"Then I'm sticking with it," Carol decides. "Look, before we get too carried away, I want you to promise that Milla will not be harmed."

"I have no intention of harming Milla," Corazon assures. "In fact, I intend to set her and the two Scarves free." To die of starvation, stranded in the forest below.

"What about Lilac?"

"She won't be a nuisance to either of us anymore."

"You mean…?"

"No, I didn't kill her," Corazon assures. Not that she'll live much longer. "She wasn't happy to hear you officially switched sides."

"I imagine not," Carol acknowledges. "She never could grasp the idea of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Still, what she thinks doesn't matter to me anymore; I'm with family now."

Corazon looks out the window to see the sun is low in the sky and the shadows are getting longer. "It's time we got moving."

"Where are we going?" Carol asks.

"To Katimugang Isla," Corazon answers. "Specifically, we need to return to Itim Tsaa and restock on robots, ammo, and fuel."

"That's where you spent your years in exile, isn't it?"

"Correct. It's an overnight journey, and with all you've been through these past few days, I imagine you're quite tired. You should get some rest."

"I will do," Carol confirms. "But first, I'd like to explore the ship a bit, since I'm going to be spending a lot of time on board."

"Of course," Corazon agrees. "However, I must ask that you do not enter the brig, nor the main training dojo. Merga uses that room, and she doesn't take too well to unexpected guests."

"Noted," Carol accepts. "Call me if you need me."

Corazon watches Carol leave the bridge, then sits in her captain's chair and contacts her greasemonkey. "Jettison the garbage."


In the lift and safely out of Corazon's sight and hearing, Carol breathes a huge sigh of relief. You nearly put your foot right in it there: you were almost as careless as Lilac. Luckily, you've won her over. You've earned her trust, but you're going to need to work hard to keep it. She's not telling you everything: it's up to you to find out what she's keeping secret.


In the brig, Milla has recovered her strength, and is sat up and leaning against a wall after several unsuccessful attempts to break free of her chains. "What do you think is going to happen to us?"

"Whatever happens, I hope it happens soon," Maria answers. "I'm booooored."

"We could play 'I‑Spy' again, Tai suggests.

"What would we do after the minute is up?" Maria asks.

"Sorry, it's the best I could think of," Tai apologises.

"It's fine; it's not like I have any better ideas." Maria's ears twitch. "Someone's coming."

The trio falls silent, listening to the approaching figure's light footsteps.

"It's the greasemonkey," Maria whispers, her ears working overtime to pick up every little sound. "He's being followed by… a hovering robot. It's carrying something… about the weight of a person?"

"I don't like the sound of that," Tai whispers, worried.

The greasemonkey appears in front of the cell. "Y‑Y‑You're g‑g‑g‑g‑going on a j‑j‑j‑journey."

"Who's following you?" Maria demands.

The greasemonkey steps to one side to allow the hovering robot to float in front of the cell. From the robot hangs Sash Lilac, chained tightly and lacking hair whips, bruising and charred fur and flesh over her whole body, dried blood soaked into the back of her white karategi.

"Is… Is she…?" Milla tries to ask, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Sh‑She's alive," the greasemonkey assures. "J‑J‑J‑Just."

"Milla, I promise you, we will get out of this, team up with Carol, find who hurt Lilac, and make them pay," Maria vows.

The greasemonkey cackles in amusement. "D‑Do y‑y‑y‑you n‑n‑not kn‑know? C‑C‑Carol s‑s‑s‑s‑s‑switched s‑s‑s‑sides!"

"No!" Milla snaps. "She'd never do that!"

"Sh‑Sh‑She d‑d‑d‑d‑did," the greasemonkey confirms, pulling a small tablet from a hidden pocket and playing the video.

Maria, Tai, and Milla watch the footage of Carol laying brutally into Lilac, followed by Carol saluting Corazon, all in total disbelief.

"I feel sick," Tai croaks.

"It's fake," Maria challenges.

Lilac attempts to speak, though all that emerges is a soft murmur.

"L‑L‑L‑Let m‑m‑me h‑h‑h‑h‑help." The greasemonkey climbs up Lilac's body, tears the tape from her mouth, then drops back to the floor. "W‑What w‑w‑were you g‑g‑g‑g‑going t‑t‑to s‑s‑s‑s‑say?"

Lilac pushes Carol's scarf out of her mouth, then takes a deep breath. "It's real," she confirms quietly.

"No," Maria denies. "I refuse to believe it."

Lilac lazily lifts her head and looks at Maria, tears filling her eyes. "It's all true. I treated her so badly… and she's now the enemy."

"No!" Maria barks. "I won't believe it! Carol isn't a villain! She's a hero! She's honest and noble and brave and‑"

"Maria, that's enough," Tai interrupts, barely holding her composure. "We have to face facts: Team Lilac is… Team Lilac is finished."

Silence falls as the enormity of the realisation sinks in.

A few moments later, a bipedal robot arrives, pushing a large storage crate in front of it.

"T‑T‑Time t‑to g‑g‑g‑go." The greasemonkey unlocks the cell to allow the bipedal robot to enter. As the hovering robot places Lilac in the crate, the bipedal robot fetches Milla and places her in with Lilac. The two robots then work together to load Maria and Tai into the crate.

Once all four prisoners are packed in, the greasemonkey closes the lid and locks it shut, then pushes it out of the brig and to the hangar. There, the greasemonkey loads the crate into the cargo hold of the aircraft Lilac, Carol, and Milla arrived on. The greasemonkey then heads to the cockpit, fires up the engines, and flies out of the hangar.


Hidden in the shadows, Carol watches the greasemonkey load the crate onto the craft and take off. That crate contains Lilac, Milla, Maria, and Tai, and he's going to dump them in the wilderness. Good: they'll regroup, get reinforcements, and try again. Hopefully by then, I'll have discovered what Corazon is hiding from me.


The greasemonkey flies the aircraft down towards the forest below, levelling out twenty feet above the trees. Without slowing down, he opens the cargo hold and drops the crate into the trees, then climbs back into the sky and turns back towards the Sigwada.

The crate smashes into the trees, tearing through the branches seemingly without issue. However, when it reaches the thicker branches lower down, the impacts get heavy enough to break the crate open. Luckily for the occupants, the crate holds together well enough for it to break through the canopy before disintegrating completely.

Lilac hits the ground first, tumbling violently on impact and slamming hard into a tree trunk, smashing what little breath she has out of her lungs. Milla is more fortuitous, narrowly avoiding several trunks before coming to rest fifteen feet from Lilac. Maria and Tai, still chained together, hit the ground together, tumbling over each other and coming to rest between Lilac and Milla.

For several minutes, no‑one moves.

Eventually, Maria is the first to speak. "Tai?"

"That… was painful," Tai replies. "Milla?"

"Dizzy," Milla replies. "Lilac?"

"It's all over," Lilac murmurs.

"No," Maria corrects. "While I still have breath in my lungs, there's still a chance."

"Maria, I love you, but we cannot win," Tai argues kindly. "Carol is on Corazon's side, Lilac is almost dead, and we're chained to each other in the middle of nowhere. We've lost."

Maria opens her mouth to object, but she cannot fault Tai's logic. "You're right," she sighs. "It's all over."

But Milla isn't ready to give up yet.