To Lyger 0: Um, Peru? You–you don't think they brought him with them to Paris, do you? They have people at their Temple who are watching him.

"I'm–I'm sorry, Sabrina."

Sabrina's eyes widened in shock, staring into Max's apologetic face. The guilt and shame poured off of him in waves as he placed his hands on her arms, gazing into her eyes. She grabbed onto his elbows, clutching tightly, her breathing turning ragged. Max's emotions turned to anguish. "No–please!" she whimpered. "I–I don't want you to do this!"

Max swallowed hard. "I don't have a choice."

Suddenly, without warning, Max shoved Sabrina backward, at the same moment falling back into a deep, black, bottomless pit. Sabrina fell to the ground but scrambled back to the hole, the sides of which were a deep brown and covered with fur. "Max!" Her voice echoed off the sides of the hole. But he had vanished.

And then Sabrina was the one falling, Max kneeling above her at the top of the hole. Sabrina thrust her hand out, reaching for Max as he screamed her name, hanging over the edge of the pit, a look of terror on his face. Down, down she fell, her stomach bottoming out, her heart catching in her throat. Thin, translucent membranes fluttered at the edge of her perception, beating gently against her face.

"Gah!" Sabrina awoke with a gasp, roused to sudden consciousness, and clutched at her chest. Her heart pounded far too quickly against her ribcage. Her head throbbed, the remnants of the same headache with which she had gone to bed the night before still pounding against the inside of her skull. A sharp pain bloomed right behind her eyes, and she rubbed her temples, trying vainly to massage the migraine away. With a groan, Sabrina rolled over, fumbling with one hand for the glasses that were supposed to be on her nightstand. Her back was sore and stiff from the poor support of the canvas cot on which she had slept. Her hand swiped through air where her nightstand was supposed to be, brushing against the dirt floor. She froze, the feel of the dirt against her fingers finally triggering her memory of recent events. She was sleeping on a cot, not in a bed. She was in a tent, rather than her room, and there was no nightstand. Moaning, she opened her eyes and looked around her in confusion. She was alone in a small canvas tent, lying on the sole cot with a thin blanket covering her to stave off the chill. Kaalki and Nooroo lay next to her on the cot, Kaalki with one of her arms draped protectively over Nooroo, snoring softly as she slept. Sabrina's stomach clenched on seeing the two Kwamis. After eighteen months, Nooroo's emotions were as familiar to her as her own – more familiar than anyone else, even Chloe. She had felt his early shame from having been used for evil. She had felt that shame give way to gratitude and relief when she accepted him, then to happiness and joy as she became more and more comfortable with her abilities. Happiness and joy when she and Max first started dating, mingled with relief at Chloe's rescue. But all of that was gone now. Instead, she only felt sadness and guilt from Nooroo, which wreaked havoc with her own grief and pain.

It felt so close to the emotions he had emanated at their first meeting.

What was she doing? She had been here for a full day already, and still they weren't any closer to resolving this. Max was still as dead now as he had been yesterday. Slowly she sat up and slid her legs over the side of the bed, slipping them into her shoes, and rested her elbows on her knees.

Nooroo glanced up at her, his eyes wide and sad, and his wings drooped on seeing her watching him. "Mistress Sabrina?" he squeaked. Kaalki stirred as he slid out from beneath her arm, rolling over with a whinnying snore.

Sabrina pulled her miraculous glasses out from underneath the sweatshirt she had been using for a pillow and put them on, shrugging into the sweatshirt once the glasses were in place. Running her fingers through her hair, she cupped a hand next to Nooroo for him to sit in. Fluttering his wings, he alit on her hand, giving her a wide-eyed look. Sabrina let out a heavy sigh. "Yes?"

Nooroo looked around nervously, eliciting a surge of guilt from Sabrina. His eyes snapped back to Sabrina and widened even further as he asked, "Why are you doing this? Why did you come here, to these people?"

She pursed her lips, sniffling. "You know why."

"Because of Max."

"Because of the Tarasque," Sabrina corrected shortly. "Because of all the people it killed, all the damage it caused. Because we need to stop it, and everything we've done so far hasn't worked." She sighed, her shoulders sagging limply. "That's why."

Nooroo's eyes darted toward Kaalki before returning to Sabrina. "Do you really think this is the best way to do that?"

She scoffed. "If you have a better way to get him back–to get them back–to–um–to stop the Tarasque," she stuttered, her voice trailing off. She eyed the Kwami carefully, pulling her emotional senses back into herself, trying to ignore what she was feeling to avoid the silent judgment that Nooroo was sure to be feeling toward her. He didn't understand! He couldn't understand the loss she was feeling! "I–I don't–ugh!" Sabrina screamed, smacking her leg through the blanket. Her thigh stung, tingles running across her skin from the blow. "I just–I miss him so much!" She sniffled. "I miss him. I want him back, Nooroo."

His eyes widened on seeing her outburst, and he drifted up, closer to her face. Behind him, Kaalki stirred, shaking her mane and sitting up to watch them. Nooroo swallowed. "I–I know," he whispered. "I know how much it hurts you. I know how much you loved each other–"

"Anyone could see how much you cared about each other," interjected Kaalki, throwing her mane back. "That's why he did what he did. He loved you. He promised to protect you. That's why he wanted to keep you safe. He wanted you to have a chance to live – even if you had to live without him."

"No!" Sabrina insisted, her mouth set in a firm line, glaring at the Kwami. Kaalki planted her paws on her hips, glaring back at Sabrina. Sabrina shook her head adamantly. "I refuse to accept that! It's–it's like I'm suddenly waking up in a terrible dream. One where he wanted me to live, but he didn't give me a choice in the matter! He decided to save me. He decided to sacrifice himself. He decided to make me live with the consequences. He decided to leave me…" she finally whispered.

"You are right," Kaalki agreed. "He did make his choice. And now you have a choice of how you're going to use the opportunity he gave you."

Sabrina shuddered, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "I–I wish I had stayed… if he had to die… maybe I should have died with him…"

Kaalki scoffed. "And if you had done that, you would invalidate his sacrifice!" she retorted. "He would have died in vain, if that were the case!"

"He shouldn't have done it, anyways!"

Nooroo folded his arms. "I know it is difficult to cope with these emotions," he told Sabrina. "But you have to try!"

Sabrina folded her arms in frustration, letting out a groan. Her head still pounded, her neck still felt stiff. Nooroo couldn't understand: Kwamis didn't experience love – not the way that she did, that humans did. He didn't know the utter loneliness, the hopelessness that came with losing the love of your life. She turned her glare on him… but the anger faded as she caught sight of the sadness and grief in the faces of both Kwamis. Nooroo drifted up, closer to her face, a pleading look in his eyes. Sabrina let out a breath. "Well…" She frowned.

The tent flap swung open, and Hunda-Beekaa stood in the entrance, backed by Dembo. "Well, my dear," asked Hunda-Beekaa, his hands clenched around his staff, "have you reconsidered my suggestion from yesterday?"

She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "I'm not telling you how to get into the Temple," she informed him curtly. Nooroo's eyes widened; Kaalki's nostrils flared. "That's going too far."

Dembo's mouth twisted around in amusement. "I told you," he observed to Hunda-Beekaa. "She's not going to do it. Or at least… not yet," he added, turning back toward Sabrina with a glint in his eye.

Hunda-Beekaa scoffed, his mouth set in a thin line. "It sounds like you may not grasp what we are attempting here, girl," he told her. "You want to acquire the correct miraculous to restore your lost lover, no?"

"Yes…"

"So, in order to do that, we must have access," he explained irritably, a dark look in his eyes. "We can face them out here all we want, pull them away from their camp and take their miraculous one by one, but that will take longer and hurt more of your so-called 'friends.'"

"I don't see much of a downside to that plan," interjected Dembo. "My men are itching for a fight – especially after yesterday's ambush."

"Perhaps, Warlord," Hunda-Beekaa allowed, not taking his eyes off of Sabrina. "Then you can bathe the earth in blood!" Sabrina's breathing hitched. Hunda-Beekaa's lip curled. "You wish to spare these civilians from further pain and suffering? To avoid your former allies' deaths?"

Sabrina glared at him. "You know that's what I want."

"Then give me the information I want. Explain to me how to enter their stronghold, and the Shadow and I will slip inside, take what we need, and spare everyone the trouble." Hunda-Beekaa pushed his staff into the ground and rose up to his full height above Sabrina. "That is how you avoid the suffering of these civilians. Otherwise…" He jerked his head toward Dembo

The warlord rested his hand on the grip of his handgun, teeth bared eagerly. "My men have been bloodied; they are eager to return the favor!"

Sabrina folded her arms, her mouth set in a thin line, her eyes darting back and forth between Hunda-Beekaa and Dembo. Nooroo's fear rang out beside her as she shook her head. "Absolutely not! That's too much. These are still my friends, even if they aren't helping me with this."

Hunda-Beekaa's eyes flashed and he raised his staff. Sabrina flinched as darkness and pain invaded her senses. Every one of her nerve endings was overwhelmed with pain and fear. The tent around her disappeared, along with Hunda-Beekaa, Dembo, and the Kwamis. Her last sight was of Hunda-Beekaa's eyes, which appeared to glow a milky white that turned to haze, trapping her in a world of dark mist and fog. And then the fog parted. Again and again she watched the moment that the Tarasque's paw crashed down over Max, the look in his face as the portal closed. Sabrina clenched her eyes shut, but even still the scene continued to play out through her eyelids. Her heart pounded in her throat. She gritted her teeth, clenching her mouth shut to keep from crying out. Fire coursed up and down her limbs, setting all her nerve on fire. She flexed her fingers, but could not make the pain stop. Suddenly the pain vanished, the fog cleared away, and she opened her eyes to find Hunda-Beekaa looming over her. Behind him, Dembo examined her with interest. Hunda-Beekaa leaned forward.

"Had enough?"

Sabrina panted, gasping for breath, and looked up at him, eyes narrowed in anger. "I want to bring him back," she told him. "I will do anything to get him back. But I'm not going to let you kill my friends."

His eyes narrowed. "And the longer you draw this out, the more likely it becomes that your friends will be hurt. Where if we were to simply end it now, one or two may be sacrificed, but the rest would survive."

She frowned. Dipping into his emotions, she could feel darkness and anger and… frustration? Quickly she retreated, though Hunda-Beekaa's hunger remained on the periphery of her consciousness. "I'll… think about it…"

His nostrils flared. "See that you do." And with that, he turned and stormed out. Dembo remained for a moment, eyeing her carefully, before following Hunda-Beeka out of the tent.

Nooroo fluttered up to Sabrina's face, his eyes wide with panic. "Mistress – you–you cannot!"

Sabrina jerked her head from side to side, clutching her chest and trying to still her racing heart. "I'm not going to let him attack the temple," she insisted. "I'm not going to help him hurt my friends."

Kaalki folded her arms. "Well if that is the case, then why not just Voyage home? It would only take a minute to leave these monsters behind and return to your friends."

"I just – I want Max back!" She sniffled, looking down at the ground, as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "I want normal… I want normal."

Nooroo patted her hand sympathetically. "Is normal possible?"

Sabrina looked up at him, a pleading look in her eyes. "I don't–" She froze as gunshots rang out from the far side of the camp. "Nooroo, Kaalki, Unify!"