In the corridor, Carol extracts herself from under the door. That hurt… I hope Lilac is alright. Sensing the battle is over, Carol enters the dojo and looks for her friend.

What she sees shakes her to her very core.

"Lilac!" Carol sprints to her stricken friend, tears streaming from her eyes as she runs.

"C… Carol?" Lilac's voice is weak, but Carol's hearing picks it up easily. "Is… Is that you?"

Carol slides to a halt and kneels beside her friend. "What happened?"

"C…Corazon… she… shot me," Lilac explains, tapping her chargers hard to try and heal enough to survive a retreat. "I'm… I can't… You must…"

"Take it easy," Carol advises. "Let me look at you."

With care, Carol helps Lilac into a seated position, and gets her first proper look at how badly Lilac is hurt. "By the Ancients…"

"A full… six shots," Lilac explains. "Luckily… she missed… my heart… wrong side. But the lung… the lung has collapsed… I can barely breathe… I feel cold… I‑"

"Stay calm, save your energy, and count yourself lucky Corazon doesn't know dragons are dextrocardiacs," Carol instructs firmly but kindly. "I was hoping not to use these, but I have no choice." Carol unclips three vials of elixir from her belt and gives them to Lilac. "Drink."

"But‑" Lilac begins.

"Drink!" Carol commands forcefully.

Lilac wants to argue, but decides not to, and instead drinks the contents of the three vials. Almost immediately, the dragoness can feel the warmth of the elixir as it gets to work, and within moments, her breathing has stabilised. "Thanks."

"Sorry for snapping at you," Carol apologises. "It's not enough to heal you, but it's enough to allow you to get back to the fleet."

"But I can't leave you alone here," Lilac protests. "We're a team."

"You've been shot six times," Carol reminds. "It's best you go‑ Is the ship moving?"

"I feel lighter," Lilac admits. "I think… I think I'm still dying. Again."

"It's not just you," Carol assures, "I feel‑ Shit."

"We're falling into the ocean, aren't we?"

"Yep. Come on, let's get out of here."

"But Corazon‑"

"Has left the ship, and is on her way to the Bakunawa," Carol concludes. "Basically, we've failed."

"No!" Lilac exclaims, trying to stand and failing.

"I'm getting you off this ship right now," Carol asserts, lifting Lilac to her feet and supporting her.

"But we can't leave yet!" Lilac protests. "We've not saved the day!"

"And you're in no condition to continue," Carol replies. "Now shut up and let me get you to safety."

Reluctantly, Lilac allows Carol to help her out of the dojo.

Half a mile away, the Scarves are heading back to the fleet on their flying platforms, with Sally riding on Danny's platform, and Spade carrying Milla on his.

Suddenly, Milla notices something worrying. "Um… What's happening to the Sigwada?"

Maria and Tai turn to see the Sigwada is starting to lose altitude, the hover motors all inactive.

"That's not good," Maria comments.

"Should we go back and help?" Tai asks.

"No," Spade decides.

"But‑" Maria begins to protest.

"No arguing," Spade interrupts.

"It's OK," Milla assures. "They'll make it, I know they will."

Maria and Tai exchange worried looks, but decide not to defy orders.

"I had the situation under control," Merga argues as Corazon readies the submersible for launch.

"She was about to kill you," Corazon corrects. "Trust me, I know that look when I see it."

"She was losing her sanity," Merga counters. "She kept referring to herself as two different people."

"She is two different people," Corazon explains.

Merga crosses her arms, her patience wearing thin. "This better be good."

"I have had Sash Lilac under constant surveillance since the Brevon Crisis ended," Corazon begins. "That information, coupled with what the greasemonkey found during his many excursions into the computer systems of the militaries of the Qǐyuán Wángguó, and the information forwarded by my Red Scarf spies, revealed that Coraline's death affected Sash Lilac so badly her personality split in two: 'Lilac' and 'Sash'.

"'Lilac' is the dominant personality, and the one which Caroline refers to as 'Little Miss Heropants'. It's the one she shows to the public, and the one you saw the first two times you fought. But what you saw today is a very different personality. 'Sash' is a cold‑blooded killer, remorseless to a degree that even I find unsettling. 'Lilac' is understandably petrified of 'Sash' and will do everything she can to keep her hidden. The fact you saw 'Sash' today means you pushed 'Lilac' too far."

"Then she really has lost her sanity," Merga concludes.

"On the contrary," Corazon corrects. "The personality split preserved her sanity; without the split, the guilt would have destroyed her."

"Why didn't you warn me about this before?" Merga demands. "And what guilt?"

"Because I trusted that you were competent," Corazon explains simply, ignoring the second question. "Clearly, I was wrong to do so."

"You've just talked your way out of getting the Bakunawa," Merga decides.

"Allow my greasemonkey to talk my way back into it," Corazon replies.

Before Merga can react, the greasemonkey leaps from the shadows and injects Merga with a syringe of crimson liquid. Within moments, her purple eyes have transformed into the same colour as the liquid.

"You are now under my complete control," Corazon instructs. "Confirm you understand."

Merga tries to fight the mind control but fails. "I confirm I understand, mistress."

"Excellent," Corazon grins malevolently. "Oh, and greasemonkey, you might have just redeemed yourself. Even I didn't guess that spying on that disgustingly perverted pika would yield results. Congratulations for surprising me."

"Th‑Th‑Thanks, b‑b‑b‑b‑boss," the greasemonkey accepts. "Sh‑Sh‑Shall I d‑d‑d‑d‑detonate th‑the b‑b‑bombs n‑n‑n‑now?"

"Is my back‑stabbing shit of a sister still on board?"

"Y‑Y‑Y‑Yes."

"Do it," Corazon commands.

The submersible launches from the Sigwada, causing the airship to lurch slightly. Once clear of its mounting, the submersible dives to the ocean at pace and enters the water with a moderate splash.

Moments later, explosions ripple along the surface of the Sigwada as the self‑destruct sequence activates.

As they enter the hangar, Lilac and Carol feel the Sigwada lurch. A few moments later, the ship shakes violently as explosions ripple through the superstructure.

"She's destroying the ship around us!" Carol exclaims, rushing towards where Pangu is waiting with Kujacker.

++It's time to leave,++ Pangu greets.

"Then help me get her on Kujacker!" Carol barks.

It takes some effort, but soon, Lilac is safely sat astride Kujacker. Without warning, the dragoness takes off and hovers out of Carol's reach.

"What are you doing‽" Carol demands.

"You're right: I'm in no condition to continue," Lilac begins. "But Corazon needs to be stopped, and you're the only one capable of doing so. That's why I'm leaving Pangu with you."

"Wait, what‽" Carol exclaims.

"You'll need her," Lilac explains.

"But‑"

"Just take her!"

++She's right,++ Pangu agrees. ++You need me to help you. Plus, Kujacker can get Lilac back to the fleet quicker than I can.++

Carol sighs. "I'm sorry," she apologises.

"Don't be sorry," Lilac instructs. "Just save the world."

Before Carol can reply, Lilac flies out of the hangar and pushes Kujacker to top speed on her way back to the fleet.

"Pangu…" Carol begins, her eyes watering slightly.

++I will take care of Lilac and Milla,++ Pangu promises. ++And I will tell everyone how brave you are.++

"Please, just the first one," Carol requests. "My friends are what matter to me, not my public image."

++As you wish. Ready?++

"No, but there's no time to waste."

++Do you want to do this the boring way, or the fun way?++

"The way Lilac would do it."

++The fun way it is then.++

Pangu flies out the hangar and drops out of sight. A few moments later, Carol sprints at top speed and leaps out of the hangar into thin air. As she begins to fall, a mighty roar erupts from below her as the Holodragon rises and catches her before carrying her high into the sky, turning through a full loop, and levelling out in steady flight.

"By the Ancients, that was awesome!" Carol exclaims. "I can see why Lilac loves to showboat like that!"

++Glad to be of service,++ Pangu replies. ++Now, let's kick some serious tail together.++

Deep under the ocean, Corazon finally gets her first look at the Bakunawa. "By the Ancients… It's more magnificent than I ever imagined…"

On board Neera's ship, the radar operator spots a fast‑approaching object. "Priestess Li! Something's coming at us fast!"

"Can you get an ident?" Neera asks.

"Not‑ Wait… It's Kujacker!" the operator replies.

"Just Kujacker?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"If you can, let them know I'll meet them on the top deck," Neera replies as she leaves the bridge.

A minute later, Lilac lands Kujacker in front of the waiting Neera, but as she tries to dismount, she slips and falls to the deck.

Neera rushes to Lilac's assistance. "By the Ancients!" she exclaims when she sees the bullet wounds littering Lilac's body. "How are you still alive‽"

"Carol's elixir," Lilac grunts as she tries to pick herself up. "Is Milla safe?"

"She arrived several minutes ago, and is now enjoying an elixir bath," Neera assures. "Where's Carol?"

"Saving… the world," Lilac winces.

Neera helps Lilac to her feet and supports her as they descend below decks. "Is anyone helping her?"

"Just Pangu," Lilac answers. "But that's… that's OK, she can… she can do it… she doesn't need me… she can… Sorry, I'm gonna… pass out… Help me."

Lilac loses consciousness and collapses into Neera's arms.

"Don't worry Lilac," Neera soothes, hoping her words are heard. "In a few hours, you'll be back to full health again, I guarantee it."

In the skies above the falling Sigwada, Carol watches astride the Holodragon, waiting for the inevitable.

The wait is over after just a few minutes.

The ocean erupts, sending thousands of gallons of water high into the sky. When the water falls, the sky has turned completely black; not even the stars are visible. All that Carol can see is a gargantuan mechanical flying serpent coloured black and blue, and no less than three hundred feet long and sixty feet wide, with a wingspan of a hundred and fifty feet, a tail fin forty feet wide, and a colossal head with a gaping maw containing a cannon so large it looks like it could swallow the moon.

"Avalice is now mine to rule!" Corazon bellows through the serpent's external speakers. "All bow before the might of the Bakunawa!"

Carol swallows hard. "We're fucked."