Carol's eyes flicker open, her dreamscape fading to reveal the interior of Neera's ship, smiling in the knowledge that her late sister Coral is still helping her. Thank you for guiding me home. Slowly, Carol sits up in the elixir bath and looks down at herself to find her arms and legs in splints. By the Ancients, how did I survive‽ Carefully, Carol uses her claws to cut the ties holding the splints in place, testing each limb's mobility as it's released. This elixir is amazing stuff: there's no way I should even be alive after that crash, let alone fully mobile. Yet here I am, in full working order, as if I wasn't even scratched.
Satisfied she's fully healed, Carol looks over the side of the bath to find Lilac fast asleep alongside, fresh tear stains on both cheeks, and immediately an idea springs to mind. No, that would be mean of me… But I can't resist.
Grinning impishly, Carol scoops up some of the elixir in her hands, leans over the side of the bath, and drops the liquid on Lilac's face.
The dragoness wakes instantly, spluttering and shaking her face dry. "What on Ava‑" she begins, looking up to find Carol beaming at her with the widest, cheekiest, cheesiest grin she's ever seen.
Overcome, Lilac throws herself at her best friend, hugging her tightly, crying free‑flowing tears of joy. "I'm never putting you in danger again," she promises quietly.
"You won't need to: I can do that myself," Carol quips as she returns the hug, shedding happy tears of her own.
Early evening, and Team Avalice are in the main lobby of Shang Mu Town Hall, preparing to head out and greet the enormous crowd outside that has assembled to celebrate the end of the Bakunawa Crisis, the incarceration of Corazon Tea and Merga, and the arrest, dishonourable discharge, and incarceration of the traitors Captain Kalaw and Sergeant Askal.
"I'm so nervous," Lilac admits, once again wearing a white karategi over her regular outfit.
"Y'know, just because Zao wants you to wear that thing, doesn't mean you have to," Carol advises.
"I don't want to make him mad again," Lilac explains.
"If he gets mad over a piece of clothing, then that's his problem," Carol assures.
"Well… OK then." Lilac quickly removes the karategi and discards it. "Huh… Suddenly I'm a lot less nervous," she realises.
"That's because you don't look stupid anymore," Carol teases.
Lilac shakes her head in amusement. "You're insufferable," she chuckles.
"The Mayor's calling us out," Milla informs.
Lilac takes a deep breath. "Here goes…"
The trio step outside to a loud roar of appreciation. Smiling, Lilac walks up to the podium, her friends alongside her, and takes the cue cards out of her pocket. "Citizens of Shang Mu, Shang Tu, Shuigang, and places beyond," she begins. "It's my great pleasure and honour to stand in front of you all today, able to assure you all that Avalice is once again safe. I cannot overemphasise how much it means to me to see you all here, and… um… hm."
Concerned, Carol turns to her friend. "Are you OK?"
Lilac turns to Carol. "This isn't right."
"I don't follow," Carol replies.
"You will." Lilac discards her cue cards and turns back to the crowd. "Look, normally I'd be happy to stand here and accept all your praise for saving the world, but the truth is, I didn't save the world. In fact, the truth is I've never saved the world, at least not alone. Yes, two years ago, I took down Lord Brevon‑" her hair whips twitch "‑but I wouldn't have been able to if it weren't for Carol saving me from Thermal Base. And it was Carol who took down Corazon and allowed the allied fleets of the Origin Kingdoms to destroy the Bakunawa. My face may sell more papers, energy drinks, and candy bars, but that means nothing. The fact is that my best friend Carol Tea is why we're all here today, celebrating victory over the forces of evil. Therefore, I won't be giving the victory speech; Carol will."
"What‽" Carol exclaims as Lilac steps aside.
"It's only fair the true hero gets to make the speech," Lilac smiles, beckoning Carol to take the podium. "And we both know the true hero is you."
"B‑B-B‑But I dunno w‑what to say!" Carol replies, panicking slightly at suddenly being thrust into the spotlight.
"You'll do fine," Lilac winks. "After all, you are a Tea."
Carol takes a deep breath, steps up to the podium, and looks out over the sea of expectant faces. "Heh… Hi," she begins timidly. "Um… I don't have anything prepared, so… I uh… heh. Just… give me a moment."
Carol takes a few deep breaths, clears her throat, and starts again. "It's never easy to fight a powerful enemy, doubly so when that enemy is your own older sister. I'm not afraid to admit that there were several occasions where I couldn't see a way to win. But no matter how bad it got, no matter how hopeless it looked, I always had one thing to fall back on: that I was fighting for the future security of our world. And with the support of my friends, Sash Lilac and Milla Basset, and the backing of the three fleets of the Origin Kingdoms, I‑ no, we won the day.
"Avalice is safe once more not because of one person's actions, but the actions of hundreds of individuals, if not thousands. The fact is that while we three are the spearhead, we're nothing without the backing of the armed forces of the Origin Kingdoms supporting us throughout, and the funding those Kingdoms provide us. And since that funding comes from your taxes, it's correct to say that we wouldn't be able to save the world if it wasn't for you, the citizens.
"On second thoughts, forget the money: just being here is enough, for you give us something to fight for. This may sound cheesy, but it really does matter that you give us something to fight for. Everyone here, in their own way, no matter how little, helped save the world today. Without you, there wouldn't be an Avalice to save. And uh… we'd be out of a job," she ends with a nervous chuckle.
For a moment, the crowd is quiet. But soon, a few among them start to clap, and within seconds, it builds into a crescendo of applause and cheers as the crowd shows their immense appreciation for Team Avalice and Carol's improvised speech.
"That was beautiful," Lilac compliments, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Thanks," Carol smiles, visibly relaxing as the crowd's praise rolls over her. "Was it bad to end on a joke?"
"Maybe a little," Lilac teases.
A moment later, the crowd starts chanting 'Team Lilac'.
"Hold on." Carol turns back to the podium and gestures for the crowd to settle down, which they do surprisingly swiftly.
"Woah… Wasn't expecting you all to shut up so quickly," Carol chuckles. "What's the matter: I got your tongues?"
The crowd waits expectantly.
"…OK, I admit it, that joke was terrible," Carol admits, blushing a little. "So, here's the thing: we're not 'Team Lilac'," she continues. "That's just what the press called us two years ago, and to be honest, it just wasn't working for us. That's why we recently decided to name ourselves something a lot more appropriate: 'Team Avalice'. After all, Avalice is what we fight for, therefore Avalice is the banner we fight under. Plus, I think it has a better ring to it. Do you agree?"
After a few moments' silence, the crowd starts applauding and cheering again, a chant of 'Team Avalice' rising from thousands of throats.
Carol turns from the podium. "And another problem fixed," she smiles cheekily.
Lilac can only watch in disbelief at how quickly Carol changed the minds of an entire population. "Two years we've been known by the wrong name, and you fixed it in less than two minutes," she breathes in awe.
"Well, I am a Tea," Carol smirks. "And for the first time in my life, I can say that without feeling any guilt whatsoever."
"Careful," Lilac cautions. "Don't wanna let your ego go to your head."
"Speaking from experience?" Carol teases.
Lilac cannot help but laugh. "Yeah, I am," she admits. "Come here, you daft cat!"
Lilac and Carol embrace with sisterly affection.
"Never let me forget how important you are to Avalice and me," Lilac whispers.
"Only if you never let me forget how important you are to Avalice and me," Carol whispers back.
"Um… What about me?" Milla asks.
Lilac and Carol pull Milla into a group hug. "We're all equally important to Avalice and each other," Lilac assures.
"We're more than friends," Carol adds. "We're family."
"A loving family," Lilac agrees.
Now it's Milla's turn to cry silent tears of joy and contentment. "Thank you both: I never… I never realised how much… how much I missed having a family… until just now. And I know… I know we'll be a family for… for a very long time."
"I promise, I'll be as good a sister to you as Coral is to me," Carol vows.
"Me too," Lilac promises. "I'll try my best, at least."
"And you'll succeed," Milla sighs happily.