It's finally here everyone. The penultimate chapter of Dimensions and Time. All that's left after this is an epilogue, but this one brings the main character arcs to a close. Thank you to everyone who stuck with this story even as the release schedule slowed to a crawl these past years.

Chapter 25: The Undying Scarlet

They were called Team Ceartais. One month ago they'd been the shining stars of Zootopia. A group of remarkable mammals with unique, neigh, supernatural abilities that had come together to defend the city in its darkest hour. When the dark specters of earthquake, tsunami and terrorist cult slowly faded, the stars of Ceartais were still there.

That's the way it was for six years. Long enough for Team Ceartais to become a normal fact of life, a part of the status quo. Spitfire zooming through the night sky like a comet. Roar's impossible feats of physical might. Andraste pulling off some impossible shot. The Mage making electronics go haywire or Bullet dancing through a gang of thugs. The sight of Yurei's ghostly katana and The Undying Scarlet healing off graphic injuries was hardly worth more than a raised eyebrow.

Even the initial purple cloud incident hadn't changed much in the public's eye. Team Ceartais tackled the issue much as they did any other. Seven shining lights acting as Zootopia's greatest defenders.

This was why it was so clear that something was wrong.

Spitfire's new, bulkier look? Simple explanation was that he needed an upgrade to combat the new threats. The same could be said for the Mage's new abilities, though the overt magic on display caused several heads to spin. There was always some doubt as to the true nature of the team's powers, but many had correctly assumed that the Mage was using advanced technology to imitate magic. Those same mammals were unsure what was real anymore. Newcomer Sirius? Many had guessed that the team would have at least one new recruit from the purple cloud's victims.

What was getting attention was that those three, along with the Undying Scarlet, were the only members of the team who had been seen in the month since the second purple cloud incident.

It was first noticed on social media, forums dedicated to the heroics of Team Ceartais. Soon enough the public caught on to the fact that less than half of the team had been seen at all during the turbulent month. With the current influx of powered mammals still the main issue on many minds, the team best suited to the crises being short-staffed did nothing to assuage fears.

Change was coming, a new status quo was taking shape, and it was time for Zootopia's government to address it.

Is this press conference about the powered mammal problem and Team Ceartais? Yes, yes it is. The familiar voice of Mayor Nicolas Wilde came over the televisions, phones and radios of countless mammals. This included the radio in the Arrow Garage, with Robyn, Kodi and their employees Oggie the Swedish brown bear and Faline the red deer were listening in.

"Here we go," Kodi sighed, sipping a soda.

"Your daddy better have something good to say Robyn," Faline muttered. "I know more than one mammal who got hit by those awful clouds."

"Your dad give you any advanced news boss?" Oggie asked, he also had a pensive look on his face.

"Nothing you couldn't already figure out," Robyn shrugged. It wasn't a lie, Robyn knew everything that was coming but not because her dad had told her.

Please hold all questions until the end, and make sure to think of some actually good ones. Now, the first order of business is that recent events have resulted in some shake ups with Team Ceartais.

"He's leading with that?" Oggie said, surprised.

"Which means he's getting the bad news out of the way first," Faline sighed. "I'm betting at least one of the team died in that big fight."

"I'm pretty sure I would've heard of that," Robyn replied, "let's wait and see."

Our beloved archer Andraste has three things to note. The first is a code name and appearance change which is being uploaded to all the social media as we speak for those of you listening in on the radio. Meet Maiden.

"Damn," Oggie said as he viewed Luna's new outfit on his phone, "looks a lot more high-tech."

"Of course," Faline agreed. "She's a normal vixen with a bow, I'm amazed she survived in the old outfit as long as she did."

Even with the new suit, Maiden still suffered an injury that's going to leave her benched for several months. She's also elected to step down as second in command of the team. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Clever, Kodi thought. Make it look like the injury is over a month old and not recent.

"See Faline? She's fine," Oggie tried to comfort his coworker.

"One of them," was all Faline said.

I apologize in advance for being vague with this one. But during the missing mammal recovery mission, Yueri became aware of something that demanded her immediate and undivided attention, she will be seeing to this matter separate from the team. It is not certain how long it will take for her to return to regular active duty.

Roar will also be stepping away from active duty to help spearhead a new movement. Proper training and assistance for powered mammals is overdue. Roar, a team of dedicated mammals and rotating other members of Team Ceartais will begin holding sessions for assisting powered mammals as early as next week, with sign ups going up after today's conference.

"Okay, that's good," Faline gave a reserved grin. "I have friends who've been worried they're going to accidentally hurt someone ever since they got these powers."

"No chance of that with Roar involved," Kodi grinned, hoping to reinforce the positive direction.

This is just the beginning. After careful consideration, the decision was made to proceed forward with a new direction. I present the Zootopia Ceartais Division!

Oggie gapped at the image on his phone and quickly turned it to show the others. Spitfire had descended from the sky and landed behind Nick, the screen behind Nick now showed the ZCD logo.

Later this year, Team Ceartais, Roar's training program and anything else dealing with powered mammals will be folded into a new branch of government dedicated to powered mammal-related situations. This includes protection, training, law enforcement and public services.

An uproar could clearly be heard over the radio, silencing Nick for a few minutes. "This, this is huge," Faline stammered. The deer clearly trying to process the implications.

"I guarantee that Ceartais is a part of this to lend some credibility," Oggie said sternly. "A lot of mammals wouldn't trust it otherwise."

He's not wrong, Robyn thought.

Once things quieted down on Nick's end, the Mayor was able to resume. Last thing to note before I turn the floor over to your hopefully well thought out questions. Bullet is taking a leave of absence from active duty for both personal and professional reasons. As with Maiden and Yueri, we wish her well during her time away from the team. Now I will begin taking questions.

Robyn mentally checked out of the broadcast after that. Her father let the questions go on for some time. Details were explained, the potential for new Ceartais recruits was brought up and there was one pathetic speciesist complaining how there weren't any prey mammals on the team during this crucial time. But the mention of her wife's status put Robyn's mind elsewhere.

000

One week ago, the day of the meeting.

Most of the mammals at the table were quick to leave after the meeting was concluded. Whether it was to pick up their kids, reunite with loved ones or just find a place to relax, the table quickly emptied. There was only one mammal who stayed put.

The positive feeling that the end of the meeting had instilled slipped from Hannah's face as she felt the others start to leave. Her near expulsion from the team had been so sudden, it left the hybrid shell shocked for a time. It was only now that some time had passed she was able to process the emotions.

Her sudden downturn in the mood did not escape the attention of those around her. Robyn shared a quick look with Rocket and the latter saw that this would be a family matter. He settled on patting his friend on the shoulder and saying, "Chin up Hannah, it just means Bullet's gonna get a big return later on."

With that he and Lylla departed, leaving only Robyn, Hannah and their parents. Skye stood up from her spot at the end of the table and began walking towards Hannah. Seeing where things were going, Robyn spoke up.

"Mom, Dad, do you mind watching Aaron for us? I think this is gonna take a few more minutes," her voice wasn't accusatory, she simply stated the facts.

"Of course sweetie," Judy said as she stood up. Knowing Hannah would hear anything she whispered, Judy instead gave Skye a quick but harsh glare as they passed each other. The message was clear; don't fuck this up.

Nick hesitated a moment, running some thoughts through his mind. He decided to speak up. "Hannah." Her ears perked up and she turned slightly in his direction. "The only part your mother had in the planning of your vote was, well suggesting we put it to a vote. It being a question at all came from me going over your contracts in light of all this."

Hannah was quiet for a moment before nodding, "Thank you Mr. Wilde." When she didn't say anything else, Nick coughed awkwardly and left with Judy.

Skye took the seat next to Hannah and wasted no time in silence. "Hannah I'm sorry about the timing of that vote."

"The timing?" Robyn asked, confusion evident on her face.

"After you and Robyn laid everything out, there were only two things left in the meeting," Skye sighed. "Going over Kodi first would've only delayed things by a few minutes, and I was reasonably sure he would be staying in charge. I thought it'd do you and everyone else some good to have something positive to end the meeting on."

"Makes sense," Hannah said quietly. "You don't have to apologize. You had no way of knowing I was keeping all of that bottled up."

"We still don't like that it happened," Jack said as he took his seat next to Skye. The bunny was clearly not happy that he wasn't able to sit next to his daughter.

"None of us do," Hannah agreed. "But it's not your fault that it happened."

"I'm not so sure," Skye sighed.

Hannah actually perked up at that. "You can't, are you implying that a few lost temper moments are to blame for my being so depressed?"

Skye stammered, "I, not solely of course…"

"Not at all," Hannah shook her head. "You were a reminder, a… bitter reminder, but a reminder all the same. I have no one to blame but myself Mom."

"Hannah,"Robyn said softly. Concern was clear in her voice.

"Since the graveyard Princess, that was when it finally clicked for me," Hannah surprised them with a slight smile. "And I haven't been able to forget since, can't turn my powers off, remember? I have no one to blame for the state I'm in right now except myself. Not any of you, not Alice or Luna, just me."

"Maybe," Skye conceded. "But still, I hardly did anything to help."

Hannah tilted her head, "Is that your job Mom? I'm not a teenager anymore."

Skye chuckled a bit darkly, "One, a good parent's work is never completely done. Two, more importantly, I am actually your boss. And those two things have gotten very intertwined lately. There's a reason most jobs don't let families work directly with each other."

"Conflicts of interest," Jack added.

Robyn nodded, then faced Skye as directly as she could, "And right now? Which are you here as?"

"Honestly Robyn?" Skye sighed, "This is the first time in a long time I feel I can talk just as a mother."

"Well then, what advice do you have?" Hannah asked. The hybrid was doubtful her mother could say anything to help.

"There's no greater meaning to suffering Hannah," Skye said solemnly. "It's just an empty void of misery. Trying to assign some greater purpose will lead you nowhere. Especially if you're trying to use it as atonement."

"I, but I," Hannah stammered. "What else can I do?"

"Stop looking for a simple fix for one thing," Jack interjected. "You aren't going to magically make things right by suffering as much as Robyn has."

"And I wouldn't want you to," Robyn asserted. "I forgave you a while back Hannah."

"But you haven't forgiven yourself, have you?" Skye directly addressed Hannah.

"No, how can I?" Hannah demanded quietly, her voice cracking.

"I don't know," Skye admitted. "But I do know this, if you measure your deserving of forgiveness by how much you love your wife, then you will never have suffered or atoned enough."

Hannah's head went even lower as her mother's words sunk in. "I need help, I don't know what to do."

"Just keep going," Robyn said while taking her wife's hand. "I'm still here, so is Aaron, and the rest of the family. I forgave you weeks ago Hannah, and now that the others have finally gotten off their butts and started fixing their mistakes, I finally feel like we've gotten some closure from all of this."

"I feel the same way," Skye agreed. "I would hazard a guess that most of us do, Kodi's meeting worked as well as he'd hoped."

"It did," Hannah managed to regain her smile. Mild pride in her old friends' growth overcoming her sadness. "So we just try and continue as… whatever the new normal is?"

"It's all we can do," Robyn sighed. "I'm ready to move on from this whole mess, and I'll wait however long it takes for you to be ready too."

"Thank you Robyn."

"Blind Badass, call me Princess," the two embraced and held each other for a few minutes before leaving to join their son.

000

I'm ready to move on from this whole mess.

Robyn had been telling the truth that day. She was ready to move on, ready to start moving forward with her life again, ready to leave the misery of the past month as a memory.

But she couldn't, not yet.

She had in some ways. She and Kodi no longer had to put on a front of happiness at work. She herself no longer had bursts of debilitating sadness. The family dinner on Sunday had actually been somewhat cheerful.

But there was still one more conversation she needed to have. So as closing time drew closer she typed out a text message. She gave it a quick look over before sending it.

Almost immediately her phone buzzed, indicating a text. When she looked back down it wasn't the reply she'd expected. It wasn't a reply at all.

Robyn, do you mind if I drop by your shop after closing? I think we need to talk one on one.

It was from Kion.

Guess I'm not the only one who needs one more talk. Robyn sighed. She knew this was going to be awkward, but also that there would never be a good time to have this convo. Waiting would only make things worse.

Sure, I'll get Kodi to give us some privacy. Robyn replied. She did exactly as she said she would. In short order Kodi had set up a basic silence spell over their office and Robyn spent the last hour of the work day sorting out basic paperwork. Before long, Oggie and Faline had said their goodbyes for the day and it was just the two owners in the shop.

While Robyn was getting the paperwork done, she was really focused on how to approach talking with Kion. They hadn't spoken one on one since the mission with Doom, and their interaction since then had been minimal. Robyn wondered if she was really okay with that bridge being burned.

Only one way to find out, Robyn thought as she heard Kodi greet her guest at the shop door. A few moments later she looked up to see Kion shutting the door to the office.

"Hey Robyn," he said nervously.

"Kion," Robyn replied curtly. Neither of them said anything for several awkward moments, and Robyn mentally ran through her preparations. Go for an icebreaker. "How's Mufasa doing?" She said it hastily, but her genuine concern did make its way into her tone.

Kion sighed in relief at the out he was given. "He's doing alright. He's happy that I'm taking the job I am, but he still knows that something happened." He looked towards the ground, "You were right, I really didn't have a plan for how to explain retirement to him. To our kids, we aren't just parents, we're superheroes. You and Hannah should keep that in mind, Alice and Luna too for that matter."

"Yeah, Aaron's known we were Scarlet and Bullet from day one," Robyn agreed. "Aaron is sharper than most kids but he still doesn't completely get everything."

"How is Aaron by the way?" Kion asked. "Can't imagine going through that dimensional road-trip was easy on him."

"Ha," Robyn laughed. When she saw Kion's alarmed expression, she hastily said, "Oh it wasn't easy, but he mostly sees it as a sneak peak at what it'll be like when he joins the team."

"That's…a lot of enthusiasm," Kion muttered with a notable lack of enthusiasm.

"Yeah, those two aren't gonna be persuaded not to join the team when they're old enough," Robyn chuckled. "Let's make a deal. Either of us tries to pull that stupid 'don't let the kid follow their dreams because we're scarred for them' crap, the other calls them out."

"Deal," Kion sighed. "Do you see yourself needing that?"

Robyn shrugged, "Hopefully not, but I begrudgingly admit I kind of get where my dad was coming from with the whole overprotective thing. Don't get me wrong, most of the shit he pulled was, well shit, but I kind of get it now."

"I'm not looking forward to getting it," Kion sighed. "On a related note, how's Hannah doing?"

The traces of a grin slipped off of Robyn's face, "Well, she's not getting any worse but… She was counting the days until she could start being Bullet again."

"And now she has to wait at least half a year at least," Kion realized. "That was how she thought she was going to atone?"

"More or less," Robyn sighed. "They weren't wrong though. Hannah's in no shape to be back on the job, I think she might've pulled something similar to Luna."

"Luna?" Kion asked.

"When she first retired," Robyn clarified. "Sorry, sometimes I forget that only five mammals know that story. It was bad, if you want the details you ask her."

"I think I'll let that old wound rest," Kion said quietly. "I hope Dr. Trash can help."

Neither of them spoke for several awkward moments before Robyn said what they were both thinking, "And with that, we're officially out of stalling topics. Why are you here Kion?"

"To finally try and make things right," Kion said plainly.

"Emphasis on finally," Robyn muttered. She sat up straight in her chair and faced Kion, "Alright, go ahead."

"Robyn, I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else, but I did and I can't excuse that. I was arrogant, short sighted and just needlessly mean. None of what's happened is worth losing friends over, and I don't want to." Kion's delivery was quiet and sad, to Robyn, it seemed like he'd finally realized how deep a hole he'd dug himself into.

Robyn's response didn't come easy, which she supposed was telling in and of itself. "I'm sorry big guy, but I think you may have already."

"You… think?" It took a moment for Kion to grasp the meaning of Robyn's odd word choice. "Hannah."

Robyn nodded. "Maybe she'll change her mind later but, well, she seemed pretty adamant that it was rejoining the team or nothing with her." She looked back up to Kion, "To be clear, I'm with Skye. I'd prefer you back on the team emotionally but logically I get that this is the better option. So you won't hear anything else from me about it."

Kion looked as dejected as one would expect, "I thought she understood me."

"She does, at least enough to get your whole scared thing across," Robyn shrugged. "But that's a separate topic. We both know how it can be when someone hurts our families… or tries to separate us from them."

"Yeah I get it, I lost my cool back there," Kion grunted, not pleased to be reminded of the Kestral events again.

"Actually I was talking about your mother," Robyn clarified.

It took Kion a moment to mentally catch up with Robyn's statement, "What?"

"After the Wave," Robyn said almost absentmindedly, "they gave up on Kiara, you called them out, she decked you in the face and you left home."

The comparison took Kion completely off guard, but it made sense the more he thought about it. "Okay yeah, it took me a long time to forgive them for that," Kion sighed thinking about that traumatic time, "hell, I think Kiara forgave them first."

"To be fair, she also had her share of fuck ups," Robyn shrugged.

"Yeah… hey wait," Kion had a thought. "You said we both know what it's like, but, and correct if I'm wrong, most of the horrible things happened to you directly."

Robyn's eyes widened as she realized her oversight, but she quickly calmed down and shrugged. "We… skipped over some details of our multiversal road trip, sake of time." Robyn explained nonchalantly. "Remember that our first encounters with Team Highshadow had them kidnap Aaron?"

Right, Kion realized. "You did not take that well. No judgment, I wouldn't have either."

"There were two attempts," Robyn continued, "during the first, their Hannah 'accidentally' knocked Aaron out. I sent her flying full force."

"That didn't help matters," Kion said almost rhetorically.

"When they succeeded the second time I, I focused more on beating the shit out of Reginald as much as I could. I could've taken him down easy but I wanted to make it hurt," Robyn reported her shameful mistakes.

"Robyn…"

"And I nearly killed Kodi," Robyn stated bluntly.

"What?" Kion was at a loss for words.

"He was guarding Aaron at one point," Robyn explained. "Slash, their Alice, got the jump on him. He nearly died and Aaron was taken." Robyn let herself pause. "I pounced at him. I don't get to turn my powers off. If Ronan hadn't intercepted me… I think Kodi would've been dead."

"Damn," Kion muttered, "you two made up? After that!"

"Hehe, we were already making some progress before that. That just put us at rock bottom for a bit," Robyn admitted. "I did apologize to him, for the record."

"You did? That's good, just surprising," Kion muttered.

"Is it now?" Robyn replied sharply.

Kion's eyes widened and he realized he'd misspoken. "No, that's not what I, sorry, bad word choice."

"Forgiven, but what did you mean by it?" Robyn pressed. She leant forward in her chair.

"It's just, you've been pretty unrelenting throughout all of this," Kion explained, waving his arms in an arc.

"True," Robyn agreed. "But those two messes are unrelated. I hurt, or nearly hurt Kodi. And…you're supposed to apologize when you do that to a friend or someone innocent, look there's a ton of…asterisks, yeah asterisks attached to that statement but you get my point!" Robyn was obviously displeased with her somewhat rambly explanation.

"And we didn't," Kion brought things back to the original subject.

"More than that," Robyn sighed. "Put the others aside and just talking about you. You hurt me, but even more, you acted like I was in the wrong for being mad about it. You went out of your way to be as vindictive, petty, and just well mean as possible." Robyn's gaze turned to a hard glare, "I'm glad I told you that story Kion, cause I want you to know that I get it. The circumstances aren't quite the same, but I get it. And that's why I don't think I can forgive you."

Silence hung in the air for a solid minute after Robyn's statement. Then Robyn's phone buzzed. The hybrid was so startled by the sudden noise she actually jumped to her feet. After recovering with a weak chuckle, Robyn looked at the notification. Her eyes widened, and she hastily pocketed the phone and walked over to pick up her jacket.

"You think?" Kion finally spoke again. Robyn's head shot up, making it clear that whatever the notification was about, it was a higher priority to Robyn then he was.

Robyn rapidly looked back and forth between Kion and her jacket, frustration grew on her face and she eventually threw her hands up, "UUUGH! Yes Kion. I. Think. I think there's one more thing I need to do before I can finally start to put this mess behind me. This conversation? It isn't it." Robyn turned and pulled her jacket off the hook. "And I don't know exactly why either. Maybe I can only forgive so much. I forgave Hannah, Luna, Team Highshadow, Kodi and even Ryan. Maybe I only have so much to give." Robyn had finished putting on her jacket and was hastily cleaning up her desk. "Maybe I think you're too selfish. We're the nigh indestructible ones. Every bullet, explosive and power sent our way is one that isn't aimed at our teammates or civilians." Robyn finished clearing her desk and walked towards Kion. "Or maybe, after all the completely avoidable shit I've been through, none of which was my fault, maybe I just want to be able to say 'you know what? Fuck you!'" Finally Robyn put her head down and sighed, "Or maybe it's just that enough time hasn't passed. Maybe a ways down the line this will heal and we have to accept that the time in between is just gonna suck. I don't know if it's any or none of them Kion, but if I ever forgive you, it's not going to be right now."

Kion's response was slow to come, and when it did, it surprised Robyn. "What about Alice?" There was a quiet undercurrent of fear in the lion's voice.

Rather than saying anything, Robyn activated her phone and showed the latest text message to Kion.

Robyn: Alice, do you think I could come over after work today? I think we need to talk again.

Alice: I agree. You can come over. Luna agreed to watch the kids for a little bit.

Kion finished reading and looked up, "One more conversation?"

"Yeah," Robyn sighed. "So…I don't know the answer to that either Kion, but it's time to find out."

"Alright," Kion let out a defeated sigh as Robyn started towards the door.

Just as she was about to leave, Robyn stopped. When she looked back at Kion, it was with a hint of sadness on an otherwise carefully straight face. "Kion," she called. Her former friend looked back up at her. "I promise that however I feel about you now or in the future won't affect the way I treat Mufasa. Or Jasiri."

Kion responded slowly with a nod, an action that Robyn mirrored before walking out the door. She let it close behind her. Kodi was standing out in the main garage and addressed Robyn as she walked by. "I was listening."

"It was the best I could muster," Robyn said sadly, referring to her fairly needless promise.

Kodi nodded, "I'll make sure he's okay. You're really gonna go talk with Alice?"

"Thank you, and yes, it needs to happen," Robyn said with quiet confidence before walking out of her shop.

000

It had been awhile since Robyn had taken the long elevator ride up to her sister's penthouse, and never had the trip been so foreboding. Nothing about the fancy elevator had changed of course, but Robyn knew the home at the top would have. There was no getting around it. Robyn wasn't the same mammal she had been before the Doom mission, neither was Alice. It was likely all of them were different mammals after the end and fallout of that cursed mission. But Robyn knew she had changed the most.

Robyn was no stranger to being angry, furious really, but the past month had had those emotions mixed in with sadness of equal measure. And it all came from one mammal. Luna may have kicked off the chain of bad decisions that plagued the tail end of the Doom mission, but Alice had ensured lasting harm to nearly everyone with her ill-conceived revenge plot.

Robyn could still vividly remember a maelstrom of emotions. The ones she'd felt when she walked away from her team in the Kestrel. Hannah's betrayal hurt most of all. Kion's callous exit from the team hurt also, but Alice recklessly and needlessly putting herself in danger was among the first painful feelings she'd felt that day. Plenty more reasons to be upset had since joined those three, and even with Kodi's successful meeting, several remained unaddressed.

Robyn's musings were interrupted by a chirpy ping. She'd arrived at the top floor, and was immediately met by her older sister.

"Good evening Robyn," Luna greeted warmly.

"Evening Lu," Robyn replied. "Mandatory check up, how's your arm?"

Luna chuckled as she looked down at the cast and sling her arm rested in. They were unsurprisingly stylish, a flashy red cast wrap in a magenta and white sling. "Getting better. I'm being extremely careful with it. Can't be an archer with a bad arm." After they shared a light chuckle, Luna's face darkened, "Mandatory check up, how's the little sister?"

Robyn took a moment to come up with an honest answer. "Still not great, but getting better," Robyn's smile was small but not sad.

"Things are finally taking an upward swing?" Luna asked.

Robyn nodded in affirmation. "Kodi and I made up. Aaron isn't too shaken by the whole ordeal. You and I are talking regularly again. Hannah…well things are okay in our house and there's a plan for Bullet." Luna nodded, it was her idea after all. "As for Kion," Robyn sighed. "He dropped by the shop earlier, I couldn't forgive him, but at least we both know that now."

"Kind of suspected that," Luna's head drooped and her eyes closed. "So where does that leave Alice?" It was a fair question, Kion may not have endeared himself to many with his actions, but Alice was the head of their scheme.

"I think I know," Robyn said firmly, "but that's why I'm here. Regardless of how this goes, I think I'll be able to start putting this behind me."

"Good, I'm ready for that too," Luna said softly. "Alice is waiting in the living room, I've got the kids."

"Which one of us is gonna have it worse?" Robyn joked.

"You, easily," Luna replied bluntly. "Good luck." Luna walked off after that, leaving Robyn one door away from sister in law. Not wanting to risk getting caught in a spiral of introspection, Robyn pushed aside any nervousness and opened the door.

000

"Exercise equipment?" Of all the things for Robyn to comment on upon entering the living room, the presence of some basic exercise equipment hadn't been what Alice expected.

No reason not to roll with the punches though. "Bonjour Robyn. It's nothing intensive, but I need to stay in shape," Alice replied. She finished attending to some dishwashing in the kitchen, something to pass the time with until Robyn arrived.

"So you're adding more to your list of things to do?" Robyn asked. Her tone lacked any edge, it was clear the statement was made lightly. The hybrid made her way to some coaches surrounding a coffee table.

"I know it got overshadowed by everything else, but that fall I took when I landed in Ryan's dimension was simply embarrassing," Alice explained. "And dangerous, you're correct that I'm physically a normal bunny, I need to stay in good shape for when I eventually resume work as Yueri." Alice dried her hands off before following Robyn to the table.

"Okay, makes sense," Robyn agreed. "So are you making this up or did you ask a professional?"

"Better than a pro," Alice grinned as Robyn took a seat across from her, "I asked Heather."

At the mention of Judy's most physically active sister Robyn's eyes shot up. "Aunt Heather? Alice she's the crazy bunny who can deliver a litter in the morning and be out plowing a field by the afternoon. Even for you that's aiming high."

"She knows, hence why she set me up with something more mild," Alice explained. Robyn only nodded in response. The explanation was an afterthought, what Alice focused on was looking Robyn in the eyes.

As part of her career as an assassin, Alice had become quite adept at reading a mammal's body language. One of the best ways to do so was by the emotions on their face. Some were harder to gauge than others, but Robyn wore her emotions on her sleeve. It was the equivalent of playing a game on easy difficulty. When she was younger, Robyn's face had usually been unsteady, like anything could set her off. Which was often the case. Up until the end of the Doom mission, Robyn usually had a look of casual confidence from her years in Ceartais. Alice hadn't seen very much of Robyn since that mission ended, and on those incidents Robyn's face was a mess. Smoldering anger, resentment, disbelief and grief raced across her face in equal measure, all of them subdued save for brief outbursts. Even in her less depressed moments, Robyn seemed tired and reserved. Absolutely nothing like the warm if fierce fire Alice was used to seeing from the hybrid.

She'd worried that the old Robyn might be gone forever. Now though? There was less of an edge to Robyn's features, her voice wasn't cracking or holding itself back from doing so. It gave Alice the hope that Robyn was finally starting to recover.

Now all she had to do was not mess this meeting up.

"I admit I was surprised when you asked to come over," Alice got things underway. "Considering how things went the last time."

Her in-law didn't waste any time responding. "I'm honestly doing this more for myself than anyone else," Robyn said plainly. "Just feels like this is the last thing I need to do before moving on."

"That's fine," Alice smiled. "After everything that's happened you're entitled to a little selfishness." She was entitled to more than a little in Alice's mind, but she didn't want to risk making Robyn sound like that.

"And honestly? That last meeting was never going to end well. Even if you'd been as apologetic as you and the others were back at Kodi's meeting, I wasn't in the headspace to forgive much of anyone." There wasn't remorse in Robyn's words, just stating a fact, but the underlying message was obvious. This meeting can go better.

"I'm honestly happy that you're doing better Robyn, I was very worried that my actions may have done irreparable harm to you and the others," Alice spoke with sincerity.

"You absolutely did," Robyn retorted dryly. "We've just figured out how to do damage control, and even that's not enough for everyone. Ask Kion how our chat earlier today went, I don't feel like repeating it."

Not unexpected, Alice internally sighed.

A low snort interrupted Alice before she could think any further, Robyn was looking at her with a weak smile. "You know, I actually had this really petty barb I was gonna use if things did fall apart all the way."

"That being?" Alice asked, figuring it was best not to have Robyn keep anything else bottled up.

"Back when you kicked my ass at the Rose Thorn, you said you'd destroy the team when someone paid you enough to do it," Robyn recounted. "Well, your plan eventually resulted in the original team being shelved in favor of the ZCD, and since Ronin had that bounty, you got paid for catching her." Alice's jaw dropped as she realized that the pieces, if stretched a bit, did indeed line up. "And to your credit, sending that money to the families of the Shield agents that Ronin killed? Probably the one part of your plan no one could say anything bad about."

It's just a funny coincidence now that Kodi salvaged things, Alice realized. But she had that ready for if the team self imploded. Guilt once again weighed on Alice's heart. "Robyn, I hurt you. I put you in a place where you would think of something twisted like that. And even after all that you still didn't hit back when you had the chance. I am so sorry Robyn, and thank you."

"Why would you thank me?" Robyn asked in confusion. Alice could see Robyn was trying to think of what Alice could be talking about.

"Mom told me about the meeting you held shortly after the mission with Doom concluded," Alice explained. Robyn's jaw dropped slightly. "She was trying, desperately I think, to put things in perspective for me. She told me about the vote, the options, the result…and that you argued that everyone was too emotionally charged to make that kind of call at the time." Alice gave Robyn the most serious look she could muster. "If you hadn't reined everyone in that day there's a chance, however small, that I would've had my babies taken away. So again I say, thank you Robyn."

"Did Mom…tell you how everyone voted?" Robyn asked slowly. To Alice's surprise she couldn't place the emotion on Robyn's face.

She seems sad? No that's not it. "No, if that's what you're worried about. She only told me her own vote, though it's not hard to figure out the others," Alice tried to convey her thought process.

"Is it?" Robyn sighed through lightly clenched teeth.

"Yes?" Alice answered, concern rising. "Mom, Jack and you voted to wait and see, Nick to drop the issue and Skye to go through with it."

Robyn's still unreadable face broke into a bitter grin. "Impressive Alice, other than the freebie you got all of those wrong." Robyn said nothing as a follow up and just observed Alice's shocked reaction.

"Quelle? But then how…" Alice trailed off. And why is she focused so much on this? "If, if Skye didn't vote to take the kids away then she voted wait and see, there's no way she was the only one willing to drop it!" Alice was relieved when Robyn softly nodded, at least something made sense. "If Jack didn't vote to wait and see then he must've been the one to drop the issue then?"

"He was," Robyn said plainly. "He was one of the more understanding ones at first. I think seeing Hannah so upset over time wore his patience down a bit."

"So then Nick wanted to take them away," Alice sighed, recalling her talk with Nick while Robyn's group had been missing. It makes sense that…wait a minute. If Nick was the vote to take the kids away, then Robyn would still be in wait and see. But Robyn said I only got Judy's vote right.

It all clicked. Looking back up at Robyn, Alice was able to identify the emotion on her in-law's face. It was an emotion that looked very out of place on her given everything that had happened in the last month.

Robyn looked guilty.

"You," Alice spoke her suspicion aloud. "But…how…Mom said…"

"Yes Alice," Robyn interrupted her sister's stuttering. "Mom wasn't lying. I voted to have the kids taken away and I got the others to vote wait and see. Both of those are true." Alice didn't respond, still trying to put the pieces together. Robyn spared her the effort. "I was a mess the first night after we fought Doom. Without the mission to give me something to focus on, everything just came crashing down. Hannah did her best but I, I just broke down Alice. I'm pretty sure Hannah's the reason I was even at that meeting, made sure I knew I had some comradery and all that." Robyn said the last part with a hand wave, she knew she was rushing through the setup. "Anyway, I mostly just listened while the four of them talked. Half the reason I was able to make my points so…concise, yeah concise was because I was paraphrasing them. I just got angrier and angrier the more they broke down how dumb all of you had been. Then they started talking about getting child protection services involved and…maybe subconsciously, I saw an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Alice asked meekly, finally finding her voice again.

"For revenge," Robyn said. "Sure, getting the kids away from potential unworthy parents was the justification, but at that moment it was just about making you hurt. When Skye asked me for my vote…"

What's there to even think about! She dragged her pregnant ass into the line of fire with the most dangerous killer on earth, ripped the team apart in the process, and acted all high and mighty when any of us dared call her out! Not only was Alice right when she said Luna had no right to call those kits her own, but Alice doesn't either!

Alice noticed a quiver went down Robyn's lips as she recited her statement, like she was afraid of herself at that moment.

"I was marching around when I said that, probably trying to blow off steam or something I don't know. But when I stopped, I was looking in a mirror."

The face looking abc at Robyn Wilde Savage was twisted with fury. The brow was creased as far down as it could go. The sky blue eyes were bloodshot and the ducts were flowing with tears. The cheeks were pushed far back by a vicious snarl from the mouth. Bared teeth were clenched tightly. Reason had left the picture, all that remained was wrath. It was no alternate universe, merely the hybrid's own reflection.

"I have never been more sick with myself," Robyn confessed. "In that moment, I was no different than all of you."

What are we doing? We're doing the same thing that they did! All of us are too close to this to make this kind of call this soon.

"They agreed," Robyn finished her retelling. Alice waited for more, but Robyn didn't feel the need to share any extraneous details. After a pregnant silence lasted a deceptively long time, Robyn spoke again. "You still want to thank me?"

Alice didn't speak for several moments as she gathered her thoughts. She still didn't speak as she stood up, hopped off her sofa and slowly made her way around the table. As with their last meeting, Alice carefully took a place at Robyn's side.

"Yes."

Robyn looked down at her sister aghast. "Why!? Why would…"

"Because you weren't like us, not completely," Alice said, a smile blooming on her face. "You may have gone to that place emotionally, no, we pushed you down there. But you balked at it. Righteous anger and vengeance may have gotten tangled in your head, like it did for me, and Kion and Luna, but when it came time to act, you couldn't do it." Alice gently took Robyn's hand in her own, "Because even at your lowest moment, you are better than that."

"I, I'm not," Robyn tried to respond. Now it was her turn to be at a loss for words.

Alice didn't stop smiling. "Luna was the one who pulled me out of the darkness. She saved me, and I think I saved her too. But neither of us were the example to live by, that was you Robyn. Your parents too, but you were closer to us. You can call it cheesy all you want, but you are 100% the daughter of Mrs. Make the World a Better Place."

"I have never used that cornball line!" Robyn muttered with indignation.

"You felt your demons, lost in the righteousness of wrath, and unlike me, you didn't give into them," Alice continued without missing a beat. "So let me say, to be completely clear, Merci Robyn. Please keep doing what feels right to you."

Slowly, gingerly, Robyn pulled Alice into an embrace. It couldn't be a tight one, her strength wouldn't allow for that, but it was a close one.

"I forgive you Alice, because I want to," Robyn found her answer, and she stopped worrying about the baggage it may come with.

Alice returned the embrace.

000

Judy picked up her phone when she saw a message from Luna.

Luna: Alice told Robyn about that vote you all had, they're hugging it out right now. I think they're gonna be okay now.

Judy: That's good.

Luna: Mom, you were counting on this when you told Alice, weren't you? You knew Alice would bring it up with Robyn.

Judy: I hoped she would. We already said a lot of what I suspect Alice is saying to Robyn back on that day, but it'll mean a lot more coming from her. But even if Alice kept it to herself and you, it would at least give her some perspective.

Luna: Sly bunny. I'm going to join them. Goodnight Mom.

Judy: Goodnight sweetie.

Nick looked at his wife as a wide grin formed on her face. "Carrots, what's got you all smiling?"

Judy's smile didn't falter, "Things are finally improving, Nick. I think our girls are gonna be just fine."