KAYA

The silence in the room was deafening. When Jace first walked in, it had been loud and boisterous. A happy reunion. Now, except for Chandra, the others stared at Jace with a mixture of shock and anger. When Chandra opened the door to bring Liliana into the room, following Jace's announcement, they turned their gazes on her with equal force. Kaya, of course, knew before any of the others that Liliana was alive, since she was the one who was supposed to assassinate her. She had never expected to see the necromancer again, though. So, she was just as surprised as everyone else when Jace announced that Liliana was not only alive, but that she had returned to Ravnica to rejoin the Gatewatch.

When Liliana strolled confidently into the room, Kaya noticed a faint purple glow behind her irises and in her hands, as though she was prepared for anything to happen. It was a smart move, Kaya thought, considering the necromancer's last appearance on Ravnica. She was honestly surprised Liliana was even brave enough to set foot in the plane, with all the enemies she had there. And her presence also complicated things for Kaya, since she was the one who had let her live and then claimed she was dead. If Niv-Mizzet and the other guild-leaders found out Liliana was still alive—not even to mention the citizens of Ravnica who had seen the necromancer in action at the head of Bolas's undead army—it wasn't just Liliana who would be in danger. It was this that made Kaya angry about Liliana's presence.

Once the shock had passed, the whole room burst into an uproar. Voices shouting to-and-fro, some in favor and many against, had the whole sanctum in chaos. Kaya was surprised no one made a move to attack Liliana, but the necromancer remained close by Jace with a spell prepared just in case. Jace and Chandra were both also poised to protect the necromancer from any would-be assassins.

It wasn't only members of the Gatewatch who were present in Jace's sanctum, after all. There were several trusted Ravnican citizens who had been working closely with the Gatewatch for years; frequent guests at Jace's house who were also survivors of the War of the Spark. Liliana's presence was certainly not welcome from most of them, and they stared daggers at her, Jace, and Chandra. Curses and insults shot through the frenzy. Kaya was grateful no one had turned on her then, as they seemed to have forgotten her own hand in this.

Finally, the level-headed and respected Teferi stepped forward and managed to bring a sense of calm back into the room. "Everyone, listen up! Let us all have the opportunity to express what we think of Liliana's involvement with the Gatewatch; but one at a time, please! We cannot have everyone speaking at once. Now, since I have your attention, and as long as Jace doesn't mind, I will lead the discussion."

"There is nothing to discuss!" one of the citizens spat. "That woman—that demon—is the enemy to Ravnica! She should be rotting in a shallow grave!"

"Here, here!" another shouted his support.

The room erupted into more commotion, before Teferi again got it under control. He finally had to freeze time, such that everyone was aware but could not move about. Only Jace, Liliana, and Chandra were not frozen in time, along with Teferi himself, who put his hands together and paced calmly at the front.

"All right, then. Since some of you refuse to listen, I will speak first, if I may."

Jace nodded his consent. His face was tense, and Kaya noticed he had stepped closer to Liliana, standing slightly in front of her. This was curious, she thought, but she was frozen along with everyone else and could only watch and listen silently, as Teferi continued.

"We all know, by now, the story of Liliana's contract with four demons and her enslavement to Bolas as a result of it. We have all heard it said that she didn't have a choice but to serve him. True, she could have refused him and given her own life without taking any part in the war. But would that have stopped Bolas?"

He shook his head slowly. "It would not. Because Bolas was determined in his quest. He would have his way by any means, and he could have found other means of getting his army here and controlling them. There are other necromancers—maybe not as strong as Liliana Vess, but certainly strong enough and evil enough to lead an army of undead warriors against Ravnica and its citizens. But I have worked closely with Liliana, in our home plane of Dominaria. I have seen that, although she uses dark magic—that which nature has given her—she is not evil. Selfish, perhaps. But not evil."

Kaya would have smirked, if she could move, when she saw Liliana start at Teferi's last observation. The wary necromancer might have objected, but instead she took a deep breath and lowered her head. It seemed she knew better than to argue against what she and everyone else knew to be true.

"But her final act in the War of the Spark proved to us that she is capable of selflessness. Her final act was to defy Bolas, knowing better than anyone that in doing so, she would die what looked like a horribly painful death. She knew he was going to kill her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it, yet she defied him anyway. She could have gone on serving him and gained more power as a result, but when she realized the horror of his atrocities—and her own hand in it—she had resolved to die in the hope she might bring him down with her."

He paused and cast his gaze around the room, before he continued. "The only reason she stands here before us now, the only reason she didn't die that day, was because of the selfless act of another. Gideon Jura, the Hero of Ravnica, knew Liliana better than most. He had worked closely with her for years and had seen her both at her worst and her best. Despite that fact, when Ravnica's greatest hero saw what was happening to her, he stepped in and gave his own life to save hers. And if Gideon thought her worthy to save, who am I to say otherwise? Who are any of us? We, who have not had the experience of living and working closely with Liliana Vess, the way Gideon had? The way Jace has had? And Chandra? They know her better than anyone.

"And Gideon's sacrifice had a purpose that day," he continued, after a pause. Kaya had to admit, he was a damn good speaker. "He did not save her life on a whim. He did not save her simply because she had been his friend and he felt some sort of misplaced fondness for her. He saved her because he saw something in her during our time in Dominaria. He knew Ravnica needed her alive. He knew the Multiverse needed her alive. And she could have stayed away from us, knowing she would not be well-received this day. Still, she came to help us once again. She came when she has little to gain and even more to lose in helping us. Therefore, I say we give her a chance."

He released the time-spell, but everyone remained still. Perhaps they had been moved by his speech. Perhaps they simply had not realized they could move again. For whatever reason, everyone remained silent as their eyes moved between Teferi, Liliana, Jace, and each other. Finally, it was the normally quiet elf who first spoke.

"We already gave her a chance," Nissa growled. "And she blew it!"

Everyone stared at the elf's reddened cheeks with not a little surprise. She was not normally so emotive, but she clearly still felt very strongly about this.

Chandra stepped toward her, imploring, "Nissa, please. We've talked about this."

"No. We cannot trust her," said Nissa. Then she glared at Jace, and added, "Nor him. They've both proven time and again they cannot be trusted."

"Okay," said Chandra. "Maybe we're taking a risk by trusting Liliana. But right now, what other choice do we have? There's an army of Phyrexians preparing to destroy the Multiverse! Many of us have seen who they are and what they do—Jace went there. He saw them first-hand. And Teferi fought them centuries ago when they invaded Dominaria. He confirmed everything Jace said, and more.

"We know what we're up against!" she continued, her voice becoming more heated as she went on. "We'd be foolish not to accept her help. Liliana's here now because Gids decided her life was more important than his! She's here now, because she knows how bad things are gonna get if we don't all come together to prepare for this fight. And if we reject her offer to help, then we deserve what's coming to us! Because not only are we rejecting one of the strongest 'walkers in the Multiverse, who knows better than many of us how to deal with black mana, but we're rejecting the gift Gids left for us. And if we reject his sacrifice, we reject him! And I'll be no part of this! So, if you don't let her stay—then I'm not staying, either."

She crossed her arms over her chest and fell silent. Everyone who knew of the relationship between Chandra and Nissa looked now to the elf, who also stood with her arms crossed. Finally, she said, "Fine. But I will be watching you, Jace Beleren. And you, Liliana Vess. If you cross us in any way, I will know. And I will happily destroy you."

Nissa turned then and walked away. Chandra looked torn between following her and staying to see out the rest of the discussion. She opted to stay by Liliana's side, though Kaya noticed Liliana whisper something to her. Chandra shook her head and took Liliana's hand, whispering something in return.

Teferi stepped forward again. "What about you, Ajani? You've been silent this whole time. As a senior member of the Gatewatch, your opinion matters. What say you, my friend?"

The leonin warrior shrugged his broad, muscular shoulders, his single blue eye betraying nothing of his stance. "I do not know how to feel on this matter. Only time will tell."

"Then you agree to let her stay?" asked Jace, speaking for the first time since his poorly received announcement.

"Let her stay," Ajani purred. "Let her prove herself worthy of the Gatewatch."

Now, everyone turned on Kaya. She sucked in her breath and looked from face to face. Jace said, "What do you say, Kaya? You've been silent this whole time, but you should also have a say."

The Ravnicans in the room now turned their glares on her, and Kaya groaned to herself. She tried to play it cool, but she was still upset with Jace for not even bothering to consult with her before bringing Liliana to Ravnica.

"I don't know," she said finally. "I mean, I don't think Liliana is a danger to us right now. But I also don't think it's a good idea for her to be here. Apart from the fact that her presence puts me in danger, now, too. You do realize if this gets out—if the Living Guildpact and the other guild leaders hear about this—they'll not stop until Liliana is dead. And now, they might just put a target on me, too. I mean, yeah, I trust Liliana for the most part—I wouldn't have let her go, if I didn't. But I don't think she should be here on Ravnica."

"She won't go out anywhere," said Jace. "She'll stay here with me. And if everyone agrees to keep her presence here a secret, there shouldn't be any problems. We won't be here long. Only as long as it takes to gather more information and plan our strategy for dealing with the Phyrexians."

"That could be awhile," said Ajani. "We still don't know enough to do anything."

LILIANA

It was tiresome, standing there and listening while everyone discussed her as though she wasn't there. It was unusual, being the center of attention while also seeming to be invisible. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Liliana cleared her throat, and said, "May I speak?"

Everyone stopped and stared at her, as if they had only just remembered she was even there.

"I mean, since everyone here has an opinion about why I'm here or whether I should or shouldn't be here… It only makes sense that I should have the chance to speak on my own behalf. I know my own motivations better than anyone, after all."

"But why should we trust you?" asked a woman in a plain yellow dress.

"Yeah," agreed the man who had spoken out against her earlier. "How do we know you're not just coming here to spy on us, so you can try to destroy us again, demon-witch?"

"Oh, please," said Liliana with a roll of her eyes. "If that was my goal, I wouldn't bother to reveal myself." She wanted to add 'idiot' to the end but thought better of it and was quite proud of herself for holding back.

"If you're not here to aid in our destruction," said the woman in yellow, "why are you here?"

"Did nobody hear Teferi's long, drawn-out lecture?"

Jace coughed and Liliana noticed Teferi look at her with a raised eyebrow and his arms crossed over his chest. She winked at him and then continued, "Or Chandra's rallying speech? They've both explained the Phyrexian threat to all of you. And I'm sure Jace has done the same; he does like to hear himself speak."

She glanced over at Jace with a smirk and noticed him heave a sigh, slowly shaking his head. "I would assume, even though you have no reason at all to trust me, you do trust them. And Jace himself urged me to come—insisted, really—when I wanted to stay as far away from this gods-forsaken city as possible. I mean, I left behind a life of comfort and security to come to a city where I knew not only would I be unwelcome, but I would probably be attacked the moment I stepped out on the street."

She paused and cast her gaze around the room. When no one interrupted, she continued, "I have no reason to be here, except that Gideon Jura gave his life so I could be here in this moment. I thought my purpose was to destroy Bolas, but he was nothing compared to the Phyrexian threat we now face. And even if I didn't give a care about what happens to this city, the Phyrexians are a danger to everyone, everywhere. We cannot afford to hide out from the battle that is to come. That's why I'm here. But if I am unwelcome, even in the sanctity of Jace's home, then I will go. Because I'm not about to offer my life again for a bunch of ungrateful—."

"Okay," Jace interrupted, stepping forward and pushing her back with his arm. "I think we've heard enough. Thank you, Liliana, for that…enlightening oration."

She was almost offended by the interruption—and the light shove—but she was mildly amused by how red his ears had become. He was definitely embarrassed; or irritated; likely both.

"What she is trying to say, with her off-color sense of humor that we all know and love," he continued, "is that she is ready to atone for the part she played in helping Bolas, because she knows she waited too long to turn on him and defeating him wasn't enough."

Liliana bit her tongue and raised her head to look away. She rolled her eyes as he continued, doing his level-best to smooth their ruffled feathers. It was impressive, really, how he had finally gotten them to at least accept her presence, even if they didn't like it, and to agree to keep it all a big secret. She thought she saw the blue of his eyes grow a bit more…glow-y…during his sermon. She wasn't about to call him on it, though.

Whatever it takes to get them to stop grumbling.

Even the man who called her a demon-witch seemed to concede by the end of it, that they were better off trusting Liliana than they would be at the mercy of the Phyrexians. Once it was all over and everyone returned to business as usual, Jace grabbed Liliana by the arm and pulled her after him, taking her back to his bedroom. Chandra followed, while Teferi stayed behind to keep an eye on the others in case anyone decided to change their mind once they had walked away.

As they approached Jace's bedroom, he grumbled, "You just can't help yourself, can you? Why do I always end up cleaning up after you? Can't you just be nice for a change?"

"They started it," she argued, stopping in the corridor and refusing to step into his room when he opened the door. "All I did was defend myself."

"Can you blame them, really?" Jace replied.

"You're the one who wanted me to come here," she reminded him. "What am I supposed to do, lie down and take it while they threaten and insult me?"

"You know what? Yes! In this case, that would be the right course of action."

"I nearly died trying to do the right thing—last minute, though it was. The least these people could do is to show a bit of gratitude! I mean, sure Gideon ultimately paid the price, but it doesn't really seem fair that Beef Slab gets all the credit, when it was my decision to turn on Bolas in the first place. Nobody forced me to do it—I made that decision all on my own, knowing it would cost my life."

"But it didn't cost your life," growled Chandra. "It was Gids who died, remember?"

"Okay, but I didn't know he was going to do what he did. I had no reason to expect him or anyone else to come to my aid. I had fully resolved to die when I turned on Bolas. I knew there was a slim chance I could take him down before the contract had its way with me, but I was determined to at least weaken him and give the rest of you the chance to take him out when I was gone. I didn't tell Beef Slab to take on the penalty for me. I didn't ask him to step in where I had failed, and I have given everything to try and bring him back!"

She stopped abruptly when she realized what she had said. Chandra looked at her with shock.

"You're…trying to bring him back? Can you…do that?"

Liliana sighed. "I was trying, but…I know that's impossible now. I'm sorry, Chandra. I know you'd rather he was here than me. He deserves to be here. I don't."

"Lili…that's not true," Chandra murmured.

"Whatever," said Liliana, not having heard Chandra. "I knew it was a mistake to come here. I should just go. I'll send the twins to take my place when their exams are completed."

Before anyone could stop her, she 'walked away.