Note: Last chapter! Thank you to everyone who read this story, and I hope you enjoyed it. Also, I mention that Zarya was 12 when she met Piper. While this isn't canon, I'ld guess that's how old she was.

Zarya wasted no time as she drank the potion, the bitter taste strong on her tongue. For a moment, Zarya didn't feel anything, and she worried that it wasn't working. However, the pain slowly began fading away, and when she looked at her arms, she saw the purple lines slowly fading away until it was completely gone. Zarya smiled, relieved that the nightmare was finally over. Choko, upon seeing Zarya's recovery, let out a happy chirp as he leaped on Zarya's lap.

"Zarya!" Piper exclaimed. She, Arkayna, and Queen Goodfey immediately ran to Zarya and hugged her tightly, with Em, Doug, Kitty, and Proxima following shortly after. Malvaron, Kasey, and Aunt Yaga joined the group hug last, while Nova Terron stood off to the side, a smile forming in his face. Zarya smiled, despite not being used to such a large group hug. While a part of her wanted to sneak away, an overwhelming part of her wanted to savour the moment. Zarya was surprised that Choko stayed, though. The foz usually squirmed his way out of big group hugs.

Time seemed to stop until the group hug slowly broke apart. Em looked at Aunt Yaga. "Is the curse completely gone this time?"

Aunt Yaga smiled. "According to Proxima, yes."

"You see, the curse works by slowly infusing itself into the victim's DNA," Proxima explained. "While removing the curse through a spell usually gets rid of the curse entirely, it is possible that some parts of it remains. By using a potion powered by an extremely strong spell, the spell can be completely removed."

Queen Goodfey pulled Proxima into a tight hug. "Thank you."

Proxima blushed. "Th...Thank you, your majesty." After another second of the hug, Proxima slowly pulled herself away.

Zarya frowned as she noticed the rip in Em's uniform, as well as the scratch on her leg. "You got hurt."

Em shrugged. "Just a scratch."

Aunt Yaga used her magic to heal it. "There," she said. "All better."

"It was just a scratch," Nova Terron said. "You really didn't need to use magic."

Aunt Yaga shrugged. "What can I say? I like to help people."

Everyone laughed. Zarya was glad that, after such a difficult day, they were able to just relax and enjoy themselves.

Just then, King Darius came down the stairs, followed by two guards. "Zarya," he said as he rushed to his stepdaughter and gave her a hug. "Thank the stars you're alright."

The guards wasted no time in arresting Tazma and removing her from the stronghold. Zarya couldn't help but notice Malvaron glaring at Tazma's direction. Zarya couldn't be sure, with Malvaron's back turned to her, but she could almost feel hatred coming off him. To be honest, Zarya couldn't blame her solon. After all, Tazma tried to kill all of them at least once, and she was the reason they were in this mess in the first place. She looked to the side, and noticed that Arkayna was giving to Malvaron, and after a minute, understood her sister's concern. Family was important, so having a sister like Tazma must be hard on Malvaron. Zarya wanted to blast Tazma, and if it wasn't for the guards already taking the shadow mage away, she probably would have done so. Tazma gave one last look at the stronghold before being led away, and Zarya couldn't decide if the look the shadow mage gave was caused by either defeat or regret.

"Glad that you're O.K., Z-Star," Kitty said.

"Next time, tell us if something's wrong," Arkayna said.

"We can talk about that later," Queen Goodfey said. "But for now, it's been a long night. Why don't we get some food and rest?"

"Sounds good to me," Zarya said.

XXXX

Proxima rubbed her eyes as she entered the Astromancer Academy, Nova Terron and Aunt Yaga following closely beside her. She was surprised to see that Gandobi was still awake, seeing as it was almost midnight.

Gandobi walked up to them, looking mainly at Nova Terron. "Nova Terron, I'm so glad you're here." He looked at Proxima, and then back at Nova Terron. "The Starmistress cancelled all her plans for today, then left without saying I word. I really think..."

Nova Terron raised his hand, stopping Gandobi from continuing. "The Starmistress was dealing with important business today. Anything she left undone can be dealt with in the morning."

"With all due respect, what could be more important than the academy's protection?" Gandobi asked.

"The well-being of the Mysticons, who need I remind you have protected the realm from numerous threats," Nova Terron said. "Wouldn't you agree that's important?" Gandobi said nothing, so Nova Terron continued. "So if you don't mind, Proxima will be heading to bed, and I will handle any star master duties that comes up while she rests."

"Of course, Nova Terron," Gandobi said. With that, he left.

"Thanks," Proxima said. "For everything."

Aunt Yaga hugged Proxima. "Of course, dear. Now try to get some sleep."

XXX

Zarya woke up to a chirp, as well as a furry paw gently swiping her. "What is it, Choko?" Zarya was just about to check her arm to see if the curse has returned when Choko chirped again and looked at the door. Piper was standing in the doorway, struggling to carry both her sleeping bag and Binky in her arms.

"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" Piper asked. "I had a bad dream."

"Sure, Pipes," Zarya said.

Zarya watched as Piper set up her sleeping bag on the floor. As soon as the elf finished setting up her sleeping bag, Zarya asked, "So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Piper said, looking away.

Despite Piper's reluctance to talk about her dream, Zarya knew exactly what it was about. "Don't worry 'bout me," Zarya said, "I'm not going anywhere."

Silence filled the air. "Today was so scary," Piper said at last.

"Tell me about it," Zarya said. "But it's over now."

There was another pause. "It happened so quickly, though," Piper said. "How do I know that nothing bad will happen tomorrow?"

"I guess we don't know for sure," Zarya said with a shrug. "But whatever happens, we'll face it together. And tomorrow has to be better than today."

"Maybe," Piper said.

"Tell ya what," Zarya said. "Tomorrow, you and me will do whatever you want, just the two of us. No Mysticon business, no lives at risk. Just the two of us having fun."

"Really?" Piper asked.

"Hey, I need to make up for the demolition derby somehow," Zarya said.

Piper laughed. "With everything going on, I almost forgot about the demolition derby."

Zarya smiled. "Anyway, why don't we get some sleep?"

"O.K.," Piper said. "Night."

Zarya looked at the young elf lying in her sleeping bag and holding onto Binky. It reminded her of the first night Zarya spent with Piper in the Undercity. She remembered wondering how she was going to take care of not only herself and Choko, but a child as well? Zarya smiled. If she could go back in time, she would tell twelve year old Zarya that everything will work out better than she could ever imagine.