She watched as Egil and his group made it to the top of Prison Island, and her heart hurt at the sight of three men on the ground. Two unmoving and not breathing, the other in great pain. She wished to reach out and help them, but she could not.

All she could do for now was watch.

Watch as Melia ran to her father and brother's side, sobbing for them to open their eyes and be okay. Watch as Linada loaded her rifle and did her best to heal Kallian while he still breathed. Watch as Vanea and Oka pulled Melia from her father's body while she sobbed and screamed for him to wake up.

Watch as Egil walked to where Zanza once was kept and fell to his knees. Feel his emotions flood her own heart, the pain and the fear and the heartbreak. Seeing the body of Arglas, slowly dissipating as he held the cold hand in his own.

She wanted so badly to comfort him, but she could sense Zanza was still here… And she had her own duty to fulfill, for the lives of all on the Bionis and the Mechonis.

"Zanza. Respond, Zanza." She gently pulled Egil's consciousness back as she spoke. "I know you are still here."

"Meyneth… and the fool Arglas cared so much for, all at once." He seemed to have recognized her quickly enough, letting out an unamused snort. "Why come here? To help the poor, poor High Entia?"

"How many more will you kill, Zanza?" She forced herself to look past his mockery. "This does nothing but cause pain for our children! It is not too late to change this."

"I have no need for the words of a pathetic goddess!" She could almost see the sneer on his face as he spoke. "If you care so much for your little race, you should focus on them, rather than on me. Your words mean nothing."

"Zanza!" She called out, but he was no longer listening. "Zanza, please!"

She let out a pained sigh, allowing Egil back to the forefront of his own body. Zanza would not listen, and she could only see pain to follow… She would have to urge Egil to search for the one with the Monado. Speaking to him, to Zanza's host, would be the only hope they had at stopping him now.

She just prayed it was not too late to get through to him, as she listened to Egil's choked cries. If the new host was as susceptible as Arglas had been… She was unsure there would be a way to truly stop the cycle Zanza so badly wanted to continue.


A cold body laying on the ground, no signs of life within it. Slowly crumbling away as time passed finally began to catch up with it. White hair longer than Egil every remembered, scars marring the once empty skin...

"Arglas… Arglas please wake up… Let me talk to you… just one more time..." Egil clung to the giant's hand, mumbling to himself, the world around him of no meaning. All he could see was his first love's dead body, laid out in front of him. All he could feel was his cold hand, slowly dissipating in his grasp. All he could hear was his own breathing…

Until a familiar hand covered his, pulled it away and let Arglas's fall to the ground.

Alvis's hand was warm as he took Egil's in his, as he pulled him to his feet. He was shaking, he noticed, as Alvis squeezed his hand. He couldn't stop shaking, even as Vanea's familiar hands touched his arm and Alvis began leading him towards the exit of Prison Island.

He looked towards Arglas's body one last time, the words of those around him not quite registering. A final goodbye for the man who had meant so much to him… An empty goodbye, in which nothing truly could be said.

"Egil, don't look back." Alvis's voice finally broke through his thoughts. "No more looking back on your past, it's time to go into the future."

He finally broke his gaze from the body, lower lip quivering as he was led away. No more looking back on his past, huh…? As he was lead away, Alvis and Vanea leading him, he tried to smother the image of Arglas. Tried to keep himself from ending their relationship with the thought of a corpse.


"Come on now… No more tears." Kallian fought back a wince as Melia helped him towards the exit of Prison Island. "Father wouldn't want you to cry for him."

"But Kallian…" Tears continued to stream as she tried to stop them. "You want to cry too, don't you? Father, he…"

"Of course I do…" He forced himself to lean towards her, kissing the top of her head. "But he would not want us to cry for him. He would want us to move forward. And so… I won't cry."

"Then let me cry!" Melia's words were steadier than he was expecting. "I will cry for both of us, until there are no tears left. I will cry and then… then we can both move forward, stronger than before."

"Melia…" As he looked at her, allowed her to pull him towards the exit, he realized she was stronger than he realized. His little sister had been growing up right under his nose, and he'd been none the wiser. "I cannot leave you to bear that burden alone. Perhaps… Perhaps we can cry together."

She looked at him, eyes still wet from tears. "I… I would like that very much."

And Melia once again began to cry, no longer able to hold them in. Only this time, Kallian cried too. He let the tears he told himself he would not let fall fall against his cheek and mumbled empty promises to Melia. Promises that it would be alright.

But as long as that Homs with the blond hair, the scared blue eyes, was out there… They wouldn't be. As long as the man who had killed his father was on the loose, things could not be alright.

Maybe that was why it was so hard for him to keep the tears from falling as they made their way back to their emptier-than-ever before home.


Linada watched everyone carefully, keeping note of their current mental states. This was bad for Egil, likely going to set back his recovery by months, if not years… She would need to plan for their future sessions.

"Linada so calm…" Oka spoke, her voice quieter than usual. "Is Linada not worried about friends?"

"Oh, no, I am. This will be stressful on their mental states." Linada frowned, looking at the corpse she quietly carried towards the exit. "The trauma of seeing a death parental figure will likely be a large strain on the mental and physical health of both Melia and Kallian. I only hope the High Entian medical system can care for them."

"Oka no get it…" She frowned. "What about the now? Linada not worried?"

"I look at things from a medical perspective. What will happen in the long term." Linada sighed. "I can't do much now, so I look to what I can do in the future."

"But Linada can do much! Like anyone!" Oka hopped up and down. "Comforting hurt friends when very very much sad helps! Oka do it for Riki many times, and always help Riki!"

"I'm afraid the raw emotions everyone is experiencing now are… hard for me to grasp." Linada closed her eyes for a moment. "The raw emotions of seeing a dead friend, or losing a parent… I haven't experienced it, not on this level. So it's simply… easier for me to wait, and think of what to say and how to help."

"Don't think! Feel!" Oka hopped up into Linada's shoulder (how she did that so easily, Linada didn't know). "Linada very smart with books, but not so smart with emotions. Sometimes, friend needs to let emotion lead! Emotion can help comfort sad friends."

"Is that so…?" She frowned. "Perhaps in the future, I… don't want to make a bad night any worse than I have to."

"Oka no understand… but Oka not push it." She looked towards Egil's back. "But when in Bird People's home again… Oka think she talk to Egil. Oka think Egil need mamapon right now."

"You…. you're probably right." She nodded. "Please, Oka. Try and take care of him where I can't."