The symbols attached to the walls of Salem's throne room whiz back into a sphere above Flugel's palm, before disappearing.

"Isn't it painful?" Flugel curiously asks.

"Is what painful?"

"The impure Mana coursing through you."

Salem pauses and looks down at her ash white skin pulsating with unsightly black veins. When she had first emerged from the black pools, indeed, the pain she felt was unbearable. So much so that she wouldn't be surprised if she'd temporarily gone insane because of it.

"It has been so long... I do not notice it now unless I actively think about it. I seem to have grown numb to the sensation."

Flugel rubs his chin.

"Do you miss your original appearance?"

Salem looks up in surprise.

"Are you saying that you can reverse this?"

Flugel glances at his familiar.

"Flandre, if you would."

She sighs with a condescending smile.

"Haah, just what would you do without me, Master?"

"It's just easier if we do it your way."

"True," She grins. "I am pretty awesome, after all."

She extends a hand out towards Salem as her wings emerge from her back.

"Hold still," Flandre instructs. "Otherwise... I might miss?"

One of her crystalline prisms points at Salem, locking her into place and preventing her from moving an inch.

"What... are you planning... to do?" Salem manages to ask through her locked jaw.

Flandre's eyes glow bright red.

"Found it~ This might hurt a bit, but I'll try to be gentle~"

She snaps her hand into a fist.

Salem feels something crack inside of her, and an excruciating burning pain quickly spreads throughout her body. She stifles a scream as black smoke erupts from her skin and orifices. It feels as if millions of burning hot needles are poking through her skin while molten lead courses through her veins.

After what felt like hours, the grip on her finally releases, and Salem collapses onto the ground, shivering and heaving.

Salem slowly opens her eyes to an unfamiliar sight. A hand with healthy peach skin, and it moves according to her will.

'Is this... my hand?'

Forcing herself up into a sitting position, she looks down at herself with wavering eyes. With a trembling hand, she traces a circle on the ground, creating a mirror.

Upon seeing her reflection, a hand subconsciously comes up to her face, as if to make sure that the reflection is real.

Her hair had returned to a luscious golden blonde. Her eyes are blue and bright, and her skin is fair and healthy. Most importantly, her mind feels clear, the clearest she'd felt in a very long time.

"I'm..." She gasps, at a loss for words.

Flugel pats Flandre's head.

"Good job. As always, your ability to destroy anything so long as you can conceptualize and grasp its eye is absurd."

"Hehe, praise me more!" Flandre grins.

"How did you?" Salem blankly asks. "What did you do?"

"She destroyed the impure Mana within you," Flugel explains. "Using her ability is a bit of a brute force method, but it was the quickest and most efficient way. Though... you've likely lost the ability to command those Grimm, if that matters to you at all."

Salem slowly pushes herself onto her feet and clenches her hands several times. The constant torturous aching sensation in her body is finally gone. She feels many times lighter than before... and alive.

"This... This is worth it," she whispers in excitement.

The Seer beside Salem's throne wriggles violently, now no longer under her control. Several of its tentacles lash out, but before it could reach, it suddenly explodes. Salem looks towards Flandre, who had apparently just flicked a finger.

"That wasn't magic..."

"I just flicked a bit of air at it," Flandre shrugs. "Like I would waste any Mana on an amoeba like that. Not even I'm that luxurious."

'Terrifying...'

"If there's anything you'd like to bring along, I suggest you get them now," Flugel states. "I don't have plans to return here any time soon."

"... There's nothing for me here."

"Then, up we go."

A column of light envelops them, and when Salem opens her eyes, the three of them are standing high above the wastelands.

"Whenever you're ready, Flandre."

Flandre intently stares down at the vast lands below them while muttering under her breath. Salem raises an eyebrow at the odd behavior.

"She's counting," Flugel calmly explains, noticing her confusion.

"Counting?"

"Okay! Got all of them," Flandre announces. She extends a hand out towards the land before them and clenches her hand into a claw.

"Good," Flugel nods. He claps his hands together, and from the tips of his fingertips, a massive magical circle with impossibly complex formulas and glyphs expands down and outwards to engrave itself onto the land.

"Do it."

Flandre grins and closes her hand. When she does, the land slightly rumbles, and Salem sees an immeasurable amount of smoke rising from the forests and plains of the wastelands.

"That isn't smoke..." She realizes after a moment. "Those are Grimm remains. No... More specifically, impure Mana."

"Come here," Flandre commands and lifts her clenched hand up above her head.

The rising ash of the millions of Grimm she'd simultaneously destroyed rush up through the air, passing through the massive barrier Flugel had erected and collecting above Flandre's hand into a pitch black sphere the size of a small mountain.

Multiple magical circles, employed by Flugel, appears around sphere, and compress it down to the size of a tennis ball. Then, those magic circles embed themselves to stabilize its shape and size.

Flugel gestures with his hand, and the sphere floats over to him.

"That is all Mana" Salem says with wide eyes.

"Yes," he nods. "Flandre destroys and gathers the Mana resulting from those Grimm. Then, I compress and seal the Mana, as you can see."

"What are you going to do with it? And what is that massive magic circle down there?"

"Naturally, this will be returned to Od Laguna," Flugel chuckles. "As for that barrier, it has two purposes: prevent Grimm from leaving past the boundary, and isolating those pools away from the Ley Lines in order to facilitate Od Laguna's recovery. When the time comes, this barrier will be removed and Od Laguna will reclaim what rightfully belongs to it."

"Just... where is Od Laguna?" Salem asks. "You speak as if it's a physical place."

Flandre flies over and sits on Flugel's shoulders. She grabs the dense Mana ball and casually plays with it.

"Obviously it's a physical place," she scoffs. "Why do you think those stories of Master's Tower describes it as the center of the world? It's not just figurative."

Salem's jaw drops at the implication.

"What..."

"In due time," Flugel lightly laughs. "For now, we should address your little Source problem."

He places a hand on Salem's shoulder and they disappear in a flash of light.

* Lake Matsu *

On the continent of Anima is a massive lake 900 kilometers(~560 miles) across. The airspace of the lake is riddled with floating landmasses containing gravity Dust, and the outskirts of the lake is populated with a variety of residents, ranging from Faunus, humans, and even bandits.

High above the very center of the lake, three figures step out from a brief flash of light.

"Lake Matsu," Salem breathes out. "This is where the Light brother's pool is located?"

Flandre glances downwards.

"The Pool is deep under this lake. What's your plan, Master? If we redirect the Ley Lines branching out from this lake to Od Laguna, the Sources trapped here should slowly flow back with a bit of help from yours truly."

"No... now's not the time for that," Flugel mutters. "It would be best to repair the damaged Ley Lines first. Then, the impure Mana we've collected will be returned to Od Laguna as nourishment. Once the newly purified Mana circulates through the repaired Ley Lines, these Sources will finally return. Even if we flood Od Laguna with these Sources, in its current state, there isn't enough Mana to support them and will cause unnecessary stress."

Salem scrunches her brow.

"Sage Flugel, if that were the case, wouldn't your and Flandre's presence be overwhelming Od Laguna, or am I misunderstanding something?"

Flugel's eyes glint.

"Indeed, you're a smart one. Normally, your assessment would be correct. However, I am a rather special case, and Flandre is not an original resident of this world, so Od Laguna has no connection to her."

Flandre widely grins and flashes a V sign with her fingers.

"Special case?..."

"Let's just say that my connection with Od Laguna is... unique, compared to most," Flugel mysteriously smiles.

'Hmph, and you're the one calling me absurd and ridiculous,' Flandre mentally huffs.

'I called your ability absurd, not you. You're just a crazy brat.'

"Wha- I'm older than you, Master!" Flandre yells out loud. "If I recall, you were a huge crybaby when you first summoned me. What was it you were blubbering about again? Whaaa, I finally have a frien-"

Flugel's hand frantically clamps over her mouth.

"Okay I get it! Shut your mouth now!"

'What... just happened? Why did Flandre suddenly start yelling? What in the world are they conversing about mentally...' Salem sweats. 'Despite their immeasurable power, they act like children at times... Does this type of behavior come with long age?'

"Anyways," Flugel coughs. "For now, you'll retrieve the portion of your missing Source as promised. Then, I'll be sealing off this area like I did with the impure Mana pools."

Salem blinks.

"That quickly? I was under the impression that my freedom would be granted after several years, at least."

Flugel quirks an eyebrow.

"Why would I waste time like that? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get to work and fix up the Ley Lines, since that will take a significant amount of time, comparatively. Clear the way for us, Flandre."

Flandre smirks as she quickly begins to descend. Her wings furl out and the crystalline prisms start to glow. As she nears the surface of the lake, an unseen force pushes the water out of the way. The displaced water swells up and forms a rising wall of liquid around them as Flandre continues to descend.

Salem looks around in awe at the demonstration of power.

"She's powerful. Wouldn't you agree?" Flugel chuckles while glancing at Salem.

"... I would be a fool to deny that fact."

"Truth to be told, in terms of raw power and destructive capabilities, she is far greater than I am," Flugel admits.

"Then forgive me for asking... but why does she regard you as Master?" Salem slowly asks with her eyes drawn to the continuously rising column of water.

"Because she is a strange one," Flugel lightly smiles. "At first, there were some issues that had to be worked out between us. But over time, we came to learn that we compliment each other perfectly. She is fierce when I am too passive. I am her anchor when she loses control of her temper. We've been together for so long now... and for much longer to come. Power has nothing to do with anything in our relationship."

"Master!" Flandre's voice cheerfully echoes up the depths. "I found it! Hurry up before I get bored!"

"Down we go," Flugel grins. "Lest she begins to cause chaos."

As they descends down into the depths, Salem thinks back to when she'd first reunited with Ozma. At least... who she believed to have been Ozma. Of course by now, she realizes that she was not in the right state of mind due to the impure Mana, but the fact remains that every time Ozma reincarnated, there would be less and less of him. She first realized when their magic clashed on that fateful night... That was not Ozma's magic. It was far too weak and did not feel the same. Where was the strength of the hero she'd fallen in love with?

She grew to despise his existence as a bastardization of her beloved. And through that, her hatred for those so-called gods grew ever deeper. If Ozma had reincarnated as Ozma... how would have things turned out? A hint of envy mixed with hope crosses her heart, thinking about Flugel's and Flandre's eternal relationship, and single thought crosses her mind.

'If they fixed me, then surely they can just as easily fix Ozma?'

A flare of light surrounds them, illuminating their surroundings as they descend deep under Lake Matsu, until they finally arrive at an isolated transparent bubble at the bottom.

'That familiar tree... and those golden flowers...' Salem's eyes widen.

Flandre is sitting on top the bubble with a bored expression.

"About time, Master! What took you do long? Are you a snail?"

"As impatient as always," Flugel sighs.

He pushes out with his palm and a circular glyph floats through the air to meet the surface of the transparent barrier. The glyph pushes a portion of the barrier aside, creating a hole in which the three of them descend through.

"Hehhh~ This one sure likes to be extravagant as always," Flandre snorts at the golden flowers. "This is like dressing up a cockroach in a dress and pretending it's beautiful."

Flugel frowns as they land on top of the water.

"You've all been trapped here for so long. Soon, you will all return home. Be patient," he mutters.

The surface of the lake ripples, as if responding to him.

"Place your hands on the surface," he instructs Salem.

When Salem kneels down and places her hands on the surface of the water, a dim speck of light darts out from the depths and shoots up her arm. She jolts up at the strange sensation coursing through her, but at the same time, it feels right... and complete.

* Patch *

"Mommy."

Summer looks down at Yang, who is tugging at her clothes. She smiles and scoops her up into her arms, causing Yang to gleefully laugh.

"What is it, Yang?"

"Flan. Where Flan go?"

'She's... become surprisingly attached to Flandre in such a short amount of time,' Summer mentally chuckles.

"Well you see, Flan and Mister Flugel have some very important work to do," she slowly explains.

"Oh..." Yang looks down. "She busy like mommy?"

With affection in her eyes, Summer kisses Yang on the cheek.

"I won't be going anywhere for a long time."

She sits down on a couch and places Yang's hand over her stomach.

"Your little sister is in here."

"Little... sister..." Yang slowly repeats and looks up.

"That's right," Summer brightly smiles. "You and I have to take care of her when she arrives."

"Mmm... kay," Yang nods. "Big sister. I big sister!"

Summer scoops Yang up once again and plants a wet kiss onto her cheek.

"That's a good girl! You'll be the best big sister ever!"

'But I wonder what Mister Flugel and Flandre are up to right now... Given teleportation, they can quite literally be anywhere.'

Deciding to take some time to relax, Summer turns on the television for some entertainment.

"Breaking news. A massive column of water has suddenly risen from the center of Lake Matsu."

"Lake Matsu? Anima?" Summer wonders aloud.

It's at this moment, Taiyang walks into the living room, having just taken a shower.

"Watching TV? Wait, what's going on at Anima?"

The television screen changes to the camera recording from the shoreline of Lake Matsu. A large column of water had risen up into the clouds, defying gravity and slowly turning like a tornado. What is bizarre is the skies are clear and the rest of the lake's surface is as calm as glass.

"Holy crap!" Taiyang exclaims.

"The cause of this phenomenon is currently unknown. From eye witness testimonies, the lake's water had suddenly begun to rise, forming the column we see. Some claim it to be some sort of sign from a god or deity."

Summer mentally sweats.

'I can only think of two individuals who would be capable of doing something like this.'

"... Summer, you think it's because of..." Taiyang starts.

"It must be due to Mister Flugel and Flandre," Summer nods. Magic circles rotate in her pupils, hidden behind the illusion spell. "I can feel it. I wonder why they're there of all places?"

"Those two are crazy..." Taiyang sighs as he collapses into one of the living room couches. "How you can stay so calm about them is kind of amazing, Summer."

Summer lightly smiles, "Well, to be fair, I did see a literal wave of Grimm disintegrate before my eyes. Plus, Mister Flugel personally addressed my eyes. Then, there was our visit to Ozpin and Glynda. I think it'd be silly to not be surprised at this point."

Taiyang is clutching his hair.

"Just what is happening?..."

* Lake Matsu *

Flugel sighs as he puts his arms down, satisfied with his work. An isolation barrier surrounds the Source pool, cutting it off from the Ley Lines. Beside him, flares of light and various elements orbit around her as she waves her arms. After several more moments, she dismisses them and clenches her hands.

"My Mana flows much more smoothly. It is like night and day," Salem lightly exclaims.

Flugel nods, "You've been using impure Mana along with an incomplete Source. So naturally, once both of those problems are gone, your capabilities improve significantly."

"Why did the missing portion of my Source seek me out instantly? When I was first plunged into that pool, why didn't the same thing happen?"

Flandre shrugs, "Why ask when the answer is obvious?"

"External interference from the Brothers..." Salem narrows her eyes before looking up at Flugel and Flandre expectantly. "Since you two were able to resolve my situation, does that mean that you could do the same... for Ozma?"

"Hmm," Flugel rubs his chin. "We could, and there are several options. The fastest option would be the same method employed by Flandre to get rid of your impure Mana."

Salem's eyes widen.

"But that would mean-"

"All of the Sources Ozma has merged with would subsequently be destroyed," he nods. "The next option is through Od Laguna, which will take a considerable amount of time to recover sufficiently."

Flugel glances at Salem.

"What would you like to do?"

From the side, Flandre smirks to herself.

'He's testing me...' Salem quickly realizes. 'In the past, I would have likely chosen the quicker route without hesitation. At this point, what is waiting another few years? Ozma definitely would not like the souls of others being sacrificed for his own.'

Salem releases a deep breath.

"I will admit that a small part of me is tempted by the first option, however, it is not the right one. As much as I despise what Ozma has been twisted into, those other souls are victims of those Brothers as much as Ozma and I am. I will wait. Waiting is the one thing I have become very good at over the years."

"... Good," Flugel smiles. "If you'd denied any temptation to the first option, I would be a fool to believe that you're being sincere. Now that you've essentially regained your freedom, what would you like to do? Now, that your Source has been fully reformed, the path of death and rebirth has been reopened to you."

Salem closes her eyes.

"I don't know... For so long, my sole reason for living was to die. And now, everything has changed completely, and there is even hope of restoring Ozma back to normal."

"Take a vacation," Flandre shrugs.

"A... vacation?"

"Not a bad idea, Flandre," Flugel rubs his chin. "You've been holed up in that depressing castle for quite some time. Why don't you do as Flandre suggests and explore the world?"

"That is... a possibility," Salem mutters to herself. "It has been a long time since I've set foot into the world, and no one will pay any attention to my appearance, now that the impure Mana has been purged. In that case, is there any method in which I can contact you two?"

"Master, why don't we get one of those Scrolls?" Flandre excitedly says. "Those look fun. I even saw some of those humans at Beacon playing games!"

"We don't have money," Flugel blankly responds.

"Then make some!" Flandre huffs.

"... That's a crime."

"Only if you get caught. Besides, technically, it's not counterfeiting."

Flugel finally sighs, "Whatever..."

He lazily waves a finger, and from his fingertip, stacks of Lien begin to fall out. Perfect productions of the Lien he'd seen Summer and Taiyang use to pay their fare when they'd taken the airship from Patch to Beacon.

"Then, I guess we're returning to Vale to do some shopping."

A brief flash of light envelops them, teleporting them away. As a result, the column of water stretching into the sky gently settles back down into the lake, much to the amazement of the viewers around the world and the residents living around the lake. One of the witnesses takes off her Grimm mask, blankly staring up into the sky, where the water had risen up.

"Just what was that?... Magic?" She mutters to herself.

* Vale *

The three of them appear in a random alleyway. A homeless man happens to be nearby when they step out from thin air.

"What the heck?!" He exclaims.

Flandre's eyes glow red, and the man freezes in his tracks.

"You will forget everything from the past 24 hours."

"I... will...forget," the man numbly repeats with blank eyes.

"Okay, all fixed. Let's go!" She cheers and skips towards the alleyway exit.

Flugel sighs while Salem follows closely behind.

"Master! Buy me this!" Flandre calls out, pointing at a food stand. "Oh! And this too! And that!"

"... What happened to the Scrolls?"

"Scrolls? Oh right, the Scrolls. Let's worry about that later," Flandre sticks her tongue out. "I want to explore!"

"I should've known," Flugel mutters, then glances at Salem, who's been approached by several men.

"Hey there beautiful, you new around here? We can show you around."

"Why don't you let us treat you to some dinner? There's a great spot just down the street."

Salem's frowns in annoyance.

"No."

"What? Come on, don't be like that."

"I said no."

Flugel mentally sighs and strolls towards them.

"Salem, let's go."

"Who's this guy? You trying to be some kind of hero or something, buddy?" One of them aggressively gets into Flugel's path.

Flugel, however, looks past the man with a bored expression.

"The longer we keep Flandre waiting, the more likely she will cause-"

"Hey you brat! Come back here! You have to pay for that!"

"trouble..." Flugel finishes while pinching his brow.

"Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!" The man in front of Flugel pulls a fist back and punches at his face.

Right when his fist is about to strike Flugel, his hand suddenly switches direction and hits himself on the nose.

"Gah!" He cries as he collapses with a broken nose

Salem raises an eyebrow, then steps forward to walk with Flugel.

"Flandre... you're not allowed to just take whatever you want. Here's some Lien and pay that man what you owe," Flugel scolds.

"Hehe," Flandre grins while clutching onto a roll of cotton candy.

"Hey buddy! You hurt our friend! That's a crime! You gonna pay for his medical expenses?"

Flugel deeply sighs, "One thing that hasn't changed is that some individuals remain completely hopeless."

Ignoring the civilian yelling at him, he gestures to Flandre and Salem with a lazy wave.

"Let's go. After we pick up our Scrolls, we can get dinner or something. It's been a busy day."

"Don't walk away from me! How are you going to compensate-"

The man freezes when his eyes meets the little blonde girl's red pupils. Primal fear runs down his spine and his breath catches in his throat, feeling as if a mountain is weighing down on him. Losing control of his motor functions, he collapses onto his knees and blankly stares into the air, unconscious, as the group of three walk away.