Somebody is yelling. It sounds kind of like Toby, but Krel feels too out of it to be sure. He tries to focus on what they're yelling, but he can't quite concentrate long enough to catch more than snippets.

"–never should have let him–"

"–wrong with him? Krel! Krel–"

"–to Akiridion-5, I can't do anything for him–"

Focusing takes too much work. Krel sinks back into painless, cool unconsciousness.

"–Krel, hang on, little brother! You're going to be okay–"

Aja? Is that Aja? What is Aja doing here?

"–readings are all over the place–"

"–don't know, your majesty."

"Krel! Krel, just hang in there!"

It smells kind of like Akiridion-5 here. Kind of like the hospital on Earth, too. A different but still similar sort of sanitised smell. Huh. That's kind of weird. He feels weird. He tries to open his eyes, and almost manages to for a second, but he only catches blurry blue shapes and a few distinctly different, human shapes, before he can't keep his eyes open anymore.

Darkness claims him again.

The first thing Krel notes as he awakens is that he seems to be floating in open space. He's not as panicked as he probably should be. He's not anywhere near any stars or planets – they all look distant, as if the ground on Earth had simply dropped away and he is left with the sky all around him.

"Hello, child."

Krel spins around to face the speaker. His eyes widen in shock. "Seklos and Gaylen."

"Just Gaylen, actually," says the man. He definitely looks like Gaylen, except maybe a less – power-hungry Gaylen than Krel usually sees in illustrations. His face is kind and welcoming. "Greetings. I've been expecting you."

"You've… been… I don't understand," says Krel helplessly. "What is going on? Where am I?"

"Nowhere," says Gaylen, "and everywhere. What did you expect? You integrated with my core, did you not?"

"I… did." Krel looks around, at the beautiful expanse of space and then back to Gaylen, the Gaylen. "Did this happen for Morando too?"

"Oh, no, absolutely not," says Gaylen. "It's more – well, you know computers. Morando was – how do you put it? Hacking in. Whereas you, dear boy, have the password."

"I – password?" repeats Krel. "What password?"

"Well, more accurately, I suppose you are the password," Gaylen admits. He sits, cross-legged, in mid-air. "Do you know why Akiridion's throne remained conflicted between two houses until your parents wedded?"

"Um," says Krel, "not exactly. I just know that both houses felt they had an equal right to the throne."

"For very different reasons," says Gaylen. "You see, House Akraohm – your mother's house – is descended from Seklos. And House Ventis – your father's house – is descended from me."

Krel isn't sure how to respond to this. That means – he and Aja are descended from Seklos and Gaylen? It's – crazy, but not that hard to believe. Sort of. Actually, it's kind of hard to wrap his head around.

"You and your sister are the first to be descended from both of us," Gaylen continues. "And you, child, I have chosen as my heir."

"Me?" Krel says in disbelief. "Why me? Why not – Aja? She's much more suited for something like this. I – I don't understand."

He's also not fully convinced, at this point, that this isn't some sort of hallucination resulting from integrating with Gaylen's core. That sounds infinitely more believable than all of this.

"Aja belongs to Seklos," says Gaylen. "They're both warriors, and excellent ones at that. I was never a warrior. People like us, Krel… we are artists. We build things, with our minds, with our bare hands. We are creators. Yet, we can also destroy. We can do terrible things, if we let ourselves. I regret to admit that I let myself."

"And Seklos killed you," Krel murmurs.

Gaylen nods. "Rightfully so. Now, you, Krel… in merging with my core, you have gained the ability to create and destroy on a scale you never before imagined. And you've broken the laws of physics! This is a lot to rest on your shoulders, and for that, I apologise."

"Are you – going to train me?" asks Krel, still not convinced this isn't a dream. Even if it is, he'd appreciate some training. Gaylen's powers intimidate him. He has no idea how to use them – if he even wants to use them, though he'll have to if he wants to help defeat the wizard and his Knights.

"I cannot, I'm afraid," says Gaylen. "And we mustn't talk long. Instead, I am going to warn you. Your planet – Earth, that is – is in grave danger."

"Yeah, we know," Krel points out. "But from what? What is the wizard's plan?"

Gaylen seems to think for a moment, before finally speaking – in the least helpful way possible. "Origin of celestial core, great and strange and powerful, should it break to flexel fine, then it is the end of times. Cracks in stone apart get pulled, shattered world exists no more."

Krel furrows his brow. "What? What does that even mean?"

"Well, I can't give you all the answers," says Gaylen.

"Why not!?"

"I'm afraid our time is almost up," says Gaylen. Krel scowls. His warning is the least helpful thing Krel's probably ever heard. He offers up a small, round object to Krel with a serene smile. "When you get the chance, read the inscription. I hope you'll be pleased. Had some help with this one."

Krel glances down at the object – some kind of device, words curving around the side and what looks like a miniature version of Gaylen's core on the inside. It looks like Akiridion tech, but there's something… different about it. "Help? From who?"

Gaylen's smile widens. "Awake."

Krel blinks, and suddenly the stars and Gaylen disappear, and Krel's eyes shoot open to – a med-wing room in the palace on Akiridion-5? He carefully sits up and looks around. When did he get back to Akiridion-5? Aja is asleep on a chair next to his bed, Luug curled up in her lap. He wonders, worriedly, how much she knows. Steve and Seamus are both also asleep. Steve is in a chair next to Aja, snoring, and Seamus has his head resting on his folded arms on Krel's bed. Toby is across the room, on the phone, and Eli is pacing, unaware of Krel's awakening.

"Okay, Jimbo. Yep, I'll talk to you later," Toby is saying. He sighs and pockets his phone before turning around. His eyes land on Krel, awake, and his face lights up in a grin. "Krel! You're awake!"

His shout wakes the others in the room.

"Krel!" Seamus exclaims. Steve echoes him with a delighted laugh.

"Little brother, you're okay!" Aja cries, practically climbing onto the bed to pull him into a hug. She pulls away, but keeps a firm grip on his shoulders. Luug leaps onto the bed and forces himself between Aja and Krel to lick Krel's face. "I was so worried! What happened?"

Behind her, Toby and Steve both shake their heads and make hand motions across their throats. Ah. They haven't told her anything.

"I… don't know," he says. It isn't even a lie, because he's still not completely sure that vision wasn't just a hallucination. Then his grip tightens on something and he realises he still has the device – okay. Not a hallucination.

"How do you feel?" Aja asks.

"I feel – great," admits Krel, surprised to find that it's true. He's practically buzzing with energy, and even his slight headache from the Black Knight is completely gone. "Better than ever, actually."

"I was so scared," Aja says. Krel immediately feels bad. "The doctors said there was something wrong with your core, and I thought–"

He swallows. He knows what she thought. Injuries and illnesses to an Akiridion's core were almost always fatal. There are maybe five records of people surviving such wounds, and they're always touted as miracles.

"I'm okay," he says. "I promise."

"You're staying here until the doctor is sure you're okay," she orders, relief morphing instantly into familiar anger. "And then a few more delsons. First that bounty hunter, now this? Maybe staying on Earth was too dangerous. Maybe you should come home."

"What?" Krel jerks away from her and crosses his arms. "I am home, Aja. Earth is my home. I'm not leaving just because you think it's too dangerous!"

"I just want you to be safe, little brother." Usually, the endearment is almost sweet, but Krel thinks it sounds kind of condescending. Aja isn't that much older than him. She doesn't know better. "You'd be welcomed back here with open arms. People miss you–"

"You miss me," Krel snaps. "Maybe Eli and Varvatos and Zadra, but that's it! No one else misses me. No one else even likes me. I don't have anyone else here!"

"You helped stop Morando! You're a hero! And you're the king-in-waiting!"

"I don't want people to pretend to be friends with me because I'm a hero and I'm royalty! I have friends! On Earth! My home!"

"I just want you to be safe–"

"I'd rather be in danger and happy with my friends then safe and lonely."

"Look, Aja," says Steve, cutting into the conversation and pulling a fuming Aja back. "You can't just order Krel to come back here if he doesn't want to."

"You too?" Aja says in disbelief. "I thought you'd be on my side."

"I am – sort of, I mean." Steve flounders for a moment. "I want Krel to be safe, too, but what he wants is more important. You can't lock him up here like – like a princess in a tower."

Aja's jaw tightens and her brows lower even further, but ultimately, she just lets out an annoyed growl and turns and storms out of the room in typical Aja fashion. Luug looks between the door and Krel, then leaps down and chases Aja. Krel hasn't seen her this angry with him in a very long time. He feels bad, but she can't just demand he come back to Akiridion-5 to stay. He can't leave with the world literally ending back on Earth, and besides, he doesn't want to.

Eli looks between them and the door. "Someone should… go after her."

"Feel free," says Krel flatly. "She's going to be angry for the next horvath."

"Steve?" asks Eli.

"Uh, I think she's mad at me, too, dude," points out Steve.

Eli sighs and mutters something about having to do everything around here, before leaving the room to go find Aja. Well, at least now Krel can brief his friends about all the weirdness.

"Well, that makes me glad to be an only child," Seamus mumbles. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah," Krel says quietly.

"Not feeling any crazy evil destroy-the-planet urges?" prompts Toby anxiously.

Krel shakes his head. "Not at all. I feel normal. Well. Not normal, but – not anything bad."

"Good," says Toby. "Keep us posted."

"So, I talked to Gaylen," says Krel, quietly, in case someone else might overhear. At best, they'd think he's crazy. At worst, they'd realise he's telling the truth.

"What?" Steve exclaims. "I thought he was dead!"

"He is," says Krel. "I think. But I still talked to him. Apparently, I'm his heir… or something."

Steve's face lights up and he holds up a hand for a high-five. "Heir squad! Alright!"

Krel laughs and high-fives him.

"You are not calling yourselves that," says Seamus. "You need more than two people to be a squad."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"Heir Squared," says Krel, because he can't help but contribute to this nonsense. Seamus groans loudly. Steve grins and claps. Toby rolls his eyes. Krel is reminded, again, why he wants to stay on Earth, because this is what he's been missing out on for years living on Akiridion-5. He likes having friends, who like him for him. He never had that here, and he doesn't imagine he ever will.

"Heir Squared!" Steve repeats in glee. "Perfect!"

"All of my friends are dweebs," says Seamus. "The only normal person I know is Logan."

"Okay, okay," says Krel. "But there's something else. Gaylen said he had a warning."

This sobers everyone immediately. Krel tries to remember the exact wording of the riddle Gaylen gave him. In retrospect, it sounded familiar, but Krel can't place why.

"It went something like this," he says, then quotes, "Origin of celestial core, great and strange and powerful, should it break to flexel fine, then it is the end of times. Cracks in stone apart get pulled, shattered world exists no more."

"That's… all sorts of weird," says Toby. "Why couldn't he give us a warning that makes sense?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Krel agrees. "It's… familiar. Like I've heard it before."

"Sorry to interrupt," says a new voice. Krel startles, as do his friends. He hopes the doctor didn't hear too much. She doesn't look incredibly suspicious, still smiling warmly at them. "Those verses you just recited, they're from an old nursery rhyme."

"A… nursery rhyme?" Seamus echoes.

The doctor nods. "My friends and I used to have a dance to it and everything. It's kind of morbid in retrospect, but, you know kids. We just thought it was a fun little rhyme."

"A nursery rhyme, of course," says Krel. But why would Gaylen give him a nursery rhyme as a warning?

"Those were the days," she chuckles. "Alright, my liege. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," says Krel. "Good."

"I'm going to run a few more scans to make sure everything's working properly," she says. "You can never be too careful when it comes to your core."

"Of course," Krel replies. "Go ahead."

"Uh, ma'am," says Toby, as Krel helpfully holds his arms out to let her scan him more easily. "What exactly is the nursery rhyme about?"

"The end of the world," says the doctor. "I think there's something else, but I don't know all the details. You could probably find more in the library."

Well, Aja won't let him leave Akiridion-5 anytime soon anyway. They definitely have time to check out the library for what the nursery rhyme is about. If it's really about the end of the world, then maybe it's more relevant than Krel originally thought. He still wishes Gaylen had just given them a straightforward answer.

"Alright, I'm not seeing any major anomalies," says the doctor. "Take it easy, my liege. Your core's energy output levels are still above normal."

That's not at all surprising. He's mostly surprised they're not through the roof like Gaylen's core was. He's grateful – that would be incredibly suspicious, and he bets even Aja could guess from that what's going on.

"I'll be back later," says the doctor. "Stay in bed."

"I will," Krel promises. For now he will, anyway. He's not sure how much longer he can stay cooped up in a med-wing bed. He hates being cooped up like this. She leaves the room. Once he's sure they're alone again, he opens his hand to show them the device Gaylen gave him.

"Woah," says Toby. "What is that? It looks kinda like an amulet!"

"Gaylen gave it to me," says Krel. "He said to read the inscription."

"Well, read it," Seamus insists.

Krel squints to be sure he can make it out. "In the name of Gaylen?"

The device lights up, then Krel is lifted off the bed. The device flies to cover his core, and then pieces of metal appear out of thin air and mould to his form. A few seconds later, and he's fully decked out in a surprisingly comfortable suit of armour. He falls back onto the bed with a metallic clatter.

"Oh my gosh," Toby exclaims. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You got a cool suit of armour like Jim's!"

"I – I guess so?" says Krel in amazement. He holds out an arm to inspect the intricate carvings on the dark grey metal. The entire suit is roughly the same dark grey colour, and there appears to be some sort of black under-suit as well. He doesn't seem to have a helmet – oh, no, the moment he thinks about it, a helmet appears. He awkwardly grasps at it, until Seamus snaps a picture with his phone and shows it to him. "Huh. I look kind of like…"

"Gaylen," Toby completes. He looks somewhat subdued by the realisation. "Makes sense. I guess."

Krel climbs out of bed so he can test the feel of the armour walking around. He feels awkward in it at first, but it only takes a few steps to get used to the weight of it. Part of him wants to show Aja, partially because she'd love it, partially because then he could more definitively say he'd be safe on Earth. Unfortunately, showing it to Aja means explaining where he got it, which means explaining the Gaylen stuff, which means explaining the wizard stuff.

"Man, I want armour, too," Steve whines.

"You'll get it when you graduate, relax," Seamus says. "Kind of an archaic practice, but, hey, cool armour."

"Wait, really?"

"Hey, so we'll all have armour," Toby says brightly. "Nice. We definitely need it."

"What can your suit do?" asks Seamus.

"Uh, protect me, I hope," says Krel.

"No, no, he's right," says Toby. "Jim's armour has all sorts of cool features, and your armour was a gift from a literal god. It might have something awesome!"

"Try for a shield," Steve suggests. "You need one."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Krel waves his hands awkwardly as if that might summon a shield, but he has no idea how this armour works, so it doesn't. "Any ideas?"

"Think fast!" Seamus shouts, before chucking the nearest small object at him. Krel throws up his hands. A glowing white shield flickers into existence in front of him. He stares at it, then lowers his arms. It vanishes.

"I don't think that was the armour," says Toby carefully.

"Hey, why is your Gaylen magic white when Morando's was red?" Steve demands.

"I – I don't know," says Krel, still not sure how he did that.

"You know," says Toby, climbing to stand on the bed so he's Krel's height and then leaning in Krel's face. "Your eyes are white. Weren't they blue before?"

Krel's apparently white eyes widen. "Do you think Aja noticed?"

"If she did, she didn't say anything," says Steve. "You're also not giant. What's up with that?"

"I know just as much as you guys do," Krel says. "Maybe because I'm actually Gaylen's heir and Morando wasn't?"

"Sounds legit," says Toby. "What else can you do? That shield is pretty awesome, man. Can you make weapons? Do you even need a serrator?"

"Let's find out," says Krel. He holds out a hand and tries to concentrate on forming a sword like his serrator. He's not sure how else to do it, so if this doesn't work – oh, no, it worked. He gives the white sword a few unsure swings.

"Alright!" Seamus exclaims.

"Awesome-sauce," Toby adds delightedly.

Krel lets the sword disappear. Huh, he's getting the hang of this. He holds out his arms towards the wall; on cue, blasters form on his forearms. Not on cue, the blasters shoot energy at the wall and Krel is blown backwards to the floor.

"Okay," he says, "I think we're in trouble now."

"Quick, back on the bed," Toby says.

Krel climbs back on the bed and tugs at the device, sitting snugly in the middle of the armour's chest plate. It doesn't budge. He tugs harder. He's certain a doctor or guard will be here any moment. "How do I get this thing off?"

"Hang on," says Toby. "I think Jimbo had to like – relax or something? Just try… I dunno, willing it to come off?"

It's worth a try. A lot of this magic stuff is weird like that, and this whole Gaylen situation is weird. The weapons worked that way. He winces and tries to wish the armour away. A few moments later, the device falls into his waiting hands. He lets out a sigh of relief.

"That would have been bad for someone to walk into," he says.

"No kidding," says Steve.

He finally hears running footsteps, and shoves the device under the bedcovers just as Zadra skids into the room, followed rapidly by Varvatos.

"Krel! Are you under attack?" Varvatos roars, serrator at ready.

Zadra gestures to the scorch marks on the wall. "What in Gaylen's core happened here?"

Krel and Steve exchange looks. She's exactly right, even if she doesn't know it.

"My bad," says Toby. "Won't happen again. Just – boys being boys. Messing around. We're all good."

"Yeah, we're fine," Krel agrees. "Don't worry. You can get back to whatever you were doing."

Varvatos shrugs and leaves. Zadra glares at them both threateningly and suspiciously, but also leaves. Part of Krel is sad to see them go, because it feels like it's been forever since he's seen them and he wants to catch up, but they really need to figure out all this Gaylen stuff and they can't know. Once he's sure they're gone, Krel pulls out the device and holds it up to inspect it in the light. It's not too suspicious looking on its own. If anyone sees it and asks, he could even say it was just something he was tinkering with. Even Aja would fall for that.

"So I guess the plan from here is to figure out that nursery rhyme," says Seamus.

"You think Aja will let us see the royal library?" asks Toby. "Do you guys have a royal library?"

"Yeah," says Krel. "And there's other libraries in the city, and if there's something we need but don't have, we can ask the Galactic Scholars for information. We might be able to get more information on – you know – from them as well."

"Well, you're stuck here for the rest of the day," says Steve. "I think Aja and the doctors might actually kill you if we smuggle you out."

Krel grimaces. "Yeah. You're right."

"The three of us will go to the library," says Seamus. "We'll call you and keep you on the line as we look so you can direct us and stuff. Does anyone else find it weird that our phones even work here?"

"I've just learned to roll with it, dude," says Toby.

"It's as good a plan as any," says Krel, although he hates the part of the plan where he has to stay here in the med-wing bed. "I'm not sure how to search it, but I guess look for nursery rhymes and maybe some of the keywords."

"Celestial core might be a good start," says Steve. "Or, I dunno, shattered world. Kind of ominous."

"Is that – is that talking about our world?" Toby asks.

Krel turns the device over in his hands and shrugs. "Maybe not originally, but now I would say yes."

Toby leans his head back and lets out a long, annoyed groan. "I quit. Can we quit? I'd like to quit."

Steve sighs. "You and me both, man."

Aja came back not long after his friends left for the library, along with Varvatos and Zadra. Krel had to hang up to avoid them overhearing any of their research, although he suspects they'll need to tell Aja anyway to get info from the Galactic Scholars. He has a feeling they'll listen to her much quicker than to him, king-in-waiting or not. He's not stupid. He knows people on Akiridion-5 aren't happy he stayed on Earth. He doesn't really regret it. Aja seems to be handling the planet fine.

It's nice to finally catch up with Varvatos and Zadra again, even if he has to be careful with what he tells them about his time on Earth. Most of his life has been this Knight problem, so he doesn't have much he can say. Part of him wishes he could fill one of them in and bring them back with him. Either of them would be a huge help against the Knights. Neither of them would lie to Aja, though, so it's not an option.

By the middle of the night, or what he's pretty sure is the middle of the night, he's already sick of the med-wing room. Sneaking out is really Aja's talent, but he's almost certain everyone is asleep and he needs a chance to walk off some of his pent-up energy, so he makes his way as quietly as he can out of the med-wing room. He wanders, at first, but ultimately, he finds himself at the star-deck. It's second nature. He hesitates in the doorway, then takes a deep breath and walks in, running a hand over the activation panel to turn on the constellation hologram.

Before everything happened, on quiet nights, Mama and Papa would bring him and Aja here and teach them the constellations that surrounded Akiridion-5, the ones that couldn't be seen anymore but once could, thousands of keltons ago when the light pollution wasn't so bad. After bad dreams or when he couldn't sleep, Krel would always gravitate here. Somehow, Mama or Papa or both always knew and came to join him until he fell asleep.

Mama and Papa aren't here now, and they won't be joining him. So much has changed. He's changed. He can feel it in the way his core hums with power he doesn't know how to harness, in the way he feels the weight of an entire world on his shoulders, in the way he can't tell his sister because he's dug himself deep into a lie he doesn't know how to begin to unravel. He wraps his arms around his legs and pulls them to his chest, staring up at the simulated stars. He traces them with his eyes. The Viper – a representation of the serpent once believed to encircle their neighbouring planet, before science advanced far enough for people to know otherwise. The Martyr – Satros, the mythical hero who gave his life to save his closest friend and was then immortalised in the stars. The Protectors – mythical twins who were said to have used their life cores to shield their town from a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. The Runaway – the boy who left home to explore and never returned; they say he died a hero trying to protect a planet that wasn't his own.

Krel's jarred from his thoughts at the sound of footsteps. He looks towards the door, expecting Aja or a doctor here to scold him. Instead, Seamus hovers in the doorframe, as if unsure if he's welcome.

"You can come in," Krel says.

He makes his way over and sits carefully beside Krel. When Krel doesn't say anything against it, he shifts closer. Krel returns his attention to the constellations, glittering in the replica night sky.

"You know," says Seamus, "when I was a kid, my mom used to take me up to the roof to practice magic while my dad was asleep. It was always little things. Spells to make cool-looking sparkles or something like that. We'll still go up there, sometimes, when she notices I'm feeling down."

Krel glances over at him. Seamus is watching him with an unreadable expression, something soft and worried that Krel can't place, maybe because he's never had friends to be worried about him before.

"I think, if she died, I'd probably go back to the roof on my own," he says. "To feel closer to her."

That's a little too accurate for comfort. Krel looks away, staring determinedly at a particularly star-filled spot. Seamus just waits patiently. Krel sighs and draws his legs closer to his body.

"Aja and I used to come here with Mama and Papa," he says. "Or whenever I was worried or sad… Mama would tell me stories about the constellations, all the histories and mythologies of our past. Or Papa would just make constellations up and we'd create stories for them together. I – I miss them."

"I'm – sorry, about your parents," Seamus says. "I think they'd be very proud of you today."

Krel's eyes water, and he raises a hand to wipe away the offending liquid. Would they be proud of him? Lying to Aja? Staying on Earth? Seamus puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I think they knew," Krel finally admits. "That I was – different. Gaylen's heir, I mean. They told us the story so many times, and we always got bored or fell asleep – but Papa always got onto me the hardest. It was never Aja. I – I used to think – that he just liked her more. Now I wonder."

"Maybe they did," says Seamus. "Would it change anything if they knew you were Gaylen's heir?"

"I – I don't know," Krel mumbles. "They could have told me. Given me some sort of explanation on why I was always different from everyone else. Do you think – do you think it's why none of my peers liked me? Could they sense it, somehow?"

Seamus's eyes widen minutely – if Krel wasn't paying attention, he wouldn't have noticed – and he shakes his head. "If none of you peers here liked you, they're just stupid. You're awesome, Krel. Just because they couldn't see it doesn't mean it isn't true."

Krel swallows and rapidly blinks back more forming tears, but it's no use. After a half a moment's hesitation, Seamus pulls him into a hug. Krel appreciates his friend for not judging him. Some part of him just wants to go home. He doesn't know what he even means by that.

"Different isn't a bad thing," Seamus mumbles to him. "You're going to save the world. I think that's pretty special."

"I don't know how to save the world," Krel manages. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"We'll figure it out together," Seamus promises. "All of us. You're not alone in this, Krel. You've got your friends. We'll always be here for you."

They hold the hug a few seconds longer before pulling away. Krel uses his sleeve to rub away the tears on his cheeks. Seamus nods up at the stars still floating above them.

"Tell me about your constellations," he says. "When we get back to Earth, I'll have to show you some of ours, but for now, I want to learn about the ones you grew up with."

Krel laughs wetly and shifts to a more comfortable sitting position. They spend the rest of the night looking at stars, Krel pointing out constellations and occasionally adding fake ones to throw his friend off, until Krel's tears have dried and there's nothing left but laughter.