Candrila looked up from the board in front of her and asked, "Can you tell me the rest of the story, Mom? About why we live here?"

Karan placed a black chip down and cleared several white ones away to replace them with still more black. "Not even a bedtime story this time. Just a story."

"I want to know…"

The weavile nodded and sighed. "Fair. I did promise. Where did I-"

"You said Dad wasn't a human."

"Right. He wasn't." Karan fought down the urge to grimace the memory and took a breath before continuing, "He was the ruler of Crag. Temporary.

"Didn't feel temporary. Too many problems. Remnants of Mother's forces, the Dregs. They were causing problems. Destroying Crag when they could. Stole a warehouse's worth of black powder." Karan stared down at the game board, the black and white dots burning themselves into her retinas. "I was… barely holding together. You can't deny who you are."

Candrila's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Complicated. Outrider was obsessed with finding the Dregs. He saw his memories in them. Finish them off and he would remember everything. Remember his humanity. Or so he hoped."

"But Dad wasn't human…"

"Didn't know. No one did. I was distracted. Stone was busy. Valor and Thea were… doing their best. With Sava. They kept an eye on me."

"What was wrong with you?"

Karan bit her claw again and studied her daughter, wondering how to phrase it. She was young, but not stupid. The looks the pokemon of Stalwart gave her were respectful, but were clearly laced with hints of fear. "A lot. Obsessed with keeping Outrider safe and killing Dregs. Got in the way. Hurt more than helped.

"We caught a few Dregs but they wouldn't tell us anything useful. Outrider was ready to torture it out of them." Karan's brow furrowed. "Surprised I didn't think of it first."

"What?" said Candrila looking aghast. "Why?"

"Evil dies hard," muttered Karan. She looked up at her daughter and continued, "In the end, no torture. Dregs challenged us to a fight for the city." Karan shook her head. "Stupid idea, but Outrider insisted."

"So you fought them?" asked Candrila, cocking her head.

"We did. Outrider, Valor and I. Killed a couple of them before the explosions started."

Candrila leaned forward. "What explosions?"

"The missing black powder. Stashed all around Crag on support structures and beams. Even in the building we were fighting in." Karan shrugged. "It's all… fuzzy after that. I was out cold."

"Oh."

"Outrider's dying act was to save my life," said Karan, her voice now a bare whisper. "We don't know why he didn't get out of the building with me. He threw me out." Karan rubbed her eyes and exhaled. "Stone thinks something fell on him. Pinned him to the floor so he had to toss me or let me die with him."

"This was like the first collapse in Crag, but now… it was the whole city. Lost almost everyone." Karan looked up at her daughter and shook her head. "And I lost my mind. Raw hatred. I nearly let the survivors die while I chased down Dregs that had survived the collapse. Almost killed us all trying to finish your father's work."

Karan sat back in her chair and stared Candrila in the eyes. "Out of control. Eventually I fought Valor. I think he gave up on getting through to me."

"You… you fought Valor?"

"Tried to kill him." Karan spread her claws and looked down at them, her expression morose. "He tried to do the same. Only fair, really. I was… almost a lost cause.

"Valor became a chesnaught because of me." The weavile closed her eyes and waited for the guilt pooling in her stomach to wash away. Nightmares weren't uncommon for her, and that particular one enjoyed rearing its head often.

"Sava stopped the fight. Kicked me out of the air. Then beat me half to death in the old Council Chambers of Crag. Stone begged for my life. Gave me one night to sort myself out. Alone in Outrider's old office."

"How? What did you do there?" asked Candrila, leaning further forward.

"You're too young to understand. One day, perhaps. What's important is this: two kings were dead. My kings were dead. One from this world, one from another. I could learn or I could join them.

"I chose to learn. It was difficult, but I made us leave the walls of Crag and settle down here, in an empty clearing that would become Stalwart. We'd use what we could from the rubble and the rest we'd simply have to figure out. We still are."

"Oh. Well that's… that's good, isn't it? You helped everyone out!"

"After a dozen second chances and nearly killing us all, yes. I helped. I almost died one night making ice walls to shield homes in a blizzard." Karan smiled fondly at the memory. "It saved Balsam's life."

"Hey, 'Sam's told me he and Sava owed you a ton for something, but he never said what it was!" said Candrila, smiling and bouncing on her cushion. "I didn't know that was why!"

"They don't owe me anything," said Karan, looking down at the game board once more, her eyes jumping from white piece to black piece and back again. "Not when I've taken so much."

"It doesn't sound like you take much from anyone, Mom," mumbled Candrila, her own eyes now dropping to the board. She placed a white piece down and flipped two others to white as well. "You're always helping. Or doing paperwork."

Karan grimaced. "Don't remind me."

"Thea lived in Crag before all of you, right?" asked Candrila, bouncing on her cushion.

"Yes. It was her home." Karan furrowed her brow. "It died in front of her." The weavile chewed her tongue. "She hasn't been the same since. Seems only Valor has stayed close."

"Did something happen between you and her? Or her and Auntie Stone?"

Karan sat back and crossed her arms, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "No, not between us. Between her and…" The weavile shrugged. "Everything, I suppose. It's hard to lose everything when you can remember it." She tapped her temple twice. "Or if you have reason to miss it. The only thing I miss is Prism Tower."

"What's that?"

"Huge tower. Full of lights like candles, but brighter. Beautiful."

"Maybe you should ask Thea what she misses from Crag," said Candrila, her tone cheery. "Maybe it'll make her feel better!"

"I doubt she lost things…" muttered Karan. She contemplated the board. They'd nearly run out of empty squares. "You picked this up quickly."

"It's fun!" Candrila smiled at her mother, but after a moment, it faded into a frown. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yes?"

"You said you were evil, right?"

The memories flashed in her head, same as they always had. Sights, sounds and smells."That's putting it lightly. And a complicated story for when you're older. Much older."

"No, I mean… you aren't anymore, right?"

Karan looked up at her daughter and stared deep into her eyes. "I don't think I'm the one that decides that." The sneasel shifted uncomfortably in front of her and dropped her gaze back to the game board.

A long silence fell between the two as Karan continued to contemplate where to place her next piece. Right before she did, Candrila spoke up. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think you're evil."