Chapter 49: Sacrifice

Ariel breathed fast and deep, struggling to keep her composure before the sorcerer dragon's avatar. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest. Between all that happened at the marina, surviving Lara's rampage, and then witnessing the manifestation of a literal mountain-sized legend, it was stretching her comprehension to the breaking point. She was barely able to wrap her mind around it. It was all so large, so fantastical, and so utterly earth-shattering.

Lara's father was still alive! And he was no man, but a dragon! Bel'al the Solar King was a real, living, fire-breathing dragon! More than that, he was an Eternal! A being of the same god-like caliber as the Hive Queen! And did he call himself chiefest of the Eternals? Yes, she did remember that!

Yet it was impossible. It was all impossible! Even if such dragons once existed on this world, that giant demon Chernabog had been right. They were extinct now. No one had seen a dragon of any size in the western kingdoms for centuries. They only lived in fairy tales now, guarding their treasure hoards, kidnapping princesses, or fighting the brave knights who came to rescue them. How could this one, with size and power that broke the boundaries of imagination, go unnoticed in the world?

"But…but that's impossible!" sputtered Ariel. "Dragons aren't real!"

The corners of Bel'al's mouth curled in an amused smirk as he rose. "The further one reaches into the past, the fainter the line between history and fiction becomes. The humans of your kingdom once regarded the merfolk as mythology. Yet here you are, real as I am."

"But no one's seen a dragon for hundreds of years!" said Ariel.

"Thousands, to be precise," said Bel'al. "And the creatures you refer to are flame wyverns. There are many species of draco in the world. Drakes. Wyverns. Wurms. Amphitheres. Salamanders. All are unquestionably powerful. But they are pale shadows of what I am."

Ariel swallowed nervously, even though her mouth was desert dry. "What exactly are you, then?"

Bel'al spread his arms and wings, displaying himself proudly to her. Flickering lines of firelight spread across his body. "I am of the first race to bear the name of dragon. A descendant of the knights created by the sacrifice of the old gods so that this realm may be protected. Now…"

He stepped towards her, offering a clawed hand. "On your feet. I'll not have the queen of Seahaven cowering like a frightened child before me. There is much you should fear in this world. I am not one of them."

Ariel eyed the hand with caution. Did she dare take it? Those claws could tear through her like paper. She had no doubt this creature could annihilate her with a thought. But if he intended to harm her, why had he not done so already? Slowly she reached out and took it. It was smooth like obsidian and hot to the touch, yet it did not scald her. Bel'al lifted her easily, as though she weighed no more than a piece of paper.

"I sense you have many questions," said Bel'al as he released her hand. "No doubt concerning Lara."

Ariel swallowed again. "Is Lara…is she like you?"

"Is she a dragon?" said Bel'al. "Yes…and no."

"What do you mean?" asked Ariel.

Bel'al turned, walking around to the others side of the empty hospital bed. "You know Lara's story. Of her mother's murder at the hands of the pirate witch Sable, who somehow now serves your enemy under the name Remora. Of the years of torture and abuse she endured aboard their vessel before she brought about their end. And of the witch's final brutality before Lara's fate was left to the waves."

"She said you found her," said Ariel.

The dragon nodded, turning to face her. "She washed upon my shores, body tangled in flotsam with crabs and gulls picking at her. I believed her to be dead, but she proved me wrong when her eyes opened. She would have perished had I come minutes later. I took her into my lair and healed her wounds." He looked at one of his hands, smirking as he opened and closed his fingers. "For me, repairing such trauma is 'child's play,' as the humans say."

Then his smirk faded as his hand closed into a fist. "But even my powers, mightiest of all the Eternals, could not save her. I could repair the trauma, yes. I could stitch her flesh and bones together. Yet before my eyes she continued to die. She would not move. She barely ate or drank. I delayed her death by maintaining her body. But her perpetual fading was not from any injury. It was from something no magic or medicine could heal."

Ariel took a cautious step towards Bel'al. "What was it?"

The avatar glanced at Ariel. It sent shivers up her spine to see the four eyes look at her like that. "Her will. All that Lara valued, all she ever loved, all that gave purpose to her existence, was gone. Sable and her crew robbed her of everything. Her health. Her dignity. Her home. Her mother. Her hope. All of it. She had no reason to go on. Nothing and no one to return to. She had given up. She wanted to die."

He growled, baring his teeth in a scowl as he looked down at the bed. "No child should wish for death."

Ariel stared Bel'al. There was a sadness and an angered frustration in his voice. It reminded Ariel of how she felt when she was confronted with her own helplessness to protect Melody. It was that same sentiment that drove her and Eric to construct the seawall, and then to place their daughter under house arrest in the wake of William's assassination. What must it have been like for Bel'al back then? To have magic and strength likely unrivaled by any in the world, yet be unable to save the life of one small child. That must have been as sobering as it was infuriating.

"What did you do?" asked Ariel.

Bel'al looked up at her. "I gave her the truth. And then I gave her a choice."

"What choice?"

"I explained Lara's situation to her. Informed her I could not preserve the life of someone who had no desire to keep it. Therefore, a decision had to be made." Bel'al held one hand out. "I could keep her comfortable till her end came, at which time I would ensure she passed in peace and then lay her remains to rest. Or…" He held out his other hand. "I could make one final attempt to save her. The odds of her survival were poor at best. But if it succeeded, I would ensure she did not continue in this world alone. I would provide her a place to call home, whether with me or elsewhere, and the skills and knowledge to ensure none could subjugate her ever again."

He walked back around the bed to Ariel. "And do you know what her response was? What she whispered so quietly I had to lean down to hear?"

Ariel shook her head. Bel'al beckoned Ariel to come closer. Hesitantly she approached till she was right before him, feeling the heat coming off the dragon's body. His breath was like an oven as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Do your worst…you overgrown lizard."

Ariel flinched away as Bel'al suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Teetering on the verge of death! Body and spirit broken! And still she found the grit to utter such words to me! Her fire was dwindling, but the life in those last embers refused to be extinguished! I knew in that moment! If anyone could survive what I intended, it would be her!"

Ariel gave a weak nervous smile, still unable to shake her uneasiness from being in the dragon's presence. "So, what did you do to her?"

Bel'al looked directly into Ariel's eyes. "I gave Lara my own flesh and blood."

Ariel gasped. "You what?"

"A dragon's body is a living miracle," said Bel'al. "And mine is exceptional among my race. I do not suffer sickness, malignancy, or the ravages of time. As mortal races grow older, they become weaker. The years sap their vigor. I only become stronger as I age and will do so until the moment of my end. Nor will my strength wane from rest or slumber. My hide is immune to swords, arrows, artillery, and all but the mightiest of sorceries. What wounds I do suffer heal quickly and completely. Fire, heat, and sun rejuvenate and invigorate me. At one time my race's blood was revered as the elixir of life. Many sought it for its properties, and some were fortunate enough to acquire it."

The dragon frowned, folding his arms. "But our blood is as fickle as it is powerful. It is no mere tissue. It is alive. Every particle of every cell contains a will and magic of its own, and it is not inclined to accept others. Thousands have tried to use dragon's blood to make our strength their own. Thousands have failed, and with fatal consequences. But none had a dragon working on their behalf."

He looked to the window as the sun slipped away. "It was no easy task. For two years I devoted myself entirely to Lara's reincarnation. I took no rest, no food, and no water while I attended to her. My focus did not lax for one moment as I wove the fibers of my being into her own. The end result is what you beheld when Lara restored herself before your enemy."

Bel'al turned back to face Ariel. "That is who Lara is. Half human. Half dragon. Created from two races, yet more than their sum. She is the sole scion of the clan of Anclagon, and the last descendant of the first dragons. There has never been a being like her, and I doubt there will be another. She is…" He paused, searching for the appropriate word amongst his encyclopedic vocabulary.

"Unique?" offered Ariel.

Was she imagining things, or did Bel'al smile at her? "Indeed. As much as your own daughter."

Ariel blinked in surprise. "Melody?"

Bel'al nodded. "In the same manner the princess is a child of sea and shore, Lara is a daughter of fire and sky."

"But Melody's human," said Ariel. "Same as me."

Bel'al gave an amused snort, his eyes looking Ariel over. "Water may become ice or steam, but it is still water. The trident changed your form, but it did not change who or what you are. You are still very much a mermaid."

Ariel let the dragon's words sink in. Lara was like Melody. Or was Melody like Lara? They were both hybrids, born from the union of two different species. Did that mean Melody might develop magic of her own one day? And if Melody really was a hybrid, what did that make Ariel? She felt human enough, and she grew Melody inside her as a human would. Was this form really as superficial as Bel'al made it sound? Was she truly only a mermaid with legs?

A thought came racing to the forefront of Ariel's mind. "You have to tell her. You have to tell Lara you're still alive!"

Bel'al's face turned stern. "I cannot."

"But you're her father!" said Ariel. "She's been looking for you ever since she woke up in the east!"

"I am aware," said Bel'al. "I have been watching over her."

Ariel drew a sharp breath of disbelief. "You've been watching her? This entire time!?"

Bel'al only nodded.

"And you didn't do anything to help her!?" exclaimed Ariel. "Anything at all!?"

Bel'al turned away from Ariel. "My duty was to prepare her for the world. Not to shield her from it." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "You should know that better than most, your highness."

Ariel's disbelief rapidly turned to outrage. How could a parent be so callous towards his own child's? And where did he get off lecturing her about parenting when he left his own child to wander about the eastern kingdoms? She stormed around to face him. "Your duty!? Have you seen her wake up screaming in the middle of the night!? Or suddenly leave a room because she doesn't want anyone to see her break down crying from a flashback!? Or put on a smile when I can tell she wants to hide in a corner till another horrible memory goes away!? You know what she's been through! You know better than any of us! After everything Lara's suffered, she deserves to know! You owe her that much! You have to tell her!"

Bel'al glanced at Ariel, and then he turned his eyes away. Ariel's hands tightened into trembling fists. She turned to leave, marching towards the door. "If you won't tell her then I will!"

Bel'al tensed immediately, and then his form burst into a cloud of fire. It flew past Ariel, reforming the dragon in front of her to block the door. His eyes flared as he spread his wings, causing Ariel to shriek in alarm as she drew back.

"You will do no such thing!" he yelled, his body radiating heat and fire as he advanced on her. Ariel fell backwards, scrambling away from him. "Utter one word of this to her, to anyone, and I will wipe all trace of me from your mind and leave you all to Maelstrom's mercy!"

Ariel's back hit the bedframe. She shrank away from the burning dragon, cowering before his anger. He was as terrifying as her father during his worst outbursts, and it was not just due to the flames. Bel'al noticed her fear, and the anger in his eyes was replaced with apologetic guilt. His fires quelled as he drew his wings in, stepping back from her. "Apologies."

"At least tell me why," asked Ariel. "Why won't you tell Lara? Do you know how happy she would be to know you're still alive?"

"I can imagine." His tail snaked behind Ariel and under her arms, lifting her to her feet. "Don't mistake my silence for apathy, your majesty. I take no pleasure watching Lara struggle as she has. It has been a road most painful that brought her to you. But I withhold my survival from her not because I wish to, but because I must."

Ariel's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"As I said, a dragon's body is a miracle," said Bel'al. "The contents of my lair are no less wondrous or powerful, as is the place Lara and I called home. Normally I would have no need for this secrecy, as I doubt there is any foe in this realm or the others that could slay much less coerce me. But because of the trident, that is no longer so certain."

"The trident?" said Ariel. "You mean daddy's trident?"

Bel'al nodded. "The same. The power that sleeps within it was able to trap me beneath the seas of our home. Even now, I remain a prisoner beneath my own kingdom."

Ariel found it difficult to imagine anything could restrain something as large and powerful as Bel'al. Especially something as comparatively small as the trident. "How?"

"That is for another time. What you must know is that I have spent decades withstanding the trident's magic. I can continue to do so for a hundred times longer, but it leaves me little strength or magic to spare. I am now vulnerable to a perilous degree. Nor am I able to protect you all as needed. If Maelstrom were to learn of my existence, or any who knew of it, I've no doubt they would make all efforts to locate and then exploit my 'hoard' and myself as weapons for their own purposes. As would any who hunger for power. They cannot find me under any circumstance. If they did, only catastrophe could follow."

Bel'al shook his head. "Much as I wish to tell Lara, she will be safer if she and the world think I am dead and lost. I already placed wings upon her back. I cannot paint a target upon it as well."

"But you're fine with painting one on mine?" said Ariel, folding her arms.

Bel'al stepped towards Ariel. "I would not have entrusted this to you if I thought you would betray it, your majesty. Nor would I leave you unguarded with something so valuable. Even if Maelstrom were to capture you, they would not have your knowledge of me so easily."

Ariel paused for a moment. "Poseidon…my grandfather! He's the one who trapped you!"

"From Lara's perspective, yes," said Bel'al. "But as we both know, things are rarely as they–." Bel'al abruptly stopped and turned to the door. "Your sister is coming. She's looking for you."

"Hurry! Hide!" said Ariel. She could only imagine the reaction if any of her sisters found her talking with the avatar of a dragon. They were liable to scream or die of fright. Potentially both given how stressful they day had already been.

Bel'al arched a bemused brow, or at least what Ariel assumed was his brow. "And where do you propose to hide me? I am hardly inconspicuous."

Ariel looked around. There were no closets for Bel'al to stuff himself into, and he would never fit under the bed. Nor would he fit out the window without breaking it. Suddenly her command seemed rather silly, though no less imperative.

"This is where I take my leave of you." Bel'al stepped back from Ariel, his body turning gray and crumbling into vanishing dust. "We will speak again, your highness. Again, I swear I am your ally in this fight. As is Lara, but not if she is scorned. Do not let fear overcome you or your people, or Maelstrom will surely turn it and Lara against you!"

With that the Solar King's eyes went dark, and he collapsed into a pile of ash. A wind swept through the room, blowing the ash out the window and into the failing light of dusk. Ariel watched the last speck fly away. The silence that followed was hauntingly solitary. No trace of the dragon remained. It was as though she imagined the whole thing.

Knock-knock-knock! Ariel flinched at the sound, spinning to the door.

"Ariel?" came Attina's voice. "Ariel, are you still in there?"

"Yes," Ariel said, her voice barely a whisper at first. She coughed and cleared her throat. "I mean, yes! I'm here!"

The door flung open and Attina ran in. "Didn't you hear us calling for you?"

"Sorry," apologized Ariel. "I was…distracted. What's going on?"

"It's the baby!" said Attina, wide eyed and jittery. "It's here!"


Melody looked at Lara. A full minute had passed in silence since Lara dropped the bombshell of all bombshells right in Melody's lap. About her father's identity. About how he tried to heal her but failed. About how he infused his own blood and body with her own to make her a hybrid. The princess had been allowing it all to settle in her head. She had to. Believing it was one thing. Accepting it was another, as was understanding it. She needed time to do both.

Lara gulped, unnerved by Melody's prolonged silence. "Come on, Mel. Say something!"

Melody licked her lips. "So, your father was a dragon? As in…?"

Lara nodded. "Yeah. As in a giant fire breather with wings and scales. That kind of dragon."

"And he saved your life by giving you with his own flesh and blood, which is why you look like this?"

Lara nodded again.

"And why you're so strong?" added Melody. "And why you can use magic? And why fire doesn't affect you?"

Another nod, and then another silence followed. Melody let out a long breath, running her fingers through her hair. "Wow. I mean, that's…wow."

Lara arched a single eyebrow. "Wow? That's your response? Just 'wow?'"

"Well, what were you expecting?" asked Melody sarcastically. "That I'd run out of here screaming? Or swoon and faint?

"Honestly? The first one."

Melody crossed her arms. "Lara, after everything I've seen today, it's going to take a lot more than telling me you're half dragon to make me run out of this dungeon."

The sound of boots running down stone stairs announced the guard who came all but flying into the dungeon. "Your highness! Your highness!"

Melody turned to the guard. "What is it?"

"News from the hospital!" the man gasped out. "It's Princess Arista!"

Melody tensed. "Aunt Ari? Is she alright? Did something happen?"

Lara moved towards the front of the cell, only to be stopped by her chains. "What's going on? What happened to Arista?"

"It's–!" The guard paused, looking at Lara. Both princess and sorceress could see the distrust in his eyes.

"Come on!" Lara shouted. "Out with it!"

The guard looked to Melody, his face asking for her permission. "Go on!" said Melody. "What happened to Aunt Ari?"

"It's the baby!" the guard said. "It's been born!"

Melody's eyes widened. "It's here!?"

The guard nodded. "Barely an hour ago! Word just arrived!"

Melody stared slack jawed at the guard for a moment then turned back to Lara. She wanted to stay and keep talking, but another part of her was itching to get to the hospital as fast as she possibly could. She was torn between the two, and her face conveyed that to Lara.

"What are you staring at me for!?" said Lara. "Go! You've got a baby to see!"

Melody looked back to the guard. "Prepare a horse! I'll leave immediately!"

"Yes, princess!" The guard saluted and ran back up the stairs.

Melody waited till the guard was out of sight, and then she turned back to Lara. She walked up to the bars, clutching them as she leaned in. "We're not done talking, Lara. I've still got a lot of questions for you!"

"Oh, no worries. My schedule's completely open," said Lara dryly, holding out her chained hands. "See you when I see you."

"Yeah. See you." Melody grabbed her lantern and quickly followed after the guard.

"Wait!" Lara suddenly shouted. Melody stopped and looked back at her. "At the marina, when I lost control, did I…?" Lara swallowed nervously. "Did I kill anyone? From the town, I mean?"

Melody looked at her for a moment. Lara's face showed clear trepidation in the flickering light of the lantern as she waited for her answer. What should she tell her? How she almost killed her and Ariel during her rage? How they were nearly crushed multiple times in the ocean? How they miraculously survived her overpowered fire blast that boiled the entire marina? Or how Lara came close to burning Melody away before she awoke from her berserk state?

"You killed Undertow and that giant sea serpent," Melody finally said. "You blew away the warship, too. And Morgana…I don't know if she's dead, but after what you did to her, I doubt she's still alive. That's it."

"I see…" Lara looked at Melody for a moment, and then stared at the floor. "Huh. I thought that would make me feel better."

Melody watched Lara a moment longer, then she turned and walked away.

"Mel?" Lara called out. Melody stopped on the steps. "I…tell Arista congratulations. And say hi to the kid for me."

Melody waited a moment to see if Lara would say anything else. Then she kept going without a word. She knew that was not what Lara wanted to say.


Lara listened as Melody's steps and light faded up the stairs, ending when she heard the door open and close. After that came silence save the distant crash of waves. She sighed and retreated back into the cell, leaning against the wall and sliding down.

She had not killed anyone from Seahaven. Just the bad guys. Some of them, at least. Remora and the Master were still alive. Yet the knowledge no innocents were harmed brought her no relief. That terrible queasy guilt in her stomach refused to settle. She looked down at her hands and saw her tail draped across the floor. She pressed her head into her palms and closed her eyes.

She did nothing wrong at the marina. At least, that was what she kept telling herself. Her armored form was the only way she could save everyone. She drove off Maelstrom with it. Without it, Melody, Ariel, her sisters, and all those people would be dead. But she lost control. Seeing Melody "die" drove her over a catastrophic edge. She knew what would happen if she gave into her anger and let it happen anyway. She had no memory of what occurred while she was in that enraged mindset. All she remembered was pain and hatred. Blistering, burning pain in her body and tormenting anguish and hatred in her heart.

She leaned her head back against the wall, staring up at the stone ceiling. This was why she swore not to use that armor again. Her magic responded explosively to her emotions in that state. The risk of repeating the tragedy of Lao Xan was too great, and it almost happened again today. Today she became as much a threat to the Alliance as Maelstrom. Perhaps even worse.

"Finally! I thought she'd never leave."

Lara bolted to her feet at the sound of boots against the stone floor. She heard a cell door creak open, and then the bootsteps grew louder as they approached. Someone else was down here. And there was something unwelcomely familiar about their voice.

"Another minute of you two yammering and I was going to cut her head off just to shut her up," said the intruder. A second later a woman wearing a white smiling mask and a dark blue robe appeared around the corner, her long blonde braid dangling down to her ankles. "Would've saved us the trouble of burning this place down, too, once you turned into that mad monster again."

"Sable!" Lara hissed, baring her teeth angrily. She charged at the bars, the chains jerking her to a stop. She strained against them, but they held her back.

Remora walked up to Lara's cell, the mage continuing to pull against her restraints. "Long-time no-see, brat. What's it been, six hours?"

She set her hand on the lock, and there was a hum and then a snap as the lock was destroyed by an unseen force. The door swung in, allowing her to enter. She walked up to Lara and then stopped as the mage swung her tail around at her, the tip passing within inches of Remora's face.

"Because it's felt like seventy years for me. Seventy long years since you got me killed." Remora leaned forward slightly, giving Lara a glimpse of her heterochromic blue eyes. "Which means we have a lot of catching up to do."


Melody moved in rhythm with her horse as she rode to the former Avitas' estate and Seahaven's new hospital. The last light of day was slipping away, giving her just enough to follow the road. She flew past carriages and wagons, bringing both wounded and dead to the hospital before returning to the scene of the disaster. She could see lanterns and torches moving in the marina and town as the cleanup began. People were still sifting through wreckage for survivors and victims, unsure which they would find.

She thought she would feel more excited to meet her new cousin, not to mention Arista's first child. Or worried about what happened between her father and Triton after she left. Or unable to think of anything but the citizens of her kingdom and the lives that had been lost that day. But her thoughts were back in the palace dungeons, standing in front of Lara's cell as she sorted through all the secrets her guardian had divulged.

Lara's father was a dragon. It sounded ridiculous when Melody said it out loud. But inside her head it made complete sense, like when the shape of a jigsaw puzzle began to take form as the pieces came together. Those two facts neatly explained all Lara's unique traits, and not just the wings and tail. Her strength, speed, and toughness. Her use of magic and fire. The color of her eyes and hair. That armored form and the enraged beast she turned into. Even the piercings in her ears made sense in light of this revelation. Exactly how Lara's father turned her into a hybrid Melody could only imagine, but he had done it. Lara was half-dragon.

But if that was true, then why did Lara look exactly like that demon? Their forms were a perfect match. What was the connection between them? Was Lara secretly acting as the demon, using the disguise to communicate with her via some sort of magical telepathy? Somehow that sounded highly improbable. Lara was not the kind of person to use such elaborate methods. If she wanted to say something, she said it. Subtlety was not her style when it came to communication. Maybe it was the ghost of her father then? If Lara's magic came from him, then it stood to reason her form would resemble him. And who knew what a magic dragon was capable of? Maybe they all became ghosts? Was he trying to look out for Lara even in death? To protect Lara's new home and friends as best he could? And if he was, did Lara know about him? Probably not, given she always talked about him as though he were gone. She was sure Poseidon killed him. She saw it happen.

And then Lara killed Poseidon.

Melody was not sure of her feelings towards Lara's admitted murder of her great-grandfather. True, Poseidon was family, and a part of Melody was angered and horrified by the knowledge Lara killed him. She deprived Triton of a father, her mother and aunts of a grandfather, and Atlantica of a ruler. By Atlantican and Seahaven law, Triton was well within his rights to demand Lara be handed over and tried as an enemy of the crown. The punishment would unquestionably be life in prison since executions were outlawed in the Alliance. It was hard to say which Lara would likely prefer.

But while Melody felt Lara's actions were not justifiable, they were understandable. Poseidon killed her father. She watched the one who saved her and became the only paternal figure in her life be swallowed up by the ocean to drown. How could Lara not be enraged by his death? She was many things. Hot-headed, stubborn, a bit crass, and a bit too liberal with the sarcasm. But indifferent and loveless were not two of Lara's features. Her father meant the world to her. He saved her life. Raised her. Taught her the sword and magic. Gave her a home and wings. She loved him as only a daughter could, and if the stories she told about him were true, her father loved her no less. That he was a dragon mattered nothing to Lara. Melody could only imagine the heartache and anger it caused Lara to watch a second parent be taken from her. It was natural she wanted to avenge him–and for Triton to want the same.

Revenge. That was what Lara and Triton wanted from each other. Not apologies. Not justice. They wanted to make the other suffer for what they each lost. Melody saw it in their eyes. They had the same burning hunger inside them. They wanted to claim the other's life in the mistaken belief it would extinguish their hatred and fill the holes that had been left in their souls. Just like…

A falter in her horse's step jogged Melody from her thoughts. Her legs squeezed around the mare's chest as her fingers snared its mane for balance. The horse tossed its head but kept running, resenting the sudden pull on its hair. Melody sat herself back in the saddle and focused on the road. She steered her horse around an oncoming wagon, kicking up dirt clods as she passed. She saw a trail of wagon lanterns heading up to the incomplete hospital, every window filled with light. The lawn was filled with tents as a field hospital was erected to handle the overflow of patients.

At some point, Melody knew she would have to choose. Did she side with Lara, or with Triton? She valued her family above anything else. She would risk her life to protect them. She already had! But she valued Lara no less. As far as Melody was concerned, Lara was family. She was the closest thing she ever had to a sister. A sister who put her life on the line four times to protect her. And today Melody did the same for her. If that did not make them family in all but blood, Melody did not know what could.

She gripped her reins tighter. What was she going to do?


Lara lunged at Remora, only to have the chains hold her back again. She tried to fling her wings at her, but Remora quickly stepped back to avoid them.

"Nice place they've got for you," said Remora as she looked around the cell. "Not the dank rat nest I was expecting."

Lara growled angrily as her hair prickled. "I'll kill you!" She drew her wings back and then flung her right wing at Remora, stretching it as far as she could.

Remora raised her hand and gave a dismissive wave. Suddenly a force pulled on Lara's chains, yanking her off the ground and then pinning her manacles against the wall. Her hands were forced above her head as the chains snaked over her wings and tail, trapping them in place. Lara tried to pull against them, but it felt as though the palace itself was holding her down. She could not budge an inch.

"Nice try," said Remora as she approached. "But you'll need more than extra limbs and sneak attacks to land a hit on me."

Lara pulled against the manacles hard as she could, but they would not budge. "What are you doing here, Sable!?"

Remora wagged her finger. "Ah, ah! It's Remora now."

"I don't care what your name is!" Lara's tail twitched as her hair and eyes began to glow. "I'm gonna–!"

Blue lightning burst from Lara's chains and enveloped her body. She shrieked as she was electrocuted, flashes of light illuminating the dungeon. Then it stopped and she sagged in her restraints, hanging on the wall like a coat.

Remora smirked as she watched smoke rise off Lara. "So that's how Triton muzzled you. He placed a magic-reactive enchantment on those chains. Looks like it's got bite! I'll have to try it sometime. On someone else, that is!"

Lara groaned as she looked up at Remora. The witch approached, squatting down so she could look into Lara's face. She tilted her head slightly in an amused fashion. Lara looked back at her and scowled, hissing through her teeth.

"Don't stop struggling on my account," said Remora. "Go ahead. Use as much magic as you want. You'll just cause yourself more pain."

"And satisfy your sick tastes?" Lara winced as she tried to work her arms free, but to no avail. "As if!"

Remora tilted her head the other way. "Oh, come on! You must be boiling mad! Being unable to lay a finger on me when I'm right in front of you! Remember how I killed your mother? How I put a bullet in her head, right before I tossed her body to the sharks?"

Lara's eyes and hair flared to life, the tattoos on her arm turning a luminous orange. Lightning blazed across her again, causing Lara to scream for a moment before she bit back her voice. She glared burning hatred at Remora as the electricity coursed through her and then subsided. She went completely limp, unable to feel or move her body as she panted heavily.

"I'll kill you!" Lara seethed. "I swear I'll kill you!"

Remora chuckled in amusement. "You've got guts to go with those wings, brat. I'll give you that."

Suddenly Remora shot up and uppercut Lara in the face. It busted her lip and snapped her head back against the wall. She saw stars and flashes of light, tasting blood in her mouth. Then Remora threw a hard punch into Lara's gut, driving the air out of her lungs. Lara gave a pained gasp. Remora's strength was as unnatural as it was real.

"Don't think they'll save you now," added Remora as she stepped back.

Lara coughed as she regained her breath. "How?"

"How what?" asked Remora.

"How are you still alive?" said Lara. "You were on the Charybdis! You should have gone down with it!"

"Ah, that. It's quite the story," said Remora. She grabbed the middle of her braid and gave it a twirl. "Want to hear it?"

"I've got nothing else to do," said Lara. "Other than wait for a chance to rip your head off."

Remora threw her head back and laughed. Then she stepped towards Lara, demonstrating how trivial she considered the threat. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"You mean after you tried to rip my spine out?" said Lara. "Nothing."

Lara could not see it, but she could tell Remora was smiling under her mask. "After I flayed you open, the Charybdis took another salvo of cannon fire. One of those shots must've blown your bleeding corpse out to sea. I watched my ship get ripped to pieces as my crew either died or took their chances in the water. Once the navy ships got close enough, I jumped over. I tore the first ship and its crew apart, and the second one as well. But in the end, they caught me. I was knocked out and drugged so they could haul me back to port. I woke up hanging hog-tied in a dank prison cell with ten men pointing crossbows at me and an anti-magic seal carved into my chest."

Remora began walking back and forth across the cell as she talked. "One day. That was how long my trial lasted. There weren't many witnesses for them to call on. Hard to do that since we rarely left any. The verdict was unanimous. Guilty of all charges, and then sentenced to be tortured for ten days before my execution."

Remora chuckled wickedly. "They put a lot of thought and effort into hurting me. Brought out all their toys and tricks. They kept it going round the clock, switching the men out every eight hours. They fed me just enough food and water to keep me awake through it. Then, after the ten days were up, they shoved a hood over my head and dragged me to the execution grounds." She turned to Lara. "Want to guess what they prepared for me?"

Lara said nothing. She just glared at Remora.

"Death by smelting," said Remora. "They poured molten gold and copper into a cauldron and heated it till it was bubbling. Then they strung me over it and hung a weight from my ankles. Got my last rites, mercy on my soul and all that crap, and then it was showtime. Inch by inch they lowered me into the vat."

Remora approached Lara, speaking as she took languid steps. "The heat was the first thing that hurt. My skin was smoking before it even touched the metal. I could smell my feat searing. Reminded me of bacon left in a skillet too long. Then the heat turned cold as my nerves died. Then my feet went in, and there was a hissing sound as my blood and water boiled away. And then came the real treat! You'd think I would just burn to death, but I didn't. No, no, no. The metal was too hot for that. I boiled to death! There was no cold, no numbness, no reprieve. I felt every muscle, sinew, and bone being carbonized and then vaporized. I didn't pass out from the blood loss because it cauterized my stumps shut before it destroyed them."

She leaned towards Lara's face. Lara could see the blues of her eyes and hear her voice resonate off the metal mask. "Can you imagine it, Lara? The pain as your flesh turns to charcoal before it becomes smoke. Feeling your feet, then your legs, and then your hips and organs destroyed inch by inch. The agony was…" Remora gave a whole-body shudder. "Indescribable."

"Keep going," said Lara with disgust. "I'm starting to get an idea."

Remora backed off, turning away from Lara. "I don't think I've ever screamed or laughed so loudly. I made my throat bleed from it. But I never pleaded for mercy. Never gave them the satisfaction of begging for my life. I kept going till my lungs were gone. After that they lost their appetite for death and dunked me in. It was all darkness and pain after that."

She glanced back over her shoulder at Lara. "And that's when he found me."

"Him?" asked Lara. "Who's him?"

Remora chuckled. "You know who I'm talking about."

Lara stared at her for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed in realization. "The Master."

"The one and only." Remora looked away from her. "He was waiting, right on the border where Life and Death meet. Caught me just as I was ready to die. He offered me everything I wanted. Vengeance. Power. Abilities. And a new life with which to use them. In return, he needed three things. My help. My loyalty. And my heart."

Lara snorted derisively. "As if you ever had one."

Remora pointed a finger over her shoulder, and a thin streak of lightning shot out the tip. It struck Lara in the chest with a loud buzzing. Lara could not even scream as every muscle in her body went into spasms. The lightning was so much stronger than what the enchanted manacles could inflict. She shook violently for what felt like hours, even though it was only seconds. Then it abruptly ended, leaving her body smoking heavily. Remora darted over and kicked Lara hard in the gut, causing her to spit up blood and bile.

"Not that lump of meat, you twat!" snapped Remora, backhanding Lara in the face. "I'm talking about my humanity! My empathy! My conscience! The parts of me I'd buried but never been able to kill off! That was the heart he wanted! And I gave it to him without a second thought!"

Lara coughed as Remora stepped back from her. "It was almost as painful to lose my heart as it was to have the thing melted out of me. But what I gained in return was worth so much more! That last, flickering speck of humanity had been taunting me in the recesses of my mind! Incessantly trying to stab me with things like guilt and shame and remorse! Without it, I felt none of those! I was free to kill, maim, and torment without anything holding me back! And I started with those fools who tried to execute me! I repaid their torture a hundred times over! Captain Sable of the Charybdis died that day, melted to nothing in a vat of metal! And from it I was reborn as Remora, vice-commander and second seat of Maelstrom, and right hand of the Master!"

Remora threw her head back and laughed, leaving Lara to grimace as she watched. If what Remora said was true, she was more dangerous than Lara estimated. Without her human heart, the better qualities of humanity had no sway over her. She would have no capacity for empathy, or remorse, or shame, or love. Her barbarism and magic had no restraint. Sable had already been a monster. How much deeper into the depths of depravity had Remora sunk to?

Remora's laugh tapered off. "Now then…" She walked over to Lara and grabbed her hair, jerking her head up. "It's your turn, brat. That was quite a heart-to-heart you had with your precious princess."

Lara grimaced as she looked down at Remora, one eye squeezed shut. "You…! How much did you hear!?"

"Everything! So your new daddy was a dragon with a talent for magic, eh? That explains a few things! Too bad he's already dead! I would've loved to kill another parent in front of you!" She twisted hard on Lara's hair, threatening to tear her scalp. "Now you're going to explain where you've been the last seventy years before I get down to business. And you better tell me everything!"

"I'm not telling you squat, Sable! If you're gonna kill me then hurry up and get it over with!" Lara coughed phlegm up from her throat and then spat it into Remora's face, splattering it across the mask.

Before Lara could do anything else, Remora had a hand around her throat and clamped down hard enough to close off her windpipe. Lara gagged and choked as Remora crushed her against the wall. Lightning crackled down Remora's arm and then into Lara. She went stiff as a board as all her muscles spasmed, unable to move so much as a finger.

"Don't tempt me!" Remora hissed angrily, the lightning burning the spit off her mask. "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to drag you back to the Factory and tear you apart a thousand times over! If you really are half-dragon, I'm sure Ursula would leap at the chance to use you to create dragon hybrids of our own! And I bet Richard wouldn't mind taking another crack at you!"

She continued to electrocute Lara, and then she hammered her back against the wall and let go. Lara coughed loudly as she breathed again, her body overwhelmed with the worst case of pins-and-needles ever experienced.

"Lucky for you, I'm not the one calling the shots, and neither are they," said Remora. "Much as I'd love to force your backstory out of you, I'm here on the Master's orders. And his plans require keeping you alive. For now, at least."

Lara coughed again and looked up at her. "What *cough cough* what plans? What does *cough* he want with me?"

"He wants you…" Remora spread her arms wide. "To join us."


Melody was not sure what she expected when she arrived at the hospital, but it was not this. The building and grounds were overflowing with activity. People were going in every which direction with frantic energy, all trying to shout to each other over the chaos. She heard screaming and wailing, some from physical pain and others from emotional anguish. The grounds were lit by hundreds of lanterns amidst the tent city she first glimpsed from afar. Wagons and carriages were lined up for hundreds of feet to the main doors, carrying people wrapped in all manner of bandages and too many covered by sheets. She saw figures moving in the windows of the hospital, as though the Avitas mansion had become an enormous shadow puppet theater.

As she rode up to the entrance, she saw a pair of men take a sheet-covered body into the hospital, destined to lay beside the other dead till someone recognized it. A woman's hand slipped out the side, dangling limp and lifeless. Melody found herself staring in shock as the men carried her inside. That person had been alive this morning. Just going about their day. Now they were dead. They would never see, or speak, or laugh, or touch ever again. All their dreams, their hopes, their loves, and their memories were gone. Their soul had passed into the Otherworld. All that remained here was an empty shell to be buried.

"Melody!"

Melody was startled out of her daze when Andrina came running out of the hospital to her, dress hitched up high and a guard on her heels. Andrina grabbed Melody's hand as she dismounted, the guard taking her horse away. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the palace?"

"I heard about the baby!" said Melody. "Where is everyone? And how's Aunt Ari? Is she okay?"

"Everyone's upstairs," said Andrina. "Come on!"

Melody allowed Andrina to pull her into the hospital, following her through the maze of halls and people. The scene inside was even more grim and shocking, giving her an up-close view of the human toll of Maelstrom's attack. The hallways were lined with patients, nurses and doctors struggling to give each the care they desperately needed. More than once she and Andrina had to move aside as people went running towards an emergency. There were dozens of families standing outside rooms with anxious faces or huddled together as they cried profusely. She vividly remembered two nurses and a male doctor clustered around a stretcher, the latter furiously pushing on an unconscious man's chest. Twenty feet later she saw a female doctor walk out of a hospital room and pull off her blood-stained gloves, only to lean back against the wall and sink to the floor as she started to cry.

Melody gulped, trying to hold back the queasy knot in her stomach. This did not look like the fallout of an attack. It looked like the aftermath of a war.

"We're over here," said Andrina as they rounded a corner. A moment later Melody saw Ariel and her sisters gathered by the far wall.

"Mom!" called Melody.

Ariel looked up, surprise scrawled on her tired face as she saw her daughter. "Melody? Melody!"

Melody broke away from her aunt and ran to Ariel. The two embraced tightly, as though they had not seen one another in years.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ariel. "I thought you were staying at the palace?"

"I heard about Aunt Ari!" said Melody as they separated. Ariel looked exhausted, dark circles forming under her eyes. "How is she? How's the baby?"

Ariel smiled at her, brushing a strand of hair out of Melody's face. "They're okay. Arista's sleeping, but she and the baby are doing fine."

Melody looked around, noting a particular face missing from the group. "Where is Uncle August?"

The cringe Ariel made was not lost on Melody. "He's outside getting some air. And being examined by a nurse."

"Examined? For what?"

"Possibly a broken hand. Arista's grip was rather…" Ariel paused a moment, searching for something other than "bone-crushing" to describe how tightly Arista clamped down on her husband's hand during childbirth. "Formidable."

"And he just about fainted when the baby came out," whispered Aquata. "Guy looked like he saw a ghost."

Melody breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully Arista and August had not been traumatized permanently, physically or otherwise. But her aunt and the baby were fine. She needed that bit of good news. She leaned against Ariel, hugging around her waist. Ariel wrapped her arms around Melody, soothingly stroking her hair. Melody breathed in, Ariel's scent bringing comfort to her, even if it was laced with smoke.

"Mom…I saw Lara," Melody said. Ariel stopped her stroking.

"You what!?" exclaimed Attina. "Melody, why would you–!?"

"Shh!" hissed Ariel. "And? How is she?"

"She's okay. I mean, okay as she can be since she's in the dungeon." Melody pulled away from Ariel, looking up into her eyes. "Mom, Lara told me about her dad. He wasn't a human. He was a dragon. Lara is half dragon!"

Attina, Adella, and Aquata all gasped loudly. Alana's eyes widened and Andrina let out a low whistle of amazement. Melody was not sure what she expected Ariel to do. Gasp. Flinch. Maybe scream. Maybe even faint…okay, not that. But the lack of surprise in her eyes and the way she tried to form words was not one of them. It was as if…

"You knew?" breathed Melody. She stepped back from Ariel. "Mom, did you know!? Did she tell you!?"

Ariel shook her head. "No! Lara never told me! But I…" Ariel licked her lips. "I suspected."

Melody gave Ariel a bewildered look. "You suspected?"

"Not that she was half dragon!" said Ariel. "I mean that Lara was more than human. I never had any idea what the other part might be. But if she really is part dragon it…it just makes sense."

"Sense? How does that make any sense!?" exclaimed Adella. "How can someone be half dragon!? How is that even possible!?"

"I don't know, but I believe it," said Aquata. "I mean, it sounds crazy, but she looks the part. And she did breathe fire."

"And she's almost tough as a rock," said Andrina.

"And she eats a lot of spicy food," added Alana.

"And she's never burned herself on anything," chimed in Ariel.

"And she takes baths hot enough to cook soup in," said Melody, remembering one time she almost scalded her foot trying to get into a bath after Lara.

Everyone looked at each other as they went through every memory of Lara's time with them. It only took a matter of seconds, but they all reached the same conclusion.

"Yeah, she's half dragon," they all said together.

Melody sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose before looking back to Ariel. "Mom, what's going to happen to Lara?"

Now it was Ariel who sighed. "I don't know, Melody. We'll need to talk with your dad about that. There's a lot we have to discuss."

"She'll at least have to stand trial," said Attina.

Ariel shot her sister a warning look. "Attina…"

"She has to!" said Attina. "She attacked our father! And she may have murdered our grandfather!"

"Poseidon passed away sixty years ago!" said Ariel. "Lara's barely even twenty! It couldn't have been her!"

"She says she's twenty! She lied about her father, and about what she is! She could be lying about that, too! For all we know she's a hundred!"

Melody stayed silent, not wanting to tell her aunt that her guess was about twenty years off. Or that Lara already confessed to Poseidon's death. She had a feeling it would only throw fuel on rapidly heating emotions.

"And what about the wanted poster?" added Attina. "She has to explain that as well! What if it's true? What if she really did all those things?"

Ariel turned to Attina. "We don't even know if that's real! And I wouldn't trust anything coming from Willard so easily! Not after what happened in Glowerhaven!"

"So what? Lara should get off with a timeout and a slap on the scales?" asked Attina. "Ariel, she could be a criminal! She's been accused of murder! And if that poster is real, she's a fugitive! Whose side are you on here? Hers, or your family's?"

Ariel stiffened. "Are you serious!? After everything Lara's done for us? Have you forgotten she saved your life? Our lives!? There are no sides in this, Attina! Lara is–!"

"Is not family, Ariel!" interrupted Attina. "She's not your daughter any more than she's Melody's sister! She's not even a citizen of the Alliance! You can't protect her from the law, or from father! You know he won't rest till he's satisfied! This is the sort of thing nations go to war over! You can't throw your kingdom away for one…one…person! You have to hand her over to him!"

"No!" Melody stepped between Ariel and Attina. "Lara isn't going anywhere! Grandfather doesn't want Lara to stand trial! He wants to kill her! That's not justice! That's revenge! And you can't satisfy revenge, no matter what you give it!"

Attina frowned at her. "Are you saying there's no point in Lara being judged for her crimes?"

"Alleged crimes!" said Ariel.

Melody shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant! And if Lara did kill Poseidon, then she should stand trial for it! But Poseidon killed her father, too! She wants revenge as much as grandfather, even if she's going after the wrong merman! But revenge doesn't get justice for anyone! I wanted revenge on Morgana for William's death! And I thought Morgana losing her life would make things right! I thought I'd finally be able to let go of all this anger I was holding against her! But I…I…!"

She looked down at her hands, and then closed them into fists. "I watched Lara burn Morgana to death. Right in front of my eyes. It didn't give Will the justice he deserved. It didn't give me any peace or satisfaction. I just felt sick, and ashamed. And now that she's dead, that anger isn't gone. It's still there. And there's an emptiness with it as well. It didn't make anything right. It didn't change anything."

The air turned somber as the princesses continued listening to Melody. "Killing Morgana for vengeance isn't what Will would've wanted. It's not what anyone should want. Not Lara, and not grandfather either. I don't know what the right answer is here, and maybe there isn't one. But it can't be avenging one death with another."

Ariel stepped up behind Melody before Attina could speak. "That's enough for tonight. For everyone."

"Ariel–," Attina started, but Aquata strode up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No, Ariel's right," said Aquata. "We're all exhausted and frayed. Not to mention hungry. This isn't the time or place for this, Attina. Just let it go till tomorrow."

Attina glanced at Aquata, and then sighed tiredly. "Fine. Till tomorrow then."

Ariel put an arm around Melody's shoulders, leading her away. "Let's go home. It's been a long day."


Lara blinked at Remora. "You want me to what?"

"Did your eardrums burst?" said Remora. "I said he wants you to join us."

Lara blinked again and then shook her head. "You can't be serious! You want me to join you!?"

"No," said Remora. "I want you to die! I'd rather have a knife buried in my head than have you on this earth one moment longer, much less in Maelstrom! But the Master has other ideas about you."

"Yeah, well here's one of my ideas about him!" Lara leaned forward and spat at Remora again. The witch nimbly dodged aside, the wad of sputum flying out of the cell. She lashed out with her leg in a full standing split and kicked Lara in the face. Lara's head rocked back and hit the wall, flashing stars in front of her eyes.

"Like I said, you've got guts, brat," said Remora as she lowered her leg. "Keep that up and I'll splatter them all over this cell!"

Lara spat blood out as she glared at Remora. "I'll never join you! You hear me!? I'm not a bloodthirsty psychopath like you! Or a traitor!"

"Are you?" said Remora. "I wonder if those people you hunted would agree? Or how about everyone in Lao Xan? Or Princess Yumino?"

Lara's face paled. "H-how do you…?"

"You're not the only one who can cross the Sand Ocean," said Remora. "The Master is more than capable of it. While you were preparing for your party in Glowerhaven, he took a trip to dig up dirt on you. You should be flattered. He doesn't go out of his way for just anyone. And your old 'partner' was most cooperative!"

"It was you!" exclaimed Lara. "You sent that poster to Eric! You're trying to turn them against me!"

Remora gave a short laugh. "I wish! We gave it to Willard, and he was the one who sent it to Eric!"

Lara blanched. "Willard's working for you!?"

"That scrap of paper had just the effect we wanted!" continued Remora, ignoring Lara's exclamation. "You killing Triton's fish daddy is the extra cherry on top of it all! They won't be trusting you ever again! Not after this! You were useful to them for a while! An obedient guard dog they could keep on a chain! Now you're just another witch to be put down! I bet they're figuring out how to execute you right now! Wonder what it'll be? The gallows? Beheading? Maybe they'll tie a bag of rocks to your legs and throw you overboard? I bet Triton would love that!"

Lara struggled against the chains, trying to get at Remora. "They'd never do that!"

Remora snorted dismissively. "Why? Because they're your so-called 'friends?'"

Lara snarled at Remora as she tried to slip her tail out, only to have the chains press down harder. "Melody is my friend! So are Ariel, Eric, and the rest of them! They all are!"

Remora gave a barking laugh. "You think those silver-spoon-sucking idiots are your friends? Looks like all that fire fried your brain! After what you did, I'm the closest thing you've got to a friend anymore!"

"You're wrong!" said Lara.

"Oh, come on! You can't be that stupid!" Remora started pacing back and forth in front of Lara. "They threw away the key the moment they got those chains on you! What, did you think they liked you? That they cared for you? That they think of you as family?! You've never been more than a necessary eyesore to them! The rabble! The king and queen! The princess! All of them! Up till now they tolerated you because you did a job they couldn't! Now you're too dangerous to keep around!"

"You don't know them!" snapped Lara. "You don't know anything about them! They're not like that!"

"They're human! That's all you need to know about them! And those merfolk aren't any different! They might be half-fish, but the rest is human, vices and all! You and I know better than anyone what humans are really like!"

"No!" said Lara, distress creeping into her voice.

Remora cackled loudly. "You have no idea what they will and won't do! You've barely been here a year! I was watching them decades before you even arrived! I know them better than you ever will! You're a thing to them, brat! A monster! Even if they accepted you before, now they never will!"

She reached into her robes and pulled out a mechanical centipede the length of a snake. It squirmed in her hand before it crawled along Remora's forearm, and then it wrapped around her arm and linked its legs together. A yellow aura grew over it as magic coursed through its body.

"Don't believe me?" said Remora as she tapped on three of its segments. "Listen to this!"

"I don't want her guarding me!"

Lara's eyes widened. That was Melody's voice coming out of the machine!

"She's dangerous!" continued Melody's disembodied voice through the machine. "She might hurt me! Might stab us in the back!"

"Despite our best efforts we'll keep finding and losing more victims," said Eric's voice. "Because Lara was there. Not you. Not me. Not the soldiers. Not the trident. It was Lara."

Lara shook her head in disbelief. "No…this is some kind of trick!"

"Does this sound like a trick?" asked Remora, holding her arm towards Lara.

"What would happen if she turned that power against Seahaven?" said Attina's voice. "Or Atlantica? She's not even a citizen of the Alliance! She's a criminal!"

"First she gets into a fight with father," said Ariel's voice. "Now she's a fugitive and accused of murdering our grandfather. Lara's a monster!"

"That thing is too dangerous to keep alive, much less imprisoned!" said Triton's angry voice. "It's as great a threat to us as Maelstrom! Even if it's quiet right now, there's still a vile beast hiding inside! We must get rid of it before there's another outburst!"

"You can blast it with your trident!" said Melody's voice, no less angry than her grandfather's.

Remora almost burst out laughing as the despair and heartbreak grew on Lara's face. With their spy network, planting bugs to listen in on the royals was all too easy. Of course, she knew what they really meant by these statements. She was simply playing them back in a way that worked to her advantage. It was amazing what you could accomplish by taking someone's words out of context. Lara's expression spoke volumes to that. It would have hurt less if she stabbed her in the belly.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it, brat?" said Remora. "But you know what they say. It also sets you free."

Lara stared at the ground. "That…that can't be real."

"Oh, it is! And that's just a snippet of what's out there! You're the talk of the town! Compared to what everyone else is saying, your precious 'friends' are being polite!" She knelt down in front of Lara. "Time to face the music, brat. Far as this kingdom is concerned, you're as much the enemy as I am. And besides, aren't you forgetting something?"

Remora tapped several segments of her metal centipede. A new voice came out of the machine, and one Lara knew very well.

"You killed my father!" came Lara's own furious voice.

"Sounds like you've got a serious bone to pick with the merfolk," said Remora as the centipede unwound itself and scurried up her arm. "And you're not gonna be able to pick it in here. Of course, we could help with that."

Lara shook her head. "Poseidon was the one who killed him! Not Triton! Melody said–!"

"And you believed her!?" interjected Remora. "You're more gullible than I expected! Of course she told you he's not Poseidon! She's that cod's granddaughter! She'd throw you to the sharks if it meant saving his hide! If the whole thing wasn't so ironic, I'd almost call it cruel!"

"What are you –?"

Suddenly Remora rushed in, seizing Lara's cheeks and cranking her face painfully upwards. "Has it sunk in yet? You've been protecting the family of your daddy's killer this entire time!"

Lara tensed visibly, her eyes widening. Remora shoved her face away and backed up. "Enough talking. Time to choose! You can come with me, serve the Master and Maelstrom, and get revenge for your dead lizard as a bonus! Maybe you'll even get a crack at killing me! Not a bad deal, is it?"

"What's option two?" asked Lara.

Lightning danced down Remora's arms. "I kill you."

"I thought your boss wanted me alive?"

"Only if you came with us. You've been a thorn in our side for a while now, but nothing more than an annoyance. That trick you pulled in the marina changed things. The Master has made recruiting or neutralizing you a priority. My orders are to eliminate you if you won't come with. Now make up your mind. I'm getting tired of–."

"I'll do it."

Remora stiffened. "What?"

"I'll do it," said Lara, glancing at the floor. "I'll go."

Remora narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"

Lara sighed tiredly. "You're right. I hate to say it as much as I hate you, but…you're right. There's nothing left for me here. It won't matter that I saved their skins. They're not gonna listen to anything I say. Not if what I just heard is real. If I stay, they'll probably kill me. I'm not gonna lose my life over a job. And that's all this was in the end. A job." She lifted her face up. "But if I go with you, I have one condition."

"And what is that?" asked Remora.

Lara clenched her hands. There was real anger in her eyes and voice as she spoke. "I want Poseidon. He's mine. Do whatever you want with everyone else. Kill them. Capture them. Make them slaves. I don't care. But I'll be the one to kill him! He killed my dad, and he's gonna pay for that!"

Remora looked at Lara for a second. Then she waved her hand and the force pinning Lara to the wall released her. She dropped to the ground, catching herself on her hands and knees. Remora stepped forward, metal flying out of her sleeves to form a sword to sever the chains. "Not the answer I was expect–."

Lara's tail shot out and snagged Remora's robes, jerking her forward. At the same time Lara lunged at Remora, seizing her shoulders and smashing her forehead into Remora's face like a battering ram, rattling her brain. Lara was about to go for the witch's neck, but the smell of ozone warned her Remora's lightning was about to kick in. She pulled both her legs up and kicked hard into Remora's chest, sending her flying out of the cell to slam into the bars on the other side, a loud clang echoing up the steps. Remora slunk to the ground, clutching her now cracked and tilted mask.

"Sorry, I forgot to clarify!" shouted Lara as she got up. "I'll go to the bottom of the Pit before I ever go with the witch who killed my mother! Or believe a single word that comes out of you or your twisted toys!"

Remora scrambled upright as she refitted her mask. "Why you…that was a trick! You were trying to lure me in!"

Lara's tail snapped angrily against the ground. "Yeah! And you fell for it! Who's the gullible one now!?"

"Are you insane!?" yelled Remora. "You're still siding with them!? You'd rather stay here and get killed by these vermin!? They hate you!"

"I don't care!" said Lara. "I ran from you once before! Then I ran from the east! Then I ran from my sword! And before today, I ran from who I am! I'm not running anymore! Not from them! Not from what I did! And never again from you!"

Remora's mask snapped back into place with a crack of electricity. "You two-faced brat!"

"Two faced? That's a laugh coming from you!" said Lara.

Wild electric arcs jumped off Remora, bathing the dungeon in flashing light and drawing charred lines across the stones. She dashed at Lara with a loud crack, seizing her throat and slamming her back against the wall. The chains flew up into the air, strapping Lara down painfully. Remora drew her sword up, pressing the tip against Lara's shoulder. "You're going to regret that! Mark my words, you'll wish you'd died back on the Charybdis! All of Seahaven is going to hear you scream before I'm done!"

Lara scowled at her. "Do your worst, Sable! I'm not afraid of you! I'll take whatever you got!"

Remora growled angrily. She drew her sword back, preparing to run Lara through. Lara kept staring at her. Remora did not see a shred of fear in her eyes. Fury, yes. Defiance, absolutely. Loathing, immensely. But not fear.

"No…" Remora lowered her sword and tossed Lara aside. She hit the wall and slumped to the ground, clutching her throat as she coughed.

Lara rubbed her neck. "What, lose your nerve? I thought you were supposed to eliminate me."

Remora scowled under her mask. "I will, and with pleasure! There's nothing I'd like more than to pin you to that wall and cut you up like a hanged slab of meat. But you, chained in a cell, unable to use one scrap of magic to resist me? It's pathetic. It's no different than killing a caged animal. I end you now and I'll never get the taste of spoiled victory out of my mouth. And you won't go like the rest of them. You'll scream. I'll see to that. But I can tell already. You're not that sniveling brat we kicked around the Charybdis seventy years ago. You won't give me the satisfaction of pleading for your life or begging me to end you. I won't get to see you suffer the way I want, but I have another way to kill you. One that doesn't require me laying a finger on you. And one that will hurt you so much more than my blades ever could."

Lara did not like this. "What are you planning?"

Remora chuckled as she backed towards the cell door. "Riddle me this. What do lamp oil, ether, formaldehyde, and distilled grain alcohol have in common?" Remora raised up three fingers, taking them down as she counted off. "They're all highly flammable. They can be bought in bulk. And they're all kept in large quantities in the basement of the hospital they made out of that Richard kid's home. Along with several dozen kegs of gunpowder I just snuck in."

Lara's eyes widened. She did not need to ask to know what Remora intended with those materials. "No!"

Remora reached into her sleeve and produced a small glass vial. Inside was a single blue flame. It darted around the vial angrily, buzzing against the glass like an insect. "Which is also where I stashed a whole swarm of these wisps."

Lara leapt to her feet as she recognized the blue elemental flitting about inside the vial. "Where did you get that!?"

Remora tossed the vial up and down lazily. "Tricky little things to catch. Don't be fooled by the flame, though. This is one fire you don't want to swallow. And you know what these buggers hate even more than being caught? Being separated from each other. First chance to escape and they'll fly straight to their swarm. They'll melt through anything to get back. Even a glass container if it doesn't have the right hexes on it. I hear the reunion can be very…combustible."

Lara charged at Remora, but the witch darted back just out of Lara's reach. "Don't you dare! Do what you want to me, but leave them alone! You hurt them and I swear I'll–!"

Lightning burst off Lara's chains as her eyes began to glow. She screamed and dropped to the floor, twitching as the electricity subdued her. She got to her knees and jumped at Remora. The chains pulled her back, causing her to fall flat on her face. She scrambled upright, blood leaking from her lip.

"Final question," said Remora, leaning down close to Lara. "What do your princess and the blonde's new kid have in common?"

Lara went white as a sheet. "Melody!"

"They're both at the hospital right now. And you…" Remora smiled as she held the vial in front of Lara's face. "You just killed them."

With that Remora threw the vial over her shoulder.

"No!" yelled Lara as she watched the vial fly back and shatter on the wall. The blue wisp buzzed through the air and then zipped out the opening at the end of the hall.

Remora laughed as Lara struggled desperately against her shackles. "Ha ha ha! That's it! That's what I wanted to see! The anger! The despair! The pain!" She threw her head back and laughed hysterically, electricity arcing across her body.

Lara snarled as she pulled hard as she could against the chains. "Remora! You monster! You demon!" Fire sprung up on her arms, only to be extinguished as her bindings electrocuted her again.

Remora shivered as Lara dropped to the ground. "Ooh, say it again! Say my name!"

Lara glared up at her. "Remora!"

Remora laughed. "That one gave me the chills!" She turned and walked out of the cell, her sword reforming into her signature scythe. "Much as I'd love to stay, I'm going to find a seat for the show! Better find a way out quickly! Those humans aren't as fireproof as you!" She cut through the air with her scythe, causing a black tear to appear. It widened to form a lightning-ringed portal.

"I'll kill you!" shouted Lara as Remora walked up to the portal. "You hear me!? I'll find you and I'll kill you!"

"Not if you die first, brat!" Remora said, giving a little wave before stepping through the portal.

Lara forced magic into her legs as the portal closed behind Remora. She started to push hard, only to scream as she was electrocuted again.


A/N: "Buried Beneath" by Red

Melody followed Ariel and her aunts out of the hospital and into the night. The stars were beginning to vanish as dark storm clouds rolled in from the mountains, bringing the promise of a final spring rain. The activity outside had not slowed in the least. The victims of the attack were no longer being brought into the hospital, as the available rooms had been filled. Now they were being filed into the growing sprawl of medical tents, waiting for their turn to be tended to.

"Have the carriage brought around," said Ariel to a guard. "We'll be returning to the palace."

"Yes, your majesty," said the guard, throwing a salute before jogging off to perform his duties.

A small light flickered in the corner of Melody's eye. She stopped and turned to it, and for a brief moment she saw a speck of vivid blue dart through the air for the hospital doors and then vanish. She blinked several times. Was that real? Or were her tired eyes playing tricks on her in the night?

Ariel noticed Melody's wandering gaze and stopped. "Melody? Did you see something?"

Melody shook her head. "It was nothing." She turned away, walking back to Ariel as they went to rejoin her aunts. "Must've been my imag–."

A deafening blast of heat, force, and sound slammed into Melody from behind, throwing her and Ariel forward. She felt herself roll over the dirt and grass, losing all sense of up and down until she came to a stop with the lawn pressing against her back. Her ears rang and her head throbbed as she lay still, confused by what just happened. Her vision was blurry, swimming in and out of focus too fast for her to see anything.

Melody blinked as strong hands grabbed her arms and hauled her upright. She got her legs under her as she was pulled away by the hands. She saw swathes of dancing blue light before her and dark images running across them. The light flashed, and then a second wall of heat and force struck her, bowling Melody and her supporters over. Melody went head over heels and sprawled on her stomach. She lay there for a moment before slowly getting on her hands and knees, her vision returning to normal.

The hospital was burning.

The bottom floor was enveloped in bright blue fire. Every window and doorway spewed the sapphire flames, shattering glass and splintering wood from the heat. It was so hot Melody struggled to look straight at it. People ran screaming out of the hospital covered in the flames as others chased after to try and extinguish them. Others began racing to find water and buckets. Horses neighed and reared in fright, some breaking away and running off into the night. A couple charged through the tent city, leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake.

"Fire!" someone shouted. "Fire! Fire!"

"We need water!" another person yelled. "Hurry! It's spreading!"

Melody stood up, staring in horrified confusion as smoke began to rise. A peal of thunder sounded in the distance. What happened? A moment ago, everything was normal. Normal as it could be, at least. Now the hospital was turning into a bonfire before her eyes! They were just in there! If they left even a moment later…!

Ariel! Where was her mother? Where was Ariel? Where were her aunts? Melody spun around, scanning wildly for any sign of them. She was just behind them a moment ago! Now they were gone, lost amidst the crowds of running people.

"Mom!" she shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Mom! Aunt Andrina! Aunt Alana! Where are you!?"

"Melody!"

Melody spun around. A pair of men ran by to reveal Ariel sitting on the ground surrounded by her sisters, wincing as she pressed a hand to her forehead. Alana and Adella had scuffs on their palms, and there were grass stains and dirt smeared across everyone's dresses. Melody ran to them. "Mom, are you okay!?"

Ariel nodded despite the bleeding cut on her forehead. "I knocked my head on something, but I'm okay!"

Bells began to sound out the alarm. Smoke was now coming out the second story windows. People began jumping out of windows, risking injury from the fall over certain death from the flames. A man attempted the leap, only to have a burp of blue flames intercept him as he fell. He hit the ground encased in fire, screaming as he rolled about in the grass. The flames jumped to the vegetation, spreading out like spilled oil set alight. Men ran to him with heavy blankets and smothered him, only to have the fire ignite the blankets.

Alana looked to the hospital as the fire grew. "What happened!? Did anyone see what happened!?"

"I don't–!" Ariel paused, wincing as a sharp pain struck her head. "I don't know! We were walking out and then…this!"

Melody looked up at her aunts. "Is anyone else hurt?"

"No!" said Attina. "We're all fine! All…!" She suddenly stopped, pointing to each sister as she counted them off. "Oh no…!"

Melody looked around, not understanding the look of cold dread that gripped Attina or why she had to count through her five sisters a second time.

That same dread now took hold of Melody. Five. There were five of her six aunts here.

Attina spun back to the burning hospital. "Arista's still in there!"

Before anyone could stop her Ariel bolted to her feet and ran back towards the hospital, only to stagger when another crippling head pain struck her. A pair of men saw her and rushed over, seizing Ariel before she could go any further.

"Let me go!" pleaded Ariel as they dragged her away from the flames.

"You mustn't, your majesty!" said one of the men. "It's too dangerous!"

"I have to go!" Ariel protested, struggling against them. "My sister's in there!"

A third explosion tore through the bottom floor of the hospital, spitting jets of searing blue out the windows and main doorway. Ariel and the men were blown backwards, their faces reddened by the heat. Ariel sat up, staring horrified at the entrance as the awning above it collapsed, blocking it with a wall of flaming debris. She started towards it but stopped. She would burn to death before she even made it halfway through.

"Arista!" she screamed, the fire reflecting in her eyes as tears began to fall.


Eric leapt up from his desk. "What do you mean the hospital is on fire!?"

"It's as I said!" Grimsby managed to gasp out, leaning against the doorway as his legs shook. The aged advisor ran all the way from the bottom floor to deliver the news. "It just burst into flames! Blue flames!"

Eric was out the door before he realized he was moving. The halls were a blur as he ran for the east side of the palace. He needed a window. Any would do, so long as it gave him a view.

He got his wish around the next corner. The glass was shattered from Lara's magic, but Eric did not notice as he thrust his head out. From this high he had an unobstructed view across all of Seahaven. And there, in the distance, he saw the glowing outline of the former Avitas mansion. Even without a spyglass Eric could recognize the firelight, but of an ominous blue shade. It reminded him of the legendary Saint Elmo's Fire that graced the masts of ships at sea.

Grimsby ran up beside Eric, his large eyes widening as he beheld the burning building. "By the graces! It's true!"

A flash of fire surged from the hospital, causing the glow to intensify for a brief moment. Eric gripped the sill of the window tightly. Ariel was over there. Ariel was in that hospital, along with all her sisters and newborn niece or nephew. And countless citizens of Seahaven as well, not including the hundreds more of hospital staff. They needed to act fast, or the death toll from today was about to take a disastrous leap.

Eric spun away from the window and ran towards the tower stairs. "Grims, send every able-bodied soldier over there right now! Get that fire out!"

"Your majesty, where are you going!?" called Grimsby as he ran after him. "Those stairs don't lead to the main gates!"

"I'm not going to the gates!" Eric leapt onto the railing, riding it down to the bottom and dismounting without breaking stride. "I'm going to the dungeons!"


Remora smirked under her mask as she leaned back against one of the Emerald Wood's many trees that flanked the Avitas estate. She was a good three hundred yards away from the hospital, the light of the fire barely reaching her. She watched the flames work their way deeper into the bottom floor and begin climbing up to the second. People were scrambling about in panic, most fleeing from the fire as a scarce few tried to find something to fight it with. They were just now getting a single fire line going for water.

She chuckled to herself as she watched one of the men try to fling a bucket of water at the flames. The blue fire sputtered and hissed, but then it roared back to life at the man. He fell backwards, abandoning his bucket as he ran away in fear.

"Hurry up, Lara," she sang out loud. "Come see what you started!"


Lara screamed as she pulled against the chains. Electricity continually zapped her, yet she kept going in spite of it. "Let me out! You have to let me out!"

Lara thought someone would come in by now with how she was hollering, but she heard nothing from the stairs. No lock turning. No door opening. No boots on stone. There was only her voice and the rattle of her chains.

"Please!" Lara pleaded. "The hospital's a bomb! She's gonna kill them!"

A surge of lightning from the chains hit Lara hard enough to drop her to her knees. Her face scrunched up in pain as her skin smoked. She was impervious to the heat of lightning, but not to the current or voltage. She knew she was gambling with her life by trying to overpower it. A strong enough bolt could stop her heart or fry her brain. She was already running on fumes after the marina. But she was not thinking about that. All she could think of was Melody, Ariel, and all those people screaming as they were burned alive inside that building.

That was not some colored flame Remora had. That was a spooklight wisp. A lower fire spirit said to haunt sites of great tragedies. The greater the sadness, despair, and suffering associated with the site, the greater the number of wisps that would congregate there. Graveyards, battlefields, and prisons were favorite environments for them, the wisps feeding off the negative emotions saturating those places. How Remora was able to catch a swarm much less one wisp she could only guess, but if she placed them in the hospital then that little wisp would fly straight there. And when it found its swarm, it would start a chain reaction that generated a flame hot enough to melt steel. With the amount of flammable materials inside the hospital, she would be lucky if the initial explosion did not bring the whole building down.

She turned around and grabbed her chains, pressing her feet and tail against the wall as she pulled with all her might. Veins bulged under her skin as her face turned red. Her magic surged out into her body to empower it, and the enchanted chains retaliated in kind. Lara bit back her scream as she fought through the pain, but then the electricity overwhelmed her and she dropped to the floor.

She rolled over and punched her fists against the stones. She hollered over and over as she kept hitting the floor, oblivious to the bleeding from her knuckles and fingers. She screamed and hit the floor one last time before she rocked forward, eyes squeezed shut as she pressed her head into the ground.

"I'm sorry, everyone!" she shouted. "I'm so freakin' sorry! I didn't know!"

There was a loud banging as the dungeon door was flung open. "Where is she!? Where's Lara!?"

Lara looked up. That was Eric's voice!

"Last cell on the right!" said a guard. "But she's–wait, your majesty!"

"Stay here!"

"We can't just–!"

"That is an order! Stay here!"

Lara stood as she heard footsteps flying down the stairs and saw the approaching glow of firelight. Seconds later Eric all but skidded to a stop in front of her cell, a lantern in his right hand and breathing hard.

"Eric? What're you doing here?" asked Lara.

"Did you do it?!" demanded Eric.

Lara stared at him in confusion. "Do what? What's happening!?"

"Did you set the hospital on fire!? Did you do it!?"

Lara's face blanched. She staggered backwards, staring at the ground as she muttered. "She did it! She really did it!"

Eric ran up to the cell and grabbed the bars, shaking them roughly. He completely missed that the door was open. "Did you do it!?"

"No!" shouted Lara.

"Swear to me!" demand Eric, pressing his face to the bars. "Swear to me it wasn't you!"

"It wasn't me!" Lara yelled. "On my name, I swear I didn't do it! It was Remora!"

"Remora!?" Eric exclaimed. "How could–!?"

Lara ran to the ends of her chains, leaning as far towards Eric as she could. "She was here! She was right here! She used magic to get in! She tried to get me to betray you! When I shot her down, she set the hospital on fire as retaliation!"

"Where is she?" demanded Eric. "Where's Remora now!?"

Lara clenched her fists hard. "I don't know! She left through some kind of portal!"

Eric looked around the dungeon. "Where is Melody?! I thought she went to see you!"

"She did! But then she went to see Arista's kid!" said Lara.

Now it was Eric who blanched. "Are you…are you saying she's at the hospital too!?"

Lara scowled, gritting her teeth harshly. "I don't have time for this! I've gotta get out of here!" She turned around and faced the wall, setting her feet wide a she pulled her chains tight. "Tempgah!"

She barely got the word halfway out when lightning hit her full force. Lara screamed as she dropped on her back, convulsing as electricity paralyzed her. Then it stopped, leaving Lara groaning on the ground.

"How long ago did she leave!?" said Eric.

Lara pushed herself upright. "Long enough! She's gotta be there by now!" She got to her feet and suddenly charged at the door, only to have the chains painfully jerk her back. Lara ran again, only to have the same thing happen. "Don't stand there! Let me out! I have to stop it!"

"The soldiers are heading there right now!" said Eric. "They'll handle it!"

"They won't make it in time and you know it! And this won't be normal fire! It's too hot for them to handle!" said Lara. She backed up to the wall and then ran again, only to have the chains stop her dead. "For crying out loud, Eric! Help me!"

Eric did not move. He watched as Lara charged the door again, and again, and again, only to have the chains stop her each time. He saw blood where the manacles were cutting into her wrists and ankles, but she did not stop. Lara kept going until one final rush laid her out on the ground. She lay there panting, staring at the ceiling before she pressed her hands over her eyes, as though she could hold back her tears of guilt, despair, and frustration with them.

"It's my fault," Lara said. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't turned her down…if I'd just gone along with her this wouldn't have happened!"

Eric stepped into the doorway to the cell. "Why?"

Lara lowered her hands to look up at him. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I told you I didn't start the fire!" yelled Lara.

"No, I mean why are you still trying to help us? We're not your real family. This isn't your real home. We've never done more than thank you for all the times you saved us. Yet you keep risking your life for us. You're still trying to protect us, even after Triton tried to kill you and I threw you in here. So why? Why do you try so hard and risk so much?"

Lara stared at Eric a moment. "Yeah, you did that. Gotta be honest, I'm pretty pissed at you for it. And you're right. You're not my family, and this isn't my home. I don't share a drop of blood with any of you." She groaned as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, and then slowly got up. She walked forward until the chains went slack, and then kept pulling against them. "So what?"

Lara turned and grabbed the chains to her wrists. She set her heels against the ground and began to pull hard. Her hair flickered as her magic reacted, and then the chains responded. Lara bit back a scream as the lightning jumped across her, but she did not fall.

"So what if we don't share blood?" she grunted through her teeth as she kept pulling despite the lightning. "So what if I'm just a hired sword? So what if your wife's a mermaid? So what if your daughter's related to the bastard that killed my dad? And so what if I deserve to be in these chains? Doesn't change what I need to do!"

Lara pulled even harder, causing the lightning to intensify. Half a scream slipped past her lips before she caught it, eyes squeezed shut as her feet slid against the floor for grip. Her skin was smoking in earnest now. A thick bolt of lightning jumped off a manacle to Lara's left leg, dropping her to one knee as she shook.

"Lara, stop!" said Eric. "You're going to kill yourself!"

"I don't care!" Lara yelled. There was a loud pop from her left shoulder, yet she did not let up. "I'm not doing this for some promise! And not because it's my job!"

Eric looked to the wall and saw a piece of dust fall from it. Was he imagining things, or were the bolts for the chains moving? Those bolts were embedded a full two feet into the walls and braced with crossbeams! You could hold a boat in place with one!

Lara screamed as the chain's enchantment magnified even further in their attempt to subdue her. Her limbs were shaking from exertion and the manacles were digging painfully deep into her limbs. Blood was dripping off her wrists to the floor. But she refused to stop.

For some reason, Eric found himself remembering the day they swore Lara in as Melody's guardian.


Eric walked over to Lara until he was standing right in front of her, beckoning her to lean close. Lara lent him her ear, curious what he had to say that needed to be private.

"I know we've asked a lot of you already," he whispered. "But I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

Eric placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel the anxiety in his grip. "I don't know how this is going to play out. I hope we'll resolve this whole mess soon. But if things turn for the worse, promise me you'll protect my family. No matter what happens, keep them safe. Even if it means leaving me behind."

Lara looked at him and nodded. "I'll do everything in my power to protect them. You have my word."


Eric ran back to the bars. "Answer my question! Why would you go this far for us!?"

"Because you're my friends!" Lara yelled over the crackle of electricity. "Because I want to keep you all safe! Not just you, and Mel, and Ariel, and all her sisters and those kids! It's everyone in this kingdom! Because I'm sick of losing the people I care about! Because I'm not gonna add those people to my body count! And because it's the right…!"

The chain to Lara's right wrist began to creak and groan. A crack formed in one of the links.

"Damn…thing…!"

The cracked link began to spread apart.

"To…do!"

Lara yelled at the top of her lungs as she gave one final pull. The cracked link shattered, sending the chain whipping towards the bars. Eric jumped back as it struck, covering his face as sparks went flying. Lara fell to the ground gasping for air, chest heaving and body smoking as though she had been holding her breath inside an oven. She shakily raised her right hand up, seeing where the chain had broken.

"One…down…" she panted. She slowly sat upright and grabbed the chain to her left hand. "Three more…to go."

Eric ran into the cell, grabbing Lara's hand before she could start pulling. "What are you doing!?" Lara demanded as she started pulling. "Get outta my way!"

"Can you do it?" asked Eric.

Lara stopped pulling and looked at him. "Huh?"

"Can you do it?" Eric repeated. "Can you save them?"

Lara looked at Eric. "I don't know! But I've gotta try! And I can't do that if I'm stuck in these chains!"

Eric fished into his cummerbund, pulling out the small brass key to Lara's manacles. "Then you're going to need this!"


"Where is his majesty!?" shouted Grimsby as people went running about the palace. "Has anyone seen his majesty!?"

"Aaaaah! It's a monster!"

The loud scream from the hall made Grimsby spin like a top. He saw a large shadow approaching quickly, growing larger as its owner raced down the hall. Moments later Lara came sprinting towards him. There were no chains on her. The only trace of her bindings were the raw sores around her wrists and ankles.

Grimsby paled. "Escape! Anclagon has escaped!"

A trio of guards rushed towards Lara, drawing their swords. "Halt!"

Lara ignored them and kept going. They were almost in swinging range when she suddenly crouched and leapt high into the air. The watched with open awestruck mouths as her wings unfurled wide as she flew straight for one of the blown-out windows overlooking the sea. She crossed her arms in front of her face and tucked her wings in just before she dove through, snapping off shards of glass from the frame.

Grimsby ran to the window, watching as Lara spread her wings and flew out over the ocean. She gave a deep flap and then banked towards the east. "How did she get out!? We had chains on her! After her! After her this instant!"

"She didn't escape, Grims!"

Grimsby turned around to see Eric now running to him. In his hands were the manacles that once held Lara, a key stuck in one of the locks. It took Grimsby all of two seconds to realize what Eric had done. "Sire! What have you done!? Do you realize what she could do now that she's free!?"

"That's exactly what I'm banking on!" said Eric.

He started to run to the stables, but then stopped and looked at the chains in his hand. A scowl set on his face, and then he looked back at the window. He ran towards it as fast as he could, whirling the chains in his hands. Just as he reached the window, he gave the chains a hard spin and then flung them out. They sailed through the air, twisting and slithering over themselves before they splashed into the sea, sinking into the depths to rust away.

"Grims?" said Eric as he watched the chains disappear.

Grimsby ran over to his side. "Yes, sire?"

"You once told me that fear can make foes out of our friends. Am I remembering that right?"

Grimsby looked at the dark waters. "I…yes, I believe so."

Eric turned and clapped a hand on Grimsby's shoulder before running off. "Don't let me make that mistake again!"


Lara beat her wings furiously as she rounded the palace. She was not as fast as she was back in the marina, and her body was aching and exhausted from the repeated electrocutions and lack of food. Her skin was not healing as quickly as before. But she was still faster and stronger than anything with wings, and capable of proving it. The air was roaring in her ears, hair trailing out behind her.

The hospital stood out like a lighthouse in the dark. It had the same blue glow as the wisp Remora showed her. Even from miles away Lara could see the flames had already consumed the bottom of the hospital and were now working their way into the second floor.

"Hang on, guys!" she said. "I'm coming!"

She drew her wings up and beat them down hard, sending her shooting forward like an arrow. A flash of lightning from the approaching thunderheads lit the night, its booming voice following seconds later.


Melody and Ariel watched with the princesses as fire lines began pouring water onto the flames, trying to keep it from spreading beyond the hospital. The buckets flew up and down fast as hands could move, sloshing water in their panic. Others had grabbed shovels and were flinging dirt onto it, trying to smother the fire. The flames were now in the second floor, driving those trapped up to the third and fourth floors. The heat only increased as the fire grew. Billowing smoke rose into the sky, catching the eerie blue light. Burn victims were being added to the day's injured and casualties.

Melody gripped her skirt, knuckles white as she watched a trio of men heap dirt onto a section of burning grass. She wanted to help. She wanted to do something. To fill buckets. To smother flames. To throw dirt. She would blow on it if that helped at all. Not stand here and watch helplessly. But no one would let her anywhere near the fires. She tried twice already, only to be pushed back or restrained. The danger was too high, and no man in Seahaven was about to let their beloved princess take that risk.

A man ran up to a blazing window with a bucket of water, flinging it through the opening. Instead of dousing it the flames flared, shooting out and igniting the man. He screamed and dropped his bucket, running away as he began to burn.

Melody moved without thinking about it. She ran past a man carrying blankets and a bucket. She snagged one of the blankets and dunked it in his bucket before dashing straight for the man. He batted at the fires as they began to burn to his skin, falling to the ground. Melody unfurled the blanket as she approached.

"Don't move!" she shouted as she threw the blanket over him and began furiously patting him down. He either did not hear her or was in too much pain to comply, thrashing about under the wet cloth. His hand smacked her across the face on accident, but she barely noticed it. "I said don't move!"

She could feel the heat of the fire under the blanket, but also heard the rewarding hiss of extinguishing flames. The man's flailing began to lessen as the smoke from under the blanket waned. Seconds later he was out, groaning as the pain of his burns set in.

Another explosion rocked the hospital, causing Melody to look up. A window above her had blown out, hurling hot melted glass outwards. Melody saw it hanging in the air like searing rain, and then it started falling towards her. She considered grabbing the blanket and using it to shield herself, but that would leave the burned man completely vulnerable. She threw her arms up and looked away, bracing for the pain to come.

"Mel!"

Melody opened her eyes and saw Lara come tearing through the air like a missile. She hit the ground and skidded up to Melody, grabbing her and then forcing her down. Her wings circled around them and the downed man in a protective dome. The glass hit her wings and beaded on it like water, rolling down harmlessly. Then Lara rose and flung her wings out, spraying the scalding glass back into the flames.

"You okay!?" asked Lara as she pulled Melody to her feet, quickly looking her over. "You hurt!?"

Melody gaped at her. "Lara, you…how!?"

"Thank your dad!" said Lara as she swaddled the injured man in the blanket and picked him up. She spread her left wing out, forming a shade over Melody. "Stay under me!"

Melody followed Lara as she carried the man away from the fires, keeping under her wing lest another explosive blast go off. When they were far enough away Lara set the man down. Ariel came running over moments later, a pair of armed guards behind her.

"Lara!" said Ariel, both surprised and relieved to see her. "How did you get here!?"

"Eric, that's how!" said Lara, glancing at the cut on Ariel's head. "What happened here? Where's everyone else?"

Before Ariel could say anything else the guards moved in front of her, drawing their swords as they squared up against Lara. The fire provided more than enough light for Melody and Lara to see the fear and suspicion in their eyes.

"Stay behind us, your majesty!" said one of the guards, brandishing his rapier at Lara. "You, whatever you are! Step away from the princess now!"

Lara was about to speak when Melody stepped in front of her, spreading her arms defensively. "Put down your swords! Both of you! She's not the enemy!"

"She's an escaped prisoner!" said the other guard.

"Hardly an escape when it's the king who lets you go!" said Lara.

Another violent blast ripped through the hospital's second floor, spewing glass, nails, and all manner of flaming debris outwards. Lara instinctively flung her wings out, protecting the group from a shower of flaming wood. They bounced off her into the grass, but some of the flames lingered on her wings.

Suddenly Lara let out a yell of pain, beating her wings frantically. She danced back from Melody, grimacing as she tried to dislodge the flames from her.

"Lara!? Lara, what's wrong!?" asked Melody.

"It hurts!" Lara exclaimed, clearing the last of the fire off her. "It hurts!"

Lara gave her wings another flap and then tilted them down, giving her a view of their exterior. There were smoking raw ulcers on the membrane, as though she had been branded with a hot iron. Melody and Ariel's eyes widened just as large as Lara's. Those were burns! Deep, painful burns!

"I thought you were fireproof!" said Melody in alarm.

"I am!" said Lara, watching as the burns slowly began closing. "This shouldn't happen!" She turned to the fire, extending her hands towards it. "Gotta end this fast! Otempro!"

Melody had never heard Lara use that command before. But given the distress and confusion that appeared on Lara's face when nothing happened, she could assume it had not worked.

"What the…otempro!" Lara shouted again, thrusting her hands towards the fire. The flames continued burning their way through the structure, ignoring her completely. "Defammo! Dormo! Listen to me!"

A spout of fire blasted through a section of the second floor, blowing out part of the wall. One of the fire lines scattered to avoid the raining debris. Lara stepped back, looking at her hands. "It's not working! Why isn't it working!?"

"Get off me!"

"You can't go in there!"

"My wife is in there!"

Melody, Ariel, and Lara turned to see a muscular blonde man being held back by four other men. He was as strong as he was desperate if the skid marks left by the heels of the other men were any indication. His left hand was wrapped in cloth.

"Wait, that's–!" Melody ran over to him. "August!"

The man stopped his struggling when he recognized her. "Melody! Where's Arista!? Have you seen Arista!?"

Melody's pained expression did nothing to ease his fears. "She…she's still in the hospital!"

Lara spun towards the burning building. "You mean Arista's inside that!?"

August pushed towards the building with renewed desperation, the men restraining him digging their feet into the earth. "Arista! Arista, I'm coming!"

"Someone help us!" called one of the men holding him back. Three others quickly rushed over, grabbing August's torso and hips. The new men were enough to hold him back, and then they all tripped forward. They fell into the churned dirt of the road, the men piling on August before he could escape.

"Get off me!" yelled August as he frantically thrashed about. "I can't leave them!"

"It's too late!" pleaded one of the men.

One of the windows on the third floor was suddenly blasted out by a flare of blue fire. Renewed screams came from the hospital, and from the horrified onlookers. The fire had reached the third floor.

"I'm sorry!" said one of the men, cringing as the flames spread further. "There's nothing you can do!"

August's mouth fell open as his struggling stopped. "No! Arista! Our baby! Please…please no!"

Lara looked at the flames as they quickly spread through the third floor. It was climbing fast. If Arista was up there, she would be dead in a matter of minutes. The stairs would either be collapsed or too weak to support a human's weight. Even drenched in water and wearing heavy leather, and assuming the smoke did not asphyxiate them, any normal person who tried to go in would be incinerated in seconds. There was nothing they could do

But Lara was not normal. And there was still something she could do. She ran over to August and knelt in front of him. "What floor are they on!?"

The men holding August backed away like oil from soap, repulsed by Lara's appearance. "It's a demon!" one of them shouted.

Melody knew Lara heard them, but she paid them no heed. "Where is Arista!?"

August gaped at Lara with both amazement and terror in his eyes. "Y-y-you…!"

Lara grabbed August by his shirt, hauling him to his feet as if he were a child. "August! Where are they!?"

"Third floor!"

Lara and August turned to see Ariel pointing at the hospital. "She's on the third floor! The north hall, second room from the end!"

"Got it! Third, north, second!" Lara released August as she spread her wings and then took off. She shot straight into the air and then did a sharp loop before flying straight at the fire, diving through a window.

Ariel clasped her hands together, watching where Lara went in. She had never been one for praying, but now seemed as good a time as any to start. "Please find her! Please!"


Lara tucked and rolled as she entered the room. It was already filling with smoke. Whoever had been using the beds was gone, no doubt moving to the top floor and away from the flames. It would only forestall the inevitable. She ran at the door and threw her shoulder into it, snapping it off its hinges and flinging it into the hallway. The corridor was crawling with blue fire and it was spreading fast, smoke wafting up from the stairwell. The heat was intense, though easily bearable for Lara. The hall was completely empty. She had to move fast. At the rate and heat this fire was burning with, it would be a matter of minutes before the floor was consumed.

She ran down the hall, wincing as the flames and embers licked her skin. "Arista! Arista!"

A burst of blue flame shot out a door in front of her, blocking Lara's path. She shielded her face on instinct as it singed the tips of her fingers. Lara yelled in pain and snatched her hands back, looking at her blistered skin.

"Arista, where are you!?" shouted Lara, cupping her hands to her mouth.

A baby's cry reached her ears over the crackle of burning wood and sounds of breaking glass. She chased after it, darting past flames and dodging falling pieces of ceiling. She reached a door and pounded it. Second from the end, just like Ariel said. "Arista!"

"Help!" cried a familiar female voice from inside. "I'm trapped!"

"Hold on!" Lara stood back and then kicked at the door. The first time it held, but the second time she went even harder, breaking it cleanly in half.

The room was starting to burn. Blue fire was climbing through the floorboards and up the wall. Black smoke was filling the ceiling. Arista lay curled up on her bed, sheets pulled over her legs and a swaddled newborn clutched to her chest.

"Found you!" Lara said with relief.

Arista took one look at Lara and screamed. She backed up to the headboard, clutching her crying baby close. "Get away! Don't come near me!"

Lara ran over to Arista. The princess pulled her baby even closer, swinging one arm frantically at Lara to keep her back. Lara caught her wrist with her tail and seized Arista's face in her hands.

"Don't hurt her!" Arista cried, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't hurt my baby!"

"Arista, look at me!" said Lara, giving a Arista a small but firm shake. "Look at me!"

Arista opened her eyes, tears running down her face as she stared at Lara. "Please!" she whimpered. "Please don't hurt her! I'm begging you!"

"Listen! To! Me!" Lara annunciated, shaking her harder this time. "I am not gonna hurt you! Or your baby! I'm here to rescue you! I'm gonna get you out of here! You understand?"

Arista blinked at her. She was so scared Lara could feel her body quivering. Then she sniffled and nodded.

"Okay!" Lara gave her the best smile she could manage, trying to put her at ease. "Come on! I know you're tired, but you've gotta run!"

Arista shook her head, hacking as she started to inhale smoke. "I *cough* I can't! My *cough cough* my legs!"

"What about your legs?" asked Lara. Arista held up her hand. There was a cracked black ring around her middle finger, and a large red burn across her wrist. "Wait, isn't that–!?"

Arista coughed again. "When the fire *cough* the fire started…it got *cough* got my hand! I lost *cough* I lost my legs!"

Lara ripped back the sheets covering Arista's lower half. Instead of legs, Arista had her crimson mermaid tail back. She would not be running anywhere. Lara swore as a shower of blue sparks sprayed out from the wall. She threw her wing out, defending Arista from them. She hissed as they singed her wings.

"Plan B then! I'll carry you both!" Lara grabbed the bedsheet and tore two long strips off it, then ran to the water basin and dunked them in before handing them to Arista. "Hold one over the kid's mouth and nose! Use the other for yourself! Breathe slow and even!"

Arista took the cloth as Lara grabbed the water basin and dumped it over her and the baby. It was not much, but even a small deterrent against the fire could make a difference. She was just picking Arista up when a cracking and groaning sound caused them to look up. The roof was sagging down, raining dust and embers onto the bed. They could see blue light leaking through the cracks. The fire was above them now.

Lara yanked Arista off the bed as the roof began to succumb. She sprinted for the door, barely getting out before the whole room collapsed on itself. A burst of blue fire chased after them, sweeping over Lara's back. She cried out as it burned her, but she kept hold of Arista and the baby.

"You hurt?" Lara shouted over the roar of the flames.

Arista looked up at Lara, shaking her head as she kept the wet cloth plastered over her nose and mouth. Already the water was steaming off her skin.

"Keep yourself and the kid covered!" said Lara as she hoisted Arista into her arms. "I'll get us out of here!"

More groaning and creaking caused Lara to look to the end of the hall. The roof began to sag just as it had in the room. Lara turned and started running as it came down behind her, chasing her deeper into the burning building. Eventually it stopped, leaving a wall of flaming wreckage blocking the way back.

"Not that way," she muttered. She turned and started running again, evading more debris and fire. She ran for the room she came through, but suddenly fire burst up through the floor. Lara skidded to a stop as flames filled the room and the hallway, cutting off her exit. She turned to run again when more debris fell from the ceiling, blocking her way.

"We're trapped!" cried Arista through the wet cloth.

The baby cried loudly, its little arms flailing inside its blanket. Arista cradled it close, speaking softly as she hid her fear as best as possible.


"Mom, what's going on?" asked Lara as she saw the flashes of gunfire out her window. "Who are those men?"

"Bad men! We have to hide!" said her mother as she ushered Lara towards a closet. She followed Lara in, closing the door behind her. "You have to be quiet, Lara! Don't make a sound!"

Lara clutched her mother's dress as she heard someone banging on their door. "I'm scared, mom!"

Her mother knelt down, holding Lara close. She soothingly stroked her hair as the door was broken down. "I know, baby. I know."


Lara grimaced and then breathed in. The sparks stung her throat and lungs like thousands of needles, but she inhaled anyway.

"Tempes-ta!" she exhaled at the debris, releasing a pressurized blast of air. The debris was blown away, strewn down the burning hall. Lara quickly ran through, looking for anything that would give them a way out.

A sound of breaking glass reached her ears. She turned around and saw a plume of flame burst out a door. It filled the hallway like water, rushing straight towards them. Arista screamed, shielding her baby with her arms.

"Hold your breath!" said Lara as she clamped a hand over the baby's mouth and cocooned her wings around them.


Melody watched the burning building with bated breath. It had barely been two minutes since Lara went in, but it was two minutes too long. Every worst-case scenario was playing itself on a loop in her head. What if they were trapped under a pile of rubble? Or the floor gave out beneath them? Or another burst of flame caught them?

There was a flash of light and an explosion as billowing blue flames shot through all the third-floor windows. Melody looked away and shielded her face against the heat. She turned back and saw the flames burning even more intensely in the third floor.

Suddenly Lara came leaping out a third story window, her wings covered in blue flames. She rolled over in the air and then spread her wings, slowing her descent but still falling fast. Arista was in her arms, and the baby in Arista's. She hit the ground back first, bouncing hard as she kept Arista and the newborn unharmed.

"I got them!" shouted Lara over the baby's crying. "I got Arista!"

Melody ran to Lara along with Ariel and August. Ariel quickly took the wailing baby as August picked his wife up, holding her close. Both cried as they hugged tightly.

"I thought I lost you!" he said, squeezing Arista as though she might fade away at any moment.

"So did I!" said Arista as August set her down.

August looked at her tail. "What happened?! Where are your legs!?"

"I *cough* I burned my hand! When that happened, the magic wore off and the ring broke!" Arista whipped her head around. "The baby! Is–!?"

"I have her!" Ariel said, rushing over with the infant. Carefully she handed the baby over to its parents. "She's a bit smoky, but I think she's okay!"

"Aaaaah!"

Everyone suddenly remembered Lara as they heard her screaming. She was beating her wings furiously against the ground, trying to put the fires out. It only served to spread the flames into the grass. Melody looked around for something to smother the flames with, but there was nothing.

"Davoro!" Lara shouted. The blue flames spiraled off her wings and the ground and into her mouth. Lara swallowed and then groaned as she rolled over onto all fours. New burns adorned her wings, back, and legs, acrid smoke rising from them.

"Arista!"

Melody, Ariel, and Lara turned around to see Attina, Aquata, and Andrina running their way. Alana was close behind, supporting a limping Adella with her shoulder. The three sisters ran over to Arista, hugging her tightly.

"We thought you were dead!" said Andrina. "Both of you!"

"I almost was!" said Arista.

Attina separated, cupping her sisters face. "Thank goodness you're all right! How did you–?" her words cut off when she saw Lara get to her feet. She stood up, backing away sharply. "What is she doing here!?"

"Nice to see you too, Attina!" said Lara, coughing as she leaned on her knees. "Don't mind me! Just saving your sister! That's–!"

Suddenly Lara let out a scream, clutching at her chest. A sharp pain tore through her insides, as though she swallowed a set of knives. She dropped to her knees as she heaved and retched.

"Lara!" Melody ran over to her, kneeling as Lara kept coughing. "Lara, what's–?"

Lara lurched forward, catching herself on one hand as a coughing fit wracked her body. She covered her mouth with her other hand as her coughs turned wet and heavy. Melody saw dark fluid leak through her fingers. Lara kept coughing for a full half minute, barely able to draw breaths in between. When she stopped she sat up, gasping for air. There was blood on her mouth and hand. Ariel covered her own mouth as she gasped.

Melody flinched back from Lara, alarmed by the sight of blood. "Lara…what just happened to you?"

PAG BREAK

Lara stared at her bloodied hand in shock, not hearing Melody's question. This was not fire. It looked, felt, and behaved like fire, but what the spooklight wisps created was something else entirely. When she consumed normal fire, she immediately turned it into magic and energy. It did not matter what kind of flame it was. Chemical, natural, magical, and all in between. When she called out her spells for it, she could feel it respond. She could sense its energy entwining with her will. Whatever those wisps birthed was closer to a living thing than any fire. It refused to respond to her. And like a plant growing spines or storing toxins to prevent it from being eaten, this flame had a defense to deter her from consuming it. It was not just painful. It was poisonous. It harmed her.

Lara looked at the fire, her jaw and hands clenching tight. She just lost the one thing that could end this in a heartbeat! Without her magic or the ability to eat it, she had no way to stop this fire! Not without gravely injuring herself in the process!

"Remora…this was your plan, wasn't it!?" Lara growled under her breath.


Remora could not keep from laughing as she watched Lara double over and cough again. "Now you're getting it! I said you wouldn't want to eat this fire! But if you want to save your friends, you'll have to!"

She pushed off the tree, folding her arms a she stepped out of the shadow. "What's it going to be, brat? Your life, or theirs?"


More screams came from the hospital. Lara looked up and saw people waving their hands frantically from the roof and fourth floor. They had clothes and blankets pressed over their mouths as they tried to keep the smoke from choking them.

"Help!" a man shouted. "Someone help!"

Lara stood up, ignoring the pain in her back and chest. She could not eat the fire or subdue it with magic, but she could still get people out of the building. She crouched down and then leapt up, flying towards–.

An explosion ripped out from the second story, striking Lara dead on. It blasted her backwards, sending her spinning towards the ground. She hit a tent and bounced through it, laying sprawled out on the ground. Immediately the flames jumped off her to the fabric, setting it ablaze. It reached up and licked one of the oil lanterns, causing it to explode in a blue cloud. The flames immediately ignited anything they fell on, propagating the fire further.

"It's in the tents!" someone shouted. "The fire's in the tents!"

Lara quickly got up. She looked around and saw the fire had already spread to ten other tents, igniting anything flammable as it went. People were running in panic, fleeing for their lives or racing to find something to stop the fires. Trapped patients, nurses, and doctors begged for help from the top of the hospital. A corner of the first floor began to sag as its support was corroded.

Lara grimaced as she stared at the fire. There was no putting it out now. It had grown too large and too hot. It was only a matter of time before the flames devoured the hospital in its entirety, or brought it crashing down. Either way, everyone still inside would die. Ariel and Melody were watching the flames, the light reflected in their eyes. So was everyone else, gathered in a crowd to stare in helpless horror as the flames grew ever closer to its next victims, trapped too high for ladders to reach.

They were going to die.


Lara looked around, her face and body smeared with mud and ash. She sloshed through the muddy water, her tail and wings dragging through it as she looked about in appalling confusion. She had no idea what happened. She remembered being in the palace with Yumino, and then she woke up floating in this water. Where was Lao Xan? There was supposed to be an entire city here. There were supposed to be buildings and roads and homes crammed in like trees in a forest. There was supposed to be a harbor filled to the brim with ships. There was supposed to be a tall castle standing at the center, looking out over all of it. The sky was supposed to be crawling with pigeons and sparrows. There was supposed to be men, women, and children filling every street.

There was nothing now. Just a vast, empty crater of glassed earth stretching for miles. Wildfires burned through the wreckage around the perimeter, the black smoke carrying the cries of the living towards a darkening sky. Crows and vultures were beginning to fly in. The torn remains of warships fell into the crater as the sea began to fill it.

"How…?" Lara breathed, spinning about in disbelief. "This can't…this isn't…this can't be happening! Yumino!? Yumino, where are you!? Yumi–!"

She stepped on something sharp, causing her to flinch back. Lara reached into the water and grabbed it, feeling a crusty rounded surface. She grabbed it and pulled it up. The empty sockets of a scorched skull looked up at her from beneath the water. Lara dropped it and recoiled in horror. Her breathing grew quicker as stepped back.

"No…" she uttered, her voice becoming more panicked with each word. "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

The skull bobbed at the surface, its dead gaze lingering on Lara as she grabbed her head and screamed.


Lara stood up, wincing as she tried to breathe. "Fire!" she croaked out, limping towards a pair of men trying to put out a tent. "Hey! I need–!"

The men screamed when they saw her, abandoning the tent to the fire. Lara saw a lantern sitting on the ground inside. She dashed for it, but the blue fire was faster. The lantern exploded, showering burning blue oil outward to the next five tents. Seconds later their own lanterns caught and detonated, spreading the flames.

"No, no, no!" exclaimed Lara, watching as the tent city ignited at breakneck speed. Another blast issued from the hospital as the fourth floor began to burn in earnest. She spread her wings and flew towards it, landing in front of the crowd. She ran towards the hospital but then stopped when a blast of fire spat out at her. She was not going to be able to stop this as she was now. She had to get it all in one go, but she was too weak for that. She needed a flame. A real flame. Even a small one would do.

"Demon!"

Lara turned around to see the crowd of people backing away from her. None of them looked friendly in the least. They looked terrified. A few stepped up front, brandishing whatever they had that could be a weapon.

"It was her!" someone shouted. "She did it!"

"No!" Lara said. "It wasn't me! I swear!"

"She caused the fire!" another person yelled. "She's a demon!"

"I'm not a demon!" Lara yelled. "I can stop this! I just need a fire! Please!"

A rock came flying out from the crowd for Lara. She batted it aside easily with her wing, but not the next one. It glanced off the side of her head, causing her to wince. More rocks began flying, forcing her to shield herself with her wings.

"Leave!"

"Get out of here!"

"Away with you, demon!"

Lara's anger flared. She spread her wings wide and roared at them, her hair and eyes glowing. The crowd quickly backed off, intimidated by the display.

"Do you want them to die!?" Lara yelled angrily. "They're gonna burn! I can save them! I swear it! But only if you help me!"

The sea of faces stared fearfully back at her. People still clutched rocks in their hands, ready to throw at the next provocation.

"Please!" Lara begged, pulling her wings in. "Help me!"

"What do you need!?"

Lara looked to the edge of the crowd. Ariel and Melody ran forward, the two guards following them with a pair of lanterns. They approached Lara without hesitation or fear, stepping past the crowd. The mermaid princesses followed only to the edge, not willing to come any closer.

"What do you need, Lara!?" asked Melody.

"Just tell us!" said Ariel.

"Fire!" said Lara. "Just regular fire! Doesn't matter how large! Anything will do!" She looked at the lanterns the guards were carrying. "Those! The lanterns! Throw them here!"

Ariel grabbed the lanterns, ignoring the hesitant looks from the guards. "When you say throw them, do you mean–?"

"As in literally!" barked Lara. "And now!"

Ariel drew the lanterns back and then threw them towards Lara. They hit the ground in front of her and shattered, bursting into pure orange flames across the ground. Lara stepped into the flames without a second thought. They flared with life, devouring the oil and surrounding grass and then crawling up her legs. They snaked across her body to her face, gathering there. Her hair glowed brighter as the last flames coalesced on her face, and then the fire disappeared to reveal her black faceplate. The teeth parted, showing the glowing heat that now served as her mouth. The crowd backed away even further, terrified of her new appearance. Only Ariel and Melody stayed where they were.

Lara touched her face, feeling the faceplate. Then she walked towards the hospital, stopping within twenty feet of the building. She looked it over top to bottom, seeing blue flame in every window. There was no time left. She needed more fire, but she would not get it. This was all she would be able to manage. And truthfully, she knew it was not enough. For her, at least.

She played this sort of scenario over in her head too many times to even try to count. Imagining herself in some perilous situation where she would have to choose between her life and someone else's. In those fantasies she always made the choice bravely with steadfast sureness. Now, staring down the barrel of the real thing, she hardly felt so composed or heroic. Her hands and legs were trembling, the tip of her tail twitching anxiously. Her heart was racing, each beat loud enough she could hear it over the blaze. She felt sweat dripping down her brow. She was breathing faster. She felt nauseous. She felt that she could break down crying at any moment. She was scared. She did not want to do this. She wanted to turn and run. But she would not run. She would not allow it. Not this time. If this was to be her final stand, then so be it.

After all, she deserved a far worse end than this.


Melody watched Lara stand in front of the hospital, a winged silhouette against the light. Something was wrong. A sense of grim foreboding was growing in her chest. Lara was planning something, and Melody felt it was bad.

Lara sighed, and then she turned around. "Melody…"

It was hard to see Lara's face with the light of the fire framing her, but Melody did not like what she saw in it. There was an immense sadness and fear, as well as sorrowful resignation.

"I'm sorry," Lara said somberly. "Not just to you, but everyone. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I shouldn't have been afraid to, but I was. After everything you've all done for me, I should've trusted you more. Maybe things would've ended differently if I had. Now…now it's too late."

A sense of foreboding gripped Melody. Lara talked as though she were about to leave.

"That poster isn't a fake," said Lara. "I know you think I'm a good person, Mel, but I'm not. I've done terrible things. Things I never told you about. Things that can't be forgiven. I thought I could make amends for them here, but I was just lying to myself so I could run away. Just like I lied to you. It never mattered what I did or how good I tried to be. There's no way I could ever atone."

Melody stepped towards her. "Lara?"

Lara looked towards the coastline, illuminating half of her face. There was a tear streak coming from her eye. "The time I spent with you, and everything we did…it's the happiest I've been in a long, long time. Seahaven was like a dream. One I didn't want to wake up from. But dreams can't last forever. And neither could this."

She gave a sad laugh. "You know, it's funny. Dad told me to find my place in the world. But the only place I ever really belonged was with him. I was starting to think I might belong here too, but…well, that can't happen anymore."

The foreboding Melody felt became outright fear as Lara turned back to the fire. She did not know what it was, but Lara was about to do something as drastic as it was final. "Lara, what are you…?"

"So, Mel…" Lara glanced over her shoulder. "Thanks for letting me be part of your world. At least for a little while. Even if I never deserved it." Lara turned away. "Take care of yourself."

Melody dashed for Lara. "No! Wait!"


Lara looked at the fire, setting her feet wide. She put this off long enough. It was now or never. "Mom. Dad. I'd say I'll see you soon, but I won't be going where you are."

"Don't do it!" shouted Melody as she ran straight for her.

"Davoro!" yelled Lara as she emptied her lungs completely, then arched her head back as she opened her mouth wide. The blue fires of the hospital and tents flew into the air, siphoning together in a vortex overhead before spiraling down into Lara's mouth. Raging wind followed, blowing outwards from her. Melody found herself unable to approach through the heat and air blasting against her, the gusts driving the onlooking crowd back.

The pain was excruciating. Ever nerve Lara had was on fire as she devoured the blue flames. Her lungs felt like they were about to burst. She could feel her body being torn apart inside as the wisps' fire assaulted her. Her heart beat faster and faster till she lost track of the beats. Her skin was burning and splitting. Her eyes and ears felt like they were being stabbed. But she continued, pulling in more and more of the deadly flames.

The fires continued to leave the hospital. The fourth floor went out, and the remainder quickly following suit. The blazing tents were extinguished in seconds, their fires surrendering to Lara's last command. Seconds later the last flames left the hospital altogether, leaving it a burned-out ruin. Even then Lara kept drawing it in, not stopping till the very last spark had been devoured. Through the agony she forced herself to swallow, trapping the fires permanently within her.

There was a flash of blinding intense pain. And then everything went black.


Melody could only watch as the last wisp of flame disappeared down Lara's mouth. The moment she closed her mouth the wind stopped. Lara's faceplate shattered like glass. Then she went limp, collapsing in a heap before the smoking building.

"Lara!" screamed Melody as she ran to her.

"Someone get a doctor!" Ariel shouted as she went after Melody.

Melody dropped to her knees beside Lara, skinning herself on the ground. She hardly noticed it as she picked up Lara's head, cupping her face. She was feverishly hot. Blood leaked from her eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and dozens of deep lacerations and burns across her skin. Her breaths were wet and rasping, filled with crackles and wheezes as she struggled to pull in air.

"What did you do!?" said Melody, panic filling her voice. "Lara, what did you do!?"

Ariel dropped beside Melody, taking one of Lara's hands. "Lara! Lara, wake up!"

Lara suddenly coughed, spewing a thick black liquid across herself and Ariel's hands and arms. She hacked again, coughing up more liquid and now blood as well. Her orange hair turned blue and then gray. Melody ran her hand through it and came away with large chunks of Lara's hair, which crumbled like ash.

"Get out of my way! Move, all of you! I'm a doctor!" A familiar wavy-haired brunette shoved her way through the crowd, elbowing a man aside before running to the downed mage. "Lara!"

"Sarah!" cried Melody, both relieved to see her and scared as more of Lara's hair fell out. "What's happening to her!?"

"I don't know!" said Sarah as she pressed an ear to Lara's chest. "I'm not even sure what she did!"

Sarah opened Lara's mouth, only to let go as Lara coughed up more black fluid and blood. She swore loudly, pulling open her eyelids. Lara's eyes were milky and bloodshot. Sarah's own eyes widened as she drew a sharp breath and placed a finger to Lara's neck.

The sound of hooves grew louder as the crowd parted. Eric rode in on his horse, followed by dozens of guards. He quickly dismounted, running straight to his wife. "Ariel!"

Ariel ran to him, embracing him tightly. "Eric!"

"Thank goodness you're all right!" Eric looked around, seeing the charred hospital and Lara bleeding on the ground, and then the black fluid on Ariel. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" said Ariel. "One moment we were leaving to come back! The next the whole place went up in flames! Then Lara came and…Eric, she's hurt!"

Ariel took his hand, pulling him along as the rest of the princesses gathered round the fallen woman. Aquata and Andrina were barely able to keep from bursting into sobs as Sarah continued her exam. Alana was wringing her hands nervously as Adella stared in shock, hands covering her mouth. Attina stood back from the group, her face ashen. Arista clung to her husband's good hand as she sat on the ground nearby, their baby still crying.

"Come on, Lara!" Melody pleaded as Lara's breaths became desperate gasps. Lara drew one more gasp and then exhaled, her body relaxing as her breathing stopped. She went limp in Melody's hands, blood trickling out her mouth and nose as her head lolled over.

"Lara? Lara!?" Tears began falling down Melody's cheeks as she shook Lara's shoulders. "Lara, breathe! You have to breathe!"

"Move, princess!" Sarah said, quickly pulling Lara off Melody's lap and laying her out flat. Melody stood back as Sarah placed her hands over one another and then began pushing hard on Lara's chest. Blood spurted out her mouth with the first pump. Andrina broke down crying, averting her eyes as Aquata hugged her tightly.

"Someone help me!" Sarah shouted as she kept pushing. "I can't do this on my own!"

The onlookers made no move, shifting uncomfortably as they watched.

"Don't just stand there!" Sarah yelled angrily. "Help me!"

"What do you need?" said Eric as he knelt beside Sarah. The guards followed behind him, watching their king closely.

"She doesn't have a heartbeat! You'll have to pump it for her!" said Sarah as she moved to Lara's head. "Press on her chest just like I did! Both hands over her heart! Keep that rhythm and press hard! When I tell you to, stop pumping and I'll breathe for her! You!" She looked at a guard, who pointed to himself to ask if he was talking to her. "Yes, you! Take his place in one minute! Is the old hospital still standing?"

"It is!" said Eric as he began pushing on Lara's chest. "It wasn't…harmed… in the attack!"

"Then that's where were going!" said Sarah. She pointed at a pair of guards. "One of you go get a wagon! Or a carriage! Something with wheels! The other one rides to the hospital fast as you can! Tell them there's a class one patient incoming! They'll know what it means!"

The guards looked at Sarah, and then at Eric. "Do…as she says!" panted Eric between pumps. "All…of you!"

"Yes sire!" The two guards dispersed to carry out their orders.

"Okay, stop!" said Sarah. Eric let off as Sarah drew in a deep breath. She pinched Lara's nose shut and placed her mouth over hers, pushing air into her lungs. Lara's chest rose and then fell as Sarah pulled away, gurgling coming out her mouth. Sarah pulled in another breath and repeated the process twice, breathing for Lara. Then she placed her ear to Lara's chest. She was there for seconds before she leaned back, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "Keep pushing! Do not let up!"

Eric began pushing down hard and fast on Lara's chest, sweat forming on his brow. "Come on…Lara! Don't…you…quit…now!"

Melody began crying in earnest as she watched Eric continue to act as Lara's heart. The prone woman's body jerked with each compression, yet she showed no signs of life. With every passing second the dread and sense of loss grew within Melody. She felt like her own heart was being pressed upon. Lara was alive just minutes ago. She talked to her. She touched her. She protected her. Now she was faced with the very real possibility she may never do those things again.

Attina grimaced and turned away as Sarah breathed for Lara again. Eric stepped back, allowing a guard to take his place. He was breathing hard, sweat dotting his brow. The guard was about to start pumping when Lara coughed, spitting out tarry fluid before sucking in a harsh breath.

Sarah pushed the guard aside as she listened to Lara's chest again. "She's got a pulse, but it's faint! We need to leave now!"

"Where is that wagon!?" shouted Eric.

The rattle of wooden wheels over the ground informed everyone the wagon in question had arrived, a guard sitting at the reins and four more in the back. "We have it, your majesty! And a stretcher!"

"Is she safe to move?" asked Eric as the guards disembarked.

"No, but we don't have a choice!" said Sarah. "She'll die if she stays here! You four, get over here! We need your help to lift her! Your majesty, help me support her wings!"

"I'm going with you!" said Melody as the guards lay the stretcher beside Lara.

Eric moved to Lara's right wing. "Melody, I don't think that's–!"

"I'm going!" Melody interrupted, running to help Sarah with Lara's other wing. "I'm not leaving her!"

"Just don't get in the way!" said Sarah. Together she and Melody were able to get Lara's wing folded in as Eric did the same. The guards moved to Lara's sides, supporting her legs and torso as Sarah attended to her head. "Okay, move on three! One! Two! Three!"

As one they lifted Lara and shifted her onto the stretcher, her tail dangling off the end. Melody stepped back as they quickly lifted Lara into the wagon, climbing in after Sarah once she was settled. She took Lara's hand, clutching it tightly as the wagon started to move.

"Please Lara!" begged Melody, watching helplessly as Lara coughed again. "Please don't die!"


Remora watched the wagon turn and drive away, carrying Melody, Lara, Sarah, and several guards off to the old hospital. The crowd parted for them, all eyes watching as it sped off with its urgent passenger. Eric mounted his horse, quickly pulling Ariel up with him before he spurred the animal to chase after the wagon. The mermaid princesses watched with the rest of the crowd as they raced down the road.

Remora scowled slightly beneath her mask. This was not the revenge she envisioned. She did not get nearly the gratification she wanted forcing Lara to commit suicide. She would have preferred taking her time torturing the girl to death back at the Factory. Or picking her apart in battle before cutting her down. But orders were orders, and she had broken enough of them already. Plus, there was a certain degree of twisted satisfaction she got from watching the crowd hurl rocks at Lara. And seeing those sobbing royals cluster around her as she lay bleeding out.

"Congratulations, Lara," said Remora. "You were born a brat. Then you lived as a monster. Now you get to die a hero."

She extended her arm out, metal flying into her palm to form a sword. She drew it back as lightning coated the blade and then slashed across open air. A dark tear appeared as a new portal was born. Remora was about to step in when she stopped, looking back over her shoulder. The wagon and horse reached a crest in the road and then passed over it, disappearing from sight.

"And so ends the Faldras bloodline." Then she stepped into the portal and disappeared.


Within the darkness of his realm, Bel'al's raven form watched through a ring of fire as Lara was carried away. Her skin was deathly pale where it was not marred by blood or wounds. Her lips were blue, and pieces of her hair continued to gray and crumble off her scalp. The fire pendant around her neck flickered weakly, as though reflecting the fading life of its bearer. Melody sat beside her, clutching her hand tightly as she continued pleading for Lara to stay. The human Sarah continued assessing her, paying close attention to her heart and breathing.

Bel'al swept his wing aside, dismissing the image. Silence hung in the nothingness for a long minute. Then a distant rumble brewed as the lines on his body began to glow. The rumble grew louder as he grew brighter, till he shone like a star amidst the voice of an earthquake.

Suddenly the raven burst apart into a towering conflagration of fire. The flames spread out faster than sound, turning the void into an oceanic inferno. The sea of fire twisted and sinuated on itself as Bel'al's true titanic form manifested. The dragon released a cataclysmic roar, molten glowing tears the size of houses falling from his four eyes as he vented his fire, rage, grief, and helplessness to an empty black sky.


A/N: In times of strife and danger, the best and worst of humanity is brought to the forefront. Some choose to run and hide. Others will abandon their fellows out of fear. Others will stand their ground or run to the danger, risking their safety so that others may be spared. But such bravery is not without cost. They may be wounded. They may be scarred for life. And they may yet pay the ultimate price. For running towards the danger engulfing the hospital, Lara has now paid that price. She has spared Seahaven even greater loss of life, but at the cost of her own. What is to become of the young mage? Is she too far gone to be saved? Even if she can be, what place is there for her in Seahaven anymore?

Possibly the cruelest cliffhanger I have EVER created! But tension is a must for any story! Hope everyone is staying safe from COVID-19! Wash your hands! Don't lick things! Cover your mouth! Stay in and read Fanfic!

Until next time!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own "The Little Mermaid," Disney, or any of its associated characters and intellectual property. I do not own the listed song(s). Everything else, however, is mine =)