Chapter 50: Return of the Queen

The minutes crawled into the early hours of the morning. The storm was fully upon Seahaven, rain pouring down with forks of lightning momentarily turning night back into day. Melody heard the drops pattering against the panes of the window as she sat with her parents and relatives outside the hospital room. Everyone had come. Even Arista and August were present, the new mother using a wheelchair in lieu of her absent legs. Chairs had been brought for them to use, but most were too anxious to sit. They were the only ones in this hall of the old hospital. All the activity from the attacks at the marina and burned hospital had been sequestered into the floors above them or any available spaces throughout the town. If they listened, they could hear the distant sounds of people underneath the tapping of the rain. The light of the hall's lanterns cast a ghostly warmth over everyone's faces, accentuating their worried expressions with a layer of grim shadows.

Melody stared blankly at the doors to the room, her legs shaking with worried impatience as they waited for any news on Lara. She was not sure how long they had been here. It could have been hours. It could have been minutes. Everything had been a blur since they arrived.

No sooner had the wagon pulled up to the old hospital than a mob of nurses rushed out. There was a moment's hesitation as they beheld Lara's form, alarmed by her clear deviation from ordinary humans. But one order from Sarah and another bloody cough from Lara had them springing to action. They hoisted her out and rushed her inside, already applying bandages as they went. Melody never stopped holding Lara's hand even as they ran down the hall. Only when they whisked her into the room was she forced to let go, watching as Lara was swallowed up behind the double doors. Then she was alone, left to wait outside. Half an hour later her parents appeared, running through the halls at breakneck speed. Soon after came the rest of her aunts and uncles. There had been many questions with few answers and more tears. Then they fell into their current state, all waiting minute after agonizing minute for some sign of change. Every so often they heard feet approach the door, only to be disappointed when they did not open.

Melody winced as a sharp pain stabbed her lip. She dabbed it with her finger and saw red. She chewed it till it bled without realizing it. Ariel reached out and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She tried to give her a brave smile, but Melody could see the distress behind it. Ariel was just as worried as she was. They all were.

The doors abruptly swung open. Everyone stood up as Sarah emerged. She was wearing a baggy blue smock that covered her from neck to wrist and ankle. She wore thin rubber gloves on her hands, a relatively new invention imported from Corona. A heavy piece of cloth was wrapped over her nose and mouth. Her hair was fully covered by a white cloth. Perspiration ran down her forehead, and she blinked as a drop fell into her left eye. Her clothes and hands were stained with blood and more of the black fluid Lara coughed up. She pulled the gloves and smock off, dropping them to the floor. She did not have an air of hope about her.

Melody dashed to Sarah, almost running into her. "How is she!? Is she okay!?"

Sarah pulled the cloth off her face and dropped it beside her gown. She opened her mouth to speak, but she clearly was having difficulty saying what she needed to.

"She's going to be okay, right?" said Melody, her voice pleading rather than asking. "Lara's going to be fine, isn't she?"

Eric went to his daughter's side, taking hold of her shoulders. "Melody, give her a moment." The king looked to the young doctor. "How is she, Sarah?"

Sarah licked her lips nervously. "She's in a lot of pain. And trouble."

A heavy weight dropped into Melody's chest, pushing down on her heart. Everything about Sarah filled her with dread. The tired look in her eyes. The somber defeated tone in her voice. The specks of what could only be blood flecked across her forehead. The tremor in her hands she was trying to hide. She just knew bad news was coming.

"Her lungs are bleeding," said Sarah. "Her chest keeps filling with fluid as fast as we can pull it out of her. Her abdomen isn't any better. We tried passing a tube into her stomach to give her some fluids, but…" She paused, taking a breath before continuing. "Her heart is beating faster than any human's should, but we can barely find a pulse on her. She's losing color and warmth. Her wounds aren't clotting like they should, either. We keep bandaging them, but she starts bleeding as soon as we can change them out. Everything points to severe internal trauma and shock from blood loss."

"But what about her healing?" asked Aquata. "I thought Lara could heal faster than a normal person?"

Sarah shook her head sadly. "It's the only thing that's kept her alive this long. But it's not happening as fast as before. It's been slowing further and further. I think…I think she depleted herself while she was fighting. She doesn't have anything left to heal with. Her heart has stopped twice since coming here. We've been able to bring her back, but…"

Melody swallowed hard. "But…?"

Sarah looked down for a moment before meeting her eyes again. "Unless something drastic changes, eventually she won't heal fast enough to keep her organs from failing."

The weight in Melody's chest became ten times heavier. "What…what are you saying, Sarah?"

Sarah took a deep breath, running a hand over her eyes and mouth before she spoke. "Lara's dying."

Melody felt like she had been punched in the gut. Her breath left her, and so did her thoughts. She did not hear Andrina start sobbing again, Aquata and Alana following suit seconds later as their husbands offered what comfort their embraces could. She did not hear Attina fall heavily back in her seat, or Adella and Arista cover their faces as they tried to keep from falling apart. She did not feel Eric's hands stiffen as he looked away, grimacing as if he had been stung. She did not feel the tears start to fill her own eyes. Sarah's words rang over and over through her head. None of it felt real. It was like she was back in another of Morgana's nightmares.

Ariel stood up and went beside Eric. "How long…?" She paused, struggling to ask the question they both needed yet did not want the answer to. "How long does she have?"

"It could be an hour," said Sarah. "Or it could be a minute. Either way, it will be a miracle if she holds on till dawn. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Melody stepped towards Sarah, taking hold of her hands. "Please! There has to be something you can do!"

Sarah shook her head. "We don't have a way to treat something like this. Even if we did, Lara's not built like a regular human. We wouldn't even know where to start. We're doing the best we can to keep her comfortable, but there's nothing–."

"She can't die!" shouted Melody, causing everyone to jump. She reached out and snatched the front of Sarah's dress. "Don't you dare let her die!"

"Melody!" exclaimed Eric, quickly pulling her off Sarah.

"You're a doctor!" Melody yelled. "Do something!"

"You think I don't want to!?" Sarah snapped back. "She's not just your friend, Melody! She's mine too!"

"Then save her! Please!"

"I can't!" Sarah screamed, her tears finally breaking free. She turned and punched the wall behind her as hard as she could. She hit it twice more and then deflated before them, leaning against the wall and then sliding down to the floor.

"I can't do anything!" she cried, tears streaking down her face as she cradled her now bleeding hand to her chest. "All my studying! All my work! The only reason I'm here is because of her! Because of everything Lara did! She saved me! She saved my family! But now she needs saving, and I can't help her! She's in there dying, and I can't save her! There's nothing I can do! Nothing! Nothing…!"

Melody sank to her knees as Sarah buried her face in her hands, a terrible numbness washing over her as her own tears began to fall. She felt like she was suffocating as her heart was being squeezed to death. She felt sick even though she had not eaten since morning. All the sounds around her went away. Her eyes stayed open, yet she saw nothing in front of her.

Why did Maelstrom keep taking the people she cared about? First it was William. Next would be Lara. She thought she lost her once already at the marina. Now she was going to lose her again, this time for good. There was no fire dragon coming to her rescue. No secret spell she could pull out at the last second to make a miraculous recovery. She was in that room, clinging to her last lingering embers of life as they went out. After everything they had been through–all the anger, pain, joys, tears, laughter, and memories–this was how they said goodbye? This was how things ended? With Lara bleeding out on a hospital table while Melody cried outside the doors?

Melody looked down at her hands, seeing her tears fall into her palms. They beaded against her skin like drops of dew, gathering one by one to form tiny pools. She clenched her hands tight as she squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face in her fists as her tears came hot and flowing, a few at first and then heavy enough to match the rain.

Why? Why was she the one who was always rescued? Why was she the one being saved? Why was she the one who had to sit on the sidelines while other people ran into peril? Why was she the one who stayed safe while others suffered? Why did she have to be so helpless and useless when it mattered? Why was she so powerless when there was danger? Why was there nothing she could do to protect the people she loved?

Why did she have to be so weak?

"What about the trident?" said Adella hopefully. "It could fix her! If one of us leaves now and gets father, I bet he could–!"

"Lara doesn't have that kind of time," interrupted Sarah. She lowered her hands, wiping her glassy red eyes on her sleeves. "She'll be gone before you reach Atlantica."

"Even if she did hold on, Triton would never help her," said Eric.

"But he has to!" said Aquata. "If he doesn't then Lara's going to die!"

"You didn't hear how he talked about her," said Eric. "At the beach or afterwards. He wanted me to execute her without a trial or even a hearing. He'd probably do it himself if he had the chance. She's not a person to him. She's a thing. It's as if she was a…was a…"

"Human…" said Ariel, her own cheeks streaked with tears.

A tense silence fell over the room. Then Ariel wiped her eyes and walked over to Sarah, kneeling beside her to offer a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything that can save her? Anything at all?"

Melody lifted her face to see Sarah sniff and wipe her nose then shake her head sadly. "It would take an act of the gods."

All at once the lights went out, plunging the hallway into darkness. A bolt of lightning fell a moment later, filling it with momentary brilliant white light.

"What the…?" Aquata looked around. "What happened to the lanterns?"

Melody looked at Ariel. Their faces said it all. There was something disturbingly familiar about this.

"An act of the gods, you say?"

In the midst of her grief, Melody was still chilled to her core at the sound of that terrifyingly familiar voice. So was everyone else. Even in the dim Melody saw a noticeable loss of color in their faces. A peal of child's laughter came down the dim hall, causing Melody to spin around. Lightning flashed, illuminating it with a flicker of light before the night covered it once more. Then the lightning struck again, revealing a little girl with bone white hair and twin-slit teal eyes, smiling with deceptive innocence. Behind her stood a pair of tall slender figures in black hoods, their four red eyes peering out through the eyeholes of their white masks.

"I may not be a god…" The Hive Queen's mouth curved in an unnerving grin, exposing her sharp teeth. "But by your standards, I more than qualify."

The princesses screamed as Sarah bolted to her feet. "Who are you!? How did you get in here!?"

The Hive Queen cast her eyes at Sarah. The woman flinched and then went limp, dropping to her knees and then slumping to the side.

"Sarah!" exclaimed Ariel, alarmed by her abrupt loss of consciousness. She gave her a firm shake, but she refused to wake. "What did you do to her!?"

"I didn't kill her, if that's what you're worried about," said the Hive Queen as she approached, her slendermen guards following silently behind. "Just removed an unwanted witness. She'll wake up tomorrow thinking this was all a bad dream."

Ariel's sisters and their husbands bolted away from the girl and her escorts. Melody was frozen in place. Her legs refused to work until Eric hauled her upright, putting himself in front of her. She could tell he was scared. They all remembered too well their last encounter with these creatures. Ariel and Melody especially, given this girl left them to their fates against Lara's devastating attack on the Maelstrom ship.

"Why are you here!?" demanded Eric angrily. "We haven't spoken about you to anyone! Not even each other!"

"We have not come for you," said one of the slendermen.

"We come for the huntress," added its partner. "The one you call Lara."

Melody tensed instantly. She pushed past her father, shrugging off his hand as he tried to pull her back. "What do you want with her?"

"From what I saw and heard, she bit off more than she could chew," said the Hive Queen. She raised her hand and the slendermen stopped, allowing her to proceed alone. "Not the first time she's done that. Still, sounds like she's in a tight spot."

"She's dying!" yelled Alana. "Leave her alone, you freaks!"

The slendermen let out a low hiss, their eyes glowing brighter. Alana shrank into the arms of her husband Nemo, the man holding her protectively.

"I know," said the Hive Queen as she walked up to Melody, stopping in front of her. She was shorter than Melody imagined, barely coming up to her sternum. Yet the look in those eyes left no doubt she was powerful enough to kill every last person in the hospital before anyone realized it. "That's why I'm here."

Melody wanted to run as fast as she could. She would have been safer sticking her head into the mouth of a shark. Yet she held her ground on trembling legs. "What do you want with Lara?"

The Hive Queen smirked at her. "Like you all, I have a vested interest in Lara staying alive. Unlike you all, however, I can do something about it."

Melody drew a sharp breath. "You…you can?"

"How?" asked Eric. "The best doctors in Seahaven can't do anything for her! What do you think you could do?"

The Hive Queen snorted loudly. "Don't compare me to your so-called 'doctors,' king! When you've hunted humans as long as our kind have, you learn more than the best ways to kill them. I know your bodies inside and out. I can put you back together as easily as I can pull you apart. For example…"

The girl suddenly disappeared, only to reappear floating in front of Eric with a long and very sharp black fingernail pressing into the side of his throat. He tried to move away, but his body refused to budge, as though some unseen force were holding him in place.

"Eric!" exclaimed Ariel. She ran to him, only to be abruptly frozen in place just like him. Her eyes moved about frantically, panicked by her paralysis.

"If I were to slice deep enough right here," said the Hive Queen, sliding her nail down Eric's neck. "I'd sever the nerve that allows half of your diaphragm to move. If I cut the other side, you'd suffocate to death."

She withdrew her finger and descended to the floor. Then she walked to Ariel, resting her hand in the middle of her back. "Your left kidney is right next to here. I could pull it out in your sleep and you'd never know. As long as your other one never failed, you'd likely live a full life."

Ariel and Eric were suddenly released as the Hive Queen vanished, the king falling backwards as though he were pushed. The girl then reappeared in front of Melody. She flinched away, alarmed by the monster's sudden proximity to her. That, and the smile on her face as she raised a finger. "And…"

The Hive Queen made a flicking motion with her finger. Suddenly the sleeve on Melody's right arm split open, a large bleeding slash cut through her forearm. Melody fell backwards, clutching at her arm as it bled freely. There had been no pain. She did not even feel it happen. Yet the wound was horrific, as though a sword had sliced her.

"Melody!" yelled Eric in alarm.

"Get away from her!" shouted Ariel as she ran at the girl. Her sisters screamed again as several of their husbands rushed forward, determined to get the monster away from their niece.

The Hive Queen's right eye spun in its socket to look behind her. "Boys."

The slendermen moved with frightening speed, flying past Melody and the Hive Queen. Tendrils erupted from their robes, seizing Ariel, Eric, and all the humanized merfolk before they could take another step. They struggled vigorously against them, but the monsters' hold was iron.

"Don't get so flustered," said the Hive Queen, kneeling before Melody as the princess clutched her lacerated arm. She snatched hold of Melody's wrist, yanking her close. Melody tried to pull away, but the Hive Queen's hold was unbreakable.

"Let's see…" The Hive Queen peered down at her wound. "I should've cut deeper. This'll be too easy."

Before Melody could ask what would be easy about her arm almost being split in half, the Hive Queen's hair came alive. It snaked over to Melody's arm and began winding its way into her wound. She could feel countless strands thinner than human hairs threading their way through her, like tiny surgeons working their intricate methods upon her flesh. Before Melody's eyes her wound started closing. The bleeding stopped as her tissues were knit back together. In less than a minute the gaping slash was closed, the only sign of it a thin raised red line in the skin.

The Hive Queen released Melody's hand and stood. "Good as new. Oh, and you can release them now."

Melody looked her arm over as the slendermen released her family. There was a slight soreness when she flexed her hand, but beyond that it felt no different than before. "How…how did you do that?"

"You forget who you're talking to," said the Hive Queen as Eric and Ariel ran to their daughter. They were as awestruck as she was by the disappearance of the wound as they helped her to her feet. "I'm the mother of the nyctophiles. The Empress of Shadows. One of the Eternals unbound by your laws of nature and magic. Stitching your soft bodies back together is child's play for me."

Melody at her arm again, and then up at the Hive Queen. "Can you really save her? Can you save Lara?"

The Hive Queen giggled sweetly. "If I couldn't, do you think I would have bothered coming?"

Melody looked at the doors to the hospital room. Lara was in still in there, and she was still dying. Melody wanted there to be some other way to help her, but they had neither the ability nor the time to find it. And her father was right. Even if they could reach Triton, he would never agree to save Lara. This was their only option. That did not mean she trusted the Hive Queen. It was hard to trust a species that had no qualms about hunting and eating humans. For all she knew, there would be some terrible price to pay later. But if it meant Lara would live, Melody would pay it gladly.

She walked up to the Hive Queen. "Please!"

The Hive Queen smirked slightly. "Please what?"

"Please save her!" begged Melody. She fell to her knees, clasping her hands together. "Please save Lara!"

Ariel and Eric looked at Melody. Then they stepped forward and knelt beside her.

"As king of Seahaven, I beg you," said Eric as he bowed his head. "Help Lara!"

"Don't let her die!" said Ariel. "We can't lose her!"

The princesses and their husbands watched the rulers of the kingdom kneel before the weird girl, begging for her help. Then, one by one, they knelt as well.

"Please help her!"

"We owe her our lives!"

"We wouldn't be here without her!"

"Do whatever you can!"

"She can't die!"

"Bring her back, please!"

The Hive Queen looked down at the prostrated nobles. Her smirk turned into a full smile. "Well…if you ask me like that, I suppose I have no choice!"

Melody had never felt hope return to her so quickly or completely. "You will!?"

The Hive Queen nodded and then glanced back at her slendermen. "Clean up the room, will you?"

Silently the two slendermen drifted towards the doors and slipped in without a sound. Melody expected to hear screaming and shouting when they entered. She only heard silence. The Hive Queen walked to the doors and pushed them open, revealing nurses and doctors sprawled unconscious on the floor. Lara lay on a metal table, her chest rising and falling with short, ragged breaths. Her hair was gone, reduced to a pile of gray ash on the floor. Her bare scalp had large ulcerated patches across it. Her body was covered in bloodied bandages, wings and tail drooping to the floor.

"But let me make one thing clear…" said the Hive Queen sternly, turning back to the group. "I am not doing this for you! I don't care about your interests in her! And do not mistake this for benevolence! You will live far longer if you remember that! As for you…" She looked at Melody. "You're coming with me."

Melody felt her hair stand on end. "M-me?"

"Yes, you," said the Hive Queen. "Unless you'd rather lose your friend. I'll need you around for the next part."

"No!" said Eric as he started to approach her. "Melody is not–!"

Melody ran in front of Eric, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. "Dad, wait!"

"I won't eat her, if that's what you're worried about," said the Hive Queen, though the way she licked her lips with that black tongue suggested otherwise. "I've had my fill for this week."

"You can't, Melody!" protested Eric. "She's too dangerous!"

"I know she is!" said Melody. "But if I can help Lara, then I have to!"

"You can't trust her! This could be a trick!"

"Remember what Lara said! With her power, she has no reason to lie or trick us! If she wanted to hurt us, she would have already!"

"Right on all counts," said the Hive Queen.

Eric glared a mix of anger and frustration at the girl, and then looked back at Melody with worry. Lara coughed on the table, spitting up more of the black fluid before drawing a choked breath.

"Better hurry up," said the Hive Queen as Lara started to cough again. "I have all night, but she definitely doesn't."

"I have to go, dad!" said Melody. "Please! Lara needs me!"

She could tell Eric wanted to say "no" more than anything, but that he also knew she was right. Ariel walked up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't like it any more than you do, Eric. But what choice do we have?"

"If you want Lara to live?" said the Hive Queen. "None. The princess comes, or the sorceress dies."

Eric grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut. Then he opened them and looked right at the Hive Queen. "If anything happens to them–anything at all– I swear I will find you and make you pay for it! Am I clear?"

The Hive Queen threw her head back and laughed. "It's been ages since a human had the gall to threaten me! I'd almost forgotten how comical it is!" She laughed again, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. "You'll have them both back when I'm done. And in one piece. Till then, just sit tight. Come along, princess."

Melody smiled at her parents as she backed towards the Hive Queen, watching their scared faces. Ariel took Eric's hand, clasping it tightly. The girl released one of the double doors, allowing it to swing closed so she could place a hand on the small of Melody's back. The contact made Melody's heart race. She was scared, too. How could she not be, standing this close to something Lara once compared to a god? But she was more scared of losing Lara than she was of this creature.

"Wait!" Eric suddenly shouted as the Hive Queen began to close the last door. "Where are you taking them?"

The Hive Queen smirked at him. "Your daughter's room."

Melody looked down at her in surprise. "My…wait, what?"

"What? It's much nicer than this place." The Hive Queen chuckled at her confused expression, then looked back to the group and winked. "See you at sunset."

With that the Hive Queen released the door, allowing it to swing closed. Eric and Ariel lost sight of Melody for a second. Then Eric ran and shoved the doors open, bursting into the hospital room as the lanterns came back to life in the hall. Ariel followed quickly behind, both of them looking frantically around. The Hive Queen and her slendermen were gone.

And so were Lara and Melody.


The Hive Queen stepped out of the shadows and into Melody's bedroom. Her child form was abandoned, transformed into the tall ghostly woman in the white flowing dress. It was quiet and dark inside. The storm continued to drop bolts of lightning onto the sea, rattling the windows with its thunder. The two slendermen followed her out of the dim, one carrying Lara in its tendrils as the other supported a now unconscious Melody.

"Hmmm…not bad." The Hive Queen walked over to the bed, pressing down on it with one hand. "Not bad at all. This will do."

She nodded to the slendermen. They glided over to the bed and set the girls down beside each other. "Quiet this floor. I want no disruptions."

The slendermen bowed slightly then glided back to the shadows, sinking into them like water. The Hive Queen went to stand beside Lara, looking down on her. Lara coughed again and groaned, her face scrunching up in pain. Black fluid leaked out her nostrils.

"You really did it this time, Lara," said the Hive Queen. "You knew you couldn't pull it off, yet you went ahead anyway. Must be your human side getting the better of you."

The Hive Queen looked at a candle on Melody's nightstand. She stared at it intensely, and then a flame rose from the wick, casting dancing shadows across the room. Her own shadow seemed to shiver and distort, as though trying to break free of the light's restriction.

"I know you're watching," said the Hive Queen. "Stop spectating and get out here."

The candle burst into a large spout of fire, bathing the room in light. The fire swarmed through the air and then raced around the room, igniting every candle in it. The candles blazed with the same ferocity as their fire was added to the blaze, and then they flew to the alcove seat by the window. The flames swirled together and darkened, forming the four-eyed raven. He shook his feathers and flew over to the bed, landing on the side opposite the Hive Queen. He looked down at Lara, his eyes unreadable as he beheld his dying daughter.

"You foolish girl," he said. "You selfless, brave, but foolish girl."

"That's a human for you," said the Hive Queen. "Most will stab each other in the back to get what they want. But every so often you get one like these two. More concerned with helping others than they are with staying alive." She huffed and shook her head. "How the species made it this far I don't know."

The raven narrowed his eyes at her. "Did you call me here just to gloat, empress? Or is there something you need of me?"

"What do you think?" said the Hive Queen, flashing a scowl at the raven. "I hate to admit it, but this is going to be harder than just stitching guts together. If it was any other mage, I could do this in my sleep. But Lara's got your magic in her, and more than one foot in the grave. That'll be a problem for me if she tries to leave. Fast as I am, I can't be in two realms at once."

"Hence why you brought the princess," said the raven.

"Someone has to bring her back, and I'm not about to play fetch if she's prowling around. You deal with the toll and the magic. Leave the body to me."

The raven ruffled his feathers. "I suppose I will owe you for this, won't I?"

"Don't flatter yourself." The Hive Queen rolled her neck side to side. "I'll tell you what I told them. I'm not doing this for you. Now get to it. I'm about to start."

The raven closed his eyes. His body began to glow and then came apart in a cloud of sparks. They circled through the air and then descended on Lara and Melody, sinking into their skin. Lara's face scrunched up, and then she visibly relaxed. Then a golden aura surrounded them both as they levitated off the bed. Lara's own aura turned a fiery orange as Melody's cooled to a deep ocean blue, and then their auras faded.

The Hive Queen smiled. "Isn't that interesting?"

She chuckled as her form began to darken. Shadows grew from the floor and ceiling, covering all in black. The candles went out and the shadows spread even faster. The colors of the Hive Queen's eyes inverted as her form was lost in the darkness, leaving only their glow.

"Right then…" A third eye appeared above the first two. "Let's begin."


Melody felt herself drifting weightless in emptiness. She opened her eyes and saw only the dark. It was like the realm the raven and demon kept her in before, only this one felt even more expansive. There was no floor, no ceiling, and no walls. There was no up or down. There was no one here. There was only space. Vast, black, infinite space. Her own body let off a faint blue glow, illuminating her form against the murk.

A faint light behind her caused Melody to turn around. She saw Lara drifting a hundred feet away, her orange hair aglow. Small specks of light drifted off her body. Her face was calm and tranquil. She bore none of the injuries from the blue fire. Strange as their appearances and surroundings were, Melody did not find herself questioning where they were, or what happened to Lara. She did not even think about questioning it. She simply accepted it.

A new light appeared in the distance. This one was different. It was large and white, shining with a blinding brilliance. Melody was forced to shield her eyes as it turned bright as a sun. Lara began to float towards it in earnest, as though beckoned by the light.

Melody heard of the light at the end of the tunnel before, and she was not about to let herself or Lara find out if there was truth to it. She turned and tried to kick with her legs as if swimming, but they felt awkward and tied up. She looked down and saw her fins in place of legs. That explained it. She gave them a kick and moved towards Lara as if in the ocean. She moved easily through the space, coming beside her.

"Lara? Hey, Lara?" She grasped Lara's shoulders and shook her. "Lara, wake up! Lara!"

Lara remained unresponsive and placid, continuing towards the light. It was starting to get closer, growing in size.

"This is no time for a nap!" said Melody more urgently. She wrapped an arm around Lara's middle and tried to pull her away, but she kept going towards the light. She swam harder, but the pull was inescapable. She began tugging as hard as she could, but she was unable to stop Lara. The light was even closer now, and it seemed to be growing. So was Melody's urgency. She had no idea why, but she just knew that if they reached it, they would never be able to come back. She beat her fins frantically to no avail.

"Come on, Lara!" she yelled, grabbing both her legs and swimming against the tug. Her face scrunched up with effort. "Don't…you dare…go! I…won't…let…you!"

The bright light flashed for a moment, causing Melody to shield her eyes. She heard a sound like the peal of a small bell, and then the light shrank to a fraction of its former size. A smaller glowing light broke away from it, sinuating through the black. As it grew closer, Melody started to see it change shape. It elongated, developing a head, arms, and legs. A shimmering contrail of white light followed in its wake. Melody moved in front of Lara, spreading her arms out to shield her.

The light abruptly sped forward and then came to a stop in front of her. Except it was no light. It was a woman. A beautiful, fair young woman who radiated light like a star. She had long golden blonde hair that reached well past her feet, fanning out behind her like a cape. Her eyes were a stunning jade green. She wore a long white off-the-shoulder dress, the skirt billowing around her bare feet.

Melody backed away, taking hold of Lara as the woman looked at them. She was breathtaking to behold, yet her presence filled Melody with anxiety. Who was this? What was this? Was she an angel? Was this some sort of trick? What did she want with them? She opened her mouth to speak, but no voice came out. She touched her throat as she tried to speak again, but she was mute.

The woman smiled warmly as she drifted towards Melody, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder. Her touch was warm and soft, as though she were made of sunlight. Melody was not sure why, but she immediately felt at ease. That simple touch alone banished all her fears. This woman was not a threat to them. She just knew it.

Then the woman looked at Lara, her smile turning both happy and sad. She cupped Lara's cheek in one hand, rubbing a thumb gently along the scar across her eye. "Oh, Lara. What are we going to do with you?"

Melody's eyes widened. She could talk!

The woman took Lara's face in her hands. "Remember what you promised." Then she leaned in and gently pressed her lips to Lara's own. A wave of light passed down Lara's body. Then the woman drifted back and turned to Melody. "Don't worry. It's not her time yet. Or yours."

The woman took Melody's shoulder and turned her around. Then she placed a hand on her back and gave a gentle but firm push. Melody found herself and Lara flying away from the woman and the light at speed. The woman smiled as she watched them go, holding up a hand in farewell.

"Take care of her for me, will you?" called the woman. Then she collapsed into a glowing star and flew back towards the light, both rapidly shrinking into the distance.

Melody looked ahead. It felt like they were moving a thousand miles an hour, but to where? There was only emptiness around them now. How were they supposed to get out of this place?

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

Melody turned over her. The demon was flying above them, his wings flapping easily as he kept pace. Her eyes widened as she took in his form, recognizing the indisputable similarity between his form and the one Lara assumed in the marina. She no longer had any doubt about who he was.

"You're...you're Bel'al!" she exclaimed. "You're Lara's dad, aren't you!?"

The demon nodded. "That I am, princess."

"But…I don't understand! She said you were dead! What are you doing here? And where is here!?"

"There is no time to explain," said Bel'al. "You cannot linger here any longer. I am sending you both home."

Bel'al lifted his face up. Melody saw him breathe in, and then he roared loud enough to make her whole body vibrate. A fiery tear appeared in the darkness in front of them, spreading open to reveal a spiraling portal of fire and sparks. Immediately a current seized Melody, pulling her and Lara towards the portal.

"That will bring you back," said Bel'al. "But this place cannot be left without payment. Not by you, at least. It seems Lara has been given safe passage already."

"Payment? What payment?" asked Melody. "What am I supposed to pay with!?"

"Something you will be safer without," said Bel'al.

His eyes flashed. Suddenly Melody felt dizzy and groggy. She saw, heard, and felt memories go flying by her. Then she felt them disappear. Piece by piece, parts of her memories began to vanish. The nightmare when she met the demon. The voice she heard at the party. Their reunion after the pirates attacked…

Melody's eyes widened. Bel'al was taking her memories of him! But if he did that, she would never be able to tell Lara he was still out there! She would go on believing he was dead!

"Wait!" she pleaded. "Don't!"

Bel'al's eyes flashed brighter. The dizziness Melody felt magnified tenfold. She lost all sense of direction and time, as though she were heavily drugged. Still she felt the memories slip away as they were taken. Then unconsciousness claimed her, the last fleeting thought of Bel'al leaving her before she and Lara flew through the portal.

Bel'al came to a stop as he watched the two women fall through the fire. The portal began to close behind them. He turned and held his hand out to the void. Ribbons of orange light gathered in his palm, forming a round luminous orb. Faint voices and sounds were heard coming from the orb. Then he drew it back and hurled it into the black. The orb flew away like a shooting star, growing small and distant. Then a large dark something chased after it, gobbling up the light before it turned back towards the portal.

"Not today," Bel'al declared to the void dweller. Then he turned and beat his wings, diving through the portal before it snapped shut and vanished.


The sun was almost to the western horizon when Melody awoke. She blinked, her vision blurry as she sat upright, and then groaned as she felt a stiffness in her neck and shoulders. That, and a splitting headache. She moved to swing her feet off her bed, only to knock her heels hard against something. She grimaced and drew a harsh hissing breath. She rubbed her eyes and saw…the hallway?

Melody blinked rapidly. She was outside her room, slumped against the wall opposite her doors. They were closed. She looked around and saw waning evening light slipping through the hall windows. When did she get out here? How did she get out here? She remembered going with the Hive Queen to help Lara, but everything after that was a black blur. And yet, she felt something very important happened. That she had forgotten something she should never fail to remember. But what? She tried to think of it, but it only made her headache worse.

"Awake, I see."

Melody startled wide awake as she realized the Hive Queen was standing beside her. The child was licking red off her fingers with a long, sinuating black tongue. Melody looked around but saw no sign of her slendermen.

"Lara!" Melody bolted upright, having to lean on the wall for balance a moment later. "Where's Lara!?"

The Hive Queen nodded towards the doors. Melody ran to them, almost breaking the handle as she flung them open and all but leapt into her room.

Lara lay in her bed, the sheets pulled up to her chest. Her wings were spread out across the mattress, and the end of her tail dangled off the end. She was wrapped from the neck down in bandages covered with strange black writing. A foot of vivid orange hair was growing on her head. Her chest rose and fell easily as she slept, breathing without any effort.

Melody swallowed, afraid she was in the middle of a dream. This felt too surreal for her to be sure of it. She slowly walked up to her bed and sat on the edge. She reached out and shakily touched Lara's face. There was color and warmth in her cheeks again. She let her hand slip down to Lara's chest, feeling her heart beat steady and strong inside.

"She'll live," said the Hive Queen as she walked into the room. "It'll be another two days before she wakes up. But she won't die. This time, at least."

Melody started to cry, this time tears of pure joy. Lara was alive. She was still with them. There would be no goodbye. She was not going to lose her. She reached for Lara's hand and brought it to her lips and kissed it, allowing her tears to fall onto the bandages.

"Thank you," Melody whispered. "Thank you."

"Like I said, I didn't do this for you," said the Hive Queen. "You want to thank me? Keep her from pulling another stunt like that. I don't want her dying before I've had a go at her."

A startled gasp caused Melody to turn around. Ariel stood in the doorway, a hand clapped over her heart and eyes wide as she stared at the Hive Queen. Then her eyes shifted over to Lara. "Is she…?"

Melody wiped the tears out of her eyes, then smiled and nodded. Now it was Ariel who started to cry. She covered her mouth, sinking to her knees as she speckled her dress and the floor with her tears.

The Hive Queen rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we're all grateful and glad she's alive. Are you going to sit there and sob? Or are you coming in to see her?"

Ariel sniffled as she rose, wiping her eyes. She walked over to Lara, leaning in to put a hand on her forehead. She smiled, choking back a joyful laugh as Lara breathed. "How *sniff* how did you do it?"

"That's for me to know," said the Hive Queen. "You two wouldn't understand it anyways."

Melody kissed Lara's hand again before setting it down. "I'm gonna go tell dad! And everyone!" She started walking towards the door, but after three steps she was running as fast as she could. "Dad! Dad, she's alive! Lara's alive!"


The Hive Queen cocked an eyebrow as Melody went yelling down the hallway. "Still running after all that, huh?"

Ariel turned back to Lara, reaching up to brush her vibrant hair out of her face. It had been almost a full day since she last saw Melody and Lara. But for her and everyone else, it felt like a year. To think she used to be on Death's doorstep.

After the Hive Queen spirited Lara and Melody away from the hospital, Ariel and Eric rode back to the palace as fast as they could. They tried to get up to their daughter's room, but they found a slenderman blocking the fifth-floor hallway at the tower stairs. Every way into the fifth floor was guarded by one of the silent creatures, offering only their unblinking red gaze in answer to their questions. Anyone else who saw one, much less tried to talk with one, passed out on the spot then woke up an hour later with no memory of what happened. The message was clear–no one would disturb their queen as she worked.

Frustrating as it was to be literally left in the dark, Ariel and Eric resigned themselves to watching and waiting in turn. Eric insisted she try to sleep first, but all Ariel managed was a few fitful hours till dawn. She went to relieve Eric and found him slumped asleep against the railing at the top of the tower stairs, the slenderman standing nearby. She roused her husband and took his place, despite his protests that he stay to protect her. Ariel reminded him they had no way to defend against one of those creatures. As Melody said, if they wanted to hurt them, they would have done so already.

So it went hour after hour through the day, Ariel and Eric sharing watch duty. It was heading towards sunset on Ariel's watch when the slenderman suddenly vanished into a shadow. No sooner was he gone than Ariel went running to Melody's room as fast as she could. She had no idea what she expected to find. But finding both girls alive was as good an outcome as she hoped for.

"You and Melody can't keep doing this to me, Lara," said Ariel, cupping the sleeping girl's cheek. "You two are going to put gray in my hair before I'm forty. But I'm glad you're still with us."

A smacking sound caused Ariel to look at the Hive Queen. The girl was cleaning off her last finger with a long black tongue. A part of Ariel wanted to run as far as she could from the Hive Queen. This was not Bel'al before her. From the little Ariel had seen and learned, this Eternal was not shy about killing. She was the embodiment of predation, and Ariel was definitely on her prey list. But another part of her needed to know something. A question that had been nagging her since the hospital, and one she could not come up with an answer for.

"Why did you save her?" asked Ariel.

The Hive Queen stopped cleaning her finger to glance at her. "What?"

"Lara. Why did you save her?" Ariel slowly stood, her steps cautious as she approached.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Hive Queen stuck one last finger in her mouth and sucked it clean. "Because I wanted to."

"You know what I mean," said Ariel.

The Hive Queen looked at her for a moment. The teal eyes with their twin slits almost made Ariel shiver, but she resisted the urge. They were completely inscrutable, not betraying one inkling of what could be going through her mind.

Then the Hive Queen turned and walked over to Melody's window, folding her hands behind her back. Then she nodded to the spot beside her. Ariel took that as an invitation to approach. She went and stood beside her, clasping her hands together to keep her nervous fidgeting from showing. The Hive Queen did not look at her or take notice of her glances, keeping her eyes on the ocean.

"Tell me…" said the Hive Queen finally, causing Ariel to flinch. "What do you think of this sunset? Would you call it beautiful?"

Ariel looked out the window. The sun's silhouette was a deep bloody orange color, its bottom edge just touching the horizon. The sky was stained orange, crimson, and purple as it set, leaving a streak of shimmering color across the ocean. The distant storm clouds caught the last rays, turning their bellies red and gold. Long shadows were cast by the rocks and waves along the shore, measuring out the minutes left till night arrived. It looked like a painting.

"I think so," Ariel said. She glanced down at the little girl. "What about you?"

The Hive Queen gave an amused huff and smirked. "There was a time when it was. But I have seen the same sun and moon rise and set millions of times–literally millions." She closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again. "The duty of the Hive Queen is not only to ensure the future and safety of the nyctophiles. It is also to preserve the memories of our predecessors through the generations, so that we may better protect our species."

She reached up and tapped the side of her head. "Within my mind is the collective knowledge and experience of every Hive Queens before me. All as fresh as my own, all the way back to the first one. At times, it's been hard to determine where they end and I begin. Through them, I have walked every inch of this world a hundred times over. I have visited every shore, mountain, plain, forest, and desert. I've been to the highest peaks and lowest trenches. I've walked every path…"

She raised her hand up as she turned to Ariel. It split apart into dozens of thin black tendrils and rewove itself into a sharp, grasping set of claws. She grinned, baring her sharp teeth. "And killed every foe."

Ariel swallowed, sharply reminded just how dangerous this "girl" standing next to her was.

The Hive Queen's smile vanished as her claw unwound itself, her human hand reforming. "To you, this world is a place of novelty and wonder. There are more sights, sounds, and experiences to be had than you can even imagine. Far too many to fill your lifetime. But when you live through the eons as I have, taking your ancestors' memories with you, that wonder runs thin."

She looked back out the window, a slight frown coming to her face. "To me, this realm is a boring, stale place. It holds few secrets or wonders for me anymore. I find my existence bearable at best. At worst, I find it excruciating."

She looked up at Ariel. "Can you imagine it? Living seemingly endless years in a world that does nothing to excite you? Where the sun and stars stir nothing in your heart…or hearts, in my case? Where the fiercest storms and earthquakes and monsters can't provoke one iota of fear? Where no pain or pleasure can rouse you from your melancholy? That is the existence of a Hive Queen. That's my existence. And it will become the existence of the queen after me, and the one after her, and the one after her, and so on." She shook her head and laughed sadly. "We have a form of the immortality so many of you mortals crave. I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or rage at your desire for it, or your fear of what lies at the end of your mercifully brief lives."

The Hive Queen looked at her hand, then grimaced as she clenched it tight. "This…this isn't living. It's just waiting for death."

Ariel's lips parted slightly, trying to think of something to say but unable to find the words. The Hive Queen seemed different now. Still predatory and lethal, but also solitary and sorrowful. She likely had lived through more years than Ariel could fathom, but not by choice. And during those endless years she was forced to bear the memories of every single one of her predecessors. They seemed to weigh upon her with a terrible gravity. Yet she was forced to bear them, for no one else could. For her, this world Ariel drew so much joy and life from must feel like a white void. To live like that had to be extremely lonely and despairing.

If Ariel felt anything for the Hive Queen, it was pity.

The Hive Queen glanced towards the bed. "And then she appeared."

Ariel lost track of the Hive Queen for a moment. Then she found her again standing beside Lara, looking down on the sleeping woman. "Lara Anclagon. Half human and half dragon. The very first, and likely last of her kind. Raised and trained by the Solar King, the strongest Eternal this world has known. When I heard she killed two of my children and then drove off a slenderman, I admit my hopes started to rise. But I have been disappointed far too many times by humans. And yet, as we tore apart the land in the eastern kingdoms, something stirred within me. A sense of enjoyment and thrill I had not felt for too long. She literally blazed into my life and put a torch to my boredom."

Lara shifted slightly in her sleep, the tip of her tail twitching. The Hive Queen smirked and looked at Ariel as she approached. "That is why I saved her. Because this brash, flame-spitting sorceress is the first thing to make me feel alive in centuries. And I will not be deprived of that by some witch's trap."

Ariel was about to speak when the Hive Queen suddenly turned around. "Seems your daughter found more than her father. That's quite a crowd coming in." She looked back to Ariel. "This is where I step out. I'll be keeping an eye on you all, so remember not to blab about us. And remember this, too–I won't come to Lara's rescue the next time she's in trouble. Or yours. If you can't survive what's coming by your own power, then you weren't worth my time to start with."

"Wait!" Ariel said as the Hive Queen stepped towards a shadow. "What do you mean survive? What's coming?"

The girl flashed her a toothy smirk. "You'll see soon enough."

Before Ariel could speak again the Hive Queen vanished, leaving her alone as the sound of many approaching footsteps grew louder.


Ursula, Richard, and a humanized Riptide stood at attention behind the Master in front of a tall glass cylinder filled with a glowing green liquid. The glow rose and fell like a heartbeat, reflecting the life of the one inside it. The casing was secured to the floor by a metal base. Pipes ran out of it across the ground and into the walls, like the roots of a tree spreading out in search of water. Hundreds more of the glowing cylinders were scattered throughout the vast chamber to create a bioluminescent forest filled with grotesque human and mermaid mutants gestating to completion. The walls and ceiling were metal plating riddled with pipes, gauges, and tubing, all needed to bring the monstrous army to life. Small wonder this part of the Factory was nicknamed the "vat forest."

Remora leaned her shoulder against an empty tank nearby, arms folded as she watched her commander and colleagues. Ursula had recovered from the wounds Lara inflicted. Her eyes were restored to new, and her burns were gone. However, she had been unable to remove the jagged pale scar etched across her eyes. Remora had to admit, it added some menace to Ursula. Riptide drummed his fingers against his enormous biceps, grouchy at being forced into such a small form to answer the Master's summons. Richard flanked Ursula's opposite side, dressed in a dark red jacket with his rapier at his side. His eyes still bore those dark circles around them, the green light making him seem even paler. All three watched the Master's back as he beheld the last member of Maelstrom's upper ranks.

What was left of her, that is.

Morgana was in a sorry state as she floated in the tank, frost spread across the glass. Only two of her tentacles remained. Her right arm was gone below the shoulder, and her right ear was so mangled it looked like a leaf a caterpillar had chewed on. Most of her skin was charred and blistered, peeling off in pieces. What was left of her hair clung to her burned scalp in scorched patches. Lacerations in parallels of four riddled her body where Lara's claws tore into her. Only the magic and machinery of the gestation tank were keeping her from dying a second time.

The Master stared up at Morgana's half-lidded eyes, the icy blues looking emptily back at him. Even with the glow of the fluid right in front of him, Remora could see nothing of his face.

"She's alive," said Remora. "If just. The tank won't heal her like this, but it'll keep her from decaying further."

"That's barely what I'd call living," said Ursula. "Why not just heal her and be done with it? She's useless as long as she's in there."

"Or be done with her altogether," added Riptide, gnashing his pointed teeth. "I can always use a snack."

"Leave her to slumber," said the Master. "I will rouse her when the time comes."

"And when will that be?" asked Remora.

The Master glanced at her. "When the time comes."

Remora gave a dismissive huff and shifted, resting her back against the tank. Her mood was sullen since returning from Seahaven. Frankly, she did not care who noticed either.

Lara was dead. Killed by the flames of the spooklight wisps. There was no way she could survive that kind of fire. Not with the volume she ingested. Remora sprang the trap, and Lara flew into it anyway to spare Seahaven's pathetic citizens. Her reward was their fear and scorn while experiencing a slow, agonizing death as the wisps corroded her from the inside out. It was as good a revenge as any could hope for.

But with every passing hour, Remora's anger and discontent only grew. She felt slighted, not so much by the Master but by fate itself. For seventy years she fantasized about having a chance to make that brat pay for destroying the Charybdis and her pirate life. That, and for when her mother bit her fingers off trying to protect her–two more things she regained by entering the Master's service. To think she survived all this time because of some magic dragon. She still found it difficult to believe such things still existed in the world. At least the beast was dead. That would be a real pain to deal with.

When Lara appeared in the arena against Richard, Remora held back her hunger for revenge out of obedience to the Master. But she could only do so for so long. Eventually she could restrain it no more. The Master's denial of her reward for creating the clockmen was the final straw. She made her attempt at the Glowerhaven ball, and suffered for her disobedience. Forced to watch from a ship as Lara beat down their forces in the marina, and again as she brought Morgana to the brink of a fiery death. And when she finally was face-to-face with her, it was not with weapons in hand and sorcery crackling at their fingertips. It was in a dungeon, Lara rendered a defiant if defenseless prisoner by Triton's chains.

Remora's jaw tightened behind her mask, lips curling into a scowl. It was almost cruel. The one person she wanted to kill more than anyone else was handed to her clapped in chains and drained to a clinging ember. Then, instead of tearing her apart in a blazing battle with blood spraying and metal clashing, she was forced to kill her by poison. Yes, she drew pleasure at the despair her death brought to the princess and her family. But the satisfaction was fleeting and without a sense of resolution. Her vengeance was spoiled, the taste turning ashen and sour in her mouth after that first bite. Even if Lara was brought back from the dead just for her to kill, it would not be the same. Like eating an imitation, aware the flavor was lacking compared to the real thing.

Her dour air was not lost on the Master. He glanced at her, noticing the way her fingers dug into her forearms and the particles of metal hovering in the air around her. "You are displeased, Remora."

"I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth.

The Master clasped his hands behind his back. "Anclagon's death does not sit well with you?"

An arc of electricity snapped across Remora's body as her hands tightened into fists, giving no answer.

"You envisioned a greater end to your vendetta?" continued the Master. "An end by your own hands instead of a trap?"

"I had my orders, sir," Remora said curtly. "I carried them out and the brat's dead. It's over."

Ursula leaned over to Riptide. "Someone's got a louse in their gills," she whispered.

Remora had not heard what Ursula said, but she saw enough to know it was some sarcastic remark. And she was not in a tolerable mood for them. She pushed off the tank and drew her left arm back. Then she swung at Ursula, sending a bolt of lightning straight at her. Ursula's eyes widened as the bolt struck her chest, blasting her backwards across the room. She flew through an empty tank, shattering it apart. Then she hit the wall and bounced off, breaking a pair of pipes behind her. Steam began spewing out with a loud hiss as Ursula lay convulsing on the floor.

"Anyone else got something to say!?" Remora barked, glaring at Richard and Riptide. Lightning danced between her hands and across her white mask. Richard's expression remained impassive, while Riptide averted his eyes.

The Master waved his hand at the broken pipes. Shadows grew over them, and there was the creak and groan of metal as they were warped back into position. Then the shadows receded, the damage undone. "Yes. As I ordered. And you performed them exactly as I instructed. Just as I ordered you to remain on the ship. As I ordered you not to interfere in my duel with Anclagon. And as I ordered you to retrieve Morgana."

Remora glared at him, silent as her electricity dwindled.

The Master looked to Ursula as she shakily pushed herself up, and then to Richard and Riptide. "As you all know, I demand obedience as much as competence. There is a price to paid when neither are given…" He looked to Remora. "And there are benefits when my expectations are met."

Remora narrowed her eyes at him, her lightning disappearing. "What are you talking about?"

The Master chuckled. "You have done well, Remora. Despite your recent misconduct, you set aside your grudge against Anclagon and obeyed my orders. Even when those orders cost your revenge. I am not generous. But I am not one to ignore when my right hand has regained my confidence."

He nodded to the tank behind Remora. The fluid turned black, as though ink and been poured into it. It billowed down to the bottom, rendering it darkest pitch. Then the darkness swirled and wavered as an image appeared.

Remora's eyes widened. Lara lay asleep in Princess Melody's own bed. The girl was covered from the neck down in bandages, and her orange hair was not even a third regrown. But the color in her skin and the rise and fall of her chest left no doubt she was alive. Melody, Ariel, and Eric were clustered excitedly around her, along with the mermaid princesses and their families. Louis was nearby sobbing messily into Carlotta's shoulder, the rotund maid quietly comforting him. The little girl Jenni started to climb into Melody's bed, only for Sarah to lift her off so she did not disturb the sleeping woman. Even Grimsby, stoic picture of courtly manners he was, struggled to keep his lip from quivering as he dabbed a kerchief to his eyes.

"As you can see…" said the Master, nodding to the image. "Even a half-dragon is not so easy to kill."

Remora was not sure what she felt more as she continued to watch Lara's friends celebrate her survival. Anger for certain. Already Lara survived the Charybdis, then her clockmen, then her gunship, and now the wisps. How many times was that brat going to escape death before she finally stayed down for good? But there was also ecstatic, nefarious delight and relief. If Lara was alive, then she still had a chance to sate her revenge. She could still make her suffer and bleed before she died. They could still have their fight.

She started to laugh. It was a quiet chuckle at first, making her shoulders shake. Then she threw her head back and gave into hysterics, her voice filling the chamber. Electricity swarmed over her body, causing sparks to shoot out where it struck the metal. Richard and Riptide backed away as a trio of bolts landed close to their feet, wary another one could find them by accident. Ursula gave her a wide berth, not looking to experience another shock.

"She's alive!" Remora yelled, clutching her mask with a grasping mad hand. "She's still alive! I never thought I'd be glad to see that brat kicking, but I am! How did she…!?" She lowered her hand, chest heaving as she cackled. "No! I don't care! I don't care how she did it! All that matters is she's alive! And that means she can die!"

"That she can," said the Master. "And next time, it will be your hands that destroy her. Along with the rest of Seahaven."

The shift in the air was palpable. Riptide hissed as Ursula stiffened, her tentacles twitching. Richard's body tensed as the hair on Remora's neck stood on end, her laughter dying. "Master, are you saying…?"

"We've waited long enough." The Master turned to them. His blue eyes glowed bright in the recesses of his hood. "All of you, relay this order to our forces–make ready for war."

Riptide hissed as he laughed, his eyes turning yellow as his blue tongue licked his lips. Ursula grinned, cackling as she rubbed her hands together. Richard allowed himself a slow smile, his eyes twinkling in the green light.

Remora's felt her pulse start racing. Her smile spread so widely it resembled the one on her mask. She laughed loudly and held her right arm out, electricity crackling down her limb as her scythe formed in her grasp. She turned and swung it through the tube displaying Lara. There was a streak of light, and then a diagonal cut appeared in the glass. The top half of the tube slid off and shattered on the ground, destroying the image as black fluid spilled out.

She turned around and gave her scythe a spin, resting it over her shoulder. "It's about damn time!"


A/N: Hope comes in many shapes and forms, and often from where it is least expected. With her life hanging by a thread, Lara is saved by one of her greatest adversaries. She will live to fight another day. But all is not joyous in the land. At long last, Maelstrom throws off their shackles. The gates are about to open, unleashing the horrors of war upon the Alliance. What manner of wrath and destruction will they send forth? Can anything be done to stop them?

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