Cassandra's voice remained soft as she tried to dissuade Lia from any further aggression. She did not want to fight; not because she feared the fawn's powers, but because she could not will herself to demonstrate violence.

Nothing good would come of it.

"Lia…I would never hurt your sister."

"Lies!" Lia's shouted as a sudden wave of invisible energy radiated around her body. Cassandra could feel the vibration of the fawn's wrath against her skin, realizing that greater harm may be closer than she thought.

The brunette tried to remain calm, seeing that the woman in front of her was bound to explode at the slightest provocation. Nevertheless, she still sought to defend what remained of her character. She didn't want the woman to believe what she already thought.

"I promise, I would never have wanted her to feel that kind of fear," she said with sincerity in her eyes. Cassandra's lips parted and her jaw lowered half an inch as she awaited a response. It was the face of a lady who balanced desperation and determination. This wasn't a game anymore.

Lia scowled as she held her glare, watching every micro-movement that her detested guest made. "That fear you speak of…you know all about it, don't you?"

"What are you asking?"

The fawn took a step toward her, stopping as soon as she saw Cassandra take one back. Her green eyes briefly dropped toward the killer's feet, aware that the advantage was firmly in her grasp.

"I've seen everything that you have done to every poor soul who has crossed your path. The way they looked at you when you killed them. The way they begged for their lives." Lia's lip curled as she balled her fists. "That's the kind of fear you instilled in my sister. She knew nothing of what you were and that's why she felt safe with you. You're a liar for hiding that from her. You lied to everyone who gave you a chance because you knew what they would do had they known about the real you."

Cassandra lifted her head, closed both eyes, and took a breath; slowly and softly. When the final gust expelled from her nostrils, she folded her lips and re-opened her view of the woman in front of her.

It was time to be honest.

"I am not going to lie anymore," she stated with a low, yet firm tone. She took another breath, ready to put aside all the barriers that had prevented her from telling the truth. "I have done many terrible things. I have killed many people."

Lia advanced a couple of feet toward her before stopping once again. She looked like she was holding back, if only by a small thread. "You didn't just kill them – you ate them! You bled them until there was nothing left. There is evil and then there is you. You are something else entirely. A monster disguised as a poil –"

Lia shook her head with a grimace as she corrected herself. "Or, whatever they're called in your world…"

"I'm not sure what I am," Cassandra replied. "I needed to drink their blood to stay alive. Whenever I didn't have it, the thirst I felt was unending. I felt like I was close to death. It was either them or me and I made the wrong choice over and over."

Lia's breathing grew heavier as she stared her down. She responded with a somewhat calmer tone, even though she was no less angry. "It doesn't matter in the end. Beast or not; you are a psychopath. You tortured all those women. You listened to them scream and all you did was laugh. Between the blood and death, that's all it was – you laughing at their cries for mercy."

The brunette sighed as she bowed her head, aware that her truths went deeper than simple murder. "I know. I know what I did. I don't expect to be forgiven for it."

"And you won't!" Lia growled.

Cassandra lifted her eyes back to her. "That is fine. I deserve it."

A short, sarcastic grin broke on Lia's face as she tilted her head. "Oh! I'm glad you see that. But, you deserve much more than just being unforgiven. You deserve to endure all that you have wrought. If I could put you through what I have seen, then maybe the scales could be balanced."

Cassandra's amber eyes narrowed as she processed her words. "Is that what this has all been about? Revenge?"

Lia's false smile faded as her scowl returned. "No. It is not. Revenge is something that is taken when one feels wronged by another's actions. You have wronged me, Cassandra, but I am not seeking revenge for it. No. I'm proactive, not reactive."

With a slow shake of her head, Cassandra tried to disperse the cloud of arrogance that she felt Lia exuding. She kept her tone calm as before, but the directness of her statements would not be watered down, "You talk about how above me you are. I know you've never done the things that I've done. But, I do worry about you, Lia. The physical violence I've committed is not the only thing that plagues my soul. It is also the words that I have spoken that have harmed those closest to me."

In a split second, the fawn erupted in a burst of rage. She raised her shoulders and held them high as her teeth bared. "This is not about me! Do not try and change the subject! You are responsible for how my sister is right now!"

Cassandra was beginning to lose her patience. There was a storm of anger boiling inside her chest that she fought to keep down, lest this conversation devolved into a fight. She knew Lia would likely win with her powers. They were unimaginably strong and the fawn's will was the wall that kept them at bay.

Still – she couldn't stop some of it from slipping out.

"Maybe," she paused as Lia grew angrier, seeing that beating around the bush would only provoke her temper further. "Yes, I am. But, that is not what I am talking about. You are letting your hatred for me take over and it is hurting Leta. She told me how you can be. I've seen the way you raise your voice at her even when I am not around."

A sudden wall of energy shot forth and knocked Cassandra off her feet. She hit the ground, rolling over as soon as she was able to regain the wind that had been sent out from her stomach. While in a fit of coughing, she watched as Lia took some more steps closer, arriving less than a foot from her body.

"When I am gone…" Cassandra fought for additional air, "…you will still have that anger. It is not going away."

"When you are gone, I will no longer have to fear for my sister's safety."

"Yes, you will." Cassandra held her stomach as she cautiously stood up and backed away some more. "You're always going to because that's what sisters do. But, how many more times are you going to yell at her? How many times is she going to feel like she doesn't have a friend?"

Lia's chest flared as she heaved in breath after breath. Each exhale morphed into a moderate grunt while she tightened her balled fists.

"She doesn't need friends! She needs a sister!"

"It doesn't have to be one or the other. She just needs you."

A blue glow flashed from Lia's fingers as she charged her magic. "And that is it. She does not need a murderer to be her friend."

"When you send me back, I'll be gone. She won't have to see me anymore. None of you will."

"That's not all that I'm worried about, Cassandra." The blue glow traveled from Lia's fingers down to her palm, where it grew in size, quickly enveloping both her hands. "What will you do when I send you back? How many more women are going to die? I've been thinking about that a lot. Even if I will never be there to witness it, I can't live contently knowing that sending you back means condemning a countless number of people to your sick ways."

Cassandra stood idle for a moment as her eyes drifted wayward, arriving at her own two hands – the same ones responsible for ending all those lives. She softly curled her fingers, brushing her thumbs along the front of her fists. "I can't go back to that. It just doesn't feel right anymore."

Her words did nothing to stem the tide of Lia's mounting rage. The fawn shifted ahead, vanishing from where she stood and swiftly appearing inches in front of Cassandra's face. "It was never right!"

The brunette backpedaled but Lia would not stop walking closer to her. More blue energy glowed from her hands as she kept her glare forward. "What you have done isn't something that can be forgotten. And even if you did choose to never kill again, that doesn't mean that you deserve to live out the rest of your days in peace!"

Cassandra felt her body strike a table as she moved away. She turned her head to glance at where she could go to maneuver around it, but Lia sent her hand across her body and the table flew across the room, crashing against the wall nearby and causing the brunette to jolt. Her amber irises shot back at the woman next to her, who did not look like she was anywhere close to done.

"I don't expect to," she replied.

"You won't."

"I wish I never killed anybody. Ever since I arrived in your world, the way I feel – the way I think – has changed. The thirst – all of that – it is gone."

Lia shook her head. "You're a liar."

"I am not lying."

"Yes, you are!" Lia screamed.

Cassandra took a stance, abandoning her calm attitude in the hopes that Lia would see how truthful she was being. "I am not lying! Please, listen to me. It isn't just my physical being that has transformed. I know how I was to you when I first got here. I tried to kill you, yes. The way I acted was vile, but since then, I have changed. Everything that you people have shown me has helped me understand myself more. All this anger that I kept inside of myself was only creating pain that others had to suffer from. I spent my entire life locking it away and making it worse in the process. But, everyone here has made it possible to open it up and face it. It's been hard for me and I know I still am not perfect, but I want to keep trying."

She cupped her hands, holding them out to Lia in a begging fashion. "I'm getting better, Lia."

Lia curled her lip as she tilted her head once more. Her glowing hand raised toward Cassandra, who winced at the sight. Lia's forefinger cast forward in an accusatory manner.

"You are a liar. You're not getting better. The things you say to me when you're angry shows that the evil in you is far from gone. You may have easily convinced my sister, and you may have convinced Milo, but you're not convincing me."

Lia kept her finger ahead, while Cassandra noticed that the fingers on her opposite hand were beginning to spread. The intense blue glow around them brightened; fluctuating as her energy traveled at a fierce rate.

Disdain coated the fawn's expression. "I've seen what people like you can do. You destroy the lives of others, and then you simply go back to the one you've had. You just feel bad that your actions have negatively cost you. You're content to go about your days, smiling and laughing, as long as no one else knew what you truly were because you knew you were wrong. If Leta had not found out the truth about you, you would have continued with your façade."

Lia yelled as her left hand opened up widely, "That makes you a liar!"

"Lia, stop!" Cassandra shouted.

"You don't get to tell anyone what to do!"

Cassandra took a breath, seeing that everything was about to fall to pieces. This was her last chance to pull back and stop whatever was about to occur.

"You're right, Lia," she admitted as a tear befell her left eye. "I would have continued because I was scared. I've always been scared. I was evil. I enjoyed everything that I did to my victims, but I always remembered how weak I was when I did it. Killing them took me away from how I felt about myself, but it only served to bottle up my issues. I've lived for years in that, and now, it's all coming back to me. I did not live a happy life, even if you think I did, trust me; I did not."

The fawn stopped moving, watching Cassandra as she listened to every word she had to say.

"I was never happy, and that was its own kind of punishment. I felt like a prisoner no matter where I went. I had no hope and right before I arrived here, I believed I was worthless. Now, having seen what I could have had all along, and how it is gone because of what I've done, I regret it. Is it selfish? Yes. But, I lived my whole life believing that what I was doing was just and right, only to realize that my actions were terrible. I am not done changing, and the more I do, the more I will see how horrible I was, but I don't have to be that person."

Lia remained still. "You are selfish."

"I am," Cassandra gulped as another tear came loose. "I was always so concerned with how I felt. I never cared much about the feelings of others or how I treated them, even my own family. It was easy to stay angry and hold on to that rage because it made me feel like the other person was to blame. Meanwhile, I was the one responsible for it all. Anger doesn't make anything better, Lia. It only causes more pain."

"This isn't about me…"

"I don't want you to make the same mistakes that I've made. Whatever it is that you wish to do to me, it isn't going to change anything." Cassandra wiped the two tears off her face. "It never does."

Undeterred, Lia continued to breathe heavily while she groaned. The brunette's words sounded genuine and they tugged that the very foundation of how she felt. Nonetheless, she would not allow herself to be swayed – especially after coming this far.

She had spent so much of her time building up this rage toward Cassandra. Moment after moment. Fight after fight. To let all her discontent simply vanish after hearing that little speech was nearly impossible. She fought the opportunity to relinquish herself of her frustrations at every turn.

After everything Cassandra had put her through and the terror that she witnessed in her sister's eyes, she could not allow the woman's past deeds to remain unpunished.

"That's what you'd like, right?" Lia dropped her hand and adopted the same gesture that she held in the other. "Me to just forget and forgive? All that blood and death and it is washed away with a simple apology?"

She bared her teeth as she scorned such a thought, "You take me for a fool."

"No, I don't, Lia. I've felt the same way. I thought I was wronged by everyone around me and I let that anger build. I took it out on those closest to me because I couldn't take it any longer. In the end, it only created more problems. I never allowed myself the chance to forgive, but you can."

"That's how it always is, isn't it?" Lia stated as her breathing slowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Fawns are always expected to forgive," she answered with a sense of regret. Lia's fingers twiddled around as she vented a fragment of her greatest burdens. "We're supposed to let evil exist and when it finally comes to harm us; we forgive it. It's a traditional lesson that all fawns are taught – myself included. But, then when I grew up and I saw firsthand that sort of evil, I decided that continue listening to the ways that I was taught. Against everything I believed, I tried to forgive."

"Could you?" Cassandra asked.

"Then you came along and threatened my life. I still tried to move past it because that was what I was told to do. Then, I got to witness the true magnitude of the kind of person that you are. I witnessed unimaginable actions that far surpassed anything that I thought could exist. I began to think that my elders may not have known of the same kind of brutality. Yet, as much as I detested you, I tried to work with what I was given, but in my heart, I couldn't move past that. Milo wouldn't listen to me, and Leta was blinded by your lies. Because of my inaction and reliance on others, my sister had to endure the same pain that I felt, and now, her life is in danger because she is a surge."

The blue glow on her hands briefly morphed into a sharp flame before it died back down.

"I am done with that all. I will not forgive you, nor will I allow you to hurt anyone else in this realm."

Lia brought her hand forward again – this time with her fingers aimed directly at Cassandra.

"I am not going to allow evil to walk away from this."

"Lia, don't…"

"No."

As soon as she realized that Lia would not give up, Cassandra knew she had to act quickly. As soon as the fawn's tongue broke the last breath of her response, the brunette dashed forward and grabbed her by the wrist. Throwing her arm into the air, Cassandra sought to divert whatever energy she was about to unleash her way.

Lia's eyes widened as soon as she realized that Cassandra had grabbed her. She shook her arm with all her physical strength, trying to break free from the brunette's grasp. "Get off!"

"I'm not going to fight you!" Cassandra shouted back as the two tussled around. Lia's thin frame proved to be easy to push around, but the heat from her hands was strong and carried a reminder of just how powerful she could get. With no powers of her own, all Cassandra could do was hope luck would stay on her side.

She struggled to retain control of Lia's arm, which became increasingly difficult as the woman tossed and spun around in an attempt to shake her off. She could see the blue glow of Lia's left hand as it came toward her, prompting Cassandra to reach across her body and take hold of that one as well.

Once she had Lia by both her wrists, Cassandra tried to talk to her again but the fawn's constant resistance made it difficult to divert her attention away from the present. She could see the ferocity in her green eyes – which locked onto hers with a hateful glare.

Lia pushed forward, forcing Cassandra to shove her back. Too engulfed in the moment, the fawn allowed herself to fall back as she concentrated on attacking the brunette with her powers. They fell against the ground, Cassandra landing on top of her adversary.

As soon as Lia hit the floor, she came to her senses and realized that the fight was not going to go in her favor. Fortunately – for her – returning to her senses brought with it the reminder of another trick she could employ.

As soon as Cassandra lifted her head to focus on the woman below her, she felt a warm aura take over and the sudden disappearance of everything that her weight sat on. Lia vanished before her very eyes.

Cassandra scrambled to get back up and see where she could have gone, but as soon as her upper body rose, she felt a powerful sting wash over her. The firing of her nerves paralyzed her entire being as her muscles locked in place – frozen.

Lia stepped out from around the corner with her hand extended as she approached the woman. Cassandra had not experienced this ever since the two first met, but this time, Lia had decided to add an element of pain to the mix.

"You're a wild animal," Lia said as she turned her hand, lifting Cassandra's body in tow. "A danger to everything around you."

Barely able to speak due to her paralysis, Cassandra could only groan in agony as Lia's powers pulled and tugged at her ends. She hovered around in the air, two feet from the ground. Her body, surrounded by a faint, blue glow, was the fawn's puppet.

Lia held Cassandra in front of her – arms out to her sides, bent downward.

"I will not allow such an animal to run free in this castle."

Argh! It hurts! I need to get out of this!

"Lia…" Cassandra pushed her words through her teeth. "Please…stop."

"No! You don't get to make any demands!" She closed in on Cassandra, looking up at her as she did so. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yes…"

"Good," Lia smiled. "So many fawns have suffered because of people like you. You think we are so forgiving and will continue to allow this to happen. Do you think I will allow you passage to continue to harm my sister?"

Her eyes narrowed on her prey. "No. But, I will show you just what a fawn is capable of…"

With that – Lia twisted her hand and sent a crushing force all along Cassandra's bones. It lit up her nervous system in a fiery storm, causing suffering throughout every end of her body. The brunette tensed up with tears as she was forced to take the pain. It lasted for a dozen seconds before Lia finally let it simmer down.

"How's it feel?"

Cassandra's pale cheeks had turned red as her face became flushed. "Please…stop…"

Lia's voice grew louder as she snapped, "That is only a fraction of what you have done to others! Look at you, you can't even take it!" She rotated her hand again as she listened to Cassandra scream. "You're as weak as I thought you were; pushing others past their limits while you could barely hold your own!"

She relinquished the crushing force upon Cassandra's body once more as she reached over and yanked down the hood of her black dress. Cassandra's eyes briefly opened as she realized that her head was now in full view, but she could do nothing about it. Her body was still reeling from the torment that the woman had inflicted on her, and such concerns quickly faded away as more dire circumstances took priority.

Lia's eyes rose to the large scar on her head; her brows squinting at such a sight. Cassandra's poorly shaved head opened the floor to many questions that the fawn could have asked, only to drown as she left her victim with a small, but powerful statement.

"You're as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside, it seems."

The force around Cassandra's neck and jaw had lowered, allowing her to move those areas about more freely, while the rest of her body remained frozen in pain. Her eyes closed and her teeth bared in a saddened expression as she fought to keep it all in.

"Stop…" She whimpered as more tears began to seep through her eyelids.

"Are all your sisters like this too? Is that why you wear those robes?"

Cassandra would not answer.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.' They're just as monstrous as you are, so it would only make sense," Lia's voice echoed her darkest sentiments as she funneled her animosity toward the helpless woman who was at her mercy. "You and your wretched family are nothing but killers. You all belong in cages, away from the rest of the world you live in. Disgusting creatures. I can only hope that they are long gone."

More tears fell from Cassandra's eyes as she squinted to keep them shut. An audible sob could be heard from under her breath as her head bobbed up and down, but Lia still would not be swayed.

"I watched you and your sisters pick apart all those poor women. The way they laughed as they went about it…" Lia's face tensed as she tensed her fists. Her rage was building and it was about to come out. "The way you and your family tormented those unfortunate souls…I can't stand it!"

A fist struck Cassandra across the face. Her head jolted to the left, while her body remained firmly held by the magic of the fawn. She could feel a strong pain that radiated across her cheek, opening her eyes to see Lia staring at her knuckles.

"This is for every one of those girls. Today, they receive their revenge – courtesy of me," Lia remarked right before she sent another blow directly into Cassandra's nose. The impact rocked her head back, and an immediate release of blood came from her nostrils.

The brunette shut her eyes and opened her mouth to gasp for air, only to receive a third hit that pressed her lip into her teeth. The sound of Lia's grunting as she threw the punches equaled her fury as she began to release portions of bitterness with each blow.

"Stop!" Cassandra wailed as she found the chance to speak. "Please!"

"No!" Lia shouted. "This is only the start!"

A fourth swing connected with Cassandra's opposite cheek, bruising it as the sting flowed throughout her bones. The intensity of Lia's magic that held her body in place also climbed, re-igniting the pain that she felt everywhere else.

"I'm sorry!" Cassandra cried more tears. "I know what I've done! I don't know what you want!"

Lia's voice grew to levels that Cassandra had never heard before. "I want you to pay for everything you have done! You may have gotten away with it in your world, but you will not in mine!"

She punched Cassandra again. "You will know what pain is."

"I know pain," Cassandra sobbed as more blood trickled out of her nose and lips.

"You do not!"

"I hate myself for what I have done. I am terrified of it all. I just wish I was dead."

Lia leaned in; her lips close to Cassandra's ear. "You'll get your wish."

Despite all the crying that she was doing, Cassandra managed to crack open her eyelids and stare back at the woman who was beating her. "You're not a killer."

"I can start…" Lia growled.

"Don't…" Cassandra held her breath as a second wave of tears broke out. "You can't take it back when you do."

The energy around Cassandra's body tightened, constricting her skin and bones even harder. She opened her mouth to let out another scream and Lia suddenly threw another fist straight up into her nose, sending a splash of blood out and down her black dress.

Weakened by the blow, Cassandra hung her head as she tried to breathe for more air.

Lia clenched her fists as her eyes flashed into a bright blue for a short second. She wanted to tear the woman apart. It would have been so easy. All she had to do was divert her magic and the brunette's limbs would have been sheared from her torso. However, as much as she wanted to see Cassandra meet her end, there was no willpower to see it through.

She tried to ignore how much truth the words of the woman she hated the most had to them.

She wasn't a killer.

"Shut up!" She screamed as she prepared to punch her again.

Milo came charging into the room; his worst fears were realized the moment he saw Cassandra hovering in the air. The screams he had heard from across the castle paled in comparison to the sights in front of him.

"Lia! Stop!" He shouted at her.

The fawn turned around as she shot a displeased look at the man. Her brows pressed against the bridge of her nose. "Go away, Milo."

His focus shifted to Cassandra, who was continuing to bleed. He wiped his face to steady his composure, while on the inside, all he wanted to do was crumble. "What are you doing?"

"I'm finished listening to your terrible decisions! I'm taking a stand! I will not allow her to hurt anyone again!"

He raised his hands as he began to step closer to her. Lia remained cautious, as she knew the man was smart. Milo stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed her defensive posture rising.

"Lia…listen to me: you need to stop this. It's not too late."

"You're right, it isn't," she growled as she heightened the pressure on Cassandra's nerves, causing her to scream yet again.

Milo's eyes widened as soon as he heard the agony coming out of her voice. He could hardly bear to listen to it as a small tear formed along his eye. He reached into his vest pocket and retrieved a small vial of a pink liquid. Lia suddenly became enraged at the sight of it.

"What do you think you're going to do with that?" She yelled.

At a loss for words, Milo paused once he knew he had acted too slowly. Nevertheless, he couldn't give up. The man reared his arm back to throw the vial at Lia, but the fawn lashed out with her hand, ripping the glass from his palm and sending it crashing into the stone wall behind him. A large plume of pink mist broke out before evaporating into the air.

Milo craned his neck at the aftermath, knowing that his only option to end this madness was gone.

Lia pointed her finger at him just like she had done to Cassandra moments before. "That's how it is, right? All you want to do is protect her! You care nothing about my sister or me!"

"I don't want to see anyone get hurt, Lia!" Milo pleaded.

Fire filled Lia's soul as her cheeks and nose became red from all the emotions that coursed throughout her mind. The fawn pointed her finger back at Cassandra while she kept her eyes set on the man who had raised her all these years.

"She slaughtered countless people and you don't care! You never cared, did you?! People just keep hurting others and nothing ever changes! But, when I finally decide to put an end to it, it is wrong? You tell me how that works, Milo! Tell me why I am so wrong when I am the only one who gives a damn!"

Milo took another step closer but Lia sent an invisible wall of energy his way, preventing a ten-foot radius between him and them from becoming reachable. The man stepped back as the tear that he formed finally broke loose.

"Please, this isn't who you are, Lia," his voice fell to a somber tone – the last shot he had to convince her of how he felt. "You are a good fawn and an even greater woman. You care more about others than you do yourself. But, please, see that this is not the person you've tried to raise Leta to become."

"Stop talking…" Lia shut her eyes as she raised her fists to her chest.

"You're a loving person who has always gone out of your way to help those in need. You've saved lives on so many occasions. You've saved mine," Milo's voice cracked as more tears dropped. "You are a daughter to me. I'm sorry I wasn't the father you needed."

"Milo…stop…" She growled more.

Cassandra lifted her head and spoke to Lia, hoping that this was the chance to get through the walls she had raised, "He's right…"

Lia snapped as she spun around and faced Cassandra, her eyes wild with contempt. "Enough! No more talking! You know nothing of my life!" Anger raged from inside her as she grabbed Cassandra by the hair that she had left on her skull.

Her pent-up aggression transcended the last of her self-control and there was no holding it back.

"I wish you never showed up in my world! I wish you had died! Argh, I hate you so much!"

A series of punches rolled out as she battered the woman's face, strike after strike, fist after fist. Milo could only stand by and watch as the horrific display played out in front of him, unable to do anything but shout the fawn's name. Lia continued to pummel Cassandra, smearing her mouth with blood as each hit connected with its target.

Cassandra was awake enough to register everything that was going on, but with Lia's magic surrounding her body, she had no other option but to endure all the pain she was being given. Her heart raced with fear of what would happen next and it was then that she truly began to understand what her past victims had felt.

Lia carried on her assault with a scream, "I hate you! I hate you!"

Suddenly, a high-pitched cry broke the air and pulled the woman from her vicious frenzy, "Lia!"

With a gasp, Lia ceased the barrage of punches and spun around to see Leta at the entrance to the library. The child looked frightened to all hell, her eyes moving back and forth between her sister and Cassandra; who bowed her head in a desperate attempt to recover from what just happened.

Lia's breathing slowed down – if only by a little. "Leta?"

"What are you doing to her?!" Leta shouted as she began to cry, her cheeks growing as pink as her eyes.

Lia cleared her throat while the sound of Cassandra's faint whimpers could still be heard in the background. "I'm protecting you from her. She will never harm you again, I promise." She began to approach Leta – only for the girl to immediately back away.

"I just need you to –" Lia stopped as soon as she realized what was going on. Leta had taken cover behind Milo, who rotated his body to check up on the little girl.

"Milo," Leta's worried voice spoke, "you need to stop her."

"Just stay behind me, Leta," he tried to comfort her as the situation was beyond his control.

Lia took another step toward her sister, hoping that she would come to her if Cassandra wasn't so close. With her eyes fixated directly on her sibling, Leta cowered behind the man, more afraid than she had ever been before.

"Leta," Lia's once damning tone had now died to a somber whisper. Her brows furrowed and her eyes adopted a glassy texture. "I'm not the one who is going to hurt you. I –"

She felt her heart drop as her sister's terrified face poked out from the side of Milo's leg, only to vanish as she sought additional cover. She then realized the magnitude of her actions and what they had resulted in. It was no longer the images of countless deaths nor the presence of the mass murderer herself that made the child question her safety. When Lia looked at her sister and saw her face…the cold, hard truth could not be avoided.

She was afraid of her.

With the dawn of this new reality in her mind, Lia began to step back, unable to take her eyes off the pair. "I would never hurt any–"

She then glanced at her bloodied knuckles, holding them in front of herself in awe at what she had just done. Cassandra's continued whimpers infested her ears, causing her to turn around and witness the result of her violence. Even though the brunette was a murderer, all Lia could see was a distraught woman who she had purposefully injured – physically and emotionally.

"What have I done?"

Tears of her own started to pool as the gravity of this act set in. She waved her hand and gently lowered Cassandra to the ground, before turning back and staring at Milo and Leta – the pair still uncertain of the level of danger she still possessed.

As the first tear fell down her cheek, Lia's voice cracked and she stumbled on her words, "Milo, I…I…"

Her composure quickly fell. Lia choked on her sadness, unable to handle the guilt of her actions. She immediately swiped her arm across her body and vanished out of sight, leaving nothing but blue particles left to disperse in her wake.

Seizing the chance to repair the mess as best he could, Milo turned to the fearful child at his side and knelt to address her, "Leta, I need you to go to your room for right now."

Still crying, the girl could not take her mind off of what she had just seen. "What about Lia? Is Cassandra okay?"

He kept his tone as soft as he could, withstanding all the stress inside his body so that he would not elevate her own, "I'll be up there soon. Everything will be okay. I need you to go now, please."

With a sharp nod, Leta turned around and ran out of the room and quickly out of sight. Milo took a second to compose himself as he wiped his face and hurried to the battered woman who was not far away.

Arriving at Cassandra, he once again knelt to check up on her. The brunette's lower face was coated in blood following the devasting hits that Lia had made. Despite her injuries, Cassandra was still conscious and turned her tearful amber eyes toward the only source of comfort she would have for now.

"Cassandra," Milo spoke as he assessed the damage, "This is fixable. I'm going to run and grab some medicine in the other room, okay? Just give me a minute." He began to rise to his feet, ready to turn around and head off for the necessary items to remedy her wounds.

As soon as he did – a thin hand gripped his sleeve.

Cassandra's broken and helpless voice softly called out for him, "Stay…"

Milo turned his head down to her as he parted his lips. He gave her a firm nod before returning to the ground, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and allowing her to bury her bleeding face against his chest. Cassandra began to cry out, releasing all of her emotions onto the fabric of his brown vest.

Milo could only hold her tighter, his fatherly instincts kicking in. Cassandra may have been an outsider from another realm. She may have been a sadistic killer in that world too. But, as far as the man could care, she was a fractured young woman who needed someone to be there for her.

Her cries were the same as those of any daughter who yearned for a parent to nurture them and protect them from the worst that life had to offer. While he was not her father, he would not deny her the same solace he had given to his own daughter all those years ago.

His hands caressed the side of her shaven head, while her hands gripped his vest as hard as they could. Cassandra continued to push more tears out, while bubbles formed from underneath the blood that seeped from her nostrils. Her hands pulled against his outfit, afraid that somehow he would be pulled away when she needed him the most.

Milo could not hold back his tears from coming out again, but he tried to keep his voice as strong as possible. However, it would only go so far as he too was not immune from the pain that this entire episode had created.

"It's okay. You're going to…be okay."

NOTES:

Welcome back! Well, it finally happened – Lia snapped.

This chapter is a whirlwind of emotions as we see that Cassandra was not the only one who has fallen victim to their anger. It was an ugly scene and the damage is done. But, is there a chance to heal? Yes.

The next chapter is going to be a long one, but it will be somber tide of revelations that will push this story in its next direction. There is no going back now – only forward.

The next chapter will raise the stakes in its own ways, but we will close these wounds.

That chapter will release on the 19th.

Follow this story on Archive of Our Own to see the newest artwork created for this chapter!

In the meantime, I hope every one of you have been enjoying your lives! We're officially twenty chapters in and I am so happy to have met you all! You inspired me to make it this far and to create the other stories that will fit into this universe. I only wish I had started this sooner. Thanks for everything that you have given me! Wishing you all the best of happiness in the times ahead.

I probably sound like a broken record by this point, but I mean it. Thank you! Stay safe!