Maximinus and the delegation found themselves before the Empress once again. This time they were not in the throne room but an audience chamber elsewhere in the palace.

The empress sat in a plush chair made for someone of her size. Arranged in front of the chair were seats for visitors, creating a less formal and more relaxed environment than the throne room.

Maximinus sat nearest to the Empress on one of the couches, with Shandra at his side. Myna stood behind him protectively. Marazanna sat on a chair next to their couch, her headpiece perfectly level atop her head and Tyusha stood behind her.

"Have you been able to learn enough to think things over?" The Empress asked.

"We have gotten some… perspective, Your Majesty." While Lias and his wives compiled the report to send to Splatsville, Maximinus had gone out with his own wives to see more of Inkopolis and were even able to visit the domes again.

Seeing how their people had lived, the hardships they'd had to endure for one-hundred years, was more than they could bear, but it did give them something to work with, something they could offer the Ascendancy in return.

"Your Majesty, may we explain what we can offer the Ascendancy in greater detail now? We have heard back from the clans and we are ready to give their answer."

A tiny smirk tugged at one corner of the Empress' face. "Might as well, I suppose."

It was disarming enough that Maximinus allowed himself to relax a little more but he had to keep his guard up.

"Firstly, the Balt Ralok Clan wishes to help with the restoration of Octarian culture. We will send people to educate Octarians on how our society is supposed to function, allowing the people to transition from their current rigid structure into a more fluid and natural state. We would also be willing and able to add our expertise to your expanding navy. We have many willing, young sailors but not enough ships. Given that the navy would have to expand more to defend Splatsville as well, I feel that is natural."

"All fair points," the Empress agreed. "The clan runs the port then?"

"It does. The port and the Green River that passes through the city. Our only issue is that the foreign businesses have been disrespecting the port authority."

"That is a separate issue. Let's skip the Balt Ralok clan, we're already willing to take them in and reunite the Octarian people. Let's hear what the other clans offer."

So Maximinus told her about the valuable cotton grown along the Green River by the Oanaga clan, along with many different spices and fruits exotic to Inkadia. He argued that such luxury items would appeal to the nation's wealthy. Likewise, Splatsville had large numbers of people who had been forced into poverty but were willing to work. Bringing them to Inkopolis would help alleviate the labour shortage.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," the Empress agreed. "But what about the Manta Clan? We don't get many of their kind around here."

"I am aware of that, Your Majesty. The Manta Clan offers much in the way of art, tourism, and science. They run the museum with a number of valuable Precursor artifacts I am sure your uncle would very much like to see."

The empress' eyes narrowed and they speared him with a glare. "We're not talking about my uncle, Vir Rezni."

Maximinus flinched.

He'd learned that the Queen's father was an archaeologist, a highly prized and extremely valuable profession. Such a person would find the abundance of Precursor artifacts in Splatsville and yet to be found irresistible. Clearly, she was trying to avoid family affecting her decisions and she probably wanted to make sure it remained that way to legitimize her ultimate decision as much as possible.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I just thought I would mention it. The queen spoke of him at length. That being said, Precursor artifacts do turn up quite often, some quite valuable."

She relaxed somewhat, letting Maximinus feel like he could breathe again, but he had to take that warning to heart.

"Nice and all but not all that valuable to us since, by treaty, all nations must share any Precursor technology they find."

"A fact I am aware of, Your Majesty; however, it is also a fact that not all nations adhere to the treaty as stringently. I know for a fact that all three of the nations trying to take Splatsville for themselves have found valuable artifacts and not made them public."

The Empress' mantle pulsed blue even as it rippled burgundy. "I can't say I'm surprised to hear that. I suppose that is worth considering."

"I certainly agree, Your Majesty. Now, getting back to the Manta Clan, they also run the airport in Splatsville. It is not large but once things settle down and tourism increases, I have no doubt that it will become busy in terms of international travel."

"A fair assumption," she agreed. "No doubt many Octarians will want to visit to see how an Octarian society works, not that airports really make any money. Now, is there anything else?"

"There is, I suppose. All three nations are also interested in the mines at Iron End, north of the city. With Splatsville joining the Ascendancy and all Three Clans being given membership in the council, the town of Iron End would likewise fall under your banner. There's even a refinery being built there."

The empress' eyes widened every so slightly and Maximinus allowed himself a small feeling of triumph. Iron End had not only an iron mine, but one for copper as well. He had even heard of the possibility of a tin mine even deeper into the Splatlands.

"Understood," the Empress replied coolly. "What about culturally and spiritually? Do you think the people of Splatsville would be willing to be a part of the Ascendancy? Will they see us as just another nation trying to boss them around?"

"The clans will give you their full support, Your Majestly. We do ask for your patience and grace during the transition, but I assure you that, based on what I have seen in my short time here, the people will come to accept and even love being a part of the Ascendnacy."

For several seconds, the Empress just stared at him, her pupils narrowing, as if searching him for some fault.

There was a knock on the door and the Empress bid them to enter. A guard poked inside and said, "Your Majesty, the High Martial is here."

The Empress smiled. Maximinus swore he detected a hint of smugness in it.

"Perfect timing. Bring her in."

The guard opened the door, revealing a uniformed takenam with eyes and tentacles of dark-violet. Her face was one of total seriousness as she marched crisply into the room, followed by a slightly younger octoling close behind. They saluted the Empress, who bowed her head in return.

"Vir Rezni, I present to you High-Martial Gabralla Sever, supreme commander of the Ascendancy Armed Forces, and her aide, Captain Shylah Windfall. High-Marital, Maximinus Rezni is the head of the delegation from Splatsville."

Maximinus stood and bowed, electricity dancing up and down his back. If they were talking to the person in charge of the military, then that meant they were making progress. They could finally talk about giving Splatsville the help it desperately needed.

"Honoured, High-Martial, Captain."

The empress motioned them into their seats. The High-Martial sat in the chair across from Maximinus while her aid took a seat next to hers.

"Your Majesty, may I assume talks have proceeded to a place where I can contribute?"

"They have indeed, Martial. Your timing was perfect. What are your opinions and recommendations?"

Sever pulled a rectangular object from the pocket of her uniform tunic about the size of a notepad and held it in front of her, staring at it as if reading from it. Was it some kind of electronic device?

"Based on our reports about the situation in Splatsville and the surrounding area, I believe it is feasible for us to move and secure the city, provided we have local support. As for holding the city against three countries, nothing is certain.

"The Reef of Lanc has no standing army, the Urchin Kingdom's own standing force is minimal and optimized for defence, while the Consortium of Birgus is far away and the only practical means for them to transport and supply a force is via the river. I am; however, concerned about our ability to defend the settlements along the river itself. They go for over two-hundred kilometres.

"Splatsville itself has little in the way of fixed defences so we would need to rely on fortifying street intersections. The hostile nations control an area on the west side of the city, including a port facility. There's where they're getting their supplies and reinforcements from. If we control that, we should be able to gain control of the city in a fairly short time. The locals should be able to handle securing the airport and river."

Maximinus was a little taken aback. Had they accrued that much information on the Splatlands just from speaking with them? No, that couldn't be, they never told them information that detailed. Unless…

"Do you have agents inside Splatsville?" He asked.

The Empress' mantle rippled a vibrant yellow, amusement sparkling in her eyes. "Of course. In fact, we had people there before you ever left. We didn't know you were coming but we have been getting information here and there. It's the reason we were able to trust you quickly enough that we could meet in person. It's allowed us to formulate a plan to save Splatsville if we managed to come to an agreement."

"I understand, I suppose." He said, trying to keep his frustration out of his voice. "But it might have been helpful if the people back home could have had someone from you to speak to and answer questions."

The empress pulsed a light green and hummed. "Maybe, but not ideal given who we sent. They are of a more military mind and not terribly well suited to diplomacy. Things could have easily gotten out of hand. Still, your point is understood, so we'll be sending Representative Betanuss to act as a liaison with the force we send, at least in the short term. You'll be needed here so we would appreciate you writing a letter of introduction for her."

"That would be helpful," Sever agreed. "We will have to move quickly and the cooperation of the locals is paramount."

Maximinus suddenly found himself being carried along. Things were moving so fast he was struggling to keep up, but one thing was clear: the Ascendancy had been planning with the expectation that negotiations would turn out this way. They hadn't technically agreed to anything yet – at least they hadn't signed anything but they couldn't afford to slow things down, not when time was of the essence.

"I will prepare one," he said.

"Good, and while you're doing that we'll prepare some formal documents for your leaders to sign, declaring their intentions to join the Ascendancy and that the specifics of the terms of their membership will be determined later. For right now though…"

The Empress snapped her fingers and the door opened once more, with a servant wheeling a cart containing a pen and a piece of paper atop a tray. Representative Betanuss entered right behind it, a small smile curving her lips.

The cart stopped in front of Maximinus and the servant picked up the tray, placing it in front of him.

"What is this?" He asked.

"A document that states you, as the representative of the clans, have officially asked us to interfere on Splatsville's behalf, officially announcing your intention to join the Ascendancy, and that you are giving us permission to land troops in the defence of Splatsville, along with whatever forces we deem necessary to conduct its defence, and granting our forces the authority to proceed however necessary. We don't have enough strength there right now to adequately defend the whole city, obviously. This is basically a receipt we can hand over to the Council of Nations if anyone cries foul about what we're doing."

Hesitantly he replied, "I understand", then delicately picked up the paper. He read it line by line, making sure he didn't skim or miss a single word. Finally, he picked up the pen and signed his name on the dotted line.

"Thank you." The Empress looked pleased. "This will make everything much easier down the road."

"I suppose so." Maximimnus couldn't sound enthusiastic, because now he had officially crossed the line that would cause Splatsville to come under the control of a foreign power, the very thing they had been trying to avoid all this time. Instead, they had simply been forced to choose which foreign power they were to be occupied by.

"What's wrong, Vir Rezni? I thought this was what you wanted."

Maximinus hurriedly forced his funk aside and collected himself. "Of course, Your Majesty. It's just that I hope we're not too late." It was a lie, probably an obvious one, but it seemed the polite thing to do in the moment.

She smiled and leaned her head on one hand. "Don't worry, there's more than enough strength in the city to stop things from getting out of control until we get there."

"Really?" Maximinus frowned. "I thought we would have been able to find so many outsiders. How many soldiers do you have in the Splatlands that you could have such strength?"

A malefic grin pulled at both sides of the empress' face, her eyes like flint.

"One."

Neo felt sick to her stomach. A whirlwind rampaged through her mind, tossing thoughts and emotions asunder, rending her brittle psyche into pieces. Her mind could hardly resist, able only to try and pick up the pieces wherever it passed and try to repair the damage.

Her soul cried out for her parents, begging them to come save her, but a dark voice within the maelstrom taunted her.

"Why should they come and save you when you've been such a worthless daughter? They'd be happier letting you die and starting over as if you never existed, maybe a son who could be the boy you always tried to be or at the very least, a girl who knew how to be one."

The voice was that of the crab from the dig site, the one that had cut off her arm and devoured it in front of her.

Neo shivered in terror at that voice, her left side flaring with intense pain. The crab's voice cackled.

"I'm sure your mother won't make the same mistake with her next daughter as she did with you, training her to be a proper girl instead of the town fool. You think Tiyes was holding you back but I think it was the other way around. Where would you be if not for him always covering for you and coming up with excuses? If you hadn't made him think you were the only friend he could ever have, maybe he would have tried to make others. You are the one who nobody liked."

"Stop." Neo's own voice came out in a feeble croak. She was curled up in a ball, the pain in her left side still flaring. She could do little more than sob and tremble as the crab continued to mock and tease her.

"Neo? Neo?"

Neo gasped and abruptly sat upright, nearly falling onto her left side. Her hearts drum-rolled against the walls of her chest, her eyes wide open.

"Neo, you're awake."

Neo looked at the ground to her left. Tahlm was picking himself up from a little sandy crater. He was filthy but otherwise he looked alright.

An excited chirp came from her other side and Lil' Buddy hopped into her lap, hugging and nuzzling her torso.

Neo exhaled in relief, adjusting her posture to sit without the support of her arm and began stroking Lil' Buddy's head. His scales looked dry. He needed water. For that matter so did she. Her throat felt as dry as the ground around them and her head ached.

She looked at her left shoulder, saw the severed stump of her arm, managing to wiggle it a little. It still hurt but not as bad as she might have thought. Someone had bandaged it.

She looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

She had been tucked into a bedroll. Her boots sat on the ground next to her feet. She was in some kind of small cavity in the rock. The sun was low in the sky, dusk. She found her backpack leaning against the wall next to another. Who's was that?

Neo jerked at the sound of footsteps. A figure came around the corner, silhouetted against the ambient light of the setting sun, red eyes peeking out between a shadowy hood and a cloth mask. They seemed familiar.

"She's awake," Tahlm said to the stranger.

The stranger said nothing in reply, they merely approached Neo and knelt to her left, putting a hand on her shoulder to steady her as they examined her arm.

"How are you feeling?" Tahlm asked.

Neo brought her hand to her head. "Okay, I think. Headache and really thirsty."

The stranger lifted Neo's shirt and she hissed in pain as she was gently prodded. "You lost a lot of blood and ink."

The stranger's voice was rough and gravely, yet it fit the image of the person to a tee. They reminded Neo of the various forms of mysterious strangers that appeared in her books. Sometimes they were old people who would mentor the hero, or aloof figures who would help the hero along their journey from a distance.

Neo jerked with surprise as her mind made the connection. "You're the one that saved us from those motor sleds chasing us way back when."

Those ruby eyes met hers, and just for a second, Neo felt her hearts slow. Those eyes had an incredible intensity to them, as if each eye contained their own storm beneath their coloured surface.

"Wasn't that long ago."

Neo's hearts sped up again, excitement filling her from the tips of her toes right to the top of her head. This was them, the mysterious stranger, and they were right there. She hadn't imagined it, and she had saved her. But when?

Tahlm worked his way towards the foot of the bedroll and asked, "do you remember what happened?"

Neo's excitement left immediately, replaced with a horrible chill and the flash of terrible memories, including pain.

A firm hand gripped her left shoulder, so tightly it hurt. "They can't hurt you anymore," the stranger said. "They're all dead. Don't let yourself be afraid of the memories; they'll be visiting you the rest of your life."

Neo felt herself trembling and started taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. The stranger walked to the unknown backpack, obviously theirs, and fished inside for something.

Neo looked at Tahlm. Between breaths she asked, "what happened to you two."

Tahlm sat on her knee, running a hand through his tentacles. "We got hit bad right when they were about to take you away. We managed to follow but we couldn't find a way to rescue you so we went to try and get help. That's when we found Maiya investigating our motor sled."

"Maiya?"

The stranger's hood fell, as they turned back towards them and lowered their mask, revealing a pair of long tentacles within their cloak and a hard, feminine face. She knelt next to Neo once again with what looked like a piece of plastic-wrapped candy in her hand. She peeled the wrapping open and handed it to Neo.

"Eat this; it'll help you relax. You need strength too." It was only then Neo realized how hungry she was.

Expressing her gratitude through tuk'yan, Neo accepted the bar and bit into it hungrily. It was grainy, almost tasteless, and the colour reminded her of old axle grease, but in that moment, it was one of the best things she'd ever eaten, and the fixation helped her calm down.

"Be quick," Maiya said, standing up. "We have to leave soon."

Neo noted that Maiya's accent was a little odd. She didn't look like she was from the Onaga Clan, she didn't talk like anyone from the Outlands, and she was pretty sure the farmers didn't talk like that either.

"Leave?"

Maiya met her gaze. "You're dehydrated and injured. You might not survive if we go by day. I'll take you home."

"Home."

Neo thought of her mother's cooking, her father's strong arms, even the musty smell of bedroom. She wanted to go, desperately she wanted to, and when she got there, she would fall on her knees and apologize as hard and as sincerely as she could. She would beg for her parent's forgiveness and hope they would take her back.

"We can't!"

Neo jerked in surprise at Tahlm's outburst, sending the tiny octoling tumbling from her knee onto the sandy ground.

"What do you mean?" She demanded.

Tahlm stood up, brushing himself off. "I mean home is probably where they'll check for you first. After all that we did, do you honestly want them to find you there? What might they do to your family if they see you? We should go back to my place. It's safer and they won't know to look there."

Neo wanted to argue, to protest, the child in her desperate to be back in the safety of her parent's protection, but she couldn't because he was right. She had nobody to blame but herself for that. The whole thing had been her idea. She couldn't make things even worse for her family.

Neo sagged as the weight of consequences piled onto her. She even found herself regretting them more than the loss of her arm. That at least would grow back with time.

Tahlm put a hand on her leg, smiling up at her, reassuringly. "Hey, look at the bright side, Neo, you wanted to do some damage and delay the dig as much as we could, and we did. One of the landships even caught fire."

"Huh…"

Neo knew she should have been ecstatic, the her from this morning would have been, but now she just felt empty, save for the flare of pain from her stump, and in her soul upon the realization that she was a fool. If not for Maiya, she would probably have been killed. She was no hero.

"Neo?"

She turned her mantle a lush green. "I'm fine, Tahlm, really… fine."

Tahlm didn't look like he believed her. Hard to blame him, she didn't believe herself.

Neo finished eating then pulled herself out of the bedroll and tried to learn how to put on a pair of boots with one arm while Maiya packed the bedroll away. She then handed Neo a canteen.

"Last of the water. You need it more than anyone."

Neo nodded and drank the last mouthful of water left in the canteen before handing it back. She felt a little better.

Maiya replaced her hood and mask, tying some leather straps to hold her cloak and hood in place in the wind. Now that Neo could get a good look at her, she cut an inspiring figure, and Neo couldn't help but think how cool she looked.

"Let's go."

Maiya led them to another small cavity where a vehicle waited. Neo wondered what kind of machine other than a landship could bring them all the way back to Splatsville during the dangerous night. What they found was probably the last thing she would have expected.

It sat on two fat wheels, making it look like the burliest motorcycle ever built. On either side of the main chassis were large fuel tanks, protected by steel plates. The engine in the centre looked like it should have weighed about as much as a regular motorcycle alone, but at a glance Neo could tell it wasn't made out of the usual cast iron, but aluminum. She didn't know engines could even be made out of aluminum.

They put their bags on the saddle racks behind the seat. The long pole Neo had seen Maiya use during her rescue was fastened to one side of the vehicle.

Neo told Lil' Buddy to stay in the bag to be safe but she was wondering where to put Tahlm. The ride in the bag might be too rough but she didn't have anywhere on her person to really put him either.

In the end she made room in one of her bag's smaller pouches that should be more secure but he was in for a rough ride anyway.

I guess some things aren't pleasant when you're small no matter what you do.

Maiya's bike proved even fancier than Neo initially thought, as she used an electric starter to get the engine going instead of the usual kick or pull start. The machine rumbled to life and Maiya kept the machine steady as Neo carefully climbed aboard. There was a particular uncertainty with having only one arm with which to hold onto Maiya but she forced it aside.

Maiya revved the engine then gently twisted the right grip. The big bike began to move and soon they were trundling along the tops of dunes as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

There were good reasons why people normally didn't travel at night, even in a landship. Besides potentially dangerous obstacles they might hit in the dark, there were the night's predators and other animals that emerged from their dens. Maiya didn't seem bothered by these facts however, and besides, she was right. Without more water and time to recover, Neo wouldn't survive the desert heat for a whole day. She was taking this risk for her sake.

I should've been more like her, thinking of someone other than me.

It was probably one of the worst nights of Tahlm's life but he got through it in the end. He didn't know how many hours it had taken for them to reach Splatsville, but it had probably been quicker than the motor sled, by his reckoning.

After they'd dropped off the bike at a garage, it was up to Tahlm to navigate them back to his place. That had taken at least another hour. Neo was even more exhausted than he was, and Maiya was having to occasionally prop her up as they made their way home. With the late hour, bus services were long over so they had little choice.

Tahlm had never been so grateful to be home. The minute they reached his door he slipped inside to unlock it. To his surprise, he found Tiyes still awake, reading one of his books, dark circles under his blank eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in quite a while. Had he been worried?

Tahlm didn't call for him, he looked to be in a completely different world, so he climbed up the door frame and, with a lot of effort from his worn and weary body, unlocked the door.

Tiyes jumped in surprise when Maiya and Neo entered, his book almost sliding out of his grip. He gawked when he noticed Neo's missing arm and bloodied shirt beneath her cloak.

Maiya wasted no time in removing her own cloak, pack, and boots before helping Neo with her own. Neo looked like she was ready to pass out but she obediently removed her outer clothing before Maiya locked eyes with him.

"Where's the bathroom?"

Tahlm immediately pointed. "Down the hall, first on the right."

Maiya gently pushed Neo from behind towards the bathroom. She looked between him and Tiyes, who was still stunned into silence.

"Go find her some fresh clothes," she barked, her mantle turning a royal purple. "Leave them outside the door, I'll get them later."

And with that, the two girls vanished into the bathroom. Tiyes still hadn't said a word, he just stared, open mouthed, then looked at Tahlm.

"I'll explain later. Like, tomorrow or something. Let's just go to my mother's room. She's big for Neo but we should find something that'll work."

Tiyes managed to start moving and carefully picked up Tahlm to take him to his mother's bedroom to help find Neo some clothes.

"Strip."

Maiya's command was short and sharp. Normally, Neo would have hesitated before getting naked in front of someone who was almost a total stranger, but Maiya had saved her life, and besides, she was too tired to argue.

Her filthy clothes ended up in a puddle on the floor. Maiya only removed her socks before guiding Neo to the small shower next to the tub, sitting her on the stool and turning on the water.

Neo flinched when the water hit her, almost like a shock. It was warm but just having moisture hitting her skin like this was an uncommon experience for her.

Sand and grime fell from her body in a kind gritty slurry, pooling on the floor around the drain. It felt as though a significant weight had been taken off her body and she could feel her skin able to absorb moisture again.

"Start scrubbing," Maiya commanded.

Numbly, Neo obeyed, grabbing a sponge and finding a body wash solution. Taking the sponge to her skin and starting to scrub, she found whole layers of skin being taken off, leaving fresher, flushed skin beneath. More and more grime and blood found itself swirling on the drain in the floor. At some point, Maiya began gently scrubbing her back, mantle, and tentacles. After a good twenty minutes of thorough scrubbing, Neo was probably the cleanest she'd been since she'd hatched.

Maiya started filling the tub next. Neo couldn't understand why she would bother, but Neo hadn't had a bath in as long as she could remember, not one where she was able to fully immerse herself in water. The shower and scrubbing had made her a feel a little more refreshed so she was willing to wait in order to not miss this rare chance.

Neo sighed rapturously as she stepped into the tub and, with Maiya's help, slowly lowered herself into it. The feeling of being fully immersed was scarcely familiar but she savoured it. She even opened up her gills, letting them get nice and soaked.

"Better?" Maiya asked.

Neo looked at her. The other girl's expression had remained virtually unchanged throughout the entire day, but the look in her eyes now was different. They were softer, more gentle.

"Yeah, thanks. But… um, why did you do this for me?"

Maiya leaned on the side of the tub, eyes turned to the ceiling. "Because someone once did the same for me when I was in your position."

So, she reminded Maiya of her own past? That made her feel a little better but it also made her curious.

"You lost your arm too?"

Maiya flashed red. "No, I lost a piece of my soul."

That sounds so cool! Neo gushed internally. Honestly, Maiya seemed like the very girl she wanted to be. It didn't look like many years separated them. Maiya was clearly not an adult yet, probably no more than seventeen, yet they were drastically different. She was so calm, collected, mature, even mysterious. Did that partly have to do with the piece of her soul she lost? Did she still suffer memories from that day?

Neo sunk deeper into water until only her face was above the surface. "I keep seeing it happen again and again in my head. I feel like I'll have a nightmare any time I close my eyes for longer than a blink.

"I know," Maiya said softly. "It isn't something you get over easily. But it's much easier if you're able to share your pain with people. I was lucky I had people for that. You need to find some."

"Yeah," Neo murmured. "Maybe I will. I gotta' tell them what happened anyway."

Maiya flashed green. "If you have people you can rely on and who can rely on you, then you feel whole, then your burdens become lighter, most of the time."

"Yeah," Neo said again. "Listen, um… thanks for saving me. I don't think I would have made it if not for you."

Maiya met her eyes with a hard, unyielding, stare. "Remember that. You got lucky this time but I probably won't be there to save you the next time."

Neo's mantle turned light pink with shame. Maiya was right, of course, she'd done something really stupid.

Maiya leaned closer, speaking quietly. "Tahlm told me what you were trying to do and why. How did you find that vault?"

Neo winced. Why had Tahlm done that? That was the biggest secret of their group! Then again, maybe he'd had no choice in order to secure Maiya's help. She was reluctant to give details but she couldn't just tell her nothing, not after all she'd done for her.

"We… followed the clues," she said eventually. She told Maiya about the shrine, how they got involved with Deep Cut, something she suspected Tahlm had told her already; and about the huge explosion after they found the final clue. However, she didn't mention the spheres which were currently still sitting in Tiyes' bag, as far as she knew. All the while, Maiya listened, her only movement being the blinking of her eyes.

When she was done, Maiya went to the bathroom door, opened it and retrieved the clothes the boys had left outside. Setting them aside, she grabbed a towel from the closet and told Neo to get out of the tub.

Neo was reluctant to do so since she'd gotten so comfortable, but even less did she want to disobey Maiya. She helped her get dried off and then changed into the clothes. She guessed they belonged to Thalm's mothers. They didn't fit her very well. The shirt was loose and left one shoulder exposed while the elastic waistband of the shorts were barely enough to keep them from sliding down past her hips. Neo was used to ill-fitting clothes though. For as long as she could remember, all she'd worn were hand-me-downs.

Neo wanted to just lie down and sleep but Maiya wouldn't let her. Instead, she redressed the bandage and ordered Neo to the living room to lie on the couch while she went to the kitchen and started cooking without even asking for permission. Tahlm uttered no complaints however.

"Who is this girl?" Tiyes murmured softly as Neo lay down.

"Maiya."

"Tahlm already told me her name, but what was she doing out there? Is she with the Onaga Clan? She's definitely not from Crater's Edge."

No kidding. Maiya was a girl who would ride a two-wheeler through the desert without getting stuck, was strong and dangerous enough to take on a whole group of trained security guards in a confined space; and gave orders that even Neo felt compelled to obey with little hesitation.

Thinking about it though, many of those orders had been in Neo's best interests, to help her recover, and she'd even bathed her and was now cooking a meal for her, even though Maiya had to be exhausted herself. If a girl like that had grown up in Crater's Edge, she'd have every boy desperate to even lick her footprints.

"I don't know where she's from but I don't really care. She saved my life."

"Yeah…" Tiyes eyes moved to Neo's severed arm. "What happened?"

"I don't wanna' talk about it."

"Oh…" Tiyes looked away. Guilt was written all over his face and mantle, a mix of dark and pale blues swirling through his tentacles.

Neo sighed, wrestling with her own guilt. "Look, you were right, okay? I was dumb, I should've stayed here. If Maiya hadn't saved me I'd be dead." Her own mantle turned dark-blue with regret, spotted with shameful pinks. "And I'm sorry for what I said. You're not a bad guy, I'm just a bad girl. You… you're just not a good fit for Crater's Edge, is all. If you'd be happier in the city, you should stay."

Tiyes looked at her in genuine surprise. "Wow," he murmured. "You really did almost die."

Neo puffed her cheeks out. "Shut up. I can be self-reflective too."

Tiyes smiled, his mantle rippling with relief. "I guess I can forgive you, if you promise to be more self-reflective from now on."

Neo exhaled deeply. "I guess." Then she smiled too, happy to be rid of one more burden and glad to have her friend back.

Maiya called her to the table for dinner, dumping a large plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. Neo wasted no time in digging in.

The eggs were slightly overcooked and the seasoning was a bit too strong, quite inferior to the eggs her mother made, but with how hungry she was she couldn't have cared less.

Only once Neo was done eating did Maiya finally allow her to go to bed. She escorted her to one of the bedrooms then pulled open the sheets to let her lay inside then tucked her in.

"Get plenty of rest. I'll be in tomorrow to check on you."

Maiya turned to leave but Neo called out to her. "Wait. Why are you doing this?"

The other girl looked at her, arching an eyebrow while her mantle turned a dark yellow. "You asked me that already."

"Yeah but… I mean, did someone do all this for you too?"

Maiya paused for just a moment then flashed green. "I can't do anything about your nightmares though."

Neo swallowed anxiously, not looking forward to suffering night terrors. "They weren't able to help you with your nightmares either?"

Maiya's eyes changed, becoming hard yet brittle, with something beneath the surface Neo couldn't quite identify. Was it pain? Sorrow?

The older girl turned towards the door and said, "Because I was the nightmare."

Then she left, leaving Neo puzzled as to what her words meant and awed by how awesome that sounded.

"She's so cool," Neo murmured. She was just like the heroines from the books she'd read, whereas Neo had only been a pretender. Maybe that was why she'd been so willing to trust her.

I bet she has all kinds of amazing adventures.

Neo sighed, too tired to think anymore and closed her eyes, the instant she did so, sleep wrapped her in its feathery wings.

Author's Notes:

Yes, it wasn't much of a mystery, but here she is, good ol' 'Maiya'. Those of you who've been here since the beginning of the series remember Maiya, don't you? ;)

So we have the Ascendancy playing their own little power games, Neo dealing with the consequences of her actions, but she at least makes up with Tiyes by the end. What will happen when Deep Cut talks with her though? How do you think the Ascendancy will save Splatsville? Will they even? What will the Corporations do to counter this possibility?