-Chapter 234-
Breakthrough
Crystal Cave
Team Dark and the Engine Corps were left in utter shock at the sight before them. Shadow pinned under rubble, limp and unmoving. Hope began hyperventilating as memories of Dr. Bennett taking her to identify her grandmother's body, as well as Shadow's sacrifice during the ARK incident, assaulted her tortured psyche.
"Shadow!" she screamed. "No… not again, please!"
She ran over to the rocks, frantically trying to dig him out with her bare hands.
"C'mon, help me!"
"Stand back!" Clove ran forward, drawing her scythe. "Paratonnerre!"
Her scythe activated, and she began slicing through the rocks. Sam and Jewel looked on in awe, while Cassia just grinned.
"Oh yeah, Clove's scythe is kickass," she boasted. "Y'know those videos on JuTube where they heat up a knife 'til it's glowing red and then slice stuff with it? It's like that, only a hundred times more awesome!"
Eventually, Clove and Hope managed to clear enough rocks to pull Shadow out. He was battered, bruised, and bleeding in at least a dozen places, but was still conscious, wincing.
"It's true what they say…" he rasped. "Immortality hurts."
"Shadow!" Hope skidded to his side. "A-are you-?"
"Just... let me concentrate for a minute…"
Shadow closed his eyes, sparking red, and his various cuts and bruises slowly began to heal. Axel and the Pronghorns looked on in shock.
"What in the world...?" Clove let out.
They watched as Shadow healed, but then stopped midway through, clutching his head in pain.
"Damn it, not again!" he hissed.
"Shadow, what's going on?" Rouge asked.
"It's the Power Gem," Shadow explained. "It's messing with my powers. Whenever I try to use them I start getting a headache."
"What… what was that?" Clove demanded.
"Chaos Healing," Hope explained. "He was created to heal, but he's still working on mastering that particular power." She sighed. "We're gonna have to take a break. Shadow needs to rest and-"
She had just enough time to turn around before Sam came over, slapping her across the face without breaking stride. Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight, and Hope could only look at her boyfriend, and his furious expression, in shock as a hand went to her smacked cheek.
"Normally, I don't hit girls," Sam said, calm but cold. "But in this case, I'll make an exception."
"Sam?!" Hope shrieked. "What the hell was that for?!"
"What do you think it's for?" Sam demanded. "What in Aurora's name were you thinking, Hope?!"
"I-I-"
"Running off half-cocked like this?! If you had just used your head and cooperated with us for five seconds-" he gestured to Shadow, "THAT wouldn't have happened!
"Why can't you understand?!" Hope demanded. "We don't have time to waste! We have to get that stupid gem so we can get back to what's really important: stopping Eggman!"
"You idiot…" Sam hissed. "Did it not occur to you that we can't stop Eggman if we GET OURSELVES KILLED?!"
"Seriously Hope, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Clove demanded, getting in her face. "You've been a complete hardass throughout this entire mission! Shadow's been all flippy and sick since we entered the cave! You'd know that if you'd been paying attention to him and not getting this gem!"
Hope stopped, looking over Shadow's slower-than-usual healing.
"O-Okay, you're right...that was dumb. But my point still stands!"
"You-!" Sam threw up his hands in exasperation. "I give up! Nothing we say is getting through to that wall of Megatal you call a head, Hope! If you wanna work yourself to death, FINE! I don't f***ing care anymore!"
"Sam, please…" Hope pleaded. "I'm doing this because I don't have a choice. The world's going to hell! People are in danger and they need us to protect them! Nothing else matters."
"You're wrong!" Cassia piped up suddenly, all eyes turning to her. "Hope, I might not be a super-brain like you, but that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"Cass, what are you-?" Hope began before Cass stormed over to her, backing her into the wall.
"You're being a bitch!" the younger Pronghorn ranted. "Pushing away the people who love you! Not taking care of yourself! And for what?!"
"I'm trying to save people from being enslaved and killed by Eggman, Cass!" Hope snapped. "That's what! I wouldn't be working so hard if it wasn't crystal clear I'm the ONLY one in Knothole who cares!"
She took a deep breath, composing herself. "Look. It's dangerous right now. I need to focus on what's important. I'll have plenty of time to worry about all that other stuff when things are better."
"And what happens when they aren't around anymore when things do get better?!" Cassia demanded, much to Hope's surprise. "What if someone needs your help, but you can't be there because you snuffed yourself out? Or what if they're stuck somewhere scared and alone, and all they want is to see you one more time and tell you how much they love you, but you don't even notice because 'nothing else matters'?!" Her eyes began to water. "What if you get in a fight and you say awful things to each other? Things you don't really mean and wanna take back; but you can't, because they got themselves killed, and you were 'too busy' to let them know!? What if that's the last time you ever see them alive!? Is it worth it then, Hope?!"
Before she could go on, Cassia clutched her head, a massive migraine coming on as she fell to her knees.
"Cassia!" Hope screamed.
"Damn it!" Cassia wheezed. "The medicine…!"
She yanked a bottle of pills out of her pocket, but fumbled and dropped them. Hope went to pick them up, but Cass was quicker, snatching them up. She shook out a pill, downing it and panting.
"You okay, kiddo?" Axel asked in concern.
"Y-Yeah...I-I'm good," Cass assured. "I just need to sit down."
Axel took her aside at that. Clove went to join them, but looked over her shoulder at Hope. A moment passed, the older pronghorn shaking her head in disappointment before joining her family.
"I think we all better sit down for a bit," Rouge decided. "Shadow needs to heal, and we all need to cool it."
"Affirmative," Omega agreed.
As Sam helped Rouge support Shadow, Hope looked at the Pronghorns and Axel in concern.
"What's wrong with you, Cass…?"
In another part of the cave, Rough and Tumble were starting to get tired from all the running.
"This just ain't our day…" Rough grumbled.
"I think we're lost, bro," Tumble mused.
"I know, Tumble."
"My feet are killin' me."
"I know, Tumble…"
"And I'm startin' to get really hungry!"
Rough scowled. "Tumble, would you quit whinin' fer five seconds?!"
"Okay…" Exactly five seconds passed before Tumble piped up, "I really gotta go to the bathroom."
Rough let out a furious scream, kicking a rock. "What the hell is wrong with this stupid ass cave!?"
As Rough ranted and raved, Tumble noticed something in the distance. It was one of the warp orbs.
"Oooh, pretty," he let out, mesmerized.
He walked over to get a closer look, reaching out to touch it.
"And then I'm gonna… Tumble?" Rough looked to see Tumble about to grab the orb. "Tumble, no! Don't touch that...!"
But it was too late. Tumble grabbed it, and was warped away in a burst of light.
"Tumble!" Rough ran over to where he vanished. "No… oh my God, Tumble… He's gone…"
He heard a scream, and looked up just in time to see his brother falling, landing right on top of him. They came crashing to the ground in a heap.
"What the…?" Rough looked up at him.
"Aunt Gurdy...I don' wanna go to school today…" Tumble let out, dazed.
"Tumble?!" Rough exclaimed, getting out from under him. "Yer back! Yer alive!"
Tumble blinked. "Uhhh… did I go somewhere?"
That just got him a slap. "Ow!"
"Don't ever scare me like that again, ya doofus! Ya nearly got yerself blasted to Holoska! Then who's gonna be my muscle!?"
"Sorry…" Tumble got up, shaking his head.
Rough sighed. "Let's get this stinkin' gem so we can kill Hoodsey and go home."
"Yeah, okay." Tumble nodded.
They resumed their trek only to come to a dead end.
"This sucks!" He ranted. "Everything that can go wrong is! How else is fate gonna ruin our lives today?!"
As if to answer his question, the rocks that were previously warped away with Hope's group came falling down, comically crushing and trapping him underneath. Rough just sighed, annoyed.
"Well, I did ask."
Meanwhile, Shadow was focusing on healing his leg, a task made all the harder by Sam once again telling jokes to try to defuse the tension.
"Okay. You won't like yourself for laughing, but this one's funny in a dark, twisted kinda way," he cleared his throat. "There are five cows on a farm, one mamma cow and four baby calves. The first baby walks up to the mom and asks, 'Momma, why is my name Rose?' The mommy cow replies, 'Well honey, a rose petal fell on your head when you were born.' The next calf comes up and asks, 'Momma, why is my name Lily?' The mother replies, 'Because honey, a lily petal fell on your head when you were born.' The third baby comes up and asks, 'Momma, why is my name Daisy?' The momma cow again replies 'Well, when you were born, a daisy petal fell on your head.' The final baby walks over and says, 'Duh huh guh huh!' The momma cow says, 'Shut up, Cinderblock.'"
Axel scowled. "Wow. Real classy, kid."
"Seriously, how is that even a joke?" Clove asked.
Sam shrugged. "It's black comedy, Clove. Ever hear of it?"
"There's nothing funny about brain damage, Sam." Clove insisted.
"Yeah, you might as well tell this kinda joke," Cass piped up. "Knock knock."
"Who is there?" Omega asked.
"It's the police, ma'am. Your son has been hit by a drunk driver. He's dead."
That got her looks of shock and disgust.
"Uh, no," Sam said. "I may like a dose of dark humor here and there, but that's just sick."
"Yeah, that's the point."
Clove sighed, standing up. "I'm going for a walk."
With that, she walked off.
"Man, she's just so...serious." Sam mused.
"Can't exactly blame her," Axel admitted. "She's been through a lot."
"A mercenary's life can't be easy," Shadow mused.
Axel shrugged. "It ain't, but we manage."
Sam was silent for a moment, thinking. "Hey Axel...Clove called you her and Cass' godfather."
"Yeah, the Pronghorns and I go way back," Axel recalled.
"That so?" Rouge asked. "Well, we're not going anywhere for a bit, and it'll keep motormouth here from joking anymore."
"Hey!" Sam objected.
"Tell us the tale," Rouge urged, ignoring him.
"Let's see…" Ael kicked back. "It started back when I was just a calf. My parents and I left our home in Efrika for Acorn in search of a better life for ourselves and to get away from the Great War." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, the locals weren't exactly welcoming."
"Hold on," Sam said. "I thought the Kingdom of Acorn was founded as a haven where all Mobians would be seen as equals, regardless of species."
"For the most part, but some of the border areas are more hostile toward outsiders," Rouge explained, clutching her arm almost in shame. "Especially nocturnal and larger species."
"Like mine," Axel recalled. "No matter where we went, people only saw us as a bunch of big, dumb, bad-tempered oxen who were only good for haulin' heavy stuff and wrecking shit. One day, I decided, 'screw it'. If that's all people were gonna see me as, that's all I'd be."
Sam winced. "Damn…"
"Yup, I was your classic, biker gang punk. I shook folks down for money, got into fights, smoked behind the bleachers during lunch at school, the whole she-bang. Got so bad, my folks actually kicked me out of the house." He looked away sorrowfully. "Last time I saw them, too. That was how I met Myrtus..."
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Our dad," Cassia cut in. "He was a cop. A good one too."
"My old gang and I got into a big fight at a bar in a small town near Mobotropolis," Axel went on. "Got so bad, they called the cops on us. Myrtus was the one leading the charge. Busted and nabbed nearly all twenty of us with a squad of four, including himself."
Sam whistled, impressed at what he was hearing.
"Now at the time, I didn't trust cops. Far as I was concerned, they were nothin' but a bunch of pompous bullies with badges and guns. But Myrtus…" Axel smiled slightly, "He was different. The guy actually cared. While the other guys on the force were more interested in beating down and locking guys like me up, he wanted to try and help us get better… be better. He was the first one outside my folks to see me as something other than a dumb, punk cow. Him and his wife, Laurel, even kept in touch with me during my stint in juvie."
"He would've gotten along well with Sheriff Wachowski," Sam mused.
"Yeah… he would've." Axel's face fell.
"I'm guessing, he's...no longer with us?" Shadow asked.
Axel shook his head."About twelve years ago, I went to the station to turn in a mark...and saw a little girl crying in the corner," he recalled. "I asked what was wrong, and she told me that her daddy had died. That little girl...was Clove."
Everyone winced at that.
"Myrtus had been shot and killed in the line of duty. By the same guy I'd busted that night, too," Axel let out a humorless chuckle. "Funny how things turn out."
He sighed. "The girls were destined for the foster system, and having seen how it fails far too many kids than it helps, I decided to intervene. Myrtus gave me a chance at a better life. The least I could do was try to do the same for his girls."
"And we're all the better for it." Cassia said with a smile.
"I'll admit, I made more than my fair share of mistakes, and there were days where it was hard, but I will never regret taking these two in." Axel declared.
"All we can do is our best." Shadow mused as he popped his knee back into place, sighing with relief as his Chaos energy finally did its work.
"Interesting power you've got there," Axel noted. "How's it work, exactly?"
"I was originally created as part of an experiment to study the healing properties of Chaos energy," Shadow explained. "The goal was to find a way to use it to cure deadly diseases."
"That so…?" Axel asked, intrigued.
"The first time I did it, I saved a friend of mine who was quite literally dead," Shadow went on. "We're still not sure how I pulled it off though. I can use it on myself, but I haven't figured out how to use it on others."
"I see…" Axel mused. "That's too bad…"
"Yeah, I know," Shadow sighed.
Axel stood up. "Well, I better go check on Clove. C'mon, Cass."
"Okay," Cass stood up, the two walking off.
-X-
Meanwhile, Jewel and Omega looked off to the side, noticing Hope sitting alone and talking on the phone.
"You're positive, Omochao?" she asked. "...Alright, thanks for telling me. Tell Sonic I said hi."
She hung up, sighing and staring at the cave's crystals, looking depressed.
"M-Miss Kintobor?"
Hope perked, seeing Jewel and Omega approach.
"Oh… hey guys," she said.
"At the risk of seeming oblivious, is everything alright?" Jewel asked.
Hope sighed, shaking her head. "No...not at all… I really messed up."
Jewel took a seat beside her, gesturing for her to go on.
"I've been running myself ragged trying to break the Crack Protocol on the Cyberized Egg Soldiers. I missed my midterm. I've been pushing away my friends. And I almost got my best friend, the closest thing to a father I have, killed less than ten minutes ago. Sam and Cass were right… I have been a total bitch..."
"Yes, you have," Omega declared bluntly.
"Mr. Omega!" Jewel objected.
"No, he's right," Hope cut in. "I've been so obsessed with my mission that I've lost track of what's important to me. The reason I took it up in the first place. I wanted to become a Freedom Fighter so that I could protect the people who still cared about me. And now...I don't even have that anymore."
"Negative," Omega insisted, getting Hope's attention. "You are a fool if you think any of the Freedom Fighters no longer care about you, Hope."
"Omega, I-" Hope began.
"You have made errors. Many, many critical errors. Errors that have endangered your life and the lives of those you love. However, this has not changed their desire to be your friends. Nor my own."
"Omega, I literally just told them that nothing else matters after nearly getting everyone killed," Hope reminded him.
"As previously stated, many critical errors," Omega said. "But do you not recall Shadow's attempt to destroy Mobius? Or my own destructive tendencies? Or Rouge's pathological kleptomania? Has that affected your desire to care for us?"
"Of course not!" Hope insisted. "You're my family!"
"Then why should that logic not apply to you?"
"W-well…" Hope trailed off, unable to think of an answer.
"You made a big mistake, Hope. You can't change that," Jewel said. "But what you can do is say you're sorry, move on, and learn from it."
"Affirmative." Omega agreed. "Step 1: Acknowledge mistake, complete. Step 2: Apologize, in progress."
"Right…" Hope sighed, standing up. "Here goes nothing."
As she headed off, she heard Axel and Clove talking. Curiosity peaked, she snuck behind a stalagmite, listening to their conversation.
"Shadow's a dead end, Clove," Axel reported. "He only knows how to actually use his healing power on himself."
"Damn it…" Clove cursed. "Damn it!"
She kicked a rock in a rage. She immediately let out a pained scream, hopping and clutching her battered toes for a few minutes before getting herself under control.
"Then we don't have a choice," she sighed. "Cass isn't gonna like this…"
"Isn't gonna like what?"
They jumped, turning to see her approach. The two exchanged nervous looks, before Clove quickly thought of a cover story.
"Oh, we were just thinking of inviting Hope and the others over to hang out, like the old days."
"Oh cool!" Cass exclaimed. "We could have a game or movie night to celebrate our big team up! We can order pizza, watch some Chao in Space movies or Altered Beast, make a day of it!"
"Actually...Cass…" Clove sighed. "We won't be joining you."
Cass perked. "Huh?"
"Axel and I are going to have to take on a couple jobs soon," Clove explained. "Big ones, ones that we can't take you on."
"Oh, okay…" Cass' ears drooped. "When will you be back?"
"We… don't know," Axel admitted.
"What?!" Cassia objected. "But you literally just got back from your latest big mission!"
"I'm sorry, kiddo," Axel sighed. "But there's nothing we can do."
"Eggman's naval fleet is making it harder to get your pills and they keep raising the price," Clove pointed out. "If we don't take these missions, we won't be able to afford them and you'll never get better."
"Clove, I'm NEVER going to get better! You know that!"
"Cassia, hush!"
"But…"
"Shhh…" Clove and Axel looked around, thinking she saw someone. "Are we clear?"
"Yeah," Axel nodded. "I don't see or hear anyone."
"Good. Let's get going."
"But guys…!" Cassia objected.
"I'm sorry, Cass," Clove insisted. "But this is going to have to wait."
"But…!"
"No buts, young lady," Clove said sternly. "This discussion is over!"
"We'll make it up to you later, alright?" Axel assured. I promise."
The two left, leaving Cassia alone. The younger pronghorn looked at the ground sorrowfully.
"B-But...that's the whole reason I'm here…"
Hope could barely process what she was hearing. At that moment, a hand grabbed her shoulder, getting a startled yelp out of her and alerting Cassia to her presence. She spun around to see Shadow behind her.
"Shadow!? You gave me a heart attack!" Hope exclaimed.
"Sorry," Shadow remarked.
"Hope?!" Cassia let out, trying not to seem suspicious. "Wh-What are you doing here?!"
"I heard you talking and got curious," Hope explained. "What's going on?"
Cassia sighed. "It's Axel and Clove. They spend so much time working nowadays, I barely get to see them anymore. I just wish I could spend more time with them before I…"
She trailed off as she realized she had said too much.
"Before you what?" Hope asked.
"N-nothing!" Cass shouted. "Absolutely nothing!"
"Does this have anything to do with Axel asking me about my healing?" Shadow asked. "He seemed... upset when he learned I couldn't heal others."
"Cass... what's going on?" Hope asked. "What aren't you telling us?"
"Nothing's going on, Hope." Cass snapped. "I'm just upset is all. Shouldn't you be more concerned with finding the gem, So you can go back to breaking the Crack Proto-whatever?"
"I saw your pills," Hope revealed, causing Cass to flinch. "They're anti-seizure meds used to treat patients with things like epilepsy and brain cancer. What's going on?"
"Cassia, you're sick, aren't you?" Shadow asked.
Cassia froze up at that.
"I should have seen the signs earlier…" Shadow went on. "Maria… she was the same way."
"I… I'm…"
"Cass, you're one of my best friends," Hope said. "You can talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about, Hope!" Cassia insisted. "I'm perfectly fine! I'm-"
She broke into another coughing fit, pulling out her inhaler and taking a puff.
"Okay, maybe not totally fine, but..."
"Cass…" Hope crossed her arms, forcing the younger pronghorn to realize she had been found out.
"Dammit Hope, why do you have to be so smart?" She took a deep breath, her voice cracking. "I have NIDS."
Hope and Shadow could only gape in horror at this revelation.
"N-NIDS?" Hope stammered.
"Just like Maria." Shadow let out.
"Is…Is that why you left school? Because…"
"Yeah…"
"How long?" Hope asked, dreading the answer.
"Not…not long," the young pronghorn shook her head. "The doctors say I'll be lucky to turn 18."
Hope shook her head. "A-And Clove and Axel just let you go on missions with them!?"
"They didn't at first. I had to beg and plead for weeks, but now they let me go on small missions with them."
"And that's supposed to make it better?!" Hope demanded. "Cass, y-you're seriously sick! You should be in the hospital! All that talk about me not pushing myself and you're doing THIS!? How can you be so irresponsible and stupid?!"
"Because I WANT to!" Cassia shrieked, stunning Hope speechless. "I wanna live! I wanna have fun! I wanna DO things! GO places! I don't want to spend what little time I have left tied to a bed, stuck full of tubes and pumped with medicine that's never actually gonna work! That's not living, Hope! That's just...not dying!" She took a deep breath, composing herself. "I know what I'm doing is stupid and dangerous and irresponsible. Clove and Axel said the same thing. But I'm not gonna to spend the last few years of my life regretting what could've been. I'm gonna spend what time I have living my life to the fullest, and nobody's gonna stop me!"
"Cass…" Hope managed.
"There's nothing that can help me, Hope. I'd just be delaying the inevitable." Cass clenched her fists. "But Clove and Axel don't see that. They think that as long I can get my meds, I'll be fine. But I know better. The pills don't treat the disease, they just keep it from getting worse." Cass wiped her eyes, turning to Shadow. "You understand, don't you? You mentioned your friend Maria. She wanted to live, right? Enjoy her life?"
"She did," Shadow confirmed. "Her greatest desire was to see the world."
"And it's mine, too," Cassia confirmed. "I know I won't see all of it, but I'll take what I can. I want to see as much of the world as I can with Clove and Axel at my side. And when my time comes, I'll go with Aurora happy, because I got to live."
"So that's why Clove was so…" Hope realized.
"Hope, you know what happened to our parents," Cassia said. "I'm the only family Clove has left. She's willing to do whatever it takes to protect me. And you know how she gets when she's working."
She sighed. "I became a bounty hunter to spend more time with my sister. She's always going on missions to pay for my meds, and I barely get to see her as it is. She hardly ever sleeps, eats, or does anything but work nowadays, and it's starting to get to her." Cass hugged herself as tears streamed down her face. "Hope...I'm scared she's going to do something crazy. Something that'll get her killed. If that happens...I…"
Hope pulled Cass into a hug.
"It's gonna be alright," she soothed.
"Clove is smart, and I know you'll get through to her," Shadow agreed. "You're her sister and she loves you."
Cassia sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Thanks, Shadow."
"Hey guys…" came Axel's voice. "I think we have a problem…"
He waved them over to one of the tunnels, which was shifting strangely with yellow and magenta energy.
"What in the world…?" Hope let out.
Shadow let out a pained grunt, clutching his head.
"Shadow!" Hope screamed.
"Are you okay?" Clove asked.
"No…" Shadow winced. "The distortions are getting worse."
"We need to hurry and get this thing…" Hope muttered.
"But how?!" Jewel demanded. "The tunnel is blocked and everything's warping!"
Hope crossed her arms in thought.
"Warp… wait a minute," she perked. "I think I have an idea!" She turned to Jewel. "Jewel, when you got warped, what was going through your head at the time?"
"Wh-what does that have to-?" Jewel questioned.
"My mind is running at a million miles a minute! Humor me!"
"N-Nothing! I was panicking! I thought my life was going to end! I thought about how I'd never see my friends again! All the things I'd never get to do or places I wanted...to…"
"Like… Efrika?"
Jewel nodded. "Yes…"
Hope grabbed her shoulders. "Jewel, listen carefully, when we see another warp orb, I need you to visualize the chamber where you found the gem and let it touch you."
"What?!" Jewel shrieked.
"Hope, are you crazy?!" Cassia demanded.
"The warp can be directed, Cass!" Hope explained. "With everything going on, it's our best bet of reaching the gem!"
She looked Jewel in the eyes. "I need you to trust me, Jewel. I know it may be hard, considering what a stubborn bitch I've been and my screw-up earlier, but please. Can you trust me?"
Jewel slowly nodded. "I-I'll try."
"Well, you might wanna try soon," said Axel, pointing to a warp orb down the hall.
Jewel took a deep breath, closing her eyes before focusing. As they waited, Hope turned to Clove, noticing several details she didn't notice before.
"Clove…?" she asked.
"What is it, Hope?" Clove snapped impatiently.
The elder pronghorn's fur was ratty and dirty in places, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Beneath the scent of perfume, she could catch the unmistakable smell of body odor and dirt. As Cassia had stated, her sister had clearly been prioritizing work over everything else. After a minute, Hope shook her head.
"I-it's nothing."
Clove raised an eyebrow. "Uh… okay."
"Here it comes!" Cassia cried.
They looked, seeing the orb approach Jewel.
"Everyone, grab ahold of Jewel and hang on!" Hope ordered.
They grabbed onto the beetle just as the orb touched her, causing her and everyone to be enveloped in its light and vanish…
Author's Note:
Hope has seen the light, and the truth about Cass has been revealed. We decided to make her disease NIDS, because it was unspecified in Archie.
Next chapter is the conclusion of this little arc.
Please R&R. Until next time!