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Axton Manor, September 2015.

Indigo parries an attack from Kyran, jabbing their saber into inky smoke as they become reacquainted with the view from behind the metal mesh of their old fencing mask.

"I can't touché if you keep cheating!" Indigo says, their long ears flopping as they rip off their mask in frustration.

"I can't control it!" Kyran says, reappearing on the padded fencing mat set up in the middle of the elegant ballroom.

"Yes, you can! Now stop teleporting every time I'm close to hitting you, that still counts as a point. Phoenix, how many points is that total?"

"There are points?" Phoenix asks, spotting Zephyr as he lifts weights with quivering arms.

Indigo tosses the helmet on the ground and stomps out of the ballroom, cursing until their voice fades away.

"Their competitive edge makes them so uncharacteristically aggressive," Kyran says, wiping sweat off his glasses before sliding them back onto his nose.

"They're mad because you're a cheater," Kamala says to an upside down Kyran from her position on her yoga mat beside the roaring fireplace.

"Says the cat who once turned her saber into a crystal sword," Kyran says as he reaches for a bottle of water.

Zephyr growls, tossing the weights aside in frustration, unable to raise them over his head with ease like he could before.

"Don't force yourself big guy, you can still sit this mission out if you need to," Phoenix says. Over the last week, they've met in secret in Aarden's temporary bedroom to discuss a plan to confront Ziegler and free Thorne from his influence. They've settled on a plan as ambitious as all their other ones, they just need to finalize when exactly they'll act. But they're running out of time, as Thaddeus has spent more and more time with Ziegler with each visit. Some days they can even hear laughter.

"That's not happening. I'm going with you to save Thorne, but I won't turn again, I need to do it with this body."

"You have nothing to prove to us," Phoenix says, adjusting the weights before placing the barbell back in Zephyr's arms.

"Let me do this!" Zephyr says, pushing the barbell up until his arms collapse from exhaustion, the crushing weight nearly crashing onto his chest before Phoenix catches it with one arm.

"One step at a time Zeph. We'll get there together."

Zephyr kicks aside some weights and growls to himself as he departs the ballroom.

"Do you think he can keep himself from turning again?" Kamala asks once he's far enough away for his still sensitive senses to not pick up their conversation.

"How can he not turn? It's not like he can control it," Phoenix reasons.

"My point exactly, thank you!" Kyran says to two angry glares.

"Right, we're talking about Zephyr. Well, I don't know. He may be able to repress it for some time, but eventually he'll get angry enough to want out."

"What does that mean for us? If he turns again," Phoenix asks apprehensively as he helps Kyran roll the practice mat.

"We still have the polarized cannon, or Zeitkanone, or whatever Aarden calls it now. I think Fletcher asked Kamala to polarize it for him for that reason," Kyran says.

"We'll just have to trust Zephyr. We can't keep a contingency plan on us at all times like he's a wild beast we'll have to put down one day. We need to put our faith in him and trust he won't hurt us," Kamala says, unsure why Fletcher asked her to polarize the cannon.

"You do realize that's a lot to ask, right?" Phoenix says, running his fingertips over the smooth scar on his leg from his encounter with Zephyr in the London Underground.

Kamala nods, staring out into the evergreen forest beyond tall, arched windows.

"It's going to take a whole lot more than trust to have him back. Even though he's here with us, we still lost him that day. The least we can do is trust him."

***

In the manor's forest-like grand foyer, Zephyr runs into Indigo on the way to his bedroom. The wolf is halfway down the open corridor on the second level when his exhausted body causes him to grip the railing. As he rests to regain his waning strength, a thought crosses his mind.

"Rough day?" Zephyr asks, his voice echoing as he makes it down to the ground level of the atrium to sit beside the rabbit on the sunlit sofa. They nod, staring through the glass ceiling, catching their breath.

"For the both of us. You know, there's no shame in being afraid," Indigo says detecting the dark colors of fear lurking somewhere below Zephyr's usually crimson aura.

"That's easy for you to say. You're the bravest rabbit I know," Zephyr says, unable to remember the last time he sat down for a conversation with his now second youngest sibling.

Indigo's eyes grow wide as they laugh.

"Me? I'm a petite non-binary bunny who likes to dress up in their sisters' clothes sometimes. I'm not strong enough or brave enough to be a part of this team, and I know that. But I gave up forcing myself to be someone I'm not years ago, who you see before you is exactly who I've always been on the inside."

Zephyr smiles at them as pride swells in his chest.

"That's exactly why I think you're so brave. You're not afraid to be different and just be yourself. I don't know how to do that yet."

Indigo slides a silver barrette into their wavy hair to keep it out of their eyes as they listen to voices they never thought they would hear again.

"It comes down to happiness, Zephyr. You couldn't control the way you were born any more than I could. I just so happen to be born a Zenith and me. So, we can either hide it, and torture ourselves more than we already have, or we can come out and choose to live freely, even if you're terrified of what the ones closest to you will think."

Guilt burns away the elation in Zephyr's chest. He's taken back to his childhood, to the training sessions, to every ounce of pain inflicted on him. Only now does he realize it took Indigo twice as much pain to be Zenith 5 as it took him to be Zenith 1.

"I'm sorry If I wasn't as supportive as I should've been. You deserved so much more from me. Not as a leader, or even an adoptive brother, but as a friend. I feel like we never got to be friends."

"You were doing what you thought was right at the time in standing by Dad and his opinion of me, even if you didn't agree with him. I'm glad to know you didn't feel the same way he did."

Zephyr leans back into the sofa, his mind as exhausted as his body.

"I wish I could take it all back."

Indigo smiles brightly through a pity they never imagined they would feel for someone they were once so terrified of.

"You're here now, and that's all that matters. We've all been gifted a second chance. We need to take this opportunity to do what makes us happy, not what makes Dad feel safer about the hostile world he's convinced is our responsibility to save from itself."

Zephyr glances at the sky beyond the glass ceiling.

"I don't even know where to start."

"Start by confronting your fears. Conveniently, they're all under the same roof now. Tell her how you feel, confront the scientists who made you, and get this team back together because you're what holds it all together."

Indigo rises, longing for the wide bathtub in the observatory bathroom, when Zephyr clears his throat and climbs a few steps to lean close enough to ask a burning question he's afraid someone else will overhear.

"You know a thing or two about makeup, right?"

Indigo gives him a curious look.

"I don't think it's possible to bring those pretty eyes out even more than they already are, Zephyr."

Zephyr grips the staircase and mumbles nervously.

"I'm sorry?" Indigo asks, holding their small hands to their tall ears.

"It's the scars on my muzzle. I hate looking at them. Is there any way I can cover them up?" Zephyr asks.

Pity surges again deep within Indigo. All their life they've been told to model themselves to be more like their strong and stoic team leader, but now Indigo is looking down into eyes bearing a vulnerability Zephyr was forced to never feel.

"Embracing your imperfections is the first step toward self-acceptance. I can cover up the scars and make it look like Ziegler never laid a hand on you, but I can't change the past, and that pain will stick with you forever if you don't learn to let it go. The choice is yours, but if you want me to show you how to hide your scars, understand that the moments you'll forget you even had them will be few and far between, even if they're invisible to everyone else, because you'll still feel them inside. And every single day, for the rest of your life, you'll have to face the mirror and be reminded of them as you cover them up, and that weight is something not even someone as strong as you can bear alone. It will take some time to embrace it, but believe me, you'll feel much better if you learn to live with the scars than if you try to run away from them. You're still as handsome as ever, you're just a little more rugged looking now."

"Is rugged good?" Zephyr asks.

"If anyone can make rugged look good, it's you," Indigo says, winking.

"Thank you, Indigo."

"Any time, handsome," Indigo says as they walk past the landing and out of sight. Zephyr runs his fingertips over the smooth skin on his muzzle, not feeling an ounce of self-acceptance yet, but understanding he will in time, and that Indigo's words will stay with him longer than any scar ever could.

***

Later that same day, in the garden, a still recovering Aarden extends his hand out before himself as he's seen the others do countless times, but what comes next is still a mystery to him. He's unsure if the energy surging within him can even be felt, but he still reaches for it in the empty air, expecting to feel an electricity like buzz.

He focuses on the golden chrysanthemums swaying in the early autumn breeze, searching for the Zenith energy he knows rests dormant under the surface.

Aarden tries visualizing the flowers budding, then receding back into a seed deep within the earth. He focuses on time, both forward and backward, trying to find where the cycle of life and death begins and ends so he can manipulate it.

"Are you trying your hand at gardening as well?" Kamala's comforting voice asks.

"No, I'm just trying to find my powers in the garden. I haven't found them yet," Aarden confesses, gripping his shoulder, feeling like his wounds will split back open. He still wears the tattered green jacket. Despite Indigo's best efforts, they couldn't mend it.

Kamala sits on the edge of a fountain, enjoying the cool breeze.

"It's different for everyone. For me, it's tied to how I feel. The more intense the emotion, the stronger my connection to the energy is. It's a process, and only recently, did I start to draw from the energy around me instead of needing to feel my way through it. You'll get there. The fact that we're having this conversation tells me you have it in you. We just need to find out what makes you tick."

"Tock."

"What's that?"

"Tick-tock. Time is what makes my powers tick. And that's where I get lost, right at step number one. How can I manipulate something I can't see or feel?" Aarden says in frustration, turning his attention from the chrysanthemums to the lotus.

"That I don't know, Aarden."

Aarden sits on the edge of the fountain alongside her, his tail resting on the cold water.

"Well, at least I can take comfort in knowing that when I finally do master how to time travel in fifty years, I can just go back to this moment and show myself how to do it. Kamala, What if that proves I'll never learn how to do it? Why haven't I already run into an awesome future version of myself who could prevent all of this from happening!?"

"You're not making any sense," Kamala says, confused as she closes her eyes and feels for the energy through every deep breath she takes.

"I'm not supposed to! Do you realize what a nightmare time travel is? I know who I am, and I'd never pass up the opportunity to go back in time and tell myself that the best and worst experiences of my life are coming. I can't do it, and I don't think I've done it in the future."

Kamala can no longer concentrate.

"Too bad our therapist got fired after she slept with Phoenix a few years back. You would've kept her busy."

"Hopefully not in the same way Phoenix kept her busy," Aarden says, laughing and realizing he hasn't spent much time with Kamala.

To his surprise, Kamala laughs as well.

"I forget you're so funny sometimes. So, what are your plans for this future you're so afraid of?" Kamala asks, sliding closer to him, remembering they both have a deep connection to Quinn.

"Did Quinn ever tell you about what it's like to go to school?"

Although unexpected, their long conversation under a brilliant sunset assures them both that they've made the right decisions on their next steps after they conquer the unknown.

From his private terrace overlooking the garden and all its mysticism, Thaddeus Axton observes them from his study, something within him close to giving way. He turns to Ziegler, who leans against the doorway, his nose tired of the scent of flowers.

"In the end, will it be worth it?" Thaddeus asks, glancing down at the vial of concentrated Zenith Crown energy pulsing in his hands.

"It's in case things don't go as planned, Thaddeus," Ziegler growls, drinking deeply from a wine glass.

Thaddeus turns, shocked at the proposition presented to him.

"Only time will tell."

***

Axton Manor, September 2015.

Dietrich Ziegler glances out at the early morning rainstorm from a curved window of the observation room beside Thaddeus's study, observing the forest through the bottom of an empty wine bottle, its contents warming his insides enough to feel some comfort.

The timber wolf is close to fading into another night of restless sleep on his makeshift bed, when the doors to the room creak open and a friend from long ago steps into the amber light.

"I think I've made my decision," Thaddeus says, his mind swimming with memories. The last time they were trapped in adjacent rooms, listening to each-other's thoughts was in Siberia thirty years before.

"We've always had the same goal," Ziegler reminds him, "How's Thorne?"

"I haven't checked on him. Dietrich, I agree we have the same goal, but the difference between us is that I won't hurt them to reach it."

Ziegler studies the contemplation in Thaddeus's eyes.

"You don't have to hurt them, only steer them toward their destiny. Even if you need to cause them great pain, it's not hurting them," Ziegler says, trying to reassure them.

Thaddeus breaks away from Ziegler's piercing glare, focusing on his flooding forest, wondering if the storm will ever end.

"If you replace this torrent with a blizzard, the view I have now isn't much different than it was thirty years ago. I may be able to withstand the rain, but I dread the winter, as I often wake in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat in my empty bed, wondering how different things would be if we never met, and then I think of her, when I look out and see the ice wash over my garden. What happened to her, the first Zenith?"

Ziegler paces as he runs claws through his long crimson curtain of hair.

"I'm afraid both versions of the story, the truth and the lie, would just as equally devastate you. Someone had to end it, and I know you didn't want it to be me, but I was as gentle as I could've been, given the circumstances. I showed restraint, I did that for you, and all it did was prolong her suffering."

"Maybe I should've let you end it swiftly; she didn't deserve what we did to her."

"Neither does my son, or yours, but it's a necessary evil that must be done if we want to be remembered as the saviors of this deteriorating world, and the creators of its new order. It's our destiny to take evolution to its zenith, it chose us. Don't lose sight of that, this is as much yours as it is mine."

"Circumstances changed. Maybe I don't see the world that way anymore," Thaddeus says, scanning the labels on the empty bottles.

"I haven't had the luxury of being able to change the way I see the world."

Thaddeus thinks of Phoenix. If he's going to go through with Ziegler's proposition, it will be for him, even if he doesn't understand, even if he fights him.

"You can't help who you are. That's a valuable lesson I've learned only recently, but you can still see things through the lens of reason, can't you? It doesn't have to be this way, Dietrich."

"You're right old friend, it doesn't. But what other choice do we have other than the one with infinite possibilities? I've planted the seed, it's up to you to let it grow."

"I can't do that," Thaddeus whispers.

"Is it because you don't trust me?"

"It's because I don't trust myself. Can we really go back and save them all?"

Ziegler grins menacingly, sensing the doubt melt away from Thaddeus.

"All we need is the boy, and we can travel back and put a stop to all of this. They'll all be safe, everyone will have what their heart most desires. It's what's best for them."

Thaddeus's mind lingers on fond memories of long ago. At this point in his life, it's easier to look past the trauma and see the light behind him than focus on the eternal darkness waiting before him. He walks into the hall, allowing the heavy door to sway open behind him. All he wants is Xochitl and the past he left behind.

"Come, there's so much I've never shown you."

"What's this, a sudden change of heart?"

"I'll do it, to save her. I'll sacrifice the boy if it means having her again."

Ziegler licks at the scars on his muzzle, pushing himself up to follow Thaddeus through the grand manor, making sure to take the last bottle of wine with him.

"You've done well for yourself," Ziegler says as they climb down to the grand staircase and cavernous foyer.

"You were given the same offer."

"They could never give me what I truly wanted. I never cared for money, I only wanted power, so I bought power with the money I stole from them. That's the way of the world."

Ziegler stops, his red eyes glowing in what little light spills into the narrow hallway, observing the framed photographs of the Zenith when they were young.

"Is Zephyr well?" Ziegler asks, a once lost sincerity coming through in his voice as he sees his wife in their son's smile.

"I'm unsure. In all honesty, I've been avoiding him, maybe to avoid having to answer for my role in the pain he lives with. He's desperately lost in an unfamiliar time, you can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you," Thaddeus says, trying to swallow down the pangs of guilt.

"Come, we have much to discuss."

***

That same night, Dietrich Ziegler and Thaddeus Axton are several hours deep into conversation in the manor's library as the storms rage on. They sit in the vast armchairs by a roaring fire, the heavy rainfall clinging to the tall windows beside them, distorting their view of a flooding garden.

Outside the archway carved to look like far reaching roots, Zephyr stands alone, accompanied only by the sound of thunder as he allows the rage building within him to become artificial courage. He's sacrificed everything for Thaddeus Axton, from a chance at a normal childhood, to the love of his life. He's even given his life for him, twice. He's determined more than ever to confront his adoptive father.

Not long after midnight, the other five Zenith appear from behind the tree-like pillars, each dressed in the same black raincoat above their usual choices of clothing.

"Ready?" Kamala asks, stepping forward to hold his hand.

Zephyr nods. "How's Thorne?"

"He's in there, deep inside," Indigo says, "we haven't lost him yet."

Determined more than ever, Zephyr leads the Zenith through the archway and into the library. There, Dietrich Ziegler stands before a roaring fire, his visage a dark silhouette before the inferno. At his side, Thaddeus Axton stirs, the alcohol in his blood making him drowsy.

"What's this?" Kyran demands, only expecting Thaddeus. "Why is he here?"

Ziegler smiles menacingly at them, searching for the glasses he brought with him from the kitchen.

"It took you all long enough. Children, your father has something to tell you, or at least had before he had a bit too much to drink. Well, I may as well inform you. Your father has agreed to release me. I want to begin by apologizing to you, Aarden. I was only trying to awaken your adaptation," Ziegler says.

Besides him, Thaddeus stirs, staring blankly out into the flooding garden.

"You tried to kill me," Aarden says from his new place in the Zenith line-up to Phoenix's left.

Ziegler paces toward them, a decanter of dark amber drink in his hands.

"To be fair, I've tried to kill all of you at one point or another, you just can't remember. How else would I know you're all capable of nearly boundless power? I was the poor soul tasked to coax that power from you by any means necessary. You know, I still have a scar running across my back from the burns you left me with, Zenith 4," Ziegler says to Phoenix, who accepts a drink from his hands despite the fire burning in Indigo's eyes.

"Please, I won't hurt you, I promise."

"What? One drink won't hurt."

Phoenix downs the glass and accepts a second from Ziegler as he navigates back to the armchair.

"Children, please. He's telling the truth. I won't allow him to hurt you," Thaddeus reassures them in a voice so uncertain not even Indigo can tell if it's a lie or a conviction drowned in drink.

The Zenith stare at one another through courteous sips, all except for Aarden, whose hand is slapped away by Kyran as he reaches out to accept a glass of dark amber liquor from the wolf. Kamala shrugs at Zephyr as they try to formulate a new plan in silence.

"How did you manage to do it?" Ziegler asks, staring in awe at Zephyr, who glares back at him like the living memory of his younger self.

"We reached for the impossible, and grasped it," Aarden says.

"Clearly," Ziegler says, setting down his own glass of dark bronze drink on a desk.

"We can do the same for Thorne," Kyran suggests, clearing his throat of the burn from the fire he tries to swallow down.

"I'm afraid he's too far gone now."

"But he remembered me," Aarden objects, rising. "We can bring him back like we did Zephyr if you let us help!"

"Your help isn't needed. Thorne is long gone and safely back under my control. I won't let you confuse him any further."

Ziegler throws the rest of his drink into the fireplace, illuminating the library in the bright glow from blue flames.

"Thaddeus and I have spoken, and we've come to an agreement. You're all free to go and explore the world and all its wonder. The only thing we ask is that the boy remains. He'll take us both back to the past so we can correct the mistakes that led you to this moment."

Aarden's view is obstructed as the other five step forward to protect him.

"Is this true?" Zephyr demands of Thaddeus, who says nothing, staring blankly out as a tear falls down his face.

"Answer him!" Phoenix roars.

Thaddeus turns to his sons.

"It's for the best. Phoenix, he'll bring your mother back to me. I can reunite you all with your families. Aarden, this will bring Elio Xavier back. We need to go back one last time and end the cycle, so that none of you were ever made the way you were. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Not if it means hurting Aarden, we won't let you," Kyran says.

"What if he's right?" Aarden asks, stepping forward from the semicircle the five trap him behind.

"What?" Kyran asks.

"What if they can go back and fix everything?" Aarden asks, glancing up with fear in his eyes.

"Then we'll never know you," Phoenix says.

"It may be worth it, to sacrifice all of this for a chance at a normal life, with our families, instead of being monsters."

"Aarden, you can't. We won't allow him. You're one of us now," Zephyr says.

Ziegler pours himself the rest of the drink, stirring it slowly, watching Indigo's nose twitch and their pupils constrict slightly as he clinks his glass loudly with a bar-spoon.

"Long ago, my responsibility was to unlock the Zenith Crown energy buried deep within you, and then analyze how it altered your behaviors, so we could harness that power ourselves safely from a distance, through you."

Clink.

"What I discovered, however, was that your adaptations aren't easily controlled. They're instinctual, stemming from a biological obligation to survive."

Clink.

Ziegler steps forward.

"And threatening that survival was enough to push some of you to behave defensively, as with Zenith 2, who would teleport away in search of safety. Others, like Zenith's 1, and 4, responded offensively, with astonishing aggression."

Clink. Clink.

Ziegler's eyes glare only into the rabbits, who breaks from the semi-circle to collapse into a large armchair, the sound echoing in their head.

"Naturally, there's a runt in every litter. Zenith 5 was unafraid of me when I threatened their survival, as if the wolf that stood before them were as insignificant as a pup."

Clink.

"Well, when it became apparent that Zenith 5 trusted me enough to know I wouldn't hurt them, I turned to fear, and tapped into the darker side of the Zenith Crown, pulling from it a being so dangerous, I contemplated snapping their neck the moment they first made me see horrors that still haunt me to this day."

Indigo shuts their eyes, tears spilling down their face like the rain clinging to the cold windows.

"What are you doing to them!?" Kyran asks as Ziegler steps closer, stirring the glass faster and spilling strong drink all over himself.

"I conditioned Zenith 5 to anticipate excruciating pain whenever they heard this sound, and believe me, real pain always followed. It was no illusion."

Clink. Clink.

Indigo screams, gripping at the untouched drink in their hands until hot blood seeps through the gaps in their clenched fist.

"They're nearly there. You see, Zenith 5 was always our contingency, a way to ensure leverage over the rest of you in preparation for the inevitability when you all decided it would be much easier to kill us than to continue being unwilling participants in our experiments. Thaddeus had a contingency for the rest of you. We found it in the deepest trenches of our minds. You can all find it at the bottom of your glasses."

Kyran focuses on the space beside Ziegler, wanting nothing more than to leap and break every bone in his hand so he could no longer hold a bar-spoon let alone stir it. But when he leaps, he falls onto the table before them, losing control of his ability to teleport. The fear in Zephyr, Kamala and Phoenix's eyes tell him the same paralyzing terror is rushing through their numb bodies.

"What do you want from us?" Kamala says, as all the color in her glossy coat of fur fades back to glacial white.

"How could you!?" Zephyr shouts at Thaddeus, who stares deeply into the fire.

"You need to listen to reason. You can't do that if you're too dangerous. Dietrich, that's enough."

Ziegler taps against the glass with Thaddeus's golden ring five times, causing Indigo to retreat deeper into the large velvet reading chair, so terrified, they're unable to scream.

"Indigo, look at me, none of it is real," Kamala says, shaking the rabbit as she shakes away the voice of Soraya Singh in her own head. Similar to when her body is overwhelmed with energy, wisps of blue magic seep from the corners of the rabbit's mouth and eyes.

"I assure you their pain was real," Ziegler says, sipping his drink calmly as he continues to tap on the rim of the glass.

Indigo's violet eyes luster menacingly, as the fear they internalize overwhelms them, causing them to invade every vulnerable mind in the room, starving for fear to feast on.

"Indy don't listen to him," Phoenix says, desperately searching for the strength to push his heavy body toward Kyran, who lays aghast, gasping for air as the icy water rushes into his lungs as the room around him transforms into the black trenches of the open sea. Kyran reaches up at the fast-fading surface as the sun slips away from him, causing him to descend deeper into the depths.

As Kyran drowns, the illusion of incinerating fire floods Phoenix's eyes, burning so brightly he can still see the flames through eyes closed shut with fear. The lion tries to thrash the invisible inferno away, but it grows uncontrolled, burning everything in his world until nothing remains but ash.

Ashes of the library, ashes of the Zenith, ashes of his own burning body.

Then the flames drift apart, and a terrifying glimpse of the future comes into focus. Phoenix stares down at Indigo, their violet eyes unseeing, reflecting only fire. Phoenix screams, holding their burning body closely, knowing the only way he could've ended the illusions was to end their life.

"What are you showing me!?" Phoenix roars, turning to a terrified Aarden, who tries desperately to shake breath into Kyran as he gasps for air. Phoenix reaches for Aarden, his claws and teeth bared as he's blinded by illusions.

"I'm not doing anything!"

"You're manipulating time, showing me the future. I won't do it; I won't kill them!"

Aarden trips over ripple-like bumps on a rug and falls back onto the polished wooden floor, scurrying away as Zephyr howls in pain against a bookshelf, staring at his own hands in horror, convinced he's slipping back into the beast.

Aarden races down a cluttered hallway, throwing vases and sculptures onto the floor to stop Phoenix, who barrels toward him, setting fire to everything he encounters. Although his body quickly burns through the poison in his system, Indigo's hold remains strong, blinding the lion with an inextinguishable rage.

Phoenix reaches for Aarden's long, fluffy tail as the hallway fills with white smoke. Aarden crashes a bouquet of glass flowers over Phoenix's head, knocking the large cat back into the inferno catching up to him.

Aarden crawls close to the floor, pulling his shirt over his nose as he searches for a room to hide in.

In the library, Kamala places her hands on the sides of Indigo's shuddering face, trying to push through the fear in purple eyes shifting back and forth through a waking nightmare.

"I won't let him hurt you, not anymore," Kamala says, fighting her own fears as the voice of Soraya Singh echoes in her head.

"You chose the beast over me; You allowed him to kill me"

Kamala tries to ignore her mother's voice, but it grows louder in her head with each passing moment.

"You're the reason Quinn's lost. You took everything from her. How much longer until you kill her with your mistakes and miscalculations?"

"You're wrong!" Kamala shouts, shaking Indigo.

"She was everything you could never be. She was my daughter. You're no different than the beasts that made you."

"You're not real!"

"Murderer."

"You're a liar!"

Energy surges out from Kamala's fingertips as the power from the Zenith roars back to life within her, causing her to launch both herself and Indigo outward with a powerful shockwave of pink plasma.

Kamala knocks herself unconscious as the back of her head collides with the stone wall. Indigo crashes into a bookshelf.

"The dauntless, cowering before us in fear," Ziegler says to Indigo, brushing Kamala's silken hair as she stirs to his touch.

Indigo's eyes burn like searing sugilite as they rise.

"This ends tonight," Indigo says, regaining control of their body, allowing air to flow back into Kyran's lungs.

"Do your worst, I fear nothing," Ziegler tells them, tossing his drink aside, "and I have nothing left to lose."

"You won't be around to feel for much longer, but I promise the last thing you'll ever feel is fear," Indigo says, regaining control over their adaptation.

Ziegler blinks, but the wisps of blue magic slither on the ground like snakes toward him, and horrors begin to slip into the crevasses in his cracked mind.

From a narrow laundry room, Aarden hears Ziegler roar in terror as he pushes heavy drapes under the stairs to stop the smoke from spilling in.

Aarden pushes his weight against the heavy wooden door, but Phoenix tears through it, embers spilling at his feet as his sneakers slip on the rug he pushes against.

"Phoenix, it's me!" Aarden pleads, closing his eyes and pushing harder with weight he doesn't have.

Aarden is able to slam the heavy door shut as Phoenix is tackled and thrown into the rain outside through a stained-glass window.

A large arm of armored blue scales reaches for Aarden through a door thrown open with ease.

"Thorne!" Aarden says, a smile coming across his face. But the lizard doesn't recognize him, instead clutching Aarden's arm and dragging him down a narrow passageway behind a hidden doorway.

Aarden tries to wrestle free, but Thorne drapes him over his shoulder, keeping him in place by burying his claws into his still healing back and poorly mended jacket, causing searing pain to overwhelm his senses, blood spewing back into the Kelly-green satin.

"Please don't hurt me! I'm the reason why you woke up lost in another timeline. I'm still the same Aarden you met in the lab, remember?"

He kicks at Thorne with his sneakers, causing the massive lizard to lose his grip. As Aarden falls to the ground, he tears the pocket off the lizard's lab coat, spilling something small at his feet.

Aarden clutches the blue paper flower in his hands, holding it up for Thorne to see.

The dark pupils in the lizard's red eyes constrict, mesmerized by the single flower plucked from the garden of his lost memories.

"Indigo?" he asks, his voice broken from only being able to communicate through howls.

"Yes, Indigo! They're in danger. Ziegler is going to hurt them, so we need to save them before he does," Aarden says as Thorne shakes his head, trying to push away the influence Ziegler injected into his bloodstream.

"I'll stay with them until the end, to repay them for being my friend," Thorne says, as if time is catching up to him.

"Where are they?" Thorne asks, kneeling to help Aarden get back on his feet. He coughs as he tries to make sense of where he is in the manor as the fire rages, consuming the entire hall.

"In danger, and they need us."

***

Like the thunder signaling the start of more storms outside, the sprinkler system of the manor roars to life, bathing the Zenith in icy water as it douses the flames.

Kyran jolts awake as he heaves smoke into his burning lungs. At his side in the library, Kamala stirs awake as the pain in her throbbing head wanes.

"Where's Aarden?" Zephyr says from somewhere behind him as he shakes the water off his fur.

Kyran shrugs, removing his glasses as he runs his hands through his soaked hair, watching the water consume the library and destroy the books he held so dear.

In the storm outside, Phoenix wakes to the sounds of sizzling rain against his fiery mane. Freeing himself from the mud, the lion crawls back into the manor, dragging his broken body down the damaged hallway.

"Where did they go?" Phoenix asks as he meets the others in a scorched hallway.

"I was waiting for you to tell me. I'm still too busy trying to piece together what happened," Kamala says, rubbing her temples.

"Well, at least we don't have to ask who's responsible for the fire," Kyran says, coughing as the lingering smoke burns his eyes.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Phoenix says.

"Focus, we have to find Indigo and Aarden," Zephyr says.

The Zenith make their way back to the foyer when they hear the sound of screaming somewhere far above their heads.

"Can you leap?" Zephyr asks Kyran, who nearly collapses as he tries to catch his breath.

"There's only one way to know for sure," Kyran says, holding out his arm.

"This isn't going to help my headache," Kamala says, reaching for Kyran's golden sleeve right as he teleports, nausea pulling at her stomach as they cut through black and white smoke to meet Ziegler on the rain drenched roof.

The wolf smiles at them, blood falling from the corners of his mouth along the rain that lashes his face.

"There you are! As resilient as ever, now control them!" Ziegler shouts, taking large steps backward toward the sharp edge of his tall rooftop, keeping his distance from the furious rabbit who conjures haunting visages of darkness.

"Indigo, please stop. I don't know what he did to you, but we're here to help you through it!" Kamala pleads.

"I didn't know either until he made me remember! He deserves every part of this," Indigo says, magic spilling from their sopping body as they push Ziegler further toward the edge of insanity with images of slithering snakes and rotting loved ones.

"And you've earned every bit of pain I delivered onto you, Zenith 5. Even amongst the spectacular you were abhorrently unnatural. You don't deserve the powers I've given you," Ziegler shouts over roars of rolling thunder.

"Then take your power back!" Indigo says, stepping forward the final step needed to exact their revenge on the orchestrator of their suffering.

Dietrich Ziegler falls backward, his screams echoing as he plummets, but his claws grip on the edge of the roof as the remnants of the raging fire shatter the stained-glass windows by his feet, drowning him in billows of smoke.

Behind them, Aarden and Thorne push aside the shattered door of the observatory that leads to the barren rooftop garden.

"Indigo, what are you doing up here?" Aarden asks, catching glimpses of what lies before them through flashes of jagged lightning.

"Friend," Thorne says, his blue paper flower soaking in raindrops as he extends his hand toward them.

"Get away from me!" Indigo shouts, turning to refocus their energy on Thorne, causing him to see fear-provoking visions of Dietrich Ziegler.

"You're hurting him!" Aarden yells, stepping before Thorne, who falls to the ground as the illusion of the orange-colored energy burns him from the inside out. Aarden stares into Indigo's eyes, sharing the same visions of Ziegler along with Thorne before Indigo pushes him backward into Phoenix's arms with a burst of cerulean energy.

Thorne thrashes and shrieks into the night as Indigo manipulates the Zenith Crown energy guarded under steel plated scales, gradually reverting Ulysses Thorne into a monster.

"He's trying to save you, don't do this to him!" Aarden pleads, but Indigo disregards him, blinded by the inextinguishable rage from a time long past.

"Get away from me!" Indigo warns Thorne, looking down into fearful eyes.

"Friend," Thorne says, "Indi--

"Thorne, kill them!" Ziegler commands, panicking as the flames rise like tendrils to pull him down to the raging inferno below.

"No! Please, not again," Phoenix says, as visions of Kyran and Indigo's bodies slipping into his fire burn brightly in his mind.

Terrified, Phoenix launches a fountain of flames from his fists, instantly enveloping them in a cloud of steam. Instinct getting the better of him, Ziegler surrenders his grip, plummeting into the flames far below.

Thorne rushes forward, unsure of what to do except bury his teeth into Indigo's shoulder with his poisonous bite, anesthetizing the small rabbit's senses. But as Indigo falls into Thorne's arms and familiar eyes meet for the first time, Indigo sees small flashes of Thorne's final thoughts, seeing the lizard hold them as they fall together into flames in another timeline.

But in this timeline, only Ulysses Thorne falls into the fire below. Kyran teleports Indigo away to safety as the rabbit's vision fades to black and they become numb to the cold rain splashing on their face.

Aarden races forward, not caring that he's running out of roof to run on. He reaches his hands outward, palms outstretched as if he's stopping an enigmatic force that's visible only to him.

The rain slows until it stops midair. Before Aarden, Thorne's momentum is suspended by the waves of green energy rippling from Aarden's fingertips. Around himself and the motionless bodies of the others, heavy raindrops stand perfectly still like tiny diamonds in a dark dream.

Through the soundless tempest, Aarden concentrates until the waves of time begin to fold and crash into each other like waves in a tumultuous sea. Some of the raindrops reverse their course and fly back toward the sky, not in defiance of gravity, but in defiance of time itself. Other folds of time cause the rain to crash downward, while the droplets of rain nearest to him remain perfectly suspended in the air. But gradually, Aarden slips under the surface of the waves and loses control, right as Ulysses Thorne rises toward him from the clutches of death.

But Aarden's adaptation breaks, and time continues to march unrelentingly forward until the two old friends glares sightlessly at one another at the end of their fall, a single paper flower soaking in cold blood in a barren garden.