"......" Zeke was silent, before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Falling in love with that woman." he muttered.

"That will alter your course of life in a way you don't want it to, whether you know it or not." he said.

"And there's NO going back." he went on.

"I feel for him." he said.

"I don't know what he'd done before meeting Encrae, but nobody deserves to fall in love with her."

Zeke was... shocked, to say the least.

Such bile and hatred towards her brother... it was uncharacteristic for a wood elf.

Not that he didn't understand. Her brother had essentially betrayed her in the worst way, and he was now, essentially dead to her. Or, rather, she was dead to him, and it seemed she was finally letting go and trying not to hang onto who he used to be.

"I see." he then said.

"I suppose it's no surprise that she attracted his attention, and/or vice versa." he commented.

"We'll do all we can to help YOU, though." he went on.

"The fact you came here searching for help is already a big step."

"Oh." Zeke replied.

"I see." he said.

"So... wait, you're ONLY here because of that Shadow?" he asked.

"I'm confused." he admitted.

"Do you want to be saved?" he asked her.

"Which is to say, freed from that shadow, as well as Vanessa?" he asked further.

"Or are you here against your will in every sense of the phrase?"

"...I appreciate your restraint." Zeke replied.

"And your candidness." he added.

"Well, finish eating, and hopefully things will be ready." he then told her.

'...there has to be something we can do for her...' he then thought.

'...I can't help but feel there IS, but it's escaping my mind...' he went on.

'Something OBVIOUS, too, I wanna say...'

"She needs to speak with Jenkins." Zeke replied.

"They have things they need to discuss." he went on.

-Some time later-

Chris and Ayla had talked for the entire time they were in the cell, with the two keeping each other sane, essentially.

Zeke had stayed close by, as his 'aura' protected Ayla from the shadow, but he knew the time had come for him to leave.

The door was opened, and he stepped inside.

"All right." he said.

"Everything's ready." he told Ayla.

"Come on, let's get to the room prepared for this."

Chris just sighed and followed Ayla.

"I don't like this." he said.

"But I know it has to be done." he muttered.

"Let's go." he told Zeke.

The three of them (with Mira following as backup) then made their way down a few floors, until the entered a room that looked like it would be quite dark when the lights were turned off.

Ayla also saw a pile of quartz that would be quite adequate for this.

She also saw Hal there... and Hazel.

"Hence MY involvement." Chris chimed in.

"I'm... super good with pinpoint timing." he said.

"I see." Hal replied.

"Just tell me when to leave." Zeke told her.

"I'll teleport so that I'm at least 20 feet away from this building." he continued.

"Okay then, Ayla." Chris muttered.

"Time to set this place up."

"......." there was silence among the rest of them, with Chris biting his lip.

"....yeah..." he mumbled.

"Vanessa tends to drill that into people..." he muttered.

Hal just looked at Zeke, and nodded.

"I'll step out of the room and shut the door." he told him.

"And then I'll teleport out." Zeke finished.

Hal then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"...good luck." was all Zeke said. Chris then gave him the signal, and Zeke was gone from the room suddenly.

"...and here we go." Chris muttered.

Chris just gritted his teeth.

"I do." he said.

"And you know it." he told it.

"You've been in my head." he went on.

"You've seen my past. You've seen my nightmares." he continued.

"...and you've seen what I'm capable of." he then said further, as mana started to swirl around him.

"For quite possibly the first time in my life... I'm choosing to do something."

Chris just narrowed his eyes.

"...I don't take orders from you." he told her.

"And I no longer take orders from Vanessa." he went on.

"I... I am my own person!" he then yelled.

With that, he let loose with a small but powerful pulse of mana.

As this happened, the gems surrounding them started to glow brightly... and the show found itself forcibly torn from Ayla's body.