“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.”

  Michael J. Fox, Canadian Actor

  Calista lay in the bathing pool and let the warm water of the tropical sea carry away her aches and pains. Staring up at the stars, her amazon dress freshly washed on the rocks beside her, she allowed herself a precious moment to enjoy the beauty of the world around her.

  They’d found this place together and, in the wake of the Battle of Tower Beach, with emotions raw, they confessed their feelings for one another. They’d stayed in this place into the long hours of the night, holding each other and stealing kiss after kiss. It was the start of their lives together, and it had felt so right.

  It still feels so right. My love, we’ll be here together again. I won’t stop until I find you. I promise…

  Calista’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a mischievous giggle as Passi launched herself off the rocky shelf and dove into the pool beside her. Calista covered her face with her forearm as the splash surged over her, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

  Passi surfaced, and Calista watched as the fairy child played in the pool, diving for shells and chasing small fish that sheltered at the edge of the pool’s calmer waters.

  They’d left the battle against The Valley Champion without incident, with Rain promising to deliver the other team’s share of the spoils in a few days’ time. Not once did Xavier give any indication that he remembered Passi beyond the few days they’d spent traveling together to the Gathering. She was just another fairy amongst the three hundred survivors.

  Edna and Cynthia, on the other hand, had remembered Passi, but they’d spent as little time as possible in her presence. Perhaps it was the beatings they’d suffered at the hands of Milly, or Calista’s less-than-subtle glares that promised more to come if they should try to torment Passi again. The Carthage twins were the first across the river when they parted ways, eager to be anywhere else.

  That evening, Calista and Rain took Passi to Billy’s restaurant, where he barbequed the Champion steak and they dined like queens. Although the permanent four-point boost to their toughness was nice, it was the smile on Passi’s face that made the meal special for Calista.

  It was the happiest she’d seen Passi since Milly’s disappearance – as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from the child’s shoulders. She could walk the Castle of Glass without fear of retribution, and that freedom gave her new life.

  Calista watched Milly’s daughter splash around in the pool – free to be a kid again – and couldn’t help but smile. She recalled her heart-to-heart with Milly, when her love had asked her about having kids. About Passi.

  “You love that little fairy child, and I love that you love her. And, truthfully, I like the little brat too. I just… need more time to figure out who I want to be to her... Maybe… I could learn to be something more…”

  Calista sighed deeply as the rhythm of Passi’s giggles washed over her, shattering her final ounce of reluctance.

  It’s time, Calista. You’re ready.

  “Passi, sweetheart, come over here,” Calista said when Passi surfaced once more, a pretty shell clutched in her palm.

  Passi fluttered over to Calista’s pond and landed beside her on the rocks, her eyes still dancing with playfulness.

  “I like this place,” Passi said, holding the shell up to the night sky. It sparkled in the moonlight, and Passi giggled at its beauty.

  “This is my favorite place,” Calista whispered, her hands lazily skimming the surface of the water. “Your mother and I… this is where our love truly began.”

  “Really?” Passi breathed. She set the shell carefully down on the rocks, her attention now fully on Calista.

  “Really,” Calista chuckled. “I had this elaborate plan – flowers, exotic fruits, candlelight – everything to make this a night to remember. But I was so nervous that I couldn’t find the right words. It was Milly that found them for me. At that moment, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”

  Calista stared up at the stars and wondered if Milly was staring up at the same time and thinking of her.

  “I thought she was the only family I would ever need. Until you came along. Milly became your mother, and I…”

  Calista didn’t know how to finish. She felt herself stumbling over her words, as she had when she tried to tell Milly how she felt. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and thought of Milly – and Milly’s strength and love flowed into her.

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  “What I’m trying to say is… it was here, in this place, underneath these stars, that Milly and I first became family. And now, I want to make that family complete.”

  Passi just stared at Calista, uncomprehending.

  “I mean… Milly is your mom and… and I want to be your mom too.”

  Calista paused and stared hopefully at the fairy child. Passi looked confused, and Calista’s heart sank. Silence fell between them, broken only by the soft gurgle of the waves flitting through the ponds.

  Oh no… No, I just screwed this up. I was too direct… she doesn’t want this. She…

  Passi chuckled, and softly bonked Calista on the head with her palm.

  “You are my mom, dummy,” Passi replied, matter-of-factly. “You’ve been my mom for a while now.”

  “I… I have?” Calista asked, stunned. It was not the answer she was expecting.

  Passi placed the colorful shell in Calista’s hand – a gift from daughter to mother – and simply said “I love you, mom.”

  With that, Passi flew towards the beach, where Rain and Anchovy were studying the bioluminescent plant life that had washed up on shore.

  Calista let her joyful tears drip into the sea and get carried away on the waves.

  I have a daughter… who knew?

  She sat there for a while, processing her emotions, until finally she wiped away the last of the tears and hauled herself out of the pool. She stared up at the night sky and felt a sense of resolve wash over her.

  Milly, I’ll find you and bring you home to our daughter. To our family. I promise. There is nothing in this world that can keep me from you.

  She donned her dress and headed towards the beach.

  Towards her daughter.

  * * *

  Xavier sat at a desk in his room – a corner office on the twelfth floor of Tower One – as Cerberus slept at his feet. It had been a long day, and the puppy had fallen asleep soon after they'd returned from the wilds.

  Except for Frank, who felt more secure in a room without giant windows, they’d each gotten a corner of the floor as a bedroom. The hallways were decorated with luxuries from the Emporium and spoils of their conquests in the wilds.

  Despite today’s victory, Xavier was unsettled. Calista’s appearance in the forest had been an unwelcome interruption, yet he’d felt little of his usual ire towards his former high school bully. The anger was there – just below the surface – yet it felt muted.

  It wasn’t the only change he’d experienced since they’d pulled him from the rubble of Freelancer Tower. The desire for power – that addictive need heightened by the black blade – was still there, but it had been dulled as well. Where it had once been a dagger cutting away at his emotions piece by piece, now it was an anesthetic, numbing him to all but the need to grow stronger. He no longer heard the voice of Cizen in his mind, but he could still feel his presence beneath the surface.

  And then there were the holes in his memory. He knew there was more to that fairy child than his trip to the Gathering, yet each time he tried to remember, something diverted his thoughts. It’s just…

  Xavier yawned, as the exhaustion of the day began to take its toll.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Xavier abruptly decided, climbing into his bed. “I’m growing stronger. This is all I truly need. It is all that matters. That’s all that’s ever mattered…”

  Xavier shut his eyes, and he let exhaustion take him into a dreamless sleep.

  And as he fell unconscious, The Seed went to work.

  This had been a challenging day for the virus. The appearance of Xavier’s childhood bully and the fairy child murderer had stretched the virus’ capabilities to moderate Xavier’s impulsive instincts. It’d had to muffle his intense anger towards Calista and completely suppress his memories of the child after they arrived at the Gathering together, all while subtly imparting knowledge of The Valley Champion that would keep the man and his team alive during the battle.

  After all, it was imperative that Xavier stay alive and grow as strong as possible, as fast as possible. That was The Seed’s purpose. Well, one of its purposes.

  The Seed longed for night, when Xavier’s mind was dormant, so it could take full control. It had much to do before its creator arrived.

  Xavier’s body sat up and strode quietly out of his room, the snores of the Carthage twins echoing down the halls.

  It had taken a few days for The Seed to twist Xavier’s thoughts to convince him to join a party to help him thrive. The man had a misguided notion that it was better to go it alone. It was a thought process that would have led him to an early grave – and scuttled the creator’s plans. There were challenges in the God Contest that couldn’t be faced alone – rewarding challenges that would strengthen the creator’s chosen incubator.

  It was fortuitous that it was Stone that saw the potential in the man and recruited him. Along with the talents of the Carthage twins, the man was an exceptional tank – a necessary compliment to Xavier’s aggression to maximize their success on the battlefield.

  “Tank…,” murmured The Seed as he guided Xavier down the hall. “The incubator’s word, not mine. Even in sleep, the man unconsciously fights against the destiny gifted to him by the creator.”

  Out of curiosity, The Seed piloted Xavier to Jacob’s bedroom. The lavishly decorated room sat empty, its sole occupant nowhere to be seen. It had been this way every night since The Seed was born.

  “Curious,” it whispered. Despite his usefulness, The Seed was weary of Jacob. The man’s power was exceptional, and it wondered if Xavier wasn’t the only one who had yet to show their full strength to the others on the team. And it wondered if Jacob, when the creator arrived, would prove dangerous… or useful.

  It reached the elevator and headed for the lobby, humming a tune from Xavier’s memories. Something from a game called Mario Brothers. It was catchy, though it made The Seed question where the virus ended and where Xavier began. That line was growing more blurred with each passing day.

  It dismissed the irrelevant. Its creator had given it a task, and it would complete it without hesitation. When its task was done – when its creator had finally enacted his long-planned vengeance – then he would arrive, and The Seed’s purpose will be complete.

  An hour later, The Seed arrived at its destination. It looked down upon the corpse of The Valley Champion, a cloud of flies buzzing around its wounds. He placed a hand upon the corpse and removed a Waypoint Crystal from Xavier’s inventory.

  “The Graveyard,” The Seed spoke in Xavier’s voice.

  In a flash, the puppet and the Valley Champion vanished, and the forest stood empty once more.

  The Non-Canonical Aftermath: