When the time was up and the faintly glowing green stone had cracked, Amazon had stumbled out, shocked and still numb from the pain of the Merchant's magic. She'd stood there, frozen, breathing hard for a moment, before stumbling away, more out of shock then any real thought to go anywhere. She just wanted to get away from Hydra, away from the Merchant and the Overseer. She didn't care where she was going.

She didn't even realize the yeti was following her until she'd tripped into Canis, where she was now, crouched against the wall, hyperventilating, and still trying to right herself. It took a few moments of silence before she finally began to calm down. She wasn't in Hydra anymore. She was in Canis. She was still alive.

Something around her head felt funny. She reached up and touched the scales around the base of her gem...but they weren't scales anymore. It was almost like touching the back of a bug - chitin-like material now hugged the base of the gemstone she so despised.

She froze. It had been long enough. A cycle since she last saw Tenzin, if not a little less. She should be sick, or at least experiencing headaches. But she felt fine. Completely fine. No headache, no stomachache, nothing.

She realized a moment later what this meant. Her eyes widened and tears began to leak down her cheeks as her claw fell from her head. A moment later, she was laughing and crying, her happiness so intense that her whole body was trembling. She would never have to leave Luster or Livius again. She could live with them forever.

@Quartz Eight-Six-Zero

After waking from his chrysalis, Quartz Eight-Six-Zero had no idea what to do. First things first, though, he was different when he woke up. There was a weight on his back that hadn't been there before. He reached a hand back as best he could and his fingers grazed—feathers. Soft feathers. And it was then he realized he had grown wings.

Slowly, he unfurled them, careful not to knock any of the nearby chrysalises or anyone who had recently hatched from them. They were big and certainly seemed large enough to hold his weight if he were to fly. He thought about giving it a try now but then noticed Amazon slipping away. So he folded his wings back up and followed her, almost like a lost puppy. Now that he'd hatched, and was free of the trial, he had no idea what to do or where to go.

So he followed the only one he'd really talked to, the one he befriended. It was better than wandering the caves, lost and alone. He kept a close eye on her, so he noticed immediately when she tripped and how she reacted afterward. He watched as she struggled a little, desperate to help her but not sure how. He understood how she must be feeling. At any moment, he feared Vargas was going to jump out and get him. But it never did.

After some time, she seemed to calm down. And then reached up to touch the base of her gem. The gem was something he'd noticed before - it seemed as if there was something off about it. But even as she began to weep, he was confused. And he didn't like seeing the lizard cry.

"Amazon? What is it?" he asked, rushing closer. He could hear what sounded like a laugh, but he wasn't entirely certain. Was she crying tears of joy, or tears of anguish? He'd never been the best at reading body language, especially now after many cycles of not being near anyone.

@Amazon

Amazon continued to cry for a few moments more after the yeti had spoken, far too deep in her own emotions to put together a coherent response. All of her dreams were in reach once again. All of her friends, everyone she loved, she'd return to them at last and live with them like she always wanted.

It took a few moments for her to finally get herself under control, sucking in gasping breaths and wiping away her tears as best as she could, a smile filling up her entire face. "Oh, it's just...I'm happy. I'm so, so happy." She felt his fingers brush against her gemstone and she realized that she no longer felt the uncomfortable warmth that seemed to radiate off of it constantly. "You...probably shouldn't touch it. It's dangerous. Most of my life it poisoned me. I got sicker and sicker and was barely hanging on. I joined the trial because I thought that maybe...I could get more time. Even if it was just as much as I had before. B-but..." she trailed off as another wave of tears threatened to spill over. "N-now I know, I won't ever be sick from it again. I'm healed."

The burst into sobs once again, too overwhelmed to continue speaking. For another few minutes, she tried to get the crying under control. She didn't need to be scared anymore. She didn't need to feel worthless anymore. She was finally free to do whatever she wanted. The cage had been lifted.

That reminded her, though, of who she was speaking to. She wondered how long it had been since the yeti had been able to wander the caves. Once she quieted down, she looked back up, forcing herself to think beyond her own victory. "You're free now too. Do you remember the caves?"

@Quartz Eight-Six-Zero

It took some time for Amazon to calm down enough in response. He frowned, but waited until she had composed herself. And when she started to explain, he understood. The gem...The reason it felt off was that it was toxic. He withdrew his hands, making a mental note to not touch it. As she said she was free, he smiled. He was glad Amazon had been relieved of her burden. And judging by her reaction, it seemed she was absolutely thrilled by it.

"I'm glad. You deserve to get to live your life to the fullest. Especially after the undertaking of the trial."

As she asked him a question, his smile fell into a bit of a frown. "I...do not remember much. Bits and pieces. Some landmarks here and there. But I fear everything - and everyone - will be much different now. It has been a long time." He looked around. They were in Canis, he knew that much. But he didn't know much more beyond that. He didn't know what tunnels led where or even where the tunnels were, aside from the one they had just left. It would be challenging, getting used to the caves again.

@Amazon

Amazon nodded, wiping away the last of the tears with her claw. She was grateful that she had a friend right now - she liked him, he was gentle and kind, but she wish she knew more about him. There wasn't exactly a lot of downtime to get to know each other during the Trials.

She took a deep breath, finally confident that she wasn't going to burst into tear anymore. "Thanks. If you'd like, I can show you around a bit? Take you to some of the caves and introduce you to some people? I'm part of a small kingdom in Orion...they'll welcome you, I'm sure!" She smiled up at him, wondering what Livius would think when she came hobbling back, completely cured, with a giant yeti for a friend. She wasn't sure if they'd be happy for her or extremely jealous of him. Probably both at the same time.

But then, something occurred to her. "So, do I call you Quartz? Or do you have a different name?"

@Quartz Eight-Six-Zero

Reseda had been the first to emerge and had immediately abandoned all the others in favor of finding the hiding spot she was in now. It was up against the wall, near the opening to the tunnel that would lead to Orion. It was the fastest way to get to Orion and she was sure that Amazon would pass through. She was perched in a small dip, high up, barely peeking over. It still gave her a thrill to look down and see the ground so far away, knowing that she had gotten up there herself. Not with magic, not with any help, but with the beige draconic wings she had discovered upon her reemergence.

It was more then she could have hoped from her reward. She had been expecting magic, and was prepared for it to be unhelpful at all, after the pain that the magic caused, but this? Wings? It was perfect. This was what she needed.

She noticed that Amazon had stopped now and, to her annoyance, the large white creature was following her. He would be dealt with.

She began crawling along a small ledge until she was at the very end of the path. She leaped off, her heart jumping in her chest, before spreading her wings and soaring silently above. She still wasn't quite used to flying, and her flight was rather wobbly and unsteady, the stump of her tail lashing behind to try and steady herself, but she managed to get herself do another small cave just above the two. She looked over and sized up her target before trying to flick him away. When nothing happened, she narrowed her eyes, realizing she'd never actually called up the magic in her haste to get this done. No matter, she stayed where she was, for now, hidden from sight.

Quartz Eight-Six-Zero smiled down at Amazon. Someone to show him around the caves, and introduce him to some others...That definitely seemed nice. And it beat just wandering around aimlessly. He nodded. "That'd...be really nice, yeah." A kingdom...Well, that was certainly interesting. He was definitely intrigued.

And then an inquiry, and he paused. His name...He'd been known as just Quartz Eight-Six-Zero for so long, but it wasn't much of a name. Quartz was something he could be called, but it didn't quite feel like him. He'd had a name at some point, cycles and cycles ago. But what was it?

"You may call me..," he scoured his brain for something. "Magnus." Yes, that sounded right. Natural. As good a name as any, he supposed.

@Amazon

Amazon smiled up at her friend, looking him over briefly. Magnus....truth be told, she had become used to thinking of him simply as "yeti" but Magnus suited him well too! "That's a very nice name!"

She wracked her brain for a moment, trying to think of the places she'd been to before. Places she could show him. "So there's also Polaris - I've been there a lot, there's a big glowing crystal called the Spire and a river so clear you can see the bottom. Orion is also pretty great - there's stars on the ceiling and an old ruined city. And Pisces, where its cold and there's waterfalls and a big phoenix called Tenzin." She wanted to name more but she realized, quite sadly, that she hadn't actually been to any more. There was still so much she had to see, but she hadn't. And she'd been ready to die.

Not anymore.

They were talking down there. She wasn't listening. She didn't care. They were pests, insects, but the lizard, at least, was useful. Her eyes narrowed, staring at the white creature, and, this time, she felt a strong ripple through her gem. She stabbed forward, aiming to grab the yeti and toss him, far away, far enough that he wouldn't get back in time.

She cared little for if he was hurt or not. She didn't approach, not yet, staying hidden on her ledge until the coast was completely clear. She wasn't going to mess this up.

@Quartz Eight-Six-Zero

Magnus listened as Amazon described the places she'd been. They all sounded wonderful, and he couldn't wait to get to experience all of them with her. He opened his mouth and started to speak, "They all sound great! Where are we going first?"

But before he could say anymore, he suddenly felt a force that he couldn't resist yanking him away. He didn't know what had happened. One second he was here, talking with Amazon, and the next he was being thrown across the room. He landed roughly with a groan, attempting to look up. But his vision was a little blurry and he had trouble breathing, and he had no idea where exactly Amazon was.

What had happened?

@Amazon