"Are you sure this is the right place?" Ciana asks and raises her right arm over her eyes to shield against the blinding light of the rising dawn as we walk through an abandoned city full of tall steel buildings, our feet crunching in the snow.

"That's what the map says," Reine says as she walks alongside Ciana.

"I'm glad we left our luggage back at the camp," Shitau sighs, "it's a pretty far walk."

"You mean the luggage we have left," Ayette says pointedly and Shitau laughs sheepishly.

"Quiet," Aislinn says and stops walking, holding up a hand as her other hand goes to her blade and she looks around cautiously.

A shard of ice flies at Aislinn and she draws her longsword, cutting it in half as she swipes up diagonally right before it reaches her, splitting it in half. The rest of us get on guard in defensive stances, our gazes hardened as we look around.

"You were wrong to come here," Coralyinn says as she appears out of a vortex of swirling snow that opens in the middle of the street, her arms spread open wide as she walks.

"Give us the relic, Coralyinn," Ciana says, her eyes narrowing as she clenches her fists while she stands in a boxer's position.

"You think you can simply ask me and I'll hand it over to you? Who do you take me for, Ember? Always the forceful one, weren't you?" Coralyinn muses as she stops walking and whisks her right hand upward, revealing a chamber made of ice and darkness floating in the air that holds Vivian, who bangs on the inside and yells to be let out, "since you asked nicely, I suppose I'll answer you, and the answer is no. How many times do I have to tell you? I only destroy what gets in my way."

Coralyinn swings her right arm out forcefully and spikes of ice rush towards us, shooting up from the ground and rising at least twenty feet tall. Ciana runs forwards and winds her fist back as she leaps up before she punches against the wall of ice shards, shattering it to pieces as she flies through it. The rest of us follow after her as Coralyinn draws her daggers and swirls around, driving one of them upwards as Ciana lands in front of her. Ciana strikes back against the blow by crossing her gauntlets together and a fire rune forms in front of her in the shape of a shield. Reine slides up to the left side of Coralyinn and helps Ciana as Ayette flies over to Vivian and attempts to free her from the icy chamber.

Mikasa turns her lasso back into a bow and takes aim at Vivian's chamber as Ayette backs off in an attempt to break through the ice as Dimitri and Tien rush up to help Reine and Ciana. Aislinn closes her eyes and holds her blade directly in front of her, her hands pressed on either side before her yellow eyes fly open and she rapidly lunges forward in one strike, silver energy glowing around her as she slashes through the air. Coralyinn's eyes meet Aislinn miraculously and she turns sideways, her dress whirling around as she catches Aislinn's longsword between her hands and Aislinn goes flying due to the sheer force of her stopping all at once. Coralyinn throws Aislinn's weapon aside and manages to reach out and grab Ciana by the throat, who kicks and thrashes at her. Ice begins to spread up Ciana's neck and her eyes widen before she places her hand around Coralyinn's wrist and her hand bursts into flames, making Coralyinn drop her to the ground with a yelp. Ciana coughs and splutters as the ice that was climbing up her neck recedes and she looks up as Reine runs forward with a yell and tackles Coralyinn.

As Coralyinn and Reine roll through the snow, I run over to Mikasa and Ayette with Kaltrina.

"Nothing's working!" Ayette shouts down at us and Mikasa shakes her head vigorously in irritation.

"We have to keep trying!" Mikasa shouts as she pulls back and releases another arrow of light.

The arrow chips at the ice's dark energy exterior, but the field immediately reforms and Vivian's eyes sadden. I swallow thickly as I attempt to remind myself that she isn't real, but she seems so...she seems like she's always seemed to me. She seems like the sister I grew up with, and that's exactly what she is. Immediately, an extreme blast of snow and wind shoots through the area, sending Reine, Dimitri, Tien, Aislinn, and Ciana flying away from Coralyinn. Mikasa, me, and the others look over at the source of the blast to see Coralyinn standing angrily in the street, chunks of ice and rock swirling around her in snow and wind.

"If only I could constantly try to force an opening in the field!" Mikasa calls out.

"Ayette!" I shout, "give Mikasa a lift!"

Ayette nods in understanding and flies down, picking up Mikasa in the process, before she flies back up to the ice chamber. Mikasa puts away her bow and places her hands against the dark field of energy as her hands glow with bright yellow light and burn the darkness away slowly.

"I'll protect them," Kaltrina says to me and I nod, taking off in a run towards Coralyinn and the others.

On the way to Coralyinn, Shitau and Nathan run passed me and head towards Kaltrina to join her in protecting Ayette and Mikasa. Dimitri looks over, his gaze meeting mine and we silently seem to communicate the same idea. Dimitri climbs to his feet and races over to Ayette, forming an illusionary dome around all of them, including himself, in order to try and buy time.

"What pests," Coralyinn sneers and steps once on the ground, sending ice out beneath her feet and freezing the streets and buildings around us solid.

The ice spreads out before it rises and begins to form a dome around the area, closing us in.

"No!" Ciana shouts as she looks up at the dome, her eyes widening.

Flames begin to burn around Ciana's eyes and she gets up, running rapidly towards Coralyinn as Reine, Tien, and Aislinn all get up. I run alongside Ciana and the two of us share a brief glance and a smirk before we both run to separate sides of Coralyinn. Ciana leaps up and strikes from the sky while I swing upwards from the ground, my blade releasing white energy as I swing diagonally at Coralyinn. My sword cuts through debris that floats around Coralyinn and Ciana raises both her fists above her heads, a ball of flames forming in her hands as wings made of flames form on her back. She strikes the ball of flames at Coralyinn, who turns to the side and pulls her arms in towards her body as she leans over, bracing against the blow as ashes float around her.

Coralyinn grits her teeth and crosses her arms before she unfurls them as she steps forwards sharply, sending a wave of snow and extreme wind in all directions. Ciana braces against the wind and slides backwards as I fly into the air and raise my katana over my head, digging it into the ground before I fly too far. Coralyinn then twirls around and forms a trail of water in the air and I grit my teeth in recognition at Melantha's gift. Coralyinn then hurls the water towards Ciana in a giant wave, which freezes solid. Ciana punches her way through the wall of ice, which then shatters to pieces that fall to the ground as she runs through. Ciana fights Coralyinn as Coralyinn resummons her daggers and the two begin to clash. Lightning strikes between Ciana and Coralyinn every time Coralyinn's daggers meet Ciana's gauntlets and Ciana grits her teeth angrily.

I glance over at Reine and her eyes search mine knowingly. Reine closes her eyes and holds her katana upright as an aura of gold and lavender begins to form around her, making her glow brightly. Energy swirls around her in the shape of a Chinese dragon before it flies up into the sky, releasing golden ashes and embers as it swirls around in a circle by the top of the dome before it explodes in a flash of light, golden glitter raining down as Coralyinn's dome shakes and the top begins to crack, which runs down the entire side. Aislinn then swings her longsword through the air and forms a bolt of silver energy that Tien jumps on top of and rides over to the edge of the ice dome, where he leaps off of the platform as it dissolves to particles with his blade raised over his head before he slashes through the dome where it's cracked, a lethal sweep of glowing green energy emitting from his blade as he does so. The dome splits entirely in two and cracks to pieces, shattering to small shards of ice that lay on the ground around us.

Coralyinn's eyes widen in surprise before she glares and knocks Ciana aside with a furious hit to the abdomen. Coralyinn begins to advance towards Tien, Reine, and Aislinn, and I raise my blade and prepare to reach her before she reaches them. As I take off towards Coralyinn, Ciana crawls back to her feet and charges Coralyinn angrily as Nathan and Shitau run out of the dome hurriedly.

"Ciana!" Nathan screams out as she runs towards her, his right arm outstretched, "stop!"

"Nathan, wait!" Shitau calls after Nathan as he chases after him in an attempt to get him back to Dimitri's dome.

My eyes widen as Coralyinn smirks slyly and suddenly turns sharply to her left, lunging as she does so and dragging her dagger upwards, effectively impaling Ciana's chest. Ciana skids to a halt, her eyes wide as she gasps out and reaches for the blade in a hurried attempt to yank it out of her chest.

"Ciana!" Reine shouts and Aislinn gasps, her eyes wide in horror.

I find myself so startled that I stumble as I run, almost falling head over heels. Coralyinn quickly turns in my direction and pulls her blade out of Ciana, who falls to her knees on the ground, her eyes meeting mine. Coralyinn then pulls her arm back and releases one of her daggers, which heads straight for me. I prepare myself to dodge the blade just as Ayette yells out and appears from out of Dimitri's dome, flying towards us with her shield on her arm. Ayette flies directly between us, making the dagger strike against her shield, releasing a loud metallic echo that sends out shockwaves and sends everyone flying backwards. I look over to the dome, realizing that Vivian must be free if Ayette stopped holding up Mikasa. Nathan and Shitau rush over to Ciana while the others regain their previous positions as I spot Mikasa floating in the air on top of a twister of swirling winds, her normally blue eyes glowing bright white as she holds her arms out, her long brown hair blowing back in the wind to reveal her earrings, the jewels in them now glowing bright green with energy. Mikasa sweeps her arm back and a horde of arrows appears behind her in the sky, glowing bright with golden light. Mikasa releases the arrows, which fly towards Coralyinn and swirl through the air before they form into one giant arrow of light that strikes Coralyinn, who flies back from the force of blocking the hit and rolls on the ground.

Shitau catches Ciana, who falls into his arms as he and Nathan sit next to her.

"Not again," Shitau breathes out.

Aislinn and Reine go over to guard Shitau, Nathan, and Ciana as Ayette, Tien, Mikasa, and I head after Coralyinn. Dimitri's dome lowers to reveal Kaltrina, who runs up along side me, Ayette, Mikasa, and Tien while Dimitri stays back, guarding Vivian.

"I see Medea has gifted you as well," Coralyinn tsks as Ayette fights with her, "what a pain."

"Shut up, you wench," Kaltrina snaps in return with a swipe of her blade.

Ciana breathes out little raspy gasps of air as she raises her hand and flames swirl around it, her eyes lighting up upon seeing the fire.

"You still have your gift," Nathan breathes out.

"You're...you'll be okay, Ciana," Shitau says, but his voice says otherwise as he watches her with extreme concern.

Shitau lowers his head and clenches his fists at his sides before he begins to glow with a faint blue aura around him and Nathan's eyes widen.

"Dude, look..." Nathan trails off.

Ciana's wounds begin to heal as Shitau begins to become even more pale than usual and his eyes widen in realization.

"I...I understand now," Shitau laughs almost bitterly.

Coralyinn looks over at him angrily but is unable to intervene due to our constant assault on her. She manages to cut a gash alongside Tien's cheek, fresh blood beginning to seep from the thin cut and will most certainly match the now light scar that runs across the bridge of his nose. Kaltrina's breath hitches as she looks over at her brother and her fighting stance falters for a moment.

"No!" Kaltrina shouts and gains the confused attention of Reine, Aislinn, and the rest of us, aside from Shitau.

Ciana starts to come around more, blinking a few times as her mind clears and she begins to realize what's happening. Shitau and her both continue to glow and he smiles as he has his head down, a few drops of water falling as they trail down his cheeks and drop onto Ciana.

"Shitau...what..." Ciana trails off, unsure of what exactly he's doing.

"Don't worry, Ciana," Shitau smiles sadly, "I'm doing what I was always meant to."

"I don't...I don't understand," Ciana frowns, "Shitau, what're--"

"Stop!" Kaltrina screams out and turns from Coralyinn to run towards Shitau, her eyes burning with anger.

Nathan rises to his feet and appears in front of Kaltrina in almost an instant, holding out his right hand and effectively stopping her in her path as a wall of wispy white energy forms around her.

"It's his choice," Nathan says gravely, his tone low, "let him do it."

"This was never supposed to happen!" Kaltrina shouts as she bangs against the barriers, her eyes wide as tears stream down her face in anger, frustration, and desperation, "he was never supposed to find out!"

"Thank you, for everything, Ciana," Shitau smiles and Ciana's eyes widen, "at least now...I'll finally see her again..."

Ciana watches in a horrified manner as the glowing stops, her wounds completely healed, and Shitau falls over in the snow as his eyes flutter shut and he takes a shuddering breath. Ciana crawls over to him and shakes him by his shoulder, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Shitau? Hey, Shitau?!" Ciana calls out and shakes him desperately.

Kaltrina breaks free of her entrapment with a murderous yell, rushing towards Ciana.

"It's all your fault!" Kaltrina screams out, her katana raised as her eyes seem to lose all sense of sanity as they focus on Ciana.

Ciana looks up, her eyes wide in surprise as the rest of us seem to freeze, watching with our breath held before time seems to slow as a loud bang goes off. I watch as Kaltrina stops in her tracks, stumbles, and falls backwards, drops of blood flying through the air in the process to reveal Nathan standing there with wide eyes, his right hand holding his pistol out with a shaking hand.

"I...I had to do it..." Nathan breathes out shakily, his eyes still wide, "I...I had to..."

All of us stand there in shock at the events that just happened and Coralyinn manages to knock us aside before she rushes to Vivian, throwing bolts of ice towards all of us in the process. Ayette gets in front of me with her shield raised, the ice crashing against it and shattering, but Mikasa, Nathan, Tien, and Reine get frozen solid in their places because the ice bolts explode before they reach them, sending out a wave of ice that freezes them temporarily. Meanwhile, Dimitri leaps in front of Vivian to protect her before he gets frozen solid as well.

"Enough!" Ayette yells as Coralyinn rushes up behind Vivian and holds her dagger to her neck, Ayette's eyes burning angrily.

Aislinn cautiously helps up Ciana from the ground as Ayette and I stand across from Coralyinn in a silent standoff. Ciana's weary eyes flicker between us and Coralyinn as Aislinn brings her over to us with Ciana's arm draped around her shoulders and her arm around Ciana's waist.

"Your reign of terror ends here!" Ayette snaps and holds out her greatsword, her eyes furious as white flames whip up around her feet and swirl around her.

"My reign of terror?" Coralyinn's eyebrows raise as she presses the dagger closer to Vivian's neck and Vivian begins to cry in fear, making my heart clench, "You misunderstand. You want terror? Look to your companions."

"What do you mean?" Ayette narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"I believe Aislinn understands," Coralyinn's eyes focus coldly on Aislinn.

"I am nothing like my family," Aislinn says firmly, her hand tightening around her longsword.

"Perhaps not," Coralyinn muses out, "but it is your family who ruled Winter so harshly in such a sick and sly manner. Tell me, do you think the others know the truth? Do you think others know the real reason why I am what I am?"

"Stop trying to cause discord between us," Ciana says angrily.

"Your parents were taken from you and so was your best friend, and that isn't right, but that doesn't mean you should get your justice for how you were treated this way," Ayette says as she shakes her head in disbelief.

"Allow me to enlighten you," Coralyinn sneers and waves out one of her hands, "my father was never around and my best friend was falsely accused of murdering my foster mother simply because he was different than everyone else. This world is a cruel, tyrannical place that needs adjusted and I intend to do so. This world pours salt in your wounds that it does not understand while you are down and bleeding on the cold ground. I was given up by my mother because I was a disgrace child, one she should never have had, but she made that mistake once again years later after having a child she kept. You think you know me? You think your pathetic Time-Weaver Priestess knows me? You're dead wrong. And now, that child stands in front of me and dares ask me to lay my weapon down after all that has been stripped from me? I refuse!"

"What are you talking about?" Ciana asks gravely, her voice low as she tenses.

"Your best friend, the one you value so dearly, Aislinn Frigid, is my half-sister," Coralyinn snaps, her eyes angry with blinding fury and drive and Aislinn inhales sharply, "and I may not have known my father, but I damn well intend to finish his work. Now, you can either let me go with the relic and tend to your friends before they freeze to death from hypothermia, or you can chase after me and let them die. Your choice."

"Why, you--" Ayette lashes out and steps forward angrily, but I place my hand on her shoulder and shake my head.

"We can't," I say, my eyes searching her conflicted ones, "we need to help the others."

Ayette lowers her gaze, knowing I'm right, and clenches her fists in frustration as she nods in agreement. Ciana and Aislinn remain silent as Coralyinn smiles in a manner that shows she knows our helplessness before she disappears in a flurry of snow and wind with Vivian.

"We can discuss what just happened here later," I say and head towards the others who are frozen in place, "for now, we need to thaw them out."

"I'll help," Ciana says and quietly follows after me while Ayette and Aislinn exchange glances before they trail behind.