I hadn't been prepared to see Chiara in chains. Even though I knew she wouldn't break out of the shackles around her wrists and ankles, I'd seen that she was strong enough to do so effortlessly. And if she did so, she'd be able to rip through the entire building in seconds. It was hard to imagine that anything could constrain that level of power.

Trying to stop myself from shaking with fear, even though I knew she would never choose to hurt me, I walked out onto the balcony that extended at the level of her chest. Her face loomed above me, and I got a good look at the silver mask that had been placed over her eyes. Akita had made sure Chiara couldn't fire her eye beams in here—if she did, they'd be reflected right back at her face. Similarly, she'd placed an insulated glove over my hand that would melt my arm with its own heat if I tried to fire a blast.

The warmth of Chiara's breath drifted around me as I thought about what to say. I still didn't know if she knew I was there—she couldn't see me, but I wasn't taking pains to walk quietly. Of course, to her my footfalls would probably be barely audible.

"Chiara?" I tentatively asked.

Chiara's entire body tensed up at once. "Evanna?" she gasped, exhaling a breath that almost blew me off my feet. "How did you get past the Godslayers?"

I bit my lip. "They…let me in," I confessed.

To my amazement, Chiara grinned. "Oh, good job Evanna! I never imagined anyone would be able to trick them like that. You're amazing, you know that? Now come on, let's get out of here."

I drew a deep breath, trying to choose my next words carefully.

"…you are here to bust me out, right?" Chiara asked, tones of worry creeping into her voice.

"I want to," I answered, "but first we need to talk."

Chiara leaned forwards, the chains around her wrists creaking. I instinctively took two steps backwards as her face approached me. "About what?" she demanded, in quiet but forceful tones.

"…Chiara, you've been hurting people. Lots of people, who haven't done anything wrong."

"Well, yeah!" Chiara replied with a curt laugh. "And so have you! That comes with the territory when we're taking over the world."

"I was doing this so we could make the world better," I retorted. "You were doing this for fun."

"And what's wrong with that?!" Chiara exclaimed. "It's not like I just went and killed every human. There'll still be plenty around to do whatever we need them to!"

"You think humans just exist to do things for us?"

"Well, obviously. What else are they good for? They can give us food, they can build things for us, and they're awfully fun to play with. Is there anything I'm missing?"

I sighed. "Chiara, humans live and think just as much as we do. Killing a human is just as wrong as if you killed me."

Chiara drew a deep breath. "You're not Evanna," she whispered.

I flinched. "What do you mean?"

"You're not Evanna!" Chiara shouted, and the force of her voice knocked me off my feet and sent me crashing back into the wall behind me.

I regained my footing, and I saw that Chiara's hair was billowing around her and glowing brightly. Had she forgotten that her eye beams would reflect back onto her? Or was she powerful enough to just blast right through?

"How dare you use Evanna's voice like that!" Chiara shouted, as I heard the distinctive rising hum of her eye beams charging. "Did you think I'd believe that she'd say things like that to me?! You've crossed a line, Godslayers. I'd allowed you to exist until now because fighting you has been fun. But now, play time's over."

With a loud crack, Chiara disappeared. The silver mask stayed in place for a moment, then began the long fall down to the ground. It appeared her eye beams had indeed reflected back, causing her to poof back to human size.

"Wait here," Akita commanded, flying past me and diving over the edge down towards where Chiara must be standing. I ran to the edge and peered over at the scene playing out on the ground.

Akita landed, facing Chiara with a blaster in each hand. "Chiara Corelli, stand down," I heard her shout.

Chiara's eye beams shot out at Akita twice in a row, only to be blocked by Akita's wings, which moved impossibly quickly to defend her.

"You're out of tricks and out of berries," Akita declared. "At this size, you can't beat me."

Even at this distance, I could spot Chiara's distinctive grin.

And suddenly, energy started flashing all around Chiara as her entire body started glowing. One of the flares hit Akita, knocking her backwards. I'd seen this before. Around me, on the train, when I first grew.

And Chiara began to grow—much more slowly than she would grow with the help of berries, but she was growing. Her motions were incredibly fluid—she'd reach her arms out, and keep reaching, her body expanding to match her motions. She was moving almost exactly the way she did on her ice skates, gracefully dancing in place as she grew taller and taller.

Akita tackled me from the front and pulled me out of Chiara's cell. "Everyone take cover!" she yelled, and everybody scattered. Through the one-way mirror, I had a fantastic view of Chiara's growth, and I was struck by how she looked completely calm. I almost forgot that she was an imminent danger.

"How is she doing that without berries?" I asked Akita as we rushed to a bunker built into the side of the mountain.

"Growth can be triggered by strong emotions," Akita explained. "For you on the train, frustration and anger. For her right now, resolve."

"Should I try talking to her again?" I asked.

Akita shook her head as she closed the bunker door. "She'd kill you in an instant before even realizing who you are." She then pressed a button on her radio. "West bunker's secure. East bunker, report!"

A voice came back over the radio. "East bunker's secure, and—"

The voice was cut off by screams, and the sound of static.

Akita's eyes widened in horror. "The bunkers aren't strong enough," she realized. "We need to get out—"

Two beams of energy burst through the door, leaving two enormous holes in the metal. The blsats hit the far wall as people dove away.

And two enormous fingers and a thumb poked through the holes, wrapped around the door, and pulled it off its hinges.

"There you are," Chiara announced with a smile, reaching in her hand. Akita had been right—she hadn't noticed me at all.

Chiara's fingers wrapped around Akita, pulling her out of the bunker and high into the air. And through the door, I could see her other arm swinging down towards the mountain wall above the bunker's roof. With a deafening crash, the ceiling of the bunker began to descend.

I made it out just before I would have been crushed. And I had a full view of the scene—the wreckage of the building, Chiara's hand pressing down on the mountain to flatten anybody remaining in the bunker, Chiara's other hand wrapped around Akita, holding her high in the air.

"How many times do I have to make this clear?" Chiara asked in a remarkably calm voice as she tossed Akita in the air and grabbed her again between two fingers, dangling her over her mouth. "I can do whatever I like to you and you're powerless to stop me."

Akita's wings shot out and slashed at Chiara's fingers. They clearly were extremely effective, because Chiara screamed, dropped Akita, and stumbled backwards. Her arm crashed through the remains of the building directly next to me, and the side of her ribcage immediately followed—if I hadn't instinctively leapt backwards, she'd have hit me and I probably wouldn't have survived.

And I found myself lifted into the air. As I twisted my head around, where I expected Chiara's hand I saw Akita, lifting me away. Soon, we were flying above the mountains, looking down as Chiara slowly pulled herself up out of the ruins.

"I'm so sorry!" I began, but Akita shushed me.

"You did what you could," Akita explained. "And you proved me right—you are a better person than her. And so we're going to try again."

"Again?"

"You've seen what she'll do if we don't stop her."

"But why won't it just end the same way?"

Akita reached down and placed my bag of berries in my hand. "Because this time, she won't be able to deny it's you."