Even through the fog, I could see Chiara's silhouette among the buildings as I walked into Bern. By now, the people recognized me, and I looked around me to see countless eyes peering up through third and fourth floor windows.

As I approached, I spotted a building with a crater in a wall, about the size of my fist. Or Chiara's. I pondered over what the people in that building had done to anger her, or whether she'd just decided to destroy it for fun. There was another damaged building nearby, too—it appeared as if the entire top floor had been ripped off.

This was what I'd been complicit in. It had been so easy to forget that people the size of my finger were still people, with lives that Chiara and I had effortlessly upended without a second thought. But now, I could sense their fear. Heads would turn at the tremors of my footsteps, and crowds would scatter and flee, even though they and I both knew that they'd never be able to escape me if I didn't want them to.

And this was where that would end. No longer would I buy into Chiara's encouragement to flaunt my power. And it was time for her to come to the same understanding.

And all those feelings washed away as she turned towards me and smiled.

"Evanna! You're here!" she exclaimed, leaping up from her position leaning against the Bundeshaus and rushing across the square to give me a hug. "I was so scared about what they might be doing to you. I tried to find you, but I couldn't figure out where they were keeping you! So I came here—I figured once I took control of the national government I could have them find you."

"You did all this for me?" I breathed, completely taken aback that anybody would find me worthy of that much effort.

"Well, of course!" Chiara responded with a grin. "I didn't want to do this without you, but I didn't know of any other way to rescue you. But you're fantastic, as always, and you didn't need to be rescued at all!"

"And now you control the country?"

Chiara shrugged. "I've invited anyone who'd like to deny that to come here and do so. Nobody's taken the offer." An idea flickered across her face, and she grinned widely and grabbed my hand. "Hey, Evanna, come dance with me."

And we danced.

Chiara led, of course. We did every routine we'd learned together on ice, and I finally understood the connection: here, as on ice, she was in perfect control. Every one of her motions was absolutely precise, and she held and supported me to ensure that all of mine were too. A body as vast as hers or mine shouldn't be capable of grace, but Chiara didn't care.

I think what stood out most was the restraint. Even though every motion could send us crashing through a building, we didn't damage a single one. She'd spin me around and dip me with my arms outstretched, and yet only the very tips of my fingers brushed against stone and window panes. She'd step on and over the tram tracks, and yet neither her feet nor mine would be on the tracks when a tram needed to pass.

"Chiara," I began to say, "I need to ask you about—"

Chiara put a finger to her lips. "Ask me later. Remember, we have all the time we'd ever need."

And so my lingering thoughts of what Akita had told me danced away once again.

Perhaps I'd been wrong about flaunting power. Through this routine, where we could clearly destroy the city if we wished to, the people could see both our power and our care. And as Chiara lifted me into the air, with my arms and legs outstretched like a flying superhero, I looked down at the buildings below with pride, comfort, and most importantly happiness.

And Chiara lowered me down to the ground, back to reality. She smiled, and planted a kiss on my cheek.

This was wrong.

"Chiara," I tried again, with all the confidence I could muster, "why did you do what you did to Akita?"

As soon as the words slipped out, my mind filled with hope and fear. This was her chance to prove that Akita was wrong and that I needn't worry. But she had a lot to answer for, and I couldn't trust she would.

"Who's Akita?"

I blinked, bewildered. Had she never even learned Akita's name?

"Akita Catanne," I tried. "The person with the wings, who captured us."

Chiara shrugged. "She had me imprisoned. I escaped. There's no way she wouldn't get hurt in the process."

"That's not what I meant!" I protested. "She said that you'd taken her as a sacrifice from Neuchâtel, and that you'd kept her imprisoned in your lair as a toy, making her try to escape even though she knew she was helpless."

Chiara leaned casually against the Bundeshaus, running her fingers up and down a window. "Huh, I didn't know that was the same person," she mused. "I thought I made it pretty clear back then that she couldn't do anything to hurt me, so why is she still trying?"

The straw dropped, the mask fell. "Because you hurt her!" I exclaimed. "You've been hurting so many people, and you're refusing to admit that's a problem, just like I told you when you were captured!"

Chiara's face froze. "That was you?" she asked, her voice suddenly icy. "That wasn't an imitation of your voice to try to trick me? You actually believe that?"

I nodded, noticing tears welling up in my eyes. "This has to stop, Chiara."

Chiara stood up straight and walked towards me, resting her hands gently on my shoulders as she looked me dead in the eyes. And suddenly her grip tightened, and she lifted me high up into the air above her head. And before I could react, her eye beams hit me in the stomach, and I felt the energy coursing through my body and tearing it apart. And suddenly I was small, and high in the air, falling helplessly as Chiara's immense hand reached out to grab me.

And as her fingers began to close around me, there was a flash of light and I was suddenly pulled sideways at a high speed. I looked up to see Akita, holding me tightly and flying high, high into the sky.

Before we disappeared into the fog, I got one last look at Chiara. Even from up here, I could hear the faint sound of her crying as she pounded her fist down on the Bundeshaus and buried her face in the rubble.

"Are you okay?" Akita asked as my last glimpse of Chiara faded away.

I nodded. "I need to go back in there."

Akita shook her head. "I can't ask that of you. You've done enough to help already. Now that she's lashing out against you too, I'm not going to put you in danger even to stop her."

"I'm volunteering."

Akita looked at me quizzically. "Come again?"

I drew a deep breath. "I want to help her, I want to help you, I want to help humanity. And I think it's safe to say that I'm more equipped to deal with her than you are. You're not asking me to go into danger, but I'm choosing to do so."

"And you'd really be comfortable fighting her?" Akita asked.

I thought for a moment. "More comfortable than I'd be if I did nothing."

Akita nodded solemnly. "I'll bring you back down."