Calponia sat on her bed, surrounded by sunflowers. They grew up straight up from the floor, from the walls.

"I always loved sunflowers. They have such dark hearts, fringed by tangible sunshine."

She looked to her right. A man sat next to her on the bed. He could have been her twin brother. Melvin caught her eye and smiled.

"Am I dead?"

Melvin pursed his lips. "I wouldn't say that no. You've lost yourself."

Her pulse tripped. She remembered now, the pain, the indescribable pain as Henderson forced her into the barrier surrounding the heart. "What's happening? What happened to the Edgewise?"

"Well that depends on you," said Melvin. Shadows moved across the eyes.

"Who are you really?"

His features shimmered. Calponia stared into a dark mirror of herself. She looked into the yawning pits of her eyes and knew.

"You're me, the part of me that is the bête noire."

Her darker self took her hands, her thumbs rubbing circles along the side of her wrists. "You must wake up, Calponia. I can't exist without you. None of it can exist without you."

Warmth trickled down her face. Tears splashed down on her lap. "Are you sure we should exist?"

How easily Henderson used her in the end. She did exactly what he wanted. Now that she knew what she was, how was she safe to be around anyone?

Someone pounded on the bedroom door.

"Who is that?" Calponia sniffled.

The bête noire brushed her hair behind her ear with pitch black fingernails. "Two entities that longed to be human. Do remember what we wished for?"

"You wanted to live," said Calponia. That desperation filled her now. A ferocious need to survive that kept her chained to this mortal coil, no matter what the cost. She thought it was a selfish desire.

The bête noire raised a brow. "It is the desire of all mortal beings. Can you honestly say humans don't cling to life with everything they have?"

"They also sacrifice themselves for the greater good," said Calponia. The pounding grew louder, more insistent. She frowned at the door. Who was trying to reach her here?

"Do you want to live Calponia?"

Her attention swiveled back to her other self. She remembered all her doubts, her fears, and that terrifying moment when the bête noire's power destroyed the Krakens. She was capable of decimating something so powerful. That potential for disaster would always be a part of her, it was who she was. Wouldn't it be safer for everyone, including the Edgewise, if she ended here? Probably.

"Yes," said Calponia, "Yes, I want to live."

Her doppelganger's hands slammed down on her shoulders, giving her a hard shake. "Then remember what your other half wished for, you silly twit!"

The bedroom door burst open.

Acid ran through his veins. His jaw clenched, teeth creaking from the strain as he pushed towards Cal. The bête noire's miasma ate away at his skin as the blood burned him from the inside. The energy let him through, but it didn't like him being there. He slowed the closer he got to her, like running through resin. He stretched for her; a lash of dark power caught his right leg, searing to the bone. He put his weight on it anyway, biting down on a scream. Everything depended on this moment. She depended on him, right here, right now.

Next time you're feeling particularly evil, come find me. And I'll remind you.

His fingers brushed her arm. The contact made the blood resonate within him. His body stopped trying to shred itself apart. He took another grueling step forward and wrapped his arms around her, breathing hard as the miasma howled around them. He glanced back, making out Mack's strained features as he held the Edgewise together. No time to waste. Grimacing through the pain of his injuries, Eugene leaned back. He ran a hand along her cheek. Her eyes remained blank even as her face turned into his palm.

"I'm here," he whispered. "Come on, wake up."

The swirl of energy tightened around them. If he wasn't holding onto her, he'd be blown to ash like the Krakens.

"Try harder," Mack yelled.

He bit down on a snarl, pulling her tight against his chest.

It was a relief when he learned what she was. In that instant he realized they were both monsters aiming to be human. She was his anchor. She kept him sane, kept him good. His fingers tangled in her hair.

"Please, come back to me," he murmured, shifting his grip. He pressed his forehead to hers. He needed her to come back, because he no longer feared the connection between them. No longer feared all the ways it might go wrong. With Calponia, he could be his truest self. He hoped she felt the same way.

"You promised," he whispered. "You promised you'd come find me. Let me remind you, Cal." 

He gently pressed his lips to hers. The burning hum of energy in his veins turned to champagne. Her kiss was the cool darkness of shadows under sunshine, the hint of warmth at the edges. Her body relaxed in his arms. Calponia closed her eyes, clasping her hands behind his neck as she pressed into him. The roaring swirl of the bête noire abated, slowly sinking back under her skin. She sighed softly into his mouth, her breath whiskey sweet. Calponia broke away, looking up at him with clear grey green eyes.

"There you are," he said and smiled. Calponia's breath caught.

Eugene wanted to soak in the moment, in her reaction but his body had other ideas. His injured leg crumpled under him. Calponia went wide eyed, failing to catch him as he fell, refusing to let him go. She tumbled to the ground with him, holding him tight. She glanced down and yelped.

"Holy Crisp Rat, your leg!"

Eugene gave a pained chuckle, refusing to let her up as she tried to push off him. "Did I ever tell you how much I love your little cuss words?"

She smacked her hands against his chest. "You need blood and a bandage. Maybe some bactine." Tears filled her eyes. "Did I do that?"

"It's nothing," he said, brushing her tears away. "Merely a flesh wound."

She laughed. "Guess that makes you my Black Knight in--what is on your clothes?"

"I haven't given it much thought to be honest," said Eugene. "I'm burning this coat."

She laughed through the tears, a combination he might have been uncomfortable with if it was anyone else. But it was Cal. Cal was Cal and she was lit up within. He could soak in that light forever.

"Oh my god, Mack, the Edgewise!" She jerked up. Black flickered across his vision as she jostled his leg. So much for bravado. "Are they--"

Her expression shifted, a bitter sweet smile on her lips. He turned his head.

Mack knelt on the floor by the Heart, cradling Jacob's head in his lap.

Jacob's body was a wasted ruin. His legs were already crumbling away, but the man was still, somehow, alive. His licked his bloodied lips, locking gazes with Calponia.

"I'm sorry," he gasped. "I'm so sorry, Cal. I--" He choked, blood foaming at the corners of his mouth. Eugene didn't need his superior senses to know the old man wasn't long for this world. He was stripped bare, the aura of power that coated him like a second skin shed to protect the Heart. Jacob was as close to normal as he would ever be again.

"You made some shit choices, Jacob," said Mack. "I can't believe what an utter bastard you've been." He pressed a hand to the man's chest. For a moment, Jacob breathed easier, but it was a futile gesture. Mack took one of his hands. "But you chose the Edgewise at the end. You chose us."

"Am I still family?"

"Of course, you bloody idiot."

Jacob smiled and closed his eyes. "I'm afraid I won't be able to settle my tab, Mack."

"There you go, leaving me in the lurch again," said Mack. He placed a kiss on the man's forehead and sat back, watching the final rise and fall of Jacob's chest. The three remained in silent vigil until Jacob Henderson's body crumbled to ash.

Mack pressed his hands to his face and sobbed. Calponia lay a hand to Eugene's cheek and carefully eased off him. She crawled over to the tavern master and wrapped her arms around him. Calponia held Mack as he mourned, releasing his pain in tremulous chest deep sobs. 

Mack released a long breath. "Goodbye old friend."

A low fizz filled the air, bringing the scent of warm whiskey and wood smoke.