[Truck-kun drives slowly through the darkness of the Cursed Lands, its headlights shining through the gnarled trees. Gabriel and Morden walk beside the metal warrior. Both hold torches out to ward away the magical darkness. Al, the bluebird, peers nervously out of Truck-kun’s passenger window.

[Phoebe the phoenix circles overhead, guiding them like a North star. Al’s jaw falls open every time she passes overhead.]

Morden said quietly, “At least the darkness isn’t getting any worse.”

Gabriel asked, “There’s worse darkness than this?”

“Oh, yes… At least, that’s what my maester says.”

Truck-kun rumbled, “Have you ever seen darkness like this before?”

“No. Not like this, but I also spent most of my time in study.”

Gabriel patted the young mage on the shoulder. “You know what they say, ‘it’s always darkest just before dawn.’”

Truck-kun replied, “Usually it’s darkest at midnight and it gradually lightens as the sun comes up. Joe and I used to do overnight deliveries.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Then we should see the sunrise coming and the battle turning!”

Morden turned to Al. “You know, Truck-kun can roll the window down a bit more.”

Al huddled at the corner of the window so he could just peer over the top. He kept craning his neck to get a look at Phoebe as she passed.

He grumbled, “No, this is plenty fine.”

Gabriel leaned close. “Are you sure? Maybe you should try to impress her with your bravery…”

“So far, I think she’s most impressed by my gemstone-quality feathers and my snack-sized demeanor.”

Morden replied, “Al, I really don’t think she wants to eat you.”

Truck-kun rumbled, “I thought you weren’t sure what phoenixes eat?”

Al pointed a wing at him. “See! What’s a bird supposed to do with shoddy information like that? ‘Go on, Al. You could have the time of your life, but you could also die. But it would be a lot of fun…’”

Gabriel whispered to Al, “She has a pretty voice… Maybe she could teach you how to sing.”

Al stared dreamily into the sky as Phoebe passed. “Say, how does the lady mantis kill the male mantis?”

Gabriel replied, “I believe she bites off his head.”

Al replied, “So it’s quick… And it’s definitely after, right?”

Truck-kun grumbled, “Al, we should focus on the task at hand.”

“But I don’t have hands—” Truck-kun revved its engine, and Al started. “Alright, alright. Mission first. Sweet, sweet death after.”

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~

[A remix of the season 1 Theme Song plays.

[Montage of Truck-kun, Gabriel, and Morden fighting the Undead Legions of Liquid Shadow. Truck-kun uses its headlights to weaken them while Gabriel cuts them down with his sword and Morden uses his staff. Truck-kun bats away several at a time, shattering them into smoke. Phoebe swoops down, flaring bright and causing enemies to erupt into flames. Al cheers them on from the safety of Truck-kun’s cab.

[Finally, the last enemy falls and the group breathes easy. Truck-kun shifts back into its truck form.]

Al whistled and peered out the window. “That wasn’t so bad. Good hustle, team!”

Gabriel sheathed his sword and patted Morden on the shoulder. “Al speaks the truth.”

Morden doubled over, hands on his knees, and breathed deep. “There’s more and more of them. Phoebe, are we getting close?”

Phoebe swooped down and landed on Truck-kun’s hood. “Only a little further, apprentice. Soon, your journey will be at an end and the final battle will be at hand.”

Al croaked, “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

Phoebe turned a smoldering glance toward Al. “Embrace your destiny, little gemstone. History remembers the bold.”

The phoenix took off into the darkness, again lighting their way like a guiding star. The group followed without question.

~

[Outtro — Slow, Instrumental version of Theme Song — “Hātofurusurottoru” by Gunpowder Audition]

[Outtro Still Shot of the group camping in the Cursed Forest. Joe, Gabriel, and Morden are sitting and leaning against Truck-kun’s side panel. They’re roasting marshmallows over the fire. Al is flying through the air, sword in his beak, and defending them from tiny shadows.]

~ ~

The outtro to Full Throttle Heart played quietly, and Emmett shifted on the couch. Both he and Clara were sprawled out on it. She was nestled along his side, head on his chest. They’d been watching the last few episodes on his phone.

It was almost two in the morning. Athena was asleep in her room and even the city was quiet outside.

Emmett glanced down at her. “You want to watch the next episode?”

Clara muttered something unintelligibly. She was already asleep.

Emmett muted his phone and lay there with her on the couch.

He hadn’t stayed too long downstairs practicing with his nanites. He finished out the hour and then came up to spend the evening with Clara.

They’d spent most of the evening watching shows. Even when Athena made spaghetti for dinner, the group hadn’t talked much. Clara asked if Athena had heard from Lucy, but Lucy had been keeping a low profile. They wound up spending most of dinner wondering what McGuire and the others were up to. Afterward, Emmett and Clara went back to watching Full Throttle Heart and Athena went to bed early.

The entire evening, Emmett thought Clara would want to talk about what happened that morning. In Emmett’s mind, their disagreement about Gnosis and Lock had counted as their first fight. But after Emmett came upstairs, neither of them brought it up. Even Athena pretended like it didn’t happen.

Emmett wasn’t sure what to make of it.

He tried to think back to when his parents had disagreements and how they handled it, but he honestly couldn’t remember how they dealt with it. Sure, there had been disagreements and even raised voices, but he couldn’t remember what happened after. Did they just agree not to talk about it, or maybe they just hadn’t talked about it in front of him and his siblings?

Emmett wished he knew what to do. He and Clara weren’t just together, they were also teammates. Didn’t that mean they had even more reason to talk about this stuff?

Maybe there just wasn’t anything to talk about right now. They’d already agreed that they weren’t doing anything against Gnosis yet. There were still too many details left to figure out and questions up in the air.

He sighed. It wasn’t like he was going to wake up Clara now to talk about it. Emmett let it go and focused on the moment. He held Clara close against him and brushed the hair out of her face.

Despite spending the last few weeks together, it felt like they’d had too few moments like this—just being close to one another and enjoying each other’s company. Even if he didn’t need sleep, he needed this. And he needed her.

There would be enough time for everything else tomorrow.

~ ~ ~