So… this chapter is sort of a Part 2, a follow-up of the last one. And it's a bit shorter.

I do not own Mysticons.

Recovery

Zarya wasn't sure why she was sleeping on the couch in her sitting room instead of in her hammock. The sofa was not comfortable. Groaning, she sat up.

Her head was pounding. Moving didn't help.

"Eeee, you're awake!"

Zarya flinched back from the squealing voice right next to her ear. Letting out another groan, she turned her head toward the sound, and found herself face to face… to face, with Piper and Choko.

"How are you feeling?"

And that was Arkayna. Zarya managed a weak grin. "Like I just got run over by Kymraw."

"Well, no wonder." That was… Proxima? Just how many people were in her room right now? The Star-Mistress adopted a businesslike tone. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Uh…" Zarya tried to think. Her mind was kind of hazy… from sleep? Or something else? "Was Tazma in here, or did I just dream that?"

Arkayna shook her head. "No, that was real. She broke in and put some kind of mind control spell on you. Lucy came and warned me what was happening. We confronted Tazma in the corridor, and…" Arkayna trailed off.

"And?" Zarya demanded, her head reeling. Tazma had her under mind control? That was about as creepy as it got. Zarya had to suppress a shudder.

"And… I think you managed to… fight it off somehow?" Em was in here too; Zarya wasn't surprised by this point. "You… um…"

Em's voice was drowned out by a maelstrom of images in Zarya's mind.

Tazma standing in the middle of her bedroom.

Being ordered to pin the sleeping kids to a wall to deal with later.

Following Tazma through the halls, seeing everything through a blank fog.

A sudden rush of clarity, and then… darkness.

"Whoa," Zarya muttered, reeling a little. "Okay. I, uh… I think I remember now."

Choko chirped and jumped onto her shoulder. Zarya absently petted the foz while trying to absorb everything that had just bombarded the inside of her brain. If her head hadn't been pounding before…

"Do you know what is was, that allowed you to fight her off?" Proxima asked. "Was it something you did, or something about the spell itself? Maybe Tazma didn't work it correctly?"

Zarya racked her brain for something, anything, that might help, then shrugged helplessly. "I just… I don't know."

"I already told you," came a voice that was as exasperated as it was familiar. "Tazma shouldn't have called her a slave."

Twisting her head, Zarya tried to find the source of the voice. It took a minute, but she finally managed to look directly behind her. Kitty was leaning on the back of the couch, looking deliberately casual.

Arkayna eyed Kitty. "And yet you haven't bothered to elaborate on that."

Kitty's eyes never left Zarya as she answered, "Being called a slave. That's what did it." When everyone gathered still looked clueless, she sighed and continued, "When we marooned Kaos on the island, we all swore—every one of us—that we would never, ever be anyone's slaves again. Obviously, Tazma didn't know that. Her mistake."

Zarya scowled. She wouldn't be surprised if Kitty was one hundred percent right; being called a slave certainly brought up less-than-pleasant memories. Slavery was illegal, but for someone like Kaos, that technicality hardly mattered. She'd suffered the brunt of his anger during her time as part of his unwilling crew, taking beatings meant for others in a desperate attempt to protect them.

She doubted she'd ever stop hating him for what he'd done to them all.

"So… calling you a slave brought up memories of Kaos?" Arkayna repeated.

"Obviously," Zarya muttered, her fists clenching around the hem of her jacket.

"And that gave you the mental strength to fight off Tazma's control?" Proxima mused. "I guess it's possible; any spell to impose your will onto someone else can be overcome if the victim has enough reason to want it gone." She looked back up at Zarya, looking impressed. "You must have an extraordinarily strong will."

Arkayna let out a very un-princess-like snort. "Zarya, strong-willed?"

"Understatement of a lifetime," Kitty finished.

Zarya scowled. "You think you're so funny, don't you…" she grumbled.

Kitty inspected her nails, not entirely managing to hide her smile. "Just know, that if you go and get yourself killed, I will never speak to you again."

"Hey, I didn't ask to be mind-controlled," Zarya snapped, her temper flaring.

Kitty glared at her, all traces of her humor from a moment ago vanishing. "Don't care."

"Ugh, deal," Zarya mumbled. She looked around the room, seeing only Em, Piper, Arkayna, Kitty, Proxima, and Mom standing in the corner. "Hey, where are the kids?"

"In class," Arkayna answered. "None of them wanted to leave, especially Lucy, but Lynette finally convinced them that hovering over you wasn't going to wake you up any faster."

Well, that was a relief, to find out that Tazma hadn't made her do anything to them. These kids were her charges; she'd never forgive herself if something happened to them on her watch, even if she'd been under a spell at the time.

Piper leaped to her feet. "Oops. I promised I'd tell them as soon as you woke up. Gotta go!" She sprinted out of the room.

Zarya could still feel Arkayna's eyes on her. "What?"

"You broke free of Tazma's control," Arkayna answered.

"We've established that," Zarya muttered.

"You threw a knife at her," Arkayna informed her.

"Really?" That certainly sounded like something she'd do, and a second later, the visual appeared in her mind, as clear as could be. "Oh yeaaaah… did I get her?"

Arkayna let a satisfied smile slip. "Oh, you got her, all right. She's going to have a nasty scar on her cheek."

Zarya scowled. "I was aiming for her neck." Mind control was no excuse for missing her target, and she crossed her arms and glared at the floor, annoyed.

"Well, I'm glad you missed," Mom broke in, the first thing she'd said since Zarya had woken. "You're not a killer, Zarya. You would have regretted it."

Regretted it? Doubtful. Zarya's gaze shifted down to her lap so she wouldn't have to meet anybody's eyes. Mom was wrong: she was a killer, wasn't she? Kaos wouldn't be dead if she hadn't done what she had. Neither would Necrafa… although maybe that didn't count, since Necrafa had technically been undead to start with? Either way, she didn't regret their deaths at all. Did that make her a terrible person? Or was it justified since it had been self-defense.

Ethics weren't something that Zarya had ever concerned herself with before now. She'd been too focused on simple survival.

"Here." Arkayna waved a plate in front of Zarya's face, startling her out of her reverie. "You hungry?"

"Am I ever," Zarya answered, suddenly realizing how famished she was. She grabbed the plate with both hands and began stuffing her face.

"Well." Proxima stood, stretching. "I should go. Um, but I hope you'll tell me if you remember anything else." She shifted from foot to foot for a minute, apparently not knowing what else to do, before giving an awkward wave to those still present and making for the door.

Arkayna called after her, "Oh, Proxima, are we still on for going skirt shopping next week?"

Proxima, already in the doorway, turned back. "Um, if... if you still want to."

"I absolutely do," Arkayna declared. "We can iron out the details later, but I'll see you then!"

Zarya, still occupied with filling her empty stomach, smiled into her plate. So Arkayna and Proxima were hanging out now? Good. She sure as hex wasn't going skirt shopping anytime soon, and Proxima deserved some time away from the Astromancer Palace now and then. She'd never really gotten the chance to be a teenager, so spending time with Arkayna would be good for both of them.

Yep, this one didn't take very long either. I just have to keep working and not give up.

Please leave a review!