Carnival

* Title/Login Screen
* Original title card

**Carnival** is a side story.

## Synopsis

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> *The girl who used to play music for her mother, who was once a musician, is now a spy performing dangerous work. However, still believes that her choice was for her mother.*
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## Characters

* Montagne
* Maestra Nequitia
* Shena
* Carmen
* Hilde
* Lee Sooyeon
* Na Yubin
* Moneka
* Leah Schneider
* Gronian Intelligence Chief
* Jacques
* Christina Brecht
* Mors
* Alex
* Yegor
* Administration Rifleman (briefly appears alongside Alex and Yegor)
* Administrator
* Sollicitatio (In flashback(s))
* Dash (In flashback(s))
* Ministra (In flashback(s))
* Nervier (In flashback(s))
* Gremory (In flashback(s))
* Yosef Klimt
* Administration Sword Fighter
* Elizabeth Pendragon
* Sysop (offscreen)
* Thaddeus Morgan
* Gronian Prime Minister
* Edel Meitner
* Professor James
* Gaeun (In flashback(s))
* Horizon
* Lyudmila
* Rachel Dodds
* Rifleman (as placeholder for rebels)
* Shieldman (as placeholder for rebels)
* Suppressor (as placeholder for rebels)
* Sniper (as placeholder for rebels)
* UBGL Rifleman

## Plot

### Act 1

In the past during Operation Troubleshooting, the Aksha and Cardenas Divisions of the Old Administration wiped each other out after the Elysium Philharmonic inflicts them Mental Printing to render them insane. Fenrir Division arrived, defeated the Philharmonic conductor, Maestra Nequitia, and forced the rest of the Shadow group to retreat. Despite the victory, Na Yubin worried Maestra might not be dead, and Hilde admited something "felt different from usual" upon destroying Maestra's core. Montagne, the Deputy Commander of Cardenas Division, lambasted Fenrir Division for not arriving soon enough and blamed them for the death of her brother, Commander Sid. She furiously tried to attack them but was taken to the infirmary by Yubin. Moneka soon reported that a anomalous space jump was made to the Normalside right after Fenrir engaged the Elysium Philharmonic, making Hilde realize that the fight was just a distraction.

In the present in Parema, Gronia, two rebel soldiers on patrol encounter a woman in the middle of the road who claims to have an appointment with their captain, Jacques. Though they get confirmation from their captain, the soldiers try to apprehend her anyway, which prompts the woman to shoot and kill them; she is revealed to be Leah Schneider, a spy for the Gronia National Security Bureau whose codename is "Revenant". The GNSB Intelligence Chief overhears the gunshot through Leah's communicator, cautions her to minimize rebel casualties since she is in rebel-controlled territory, and reminds her that she needs to capture Jacques alive.

Leah reaches the government office building where Jacques is located and meets the rebel captain. She at first flatters Jacques, who believes she is just an escort, but angrily restrains him when he mentions her mother, the famous composer and performer Louise Schneider. Leah reports back that she has Jacques in custody and requests for an extraction team but is ambushed by an unseen sniper, who also assassinates Jacques. The rebels break into the office upon hearing the gunshot and engage Leah, but the spy is able to escape. Later, Leah receives a call from her mother's caretaker, Angela, who tells her that Louise, with her dementia worsening, had another psychotic episode.

Leah's career is put on hold as a result of failing to capture Jacques.

### Act 2

A news station reports that Gronia's National Foundation Day ceremony will take place at the National Foundation Hall will take place despite the ongoing civil war between the government and the rebels. Additionally, the newscaster states the hardliners have been illegally trafficking the country's weather controller and speculates that a possible environmental disaster could occur should the device be mishandled.

Sergeant Christina Brecht of the Gronian military, who is secretly a Counter unbeknownst to her superiors and comrades, is attempting to escape the military hospital after faking an injury to avoid combat and eventually leave Gronia. As Chris is preparing a bedsheet rope, two soldiers enter her room to have a talk with her.

At the National Foundation Hall, Leah wraps up cleaning up the building alongside a few others and heads home.. There, she unexpectedly meets the Intelligence Chief, who informs her that she has been reinstated and assigned to a new mission: find Yosef Klimt, a famous conductor who has gone missing despite being scheduled to conduct at the Memorial Hall for National Foundation Day. The chief believes the the Pilgrims, a hardliner rebel faction that proclaims itself as the successor to the Replacer Syndicate, are behind Yosef's disappearance. Because intelligence support will be unavailable for the mission, he introduces Leah to her new partner, Chris. Leah is unimpressed by Chris's appearance, but the chief assures her that Chris is a highly capable soldier who has survived more than eighty battles and received the Medal of Honor.

Leah and Chris begin their investigation at the hotel where Yosef was staying before he vanished. They enter his room and find a polaroid photo which, to Leah's surprise, showed Angela among the people in the picture. Leah contacts Angela and asks if her about Yosef and learns that the conductor had visited her and Louise numerous times while Leah had been away at work. Angela explained she was invited to perform at the upcoming concert at the Memorial Hall but turned the offer down. Leah asks if she heard anything about Yosef during the visits, and Angela only recalled the fact that he was born in a neighborhood in Tanaberin that has since become a Corrupted Area.

Leah and Chris head to the old neighborhood and find Yosef's former apartment. There, they discovered that his room had recently been occupied and even cleaned for a place that had been abandoned. They then encounter and kill a Category 2 Corrupted Object and recover a musical score form its body — a clue indicating that Yosef was here earlier. Meanwhile, a rebel mercenary looking to avenge Captain Jacques observes Leah and Chris from afar and reports back to a female sniper. The sniper, accompanied by Mors, reiterates to him her determination to kill Leah.

Coffin Company's Maze Division is patrolling the Gronia Metropolitan Airspace with the Pegasus ship, having been dispatched by the Administration to provide support for the Gronia government, when a Counterside Effect breaks out near Tanaberin. Moneka initially detects only two Category 3 C.O.s approaching the capital but soon discovers another, separate Corruption ray signal elsewhere. She analyzes the signal and is shocked to realize it is of Elysium type, indicating that the Elysium Philharmonic has resurfaced. The Pegasus heads to the signal's point of origin and deploys Alex and her squad. They meet and fight Shena and a Tyrant-type C.O. she summoned, but the Shadow later escapes. Moneka reports Shena is heading northwest of their location, and Yegor suggests they pursue her. However, Alex orders her men to withdraw and head to Tanaberin instead as she believes Shena is trying to lure them away from the capital for some reason.

### Act 3

A few years ago, an explosion occurs in front of the National Foundation Hall and kills hundreds of people, and the Gronian Dept. of National Security determine it was a terrorist attack by the rebels' Pureblood Knowledge Regiment. Leah and Louise Schneider were the only survivors, but the latter is paralyzed from the waist down, sparking public outcry towards the opposition and support for the government.

In the present, Leah returns to her house and contacts the Intelligence Chief. She tells him about the musical score she and Chris found and states that the C.O. that dropped it still had human tissue on it, meaning corruption mutation had occurred only recently. She speculates that Yosef is hiding his identity and Jehuty Biotech may have been involved as the company had cooperated with the rebels and they tried to weaponize C.O.s before its collapse. She also protests when the Intelligence Chief tells her that National Foundation Day takes priority, but the Chief retorts by telling her she's mainly trusted with overseas missions because she can't keep her composure during missions. Intelligence Chief He then tells her to submit the full score to the DNS in person and says he wants to have a conversation with her about the Parema operation.

Before the Chief hangs up, Leah asks him if he thinks Yosef visited her house because her mother's unreleased score is on the concert's setlist. The Chief says its possible as the score, which was made after the terrorist attack at the hall, was themed on reconciliation and peace.

Leah turns to Chris and asks why she is still following her. Chris answers she can't afford accommodations despite being a decorated soldier because she needs the money to support her parents who are back at her hometown (when in truth it's because she spent all her money for paying smugglers to get her out of the country). Leah allows her to stay at her house for the time being.

    While showering together, Chris notices the scars on Leah's back. Leah confides to her that they were made by her mother while she was having her psychotic fits. Later that night, Chris is awakened from her sleep when she hears Louise go berserk from her dementia.

Outside, a rebel mercenary squad are driving through an old residential district but are stopped by military guards. When the mercenary's attempt to bribe them fails, the sniper girl kills all the soldiers in the area. The rebels arrive at Leah's house and begin opening fire at the same time the city's C.O. alarm goes off, forcing Leah to lead them away while Chris, Angela and Louise escape.

On their way to the National Security office, Chris, Angela and Louise are ambushed by more rebel mercenaries, prompting Angela to transform into a catlike contrabassist and reveal herself as a Counter. As they fight, Angela tells Chris that she's aware that the sergeant is also a Counter but agrees to keep it a secret so as long as she does the same with her.

The rebels are getting picked off by Leah's hit and run tactics. Meanwhile, the sniper girl is calling someone, not caring about the mercenaries, when Leah appears unexpectedly and threatens to kill her unless she calls off the rebels. However, Leah is interrupted and attacked by Mors, who identifies the spy as Maestra.

In a flashback scene during Horizon Finance's fateful dive into the Counterside, Mors attempted to save Dash from Ministra but is stopped and nearly killed by Sollicitatio and Nervier.

In another flashback, Mors expressed outrage towards Masestra Nequitia's lack of remorse over an atrocity she committed and told the Shadow conductor she would never have approved of Mental Printing if she knew how terrible it was. Maestra Nequitia replied that a plague ravaged their world while Mors was away with a pagan child on the campaign to defeat Thagirion, so she had to consider how to best protect Elysion. Mors said that Maestra attempt to awaken a Stigmata by implanting a Saint's consciousness would cause the original mind would perish, but Maestra considered that to be a great sacrifice for the greater good of Elysion since the ability to reach a stigmata has been perfected; she additionally said that only pagans and apostates were used as test subjects and all tests were successful in acquiring a stigmata despite them never reaching a complete state. Mors accused Maestra of going insane, but Maestra counters by saying the Elysion Order was guiding her while Mors turned away from the situation due to a promise she made with one of the pagan children. Maestra also claimed Thagirion was likely still alive contrary to Mors' belief as there are rumors of a plague erupting in the east. Mors dismissed and told her she will be punished before leaving to see the cardinals so they could discuss how to handle the situation.

In a third flashback, the sniper girl was looking for Mors and finds her in the Northern Union. The girl told Mors that Maestra survived Operation Troubleshooting and was disguised as a human being in the Normalside before requesting her help in killing the Shadow once and for all. Mors initially declined, saying she was no more than an old vessel, but reconsidered when the girl stated Masetra could not have restored her core yet. The girl then identified her as Pio Varga, the Deputy Commander of the Old Administration's Cardenas Division known as Montagne. Later, the two of them recruit the rebel mercenaries following the assassination of Captain Jacques, including Jacques' own son.

Prior to Leah and Chris finding the musical score at the Corrupted Area, Montagne and Mors chased down Yosef Klimt, who was revealed to have been a member of ESPR and a double agent for the Prydwen Institution, for stealing the "catalyst". Mors tried to kill Yosef, but Montagne stopped her from doing so as she wanted to extract more information from him, pointing out that Mors' corruption rays will inevitably turn him into a C.O. anyway. Mors then remarked that the musical score is not an ordinary piece if ESPR is seeking it and suggests sealing it away.

Back in the present, Leah is confused as to why Mors called her Meastra, but Mors refuses to elaborate and continues attacking her. Their battle crosses path with Chris and Angela, but Maze Division intervenes and stops Mors from killing Leah. Yegor and the soldiers evacuate the civilians while Alex battles Mors, who recognizes the Deputy Commander as a Type A clone made by Maestra. Moneka hacks the city's Estaques turrets and fires their cannons at Mors, forcing her to counterattack with her own barrage to cancel out the blast and quickly withdraw from the area. Soon, the Intelligence Chief arrives alongside the Gronian military and arrests Leah for treason, much to Leah's bewilderment.

### Act 4

Montagne observes the skirmish between Alex and Mors and wonders how the former is still alive and why she's defending Leah. Jacques' son calls and tells her to kill Leah now, but Montagne wants to make Leah suffer by taking away her loved ones first. Jacques' son then comments she has an old heart despite being so young, to which she agrees and reveals she was frozen in cryostasis. Montagne aims and fires at Chris, but the shot is blocked by Remnants of the Lake of Knowledge summoned by Shena. Shena tells Montagne that she can't allow her to kill Maestra and so has the Remnants attack her. Mors comes to Montagne's rescue after almost being shot by the Estaques and takes her to safety.

While recovering in a rebel hideout, Montagne asks why Mors saved her instead of finishing off Maestra. Mors wants to cut ties with Montagne because of the latter's wanton targeting of the unarmed and uninvolved in her pursuit of revenge. She proceeds to leave to find Maestra once more. With her former ally now gone, Montagne orders Jacques' son to gather the rebels and prepare for the next operation.

Leah is being interrogated at the Gronia DNS's underground facility. The Intelligence Chief demands to know why Leah killed Jacques, but Leah repeats that she was the one being targeted by the sniper while Jacques was merely collateral damage. She tells him the sniper is still in the capital and collaborating with the rebels, but the Chief is not convinced— he points to Jacques' autopsy report, which showed that he was shot not by a sniper rifle but a pistol that matched Leah's. He then reveals Jacques was a senior member of the anti-government forces before the Administration Failure and would have been a key figure in reaching a peace deal with the rebels; the peace negotiation would've taken place on National Foundation Day at the National Foundation Hall while Louise's score (which DNS believed in desperation would have helped bring them further together with the rebels) played in the background. The interrogation is interrupted when the Chief receives an emergency notice from one of his men.

At Leah's house, Chris receives a call from the military ordering her to report to the Defense Unit by tomorrow, and Angela suggests they go to the DNS office building and ask if Leah is alright. Chris is perplexed and thinks it would be suicide to go there but is coaxed into coming along. When the two are predictably turned away, Chris walks around the building and uses her enhanced hearing senses to locate Leah's exact location. While she and Angela argue over whether or not they should try to break into the building, an explosion occurs nearby and attracts their attention. Mors is making her to Leah while effortlessly deflecting the soldiers' defenses, so Chris and Angela use the opportunity to infiltrate the DNS office as well.

The Administrator is having a video conference with Alex about the events leading up to current situation in Gronia. Alex recalls that, near the end of Operation Troubleshooting, the Old Administration mobilized all its divisions in the Normalside to Gronia in search for Maestra because it was predicted she would appear in Tanaberin. In fact, the explosion event that occurred there, known as the National Foundation Hall Explosion, was directly caused by Maestra's emergence into the Normalside (contrary to the Gronian government's claims). But by the time they arrived at the site, the Old Administration only found Leah and Louise; a full-scale investigation into the event subsequently took place but never concluded due to the Administration Failure. Alex additionally casts doubts on Mors' belief that Leah is Maestra in disguise since Maestra's core had been destroyed, but the Administrator considers the possibility and orders Alex to secure Leah.

Before the video call ends, Yegor asks if Commander Alice, who intercepted the Simurgh and disappeared into Imaginary Space, ever had a sister or a daughter, and the Administrator answers that she does not according to her personal records. Alex realizes Yegor was referring to Angela, who has a striking a resemblance to the Commander. Moneka suddenly reports that Mors has entered the National Security's main office, prompting Maze Division to hurriedly deploy.

Chris finds Leah in the basement but loses Angela in the process, and the two are soon escorted out of the building by Alex and Yegor. Mors enters the interrogation room and finds it empty when Angela appears behind her. Angela tells Mors that she can no longer enjoy looking after Leah and Louise and transforms into the contrabassist again. Shocked, Mors recognizes her as Carmen, a member of the Elysium Philharmonic, but notes that she looks different from before; Carmen explains she simply took on a new body from someone else with the help of ESPR. Mors then attempts to kill Carmen, but Shena arrives and blocks her attack.

### Act 5

The Dept. of National Security issues a bounty for Mors, while the Gronian government announces it will proceed with with the National Foundation Day ceremony via an emergency press conference.

Leah, Chris and Louise board the Pegasus along with the Maze Division's rescue team. When Aleex tells the crew that the government has given them permission to take off, Leah recalls that the Intelligence Chief let her go in a hurry so she could escape Mors. Intel Chief hoped that, by coming across as incompetent, they'll have a chance to negotiate, but Leah worried doing so will strain the Chief's relations with his superiors. The Chief confirms that the reason why he's here is to clean up the mess from the last operation and gives her one final mission: disappear quietly. Leah also explains that she was given the option to emigrate several times from agents from the Administration and wonders if she's really worth all the trouble everyone is going through. Alex says that this isn't about any intelligence agency but instead an ancient Shadow.

An Old Administration Sword Fighter sent by Montagne and the rebel mercenaries infiltrate Defense Turret 4 located in Tanaberin's outer region and take control of the Estaque unit.

As the Pegasus prepares for takeoff, Chris is trying to comprehend Alex's revelation that Leah is a Shadow. When Leah asks why she wasn't given Corruption Syndrome to people around her, Alex answers that it is because Maestra went into a dormant state after entering the Normalside and causing the National Foundation Hall explosion. Alex then tells Leah that, with Montagne's the Elysium Philharmonic's appearances, she and her mother will be handed over to the Prydwen Institution. Leah is about to decline the offer when Defence Turret 4 fires at and damages the Pegasus' thrusters, causing the ship to crash.

On the ground, Maze Division faces Shena, who is now working for the government forces and leading an army of hybriders. Meanwhile, Leah disables Moneka and leaves to save the main street, leaving Chris and Louise behind. In a personal monologue, Leah admits to killing Jacques out of vengeance for what she thought the rebels had done to her mother and apologizes to Louise for being so foolish.

At the Intercity Cargo Storage where the DNS's makeshift office is established, the Intelligence Chief receives a video message from Jacques' son threatening to use the Defense Turret against the main street. Leah calls and tells him she wants to make amends if it'll lead to a peace treaty with the rebels; she says she'll turn herself in after stopping the rebel hijackers and requests that Chief track down Montagne's location in the meantime. With no other viable options left, the Chief accepts Leah's proposal and begins searching for Montagne.

Maze Division defeats the hybriders, and Alex strikes Shena with a blow strong enough to literally send her back to the Counterside. Moneka, after being reenabled, reports to Alex that Leah has left the ship.

At Defense Turret 4, Leah kills all the rebels there, including Jacques' son, but collapses from her injuries. Carmen then appears suddenly and says to Leah, whom she refers to as Maestra, that she's getting a little jealous of the Shadow conductor's dream.

In another flashback, Mors returned to Maestra and informed her that the cardinals will not hold her responsible for her research and instead shall discuss support for her research at the Order level. Maestra was overjoyed but admitted she's a sinner. It's also implied that the sister of the pagan child who fought alongside Mors ended up as one of Maestra's test subjects, a fact Mors wants to hide from the child. Mors then told Maestra that she accepted the papacy at the last meeting and, if she cannot change the cardinals minds, will use the power of authority to put an end to the atrocity. As Mors left, Maestra commented it was a pity good people like her are involved in such dirty work.

Leah wakes up and realizes she is still alive. The Intelligence Chief calls and tells her he has Montagne's wherabouts, though all the agents that went to confirm her location have seemingly vanished.

### Act 6

Sysop calls Montagne and wonders if the information he gave her was useful, and the former deputy commander assures him it was since she found Maestra and thanks him. Sysop chuckles that the name of her new group, The Brothers Abandoned, is a fitting name for those who despise the Old Administration before hanging up. The Admin. Sword Fighter reports to Montagne that Shena has attacked Maze Division yet the government has not made a move and the DNS is acting suspiciously. Montagne believes Maestra must have made a deal with them. She then rants how their plan, practically a suicide mission, must not fail and asserts that the Administrator won't be able to handle it since he's busy dealing with the Knights of Redemption. An Admin. Shieldman enters and tells Montagne the parade is ending and the Orchestra will soon follow, so Montagne orders everyone to prepare for detonation and to move to their assigned positions.

Leah gets a call from Alex and Chris, who berate her for leaving the ship without permission, but Leah apologetically assures them everything went accordingly nonetheless. Louise interrupts and asks her daughter if she's done with her work. Leah in turn asks her mother if she'll still be her daughter if she wasn't a human being, which reminds Louise of the day of the explosion and prompts her to reveal the truth: right after it happened, Maestra had appeared before her and requested she raise Leah to the best of her abilities in return for saving their lives. Leah thanks her mother before Yegor interrupts to report that they've detected an Old Administration identification signal from the basement of the National Foundation Hall. Leah and Maze Division end their call and go to disarm the explosives the Brothers Abandoned set up at the hall.

As Maze Division engages the enemy, Montagne infiltrates the Pegasus, disables Moneka, and confronts Chris and Louise. Chris argues that Leah is completely different from Maestra, but Montagne shows no care and threatens to hang the them to satisfy for revenge when Leah appears behind her. Leah, pointing a gun to Montagne's head, sympathizes with her for what happened to her brother but says Chris and Louise are unrelated to the matter. Noticing her hesitation, Montague tauntingly calls out on Leah's bluff that she'll shoot, stating that she's too afraid to bloody her hands in front of her family, but Leah yells at Chris and Louise to close their eyes before firing her gun.

Inside the National Foundation Hall, Carmen sees the Head Manager stealing the musical score, knowing that he is actually Thaddeus Morgan in disguise. Exposed, Thaddeus calls Elizabeth Pendragon and asks her to request support from the Old Voice.

Gronia National News reports that peace negotiations between the government and rebel organization will discussed before the ceremonial performance begins. Chris is doubtful that peace will finally be made, though Leah is glad that the negotiations are at least taking place. As they listen to Louise's score, Leah also states she'll remain in Gronia with her mother until Angela returns and thanks Chris for her help. Just then, Chris notices her Counter Reality Force suddenly drop.

Alex is talking with Elizabeth and is perplexed to learn that the Elysium Philharmonic's whole operation was a feint. Elizabeth explains that, despite Prydwen's success in disrupting the Society's support, they not only failed to detect another Shadow in the midst but also found out government officials connected to ESPR were deliberately withholding information. The musical score is revealed to be an artifact that, when played, attracts Corruption Rays in the area; because Gronia has many Corrupted Areas within its borders, the score would attract enough rays to restore Maestra's power. Maze Division hastily make their to Leah's location.

Back inside the hall, the Chief alerts to the Gronia Prime Minister that a Category 3 Corruption disaster has occurred and unleashed C.O.s onto the main street. The Prime Minister is strangely calm about the news, however, and the Chief notices that he is accompanied by two other people— Edel Meitner and the Professor (Dean of Archaeology). As Carmen plays her contrabass in the background, the Professor reveals it is thanks to the Society that the Prime Minister is in office, and the Prime Minister tells the Chief not to overstep his boundaries.

Leah collapses onto the ground as the C.O.s run amok and sees Maestra within her. Leah tells Maestra she never wanted to be one with her, and Maestra agrees that it was regrettable since she thinks the world is beautiful to see. Maestra also says the plague (i.e. Corruption disaster) will give her enough Corruption rays for her to restore her core, making Leah realize that Gronia will continue to be rampaged by the C.O.s if she refuses to let that happen. Before she gives in, Leah asks Maestra if she loved her mother; while Maestra claims to be incapable of feeling or understanding love due to her childhood memories, she admits she did love Louise, thinking it was because she was "drunk on memories from mimicking".

Chris attempts to help Leah, but Alex tells her it's too late. Maestra emerges from Leah's body, and other Elysium members subsequently appear in the area as well. Maestra then reveals her plan to use Mental Printing on Gronia's entire population via the broadcast of the National Foundation Day ceremony. All hope seems lost until Horizon, Lyudmila, and the Albion arrive and join the fight against the Philharmonic as well.

Louise abruptly approaches Maestra, still calling her Leah, in the midst of the battle and begs for her to stop the attack. But Maestra appears unconcerned for her, and Carmen offers either to dispose of Louise and Chris or make them their pets. As the Corruption Rays powering the Elysium members start to falter, Shena suggests they retreat, and Maestra agrees. Before the Shadow conductor leaves, she asks Chris to take care of Louise for her until they meet again.

Hours after the battle, the rebels agree to a ceasefire with the government and offer aid in rebuilding the disaster zone. A conference between the ones who fought the Elysium Philharmonic is held at Hotel Armada at Charade. Mors states that she will leave and fight Maestra alone if no one in the room will pursue her any further, but Lyudmila convinces her not to go solo as it will only benefit the enemy. Elizabeth reports that, despite the massive damage done to the country, the battle has seemingly turned Gronia into a corruption-free zone, giving the people enough time for reform. Alex reminds everyone, however, that the incident was planned in secret cooperation between the government and the Society, and thus they'll need to confront the Society if they wish get rid of Maestra.
Finally, Lyudmila requests Chris' assistance. Though she doesn't want to get involved in any more danger, Chris agrees to help as she is reminded of Leah.