028. Risk

The motley finishes what they started at Abford.

***"Cliffhangers, by their definition, leave things messy, but with the promise that you're going to clean them up."***

Having obtained the final digits of the code to the rocket, Patches offers Cassandra a (fake) email address where she can be reached for any further questions she may have. The scientist accepts that she will most likely be fired from Abford, but when Sophia gently suggests that this may not be such a bad thing, the woman is visibly afraid.

The motley snap some quick photos of the documents from the mysterious company with a diamond-P logo as they head out. Receiving the message that Kyoko's cell jamming has ended, and they will be detectable now, the four head up to Abford's roof with the rocket and a miniature Scythe in tow. As Sir Xaeron suffers under the pull of Banality from the building, Sophia manages to overcome it momentarily, imbuing them all with air so that they float gently down to the van, driven by a surprised Claude.

Picking up Kyoko and returning to The Spark, the motley allows Scythe to rest in the garden, now regrown to her full size. She explains that, a little over a year ago, she was captured and "delivered" to Abford Pharma, where she broke free of her shackles, but had her "spirit broken" by a man of about Sophia's height. While this rules out some Kithain from the kingdom, the motley can't confirm whether Talus had a hand in the experiments, or the organization. Braum asks Scythe for forgiveness for "forcing" her to hold on to the rocket all those years ago, and has a brief flash of kneeling in a pool of water, offering the device up to the dragon. Scythe assures the troll that they had come to an agreement, and Sophia expresses her gratitude that they were able to rescue so many lives today: Scythe's, as well as the ten mortals' Glamour trapped inside the rocket. As Braum and Sophia go to fetch Zistor and Little One, the dragon offers Patches one of her scales as a reward before pulling her into a hug.

Zistor is absolutely overjoyed to hear that Scythe is safe, and nearly befuddled by how the motley managed to accomplish "everything" all at once. Going to retrieve Little One from Incisor, they find the redcap playing peek-a-boo with the young dragon, and having a baked a "welcome home" cake as well. Incisor tells them in confidence that it seems that Kyoko ducked inside Abford Pharma as well in order to help cover their tracks: her own personal "screw you" to the company.

Little One and Scythe are reunited in the garden, and the motley follow Zistor down to the balefire in order to finish their mission. He has built three panels around the balefire that, when pressed simultaneously, will allow access to the fire's Glamour directly, and which will return the stored Glamour to its rightful owners. Sophia demands satisfaction in knowing that the ten mortals have been returned to normal; Zistor grudgingly admits that he knows the names and whereabouts of all ten, including a "code phrase" that will allow him to check. It turns out that Zistor had hoped to test the rocket out on mortals, not aware of what Talus *designed* it to do, and Braum had demanded the mortals be volunteers. Zistor gives Braum the news that one of those volunteers was his ex-wife, Claire. Braum is overcome with shame and guilt for having led his mortal wife into a life of Banality, however indirectly. Calling her at work, Braum is instructed to ask her whether she "remembers a sunset": "The one from our honeymoon, on the sailboat?" The troll smiles, knowing that even though the past has been left behind, Claire can now experience a life with Glamour and dreams once more.

Sophia monitors Zistor's calling of the other volunteers, learning that one of them is Incisor's biological sister, from whom she is estranged, and who she wants nothing to do with. Back by the balefire, Braum launches the rocket into the air, impaling it on his sword, Whisper. Channeling his Glamour into the weapon, the rocket disintegrates, ceasing its existence. Braum is weakened from the effort but unhurt, and he returns to the Exhaust with Patches to celebrate.

Braum heads out to the YMCA, where he challenges an entire group of children to a soccer match: him against the lot. Patches takes a moment with Zistor in the workshop, offering him a simple chain necklace matching her own, made from a gear left over from the rocket's remains. When he bemoans the fact that he'll have to start over, Patches reminds him that at least this time, he'll be able to make whatever *he* desires… to his own design.

Sophia surprises Incisor in her room, tentative about probing further about her family. Incisor proposes a "game": they'll take turns asking each questions that must be answered honestly… but they're not allowed to get mad. Sophia uses the "game" to ask Incisor about her birth family: what would she do if they walked into the Spark, enchanted? Would she speak to them? Incisor is deliberate, telling Sophia that she was taken in at the age of five at the Spark, after her Chrysalis. She *would* speak to her birth family… before coming for the person who had enchanted them in the first place. She tells Sophia that she simply doesn't have a relationship with them, and doesn't need one. "Why are you interested in me?" she asks Sophia. At first, the sidhe explains, it was because she even bothered to give her the time of day (not like other Redcaps), but more recently it has become a fascination: Incisor is so unlike anyone else Sophia knows. Sophia also confesses to Incisor that she hopes to "remove the block" from all mortals and allow them to follow their dreams, even if they seem to be "lost" to Banality… and hopes to help Incisor reach her full potential too.