SLAM!

Candi had little warning! Cries bellowed out on the surface of Ploribus arriving! One thing did trouble her...how did they know that she wanted to find Donte?



The city jail just seemed wrong. Why was it specially painted so? Why had the forensics team never seen these cells in the jail system? And why did the cells have different-colored lights? Moreover, why was the jail system so much like a medieval dungeon? This was not normal for a modern police force!



Dazed a little at the confusion, Candi at first barely even noticed that she wasn't alone...

Candi: "Who...who are you, back there? I...can sense that you're pure...much more so than myself... You're probably not a rapist or murderer, or else...you'd be on me by now!"

Stranger: (Grunting) "Your...voice! It...sounds familiar! Wh...where have I...heard that voice before?"



The stranger asked about her voice! But...his voice...could it really be?



Candi: (astounded) "Donte!!! It's...it's really you!"

Donte: "Candi?"

Candi: "Oh, my Donte dear!!! There's...just so much to tell you; and not nearly enough time!"



Both: "Wh...what have they done to you???"

The pause following was immediate. Who should begin? Where?

Candi: "How did they know? How did they know that I was looking for you?"

Donte: "It was a guess they made...a correct one! That...Ciem..."

Candi: "Dear...I'M Ciem!"

Donte: "Shhh!!!! We can't risk someone overhearing! You're in enough trouble!"



Candi: "I don't care anymore! If we must die...then let it be together! Like Adam and Eve, rib and side, we will face it!"

Donte: "I admire your courage; but...I'm afraid if you don't fulfill your destiny as the Gifted Flippo...then what you just said may very well come true!"

Candi: "What do the lights mean?"

Donte: "The Blue Hall is where these cells are connected. It is distinguished for the white hall, where normal operations take place. This hall is for enemies of Arfaas!"

Candi: "I see."



Candi: "Red probably means they're gonna kill us!"

Donte: "Correct! Green means they need to detain someone for a very long time! Magenta means they'll torture someone and exile them!"

Candi: "They said I was wanted for questioning! Why am I being executed?"

Donte: "Ploribus!"



After a few coughs, Donte continued.

Donte: "Pardon me, dearest! I...I have cancer!"

Candi: "What? NO!!!!"

Donte: "They...they know that you shouldn't have survived the destruction of the Levens house! But you did!

Now...I don't know what connection you have to Denny Levens, but you were there! And you survived! They believe Ciem rescued you, and that you and her are in cohorts!"

Candi: "And?"

Donte: "When they gave me this illness, they sealed the fluid from my body that enables my powers in a special tube! They also made sure the cancer would keep me from regenerating my powers efficiently! They believed Ciem wanted to find me to get me some help from Ploribus! You...were her spy...the ship!"



Candi: "Like...the one that flew over Gerosha?"

Donte: "Worse! Dirbine is doomed! But I can...or once could...stop it! They know this! They know...Ciem...can't do it alone! You were someone of interest! That's why they wanted you!

Why they haven't done teeth impressions to prove you're a Flippo, I don't know! Why they haven't killed you immediately, I don't understand either! But they aren't putting us in proper cells anymore! Too much concern!"

Candi: "Ploribus is on his way! They're going on about it constantly upstairs!"



There was a pause, and then the slightly disfigured Donte continued.

Donte: "If your half-brother is already here...then absolute chaos will surely ensue! Once they have control of the situation, they'll kill us both!

They won't do it here; they'll take you to a barn, which they've set up specially for killing enemies of Arfaas' state! Your head will be delivered to Arfaas himself, just as your sister's was two years ago!"



Candi: (bowing head) "A fate I deserve! If I had taken that prank call more seriously, she'd be alive today!"

Donte: "You couldn't have known!"

Candi: "My phantom scream went off, and I ignored it! Donte! You have no idea!"



Donte: "I...don't understand!"

Candi: "Dear! Forgive me!"

Donte: "What could you have possibly done that was so wrong?"

Candi: "Don!"

Donte: "Oh no! You didn't seriously get back with Don the Psycho!"

Candi: (tearful-eyed) "Worse! I...I killed him!



Donte: "What???"

Candi: "Right after you left! You were captured! Don...he set a trap! He tried to trap me in the building and burn me! When that didn't work, he attempted other things! It was an accident, I swear! But I still did it!"

Donte: "Don's life isn't worth you holding in years of guilt, especially if it was in self-defense!"

Candi: "I've done worse things...I've...betrayed our love...in ignorance!"



Donte: "What?"

Candi: "Tracy told me that you were dead!"

Donte: "I perfectly understand. For the past two years of Meethlite torture and deep-freeze hibernation, I may as well have died! In some ways, I wish it were so!"



Candi: (crying) "I'll finally say it! I...I...married Denny!"

Donte: "I'll...never be able to say you were solely mine...that's what I get for getting so wrapped up in this STUPID war!!! This is my fault!"

Candi: "And...I had his child! My daughter...Angie! They killed her too! I'm sorry Donte...I'm...unworthy of your love!"



She was half-convinced that this was the end. She didn't want to push Donte out of her life after risking so much just to find him; but she knew that as Ciem, with God's help, she could manage her life, however miserable, without Donte. She was prepared.

Donte: "As much fear and doubt as I have nurtured in my mind...I have no right to hate you! Your pain, your losses: All this is my fault!

I abandoned you to this path; to choose a path I thought was right at the time. I could not have been more wrong! I am a hero on Earth; but I am no interplanetary mercenary! I was a bigger fool than you...and I will pay the price for it the rest of my days! If you will have me, then you are still my Candi...my love!"

Candi: "I'd sooner die than lose you again!"

Donte: "Likewise; but we may die fairly soon together! You cannot save me here; and I'll soon explain. But please! Don't let the thought of losing me again drive you insane! I'm not worth it! I've been reduced to ragged, weak bones! I age worse by the minute!"



Candi: "Angie died to free my mind from Kimiyato! I'll risk death to save you...and restore you! I wanted so badly to just raise a family and be normal! But I now understand that I must earn the right to be normal. I am not yet there."



Donte: "I want you to be my wife some day, even if it will never be the same! Love...will still find a way!"

Candi: "I'll find a way out of here...and I'll track down Jeraime and free him! I promise you! I'll find a way to save you...or die trying!"

Donte: "In one sense...I'm already saved...simply knowing that you've become what you were meant to be!"



Forgiveness! Victory! Candi had it all! She didn't care that she was still trapped in a jail cell with a guillotine's blade practically already hovering over her neck.

She didn't care that she hadn't yet formed an escape plan! She had regained the love of her life, and all that mattered to her at that point, was to enjoy being safely back in his arms. However, as she feared, old temptations came back along with...stronger than before!