39. P O W E R : Tower, Part III

AFTERWORD

Fisi and Alastor's first meeting is tense. Alastor struggles to keep his jovial composure, and is clearly looking forward to adding Fisi to his list of victims, should the hyena god fail in his conquest.

The chapter ends by flowing into "Assassin", featuring Eve severing Thorne's hand and setting up the pyramid chamber for Raptor.

CHAPTER II: Fisi gets his prizes at last: the three hearts of Wallace, Billiard, and Adams, preserved and plated in gold. He ponders his limited time, his father's advice, and Lyssa's commission... and his resolve becomes sure. There's no turning back now.

Fisi springs Xanthos from prison—an event first referenced in "Black Cats". He remarks that Xanthos must have been "indebted to another in the past"; this is true. While not mentioned in this or any other story, Xanthos once worked for Cierra to pay her back for getting him out of prison as well.

Meanwhile, Eve explores the Antarctica Safe Haven, searching for the Power Well with a host of Masked Men. The Masked are shown to retain memories of their names and lives, but don't much care about them anymore.

Most of them don't, anyway. More on that later.

Fisi and the Dark Celestials legally purchase the land for the Towers, barring the Safe Haven Councils' efforts to stop them with simple facts. The Councils' collective desire to keep their secrets has become the harbinger of their impending doom.

Eve endures one of a few vulnerable moments that she experiences throughout the book. Quiet Doe has passed away, and Eve is heartbroken—but she refuses to let anyone know it. Note that when she says "I'm sorry, Mom", she's not saying she's sorry for what she's doing; just that she regrets that she wasn't home to say goodbye to Quiet Doe, and that she can't be home to take part in the funeral.

In the meeting with the gangs, Fisi promises prizes to those who claim territory from their peers, using the phrase "Ad victor ile spolia". This is a callback to when he uses the same phrase when addressing Wallace, Billiard, and Adams in "Tower, Pt. I".

The song Eve is listening to at the banquet—"Waya Adisi" by Aaron Hale—is a really good song.

That's all I wanted to say about that, lol.

Eve is revealed to be pregnant with Hatchet's child. We will find out what happens to that child later.

CHAPTER III: You may recall in "Lost" (and later in this story) that Fitch mentions the Protectors meeting with Fisi twice in the past. This chapter shows the first of these encounters, which ends on a surprisingly congenial note. But make no mistake: Cameron did not enjoy just sitting and chatting with Fisi and his Masked Men. This was a "tactical retreat", of sorts; she was fully ready and willing to eliminate the Dark Celestial where he sat.

We then transition to the Australian Protectors dealing with Kifaru, who calmly feigns innocence in a far more convincing manner than Fisi (who just flaunts his immunity with smugness and mirth). Kifaru then shuts down Eve's "order"—not simply for logic's sake, but in order to remind her that they are equals, and he has every right to veto her advice.

Eve's daughter is mentioned to make a grabbing motion at Hatchet, who watches from the shadows. She intuitively recognizes him, implying that she inherited her mother's innate intelligence, which Eve displayed even as an infant.

CHAPTER IV: This chapter starts of with Eros attempting to find out who set Veronika free in "Broken Heart"; it turns out that not even his heart-seeking to draw the truth out of the guard who'd been bamboozled by Mallory. Eros is outclassed—he just doesn't know it.

Fisi instantly realizes that Mallory is not who (or what) she appears to be. He addresses her with a casual demeanour, but keeps his guard up.

Mallory refers to Fisi as "Number Five" again. This will be further established in the next story and those that follow.