You step off the speedboat onto the weathered dock, salt spray misting the air as the sun descends toward the horizon. The LARCs rumble into sight, rge and lumbering, they will slide straight onto shore to be loaded when they catch up.

  "Robin," you call out across the Telepathy Web. "Would you please do a quick check up the highway north and see if the Prometheus PMC is still at Orick? If they are, we should be good for the night. If not, we'll need to be cautious of armed groups from Crescent City still looking for me."

  Robin turns from where she's finished tying off her RIB, dark eyes meeting yours with calm acknowledgment. After a moment she nods once. "Understood. I'll scout now."

  She closes her eyes briefly. Invisible hands race north along Highway 101, blooming and vanishing in quick succession like stepping stones. Ten miles. Twenty. Thirty. She reaches Orick in under two minutes.

  A final pair of arms manifests near the old motel at the edge of town. Through them she sees the Prometheus camp: forty-odd personnel, vehicles parked in defensive rings, sentries posted but rexed. No movement toward Trinidad. No signs of mobilization.

  Robin exhales softly, the extra limbs retracting in sequence until only her original body remains. She opens her eyes and reports through the web, voice carrying only to you and the immediate boat group.

  "Prometheus is still dug in at Orick. No change in posture. No outbound patrols. They're watching, but not moving."

  "Good. Thank you." you continue, "would you and Hinata please join C.C. and Riveria's flying lessons once you return? We'll have two rge helicopters once the deal goes through, plus the current two. We're tight on pilots."

  Hinata straightens from securing her own line, vender eyes widening slightly. "I... yes, Brad. I'll join them." Her voice carries that familiar hesitant quality, but there's determination underneath.

  Robin nods once, already moving toward the parking area where vehicles wait. Hinata falls in beside her without a word, both women heading for the school where the two Apaches sit on the cracked tarmac, rotors drooping in the te light. C.C. and Riveria are already there, Asia and Violet running through pre-flight checklists under their guidance.

  You shift focus to the others gathering on the shore. Sango stands near one of the RIBs, her massive Hiraikotsu strapped across her back, dark ponytail swaying in the ocean breeze. Musashi lounges against a piling, blue kimono pristine despite the day's activities, twin swords resting casually at her hip.

  "Sango, Musashi," you say, gesturing north along the coastline. "Would the two of you please join me for a walk? We're going to check the nearby bluff and do some prep to give Kira and Lyra a sunset burial."

  Sango's expression shifts immediately, professional assessment giving way to something softer. "Of course." She adjusts the Hiraikotsu's strap and steps toward you. "They deserve proper honors."

  Musashi pushes off the piling with fluid grace, her usual pyful demeanor subdued. "Lead the way, Brad. It's the right thing to do."

  The three of you start walking north along the harbor road. The bluff rises about half a mile ahead, a natural outcropping overlooking the Pacific. The sun hangs lower now, painting the water in shades of gold and amber.

  Sango walks to your left, boots crunching on gravel. "What will you need from us?"

  "Help finding a good spot," you reply. "Somewhere with a clear view of the ocean. They both died stopping that convergence. They should have somewhere beautiful."

  Musashi hums thoughtfully from your right. "The bluff will work. I saw it on the way in, clean rock face, overlooks the whole bay. We can prepare the site before sunset."

  The road curves innd slightly, passing a few abandoned houses. You notice movement through one window, curtains shifting, but no immediate threat. The bluff trail appears ahead, a worn path leading up through coastal scrub.

  Sango gnces at you as you climb. "Will it be just us? Or the full group?"

  "Whoever wants to come," you answer. "But I wanted the site prepared first. They deserve that much."

  The trail steepens. Musashi moves ahead with effortless bance, scouting the upper section. Sango keeps pace beside you, quiet and focused.

  The top of the bluff opens into a ft expanse of weathered stone, maybe twenty feet across. The Pacific stretches endlessly westward, waves crashing against rocks far below. The sun hovers just above the horizon now, light refracting through thin clouds in brilliant orange streaks.

  Musashi stands at the edge, hands csped behind her back. "This will do."

  Sango surveys the area with practiced efficiency. "We'll need to clear some brush. Make sure the footing is stable for everyone."

  You step forward, looking out over the water. The wind carries salt and the distant cry of seabirds. Behind you, Trinidad Harbor stretches south, the USS Portnd visible offshore.

  This is where Lyra and Kira will rest.

  Musashi turns back toward you. "What's first?"

  "I attempted to create an enchantment that lets me cast spells from my D&D 3.5 spellbook app," you expin, pulling out your phone. "It's an entertainment game that in this case should act as a pre-made small spellbook."

  Musashi tilts her head, expression curious. "You've codified an entire magical system through... a game?"

  "More like I bridged to it," you reply, scrolling through spell lists. "The framework transtes intent into effect. Cost scales with complexity."

  Sango watches as you begin casting. Your hand extends toward the weathered stone, mana flowing from the network through your system. "Soften Rock and Dirt. Move Earth. Fabricate."

  The stone surface ripples like water, solid granite becoming pliable cy under invisible pressure. You guide it with hand gestures, drawing on Move Earth to reshape the material. Two humanoid forms rise slowly from the bluff's surface, rough silhouettes at first, then gradually refining.

  Lyra's features emerge first. High cheekbones, flowing hair captured mid-motion in stone, violet eyes suggested through careful indentation. You add her staff, the crystal at its tip detailed down to the geometric facets.

  Beside her, Kira's statue takes shape. Younger features, shorter hair, one eye fully human while the other carries the faint asymmetry of her partial transformation. You preserve that detail deliberately, she died as she was, fighting to stay human.

  "Beautiful work," Musashi says quietly. "You honor them properly."

  You shape two stone coffins next, from the surrounding rock. Simple rectangur forms, sized appropriately, with fitted lids. The stone is smooth gray granite, unmarked except for their names which you etch carefully into each lid.

  Lyra StormweaverDimensional Traveler, Friend, Hero

  Kira MichaelsSurvivor, Hero, Brave Soul

  The entire process takes twelve minutes. Mana flows steadily from the network, you barely notice the cost. When you finish, two life-sized statues stand at the bluff's edge, facing westward toward the ocean. The coffins rest behind them, lids propped open, waiting.

  "When the others are here," you say, voice rougher than expected, "I'll simply pce them inside, cover and sink the coffins straight down."

  Sango steps closer to examine Kira's statue. "You captured her well. The determination in her expression."

  "She fought until the end," you reply. "She deserved that much."

  Musashi runs her fingers along Lyra's carved staff. "And this one chose sacrifice deliberately. You see it in the way you shaped her stance, ready, not afraid."

  The three of you stand quietly for a moment. The sun hangs lower now, painting the ocean in deeper gold. Behind you, Trinidad Harbor spreads south, the USS Portnd somewhere offshore.

  You reach for the Telepathy Web, projecting your voice to all dimensional travelers. "It's time. Sunset burial on the north bluff. Anyone who wants to attend, come now. We'll begin in ten minutes."

  Responses filter back immediately. Acknowledgments from Rin, Asia, Mikasa, Maria. Quiet confirmation from C.C. and Riveria. Erza's voice carries solemn respect. Hinata's carries grief.

  Musashi turns toward the trail. "I'll wait at the base. Guide them up."

  Sango nods. "I'll stay here. Make sure the site is ready."

  You stand between the two statues, looking out over the Pacific. The bodies remain in your dimensional storage, waiting. In ten minutes you'll y them to rest properly.

  Behind you, footsteps crunch on the trail behind you. One by one they arrive, Rin and Asia first, faces solemn in the fading light. Maria follows with Mikasa at her side. Erza, Nova, Albedo. Hinata and Robin. Nami, Kurumi, Shinobu. C.C. and Riveria. Rika, Violet, Sinon, Yoruichi. Sango and Musashi step back to join the gathering circle. Kenshin and Yusuke arrive st, positioning themselves at the edges.

  Twenty-two dimensional travelers stand on the weathered stone, facing the two empty coffins and their guardian statues. The Pacific stretches endlessly westward, waves crashing far below. The sun hangs low, painting everything in amber and gold.

  You reach into your dimensional storage. The weight manifests in your hands, Lyra's body first, still wrapped in the bck and purple robes she died wearing. Her silver hair spills across your arms as you lift her carefully into the first coffin. Her face is peaceful, eyes closed, expression serene. You arrange her hands across her chest, fingers curled gently around her staff.

  Kira comes next. Smaller, lighter. Her auburn hair falls loose around her shoulders. The compression top and tactical pants she died in are still clean, preserved perfectly in storage. You lower her into the second coffin with the same care, positioning her hands at her sides. Mostly human she looks almost normal, just a teenage girl who should have had decades ahead of her.

  You step back between the coffins and face the group. Your voice carries clearly in the stillness.

  "I left my house days into the apocalypse. Didn't even realize it had happened until I stepped out and ran from zombies." You pause, gathering the words. "At a store I met a man named Howard. He'd been bitten but was slowly resisting the virus. As I was leaving, Kira Michaels made herself known."

  You gnce down at her still form. "A young woman who'd already been captured by the CDC because of her resistance to the zombie virus. Her family died, and she was captured. They were experimenting on her along with others. The facility was overrun and she took the opportunity to escape. She followed her neighbor Howard, trying to find some kind of safety. While with us she was slowly overcoming the virus."

  Your gaze shifts to Lyra's coffin. "Lyra Stormweaver appeared almost instantly in front of us, exactly like all of you, without notice, through a one-person dimensional hole. When I asked her to test her magic the first time with a simple spark of fire, she nearly lit the warehouse on fire with a pilr of fme."

  Several people smile faintly at that. You continue.

  "We spent day after day avoiding the CDC's human hunting. After a few more dimensional travelers joined the group, we found information on where the convergence event was being held, and that they'd already captured other dimensional travelers. As we got closer to the convergence we learned they'd already started their ritual and something was already knocking from the other side."

  Your throat tightens. "I didn't realize until it was too te. She'd pnned her sacrifice. To seal the hole."

  The sun touches the horizon. Light fres across the water in brilliant orange streaks.

  "We don't know which universe she's from, but we know, she saved us all."

  Silence holds for several seconds. Then Rin steps forward, voice steady but soft.

  "Lyra was curious about everything. She'd ask questions constantly, trying to understand how magic worked differently here. She was excited when we created the perpetual energy system, called it 'elegant' like twenty times." Rin's lips quirk in a sad smile. "She wanted to learn. To explore. She chose to stay when she could have gone home."

  Asia moves next to Rin, hands csped in front of her. "Kira was brave. She was so scared when we first met her, but she kept going. She wanted to help people even though she was still healing herself. She asked me once if I thought she'd ever be fully human again." Asia's voice breaks slightly. "I told her she already was."

  Maria steps forward st, silver hair catching the sunset. "They both understood what mattered. Lyra saw the convergence tearing reality apart and chose to stop it. Kira fought every day to stay human, to stay herself. They're heroes."

  After a moment, knowing there was nothing left to say. You raise your hand toward the coffins. Mana flows from the network through your system. "Move Earth."

  The stone beneath the coffins ripples. Slowly, gently, they begin to sink, descending straight down into solid granite as if into water. The lids remain visible for a moment, then slip below the surface. The stone seals above them with barely a seam.

  The statues remain, standing eternal watch over the Pacific.

  SnafuSam