Dot stared out at a crab moving across the sand. "What is your choice?"

"I'm too ugly to live, even if I don't try to kill Grew-Ella." Phyllis sat down and made a sandcastle. "I never understood sandcastles because they wash away so easily, but it's like beauty."

Ida met them on the beach. "Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

Dot hugged her. "Ida, we need you to talk to Phyllis and convince her to give up all the information on the workhouse leaders."

"Why me?" Ida asked. "I don't like her because she's trying to kill Grew-Ella."

Dot spoke. "Convince her to live and shut them down. Phyllis will officially be dead in exchange for information on all the workhouse leaders. There is only so much time travel can do. She'll get a new identity from Yoleta, and we won't give up the queen to even her. Not until she is ready to rule."

"Who is the queen?" Ida asked.

"I thought being a psychic, you'd know," Dot said.

"No one trusts me and unlike the others, I've screwed up as much as Phyllis has," Ida said. "We both abandoned our children."

Phyllis continued making her sandcastle. "No, you and I aren't the same, and you're better than I am?"

"I know the truth, but Phyllis could benefit from knowing why you gave up Betsy," Dot said.

Ida sat down in the sand. "We brought Betsy home from the hospital, and my ex spent the whole day drinking, and I realized that Betsy would starve to death. I was too busy using my mentalist skills to try to save myself and pretend I was saving the world." Tears fell from her eyes. "In a moment of clarity, we drove to Quig's dorm. Dot was receiving her doctorate and not in a position at the time, but Quig was always saving wounded animals, and no one was more wounded than I was. I'm eight years older than him, and he was the responsible adult."

Phyllis kicked her sandcastle and hugged Ida. "I wish to be like you. Helping the one and making sacrifices. You let Betsy despise you rather than her knowing the truth about how broken you are."

"She knows enough, and as long as I don't take Poppa Quig from her, she's happy with me." Ida closed her eyes. "I didn't know my ex was using my child support payments for other women until Betsy was four. Quig never sued or bothered me. He just quietly paid for everything because he's Betsy's dad, and I used that information to force my ex out of our lives, for good. He really planned to sell Betsy and chose to flee to the islands when Zoreon died."

"Tell her why Grew-Ella is important even though she isn't a queen," Dot said.

Ida stood up and hugged a now solid Phyllis. "Grew-Ella has been more of a mother to Betsy than anyone, I know. Please, Betsy doesn't need billionaire parents. She needs my brother and his wife, and they are fiscally stable."

"I can't fix anything I did," Phyllis said.

"Neither can I; we can learn from mistakes, which is why I love the rebel saying, kindness is imperfect, and we always fail people, but the real heroes at least try," Ida said.

Phyllis shrugged. "Just making me look different; doesn't change the monster I am, but at least I recognize it. I deserve a 50-year sentence for what I did to Chase and Grew-Ella alone. Just give me one more week of freedom to set it right. Everything has consequences."

"Yes it does," Ida said.

Phyllis grasped Dot's hand. "There is a secret compartment I keep on my necklace." She removed the bottom. "It's a key to a safe deposit box. It was an insurance policy in case the other workhouse leaders tried to kill me."

Phyllis destroyed the watch and started to sob, and the watch glowed, and the magic went fully to Chase.

"No, we can't," Ida's voice trailed off.

Phyllis woke up in the Vat.

Water, trash, and acid started to fill the tank. The dye in her hair washed out, slightly melted, and covered her skin with tiny wounds.

Hours passed and Silvan-Mack opened the lid and crawled on the ledge.

"Go back, don't go through the pipes," she yelled at Silvan-Mack.

"The acid wash is over. Use the watch to fix your face and help me," he said.

"I can't; it's smashed into pieces and if we try to escape, we'll die." She found a ledge.

"You would've had to do that on purpose." His eyes narrowed.

"I guess I did, but I can't kill my sister. She's not the queen who will destroy our traditions. I saw a vision of the real queen."

"It can only be her and Karen hid her," Silvan-Mack screamed. "I won't die." He hit her with a piece of floating garbage.

Phyllis's face burned, and she screamed in pain. "Open the lid."

Silvan-Mack crawled through the pipes.

"They're doing an early acid wash," Phyllis screamed.

His screams echoed through the vat.

Junior pulled her out wearing gloves. She was dressed fully male and located a chart on the cement wall. "Ms. Albright, who was with you? Dot claimed that a friend of hers was locked inside."

Phyllis spoke. "Silvan-Mack, he was attempting to escape through the pipes." She looked down and realized her finger was broken.

"You've been missing for three months, but it looks like you are the main benefactor to Phyllis's estate. Anyone else down there?"

Yoleta said from behind. "I'll take care of Albright and get her to the workhouse hospital. She has a 14-year sentence and three weeks of freedom."

Junior handed her a file. Albright had Phyllis's new face.

*

Early Summer:

Quig and Grew-Ella picnicked with Betsy and Magpie. They ate cream cheese sandwiches and fresh grapes.

Phyllis walked on the beach alone. Tears fell from her eyes. "I'm a monster."

"Are you okay?" Grew-Ella asked.

Phyllis cried harder.

Her sister didn't mock her. She wasn't cruel, and that made it worse.

"I'm the benefactor to Phyllis's estate, and I have to distribute some of her funds before I serve my full sentence. I was once a workhouse leader like her." Phyllis's shoulders slumped. "She was my friend."

"I wish she loved me," Grew-Ella said.

Phyllis cried harder. "And she wanted me to talk about setting up an education trust for children in the foster care system in your name." She shook Grew-Ella's hand. "My name is Albright."

"Oh," Grew-Ella said.

"You can't help how other people's minds are, and before Phyllis died, she regretted everything. I'm going to take my life in my hands and change for her." Phyllis started to walk away. She turned back. "I was there when it happened in the workhouse." She handed Grew-Ella the necklace. "Phyllis asked me to give this to you."

"It's her favorite," Grew-Ella said.

"It's not that worthless truth serum, but her grandparents gave her this when she was a child. It should have melted in her flesh, but it didn't." Phyllis opened the top and blew bubbles.

Grew-Ella's daughters ran over to pop them.

Chase and Dot waved at Phyllis. Chase clutched his baby daughter.

"I am sorry, but I need to leave and talk to Chase. Phyllis gave me access to her funds, and she wanted to pay for child support and unfreeze Chase's accounts before she died." Phyllis walked to Chase.

Dot handed her paperwork, and no one would know the monster she used to be. There was a cell waiting for her and mercy as well.

Quig rushed towards them. "We need to go home now. The workhouse leaders who are left are trying to start a war."

*

Four Weeks Later:

Quig arranged an electric kettle and cups on top of their hot chocolate table.

He set a tray of hummus sandwiches, butterscotch cookies, and doodle cakes down.

Dot plopped on the carved chair. "It's been weeks since I sat down and relaxed. Thank you for inviting me."

Betsy and Magpie ran around the apartment with silly string. The girls sprayed Quig in the face.

"Why don't you go play in your room?" Quig rolled his eyes.

"We'll arrest our dolls and put them in jail!" Betsy grabbed a box of dolls.

Each doll was covered in blue markers, glue, and glitter.

"We'll make them walk the plank," Betsy yelled. "Or put them on a train track."

"Plank," Magpie yelled out.

"Phyllis had died in trash water," Betsy said.

"My sister isn't dead," Grew-Ella whispered. "I think I ran into her."

"The dolls say she is dead," Betsy said.

"Boo!" Magpie made ghost noises.

The girls ran into their room.

"The apartment is a disaster." Quig cleaned up the silly string and threw it in the trash. "With the political tension, it's safer if we stay home. It affects the girl's play, with Phyllis dying after her failed bid to save Silvan-Mack. It's creepy."

Dot spoke. "They're just having fun. You should see my nephew's playroom, and Ruby wants to adopt another." She sat on a chair and ate two slices of cake.

Congratulations flickered in a pulsating rhythm on her temporal watch. Her mouth turned upwards into a sly grin.

Grew-Ella trudged back and nestled against him. "He commissioned the cups for me. Isn't he a darling?"

Dot waved at Quig. "Let me be the first to congratulate your family."

"On what?" Grew-Ella asked.

"I'm not sure." Dot ate a cookie.

Open up, Ruby yelled.

Grew-Ella opened the door.

Yoleta ran into the apartment with Ruby.

"We were hanging out with Avery when the news broke. Turn on the TV!" Ruby yelled.

Quig turned on the living room television.

The news video repeated.

Workhouse leaders fired on each other in front of The Salad Princes.

"Stop that. I own you all," one leader screamed.

"The public voted whoever captures the most of you becomes king and queen for ten years." Tiffany placed a paper crown on her head and shoved him.

He screamed and fired at her, but she ducked and Chase fired his stunner from behind.

A workhouse leader yanked a man from the crowd. He held a laser gun to Junior's head. "This was your fault. Rodrick and Lana protected you. Do you think we wouldn't find out?"

Junior kicked him, and the laser gun fired into one of the workhouse leaders.

Mad-Ox flung another workhouse leader into a wall.

"I think Junior and Madd-Ox are tied for the most captured," Tiffany said.

Dot's watch glowed. Congratulations, Queen Junior and King Madd-Ox.

Yoleta glanced at Dot's watch. "Is Junior a woman?"

Grew-Ella spoke before Dot. "Yes, and Junior-Orchid will make one amazing queen."