Silv was not ready to say goodbye to her grandmother. She didn't care how long of a life she had and how many things she experienced. Silv didn't believe that it was Rose's time to die. It couldn't be.

Silv refused to just sit idle and watch the life drain out of Rose's eyes. It felt like if she allowed herself to do that, she would finally break from all the bad things that had happened to her.

Wasn't it enough that she lost her friend, her place in the world for which she worked so hard? Did she have to lose the one person who always stood by her?

"Viper, I mean, Rose. What happened?" Joe said, coming to kneel beside Rose while Silv tried to keep the pressure on the wound.

"For once, I wasn't fast enough, my dear friend," Rose said with a smile to her old friend.

"Are you..." Justin started to say but was unable to finish his sentence.

"Yes, my dear boy, I am dying. There is nothing that can be done for me now, but I do wish I can see the rest of the boys one last time. Unless you think it would be too much of a shock for them. To see me die?" Rose asked Joe.

"No, not at all. Justin, go get them!" Joe said as Justin ran off to find his brothers.

"There must be something we can do!" Silv yelled desperately.

"My dear girl, it's already too late for me. What you can do is bring these people to safety," Rose said.

"You know I'll do that, but there must be something we can do for you! We are on an alien ship, for crying out loud!" Silv screamed.

"Viper!" Jack said, running towards her.

Seeing Rose's condition, tears started streaming down Jack's face while he did his best to keep them inside. Still, while he gently hugged Rose, careful of the wound, a few of his tears fell on her face.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have let you see this, but I was selfish enough to want to see you one last time," Rose said.

"You'll be okay. Won't she?" Jack asked Jamie, who came to hug Rose as well.

Jamie stood there, unable to utter the truth they all knew. His words were caught in his throat as he didn't want to lie to his little brother but telling the truth was impossible.

"Evanescence, there must be something you can do for her," Silv said to the ship out loud as she tried to convey the same idea with her thoughts.

Seconds later, they were surrounded by lush green fields, the sun warming their skins for the first time in Silv's life. The scent of flowers in the air was both overwhelming and utterly beautiful.

"What's happening?" Silv asked, seeing as Rose's wounds were not healing.

"All Evanescence can do," Wir Eis said, appearing next to them on the beautiful sunny meadow.

"What is she doing? She is not curing Rose, then what's the point of all this?" Silv asked, frustrated.

"She is...giving me what I need the most. My dream," Rose said.

As she said that, a rose appeared in her hand, and Rose had just enough strength left to lift it to her face and inhale the beautiful fragrance.

"Thank you, Evanescence, you have given me what I need the most. To see the world once more as it was when I was young. I can die in peace," Rose said, smiling brightly.

"Arthur?" Rose said.

"Yes, my mistress," Arthur said.

"Transfer primary command to Silv," Rose said.

"Primary command transferred," Arthur responded immediately.

"Lift childproofing and allow access to all files," Rose added.

"Allowed," Arthur replied.

"Thank you, my friend. You've been the best AI friend one could wish for," Rose said, smiling at him.

"Thank you, my mistress, for treating me as a companion rather than a slave," Arthur said, strange emotion coloring his voice.

"That's because you've always been more of a friend to me than most of the so-called humans," Rose said.

"Silv, my dear, come here. Let me hug you one last time," Rose said, addressing Silv.

Silv lowered herself down, hugging Rose gently.

"I am sorry for ever doubting you, and thank you for everything you've ever done for me," Silv said.

"There is nothing to forgive. You were always and forever, my best granddaughter," Rose said.

"I am your only granddaughter," Silv said, smiling through the tears.

"That doesn't make it any less true," Rose said.

"Please don't die," Silv said through her sobs.

"I am sorry, my dear. I wish I could stay with you and follow you on all your adventures, but I am afraid I am too old for that. What you need to know is that I love you, and I am so utterly proud of you," Rose said.

"I love you, too," Silv said.

Moments later, Rose took her last breath, leaving behind the world of ice and snow and one sorrow-broken granddaughter.

"Come on, mistress, she is gone," Arthur said, trying to raise Silv from the ground where she still sat holding her dead grandmother in her arms.

"I can't just let her go. I need to take care of her, the same way she took care of me," Silv said, tears streaming down her face.

"We'll take good care of her, but the people we rescued need you. Evanescence needs guidance, and she seems to only respond to you." Justin said gently.

Wiping away her tears, Silv remembered the promise she gave to Rose. Thus, she gently lowered Rose's body to the ground and started moving towards the control room.

"You better take great care of her while we find a way to put her to rest!" Silv threatened the others.

"We will. Don't worry," Joe said reassuringly.

"I'll make sure they keep their word," Arthur said.

It was the first time the AI said he would do something without being told to do it. Silv was too relieved to be shocked to note how much more independent the AI was becoming.

"Very well, I trust you to do what's best," Silv said as she left.

As she sat in the control chair, Silv noticed that her hands were shaking and that her eyes hurt from all the crying she had done. She needed to get a hold of her emotions, lock them up for the time being until they were safely away from danger.

"Okay, where are we now?" Silv asked as she gently inserted her hands in now-familiar liquid.

"Wow, Evanescence, you could have gotten us a bit farther from danger than this," Silv said.

She could see they were not far from the sectors and that a few hostile vessels were approaching them.

"I know, I know. I am sorry. It's not your fault. Let's get rid of these guys and then will see what else we can do," Silv said as she sensed Evanescence's guilt.

The first thing Silv did was put on the invisibility shield. Then, she proceeded to take the ship high up in the air, much higher than she assumed the other vessels could go.

Upon doing that, she decided to take a detour towards area 51 and pick up the shuttles that weren't yet destroyed. Only then did she plan to bring them back to the mountainside. After all, she couldn't waste perfectly good vessels that they might need in the future.

Even though Silv was unstable, her whole body shivering from time to time, as waves of grief washed over her, she was still able to do as she planned. She gathered up the remaining shuttles and set the course for mountains.

Though she had no idea what she was going to do upon reaching the mountains, upon finishing her mission, Silv decided to focus on one thing at the time. After all, that was all her broken heart could handle for the time being. Anything more and she would have fallen apart.

Like it or not, she could not allow herself the luxury of doing that. Whether it was for better or worse, she was the only one who could connect with Evanescence enough to be able to guide her, to inspire her to do something.

Thus, she gritted her teeth and braced for what was yet to come.