Distant voices echoed through the darkness, exacerbating the slight pounding in her head. The darkness began to fade, revealing a blurry scene above. It looked like a stylized night sky shifting into day, all made of tiny squares.

“I believe she is waking up” a synthesized voice announced.

Maze blinked, seeing the mosaic ceiling for what it was before trying to rise. The world spun for a moment, the cyborg clutching the sheet as she teetered.

“Whoa easy there,” Maze could hear Crystal in the swirling room “take it slow dumbass.”

She tried again, much slower and thankfully, with much greater success. She first saw Wolf sitting patiently next to the bed and gave him a small pat on the head as she took in the rest of the room.

It was a pretty decently sized room and very nicely furnished; it even had a balcony with a rather spectacular view of the capitol city now bathed in the orange light of the setting sun. She could hear running water through a door behind her, the only other one in the room the exit.

She spotted Crystal lounging in a chair with wet hair and wearing a puffy bathrobe while Trixie was digging through a scorched footlocker. She was holding what looked like an old, well-worn portrait that she quickly stowed before smiling at the cyborg.

“Lyra’s in the shower, but she said to give you one of these” the magician handed a glowing spine to the cyborg “They found a whole room of them in a part of the facility that hadn’t caved in and she convinced the princesses to spare a few for your recovery. I’m not sure what she did with the others though…”

“Probably stowed them somewhere to study later” Maze chuckled as the glow began to drain from the vertebra; there was no point in losing energy by rushing the absorption now “So I can’t help notice were not in prison or locked in stone.”

“Nope, not yet at least. After seeing that we’re sorta the good guys first hand, the princesses weren’t too sure about what to do” Crystal explained “They’ve been pretty accommodating so far though.”

"Where are the others?”

“Private Sasaki and Miss Bonbon are speaking with the Princesses; they were rather particular to speak with them before you woke up” Wolf informed her “A fact that Miss Crystal has been most vocal about.”

“Johnny I get; He’s a guard. But why Bonbon?” Crystal scowled “There’s something… hidden about that mare, and I’m not just talking about what Mantis said.”

“She would appear to be dedicated to Miss Heartstrings above all else; so long as we have her loyalty, I believe we have Miss Bonbon’s as well” Wolf vouched for the undercover mare. It seemed to placate the changelings concerns, if only for the time being.

“And the van?” Maze turned back to Trixie, earning a heavy sigh from the unicorn.

“Well… it wasn’t quite as bad as I feared. It was still in… mostly one piece and I managed to recover a decent amount of our stuff with the help of the guard… but she’ll never be whole again…” Trixie delivered solemnly “I’m basically homeless…”

“Oh shut up, we’ll get you a new van” Crystal lightly scolded the mare “Home’s where you are, not where you’ve been; it’s the memories that matter and they’ll will be with you either way. Plus you still got your little keepsake trunk; the rest was just razzle dazzle anyway right?”

“Razzle dazzle seems to be all I’m good for…” Trixie lamented

“Now that would be, as Maisie would say, bullshit.”

All heads turned to the smiling princess of the night silhouetted in the doorway with Rarity and a downtrodden Bonbon standing behind her.

“The magical feats I have personally witnessed surrounding your little group alone have shown their caster as no mere showmare; I dare say my sister’s pupil has earned herself a worthy rival indeed” Luna praised a speechless Trixie, the unicorn's mouth fumbling for words as her blush grew “It is good to see you awake in time for dinner Maze, it will give us ample opportunity to speak of matters more thoroughly. However until then, I dare say Miss Rarity will be too demanding for any of us to converse otherwise... Good luck.”

The night princess gave a slight nod as she smirked and moved along as Rarity strutted into the room, a large trunk being magically dragged behind her. Bonbon gave an uneasy glance after the princess before dejectedly following the seamstress in.

“Now then darlings, we can’t have you all wearing these tattered tresses to a royal dinner, so…” the designer’s trunk burst open with a flourish, countless dresses of all styles pouring out and becoming suspended before them “Tell me what speaks to you!”

“I like the new hair,” Maze offered, adjusting the simple and sleek black dress; moving the slit along the side to somewhere more comfortable “it’s a lot more active than that pastel pink you had before.”

“It’s not exactly new anymore, but thank you Maze” Celestia accepted the cyborgs compliment. She seemed… weary but the fact she called for the celebratory dinner and hadn’t set Maze on fire yet encouraged the cyborg that things might finally be turning around.

“So I’m guessing the guards mean we’re still not completely in the clear yet huh?” Maze asked as she examined the guards along all the surrounding walls of the dining hall.

“Merely precaution insisted upon by the attending nobles” Luna answered simply.

“As if both the kingdom’s princesses would not have been more than enough to protect them” Celestia grumbled.

“True enough” Maze admitted, cutting into one of the steaks specially prepared for her and Crystal “but we won’t be putting us in a new temple prison will we?”

“Your recent actions against those conspiring against the kingdom have earned you at least a reevaluation of your status” the sun monarch relented, a small smile finally forming “Perhaps some sort of… parole would be more appropriate, with some community service maybe.”

“I have the feeling I’m getting my old job back…” Maze deadpanned.

“Just like old times Maisie” Luna winked at the human, further easing the tension of those gathered at the table. She looked down to see the elements conversing happily with her group, save for Trixie and Twilight; the former seemed to be purposefully avoiding the latter’s attempts. Next to Maze, Fluttershy sat quietly eating her food completely unfazed by the human's meaty entree.

“Probably one of the few ponies who hasn’t at least frowned at my diet”

“Well I work with animals for a living; I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I couldn’t accept that carnivores eat meat” the yellow mare countered Maze’s spoken thought, the practiced rhythm signaling she'd answered the question more than once before.

‘Damnit, seems like I still have to work on that more’

“So I was uh, was wondering… that um… that song… that was playing during your escape?” The shy pegasus continued “the Hit the Lights one?”

“That would be Metallica.”

“You mean Maretallica” Dash piped in from next to Fluttershy.

“No, ME-tallica. They’re a human band and straight up gods of rock. And yes Flutters, I would be more than happy to make you a copy of their albums. I’ll even throw in a bunch of other earth metal bands with it” Maze answered the next question before it was asked, earning a smile and squee from the yellow pegasus.

‘Adorable as always, never change FlutterButter.’

“Speaking of, doesn’t your music usually have lyrics? We could only hear the music itself as we approached” the night princess inquired “Other than that shift at the end of course.”

“You could hear it from that far away?” Maze asked wide eyed “It’s usually just localized to the immediate area.”

“Hard to localize anything to an area with a threat so large I daresay” Luna offered.

“Yeah I suppose so... And yeah it usually does have lyrics, but not always. Though, come to think of it that song does actually have lyrics…” Maze realized “I wonder why it only gave the instrumental…”

“Perhaps because they were not the one’s truly behind all this” Celestia offered, her expression growing serious again.

“Yes…” Luna added “That ‘royal blowhard’ comment during the pair's argument certainly carried some disturbing implications.”

The princess glanced down to the other end of the long table, the gathered nobles chatting quietly amongst themselves. Their ‘nephew’ Blue Blood currently complaining about both the champagne and having to eat with known criminals. Yet he was hardly the only one arrogant enough to turn against them, any one of them or one of dozens of others could be the puppet master of this whole affair.

“Now let’s not ruin this fine meal with suspicions of conspiracy shall we Princess? It could merely be a random oddity of a power we don’t even know the true origin of” Rarity offered, retuning them to more pleasant topics.

“Oh she knows where it’s from; She didn’t have until the second year after her arrival after all” the lunar monarch corrected her newest student.

“What?!” Dash exclaimed “But you told us-”

“I told you I didn’t have much control over it. I never said I didn’t know where it comes from” Maze interrupted “I picked it up from some sirens we contracted during the war; though needless to say they had significantly more control over it than I ever have.”

“Ah yes… Those three” Celestia grumbled, earning a chuckle from the cyborg.

“Hey at least they were easier to clean up after than Smooze” Maze commented.

“Ugh… we’re we truly so desperate back then?” Celestia bemoaned.

“You hired me didn’t you?” Maze quipped, earning a laugh from most the table.

“She has got us there Tia.”

The rest of the dinner went by surprisingly well, Pinkie and Trixie even managed to get most of the nobles to loosen up after a while. Blueblood still turned his nose up as he passed her but at least didn’t say anything or make a scene of it.

The group was gathered near the hall’s entrance as ponies began heading off to bed, most of the elements having already said their goodnights as well.

“I honestly never thought I’d see you in a dress” Crystal snarked.

“HEY FUCK YOU! I CAN BE PRETTY SOMETIMES!” Maze snapped, blushing as she straightened her ensemble. Crystal just laughed.

“Oh don’t listen to her, you look fabulous darling” Rarity consoled her “And I’m not just saying that because I made the dress.”

“Damn straight!” Maze proclaimed as the princesses approached.

“Yes, we were always surprised how easy it was to get Maze into dresses, considering her typical attire” Luna said.

“And how easy it was getting me out of them?” Maze smiled smugly as Lyra sighed behind her.

“Ugh, has she always been like this your highness?” Lyra asked, earning a pair of giggles from the sisters.

“You have no idea Miss Heartstrings” Luna laughed “Though we’d be lying if we said she doesn’t appear to have changed for the better as of late.”

“So you do still care” Maze smiled warmly at Luna and Celestia, before a yawn caught her by surprise.

“She sleeps half the day away and she’s still tired; perhaps less has changed than you thought Luna” Celestia jested “I am to retire myself for the night actually, shall I escort you back to your room Maisie? I suspect you’re not yet as familiar with this castle as you were the last.”

“Uh, yeah sure” Maze answered awkwardly as followed the elder sister out, the younger sibling smiling warmly after them.

“Your highness?” her attention was brought back as the blue unicorn addressed her from the head of the group “Are you still planning to question the prisoners yourself tonight?”

“How did you-?” Luna began, shooting a look to the earth pony hanging of Lyra’s arm before receiving wide eyes and the slightest of head shakes in response. Her brow furrowed until “Rex… You do realize Wolf is no longer your pack leader, correct?”

The silver Fenrir hung his head abashed behind her.

“Please Princess” the young Siss-prea stepped forward, her rarely used dignified tone escaping “I know it might be too much to ask but may we accompany you? We all know this all isn’t quiet over yet, and we want to see this through.”

The night princess looked the group over, determined and focused faces meeting her own. She considered it a moment longer before relenting. She internally admitted that it would be more than wise to allow their participation; they’d been following this conspiracy far longer than she had.

“Very well, but I ask that you remain in the observation room during the questioning. I warn you also this may simply end as a waste of time; our sister has made very little progress with them so far” Luna allowed, seeing grateful faces light up. She turned to the mare behind her “You will accompany us as well Rarity, I have concluded it will be a good opportunity for you to learn from after all.”

“Uh, yes princess! If you believe it to be prudent” Rarity rambled, quickly shaking off the abrupt change of plans.

“We must first change into more appropriate attire; Mr. Sasaki?” Luna addressed the guard hiding in the back “Will you escort them to the observation rooms?”

“O-Of course! Yes Ma’am!”

“Very good, we should be there and ready by the time you arrive” Luna concluded before her and Rarity disappeared in a flash of light.

“What are you two trying to accomplish?” Luna asked simply, standing before the pair in her full battle regalia. She had decided that as questioning the two separately hadn’t worked for her sister thus far, then perhaps she could work them against one another instead.

Filthy Rich just glared at her as Fancy Pants seemed intently focused on a scuff on the floor all of a sudden.

“T’was it for money? Power? Were thou simply bored?”

The two remained silent.

“We are going to learn the truth eventually, one way or another” the night princess announced calmly “Surely you must realize this. It would be to your far greater advantage to confess sooner than later.”

“Or what? You’ll kill us? Pfft, the kingdom hasn’t had the gall to execute anypony in centuries” Rich taunted back.

“And I have not been here for centuries.”

Rich shifted uncomfortably and as Fancy Pants’ eyes went wide at the princess’s cold tone.

“We can’t talk if we’re dead” Rich spat.

“There are ways of obtaining the information without you saying a word Mr. Rich” Luna delivered “though such methods often have rather… unpleasant side effects.”

Rich continued to glare back at her tight lipped. Pants continued fidgeting, his cuffs jingling slightly with every twitch; he kept glancing at her before looking at his partner nervously.

‘Hmmm’

“Perhaps a separate line of questioning then; how did it all operate? Rich provides the funding while you do all the real work?” she asked the unicorn “He obviously could not complete his own projects to any satisfaction, given the number of failures we alone are aware of. We could only imagine how many are still buried in the salvaged data.”

“Hey I can handle my affairs just fine!” Rich snapped. Luna suppressed a smile “Those failures were from those incompetent workers!”

“It is of truly bad form to blame your subordinates for your own short comings Mr. Rich, you can take the word of a princess on that. In fact, their failures hardly seemed the case in the recordings and files… or the testimonies of the other prisoners” Luna bluffed; they hadn’t actually managed to find anypony else in the desert facility, but he didn’t know that.

“What?! But they were all supposed to telepor-” Pants fumbled before Rich snapped at him.

“Shut up! Can’t you tell she’s lying!? She doesn’t have anypony!"

“Well apparently they didn’t follow their orders any better than you followed yours” Rarity joined in, earning a smile from her teacher “I seriously doubt that metal spider was supposed to make its appearance yet, was it Mr. Rich?”

The slick maned pony's face blazed red with anger, his partner looking more and more stressed by the second.

“And thanks to your mistakes, you’ve not only lost two facilities and your giant gear but now your boss is hanging you all out to dry. How long do you think it will be before one of them cracks and tells us everything?” the designer taunted

“Go head! Waste your time with deals and pardons! They know nothing!” Rich yelled “They didn’t even know there’s somepony above-eep!”

The business pony caught himself too late, his anger letting more than he intended out. It unfortunately wasn’t enough; they already suspected the puppet master was only known to these two. And now he knew better than to let his anger get the better of him. Still, Luna pushed on.

“So assuming you’re not yet again mistaken… you can surmise that there is only one deal to consider then, is there not?” She asked “It is now only a matter of which of you will take it.”

“You can’t protect us…” Pant moaned meekly

“Shut up Pants! We’ll be fine!”

“How can you possibly believe that?! We failed! We won’t be forgiven! We’ll just be converted with the rest now!” Pants began panicking, sweat dripping from his brow.

“SHUT UP PAN-”

“NO! HOW CAN ANY OF THIS BE RIGHT?! WE WERE TOLD THIS WOULD BRING PEACE BUT LOOK HOW MANY HAVE DIED! HOW CAN THAT BRING PEACE?! AND NOW WE’RE NEXT!” The unicorn raved before his head wiped back and wild, desperate eyes locked on the princess's “SHE TOLD US WE’D BE PATRIOTS! SHE TOLD US-”

“SHUT! UP!” The earth pony slammed his head into the unicorns, earning himself a shallow gash from his partner's horn before a dark purple aura wrenched him away. Rarity moved to inspect the now weeping stallion, a small patch of blood gathering at the abrasion where Rich struck him.

The group stood looking through the one way mirror as the scene unfolded before them. Pants devolved into an incomprehensible, unresponsive mess as Luna held Rich against the wall; who had now completely shut down, keeping deathly silent.

“This seemed way too easy” Bonbon muttered “It’s as if they weren’t questioned at all earlier; how could they have not gotten anything out of these idiots?”

“She told us we’d be patriots?” Lyra repeated.

“…Oh no” Trixie gasped just a moment before she saw realization hit Crystal as well. She immediately spun around “WOLF! GO FIND-!”

The mechanical hound was gone, the floor empty were he sat just moments ago. She moved to the door to follow when pain suddenly wracked her, forcing her to her knees and clutching her chest.

“Oh come the fuck on! NOW?!” She cursed as Crystal leapt to her side and hefted her up, immediately leading the group down the hall in a sprint.

“What’s going on? Why are we running!?” Lyra panted as the rest of the group caught up.

“Because we need to leave!” Crystal announced “NOW!”

“What about Maze?!” Johnny called from the rear.

Crystal glanced down to Trixie to see the same look of defeated regret she knew she carried. Against the power they now knew they faced… The group’s hearts sank as the magician spoke.

“There’s nothing we can do.”

“Admit it, you've missed me at least a little” Maze teased.

“Alas, I would be lying if I said claimed otherwise” Celestia relented.

“And you still have that kind little smile I see. It’s not as bright as your big smile but just as warm” Maze cooed.

“At least you didn’t say motherly.”

“What’s wrong with motherly? I mean you are one” Maze countered “Several times over if I remember correctly.”

“Well yes, but still…” she tried to cover a slight blush, swearing she saw one of the guards smirk at as they passed “It always makes me feel so old.”

“Oh please, you’re too hot to ever be old.”

“Still the master of subtle flirting I see” Celestia joked.

“My subtly is reserved for stealth, and that requires too much patience as it is”

Celestia giggled as she opened the door for Maze, allowing the cyborg to enter before following her and closing the door behind.

A surprising sense of brightness hit Maze, the room seeming lit up even with the lights dimmed as they were. A large and extremely comfortable bed dominated the large room full of rows of regalia and gifted representations of peace between nations.

“Well now this looks more like your room Celly, and here you were saying I lack subtly. I know you’re beginning to trust me again but I didn’t think you were coming around this-”

The sharp gasp was lost beneath a sickening squelch that filled the room as the music began to blare.

Maze’s breath hitched as she weakly looked down.

The bloody tip of a gilded, golden great sword met her gaze, jutting from her chest.

“R…Rude…”

“Always with the banter” she heard Celestia sigh behind her.

Hard, searing heat slammed against the base of her skull, throwing her off the blade and careening into the far wall.

“You hear that?” Celestia asked with her sword and warhammer held out to the room “Lyrics!”

Maze clambered up against the crumbling wall, just trying to stand straight as her HUD scrambled erratically across her vision. A burst of solar flame filled her sight, suddenly blinding as the heat approached.

“Aw crap-”

Stone rained from the tower as the wall exploded out into the night, a golden streak soaring out and into the mountainous forest opposite the city before most ponies could blink.

A single spark snapped and the entire mountain side became an inferno.

“There, now we can have some proper privacy” Celestia purred as she hefted Maze from the crater by the throat. She smirked up at the dangling human, a vision of righteous wrath bathed in solar flame.

The cyborg’s lungs protested as the hand grew tighter, her feet kicking nearly a foot off the ground. A flash of magic strobed and a metal tendril shot at the princess only to be caught in an instant. Shattered circuitry scattered as the tentacle crumpled like a tin can and tore free from its anchor.

“Really now Maze” the human could breathe again as she was thrown into the air; a reprieve short lived as her former appendage met her midair and sent her through several of the burning trees “You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

A terrible angelic vision found Maze’s now skyward gaze; a radiant Celestia hovered above before diving, massive plumes of smoke blotting out the sky behind her.

Maze flipped back as the monarch collided with the ground with her first burning straight into solid stone as if it wasn’t even there. Another mist of nano-magic condensed and Maze pulled the trigger, her crimson blade launching from its sheath in a vicious arc.

The sword swept up in a tide of red, Celestia’s head snapping back as it sparked against her face.

‘Sparks?!’ Maze immediately slammed the blade back down at the thought, all the rest of her rapidly draining strength put behind the strike-

Which stopped dead in a hand bathed in gold.

Maze blanched as the solar ruler slowly brought her face back to bear; a wicked, malicious grin painting a face half covered in gold. Red, stressed flesh and veins bordered the reactive sheen; the wrong color or not Maze knew it shouldn’t possible on this level, it would require too much power. But here it was staring back at her, her thoughts screaming the only analog she knew through her mind as the hand gripped the blade tighter.

‘Armstrong’

*SNAP*

“FUCK ME!!”

“BEEN THERE!” A knee met Maze’s stomach, painting the ground with fresh blood before the back of a fist launched her away again “DONE THAT!”

Maze didn’t even get a chance to tumble before a hoof collided with her chin, forcing her back up right and setting her up for an elbow crashing against her face. The ruler’s weapons remained forgotten or discarded in favor of armored skin, instead relishing in the visceral feel of the bare handed violence.

Even Sombra would have flinched at the sight and sound of the bloodied hoof forcing the human’s knee to bend inwards. Maze's standing buckled and let her to drop into yet another hooved kick, more trees shattering to burnt embers as she crashed through.

Gold light strobed beyond her sight and a steel grip caught her ankle before she met the ground. She then met the ground elsewhere much harder instead, and then met it again... and then met it at least five more times; she was having trouble keeping count after that. She half expected a ‘puny human’ quip as she was lazily tossed above the alicorn.

She instead received a spiral agony that speared into her stomach.

Celestia stood content with the impaled human draped atop her head for a moment, blood streaming down her horn and face with the manic smile growing more sadistic still.

A heat abruptly flared within Maze’s core.

‘OH GOD NO!’

The torturous sheik shot across the valley whole; even the raging firestorm failed to suppress the scream, chilling all that heard it in spite of the towering flames.

The searing bolt continued toward the heavens as Celestia tossed the cyborg from her burning form. Her fiery aura dwindled as she strode up to the fetal cyborg cradling her sizable new orifice.

“You just always have to fuck everything up, don’t you Maisie?” she lifted the human back up, her hands weakly grasping against the one on her neck. Celestia chuckled as she saw her new punching bag still gripping the hilt of her broken sword.

“…whyyy?” Maze opponent coughed with tears flowing from her one unswollen eye.

“For PEACE Maze! FOR ORDER! Something you’ve never understood! Your freedom being nothing but anarchy!”

Another knee to Maze’s gut punctuated the point.

“I will make a world without indecision or pain! With these wonderful little machines you brought to us I will free my ponies from the chaos of their lives, from the burden of SORROW AND CHOICE!” the unhinged princess raved as she brought Maze closer “Imagine all ponies not just without sadness, but without even the ABILITY to feel it! An entire population united against any threat as one, without fear or hesitation! Every citizen working and living as one to their fullest with singular purpose! With perfect cooperation! Perfect Unity! PERFECT HARMONY!"

“Yeah,” Maze’s legs wrapped around the alicorn as she quickly struck out “You’ve lost it!”

Celestia reeled as the hand smashed into her head, a palm blocking her sight as fingers straddled her horn. A surprised shriek rang out as current flowed into the would be Tyrant, the bleeding Maze holding the flow for dear life.

‘NO! SHE-IS-MINE!’

A voice screamed in Maze’s head as the current was forcibly reversed. Red and green eyes with slitted pupils found her own, glaring into her very soul as darkened flames engulfed the monarch. The corrupted black and purple fire exploded out, breaking the cyborg’s hold as a flare of magic condensed and arced up viciously.

“YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!” a flanged voice screamed from the great sword wielding Celestia “NOT NOW!”

Maze bounced and rolled along the ashen ground, distant calls from above only vaguely registered in the haze.

‘So she’s suppressed and possessed… okay yeah, that’s a bad.’

She pushed against the embers to just fall back, unsupported. Another tentacle summoned for the currently grand task of just standing; her simple dress in tatters and mind barely conscious as she struggled to just stay awake. A fragmented and disorienting HUD devolved into chaotic static as nearly every one of her systems screamed alerts; she looked down to confirm the cause, the asymmetry threating her fragile balance.

Her left forearm was missing, cleanly severed just below the elbow.

“Well shit…”

“CELESTIA!! TIIIAAAAA!!!” the pair could hear the Luna calling out above as she desperately fought to see through the smoke and fire “CELESTIAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Celestia stumbled, clutching her head as her aura burned gold again. Her senses quickly returned to her and with determined, magenta eyes, she found Maze again.

“Sounds like our time is up”

“Celly, this isn’t you…” Maze pleaded, unable to even back up as the ruler rose a glowing hand. A new sun grew between the pair before her “You have to fight this!”

“Goodbye Maze”

Red hot knives suddenly pinged off gold covered wings, the monarch rounding toward their source when a black blur streaked past her neglected side.

“WHAT?! NO!” The miniature sun soared after the metal hound as he collided with the human. Shocked confusion broke through even suppressed thoughts as the two fell into a box suddenly appearing in their path.

The flames rolled over and completely incinerated the cardboard obstruction, continuing on ignored to demolish all it passed. Celestia sprinted forward, even falling to her knees to frantically sift through the ashes for the remains… and finding none.

“DAMNIT!” golden fists shook the very mountain as they struck again and again “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!FUUUUUUUUUCCK!”

‘FORGET IT!’ the voice she could no longer recognize as not her own halted her rage ‘She no longer matters!’

The corrupter leader stood with a huff and made her way back toward their prize, still hearing her sister’s calls as she circled above.

‘Even if she recovers it will be far too late. She will die in the end all the same… besides…’

She bent down and took ahold of the severed limb, eyeing it intently as she stood.

‘We have what we came for’

Author's Notes:

Ouch...