Melody blinks her eyes open, wincing at the bright light hanging over her. She's soaking wet and chilled to the bone, laying awkwardly in the grass. Slowly the picks herself up, touching her head. She sways in place, her vision blurring. The sun hangs directly above her, showing no sign of the storm she remembers. A sharp pain shoots through her head as the morning's events come back to her.

"Oliver...?" She mutters, blinking against the light. She looks around, trying to clear the fog from her mind. "Marcus...?" She adds, forcing herself to her feet. She stumbles and collapses again, panting heavily.

"Over here," Marcus calls, sending a wash of relief through her. Melody picks herself up, moving slowly this time. Marcus waves to her, sitting a few feet away. Oliver is laying on the grass next to him, his eyes closed peacefully. Melody crawls over to them, touching Oliver's face and chest gently.

"Is he-?" She gasps, but Marcus shakes his head.

"Injured, but alive. I did what I could to treat him," He explains, pointing to a thin bandage around Oliver's head. "It wasn't too bad."

"What about you," Melody says, looking him over. Marcus is covered in dirt and mud, his clothes ripped apart. Dried blood pokes out from his nose, and his arms are covered in cuts. Worst of all, his leg is wrapped completely in bandages, with a pair of sticks strapped to it.

"Worse, but fine," He assures. "I'm just being careful."

"Your leg is broken!" Melody yelps, crawling over to him so quickly that a wave of nausea forces her to stop. Marcus takes her shoulders, guiding her back to the ground.

"I don't know. But it definitely feels broken." He says, putting a hand on her forehead once she's laying down. "Stay there, don't move around too much. Does anything hurt?"

"Forget about me," Melody insists, brushing his hand away. She slides over to his legs, carefully undoing the dressing. "Where did you get all these bandages?"

"The ship," he says, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "It landed over there somewhere. I raided it for supplies as soon as I woke up."

"With a broken leg!?"

"Maybe broken! It might not be!" He counters as if it should be obvious. "I was going to drag you over here, but I figured Oliver needed treatment first."

"I'm fine," Melody insists, squeezing her eyes shut when her vision begins to blur again. "What about Koji?"

"What about him?" Marcus spits. Melody unwraps the last of the bandages, exposing his leg. Like his arms, it's covered in small cuts and bruises. Half of his lower leg is a dark purple, and Melody carefully traces her fingers over it. "He better hope Orochi kills him before I do."

"Didn't you see him? He was terrified!" Melody complains, relieved when Marcus doesn't react to her poking. "And I think he technically saved us."

"You mean by calling a hurricane down on us? I did say that the boat is over there, right?" He gestures away from the river. "He almost killed us!"

"We can fold up the boat. Let's at least find him and hear what he has to say." Melody quickly rewraps his leg, satisfied that it's not actually broken.

"Sure, I'll hear him out. Then I'll kill him."

"You stay here," Melody insists, slowly climbing to her feet. She holds her arms out for balance, wobbling in place for a second. "I'm going to see if I can find him."

"No, you're not," Marcus growls, trying to stand as well. He winces when he tries to use his leg, dropping back to the ground.

"Stay," Melody commands, hurrying away before he can follow her. She keeps walking until she can't hear Marcus's protests anymore, taking slow, even breaths. Once she's far enough away, she kneels down in the grass, closing her eyes.

"Let's see where you are," Melody says to herself, pushing her power into the ground. She imagines her magic as roots, spreading out from her in search of another source of power. Pressure begins to build in the back of her head, which quickly turns into a migraine. She finds Marcus and Oliver, recognizing their power instantly. When she doesn't find anything else, she pushes harder, spreading her magic thinner in search of Koji.

After a few minutes, Melody feels something connect to her roots. A strange, foreign power by the edge of the river. She makes a mental note of where it is before drawing her roots back, panting heavily when she snaps back to her body. She feels hollow, having used so much magic in such a short amount of time. She sways on her feet again, having to stop to regain her balance a few times as she works her way to the river.

As she gets close to the water, a soft sound catches Melody's ear. She closes her eyes to listen, trying to pick out the source. She edges closer, lowering her head. It sounds like...whimpers. And hiccups. The sound sniffles. Melody opens her eyes, blinking in confusion. Curious, she edges towards the sound, moving slowly to not make any noise.

She finds Koji on the edge of the river, hugging his knees to his chest. His head is in his arms as he cries quietly to himself. He stares down at his reflection in the water, shaking his head every so often. His clothes are wrinkled and wet, and he's covered in grass clippings, but he doesn't look hurt.

"Koji?" She says gently. Koji screams, pitching himself back so hard that Melody can't help but be reminded of Oliver. He stares at her, his eyes wide and red. He stammers a few words, springing to his feet. He brushes the grass from his shirt as he tries to form a thought. When he can't, Melody takes another careful step forward. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Koji says, his voice cracking. He drops back to the edge of the river, sighing sadly. "Of course I'm not. But that doesn't matter - you shouldn't be here."

"Why not?" She says, slowly taking a seat next to him. Koji hiccups and sniffles, turning away from her.

"Your friends are hurt. Shouldn't you be taking care of them?" He says firmly. "I'm fine, I don't need any help. I'm Susanoo." Melody raises an eyebrow skeptically.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nevermind. Just go." He replies, waving her away. Another wave of tears rolls down his cheeks, and Melody leans forward, staring at his reflection in the water. She was planning to yell at him when she found him. To get in his face about how he led them to a monster and nearly got them killed. But as he cries to himself, his jaw clenched and throat tight, she can't bring herself to do it.

"What happened back there?" She says calmly. "I thought you said you've been fighting Orochi for a month now. Why did you suddenly lose it like that?"

"I said I've been dealing with Orochi for a month," He replies softly. "Not fighting."

"What's the difference?" She says. Koji scoffs, shaking his head. He stares down at his reflection sadly.

"I guess there isn't to you. But there is to me." He says dismissively. He tries to turn away again, but Melody catches his arm to stop him.

"Koji, stop. No more games. We nearly died. Oliver still hasn't woken up." Koji's eyes well up with tears and he tries to turn away again, but Melody doesn't let him. "Tell me the truth."

"You don't want the truth," He insists. "It won't change anything."

"It might change how much trouble you're in. Marcus is about ready to kill you, and truth be told, I'm pretty mad too." She snaps. Koji flinches, squeezing his eyes closed. "Please."

"What do you want me to say?" Koji blubbers, throwing his hands over his face. "That I can't stop that thing? That I'm so terrified of fighting that it makes me want to die? That I'm the worst possible choice for Susanoo in the world!?" He snaps his mouth closed, biting his lip harshly. His shoulders tremble as he fights to reign in his emotions. Melody gently strokes his back, and Koji sighs.

"You want the truth? Susanoo is the god of storms. He's known for being wild, violent, and arrogant. He rushes into fights just for fun. He's basically my opposite in every way. I hate arguing with people, and I feel nauseous if I even think of hurting someone!" He throws his arms up sadly. "I'm not a god! I'm just a regular guy! How can anyone face that nightmare and not wet themselves!? It's insane!"

"You think we weren't scared?" Melody interrupts. "I was terrified as soon as I saw it! I'm sure Oliver and Marcus would tell you the same!"

"But you fought it anyway," Koji counters. "All I did was hide in the clouds where it couldn't hurt me while you risked your lives. It's like Marcus said, I'm a coward. But Susanoo isn't. So..." He trails off, looking away. Melody pulls his shoulder to turn him back again.

"So?"

"So, I pretend to be like him, okay!?" Koji snaps. "Is that what you want to hear? I'm so pathetic and terrified of all of this that I have to act like someone else just to feel like I belong! And now I got you and your friends hurt, all because I chickened out when it mattered most." Melody hums, looking back at the river. Even she wasn't planning to be this harsh on him.

"If you hate it that much, why do you stay?" She says softly. "Nobody said you have to become a god, right? I'm sure you had your reasons, but if you can't do it-"

"I can't walk away from this," Koji says firmly. He sniffles, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I made a promise to someone. I can't walk away from that, even if I have to do things like this." He sighs, his shoulders slumping. "Even if I have to become someone I hate."

"You don't have to change who you are just because you're a god," Melody says. "You're not the only one who feels like this. That's the whole reason Marcus, Oliver and I are doing this. We're trying to fix things, so nobody has to become something they're not."

"I wish I could believe you," Koji replies, shaking his head solemnly. "But it doesn't matter. I'll never stop Orochi. I can't hurt people - every time I even think of it, it's like my stomach starts to rip open, and I just-" He suddenly claps a hand over his mouth, doubling over himself. After a moment he lets out a short burp, his face going green. "A-and they expect me to cut that thing up while it's asleep? I can't even get near it, asleep or not!"

"Then why didn't you tell anyone? Ask your pantheon for help?" Koji laughs weakly.

"Sure, Susanoo asking for help with a monster he's killed for centuries. Just walk in and say hey guys, turns out I'm a huge wimp! Can you go clean up my mess for me? Promise it won't take long, you just need to kill an eight-headed monstrosity!" He leans back on his arms. "They already laugh at me when I let the real me show."

"Well, that's their problem, not yours," Melody huffs, crossing her arms. "What's so wrong with the real you?" Koji chuckles as if she told a joke, then sighs at himself.

"Gee, I don't know. You've known the real me for all of five minutes, and let's go down the list." He counts on his fingers as he speaks. "I lied to you and your friends. Tricked you into trying to kill a monster I can't even touch. Did everything I could to make sure I wasn't part of the plan to stop it. Stood back and watched as that plan went wrong in every possible way. Caused a storm that not only got all three of you hurt, but also capsized your ship and let Orochi get away!" He throws his arms up, flopping onto his back to stare up at the sky. "The real me sure sounds like fun, doesn't he? Can't wait to spend more time with that guy."

"Okay, some things went wrong," Melody admits. Koji groans, clapping his hands over his face. "But to be honest, I didn't like you when we first met. Remember when I said that Marcus didn't trust you? We both knew you were hiding something from us. We thought it was something to do with Orochi."

"No, but at this point does it really matter?" Koji says through his hands. "It still ended badly. And it's still my fault."

"My point is, I prefer the real you over whoever you were trying to be before," Melody says with a smile. "And I think they will too." Koji slowly sits up, staring at Melody's reflection in the river.

"Well, I guess I appreciate it. It does feel good to not have to act like that for once. But it's too late now, the damage is done."

"Yeah, it is," Marcus growls. Koji yelps, slipping off the riverbank and splashing into the water. Melody quickly stands up, but Marcus moves in before she can offer Koji a hand. "You think your little sob story is going to make up for nearly getting us killed?" Marcus adds, hoisting Koji out of the water by the front of his shirt. "You're lucky Oliver woke up, you got that!?"

"Oliver's awake?" Melody says hopefully, spinning around. Oliver slowly emerges from the grass, his skin pale and pasty.

"I-I'm sorry-" Koji blubbers, tears building in his eyes again.

"Save it!" Marcus spits. "Boo-hoo, you lie to everyone you meet! You think I care!?"

"Marcus!" Melody snaps, grabbing his arm when he raises his fist. Koji flinches, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"You can blame the gods all you want, but at the end of the day, you're the reason you're in this mess. I don't care if you're a coward; the least you could do is own up to your mistakes!" He raises his fist again, and Melody yelps as he drags her closer to the water. "Sitting here and bawling your eyes out isn't going to change a thing. If you want to make it up to us, then do something about it." He snarls. He tosses Koji back into the water, lowering his fist. "Help us stop Orochi before it hurts anybody else. That's where you can start." He huffs, stomping out of the water.

"Y-you mean...you'd give me a second chance?" Koji blubbers, slowly picking himself up. Marcus turns back, glaring down at him.

"If I deserve a second chance, then so do you," He grunts, shaking the water from his shoes. "Just don't make me regret it."