PULLED THROUGH THE DEPTHS OF THE TANK, Tyne found her freedom at the surface as her mind took over and automatically took the breath she had been so desperately craving. However, her eyes remained closed as she believed it all to be a dream that took place before death. The sound of her mother's voice calling to her had caused such a bittersweet reaction inside of her. She didn't want to die, but she longed to see her mother again, even if it was for just a moment in time.

The grip on her wrist didn't seem to loosen though and arms wrapped around her small frame, continuously pulling her from what had almost been her watery grave. She could only feel the pressure of the hand that held her, no warmth or anything of the sort, simply because her body was too numb to feel anything. But as she was hoisted from the tank and brought down gently, her back came to rest against a hard surface. Exposed to the air of the night, her body's natural response was to start shivering, in hopes of warming her up before she went into further failure.

Still, Tyne could hear her name being called, especially as the hand left her wrist and she felt two hands grip her shoulders, giving her a light shake. It wasn't her mother's voice anymore, although it was familiar. The familiarity of the voice brought on further confusion, making her wonder just how she had been found? But it honestly didn't matter, what mattered was the longer they remained in the presence of Circus Arcanus, the greater risk of danger would fall upon them. 

At the thought of someone else possibly losing their life to Actaeon and Skender, Tyne forced her eyes opened, only to see brown ones, full of concern staring right back at her.

"Tyne?"

Leta Lestrange appeared angelic at the time, despite the fact that her own robes were stained with water and she was soaked from head to toe by her rescue. However, as soon as Tyne opened her eyes and looked around, a smile graced her face, one of relief as she realised she hadn't been too late. There seemed to be a bout of confusion shared between them as Leta didn't know what to say and Tyne had never expected Leta to be her rescuer.

But Leta was not alone, as the chaos seemed to be unfolding in the background. Tyne's ears were ringing as she heard shouts and scurrying all around her. She turned her head just slightly to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be Ministry workers moving around rapidly in a raid fashion. And yet, Leta didn't find it appropriate for her to watch at the time as she gently placed her hand to the side of Tyne's face, blocking the rest of the view as she threw a heavy cloak around the woman's shoulders.

Tyne's eyes peered up once more, her teeth chattering loudly as she met Leta's gaze. "I-I-I d-don't unders-s-st-stand..."

Not answering right away, Leta held her wand firmly in hand and slowly began warming Tyne up with the Hot-Air Charm before they even contemplated moving. There were shouts and yets, causing Tyne to flinch or jerk every so often, believing that Skender or Actaeon were coming for her. After all, it was all her fault that their site was being raided by the Ministry, she couldn't imagine how furious they probably were; regretting the idea that they hadn't delivered her a swift kill rather than a slow one.

"Don't worry, Tyne," Leta's voice rang out, dragging her from her thoughts, " you're safe now, you don't have to worry about anything."

As much as she wanted to believe Leta right away, Tyne couldn't bring herself into a relaxed state where she believed everything was perfectly fine. She had fooled herself into believing that once after she escaped, only to learn that things were never just that simple. But she was grateful to be out of the tank, thankful to be in the company of warmth, even if it meant that she would have to wait to see her mother for a while longer.

The hot air suddenly seemed to be reaching her bones and her teeth chattering slowed as she swallowed her words of protest. Leta was attempting to be comforting and that was more than what Tyne could ask for, especially coming from the woman that was engaged to the man that Tyne loved more than anything. Leta could have easily turned on her, told Tyne to stay away from Theseus and demand that she never intrude in their lives again, after all, they were to be married, they didn't need someone with a damaged past coming in to ruin everything.

But Tyne didn't see any of that when she looked at Leta, she saw genuine concern and a hopeful look that Tyne was going to be alright. It seemed she was saying all sorts of reassuring things, not just for Tyne's sake, but for her own as well. She sounded like she cared and while Tyne found that puzzling since they only knew each other briefly, it was still a wonderful feeling to be cared about.

"How did you find me?" Tyne couldn't resist the urge to ask. She wasn't ungrateful by any means, just all too curious as to how Leta had become her saviour. "How did you make it all the way here from home?"

"We were already here, Tyne," Leta said to her quietly, noting that the save sounded less heroic. "Our Ministry has travelled to the French Ministry in hopes of stopping Grindelwald, he's been sighted here multiple times. I was there when Garrick Ollivander came in claiming that you were taken...we were able to trace some of your last steps but then you disappeared. But fortunately, we found a house-elf that had plenty of secrets, including the new whereabouts of Arcanus."

She made it sound so simple, which made Tyne feel so inadequate in the use of her mind and magic altogether. The way the Ministry had swooped in and foiled the entire circus, Tyne had suffered for how many years because she wouldn't fight back or do anything to help herself or her mother? All the times she had been placed in front of a crowd of people, she didn't say anything, she had just accepted her life, too fearful of the repercussions if she wasn't helped soon enough.

And yet, maybe, if she had done something sooner, the Ministry could have intervened so much sooner.

"Is Garrick alright?" Tyne questioned, rather than focusing on her inadequacy and slow thinking. "I didn't mean to abandon him-"

Well, she had meant to leave him, but never with the intentions of hurting him, but rather to keep him safe.

"Garrick is safe," Leta replied with a small smile, " he fought like hell to come with us to make sure that you were alright. But I told him to remain behind, keep Theseus busy so that he wouldn't question what was going on."

At the mention of his name, Tyne immediately looked away from Leta's gaze, feeling too shameful to look Theseus' fiancee in the eye. She thought back to the letter she left and wondered if Leta had seen it, wondered if she had taken offence to what was written. Tyne had wished them all the best, but at the same time, she had also admitted her love for him.

"Tyne, he's so worried about you," Leta continued, helping Tyne sit up finally, " I don't think you understand just how much he cares about you. He loves you."

"No," Tyne shook her head, " no, he doesn't, he loves you, he-"

Before she could continue, Leta grabbed one of Tyne's hands in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Theseus is more than capable of loving more than one person, Tyne," she said, " and he loves them differently. He loves you, trust me when I say this, we love each other, but not in the sense to make a marriage work. I think we love each other in a way that we just want happiness for each other. You're what makes Theseus happy and I cannot stand in the way of that."

Opening her mouth, Tyne was fully prepared to tell Leta that she was wrong, simply because she had heard Theseus talk about Leta before, the way he had described her; her intelligence and beauty. However, as she peered down at the hand that held hers, Tyne could see that Leta was no longer wearing her engagement ring. The spot on her finger was bare, not even a tan line in its place. When she looked up again, Leta offered her a small smile and Tyne couldn't help but bring her into a hug.

She didn't know if she offered the hug as a means to comfort herself or Leta, perhaps it was a bit of both. They both seemed desperately in need of a hug and at that moment, Leta hugged her in return despite the wet clothing and held onto her as well.

"Come on, let's get you to the Ministry."

Being helped to her feet, Tyne recognised a couple of familiar faces from when she had first attempted to make her way home. The Aurors that had been present before Theseus' arrival, they all seemed to be offering her sympathetic smiles. However, in their custody, was Actaeon, bound by tight cords that were wrapped around his limbs, laced with magic so that he could not get away. Skender didn't seem to be anywhere in the area and Tyne swallowed nervously, beliving he had escaped.

But one of the monsters that had turned her life into a living hell had been captured and for that, she was able to let out a small sigh of relief. And yet, his capture didn't wash away everything he had done, nor did it get rid of the fact that he still had control over her. She could not speak about her past unless he permitted her to or unless...

There was a scream that pierced the night air, bringing everyone to turn their heads in the same direction at the time. She didn't even have time to react, her mouth only opening and her eyes widening as she watched Nigelle launch her attack from behind. Her long tail swiped the Aurors aside to get out of her way, leaving her a clean shot at Actaeon. As he fell to the ground, still tied up, he landed on his back, leaving his chest and throat exposed.

Nigelle went in for the kill before anyone could even think about moving.

Her teeth sunk into his jugular and with a jerk of her head, she ripped the skin, allowing the blood to pour. It didn't stop there either, the Kappa was triggered by the scent of blood, racing over to feed on Actaeon in a frantic manner. The Aurors and the rest that had been stunned by the scene quickly moved in order to attempt to save Actaeon in hopes of having him face justice in the eyes of the Ministry.

But it was too late.

There seemed to be a panic to save him, but as Tyne watched from a distance, she didn't make the slightest effort to even move towards Actaeon. She watched as his blood seeped into the cold ground, the colour draining from his face, and the light fading from his eyes. His body jerked about several times before he became still and she could only stand there, wondering if she was just imagining it all in her head.

For years, she had wished Actaeon dead, believing it was her only way to freedom and after years of just trying to get away from him, he was gone. It had been all so sudden that she couldn't even wrap her mind around the idea that Nigelle had killed someone. Sweet Nigelle, who had been forced to swallow her tail every night for the entertainment of people, beaten when she didn't listen or when she didn't sing well enough.

She had tried to run at the given chance but Actaeon had found her and brought her back. Perhaps that had been her breaking point as well, getting that little hint of freedom, she didn't want to go back to Circus Arcanus. Despite the blood that stained her face, Nigelle looked so incredibly pleased with herself, even when the Aurors were swooping in on her to contain her.

"Please, don't let them hurt her!" Tyne begged as she grabbed Leta's arm. "You don't understand...she's not dangerous! She wouldn't have done that....she wouldn't have done that if she didn't have a reason. You don't know what he did to us!"

Leta didn't have complete control over the Aurors around her, but she did tell them to handle Nigelle with care, especially as Tyne entered a panic. Taking around at the creatures and performers that remained around the area, they all seemed to wear the same expression. When they looked at Actaeon's body, they looked relieved that he was dead, some of them even going to hug each other as they found their freedom. And when they looked at Nigelle being taken away, they looked fearful, unsure of what was going to happen to them.

"They'll all be fine," Leta attempted to reassure Tyne, "I'll make sure of it."

"Don't worry about me, Tyne," Nigelle called out to her as she was being led away, " you're free now. He can't hurt you anymore, can he? No, so you need to go out there and make something of your life. I remember when you first came to us, you had these wonderful dreams, go out and pursue them. You're still young and beautiful, your mother wanted you to live, that's why she fought so hard for you. She didn't want you to give up, I don't want you to give up."

Abandoning Leta's side, Tyne made her way over to Nigelle, jumping in front of her before she was escorted away. She didn't care about the Aurors at the time, they didn't have the slightest idea of what they had all been through. Nigelle had tried her best to look out for Tyne after Nineve had been killed, she couldn't do much because of Actaeon, but she finally saw her moment and went for it.

Now they were all free, Nigelle didn't care where she ended up, the majority of her life wasted inside Circus Arcanus, any place would be better than being under Skender's control.

Tyne wrapped her arms around Nigelle, unable to be hugged back at the moment, but Nigelle did allow her sharp chin to come rest gently on her shoulder.

"I don't know how to thank you, Nigelle," Tyne said, " for everything that you did for me."

"You don't have to thank me for anything," she replied, " you shouldn't have been here, to begin with. You should have never been exposed to any of this. But you were dealt the worst hand outside of your mother, rest her soul. I know what you saw out there isn't easy, but I have faith that you can go out there and live a wonderful life again. He's not looming over you anymore and wherever Skender ran off to lick his wounds, he won't be showing his face to anyone if he knows what's good for him."

Nothing else needed to be said between the two of them except for goodbye, but they promised they would see each other again. And with that, Nigelle was taken away and other Aurors scattered to remove the others from the scene, leaving Tyne in Leta's company once more. Leta was trying to prompt her to leave, especially so that they could relieve Garrick of trying to keep Theseus' suspicions down. However, Tyne seemed to be stuck in a moment where she realised that she was actually free.

Actaeon was dead, which meant that she could speak, she could tell her story and the truth was really what was going to set her free.

"Tyne, are you ready to leave?" Leta asked her. "We have to get back before-"

Turning to Leta with a faint smile, Tyne nodded her head.

"I'm ready."