The large, black mass was crashing through the city, destroying anything in it's way. They had apparated to the top of a building and were staring out over the city. Fear clouded Cora's vision as she rested her head on Queenie's shoulder.

"It's incredibly powerful for an Obscurus," Cora commented softly. "I've never seen one in real life, but I couldn't imagine it would be this..."

"Destructive," Newt finished for her. "I've met two in my life, and they aren't meant to be like this. They only live to ten, you see. It's incredible."

"It's dangerous," Tina corrected. "We need to-"

"We need to save it," Newt cut in again. "Cora," he handed her his case, and dug through his coat to find a leather-bound notebook. "If I don't come back, I trust you'll take care of my creatures. Everything you'll need to know is in that notebook."

"But- but you will come back, right?" She asked in a small voice. "Why do you have to go after it?"

"I won't let them kill it," he restated. "It's a child, nothing more than a child who doesn't know what they're capable of."

They gazed at each other for a moment, each having many things to say to the other, then Newt snapped out of his daze and leapt off of the roof to disapparate away.

"I- I have to do something," Tina gasped, then followed suit and disappeared into thin air. Queenie tried to do as her sister had, but Jacob grabbed her hand.

"I can't take you," Queenie cried, distraught at the situation. "Please let go of me, Jacob."

"Jacob, it's far too dangerous for you," Cora added on.

"But..." he trailed off, then looked to Queenie, "You're the one that said I was one of you guys, right?"

"It's too dangerous," Queenie said again. Her expression changed from fear to emotional, and Cora assumed she was reading his mind. "Alright, come on."

They left the rooftop, climbing down the fire escape as hastily as they could. There were flashes of light from every corner, the sounds of gunshots as muggle police tried to fight the unknown in the only way they knew.

There was a distant scream of "Newt!" and Cora's eyes widened. Queenie took the case from her and nodded.

"Go get 'em, girl," Queenie smiled proudly. Cora nodded and dashed off, her wand gripped tightly in her fist as she rounded the corner into Times Square and saw Tina and Newt crouched behind an overturned car.

"It's Credence, Cora!" Tina shouted when she noticed the woman approaching. "Credence is the Obscurial!"

"How in the name of Merlin- he can't be!" Cora exclaimed, skidding to a halt to crouch beside the pair. "He must be incredibly powerful to have survived this long."

"I'll distract Graves," Tina said suddenly. "You two save Credence- do anything you can to save Credence."

She ran out from their makeshift barricade and fired a curse at him; Graves turned and blocked it just in time. They began to duel. Blasts of light and colour flew between them. Graves blocked every spell Tina threw at him and Tina held her own by firing spells so quickly that her wand was a blur.

Newt offered Cora his hand. "Come on."

She took it and they disappeared, then reappeared on a rooftop overlooking the scene.

"Credence!" Cora called to the dark mass that was circling the square. "Credence, we can help you!"

Aurors were beginning to gather around the area and attacked the Obscurus. Cora gasped and squeezed Newt's hand to comfort herself, before apparating them to a rooftop closer to the mass.

"Credence, it's me!" She called again. "It's Cora, from the funfair!"

The violent swirling of the Obscurus seemed to slow, responding to her words.

"I want to help you Credence, I want to keep you safe from the people who would hurt you. Please, Credence, just-"

But the intensity of the spells sent from the aurors only riled him up further, and the black mass came crashing down onto the street and ripped up the cobbled road in a long, straight line until it slunk down into a subway entrance.

"Merlin's beard," Cora whispered. As she took a step, the heel on her shoe finally gave in and cleanly snapped off. She groaned in annoyance and shed her shoes, leaving them as the only reminder of their presence on the rooftop as they apparated away.

The subway station was deserted due to the late hour and the nature of their situation. A small wisp of black curled around the corner, and Cora's sharp eyes were the one to notice it.

"Look, Newt," she whispered, pointing at the dark tunnel. "I think he's down there."

He leapt off of the platform and onto the tracks. She looked timidly at the height of the jump and he sighed and offered her his hands. He gripped her waist and lifted her down, and she smiled at him as she stood very close, his hands still resting on her.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. He became flustered, removed his hands from her body and took a large step away from her. "Let's go."

Her bare feet became somewhat of a problem, as her teacup-inflicted wounds still hadn't healed completely and she was walking on sharp gravel with nothing more than her thin stockings as a barrier between her feet and the ground.

"Credence?" She called, squinting her eyes to search in the dark. "Credence, are you here?"

His shadowed figure was curled up, knees drawn into his chest, and she could hear his soft whines.

"Credence, we're here to help you," Newt said. "We would never hurt you, we want to help you."

Cora walked closer than Newt had, almost reaching the boy's side. He looked up at her with fearful eyes. His hands twitched as if he wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't.

"Do you remember me, Credence? I'm Cora, you protected me from your mother. I'd very much like to protect you in the same way, Credence, from the people who want to hurt you."

She dropped to a crouch and offered him a hand.

"Credence, I met a girl like you- a very young girl fro Sudan- who had been imprisoned," Newt said calmly, though tentative to approach the Obscurial as Cora had. "She'd been locked away and punished for her magic."

"If you come with us, we can help you like Newt helped that girl," Cora promised. Credence shakily raised his hand and placed it on top of Cora's, the same as he had days ago in her sideshow tent. She took his other and and rubbed her thumbs over the backs of his hands in an attempt to calm and soothe him. And, as if the universe just wanted her to fail, a spell hit her from behind. Her back arched from the pain and she fell forwards, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Newt was having spells fired at him by Graves but was blocking them and rolling out of the way. Train lights shone from around the corner of the tunnel, and Cora reached out to touch any part of Credence and apparate them to safety.

"Give up!" Graves yelled as he fired spells at Newt, his movements whip-like. Cora moved herself in front of Credence to protect him from any misdirected or deflected spells while Newt and Graves duelled. She heard the boy's sobbing and turned to pull him into a hug. He was convulsing, the whites of his eyes turning black. She did the only thing she could and grabbed him tightly, wrapping him tightly in her arms.

"It's okay, Credence," she whispered. She could feel his jaw chattering on her shoulder. "You're okay, you're safe. Nobody is going to hurt you while I'm here, Credence, I promise-"

The Obscurus burst free from Credence's form, throwing Cora backward with such a force that her head hit the concrete, and she fell unconscious.

"Cora!" Newt screamed. Graves had stopped throwing spells, mesmerised by the black mass of Credence's magic.

"Credence." His tone was the opposite of Newt's distraught, fearful yell. The man spoke calmly, full of wonder and awe at the creature before him. The dark mass dived towards Graves, who disapparated away just in time. Newt hurried to Cora's side. She was breathing, but barely, and blood was creating a small puddle below her head.

"No... No..." he muttered under his breath, casting every healing spell he knew with his wand, his other hand gripping her lifeless one tightly. Her breathing finally became regular and her eyes moved behind her lids.

"Newt," she breathed as her eyes opened and her fingers gripped his hand. "Is Credence alright?"

"He-" Her question was answered as the Obscurus, emitting a deafening screech, crashed back into the subway tunnel. It ignored the pair, diving for Graves' figure instead. He cowered between the tracks, holding his arms out for what little protection he could provide himself without a wand.

"Credence!" Both Cora and another voice, Tina's voice, shouted at the same time. Newt helped her down onto the tracks once more, opposite Tina with Credence between them. The swirling mass of darkness stopped swirling, simply floating hauntingly in the air.

"I know what that woman did to you," Tina said softly. "I know that you've suffered. You need to stop this now, Cora and Newt and I will protect you..."

Graves was clambering to his feet and Cora felt around for her wand to push him back to the ground. Her wand was lying on the platform, having fallen from her grip when she was knocked backward.

"Credence, this man is using you," Cora called, pointing at Graves. "He wants to hurt you, and cage you up-"

"Don't listen to her, Credence," Graves hissed. "I want you to be free. It's alright."

"Just calm down, Credence," Tina said. "That's it... There you go..."

The mass was beginning to shrink down, becoming more and more humanoid as the form collapsed on itself. Shouts from behind her alerted Cora, who turned to see aurors approaching them.

"Stay there," Cora called to the aurors, her hands raised up to show she wasn't armed. "You'll frighten him with all that racket, just wait a moment-"

Credence was growing agitated again. Cora hushed him as she would hush a frightened child, arms raised towards him.

"Credence, you can do this-"

"Anybody who harms him will answer to me," Graves was at her side, making the same potions she was. There was a vow between the four to protect Credence, no matter what their motives were.

As if in slow motion, the combined efforts of the aurors finally broke through to Credence. The black, smoky mass imploded in a white flash. The force sent those closest to him stumbling backwards, and Cora fell to her knees in grief.

"He was a boy," she whispered angrily. "He was a child, he never meant for any of this to happen. He didn't deserve this."

Tina knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug. A mutual feeling was between the women, both feeling they'd let themselves and each other down by letting Credence be destroyed.

"You fools," Graves said, quiet but menacing. He approached the MACUSA aurors with his wand gripped tightly. "Do you realise what you've done?"

Madam Picquery walked past the aurors to face Graves. "The Obscurial was killed on my orders, Mr Graves."

"History will remember that, Madam President." He began to send curses at Madam Picquery. Several aurors tried to defend her, but were knocked away by Graves like rag dolls.

Cora was far too distraught to watch the fighting, trying to look at anything other than the violence before her. Tina had pulled away from her to follow Newt towards the fighting. Something small brushed Cora's hand, weaving between her fingers.

"Merlin's beard," she murmured. A small, black wisp had curled around her wrist, then trailed off in the breeze to the open ceiling of the subway station. She smiled sadly. "Goodbye, Credence."

The same bird that had saved Cora from execution was swirling around her, as if directing her to join Newt and Tina. She did, and the bird flew in front of the trio to protect them from rogue spells.

Newt flicked his wand and luminescent ropes wrapped around Graves' figure, pulling him to his knees on the platform.

"Revelio," Cora said, a new strength to her voice nobody had heard before. His black hair became blonde, his skin paled and his dark eyes shone blue. "Son of a banshee."

Only complain when nothing could be worse, she reminded herself. Her subconscious answered, what could possibly be worse than this?

"Hello, Miss Ketterstone."