Phantom woke up. It was fairly early in the morning in Minar, so he was a little thrown off. His usual sleep schedule had him waking up at night…

But staying with Freud was… an occasion. A chance to be kind of normal. Not a thief, but a person. He rolled out of bed and slipped some average clothes on. Nothing too fancy, which he wasn't formally used to, but he felt it was easier to move around.

"Good morning Freud." Phantom said as he walked out into the kitchen.

"Ah, Phantom…. Did you sleep well?" Freud turned around. He was currently grilling some pancakes over the stove for breakfast in a small white apron. " Breakfast will be ready soon. Take a seat at the table…"

Phantom smiled and walked over to the table and leaned back easily, "What is cooking like anyway?"

Freud turned around then laughed, "Well… It can be a hassle sometimes, but you can make food a bit more personalized… It's good for picky eaters."

"Well, I'm a bit picky, but I suppose I've always been that way." Phantom yawned.

"Is that so?" Freud smiled, "Well I hope my cooking is alright."

Phantom blinked for a bit, "Well it smells fine."

Sometime would pass while the two idly chatted about random things, such as the weather, daily plans, food preferences… Small little talk. Phantom wasn't really used to chatting for long periods of time, and found his throat going slightly sore after talking so much quickly.

Freud set the food down, "Eat up while it's hot!" He laughed and set his own plate down. He began to eat quickly and watch Phantom chew slightly, "I happen to like sweet things like syrup, so I think I may have put on a bit much." Freud said through his bites of food.

Phantom looked up at Freud and busted out laughing. He looked like such a small child eating sweets, and it was possibly the funniest thing he had ever seen. Freud's eyes just really came to life. "You're serious about your sweets, aren't you?"

Freud nodded with his mouthful.

Phantom took a bite and noticed how sweet the syrup was. "Wow… Is this pure sugar or something? It's tounge bendingly sweet…"

Freud set his fork down, "Do you not like it?"

Phantom shook his head, "Oh no, it's great, I'm just… not used to things this sweet."

"Uh… You would think classes that could afford sugar would have it often…" Freud spoke to himself.

"You mean this isn't sugar?" Phantom gasped.

"Oh no, this is maple!" Freud laughed, "it's all natural!"

Phantom sighed in relief. At least it was natural and not some strange chemical thing… Raven gave him food like that often and he always broke out into a rash.

Phantom and Freud finished their breakfast and stayed to chat. Phantom mainly listened for the most part at Freud's talk about random little things. He was really interested at everything Freud said. He put such energy into everything he spoke about.

Phantom couldn't help but be envious. Freud was practically everything he had wanted to be. He was kind hearted, smart, good looking, skilled, and he could actually help people. Sometimes Phantom just felt like a nobody next to him.

But he stuck around. He had hoped that by getting to know Freud, he could act a bit more like him… Maybe learn his mannerisms and speech? He didn't know… he just felt comfortable here, and he wanted others to feel comfortable around him in the same way.

After breakfast, Freud began cleaning instantly, talking about everything he had to do today. Phantom easily took towards helping with the dishes, listening to Freud talk on and on…

Then that feeling sunk in again. Phantom was fully happy right now. There wasn't any pain or sadness. No need to run or hide. No need for any hidden secrets.

Every time he realized this, Phantom would almost feel like crying. Did he really deserve this kind of peace? He had never had anything like it before, so to suddenly have someone this kind and accepting… It was… nice for him.

Freud turned around and saw the tears forming in Phantom's eyes. "Eh? Phantom are you alright?"

Phantom blinked strongly and felt small tears run down his face… Had he really been crying over this? "Ahh.. Yeah.." Phantom took a hand rag and rubbed his eyes, "I'm fine."

"Do you need to sit down? Are you sick?" Freud asked.

Phantom took an even deeper breath. "I don't get it…" He started, "How… How can you be this nice?"

"Eh?" Freud blinked, "I don't think I understand what you mean by that… You're a friend, right? Is that not what they d—?"

"But I'm a thief!" Phantom started, "Who would trust someone like me in their house? Who would trust me at all? Thieves are simply tools. A means to an end. We're not meant to make friends." Phantom spoke strongly.

Freud blinked for a bit and smiled before sitting Phantom down, "You're right… I am a mad man for that. I've heard all about it." He started, "And to be honest, I was nervous when you first approached me. I had no idea what to expect…" he began to pace the floor, " I figured I had something you may have wanted to steal… Something of value… I even thought Afrien would be a target…"

Freud then leaned on the table next to Freud, "But nothing good comes out of judging others, right?"

Phantom blinked, "Eh?"

Freud looked at Phantom, "You can't judge a book by its cover. I decided to see you as a person before a thief. A thief is your title, but not exactly who you are."

Looking at the wall ahead, Phantom began to think of what Freud was saying. Phantom had always figured that the cover was a good show of the book. If it looked nice, it probably had nice things inside, but was trashy and forgettable. Older books with a fewer knicks and knacks could survive the trials of time better, right?

He took a breath and leaned back in the chair, "I guess I just don't get it…"

Freud patted him on the back, "Don't worry. you'll understand one day… I know you will. You're a smart fellow."

Phantom couldn't help but get slightly embarrassed towards Freud's praise.

Years would pass by, and Phantom was left alone. No longer was Freud around to give him the praise he used to give. No longer could Phantom watch Freud's face while he ate sweet things. None of it was possible any more.

But… Phantom did not go fully without. Maybe it was Freud's kindness? His words? Actions? Something he did ended up leaving his mark on Phantom. He could easily look at others and see the "good" inside of their book. Even with his newly found crew, Phantom was still a bit on the reluctant side with them, but he still managed to find ways to make them a happy, loyal, crew…

His job was far from over though. He never forgot why he gave up stealing. He tried his best to remain on good behaviour, knowing that Aria could be watching his actions at any given moment.

Which is what lead him on the trail of a very dark matter. There was some suspicious activity found around a small cave in Minar. Phantom would have usually ignored such a thing, but this one… felt different. Like it was calling him forth.

Phantom walked into the cave and began to look around. He felt something… like his gut was screaming at him that he was going to find something big… and his intuition was always very sharp.

The cave was deep, but torches were currently on fire to light the way. Phantom slipped around carefully, reaching the end, only to see a large black marble at the end. "What is that?" Phantom thought. He would have liked to have investigated, but he heard footsteps and jumped back. Now was not the time to be seen here.

"Now… how do I turn this thing on again?" A voice run through the cave, "Ehh.. This is what happens when you don't check in as often as you should. Nothing but a hassle."

Phantom's eyes blinked. He… knew that voice?

"Okay, let's see what we have here…" They began to work on the marble.

Phantom peaked his head up and gasped at what he saw… Right in front of him… Before his very eyes… It was Freud?

But… How? Why? He… He didn't understand? Phantom stood up and looked at Freud, "Fr-Freud?" He asked quietly in shock.

Freud flinched a bit and turned behind him quickly, "Eh?"

Phantom walked around the rock he hid behind, "Freud… it really is… you?"

Freud blinked for a bit and looked around. No one else was present. It was just Phantom, "Ye-yes it is… but what are you doing here?"

"I received word of suspicious activity…" Phantom started, "Freud… have you… been here this whole time?"

Freud scratched his head, "Well… kind of."

"Why didn't you call us? Why haven't you said anything to everyone? Why? Why haven't you said hello or anything to anyone?" Phantom's voice began to raise. He had never been more confused. Why was Freud here? Why didn't he bother to say anything? Phantom was sure to make his return a big shot, so he must have known he was back… So why?

Freud took a deep sigh, "Look… there's some good explanations behind this, I assure you. However, this is hardly the time for them. I have to repair this marble."

Phantom looked at it and scoured a bit, "It doesn't look like a very good thing to make work…"

Freud tapped it, "What do you mean? It's been working around here for a while now. It might even be strong enough to work with Horntail when I get it done."

Phantom stepped back, "Horntail? What do you want with him?"

Freud sighed again, "Always so many questions… Alright. I suppose I like you enough where I can do some explaining."

"You should have done that from the start!" Phantom spoke. "What are you hiding?"

"Well to start…" Freud whipped his hand across his body and revealed a black robe, much different from his red ones. "I suppose you could see this as a bit of a change?"

Phantom tensed up a bit, "I… Don't understand…"

"You wouldn't understand, would you?" Freud sighed, "Your trust is not something easily placed, so when you put it to someone, it's because you think completely good of them."

Phantom blinked… and then it dawned on to him what the black robes symbolized. "Freud… What happened?" Phantom's voice had become almost completely monotone.

"Nothing much, really…" Freud shrugged, "I mean, I've just kind of been keeping everything working around as much as I could, but beyond that…"

"That's not what I mean… " Phantom's voice shook, "Freud… tell me this is a horrible joke."

"It's not a joke. It's never been a joke." Freud spoke calmly.

"Never been a … joke?"

Freud waved his hand, "I suppose being in shock prevents the brain from absorbing information properly, so I will explain this fully once. I am one of the Black Mage's generals. I have ALWAYS been one of his generals. That has never changed."

Phantom felt his heart skip a beat. He felt time stop. He felt frozen. He… he suddenly couldn't feel at all and fell back on the ground. "You… You're lying… You're lying…" Phantom told himself over and over, "We fought against him together! There's no way—-"

"No way for what? It's not like we 'killed' him." Freud walked up to Phantom and rested his arm on his shoulders. "And it's not like he's really that mad at us. We did him a big favour years ago…"

"A… favour?" Phantom whispered out quietly.

"Of course. Thanks to us, all of Mapleworld knows how strong he is. Thanks to that, he was able to find some others desiring power to approach him. The numbers grow by the day."

Phantom slowly turned and looked at Freud. there was not humor or joking in his eyes. He was completely serious. He realized Freud's hands on his back and moved back quickly, keeping eye contact the whole time. "Don't touch me." He hissed lightly.

"You're not… too mad are you?" Freud asked gently. "You see, I was hoping to buy a bit more time before bringing myself up to you. I was hoping maybe we could all fight together again and…"

"Why would I fight for the Black Mage?!" Phantom asked, "You know how I feel about him!"

Freud looked confused, "Eh? But think about it Phantom! He can do anything! He can even bring Aria back for you. He can give you the life you've always wanted. You wanted a happy life, right? He can do these things."

Phantom felt sick. He was going to be fully sick. "You…" he huffed out, "You're not Freud at all."

Freud look at Phantom slightly hurt, "Hey… Look, I am Freud. I can even prove it if you want…"

Phantom yelled back, "I don't need proof!"

Freud stepped back. Phantom was beyond upset. He was ultimately crushed. The look n his face was akin to seeing death right in front of him. He turned around and began to work on the marble, trying to talk at the same time. "It was planned… for years. I was to go off on my own, become some great heroic figure, then have Rhinne lower her guard and the Black mage would capture her."

Phantom perked up, trying to catch as much as he could of this story.

"So the first step I had in mind was to 'unify' mapleworld against the threat known as the Black Mage… Sadly, I had nothing to work with, but I found a very popular warrior in Minar that helped me get around a bit."

"Aran…" Phantom spoke quietly.

"Exactly." Freud said as he started the charge the marble, "Thanks to them, I managed to get to the Onyx Dragons, befriend them, and I even got to befriend a fairy."

Phantom was all ears at this point, being able to point everyone being spoken about.

"Sadly, 'unifying' didn't work as much as I planned… well… not at first. Rhinne liked that I could do it, however, she felt like there was something missing. I could unify those who wanted to fight and had people to protect, but I lacked someone that simply just wanted to protect." Freud turned around, "that's when we planned somethings out."

"Planned out?"

"Yeah." Freud patted his hands, "The Black mage and I spoke about finding someone that no one would ever want on a "heroic" term. The world was pretty bad, so the list was long. We needed to find someone and have it look like they wanted to be a hero, not like we had set it up."

Phantom felt his heart fall to the floor. This… this was not happening. He wasn't hearing this at all, right?

"We heard rumors of a great thief that was getting romantically involved with the empress at the time. An empress that was popular with the people, and detested the rumor itself." Freud walked to the other side of the marble and began to charge it up as well, "So the Black mage staged an attack, where as I was told to wait. We figured you would show up, which you did. It became a big part of Rhinne finally trusting me for a bit and letting me use her power. After all, what's better than a kind heart man with good standing giving a man with bad standing a second chance to do good?"

"You… You… " Phantom couldn't even speak straight right now. Was this really all true? "How could you…?"

"It was just my job. I got Rhinne's power after you showed up, the Black Mage caught her, and then I used the power that I got from her to seal him up. Now we've got another world on the way, so he'll be in charge of that one too."

Phantom was thinking… he had to think quickly of what to do. What to say. But… "If you got Rhinne's powers from me… Why? Why did you take Luminous in?" Phantom realized Luminous was the only one he didn't hear about from Freud.

"Hmm?" Freud looked up, "Ooohh…" he spoke in a sort of odd manner. "That… That is a bit harder to explain."

"So you had a reason for that too?"

"Of course I did. The Black Mage needed someone to keep an eye out for him. After all, he tried to dispose of him not once, but twice."

"Twice?" Phantom asked. He didn't like where this was going… Why did the Black Mage pursue Luminous?

"How do I start this…?" Freud thought out loud, "Oh I know…Considering Luminous is supposed to be "the back-up transcendence", he was made to be stronger than the Black Mage when he's awakened and receives his powers."

"Back-Up what?" Now Phantom was even more confused.

"Eh? You mean he hasn't figured it out yet?" Freud asked, "Yeah, Luminous is kind of equivalent to the Black Mage's child… Kind of like how those two twins are Rhinne's kids. I could have sworn he would have figured this out by now." Freud muttered to himself.

Now Phantom really felt scared. He felt like he had just heard something he wasn't supposed to hear. He felt betrayed, scared, sick, painful… Honestly, it was everything he tried to run from before, coming back to hit him ten times harder than before.

"Basically, the Black Mage can't kill him. it has to be another transcendence that does that, sadly, we don't have one at the moment. Some weird Maple World magic thing is protecting Luminous from the Black Mage and he's going to fail every time…" Freud explained, "So it's become a race of seeing if Luminous will join us, or if we get another to join us and kill him for us." Freud stooped charging and began rubbing his chin, "I would prefer the former, because it would probably be for the best. He'd be a great addition to the team. The Black Mage could give him just enough power to make him an ideal fighter."

"He wouldn't do that! He hates the Black Mage!" Phantom yelled.

"True. But why do you think I had him seal the Black Mage?" Freud sighed and went back to fixing the marble. "He needs that little bit of a push, which was given to him. The Black Mage was strong enough to break a hole in the seal, knowing Luminous would push him back, and took the chance to infect him. Now it's just a matter of waiting, which the Black Mage seems to like doing."

The marble began to glow, "Ah, there we go…"

Phantom stood up, "What… what does that marble do anyway?"

"Oh this?" Freud tapped it, "it sends out some energy waves and puts the dragons here under the Black Mage's control. I helped out a bit with it myself."

"Why would you?!" Phantom jumped back, "I thought they were your companions!"

"Oh they still are…" Freud smiled sleekly, "Onyx Dragons are just a bit more of a pain, so we had to get rid of them."

"All of those dragons… they trusted you… I trusted you. Everyone trusted you, Freud!" Phantom began to yell loudly.

"Then I did my job well." Freud sighed, "I suppose this is the part where I leave, but…" Freud walked up to Phantom, "I want to make one thing clear to you Phantom… It's not too late to join us if you want."

Phantom gave Freud the most hostile glare he could muster, "I. Would. Never."

Freud sighed a bit and turned around, "Well, I'm leaving the door open for now. If you change your mind, let me know. The Black Mage and I are on some close terms so I could easily talk you in."

"Oh, and don't think about messing with this marble. If it's ruined, the dragons go berserk and will kill all the locals. Just a tip." Freud snapped his fingers and vanished in a blaze of dark magic, leaving Phantom alone in the cave with the marble.

Phantom leaned against a wall, trying to relax, but feeling nothing but gut wrenching pain. He fell to the ground again, and felt himself begin crying plenty.

In the end, a thief is nothing more than a tool it seems….