A/N- ... This turned out much longer then I expected. I didn't expect it to go over 5k (my oneshots tend to not go beyond that), and I especially didn't expect it to break the 8k mark. But that's one of the fun things about any kind of art, right? Always something you don't expect.

Romania plays a major role in this, and since this is AU, I named his Sorin (meaning "sun"). There's also Belgium, called Bella, and I mention Netherlands a couple times and he's Lars. Not Lard, like I originally typed all throughout this without even noticing. And if you see that in there it's because I'm... ditzy. Haha.

As for the America/Belgium in this... I don't know, on a whim, like this entire thing? They would be cute together, though, I think.

Anyway, enjoy!

EDIT: So what's going to happen here is that this'll be a set of one-shots all set in the same universe. This is the base story that all the others will build off of, but there'll be prequels, sequels, midquels, all at once, depending on my mood. Technically I think you could read them in any order, so long as you read this one first. Thanks for you time!


"Hey, Arthur." Light from the sunset illuminated the room in reds and golds. It bounced off the extravagant wallpaper and swept tile and ash blonde hair. It filtered through the colored windows of the tower-top room and the movement of clouds around them stirred the iridescent colors into an erratic dance. Even with its measly furnishing, it was easily the most dazzling room this large, lonely place had to offer.

The man addressed, paying no mind to the dancing lights and accustomed to the beauty of the room the point of indifference, sat in his rickety wooden chair, faced towards the sunset but looking down at the muslin he had been working with when he was interrupted.

"What is it, Sorin?" Sparking green eyes met glinting red-brown, a grimace versus a cheerful grin.

Sorin playfully twirled his favorite hat—a tiny bowler hat and the first he had made on his own and had maintained carefully since—on his finger while he talked. "You know how sometimes I get that feeling that there might actually be people here for once?" It wasn't common feeling to get, but every now and then Sorin would burst in talking about some intuitive sense. "I'm getting that feeling now."

Sparking green eyes rolled. "And exactly how often is that feeling right?"

The twirling stopped while the boy took a moment to think. "Around one out of five?" Too bad his intuition was woefully inaccurate. "I've been trying to promote it to two, but we don't get enough people here for me to get that opportunity. Because, y'know, we only get company once every fifty years or so. Except for that one time where it was like a two-hundred-year-gap that was crazy huh—"

"Get back to your chores," Arthur ordered shortly, ready to return to his embroidery and unwilling to listen to the talkative young man.

"I have finished my chores, Master Kirkland." Sorin spoke with a mocking sugary-sweetness, and when Arthur looked at him, his long and razor-sharp canines gleamed in the fading light, a teasing grin and a hope for lightening the atmosphere. If he hadn't looked so much like a ghoul with his dagger-like teeth and dried-blood eyes in the steadily decreasing light, he might have succeeded.

Plus Arthur was not in the mood to deal with his antics. "Then go to your studies."

"Studies are boring." The good-humored cheer gave way to a childish whine. "It's not like I'm not amazing powerful and talented anyway. It's kind of been a while since I started learning."

"Then get. You're dismissed," he finally snapped. While it usually didn't bother him, the familiarity that had settled in between the two could grate his nerves when his student got into one his annoying moods. He still remembered the days where Sorin wouldn't say a word against him, and nowadays the red-eyed boy had the gall to whine when told what to do. How things change.

He reminded himself that it wasn't always a bad thing.

Something along the lines of a pouting "yes sir" sounded in the increasing dark. "Oh," Sorin added, "and what if I'm right? What should I do if there are people here?"

"You will inform me immediately and await further instruction."


Hundreds of miles below and the following noontime, eight were preparing for the launch of their newest and hopefully greatest creation.

"Assemble!" More-or-less-official-Captain Alfred F. Jones (self-proclaimed hero, main mechanic and pilot) ordered his crew. "I need a meeting now!" He stood on a makeshift stage—a picnic table, but between that and his height it almost looked like he was commanding some authority or at least making a good attempt.

"Not done yet, Jones," muttered Wang Yao (MagiTech researcher), who was busily implementing the final designs needed to contain the goal of their mission—the mirror said to hold the source of MagiTech. Kiku Honda (assistant) instead took Yao's place at the table.

"What the hell could we possibly need a meeting for right now?" grumbled Lovino Vargas (pilot and airship builder), but he abandoned his work at the wings upon receiving an annoyed stare from their "captain."

"Wait, can you hand me some bolts before you go?" Bella Verbeke (mechanic and, according to Jones, the official sister of the entire crew "except me since you promised me a date next week so be a good sister to the crew!") stopped him, distractedly holding out her hand in a "gimme" motion while she paid attention to her work. He tossed a couple into her hand and kept moving, still scowling.

Her older brother, Lars Verbeke (financial backer), and Matthew Williams (ship designer) were already at the table, Matthew preparing a lunch of grilled steaks, rolls, and salads for the others. Heracles Karpusi (mythologist) was sleeping a little farther off, but at Alfred's call he stirred and turned his towards them, waiting patiently to hear the announcement.

"Bel, Yao, Hera, you three need to be over here, too!" Alfred called out impatiently.

"I'm listening!" Bella replied cheerfully, but didn't leave her station. If they wanted to be done with this by the time the geyser was ready to go crazy, then she needed to finish and he could shut up while they did their work on the Mini-Ship (S.S. Justice or something cute like that). Yao ignored him altogether, and Heracles said nothing, but finally hoisted himself up and joined them at the table.

Alfred still wasn't happy he couldn't get the final two over to the table so he could make his announcement with all his friends nearby.

"What do you need, Jones?" Yao asked, breaking focus but not moving from his place. Irritation at being interrupted was written clearly across his face.

"Fine, fine, fine," Alfred sucked in a breath, and raised his voice so he could be very sure they heard him. "So, according to reports Yao was kind enough to borrow from the geo center for our project," Yao acknowledged the mention with a nod of his head and a smile, "today in around four hours, the geyser will launch. Yao says the geyser, between tons of steam up and tons of power, which Lovino and Matt utilized when making the ship, should be strong enough to launch us far enough up to get to the holding and break whatever barrier it thought to be surrounding it. According to Heracles, who spends like half his time awake keeping an eye on where this MagiTech holding might be, the so-called 'castle in the clouds' will be around this area today, definitely close enough for us to see it immediately if we get this off the ground and to the right height.

"We all know our mission today to find the castle and the mirror has been tried several times over the course of nobody knows how long, and never did they manage, and right now the only source of magic we got is that little one in the middle of who-knows-where hidden from everyone. But we're going to succeed and bring the source of MagiTech down to the cities for everyone to use, not just the prissy aristocrats who apparently need more luxury than the people. We can revolutionize the use of MagiTech on everything, including airships and trackers, food, industry, whatever else we might need!"

A click at just the right moment sounded and Bella popped out from behind the ship's inner wall. "Landing gear fully installed!" she reported happily.

Alfred nodded. "Today's the day, guys." He grinned his cocky grin and put his hands on his hips, gazing over his crew like the proud captain he was. "Today's the day."


Despite the fact eight made their contributions to building the S. S. Justice, a compact airship using model rarely used by even professionals, designed by Matthew and criticized by Lovino, only five were making the grand trip. Alfred, the captain, immediately got the helm. Lovino was the assistant and navigator. Yao and Matthew kept an eye on the systems. Bella played maintenance.

"Everything's running smoothly," Yao reported.

"Good!" Alfred replied. "All we need now is for the geyser to provide the extra launch power and we're a go!" There was an air of excitement about him, like a child getting ready to go to the candy store. The things they could do and make with the MagiTech, and they even had Yao on their side who knew what to do when it came to working it and—

The launch felt like an explosion. They had anticipated something like this occurring and built the seats accordingly, but that made the impact no less jarring. Lovino was the first to make a sound with a short "Shit." And he was right, it was shit, it was chaotic in their little hub, trying to keep control of themselves while they straightened out. Everything felt like it was spinning and jerking, like arms might be ripped off shoulders and heads of necks at any given moment. Alfred ran through the first steps of the plan in his mind. Wait 'till stability, take controls, locate the mirror. Wait 'till stability, take controls, locate the mirror. Wait 'till stability, take controls, locate the mirror.

Finally the moment came when they could breathe without worrying about swallowing their tongues. Their panting seemed to meld into one human being consuming as much oxygen as possible and soon enough that died down, too.

"So is everyone okay?" Yao called out. Three voices returned that they were fine, Alfred adding that they had prepared for this, nothing to worry about. "Matthew?" he turned to the blonde next to him.

"S-sorry, I think I bit my tongue…" he smiled and gave a small, sheepish laugh. "I don't think it's bleeding though, just hurts. Sorry for worrying you."

"So long as you're not inj—"

The sound of Alfred whooping in celebration cut through the air. "We did it, crew! We got up in the air!" Bella was already up and out of her seat, giving Alfred a quick peck on the lips before moving on to try and get Lovino to cheer with them. Between her and Alfred they got a grudging smile out of him.

"I'm gonna go check on the engines and make sure nothing got hurt," she said. "Don't break open the drinks without me!" She scampered out of the room with her toolbox in hand.

"All right, Vino, you're next!" Next step was to find the holding. According to Heracles, it should be readily visible.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." Lovino quickly climbed up the ladder that would lead to the observation area, a small dome made of reinforced glass meant to be used so they could track the location of the mirror's holding. They all waited quietly for him to say something, holding their breaths. If Lovino saw nothing through the clouds, no stone, no magic barrier, nothing, then the months of work and their chaotic launch weren't worth anything. "Holy shit," he finally exclaimed. The other three jumped in surprise.

"Wait, wait, Lovino, what do you see?" Alfred asked, trying to climb up himself even though there was no room for in their little observation area.

"We need to turn around sixty-five degrees, and we need a go a little father up if we want to land properly. Not a lot, maybe fifty or sixty meters. Then we only need to go an hour or so." He paused for a second. "Also, question about this holding."

"What?"

"Who the hell made 'the castle in the clouds' actually a giant castle?"


"It seems everything's gone successfully," Kiku commented, watching as the airship went through the clouds and beyond their sight. Next to him, Lars grunted in agreement. Then, between neither of them talking and Heracles sleeping under the hot sun, there was just silence. Not quite total—the geyser and everything—but there was a sort of silence Kiku didn't like. That people-silence that made everything feel just a little more awkward.

"You know, Lars, I was surprised you agreed to this," he said, feeling the need to break it, even though he wasn't quite sure how.

"Were you?" Lars asked, lighting a cigar and taking a drag.

"I know Mr. Matthew was unsure you would ever try something like this—building a small airship costs money, however much, and it's not always worth the investment."

He released a steady stream of smoke. "Bella said the mission would be a success." The words were matter-of-fact.

Kiku blinked. Bella had never given the details of how she convinced him to agree, but it just seemed too simple. "And you believed her? N-not that I think she would be lying, but—"

Lars only stared at the geyser. "Bella and her little boyfriend know the strengths and limits of anyone they involve in their projects. If they didn't think they could pull this off, I wouldn't be here and neither would you."

"Very true."

And so the waiting began.


Landing went without a hitch. Well, it went with both Alfred and Lovino taking a tumble due to carelessness and thus getting a couple scratches and bruises, but the ship was just fine.

They landed in what looked to be the gardens. Rows of well-maintained hedges bordered the pathway to one of the doors of the palace. Statues of nobles and fey and characters of legend had certain grotesque characteristics, as if the person who brought them here wanted to suggest decay and horror, given how everything seemed so recently cleaned. Whoever lived here wasn't exactly well-versed in feng shui, that was immediately evident.

On the stone path just before that, Alfred and Lovino were being treated for their "wounds" while Yao began figuring out their surroundings. "The fuck were you doing?" Lovino snapped at the captain as he applied a bandage to his arm. "Goddamn, I know we should preserve the ship so we can get back to the ground but I think my safety should kind of be a fucking factor in your plan of fucking action, Captain!" He spat the title derisively.

"Language, Lovino…" Matthew muttered as dabbed disinfectant into Alfred's head. "It could be worse," he added, louder. "You could have hit your head on the controls like Alfred did."

"Don't rub it in." Alfred pouted. Matthew stepped away, finished with his work, and Bella helped him stand up. "So everything went all right!" He said with soaring confidence, offering a shining grin to his team. "If Kiku, Hera, and Lars were here they'd be proud!" Bella and Matthew nodded in agreement, Yao only looked on in exasperation, and Lovino was ready to go off on another rant. "So where are our supplies?"

"We're only taking what we need to get the mirror," Matthew replied. "Food and tools are staying here." He held five lanterns and had three small satchels slung over his shoulders. Bella relieved him of one satchel, Lovino another, Alfred the third. Yao refused anything offered but a lantern, saying he had everything he needed.

Alfred slipped his pistol in a holster. "All right, team, let's move out!" he ordered cheerfully.

Once they were inside, they had no way of noticing a young man walk casually by the hunk of flying metal, stare, blink, and investigate with an excited smile.


It was just before sunset in the most dazzling room in the castle. Arthur was once again doing embroidery in his worn out chair. "Quirkland, hey, I've got news." Sorin leaned on the doorway, his expression nothing short of victorious and elated.

"What did you just call me? And do you have any idea what time it is?" It was right before sunset. Arthur hated being disturbed right before sunset, known as the time to himself in this empty but beautiful tower-top space. His student knew this quite well—it had been iterated very clearly several times.

Sorin shrugged, unbothered. "Not really; we have no working clocks, remember?"

"Just what do you want?"

"I was right! Someone or multiple someones have arrived. And here, catch." Arthur caught a shiny red apple, clearly fresh and most definitely not from anywhere inside the castle. Sorin took a bite of his own. "Not every day we get something to eat." They didn't need to—not like any food lasted anyway.

Arthur examined the apple with some suspicion as he activated his magic. He felt his senses spread out from just Sorin and the room to rest of the tower, searching for the unknown intruders among the familiar cold stone and bright, ostentatious décor. He'd start by scanning this wing then move on. While that was working, his attention moved back to the apple. "Where did you get this?"

Sorin chuckled, clearly quite proud of himself, likely for both finding the food and guessing correctly people were arriving. "Found 'em on the vessel they brought with them. I also took a couple huge books filled with schematics—apparently they got here on a giant metal carriage called an airship. I might have seen them once or twice in the clouds. Do you think we'll get more visitors now that anyone can use these things?"

"The barrier opens only once a year with no way to predict it and you know that," Arthur replied. "Whenever one of those geysers go off." They weren't in the east wing. He began checking through the north.

"Yeah, but that's still once a year," Sorin pointed out.

"Moving on."

He found them. Their image, their sound, their location ran through his head. A pathetic excuse for a map, appeared to be wandering aimlessly and arguing about their aimless wandering at that. The fight was between a small Asian and an olive-skinned pottymouth, while two blondes tried to get them quiet and a third kept away from the fighting and was waiting patiently, apparently ignored.

"So what are my next orders, milord?" his companion prompted.

"They're in the northern wing, ground floor. Five of them, likely armed. Your orders are to get them back to their airship and chase them off the castle grounds. How you do that is up to you, but I want little bloodshed on both sides and for you to be as quick as possible. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" Sorin made a mock-salute, turned on his heel, and left to go follow instructions.


"Stop it! Stay quiet!" Alfred commanded again. Yao was smart, they all knew that, but Lovino was sure the center of the castle (their destination) was most certainly not to the left.

"Any map we have right now is useless!" he argued, bordering on shouting. "We weren't even aware this was a legitimate fucking castle, we thought it was just a nickname. We go this way because we just came from the left! We need to keep as straight as possible."

"These records didn't just come from nowhere," Yao refused to back down. "Besides, little boy, just alternating left and right paths will not automatically take us to the center."

"It'll get us there faster than your outdated bullshit!" Lovino had much more to say on the subject, but a hand was clamped over his mouth before he could say anything else. Alfred dragged him away from Yao and sat him down by the wall of the corrider, and stepped back to examine his handiwork with a bright smile.

Lovino was less than impressed. "What, are you putting me in time out?" he asked with a mocking hint.

"We'll cool off here. Matt, Bella, and I will decide where to go and then we'll keep on. Yao, fork over the map for a second."

Just as he opened it, a bat flew by and snatched it out of his hands. With a startled yelp, Alfred tried to reach for it and get it back, but the overgrown flying rat disappeared into the dark like it didn't even notice what it had done. "What just—wh—what?" Bats tended not to take maps. It wasn't really a thing they did. A piece of paper did not matter to a bat. So why did it take Alfred's? "What do we—"

Five lanterns went out.

"This map is weird."

That voice didn't belong to the little band of airship flyers.

"The north wing alone is full of errors," the new voice continued lightly from the opposite direction. "I mean, only a couple of the main corridors are written down—not entirely correctly at that—some secret passages are meant to look like actual hallways—they're not, which is why you haven't found them—they put the staircase on the wrong side… Do you have a map of the second floor, too? This thing is hilarious!" Laughter rang out.

Alfred pointed his pistol in the direction of the voice.

"Wrong way." The voice came from approximately thirty-two degrees north. "Be careful. You hurt me and…"

A squeak from Bella and her crashing into him shifted his attention to where the tiling on the floor fell away into the clouds. Wind whistled furiously below them, ready to take their human victims at the voice's word. She looked around for any sign of the voice's source, gaze as fierce as a lion's. Bella hated being toyed with like that.

"Whoops." The voice hardly sounded apologetic. "Anyway, what are you here for? Some golden goose? Dark, ancient tome?" It chuckled. "A magic mirror mirror on the wall?"

"Do you know where it is?" Alfred demanded, whipping his gun around yet again. He was sure that time he saw the shadows move and still.

"Hey, um, Al, here's a thought," Matthew said quietly. He stayed pushed into the corner with Lovino. "Maybe we shouldn't point weapons at the thing keeping the castle together…" He jumped as more of the floor crumbled, the hole widening and widening as they spoke and soon to isolate Lovino and Matthew from the rest of the crew. When black sludge began bubbling up, the two jumped to the other side and began looking for a path to get to Alfred, Bella, and Yao.

"H-hey, stupid bastard making this happen, stop it!" Lovino shouted. They spotted an easy-to-access pathway and skirted around and over the sludge to join their crew, squeaking like panicked mice the entire time. "Can we get out of here?" he whispered harshly to Alfred. "I don't think MagiTech is worth our death."

The black sludge continued to bubble and spread, and from that rose dark plants and horrifying wolf-like creatures with glowing eyes and sharp spikes jutting all over. They growled and snapped with purple-tipped teeth that more resembled claws. Growls rumbled all around. Bella growled back.

Alfred shot at one, and it disappeared without a trace. On instinct, he ran through the new opening and, on the same instinct, the others followed suit and dashed down hall.


From his tower-top room, Arthur commented scornfully, "He's far too fond of illusions."

He set his muslin, needle, and apple core on his ugly wooden chair before going out the door.


Alfred opened the door with a slam. With the lanterns out and no lights, he could only guess as to where he was. It looked like a spacious stairwell, based on what his darkness-adjusted eyes could tell. Like everything else they had seen so far, there didn't seem to be much dust—like people had cleaned this recently. Snapping jaws from the spiked wolves as they followed in sounded like gunshots. Yao kicked at one, and although it didn't feel like he had made contact, the monster reeled back and growled

That stupid, teasing, haunting voice rang out from above.

"So, in this group I see one handsome guy," Alfred looked more freaked than anything, "one pretty miss," Bella glared into the dark, "a tiny girl-man," Yao did not appreciate the comment, given the curses he muttered under his breath, "a more remarkably temperamental but also handsome guy," Lovino swallowed but remained silent and scowled, "and… where is he… ah! There you are!" Matthew looked unsure as to what their next course of action should have been. "When you stand next to Handsome Guy Number One you look kinda like a lively shadow!" Matthew's expression switched from fear to annoyance. He doesn't appear to put much thought into what he says, Bella mentally noted.

"Speaking of which," Alfred said with as much confidence as he could muster, "since our cover's blown, why not just turn on a few lights for us, let us have the mirror, and we'll head out?"

"Lights?" The voice repeated, surprised, like it hadn't considered it. "You're right, lights are a great idea!"

Fire flicked all around them. The light fixture above them, something that might have once been beautiful and intricately designed but was in shambles, lit up bright and cast a circle of life around them. Matching this was torches along the wall, a number of which lit and cast more light on the five but little on the voice, who was finally dimly visible. Sitting crosslegged atop a ledge was a pale boy who couldn't have been past teenage years, head resting in his hand, with dark red eyes that gleamed with a cruel mischief and a bright smile accompanied by dual fangs that looked all too capable of drawing blood.

He heavily resembled the ghouls of legend said to haunt the castle in the clouds.

"So, what, are you the bloodthirsty dragon protecting your hoard?" Lovino snorted, staring up at him with as little fear as he could manage. His voice was an octave higher than he would have liked, but no comments were made.

The ghoul's playful laughter echoed. Only a little firelight illuminated his features—most was concentrated on the five, and the pronounced shadows made even his innocent-sounding laughter more horrifying. "Nah, you haven't met the dragon. I'm more like the princess who in the end picked a different side." He paused for a second. "I'm also like the maid."

"You've clearly done your job," remarked sarcastic Lovino, who gave a pointed upward glance at the ruined fixture.

The ghoul followed his gaze, but he didn't seem to mind that his cleaning skills were insulted. "The thing's a pain to keep in order, so I usually put it off. When I'm bored I get to the lights but usually I stick to things on the ground. Anyway…" He leaned far to the left and just… fell off. Disappeared into shadows that seemed to follow him.

"Nice toy you have here, huh?" He appeared right in front of them. He stole the gun from the stunned Alfred and disappeared before anyone else could make a move. "We don't have pretty toys like this here in the castle." He was somewhere on the stairs. A click from the gun broke through, and then a surprised "hm?" like the ghoul had no idea what he was doing.

"Give that back!" Alfred snapped.

"But it's so pretty!" The ghoul laughed. Alfred stepped forward to retrieve what was his, only to be cut off by the spiked wolves. "Careful," the stupid voice warned again. "Also, feel free to leave anytime," he added, his tone tinged with indifference at the statement.

The wolves, one of the few things visible in this annoying dark, stopped growling for a second, the spikes on their backs melting away. In its place, little wolf-like heads, identical to their hideous hosts', formed, and it was those things that began the furious rumbling and glaring and looking ready to attack. The thing was spawning.

Dual shrieks from Matthew and Lovino pierced the air, meshing with confused and terrified blubbering from Alfred. He wanted his goddamn pistol back—why was that stupid freak on the ledge when he could be down here being punched in the fucking face? He was fully ready to shout out the challenge, too, even with one of those unholy abominations and its attached children preparing to hunt him.

Lights flared on and the room fully lit up, momentarily blinding the airship crew, the wolves disappeared, and it was just a normal stairwell. On top of the ledge, the ghoul blinked blank eyes a few times, obviously confused, before a dreading sort of realization spread over his face. His grip on his seat tightened so obviously even Alfred and his crew could notice it from afar.

"Why is it when I specifically order you to get rid of them, I find you not only playing around but pushing them father away from their bloody airship?"

"Looks like the dragon has arrived." Although his tone was a murmured sing-song, the ghoul's red eyes were widened and his fearful frown suggested he knew he was in trouble. He sucked in a silent breath before leaping down from his ledge and turning to the "dragon," really just a man with ash-blonde hair and an irate disposition. "Hey, Kirkland," his tone was shockingly informal and suspiciously innocent, "I am following my orders, I promise."

Green eyes narrowed disbelievingly. "Really, because all I've seen of you is doing anything but."

"Oh… you were watching that?" A tense silence gave the dragon's answer. The fidgeting ghoul put his hands up in an "I-meant-no-harm" gesture. "Really, teacher, I was going to get the job done, it's just—"

"Enough, Sorin." The ghoul straightened at the sound of what must have been his name. "I allow you to decorate the gardens as you like, now go maintain them like you're supposed to." The supposed dragon flicked his head towards the exit in a "get on, go" gesture.

Sorin's entire stance shouted dismay. "Can't I just wait until—"

"Are you trying to argue with me right now?" came the indignant question.

"More like asking poli—"

"If you really wish to say, then sit down here and do not say a word unless I allow it." He pointed towards the staircase. Sorin hesitated. "Now."

Like a scolded and sulking puppy, Sorin did as he was told. He sat down on the staircase, pulled a half-eaten apple out of his coat, took a bite, and waited impatiently for Kirkland to begin talking.

"He still has my gun," Alfred protested, tilting his head towards the boy with an apple in one hand and the gun in the other. The gun disappeared and the hand originally holding it moved to his lap.

The teenager wore a slight smirk at Alfred's surprise. "It's called an airship, right? It's on the seat in front of the controls," he said once Arthur signaled it was okay to speak, and took another bite of his apple. Kirkland glanced backwards angrily, like Sorin had done something wrong by returning the gun to the airship, but he didn't comment on it, and once again the ghoul quieted.

Yao, trying to be the diplomat, stepped forward. "Your name is Kirkland?" he asked cautiously.

"Arthur Kirkland," he replied, his tone curt and uninterested. "The brat is Sorin, and you are all leaving immediately. You have no reason to be here and quite frankly I don't want to see any of you. Goodbye, don't plummet to the ground too fast. Let's go, Sorin."

Before Sorin could stand, Alfred burst out, "We're looking for a mirror said to be in this castle." Arthur froze and Sorin stayed where he was. "You know what I'm talking about. There's a mirror here that has all the magic from forever ago."

"No, there isn't," Arthur said firmly and immediately.

"Hey, um, Art—" Sorin began.

Arthur cut him off furiously. "I told you to stay quiet!" Sorin winced, but pressed his lips together in a motion to keep his mouth firmly shut, and Arthur's attention shifted back to the five. "I told you—no mirror. Thing shattered very long time ago. All the magic here is in the castle and it isn't going anywhere. If you're looking to take it home, too bad. Now go."

"Shattered?" Bella echoed.

"Shattered," Arthur confirmed. "It's trash now."

"But the magic—"

"In the castle. It's everywhere here, but it can't leave. That's what the barrier is for." He paused for a moment, thinking. "… Did a geyser go off today?" he questioned. There was no context for it at all, and it seemed like an almost random change in topic. He waited expectantly and impatiently for an answer.

Alfred exchanged a puzzled glance with his crew. "Yeah, we used it to get up here. Why?" He glanced towards Sorin for any context, but he had his long, creepy teeth sunk in his apple and kept his attention on the fruit.

Arthur muttered something under his breath. The only thing Alfred caught was "useless piece of shit," but that ruled out any incantations. "Thank you, all I needed to know. I would allow you to stay for tea, but we don't have tea and I don't like guests. Goodbye," he said again.

"So we can make absolutely no profit here," Lovino concluded dully.

"Exactly, glad you understand," Arthur's tone was still brusque.

Alfred tried a friendly smile—and he had amazing friendly smiles. It couldn't hurt to get on the good side of a dragon and his ghostly friend. "Um, I guess sorry this was a whole misunderstanding?" Neither castle resident looked convinced. "Any advice, now that we're up here?" Sorin opened his mouth—maybe to say something really helpful to make up for freaking them out like that because that would make him actually okay!—but shut it, unwilling to be scolded again. "I mean we spent months working to find this place!" Arthur simply deadpanned. "Least you could do after sending your minion freak to try and get us to piss our pants!"

That seemed to get to him, as he grimaced and gritted his teeth. "You, come with me. Sorin, watch these four and do not let them do anything stupid." On his way out, he leaned in close to his minion. "You will not listen to a single word of our conversation. Am I clear?" Sorin flashed him an innocent smile.

After Alfred and Arthur were gone, Sorin asked casually while toying with the apple core, "So, do you guys have anything to eat?"


"Where did you hear about the mirror?" Arthur asked once the door had shut behind them.

Alfred glanced sideways, puzzled. Arthur refused to look at him. "We found a few books about the castle in the clouds, and then we met a mythologist named Heracles. He told us there was supposed to be a mirror up here that had all the magic that used to be in the earth."

"Where did Heracles find this information?"

Alfred shrugged. "How would I know? He's a mythologist; it's like his job to be able to find this kind of thing."

"Don't get condescending with me, boy," Arthur snapped.

Alfred didn't like being called "boy." He wasn't a kid—he organized an entire endeavor to find a mythological flying magical castle and magic mirror and succeeded (more or less. He found the castle. Nothing else needs to be mentioned). He was not a fucking "boy." "You can't be that much older than me. Like, what, five, six years at most?"

"Much more than that," Arthur answered vaguely.

"Hell, I'm taller than you, how old can you possibly be?"

"Who knows? I've been here as long as the castle's been in the sky." Alfred stopped, trying to process what was just said, but Arthur seemed to not think a thing about it and continued without him. "C'mon, boy, keep walking. I don't like standing around."

Alfred ran to catch up. "… How do you live?"

Arthur sighed like explaining this was getting in the way. "Any living things that were in here when the castle's barrier was made were put into a sort of timeless state—no aging, no need to eat, drink, or sleep. We can, if we want, but it isn't needed. Anyway, that isn't what I dragged you out here to talk about."

"Is it about this supposedly broken mirror?" Alfred asked hopefully. Maybe he would actually give him the mirror out of admiration for his hard work ethic and then they could start up their MagiTech company and then everyone would be happy and rich and—

"Give up on that."

The words fell like an anvil.

Alfred stared at him, indignant, and stood in front of him to cut off the walk. "What?" he demanded. "Why would I give up on it? It's so everyone can have it!"

Arthur glared, almost (almost!) as fearsome as the dragon he was supposed to be. "Listen, boy, I sealed up magic into the mirror—and subsequently into the castle as a whole once the mirror proved to be ineffective—for a reason. War was going to break out over it, over who got control and who got the most. It would have ended with much more loss than benefit. Do you think I'm particularly intent on wasting away centuries of guarding this just because some early-twenties brash twit thinks he can come into my castle and demand I give him some magic or—even better, great hero—try and steal it from me? No. Give up on here."

"But— No, I'm not—"

"Why do you even need it?" Arthur continued, as if Alfred wasn't trying to explain very politely that he didn't just give up when ordered.

"We were gonna use it to program MagiTech and make a company out of it."

"Magic tech." There was no curiosity, just a simple, slightly misheard restatement.

"Yeah. Right now it's limited to the rich population, 'cause of the rarity of magic, but here it's gotta be everywhere. If we can harvest that, mass produce everything, then everyone'll have MagiTech!" It would benefit everyone, why would Mr. I-Don't-Want-Anyone-Hurt not think that was an amazing idea?

Arthur was uninterested in the entire explanation aside from one detail. "You already have magic?"

"Yeah, a really short supply, why?"

"Where?" His voice was urgent.

Alfred tilted his head, a little confused. "Um, dunno. There's gotta be a mine or a reserve of it somewhere where the company owner gets it, but the general population doesn't know much about it. I even tried to get my girlfriend's rich brother to look into him, but we get jack unless you're in the company. That's kinda why we're investigating the giant floating castle."

Kirkland let out a… not quite sigh, just a ragged breath. "Figures," he muttered. And then, "We're done here."

"You are not just dismissing me," Alfred protested. Arthur gave him a look more sarcastically doubtful, like "yeah I am honey, get over it and go." Alfred pouted, and then when Arthur began walking back towards the stairwell, Alfred stopped. "Can I ask one more thing, then?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. What could this boy possibly want with him now? There was no more mirror, no way for him to "harvest" the magic for his stupid little project, he really had no reason to be here. "What?"

"Why did you ask about the geyser earlier?" The question pestered Alfred at the back of his mind. If he spent so long up here in the sky, how did he even know about the geyser? It had to be important—and important here meant relevant to his goal.

Arthur didn't stop walking—Alfred caught up easily. "There are six geysers that, once a year, one of which will go off. When that happens, the barrier goes away." Arthur ran a hand through his hair. "It was a fluke not mentioned in the fine print when I sealed everything away." He couldn't help but let slip a little annoyance and maybe some disappointment (him? Screw up on such a major scale? No thank you) at the memory.

The return to the stairwell was completely silent. Arthur had nothing more to say and Alfred was deep in thought, trying to figure out how they could benefit from this trip and how they could continue their project. There were two dots he needed to connect, if only he could figure out which ones they were. Something about those geysers…

When they reached the door, Sorin's voice carried through discussing something about food, but it died the minute the door creaked opened.

Bella was the first one to speak. "Well, what happened?"

Alfred saw the expectant faces and tried his best apologetic grin. "I guess we can't get anything here, crew." All four faces fell.

"You're kidding," was Lovino's deadpan response.

"Al, what did you guys talk about? We can't get anything? What's going on?" were Matthew's frantic questions.

"You'll surely explain this well, right?" Yao's calm reply.

Bella said nothing, but she looked incredibly confused and disappointed.

Alfred laughed nervously. "Here, guys. Don't worry, I think we still got enough of a project we can salvage. I'll talk more on the airship." The four hesitated, like they weren't sure he knew what he was talking about. And who could blame them? He gave them a glory-seeking speech just that morning about how everything was going to happen and it would be amazing. And here they were, turning back after coming so far, back to the ground, no magic, no way of making or supplying MagiTech. "I have plans." Okay, no, that was a lie, but plans were forming. He had baby-plans.

"You fucking better." Lovino made it a point to shoulder the stupid goddamn captain on his way out the door. "Arrividerci, freakshow!" He was not going to let go any part of this experience too fast. Alfred remembered when he signed on without a second thought, a poor ship builder trying to earn money for his brother and him, and he was going back empty-handed. The thought of little Feliciano asking curious questions about the failure made him force himself not to flinch.

Bella sighed. "I'll go deal with him. Bye Sorin, Kirkland." Her goodbye was short but a little cheerful (like maybe she and Sorin left on better terms than the minion deserved after his little stunt) and she rushed out, calling Lovino's name.

"Matthew, we should go prepare for start-up," Yao said, making a show of being irritated. "This was interesting, Kirkland. You should tell me more about magic here sometime." He definitely expected to return—he liked a result of anything, profit or otherwise.

"Maybe." Arthur didn't rule out the possibility, either.

Yao's face softened a little at that, like he could see a friendship on the horizon if they didn't end up hating each other. "I'll see you around then." He and Matthew, who had very little to say and didn't really like being in the castle in the first place, left Alfred with the dragon and the ghoul.

"So… once a year we get access to this place?" Alfred prompted. The geysers open the barrier around here… That detail wouldn't leave. It replayed over and over in his head. It was important, somehow.

"If you can track it," Arthur confirmed with a shrug. Alfred nodded. They could do that. They had Heracles who spent like actual time jus judging where this thing could be, if it existed, which it does, which is a very good thing because they can come back and learn more about magic and what's going on and…

"You're coming back next year, right?" Sorin's voice broke through his thoughts, hopeful and excited.

Alfred smiled his confident smile and laughed. "Think you can scare me, minion?"

Red eyes flashed at the prospect of a challenge. He was still kind of creepy, but now that they could see better and he was attempting friendliness, Alfred could see how Arthur hadn't murdered him yet. "I won that round and I'll win the next." It was the beginnings of a friendly rivalry.

The footsteps in the hall had disappeared. "I should go check up on my crew." Alfred tilted his head towards the door with a sheepish smile.

Kirkland rolled his eyes and snorted, like he was talking to a troublesome kid (which was kind of irksome, but as the great and just captain he was he'd let it slide). "Just hurry up and get out," the dragon said dismissively, although not nearly as cold as before.

"I see the beginnings of a wonderful friendship." Alfred used a whimsical kind of teasing (the only one he was good at). Behind him, Arthur heard Sorin snicker. The little brat. "Goodbye, Kirkland, see ya, Sorin! I think I can find the way out on my own." He gave them a salute and made his exit, his mind still on the geysers. The geysers… they were important. Somehow. He'd figure it out.

Back in the stairwell, Arthur turned around to where his student was waiting. "… Now what did you do with the bloody gun?"

On Sorin's lap, the gun appeared, his illusion broken. "I'll return it when they come around next year."


Yao massaged his temples while the others worked their stations. Take off had been successful. "So what do we tell Kiku, Lars, and Heracles? 'Oh, hey, after a run-in with a princess and a dragon, we found out we couldn't profit?' Lars won't be overjoyed."

Bella shook her head. "I'll explain it somehow." She didn't seem angry, just not looking forward to telling her brother how they failed the intended mission.

"Just what the hell was it you were discussing that made you change your mind so goddamn fast?" Lovino demanded from their captain, hot with fury. "Maybe you don't realize it, but a lot of fucking time was wasted because you decided to turn back after a little fucking talk."

Alfred brushed him away with a light wave of his hand, thinking hard and hardly keeping an eye on the controls. "There's gotta be something about the geysers…" he muttered to himself. "They break the barrier, and so…"

"What? The hell are you talking about? Hey!" Lovino's voice raised as he spoke, trying to capture Jones' attention. "Hey, Captain, I'm fucking talking to you!"

"We talked about stuff…" Alfred replied distantly, brushing him off once again. Bella shot her lover an annoyed look, but set to calming their co-pilot and getting everyone in their seat.

"Systems are going ju—" Matthew was cut off as Alfred finally added two and two.

He began shooting out orders. "Yao, when we get back, I need more reports on the geysers. Lots and lots of them. I also need to talk to Heracles about the castle. Matt, Vino, you think you could design a variation of this ship for eight? I want our ground team with us next time. Bel, I need you and Lars and your other brother to investigate the MagiTech source back on the ground. I have a few ideas."

"So you mean…?" Bella brightened immediately. She recognized his expression—one of realization, one where he knew what he needed to do, one of theories and plans and ideas ready to test and despite how he acted, he was not stupid, he was usually on the mark and if he wasn't he was pretty damn close.

Captain Jones put an arm around his brother and grinned at all of them. "We aren't done yet, guys. Just moving around plans a bit. It'll be great, guys, I promise!"

Matthew couldn't help but cheer at the newfound excitement that seemed to fill their tiny hub and turned his head to look out the window. "Maybe just to prove we did something, we should take a picture…"

But the castle was already gone.


"So magic's coming back, huh? No longer limited to the castle?" Alfred and his group had long gone. The moon hung in the air and stars dotted the skies.

"It appears so." Arthur was in the gardens, near the very edge where their little floating continent cut off, staring off into the horizon. If he wanted to, he could probably dangle his legs off the edge. His student was sweeping dust off the stone pathways nearby.

"What about what we've got on the great floating rock?" Sorin gestured to the castle with his broom.

The ash-blonde "dragon" shook his head. "It's the same as ever. It's been a long time—long enough for a new source to come about." He could still feel it, too, throbbing under the grounds and through the stone like a heartbeat, and Arthur was the heart. It pumped in and out through him and back into the castle. He sometimes wondered if Sorin felt it, too—if he did, he never mentioned it.

"So what happens then?" The question under it was quite obvious—What if you need to siphon and lock it up again?

Arthur shrugged. "We do the same thing we've always done."

Sorin, however he interpreted the answer, didn't comment on it further, just lightly changed the subject to one he's mentioned only a few times before. "Do you ever wanna go down to the ground and see the change?"

The fact that the times in which he brought this up were few and far between made it no less difficult to answer. "… Sometimes." He finally said. "But it doesn't seem like everything is fine down there, either." There were times when, if he looked hard enough, he saw blackness mingling with the clouds. That wasn't the smoke of the simple fires he knew—whatever kind of smoke it was, it was beyond magic and beyond his knowledge and he was not interested in looking into its source.

"We should sometime. You know, learn some new stuff. See the future. Meet new people. That kind of thing."

He couldn't meet his student's hopeful gaze. In fact, he wasn't sure when or if they would leave the castle. "Maybe one day."

"Can't wait." The rhythm of the shuff shuff of Sorin's broom changed and sped up, given some new-found energy. It was amazing how happy he seemed to be just at the thought. Maybe a little heartbreaking, too, but right now he didn't want to be so pessimistic.

Arthur allowed himself a smile at his companion's excitement. "I'm sure you'll find a way."