A/N: Well, it would appear that the Young Wizards fandom is much less populated than Harry Potter. I was expecting that, but I wasn't expecting quite this small of a hit count. It was something close to 1:40 compared with my last HP fic. Maybe because my last HP fic was a oneshot... hmm... Clearly, the solution to this is to finish this thing quickly and get all those lazy readers like me that wait for fics to be completed before reading them. On the other hand, the view to review ratio is much better for YW than for HP, maybe because each fic is more valued here? I dunno. Anyway, enough of the rambling analysis crap, because I'm sure none of you care. Story time!


Chapter Two: Here's Where All the Exposition is.

Several hours and a delicious chicken casserole later, Nita was sitting on Kit's bed pouring over what her manual had to say about the situation on Rhaokani. Kit, meanwhile, was preoccupied by his sister. Well, to be honest, Nita was preoccupied by Carmela too.

"'Mela, I told you no!" The siblings argued in the hallway, but their voices carried through the open door just fine. "I can't keep an eye on you if I'm busy rescuing an entire planet."

Nita could see Carmela's pout in her mind, even though a wall blocked the girl's view. "It's sweet that you care, but you don't need to keep an eye on me. I can take care of myself," she protested.

Nita quietly echoed Kit's snort of disbelief. "We're talking magic here, 'Mela," he said. "Sometimes you've got to fight fire with fire. And you can't start fire."

"I can so start a fire!" Carmela retorted.

"It was a metaphor, genius."

"Oh." Then, "If you don't bring me along, I'll just have to figure out my own way there." She'd done it before, and they both knew it. "You gonna make me go all by myself?"

There was a pause, and Nita feared the worst. The worst in this case being Carmela's Puss in Boots face. Usually Kit could resist that face, but there was always a slight risk. Concerned, Nita sent a thought his way. Kit? What are you thinking? she asked.

If we brought her along and she got herself killed, would that be better or worse than if she got herself killed trying to follow us? was his response.

Nita pondered that for a minute. Too bad she's not a wizard, huh? Then at least she could take care of herself.

Don't say that! Er, think that. Kit's thoughts sounded horrified at the idea.

Nita shrugged, even though he couldn't see her. Well then, take her along. Sounds like you'd rather look after her than let her fend for herself.

Kit scowled. Since when was Nita on Carmela's side, anyway? But then, she did have a point. And Carmela had proven herself at least a little bit useful in the past. And even a little bit self reliant. Maybe it would be okay.

"Are you telepathing with Nita again?" asked Carmela, seeing Kit's scowl.

"She says you can come," he replied reluctantly. The older girl let out an excited squeal and came running into Kit's bedroom.

"Thank you Neets!" she cried, embracing said girl in a rather shoulder-squashing hug. "Oh man, this is going to be fantastic!"

What have we done? Kit moaned in her head.

Nita just laughed. "Of course, 'Mela," she said. "Think of it as a thank you for saving my butt at the Crossings."

"Just try not to get yourself killed," said Kit from the doorway. "Mama would never forgive me."

Carmela shrugged, uninterested. "Same to you, little brother." Then, to Nita, clearly the more supportive of the two, she said, "Now, what exactly is the situation on Raw-Canoe?"

"Rhaokani," Kit corrected.

"Basically, the entire planet has been turned into some sort of romance horror blend," Nita said, ignoring their bickering. "Everyone has an overwhelming desire to give into their romantic impulses... People are going around making out on the streets, doing ridiculously sappy things... Like a valentine's day card in real life or something."

Carmela laughed in delight. "Oh, this sounds like my kind of party!" she said.

"Don't forget about the fights between rivals," came Kit's irritated voice, "and all the brokenhearted second-best suitors."

"Right," said Nita, "this isn't just some cute warped alternate universe where everyone is happy."

"Right. Ultimate evil, and all that." Carmela put on her serious face.

"Anyway, it's not just the bad stuff that's bad," said Kit, "every time someone gives into one of their urges, they slow down the universe just a little bit."

"And every time a wizard gives into one of their urges, they lose a little bit of their wizardry on top of that," added Nita. "Fortunately, now we know. It should be easier to resist when we know we have to."

"Unfortunately, the planet's already lost all of its wizards."

Carmela was suddenly struck with a horrible thought. "What about Filif, is he okay?" she asked.

Nita shrugged. "If that was him you saw on the TV, then he's probably there fighting the problem already. He knows, so he might be okay. But even wizards have trouble fighting their urges..."

"We won't know for sure until we get there and see him," said Kit. "But he's probably okay."

"If we're lucky, this will turn out to be like when Tom and Carl and all the adult wizards lost their wizardry. Hopefully, it'll all come back after we fix whatever the problem is," said Nita.

Carmela smirked, not taking the situation as seriously as she should have. As usual, really. "Are you two going to be okay controlling your urges?" she asked.

They both looked at her sharply, Nita blushing and Kit frowning. She laughed at their reactions. "No, we are not!" cried Nita at the same time Kit said "I don't know what you're talking about."

Their violent denial made Carmela far more suspicious than if they had admitted that they were equally vulnerable to the curse. Not that she had any doubts about how things stood between them anyway.

"Sorry I asked," she said, not at all sorry. "So when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," said Kit. "We'd go tonight, but a good night's sleep before a big trip like this is worth more than promptness."

Nita nodded her agreement. "Being half out of your mind with sleep-deprivation is the best way to end up doing stupid things. Speaking of which, I'd better head home and get a head start on that sleeping thing. We're leaving at the crack of dawn."

Carmela shuddered, but nodded. "Crack of dawn. I can handle that," she said, not sounding entirely sure of herself.

"I'll see you out," said Kit as Nita hopped off the bed and headed towards the door. "And 'Mela, get out of my room."


A/N: The first person who can tell me whether Carmela has actually ever called Nita 'Neets' in the books, I'll go read one of your fics and give you a super awesome praise-filled and detailed review. Or give you a cyber-cookie. Your choice. (I'm too lazy to go look it up myself right now, since that would probably involve reading at least the last three books and... I'm busy writing!)

I like this chapter a little better than the last one, even though it fought me every sentence of the way. Sucker just did not want to be written. (I even managed a little Liar Game one-shot during the I'm-Not-Talking-To-You awkward silences. I mean what? Self-promotion? What are you talking about? (Are there even any YW people that are familiar with Liar Game? Probably not...)) But it exists now, so THERE. On time, even. Go me! Let's see if we can keep THAT up!

Looks like I lied about shorter author's notes. Sorry...

And, as always, please tell me if you find any horrible spelling (or factual) mistakes. They're awfully embarrassing.