REVERSAL
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"A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short." Bertrand Russell.

4
SEARCHING FOR THE SEAL

"...what is the issue that you're most worried about?" King asked gently, sitting in his chair in a video conference with Junior.

"...it...it gets tough..." Junior admitted quietly as he rested his head in his arms at his desk. "...I have...a THOUSAND planets...to worry about. Natural disaster relief...economic debt forgiveness...invasions to foil. And...and...I..." He finally looked up, sniffling slightly. "Sometimes it's all too much. I feel like...I'm not good enough. I mean, my father, his brother-"

Junior. Look at yourself." King insisted, nodding firmly as the video camera hovered in the air, capturing everything. "You've got a loving wife, beautiful children, you're smart, you're kind, and goddang it, people like you. It's alright to feel overwhelmed, we all feel that. But..."

King paused for dramatic effect. "Stop...punishing...yourself. You've done nothing wrong. Whatever your father might be responsible for, or his brother...you're not him. You make your own choices. You are your own man. So rule like the man you are...a good...GOOD man."

"I'm really am glad to see you're all alive and well." King spoke quietly as he sat with the others, waiting for the Majestic Council to address each other. They tried not to look over at the black-robed one who wore that unsettling mask upon his face. The being seemed to radiate black, wrathful thoughts at them. Hatred...fury...rage...

"What is that thing?" Junior wondered as it momentarily glanced at him through the red slits, soulless and calm. He could not get an empathic read of it, it was absolutely blank. Even the emotions of wrath and anger it was giving off didn't feel 'real', only...a mask. A mask like the one it was wearing now.

"What I wanna know is who's that woman you came in with?" Ashton wanted to know of King.

"Her name is Princess." King explained calmly. "...and...well..." He shrugged slightly. "It's a long story, but..."

...

...

...

...for a woman named "Princess", she lived fairly modestly, King mused to himself. A house with faded pinkish walls and a teetering chimney, a cobblestone path leading up to steps...she didn't even have a garage. Or, for that matter, a car. Frugality. That was the word that came to mind as King examined the unconscious Green's eyes, carefully lifting her eyelid up so he could examine her consciousness.

"...REM sleep." He deduced, looking at her pupils, trying not to cut her eyelids with his claws. He carefully let go of them, popping the tiny flashlight he'd used back into his pockets. "She's fine. Probably dreaming about her husband." He informed Princess, looking HER over with interest. "...do tell me, who was that friend of yours? The one with the white-hair. He displayed use of the Sacred Skill."

"Wow. You figured out Manifest uses Magic Music. You're either a brilliant magician or every person in the world who's ever spent five minutes with him!" Princess said snarkily, taking a hand and flicking the top of his hair up with her pointer and thumb.

"Manifest...?" King tilted his head to the side. "No matter. He's not my problem. What IS my problem is getting Green and my other friends back home to our country. We got separated in a storm-" He began to lie.

"Look...Dr. Rolar..." Princess spoke quietly, putting one hand on his mouth and shutting him up. "I KNOW you're not from this world. I've met "Dr. Rolar" and I promise you, he's not half as nice as you are." The dark-haired woman explained, flicking her hand dismissively. "You're clearly from somewhere far...far...away." She murmured, leaning in close to his head, golden eyes glittering.

"...yes." King admitted sheepishly, blushing slightly.

"I'll help." Princess said kindly. "But I want something from you. I'll be going to a meeting with some very, VERY important people at a place called the Pearl of the Mediterranean just off the coast of Greece. I need to convince the Majestic Council that my white-haired friend isn't a terrorist at all and that he's the only hope for a cure this world has against the disease that's been runnin' RAMPANT through the nations."

Princess strode over to a nearby wall, hands held behind her back as she held her head up slightly. "Now, the Dr. Rolar of this world? Renowned psychologist. GREAT magician. You're a dead ringer for how he looked before..." Princess trailed off slightly for a moment, sounding loathe to mention what had happened. "...before he went out of his gourd and attacked the Red Queen's kingdom. That's when I met Manifest..."

Princess turned around ever-so-slightly, nervously blushing as her tone dropped an octave. "I felt sorry for Dr. Rolar because I'd been in his shoes, I'd...I'd lost those dear to me too. Manifest helped cover it up, he wiped Mel and Coraline's memories and helped me hide him. I'm the only one who knows where he is now, and everyone believed me when I said he was just taking time to relax with his family. I was telling the truth...sort of..."

King stiffened, his heart leaping into his mouth as he thought of his own family. He, a father and husband of the Disappeared.

"Point is, they'll think you're an expert and my opinion will mean more if you back me up. I might even win over the Red Queen with this and we can get the unanimous decision I need!" Princess said firmly, grinning broadly.

"I'd-I'd be happy to help." King stammered out. "Though I don't know why they'd be so afraid of your friend. One who uses the Sacred Skill cannever be evil."

Princess sighed deeply and slowly turned around, heading for a nearby chair and sitting down in it, folding her arms over her legs. She had already given this speech to others before, and she hated giving it again. It was like trying to explain to a child about how parents have children; no matter how many times you spelled it out or how simple you kept it, they'd be asking you to explain it all over again the next day.

"Okay, Bright Eyes. Lemme paint you a picture." Princess informed King, taking another deep sigh. "You're head of a group of nations that banded together in the name of overcoming economic hardship and promoting good international relations. You're constantly stressing over handling countries that, until recently, were at each other's throats playing the blame game."

King tilted his head to the side. "Go onnnn..."

She stood up, stretching her arms wide. "Along comes a spider! He's a maverick. A wild card you can't control. And YES, he's immensely popular with the rabble, but the man causes more property damage than a hurricane on a monthly basis, and he refuses to let himself be brought in by your police. Contrary to what "The Fugitive" might have led people to believe, only guilty men tend to run."

She sighed, resting her head against her hand and closing her eyes. "I know he's harmless, but even I'M getting annoyed by him not just agreeing to meet with us peacefully."

"He's the prideful type, I take it."

Prideful? That was a laugh, Princess thought. That was the understatement. "He's so stupid...he wants to do his own damn thing and that's what makes him dangerous. When you have the kind of power he has, it needs to be checked!"

She then strode over to a nearby window, chewing on her lip a few times as her voice became quiet and desperate. "And unless I can convince the rest of the Ruling Council that he's not a threat so much as an international nuisance, they're going to murder him. And...and he's the only one who seems to have the ability to cure the pandemic that's covering the globe. I...I don't know what to do. I've tried convincing them, but...but unless it's unanimous, then..."

Her body began to shake and it was then that King realized she was crying. He carefully approached, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Patricia, listen. I know how frightened you are by all of this. But I took a vow to cherish and love you for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Yes, we're going to have another mouth to feed...yes, our lives are moving at a fast pace." He gently wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her cheek with his own. "But no matter what, I'll be there for you, and I'll always get you through the worst of all you feel."

"...if my mother and father could see me now...heh." Patricia Rolar shook her head back and forth. "They'd be horrified that I...I can't believe this is happening. I want to have a girl, King, but...but I'm scared."

"I am too. But we'll get through this together. I'll lift you up, and you'll lift me up, and we'll reach the end. A little worse for wear, perhaps, but we WILL get there."

"We'll get there. A little worse for wear, Princess, but we'll get there. I'll help you and you'll help me." King insisted kindly. "I can tell you care about this world. I'll do what I can to help you save the only one who can save it."

Princess wiped her eyes free of tears and then turned, smiling at King. "Thanks, Bright Eyes." She said quietly. "I...appreciate it." She admitted. "...say, why don't I get you a drink?"

"Certainly. If you've any wine?" King inquired as Princess went to the phone, quickly dialing out. "Who are you calling?"

"Ah, the Secret Service. The nice part about having them around is I can get them to do stuff for me."

"Secret...wait..." King's eyes widened. He had thought that she was merely some kind of diplomat. Was she saying...?

"I just prefer living in THIS house over my big ol' White one." Princess explained with a small smile. "Oh, and I rent the Presidential Suite out to tourists for...special nights. What?" She saw a look of vague disgust flicker of King's face. "The funds all go to charities."

"...you're President of the United States." King stated slowly. "...really."

"Not JUST the states. Canada...Cuba...Puerto Rico..." Princess rattled off as her phone finally connected.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to get used to this world anytime soon." King murmured.

...

...

...

...JUNIOR

"Her? President?! Holy..." Daveigh trailed off. "...Ashton...that black-haired woman..." She frowned slightly. She kind of looked like her grandmother in a way.

"Yeah, she could be her twin!" Ashton agreed.

I rubbed my chin. Ashton was being truthful, Esther DID look an awful lot like Daveigh's grandmother. The skin color, perhaps not, but those eyes...that nose...the hair...

"LOOK!" Princess was shouting furiously at Erick, slamming her hands into the table all were sitting at as some of the other leaders sighed slightly, clearly used to these outbursts. "I KNOW what you think of him, but I don't care! Your ego is just going to have to make room! To plant roses, you've gotta-"

"I KNOW, and you've made it clear how YOU think, Princess." Erick said, flashing her a small smile as he spread his arms. "But you've yet to prove that your wild card is anything close to an ace in the hole."

"Well!" Princess sneered, wheeling at King. "I happen to have an advocate who can prove that, oh Pirate-Who-Doesn't-Do-Anything!" Princess explained, gesturing at the serpent sapient. "Dr. Rolar, if you could be so kind?"

"With pleasure," the snake insisted, standing up and walking towards the circular table, the Caterpillar moving his chair so as to allow him to get a good spot. "And with MAGIC." He added, snapping his "fingers" as a large chalkboard popped into existence above their heads.

"What the-GAAAH!" The Red Queen shouted, leaping backwards as the chalkboard slammed into the table, almost knocking it down. "You idiot!"

"My apologies."

"Dr. Rolar, I'm well aware of your magical skill, but please...what's the meaning of this?" The black-haired princess of Lewistania inquired. "You cannot seriously be supporting Princess's position? Whatever Manifest Destiny's powers, his refusal to surrender to the authorities..."

Esther sighed deeply, shaking her head, her black hair jiggling slightly. As I continued to look upon her, I was struck by how...tired...she felt. She seemed to be feeling very, very old for a woman in her late, late teens. She had obviously had to grow up quickly, and I sympathized with her.

"Allow me to explain, ladies and gentlemen." King stretched out an arm and instantly writing was sprawled out over the chalk board, with various names of magic displayed. "Magic in itself is naught but a tool. Think of it as a...hammer. A hammer can be used for a good reason, like in helping you build a house, or for a vile purpose, such as beating in some poor unfortunate soul's brains..."

"I'll bet her brains taste nice and eggy." Kualili whispered pitilessly in Coraline's direction, licking his lips at her she visibly shook.

Disgusting. The"man" clearly enjoyed seeing her squirm and was trying to think of a subtle way to top what he'd done to General Spainco, who was standing at the faaaaar end of the room. His eye? He actually put out his...what was wrong with this man?!

"But magic cannot be evil. And some types of magic cannot even be used by evil. Magic music and life magic above all." King added solemnly. "They are absolute goods. Magic music itself is called the Sacred Skill. An indisputable fact among the fields of magic."

All of the Majestic Council seemed hesitant to debate this, and Junior knew why: it was true. Nobody in all of history who'd ever been given the gift of the most enchanting and heartwarming magic powers in the universe, be it Zoe, Bios or the "Sacred Skill", had ever been evil. It was unthinkable. Even in this supposedly parallel world, that seemed to be truth, thank Goodness.

"But still...he'd NEVER listen to us." Erick insisted.

"Indeed. He may not be an evil man, but he is a proud one." The White Queen spoke solemnly, head nodding.

The Red Queen stood up, walking slowly over to the window, hands held behind her back. "Do you think I didn't try a more peaceful approach?" She wanted to know.

"It's true. I ordered special agents sent out." General Spainco reported, holding his hand up in a snappy salute. "Yet not even psychic abilities seem to work on him from what they reported. Who could change his mind?" She murmured.

"I can change it." I spoke up, paw raised high in the air as he strode forward. This was it. Time to sell myself, as my father had said.

"And you are, Muridean?" Erick inquired, looking interested.

"I'm HALF Muridean, sir." Junior stated. He slammed his fist against his chest, speaking proudly, head raised high. "My name is Junior von Hamsterviel, Grand Councilman of the Galactic Federal Alliance!"

That always feels good.

"...Grand Councilman, eh?" Erick's eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer to get a better look at Junior. "...you're all not from around here. I can tell. Neither are the ones behind you." He added, looking beyond Junior at Green and the others...avoiding looking at King, much to Princess's surprise.

"Huh?" Coraline tilted her head to the side, standing to her feet. "What do you mean?"

"Outer space, or something?" Erick inquired. He seemed quite intrigued. I imagined that in his younger years aliens had FASCINATED him. He'd probably grown up with pictures of Flash Gordon on the walls and Star Trek action figures lining his closet.

"...alternate universe." Daveigh corrected, shrugging slightly.

"Ahhhh. I know what you want." Esther laughed gently, her face becoming soft. "You'd like us to help you get back home, right? Well, we could do that!"

"But I want to know...What do you bring to the table besides a fancy title, longears?" Erick Hayden-Muir wanted to know of Junior, crisscrossing his fingers as his smile spread ever-so-slightly, one eyebrow raised high.

"Yeah, you look like you couldn't lead a Glee club, Energizer Bunny!" Princess said nonchalantly.

Okay, I was a BIT angry now.

"Oh, you should FEAR ME!" I growled, my eyes turning a blazing, fiery yellow color like a blazing sun as I generated a near-paralyzing wave of fear through her body. Instantly Princess's insides seemed to turn to jelly as an indescribable terror shot through her, making her scramble to get away from me as sweat dribbled down her as she stuttered in horror.

I immediately felt sick about what I'd done. I'd only meant to get her to respect my abilities, I shouldn't have had to use such a technique. But the Caterpillar evidently found it fascinating. "...an empaaaaath." He whispered, eyes widening. "Despite your slightly boorish display, controlling a being's emotions takes subtlety. I think you may be the man for the job."

"I'd like to go with him, if I can." Heartwing offered. "I don't really wanna just leave him alone, and I think I'd be of help."

"Well, you're welcome, my boy, to join him." The Caterpillar said.

"But on the off chance THAT doesn't work, I think we should have a backup plan." The Red Queen insisted firmly, looking around at the other members of the Majestic Council.

"That's where, I think, THIS will be of service." A voice popped up.

It was then that a single, floating blue head emerged, and Frequency bobbed through the air, "resting" on Heartwing's shoulder. "How 'bout showing the thing you got that's only part of a thing?" Frequency...him again? How in the world was he able to just pop out of nowhere? I didn't understand it.

"...OHHH! The seal of Metatron thingy!" Heartwing stated, pulling out the piece of the seal.

Much of the Majestic Council gaped at the sight, eyes widening. "The Seal of Metatron!?" The Caterpillar whispered.

The masked being smiled slightly beneath its mask, but remained silently, folding his hands in his lap and nodding, giving off a vague, whispery sound of approval.

"That's...that's the most powerful spiritual sealing stone in all of the world..." The White Queen murmured. "However did you get ahold of it?" She wanted to know.

"Why, a good friend of MINE gave it to them, brahs." Frequency said, the Cheshire-Cat-esque grin lingering on his floating head as the rest of his body popped into existence, and he rested one arm on Heartwing's shoulder. "But it's only part of the seal. If your white-haired lil' terrorist really is a powder-keg waiting to explode, then getting ALL of the seal is your best chance at keepin' him from goin' aggro and taking his power."

"What would happen to the power, then? Whomever's using the seal would wield it?" Daveigh inquired, taking the seal piece and looking it over.

Frequency poked the seal piece with a single furry digit. "It would get sucked RIGHT into here. Practically turn into a flashlight you could flick on and off however you pleased, dudette." He explained, smirking to himself.

It was then that I saw a flash of emotion rise in Frequency. Pure, undiluted remorse. And this unnerved the "Temperance" of the Major Arcana. Why was telling them about the seal something to feel bad over?

Erick Hayden-Muir, meanwhile, frowned as he looked at Frequency and I saw something in his eyes...a faint attempt at recognition. Had he seen Frequency somewhere before?

"But where are the other pieces?" The White Queen wished to know, scratching her head.

"I think a locating spell would be able to find them easily enough." King spoke up.

"Then it is settled!" Erick laughed happily, standing upright and clapping his hands together. "One party will search for the seal! The other will go find our little white-haired friend. Do this. and we'd all be more than happy to send you right back home."

With that, everyone's eyes filled with joy as King grasped the seal and began to cast a locator spell, beginning with a soft chant as his tone grew louder.

Hope...we were all feeling real hope. Yes, it could take a while, but it was there, almost in their sights...a way back home.

HOME...

...

...

...

..."I'm...not...too sure about this." Daveigh murmured as she, Princess and Ashton walked along with King through the picturesque town of Dublin, finding themselves in a veritable sea of red, black and brown hair. The crooked towers of the city were teetering around them as King tapped at the seal with a black claw. Frequency had been kind enough to drop them off and had even been nice enough to offer to buy them all drinks!

Well...if they survived.

"What are you so worried about?" Ashton wanted to know as they continued making their way through the crowd.

"Look what's on the top of that hill." Daveigh insisted, pointing with her hand to a hill far above the city. There, far off in the distance, was an enormous abandoned laboratory of some kind, decrepit and derelict, long since abandoned. "Dollars to donuts...that's our destination."

"Now, you don't know that." Ashton began to say.

"Nope, she's right." King said solemnly, pointing at the laboratory as well.

"...great." Ashton squeaked out. "Another creepy abandoned building. We're all gonna die." He insisted. "I'll just recite the Mourner's Kaddesh right now."

Princess whacked him on the arm. "Oh, show some backbone, Four Eyes! Your girlfriend's worried, not saying her prayers!" She insisted. "Just be ready for anything."

"...she's right." Daveigh insisted. "We've got King with us, and besides, we're Major Arcana. We all took an oath to do the right thing no matter where we were, no matter what it took." It didn't matter if they WERE scared, Daveigh thought to herself. This was something they had to do to save this world and to save themselves.

King was silent. No matter where, no matter what, he mused inwardly. He remembered those words being spoken to him so, so long ago by the MA's founder...by Nick. And now Nick was gone and dead and dust just as-

A love like this...will come but once...this I...do believe!
And I'll not see...his like again...as I...live and breathe!
And I'm sorry if...I miiight offend! But IIII will never see...
How the tenderness...I shared with her...becaaame...a heresyyy!

Jesus loved me...this I know!
But why on Earth...did I ever let him go?
He was always faithful, always kind,
But he walked off with...
this heart...
Of miiine!

King turned his head in Princess's direction as she smiled wryly at him. Somehow he had a feeling that she wasn't really singing about Jesus at all. Somehow, she was singing about P-

Suddenly his shoulder bumped into a woman's and he nervously turned his head to apologize, glancing momentarily downward. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I...I...I..." He stammered, eyes widening wide in amazement as the woman looked at him.

"What is it?" Daveigh wanted to know, she and Ashton stopping in their tracks.

Red hair...slightly tied into a bun in the back...thick, rounded locks falling out from beneath with pretty bluish/green eyes and a soft, but easily-frightened face...

The woman King gazed upon gaped for a moment, and then nervously quivered before quickly running off. King gazed off at her for a moment before he took off running as well.
"What the?! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

"That's Patricia!" King roared back. "MY WIFE!"

Ashton turned his head towards Daveigh. "I thought he told us once that his wife left him and took her kids with her cuz she chose family culture over-heyyyy...you don't...think..." He trailed off.

Daveigh frowned slightly. The Dr. Rolar of this world had, according to what Princess had told them on the way there, had gone insane. Princess had said he'd eventually gotten himself killed in his own laboratory. "...this is something he needs to do on his own. And this..." She turned to look in the direction of the laboratory. "Is something we're gonna do on OUR own."

Princess smirked to herself. This was gonna be too easy.

She wondered, though, if she should tell Daveigh and Ashton if the laboratory they were heading for had been-

Naaaah. They'd figure it out on their own soon enough. And even if they didn't, she sure wasn't gonna tell them about it!

KING

I knew what I had seen. I KNEW it was Patricia. All of the other faces in the street became a blur as I raced past human after human. Many of them were staring right at me...I imagine they were wondering if they had lost it and were seeing a monster, joining the ranks of the Infected. I didn't care.

All I cared about was taking Patricia in my arms and holding her there for as long as it took to apologize...after which would come a deep, deep kiss. That had been her, I was sure of this, and she had seen me, RECOGNIZED me, I could tell!

Why was she running? Damn. The street I was on was going on forever, everything was turning into-

Rain. It was raining. An annoyingly persistent drizzle that was making everything become grey around me, but I had to keep-

Now I found myself lost. I'd not seen which direction she'd gone. I stood in front of a street corner, looking around for any sign of her when the crash of a gate echoed through the street and split the pitter-pat of the rain. The glimpse of a gate to some kind of back alley caught the corner of my eye and I quickly jumped over it, landing expertly on my feet with a SPLASH as-

As blood splattered onto my once perfectly-white pants, staining them. I was not a stranger to blood, but as I saw the stream of blood flowing beneath me and out of the gate, I felt the need to immediately remove my sandals from the awful red liquid. My eyes slowly trailed up that stream and saw the source of the blood...

Its thick entrails had been bundled up in the center, with a kidney hanging off the side of the poor thing's rotting flesh. The remains didn't even seem to indicate whether it had been a male or female, the body was so horribly mutilated that even a reasoned estimate of sex would be hard. I carefully approached, trying not to step on the splashed-out innards, kneeling down by the thing's chest and feeling it carefully.

Judging from the height of the body, the size of the waist...the larger hip section...it appeared to be a woman. There was also the lungs...they were very much visible and not that big. Men tended to have larger lungs than women...

This was disgusting. Who would do this to-?

I once again took a deep breath.

King. Stop thinking. You need to find Patricia.

I just needed to focus. Luckily, I could see a faint figure in the distance disappearing into a sewer grating...a figure with hair I recognized all too well.

The sewer. I was a snake, not an alligator. This would be repulsive. But I had to see Patricia. I had been trying to find her ever since that day, the first and only time I'd ever used magic for utterly selfish purposes. My first and only failure in retrieval magic. I had not gotten my family back.

But now there was a chance. A slim, slim chance.

And I wanted to take it. No matter how insane all of this might have seemed.