Disclaimer: I am a sad little ninth grader who is sitting in jail because I said I owned Facilier. But I shall! Once I get out of here, I shall own what's rightfully mine! MUAHAHAHHA!

Disney: We don't think so.

Meep! How can you read my thoughts?

Disney: We're just cool like that.

(Start of Chapter)

"Get the hell out of here," she hissed, quickly covering herself with the dress.

Shadow merely grinned, and Mia glowered.

"Just watch what I do to you," she said venomously.

Shadow laughed, gave her a little bow and tip of the hat before slipping out.

"That shadow is gonna get it," seethed Mia as she stuffed the dress over her head and hastily pulled it down.

That was embarrassing.

I didn't need you to tell me that, thought Mia, heat emanating from her cheeks as she whirled the knob on the night table and went out into the emporium.

She scoured the room for the damned silhouette when Facilier came up behind her.

"Anything wrong cherie?" he asked, amused.

"Your shadow was watching me change my clothes!" she said angrily.

Facilier burst out laughing.

Mia glowered at the voodoo man. "That—that is just not to be done," she said (I sound like a child, she thought irritably), stomping her foot.

That just made him chuckle more.

She resisted the childish urge to stick out her tongue.

Someone tapped her on the back of her head. She whirled around to see Shadow smiling at her mischievously.

"You're gonna get it," she hissed, but before she could hurt the silhouette, Facilier suddenly said, "What's that red light flashing on your machine?"

She whipped around in alarm only to see that he had fooled her.

She turned back to him to see Shadow making faces at her.

She felt like the whole world was behind that face, mocking her helplessness, her inability to control what happened around her.

(Facilier POV)

Her resolve crumbled before his eyes.

The girl is too used to of being independent, he thought with a smirk.

"Gold star for you," she said coolly before walking into the room and closing the passageway without a look back.

She's fun to annoy, said Shadow with glee.

"She's got a strong spirit. It'll be entertaining to watch it fall apart," he said with a chuckle.

(Mia POV)

Mia sat on the bed with a sigh.

I've been sighing more in the last 2 days than I have in a month, she thought as she hugged her knees, staring at the little cracks in the wall.

When had I become so helpless? Someone that needed to be... saved?

She frowned at the word. 'Saved'? She was no damsel in distress.

She simply needed to fix the machine before Facilier carried out his plan, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to even touch it with Facilier around and she needed to somehow get to Tiana again without him finding out which would be futile because he could read her mind...

"Hopeless. Utterly hopeless," she muttered.

So you've met Tiana, hmm?

Mia froze.

"I don't think that was my conscience talking..." she said slowly, her hands going to her head.

It wasn't.

"What the hell are you doing in my head?" asked Mia as she jumped off the bed, panicked.

He chuckled.

"This—this is a total, invasion, of privacy," she seethed.

How am I— she stopped herself from continuing the thought, knowing that he could hear.

Damn it, I can't— she stopped again, making a face at Facilier's chuckle echoing in her head.

I need to tell T—

Go on, said Facilier, wickedly amused.

A, B, C, D, E, F, oh God this isn't working! she thought helplessly.

Facilier laughed at her pitiful attempt to keep her thoughts hidden.

Try as you may cherie, it isn't going to work, he said smugly.

Mia groaned and threw herself on the bed.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, she sang bleakly.

You have a terrible singing voice.

Mia's lips curled up in a crooked smile.

I may just use that to my advantage, she thought, allowing herself a little chuckle.

Meaning? said Facilier, his tone darkening.

This is the song that never ends yes it goes on and on my friend, some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it just because... she sang, going as off key as she possible could.

You really think—

This is the song that never ends yes it goes on and on my friend, some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it just because...this is the song that never ends—

If you sing another—

It never ends Facilier, yes it goes on and on my friend, some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it just because! Mia practically screeched, her grin broadening at the silence in her head.

You're underestimating me again Mia, he said, and Mia could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

What does he—I mean twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are, Mia thought quickly.

Wrong song.

I'm quite aware.

You can't keep this up for long Mademoiselle, might as well give up, he said, chuckling.

This is the song that never ends yes it goes on and on my friend, some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it just because...!

Give it up girl, it's not going to work, he snarled.

Oh but it is Facilier, thought Mia with a smirk as she continued the endless song, but Facilier didn't say a word.

Mia frowned, stopping.

Is he gone?

Can't tell.

You know he's probably listening.

At this point, I don't think I care, thought Mia with a yawn.

So you don't care if he finds out that you—

Don't. Say. Another. Word.

Sorry? Thought you didn't care...

For God's sake, shut up.

Mia sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

Tomorrow is going to be hell of a long day... she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

(Facilier POV)

Shadow couldn't help but laugh at his master's annoyance as he glared at the sleeping form in the crystal ball.

"She still doesn't know who she's messing with, does she?" he said, a smirk playing on his lips as she started to toss and turn.

What are you doing? asked Shadow, confused.

"Tampering with her seemingly normal dream," he said with a satisfied smile, waving his hand at the crystal ball in front of him which showed a very uncomfortable Mia being pushed towards a row of seats.

(Dream)

I don't want to go!" said Mia, but James pushed her into the seat.

"You know how much I hate roller coasters James," she said, looking back at the people that were buzzing excitedly about the new attraction.

James laughed as he sat in his seat beside her. "This rollercoaster has absolutely no loop-de-loops; it's just hairpin turns and steep dives. You'll love it."

An employee came over and put the restraint over their heads.

"I don't know why I agreed to this," said Mia nervously, tugging on the restraint.

"You aren't going to fly out Mia, this ride has been tested tons of times," said James, rolling his eyes at her apprehension.

"Yeah, but why did we have to sit right at the front?" she asked, her voice going unnaturally high.

"Mia, look at me," he said, and she forced herself to look into his chocolate brown eyes.

"You'll be fine. I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and this is a perfectly safe ride," he said gently.

She blew the hair out of her eyes as she put her head back against the headrest.

"You're right, I'm just being silly," she said as she twisted her head to see the whole track.

Maybe this won't be too bad, she thought as the speakers started to crackle.

"Are you guys ready to ride 'The Scream'?" asked an employee, her question met by thrilled shrieks and whoops.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Mia rolling her eyes.

"Don't be such a spoilsport," said James with a laugh as they started to get pulled up by gears, the sound of the metal meshing and grinding making Mia's stomach knot up.

She tried to close her eyes but they were wide open as she breathed heavily, her hands melded around the metal bars of the restraint.

Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum

"James... is that sound part of this ride?" asked Mia, confused.

"No clue," said James, frowning.

The gears shuddered to a halt a few feet before they reached the peak.

"What happened?" she said, craning her neck to see if there were any employees coming up the stairs.

She looked up at the sky and frowned. It was starting to turn a dark green.

"Today was supposed to be sunny..." said James, and Mia felt horrified at the uneasiness that had crept into his voice. James was the one out of the two that was always calm. If he wasn't relaxed, Mia sure as hell wasn't relaxed.

Everyone started to whisper, apprehension and confusion in the air.

Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum

"Why is that sound getting lou—Oh lord," she breathed as the ride lurched forward.

Are you ready?

Are you, readyyyy?

The chorus of menacing voices sent chills down Mia's spine.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that none of this is part of the ride," said Mia, her heart pounding.

A greenish mist was rising up from the bottom of the ride.

By now, people a few people were screaming and trying to get out of their seats to no avail.

I'm dreaming, she thought horrified as she struggled against the restraint.

Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum

Are you ready? James and Mia exchanged worried looks.

They reached the peak and stopped. Everyone held their breaths.

Mia looked down and stifled her gasp.

There was a mask with gigantic horns on either side of its head, its mouth wide open as if it was going to swallow the row of seats they were on.

"Oh God," squeaked Mia.

Wake up! Wake up damn it, you're dreaming! Her conscience yelled at her, but trying to waking up was like struggling against the restraints: tiring and futile.

Suddenly the voodoo dolls that she had seen in Facilier's emporium jumped up on the seats, banging their little drums with their needles as they smiled cruelly at the terrified occupants of the seats.

"How..?" she said, staring wide eyed at the voodoo doll that smiled malevolently at Mia and James.

They started to fall. As they went over the peak everyone started to scream. Not from exhilaration or excitement, but out of pure fear that they might not get out alive.

Mia's scream ripped from her throat as they descended at a breakneck speed down the steep path, hurtling towards the mouth of the mask.

The last thing she heard before everything turned black was the chorus of voices asking her if she was ready.

(Mia POV)

Mia jolted up screaming.

She took in long shaky breaths, trying to regain control of herself.

"Dolls, masks, roller coaster," she rambled mindlessly.

Why was she so disconcerted? It was only a dream. A scary one, but a dream nonetheless.

"Dolls...masks..." she repeated, blinking slowly, the words starting to register in her mind.

(Facilier POV)

Facilier laughed at the bemused girl as she began to realize the connections between her dream and the real world.

"Facilier?" she said to herself, brow furrowed. She whirled the night table's knob and stumbled out of the room.

"Facilier?" she repeated, squinting as she saw the witch doctor at his table with a crystal ball in front of him.

"Yes cherie?" he asked.

Mia frowned. "You sound strangely happy about something," she said.

"You're just drowsy. What happened?" he asked, his lips curling in a wicked smile.

"Bad dream," she said as she rubbed her head, frowning at the masks on the wall.

She's completely clueless, said Shadow gleefully and Facilier chuckled quietly.

I really, really need to get away from this, she thought as she looked at Facilier with a strange expression.

"Do you have any liquor?" she asked suddenly.

So that's what she meant by 'getting away', he thought as he let out a laugh.

"Drinking your worries away, Mademoiselle?" he asked, smirking when she glared at him.

"I hardly ever drink. Do you have any?" she asked.

"There's a skull on that shelf," he said, pointing to the shelf where a particularly frightening voodoo doll lay. "Put your fingers into its eye sockets and part of the wall will go down. There's a cellar down the flight of stairs."

Mia made a face. "How many secret doors do you have?" she asked irritably.

He gave her a smug smile. Mia sighed and walked over to the shelf. She cringed at the eerie grin of the disfigured doll and pushed her fingers into the sockets of the skull.

This had better not be a real skull, she thought, shuddering.

Facilier didn't feel the need to tell her that it indeed was a real skull, and was over 100 years old.

(Mia POV)

Sure enough, part of the wall sank into the floor revealing a dark passageway. She quietly walked down the stairs, her hand trailing across the wall.

"I can't s—" she started, but before she could finish torches on either side of the little room lit up, revealing quite a few rows of wine lined against the walls.

"All this for yourself?" she asked, her voice reverberating against the stone walls of the cellar.

"Not really. I bring some out when I need a client to, say, relax," he said slyly.

She hesitated, her fingers curled around a bottle.

Getting drunk wouldn't bode well for her, seeing as she was with Facilier.

She wasn't exactly going to get drunk. Only a drink or two. Although that could lead to a lot more...

"Oh what the hell," she muttered, pulling the bottle out of its place and walking up the stairs quickly.

She pressed her fingers into the sockets again and the wall closed up.

Mia walked over to the table and threw herself into the chair.

"Want any?" she asked carelessly, waving the bottle at him and Facilier conjured two glasses, taking the bottle from her and pouring some for the both of them.

She took the glass from him and nearly downed all of it in an unladylike fashion, putting it down on the table as she stared into space.

(Facilier POV)

Facilier chuckled. The girl looked just like one of the many people who walked into a bar, trying to drink themselves into a stupor.

"Say, what's wrong with that contraption of yours that y'all—"

"The time machine you mean," she said, taking another sip as she stared at the wall.

"Alright, time machine. What's wrong with it?"

"Problems in section C-13 and D-27 of the main hard drives," she said in a monotone.

Facilier frowned. "That would mean...?"

She sighed as she looked at Facilier and said quietly, "It's too damaged to travel through time."

"Well, from what I gathered from your memories," he said, ignoring the grimace on her face as he reminded her that he had gone through every memory in her head, "Is that you have a pretty clear idea of how that thing works. Why don't you try fixing it?"

Shadow looked at Facilier, shocked.

What are you doing? He hissed.

Facilier shot him a glare and he stayed quiet.

Mia let out a mirthless laugh. "Fix it," she repeated, taking a swig of the glass that was almost empty, "I'd fix it if I could. I'd need quite a few tools which I'm sure are in the box that I put somewhere in there to fix anything that happens, but even then it would be very difficult."

The girl is starting to spill, he thought with a smirk. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't tell him anymore than she needed to. Now that she was slightly intoxicated her inhibitions about the witch doctor were starting to leave.

Mia looked at what was an almost empty glass and frowned. "You put more in," she said accusingly.

"Y'all said y'all were gonna drink only 2 glasses. This counts as the second glass, no?"

He really does listen to every single thought, doesn't he? She asked herself as she rolled her eyes.

"Indeed I do cherie," said Facilier, and Mia merely sighed.

"Indeed you do Facilier," she muttered as she took finished nearly half the glass in one mouthful.

She's completely forgotten about protecting her thoughts, he thought as he searched back to her thoughts that she was trying to conceal. Her friendship with Tiana might just be another advantage... he mused as she downed the rest of the glass.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you were a regular drinker," he said with a grin.

Mia giggled. "Do I finish it up that fast?" she asked, her words slightly slurred.

"Faster than most," said Facilier, clearly pleased that she wasn't herself.

Give her a few more glasses, said Shadow grinning psychotically at the drunk girl.

Just one more will be fine, he thought to Shadow.

"I'm going to tell you something," she said suddenly.

"Alright," said Facilier, his interest aroused.

"But, you can't tell Facilier," she said as she stared him down with a deadly serious expression.

Facilier couldn't help but laugh at the solemn Mia.

"I won't tell Facilier," he said with a chuckle.

"Good. I don't trust the man. But he's just so..." she said, her brow furrowed as she tried to think of a word to describe him.

"So...?" Facilier prompted.

"Charismatic," she said, surprised at herself for saying that.

Facilier cocked an eyebrow.

"It's like, you can completely tell he's not to be trusted," she said, waving her glass around and nearly spilling its contents, "Yet you just can't help but give into his charm," she said, staring right at Facilier who was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"Ya know what I mean?" she asked, and Facilier let out a dark chuckle that would have made the sober Mia alarmed.

"I do now," he said amusedly, and Mia grinned.

By now, Shadow was clutching his sides as he shook on the floor with silent, barely contained laughter.

Facilier heard a voices whispering. He looked behind his back to see the masks looking menacingly at him.

His eyes widened. What are y'all doin' here? She could see you! He thought in alarm.

"We're hungry," they hissed.

"Who's hungry?" asked Mia, confused.

"Shadow is," Facilier said distractedly, shooting the 'Friends' a desperate look.

"Oh really? I have granola bars in my time machine! I'll go get them," she said happily, getting to her feet and stumbling to the machine, paying no mind to Shadow who had stopped laughing and was staring at the 'Friends' in horror.

"You have a young soul right here, what's your excuse?" the biggest mask said, his painted mouth twisted in a scowl.

"I have a plan to use her, I'll be able to bring you a lot more souls with her if you just give me some time," Facilier pleaded.

They stared at him, disbelieving.

"I swear—just please don't let her see y'all!" he said desperately.

"If you disappoint us, we'll take the girl and you," he said, and with that they turned back into lifeless ordinary masks.

Facilier's heart pounded.

Way too close, he thought looking over at the time machine. He stared in alarm as Mia stood there, leaning against the wall of the machine with a thoughtful expression on her face as she stared at him.

"I can explain—"

"Ya know," she said slowly as she crossed her arms, "You're pretty darn good looking."

Facilier laughed half out of relief and half because of the wonderment in her voice.

She walked towards him slowly with wobbly legs, the look of concentration on her face making him chuckle.

Once she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his long neck, staring into his eyes, speculating.

Drunken words are sober thoughts, he thought with a smirk as she brought her face closer to his.

Her lips were mere millimetres away from his when she whispered, "But your moustache is funny," and let out a stream of giggles as she let go of him and nearly fell to the floor, but Facilier swiftly caught her by the waist before she could hit the ground.

Facilier looked down at the giggling drunk woman and couldn't help but chuckle.

"You don't seem to hold your liquor well," he said as she got to her feet, holding him for support.

"I don't drink more than half a glass, or else I start to get a leeeetle tipsayyy," she said, laughing.

"I noticed. You should get to sleep. You're going to have a hell of a hangover in the morning," he said, leading her to her room seeing as she was too intoxicated to walk properly.

She fell onto her bed as her head started to throb.

"I think it's already started," she said, groaning. She looked up at him with a strange expression. "I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to tell you anything," she said, frowning when he chuckled.

"Good night Mia," he said, and with a wave of his cane the lamp turned off and he walked out of the room, smirking.

"She's gonna regret she touched that bottle," he said to Shadow who cackled at the girl who was already knocked out.

(Mia POV)

"Dear lord, my head," she groaned as she got up.

She stumbled out of the room where Facilier was looking through an old book, its pages yellow with age.

"Hey," she said, rubbing her head.

"Hello cherie," he said smirking, not looking up from the book.

Why don't I remember anything from last night...? she thought, frowning as his smirk broadened.

Grabbing a bottle...yes I did grab a bottle... of liquor? She thought, trying to put the little pieces of what she remembered together, but it was like trying to get the picture of a 1000 piece puzzle with only 30 pieces put together.

"Keep going..." said Facilier as he flipped through a few pages, and Mia glared at him.

Liquor...I wanted to forget...holy crap did I have more than half a glass? She thought, horrified.

"Two in fact," he said. Mia glowered at the man who still wasn't looking up from his book.

Okay, two. That would explain the loss of memory, she thought, frowning. But what happened?

"You had one hell of a night," he said with a devilish grin, finally looking up at the confused and now worried Mia.

"Meaning...?" she asked slowly. Facilier chuckled. Mia almost forgot how to breathe.

"I—I didn't," she said firmly, but the stutter gave her away.

"The sounds you made..." he said slyly and Mia's eyes turned as wide as saucers.

No, no, no, no, no!

"I didn't!" she screeched as she stared at Facilier who was enjoying the sight of her vehemently shaking her head, denying it all.

"I did not, do that, I am not stupid! No! No WAY!" she told him, breathing heavily as if she had run a marathon.

"You liked it last night, what's wrong now?" he asked innocently, that damned smirk of his killing her inside.

"I did not— I didn't," she breathed, tears starting to form in her gray eyes.

Please, don't tell me I gave my virginity to a voodoo witch doctor, she thought as she closed her eyes, not wanting to see his face.

At least it was an incredibly sexy voodoo doctor?

Holy—where the HELL did that come from?

You know he is.

Don't even start with me, she seethed opening her eyes to see Shadow grinning at her. She glared at the silhouette before turning to Facilier.

"I don't believe that," she breathed, her chest heaving as she stared at the voodoo man.

He laughed. "Alright, you win, I didn't take advantage of you," he said, holding his hands up in defeat.

"Thank God," she said, feeling relieved.

"But," he said, making her tense, "You did other things that would make you almost as embarrassed." he smirked at the worried look on her face.

"Like...?" she asked.

"Oh, you don't want to know," he said carelessly, flattening out a creased edge in the book he was holding.

"Of course I do damn it, tell me," she said through grit teeth.

"Y'all sure about that?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, exasperated.

"I might as well show you," he said, waving his hand at the crystal ball on the table which started to unravel the events of the night.

Mia groaned as she saw herself guzzling down the first glass.

Real smooth, she thought sarcastically.

Her eyes widened as she told a very amused Facilier that she was going to tell him something as long as he didn't tell...Facilier.

"What the hell was I thinking...?" she said, staring incredulously at the little ball.

"That's the thing cherie. You weren't," said Facilier with a wink.

"Oh dear God," she said as she saw herself rummaging through the drawers for a granola bar. For the shadow.

Mia made a face at Shadow who nudged her and went into a fit of silent laughter.

"What were you hiding?" she asked accusingly, and Facilier tensed.

"Nothin' at all darlin'," he said, and Mia let it go, staring at herself in horror as she told Facilier how good looking he was.

She slowly looked over at Facilier who was grinning from ear to ear as he leaned back in his chair, dangerously close to tipping over.

"I told y'all it wasn't something you'd wanna see," he said.

(Facilier POV)

He grinned at the girl as she stared in horror at her actions.

I nearly kissed him... she thought, her hand touching her lips.

She looked over at Facilier again, turning red.

"Y'all seem to think I'm attractive, hmm?" he asked, grinning.

Mia stalked towards Facilier, glowering.

"I couldn't care le—" he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close, their faces just as close as they had been when she had wrapped her arms around him.

(Mia POV)

Mia stared into his cold purple eyes, hardly breathing.

Her eyes trickled over his face and lingered at his lips.

Facilier smirked, noticing where she was looking at.

"Like what you see?" he whispered in her ear.

"I hate you," she whispered, the loathing evident in her voice.

Facilier chuckled as he pulled away from her.

"I'm sure you do cherie," he said with a grin.

Mia dug her nails into her palms, seething at the amused voodoo man before her.

"Ah, ah, ah, do you really want to do that again?" he asked, smirking in satisfaction as she made a face, remembering when he had healed the crescents she had gauged into her palms.

"I need..." she started, but trailed off.

What's the point? It's not like he's going to let me go, she thought as she blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

Then perhaps you should ask. Maybe he would.

Mia frowned at the witch doctor who was smiling at her.

And why exactly would he do that? She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

He knows you need to meet your little friend Tiana to do something about your predicament. He doesn't want to keep you from your business.

Mia's eyes went wide and then narrowed. "You read the thoughts I was hiding," she said, her tone accusatory.

"Now cherie, everything was right there unprotected, you can't blame me for takin' a peek," he said with a smirk.

"A 'peek' is not the word I'd use Dr. Facilier," she hissed. "Anyhow, I need to get to Tiana's. G'bye," she said as she turned on her heel and started to leave.

"One question Mademoiselle," said Facilier. Mia turned around and looked at him questioningly.

"Do I get another gold star?" he asked innocently, his purple eyes mocking her.

"Arghh!" she growled at him as she stalked out of the emporium and slammed the door on a laughing Facilier.

(End Of Chapter)

I actually intended to make this much longer, but since I haven't updated for so long I decided to get to morning and end the chapter rather than doing another whole day. That'll be chapter 8. And hopefully Mia shall have the upper hand by the end of it. I'm working it out. (:

I might just have to bump this up a rating with the little dirty comment Facilier made. ;)

Anyhoo, thank you my lovelies for reviewing! But there are tons of people who have me on alert yet don't say a thing! *sniffles*

I have exams and a provincial math test coming up (EQAO) so my next update might be at the end of June... hopefully not! That's just the latest it could go up to though.

Review, review and review! (: