Kit, holding Puss on her shoulder, and Donkey beside her, staggered onto the small beach of the island. Somehow, both Kit and Puss both managed to keep their hats from leaving their heads as the swam for shore. The Captain (who was still on the jagged rocks) was trying to fix the wreckage of the trashed boat.

She glared back at Artie, who had pulled himself out of the surf. Kit dropped Puss next to Donkey as she threw herself into the sand, exhausted.

Puss, tired of being wet, shook himself vigorously like a wet dog. His fur immediately puffed up like a giant hairball.

"How humiliating..." he said, dropping his head in shame and marching away from the water.

Kit, still on her hands and knees, soaking wet, looked up angrily at Artie. "Oh, nice going, Your Highness."

Artie, also completely soaked, turned to her, equally mad. "Oh, so now it's 'Your highness'? What happened to 'loser'? Huh?"

"Hey!" Kit got up and walked to him, "If you think this is getting you out of anything, well it isn't," Artie rolled his eyes as Kit continued, "We're heading back to Far Far Away one way, or another, and you're gonna be killed!"

Artie raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Puss and Donkey stared at Kit uncomfortably. Kit looked at everyone, puzzled.

"What is it?"

Clearing his throat, Donkey whispered next to her. "You just said 'killed'..."

Kit was too angry to really care. "You're... I said king. You're gonna be King!"

Artie imitated Kit's voice, badly since he was a boy. "'You're gonna be King!' Yeah right."

Artie shook his head and marched down the beach toward a path leading into the woods.

"Where do you think you're going!" yelled Kit.

Artie started climbing over some rocks. "Far Far Away... from you!"

"You get back here Artie, and I mean it!"

Artie kept on climbing.

Puss tugged on Kit's black trousers. "Uh boss, I don't think he's coming back. Maybe it's for the best. He is not exactly king material."

Kit looked towards Artie. Her rage was cooling down. "We can't just leave him here to die, can we?"

"It doesn't matter if we sail him half-way around the world," said Donkey, "Siv will find him."

"You can't be sure of that. Far Far Away seems like the safest place for him."

Kit started to go off after Artie, but Donkey jumped in front of her.

"Hey, woah, Kit. Then you're gonna have to change your tactics if you want to get anywhere with this guy."

Kit sighed. "You're right, Donkey."

She looked down, and picked up a large piece of driftwood.

"What about this?" asked Kit, holding it as if it were a battle axe.

Puss shook his head in disgust. Donkey looked at her, shocked. "Kit!"

"Oh c'mon. It's just a joke," she laughed, throwing it aside. "Still..."

Kit walked off, trying to catch up to Artie. Puss and Donkey followed her.

As Kit walked through the woods, she noticed how the leaves were now turning into shades of orange and crimson red. It was Fall. Autumn.

Then Kit heard footsteps behind her, Puss, and Donkey. They weren't Artie's footsteps, but Siv's.

"You fool."

Donkey yelped in fear and hid behind Kit.

"Oh, be quiet, you animal." said Siv.

"Oh no, not you Siv." said Kit.

They kept walking through the woods, Siv moved beside Kit, her hands in her pockets.

"What did you hope to achive? Why did you bother getting Artie on the ship?"

"It was Sir Galahad, you see." said Kit.

"Sir Galahad?"

"Yes. You see, if he hadn't been there, his team would have won the tournament."

"Which gave you the childish idea that if you weren't at the Academy, Arthur wouldn't die."

"...It's not that childish."

Siv stopped walking and sat on a nearby treestump. "I despair for you sometimes."

Kit sat down beside her while Puss and Donkey sat away form them. "Let's face it sis." said Kit, "I'm not cut out for it, am I? I'm not temperamentally suited to be a royal assassin."

"Do you realize how much of a disappointment you are to me?" asked Siv.

Kit sighed. "I'm sorry. Nevermind. Perhaps I could make you proud of me by making myself useful in some other field of work?"

"Oh no. You haven't got a choice. Arthur's time is up and so is yours."

"That's a cruel thing to say." said Kit.

"You're not using you words properly! It isn't cruel, it isn't kind. It isn't fair, it isn't unfair. It just is. It's emotionless. We just do our jobs, get paid, and that's it."

"So why do I have emotions and you don't? Why do I like to laugh? Why do I care about him?" asked Kit.

Siv shrugged.

"Doesn't that make a difference?" asked Kit.

"No, it does not. You are still my little sister."

"Alright, but look: Artie hasn't had a proper life yet. Couldn't he have an extension?"

"An extension?"

"Yeah. Just some time to... well... live? Please sis? For Artie's sake?"

"Alright," said Siv, getting up, "Three days."

"Three days!" yelled Kit, also getting up, "I was thinking more along the line of twenty years!"

"Three days." repeated Siv, walking away.

Kit looked at her angrily. "I don't know what I ever saw in you!"

Kit continued walking up the mountain trail.

Suddenly, she spotted Artie. He was walking through a clearing where a boiling soup pot sat over a fire in front of a small moss-covered shack.

Out of pure curiosity, Artie knocked on its bark door.

"Uh... Hello?" he said.

Kit, Puss, and Donkey followed him into the camp.

Suddenly, a burst of light shot out of a candle box that hung on the door. A bright, colorful image of an old wizard's head projected out.

Donkey screamed again. "AHHHH!"

The wizard head spoke. "Greetings cosmic children of the universe. Welcome to my serenity circle!"

The four of them watched nervously as the projection continued. "Please leave any bad vibes outside the healing vortex. And now, prepare to-"

With a "FZZZZT" and a "BLOOP", the image disappeared.

The door opened and a old man, Merlin, walked out.

"Oh! I knew I should of gotten that warranty!"

Merlin hit the strange device and is promptly zapped on the head.

"AHH! Ow, ow, gah, eee, oh, ow!"

"Mr. Merlin?" asked Artie slowly, in a bewildered voice."

"You know this guy?" asked Kit.

"Yeah. He was the school's magic teacher. Until he had his nervous breakdown."

Merlin walked up to them. "Uh, technically I was merely a victim of a level three fatigue, and at the request of my therapist, -and the school authorities- I have retired to the tranquility of nature, to discover my divine purpose."

Kit and Artie stared in astonishment.

"Now, can I interest anyone in a snack or beverage?"

"Uh... no." said Kit.

Merlin offered them a baking dish full of rocks.

"Sure you don't wanna try my famous rock au-gratin?" Useing a spoon, Merlin scraped out a piece, took a bite, and started chewing loudly, "It's organic!"

Kit, Artie, Puss, and Donkey all stared at him uncomfortably.

"No thanks," said Kit, "I just ate a boulder on the way in," She grabbed Artie's arm, "What we need are directions back to Far Far Away."

Artie pulled his arm away. "What's with the 'we'? Who said I was going with you?"

"Oh, I did. Cause there's a lot of people counting on you, so don't try and weasel out of it."

"If it's such a great job, why don't you do it?"

Kit was getting mad again. "Understand this, it's no more Little Miss Nice Girl from here on out!"

"Oh, so that was your 'Little Miss Nice Girl'?"

"I know, and I'm gonna miss her." smirked Kit.

"You know what? Why don't you go find a difficult hedge maze to get lost in, and leave me alone!"

"Listen up! You get your royal highness to Far Far Away before I kick it there." Kit turned to Merlin, "Now, which way am I kicking?"

"Oh, I could tell you. But since you're in the midst of self-destructive rage spiral, it would be karmic-ly irresponsible."

"Self-destructive ra- Look! Are you gonna help us or not?"

"Most definitely, but only after you take the journey to your soul!"

"What?" asked Kit.

"You know a sort-of séance*, an attempt to communicate with the spirits." said Merlin.

*A/N: Séance is pronounced 'say-aunce'.

Kit rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Look kid, it's either that, or some primal scream therapy." said Merlin, giving them a demonstration, "Yaaaahhhhhhh!"

Kit quickly covered Merlin's mouth.

"Alright, alright! Journey to the soul..."

A/N: Don't worry, the reason why Puss and Donkey are with Kit will be revealed soon.

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