This chapter's a little...eh. But I'm terribly sorry in advance if I give you guys depression because I'm so freaking cruel to Dreambert. Anywhoo...

Chapter 9:

...

"Your Highness! Please come out! This is urgent!"

"Go away."

"Please, Your Highness! It has been years since you have come out of that door! We need you now!"

"Why me, of all people? Can't you just get the masters?"

"No, you do not understand, Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened and you are the only one who can stop it!"

"What...? What happened?"

"Antasma has consumed nightmare energy and has gone insane! He attacked the masters and stole the Dark Stone!"

...

Pain.

It was the first thing I felt when I awoke. My head, my throat, my shoulder...even my insides. Everything hurt, and I groaned as I rolled onto my back. Opening my eyes, I saw that I was on a bed. The bright green interior told me I was back in the Beanbean Castle. I gazed over at the wide window where sunlight shone through. Then I noticed my book on the nightstand beside me and realized that I was in my own room.

Even though I had no energy, I forced myself to sit up. My now purple hair fell in my face and I felt something wrapped tightly around my body, namely my torso. I pulled the blankets off and looked down. My tunic and shirt had been removed, revealing my bare chest. Most of my abdomen had been bandaged where Antasma's claws pricked it and my right shoulder was more heavily wrapped up, red from soaking in blood.

And my insides felt like they had been messed with. The stupid curse was probably moving around again...

I jumped when the door creaked open. Looking up, I saw a familiar Beanish prince come into the room, holding a tray. My mouth watered as I smelled freshly cooked food, opening my empty stomach right up. Once he turned around and saw me awake, he smiled and walked over, "Well look who's up. How are you feeling?"

"Like Hell..." I grumbled while running a hand through my hair. Peasley chuckled and set the tray down on the nightstand, "I could only imagine, after what you went through."

"Tell me about it..." I trailed off as my attention turned to the food. It was french toast with a cup of tea. On the side were some bandages and some gauze. Peasley sighed and took the items off, giving the tray to me. "Go ahead. It was my breakfast, but you're staring at it like a starving dog."

I blinked, "Well, of it's yours then..."

"You worry too much, Dreambert. Just eat, you need it more than I do." He shoved the tray on my lap. I could not resist at this point, so I nodded and grabbed the silverware on the side. While I wolfed it down, Peasley walked away and opened the closet. He pulled out a white shirt and tossed it at the end of my bed, "Thought you might want that. Don't put it on yet, I need to change your bandages. It's not the same one you had, but it'll do for now."

"What happened to my shirt?" I asked after swallowing.

"The whole right side of it was soaked in blood and we didn't bother to wash it. Blood stains pretty bad, y'know?"

"What about my tunic?"

"Well, you bled through that too. Not near as bad as the shirt so the maids took it to get it cleaned." He answered simply, "It's in the closet, but you're not wearing it right now."

"Yes, I figured."

I finished the tea and set the tray down on the nightstand. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Peasley grabbed the bandages and sat on the edge of the bed beside me, "Let me see your arm."

I extended my arm for him to take. Slowly, he tore the bloody bandages off and revealed the wound. My entire shoulder was red with irritation and there were two puncture holes where Antasma's teeth bit into my flesh. The skin around the wound had peeled back and continued to bleed. I winced as it stung, being exposed to the air. Peasley's mouth twitched as he met my eyes, "He got you good, didn't he? Those were some nasty looking teeth on him, I must say."

"He is part bat, what do you expect?" I replied.

"At least he didn't have rabies." He said jokingly, "That would've made things much worse, am I right?"

"Very funny." I rolled my eyes. Peasley got the roll of bandages and began to wrap it around the wound. We got quiet, both focusing on his hands as they maneuvered the roll around wound to cover it. After a while, Peasley threw me off with a sudden question, "What are we going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Antasma, I heard what he said to you. So if he really is dead, he's not going to be able to break that curse is he?" He said as he finished with the bandages and began to secure it with gauze. At this point, any thought of the curse made my stomach flip.

I sighed, "No, he isn't. If I remember correctly, there is only one other way to do this..."

"The Light and Dark Kingdoms." Peasley answered for me. "There's just one problem with that."

"...What?"

"We don't know where the heck those kingdoms are. Starlow insisted yesterday that they existed, but failed to know where exactly they are. Well, more like she refused to tell us..." He explained, finishing with the gauze and setting my arm down, "I don't really know her, but I've seen enough out of her to see that she's been acting strange. She seems like the type of being who's always quirky and cheery but...she's not. She's been pretty nervous lately, if you ask me."

I thought back to when she acted strange the night before we left my kingdom and her strange knowledge of the Light Kingdom. Peasley was right, she has not been herself at all since this started. I paused and glanced at him, "Did you say yesterday?"

"Yep, you've been out for about four days."

I snapped my eyes wide open, "And you did not tell me this, why?!"

"You didn't ask how long you were out." He said simply.

I wanted to punch him so bad. I probably would have if my body was not so sore. Instead I glared at him for a while until I got out of the bed and grabbed the white shirt. I winced at straining my shoulder, but I slipped it on and stared at myself at a mirror on the drawers. It felt odd seeing myself without any royal wear. I really just looked like an ordinary guy with wild, oddly purple hair in white clothing...and a swollen shoulder. Peasley opened a drawer and tossed a brush at me, "You'll definitely need that. It hasn't been used either, before you ask."

I nodded, "Can I just grab my tunic? I look weird in all white...especially with this hair color..."

"Yeah, purple is not your color." He grimaced as he glanced at my hair, "But those shoulder plates and the long cape on your tunic will put too much pressure on that shoulder, so you're going to have to deal with it."

"Oh come on!" I whined, "Is there anything I can put over this shirt? It just doesn't look right with my white pants!"

Peasley facepalmed. "Oh for crying out loud, Dreambert! Fashion should be the last thing to worry about! Everyone knows what happened to you, so no one cares if you're wearing all white!"

"Well I care! Can I have a jacket or something?"

"It's warm today!"

"I don't care!"

"You're unbelievable." Peasley shook his head at me, "Fix that hair of yours, because it's bothering me. I'll go grab something from my room."

With that, he left the room and I began to brush out the tangles. While I was busy fixing the part in my hair, Peasley strolled back in with a leather jacket draped over his arm. I paused when I saw it, "Are you serious...? You just said that purple was not my color!"

"Yeah well, any other color will make your hair look even worse than it already is." He handed the jacket to me, "Might as well go with it, am I right?"

I huffed, but I snatched it and slipped it on. It was a dark violet that was collared and slimmed down at the waist. Even though I did not like the color...it looked surprisingly decent on me. I gaze over at his smirking reflection in the mirror, "What are you smiling at?"

"See? Not so bad, is it. That's a stylish side part you have there, by the way." He chuckled. I snorted and looked back at him, "At least I have a stylish part. What is with that widow's peak of yours, huh?"

Peasley flicked his hair, projecting some bright sparkles off of it, "Hey, at least I look good with it. The ladies love it, and I bet they'll love that hair of yours too if you drop the hood every now and then."

"Number one, no one wants a guy with freakishly purple hair." I pointed at it, "Number two, I am not someone who goes out and flirts with every girl I see, unlike you."

"Not a ladies man, huh? That's right, because you have that young gatekeeper to charm." He winked, "A tradition that reserves you for someone? Seems a little unfair to me."

"But it is necessary." I fixed the collar on the jacket before turning around, "Where is everyone else?"

"In the lobby with Lady Lima, probably discussing an alternative." Peasley answered. "Come on, let's go."

Wanting to stretch my legs, I eagerly followed him out of the right hall and downstairs. Once we got in the lobby, I heard someone shout my name, "Dreambert! Is that you?"

Starlow hovered over to me, away from the brothers and Lady Lima who were at the castle entrance. She paused and examined me, "Wow...you look so different. But that hair-"

"Do not say a thing," I put a hand up warningly, "I know it looks bad."

"It doesn't look that bad. I mean that jacket looks good on you and it kinda blends in with your hair. But seriously, what color is you hair supposed to be?"

I smiled, "Red."

"You're a redhead? That explains a lot..." Peasley muttered.

I elbowed him in the stomach.

"Anyway, has anything happened while I was out?" I asked her.

"Not really, we were just concerned if you would ever wake up. But Mario and Luigi mentioned the...Light and Dark Kingdoms and Lady Lima said she has something important for us." She replied.

"Indeed I do."

The said ambassador walked up, holding a small chest. "Prince Dreambert, I'm glad that you've recovered. Are you well?"

"Yes and no." I looked down at my hands, which were still petrified and as deathly cold as I remembered them. At the sight of them, Starlow gasped, "Wait, you don't have your gloves on!"

"There is no use in having them anymore." I pulled back the sleeve of the jacket, revealing the curse making its way past my elbow. Lady Lima came closer and inspected it, "...May I?"

I nodded and allowed her to touch the stoney substance substituting my skin. She ran her fingers over it lightly before taking them away, "Oh my...so cold. So whatever that thing is inside of you is doing this to you?"

"Unfortunately, and because Antasma was the one who did this to me, I need to find a way to reach him and stop this before I literally turn into a statue."

"I see..." She beckoned us to follow her, "And you must find the Light and Dark Kingdoms, particularly the Dark one, in order to find a way through the Underwhere?"

"That is the plan." I said while following her. The brothers ran up beside me and smiled, "Glad to-a see you're-a okay, Dreambert."

"Thanks for helping me out on this, guys."

They nodded in reply. Lady Lima waved us over and we followed her to the right side of the castle. She spoke while we followed her, "Ah yes, the Light and Dark...two of the oldest kingdoms to ever exist. Such fascinating kingdoms they are."

Peasley looked surprised, "Lady, you know about these kingdoms?"

"I do, as we are slightly descended from the Light people." She said, "Why do we have golden beanies? Why does your hair sparkle the way it does? Because of special traits we inherited from the Light people when they discovered this island long ago."

Peasley ran a hand through his hair in response, "Why wasn't I told of this?!"

She either ignored his question or somehow did not hear it as she went on, "But they also left a special treasure here when the Beanbean Kingdom was nothing but a wild island, thousands of years ago. Today, this treasure is our most prized possession that the royal family is sworn to protect from evil."

We approached a large locked door. The guards there nodded at Lady Lima and allowed her to grab a key and unlock it. She pushed the door open and beckoned us in. Once inside, a bright glowing object floated in the center of the room. It was a star outlined in green with a peaceful face on it. A blue shield surrounded it, and I assumed it was to protect it.

"The Beanstar. It is a special star that, once awakened, would grant the wishes of anyone who possessed it. Cackletta, a former ambassador before me, knew this and turned into a spell casting witch. She tried to steal it for her own selfish wants with Princess Peach's voice, the only pure voice able to awaken it. Luckily, Mario and Luigi were able to stop her and return the Beanstar to its rightful place in the castle."

I gazed at the beanish treasure with interest, "It is like the Dream and Dark Stones of my kingdom. They both grant wishes, and we're both protected by the Pi'illo Masters until Antasma stole the Dark Stone."

Lady Lima nodded, "But the Light Kingdom also left this."

She opened the chest she was holding, revealing a beautiful golden compass. The gold glowed and the arrow was made of a stunning silver as it pointed north. "A Light Compass that leads straight to the kingdom."

We all stared at her, "Seriously?!"

Peasley took the compass out and examined it, "North it says...so we just fly north?"

"Yes, but not with a plane." She said and pointed at him, "With you."

He snapped back so quickly that I was afraid he would drop the compass, "Me?"

"They're so isolated from the rest of the world, a dragon would be less intimidating to them than a plane, as they won't have the technology we do today. Going dragonback will be a better choice, so time to put that beast of yours to use, Peasley. I hope none of you are afraid of heights." She smirked.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope."

I exchanged glances with the brothers, "So we are riding on Peasley as Dragohoho?"

"That is correct. How is that telepathic spell working for you, by the way? Is it still working?" She asked Peasley. He nodded, "It works. But this dragonback idea is ridiculous!"

"She does have a point, Peasley." I said, "Your plane freaked me out the first time I saw it. Could you imagine the reaction of people even older than me?"

"I don't like being Dragohoho..." He whined. Lady Lima sighed, and apparently that set him off and he yelled at her, startling us all, "Don't act that! I HATE Dragohoho with a passion and you know exactly why! Everybody knows why, and it ticks me off how no one seems to care!"

He tossed the compass at me and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him that only bounced back open from the force. We looked at each other dumbfounded while the guards peeked in worryingly.

She rubbed her temples and sighed, "Oh dear...I knew this would happen..."

"Yikes, what was that about?" Starlow asked. "Why does he hate Dragohoho so much?"

Lady Lima gestured at me, "He should know."

I blinked confusingly, "Me? Why would I know?"

It was her turn to look confused as she looked up at me, "Didn't you two have a talk about yourselves? That's what he told me..."

"We did, but he never completely told me how his father died..." I said while handing the compass to Mario.

"Well it should be obvious now. Dragohoho killed his father."

The room grew silent as we took in what the advisor just said. My thoughts went back to Somnom Woods, when Peasley said that he tried not to use Dragohoho at all. It made sense what he meant by that now. Being the same creature who killed someone you love? I would not want to be in that situation either. Not knowing what killed my parents is bad enough for me.

"Should someone...?" I trailed off. Lady Lima shook her head, "Let him steam it off. I understand it's hard for him to be something he despises so much, but he has to realize that hate will get him nowhere. For now, just leave him be. You're not going anywhere until that shoulder is healed."

"But I only have so much time!" I protested, "I can not just sit here as this curse is eating me alive! Look at my arms, for Grambi's sake!"

"I understand that Prince, but sending you off into a previously unknown kingdom while you're injured is even more dangerous!" She protested.

"I am fine! It is not that bad!" I said, my voice raising more than I intended. Starlow spoke up in an attempt to deal with me, "Dreambert, Peasley said that the bite wouldn't stop bleeding for three straight days. At least give it a day or two more to heal before throwing yourself in more danger!"

"You think I can't fend for myself?" I snapped. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop myself and I immediately regretted it. Starlow blinked a few times, obviously stunned by the accidental retort.

Luigi tried to explain as well, but I did not listen. My frustration got out of hand too quickly for me to control. Mario put a hand on my good shoulder, "But-a Dreambert-"

"Don't touch me!" I growled as I shoved him away. The motion triggered the curse as I released a burst of energy that Mario was quick enough to dodge. I stared at my outstretched hand for a minute before balling it up and turning away, "...Excuse me."

I hurried out before any of them tried to stop me. My chest was burning again and I had that familiar urge to destroy something. I pushed past the guards and got out of the castle as fast as I could. Once out, I made my way through the castle town, ignoring the stares I recieved, and stopped when I crossed over the bridge to look at a sign. I hardly had a minute to look at it when something flew at my head, grazing the back of it.

"ACK! What in the-" I turned around and saw a bean...with wings. It looked like a golden beanie, just not gold. The green tone amusingly made it look like Peasley's head with an awkward grin. I blinked at it confusingly as it hovered before me. I held my hand up, "Oookay, stay back!"

It's grin only widened and it dove down at me. I lifted my hands up, similarly when Antasma lunged at me, and waited for the animal to hit me. I waited at least five minutes and nothing happened. The temperature was strangely colder than what I remembered and I put my arms down to look.

Everything was icy...literally.

I was suddenly in a palace made if ice and snow. Really confused, I went to a nearby ice pillar and read the sign on it: Joke's End.

"Joke's...End? What is this place..?" I murmured to myself. The temperature was significantly colder, but having death all over me, I was used to being 'deathly' cold. Cautiously, I wandered through the icy landscape, trying to find some way back to the castle. The palace was like a maze; every path I took seemed to take me in circles, disconcerting me. I was beginning to worry if I teleported myself out of the Beanbean Kingdom.

I felt like I was wandering for hours in the big palace. I stopped and glared at the same ice pillar I saw three times in a row. Three. Times. Growling, I built up some energy and threw a sphere of energy at the it. I heard the satisfying sound of splintering ice as the energy obliterated the pillar into pieces. My head suddenly got fuzzy and my spine tensed as something cold slithered up my body and into my head.

Having fun?

I whipped around at the voice. Nothing was around, and yet the voice began to laugh...in my head. I thought I was going crazy when the familiar chilling voice spoke again.

Are you really looking around? Wow, you're dumber than I thought. Don't remember me, host?

I froze, "You have got to be kidding me..."

I kid you not. Yeah that's right, I can still talk. How do ya like them apples?

The voice was high and feminine, just as I remembered it that night. I snapped back at the curse's sudden change of personality, "I do not remember you being like this last time. Is it because your 'master' is not here?"

No, it's called roleplay you idiot. Ever heard of it? I don't remember you being so stupid either.

"Rude, much?"

Just saying. I'd much rather be back in the nightmare world than be stuck inside of you. Seriously, you have a tiny body. There's like no room in here! All thanks to that dimwit Antasma who likes to shatter stuff.

"That is very comforting, thanks." I snorted.

I'm made of pure nightmares, you moron. I'm not supposed to be comforting. I'm supposed to grant wishes...well I was before Mr. BatBoy crushed my solid form, the hypocrite. Talk about no respect!

I rubbed my temples, "My lord, you are just as annoying as the Dream Stone's spirit..." I trailed off when I processed what the curse said, "Wait...did you say 'shattered your solid form'?"

I said Mr. BatBoy crushed my solid form to be specific, but basically yes.

"...And you are made of nightmares..."

Dr. Snoozemore's voice popped into my head when we had that talk in the beginning, "My hypothesis is that if the evil energy got a hold of a Pi'illo, it will petrify them just like that Dark Stone had. It was made out of pure nightmare after all, remember?"

The curse injected it's satisfaction into me, as if it finally got what it was looking for. It obviously read my thoughts as it hummed in my head. Does it all make sense now?

"You...you are not just a curse. You are the Dark Stone's spirit!"

FINALLY! My god, I wasn't sure if you were were too dumb to figure it out on your own or not. Why does everyone know about the Dream Stone and not know about me? I know I'm bad and all, but I have a spirit too. I swear, everyone forgets about the parallels between us.

"Including the lack of manners?" I groaned.

Shut your trap. I'll have you know that the Dream Stone is worse than me, so your lucky. All he does is sleep and use that stupid robot form on everyone that bothers him. Talk about lazy!

"He? Based on your voice, I am assuming you are a she?"

Based on your English, I'm assuming you don't know what contractions are?

I sighed, "You just will not give straight answers, will you?"

Yes, I'm a she. Happy now? That should have been obvious. Wanna give me a nickname while you're at it? That's a joke by the way, so don't.

"Whatever, I am done with you." I threw my own attitude at 'her', "Do you know how to get out of here, at least?"

The curse snorted. How would I know? I'm not a freaking psychic, bub. Your memory is my only source of knowledge, so I only know as much as you do when it comes to the outside world.

"Great..."

Here's an idea. Ever tried teleporting back?

I tilted my head, "But I do not know how..."

Are you kidding me? I know you're stupid, but really? All you need to do is think of a location and focus on it. Me as the Dark Stone will do the work for you. Since I'm made to fulfill wishes, I have to do whatever you want me to do based on your emotions and demands. By demands, you don't have to say it since I'm no longer a stone. We are psychologically connected, so all you have to do is think of what you want to do. Do I have to break it down, or are you at least smart enough to get that?

"Yes, I understand." I snapped, quite tired of her attitude towards me. "I have one last question. Why are you helping me if you are petrifying me?"

The curse sighed, as if she was doing her best to keep her patience. There's a reason why I need a solid form in the real world. When Antasma broke my solid stone form, my vessel, I had no connect to the real world anymore, therefore I began to fade out of existence. The stupid bat found me in the nightmare world and decided to use me. He deliberately took me from my rightful place and forcefully stuck me into a new vessel: you. A living being is not a proper vessel, as it can't properly hold pure nightmare energy like a stone. As a result, the energy consumes the vessel, in this case you, into a solid form so that you can properly hold the energy. That's how I work, and there's nothing I can do about it.

It bothered me how much carelessness she had in her voice when she said that. She sounded bored with the entire thing and did not have an ounce of emotion while describing why she was killing me. "...And yet you could care less about it?"

I'm a spirit made of hateful, evil energy. I'm not supposed to care, and quite honestly, I don't.

I felt sick to my stomach having such a foul spirit inside of me. The Dream Stone was just simply insolent and irritable, but the Dark Stone was just plain merciless and ruthless, having no care in the world that she was killing someone by accident. It showed just how cruel nightmares can be.

Just like that, everything crashed down on me at once. The anger, the stress, the sadness, the frustration and so many more emotions that mixed together swarmed into my mind. There were so many complex feelings that I completely broke down then and there. I lashed out at anything and everything around me, spewing blasts of energy everywhere. I lashed and I grit my teeth and I yelled until my voice hurt. Nightmare matter spread out all over the palace, tinting the ice and making it glow an ominous purple as I continued to lose my sanity. The blasts blew up chucks of ice in the walls and the pieces shattered over the floor...just like my mirror. Eventually I ran myself back into a wall and slid down, putting my head in my hands.

And I cried.

I wept like a child as I sat in the cold room glowing of evil. My head spun and my body was shivering from being in the bitter climate. But I could care less if I froze to death. I wanted to die at this point, I wanted to have a one-way ticket to Grambi. I wanted to see my parents again.

The curse, as I still wanted to consider her, had left my mind and relocated herself back in my heart. Even she knew better than to linger with me in this state. I could feel her cold entity hesitantly creep downward until she reached her destination, as if she tried to sneak away unnoticed. I was considering asking for her to find a way to put an end to me when a new presence touched my mind.

It was not cold like the curse, not even close. It was curious and cautious...and it was familiar. The touch was gentle, as if hesitant to connect with me, but it was enough to clear my own mind and give it an opening. Remembering what the curse said, I focused on it, reached out to it. The presence responded and pressed itself into my own conscious and sent me a mental message in in an all too familiar voice.

Are you okay?

I lifted my head up and looked around, "P-Peasley? But...where...?"

I'm right here, Dreamy Boy.

A dragon head peeked around a wall on the right, his amber eyes glowing in the tainted ice. I watched as he crawled into view and walked up to me, a soft hum in his throat. He lowered his large head down and nudged my chin. I pushed his snout back and met his gaze. His pupils widened and he tilted his head in a curious animal-like way. I knew what he was trying to say and I only swallowed down my sobs and looked the other way, "Go away..."

I'm not leaving you here alone.

"Maybe I want to be alone!" My voice shook, "Go away, Peasley!"

I lifted my knees and dug my face in them, unable to control the sobs that shook my body. Peasley's presence withdrew from my mind and I almost thought he did leave me. I looked up to see him in his human form standing before me. He had a solemn expression but I could sense his empathy for me. We stared at each other for a long time before the younger prince extended a hand out for me, "You helped me. Now let me help you."

Something about his calm tone soothed me, it brought me back to earth. My mind became blank as I looked at the offer given to me. Slowly, I reached out a trembling hand and took his. He helped me up and smiled; not a simper, but a real genuine smile.

And I smiled back.

"Come on, you're freezing. Let's get out of here."

Still grasping my arm, he lead me through the palace, taking lefts and rights here and there until we finally reached the entrance. I gazed at the large door before pushing it open. The cold night air rushed to my face, but it felt nice. The stars shone brightly and even rejected off of the icy landscape. As I walked out of the maze that drove me insane, Peasley morphed into Dragohoho and trotted up next to me. Get on, I'll fly us back.

I raised an eyebrow, "I thought you hated using Dragohoho."

I do but...my hatred shouldn't be put ahead of someone's life. Besides, Joke's End is surrounded by water and there's no other way back. I'm assuming you teleported or something?

I sighed, "Yes."

Well, let's go. We've got an old kingdom to find, remember? We don't have forever.

I chuckled as I hoisted myself over his back like he was a horse. Once I was comfortable, he stood up and stretched his long yellow wings. Ready?

"Yes. I have a lot to tell you guys when we get back..."

I'm sure you do. Now hold on, the takeoff is going to be a little rough!

I latched onto a spike on his neck as Peasley roared and lifted off into the air. He headed westward over the sea, his path lit by the moonlight. Joke's End gradually faded away and the stars shone brighter than ever, and I wondered if my parents, as well as the kings and queens of the past, were there with us.

PLOT TWIST! The Dark Stone has a spirit too! Betcha you guys forgot all about that stone, huh?

I think we all knew Dreambert was going to lose it at some point. His breakdown is supposed to signify what I think happened to Antasma when he got caught up with nightmares: They're evil things that can corrupt the mind and, if causes enough damage, can drive someone to the point of destructive, power-hungry insanity. It happened to Antasma and will happen to Dreambert if he can't control himself the same way Antasma couldn't. This marks the next part of the story where stuff gets crazy...real crazy. ;D I hope you guys are prepared!

Reviews make me happy! :D