Joey was back at the lodge, resting up from snowboarding. Like his sister was with skiing, he was an amateur. He was relaxing in one of the private rooms upstairs, and was wondering where Jackie would be. He had seen her go down the ski slopes, and hoped she wouldn't have any trouble getting back. Suddenly, the door creaked open.

"I'm sorry," the blonde replied to the door, "but this room is occupied, I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."

"Joseph Hollings, I have terrible news." He could hear the somberness in the stranger's voice. The stranger was now standing next to him. He explained, "I work here at the lodge and had the…unfortunate pleasure of meeting your sister."

"Hey," Joey got out of the chair he was sitting in, not even asking for how he knew she was related to Jackie. "She may not always have her hair or makeup perfect, but she's trying to live her life, and-!"

"It is not of who your sister is," he interjected, "it is how I met her. She was going down a slope, as I often watch people do so, but as she skidded to a stop, another skier ran into her. She got…severely injured I'm afraid." The stranger pulled out an iPod-like device and hit a few buttons on it. "I actually got some footage of it. Let's watch her die together, shall we?"

"D-Die?" Joey's face grew pale at the very mention of his sister's death, but the stranger again explained, "Well, her death was not announced, but the paramedics said she may be seriously injured, and might be in a wheelchair because of how the other person collided."

"Did…did they tell you where they were taking her?" The person who worked there shook his head. "No, they gave me no information, and even I don't know where the nearest hospital is from here. I'm sorry, Mr. Hollings, this must seem like all your fault." The man left, but Joey stayed back, wondering what he meant. Was it really all his fault?

No, it couldn't be….

But, he wasn't there to stop it…

It was out of his hands anyway, wasn't it?

No, but you weren't there. You could've waited for your sister, like a good brother, but you didn't, and she had to go off to die at the hospital, all alone, without the strength of her brother to help her through… Joey's thoughts seemed to rebel with what he wanted. He wanted to be there, but wasn't. He wanted someone to help her through this, but didn't even know where she was. He wanted to be the best brother ever, but he couldn't even be with her.

His skin grew even more pale, and his hair and clothing did so as well. He ran out of the room, clutching his face in his hands, sobbing.

"You know, you didn't have to be so harsh on him."

"Did you want this plan to work?"

"Well, think about it; how would you feel if you were told I was about to die, and you had no idea where I was?"

"Well, I know you'd be going to Tartarus."

"Oh, for Pete's sake! Though I must admit, you did do a good job with acting somber about the whole thing. Not a hint of malice in your voice."

"Well, we're both good at deceiving people, are we not?"

"So you do take after me a little bit. How did you manage to corrupt him without touching him?"

"Sometimes, you don't even have to be in the room for them to become corrupted. Speaking of which, we'll only have to watch what happens to the last element…. confidence."

Charlie came back to the lodge, having spent all his time at the spa and spending any quarters he could get at the lodge's small arcade. The first face he saw that he knew was Mary, but he didn't realize that her face…. wasn't as friendly as it should be. Still, he greeted, "Hey, Mary. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you at the spa."

"Oh, really!?" The tension in her voice was something not even diamonds could cut through. One cross look and he could tell she was ticked. "You know, if you were some real friend and not the crude faker you are, I might accept your apology!"

"M-Mary?!" Charlie, not ever seeing this side of her, took a step back. "A-Are you alright?" He tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but she slapped it away.

"Sorry, dear, but I've took a long and hard look of our relationship, and I don't want you or anyone else at this school to use me like you or your friends have used me." She walked away to the bus in a huff, and Charlie looked a bit vacantly for a second to realize what was happening.

"Hey, Chuck!" The brunette heard the crude shortening of his name and turned around to see Jackie. He would've screamed when he saw it was her, but this was a public building. He hated anyone who called him that. But…there was something about her that made her seem a bit off. And he wasn't afraid to ask her about it. "Jackie, are you…grey?"

"Oh, I guess I am!" Charlie took notice of the ditzy, bubbly tone in her voice. "Maybe it's just the lighting. Well, we're going to be leaving soon." Thanks, captain obvious, Charlie thought as other students got on, but kept it to himself. "I still gotta get something special for Romore!"

For what? Charlie was speechless as she left giggling and bubbly as ever. He had never seen his two best girl friends like this. He got on the bus to find Joey, sitting alone and…looking weak. He would've sat right next to him, but the blonde looked like he could use some alone time.

But then he remembered something that Romore had said to him when he first came here. "You will have three friends. One representing Trust," his eyes fell to Molly, "one representing Cleverness," he noticed Jackie out of the corner of his eye, "and one representing Strength." He then remembered what she said about him. "You are Confidence. You are meant to be the leader of the Extra Elements. You must keep them protected."

He….he didn't….

He let them get hurt….

And by who? Or what? It didn't take him long to see the images in his mind. The strings of the puppeteer being pulled. A horrible work of art. Fire, burning, brimstone…and his horrible laughter echoing throughout. Charlie knew it. He mouthed it, but no one noticed. Discord is here….

There's no hope left….

I can't do this…

I can't be the leader….

I can't do anything….

Five extra elements, left through the door,

One saw the truth, and then there were four.

Four extra elements, safe as could be,

Mind crashed and burned, and then there were three.

Three extra elements, did all they could do,

Brawn lost his strength, and then there were two.

Two extra elements, to ruin my fun,

Leader was alone, and then there was one.

One extra element, loved by only one,

Her love had to leave….and then, there were none.