Count Bleck regarded Glitter Sue cautiously. Even without her magic, she was still standing proudly with her head held high. "What are you going to do without your wand?" he asked.

Glitter Sue shot Count Bleck a playful smirk. "I'm sorry, who said I had to fight without my wand?"

"Did you not just say that you were out of power?"

"Not for long," said Glitter Sue. She put her fingers in her mouth and let out the loudest, shrillest whistle imaginable.

All was still for four seconds. Then, approaching from a distance, came a bright ball of light. Count Bleck watched frozen in horror as he realized what it was.

Glitter Sue waved with both hands over her head. "Klasky! Yoo-hoo! I'm over here!"

Klasky the angry sun came to rest directly over her head. "What's up?" he chirped. "You need a favor?"

Glitter Sue held the wand over her head. "I just need you to hang there and be beautiful." She winked.

"Oh, you."

"Thanks, you're an angel." Glitter Sue, now bathed in his sunlight, brought the fists back up out of the sand. "Now, where were we? I believe I was about to bid a bittersweet farewell to the best man I ever fought?"

Count Bleck looked up at Klasky, then at the fists. He tried to stand up, putting his hands on the ground and pushing up, but he simply fell back down. He considered yielding, but he knew he would never stop fighting her, and she knew it as well. So he closed his eyes and bowed his head. He heard a rushing in his ears as the fist came to meet him.

Suddenly, he felt himself warp, and the fist never came. Count Bleck opened his eyes and saw that he was in Dimension D. Dimentio was hovering over him, a nervous expression on his mask. Count Bleck looked around and saw Nastasia and Tippi were there as well.

"Blumiere!" Tippi flew straight into him. He cradled her in his hands. "Oh, thank the stars themselves! I thought for sure you- I don't know what I would do without you!"

Nastasia knelt down beside Count Bleck and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

"Banged up and bruised, but nothing serious. She spun me around and slammed me down so hard I was having a little trouble moving and flipping, but I'm already getting better."

Nastasia breathed a sigh of relief. Dimentio landed on the ground. "It was sheer luck I saw you," he said. "I was taunting O'Chunks by going slightly higher every time I dodged, and then I saw Klasky and realized our plan would not work."

"I didn't even consider an angry sun would have enough power," said Count Bleck. "The plan was foolish."

"We didn't have enough information going in," said Nastasia. "We'll lay low here and hash out what we've learned. We'll come back with a better plan."

Count Bleck closed his eyes and leaned back until he was lying on the ground. "Right now it seems hopeless."

"Things have seemed hopeless before," said Tippi, "but we always figure something out."

Count Bleck smiled. "I think... I need to rest a bit."

"I understand," said Nastasia.

"How are O'Chunks and Mimi?"

"They're fine," said Nastasia. "Completely unharmed."

Count Bleck's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, making himself dizzy again. "And you? I didn't even think to ask-"

"It's fine, it's fine," said Nastasia, seeing his eyes start to dance. She eased him back down. "You didn't have to ask. You can see for yourself. We're all fine. We weren't hurt at all."

"I'm glad," said Count Bleck. "I'm glad... that I have you. I don't know what I would do if I were on my own."

"Lucky for you," said Tippi, as she rested on his chest, "you'll never have to be alone again as long as I'm here."

Count Bleck smiled. Soon after that, he fell asleep.

Ghibli was floating nervously in the cavern, pacing back and forth in the air. It was completely alone. It hated being alone. It had never been alone before, not once in over a thousand years, and it didn't like it. It never wanted this again. Yet none of the other phantos had returned, and Toei had gone out and hadn't yet returned either.

What if Toei was hurt? Ghibli had never left this cavern before. It had no idea what was out there. Monsters? Demons? Ancient abominations so powerful they could destroy all who rose against them? What if Toei never came back? What would it do then? Would it spend the rest of its days down here, guarding the chest all alone? Would it venture out into the world for help? Would there even be anyone out there to help it?

Finally, Toei returned. The moment its glowing eyes appeared in the cavern, Ghibli rushed over to it and pressed itself into Toei. "Oh, you're back! You're back!"

"Of course I'm back," said Toei. "I said I'd be back in half an hour, and it's only been twenty-five minutes."

"I was afraid for you," said Ghibli.

"Don't be. There's no one on the surface interested in us."

"They're not coming back to the cavern? Don't they want the treasure?"

"Apparently not."

"What about our siblings?"

"No sign of them. It looks like they aren't planning on returning after all."

"What? But- but how can they just abandon us like that? It's not right!"

"It matters not. We're still here. And we still have Vanguard."

Ghibli turned around and looked at the back wall of the cavern. Set into it was the largest phanto of them all, Vanguard. It was the mask that sat in the background and watched the smaller ones as they protected the key. Vanguard did not speak, nor did it think. It simply was, and it did what was needed of it to protect the smaller ones. In a way, it was not its own being but was the collective consciousness of every phanto in the chamber. Which, right now, was just the two.

"Vanguard will protect us," said Toei. "Vanguard will keep us safe."

"Vanguard is our protector," murmured Ghibli, remembering the chants the toads had taught it more than a millennium ago. That chant had kept it going through some tough times. It wasn't easy to hang on a wall and watch an empty cavern for all time. Sometimes things got scary. Plus, there might come a day when someone managed to take the treasure out of the cavern. Then it would have to follow and get it back. The thought terrified Ghibli, but knowing Vanguard was near made it easier.

"There's a disturbance going on above ground," said Toei. "The guardian is fighting with some outsiders. The ones who tried to take the key."

"Oh, jeez," said Ghibli. "Are they winning?"

"No. They're losing."

"Oh, good. And what of the bones?"

"Nowhere to be seen. Either they are still buried or they're long gone."

Ghibli sighed in relief. "Whew. Okay. So. What do we do now?"

"For now, we wait," said Toei. "I will return to the surface in a few hours to see what became of the battle."

"And you'll come right back... right?"

"Of course." Toei gave Ghibli a sideways look. "I won't leave you alone for long. In fact... if we play our cards right, we'll never have to be alone again."