Nastasia hung back, not quite in the group nor out of it as they discussed a plan to liberate Mario. They didn't need a secretary's help in their planning, yeah?

"Nassy," Peach said, "maybe you could help us. You could hypnotize the guards!"

She shook her head. "They're not like anything I've ever encountered before." It wasn't so much that she couldn't hypnotize the Watchmen, but that she wasn't sure she wanted to. "I might be able to, but I don't know. I'll make a memo of it, 'K?"

"Thank you," Peach said.

It wasn't very often that Nastasia was thanked for anything.

From somewhere across town, they could hear the manic, laughing screams of the silly, cheerful, very, very brave Mimi, who had sacrificed her freedom for their goals.

"So, in the meantime," Bowser said, "we need another plan."

"Strange to see you concerned for the welfare of my kingdom," Peach retorted cooly. "Or are you just smarting from the thought someone defeated Mario and it wasn't you?"

"Be careful what you say, my lovely--"

"Oh, don't start that again! I thought we'd agreed that since we were both hypnotized it didn't count--"

"No, it's in Trilieth's First Law of Mental Connection and Control Magic," said Nastasia, eager to head off an argument. They didn't need to fight amongst each other. "Any promises made under the influence of hypnotism are binding only while the hypnotism remains, though that doesn't stop many people from using it as an excuse for things."

"You see? I thought so."

She shouldn't have intervened at all. There wasn't even any such thing as Trilieth's First Law of Mental Connection and Control Magic; she'd grabbed the first things that crossed her mind in hopes of stopping the feuding. Where had she heard the name Trilieth before, anyways?

"You know whose help we could use?" asked Peach suddenly. "Merlon, that's who."

"Merlon?" Now Bowser was interested. "You mean that little magician from Flipside?"

"Well, seeing as our Merlon has disappeared..."

"I'll go get him," Nastasia said, and before anyone could argue, she vanished.

Flipside was deadly silent. The sky was black, and only an occasional pale diamond hung there like a flat blue painting set askew.

"'K, so, scary sky, lots of damage, and nobody home," she said softly, looking around.

"They're sleeping."

She whirled, but no one was behind her. "Who's there? Come on out and I won't have to hurt you, yeah?"

There was no answer.

"Just tell me where Merlon is, and I'll be going, 'K?"

"Ah ha ha ha ha, I'm afraid he's asleep too."

A shiver went down her spine. She'd heard that laugh before...but no, she was imagining it. It wasn't possibly for that to be the same voice. He couldn't be here. Not anymore. He was gone.

Right, snap out of it, Nastasia. Time to wake up from that nightmare. There's something else going on now.

"What do you mean, 'asleep'?" she asked warily, glancing around, trying to catch sight of the speaker.

"There's some sort of spell on Flipside. Everyone's been cast into a deep, deep sleep, and they don't appear to be waking up no matter how many methods I employ in my attempts to rouse them. You can sense it, can't you? You feel it too, in the back of your mind."

He was right. She didn't like it; he knew a little too much about her.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you know me, Nastasia?"

She turned. There he was, little more than a silhouette, half a face glowing faintly, ghostlike, and one golden eyes flashing, laughing. He bowed his head, and there was a slight chiming of bells. His feet didn't quite touch the ground.

"How?" she whispered, unable to find other words.

He shrugged. "Nothing I care to discuss, thank you."

"Your voice spoke to us in Gloam Valley. I thought you sounded familiar! You...sent us there?"

"I saved your lives. Both of you."

"You're a traitor, and I wouldn't trust you if you saved me a hundred times."

"Can't you let the past stay buried?"

She pushed her glasses up her nose. "No!" she shouted as an explosion of hypnotic energy flew towards him. It collided with a star in midair and both shattered. She was thrown backwards from the rebound of her own magic and saw him stagger, almost comically, in midair.

Slowly, her hands shaking, she removed her glasses. "Just remember you asked for this, 'K?"

"Nastasia, don't--" For the first time, there was fear in his voice.

She raised her head and met his eyes. Furiously, she stabbed at him with her mind, but what she wasn't expecting was the attack that crushed her in return as she tumbled headlong into thoughts and memories. The world outside her faded, blurred, going dark at the edges as ones within her tore to pieces.

There was a howl of pain, and a piercing scream.

Then, there was silence.

Flipside slept on.

A/N: So, twenty chapters! And yes, that's the marvelous ending I meant when I mentioned it earlier. I've had this planned for ages.

I've been working hard on Project: Gateway to the Stars. If you want to check out my illustrations, visit my homepage!

:DG