AN: Oops I got a job, rip my free time. At least my wallet is happier. As usual, I can't really give a timeframe for when I'll have the next chapter up, but I'm already several pages into it. Here's hoping that's a good sign.

"How many hours is it now?"

"Two, I think?" Kyle grimaced. Today had been off to a rough start – waking up in the wee hours of the morning only to get kidnapped wasn't exactly the kind of activity he'd recommend, and running the equivalent of a marathon and puking were just a cherry on top of that unpleasant sundae. His spirits had lifted for a short while once the sun emerged and he and Overlord had returned from their recruiting trip, but the air had slowly turned from fresh to muggy, and in turn that seemed to dampen more than a few people's moods. "Are you okay?"

Vera shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters." Kyle let out a breath. "Did you talk to Ero?"

"Strangely enough, one conversation didn't cure me." She clicked her tongue and continued before he could respond. "Look, I'm sorry, I just— All I've been doing is training and waiting and having awkward conversations, and I'm sick of it."

"I get it," Kyle said. Vera rolled her eyes. "No, I do! Believe me, I can't wait until all of this is behind us. But it'll all be over soo—"

"You don't know that," Vera cut in. "We thought it was over, when we got out of the castle, but then two months later this happens— It's never going to be over, is it?"

"You don't know that," Kyle said. "Please, just hold on a little longer, okay?"

"Just a little longer, just a little more," Vera spat. "I hate this."

She stalked off, and Kyle's stomach sank. He was just trying to help. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all.

"Yeouch." Kyle jolted at Nick's presence behind him. "You've got girlfriend issues too, huh?"

"What? No, it's not like that. She got tangled up in this because she's the alternate dimension version of Over— Cloak-Kevin's ex-wife. No one's dating her. Um." Kyle's stomach sank even further as he realized how much he sounded like he was in denial.

"She's single? Huh." Nick blinked. "I never would have guessed."

Kyle let out a breath. "Did you need something?"

"Uh— Right." Nick cleared his throat. "Um, Kevin – non-cloak-Kevin, that is – wanted a word?"

"A word," Kyle said.

"Look, I don't know, okay?" Nick crossed his arms. "If I had to guess, it might have something to do with the teenagers who're trying to eviscerate each other."

Kyle blinked. He got that tensions were running high, sure, but the kids wanting to hurt each other seemed a bit excessive. Add that to the fact that everyone else was also on edge right now and he couldn't wait for this day to be over. He let out a breath and rolled his shoulders.

"All right, lead the way."

"This is bad," Kevin said.

Kyle felt his lower eyelid twitch. "No kidding."

It was clear that a scuffle had already begun; the remains of a few embers sparked weakly under scorched blades of grass, and some dirt had been kicked up in a way that resembled something a little more violent than regular training. And indeed, the people present looked ready to beat each other senseless. Future-Blue was holding his sister back by the shoulders, and the two Roos were a few feet apart, separated only by a near-panicky Chikoro. Well, at least now Kyle knew where Roo and Emmy were.

"I can't believe you right now!" For a second Kyle thought Future-Emmy was yelling at him, but her eyes remained focused on the two Breloom in front of her. "What we do with each other has nothing to do with you—"

"Uh? Yes it does? This is me!" Future-Roo stuck a claw out to point at his younger self. "And I know myself well enough to say that he's a goddamn idiot who can't see the problem with screwing you. I'm just trying to help!"

"'Kay, I'm gonna split," Nick said, already dashing away. Kevin watched him, biting his lip.

"So, I don't know when this started," Kevin said in a low voice, flicking a thumb at the scene in front of them, "and I can't even begin to understand how this started, but I don't think I have the power to end it."

"And you think I do?" Kyle said, scoffing.

"You're the mediator!" Kevin said. "You've settled conflicts with humans acting worse than this, haven't you?"

"Well, sure, but there's a big difference between a nonhuman rights debate gone wrong and a personal conflict that's festered for years." Kyle grimaced.

"Kyle, I am—" Kevin took a deep breath. "I just want to go to sleep tonight knowing that everyone's safe and nobody got hurt, and that I did everything I could to make that happen." He exhaled. "And right now? I thought the best thing I could do was get you. Okay?"

God. They all really needed a break right now. Kyle sighed.

"Yeah, okay." He stretched his arms out in front of him and took a few cautious steps towards the scene. Blue saw him and held his sister tighter, but that only succeeded in alerting Emmy to his presence.

"Uncle Kyle, please don't get involved," Emmy said as he approached. He could tell she was trying, really trying, to keep calm, but her shaking hands were starting to catch on emotionally-lit fire.

"No, let him!" Future-Roo waved his arms in a grandiose display. "If anyone on this island understands the severity of the situation, it's him!"

"What exactly is going on here?" Kyle tried, feeling a gross anxiety crawl up into his throat.

"Glad you asked!" Future-Roo brought his claws together in a clap. "See, Emera here doesn't understand that no means no and is abusing time travel to get what she wants!"

"What?!" Kyle felt his eyes bulge.

Emmy's arms engulfed in flames, and Blue held her tighter. "That's not what—"

"Then how do you want to spin it, Em?" Future-Roo plucked a seed from his tail and began to spin it on his claw. "That you came back here to win and save everyone? No. You came back because there was only one thing on your mind, and your one in a million miracle baby proves it." He crushed the seed and it burst, letting out a sound like a shot from a firecracker.

"I can't see the future," Emmy growled. "I had absolutely no idea that Kaze would be here, or even exist—"

"But you wanted him to, right?" Future-Roo spat.

"Maybe I did!" Emmy glared. "Is that so terrible?"

"Do I get to say something?" Roo asked.

"No." Future-Roo's eyes narrowed.

Roo's tail slammed the ground, releasing a few spores that caught the afternoon light. Kyle stumbled back, startled. Chikoro cringed, but held his stance.

"Dude. You're super bitter, and I get that. Emmy told me, your future sucks." He took a step forward. "That doesn't mean you get to be a complete asshat and ruin things for the people trying to make the most of all the crap, y'know?"

"You're an idiot who'll fall for anything as long as it comes from a cute girl," Future-Roo said. "Trust me. I know."

"Yeah, and so what?" The frills around Roo's neck flared. "Who cares if I'm stupid? At least I'm happy!"

The older Roo flinched, the skin around his nose creasing up in pain. His arms, still trembling, fell to his sides as he took a deep breath. Kyle watched him breathe, in out, in out, until he raised his head up and spoke again.

"Happy, huh?" He shook his head, his smile not reaching his eyes. "You won't be for long, if you keep this up."

"Hey," Kyle said, finally feeling like they had reached a point where he could intervene in a meaningful way, but Chikoro was already talking over him.

"Roo, what happened? This is kinda…" Chikoro peered up at him. "I'm… worried. You're not acting like the Roo I know."

"Of course I'm not!" Future-Roo snapped. "You died! Kevin died! The Shades died! In a second, everyone who had ever meant anything to me was gone! How could I be the same person, after that?!"

Chikoro's eyes widened. "Roo—"

"I-I tried so hard, but I'm stupid." Future-Roo sniffed as tears started streaming down his face. "I didn't have a clue how to deal with what happened, or what to do with everyone who was left. All I knew how to do was battle, but I banged up my leg and screwed that up, too!" He choked out a sob. "What was I supposed to do, Koro? How was I supposed to act? Like I'm happy? Like Emmy's obsession with dating me is okay? Like I shouldn't take the one chance I have to keep him from screwing up his life?"

No one said anything. Chikoro looked like he wanted to, but couldn't, and the only other person who moved at all was Emmy, who turned her head down. Future-Roo took a shaky breath.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, also turning away. "I… I shouldn't have come here. It just made me feel worse."

"I don't think anyone's been having a good day," Future-Blue said, breaking his silence. "You're not alone."

"…Yeah," Chikoro said, glancing at Blue and Emmy, and then to the present day Roo behind him.

"I need a minute." Future-Roo pivoted and fled the scene as fast as his bad leg would carry him. Emmy looked up, eyes wide, but Blue held her shoulder, and she bit her lip and stayed put.

"I think you should go after him, Koro," Roo said in a quiet voice.

Chikoro's eyes bulged. "Wh— Me? Um. Okay." Face red, Chikoro trotted after him, cursing under his breath. Roo waited a few seconds, then nodded to Blue and Emmy, who nodded back, and the three of them went off in the opposite direction.

Kyle ran a hand through his hair. God. So much for mediation. He wasn't sure what he could have done, if he was being perfectly honest, but an explosion-turned-implosion probably wasn't the best outcome that could have happened, there. At least… nobody got hurt. Physically. Argh.

Stress, he reminded himself. Stress made people irritable and tired and mean. Stress was just something they'd have to deal with until this was all over. Kyle let out a groan. He just wanted to go to bed.

"Wow…" a voice drawled. "My dad's really letting it all out, huh?"

Kyle looked to his side, where Kaze had managed to creep up on him. Kaze's arms were stretched behind his head, and his tail flicked in a steady, languid motion. Of course. Kyle felt his eye twitch again. Everyone else was suffering, but Kaze almost seemed to be enjoying it. What a dick.

Kyle cringed. Had he really gotten to the point where he was internally namecalling dumb kids? Kaze probably didn't mean to come off as such a brat. Maybe. Kyle rubbed his temple.

"Everyone's crazy stressed. Leave Roo alone, won't you?" Kyle said.

"No need to get angry with me," Kaze said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not getting angry!" Kyle huffed. "I just—" He glared.

"If you say so," Kaze hummed and took a deep breath, finishing with a refreshed exhale. "Really though. It's a beautiful day. You're all here together. But there doesn't seem to be a single one of you who's not a wreck. It's kind of impressive."

All right, never mind. Kaze was unquestionably a brat.

"We were doing so well earlier," Kyle muttered, half to himself.

"Were you?" Kaze blinked.

"Well— mostly. Vera wasn't? But Kevin was okay. Even Overlord was doing better. But now even I'm…" Kyle covered his mouth, dragging his hand down to hold his chin. "At least you're cheery, even if it feels uncalled for."

Kaze let out a genuine laugh, but the sound was so foreign that it took a second for Kyle to process it. "I pride myself on my outlook. It's one of my best qualities." Kaze smirked. "…It helps that the air is delicious today."

"Don't know what air you're breathing. It's humid and gross." Kyle pulled on the front of his sweater, letting the fur on his neck breathe a bit better.

"Humid…?" Kaze frowned. "Ah... So it is."

Kyle eyed Kaze. In a second, the mean-spirited brat had disappeared, and in his place was a weird spacy person that Kyle didn't quite understand. How could Kaze have missed the oppressive humidity in the air? He didn't come across as absent-minded…

"It's probably Cresselia's Mist," Kaze muttered.

"Mist? No, that was cold—" Kyle bit his tongue. The heaviness of the air seemed to put pressure on his shoulders. It was almost like paying attention to it was making it worse, but that didn't make sense.

Kaze blinked at him. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Kyle shook his head. "I'm fine. Cresselia's Mist was cold, though. Not nearly as unpleasant as this."

"Freezing mist isn't the only kind there is. You don't like the heat?" Kaze said.

"Not when it's clammy." Kyle made a face. His tongue felt thick. "How do you know so much about Cresselia, anyway?"

"Gramps told me," Kaze said, folding his arms.

"Overlord wasn't there when we met her, though." Kyle frowned.

Kaze shrugged. "Maybe he went back in time and spied on you."

"He wouldn't do that," Kyle said.

Kaze guffawed. "Wow. You really think he wouldn't? That's funny!" Kaze threw his head back, grinning. "Really, that has got to be the funniest thing I've heard in ages."

Kyle blinked. The humidity curled in further the more Kaze laughed.

"I've known him longer than you have." Kaze shook his head. "He's definitely spied on you."

Kyle felt a bubble of irritation claw up his throat. The air grew muggier still. And then, like a lightning bolt, it struck him.

It wasn't the air that was muggy. It was his head.

It had been hard to pinpoint, earlier, considering the overwhelming misery hanging in the air had seeped into his own thoughts as well. But the more he concentrated, the clearer it became. The air around him was nice and fresh; he could feel it on his fingertips. Further up his arms and into his torso, however, seemed to fade into a sweltering heat, and his brain— He felt hazy. Feverish. And the more Kaze poked him, the worse it got.

The more Kaze poked him.

…No. There was no way.

"I… trust Overlord," Kyle found himself saying, knowing that Kaze would have ample material to retort without any trouble.

"You trust him?" A mix of incredulity and amusement formed on Kaze's smirking face. "What part of you decided that was smart? No wonder you died."

The heat was suffocating. Kyle's eyes burned and he felt sick. Oh. Yikes. There it was.

He needed to get out of there. Fast.

"As… fun as this is," Kyle mumbled, wiping his forehead, "I should really see if someone needs me."

Kaze shrugged. "Whatever."

Kyle blinked. "Right. Later." He shuddered and took off.

Relief didn't follow. Kyle swallowed his saliva.

This is okay, he assured himself, darting through trees and manmade hiking trails. That didn't necessarily mean the feeling was permanent. The mugginess had gotten worse once he was conscious of it, and by nature of how brains worked, it'd be a while before he'd be able to put it out of his mind. In the meantime, he just had to get out of the situation, and maybe find Overlord to try and figure out what the hell was going on. Because though Kyle felt like he had already deduced a big part of it, the details were still… hazy, pardon the pun. He bit his lip.

The muggy humid grossness was mental. Kaze appeared to be unaffected by it. And Kaze also appeared to be getting a kick out of keeping it going. How and why, he didn't know, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut. Whatever the reason, it couldn't be good.

"Where is he?" Kyle muttered once he arrived at the main clearing. Most of their party was present, save for a few notable absences – Kevin and their parents were missing, as was present-day Blue, along with some of the future kids, though Kyle had just seen them a few minutes ago. Overlord, of course, was gone too, because Kyle really needed that inconvenience at the moment. Damn it. He heard some of the grass beneath his feet sizzle and he let out a verbal swear.

"Something wrong?" someone asked, sending a shudder down Kyle's spine again. He turned, clenching his fists, to see… Vera. Oh.

"I…" Kyle cleared his throat, bringing one of his fists to his mouth to cough into. "Um. Vera. Hi. Have you seen…?"

He faltered. He had just had an encounter with Vera, and she had practically been fuming. Her body language now, though, was the complete opposite – Her arms were crossed, but casually, and her tail was making the same languid movements as Kaze's had been. He narrowed his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he said. "It's just, when we last talked…" Kyle blinked. "An hour ago? You seemed upset."

"I wouldn't say I'm okay, but I took the last hour to rethink our priorities." Her hands went to her hips. "For now, I'm all right. But what about you? You look awful."

It was really small this time, and if he hadn't been in a state of hypertension he was sure he wouldn't have noticed it – the ghost of a heat-haze washed through him as soon as she said awful. That, combined with her acceptance of the inaccurate timeframe he threw out there… He did everything he could to avoid reacting. Oh no.

This was not Vera. He doubted this was even Kaze.

"Yeah, I'm actually…" Kyle wiped his forehead. "Um, I think I might be coming down with something? It's the absolute worst time for that, I know, but I thought… maybe Overlord could… help, somehow?"

"Overlord?" She frowned. "Does he know much of anything about healing?"

"I was thinking there'd be like… an instant fever cure thing developed in the future?" Kyle laughed, running his fingers through his hair. "Maybe it's a longshot, but I just thought it'd be good to ask."

"Hmm." Vera narrowed her eyes, examining him. "That's not a bad idea. We already have cures for poisoning and paralysis, after all." She smiled. "I think I saw him near the pond earlier. This way."

Oh. Oh god. Uh.

"Right." Kyle smiled, screaming internally. He followed her lead.

He had zero idea what to do right now. He had no idea where Overlord was and this… this person was herding him, possibly into something bad. Could he even get out of this, without raising suspicion? He was pretty sure he had raised their suspicions already, if they weren't letting him out of their sight. His mind was on red alert, commanding him to get away as soon as possible… but how?

His heartbeat raced. Kyle's eyes darted around, looking for something, anything. In his panic, he caught Nick's eyes, and his uncle waved at him.

Kyle swallowed. Oh, he was going to have to pay for this later.

"Oh, hey, Vera!" Kyle grabbed the person's arm. For a split second, it felt weirdly thin, but the thought left him as the person turned their head, irritation flickering across their face. "Have you met Nick?"

The person blinked. "What? No, I—"

"Oh wow really that's a shame you should totally meet him you two have a lot in common!" Kyle blurted, veering the person off course and right into Nick, who made a noise of surprise.

"Kyle, what the—"

"You two have fun I'll just go check on some stuff okay bye!" Kyle barely processed his own words as he sprinted away into the woods.

This is bad. Bad, bad, bad. Kyle felt himself shaking as he ran. He didn't care where he went, really, so long as it was as far as possible from that clearing. He was so disoriented that he didn't even notice a tree root and tripped over it, nearly falling on his face, but he managed to right himself on time to stop his fall. He let out a shaky breath and hid clumsily behind a tree, clutching at his chest.

He felt terrible, truly terrible, for shoving whoever the fake Vera was into Nick to deal with, but he'd have to apologize for that another time. For now, he needed to get to Overlord without any other fake muggy-haze people stopping him. Then… then everything would be okay. Right?

Kyle squeezed his eyes shut. God. He really hoped they weren't screwed.

A warm haze clouded his mind again. "God damn it," Kyle muttered, grabbing his forehead. They were screwed.

"Are you okay?" said a soft voice. Kyle breathed, slowly opening one eye.

"Noir?" Kyle blinked. That was… a weird choice of person for the muggy people to pretend to be.

"You're really scared!" Noir said, clenching his three-clawed hands in front of him. "Did something bad happen to the others?"

The hazy feeling didn't intensify, but it lingered. Kyle frowned. "No…"

"Then what happened? Can I help?" Noir's giant blue eye watered.

"Um…" Kyle stepped forward from the tree. "I don't… think that's a good idea."

Noir flinched back. "O-oh! Okay." He turned away, one clawed hand clutching at his arm.

Kyle breathed. "…You're not trying to make me feel worse."

"Of course not!" Noir wheeled around in a huff. "Making people feel bad is horrible! You're supposed to make them feel better, if you can!"

Kyle stared. Noir continued to pout.

"Mama said not to make people feel bad, no matter what. And I… I'm a good person, so I've always done the right thing. Always."

That… felt genuine. Kyle bit his tongue. If this Noir was real, he could probably use his help. If he was another fake… Well, then he was screwed no matter what, right? He'd already tried to get away, and he was too exhausted to keep running. Even if it was risky, getting the most out of Noir's offer was looking like the only option he had. Kyle took the plunge.

"So… you have nothing to do with this?" Kyle gestured to his head, tapping his temple.

Noir's already large eye widened. "Ah! N-no! I swear, it's not me!" Noir shrank back, part of him disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

He knew. The gears in Kyle's head started to click together. "But you know what's happening to me, don't you?"

Noir stared for a second or two before nodding. "…Yes."

"Noir." Noir looked up. "It would be so, so helpful if you told me everything you could about this hazy feeling," Kyle said.

Noir brightened. "Really?"

Kyle nodded. "Really."

"Okay, well… It's something that happens by accident sometimes," Noir said. He grabbed at his arm again. "Sometimes, when I'm hungry… Mama says I make her feel dizzy. But I make sure to stop it right away! And I definitely stopped it after I met Blue today, but I guess I might be too hungry right now to control it…" Noir looked down at the ground.

"When you're… hungry," Kyle said, narrowing his eyes. "So this is an ability of yours?"

"Ah, I guess so," Noir mumbled. "Sorry."

The final gear clicked. Kyle swallowed his saliva. Crap.

"Thank you, Noir. That was exactly what I needed," Kyle said.

Noir perked up. "I'm happy I could help! You, um… You still feel scared, though."

Kyle scoffed. "Yeah, I'll bet." He took a deep breath, standing up straight. "Now I really need to find Overlord."

"Overlord is Blue's father, right?" Noir said. "He's with Blue right now."

"Wh— He is?" Kyle's heartbeat flared up again. "Where?"

"Close by. I just came from there," Noir said. He began to drift into the trees. "I can show you."

Kyle tensed, but tried his best to disregard it. No, Noir was being genuine, unlike— It was safe to follow him. It had to be.

…And even if it wasn't, Kyle was desperate enough to take the risk.

"Sure," Kyle said.

He followed Noir through the trees, marvelling at how the image before him was so misaligned with the actual situation. Here he was, following a creepy floating deathmonster deep into the woods of his own volition. It was something he never thought he'd do, and certainly not with this much optimism. Kyle just hoped his faith wasn't misplaced.

When he saw his first glimpse of Blue sitting under a low-hanging oak branch, he audibly sighed in relief. He dashed up in front of Noir, the sound of his feet crunching over the twigs and grass alerting his nephew to his presence.

"Uncle Kyle? And… Noir," Blue said, looking up. Noir turned away to avoid Blue's gaze.

"Blue," Kyle panted. "Your dad. Where's—"

"Right here." Overlord emerged from a shadowy corner of trees. "What's the matter?"

"He's here," Kyle said, shaking. "Lord Shade."

He didn't know why voicing it made the realization all the more powerful, but it did. Kyle felt his breathing grow heavier, and he clutched at his chest again.

"What? No, he can't— We should still have a couple hours," Overlord said. He walked up to Kyle and grasped his shoulders to hold him steady.

"Listen." Kyle swallowed again, trying his best not to panic. "He's pretending to be people in our group, like Kaze and Vera, but he's going around and… There's this hazy thing, in all our heads, he's the reason for that, and the worse you feel, the better he feels. I think that's it, anyway."

"Hazy—" Overlord stepped back, eyes widening. "He's feeding on you? And you noticed?"

Kyle cringed. "Um, I guess?"

Overlord released him to rub at his own forehead. "Dear lord. If he's not even being subtle about it, we're in trouble."

"I don't think he expected me to figure it out," Kyle said. He grimaced. "I, uh… kinda ran, though, so he definitely knows I know now."

"You ran from him." Overlord said it like a statement, and shook his head. "Only you, Ky, I swear."

There was a pause. Kyle felt his heart thrum in his chest.

"What do we do?" Blue poked his head out from under the oak branches.

Overlord fiddled with the clasp of his cloak. He closed his eyes, breathing steady, before letting his hands drop to his sides. "We fight." He looked up, eyes burning with a fierceness Kyle wasn't used to. "That's what we said we'd do, and that's what's going to happen. I'm not backing out now."

Kyle gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, man."

Overlord's cheeks flushed. "That's the second time in— Just call me Overlord."

Kyle snorted. Overlord didn't look at him.

"Where did you leave Lord Shade?" he asked, preparing his hand to make a portal.

"Um, the main clearing," Kyle said. He felt his stomach drop. "With everyone else."

Overlord balked. Kyle waved his hands in front of him maniacally.

"I'm sorry, okay? I panicked! I think that stupid head-haze amplified all the terrible crap going through my brain."

"Okay… It may be too late already, but if it is, I promise I'll go back and fix it," Overlord said, steeling himself. He turned back to the space in front of him. "I'm going to make a portal to the main clearing, a second into the future. Kyle, Blue, run through as fast as you can, and be prepared for what you might see."

Kyle shut his eyes and nodded. "Right."

"What about me?" Noir said.

Overlord bristled. "You…"

"You should hide, Noir," Kyle said. He gave Noir a sympathetic smile. "You've helped enough."

Noir shrunk back into the shadows once again. "…Okay. Good luck." He disappeared from view.

"Ready?" Overlord said. Kyle and Blue nodded. "Okay. Here we go."

They stumbled through the portal into a confrontation, but not the one they were expecting.

"Kyle!" Vera's voice was shrill, reaching the pitches usually reserved for the Monferno language. Everyone else aside from Nick was giving her a wide breadth. "Finally! Someone reasonable! Get over here!"

Kyle blanched. "Um… is everything okay?"

"No, it is not!" She spat out flames. "Your jackass uncle won't leave me alone!"

"I'm just concerned, okay?" Nick said, the corners of his own mouth hinting at steam. "You were acting really weird when Kyle shoved you into me, so I—"

"That didn't even happen!" Vera seethed. "Stop trying to gaslight me!"

"Gaslight? What—" Nick glared. "I would never do something so disgusting—"

"Okay, okay!" Kyle darted between them, arms out. "Chill! Vera, when did we last speak?"

Vera frowned. "What? I don't know, twenty minutes ago?"

Kyle turned to Nick. "What did you say to me about twenty minutes ago?"

Nick blinked. "I— I told you about the fight between the kids, and… something about her being single?"

The corner of Kyle's mouth twitched. "…Right. You're both the real ones."

"Real ones?" Vera's voice returned from the high pitch, getting low and dark. "What are you talking about? Was there a fake me?"

"Yes," Kyle said. He narrowed his eyes. "I think it was Lord Shade."

Vera's eyes widened. "He's here?"

"You shoved an evil legendary into my arms and ran away?" Nick choked.

Kyle gave them a wide smile, hoping to mask his returning panic. "Yes… to both. Sorry."

"Forget about that for now," Overlord said. He marched to the center of the clearing, cloak sweeping behind him. "Everyone, we need to do an urgent headcount. Who's not here?"

"Kevin and your parents are by themselves—" Vera began, but before she could finish Overlord had made a portal and was dragging the three of them through it into the main clearing, ignoring their protests.

"Who else?" He looked at Vera.

"I— Some of the kids, um, Blue and Emmy from the future?"

"And Chikoro and the two Roos," Kyle added.

Overlord made more portals. He stuck both arms through, pulling bodies out of them like a magician pulling objects out of an endless top hat. Chikoro made a vulgar noise of protest as he was pulled through. "Anyone else?"

"Kaze," Kyle said. He narrowed his eyes.

"No, I'm here," Kaze said from right behind him. Kyle jumped, whirling around. "What's up?"

Kyle's heart was going to burst. He tugged at his sweater, staring down the wide-eyed boy. Kaze's arms were behind his head, but the hazy feeling wasn't present. Kyle stared, on guard.

"What indeed," Overlord said, slicing his portals shut in one flick of his wrist. "Lord Shade is on this island."

Kevin shot up, taking on an aggressive stance. "What? According to you, we're supposed to have a couple hours left!"

"Evidently, their plans changed," Overlord said. His face scrunched up. "That probably happens a lot, when time travel is involved."

"Probably?" Kevin's arms twitched.

"Focus!" Overlord growled. He pointed at his head. "Focus everything up here. Does anyone feel gross? Hazy, muggy, that kind of thing?"

"I was… earlier," Vera said. "I thought I just had a fever."

"I had a migraine," Kevin said. His eyes darted between Vera and Overlord. "It cleared up a little while ago."

People began to murmur in agreement. "I just feel terrible," Kyle caught Future-Roo say in a scratchy voice.

"Damn it." Overlord's voice was small. "You were right, Ky. He realized you figured him out. He's taking extra care to hide himself, now."

"There has to be something we can do. We can't just wait for him to pop out of one of our shadows," Kyle said.

"I can go back," Overlord said. "I'll go back to the point where he was impersonating Vera, and I can—"

"You will do no such thing."

A chilling mist washed through the clearing, hovering a few inches above the ground and engulfing the space between the distant trees. Cresselia entered the clearing, peering down at them all through her jewel-like pink eyes. Underneath her, submerged in the ground and almost unnoticeable, save for a flash of a cyan eye, was Noir.

"I could tolerate the other riffraff coming here to play make believe," Cresselia said. She veered in, coming to a close stop in front of Overlord, and eyed him critically. "I do not tolerate anyone who treats the fabric of space-time like their plaything."

"Friggin' A," Kevin muttered. He put his hands to either side of his mouth. "Yo! Asswipe!"

Cresselia turned to him, face scrunched into a fierce glare. "You again—"

"You didn't care the first thirty times the freaky portals showed up! Why start now?" Kevin lowered his hands. "Honestly!"

"Had I known, earlier, what was transpiring, I would have stopped it much sooner." Cresselia scowled. "However, Noir neglected to inform me until now."

"Oh, okay, blame your kid, I see how it is. Grade A parenting there." Kevin bared his teeth. Kyle felt the haze bubble up into his head again and whipped around, trying to place the source. "And I thought Kyle took the award for worst parent when he left Little alone on Mount Chimney."

"H-he left him with me!" Vera said, tensing.

"You're not the greatest mom either," Kevin said, voice low.

Where was the mugginess coming from? If Lord Shade was here and they were fighting, they were going to… going to…

"How dare you!" Vera snarled. "You've done nothing but judge me ever since we met! Did you ever stop to think that you have no idea what I've been through—"

Kyle caught Noir's eye – Oh. Of course. Noir was here, and hungry. That was why— they were fine.

"Look, sweetheart," Kevin's tail blazed, "I don't need to know your life story. All I need to know is that you were down to throw yourself at Kyle the second he asked and then ditched the resulting kid!"

"What?" Overlord's tail snapped, and he looked between Vera and Kyle rapidly. "When did— Ky?"

The heat was suffocating. Noir rose out of the ground, trembling.

"Shut up!" Vera shouted. "I did not ditch Little, I told Kyle what happened—"

"Well, no one told me—"

"Well no wonder everyone hates me!" Vera turned to glare at Kyle. "I can't believe you never explained! This whole time, you let them think I abandoned a baby?!"

"I…" Kyle felt woozy. He scrunched his eyes shut. "Guys, Darkrai is…"

Cresselia scoffed. "Noir, control yourself. This is bothersome enough without listening to their ridiculous dram—augh!"

There was a shockwave of energy that sent Kyle flying a few feet backwards. Cresselia's telepathy had been voiceless, but her cry of surprise was not. Kyle opened his eyes. Cresselia was coughing, sputtering, with blood dripping down her chin and a hole through her upper chest. In front of her was Kaze, his left arm morphed into a sharp, black, and bloodied point.

"M-mama!" Noir cried, rushing to her side.

"Oops," Kaze said. With a flick, his arm was an arm again, still stained with blood.

"You!" Cresselia coughed. "Nero!"

"Not quite." Kaze's expression darkened. "I'm disappointed. You should remember more about your victims. Nero's face was nicer. And he was… Oh, I don't know, about this old?"

In an instant, the child claiming to be Kaze was taller, leaner, and had a distinctly young adult face.

"Dark… Dead…!" Cresselia was having trouble floating. With one last waver, she fell to the ground, still sputtering.

"Yes, well. You were mistaken. Normally I'd take the time to brag about how I outfoxed you, but I'd rather you die not knowing the details." Darkrai shrugged. "Instead…" He turned to Noir.

"Look at you, you poor thing." Darkrai caressed Noir's cheek. "She's kept you so underfed, the monster."

"Th-that's my mama," Noir stammered.

"Yes, I know," Darkrai cooed. "I'm so sorry. It must have been wretched to live with her all this time, but she insisted, and, well, I couldn't exactly come out of hiding to take you away, could I?"

"M-mama…"

"Shhh." Darkrai wiped a tear from Noir's watering eye. "It's all right. Feel that?" He gestured to Cresselia's gasping form. "The horror? The pain?" A sliver-thin grin shot too far up his cheek, and his entire face contorted into something akin to a paper cutout, almost two-dimensional.

"Soak it in. You'll feel so much better. Trust me."

"Kyle." Overlord was at his side, grabbing his shoulders. "Don't worry. I'll—"

"No you won't." Darkrai flung a black orb at Overlord, hitting him square in the face. The orb encapsulated him for a second before disappearing. Overlord collapsed.

"I thought I raised you better than this," Darkrai said. "Cresselia thinks she is all light and good, but she's a terrible person. She deserves to die."

"Nobody deserves to die!" Blue said, charging forward. Darkrai shot another orb at him, and he collapsed, too.

"Here's the deal," Darkrai said. His left leg turned into a black spike, and in one quick movement, he slashed Cresselia's throat. She gave one last feeble twitch before she lay completely still. "I have been planning this for over thirty years. You're all very cute to think you could put a wrench in that, but in the end you gave me a better opportunity than I'd ever hoped for." His leg turned back to normal. He smiled, hoisting Cresselia's corpse into his arms. "Celebi, dear."

A bright blue portal was carved into the sky, and Celebi emerged from it, holding a weathered-looking ocarina carved out of a deep blue material.

"As thanks, I won't involve you all any further. Take a nice rest. We'll be off now."

Celebi pressed their lips to the instrument. A haunting warble came out of the flute, sending an even colder unsettling chill through Kyle's body. As the short melody came to a close, several transparent, glowing platforms – a staircase, Kyle thought – descended from the portal in the sky. Darkrai grinned. His disguise dropped, revealing his true form once more, tattered shoulders billowing in the otherwise windless clearing.

Kyle stood. He had to—!

"I said to take a rest." Darkrai freed one arm, conjuring up another bigger black orb. "Goodnight."

The darkness slipped over him, and Kyle was robbed of all his breath.