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The not so small group landed in a foggy forest, in the earliest hours of dawn. Seira noticed Michel tense up and then abruptly relax, breaking into a wide smile as he looked around. He lowered Seira to the ground and went to the nearest tree.

Seira laid down in the comforting coldness of the grass, looking at the dew drops on their surface. While she had never felt any particular affinity to the forest, she liked it far better than the dry underground. There was also a small lake nearby, which complimented her power, however latent. Mahahanu slowly moved into the water, breathing out heavily as some of his weight was elevated.

In a far away distance, she felt something ...

Her daughter.

The next orange princess had been created and was waiting for her pearl. Seira's hand went to her necklace, and had no answer. They couldn't both live.

She looked around to Michel, who stood still stood at that tree, laying his hand on it. At his touch, the rustle of leaves a little clearer and the wind howled a little. He looked like a child who had discovered paradise, and then he spread his wings and darted through the treetops.

Sheshe and Mimi looked with somewhat disturbed eyes at the scene. "I'd laugh if I didn't see him try to grab that rabbit," Mimi said. "This reminds me of certain icky things."

"And now what?" Sheshe asked Radu.

"I'll go scout the area and see where we are. You four should stay here for the time being," Radu said.

"You're sure they won't come after us?"

"I planted a virus in their computer, by the time they have things sorted out a few hours will have passed. We will most likely be found by the time that happens."

Sheshe laid an arm around Mimi's waist and pulled her a little closer. "Alright, I think we'll go rest a bit. Over there, I smell a cave. Don't bother us."

As they left, Seira sat up again. "I'm sure that Hippo will sooner or later use his pearl radar, but when? Perhaps we should move."

"The organization doesn't have that technology. They'll need to test every gateway one by one to see whether we have used it, since it bypasses the barriers. No DNA scans. Let's hope no one thinks of how I might know the pass to Merron's gateway home. I've redirected it drastically, they'll notice when they check." Radu knelt down beside her, wincing when she moved a little too quickly. "Anyway, we are outside now, can you give Michal a call?"

"Not with this around me," Seira said, indicating the net.

"Then we have no choice but to wait for Hippo.

Mahahanu raised his head out of the lake. "Actually, judging by these trees, I have a relative here. Ngalyod, an expert in the dream realm. They were around as early as the Dream Time. I'll look for them."

With effort, he moved out of the lake again. Seira was worried about whether he'd last much longer. When he passed by, she brushed her hand across his snout, and the lower face smiled at her, as if trying to say she shouldn't feel guilty. She did so anyway.

With much noise, Mahahanu wormed his way through the trees, leaving a massive trail behind. That was another reason fleeing wouldn't do much good.

So now and then, Michel was visible through the trees. His hands turned red quickly.

"Where's the rest of his jewelry?" Radu asked, very deliberately not looking at Michel. Everyone here had bad memories of Michel on the hunt.

"It's still on the island, I think." When Radu gave her a confused look, she explained, "We have an island where Michel's remaining monsters live. It's more or less been his home ever since he returned. What is that gold anyway?"

"It's much like that net around you : matter as handled by Ancients can be steered by will rather than being truly solid. I'd hoped they would help Michal push back Michel's memories. But since that isn't working ..." Radu pressed her lips together for a moment. "I'll go scouting a bit after all. I think it'll be awkward to have an audience."

Seira was getting a hunch where this was going, but only stared.

"You do remember how Lucia restored Kaito's memories, right?"

"Yes, but Kaito had just sealed his own memories," Seira said quickly. "They weren't anywhere else but his own head."

Radu raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think it works like that? And who says so?"

"Kaito himself."

"Kaito, or was it perhaps Gackto?" When Seira didn't immediately respond, Radu continued, "What do you think is more likely? That Gackto has something to hide about his powers and to what extend he can read minds, or that Kaito would be so idiotic as to disable himself from protecting Lucia and the others?"

"He thought Michel had telepathic powers, since he heard his voice in his head through the music. Lucia later heard the same."

"And this led Kaito to conclude Michel could read his mind but hadn't already done so? We knew to use Kaito as bait because Michel gathered that much from Kaito's memories. Michal's interaction with Kaito triggered some, that's how. If Gackto knows this, then he must have some very sharp powers in regards to memories and dream layers. I can't tell why he'd lie to Kaito, only what I know."

Seira turned her face down, plucking at the grass. "Alright, let's assume the key is indeed a kiss ... is it going to matter that I'm not in love with Michel right now?"

"Huh?"

"It's gone. That butterfly in my stomach, fate spoken certainty that it was true love. I don't feel it anymore." Seira couldn't tell what exactly that expression on Radu's face was. Something of uneasiness, embarrassment or disappointment, and she could well imagine why. Radu's disposition towards Michel was that of the admiring follower and she wanted him to be happy.

"There's two ways this could work. One, it's a matter of true love prevailing. Two, it's a matter of heavy emotional triggers jerking those memories back in place, like an elastic under too much tension. In the latter case, it won't matter since Michel will be the only one needed for that trigger. We could off course also do something else, but I think a kiss is a lot nicer than traumatizing him."

"You're right ... I think that's how I got my memories back on my own, trauma. Alright. I guess we would like some privacy for that."

"It'll be fine. I'll take Michel and try to get him clean," she said. Radu walked into the trees and drew Michel's attention. While he tried to goad him to the lake, Seira pushed herself there and submerged in the delicious cold. The water was clear enough to let her take a deep breath. Her dried out lungs finally filled with moisture, though the organ in her throat that filtered oxygen out was sore from lack of use. It wasn't as good as salty water, but it helped her feel so much better.

Radu and Michel splashed into the water not long after. By the time she surfaced, Radu was in a quasi battle with Michel, who was smirking as if it were game. In Radu's her hands were bits of the labcoat she had been wearing and shreds of it were floating around. Radu lunged at Michel and latched onto an arm, holding on with her wings till she pushed the cloth in his face.

"Is everything alright?" Seira called.

"Yes, perfect! I got him to understand it's about cleaning really quickly. He just thinks he can do it better himself and wants to start with me." Radu looked serious enough, but she could hear amusement in her voice. When was the last time she'd seen someone happy?

Oh, right, Sara when she had tried bonding. Seira pushed the thoughts away and laughed a little at the spectacle. Once Michel's hands and face were clean, and Radu profoundly soaked, Seira tentatively approached. Radu nodded at her, then waded out of the water. Michel seemed disappointed the game was over,while Seira was disappointed that it took brainwashing for his playful side to emerge. She'd definitely have to take him down her stairway slide again sometime. But for now ..

Seira took another deep breath of air and swam up to Michel, who was going after Radu and already on shore.

"Michel!"

He turned to her, a curious look on his face.

Well, now or never. She crawled onto the shore and kept eye contact with him. He crouched before her and reached a hand to her hair. Seira hesitated, then pushed back anything but the thought that she did in fact still find him attractive.

Leaning forward, she set both her hands a little behind his head and pulled him closer. For a few seconds the kiss felt pleasant, then it Michel took control and pushed open her mouth. Seira startled so much she lost balance and fell on her back. Michel simply leaned over her and renewed the kiss. Before she even really decided, she unrolled her tail with full force, lashing against his left leg. At the same time she used her arms to push him away.

Unceremoniously, Michel sat back and answered her glare with utter confusion. Then his eyes opened wide. He took a second to orient, then she scrambled to his feet away and stepped back.

"Seira ... I'm ... sorry. I'm sorry," he whispered desperately.

Seira pushed up to her elbows and turned over, trying to steady herself emotionally. "It's alright," she said in a small voice.

Michel didn't look like he believed her, and Seira knew she didn't look alright. Having someone more or less force themselves on oneself was a lot more unsettling than she had thought.

Gathering up a more even voice, she said, "I know you weren't yourself, literary. Compared to the rest of the things going on ... " She waved her hand in the air, trying to appeared nonchalant.

He sat down against a tree, a few meters away from her, hiding his face behind a hand. Having received back the fewer memories she was missing in a similar flood, Seira could imagine that getting back one's whole life would be even more disorienting. That the trigger had to be rejection probably didn't help.

She waited patiently, none the least because her own nerves had to calm down as well. As a mantra, she lined up every bit of logic she knew to assure herself this wouldn't happen again. Michel was sane now, and during all the time they'd been together since his return, he hadn't taken any liberties. Calm down, instincts.

"I need to contact the Ancients," Michel said after a while, his voice dry and quiet.

"We need to get out of here first. How much can you remember from our conversations?"

"I ... I think I've got the gist," he muttered, looking over at the trail Mahahanu had left. "He's off to explore?"

"He's off to find a relative."

Michel stood up. "Are you sure you're alright? Did I ..."

"Yes, you didn't directly hurt me," she said, not so untrue anymore. Michel was acting like himself again, which made everything a lot easier.

"I'm ... I'm going to find the others."

For him, the fact probably made everything a lot harder.

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What was wrong with Michal? She was furious, absent, and completely disoriented. He had expected happiness when she noticed he was back to normal, but nothing significant came through. This wasn't good, but he couldn't change that right now.

Inside his wings, the souls of the humans sank into a deeper sleep. Unlike magical creatures, they simply didn't have the strength to retain awareness once absorbed, and so they were slowly erased the more power he took. Just like the emperor had been, once his beacon was gone and he neither anchor to the physical world or energy to move on. So, Michel tried to find as much extra sources till he had a chance to release them or obtain a new halo from Michal. The sea cradle should provide a chance for that. Till then, he could hunt. A true Ancient would never have such a primitive instinct, but then again, he wasn't a true Ancient.

The eucalyptus forest on closer inspection might be a plantation, he spotted koalas here and there. Those he left in peace, knowing they were vulnerable as a species. Rabbits on the other hand were around in abundance. He could catch them easily, either with his whips or by arrow. It didn't do much to still the hunger, but it was something.

There was no sign of Mahahanu returning, and Radu's trail had followed him. Michel didn't want to leave Seira alone for too long, though he also didn't want to be too close.

As he flew around, he came across a cave that smelled damp and of the Black Beauty Sisters. A dim memory surfaced of talking just before he got his memories back. The sounds were never really registered since they had no meaning to him, but he caught something that might be "don't bother us" and "Arabian Sea".

He decided to bother them.

Landing before the cave, he crossed his arms and leaned against the opening. "Hey, you two! Get your clothes on, we need to talk about a certain Arabian Sea."

He heard a yelp, then some scuffling. Not long after, two very annoyed anglerfish emerged.

"Oh, look who got his mind back," Mimi said with exaggerated cheer and smirk.

"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?" Sheshe said. "I had figured you'd be having a romantic smooch scene about now."

"I am adding a new rule to our contract : you will from hence forth keep your trap shut about whatever may or may not have existed between me and Seira."

Mimi held up her hands defensively. "Chill, Michel. When it comes to mermaids, there is bound to be some fluffy happiness sooner or later, right? We just thought—"

"Not paying you for that either. Now answer the question," Michel snapped.

Sheshe crossed her arms and glared at Michel. "For the record, you haven't paid us yet, while we did our part in keeping quiet and backing you up. Until we deliver us those halos, you better keep us happy."

He still glared, but said nothing.

"We're getting the Arabian Sea in exchange for risking our lives to get Seira her pearl back. Since you so conveniently broke Radu's ribs he couldn't do it, as it would rouse suspicion if h-she walked back to his old buddies and refusing the medical aid she'd obviously need. Taking you would have caused another massacre. That left us, and we weren't about to waltz into a heavily armed place where everyone knows our tactics for nothing."

Michel gritted his teeth, they did have a point. Asking for a whole sea was excessive, but then again, Seira couldn't offer much else. "What do you even plan to do with the Arabian Sea?"

"Duh, rule it. Don't worry about it. Just because we've got ambition doesn't mean we're going to torture the population. So yeah, we might have exploited the urgency a bit when it came to bargaining, but we're not interested in a massacre. If we really were, we'd have figured out guns a lot sooner." She twirled her gun for a moment before putting it back in its holster. "Besides, you're not the only one whose minds have been tampered with. Have you noticed Mahahanu is furious at us? No? Wait how that'll unfold when he learns we only killed his friend cause Radu redirected our 'being eaten' trauma from you to some random naga. We don't normally make a habit of killing, you know."

"Fine, I get it. One more question. The sea staff, what do you know about it?"

"Dunno much, we just found it while exploring those ruins. It's a power amplifier of some sort. You were at that conversation right? Without it, the organization would never have the ability to handle whatever memories they took."

"Fine. Come along, we're going to move soon." Michel uncrossed his arms, turned away, and realized his list of things he had to handle was dramatically increasing.

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Radu returned to the lake and found Seira alone. She had curled up, partially in the water. Her arms were around her, almost as if she were sleeping.

"Seira! Where is Michel?"

"He went off to eat something," she said, looking up at him. "He is back to himself again, don't worry. It worked."

The flat tone in which she said that told Radu it hadn't gone as planned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing could have happened, not when I have a tail. But ... I was scared for a moment. I suppose it makes sense, that memories jolting back would work differently for someone who is missing everything," she said with a weak smile. "He'll have a pretty big bruise on his leg soon."

"I should have thought this through far better," Radu said, slapping her forehead.

"Well, it did work," she said. Uncurling, she moved to the edge of the water. "So, did you find anything?"

Radu frowned. "There is a deserted town not too far to the east, Mahahanu passed through it. I lost track after it. Did Michel say anything at all about Michal?"

Seira shook her head.

"If Michal is somehow incapable or unaware of Michel regaining freedom, I guess our best shot is to find some alternative method of transport." Radu looked at the net still around Seira. "Did Michel try taking that net off yet? He might be able, since he's got the emperor's powers."

Another headshake from Seira. "He left pretty quickly and I didn't ask. I tried taking it off myself, but it hurt. If Hippo won't show up soon, we should risk taking it off by force so that I can create a dream circuit Till then, I think it protects me against the field. I don't mind too much."

"Alright." Radu nodded and tried flexing her wings. She could run well enough, but the splint on her wings would need to stay for a few more hours.

Michel appeared from the trees on foot, followed by Sheshe and Mimi. Seira had been right, Michel was back to normal, she could see it not just in his irises but also his less feral movement and expression. After having not seen the real Michel for so very long only to find him back mad, it was wonderful. Radu threw her arms and wings around him. He startled, but hugged back carefully. Radu recalled how long it had taken Michel to start accepting hugs, and now he seemed to be back to square root one. Great. She wasn't hostile to the organization, but if she had a chance to chew out Archon over anything ... it wouldn't be quite right. He might just as well be manipulated as anyone else.

"I haven't seen you in too long, Michel," she said, letting go. "I missed you."

"Likewise, Lady Bat." He smiled at her, but his gaze flicked at Seira for a moment, so Radu reconsidered asking how he was doing.

"I go by Radu nowadays," she said.

"Oh ... right. I haven't processed all my memories yet. You were stuck in the organization? Do you by any chance know of Alala and Lanhua, did they disappear? Lucia was supposed to have them ..."

"They didn't know about Lanhua, but Alala did indeed disappear. They're not with the organization, so they are probably with the mermaids. I'll restore their memories as soon as I can, and I think I owe them an apology for not doing it sooner."

Michel nodded at the last part. "You're not the only one. I should have thought better than to just send you off so quickly. To be honest, I was trying not to be selfish, but did that wrong."

"Can you people do this later? We shouldn't stay here for too long," Sheshe said, and Radu rolled her eyes. "So did that scouting of yours achieve anything?"

"There's a deserted town that way. No sign yet of Hippo or Lucia. Michel, still no response from Michal?"

"She has been frustrated for the past few days. My memories overloaded her and knocked her out, but I don't understand why she still isn't responding, she feels frozen."

"Is there any way we can get back without risking to take that net off of Seira?"

"Let's see where Mahahanu went," Michel said, and then he finally addressed the silent Seira. "If you like, perhaps Radu could carry you?"

"Eh no, I still have broken bones. I've had to perform self hypnosis to shut down the pain, but that doesn't mean one of my ribs can't accidentally be pushed into my lungs. Not that dying is a big deal for me, but it would take me far too long to generate a new body."

Michel didn't say anything else and just lifted Seira, then took off. Both appeared uneasy with the situation. Across the years she, Michel, Alala and Lanhua had spent together in the sky castles, Radu had caught hints of Michel more or less idolizing Seira. From what little she had seen through the recordings of the organization, at the very least they had appeared good friends, and his general behavior back in the ruined city had cemented it. If the falling in love had happened before meeting her again, he would probably be loving a shadow anyway. If after, then it would be all the harder.

As if they didn't have enough to fill their quota of Unfortunate Facts That Ruin The Happily Ever After.

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