With the danger passed, the group went their separate ways. Marnie zipped off to make her date with Luke, Gwen returned to her house on Earth-2 to check on her students, Ethan and Dylan headed back home, and Cid was out putting the finishing repairs on Shera before they departed. That left Jim, Jack, Aggie, Graham, and Sophie sitting around the kitchen table at Aggie's house, sipping on hot chocolate. Graham seemed to be lost in thought, staring at his hot chocolate. He'd asked for cinnamon on his, yet he hadn't touched it. Jim couldn't imagine what the sheriff was thinking, but he made a mental note to talk to him about it later. Of course, Jim's mind was still reeling from what had happened with Jack and his magic. He'd responded so much more when Jack's life was on the line than with anyone else. Did it mean something?

"Are you feeling any better, Sophie?" Aggie asked.

"Yeah," Sophie nodded. "I'm still feeling woozy, but your spell is keeping the symptoms from bothering me too much."

"Good, good," Aggie nodded.

"Hey, Aggie," Jim interjected. "I don't want you to feel like you have to say yes, but I've still got a long way to go with learning magic. If you want to, you can come with us on our journey."

"Oh, well, I don't know," the witch replied. "I still have Sophie's training to worry about."

"Grandma, don't let me hold you back," Sophie said. "I've been meaning to tell you, but, apparently, there was a managerial change over at Witch University, and they've accepted my application."

"You got accepted?!" Aggie asked. "Oh, that's wonderful news, dear!"

Aggie stood up and hugged her granddaughter, giving her a kiss on the cheek in the process. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, grandma," Sophie replied. "So, you can go with them now. I know you want to, and they need you."

"Well, um, I'm not sure," Aggie said.

"We're not leaving until tomorrow morning," Jack said. "You can sleep on it."

Aggie nodded. "Then I'll do that. And speaking of which, it's been a very long day. I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Good night!" Jim and Jack said in unison.

"Night, grandma," Sophie said.

Graham mumbled something inaudible that sounded like "sleep well."

A Corridor of Darkness opened in the Library of Hollow Bastion. Cora emerged, along with the unconscious Kal and Hook. Sitting at her desk was the Librarian. She appeared to be an old human woman with curly gray hair worn up in a bun, a long face and pointed nose with sickly pale green skin, dark purple lipstick, big wide brimmed red sunglasses, and an old fashion black dress with a gray button-up shirt underneath. Standing with her was a bald man with a think black mustache and a lab coat. His name was Dr. XXX, but he always preferred to be referred to as "the Mad Doctor." The Mad Doctor was flirting with the Librarian who simply replied to all of his advances with a "shhhhhhhh," much to his chagrin.

"Ahem," Cora said, catching both of their attentions.

"Ah, Cora, so nice to see you again!" the Mad Doctor said.

"Indeed so," Cora said. "My valet and our Acolyte are wounded. Tend to their wounds. I'll need Hook back in one piece, but the boy is yours for experimentation."

The Mad Doctor nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'll be sure to keep the boy away from Doctor Vile. The last thing we need is another crab monster running amuck in the water ways."

"See to it," Cora said before turning her attention to the Librarian. "Did you manage to acquire the book I requested?"

The old woman nodded and produced the thick tome from a drawer inside of her desk. Cora weaved her hand, and the book vanished amidst a cloud of purple smoke.

"Let's keep this matter between the three of us," Cora said. "Am I clear?"

The Librarian and the Mad Doctor nodded.

"Good," she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to discuss with Maleficent."

Cora vanished into a Corridor of Darkness and rematerialized in the Castle Chapel. Three Acolytes were over the side of the room chatting. Cora vaguely remembered that their names were Crowley, Mephisto, and Arawn, but they weren't under her jurisdiction, so she couldn't be bothered to remember the worlds in which they corresponded to. Cora approached the fireplace on the far side of the room and used her dark magic to alert Maleficent to her presence. A wisp of smoke swirled up from the ashes and took the form of a green orb. The orb touched the back wall of the fireplace, and both vanished, given Cora entrance into the secret room. This room happened to be the same one Jim had entered several hours earlier. Maleficent was over on the other side of the large room, shipping the roses off of her thorns.

"Cora," her silky voice said. "How fared our endeavours in Halloweentown?"

"Less than ideal," Cora admitted. "Young Kal was of less use to us than we had hoped."

"Pity," Maleficent mused as a rose withered in her hands. "Did he survive?"

"Yes," Cora nodded. "But I gave him to the Mad Doctor for experimentation."

"Very good," the evil fairy said. "If he could not serve our wills among our ranks, then he shall serve us by advancing our understanding of the universe. But I know that is not all you wished to tell me."

"Hook discovered something of interest about Hawkins," the witch began. "As it turns out, Hawkins has been marked by that Loki fellow with a Recusant's Sigil."

Maleficent tucked her scissors back into the folds of her robe and turned to face Cora. "Are you certain?"

"The information came from Loki himself," Cora said, "Meaning the likelihood of its truth is unknowable."

"Indeed," the evil fairy nodded. "However, if the Key Bearer does indeed posses a Recusant's Sigil, then Loki has played right into our hands. As the Overlord of Darkness, all dark spells must pass through me. As such, I can take advantage of the dark spells of others. Even though I did not create that Recusant's Sigil, I still have the ability to see with it."

Maleficent shut her eyes for several seconds before she began to cackle manically in such a way that sent shivers down Cora's spine.

"Your valet spoke the truth! Hawkins does indeed posses a Recusant's Sigil carved into his chest," Maleficent said as she opened her eyes. "That foolish Jotun, in his attempts work against us, has played directly into my hands. Now, we have no further need to expend our energies attempting to steal Silver's map. Now we can simply follow Hawkins to where the map may lead, and he will lead us directly to the Armageddon Key. Cora, for delivering this information, your failure back in Asgard is forgiven."

Cora bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."

"You are dismissed."

Cora vanished into a Corridor of Darkness, and Maleficent turned her eyes back to Hawkins.

"Celebrate your non-existent victory, boy. For very soon, you will not only be the Key bearer, but also the key that unlocks my path into ever-lasting Darkness!"

Jim and Jack gravitated into the living room and were sitting together on Aggie's couch. Sophie and Graham had since headed up to bed, but neither Jim nor Jack really had any great drive to sleep at the moment and elected to stay up telling stories to one another.

"...And then," Jack continued, "The couch that fell off that delivery truck caught up and slammed into him, knocking out his tooth!"

Jim laughed the story. "You were kind of a dick to the kids, weren't you?"

"Hey, they had fun!" Jack replied with a light laugh. "That's all that really matters."

"So you and Jamie were close?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, I mean, he was the first kid to believe in me," Jack said. "I've actually gotten to watch him grow up. And his dad before him, and so on back as far as I can remember. It's kinda surreal to think about."

The implications of Jack's immortality suddenly dawned on Jim. It was easy to forget that Jack had been alive for over three hundred years, because he just seemed so normal, but he was, in actuality, even older than Cid or Aggie.

"So, what drew you to that particular family?" Jim asked.

Jack was silent for a few seconds before responding. "They're the descendents of my sister."

"You had a sister?" Jim asked.

Jack nodded.

"What happened to her?" the brunette boy asked.

Jack paused again for a bit.

"Hey, if you're not comfortable talking about it, just forget I asked," Jim quickly added.

"No, no, it's fine," Jack said. "We were going out one day to ice skate. We went out on the pond near our house, and we thought the ice was thick enough. But, once we were out there, it became clear that the ice was dangerously thin, and my sister was right on the dangerous part. I managed to push her to safety, but I ended up falling in. That's when I was chosen by the Man in the Moon... That's how I became Jack Frost."

"I... I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"The worst part? I didn't even remember who was until just recently."

"When you used the memories in your baby teeth, right? I remember you mentioning that you had to remember your past."

"Yeah. I couldn't even remember her, but I still felt myself drawn to her and her family. I think a part of me still remembered, even if my mind couldn't. But, yeah, you told me about your dad and Silver, now I've told you about my sister."

"I'm glad you told me."

"I am too. I just feel really comfortable around you in a way that's just... special."

Jim knew he was grinning like an idiot at that, but he didn't care. "I feel really comfortable around you too, Jack. Of course, you have literally been inside of my heart."

Both boys laughed at that in response. Jim looked over into Jack's beautiful blue eyes, and Jack looked back into Jim's handsome green eyes. They allowed themselves to be swept up by the moment. The two boys leaned in towards one another. They both shut their eyes as their lips met.

Bliss.

Mok was squeezed into a red spandex full body suit and was wearing thick tinted goggles over his eyes. His super computer was hooked up to an old fashioned pipe organ keyboard with which the occult superstar was pecking out melodies.

"Mmmm, you naughty boy, tickling my eighty-eight like that," Forte, the immense living pipe organ, said slyly.

"Hmph, I'm always available to bring pleasure to those loyal to me," Mok said with a light laugh, though his comedic retort did not hide his growing frustration at his constant inability to peck out the appropriate melody for the Armageddon Key.

They were interrupted by Holli Would, the busty blonde woman from the beach, entering the room.

"Holli, I told you never to interrupt my jam sessions," Mok groaned.

"Sorry, baby," Holli said in her sultry voice, "But Mr. Zorg is here to see you."

"Ah, why didn't you say so before?" Mok said, his demeanour quickly lightening. "Go get him an Edison ball and pleasure him while he waits. I need to change into something more comfortable."

In about five minutes, Mok emerged into the modern and extravagantly decorated longue from the glass elevator. Instead of his red jump suit, he was now dressed in a grey business suit with a frilly salmon colored shirt underneath as well as a long white powerdered wig. Zorg was sittting over on the couch, wearing a blue and black striped vest, a metallic sky blue shirt, black slacks, and black boots. Holli was sitting next him, nibbling at his ear.

"I see you're enjoying my hospitality, Jean," Mok chuckled.

"What can I say, I have a weak spot for blondes," Zorg mused. "But I'm here to talk business, so if you could excuse the lady..."

Mok snapped his fingers, and Holli immediately got up and left the room. Mok took a seat in a large armchair. "Talk to me."

"We're gettin' in the red, Mok," Zorg said. "With Overlord regulations and taxes, inter-world commerce is just too expensive for us to continue to engage in it. There's been a forty-seven percent drop in-"

"Numbers, numbers, numbers," Mok groaned. "You're boring me Zorg. Just get to the point."

"My point is that we can't afford to run a multi-world business like this," Zorg said with a groan. "With the Overlords making things difficult and our resources having to be thinned out so much as it is, there's just no profit to be made. We need to pool all of our resources on one single world."

Mok scowled. "Or we could simply just do away with the Overlords."

Zorg flopped back onto the couch in exasperation. "Really? Jokes? Now?!"

"Oh, no jokes, Jean," Mok stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the beach. "Have you ever heard of the Overlord Cycle?"

"No, but I have a feelin' you're about to tell me," Zorg replied.

"The forces of darkness all owe their loyalty to a single individual: the Overlord of Darkness," Mok began. "Though Maleficent calls her group the Overlords, likely a ploy to give her inner circle an elevated sense of self-importance, there is only one true Overlord: Maleficent herself. But Maleficent wasn't always the Overlord. Before her, Xehanort held the title. Before him, the title belonged to Chaos, and so on and so forth."

"Get to the point Mok, you're borin' me," Zorg said ironically.

"My point is, the position changes hands," Mok stated. "It does so through bloodshed. A powerful wielder of darkness for whom the previous Overlord was responsible must orchestrate the demise of the previous Overlord."

"And you want to become the new Overlord?" Zorg asked.

"Maleficent brought me back out of Hell," Mok explained. "She is responsible for me existing in this time period. If I can orchestrate her death, then the powers of the Overlord are mine!"

"Right, because that whole scheme is so much simpler than alterin' our business policy," Zorg rolled his eyes. "Look, clearly you're high again, Mok, so I'm just gonna come back when you're sober."

Zorg proceeded out of the door.

"You're playing it too safe, Jean!" Mok called out. "If business isn't about going after the risky ambition, then we've wasted our lives!"

Cid had slept the night in his cabin on Shera. The ship was in working order once again, and he was heading inside to get the group together. When he entered Aggie's house, he found Jim and Jack asleep on the sofa. Jim was laying flat with his head propped up on the armrest. Jack was laying on his side, flush up against Jim with his head resting on top of Jim's chest. Cid just shook his head at the sight.

"Get a room you two!" Cid yelled out, jokingly.

The two woke with a slight jolt at the noise.

"Was that completely necessary?" Jack asked groggily.

"Well, I'd like to set out ASAP," Cid replied. "I've spent enough time in this Trick-Or-Treat cesspool."

"It's been a day, Cid," Jim pointed out.

"And that's one goddamn day too many!" Cid scoffed.

"Good morning, everyone!" Aggie said as she came downstairs.

"Well it was until you showed up," Cid muttered under his breath; Aggie ignored him.

"Jim, I thought more about your offer last night," she said, turning to Jim. "I did a good deal of soul-searching, and I've decided to come with you as your magic teacher."

"Wait, what?!" Cid asked.

"Great!" Jim said happily. "I'm so glad to hear that! Do you need time to pack?"

"Oh no, no dear," Aggie replied, "My bag is enchanted so that I pull out whatever I need from my house here! It's very convenient!"

"I'll say!" Jack said.

"Fuckin' magic, gonna be all over my fuckin' ship," Cid grumbled.

"Oh, and speaking of magic," Aggie said, "I need to call Gwen and Marnie on my head-phone."

"Ya mean 'cell phone'?" Cid asked.

Aggie shook her head and pulled a blue shrunken head with glowing eyes. "Nope. Head phone! I invented them myself a while ago. They can be used to communicate between worlds, and they're safer to use than Witch's Glasses."

"You have a way to send calls across worlds?!" Jim asked.

"Oh yes, dear, of course," Aggie replied. "When your family lives between two different worlds, it becomes something of a necessity."

"This could make things so much easier to keep in touch with my mom or Silver!" Jim said.

"Or with the Guardians!" Jack exclaimed.

"They're kinda nifty," Cid admitted.

"Well, I can always whip up more if we need them," Aggie said cheerfully. "Let me just make my calls, and we can go!"

"Hey, is Graham still asleep?" Jim asked.

"No, he's not in his room," Aggie said. "I wonder where he could have gotten off to."

Graham was out in the orchard, taking a walk to be alone with his thoughts. An apple rolled from the tree and stopped at his feet. The former sheriff bent over and picked up the bright red fruit. He took one look at it and angrily hurled it off into the woods.

"Poor apple."

Graham turned around to see Jim standing there.

"Oh, Jim," Graham said. "I was just... taking a morning walk to clear my head about... everything."

"And what's with the fruit hate?" Jim asked.

"It's not important," Graham said as he turned away.

"Graham, if you don't want to go with us, you can stay here," Jim said. "Or you can go back somewhere on Earth-2 to live."

"No, I want to go with you," the former sheriff insisted. "It'll be good for me to get away from everything. It's just... an adjustment."

Jim suspected that there was more to it than that, but he didn't want to pry.

"We're about ready to head out," the younger man said. "You ready?"

Graham nodded slightly while staring at the ground. "Yeah. I am."

The worlds were buzzing with news. Those who were affiliated with the Overlords were mortified by the news, while those opposed sang out in ecstasy. The Overlords had just lost a major foothold. One of their biggest and most powerful Acolytes had just been defeated. A hundred year war for control of a world had just ended, and the Overlords lost...

The Avatar had just defeated the Fire Lord.