When Arthur regained consciousness, he pretended to be asleep. He was sitting on a chair and his hands were bound to it with rope. The knot didn't seem to be properly done though... Meaning that whoever had done this, didn't know how to tie down victims properly. This was not a professional he was dealing with. Perhaps if he struggled enough, he could free his hands. He'd have to wait for a good opportunity to arise.

His head was resting on a table and he could hear birds twittering in the distance. That he was able to hear sound was excellent news (assuming it was authentic). No soundproof room, no torture. There was also the possibility that people outside could hear him if he made enough noise. Oddly, everything also smelt familiar. He let himself frown ever so slightly. He had a suspicion he knew exactly where he was. He slowly opened his eyes, flinching as the Sight adjusted itself from overexposure to normality.

Yes, he knew exactly where he was. He was in his own kitchen. He was looking at his own wall. Arthur let out a deep, frustrated sigh, then heard someone snort derisively. He looked up and discovered a very pissed off Gilbert sitting opposite himself. All of Arthur's irritation flooded out of him immediately, leaving behind a sensation of impending doom.

"Hey mate. Finally woken up?" he asked.

Arthur stared at him for a few moments, willing the Earth to open up and swallow him whole. When that didn't happen, he sat up straight, but remained silent. After a long pause, Gilbert realised Arthur wasn't going to start talking any time soon and continued.

"Aren't you going to ask what's going on? Why this is happening?"

Arthur avoided the question.

"Who else is here?" he asked, in a tone that was flat. It almost sounded bored. It was actually forcefully emotionless, as Arthur repressed any feelings at all. His expression was unreadable.

"Don't worry, it's just you and me-" Gilbert started.

"Where are they hiding?" Arthur cut in. Thanks to the Sight, he knew that Ludwig and Francis were also there, albeit sitting out of view, quietly listening to them. Gilbert frowned. "There were two attackers," Arthur explained after a moment of silence. "But fine, let's pretend it's just you and me."

"Aren't you going to at least pretend you're innocent?!" Gilbert demanded.

"No. Do you want me to?" Arthur asked. "You wouldn't attack me unless you knew and had no doubts about me, so there's no point in lying," he explained. He paused, then shifted a little, adding "Is the rope really necessary though?"

Gilbert growled.

"How long have you known about me?!"

Arthur glowered at him, but didn't reply. Inside, he felt a flare of fear and hurt, but quickly forced himself back into numbness, so focused on squashing any emotion that he forgot to speak.

"Tell me!"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it fucking does!" Gilbert snapped. "How long have you known?!" he repeated, slamming the table for emphasis. Arthur looked at the kitchen table, and permitted himself to be a little disgruntled. Did he really have to slam his fist on the poor table?

Still, Arthur knew better than to remain focused on unimportant things. He had to answer the question. He could just about see some of Gilbert's hair stand on end, as Beilshmidt became more and more electrically charged with increased anger. But how honest should he be? Should he lie and say he'd found out recently? Or be honest and say he'd known from the very moment he saw them?

"Why are you hesitating?!" Gilbert demanded. "Answer now, or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Arthur snapped. "What can you do to me?" Anger. Anger was reliable. A good, strong emotion. If only it weren't so fickle...

Gilbert was speechless for a moment.

"And how did you find out about me anyway?" Arthur muttered, although more to himself.

"I'm the one interrogating-"

"Are you kidding me? This barely passes for an interview!" Arthur retorted.

"Aren't you even a little freaked out?!" Gilbert snapped back. Silence fell again. Arthur's hands tightened into fists. Of course he was freaked out. He just wasn't showing it.

"How long have you known?" Gilbert repeated, massaging his temples in frustration.

"Yesterday."

"Liar."

"A week ago."

"Whatever happened to 'I'm not going to lie'?"

"I never said that-"

"Just tell me when you found out and why the hell you threatened Elizaveta with my alter ego!"

Arthur glared at him. So that was what distressed Gilbert most. The fact that Elizaveta had been pulled into this mess, despite the fact that Gilbert had deliberately distanced himself from her to avoid putting her in danger...

Arthur's finger began softly tapping against the rope, in quiet thought. Sooner or later, the Dream Team was going to learn at least some of the truth. Yao would inevitably find out that the Dream Team knew and as such, was bound to spill the beans, perhaps in the noble attempt to defend Arthur. Or perhaps a sense of justice would drive him to voice the truth.

Or at the very least, he still owed Arthur that favour...

"I've known from the start," he finally admitted.

"The start?"

"I'm very good with faces. I saw both identities and put two and two together."

"Don't lie," Gilbert said, disapprovingly. Ah, Francis had just mouthed that Arthur was lying. Of course, he would know that Arthur was absolutely awful with faces. After all, the frog still remembered and liked to bring up that Arthur hadn't recognised him when they first met again, back at the double A meeting. Of course, Arthur in retaliation pointed out that the same was true for the frog...

Another long pause.

"What do you mean by the start?" Gilbert asked.

"I knew before we were formally introduced," Arthur unhesitatingly admitted.

"You knew before...?"

Arthur lazily looked away, his eyes glazing over in apparent boredom, as he focused on internally stifling his panic. He should have tried harder to push them away. Damn him and his own need for a bloody social life. Hadn't he felt lonely, he would have kept them far away from him and wouldn't be in this situation.

Damn him.

"Do you know who the others are?" Gilbert prompted when he once again realised that Arthur wasn't going to continue. The Brit hesitated, unwilling to reply... But remembered that Yao would probably tell them the truth anyway.

"Yes. I know who you all are."

Ludwig and Francis came into view. They'd hidden, as they didn't want to risk unnecessarily exposing their identities. Arthur looked the two in the eye, before lowering his gaze to the floor. Neither were as pissed off as Gilbert, but seeing exactly what was going through their minds... Arthur felt like he was drowning in his own guilt again.

"You're the Magician," Ludwig stated.

"... Yes. I am," Arthur admitted. The three all looked a little shocked, as if they had hoped that despite everything, Arthur wasn't... "How did you find out?" Arthur repeated. The three remained silent, but the Sight revealed everything.

Gilbert had, much like Arthur, been drunk the night before. With new information on the Magician, specifically that he knew Red Blitz's secret identity, combined with the events of the Great Dragon versus the Magician, he had become highly suspicious of Arthur. Well not true. The Dream Team had always been suspicious of Arthur in the past, but the suspicion had practically become a certainty since the Great Dragon had almost been killed. The others still hesitated, but now that Elizaveta was involved, Gilbert had been determined to prove.

So once his inhibitions were gone, he had decided to confront Arthur himself, only that Kirkland had refused to answer the door. So Gilbert had picked Arthur's lock (where did he learn to do that? Arthur wondered) and had gone to the bedroom to demand answers... Only to find that Arthur was gone. In his place lay sprawled out plans for taking down the Great Dragon and Cold Bite, the Magician costume and the stun gun, all of which Arthur had left in his room before going out to the Karpusi Manor.

Arthur couldn't believe it. His current predicament was avoidable. If he had kept things hidden better, if he had been more disciplined and more cautious... He had become clumsy! Leaving his things lying in plain sight! How could he have let this happen...

"Was any of it real?" Francis asked. Arthur glanced at him, for a moment. He was briefly confused, but then understood. Was anything you said or did true or was it all a lie?

Arthur chose not to answer, since...

...You should know...

"Was any of it real?!" Gilbert demanded.

"Of course it was..." he quietly hissed. He then sighed deeply, collecting himself. "I knew from the start who you all... are... And at first, I tried to get rid of you. But unfortunately for you, it eventually occurred to me that being friends with you could be beneficial for me..." he trailed off.

"I can't believe this..." Ludwig muttered and turned away, suppressing his anger.

"So it wasn't real?" Francis asked.

"I just said it was! Maybe not at first, but it sure as hell is now. Maybe I didn't phrase myself properly. At the beginning, you unknowingly befriended the Magician, but now you're friends with me! The person behind the mask! Because the Magician is just a mask!"

"Ja, perhaps, but what if you're lying to us right now? What if Kirkland is the mask and the Magician is what's real? How can we trust you now?" Ludwig demanded.

God, Arthur had never wanted to punch him in the face before, but right now he'd do anything to get rid of the bloody ropes and...!

"Aren't you supposed to be the good guys? Whatever happened to having faith in people?!"

"Trust me, that died a long time ago," Gilbert muttered darkly, thinking of Yao's betrayal. Oh right, Arthur had once again forgotten that he had befriended idiots.

"Why are you the Magician...? Was Jeanne right? Is this a game to you?" Francis asked. Arthur leant back into his chair, thinking.

"What are you talking about?" Ludwig asked Francis. The Frenchman frowned.

"Jeanne was studying the Magician a while ago and came up with a theory," he began to explain.

"And it's mostly true, yes. Right down to the fake deaths," Arthur again admitted, then slowly added "... It was something to do in my spare time."

"You chose to be a villain for fun?" Francis asked incredulously. Arthur shrugged.

"Not everyone needs a reason or a Freudian excuse. And I sure as hell wasn't going to be a hero. You're all work and no play."

Francis was visibly relieved to learn that Arthur was not a murderer, but betrayal was still on his face, clear as day. Arthur once again looked away, a bored expression covering just how much he wanted to die right at that moment.

"What's the theory?" Gilbert asked.

"Jeanne's theory is that the Magician is nothing more than a thrill seeker. Someone who was just doing it, because he could. And it looks like my amazing detective was right," Francis explained. Ludwig frowned, unconvinced.

"So why did he attempt to kill the Great Dragon?"

"That was not intentional," Arthur spoke up. "And in case someone forgot to mention this to you, he was trying to kill me."

"That doesn't change that you did try to kill him! Worse, you knew someone was going to try to stop you. So you pulled out your gun to distract from the knife you actually intended on using."

"Instinctive," Arthur replied. "I'm wired that way. When dealing with Supers, you have to be, unless you want to end up dead," he explained in a matter-of-fact voice. He decided not to mention that he felt very guilty about it and that he had even sent the former villain king a bouquet. They'd find out by themselves anyway.

The three were sharing a look, all silently agreeing that there was a lot they didn't know about Arthur. Which apparently included being wired to kill when under threat.

"Ok then smartass, one last question," Gilbert announced, after an uncomfortable pause. "What did you do with Shiro's blood?"

Arthur closed his eyes tiredly.

"Nothing. I disposed of it fairly quickly."

"Then why did you take it in the first place?" Ludwig asked.

"It's because of a deal I made with Black Ninja."

"A deal... So Kiku was right? That he really did..."

"What was the deal?" Gilbert asked, interrupting Ludwig. He gave his younger brother a pointed look, as if saying don't jump to conclusions. Ironic, since this whole mess started with Gilbert jumping to conclusions...

Arthur frowned.

"Do you really want to know what the deal was?"

"Tell us," Gilbert insisted. The Brit looked at the floor. Oh, this was going to hurt. Them, that is. Not him.

"The deal was to nullify the blackmail that the Great Dragon was using on him. In return, he'd work with me."

"... Blackmail?"

"Yes. It was tricky, since I couldn't exactly go up to you in either identity and tell you about a little problem with Shiro. It'd raise too many questions. So I just brought it to your attention by stealing some."

The three shared a look again, then wandered away to a corner, talking to each other in quiet tones. Arthur chose not to watch, instead focusing on his ropes. He found he could free them easily, but before doing so, checked to see what the other three were doing. They were still talking about Yao and Arthur and how much they could trust either of them.

With a final tug, Arthur had freed himself from the rope, but he held it in place. Now that he was free to do whatever the hell he wanted, he needed a better plan than run for it. He couldn't threaten them, since that wouldn't help them trust him again. He couldn't run away, since they'd just catch him or... In the case of two electrically powered Supers, fry him. What could he do?

Sighing, he let the rope go and it fell to the floor. Somehow, the trio heard the soft thud and looked over to him, just in time to see him start massaging his aching wrists. They, in turn, were utterly flabbergasted.

"I did say I didn't like the rope," Arthur said, avoiding their silent question of how he had done that. And that was just another thing they hadn't known about Arthur. He had some expertise in the art of escapology.

Francis sat down, opposite Arthur, and looked him in the eye. Although a confused by the move, Arthur knew Francis had initially been against tying the Brit up in the first place. Now he was evaluating him, looking for... something. Unfortunately, Arthur found himself unable to stifle his panic and it prevented him from using the Sight. For a moment, the fear was even visible on his face. Still, his gaze remained level with Francis, before the Frenchman eventually broke off the impromptu staring contest.

"While this changes things, I think we can still trust him." Francis concluded. "To an extent," he then added.

"Um, Francis? He's a super villain? Just a few weeks ago, he threatened Elizaveta?! Or did you just happen to forget that minor detail?!" Gilbert argued.

"I only threatened her, because she couldn't be reasoned with," Arthur spoke up, defending himself. "I didn't know how else to stop her from-"

"Why did you get rid of the Great Dragon and Cold Bite. We know you're the one behind it." Ludwig interrupted, changing topics entirely.

"..." Arthur was at a loss for words.

It wasn't just the sudden topic change. He actually found he wasn't entirely sure why he had done it anymore. Why had he done it? It was simply a power play... Right? But... Even now... He knew he was lying to himself. He might not know what his motives were, but he knew which they definitely weren't. He once again lowered his gaze.

"... When I... disappeared as the Magician, some new villains moved in that... Let's just say that they don't play nice. I doubt you'll have noticed, since, hey, what's the difference between people trying to kill you? Unfortunately the new villains had ended up forming two gangs and they were headed towards a gang war. I've been working to prevent that, since..."

Again Arthur trailed off, deciding against giving his reasons. The three were quiet for a long while.

"What do you think, Gil?" Ludwig asked. Gilbert lightly shook his head.

"The potential gang war was real. Elizaveta told me about it," Gilbert replied tiredly. "We're still missing the Magician's motives."

Arthur sighed deeply.

"... I live in this city too. A gang war between Supers could raze New Pond to the ground. That aside, I never liked gangs and if I didn't do something about them, sooner or later, I would be forced to choose between them."

The three didn't look pleased with his answer.

Arthur looked away, noticing the time and shot out of his chair in surprise. That late already? The three immediately shifted into defensive positions. Arthur looked away from the clock and frowned at them, before holding up his hands in surrender.

"I'm a non-super, what am I going to do? Stare at you? Please. If anyone's a threat here, it's you," he said.

"You know that's not true, Kirkland..." Gilbert muttered. Arthur frowned.

"So where do we go from here?" Francis asked.

The question hung in the room. Arthur closed his eyes, willing himself not to remain calm. This was what he'd been scared of. There were so many different ways this could play out and a majority of them were not in his favour. On the other hand, nobody knew what to do in this situation, or at least, no one did at the moment. At least they'd known about him for a few hours now and had had time to calm down and process it a little. He didn't want to begin to imagine how they'd act if they'd just found out. Arthur put his hands in his pockets.

"You can't keep me here forever. You all have jobs you have to return to sooner or later," he stated.

"On the other hand, we could hand you over to the police and be done with it," Gilbert said menacingly. Looking at him with the Sight revealed it was an empty threat, only said because of the emotional state the German was currently in.

"You mean like you did Yao? And yes, I know his identity too," Arthur said, mentally slapping himself for blabbing out another secret identity he wasn't supposed to know. A silence fell once again. Everyone was weighing their options and gathering the little truths they knew.

Then the doorbell rang.

Arthur wasn't expecting anyone, so he was as confused as the other three.

"Can you at least agree that it's all right for me to open my own front door?" Arthur asked.

"I'll go with him," Ludwig volunteered and the other two nodded in agreement. Arthur scowled. He didn't appreciate being treated like a prisoner in his own home, but this wasn't exactly the first time this had happened to him.

Together they walked to the front door, while in the kitchen, Gilbert and Francis talking quietly about what they should do.

Once they got to the front door, Arthur didn't bother looking through the peep-hole and threw the door wide open. He was confused when he came face to face with a stranger.

"... Can I help you?" Arthur asked.

"Are you Mr Kirkland?" the man replied, while Arthur scanned him with the Sight. The Brit relaxed and smiled politely.

"Yes. You must be Tino's new driver?"

"Yessir. I was asked to pick you up on the way to the airport," he clarified.

"Airport...?" Ludwig asked. Arthur could hear the background conversation silence.

"I'm picking up some family from there," Arthur explained. He glanced at the driver. "Or rather, I'm meeting them at the airport, since I haven't seen them in a year."

Ludwig frowned.

"I... didn't realise more would be coming..." the driver muttered quietly, when Francis and Gilbert also popped into view.

"They're not. They were just leaving," Arthur replied curtly. Without even looking at them, Arthur could tell the trio were silently debating amongst each other what to do. "I'll be down in a minute," he added. The driver nodded and headed downstairs, to the car. Arthur turned around to face them.

"I'm going. You can't stop me," Arthur announced sternly. That was a complete and utter lie, as they could do literally anything to stop him, but they bought the lie anyway.

"Arthur, I'd like to come with you, if you don't mind. There are still a few questions I want to ask," Ludwig said in a voice that similarly stated there was no room for debate. Arthur gave him a long look, before he simply shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said. "... But don't you dare think you can question my family," he added, giving him a cold look. "Your problems lie with me alone."

For a moment, Ludwig could clearly see a perfect blend of Kirkland and the Magician. Slightly awestruck, he nodded and followed after him, stealing some electricity off Gilbert as they strode pass the two members of the Bad Touch Trio. Arthur paused and looked back at the two, as they got their things to leave.

"Francis..." Arthur started. The Frenchman looked up.

"Yes?"

"Leave the spare keys behind on your way out," he said, then turned on his heel and left.


#EverybodyScream

This is what everyone has been waiting for from the start, right? I mean, if I were an avid Magician Reader, I would always be wondering when are they gonna find out? Also, despite this being a scene I had planned to put in since the beginning, this was somehow really difficult to write...? I kept rewriting bits and editing until I finally got to that stage where I'm like "This is it. It doesn't get better than this." Even though I feel like it's not good enough?

Tell me how you think I handled the scene. Because I honestly have no idea. Was it dramatic enough? Did the argument/interrogation work? If not, let me know how I can get it right next time. THIS IS WHAT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR I NEED TO KNOW I DID A GOOD JOB, CONFRONTATIONS ARE NOT MY STRENGTH WHETHER FICTIONAL OR REAL.