A piece of llama fur floats in between Telary's open palms, surrounded by a subtle blue glow. The wizard stares at it intently, silently counting in his head. Once the count reaches twenty, he sighs and allows it to float back down to the table in front of him.

"Okay," he mutters, leaning back and letting his arms drop to his sides. After a few moments of rest, he sits up again and grabs his feather pen. With a small sigh, he checks off the last spell he could think of that might reverse Kuzco and Sora's transformations.

He'd known it was a longshot, but Telary is nothing if not thorough. And of course testing spells was the only course of action he could reasonably take at the moment. Without specialized equipment, developing and testing antidotes isn't even an option.

There's a small skylight in the ceiling above. He looks up through it, checking the sun's progress across the sky. It's partially visible through the glass, still on the morning side of noon. Just barely. Hopefully, Sora and the others are making good time to the palace. It's frustrating, knowing there's nothing he can do but simply sit and wait.

"Did you fix it yet? Can I be beautiful again now?"

"Speaking of doing nothing," Telary mutters under his breath. He turns to face Kuzco, the transformed emperor laying on his stomach near the room's entrance. He's been there the entire time the wizard has been working, occasionally throwing in some unwanted commentary.

"Doesn't seem like it," Kuzco answers his own question. Sighing, he lays his head back down to the floor.

"Well, at least I'm doing something!" Telary can't help but snap back, huffing indignantly. "Weren't you going to go talk to people? Make sure your subjects are doing okay. Y'know, like a good ruler would be doing right now?"

"If that's a criticism of me," the emperor shoots back, jolting to his feet and holding his head high, "I didn't hear it, and I won't respond to it! And anyway, I've been writing a really great speech in my head this whole time, so…"

"Kuzco, please be serious," Telary admonishes. "This is a serious situation. I'll bet a lot of people are freaking out."

"Well, they can just join the club then!" Kuzco yells back, dropping to the floor and hiding his face between his legs.

Telary watches him for a long moment, trying to fight the sympathetic feelings welling up inside his chest. But, of course, he can't. The wizard rises from his chair, moving toward Kuzco and squatting next to him.

"It isn't an unnatural reaction," Telary assures the emperor. "Freaking out, I mean. Especially when you're supposed to be the one in charge. And, believe it or not, I get some of what you're feeling right now, Kuzco."

The llama raises an eye above his foreleg, staring skeptically. "How?"

"Well, I'm actually in line for a throne myself," he explains. "And, honestly, I can't really say I know much about leadership either. In fact, the idea of it makes me really uncomfortable. And scared that I'll say the wrong thing, or do something I shouldn't. But, I guess part of leadership is being scared, and trying to do something for other people anyway. Because making the wrong decision could turn out badly, but not even trying will almost definitely make things worse."

"Yeah," Kuzco concedes, straightening his neck. "Maybe you're right. But, uh, it isn't, like, bad or anything if I need some help, right?"

The wizard smiles. "No, not at all. Maybe neither of us are the rulers we need to be yet, but there's two of us, right? Two heads are better, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Kuzco agrees, rising to his feet. He looks much more confident than before, maybe even just a bit cocky. "You're like, the smart head, and I'm the pretty one!"

"Uh, okay," Telary says, shrugging off the odd statement. "So, shall we get to work!"

The pair confers for about ten minutes, and Telary is pleasantly surprised at just how much Kuzco is able to contribute. For all his nerves, the emperor seems to know the people of this hill pretty well, working the individual concerns of a several villagers into the speech. At the end, after going over things one more time and fine-tuning some performance aspects, they're ready. With an exchange of confident nods, Telary and Kuzco head out to face the world.

"Okay, everybody!" Kuzco yells, striding down the hill with a sure-footed strut. "Okay, I know things are tense and scary right now, but if everybody could gather around and listen to what I have a say, I promise I can sausage…"

"Assuage," Telary quickly corrects.

"Assuage your concerns!" People are watching Kuzco's stroll, mostly with puzzled looks on their faces. Still, they gather around their emperor, puzzlement not abating. Once Kuzco is happy with the attending numbers, he launches into the full speech. "Okay, so I know there's a lot of confusion right now, you're freaking out at all the freaky freakness. But there's no reason to get your freak on, 'cause we gots a mondo cool plan…"

"Yeah, we know," pipes up Pacha's son Tipo, rolling his eyes. "Dad told us everything before he left."

"No need to worry with Pacha on the case!" chimes in an older woman dressed in green and blue.

"Good ol' Pacha," someone else agrees. In no time, the village is buzzing with appreciation for their llama herding hero. Kuzco can only stand in the middle of it all, looking helpless. Noticing the llama's distress, Telary sidles over.

"Okay, tough break," he says, absently patting Kuzco's neck. After a moment, the wizard manages to plaster on a smile. "But, um, maybe the important thing is that you were willing to…"

One look from Kuzco is all it takes to cut him off. "Yeah, sure. Great, you got me all pumped up for nothing! And I came up with all that stuff…" He turns to stalk away, muttering under is breath.

Telary's not letting the emperor get away with that though, quickly putting himself in his path. "That was only step one on the agenda. I'm still looking to try and figure out this protection these hills have. I was thinking we could ask around. Is anybody in this village particularly knowledgeable?"

"Well," Kuzco scoffs, "apparently Pacha's just the greatest ever." Telary raises an eyebrow, enough for him to get the hint. "But there are these old guys who are always playing this dumb game. They usually know what's going on."

"And older people tend to remember older stuff," Telary agrees, making ago at chipperness once more. "Alright Kuzco, lead the way!"

KH-KH-KH

How did it come to this? Sora thinks, watching a trio of Air Soldiers glide by overhead. They scan the jungle floor, but the Keybearer's hiding place proves adequate. Despite all the hassle of being a llama, the camouflage his dark-colored fur provides is pretty useful. Of course if it he weren't a llama in the first place, there would be no need to hide at all.

The Heartless pass under a tall tree, still focused on the ground. Until the sound of a rustling branch above startles them into looking up. And by then it's too late. Riku leaps straight down, slashing through two Air Soldiers on his way to the ground. The other is barely able to turn and look before Azlyn's shield pummels it into the tree trunk.

The knight emerges from the bushes to catch her shield, taking a look around for further enemy forces. Satisfied that none are forthcoming, she motions for Sora and Pacha to come out of hiding.

"Nice teamwork, you two," Sora says, looking between his friends with a grin. It falters after a moment, however. "Wish I could be part of it."

"Well, we already tried that once," Riku reminds him. "You whiffed every shot you took, and I'm still surprised none of your teeth cracked."

The Keybearer can't help but agree. Attempting to hold the Keyblade with his mouth had not been a great success. Maybe if he didn't have such a long neck to contend with…

The group gets moving again, after Pacha takes a quick moment to check the sun in the sky. It's nearly to the peak of its arc, high noon in the kingdom. "Well, I think we're making alright time, considering the circumstances. It isn't long until we get to the main bridge. The bad part of that is, there won't be anywhere to hide out."

"No problem for me," Azlyn declares. "Not a fan of all this sneaking around to begin with."

Sora hears Riku mumble something under his breath in response, but thankfully Azlyn doesn't. Or maybe she did hear and is being mature about it. Based on the rest of today though, that seems highly unlikely.

They enter a thick patch of brush, but the foliage is getting thinner up ahead. Sora can just make out where the forest has been cleared back to allow bridge access. It's a fair distance without cover, and of course the Kingdom of the Sun bridge isn't exactly built to Radiant Garden standards. Just a collection of planks held up by long, thick ropes.

"It's more stable than it looks," Pacha says over the Keybearer's shoulder. "When Kuzco was first a llama, we had a little incident during crossing. When it got put back up, we made sure it was better enforced. The plan is to eventually make a stone bridge."

Sora's about to make a quip about bad timing, when suddenly a sharp crack sounds from behind him. Fearing Heartless, the Keybearer turns and shuffles a little further into the bushes. Luckily, there are no dark creatures appearing behind him. But the sight that does await him is little better. Riku stands rubbing at his face, a web of angry welts rising on his skin. Azlyn is still moving in front of him, only stopping once she realizes Sora has.

"Oh, ouch," the knight says as she turns to face Riku. "Might wanna be a little more careful there, Rik."

"I should be careful?" the silver-haired man snaps. "You're the one hitting me in the face! How could you be so… Unless you're doing it on purpose!"

"Guys!" Sora hisses at his friends. Perhaps they don't hear him, or maybe they just no longer care. Either way, the pair step up to get in each others' faces.

"More paranoia," Azlyn says, shaking her head. "Y'know, I'm actually starting to feel sorry for you."

"Save the pity for yourself," Riku replies. "When this mission's over, you're really gonna need it."

"Why wait, Rik?" Azlyn steps back, raising her fists. "Bring it on!"

It seems as if Riku intends to do just that, until Pacha steps up to hold him off. "Both of you knock it off! This is some of the most childish behavior I've seen, and I have three kids and am regularly around Kuzco!"

"He's right!" Sora chimes in before the near-combatants can protest. "Try and save it for when we get back to the Gummi ship, huh? We don't need to be making a lot of noise. Do you want Heartless to start showing up?"

"Man…" Riku says.

"Uh, Sora, buddy…" Pacha starts, grimacing at the Keybearer.

"Well," he continues to yell, undeterred, "DO YA?"

Sora's last words come out in a scream, startling wildlife and echoing for a long few moments. His friends all stare at the young man, mouths agape. He watches them right back, until suddenly what he's just done starts to occur to him.

"My bad," he sheepishly declares. "We should, uh, probably start running now."

As if waiting for their perfect cue, Air Soldiers come diving in from the sky. All around, Powerwilds and Rabid Dogs arrive through dark portals. The heroes don't stick around to watch though, making a direct charge for the bridge.

"My point," Sora makes sure to say as they flee, "still stands!"

Up ahead, outside the jungle brush, six Powerwilds gather into a waiting mob, watching hungrily as their quarry comes right to them. Azlyn grunts, drawing out her shield and placing it directly in front of her. Riku picks up on the strategy, moving closer to the knight so as to lend his strength to the charge.

They slam into the enemy, monkey-like Heartless scattering like loose popcorn. Air Soldiers dive in, the pair separating to deal with them. Pacha, meanwhile, has scooped up Sora, running straight at the bridge with the transformed Keybearer under his arm.

"Uh, Pacha!" Sora protests, just as they're hitting the bridge's wooden slats. "We're kind leaving our best protection behind!"

Either the llama herder doesn't hear, or he realizes they're halfway across the bridge anyway, because he keeps on going until his feet hit solid ground once more. Sora manages to squirm out of his grip then, looking back across the bridge to his left behind friends.

Azlyn hurls her shield upward, smacking away three Air Soldiers. Meanwhile Riku focuses on ground enemies, slicing through a Powerwild even as he grasps a Rabid Dog by its collar and hurls it straight off the cliff. They both hear Sora, yelling for them to start moving across the bridge. Exchanging brief glances, they silently decide to agree. Riku gathers a Dark Fire in his open hand, gesturing towards the group of Powerwilds amassing before them.

Azlyn tosses him her shield, kicking a Rabid Dog into the rest of the Heartless group. Riku catches the disc in his powered-up hand, taking only a moment to set his aim before launching the fireball he'd prepared. The spell propels the shield forward like a champagne cork, shoving straight through the heart of the enemy formation. Most of them die instantly, the others confounded by the dark flame's runoff heat.

Riku and Azlyn make for the bridge, only a few Air Soldier stragglers left to pursue them. The creatures overshoot them, heading for Sora and Pacha. Clenching her fist, Azlyn calls her shield back to her hand, ready to hurl it and help the others out. But by the time the disc is back in her hand, and she and Riku are about halfway across the bridge, the Heartless reveal their true strategy.

The Air Soldiers split formation, diving down and slicing the bridge's supports as they go. Pinwheeling in the air, they slash through again, the ropes breaking with loud snaps. Azlyn and Riku continue running as the bridge starts falling into two pieces. But even their top speed isn't enough, and they fall along with the broken planks.

"NO!" Sora yells, running to the cliff's edge. The Air Soldiers head toward him, and he skids to a stop and stares them down. Stamping his foot against the ground, he yells, "Thundara!"

Lightning bolts slam through the Heartless, leaving nothing but quickly fading particles to mark their passing. But Sora doesn't care about that, his long llama neck stretched over the open cliff. For a few moments he can't even breathe properly, desperate for any confirmation of his friends' survival.

"Oh, great!" Azlyn complains. "Literally stuck with you."

"This is just wonderful," Riku adds bitterly.

Sora lets out a breath, never so happy to hear his friends' bickering. The cliff walls slope downward, leaving an open space of only a few feet before dropping to the river below. Far below, probably still a long enough fall to do major damage. Azlyn and Riku rest just above the drop, back to back with their legs outstretched.

"You're okay!" Sora cries, stamping his hoofs.

"Not exactly the word I would use," Riku calls back up. "But yeah, we're alive."

"And loving it!" Azlyn chimes in, and Sora can practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"Do you think the Heartless are gone for now?" Pacha asks, cautiously scanning the air.

"That was a pretty big group," Sora says. "But I think we got all of them for now. We need to focus on getting Azlyn and Riku back up here."

"Please do!" Azlyn calls up. "Rik's leg's getting shaky."

"Oh, like you're made of iron."

"Cut it out, guys!" The Keybearer throws his best glare down.

"Aw, what're you gonna do?" Azlyn yells back, giggling. "Come down here?" She stops holding back, letting out a full-throated laugh. Riku joins in with a few snickers of his own.

"Oh sure," Sora mutters, walking a few steps away and shaking his head. "When it comes to making fun of me, they're Mr. and Mrs. Teamwork."

"Kuzco and I got caught in a situation like this ourselves once," Pacha explains to the imperiled pair. "But we didn't have anybody up here to help. I'll try and find a vine you can grab. See if you can climb a little higher together."

"You can do it!" Sora offers before following Pacha into the jungle.

Down in the crevice, Azlyn shifts to get some blood to her legs. Riku grunts in annoyance, her movement pushing him closer to the wall. He's about to snap back, maybe give her a good push, but he stops himself. This is no time for antics.

"Alright, we do this foot by foot," Azlyn declares sternly. "I'm going first, you follow. Got me?"

"Yeah, okay," the silver-haired young man replies, keeping his voice even. He can feel Azlyn shift behind him, hearing the sound of her boot scuffing the rock. He moves in turn, lifting his right foot and planting it firmly as he can.

Azlyn starts moving again, but something goes wrong. She starts to slip, forcing Riku to push back against her. She stops, accompanied by the sound of pebbles breaking away from the cliff wall.

"You okay?" Riku asks, glancing over his shoulder.

"What foot did you move?" his partner demands.

"My right."

"I moved my right!"

"Well, maybe you should've told me that, hm?"

"Everybody knows right foot goes…" The knight sighs, grinding her foot a little more into the cliff. "Alright, alright, that was my bad. My right foot, then your left. My left, your right…"

"Got it. Go ahead, I'm ready."

Back in the jungle, Pacha and Sora search for a suitable vine, keeping an eye out for Heartless along the way.

"I've gotta ask, Sora," Pacha says, looking between branches at a vine that's far too short, "what is the deal with those two? They've been sniping at each other ever since you got here."

Sora sighs, kicking at an exposed tree root. "Well, they've always been kinda… confrontational, I guess, with each other. But usually I can tell they're having fun underneath it all. It's nice for them, having someone they can say pretty much anything to and not hurt their feelings. Well, usually anyway."

"Something changed?" Pacha asks idly, examining another vine. This one looks much more promising.

"Yeah," Sora agrees. "See, for the past year or so, they've just been seeing each other every once in a while, for a few days tops. But now…" He sighs. "Well, let's just say this kingdom isn't our first or last stop. It's gonna be a long haul, this journey we're on. And what I think is, they're just having a little trouble adjusting to the new circumstances. I know I've been having a problem with that lately. Pre-llama even. Anyway, they just found something that set them off, and it's kinda snowballed from there."

Pacha nods. "I see. It sounds like you really know your friends, Sora. By the way, I think this is the vine we need."

"Cool!" The Keybearer looks up, frowning at the vine. "Uh, I don't think I'm gonna be able to maneuver the Keyblade…"

"No, it's okay." Pacha reaches beneath his poncho, drawing out a small knife. After a little climb and a few moments of sawing, they've got about twelve feet of vine to play with. More than enough, by the llama herder's calculations.

When Sora looks back over the cliff, he finds Azlyn and Riku quite a distance upwards from where they started. Their legs are fully outstretched, bodies almost completely horizontal. And, pleasantly, the pair appears to be simply chatting idly.

"She does seem kinda wacky, in my opinion," Azlyn is saying. "But in a good way, y'know what I mean? The girl knows how to have fun, at least. Not a bad body either, just saying."

"Having fun down there?" Sora calls, grinning. Beside him, Pacha makes sure the vine is properly unfurled.

Azlyn and Riku respond with a simultaneous, "NO!"

"Yeah, whatever." The Keybearer backs up to help Pacha, shaking his head. He knows what he saw. Another flawless victory in friendship repair is in sight.

The vine proves almost long enough, just a foot or two out of Riku's reach. "Not long enough, eh?" Azlyn heckles the older man. "Bet this isn't the first time you've gotten that complaint, huh?"

"Shut up," Riku snaps back. "Okay, I'm gonna shimmy up, get your head under my back and push up. I can make it then."

The maneuvering is incredibly tricky, and only great coordination and their strong bodies keep the pair from losing each other and falling straight to their deaths. Azlyn pushes her neck as far as it can go, grunting through clenched teeth. But all the effort is worth it, Riku's hand grasping the vine firmly.

"Good for you!" Azlyn manages to get out. "Now how…?"

Riku bends his knees without warning, leaving the knight with no pressure to keep herself held up. She holds in a scream as she's falling, quickly twisting in midair. She's fast and flexible, her arms wrapping around Riku's waist.

"Climb over me," he commands. "But if you step on my face woman, I swear…"

Azlyn doesn't grace that comment with a comeback, doing as she's told without a word. Until she starts a few feet up the vine, turns to look back at her partner, and quips, "No looking up my skirt!"

"Yeah," Riku replies as he's climbing after her. "I think I've had enough disturbing experiences in my life so far."

Soon enough, both of them are back on solid ground. Sora tries to hug them, but neither seem too enthusiastic about a face full of llama.

"See what you can do when you work together?" the Keybearer asks with a knowing look. "I think some thank yous are in order."

"Might be," Riku says, folding his arms and looking at Azlyn impassively.

"Yeah, whatever," the knight says, rolling her eyes. "We did okay. Not bad, Rik."

"You either."

Sora looks from one friend to another with a huge grin. "Anything else you…?"

"Can it, Sora," Azlyn snaps. Riku nods his agreement.

"Glad you're okay," Pacha says sincerely. "Now let's get going, before any more of those Heartless decide to…"

The underbrush rattles, a sharp sound that instantly puts everyone on alert. A bush shakes in front of them, and for a tense moment they wait for anything that could be lurking within…

Luckily, all that emerges is a tiny, brown-furred squirrel.

"Oh, phew," Pacha says, wiping sweat from his forehead as he relaxes. "It's just Bucky."

"You know this squirrel personally?" Riku asks.

"We both know that's not too weird," Sora reminds his friend.

Bucky, chittering like made, clambers up Pacha's poncho and onto the llama herder's shoulder. From there, he becomes even louder.

"Looks like he's upset," Sora points out. "Can you understand any of what he's saying?"

"Uh, not so much," Pacha explains, just sheepishly watching the squirrel chatter on. "But I'd guess he's worried about something."

"Probably Heartless," Azlyn suggests. She turns back to the cliff, right arm outstretched. After a few seconds, her shield comes hurtling back upwards into her open palm. Securing the disc on her back, she heads back into the jungle. "Let's get a move on, boys. Time's a-wasting."

The others follow after her, though not without a quick glance at the sun, passing through the sky.

KH-KH-KH

"Which is why I never go out if it's raining on a Tuesday," the skinny old man continues to ramble, as he or his more robust game partner have been doing for the past half hour. So far, absolutely none of what they've said has been of much use.

"Well, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Telary politely replies. "If I ever have the, um, misfortune of getting a, uh, bunyon in that… place of your body you just described."

"Yeah, that's some, uh, some advice you gave us there," Kuzco adds, his entire body drooping from boredom. "But nothing you just said was anything I actually asked about!"

"What're ya sayin'?" the larger player asks indignantly. "You asked us about getting old on this hill!"

"No, I definitely didn't," the emperor argues. "I asked you if you knew any old stuff about this hill. Like legends or ghost stories or any stuff like that. I never said anything about your nasty-gross old people bodies!"

"Oh, well excuse me," Skinny declares. "I thought maybe you youngins would appreciate a little heads-up firsthand experience about the aging human body."

"If you ever get a human body back, that is," Robust chimes in, snickering.

Kuzco whirls on Telary. "Why did you suggest this again."

"Um, well," the wizard protests with his usual sheepishness, "actually, you suggested talking to the old men, not me."

"Uhhh, yeah," the llama replies skeptically. "Not really the way I remember it."

Telary shakes his head, deciding not to protest the emperor's claims. "Anyway, is there anything you can remember about this hill's history? Any little thing at all."

"My ancestors founded this village!" Skinny declares.

Robust doesn't seem too pleased with that statement. "Whaddya mean? This village was founded by my ancestors!"

"You crazy?"

"You senile?"

"They're both off," Kuzco whispers to Telary. "I'm the emperor, which means all this stuff was founded by my ancestors."

"I'm starting to think," the wizard replies, "that this won't be quite as helpful as I initially imagined."

"Ya think?" With the old men settling into a fierce argument, Telary and Kuzco take the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.

"Okay, maybe there are no shortcuts in this," the wizard admits as they're walking up the street. "Perhaps the way to get best results is to simply search the hills themselves. It'll take some time, but…" Stopping a moment, Telary looks up at the clear blue sky. The sun has moved past perfect center position, the afternoon beginning.

Kuzco is about to reply when suddenly a round ball rolls into his shin. The emperor yelps, leaping away and declaring his unconditional surrender to the forces of darkness.

"Gee Kuzco, calm down," Chaca, Pacha's daughter, declares with a roll of her eyes. "It's just a ball."

"Yeah," Tipo adds. "Nothing scary's gonna happen. Dad said so."

"Your father seems to be sort of the elder statesman around here," Telary says thoughtfully. "Has he ever told you two any old stories about this place and its history?"

"Yeah, sometimes," Chaca replies. "Not that it makes this hill any less boring. Pretty much the only real exciting thing to do around here is mess with the cave."

"Cave?" Tel inquires. "What cave?"

"It's around the back of the hill," Tipo explains. "Most of the entrance is all blocked up by rocks, but some kids are little enough to sneak in. Everybody does it at least once."

"It's a foundational rite of passage!" his sister concurs. "Not even Dad would seal it up, not even after Mom told him to. He understands the complex rituals of childhood, the…"

"Okay, okay," Kuzco interrupts, holding up a hoof. "Less talky, Chaca, more showy. As in, take us there. Your emperor commands it!"

"Yeah, sure," Tipo agrees with a shrug. "But if Mom finds out, I'll stop talking to you forever. And put scorpions in your bed again."

Making sure Chicha is thoroughly distracted with the baby, the group heads out of the village. A nearly overgrown footpath leads around the back of the hill, branching off in three direction at one point. Chaca takes everyone down the righthand path, until they finally reach their destination. The cave's mouth is taller than Telary by several feet, and just about as wide. Most of it is completely blocked off, a pile of dozens of rocks leaving only a few feet open at the top. Nothing can be seen inside but darkness.

"Well, this looks like something indeed," Telary declares, pushing at one rock in the pile. It doesn't budge, not even when he wraps two hands around it and pulls with all his might. "Okay, seems like we're going to need a less delicate approach."

"What, you're gonna knock the rocks down?" Tipo whines. "But the childhood right of…"

"This could be the difference between having any childhood at all, or getting eaten by shadow monsters," Chaca points out.

"Hey," Kuzco says, raising an reyebrow at the little girl, "were you listening through the door? Ugh, this is just like the time you read my journal."

"I think you mean diary."

"Journal!"

Telary ignores the bickering. He examines the rock pile for several moments, pondering through the proper magical response. In the end, he thinks of what Azlyn would do. "Back up, everyone!" he calls, placing both hands on the pile. After a deep breath, the wizard starts backing up and gathering his power. There's no need to waste on elemental touches and flash, not when pure magical energy will suffice to the task at hand. He thrusts his arms out, exerting his will on the pile of stone.

The center rocks shift, moving all the stone above as well. Rocks begin to fall, spilling down the slope and kicking up dust. Chaca and Tipo cover their ears from the noise, both kids' eyes wide in awe. After a minute, about half the rock pile has fallen, leaving a much wider entrance gap. So Telary unleashes more power, collapsing the bottom half. After a minute of clearing away the stone debris, it becomes a simple enough matter to just walk inside the cave.

"No," Kuzco says as he notices the kids following behind him. "Spooky cave is big boys only zone, ya got that?" They start to protest, but the emperor isn't hearing any of it. "Go back to your mom. If she found out I let you come in here, she'd get me with the frying pan again."

Neither Chaca nor Tipo like it, but both of them leave. When Kuzco turns back to the cave, he finds Telary smiling at him.

"That was very leaderly of you," the wizard comments.

The emperor doesn't seem impressed. "Yeah, I can order kids around. Go me!"

"You did it because you care," Telary explains. They've reached a stone staircase, spiraling down into the darkness. Except there actually does seem to be a light source somewhere along. Its faint, but the very presence gives the wizard some pause. "And that's the most important part, Kuzco. Just caring about the people who trust you to be in charge of them."

"Yeah, sure."

The encouragement stops for the journey's remainder, as the pair move downward and ever closer to the mysterious light. As they approach, it gets noticeably brighter, and Telary notes its orange color. Waiting at the stairs' end is an open archway, a carving of the sun at its crest. The wizard only notes it distantly, moving quickly into the cavern beyond.

He's reminded of the Cornerstone chamber back at Disney Castle, though taken in a much more rustic direction. Mostly the place looks like any other cave, the only overt signs of civilization being a series of seven columns set up all around the edges. Each is identically carved, and once again the sun is the most prominent theme.

In the center is the most extreme example, a crystalline sun sculpture hanging from a series of vines. It is the mysterious source of light, and for a moment Telary thinks it is illuminating itself from within. Then he notices the beam coming from the ceiling, shooting straight into the sculpture's center.

"I'm no expert on freaky stuff," Kuzco declares, "but if I had to make a guess, I'd say this crystal thingy is why these hills are safe."

"There must be some way for the sunlight to get in from up top," Telary says, circling the room with his eyes firmly fixed on the center. "It's not like the Cornerstone, operating under its own power. Instead it just takes the energy from the sunlight. I wonder why it was built in the first place?"

So taken in by the room's centerpiece, the wizard isn't watching where he's going. He stumbles right into one of the outer columns, nearly falling before he manages to reach out and steady himself. He feels the stone move where his hand is, and once he has his balance back he examines the column closer. It appears that its actually a cabinet, two doors swinging open to reveal a pile of rolled up scrolls inside.

"Scrolls?" Kuzco asks over his shoulder. "Kinda an over the top design for a library."

Telary doesn't respond, reaching out and grabbing the top scroll on the stack. Unfurling it, he expects some kind of schematic or explanation for this cavern. Instead, he merely finds a series of pictograms. The first image is of yet another sun, shining brightly on a patch of green below that must be grass. Underneath it is another sun, with a long black serpent wrapping it in a chokehold.

"Some kind of history, I think," Tel explains. "Maybe an explanation of why this place was built?" He reaches in and takes the whole bundle of scrolls in his arms. "Whatever it is, we should take it with us. Check the other columns, see if they function as cabinets as well."

As it happens, Telary just got lucky that first time. Every other pillar is just run-of-the-mill decoration. "So, what exactly did this little field trip accomplish?" Kuzco asks as they're on their way up the staircase. "Other than making me do stairs, which I hate!"

"It satisfied my curiosity, if nothing else," Telary responds with a shrug. "And I'm sure these scrolls will only shed further light on what exactly is going on here. Besides, hasn't it taken your mind off… everything else?"

They emerge from the cave and into the late afternoon sunlight.

KH-KH-KH

The door slams down from overhead, cutting off the sight of Riku's last dark fireball slamming through the chest of a Soldier. Pacha lets out a deep breath, taking off his cap and using it to wipe sweat from his brow. Sora isn't wasting any time at all, eager to get what he needs to return to sweet, sweet humanity.

"That actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be," Azlyn remarks, standing to the boar's head sculpture with her arms crossed. Riku grunts his agreement, stepping up beside her.

"Yeah, okay," Sora says absently, bouncing up and down on his hoofs as Pacha takes a stand beside him. "C'mon, c'mon. Pull the lever Pacha!"

"Just calm down a second, Sora," the llama herder cautions, studying the boar's tusks. "Yzma has one of these levers booby-trapped. I just gotta remember which one…" After a moment's deliberation, Pacha carefully reaches out for the lever nearest he and Sora. "Okay, I think this righthand one is the one we want. Get ready for a ride, guys."

He tugs the stone tusk downward, preparing himself for the platform to flip and deposit everyone in the coaster car. A few heartbeats pass by, before suddenly the ground beneath Azlyn and Riku disappear. With twin cries of surprise and fear, the pair plunges down into the dark depths.

"Uh, Pacha," Sora says to his remaining companion. "I think that might have been the wrong lever."

KH-KH-KH

Though muffled, Kronk and Yzma can hear shouts from down in the lab workspace. The empress looks to her minion with a smirk of satisfaction. "And that, is why we have that lever."

"One-for-seventy-nine," Kronk says. "Yep, that sounds like a solid success ratio to me! The alligator still at the bottom of that thing? I gotta admit, it's been awhile since I fed him."

"Oh, they'll find something much worse than any alligator waiting at the bottom, that I can assure you of," Yzma explains with a vile chuckle. She holds up a beaker filled with a deep purple liquid. "As for us, my potion is finished and it's time to take our leave! Take it Kronk, feel the power!"

"Uh, no thanks," her henchman declines. He grimaces at the dark power he can see radiating from it. "Smells kinda funky. My delicate chef's nose would…"

"Oh, don't be such a whiner," Yzma snaps, pulling the beaker back. She stalks past the lab table, grabbing a two small vials of pink liquid on her way. One she hands to Kronk, who immediately squirrels it away as per previous instructions.

A chest-height pedestal stands a few feet away, Yzma placing her second pink potion on that. It stands out proudly in plain sight, a most tempting prize for any desperate, gullible hero to rush to claim. Happy with her work, she regards Kronk with a smile.

"That should stall them long enough for my purposes," she declares. "Finally Kronk, I'm going to do what I should have done ages ago. They say that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Well, it's time to stop messing around with that little brat emperor, with humiliating transformations and harebrained schemes. Cleverness has failed me, so perhaps brute strength will get the job done. I will be the empress, Kuzco will be destroyed, and if I have to use my own two hands to do it, then so be it!"

"Uh, wow," Kronk says, swallowing the lump that suddenly appears in his throat. "You, uh, you sound really serious this time. What is that potion anyway?"

"My ultimate triumph," Yzma replies, holding the beaker high above her head. "And the end, once and for all, of Kuzco!"

With a last maniacal laugh, Yzma lets the beaker go. The glass breaks instantly upon contact with the floor, unleashing a cloud of smoke that covers her form entirely. Kronk, just outside the contact zone, peers into the darkness.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes peer back, and the henchman lets out high-pitched screech of sheer terror.


I'm sorry that these things just seem to take so much more time than I thought they would. I keep telling myself I'll be faster with the next one but... Aw well, just how things go I suppose.

Shoutout to DJ Scales for his review of the last chapter. I really don't have much to say here, other than that i hope you next hear from me in a period shorter than a month. I really am trying here, guys. Thank you all for your support of this story, it means everything to me. Until next time, and Kingdom of the Sun's climax.