Chapter 5: Bonding

After the ordeal with Floof finding the theatre, Krystal remained quiet for a lot of the day. At roughly 2pm, Lance had been walking down the hallway, noticing Krystal's room door was open a bit.

"Odd," he thought. "She usually keeps her door closed." He stepped closer, gently knocking on the door.

"Come in." came Krystal's voice.

Pushing the door open, he spotted her sitting in the bed, legs under the blankets with a reading tablet in her hands, her eyes scanning across the screen. She looked up, her glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, hi Lance." She smiled, putting the tablet to her side, before removing her glasses, placing them in a pouch.

"I didn't know you wore reading glasses."

She laughed. "I don't, those glasses are so I can see things from a distance. Mostly using laptops, computers, gaming or watching TV." She stretched her arm. "I'd be lost without them."

"So, you're short-sighted then?"

She shrugged. "Pretty much."

Lance tilted his head. "Is it difficult? Wearing glasses like that?"

"A bit," she admitted. "Worst thing that happens is I get a bit of a headache if I wear them for too long. But hey, at least I can see. I can't see shit without them, just a bunch of blobs. And don't get me started on reading signs at a distance. But, at the same time, it was an inevitably."

"You realise the more you wear those glasses, the more you'll need them, until eventually you'll have to wear them full-time."

"Oh, I know."

He blinked. "That's not a turn-off for you?"

"Not really. It'll probably take another few years before it gets that bad. I've already been wearing them for about five years now, I've gotten used to it."

"Well I must say, you look rather studious wearing them." He offered.

A small blush appeared on her cheeks, rather faint. "Oh stop, you."

Casting a glance at her reading tablet, he caught a glimpse of the cover of what she had been reading. A red cover, featuring a few people on it, but more significantly, a skeleton. He approached the tablet, picking it up in his hands, seeing the title; Skulduggery Pleasant: Bedlam.

Needless to say, the cover looked interesting to him.

Seeing this, Krystal looked up, tilting her head. "You read?"

He shrugged. "It depends on the book." He handed her the tablet. "What's this one about?"

Her ear flicked. "It's a long story, about twelve books worth."

"I have plenty of time." He assured her.

She gave one of the Tims a gentle scratch, before looking at him. "Well, without spoiling it, the books are about a skeleton detective and his human partner as they save the world from all kinds of monsters and villains. There's a lot of twists and turns in the series; tragedy, back-stabbing ect. Are you interested?"

He silently nodded. "It sounds intriguing." He admitted.

Krystal pulled herself off the bed. "Hang on one moment." She told him as she reached into her backpack. Rummaging around, her hand eventually found what she'd been looking for; a paperback, and presented it to Lance.

The cover had the same skeleton from the book he'd seen on her tablet, wearing a pinstripe suit with a black fedora, a flame in his hand and the title of the book; Skulduggery Pleasant on the bottom, while the authors name sat up top; Derek Landy. The back had a young female clad in black, with flowing black hair. Underneath her were what seemed to be other books in the series.

"Here!" she said happily. "This is the first book in the series. You can have it."

He held up his hands. "I'd rather not take it from you."

She laughed. "I have a few copies of the first book, plus I own the whole series digitally on my tablet." She placed the book into his hands, closing his fingers around the edges. "Besides, consider it a thank-you gift for earlier."

Lance was silent for a moment as she retracted her hands, leaving him to hold the book in his clawed hands. In truth, this was a kind gesture on her part, which he appreciated. It had been a while since any visitor had given him any type of gift.

"That's rather kind of you, Krystal." He finally said, taking the book and holding it in one hand. "Thank you."

"It's me that should be thanking you. You got Floof to leave, and for that, I'm eternally grateful." Her gaze met the floor. "It was amazing, not even Paris was stern enough to get her to leave, and he can get pretty angry when pushed far enough."

Lance shrugged. "She was being a nuisance. I simply put her in her place."

"She was more than a nuisance, she's been a thorn in my side for the past 7 months now."

"So I've been told." He admitted. "How are you feeling after this morning?"

Her ears flattened. "Better, thanks for asking."

He reached one of his tentacles to her, gently placing it on her back. "Well, so long as Balan and I are here, she won't come anywhere near the theatre. And if she does come back, she'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Whatever you do," Krystal pleaded. "Don't hurt her. Just because she was shitty to me, doesn't mean anyone should try and harm her."

"That's rather mature of you." Lance said, a smile across his face. "Even though you have been harassed, you wouldn't want anything to happen to her. Most others in your position would not care what happened to their aggressor. " He'd seen it before, visitors being abused before they arrive at the theatre, and wishing atrocities upon those that caused them harm.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Even though she has caused me immense stress, and me saying that thing to her the night after my procedure, I don't want her to hurt herself, or anyone to hurt her for that matter. I just hope she learns from her mistakes and tries to better herself as a person."

"I'm not sure that she will," he replied. "She seems to be past the point of no return. Wonderworld itself would be unable to help her in her current state. It's meant to help heal, and help those that enter to deal with the problem they're facing at hand. Even if by some happenstance she managed to enter, she'd be drowned in her own negativity almost instantly, turning her into a horrible abomination."

"What do you mean by that?"

He closed his eyes. "That's for another time, I'm afraid."

"Oh," She sat back on the bed, legs in a lotus position. "So, tell me about yourself."

His mouth held open for a moment, like a startled fish. "I'm sorry?"

She giggled a bit. "That face. You look like a startled fish!"

"What?"

She waved her hand dismissively before pointing at the book in his hand. "You'll understand when you start reading that book."

"I see... But why ask about me?"

She shrugged. "You seem really interesting."

That had taken him aback. Most of the time, visitors ignored him, or avoided his presence like the plague. And yet, here was a visitor, fully wanting to speak with him, genuinely interested.

He was shocked.

He sighed, sitting at the other end of the bed. "What would you like to know?"

"I dunno, everything."

"Well, I may as well start from the beginning. I was the Maestro of this theatre before Balan."

"Oh? What happened then?"

He frowned. "It's a long story."

She tilted her head. "Aw, c'mon, please?"

He sighed. "Very well. It was negativity. You see, before Balan was here, it was my job to keep positive and negative energy in balance. In fact, I was originally called Balan."

She listened with full intent, hanging on his every word.

"But, over the years, I became more and more attached to humans, eventually converting me into what you see before you."

He gestured to his tentacles, the marks on them now glowing softly. "A being made of Negativity. That's when the Wonderworld created a new Maestro; Balan."

Krystal fell silent. She had no idea this is what happened to Lance. "That must've been hard for you."

He nodded. "Balan is fully aware of this."

"He said something about you being 'misguided', what was that about?"

"Ah, yes, that. He's referring to something that happened not that long ago, about a decade give or take, when you're as old as I am, you tend to lose track of time."

"How old are you?"

"Three thousand years or more. Balan is the same."

She gaped, causing him to laugh softly.

"Heh, now you're looking like a startled fish."

She pushed him with her foot. "Oh stop it." She said, a smile across her face.

"Getting back to the topic at hand, the incident Balan refers to, happened about a decade ago. We had a few inhabitants, twelve I believe, all with traumas, similar to yours.

"They had all arrived here, each given their own stage, to help heal their hearts. As for me, I trapped each of them within their own negativity, wanting to simply keep them safe. This, in turn turning them into what we call a Nega Boss, a creature of negativity based off their traumas.

You see, once someone has fully healed here, they return to their world, memories of Wonderworld erased. It got so lonely, seeing inhabitants come and leave as soon as they're healed.

"Balan wasn't having any of that, and so, enlisted two children; Leo Craig and Emma Cole to go into each of the inhabitants' stages, freeing them one by one, before eventually stopping me." He paused. "I felt what I was doing was right at the time."

Now Krystal understood Balan's comment. She felt sympathetic towards him. She inched herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, which caught him off guard.

"What are you-"

"Now it's my turn to comfort you." She cut in.

He stared, frozen for a few moments, before conceding and returning the hug. "Thanks."

"Hey, you help me, I help you. It's the least I can do."

He smiled at that, running a hand through her hair. "You're very kind, Krystal. A great friend."

"I get that comment a lot." She said, looking up at him. "So, this form, you didn't use it when confronting Floof, did you?"

"No," he explained. "Since I became Lance, I've been learned how to change between this form and my original uncorrupted form. I used the latter to confront Floof."

Her ear flicked. "Can I see it? Your uncorrupted form."

He smiled warmly. "Another time, perhaps. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have a few questions for you."

She pushed herself back, leaning against the pillow. "Sure, fire away. Just don't make the questions too personal, okay?"

"Of course. First off, Balan said you were a hedgehog."

"Yeah, that's right. To be fair, a lot of hedgehogs I know look like me, all tall and such."

She grabbed her phone, showing him a photo of her with two other hedgehogs; a blue one like herself with green eyes and red and white sneakers. The other one was black, with red markings on his quills, arms, and legs, and a small tuft of white fur on his chest.

"Interesting," Lance mused to himself.

"I'm also a shape-shifter too." She explained, placing the phone back on the nightstand.

"Well now, that's certainly unique."

"I don't know how I got this ability, I've had it for as long as I can remember."

"Perhaps you inherited it from your parents, perhaps?"

Krystal's ears flattened. "I never knew my parents. For the majority of my life, it's just been me, no parents. I have no memory of them either."

"I see..." Lance said. "I hope that wasn't too personal for you."

"It's fine." She told him, smiling.

Hearing footsteps in the doorway, Lance jerked his head in that direction, seeing Paris with a few bags in his hands. He was wearing a black cardigan with red accents, a black pants and a plain white t-shirt.

"Oh you're back." Krystal greeted him.

Paris looked in Lance's direction. "Why are you in here?"

Lance was about to say something, when Krystal stepped up and off the bed. "It's fine, I let him in."

"We've been having a nice chat while you were gone." Lance added.

Paris gave him a sceptical look, before shrugging, and handing the bags to Krystal. "I tried getting what I could for you."

She hugged him. "Thanks, Paris."

Lance stood up from the bed. "I should be taking my leave now. Thank you for your company, Krystal."

"You're welcome," she said. "And thanks for stopping by to check on me, I appreciate it. Enjoy the book I gave you."

Lance nodded, leaving through the door and down the hallway. One he was gone, Paris approached her.

"I don't trust him." He told her flatly.

"I get that he looks a bit suspicious but-"

"Balan calls him the Maestro of Negativity, sounds like bad news to me."

Krystal glared. "Paris, I get that you're hesitant of those around you but, he got rid of Floof earlier today. He's nice, take my word for it."

Paris rolled his eyes, before Krystal took his hand in hers. "Trust me, Paris, Lance is a kind soul. We had a kind, civil conversation while you were gone."

"I'm not-"

"Please. For me?"

He regarded her with a solemn expression. She had been right in the past about her other friends that she had been staying with. Before the whole ordeal had started, she told him Floof was a good friend, and that turned out horribly. However, he distinctly remember being suspicious of Shard, a former Metal Sonic. Even Krystal's previous boyfriend had something of a dark history before he had met her.

He looked at her expression once more, determined in her judgement for Lance. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders. "Fine, I'll trust him. For you."

She hugged the puppet. "Thanks, Paris."

Later in the evening, as night fell, Balan was finishing something up in the area he had met Krystal the day before. He had some of his clones cleaning the stage, putting all the tables and chairs back in their proper places when he noticed Lance, walking into the room, a paperback up to his face.

"Lance?"

He looked up from his book, prying himself away from the story within its pages. Placing it on the table next to he spoke with his positive counterpart.

"Yes?"

"I just haven't seen you read in a long time." Balan said. "And that book isn't from our library here." He picked it up, examining the cover. "Where did you get this?"

"Krystal gave it to me, as a thank-you for earlier today."

Balan held the book in his hands, which was tiny in comparison to his. He took notice of the bookmark, adorned with the same markings as his tentacles nestled within the pages.

"Well, this book must have kept you entertained." He said with a chuckle, handing it back to Lance, pointing to the bookmark, which was practically at the end of the book. "A rather gripping tale, I take?"

"Quite." Lance responded.

"How long have you been reading it?"

"Since about half 2. What can I say, Derek has certainly captivated me with his characters and writing."

"Hm, perhaps I can borrow it when you're done, Lance?"

"I'm not sure if you'd be interested in this, it has some rather gory deaths and a fair bit of blood."

Balan visibly paled at the mention of blood. He shook his head. "I'll see how it goes."

Lance shrugged. "Actually, I have a question for you; do you know of any crystals that would be beneficial for helping with worry and stress?"

"Hm, I'm not entirely sure. Why do you ask?"

"I think it may help with Krystal's recovery."

"I may have something." Balan offered, snapping his fingers as an old, leather-bound book appeared in his hands. "Let's see here... Ah, here we are, crystals and their meanings." He held the book open on that page, and handed it to Lance.

Looking over the page, there was a long list of crystals and their beneficial properties. There were many interesting choices; amethyst for peace of mind, citrine for positive energy, among many others. It was on the next page, Lance noticed a crystal; jet black in colour.

Black Obsidian.

He read the passage regarding it, and grinned when he saw it's properties; worry and stress. A perfect crystal for someone going through this difficult time like Krystal.

"That's the one." Lance said, pointing at the crystal on the page.

Taking the book, and looking at the stone, Balan read its passage. "A good choice for sure. But now, the important question; necklace or ring?"

"Necklaces tend to get caught on fabric. Rings too, but they're less prone depending on how simple they are."

"Fair point." Balan replied, placing the book on the table next to him. "Make sure the ring is sterling silver, it won't stain her finger that way."

"But she's wearing gloves."

"Gloves or not, sterling silver is the recommended metal type."

"Just one question, how are we going to get said ring, Balan? We can't leave the Theatre, at least not for extended periods of time."

Balan fell silent at that. He'd forgotten that he and Lance couldn't leave. Well, they could, but it'd only be for two hours at least, before Wonderworld's magic would pull them back, like a rubber band.

This truly put both of the Maestros in a difficult situation.

Balan remained silent for a moment, before his wide grin covered his face again. "I have an idea, Lance. You remember Emma and Leo, right?"

Lance nodded. "Yes, I remember them, they come by the Theatre every now and then." Then it dawned on him what Balan's plan was.

"You're going to ask them to get the ring?"

Balan nodded enthusiastically. "I'll ask them to stop by the Theatre in the morning, and give them their instructions."

"I know Emma won't mind. Not sure about Leo though."

Balan waved a hand dismissively. "Leo will understand once I explain the situation to him."

He produced a notepad in his hands, writing down the instructions for them.

"And how, pray tell, will you get those instruction you're writing out of here?"

As if on queue, a pair of Tims, one pink with cat ears and a yellow one with rabbit ears hopped towards them. Kneeling down, Balan placed a note in each of their beaks, before telling them where to deliver the notes. These were, in fact, the same Tims that had lead them to Theatre before.

"Fail to prepare, prepare to fail as they say, Lance." Balan told him as the pair of Tims hopped away with their notes.

Lance shrugged.

"So, other than that, how was Krystal? Since you were speaking with her earlier today?"

"A little shook up from this morning, but she was in a good mood when her and I were talking." He sat down in one of the chairs. "She told me that even if she returns here, that she doesn't wish any harm on Floof."

"Really? After everything that she's been through?"

"Yes, I was rather shocked myself. It's a rather mature way of taking her situation. Most others wouldn't care about what happens to their aggressor."

"And she came to this conclusion of her own volition? No persuasion by anyone else?"

"No, it was all her."

"Well, that's a good start I suppose." Balan mused to himself.

Lance stood from his seat, carrying the book under his arm. "I'm going to sleep." He told him as he walked out of the room. "Let me know if those notes get delivered."

"Of course, Lance." Balan said with a nod. "Enjoy the rest of your book." Once Lance was down the hallway, Balan sat down, removing his top hat.

"I hope this works." He said to himself, running a hand through his green hair.

It was dark now in the city. Many people and creatures walking the streets, chatting and conversing with one and other. The yellow Tim Balan had instructed to deliver the note to hopped towards a familiar location; the park.

Hopping along the path, it eventually saw what it was looking for, a young boy, about 15 years of age, with blonde hair and deep blue eyes was performing a dance routine near the fountain; Leo Craig. Upon approaching him, Leo turned, immediately recognising the creature, stopping the music he was playing at the time.

"A Tim?" he asked himself, as it jumped into his arms, nuzzling itself against him, making him laugh. "Okay, okay, it's nice to see you too." He pet the Tim, before noticing the note addressed to him, with a little top hat in the corner of the paper.

Taking the note carefully, Leo opened it and read its contents.

Leo,

I need you and Emma to stop by the theatre tomorrow morning. We have a visitor staying, and I need something from the city to help them. I'll explain tomorrow when you two arrive. Hope to see you soon.

-Balan

Leo stared at the note, reading it over a few more times. "Balan needs us." He thought. "It has been a while since Emma and I last stopped by anyway, helping him with a new visitor is the least we can do."

He stuffed the note in his pocket, and began leaving the park, out onto the streets. "I wonder if Emma got the same note as me?" he asked himself, walking a few feet, spotting someone walking towards him on the street; Emma Cole.

She had light blonde hair, with green eyes to match. As she approached him, Leo noticed the pink Tim she was carrying in her arms, and waved to her.

"Leo," she called. "Did you-"

"Get a note from Balan? Yes." He showed her his note, and she showed him hers. Both were the same, just addressed to a different person.

"I was just strolling through the city and one of these Tims approached me with a letter." She explained, putting the letter away. "Are you going to go?"

"I don't even know what this visitor's problem is."

"Come on, Leo! Balan asked for our help. Think of everything he's done for us and the others?"

He stopped short. Emma did have a valid point. It may have been a while since their journey through Wonderworld, but Balan had helped them, even long after the fact. He sighed. "I suppose you're right. Still, why couldn't he get someone like Fiona to do it?"

"You know she's busy with her research, everyone else is too."

"Yeah, but-"

"It's the least we could do for him."

He stopped, taking in what she had said. "I guess." He looked at his note again. "It doesn't say what time to come by theatre, what time do you think would be best?"

"9am?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." He held the Tim up to his face. "Tell Balan that Emma and I will be there tomorrow morning at 9." The Tim chirped in agreement, hopping out of his arms, as Emma's did the same.

"I wonder who the new visitor is?" Emma wondered.

"Guess we'll have to wait till tomorrow to meet them."

Author note:

*runs into the room, skidding to a halt* Oh my god, I am so sorry this update took forever. I've been kinda busy as of late, and was having difficulty writing this chapter.

I guess I was also kind of worried throughout this chapter if I was writing Lance correctly, since I don't want to write him as evil. I have said that I was inspired to write my version of Lance from a few sources, but mostly a thread by Dreamiiiiie on Twitter, which will be linked below.

As for the ring, I recently purchased one for myself, and now wanted to incorporate it into the story. Once again, I sincerely thank everyone who has been following the story and giving kind words regarding it.

And yes, I'm finally brining in other characters from the game that aren't Balan, Lance or the Tims. We got a brief introduction to Emma and Leo here in this chapter, a mention of one of the inhabitants, but they'll all appear in due time (I have a few plans for them)

So, as I finish typing this author note, I'd like to thank you all again for following this story. Hopefully, writer's block won't bite me in the ass for writing chapter 6, and I can actually get it done.