William and Wes were out in the woods alone. They had decided to go for a walk, needing a break from the busyness of the village. William was getting stronger day by day. He still needed his cane for walking but he could stand on his own for a bit without it.

Though that wasn't his current focus a the moment.

Wes was looking over a journal William had started in regards to keeping track of his dreams. He marveled at the different languages present in it.

"So… Maxwell knows how many languages…?" Wes signed.

"I lost count." William said.

William was standing in the middle of a clearing of trees, Wes sitting not too far from under a tree so that William could see his hands. William was currently practicing different hand gestures. Warming up before doing what he was planning to do.

"Rough guess?"

William hummed in thought before answering.

"... About 1,000."

Wes' eyes went wide.

"And… that's all in your head?"

"Yes and let me tell you, it is strange."

"Try speaking one!"

William hummed in thought before giving a sheepish look. "Honestly, I don't know… I can understand it as if I'm the one speaking it but… I'm not sure how it would come out."

"Give it a try!"

"I-I don't know."

"Come on. I'm the only one here and I promise not to air laugh."

William smiled a bit before closing his eyes, searching his mind to see which language he should try. Something simple, that he knew for sure.

Okay… Deep breath.

"So… It's game time." William spoke in fluent Egyptian, looking at Wes with a sheepish look.

Wes blinked.

"Wow. That was good." He signed. "What did you just say?"

"It's game time."

Wes gave a silent chuckle.

"Of course."

"It was something Maxwell was fond of saying during his travels to Egypt, which that was the language by the way. Egyptian. It was his favorite to use."

"So, he spoke it a lot?"

"It's how he communicated with someone I see a lot in his memories." William went back to practicing his hand gestures. "A friend of his who was a pharaoh of Egypt. Hard to imagine Maxwell had friends but… with all I've seen…" William frowned. "... Wes, can I tell you a secret?"

"My hands are sealed."

William sighed.

"He's been around for centuries. He saw a lot and he's been through a lot. He experienced love, joy, sadness, depression, anger… loss… Is… Is it wrong, despite all he did to me that I… feel somewhat sorry for him?"

Wes put a hand to his chin, thinking it over before signing.

"I don't think it's wrong, William. You understand how he feels because you've been there… and it's human. You feel sorry for him because he's never been normal."

"And I've seen what turned him mad. What made him decide he should just be a monster. At one point he was respected. Looked up to. Genuinely hailed as a good ruler."

"What changed all that then?"

William felt cold as the memory flashed before him.

"Mutiny from one of his subjects."

"For what reason? Did he wrong them?"

"No. They just didn't think he was fit to be king. He was being sparce with how many humans he brought to the Shadow World to be punished. That he wasn't treating the method properly. That they should just go out and capture humans and treat them like livestock, waiting to be brought to the slaughter." William's eyes went dark. "The man wanted war. Something Maxwell never, ever, ever wanted. Not again."

"Again?" Wes tilted his head. "Was there a war before?"

"It was a long time ago." William closed his eyes. "Way before any us and even before he met the pharaoh. I don't have all the pieces of it but… from what I have seen it was horrible. Maxwell never wanted to go through it again so when this came up… Ho, he was seething."

"Did he kill the man?"

"No, he just enacted his usual punishment which was turning the man into a nightmare monster. A terror beak to be precise."

Wes shuddered at the thought. He had seen a few during bouts of insanity.

"Good gracious. Still brutal!"

"Horrible habit of his he developed after the fact. Reason the Queen's butler is the way he is. Though in his case, it was sort of an accident. Maxwell was defending himself and he cast the curse out of instinct. Had a bit of a breakdown afterward."

Wes gulped, imagining the possibility if Maxwell's punishment on him had gone differently.

"That is quite terrifying."

"I know." William shook his head. "Though it was only a punishment he could enact on shadow beings. Humans? Turns out we're immune to that curse in particular. Only thing he can do that is similar to it is what he did to Wilson but in that case you need Their help." William shuddered. "And that is something I'd rather not go into too much detail about but… the main thing with it is that is how new kings or queens are made. It twists your mind to be the darker version of yourself, taking desires and passions and warping them into something that fits Their needs. Fighting the voices is what can make one a great king or queen, something both Wickerbottom and Wilson have and at one point, Maxwell had too before he found the invisible chains They had on him."

Wes frowned. He still had his own grievances with Maxwell for what he had done to change their lives forever… but he couldn't help the pity that he felt for the former king.

"He… really needed help then. Didn't he?"

"He did. He just didn't want to admit it since he never wanted to show weakness. He wanted to be seen as strong, invincible, that he was in charge… but in truth, he was in chains. They lead him onto think he was in charge when in truth They just let him do what he pleased so long as it fit Their needs then… They cornered him, brought him into line but he would never tell anyone that, not even his closest advisor. The most he would say is They were hungry but he would never tell how They were tearing at his mind, forcing him to carry out Their needs whether he liked it or not. His hubris was his downfall since he could never bring himself to cry out for help." William gave a bitter chuckle. "I guess… that's something we have in common."

Wes shook his head standing up.

"I don't think so. Not exactly. Yes, you have trouble asking for help but you eventually do it. Not… wait thousands of years!"

"Honestly, with how long it took for me to realize what was happening? It might as well have been."

"Will…"

William lowered his head.

"S-Sorry… I just… I can't help but keep thinking about what happened. I know you've all forgiven me but… I… I just can't help the guilt that comes over me. I put you and the others through so much pain and…"

Wes tipped his chin up, giving a gentle smile.

"And it's not going to be easy to get over it but I promise this, with time, you will heal." Wes signed. "You've already started with wanting to make use of the powers you have, the journal and everything else you've been doing. You may fall but we'll be here to help you back up. I'm not giving up on you nor is anyone else here. I will sign that as many times as I have to so you never forget that."

William felt his eyes get misty smiling a little.

"That means a lot, Wes. That means…" His voice shook. "A lot, to know I'm not alone… That you're here for me even after all that."

"Max may have been alone but you're not. Now, come here." Wes threw his arms around William, surprising the man a little.

William relaxed, bringing his arms around him after a moment.

"Thank you, my friend."

Wes nodded, pulling back.

"Now, show me what you got with that magic."

William nodded, readying his hands.

"Okay… one… two… three!"

He made a gesture with his hands, conjuring shadow flames. He moved them around, the flames flowing like water till they came together in the air, forming a flower with long flowing petals that made it look like a sun.

Wes grinned, applauding him, an impressed look on his face.

"Well done!" He signed when William made eye contact again. "Again, again!"

"Alright. Let's try something a little different." William took a deep breath making another gesture as he moved, focus in his eyes. The flames that came forth shifted and moved into the shape of something quite familiar to both men.

It was a shadow version of Chester.

"Ta-da!"

Wes grinned, clapping.

"Just as cute as the original!"

William chuckled, making it dissipate.

"And there's a lot more but I don't want to over do it. I'm getting good at it though. Just like I was back in the circus. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to tell the others about it. Especially Charlie. I don't want to scare them."

Wes hummed in thought before a sly look came to his face as he grinned mischievously. William gulped, knowing that look always lead to trouble back at the circus.

"... What is that face for?"

Wes just grinned wider before he signed.

"Put on a show!"

"... No!"

"Oh YES!"

"Wes, no!"

"Wes, yes!"

"Wes, please!" William started wringing his hands. "I… I don't know if I even have the confidence for that."

Wes gave a sad look, batting his eyes.

"Just one?"

William looked away… or tried to as Wes continued to give him a look that reminded him far too much of when the girls would beg him to play.

"... Only if you help set up and I'll need an assistant since I doubt Charlie would want to."

"You could ask but if she says no of course."

"I think it's best you just help me. Probably best Charlie finds out about it with me performing."

"Then it's a deal." Wes grinned. "I promise I'll do everything I can to help."

"Thank you, my friend." William smiled. "You're the best."

Wes gave a silent chuckle.

"Anything to help."