Let's go back to the town for a minute, then we'll go back to the boat. And just a reminder – the reason Mal has seen a certain horror series from the 80s is because this is set in this century. And sorry this took so long..the next one won't take such a long time.

Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927 (how do you review so fast – don't know which one will be out next yet, though), Snowfur2022, Bloodylilcorpse and the guest reviewer. Thanks to the two reviewers who requested things. Sorry, but I'm NOT going to do Cinderella, and I might do Tangled, but probably not. What I really want to do is a Zoke story...

Mal knew he was in trouble with the spirits. If he didn't find Alejandro soon and make sure Tyler married Lindsay, he'd pay the major price. He'd paid a lot to get hold of Mike's existence and the power of the voodoo spirits. But if the Nightmare on Elm Street movies taught him nothing else – and they didn't – it was that the spirits could take away power as fast as they gave it. If they weren't fed, they wouldn't give.

Tyler was, at that moment, hiding out in his room in the mansion. He was lucky it was traditional not to see the groom the night before the wedding, since he didn't look the part one bit for the moment. He just hoped he'd find Alejandro soon. He didn't want to have to lie to Lindsay any more, but he wanted to tell her the truth and let Mal have what he wanted before revealing his true identity to her. Otherwise, he knew, she wouldn't understand him. At least it would be easier for her to remember his real name. She couldn't seem to remember "Alejandro" at all.

As for the real Alejandro? Well, he had a truth to tell, as well, to a different girl. He had decided not to be entirely honest with Heather yet. She wasn't ready to hear that. But he was going to tell her that he liked her, that he had enjoyed being around her, and that even after this was over, he wanted to carry on getting to know her, even if he ended up getting stuck marrying Lindsay. There was always divorce, even then, right?

Gwen was already shining in the sky, although it was still half past seven, and light. There was only an hour and a half to go until the boat reached the town.

Alejandro looked up at the sky. "At least it's simple for you." he muttered out loud. "Cody loves you, and you don't have to go through any awkward confession. Like I'm going to have to."

He had already planned a romantic date-type dinner for himself and Heather in half an hour, where he was going to tell her that – he'd even snagged some scraps from the buffet for it. But being sincere was a whole new thing for him, and he knew it was going to be awkward, no matter what he did.

"Al? Buddy?" Cody flew down. The frog's eye twitched at the hated name, but turned politely to speak to the firefly.

"So what were you talking to Gwen about?" Cody asked, a tinge of suspicion to his voice, although he still kept his expression friendly.

Alejandro gave a sigh. He didn't want to go into this with Cody, but he knew that if he didn't explain, Cody would jump to the wrong conclusion. "I want to tell Heather that I care more about her than I'd let on – that I want to spend more time with her. I can't just go and get married to Lindsay for her money – I never got the chance to get to know her. I feel more for Heather than I've ever felt for anyone before."

Cody stopped acting at all suspicious. He smiled. "That's sweet. So...shall I tell her to-"

"Don't tell her anything!" Alejandro said firmly, forgetting his courteousness momentarily. "I've already asked her to meet me somewhere and I'll tell her there."

Cody shrugged. "All right. I'll stay out of it. Good luck, man."

Luck seemed to be on Alejandro's side that night. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but Heather seemed...softer than usual. She didn't make any sarcastic or cutting comments that night. She wasn't particularly nice, either, but she smiled when he first showed her what he'd set up, and talked civilly.

The part of the evening when her eyes lit up was when they were about fifteen minutes from the dock. "See over there?" She pointed to that building she'd bought. "That's where I was going to start my career. Remember you promised me money you haven't got that night? That's why I did it. If I don't get it in by midnight tomorrow..." she sighed, her face falling. "I'll lose it."

Alejandro didn't reply for a moment. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to say. When he did speak, it was completely unrehearsed in his mind, but completely true. "Heather...I know I said I didn't want to follow through on that promise. But...you know, I love the way you light up when you talk about it. When we get back to normal, will you give me the chance to help you reach your dream?"

Heather laughed bitterly. "That's not my actual dream, you know. It's just a stepping stone. My real dream was to become a millionaire. Or rule Europe – but I know that's not going to happen." She managed a small smile, and said softly "But thanks."

Alejandro would have said something else to her, but he didn't get the chance. After she said that, her face flushed a darker green, and she mumbled something and hopped away faster than any natural frog.

And as if fate had decided to deliver Alejandro's karma for years of easy living all in one go, something much worse happened to him before he could find her. By the time the boat docked, Harold was lurking in the shadows so no one would see him and try to have him killed, but he was ready to clear the way and protect his friends if he needed to. Cody flew alongside Heather.

But Alejandro? He was gripped by Mal's shadow spirits, in a room where the voodoo master and his former servant stood. One more pinch from the talisman and again, Tyler's disguise was back on.

"Why are you doing this?" the prince asked finally as Mal trapped him in a jar.

Tyler's confident look dropped for a moment, and he confided it in a whisper. Alejandro could hear him, but Mal couldn't. "I don't want to, not really. But it's the only way that I can get Lindsay to marry me. I love her too much. I'm not letting you have the one thing that I've wanted more than anything else. I've always envied you. I figure it's my turn. And honestly, if this frog thing is what's happened to you, what do you think will happen to me if I don't follow through on the plan?"

Alejandro had known Tyler had been jealous of him, but not to this degree. And if it had been a few days earlier, he would have brushed the klutz's words aside. But he didn't want Lindsay, and even if he did, he was, at that moment, at Tyler's mercy.

"Two minutes until you need to be out there." Mal reminded Tyler, before leaving. "I'm going to have to seek out that other frog, since my shadows tell me he was alone."

"Tyler, please listen to me before you go out there!" Alejandro pleaded. "You can have Lindsay, I don't care, but you have to let me talk to her before midnight! If she doesn't kiss me before then, I'm going to be a frog for the rest of my life – after that, I don't care, you can have her, but I'm not the only one who's stuck like this!"

Tyler stared into the prince's eyes (though they weren't exactly as persuasive as usual). "Why do you care about someone else?" he challenged.

"I don't know!" Alejandro was getting frustrated. "But she told me she's Lindsay's best friend – she was supposed to be catering at that party on the first night. Can't you just shorten the reception so you and Lindsay can leave before midnight and and then you can ask her to kiss me as a favour? Please?"

Tyler faintly remembered Lindsay excusing herself to help a girl who'd just stained her dress with baked goods. And now he remembered, she'd never come down after Lindsay had. He wasn't sure what to believe, but it sounded believable.

"I'll see what I can do." he said finally. "Can't make any promises. I'll take the jar out with me, so you can try to get out without my help. How's that?"

There was a knock on the door at that moment. "Wedding time!" called out a female voice. "I know I'm not allowed to see you yet, but in five minutes..."

Tyler started to look nervous, but he called out "I'll be there!" He took a deep breath, picked up the jar Alejandro was in, and opened the door just as Lindsay was running back to her position.

See? Tyler's not evil – he's just desperate to be with Lindsay and scared of Mal. I haven't written much of Tyler before – he's not the most interesting for me (although I know a lot of people love him and he deserves another chance to win), but I've quite enjoyed writing him in Laurence's shoes, although he's a lot more sympathetic.