"A…trial?" Ivan asked hesitantly and Arthur nodded. They walked at the back of the group of other strong magic users, the ones that had been in the same car as Gilbert and them. Alfred had apparently gone ahead. Gilbert was strapped to something like a gurney, but it wasn't like he was in any danger of moving with the spell. It wasn't taking as much out of Ivan as it should have, but then again Ivan should have assumed that. Arthur had been trying to explain the process to Ivan, but apparently decided against the others hearing him. For now, they were inside of the Detainment Center, law enforcement keeping the press and angry citizens at bay easily, waiting for the elevator. Granted, they would have to take a couple trips with 25 magic users. Apparently the range of the spell was large enough to handle that much distance.

"Yes," Arthur said carefully. "As much as Alfred would like to think so, we don't just sit on our arses all day twiddling our thumbs."

"And what's your plan with just a trial?" Ivan asked.

You could easily solve this problem with—

"No," Ivan muttered under his breath, hoping that would be enough to shut up that stupid voice. It was enough that it wouldn't quiet down when he was surrounded by other magic users, but now it was just getting annoying.

"Make a case," Arthur pressed. "Neither of them have the immortality to save their lives anymore, meaning any slip-ups mean death. There's not enough cases of people using Dark Magic for there to be a consistent punishment for it. Gilbert might be tough considering he's already killed people, but he did lose control and as long as we can prove that, he should be in the clear. Alfred is a different story."

"And how do you intend to clear him?" Ivan asked suspiciously. Gilbert and a little less than half of the group went into the elevator. Arthur wasn't worried so they must have already had his cell location.

Arthur sighed, sweating slightly from the exertion of the spell. Ivan bit his lip, wondering if he looked suspicious at all. This spell felt like nothing to him now…

"The last time he was active was one thousand years ago," Arthur said. "With that in mind, most of the deaths on his hands can be pardoned. If we play our cards right. Which is why we have you. You are integral in ensuring that everyone understands that Alfred has…turned over a new leaf or whatever. Thankfully, he hasn't killed or even injured anyone while he's awake. And as long as Ludwig is alive…we could probably do this."

Or you could let them die, leave the only competition in the world out of your hair.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Ivan asked.

"It's our only chance," Arthur said. "It's slim to none, I know that. But, hell, if you don't try, you'll never know. The balance may just tip in our favor. But I need to make this clear, you can't lie for him anymore."

"Anymore?" Ivan asked. What lie was he talking about? It couldn't possibly be when Alfred was first waking up…

Kill him. Make sure he doesn't let out what he knows.

"You're the reason he was able to just walk into a mall in the first place," Arthur said with a raised eyebrow. "Or are you forgetting any of the times you knew his plan but didn't even tell us?"

"Right, my apologies," Ivan said. The elevator opened and he was thankful for the opportunity to be in a crowded elevator. It meant Arthur wouldn't talk about confidential things like his lies anymore.

"You won't be allowed to see him until after everything is finished," Arthur said, obviously uncomfortable with his close proximity with the others. "You can't even know what room he'll be in. You only need to be concerned about Gilbert."

"I do find it rather strange that everyone else seems to know this plan of yours, at least the basic parts of it," Ivan said simply.

"If you bothered to check any of your notifications regularly, then you would know it as well," Arthur said. "Do you have any other questions I can answer for you?"

"How do you intend to keep 25 magic users in a cell together until this trial of yours?" Ivan asked. Surely it would take a few days for the board members to get something like this together. It was already amazing that they had voted on this, and it seemed like Arthur was in favor as well. Had Alfred really managed to win him over?

"We don't," Arthur chimed.

The elevator doors opened and the group in the elevator poured out to join those that were already in the hallway. It was still unnerving to see Gilbert frozen in time like he was…It made Ivan think back to the first time he'd seen Alfred. Peaceful and unaware of the world…

That could be Ivan if he wasn't careful.

You will be.

Ivan rolled his eyes in response, but followed Arthur closely as the board member shoved his way through the crowd and to a door. This looked like any other cell in this building, but when the door opened, Ivan was greeted by the sight of Francis tinkering with a machine in the center of the ceiling.

"Right on time." Francis offered a smile and Arthur simply scoffed. "I'm glad I can still be of service, even if my magic isn't good enough for your spell."

"Is it online?" Arthur asked simply. Francis nodded.

"Care to try it out?" Francis offered, stepping down from the stood he'd been standing on. Arthur huffed, but started up the stool anyway. A few people in the group outside were already curiously stepping in, but the room was far too small for any of them to actually get inside. Francis turned to Ivan. "Consider this a smaller version of what's in the basement. Each of you are going to place your hand on the device so it will take up the magic and the spell you're using. It's not a perfect replica, so it will still constantly use your magic."

"Meaning no one is allowed to leave the city at any time," Arthur said clearly as he stepped down, making sure his voice was loud enough for the people in the hallway to hear. Arthur motioned for Ivan to step up. As he did so, the group finally managed to wheel Gilbert in. He didn't so much as twitch.

Neither of them were using Dark Magic when they were frozen. There's no chance of escape with that.

Ivan nodded minutely, placing his hand on the device. He felt a familiar tug of his magic, just like in the basement, and he stepped down numbly. He was almost waiting for some kind of beep to indicate that he was using Dark Magic now, as if there was some way for the sensor to find that out. But the next person stepped up and then the next.

"We'll still be having guards and, naturally, no one outside of our group can know where they are," Francis said. "Sadly that includes you not knowing where Alfred is located, but I'm sure you can guess why." Ivan nodded.

You could torture the information out of him.

Ivan twitched. He didn't need to find Alfred that badly. He was in safe hands. As long as this trial thing worked out. If it didn't…who knew what would happen to him… Ivan shivered at the thought.

You should let him die.

Absolutely not. Ivan had no idea what he would do with himself if Alfred was killed or even frozen in time again. If they wouldn't let Ivan see him now, they definitely wouldn't let him see Alfred after they made a decision like that. And he didn't want to go to drastic measures. But if it came to it…

"Ivan!" Arthur shouted and Ivan started, looking around the room. He'd gotten so caught up in his thoughts and conversation with Dark Magic that he hadn't noticed the others in the group give the machine their magic and leave. Now it was just Ivan, Arthur, and Francis. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just tired," Ivan said automatically.

"I think it would be best if you went home," Francis offered, patting Ivan's shoulder with a smile. Ivan briefly thought if Francis knew that Ivan had used Dark Magic, would he have done the same? Would he still care so much about him? "You need rest and we can handle this from here. We'll tell you the second we find Ludwig."

Ivan nodded minutely. With nothing to do but pace and wonder where they put Alfred, maybe going home would be his best option. That way he could have some space to think on his own, sort out his thoughts. Figure out his relationship with Dark Magic, now that it seemed like it wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

"I think I'll do that," Ivan said.

"Think about what you're going to say for that trial," Arthur offered as Ivan turned around. "You might be his only chance at not getting killed."

Well, no pressure or anything.

Ivan nodded as he swiftly left, his feet moving faster than he thought they could. He really was tired, but not physically. Thanks to Dark Magic, physically, he felt great, better than ever. He could outrun a car, even lift it. Hell, lift ten. Emotionally, he was completely drained. He desperately wanted to find Alfred and he knew, should he give Dark Magic the chance, he could find him. But that was not only irresponsible but would also make people suspicious.

He should just go home and rest. Hopefully, Dark Magic wouldn't infiltrate his dreams, too…

There's an intruder.

Ivan gasped as he sat upright. It was the middle of the night…

Your sister.

Oh. Of course. Okay. Ivan slowly stood up, sleepily making his way out of his room and into the main hallway, where Natalia stopped walking with a small smile.

"I thought you were asleep," Natalia said.

"I woke up," Ivan said simply.

Kill her.

Ivan stiffened.

"Well, if you're awake-"

"You should go home," Ivan said and Natalia blinked, honestly taken aback. "I'm sorry, but you-you should go back home."

"Why?" Natalia asked suspiciously. "You've never acted this way before." She stepped forward and Ivan immediately took a step back.

Kill her.

"Just…please," Ivan begged, making sure to keep a fair distance between them. He was tired and he didn't have a lot of experience with Dark Magic. He didn't know what would happen if he actually got close to Natalia. Alfred was…different. He was The Dictator, after all. It would take a lot to kill him. But Natalia? He couldn't risk anything when it came to her.

Natalia narrowed her eyes before using magic to turn on the lights. Ivan flinched slightly, but stayed still, making sure to keep a steady distance. He was almost afraid to move, afraid that the movements could possibly be Dark Magic taking control.

Kill her.

"Your aura is different," Natalia mused and Ivan blinked owlishly.

"No, it's not," Ivan blurted out. He sighed. "It's late. We're both tired. Maybe you should just rest. On the couch."

"No, your aura is different," Natalia pressed, walking towards him again. Ivan continued to walk back until he was pressed against a wall. "You don't need to hide things from me, brother."

Ivan shook his head. "I'm not hiding anything."

Ivan flinched when Natalia placed a hand on his shoulder.

Kill her.

Thankfully, nothing seemed to move on its own. His hands didn't even twitch. So it was just the thoughts…That was a relief. Natalia looked at him carefully, studying his face. Ivan let out a heavy sigh. He should tell her, shouldn't he? It's not like this would be enough to scare her away and…she should know. For her own safety.

"I…um…" Ivan muttered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "This is a long story."

"Well, I have plenty of time," Natalia said simply, but she did finally remove her hand from his shoulder. She still seemed to be searching his face, looking for an answer to her question.

Ivan took another deep breath, staring at the floor. "I…um…I used…Dark Magic…" Ivan flinched as the words came out of his mouth. He didn't dare look up at her. It was weird to say it out loud. It made its presence known constantly, but it was strange to just admit it. He slowly dropped the fake aura, as if to prove the facts.

"Why?" Natalia asked bluntly and Ivan blinked, looking up. She didn't seem exactly…surprised or outraged or anything like that. But she seemed genuinely interested. She didn't even step back, just stood there like nothing was different between them. "Was this The Dictator's fault?"

"No, this was all my idea," Ivan pressed.

Kill her.

He flinched. "Long story short, I was too weak to do what I needed, so I used it."

"But you seem normal," Natalia said suspiciously. "I thought Dark Magic made you go on a rampage or something like that."

"That's is also a long story," Ivan said delicately.

Kill her.

"And I think I need some rest," Ivan said simply.

"Well, I know you wouldn't hurt me, even with Dark Magic," Natalia pressed. "I'm not leaving your side. You can explain to me in the morning."

"Fine," Ivan said. "But…I do need you to sleep on the couch, just in case."

"Why can't I sleep with you?" Natalia pouted.

"Because I can't trust myself not to hurt you," Ivan said. Sure, Alfred was able to spend an entire night right next to him and over a week in the same apartment constantly close to him, but he had years of experience with this voice. It had acted up with Amelia, not just Ivan. Alfred knew how to control it.

Ivan had only had it for less than a day.

"Your faith is nice," Ivan offered with a smile, "but I can't trust myself. I still could lose control and if I hurt you, I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"Fine," Natalia said, turning on her heel. "But you're telling me everything over breakfast."

"Deal," Ivan nodded.

Kill her.

Ivan groaned, turning back to his room. He just wanted to get back to sleep. Maybe that would make this whole fiasco just go away…

The next morning, Ivan took his sweet time waking up. He muttered a few words in response to Dark Magic, which kept trying to convince him to kill Natalia. He took a shower and got dressed, feeling honestly quite refreshed. Thanks to Dark Magic, he didn't feel sore at all from the fight from yesterday or even tired anymore. He felt fantastic, even. Which was unnerving, but Ivan would have to learn to live with it.

When he entered the kitchen, he found that Natalia was finishing up cooking a breakfast. Ivan smiled faintly, but avoided being too close to her. Natalia seemed to respect this distance this time and allowed them to sit in silence as they ate.

With finished plates, Ivan slowly and meticulously tried to portray everything that he'd learned about Dark Magic; things he knew from Alfred as well as what he'd learned after just a day. Dark Magic even filled in a few gaps on its own.

After everything made it out into the open, Ivan finally noticed that he hadn't been looking at Natalia. He flinched slightly, glancing up to see if he could catch her eye. She looked at him in interest, as if testing to see if he was finished. Ivan motioned for her to say something, if she was going to say it. Surely, she wouldn't just call him terrible and leave, that wasn't like Natalia at all. Still, Ivan couldn't help but feel a little paranoia.

"So…Alfred experiences the same thing as you?" Natalia asked.

Ivan nodded. "As far as I know, the experience is more or less the same. The only difference being, as I told you, the mental and physical compatibility." Natalia nodded thoughtfully.

"Well," Natalia said simply as she stood up, collecting the dishes, "as far as I can tell, you're very in control of all of this. I stand by my reasoning that there's nothing to be afraid of." Ivan couldn't help but sigh in relief. Her opinion on him really hadn't changed. What a relief. "And you said that Dark Magic isn't even a living thing. Meaning that it won't get irritated and try harder. So if you can handle it at this level, then you should be fine. I trust you."

"I still don't think I made a good decision in using it," Ivan admitted, following her into the kitchen.

Kill her.

Now this was getting kind of annoying. Surely after a while it would go away. He would have to ask Alfred.

"No, I never said that," Natalia said briskly. She put the dishes in the sink before turning around to face him, looking up into his eyes. "It was stupid and foolish and, honestly, probably quite insulting to the people that don't have your level of magic. Even with that much in you, you really thought you weren't strong enough?"

"I wasn't," Ivan said with a frown. Why was he being defensive?

"Not to mention that you know full-well that it's illegal," Natalia continued. "And you know why it was illegal after being around multiple people that used it. I'm not going to condone what you did, I'm just saying I'm more than willing to live with it."

"Thank you, sister." Ivan smiled and Natalia offered a smile in return before beginning work on the dishes.

Kill her.

Ivan decided to brave standing right next to her, offering his help with the small chore.

"So no one else knows?" Natalia asked.

"Not unless they also use Dark Magic," Ivan explained. He had told her about the coffee shop, but she seemed unperturbed by that fact. It did take a lot to scare Natalia away. Besides, it wasn't like she was the kind to simply divulge everyone's secrets.

"Once you figure out a way to save Alfred, I'm sure he'll be able to help you learn to control it properly," Natalia offered. Ivan smiled. He certainly hoped so. "I still don't think he's a good influence on you."

"He's not," Ivan said.

This chapter feels short, but that's only because the last couple have been over 4,000 words. Can you believe that? They're so loooong. Anyway, this is here and next chapter should focus on this trial that the board has planned. Which, I know, seems like a very ambitious plan, but we'll see how it works. And Arthur is even on Alfred's side this time, how strange.

In other news, I do know where this story is going to end, around 30 chapters, including an epilogue. So we are getting close to an end here, just gotta wrap up all of our loose ends before I leave you guys!

With that in mind, I'll see you all next time!