Author's Notes: I had so much fun with this mindscape/joined subconscious concept. I really hope you all enjoy it too!

When Devon opened her eyes, she found herself in another rose maze. It was just as beautiful as the one at Heartslabyul dorm, though nowhere near as elaborate…and also intact. There was no sign of Zephyr, Grim, or her other friends anywhere, but she couldn't bring herself to be overly concerned as she took in all the different colors of the roses, their scents filling the air as she walked through the twists and turns of the maze. "Well, this is…different. But at least it's pretty." She pulled in a breath. "Okay. Riddle was covered in my aura too before I woke here, so hopefully that means he's somewhere nearby." She paused. "Of course…I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do once I find him…or how to get out of here, now that I think about it." She shook her head to rid herself of her negative thoughts. "No, can't think like that. I'm not sure what's going on but I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now." She turned to call out into the expansive greenery. "Riddle? You in here somewhere?"

As if to answer her, the walls of the maze began to shift. Arches opened up in the plants to provide her with a shortcut toward the center. Devon could only blink a few times before tilting her head in confusion. "So…I'm supposed to go that way, I guess?" The roses on the maze walls began to move up and down as if they were nodding to her. 'Ya know what, this might as well happen. Everything about Twisted Wonderland is already so blippin' weird.' "Cool, thanks." With that, she began her trek through the maze to find the wayward dorm leader.

As she was walking, she noticed that there were more than a few reminders of her home scattered throughout the space: small marble statues of her family members and pets, the tiara her brothers had given her as a gift for her quinceanera, the stuffed dragon toy she'd won from her first trip to Coney Island, among other mementos. She couldn't stop a fond smile from breaking out on her face as she passed them. The hedges continued to open up for her, the flowers nudging her along in what she hoped was the right direction. The smile dropped off her face as soon as she turned one particular corner.

All of the vibrancy and warm atmosphere from earlier were gone as soon as Devon crossed into this section of the maze. The flowers were still present, but their color and fragrances were gone; strangely, upon glancing down at herself, she noticed that crossing into this area of the mindscape did not turn her monochrome as well. The arches were no longer opening up for Devon as they had before and she could see no trace of anything familiar to her; the only things aside from the hedges that she could see where books with titles she'd never seen before, various exams with high marks, and a large marble statue of a stern-looking, imposing woman with her hair tied back into a bun. "I wonder who this is…," Devon wondered aloud. She noticed that the woman had two prominent strands of hair that resembled antennae much the same way Riddle did. "Maybe she's one of his relatives or something…" Her eyes widened as something clicked into place. "Hang on, did my aura merge my subconscious with Riddle's? That would explain why I'm finding all this stuff; I know for a fact my tiara didn't come to Twisted Wonderland with me and my family never had whole-ass statues of us made." She looked around at the books and papers scattered in this area of the maze. "I knew Riddle was top of his class but I didn't think it was this important to him. Guess this means I'm on the right track to finding him, at least. If this area is where his subconscious…mindscape…whatever starts, that's probably why the hedges can't help me anymore too."

She marched onward, twisting and turning her way through the maze before it finally opened up into a clearing. In the center of the clearing sat a fountain, the bubbling of its monochrome water the only sound that could be heard. Sitting on the edge of the fountain as he stared into the water was the person Devon had been searching for, apparently lost in thought. Riddle was, thankfully, back in his regular dorm uniform instead of the twisted version courtesy of his Overblot, but he was monochrome from head to toe as well.

Devon cleared her throat to get Riddle's attention. "Umm…hey there."

Riddle turned to look at her before heaving a sigh. "What are you doing here? Bad enough you and that auburn-haired menace turned my whole dorm against me but now they sent you in here to invade my own mindscape?"

Devon felt her eye twitch in irritation but bit back the smart remark forming on her tongue. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what's going on here. All I can tell you is that nobody "sent" me here."

"What are you talking about?" Riddle asked.

"I guess you don't remember the aura and the forehead touch thing," Devon reasoned as she took a few cautious steps closer. "You looked like you were about to pass out when I did it, so that's not a surprise. Overblot really takes it out of you, huh?"

Riddle's eyes widened. "Overblot? Who went into Overblot?"

Devon quirked an eyebrow. "You did, man. You don't remember?"

Riddle shook his head. "The last thing I remember is…," he paused as he tried to recall. "I collared almost all of my dorm students after one of them threw an egg at me."

Devon could feel the embarrassment and regret bubbling up from Riddle as he spoke, despite him keeping his tone neutral. It made sense to her; if their minds really had been linked, the fact that she could feel his emotions and vice versa wasn't much of a shock. She walked the rest of the way to the fountain and sat down next to the redhead. "Yeah, that's true. And then after that-" She cut herself off as the water in the fountain began to ripple, eventually reflecting Devon's memories of Riddle's Overblot. Riddle's eyes widened even further as he watched the scenes play out from Devon's point of view: him emerging from the ink dome in his corrupted form, the giant creature behind him swinging massive trees at them all, his crazed expressions and laughter. He visibly winced as the memory of the shadow creature grabbing Devon off its back and throwing her played, the regret he was feeling becoming more intense the longer he watched. His brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of Devon using a magic he'd never seen before to knock the creature away and create a temporary mind link.

"How did you manage this?" Riddle asked as he eyed her suspiciously. "I was under the impression that you can't use magic at all. The Dark Mirror even said so at the entrance ceremony."

Devon shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure myself. As far as I know, magic doesn't exist in my world at all…"

"Alright, the Heartslabyul residents have all been safely evacuated," Crowley announced as he touched down in front of the group. "Now get me up to speed with-" He cut himself off when he noticed the blue aura surrounding Devon and Riddle as well as the distinct lack of a blood-red sky and terrifying shadow creature. "What is going on here?"

"Umm…we were kinda hoping you could tell us," Deuce replied. He and Ace quickly relayed the events of the battle, including the surge of power from Devon.

"…and then," Ace gestured toward Devon and Riddle as the explanation came to an end. "this happened. They've just been stuck like that so we've been debating whether or not we should do something to snap them out of this."

"Absolutely not," Crowley replied firmly. "There are precious few mages who can create links like this one, so there isn't much information about them. However, one thing that was made very clear is that a mind link is never supposed to be interrupted by an outside party. If the link is severed prematurely, those connected run the risk of being trapped in their own mindscapes, unable to return to consciousness ever again."

"Come take a look at this, you guys," Grim called out as he and Trey waved them closer to Devon and Riddle. Everyone cautiously moved closer, taking heed of the headmaster's warning as they knelt down to see what Grim was pointing at. Riddle's outfit had changed back to his regular dorm uniform and the red fireball of energy over his eye had faded as soon as the shadow creature had vanished, but now the black veins that had been spreading over his face and arms were beginning to recede.

Trey pointed to a small spot on Riddle's neck where his skin was starting to lose the grey hue it had taken on when his Overblot began. "I'm not sure what's happening in there, but whatever Devon's doing seems to be helping."

"That's great but it still doesn't explain how she was able to do this in the first place," Ace pointed out. "We were all there at the entrance ceremony, right? We heard the Mirror say she can't use magic."

"It looked like she was just as surprised as we were when it happened," Cater recalled. "If Devon knew she was capable of something like this, she wouldn't have looked so shocked by it. Besides, it's not unheard of for a person's magic to manifest for the first time when they're under a lot of stress. I'd say Devon nearly getting killed qualifies as a pretty stressful situation."

"Yeah, but magic usually manifests for the first time during childhood," Deuce said. "Why would hers wait until now?"

Crowley tapped his finger to his chin in thought. "As I mentioned before, not much is known about this particular type of magic. It's possible that it can only be used in specific circumstances. As for why it never manifested until now…it could be because Devon hadn't been regularly exposed to magical energy in her original world; she comes from a place devoid of magic." He took another look at Devon and Riddle. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get a clearer picture once she and Riddle come back to us but I'm afraid there's not much we can do until then."

"Hmm…you know, it's not often the rumors at Night Raven College are actually based in anything substantial, but it seems what people have been saying about you were right on the money," Riddle said. Devon had just recounted her story about coming to Twisted Wonderland, this time complete with her memories reflected in the fountain to back her up and the emotion link in place that meant Riddle could tell that she wasn't lying. He almost felt guilty about assuming she was just a freeloader after learning that she was brought to the school against her will and had no way to return home. Even so, he couldn't apologize for drawing conclusions using all the information available to him at the time.

"No offense, but you don't really strike me as someone who places much stock in rumors," Devon observed.

"I usually don't but you and that cat of yours have been the talk of the school since the fracas you caused at the entrance ceremony," Riddle replied.

"The fracas Grim caused," Devon corrected. "I wasn't the one who set everything on fire. I was too busy being confused."

"Oh? And what about the incidents with the Queen of Hearts' statue and the chandelier in the cafeteria?" Riddle pressed, quirking an eyebrow.

Devon blinked. 'Hang on a sec. Is he…Is he bantering with me?' There was no malice in Riddle's tone and the disdain usually visible in his gaze whenever he saw her was all but gone now. Maybe Riddle was just too mentally exhausted from everything that had happened to remember that he wasn't exactly fond of her or maybe this intimate connection to each other's emotions was making it too difficult for him to stay angry, but the only thing Devon could sense from him now was playfulness. She smiled at him. "Okay, I don't know what you heard about that and I'm not typically one to throw my friends under the bus, but Ace started that whole mess. I'll admit that I was the one that brought Deuce into it and then egged him on when he threw Ace at the chandelier, though."

The corners of Riddle's lips quirked upward just slightly. "Well, that's something, I suppose. There aren't many people at Night Raven College willing to admit when they're wrong, least of all to me. Maybe you aren't a lost cause, after all."

Devon let out an exaggerated gasp, placing a hand on her chest. "Oh, be still my heart! That almost sounded like a compliment." She smiled when Riddle chuckled and glanced off to the side as something caught her eye. She could see another marble statue of the stern-looking woman from before on the other side of the clearing they were in. She glanced at Riddle again, hoping he was in a good enough mood now to answer her question. "Hey, Riddle? Can I ask you something?" She waited for Riddle to nod before continuing. "Who is that statue over there supposed to be?" She looked over at the statue again, Riddle following her gaze. "I saw another statue of her when I was looking for you. She must be important to you if she keeps appearing in your mindscape like this."

"She is," Riddle confirmed, his expression turning neutral again as his walls began to go back up. "She's my mother."

Devon nodded. "That makes sense. It was hard to tell since I couldn't see her hair or eye color but she has those two pieces of hair that hang down the way yours do, so I figured you were related somehow." She watched him carefully, taking note of the emotions she could sense from him. He didn't seem angry with her for bringing his mother up, but she could tell it was a sensitive topic for him.

"You'd be better served to just ask your question directly, you know," Riddle informed her matter-of-factly. "Did you forget that I can feel you emotions in here as well? Ace made it clear that you lot have at least a vague idea of what my upbringing was like during the duel earlier. I can only assume you got that information from Trey since he's the only other person on campus who knows the extent of what I had to go through."

"Yeah, you got me," Devon admitted. "Trey told us that you're strict about enforcing the rules because that was how you were raised, but you also made some comments during the duel about not enjoying having to collar people so much. I won't lie to you, I do want to know the whole story but I also know it's a sensitive topic and not really any of my business. We didn't exactly get off on the best foot, either, so I completely understand if you don't want to tell me anything." She turned so she was looking him in the eye. "But I can promise you that no matter what you say, I'm not going to judge you."

Riddle was silent for a moment as he watched Devon's expression. He knew she was telling him the truth; she was motivated purely by curiosity and a genuine desire to know more about him. A warm feeling began to bloom in his chest when he realized that Devon was truly enjoying their conversation. He couldn't remember the last time someone had been comfortable enough to joke around with him; Cater would make attempts, but he still kept a polite distance and most of the other students in and out of Heartslabyul (barring a certain eel who shall not be named in this sacred mindscape) were much too terrified of him to even make an attempt. "Very well," he relented. "but if I find out any of what I'm about to tell you has been repeated, I assure you there will be consequences."

Devon nodded. "Fair enough." She held up her pinky to him. "What happens in the mind link stays in the mind link."

Riddle looked at Devon's outstretched pinky finger before looking back at her with a 'seriously?' expression on his face. Devon's smile widened, her brown eyes sparkling with amusement as she wagged her pinky up and down. The corners of his mouth quirked upward again before he let out an almost playful-sounding scoff and linked his pinky with hers for a moment. "You're impossible."

Devon winked and fired off some finger-guns at him. "And yet you still can't bring yourself to hate me completely." She giggled when Riddle quirked his eyebrow again. "Don't even try to lie to me, man. I can tell you're startin' to like me a little bit."

Riddle chuckled before his expression turned more serious. "You should know that I've never really talked about my mother much…or my upbringing. I'm not exactly sure where to begin." He glanced at the water in the fountain and willed it to be still. The centerpiece of the fountain immediately stopped running and soon the water became still as well. "To that end, I think it might be easier to show you." He gestured for Devon to look into the water as it began to ripple.

Riddle's memory opened up to reveal a posh but sparsely decorated dining room. If it hadn't been for the small, plain cake sitting on the table, Devon would've had a hard time believing that it was someone's home and not an exhibit from an old historic building. The much younger Riddle whose eyes they were watching this memory through climbed into a chair at the table as his mother cut him a small slice of the cake.

"Happy eighth birthday, Riddle," his mother said as she placed the slice she'd cut for him onto his plate. "This year's cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function."

"Thank you, Mama," the child Riddle replied. He glanced to the side briefly. "But, umm…" Devon could feel the nervousness bubbling up inside the young boy as he hoped whatever he was about to ask his mother for wouldn't upset her. He steeled himself, pulled in a breath, and soldiered on. "Just this once, I'd really like to try a tart. You know, like the ones covered in strawberries that are on display in town."

Riddle's mother straightened up as if someone had slapped her, her eyes narrowing into a fierce glare. "How could you ask for such a thing?! You might as well ask me to feed you poison! Honestly! Just one slice of a mound of sugar like that will exceed your daily calorie intake." Riddle turned his gaze down toward the table, pressing his lips together as he dipped his head in submission in attempt to avoid upsetting his mother further. Seeing that her son had been effectively cowed, she let out a satisfied huff and brushed some nonexistent dust off of her dress. "Now then, your dinner tonight will be a tuna sauté rich in DHA and omega-3 fatty acids. You're eight years old now, so your ideal caloric intake should be…" She paused to do the math in her head. "roughly 600 kilocalories per meal, so make sure you don't eat more than 100 grams of it."

"Y-Yes, Mama," Riddle replied, his eyes still downcast as he mentally kicked himself for even thinking of asking for a tart.

'That's…That's not right,' Devon thought, not wanting to say anything just yet for fear of interrupting the memory. 'I'm no nutritionist but that number sounds way too low, especially if Riddle was an active kid growing up. Trey said Riddle's mom was some type of healer-slash-doctor person, so surely she knows that. And she said "now that he's eight", which makes me think she was feeding him even less before that…' She glared at the reflection of Riddle's mother, despite knowing full well the woman couldn't see her. 'Bitch, if I find out you've been starvin' your own son, I swear…'

"For the longest time, my only birthday wish was to eat a tart covered in bright red strawberries," Riddle said as the memory faded away. "The cake shops in town would have them set out in the display windows sometimes. Whenever I passed them, they always shone like the most beautiful forbidden gems."

"And your mother wouldn't let you have even a single piece?" Devon asked. "I mean, I've heard of helicopter parents but damn… Trey said she micromanaged pretty much every aspect of your life, but I was hoping he was exaggerating."

Riddle shook his head as the water began to ripple again. "I doubt that. If anything, he probably undersold how intense she can be."

The same dining room table was shown again, but this time there was a large textbook sitting open in front of Riddle. His gaze flicked back and forth between the textbook and a notebook he was writing in.

"We'll end your classical magic studies here for today," Riddle's mother announced. "Make sure to look over the fifty pages from the textbook on the philosophy of language in magical ethics that we just went over by tomorrow." She began cleaning up the materials she had used during the lesson. "Now, you have an hour of self-study time until your Alchemy lesson this afternoon."

Riddle nodded. "Yes, Mama."

"I have an errand to run in town," his mother told him as she shrugged on her coat. "I'll be back in exactly one hour."

""Philosophy of language in magical ethics"?" Devon repeated as this memory faded away as well. "Just hearing that name is makin' me wanna fall asleep. There's no way I could've sat through something like that at eight years old. How'd you do it?"

"You say that, but you'd have learned to tolerate it too if you didn't know anything different," Riddle told her. "Every minute of my day was filled to the brim with studies from all sorts of subjects. If I couldn't do something, the lesson would be extended until I could." Devon looked at him incredulously. "I know it sounds intense-" "It is intense!" "Even so, that was my normal."

Another memory opened up to show younger Riddle pouring over the textbook from before when a tapping sound was heard. He ignored it at first, but the tapping became louder and more persistent. "Is someone knocking at the window?" he wondered aloud. He stood and walked to the window where the sound was coming from, opening it up and peering outside. Two young boys stood on the street below, one with green hair and glasses, and another with purple cat ears and a tail.

The green-haired boy's face lit up when he saw Riddle at the window. "Look! There he is!"

"Hey, hey! You should come play with us!" the boy with cat ears said.

"Um…I-I can't," Riddle replied. He glanced nervously behind him as if afraid his mother would somehow catch him talking to these boys despite having already left for her errand in town. "Now is my self-study time and I have a lot of homework to do, so…"

"Self-study means that you choose what you study, right? Well, my grand-paw says that playing is a kind of studying too," the cat-eared boy reasoned.

"Won't you come down? Even just for a little bit?" the green-haired boy pressed.

Riddle was torn. He knew his mother would be furious if she found out he'd been neglecting his studies, even more so if she knew he'd been spending time with people she hadn't approved of. At the same time…he didn't exactly like the people his mother had approved for him to be friends with; they were almost all children of people his parents were acquainted with, but he had nothing in common with most of them besides their academic achievements. These two boys seemed like they'd be much more fun and besides…they'd gone out of their way to meet him. He looked at the clock sitting on his bedside table; there was still plenty of time before his mother got back from her errand. Surely he could spare some self-study time to play for a little bit, right? What his mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her. He looked back down at the two boys and nodded hesitantly. "O-Okay. Just for a little bit, though."

The green-haired boy lit up with a bright smile, clearly elated by Riddle's response. "Can I ask your name?"

Riddle found himself surprised by the boy's smile. He couldn't remember a time when someone had been so genuinely happy to see him. "It's Riddle…R-Riddle Rosehearts."

"Oh. My. Gosh. Baby Trey and Chenya were so precious~!" Devon gushed as the memory faded.

Riddle looked at her curiously. "I wasn't aware you knew Chenya."

"I met him with Ace, Deuce, and Grim in the rose maze yesterday after the, ah…events at the Unbirthday Party," Devon told him. She giggled at the memory. "We thought he was just a floating head at first. Scared the crap out of all of us."

Riddle smiled. "That sounds like him. He loved pulling that stunt when we were children." There was a fondness in Riddle's tone that Devon had never heard before and she could feel the warmth and happiness these memories brought him as fleeting reflections of the three of them playing danced over the surface of the water. "I had so much fun playing with Trey and Chenya. I learned new things, played new games…they both taught me so much. After that day, I started using my single hour of self-study time each day to sneak out and meet them without a word to my mother."

A memory opened up on the water to reveal Riddle walking along a residential street with Trey and Chenya.

"What?! You've seriously never eaten a tart before?" Chenya asked incredulously.

Riddle shook his head. "Mother says eating sweets like that are the same as eating poison, so I've never been allowed to have any."

Trey rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, yeah, you should make sure not to eat too much, but calling it poison is…a bit much." He was silent for a moment before his face lit up with an idea. "Hey, my family owns a cake shop. Why don't we go get you your first tart piece now?"

Riddle stopped in his tracks, torn between heeding his mother's warnings and giving in to his desire to try just a tiny piece. "Huh? But…I don't know…"

"One piece isn't going to hurt you, I promise," Trey assured him. "And your mom doesn't even need to know."

"Personally, I could go for a whole tart right about meow~" Chenya commented.

"And?" Devon asked. "Was your first tart as amazing as you hoped it would be?"

Riddle smiled and shook his head as a feeling of awe and nostalgia swept over them both. "It tasted much better than anything I could've imagined. I still remember it." They both looked back into the water as the image of a beautiful strawberry tart came into view. "A tart covered in bright red strawberries sitting atop a pure white plate… To this day, I don't think I've seen anything that quite matched the splendor. I know it might sound silly, but to me that tart shone brighter than any jewel."

"I don't think that's silly at all," Devon assured him. "I think everyone remembers the first time they tried at least one food that absolutely blew them away."

"What was yours, then?" Riddle asked.

Devon thought for a moment. "Probably filet mignon. I had it for the first time at a wedding. I can't remember who was getting married; I think it was someone my dad worked with. I was about…seven, I think, and I'd always thought that steak was a "dad food", so I never really ate it. Besides, we didn't really have the money for steaks when I was little, so it's not like it was a regular option for me anyway." She laughed at the memory as her own sense of nostalgia merged with Riddle's, wrapping around the entire area like a security blanket. "Mama actually ended up picking the filet for me on the RSVP because I was too busy pouting that chicken tenders weren't an option."

Riddle blinked. "Are you serious?"

Devon nodded. "Oh yeah. Denying Baby Devon her chickie tendies and/or mac and cheese was a capital offense back then. If I'd had your Unique Magic, everyone planning that wedding would've had their heads offed." She smiled again. "Luckily for them, they were spared my tiny wrath when I took my first bite of the filet. I'd never eaten meat that tender before and whatever sauce they put on it absolutely blew me away." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I imagine it was the same for you?"

"It was," Riddle agreed with a smile. "That first bite was incredibly sweet. It tasted better than anything I'd ever eaten; even now, I find that no other tart has quite measured up to that first one." He closed his eyes at the memory. "I savored each bite and got completely lost in the flavor…" He opened his eyes again, the smile quickly dropping off his face as warm feeling was replaced with a feeling of foreboding. "...and lost track of time."

Another memory opened up on the water. Riddle was back in that oppressive dining room, struggling to hold back his terrified sobs as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. There was a sharp pain in his cheek where his mother had slapped just moments before. He kept his gaze down but her feet were still visible as she paced back and forth in front of him. He looked up, only to be met with the angriest glare he'd ever seen his mother muster and he quickly ducked his head again.

"How could you?!" his mother scolded. The fact that she wasn't yelling at him somehow made everything worse. "It's bad enough that you skipped out on your studies, but then I find you eating an entire mound of sugar! It was those two troublemakers, wasn't it?! They pressured you into it, didn't they?! I forbid you to see those bad children ever again!"

"I-I'm sorry, Mama!" Riddle sobbed, his tears falling freely now as he stepped forward to hug his mother. He was hopeful she'd relent if she saw how sorry he was. He didn't want to give up spending time with the first real friends he'd ever made…but he also didn't want to risk losing his mother's love. "I-I won't sneak off again, I promise. Please forgive me!"

"Silence!" Riddle's mother admonished as she moved out of the way of her son's embrace, effectively rebuffing his attempt to seek comfort from her. Riddle's arms dropped to his sides as he lowered his head again, heartbroken that his mother had rejected him. "I've told you before, have I not? Those who break the rules do not deserve the right to complain about the consequences, so I'll hear no more from you." She pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Ahh…I never should've given you so much free time. It seems I'll have to keep an even closer eye on you."

"Riddle…," Devon said as she looked over at the redhead next to her. She could feel tears forming at the corners of her own eyes. 'I can't believe his mother would be so cold to him… There's no way she didn't know how that would affect him. And how dare she make him feel like she'd stop loving him if he doesn't do as she says! If I ever meet this bitch in person, it's on sight.'

"If I broke the rules, my favorite things, my time for fun…they were all taken away," Riddle said, crossing his arms defensively in front of him. "That's why I have to obey my mother's rules. She's the most talented person in our hometown, so that means she's always right. But…" He kept his gaze on the frozen reflection of his mother, her back turned to him as walked away. "Mama? Can you tell me why my chest hurts so much…?" He clutched his arms tighter, hugging himself as his voice started to become choked with sobs. "Even if it's just on my birthday, I want to eat a bunch of tarts. I want to play outside for hours. I want to make more and more friends!" Tears began rolling down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice. "Tell me, Mama… What rules do I have to follow to make this pain go away…?"

Devon's heart broke at Riddle's words. Before she had time to question herself, she quickly closed the gap between them and pulled him into a hug.

Riddle stiffened for a moment. "W-What are you…?"

"It seemed like you needed this; clearly, you didn't get enough of them growing up," Devon answered. "I'll let go if it's making you uncomfortable, though; my body kinda moved on its own."

Riddle's eyes widened when Devon mentioned letting go and he clung to her as if she were the only thing tethering him to the ground, burying his face in her shoulder. It didn't take long for him to begin sobbing openly, causing the tears that had been building in Devon's own eyes to start falling as well. She rubbed his back in a soothing motion, doing her best to project as much comfort as she could through her emotions, though she found herself unable to completely get rid of the anger she felt toward Riddle's mother.

"I think I understand now," Devon began gently. "All this time, I've been thinking that your insistence on following the Queen of Hearts' rules was out of a need for power. That's not it though, is it? It's validation that you've been after." Riddle didn't answer her verbally, but the way he clung even tighter to her spoke volumes. "Your mother's got you convinced that love is something to be earned and that you aren't worthy of it if you aren't achieving something, if you aren't the best." The anger was bubbling up inside her again, but she couldn't stop it. "It makes me sick to think that you felt like your own mother's love was conditional. She's not even here and you're still trying to prove yourself to her!" She paused as a thought dawned on her. "And where is your father in all this? How come he never said anything?"

Riddle's sobs began to slow, but he didn't relinquish his hold on Devon. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but being able to feel that she was angry on his behalf instead of directly at him was…nice. He'd never had someone actively try to comfort him before either, but he supposed that was because he'd never opened up to anyone the way he just had with Devon, either. He sniffled a few times before finally stepping back from her and summoning up a handkerchief to wipe at his eyes. "My father was a more…hands-off parent, let's say. He and my mother don't enjoy each other's company very much, so it's rare that they spend any time together. I doubt he pays any serious attention to what's happening with me."

"Mmm, that sounds familiar," Devon said, an image of her Tia Camilla glaring at her disdainfully appearing briefly in the water before vanishing. "I think your mom and my aunt should get together and go bowling."

"What do you mean?" Riddle asked.

"Just that your mom reminds me a lot of my Tia Camilla…and my maternal grandmother too, now that I think about it," Devon explained. "I'm not especially close to my Tia and my grandmother hardly wanted anything to do with us for the first eleven years of my life, but I've heard some stories from my Mama and uncle."

"Was there some sort of falling out between them?" Riddle pressed.

Devon nodded. "Apparently my grandmother raised her three kids like your mom raised you; my uncle says she was really strict and micromanaged every aspect of their lives. Since my Tia Camilla was the oldest, most of the pressure and expectations were placed on her while Tio Diego and Mama were more or less pushed to the background and only really remembered when they did something my grandparents didn't approve of. Both of my maternal grandparents came from crazy, stupid money, so that 'high society' image was really important to them." She blew out a breath. "When the siblings got older, my grandparents started putting pressure on them to pursue certain careers and to get married to people from other wealthy families."

Riddle's eyes widened in surprise. "They arranged their children's marriages?"

Devon shrugged. "Yes and no. They arranged my Tia's marriage to her husband and given how little they can stand to be around each other, I doubt she had any significant input on that decision. They tried to arrange a marriage between my Tio and the daughter of one of my grandfather's business associates, but he wasn't having it. He also refused to become a lawyer like they wanted him to. He had dreams of going to culinary school and opening a restaurant and he refused to give it up for anything. My grandparents cut him off but he still managed to get his restaurant opened without their help." She smiled as a still image of her uncle's restaurant appeared. "In my totally biased opinion, it's one of the best places to eat in New York City." The smile dropped off her face as she continued. "As for Mama…she fell out with her parents because they didn't approve of my Papa."

Riddle quirked a brow. "Why not?"

"Money," Devon replied. "Or…a lack thereof, in Papa's case. I don't think they'd started husband-hunting for Mama yet, but if they did, she fell in love with Papa before they could strong-arm her into marrying someone they picked. Papa didn't come from the same background that they did: he was from a working class family and the first person in his family to go to college. Mama says they were furious when she brought him home to meet them, demanded they break up on the spot."

"And obviously your mother said no," Riddle commented.

"Damn right she did," Devon confirmed. "She told my brothers and me that she and Papa had a feeling the meeting wouldn't go well but she wanted to give her parents the benefit of the doubt and hope they'd be able to see what amazing guy our Papa is. Papa even told her that he wasn't expecting her to put him before her family and even though it would've broken his heart to leave her, he would respect her choice no matter what. I think Mama might have resigned herself to a loveless marriage before she met Papa, but I know she didn't want that kind of life for herself, no matter how comfortable it was. Needless to say, my grandparents were furious and they cut Mama off too." Devon shook her head. "She tried to keep her head up and I know she didn't regret her decision, but it still broke her heart to have to make it." She sighed. "It was unfortunate too because my parents really could've used some financial support when Mama became pregnant with us considering we weren't exactly…planned for. It's hard enough trying to plan for one baby you weren't expecting, let alone three."

"They didn't even reach out when they learned your mother was expecting? They may have had a grudge against your parents, but there's no reason to punish the grandchildren for that," Riddle pointed out.

"You're preachin' to the choir, my friend," Devon agreed. "But as far as they were concerned, Mama and my tio weren't part of the family anymore…so neither were my brothers and me. My cousin, Valentina, was the only grandchild they actually considered their own." Devon shrugged. "And that was the way things were. We soldiered on as best we could but sometimes…," The water in the fountain began to ripple again, revealing a woman with curly hair similar to Devon's covering her mouth to muffle her sobs as she hung up the phone. "Sometimes it was hard to pretend it didn't hurt."

"You said before that something changed when you were eleven, though," Riddle recalled. "What happened?"

"My grandfather passed away," Devon explained. "I don't really know the specifics, just that he had to have surgery on his leg and there were some complications. He called up my mom and uncle when it became obvious that he wasn't going to recover; I guess he didn't want to have any regrets before he passed and he wanted to see everyone together for the first time." She chuckled dryly. "It took a lot of convincing to get my uncle to go. That man can hold a grudge with the best of 'em."

The water rippled again to show a silent memory of an elderly man lying in a hospital bed and hooked up to multiple IVs reaching out a frail hand. A feeling of apprehension and uncertainty passed between Devon and Riddle as they watched Devon's younger self take the old man's hand. The man smiled weakly at her before leaning over to kiss the top of her head as the memory faded.

"The whole thing was…well, it was awkward," Devon continued. "I'm glad we were able to meet our grandfather before he passed away, but it's not like that kind of hurt just goes away. I remember my grandparents talking with Mama, Papa, and Tio for a really long time, just the five of them. I have no clue what was said, but I'm guessing they hashed at least some of that out because the next thing I know my grandmother's calling and visiting us regularly, sending us cards and presents for birthdays and holidays, and helping us move into a much nicer home."

"What does your mother think of all this?" Riddle asked.

"I think she's got mixed feelings. I know she's glad to have her mother back in her life but she's a bit upset that it took her father coming to the realization on his deathbed that they really might have driven away two of their three children for good to make it happen," Devon replied.

Riddle was silent for a moment. Devon's mother sounded so different from his own. He could hear the fondness and admiration in her tone whenever she spoke about her parents and the warm emotions he was feeling via their mind link made her love for them even more obvious. Thinking back, he couldn't recall feeling such warmth for either of his parents. His detached father notwithstanding, the most prominent emotions he felt when thought of his mother were intimidation and a desperation to please her so she wouldn't withhold the few scrapes of affection she gave him; scrapes that he was coming to realize, as Devon pointed out, were tied to his achievements only. He cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking up again. "Could…Could you show me a memory of your mother? I know it's a strange request but…the way you speak about your mother… both of your parents, actually… It sounds like your upbringing was very different from mine…"

"I mean, there were some similarities, I guess," Devon replied. "My parents have rules that they expect us to follow and we're punished if we break them without a good reason. I can see my mom getting upset if I snuck out of the house too, but for a different reason; less "how dare you behave like an eight year old child and play with your friends", more "how dare you sneak out of the house without telling anyone where you're going" kinda thing, y'know?" She tapped her chin in thought. "I think I have just the memory to show you. It happened shortly before I was brought to Twisted Wonderland, actually."

The water began to ripple as Devon continued. "A little backstory here, I've been cheerleading since I was a kid, but I quit not long before I came here." A silent memory appeared in the water, reflecting a montage of Devon cheering at various games and competitions. "My best friend was the primary reason I got into it; we went to different schools when I first started, so doing cheer basically ensured I'd get to see her regularly. Another reason I got started with it was because my mother also used to cheer when she was in middle school and high school. I've looked up to my Mama for as long as I can remember and I wanted to be just like her." Another memory appeared reflecting the same curly-haired woman from Devon's earlier memories showing her a series of pictures and trophies with a look in her hazel eyes that could only be described as nostalgic pride. Devon smiled at the image before turning her gaze toward Riddle. "You can feel my emotions in here, so you've probably picked up on how much I look up to my mom by now."

"I figured there was a slight possibility," Riddle snarked, a small smile on his face when Devon gently pushed his shoulder in response. "But if you started cheering because you wanted to emulate your mother, what made you decide to quit?"

Devon shrugged. "I just wasn't happy; I hadn't been getting any fulfillment out of it for a few years by that point. Looking back, I'm not really sure if ever actually did or if it faded over time, but by the time I started high school I found myself dreading going to practice." She and Riddle watched as the images on the water faded away. "I tried to talk myself up and leave the squad a few times. It would always be "This'll be the last game" or "I'll quit after regionals" but…" Another image appeared on the water. This one showed Devon looking out into the stands after finishing a routine and seeing her mother beaming proudly back at her.

"You couldn't do it because you were afraid to disappoint her," Riddle finished for her. Devon nodded with a sad smile. "Well, obviously something must have happened to change your mind since you ended up quitting after all."

Devon snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, my Tio happened." A silent memory appeared of Devon and her uncle parkouring through Central Park. "He's the one who introduced me to parkour and the one who convinced me to be honest with myself about what I really wanted. I told him I was worried about letting Mama down and he asked me if she ever said anything about wanting or expecting me to take up cheer."

"Did she?" Riddle asked.

Devon shook her head. "Nope. Neither of our parents expected my brothers or me to follow in their footsteps. Even so, I still wanted to talk to Mama before I officially left the squad and see what she had to say." The ripples began again, drawing Devon and Riddle's attention back to the water.

The memory opened up to show Devon standing just off to the side of a doorway. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to ease the nervousness in the pit of her stomach before startling as her mother's voice called out to her from inside the doorway.

"I know you're out there, mija," Elena said. "Come on in."

Devon peered around the corner and into her parents' bedroom before walking inside. "How'd you know I was out there?"

Elena glanced at her with a smile as she closed her book. "I'm your mother. I know everything." She gestured for Devon to sit next to her. "What's on your mind, hon?"

"I thought you knew everything," Devon snarked as she joined her mother.

Elena glared at her playfully, gently bopping her on the head with her book before setting it on her nightstand. "Don't you sass me, young lady. She studied her daughter's expression with concern in her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah!" Devon replied quickly, trying not raise any unnecessary alarm. Several emotions mixed together as Elena watched her and she rubbed the back of her head. "No… Maybe?" She sighed. "I don't know."

Elena didn't say anything; she just watched her daughter attentively and patiently waited until she was ready to speak again.

Devon pulled in another breath, deciding that it was better to just rip the proverbial band-aid off than to drag it out and risk losing her nerve again. "Mama…I don't want to cheer anymore."

Elena nodded. "Okay."

Devon blinked in confusion. She waited for her mother to say more, but she didn't. "Wait…that's it? You're not…upset or disappointed?"

"Why would I be upset, mija?" Elena asked. "I've known you weren't happy cheering for a while now. I never brought it up to you because I didn't want to back you into a corner if you weren't ready to talk about it or make the decision to leave yet."

But…how did you…?" Devon trailed off.

"I'm your mother," Elena reminded her. "I can tell your fake smiles from your real ones and I can't remember the last time I saw you give a genuine smile while you were cheering." She sighed. "Maybe it would've been better if I had spoken up, but your Papa and I want you and your brothers to make your own choices about things like this. I know you're much happier doing parkour with your Tio and your dancing, so if that's what you'd rather focus your energy on, that's perfectly fine with us." She sent her daughter a playful smirk. "Did you think I'd be angry that you wanted to stop cheering?"

"Not "angry", per se," Devon replied, her tone slightly sheepish. "It's just that you always looked so proud whenever I cheered."

The smirk melted into a warm smile and her fondness was clear in her tone. "Of course I was proud of you; I'm still proud of you…because you're my daughter, not because of cheer. Your father and I don't expect any of you to follow in our footsteps; we'll be proud of you if you choose to do so, but we'll be just as proud to see you three forge your own paths. Your lives are your own and we'll support and love you no matter what you choose." She kissed Devon's forehead before pulling her into a hug. "There's nothing any of you could do that would make us less proud or less full of love for you, mi vida."

Relief flooded through Devon as she returned the hug, hiding her face in her mother's shoulder so she couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes. "Challenge accepted," she snarked, hoping her voice didn't sound watery.

Elena sighed in playful exasperation, squeezing Devon one last time before flicking her forehead. "I swear, Devon, you're as bad as my brother; always gotta break up the sentimentality with some sarcasm. Maybe we should've named you after him instead of DJ."

Devon quirked a brow. "How would that even work?"

The sound of mother and daughter arguing playfully began to grow quieter, eventually fading into silence as the memory vanished. Neither Riddle nor Devon said anything for a while, both lost in their own worlds as waves of different emotions washed through the mindscape. Melancholy, fondness, love, regret, and the slightest hint of envy flooded the pair as they glanced at each other.

Finally, Riddle cleared his throat to break the silence. "I…I believe I owe you an apology."

Devon tilted her head. "For what?"

"For what I said earlier," Riddle clarified. "About your upbringing…and your parents having no magical talent. I was out of line."

Devon smiled at him gently. "I appreciate that, Riddle. To be honest with you though, I get that you meant it as an insult but I'm from a place where nobody can use magic so that comment didn't really sting all that much. You might as well have said I was born to parents with noses, y'know?" She bumped her shoulder against his gently. "I should apologize too, for calling you a disappointment. I didn't know about all this stuff with your mom but it still wasn't okay to say that, regardless."

Riddle smiled back before looking out over the rose maze. "I can see how you were able to draw Ace, Deuce, and that monster to you so easily. Cater and Trey too, now that I think about it."

Devon laughed. "Well, I didn't exactly get off on the best foot with Grim and Ace." Riddle looked at her curiously, so she elaborated. "Grim blew open the door to the coffin I was in when I got here and tried to burn me alive and then Ace decided it would be a great idea to insult us for literally no reason. That ended up provoking Grim which started the fight that caused the statue to get burned."

"So it all comes back to that troublemaker in the end," Riddle said, frowning.

"Hey now, there's more to Ace than just being a troublemaker," Devon defended. "He's actually a good guy once you get past all that pretention and cockiness."

Riddle watched as a series of silent memories appeared in the water, Devon doing the same shortly after. Ace holding up a peeled chestnut for Devon to see, clearly hoping for praise. Grim giving Devon a toothy grin as he rode on her shoulder. Deuce and Devon's heart-to-heart after their trip to the Mystery Shop. The freshmen quartet having fun making the chestnut tart with Trey and painting the roses with Cater. The memories were all from Devon's point of view, so her face wasn't visible, but Riddle couldn't help but notice how relaxed and genuinely happy everyone looked. He could feel envy forming a pit in his chest. Nobody was ever at ease like that when he was nearby; he'd seen the panicked looks and the way they all snapped to attention whenever he entered the room, how any and all conversation ceased.

Devon gently poked his shoulder. "Somethin' on your mind, bud?"

Riddle was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. He glanced at Devon, only to see that she was giving him the same patient, attentive look her mother had given her in the memory she shared. He spoke up again when he finally found the words. "I've…I've taken things too far with the Queen of Hearts' rules, haven't I? Watching my childhood memories from the outside looking in and having you share you own with me has helped me see that my mother's methods are…flawed."

"Nobody's perfect," Devon replied reassuringly. "It's easy when we're children to see our parents as these all-knowing beings who can do know wrong, but the fact is that parents are people too and they make mistakes. Watching your memories with you, it really does seem like your mother honestly thinks she's doing what's best for you. And who knows? Maybe her mother raised her the same way. That doesn't excuse what she's done, but I'm not so sure it was done maliciously." She offered him an encouraging smile. "Mama says that parents aren't just supposed to repeat the same mistakes their own parents made; the goal should be to learn from those mistakes and do better. I don't see why you can't do the same thing as Heartslabyul's dorm leader."

"How?" Riddle asked.

"Well… Trey and Cater told us that how strictly the Queen of Hearts' rules are adhered to depends on the sitting dorm leader. Easing up on some of those might be a good place to start," Devon suggested. "I'm not saying to do away with all of them, of course, but maybe cutting back on some of the more…arbitrary ones."

Riddle gave her a look. "Like the hamburger rule?"

"That one did come to mind, yes," Devon confirmed.

"Why are you so hung up on that one in particular?" Riddle asked.

"Burgers are important to me; I'm American," Devon explained.

"I…have no idea what that means," Riddle remarked. "But I think I see your point. I suppose loosening up some of the rules wouldn't mean immediate disaster."

"I think you'll find that it'll mean a lot less work on you, in addition to making your residents happy," Devon reasoned. "We've heard a lot about what your mother has to say about rules and the "proper" way to do things, but I'm more interested in hearing what Riddle has to say. I'm sure your dormmates feel the same way."

Riddle glanced to the side uncertainly. "Do you really think so?" Still images of various Heartslabyul students, either collared by Riddle's Unique Magic or cowering in anticipation of being collared, danced on the water's surface. "You really think anyone would be willing to give me another chance?"

"Well…I would," Devon told him.

Riddle whipped his head around to look at her in disbelief. "Y-You… Really?"

Devon nodded. "We didn't have the best opinion of each other starting out but, I have to say, I quite like the Riddle I'm getting to know right now. It might not happen overnight, but I'm positive the other Heartslabyul students would too." She hopped up from her spot on the fountain edge and stretched her arms over her head. "Don't feel like you have to go this alone, either. You know you'd have Trey and Cater's support and Deuce respects the heck outta you, even if he disagrees with some of the rules. I'm fairly certain Ace will come around too once he knows you're sincere. And hey…" She turned to face him with a smile. "For what it's worth, you've got my support too. You said before that you wanted to make more friends." She held her hand out to him. "Well…if you're accepting applications, I'd like to be one of 'em."

Riddle could only stare at Devon in stunned disbelief for a moment as he let the sincerity behind her words sink in. Not even an hour ago, he'd wanted nothing to do with her, eager to throw her out of Heartslabyul for good once he'd soundly beaten her friends in their duel. Now she stood before him offering her friendship and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd be a fool not to take her hand. He couldn't change what he'd done up to this point nor could he duck responsibility and blame his mother for how she had raised him, but he could make a silent promise to both himself and Devon that he would try to do better going forward. "I'd like that," he replied as he took her hand in his own.

A flash of light erupted from Riddle as soon as their hands touched. When it faded, they noticed that his color had returned to both his person and his outfit. Upon glancing down, they saw an expanding circle that began restoring color to Riddle's subconscious. The water in the fountain changed to a beautiful blue hue, the hedges became green, and the roses and other flowers burst into the most vibrant and beautiful colors either had ever seen. The pair smiled as the circle widened and spread color through the maze as far as they could see.

"Was that a…good thing?" Riddle asked.

"Anytime a scene goes from monochrome and dull to vibrant and colorful, that's usually a sign that something went right," Devon said. "Now we just need to figure out how to-" A soft light beginning to glow behind them cut her off. The two turned around to see that a large doorway had appeared, and the light was emitting from inside it. They could hear their friend's voices beyond the door, muffled but concerned. "Huh. Well, that's convenient." She looked back at her new friend, nodding her head toward the door and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Ready to get back?"

Riddle smiled and nodded as he squeezed her hand back. "Yes. It's time to move forward."

Ending Notes: Dang, this mindscape concept was fun! I'm really excited to explore this more with other characters. There's so much potential for each one and I have different ideas in mind for all of our Overblot boys! I also have an idea for what Devon's actual mindscape looks like, but whether or not I get to implement it will depend on how things in the main story go (whenever Devon connects with another person, her mindscape will change to match with the person she connected to, so for hers to appear in its true form, someone will have to initiate the connection with her). I also liked the idea of revealing little bits and pieces of significant events in Devon's life during these links as well. I'm hoping the next one won't be as long, but we kinda needed to family backstory here to help Devon empathize with Riddle.

Aaahhh! Devon and Riddle are buds now! I keep envisioning their relationship being parallel to Riddle's relationship with Floyd with the big difference being that Devon's teasing isn't done to tick Riddle off and that she's better at reading when he's not in the mood to joke around and backing off. Also, I think in one of Riddle's voice lines, he mentions collaring Grim again if he starts giving MC trouble. Devon would 100% take him up on that. I can definitely see her pulling the "Don't make me call Riddle" line on Grim if he starts acting up. …Ya know, come to think of it, I don't think she's above using that line on Ace either. She'd never do that to Deuce though; he's the best boy.

Elena is 10/10 best mom! If they ever have a chance to meet each other, I think Riddle would latch onto her. Boy needs a good mother figure in his life and Devon's more of a sister/mentee situation.

Thank you all so much for reading! Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Geekinthepink, out!