Disclaimer: All respective characters and settings belong to their respective franchises.

At the same time…

"Hunter."

Hunter stopped walking to look over his shoulder, hands in pockets and Duel Disk safely kept in his knapsack. Following behind him was his girlfriend, Ashlynn Ella, accompanied by her fairy godmother-to-be, Farrah Goodfairy. Alongside them were a small retinue consisting of Raven Queen, Apple White, Maddie Hatter, Briar Beauty, and for some reason, Blondie Lockes next to, Humphrey Dumpty.

"Yeah?"

Ashlynn was thrown off at how nonchalant Hunter continued to be ever since they departed from the park. "Sh-Shouldn't we get you to a hospital? You could be-"

Hunter fully turned to her, smiling as he said, "Ashlynn, for the last time, I'm fine." He fanned his arms out for emphasis. "See? Fit as a fiddle. If you want, I could even make a cabin out of that tree over there." He thumbed in the direction of a tree that was standing just shy of a clearing where they were headed, the group currently in the middle of the Enchanted Forest.

Hunter was carrying a plastic bag full of thirty hamburgers and fries, having made a stop at the local fast food joint; Ol' McDonald's, to stock up on some emergency protein, the duel having taken a lot out of him in terms of calories. From there, they had been en route to a clearing Hunter would frequent whenever he wanted to be alone to his thoughts, workout, or simply relax. Once they entered, the group could make out a flat tree stump in the center, one which Ashlynn knew well as she and Hunter would often sit on it together on their secret dates.

Seeing that there were no other seats, Farrah bent down to pick up a thin tree branch, which she proceeded to snap apart into eight pieces. She threw them back to the ground, and with a wave of her wand, the branches warped and stretched, growing in size until they took the shape of chairs. "Only until midnight," she told the group, which was fine, since midnight was still about six hours away.

Hunter took point after sitting down, reaching into his plastic bag and bringing out a hamburger. He unraveled the wrapper and bit a large chunk out of it, betraying how hungry he must have been. Ashlynn watched with some level of bemusement as he ate, remembering back when they were still in junior high that he had been starting on a vegan diet.

Some weeks after the Evil Queen's campaign, he went back to eating meat.

Now, she was hoping to obtain a better explanation from Hunter over that "trip" he had during that time, with the only vague explanation he gave previously that he had been roughing it outdoors as part of the Huntsman family tradition. Those nerve-wracking days of not knowing whether he was alright or not with the Evil Queen's forces on the rampage were still fresh in her mind.

After swallowing a second mouthful, he took in the sight of the ragtag group eyeing him expectantly. "So, what do you guys wanna know?"

With that go-ahead, he had expected them to start launching rapid fire questions a mile a minute, but to his surprise, the mood surrounding them was tepid, looking unsure on how to even begin save for Humphrey, who was embroiled in his Mirror Pad, and from the familiar reflection off of his glasses, he was having a game of Master Duel.

Raven was the first to speak. "Let's start simple. Duel Monsters. Is it really a card game?"

"Yeah," Hunter answered in an equally simple manner, crumpling the empty wrapper in his hand and stuffing it into the bag and replacing it with a fresh burger. Instead of eating it right away, he brought the sandwich forward and asked, "Anyone want one?"

Before any could even refuse, they all heard a soft growling sound flitting through the air, accompanied by a tiny yip from Blondie. With reddening cheeks, she admitted with a meek smile, "Skipped lunch."

Hunter tossed her the burger, which she caught gratefully. "Don't tell me you're going to eat all of that," Apple said incredulously.

Hunter cocked a brow at her. "Uh, no? Some of this is for the guys."

"Guys?" The young Snow White repeated inquisitively.

With a smile, Hunter said, "You're all about to meet them. Come on out."

Before they could ask for him to clarify, the right side of Hunter's belt lit up with a soft glow, the light parting into tiny orbs that resembled fireflies as they floated through the air after separating from what they could make out was a leather holster. The party observed the tiny orbs dancing in the air in wonder, putting some distance from them before they seemed to expand, shining brighter, causing those close by to squint their eyes a little.

The lights soon took shape. Distinctly humanoid in shape, one being taller and stockier than the rest. To their awe and shock, the light dispersed from the new figures like fine particles, and it was there that they now found themselves surrounded by five people.

Very familiar people

"Here," Hunter extended the arm that held the bag, allowing a gloved hand to grab hold of and take it.

"Thanks," Bubbleman said with his perpetual smile, digging a hand into the bag and rummaging through it. "You really shouldn't have, Hunt. You got me the chicken sandwich, right?"

Hunter snorted. "Yeah, yeah, extra barbecue sauce."

Avian came up next to Bubbleman, his arms folded over his chest, leaning forward to take a peek. "There better be some curly fries in there."

Burstinatrix was behind him, a hand on her hip and fighting back a yawn with her free hand. "I could go for some coffee."

"That's what you get for pulling an all-nighter," Avian chided her. "The absolute last thing you need is coffee."

"No nuggets?" Sparkman said with a dab of disappointment.

"Don't worry, there's plenty for everyone," Hunter assured them, biting into his new burger. Casting a glance at the others, most of them; save for Maddie, Briar and Humphrey, glued to their seats and staring, their jaws hanging so slack they could have fallen right off. He choked back a laugh. "Well?"

Raven was the first to recover. "Wh-What the hex?!"

Hunter busted out fully laughing. Ashlynn furrowed her brows in disapproval but refrained from speaking, her gaze idly wandering towards Sparkman, remembering how the knight had saved her from his own electrical blast. Granted, it was at the heat of the moment, but she still felt gratitude over such an action, and recoiled a bit from embarrassment for being the one who ran into it in the first place.

From around a corner, they spotted a large golem of stone demurely sitting on the grass, legs spread, its expression indiscernible because of the nature of its dome shaped head, looking more painted than an actual face, and lacking a neck. Because of that, it had to stoop its entire torso low, staring at a small bed of flowers that captured its interest over the food. They observed the stone behemoth bemusedly before it seemed to notice their eyes on it, arching its upper body upward, and staring back at them with an outwardly blank expression. This made them collectively flinch, with Blondie nervously waving back in what she hoped was a show of polite courtesy.

As they were eating, Raven was the one who found her voice again and asked, "Okay, Hunter, can you just…please, tell us what the hex is going on? Who, or what, are these people?"

Hunter smiled, replying, "What else? People. Real, living, breathing people."

"Yes, we can see that," Raven deadpanned, making a face from catching a glimpse of Bubbleman stuffing whole hamburgers into his mouth. "But, how?"

Hunter replied, "Dexter already explained to you that the cards are enchanted, right?" At their nods, he continued, "Well, that's only half the magic. Duel Monsters like my HEROs come from each of their own realms, like a sort of home dimension. To duelists like me that form a bond with our cards, we're able to call on and draw them out, as you may have already seen." He gestured to his monsters, who were occupied with chowing down.

"But, that's-" Raven's confusion was shared by the others. "Why?"

"...Why, what?"

"Why would they do that?" That was the main question that was running through their heads apart from a slew of others. Why would denizens from another dimension even give the time of day and submit themselves to a simple card game? If anything, Hunter made it sound like they were indentured, if not bound like slaves. Hunter must have picked up on it, but kept his expression even.

He simply shrugged, "That is a question even they don't have a clear answer to. There have been theories thrown around before mind you, but all of them more or less agree that it dates back to when Duel Monsters was first created. Specifically, the man who started it all, Maximilian J. Crawford."

"Is he some kind of wizard or sorcerer?" Farrah postulated. "I can only think of someone with formidably powerful magic able to create something like this."

Hunter was quiet for a moment. "He was…eccentric, to say the least. He personally designed the first cards himself and painted them by hand before taking them to print, and all of it was only made possible after coming across an ancient game."

"An ancient game?" Apple said, vaguely following what the heroes were doing, particularly Burstinatrix, wondering to herself how a woman could be counted as a hero, having been been ingrained into her by her mother that, as a princess, she was to only fulfill her role as a damsel for her prince to come and rescue. Which was the same for many other princesses. There were a rare few outliers like Jillian by nature of her story, but for the most part, being a damsel was practically tradition. That wasn't to say that they were completely helpless or without agency, as it was an integral part of being a damsel to help lead their hero to where they needed to go and avoid pitfalls.

Yes, that's what mother keeps tell-

Apple quickly pushed down such a treacherous train of thought.

Hunter shared a subtle look with Humphrey, who shrugged as an indication that he should go ahead and tell it. "Just a heads up. Only dedicated duelists know of this story."

"A story?" Raven and the others perked up, especially Apple, who was always keenly interested.

"A story that dates back about, oh, give or take three thousand years," Hunter related, drawing shock from the others at how far back such a game existed that they were fairly certain that it predated any fairy tale. "In a kingdom that had become lost to time, sorcerers, alchemists, wizards would all gather together to play a game. A game…to the death."

Those not in the know gasped and paled. A game to the death? "Now, I know what you're thinking," Hunter guessed. "Sounds silly, right?"

"Silly?" Ashlynn repeated in clear horror. "Just what kind of game involves dying?"

Raven was more skeptical, if only because she was with the young Cinderella. "You're not exaggerating, are you?" She quailed at Hunter shaking his head in the negative, his expression anything but jovial. "Just for a game?"

"A game that held great and terrible power," Hunter elaborated. "The kingdom would conduct these in lieu of warfare, to avoid mass casualties and to ensure that there was lasting peace."

"Lasting peace?" Blondie repeated in disbelief, a sentiment shared by the others. "I can hardly call such a ludicrous arrangement better. It's…just not right! Not right, at all!"

"It was a different time," Hunter tried to explain, not sounding fond of it either. "And it wasn't just those with magic that joined in on the fun, but we'll get to that. These games would, of course, come in variety, but a loss would always, always end in a severe penalty. Madness, enslavement, death, take your pick."

Ashlynn brought a hand to her mouth. Just how could such a horrific system have ever existed?

"Who in their right mind would even play those kinds of games?" And to everyone's surprise, it was Maddie that was asking, which she noticed. "Peas and crackers, I may be mad, but not that mad," she told them irately. "I mean, games should only be about fun and having a humdinger good time!"

Hunter let out a humorless chuckle. "Well, I'm sure plenty of them had fun seeing the loser suffer their penalty, just relieved that they were still breathing or had most of their functioning limbs attached, which was just one of the main reasons why these games were so dangerous. You could bet pretty much anything so long as it had value. Something as conventional as gold, property. Or unconventional, like body parts, years of your life, or even your very soul."

The more they came to know that such a kingdom existed, the less they wanted to ever visit such a place. "The latter was more common, believe it or not. They would wager everything if it meant greater rewards, glory, or just living to see another day."

"That's…that's just awful," Apple stammered, utterly horrified.

Hunter smiled wanly. "Yeah, it was. Yet, it was because of those games that the kingdom enjoyed a golden age of prosperity. So long as the population at large was happy, the lives of the paltry few were inconsequential. Those who oversaw these shadow games would have criminals and dissenters play with the promise of freedom if they win, or executed if they suffer a loss, but that's what it really all was. However, only certain participants with the 'potential' could ever really play a certain game that stood out above the rest, which served as the basis for what would be the modern Duel Monsters."

Part of the group still new to this lore traded uneasy looks, that such a barbaric custom could ever be translated into modern times as something as innocuous as a card game. "Let me preface this next part with a question," Hunter said. "Imagine, if you will, what it would be like if you were able to bring out your soul. What or how do you think will it look like?"

Now this seemed like an odd thing for anyone to ask, except for Maddie, who already had several ideas going through her noggin, but with all of the other fantastical things they've had to witness that day, they might as well lend an egregiously generous and open ear.

Hunter was more than gracious enough to clarify. "Out of all the shadow games they had, there was one where those who had the strength and ability to bring out their soul would be pitted against each other in a duel."

Farrah and Raven's eyes widened into saucers. One had to be exceptionally powerful to be even capable of such a feat. One's soul is meant to stay in the body, and out of all the existing magics in the realms of fairy tales, one of the most advanced disciplines was soul magic. If anything went wrong or something untoward befell the soul, it was a surefire death.

"That sounds insane," Farrah expressed worryingly. "Just…why would they do that?"

Hunter scratched the back of his head, looking less enthused to simplify what was already a very complicated topic. "Have you ever heard of what a 'Ka' is?"

"'Ka"?" Raven repeated questioningly, both she and Farrah sifting through their knowledge. "N…No, I don't think so."

"Me neither," Farrah shrugged.

"Ka, is what Duel Monsters were called back then," Hunter stated, further surprising them. "You see, the sorcerers who played this game would bring out their 'Ka', or their soul, which would take the form of monsters depending on their nature, personality, etc. An expression of who they are, those with evil hearts would have their Ka be monstrous or demonic, while those with good hearts would be, well, a lot easier on the eye."

The group looked floored by this. "Ooh! Ooh! I wonder what my soul would look like!" Maddie chimed in, then gasped. "What about Raven, or Apple?!"

"Maddie," Raven said with a sigh.

"Oh come on," Maddie gently smacked her best friend on the shoulder. "Don't tell me you're not the least bit curious. I bet mine would be a galumphing gorblat that serves tea!"

Hearing this prompted Apple's curiosity, nuzzling her chin with the back of her index finger. What would their own souls look like based on their character? Would hers be angelic? Would Raven's be demonic? It bore quite a bit of thought on how they truly aligned on the scale.

"Whatever happened to this kingdom, Hunter?" Ashlynn asked worryingly. "Is it still…" If it still did exist, then she hoped that such wicked games had been long done away with.

Hunter answered, "Destroyed." The others gasped. "As much of a golden age it was, it didn't last. The Shadow Games, like I said, carried great, but terrible power. As time went on, the people became corrupted by this power, and eventually, the kingdom fell into decadence. Civil war, treachery, chaos. The king, who was a just man, was betrayed and deposed after working to stop the madness. He fled with those loyal to him and the remaining innocents he could save, but not before sealing away the shadow games and all knowledge of them by burying his once great kingdom underground with the use of a forbidden spell."

"He…he went that far?" Apple could never imagine a monarch doing such a thing. Even if the kingdom had descended into such degeneracy, to just destroy it…

"If he was that powerful," Raven said. "Couldn't he have just fixed his kingdom's problems with little trouble?"

"Power comes at a price," Hunter stated. "The spell he used required that he give up something of equal, if not greater, value. To even fuel such a spell, it would need…"

Farrah's face paled at the implication. "He would have needed to sacrifice…hundreds, maybe even thousands of lives." Gasps went all around again.

"D-Did he?" Apple asked shakily.

Hunter shook his head. "The king was a good man, loved by those who remained loyal to him, and he preferred to see his kingdom fall to ruin than allow such a dark power to spread its corruption, much less sacrifice that many. In the end, he made the choice of it being his own life."

"But he still sacrificed those who became corrupted," Raven pointed out.

Hunter hung his head. "By the time the king did that, those who succumbed to the dark power had their fate sealed. Their souls were already forfeit, blackened to the point that they began to manifest monstrous Ka that not only killed their host bodies, but were hellbent on spreading carnage to other kingdoms, more realms. He had little choice."

The clearing descended into a morose silence, with the exception of the heroes, who had fallen into some small talk in the backdrop. The princesses could feel nothing but respect and sadness for the king. To have sacrificed everything to put an end to such an evil…

"So, how do Duel Monsters come into the picture?" Raven asked.

"A man by the name of Maximilian J. Crawford did, hotshot entrepreneur and heir to his father's company," Hunter answered. "They manufactured and sold casino and sports equipment, but they also had their hands in real estate. Crawford had big dreams and big shoes to fill, and thought that he needed an edge to bring his family's fortunes to further heights. But, what could he do that his father hadn't already done? The answer came when he stumbled upon a magazine article about an archeological dig. This was in his autobiography, by the way." This garnered him looks. "Yeah. I only read the online copy."

"Let me guess," Raven said, bringing her hand up. "An archeological dig on the ancient kingdom."

"Wait," Farrah said in thought. "Yes, I think I've read about that. It was the biggest discovery of the decade. Ruins of a once great kingdom whose name was lost to time."

"I read about it, too," Blondie added. "There was even an old documentary that aired on the history channel. It was all the rage. I mean, civilizations that existed before fairy tales? It was unprecedented."

"Crawford seemed to think so, too," Hunter said. "After finding out about it, he wanted in on the action, a slice of the pie. So, he packed his bags, had money pass some hands, and next thing he knew he was digging up dirt and old bones."

"So, how exactly does that lead to Duel Monsters?" Raven reiterated, studying Hunter's face, feeling like he wasn't telling them the whole story.

Hunter reached into his deck and drew out a card. He showed it to them, flashing a light on it from his Mirror Phone. "Look at this card and tell me what you see."

Raven reached out and took it, bringing the item close for her and her fellow princesses to scrutinize. It was one of Hunter's monsters, the hero who went by Bladedge.

"That golden knight who fought for you," Ashlynn recalled, reading the text at the bottom alongside his ATK and DEF points.

"What else?"

Raven arched a bemused brow. "What else…is there?"

"Can you tell me what the border surrounding his picture resembles?" Hunter asked in a tone that sounded less like a question. The girls drilled into it with deeper scrutiny, Farrah and Raven having to squint when it hit the former, and a knowing glint shined off of Hunter's gaze. "Well?"

"It looks like a…" Farrah began, "a stone tablet."

Hunter smiled. That's right. At the ruins, Maximilian went on to find hieroglyphics, old scrolls and other valuable treasures. But, what really got his attention were the tablets. Stone tablets that had depictions of monsters and other creatures, along with the spells and incantations used by the ancient sorcerers."

"Wait," Raven followed, putting two and two together. "You mean, the game that preceded Duel Monsters, was played with stone tablets?"

"Big ones, about a head taller than a fully grown man. These tablets would be kept in their own respective chambers which is kinda what decks are today," Hunter explained. "You see, not only were these sorcerers using their own Ka, but the Ka of others. Namely, criminals, undesirables, enemies, the ones nobody would care about. They would extract their Ka in order to build up their forces on reserve to call upon at their leisure."

Farrah grimaced. "Wouldn't that just…"

"Kill them?" Hunter said with raised eyebrows. "Normally, yes, but so long as the Ka was sealed away in a stone tablet, it technically wasn't dead or gone. Unfortunately, this had the added side effect of those whose Ka was extracted to become mindless, unthinking drones. Eventually, their bodies atrophied and expired, because without their souls, well, think of it like a car without gas. The engine is there, but with nothing to fuel it, it just stops running. A slow, painless death, with you not even having the slightest consciousness of it happening."

"The more I hear about this kingdom, the more they make whatever my mom did sound like a charity drive," Raven remarked ruefully. "Couldn't the king have done something sooner?"

Hunter shrugged. "He did every chance he got, but just because the king was a swell guy didn't mean everyone in his court was on board with him. It just goes to show that he wasn't perfect, but the government as a whole was worse." Raven narrowed her eyes at just how much detail Hunter was delving into, however truncated it seemed. "The reason for this was because he was working to enact changes that would cut back on the Shadow Games, and do away with them entirely with time. Obviously, this ruffled a few feathers."

"So, what, they staged a coup?" Raven assumed. "How did someone like that even come to rule such a kingdom?"

"By succeeding his father," Hunter replied. "It wasn't always like that. The Shadow Games started because they thought it was the only way to ensure their survival during a time of great turmoil. They were small, weak and desperate. Not a good combination, as you might imagine. With their military strength inadequate against their enemies, the king turned to his court magicians and alchemists for a solution. They worked tirelessly and poured all of their knowledge into how to strengthen their forces. You can be sure that…things didn't really pan out, for the most part."

Raven and Farrah winced, just imagining whatever blunders and failures those magicians made. Hunter seemed to pause for a moment, as if choosing his next words. "That is until…one day, a merchant happened to pass by the town to sell his wares. According to the old records, the merchant had with him one peculiar item that managed to catch the eye of one of the court magicians. He didn't really know or care what it could do, only that it was clearly a grimoire, and they were willing to try anything at that point."

"A grimoire?" Raven perked up. "Those are always bad news. My mom has a few, but most of them are either for beauty enhancement or poisons." She caught Apple stealing an expectant glance from her. "Don't even think about it," Raven warned her with a glare, to which the young Snow White could only pout in response. "Most of them aren't even that powerful. Magic always has costs and limits, and I made sure to study on how to break them if they ever caused me any trouble. But, you make it sound like this grimoire was different."

"That's because it held the secrets to the Shadow Games, and while they did come with costs, let's just say people back then had no real problem with paying. As time passed, they would come to build a societal system around these games. How to settle disputes, trade, wars," Hunter elaborate. "Eventually, it encapsulated their lives so much, not only were the upper echelons in government corrupted, but the common citizens as well. With it, they learned and casted spells and curses that allowed them to manipulate souls, control the will of others, build an army of powerful monsters, and access the realm of the dead."

"Necromancy?" Raven paled. Hunter nodded.

Farrah hung her head. "Like Raven said. Magic always has a price or limit. It's why the spells we fairy godmothers cast only last up till the strike of twelve, and always the strike of twelve. It's because of that limitation that we're even able to cast magic at all."

"That's right," Raven nodded. "The limitation exists because your spells are so potent. My mother could only wish she had that level of magic."

Apple shook her head. "Those ruins should have just been left alone. All they did was render the king's sacrifice in vain."

"Well, Crawford decided that for himself. He knew he had a gold mine when he found the surviving stone carvings and scrolls that documented their history. From there, he took what he could of the old system and refashioned it into what Duel Monsters is today."

"What about the grimoire?" Raven asked in worry, subtly studying Hunter's reaction, or rather, lack thereof. "Was it still there?" She was additionally curious how such a grimoire even came to be in the first place. Was it created by some other alchemist?

"The king made sure destroying it was the first thing he did," Hunter replied. "I guess he wasn't gonna let that book fall into the wrong hands and have the madness start all over again."

"Hunter, how do you even know all of this?" Ashlynn asked in concern. "And how come-" She stopped herself, realizing that any more allusions to their relationship would further drop the ball.

Hunter snickered, "Well, that's mostly thanks to Crawford, who included it as supplementary material for his biography, believe it or not. Everything he learned of the kingdom was included there as part of marketing reasons. He was a self-absorbed eccentric, but without him to get the ball rolling, Duel Monsters wouldn't have been possible, and whether that was a mistake or not, you only have to ask the man himself."

"If you ask me, I'm with Apple on this. That civilization should have just stayed buried," Raven argued. "And, based on that…thing we saw back in your duel with Dexter, I'm sure not many others would disagree."

"Indeed," Apple nodded. "It all just sounds so…dangerous."

"As long as the card game is played on its own, it's perfectly safe, but, uh, I can see how things might get hectic from now on," Hunter conceded with a weak chuckle, gesturing his head towards his knapsack. "So, anything else you wanna know?"

"Well-"

"Hey, Hunter!" Sparkman called out to him. "We're out of food!"

"Wha-!" Hunter snapped his head to him. "Oh come on, I'm still hungry! You couldn't have left me one?"

"Hey, they were good," Avian shrugged from where he was sitting. "And 'ol Combustible here was a lot hungrier than-" He jerked his upper body to dodge a small fireball from a peeved Burstinatrix.

"You could just buy some more," Sparkman suggested from where he was resting.

"Wha-?!" Hunter huffed irately. "Fine!" He turned to his classmates. "Sorry, guys, I'm gonna have to go and-"

"Yeah, sure," Raven permitted. "Here, uh, maybe you can buy us some, too. Might as well since dinner and all." They each reached into their purses and wallets, then had Hunter list the items they wanted on his Mirror Phone.

"Anything else?" Hunter asked them, standing up from his chair and turning to leave.

"No. Hang on," Raven spoke, pointing a finger at the Elemental HEROs lounging under a nearby grove. "Aren't you going to…?"

Hunter stole a quick glance from the young Evil Queen. "Oh, they're just taking a break, don't worry about it. I'll be back with the chow." Before any of them could say more, with a wave, he walked off, leaving both groups to each other.

Raven sat back down on her chair, wondering if just leaving them alone with a bunch of strangers was a good idea, even if they were…heroes. She looked over her shoulder, hoping to check on Maddie, only to find her seat empty.

"Hulla-baloo-and-howdy-doo! I'm Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Ma-a-a-ad Hatter," Maddie greeted the gathered heroes. "It is a splendiferous pleasure to meet you all." She trailed off with a bow and a very lopsided curtsy that made her look like she was about to tip over. Standing at her full height, she plucked her hat off the top of her head and reached her arm deep into it to pull out a complete tea set. "Might I interest you folks in some tea?"

The heroes traded bemused looks and smiles, with Avian taking point and replying, "Thank you, but we're good. It's a pleasure to meet you, as well. I'm Avian. This is Burstinatrix." He pointed to his fellow hero lying next to him, taking a nap. "That's Sparkman." He motioned to the electrifying hero to his right, relaxing under a tree. "And 'ol faucet over there is Bubbleman."

"Fuck you too, Featherman," Bubbleman retorted flippantly, sitting next to Sparkman as he was fumbling with his detached wrist cannon.

Avian winced. "Hey, we had an agreement. No old names."

"Yeah, yeah."

Raven, Apple, Ashlynn, Blondie and Farrah strode near after their mad girl, conversely treading more in the side of caution. "Um, h-hello," Raven stammered out politely with a small wave.

Avian, seeing the girls' anxiety, said reassuringly, "You guys can relax. Even if you weren't acquainted with Hunter, me and my friends are still heroes. So, you're safe here."

Raven blinked, then nodded after collecting her bearings, some of the tension abating. "I'm Raven Queen."

"Apple White," Apple introduced herself, doing a more proper curtsy.

"Ashlynn Ella," Ashlynn said more timidly, following Apple's lead.

"Blondie Lockes." The young Goldilocks said with a more driven tone of voice, stepping up with her Mirror Phone. She pitched a glance to where she expected Humphrey to be, only for her to find him still at his seat and glued to his tablet. She shook her head and decided that she could do without him. "Student journalist. Pardon me, good sir, but would you mind if I trouble you and your associates for an interview?"

"Blondie!" Raven reprimanded her in a low tone.

Avian waved a hand. "No, it's quite alright. We're no strangers to the press back where we're from, so go ahead."

"Where you're from," Blondie repeated, perking up in interest, bringing her phone forward to record. "Please, do tell. What realm or kingdom do you all hail from? What's it like?"

Avian smiled, finding the girl's enthusiasm infectious and similar to a certain reporter girl back home. "We live and come from a city, not a kingdom. As for the 'realm', I guess you could say that it isn't that different from yours, though certainly not as magical from what we've come to gather here."

"No magic?" Apple echoed in question. "Then, how can you all do what you can do?"

Avian shook his head as he replied, "I didn't say that we don't have magic. A number of heroes and villains back home use magical abilities or are magic in nature, though not to the degree that you all seem to be used to. Most powers are meta abilities that we were either born with, or a mutation brought about by external circumstances. Clayman over there was brought to life by an accident, though none of us are that sure if he's running on science or some other mumbo-jumbo."

Clayman grunted from where he sat.

"Fascinating," Blondie said, practically salivating over this scoop. "Um, I don't suppose you can…tell us a bit more about yourselves. Like, your names, for example."

"Blondie!" Raven repeated her reprimand more assertively.

Avian chuckled. "Sorry, but as you might imagine, as superheroes, we can't really disclose-"

"Oh get off it, Richard," the woman, Burstinatrix, groaned, yawning from where she was lying on her side. "Our identities aren't that secret."

"Hey, don't go on revealing other people's real names like that," the bird man known as Avian scolded noncommittally. "Some villain could be just around the corner listening in."

"Ring my bell," Burstinatrix quipped drowsily, fighting back another yawn.

The girls were now eyeing the woman lying on the soft grass like it was her bed, their cheeks reddening from getting a closer look at her…appearance. Burstinatrix didn't need to be fully awake to notice the attention on her. "Take a picture, sweetheart, it'll last longer," she quipped.

Blondie almost did, causing her to fumble at the last second and almost drop her phone, her face red as a tomato. "Sh-Should she-"

"Should I be, what?" Burstinatrix interjected coyly, turning over so that her back was now facing them, giving the princesses a good view of her rear. "Well?"

"I-Is that…really your costume?" Raven asked in a low scandalized tone, one eye shuttered with her head turned away.

"What you see is what you get, honey," Burstinatrix replied. She let out another yawn. "I have a spare that's less risque, though I doubt it'd be any better."

"That's enough, Barbara," Avian, or Richard, said with a chuckle. "They're just kids."

"Is she…always like this?" Raven just had to ask, beyond embarrassed for the woman.

Avian shook his head, smiling as he replied, "Only when she's taking it easy. She's usually a real hothead."

"Ah, shut it," Burstinatrix retorted as she finally rose from her nap, sitting up and doing a stretch, flustering the girls even more when this only rendered her already skintight bodysuit taut against her bust. She grinned at their reactions, "So, where's the party?"

"Party?" Farrah repeated questioningly.

"Why are you all dolled up like you're going to a prom?"

The princesses exchanged mildly confused looks, with Raven speaking for them. "Uh, this is how we normally dress? I mean, we are princesses."

"Complete with designer pumps?" Burstinatrix pointed out, eyeing their footwear with a raised eyebrow. "And that one over there looks like she's ready for Cinderella's ball." She pointed to Ashlynn, who became mildly taken aback by the remark on her see-through pumps that were made of durable silicone rather than actual glass. "As far as I know, back home, highschoolers don't dress the way you do unless it's for an occasion."

Raven cocked a brow. "Maybe because she is? Or will be, since she's supposed to be the next Cinderella after her mom."

"No kidding?" Burstinatrix said with faux interest, already knowing the background of their world from Hunter and who this girl was to him. "Do tell. What's that like? Being the next Cinderella."

Ashlynn opened her mouth, about to answer when Avian chimed in. "Don't mind her, she's just teasing. We already know what you kids are all about. You're to inherit the roles of being fairy tales from your predecessors, correct?"

"That's correct, sir," Apple said with no shortage of pride before Raven could, flashing the latter with a pointed look as she did. "We are to one day take up after our parents and play out each of our roles to uphold tradition and honor the great legacies of those who came before us."

Raven averted her eyes, shaking her head a little. "That sounds admirable," Avian remarked, drawing a smile from the young Snow White. "Plenty of heroes back home tend to follow legacies too. Why, Sparky over there just happens to be the second to take up the mantle."

The girls all threw looks the electrifying hero's way, especially Ashlynn. The man had been reclining against the tree, arms folded behind his head when his shoulders stiffened upon hearing the nickname, snapping his head in their direction, his mask completely obscuring his features, though they could feel the annoyance coming through it.

"What was all that crap you said about names again?" Sparkman reminded the winged hero pointedly.

"Just part of the motions, ace," Avian told him. "You'll get there."

Sparkman stared at the winged hero before saying in an annoyed voice, "...Is this about what happened back at the duel?"

It was at that moment that Ashlynn broke away from the group before Avian could reply, stepping up to the hero clad in gold and blue. She curtsied before him, saying, "And I can't thank you enough for that, Sir Sparkman."

The hero tilted his head back from the grateful princess, an eyebrow raised behind his mask. "You mean after you ran straight in without thinking?" At this, Ashlynn recoiled, her cheeks becoming flushed. "And, I doubt you were ever in any real danger since the Duel Disk has safety locks in place. And what's with the 'Sir'? I'm not a knight, and we certainly don't use titles in our neck of the woods, Miss. Just call me Sparkman. Everybody else does." He tilted his head to aim a look at a grinning Avian.

"Oh, but surely you must be a knight," Ashlynn remarked. "Your armor-"

"It's a costume," Sparkman corrected her. "Back in our world, being a knight is more of a title and privilege." He leaned forward and said with emphasis, "In another country, not ours. We just get awards or accolades from our local government or police force. Not exactly knighthood, but still letting us know that we're appreciated."

Ashlynn blinked, shaking her head softly. "Still, thank you." She then said demurely, "And, I won't do it again."

"I'll hold you to that," Sparkman told her, to which she nodded. "Still…"

Ashlynn listened for what else the hero wanted to tell her, when he averted his head and said, "Nothing. It's nice meeting you, princess. And, you're welcome."

Ashlynn smiled, bowing her head respectfully in gratitude.

"By the way," Raven said, addressing Burstinatrix, "what was that you mentioned about Cinderella?"

Burstinatrix looked up and saw the confusion written across the princesses' faces. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, does the story exist in your world?" Raven clarified, to which the flame heroine perked up in understanding.

"I should say it does," Burstinatrix answered. "Along with a slew of other fairy tales."

"Which one?" Apple chimed in strongly. "What kind?"

Burstinatrix replied, "Every kind. Snow White, Goldilocks, Sleeping Beauty. Those are the classics. Then there are the more obscure titles like Iron Hans and Frau Trude. They exist in print, film, and television. Adaptations, remakes, you name it. Kids and adults the world over read and watch them."

This amazed the princesses, beaming that their stories were indeed reaching people, even from other realms.

"Oh," Raven blinked in understanding, before zeroing in on a single detail of the woman's words. "Wait, remakes?"

"Hm?" Burstinatrix nodded. "Yeah, remakes."

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" Raven said in a tone between confusion and worry.

Burstinatrix shared a look with Avian. "When I say, remake, I mean versions that do things differently."

Apple felt her mouth go dry, mustering the strength to ask, like the word was more lethal than any poison she was to bite into, "Diff-Differently…?"

Ashlynn, swallowing the lump in her throat, asked, "I-In…what way?"

Burstinatrix's expression visibly faltered, and Apple was eager to assume it was in line with the intended reasons. The heroine shared a look with Avian before answering, "Well, when I say, 'differently', I mean they change the story up a bit. Either certain parts were altered or the genre as a whole was tweaked with. Just as an example, uh…" The heroine's eyes shifted from side to side, as if trying to wrestle with her next words. "There's a version of Snow White where it's a horror story."

The princesses all gaped. "Horror stories are banned in our world," Raven revealed.

"Really? Why?" Burstinatrix asked, Hunter having neglected to include that detail.

"Th-They just are," Raven answered, though she certainly couldn't wrap her head around the logic. For as long as their society knew, Milton Grimm had been the one to enact and enforce the ban, reasoning that horror was 'inappropriate'.

"Wh-Why?!" Apple asked emphatically, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Why would our stories be changed?"

"To freshen it up," Burstinatrix answered with a shrug, and this reason shocked the princesses, Raven most of all. "I mean, you can't expect something to stay the same forever. Every now and then, to keep interest fresh or out of general curiosity, your stories tend to be rewritten or overhauled. How it turns out is…50/50, but generally, for every generation of creative minds - and not so creative - you can't exactly help that people get to have their own ideas on how to do things differently."

Apple looked positively scandalized. "Wh-What are you…y-you're kidding right?" She frantically flickered her gaze to the other heroes. "T-Tell me she's kidding."

Again, she could see some of them wincing, when Sparkman was the one who said with a telltale shrug of his shoulders, "'Fraid she's telling the truth, princess. Though, uh, a lot of us can understand why you'd be worried."

"You should understand!" A fuming Apple practically shouted, taking aback all those present at the sudden outburst. "Our stories need to play out exactly as they should, as they have been since conception! I-If they deviate, then…then…"

"Apple, calm down!" Raven said to her after getting over the initial shock, followed by Ashlynn in consoling the blonde.

"Yeah," Maddie chimed in, frenetically pouring a fresh cup of tea and presenting it to the blonde. "Here. This will help calm you down."

Hyperventilating, the young Snow White seemed to compose herself a little before directing her gaze to her roommate, her brows knitting into a scowl as if she had just found the source of her troubles. "I bet you're loving this, aren't you?"

"E…Excuse me?" Raven recoiled, as did Ashlynn and Farrah.

"Don't pretend that this isn't exactly what you want!" Apple accused her out of nowhere, seething. "Going on about changing destiny, refusing to sign your name, this must be cathartic for you, isn't it?"

Raven stiffened, unable to believe what she was hearing. Just because she didn't want to sign the book?

Not long after the stunt she pulled on Legacy Day, her socials had been inundated, practically flooded with messages, which she had been doing her best to ignore because of not only the overwhelmingly negative feedback she had been getting, but because of this…movement she inadvertently started. Students who had been privately messaging her both anonymously or otherwise of how they felt the same, of wanting to deviate from their preordained lives.

That was far from what she expected or wanted.

After seeing the horrible fate that awaited her, all she desired was to live her life the way she wanted without ending up as an outcast through no real fault of her own. She never meant, much less intended, for it to spiral out to such a degree that a growing divide was now coursing through the school.

And now here she was, being berated by Apple as if she had actually…planned all of it, as opposed to just being a knee-jerk reaction. Her face slowly morphed into a scowl that mirrored the blonde's. "Apple, I am going to tell you this once and for all. Whatever you may think of me, I never meant for it to go any further than just…saying no!"

"Don't…lie!" Apple, tears starting to well up from her eyes, persisted hotly. "I know you're just trying to one up your mother-"

"No, I'm not!" Raven cut her off, incensed at the accusation. "How can you even think that?! After what she did, the very last thing I want is to be worse than her!"

"Yet, you are," Apple insisted with venom. "You don't think I haven't caught on? The things they've been saying at school? About how you're building up a following-"

Raven brought up both hands to push back at that notion. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Do not go there! That's on them, not me!"

"Oh, so now you want to avoid responsibility? Raven, because of you, other students have been getting ideas, second thoughts!" Apple pointed out. "You've planted doubt where there isn't a place for it! We are safe only as long as we abide by tradition! Do you really want to go…'poof'?"

Burstinatrix and Avian rolled their eyes, the two knowing the farcical nature of that thinly veiled warning. Raven opened her mouth to say no, that of course she didn't want to, when an urge within her suddenly supplanted the words, clawing its way up to the surface and causing her to mutter under her breath, "Like I care."

Apple, Ashlynn, Maddie and Farrah reeled back in shock. "What did you just say?" Apple hissed incredulously.

Raven hefted out the heaviest of sighs, her head and shoulders falling before squaring up, answering with a firm tone,

"I don't give a rat's ass!"

This declaration caused Maddie to drop her teacup, the porcelain thankfully being cushioned by the soft grass. The same couldn't be said for the tea, the warm liquid having spilled out and soaking ground. Ashlynn, who had been quiet for the entirety of the argument, held both hands to her mouth in alarm, with Farrah standing protectively in front of her, fearing the dispute would veer out of control.

"On what they say about me, what they think of me, going poof, any of it!" Raven snapped, finally releasing the frustration she had been holding in, the pent up pressure that had been steadily building. "Nor do I give a single shit on how your story is supposed to play out! Just leave me out of it!"

"That's the problem, Raven!" Apple barked back, coming close to her roommate's face, her fair features twisted into the angriest frown she had ever made in her life. "You can't be left out! You are to be the Evil Queen to my Snow White! There can't be anyone else! And now because of you, how is my life supposed to turn out? How is anyone else's? Huh? You have no idea how much this means to me! To any of us!"

"You think I don't?!" Raven choked back a pained laugh. "With all the 'expectations' riding on the both of us, you think I don't get to be reminded every damn day how much of a horrible person I'm supposed to be?! For most of my life, I've been told incessantly by people who don't know a damn thing about me to be just as evil, cruel and narcissistic as my mother, when I'm nothing like that! What? You want me to kick and step on puppies? Throw babies down wells? Ruin your life?!" On that last part, she directed a harsh look back at Apple, and quailed when she discovered the young Snow White-to-be…was crying, streaks of her makeup running down her cheeks visibly.

Apple, fighting back a sob, glared hatefully at her roommate, then said throatily, "Well…you're off to a good start."

With that, Apple spun on her heel to storm off, passing by an arriving Hunter carrying bagfuls of the goods. Stopping her, he pitched forward the order she requested, and with some hesitation, snatched it out of his hand, deciding that drowning her sorrows with food was better than nothing. Hunter's eyes traced the direction she went, watching her go, before winding his attention to the group that remained, with Briar and Humphrey now having left their seats and flanking the others.

"What happened here?" Hunter asked, sweeping his gaze across the clearing.

Raven, still a ways away from calming down, answered with a simple, "Nothing." Before she could leave, Hunter passed her a paper bag, and upon refusing, he shook his head.

"No way are you gonna skip dinner on my watch," Hunter told her. "You and Apple had a fight, didn't you? Why?"

With a flourish of her arm, she snatched the bag from him. "Why don't you ask her?" Inclining her head to Burstinatrix, the woman avoided eye contact from her duelist.

Rather than it be the heroine to relate to him of what had happened, it would be Ashlynn and Blondie. Hunter sucked in his lips in displeasure at being told the subsequent events. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"No, Hunter, it…it wasn't your fault," Raven told him, finally calming down. "It was mine."

Hunter cocked a brow at her. "Yours?"

"I…" Raven bit her lip. "All of this started because I didn't sign the book. These past few days…they've…just been a mess. Now, with all this business about card games and monsters, I feel like things have just gotten more out of hand."

Hunter snorted. "If you're blaming yourself for what other people do, then you're definitely not villain material."

Raven withered at what she thought was a backhanded compliment, when Hunter added, "That's good." This caught her by surprise, along with Ashlynn, Maddie and Farrah. "If anyone here is the least qualified to be a villain, it's you."

"The very least qualified of them all!" Maddie agreed, giving her best friend a hug.

Raven sighed, smiling as she grabbed hold of Maddie's arms. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? How would you know? Everyone else seems to think I am, or want me to be. Don't you? I mean, you are going to be a part of our story."

Hunter tilted his head towards her as he held her gaze and asked, "Do you? Wanting to be a villain, I mean."

"I-" she started, ready to answer, when something in the back of her mind stopped her. Did she want to be a villain? She admittedly had her misgivings in the past, mostly from being torn over what her mother had done, that maybe she had to in order to make up for her crimes. It would be The Storybook of Legends that would disabuse her of these doubts, but those same doubts had been slowly worming their way back with a vengeance. "I'm not even sure anymore."

"Yep, still not a villain," Hunter said, grinning. "Hey, don't get the wrong idea, Raven. If being a villain is what you want, by all means, go full evil overlord. Or…overlady." He shook his head. "Look, whether or not you want to be the next Evil Queen, it's your call. If you don't want to be, then it shouldn't be the end of your world. Or, anyone else's for that matter. Personally? I don't really care either way."

"Maybe because you're not playing that big of a part?" Raven pointed out. "You're not even a villain. You're just gonna push Apple to run away and give me a lock of her hair as proof that you killed her."

Burstinatrix blinked, her eyes flickering from the hot chocolate Hunter gave her to Raven and saying, "Wait, what?"

Raven sighed, sending a resentful glance at the fiery heroine. "What now? Are you gonna tell us anything else that's different about our stories?"

"Actually, yes," Burstinatrix said, ignoring the jab. "What you just said."

"What…I just said?" Raven repeated in confusion, which was shared by the others save for the duelists in the group.

"A lock of Snow White's hair, when it should be her heart," Burstinatrix revealed, and upon seeing the surprise on the princesses' faces, she pointed at her chest. "You know, the heart. The actual organ. You're supposed to order Hunter to cut out her heart."

A long stretch of silence invaded the clearing. "What?" Ashlynn voiced out for all of them, appalled.

Burstinatrix and the other heroes studied their reactions, with the exception of Hunter and Briar, though Humphrey this time looked genuinely thrown off. "In our world, that's more or less part of the original story. The lock of hair sounds like something out of a censored version."

"Censored?" Blondie repeated, half mindful that she was still recording.

Burstinatrix nodded. "Either a lock of hair or a torn piece of her clothing, but the very original is where the Huntsman is supposed to cut out her heart. He never gets to do it, of course," she shot Hunter a smile, "but whichever way you slice it; pun intended, it sounds to me that you're following a more tame version, unless of course you people switch it up every now and then."

Raven mindlessly shook her head. "N-No, no we don't. We always follow the original story to the letter. Every single one. It's been that way for…Grimm knows how long."

"Maybe it's a mistake," Ashlynn rationalized. "Maybe you're talking about that horror version?"

Burstinatrix shook her head. "No, it's legitimately the original. The horror one only amps up the already dark elements. In our world, it was a movie. Though fanfiction does exist."

"... What's 'fanfiction'?" Farrah asked, expressing what was on the minds of those that had never heard of the term before.

The heroes stared at the group of students. When they first entered this world, none of them would be averse to admitting that it had impressed them. An actual fairy tale land that contrasted their own gritty reality, where the characters that they thought to be fiction existed in their own world where their roles were inherited.

But from what they had come to learn from Hunter and Dexter on how things really ran in this world, it didn't take long for them to see the cracks in what was supposedly an idyllic fantasy, with Raven Queen and her reluctance in taking up her role a quite telling sign.

"Ashlynn, right?" Burstinatrix addressed the young Cinderella.

Ashlynn stiffened. "Y-Yes?"

"Can you tell us a clear account of your story?"

"Why?"

Burstinatrix nodded to Avian, with him saying, "We just want to check something. Don't skimp on the details."