Camelot

The Dark Woods

"Heartless can't heal those who are of the light. What a joke." Kuro's hand swatted away at a low hanging branch, his teeth pulled back into a grimace with his words grumbling out of his mouth. He lets out a short growl as he steadies his pace down a slope. His hands retract to his jacket pockets. Kicking a loose patch of dirt as he walks past it with a hard toe focused kick. The kick up of the dust cloud covering his boots and jeans in a layer of grime. "Damn it."

Kuro's walking had taken him far deeper into the forest, Merlin's figure had disappeared amongst the brush what felt like hours ago, and the smoke from the castle was the only indicator of any life in that general direction. Granted, the smoke flew so high and plumed so faintly, he could be miles away at this point.

He couldn't even see the main roads through the trees, and tips of the castle's walls were unable to be gazed upon from where he stood now. He was truly in the thick of the forest now. Away from the shaped stones and castles of civilization. Kuro stopped for a moment, running a hand over his throbbing head as he moved to sit down on a fallen tree. He hopped up to properly sit atop it, his heels scratching against the bark as he rubs his forehead. Fingertips tapping into his forehead with pointed jabs.

"I couldn't heal Arthur because I'm a Heartless. Right?" Kuro replayed the words over and over again. His eyes squeezed shut as he continued to dwell and fixate on the fact he couldn't heal Arthur, or anyone who would be considered a being of light. Which, according to what he's seen so far, is anyone and everyone with a heart. He could heal himself, and Dusk should it come down to it. However, what good would that do the people he comes across? Being Heartless meant that he couldn't heal Arthur, can't heal Jessie or Barret or Rinoa. There is the chance he could heal Xion, considering that she was a Nobody. But even then, he still didn't know if she was alive or dead at the moment. He glared at his hand and knocked a tight fist into the trunk.

"Because… you're my friend." Kuro had said so with such an honest inflection and truly imparted this feeling of friendship in his words with her. She had brought him some food, he had shared a potion with her even after she tried to kill him and Dusk. The two of them shared a laugh and a meal, and that smile. Even with the conflicted feelings he had for her, that smile of hers washed away I'll will. And the opportunity to help her? To what end did he do so? "I want to help you because you're my friend."

"Friend…" Xion had spoken the word as though she never heard the word before, staring at him with an expression that made his heart break and soar at the same time. She never had a friend before, and he was going to be her first. "Kuro, are we friends now?"

"If you'd like." Kuro's words rolled out of him from the most truthful and earnest place in his own body. If he had one, he would say he said it with his whole heart. She held a warmth that rivaled bonfire flames and eyes that held the light brighter than the stars above. And she never came back to him. She was gone. Possibly forever. And he would have to live with that.

"Kuro!" Dusk's voice carried through the wood as the sound of scampering feet scuttling through the brush and bushes became louder and louder. Kuro's shoulders slumped, his breathing now low as he listens to the approach of his small companion. "Kuro!"

"Yeah, yeah I'm over here." Kuro mumbled lowly as he turned his head in the direction of his small Shadow companion. Dusk shuffled through the underbrush, eyes aglow in the dark shadows of the forest before they became transfixed onto Kuro. "Hey, Dusk."

"Where did you go, my friend? Merlin said you headed off into the forest by yourself. And then I came running." Dusk muttered, walking over to stand beside Kuro, their small claws digging into the fallen tree and climbing up to stand eye to eye with him. When Dusk stood atop of the trunk, they still had to look up at Kuro, even when he sat down with a hunched over back. Kuro clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, eyes turning back towards the forest. "You're lucky I could smell you out here or else I'd probably still be looking for you."

"Yeah, that's what I am. Lucky." Kuro grumbled with a hint of venom in his words, shaking his head and letting out a short groan. Dusk was repelled by his tone, their claws fidgeting together as they ducked their round head and cowered at the sharpness of Kuro's words. Which sent a shiver through his chest. Kuro grumbled his apology, rubbing his eyes gently while he shook his head in a slow and steady motion. "I'm sorry for the attitude, Dusk. You don't need to hear that. I'm just… I'm disappointed in myself, is all."

"How come you're disappointed in yourself?" Dusk inquired, their head cocking to the side and their eyes squinting at the gloomy expression upon their friend's face. Kuro huffed once again, his thumb and pointer finger dug sternly into his closed eyes in exasperation. "Kuro-"

"Because I accidentally hurt Arthur and I couldn't heal him, Dusk. That's why I'm disappointed. Because I am a Heartless and Heartless can't heal those with light in their hearts." Kuro complained, jumping off of the trunk and running his hands through his silver locks. Tugging on the ends of them and pulling his head back. Letting out an exasperated grunt echo out into the woods. The sound carried a great distance before it eventually fell off. Kuro growled against the silence. Kuro turned towards the fallen trunk, taking a cold cock to the bark and imprinting his fists into the wood. Kuro flexed out his punch, rolling his fingers about to destress from the impact. "So, that's why I'm out here. I'm going to find that witch Mim out here and hopefully she can teach me how to handle my magic better than Merlin can. And then I can help Barret and all of them."

"Can you trust a witch?" Dusk asked, head cocking to the side as Kuro leaned down to pull Dusk up by the claw and hoist them up onto his shoulder. The Shadow lingering over him as the two begin to walk along. Kuro shrugged, eyes bouncing from the forest floor up to Dusk with a pensive stare. Could he trust a witch? It's not like he had a choice, Barret is counting on him. "What if she turns you into a frog or something?"

"I don't think she would do that." Kuro muttered, as the pair continued their trot through the forest to search for the witch's cottage. If the fairytales were any indication of what to expect, it would be a house made of candy. And she'd try to feed him until he was plump and easy to cook. "If anything, she'd probably just kill me and eat me."

The thought terrified Dusk, but the two marched ever forward. Kuro chuckles at his own bad joke. Kuro's eyes glanced over to the looming trees overhead as he let his hands retract into his pockets. He thought of DiZ and of Barret, both of whom depended on him to learn how to do magic sufficiently enough to keep people safe. Barret wanted to use the magic to keep his people safe and to hopefully continue to help AVALANCHE on their efforts to protect their world from Shinra. DiZ wanted him to use the magic to keep himself safe, as learning to world hop using the Dark Corridors could prove to be dangerous if used incorrectly. Be it Heartless, the Organization DiZ is worried about or the world destroying company of Shinra.

"Am I making a mistake, Dusk? By doing all this?" Kuro muttered aloud, taking a hand and planting a loose punch into a tree trunk as he passed. Feeling the bark buckle under the contact and the knock echo a jolt of pain through his arm. A numbing awareness that kept Kuro awake in his body and focused in his mind. Dusk shrugged, a claw patting the top of Kuro's head with a gentle touch.

"I can't say for certain. If the goal is to practice dark magic, hopefully we are on the right path." Dusk argued, their small shoes tapping against Kuro's shoulder with every step he took. "I think the only wrong choice is the choice that doesn't take us forward."

Camelot
Madame Mim's Abode

"All we are asking you to do is just to nudge the boy in the right direction. Tell him about the sword. And he'll do the rest." Morgan's fingers skated across the table top, her eyes meeting the Witch of the Forest, Madame Mim.

She was a short and stout woman, with a bush of paling purple hair on top of her head with a bulbous nose planted in the center of her face and a pair of ghoulish green eyes.

Her spindly fingers caressing over her jowl as she glances over Morgan, whose skin nearly was as pale as her own. Madame Mim nodded her head ever so slowly, her elbows resting along her rotund stomach and cushioned by her weight. Madame Mim slowly pulled her legs back from her chair and walked over to her fire. Taking a ladle and stirring around the bubbling brew in her cauldron, her eyes going cross eyed as she sips the piping hot liquid from the utensil. With a few smacks of her lips, she flashes the younger witch a smile.

"They don't make squirrel brains like they used to." She mumbled absentmindedly, before continuing to stir her pot. Humming a short tune as she did so. "So, you came all the way to my home to ask the Magnificent-Marvelous-Mad Madam Mim to just… play just bystander to this Heartless fiend in my woods?"

"This Heartless Fiend is our key to destroying that idiot Arthur, and that blasted sword in the stone." Mordred spoke aloud, speaking from his spot besides the door with his back against the door frame and his arms folded over one another. His bandaged hand flexing every so often to loosen the stiffness in the muscles. Still feeling the tingles every so often. "And I can't destroy it-"

"Impotence is a common issue with you, I can imagine. Poor dear." Mim mocked, her eyes squinted with her wide and caustic grin. Morgan rolled her eyes, and Mordred slowly began reaching for his sword. Eyes aflame in fury. As soon as his fingers traced the pommel of his blade, a wiggle of Mim's finger caused the sword to be unsheathed and drawn for combat. It was pulled as though an invisible figure had pulled the blade for battle.

The tip of the broken blade pressed firmly to the jugular of the now frozen Mordred. His breathing was getting hectic and his twitching made the skin pressed against the blade get pierced. All the while she kept most of her attention on Morgan and her brew. "Now, of all my house guests, you are the first. But I must insist that you leave. I have a busy day ahead of me."

"Will you at least consider our offer?" Morgan inquired with a tired expression, fingers pressing to her temple as she made slow circles to ease her throbbing head. Madame Mim was taken aback, her hand pressing against her chest with a bewildered expression on her face. "Would you just consider joining the group?"

"You think I'd never consider your offer? I have considered your offer, dear." Madame Mim said with a high voice and a fluttering of her eyes. She flashed a quick grin, then shook her head. "Of course I consider your offer. I consider it a wonderful waste of my time."

"Now listen here, Mim! You will-" Morgan rose from her spot only to feel a cool chill rise up her spine, her eyes going wide and her jaw being slowly pulled open. As if her front teeth were opposite ends of a magnet and began to repel one another. Madame Mim flicked her fingers, her tongue rolling back like a furled scroll and sitting in a tight ball in the center of her throat. Morgan's hands clapped to her neck, her breathing immediately stopping and her heart beginning to race under the distress she was feeling.

"Madame Mim, darling." She spoke without an air of anger or of annoyance. She spoke as passively and as calmly as she would if she was reminding a stranger who had forgotten her name as she was correcting Morgan for talking to her so candidly and nonchalantly. "And if you do not leave my hut at this very moment, I'll turn you into a gnat but forget to change your teeth with it. Watch you explode from the inside out like a firework. Wouldn't that be grand?"

It wasn't the threat itself that chilled the siblings in that moment, it was the fact that she spoke so frivolously at the prospect that made them realize how little she considered their company or their lives. She snapped her fingers again, and the sword returned to its sheath and Morgan could breathe again. Madame Mim waddled over to the dining room table, taking a seat and folding her hands behind her head. Her lips pulled back into a devious grin. "Now, run along children and leave me be. I want to relax and your breathing annoys me."

With a snap of her fingers, the two guests were pulled beneath the floors, chutes of dirt and grime dragging them beneath ground. The screaming of the two echoing in the distance before they faded into silence. Which just tickled the witch's ears, her chin held high in satisfaction as the unwanted guests got evacuated from the docile. She stretches out her elbows and shoulders, her toes wiggling in her flats when she finally settles in her spot. She lets out a short sigh of relief as her body relaxes. She glances at her table, her game of solitaire still being played as she takes up her cards and begins to make her next move. She glances over the other rows of cards, taking a peek at one of the other cards.

That's when the door rocks with two abrupt and quick knocks. Her eyes shoot open, her gaze shooting to the front door. She crooks her head, slamming her cards down on the table before walking over and throwing the door open with a sinister sneer and elbows bent.
"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying!" Her eyes squinted as she stared straight into Kuro's chest before glancing up at his eyes. Her furious green fixated against his surprised orange. "Well, what are you selling?"
"Are you Madame Mim?" Kuro inquired, glancing over the smaller woman with a half scowl and a clenching of his jaw. Her voice sounded like the wrong cord of a bass with every syllable. She tapped her hands together, fingertips tapping against each other as she pulled her lips back to cover her teeth.

"Who wants to know? Who are you, lost boy? A morsel looking to find himself thrown into the pot?" She asked in return, her chin nudging towards her cauldron with a grin. She mimicked her disturber, following the way Kuro's arms rise and cross over one another with her own. He takes an aside glance at Dusk, who continued to linger on his shoulder as he spoke.

"I'm… was a student of Merlin but I can't work with him because of my… situation. So, I was told of a Dark Magic practitioner in these woods and I went looking for them. I was hoping to work with them." Kuro couldn't help but look inside her home as she stood literally at half his height. Her home was cleaner than Merlin's, which surprised Kuro to no end. She had a cauldron draped over the fireplace flames, which toiled and bubbled as the two conversed. Her dining table was covered in a half finished game of solitaire, with a five of hearts and four of clubs stacked along one another mid move. So, perhaps he interrupted her solitary game of solitaire. "So, I'll ask again. Are you-"

"Merlin? Merlin? You are his student? He was your teacher? Oh dear boy, you've been had! Bamboozled. Hoodwinked!" Madame Mim waved off the idea of that bumbling Merlin teaching anyone anything. She walked back towards her cauldron, and with a curl of her fingers, had Kuro and Dusk pulled into the hutt. Kuro felt as if a huge gust of wind had blown him through the threshold and been pulled into her domicile. She continued to stir her pot with a more obvious irritation, the brew inside getting jostled and spilling over the edges and getting evaporated by the roaring flames beneath. "Merlin, Merlin, Merlin! The world's most powerful bungler. Why, boy, I've got more magic in one little finger than that blundering blockhead has in his whole body!"

Madame Mim emphasized with a wagging of a single digit, which served to as a demonstration of her all powerful stature. She was still half Kuro's side, and had eyes as wide as dinner plates that were as green as a toad. Kuro stood there unimpressed, eyebrows raised. She furled her finger, grinding her teeth together for a few moments before flashing him a quick smile.

"Now, don't tell me you've never heard of the marvelous Madame Mim?" She asked, interlacing her fingers and bending it under her chin, cocking her head to the side and fluttering her eyes at Kuro with a mischievous grin. "Haven't you, boy?"

"I can't say that I have heard of you." Kuro said with a shrug, his eyes glancing over the wide witch with a short grin forming. He rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers with a waggle of his finger at the end. "Actually, Merlin's mentioned you once. He said you were a practicing Dark Magic Witch and that you were quite an enemy of his."

"Oh yes, I am quite a… witch." Madame Mim bragged, before rocking from side to side with the ease and the balance of a practiced ballet dancer. She unfurled her index finger, show it off to Kuro once again. Waggling it with a devious grin. "For you see…"

~ With only a touch ~

~ I have the power ~

~ Zim zabberim zim ~

~ To wither a flower ~

At the touch of her finger to the stem of the flower, its once vibrant green stem and red petals had their colors bled from them on contact. The stem toppled underneath its now crushing weight, before crumbing into a pile of dust and ash along the windowsill. A gentle breeze displacing the pile and sending it drifting off into the wind. Kuro's chest echoed with a pulse that responded to the power she exuded. It was though something tugged hard against his ribs, like hooks digging into skin and pivoting.

~ I find delight in the gruesome and grim ~

~ 'Cause I'm the magnificent, marvelous ~

~ Mad Madame Mim ~

She gives a gracious and boastful bow, her hair curtaining her face before she popped up onto her feet, her eyes aglow with a vigorous energy before she began to steadily get larger and larger right before his eyes. Kuro felt the toe of her now enormous flat jam into his chest, pressing him against the stone wall behind him as he struggled to breath.

~ I can be huge, fill the whole house ~

On her command, she grows to the size of a giant. Her shoulders brushing the tops of the ceiling and her knees bent to keep from bursting through the thatch now sitting along her back. And in just as quick of an instance, she shrunk. Down and down she did shrink, until she shrunk to a size that could fit in the palm of Kuro's hand.

~ I can be tiny, small as a mouse ~

On her command, she grew to the size of a mouse, scurrying across the table top and playing hopscotch along the hearts and clubs of the cards sprawled out in front of her. Kuro rubbed his sore stomach, grinding his teeth as his eyes followed her along her table top. Dusk glanced over at Kuro, with their antenna flickering against the back of his neck in worry. Kuro raised a hand and rested it along their knuckles, in an attempt to ease their worried spirit. Watching the witch continue to play her games.

~ Black sorcery is my dish of tea ~

~ It comes easy to me ~

~ 'Cause I'm the magnificent, marvelous ~

~ Mad Madame Mim! ~

She spins on her heels with a furious and echoing cackle, before her single heel turns become a continued rotation and spun her into a rapid and sudden tornado. Her body now covered in a flash of purples and pinks surrounding her, enveloping her into a vortex of color and smoke. And when it ceases, Madame Mim is replaced in form by this figure of unparalleled voluptuousness. She had wide fully formed hips, a bountiful chest and fair smooth skin. Her thighs were plump and her legs ran slender down to her ankles, her eyes now a sparkling ember green as opposed to the swamp color they were but a moment ago.

~ I can be beautiful, lovely and fair ~

~ Silvery voice, long purple hair ~

She emphasizes her new assets with a swaying of her hips, her hands tracing her silhouette and her resting along her hips. Kuro claps a hand around his eyes as his cheeks bleed a heavy red. Desperately pleading to himself so that he can not forget, he reminds himself of what she looked like just moments ago. That this was an illusion and a trick. However, the peeking between his fingers couldn't be helped. He had to see her perform her magic after all. To get an idea of the kind of magic he could perform. Should he choose. At least, that's the lie he told himself.

~ La la la la, la la la la la ~

She brushes her thick full hair out and her amethyst locks flow out effortlessly and bounces in such a darling way. Her delicate shoulders roll, making her torso dance to the rhythm of her 'la's. A sight that Kuro can't help but chuckle nervously at as he can't believe what he is seeing and hearing.

~ La la la la la, la la la la la la ~

She bounces her hips from side to side, the sight of it stirring, confusing and off putting a tsunami of ideas into Kuro's mind. He tried to ease his steadily beating heart. She was a putrid, ugly thing underneath it all. This was a fake figment of an idea. Not at all a real person.

~ But it's only skin deep ~

~ For, zim zabberim zim ~

She pulls hard on her hair, and that once shapely and buxom figure was returned to it's stout and stubby form, her fair skin once again covered in warts and wrinkled old skin, and her voice that was once that silvery song now the screech of a ghastly noise. The relief it gave him was immense.

~ I am an ugly old creep ~

She pulled hard on the ends of her hair, and hobbled in her spot with a laughter that made his ears burn and hurt. She had returned to her ugly form, and it eased him.

"The magnificent, marvelous... mad, mad, mad, mad Madame Mim!" Madame Mim shouted with a wide toothy grin and the toe of her flat digging into the floor of her home. Kuro crossed his arms over one another, staring down at her with an annoyed glare. Madame Mim snickered, her bottom left tooth peeking out between her lips and resting against her top lip. Her jowl was wide and hanging against the collar of her dress.

"Well, Madame Mim," Kuro began to speak, giving her a weak grin with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'd appreciate any help you'd be willing to give me."

"Alright, alright, boy. Keep that gratitude nonsense to a minimum. I don't need to get nauseous and all. Let's see what I'm working with here." She stomped her feet in harsh heels against the floors, as if she were trying to smash holes into the boards. She walked over towards Kuro, her thick sausage fingers reaching up to cup his cheeks and squeeze them tight. His lips pursing and his eyes widening as he is pulled down to her eye level. She reached into his hair, pulling a single lock of hair with a swift tug and examining it. Her right eye shutting as her left eye investigates end to end the strand of silver. "Oh yes, yes. This is serious. Very serious."

"What is?" Kuro mutters as he rubs the area she plucked the hair from. Baring his teeth at her as he did so. Madame Mim takes the strand of hair, flossing it between her two front teeth as she continues to hum and nod to herself. As if she were acknowledging something she was finding in her odd ritual. She shakes her head. "What's so, 'serious?'"

"It appears you are rather lacking in the Heart department. Tsk-tsk-tsk. You really are one of those beasts that galivants around stealing hearts and eating worlds and all that hullabaloo. No wonder Merlin couldn't help you. You're not like those dolts for the good. You're rotten to the core!" Madame Mim said with a cackle and filled with glee, her lips curling up to a nefarious smile. "Oh lovely, lovely. You're a malevolent creature of the dark, like me. Splendid, deary. But needn't fret around me. I know of the others that tried to command you detestable monsters. How well that all ended for them. I'm not interested in recreating their mistakes."

"What do you mean?" Kuro asked, cocking his head to the side as Madame Mim walked over to the edge of her cauldron in the fire, dropping the piece of hair into the pit and watching the once murky waters glow with glittering surfaces of red and green. Her eyes were mesmerized by the sights. The shifting colors reflected in her eyes. "What others?"

"Oh? Haven't you heard? The Queen of all Evil herself had tried to command a whole bunch of you guys over in that blasted out world of Hollow Bastion! Then before her, some creature commanded the forces of the darkest parts of the soul's emotions. Then before them this, before them that. All these groups have tried to recruit me to join their cute little parties but I'm capable of handling business on my own, thank you very much! Horrid plan, really. Why feed a fire that you can't ever control. Me personally…" Madame Min waved off the idea, taking a ladle and stirring it around in the pot. Watching the colors shift and shimmer with every rotation of her wrists. A bloody red, a sickening green, a malevolent purple and the colors shifted with every spin. No matter how fast or slow the movement of her wrist was, the colors changed in that order every time. Madame Mim fluttered her eyes, glancing over at Kuro. "I prefer controlled burns. Fires of my own accord. In my own fireplaces. The lady Maleficent, may she rot with discord and strife, commanding these Heartless to ruin all those worlds? And you're surprised the Keyblade Wielder waltzes into your castle and blows out your candle? Puh-lease! I say stay in your lane! Ruin your own worlds. And let that be a lesson to Mordred and Morgan, obtuse children trying to play with the big girls."

"Who are Mordred and Morgan?" Kuro inquired, walking over to approach the witch and peering into the pot. She takes the liquid and pours it into a glass. She gives it a few swirls with the motion of her wrists. She peeks into the brew with a closed eye, as if it'll give her a more heightened sense of focus before handing the bottle over to Kuro. Giving her a pensive nod before shooting her eyes to the glass expectantly.

"Just two children who don't know half of the malarkey they think they know." She taps the bottom of the glass as she speaks, continuing to emphasize the importance of the drink. "Don't worry about them, dear."

He glanced into the cup, giving a rather nonchalant shrug before slugging the drink back with a throwback of his head. If it would kill him, hopefully it would be quick.

It was chalky, somehow lukewarm despite sitting over the fire for what looked like a good while, and rolled like molasses down his throat as he drank it. He stretched out his mouth with a wiggle of his tongue. Eyes squinted shut as he coughs and shakes his head.

"Vile thing." Kuro grumbled, rubbing his lips as he tried desperately to smack away the taste that was sitting in his mouth. Each pulse in his chest mimicking a heartbeat, making the colors in the room squeeze and shimmer with each pulse. As though he were making the colors shift with his thoughts.

He feels his vision reverberate colors around the room, the flames now rising alongside shimmering lights of orange, white and blues. The table had a shifting reverberation of browns, greens and reds. He looked at the palm of his hands, his normal tanned skin tone filtering between chalky grays, sun kissed brown and an ivory shade, His fingers filtered between his typical nails and the elongated points of jagged claws. His fingers bending and flexing to get a full look of the altering form. "What did you give me? I feel… I feel so weird."

"Let's call it a healthy boost, more or less." Madame Mim grinned with a wide toothy grin, her green eyes glancing over him with a nod of her head in approval. "Now, as a Heartless, you have access to a whole host of abilities that are rather… specific kinds of abilities and opportunities for someone like yourself."

"Such as?" Kuro inquired, feeling the reverberation ceasing and his breathing returning to normal. He shook out his cheeks and head, his chest's pulsing slowly getting dimmer and quieter. "What host of abilities can I use?"

"Well, for starters, as a Heartless, I have felt it in your system with my thorough examination and have enabled you to have the ability to react to the surroundings of your world to properly blend in. So going forward, as a Heartless can take the form of a fish to swim or a bird to fly to adapt in turn to hunt their game, I have flipped the switch to give you such a form change. So, have fun! You're given a form that'll work for your quarry. More or less. Anywho. As well as passing that ability onto your little minion as well with your psychic connection." Madame Mim said, with a hopeful nod of her head. She takes her hair and tugs on it, her eyes going cross eyed and her nose morphing to the shape of a snout. Her chin grew a few more hairs and tusks beginning to protrude out of her lips. Her face has taken the form of a warthog's own features. "You'll be the fiercest looking beastie! Guaranteed! Oh, marvelous! That will pair very well with that useful ability to invade worlds with those fancy doors you folks love to use."

"Wow, all that from a gross drink?" Kuro shrugged with a bewildered shrug. He glanced over at Dusk, whose yellow eyes flash and their hands rub against their irritated head. Having a reaction to the newly awakened abilities that Mim had given them. "That's so… helpful? That's… honestly unexpected."

The witch laughs heartily, her warthog face curled into a wide grin as she claps her hands together. Her body shifted from side to side in slow motion with a glow to her cheeks.

"Just knowing I was able to better assist a creature of the dark more effectively than Merlin ever could is reward enough. Oh, I can't wait to rub that old bag of bones' nose in the fact that I am a better teacher than him! Oh, darkness! What a day that would be!" Madame Mim said wistfully, her eyes aglow with the warmth of one upping her adversary. "Not to mention, there is a little extra bolster I've given your little friend to make them more… versatile. Oh, I can't wait for you to discover it! We just need you to-"
Then, almost on cue, the doors blew open with the force of a hurricane. Madame Mim was blown back, her knees giving way as she rolled onto her back and shoulders, the candles in the room being caught in the vortex and being blown out.

"Mim! Mim! Wha-Wha-What... Eh, what were you up to?" Merlin shouted, barging through her front door with a gust of wind blowing behind him, his vestment and beard bellowing into the current. Merlin marches inside the home, the timid Arthur following behind him. Kuro's eyes meet Arthur's, each of them sharing an awkward grin. Arthur held up a hand and gave a weak wave, Kuro returned it.

"Uh! Me-Me... Oh, Merlin! Well, you're just in time. I was about to show you the lack of mentorship you have compared to mine own teaching." Madame Mim bragged, her hand gesturing over to the young man beside her as she slowly moved up onto her feet. Dusting herself off as she waddled over to the much taller wizard. "A little jealous that I was a much better teacher than you, you liver spotted crotchety old dunderhead!"

"Listen here! I have been watching the workings of this world! I know you saw Morgan and Mordred just a short while ago! What did they want? Those mischievous maniacs!" Merlin asked with a stern tone, chin held high. Feeling her rotund stomach bump into his waist. Knocking him back and nearly out the door. Arthur moved besides Kuro, hands folded together as he let out a breath of exasperation. Kuro's eyebrows raised with a forced grin as they watch the two magicians verbally spar. "You better tell me this instant or-"

"Or what? Just what are you gonna do about it? Want to fight about it?" Madame Mim slaps his beard with such force it spun around his shoulders and wrapped around his head twice over. She rests her fists on her hips, shoulders pulled in and her eyes aglow with wicked intent. "Want to have a wizard's duel?"

"A wizard- Well! Alright then. As you wish, Madame." Merlin said with a nod and a clutching of his fists. Chin held high as he glared down at the woman. "If I win, you tell me exactly what those two are up to. And if I lose-"

"You'll be turned into a tadpole and eaten!" Madame Mim smacks her lips with a great anticipation of eating her adversary. Her eyes rolling around in her head as she lets her moist muscle swirl around her cracked and chapped lips. "Well, come on. Step outside."

"After you, Madame." Merlin let her lead the way to their battlefield, arms swinging at their sides. The two magical practitioners stopped mid strut, shoulders snapping to the younger students and their eyes wide and fueled by anger.

"Wart!" "Boy!" Madame Mim and Merlin shouted at once, Kuro and Arthur following their example and trailing behind them. Arthur's hands are held behind his back and Kuro's hands tucking into his jacket pockets as he shoots the occasional glance over at Arthur. Seeing his friend following behind Merlin, and Kuro behind Mim.

Arthur looked every but at Kuro, his fingertips being brushed over one another as he fidgeted with this growing anxious energy. Kuro kept his eyes on the blonde haired boy, feeling the tension between them growing with every step. Kuro cleared his voice to speak again.

"What is a wizard's duel anyway?" Kuro asked aloud with an ever growing grin. His short chuckles echoing in the wood as they continue to walk behind the soon to be dueling wizard and witch. Arthur tried to not give in and reciprocate the grin, but as soon as he heard the laughter, Arthur's stoic face began to crack. "It's gotta be a fight, right?"

"Maybe between wizards?" Arthur suggested with a shrug of his shoulder and a sheepish grin. His dry words made Kuro wholeheartedly laugh with full shoulder shrugs and a crinkle of the nose. Kuro's eyes glance over and meet Arthur's own gaze. Arthur's grin falters, as he lets out a short breath. "Hey, about earlier-"

"Sorry about your knee." Kuro interrupted with a pointed finger to the scraped knee. Arthur waves it off, arms swinging at his side. "I really wanted to help, but I couldn't-"

"Merlin told me it's because you're different." Arthur said with a bend of the neck as he stared up at Kuro. Whose eyes diverted their gaze and whose shoulders pulled up towards his ears. How different did Arthur know he was? Kuro couldn't help but ponder. Arthur reached out and clapped a hand along his broad shoulder. "Hey. Magic is… it's like water and you're fire. Fire goes with fire to make it bigger. And water goes with water the same way. Merlin deals with water, and you needed someone who could handle the fire."

"Yeah…" Kuro nodded with a half truth answer. He was like fire. Fire is supposed to destroy things. Same as darkness, in its own way. "Yeah I'm like fire. Thanks Arthur. For not thinking different of me, Arthur"

"Why would I?" Arthur knocked his shoulder into Kuro's with a pivot that nearly knocked him off of his feet, and Kuro responded with a jab to the same shoulder that rocked a short laugh out of Arthur. The two exchanged laughter, all the way there until they began to stomp onto the grounds where the duel would commence.

The land they had finally settled upon was half a mile outside of the nearest forestline, the barren fields stretched wide with small divots of earth filled with a mossy green foliage giving the gray grounds a small flash of color every so often. In the distance, the land eventually ends in a cliff side drop, which ends in a small inlet of water. The remains of what was a lake in this land.

Madame Mim found a rather smooth and even patch of land, turning to her opponent with a grin.

"Now, first of all, if you don't mind, I'll make the rules." Madame Mim suggested with a trail of fingers pressing against her chest and spreading out towards her shoulders. "I did initiate the duel, I should set the boundaries of our little combat."

"Rules indeed! Why, you only want rules so you can break 'em!" Merlin stated with a slamming of his heel. Shaking out his beard as he stares down at the witch. "You never could follow any rules!"

"Hush now, I won't break the rules. My hand to the heavens." Madame Mim does just that, raising a hand with a folded thumb up towards the skies above her. Which had begun to gather into looking gray clouds. Her wicked eyes seemingly found comfort in the gloomy skies above her. "Now, rule one, no minerals or vegetables. Only animals. Rule two, no make-believe things… like, uh, oh, pink dragons and stuff. Now, rule three, no disappearing."

"Rule four, no cheating." Merlin demanded with a bony finger prodding into her forehead, causing her to instinctually swat his hand away with a quick flick of her wrist and a befuddled noise from the sudden contact that sounded somewhere between a hog's squeal and a chicken's cluck. It was very off putting. She spun on her heel, Merlin doing the same.

"All right, all right. Now, pace off ten." Madame Mim tapped her back against Merlin's own back, and the two settled into their spots. Merlin nodded, rolling his wrists and cracking his knuckles and Mim rolled her neck around her shoulders and flexed her jaw with a few wide bites. And then, after a few tense moments, the two began their steps. Each step was made according to the call outs made by Mim. "One, two, three, four…"

Mim slowly began to disappear into a cloud of condensed starlight, totally evaporating from sight. Arthur's jaw dropped, and Kuro shook his head in disappointment.

"Couldn't even make it to five." Kuro grumbled with a crossing of his arms and his eyes shooting around the area to see if he could see her reappear somewhere in the distance.

"She's gone, Merlin! She disappeared!" Arthur shouted, hands cupping around his mouth as he did so. Merlin quickly turned around, arms spaced out and fingers outstretched.

"Couldn't even wait for the full ten, couldn't you Mim!" Merlin had shouted, waiting for the witch to reappear. A moment later, she slowly rematerialized back into form, with her purple hair now a tuff atop of her head and now looking over Merlin. Her face had elongated to a snout, with razor sharp teeth and her once stout body now this mass of scales with a wide tail. Mim had turned into an alligator, albeit with pink scales and a lighter underbelly. She went for a snap, her maw clapping as Merlin ducks out of the way and dips away. "Mim! You cheated! Mim!"

"Merlin," Madame Mim cooed, her eyes ravenous and fueled by this now insatiable appetite for Wizard. She opens her toothy mouth once more, strands of slobber dripping off of her fangs. "Come here now, let's have a nibble!"

Merlin snaps his fingers and poofs into a cloud of glimmering lights as she claps her mouth around where his neck would have been. Kuro grimaced as the image of a slower to the draw Merlin would have been caught in an alligator's bite. Arthur's hands wrung his own neck, letting out a short shudder. Mim glances around, having Merlin's cap held between her fangs and her eyes scanning for her adversary.

"Merlin! Where are you?" Mim mumbles, her mouth now agape and the hat slipping onto the dirt with a loud bang. A blue shelled tortoise peeks out the cap, the bumbling small reptile doing their best to shuffle away. Merlin hobbles in his confined form before quickly transforming into a small hare and hopping away from the lumbering gator. Madame Mim lets out a ferocious fit of laughter and morphs into a pink small raccoon. The two engage in a chase, the blurs of blue and pink dipping and dodging through the brush and scurrying along the dirt.

Merlin scurries into a hollowed out log, the pink racoon chasing after him. There is shuffling and lumbering inside, the sound of claws meeting wood and chuckles from within. Madame Mim then lets out a scoff, humming an annoyed tone from inside.

"Merlin! You're cheating! You disappeared!" Madame Mim shouted, her voice crackling from the volume she raised her voice to. Kuro turned to Arthur, then back to the log. A small blue caterpillar inches along the top of the log, trying to put some distance between them and the witch. Merlin lets out a short sigh of relief, his breath sharp.

"Merlin! Are you hiding?" Madame Mim teased, as she lets loose a huge cackle as a plume of purple smoke seeps out of the breaks and holes in the hollow log's surfaces. As the smoke settles along the log, the wood bursts as though it were an explosion. The small caterpillar being flung into the air. With a strong pointed horn, coarse and roughed up skin with a wide powerful body. The pink rhino rampages out from the log, flailing their horn in an attempt to squish the wizard.

The rhino charges ahead, their sharp turns of the chin trying to stab whatever was in front of her. The pink rhino goes berserk. Kuro watches as the rhino charges ahead, ignoring the closer she had gotten to the edge of the nearby cliff side. The rhino notices before it's too late, crashing into a nearby dead tree. The trunk bends under the weight of the massive beast, lingering over the edge of the drop. Her eyes going wide, her hooves struggling to find footing to reverse from her spot.

Merlin reappears in the area, his once small caterpillar body growing a huge set of horns and coarse fur, turning into the form of a wiry goat. Merlin bleats with a fury, his hooves digging into the dirt to prepare himself before charging ahead. His horns ducking down to head towards the rhino.

"Mim! Ready or not, here I come!" Merlin shouted, slamming his horns into Mim's backside and knocking her into the ravine. The large beast splashes into the waters. The resulting drop displacing a massive wave of still murky waters wi to a tsunami. The goat shuffles back with a victorious bleating noise, trotting in his spot with a wave of his horns from side to side with a wide grin on his face. "I don't want to toot my horn, but I believe I can call victory for me-"

Madame Mim's laughter echoes from beneath the murky waters. The sound of her laughter making chills run up the backs of Kuro, Arthur and the goat Merlin.

Out of the depths, a crooked claw breaks the surface of the dark and grips a nearby boulder. Kuro's and Arthur's eyes grew to a wide stare as this huge purple dragon emerged. Her green eyes glowing in a fiery way. Her gnarled maw pulled into a crooked smile as she rose over the edge of the cliff. Her nostrils flared and fuming with smoke and the occasional huff of flames bellowing out.

Merlin shuffled back over his hooves, his lips blubbering in fear as he moved away from the cliff side. His feet tripping over the brush behind him and making him fall onto his side.

"Mim! Mim! Now, now! No-No dragons, remember?" Merlin shouted in a frenzied tone, his body shuddering under the new threat of this massive dragon.

"Did I say no purple dragons? Did I?" Madame Mim asked with a growl. With a wicked grin, she pulls in a hard breath and blows out a torrent of fire. Merlin scurried through the terrain, hopping over gopher holes and charging across the ground.

The rolling wave of fire leaves a smoke cloud behind. Kuro quickly turns towards Dusk and Arthur, tossing both of them over his shoulders and running away from the flames. Kuro's eyes focused solely on avoiding every hole and jumping over every obstacle. He bolts across the dirt and the patches of grass, carrying his two friends to safety.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Kuro shouts, feeling the flames licking at his heels as he feels the ground beneath him crumble and he could feel the tremors of claw strikes made by Madame Mim. Kuro eventually feels the heat dissipate behind him, and after a dozen or so more steps carrying them away, Kuro slows to a stop. Kuro glances over his shoulder, the dense cloud of smoke and dust hiding the battlefield behind him. As the dust settles, the silhouette of the dragon being seen in the distance.

"I win! I win!" Madame Mim smiled victoriously, before pulling her claw back and clapping her paws together in time with her cackles. Her eyes squinted shut as she splashes her tail along in the water. And when she opens her eyes, she sees not a squished Merlin but a craters of dirt and mud and claw marks dug deep into the earth. No wizards to be seen.

"He's gone!" Arthur had shouted, hands pressing to his cheeks in utter surprise. Kuro slowly lowers the boy down, followed shortly by Dusk.

"Disappeared… he's gone." Kuro said in a bemused tone, eyes glancing around to see if he was going to pull the same trick Mim had started their duel with and come from her flank with an even more devious monster than a fire breathing dragon.

"Merlin! You coward! Disappearing because you are scared?" Madame Mim roared, her claws scraping across the dirt and leaving huge gouges in the landscape as she dug into the ground. "Merlin!"

"Madam, I have not disappeared. I am very tiny. I'm a germ." Merlin's voice carried through the area, "A rare disease. I'm called "malagolintomontorosis". And you caught me, Mim!"

"What?" Madame Mim's voice cried out with unheard of horror. Her tone of voice sounding truly terriers of what she just heard. Her claws skimming across her underbelly scales as she looks over her body with a fearful look in her eye.

"First, you break out into spots. Followed by hot and cold flashes." Almost on cue, Madame Mim's body turned a sickly green with purple covered spots spreading across the form. Her tongue swelling in her mouth and unfurling out of her mouth. "Then violent sneezing."

Madame Mim collapses to the ground with an unsteady and rattling breath, her eyes closed with a sudden onset of lethargicness. Madame Mim hums a wheezing groan, attempting to cough but finding her throat closing.

"I quit. I quit." She grumbled, her paw slapping the dirt with heavy slams. "I give up. I give up!"

"Oh, it's not too serious, madam. Ah, you should recover… in a few weeks and be as good, uh… Ah, heh-heh... l-I mean as bad as ever." Merlin chuckled as he fixed the corner of Madame Mim's now fourth layered blanket. Merlin grabbed a hold of her cleaning broom, taking the rounded end and jabbing it up towards the ceiling. Breaking up the thatch covering to create a hole for sunlight to bleed through. "But, ah, I would suggest plenty of rest… and lots and lots of sunshine!"

"I hate sunshine!" Madame Mim turns away from the pointed sunshine on her face by tucking her head underneath her purple locks. The feeling of warm sun on her face is as miserable as hot coals dropped under her skin. "I hate horrible, wholesome sunshine! I hate it, I hate it! I hate, hate, hate, hate-"

"Now, Mim." Merlin crossed his arms as he took his seat at the foot of her bed. His eyes resting on the witch with a softening gaze. This sickly witch that caused so many issues for him in the past. "Would you be so kind as to hold up the end of your deal?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Madame Mim shrugged, her yellow and green spotted face getting rosy red as she attempted to laugh only to have it roll out into a nauseating cough instead. She hucked a lob of spit against the floorboards, followed by a swishing of her cheeks. "I don't seem to recall any such deal."

"Mim." Merlin muttered lowly, his right hand reaching out to give her foot beneath her fourth layer of quilt a squeeze. His eyes shut gently as he did so. A desperate plea for her to show a shred of humanity and uphold her end of the deal. He let out a short sigh, eyes slowly opening back up. "Come now, Mim. You had a recent meeting with the siblings Mordred and Morgan. And now, they are gone. I want to know what you had discussed and what they wanted."

"Oh…" She rolled her eyes, huffing and straining her neck against her own words as she struggled to bite back her words. She took her fists and slammed it against the sides of her head. Rattling her brain in her skull with thundering blows. The knocking sounds echoing in the small hut. "Mordred and Morgan are planning on usurping Maleficent's little pity party by hosting their own group to command the Heartless. There. Are you happy now, you old liver spot?"

"What?" Merlin's face went slack, his breath held in his chest as he stared at Mim. His hand on her foot squeezing ever so tighter, enough to get a grin out of the now sickly witch. His eyes staring off into the wall, the idea of those two trying to control the Heartless… it could be disastrous. "They are attempting to do, what?"

"They are in league with the Horned King, and with no Keyblade wielder stomping around to stop this new cabal, they are sure to win this time. Unlike those fools a decade or so with their stupid master, or even this new fool now with the King's lackeys. It's always the same. A different Key, always the same lock. Darkness always wins in the end, ain't it grand?" Madame Mim snickered in her spot, her fists clutching the end of her layered blanket and rolling out a harsh laugh. One that made Merlin cringe on every high note. "Oh, to be on the receiving end of the worlds' new enemies, it will be horrendous."

Merlin gets up, gives her a swift nod and leaves her in her hutt. Letting her laugh alone in her bed, every so often her chortle is punctuated by a fit of cough. Merlin shuts the door behind him, giving the door a few taps to ensure it's locked. Merlin turns around, seeing Kuro and Arthur standing beside the door frame. Arthur's hand cupped his elbow and gave it a few nervous rubs while Kuro let his hands interlock and rest along the back of his neck. Elbows bent up towards star skies.

"She'll survive. Maybe she will have a lingering cough but overall, she'll be ok." Merlin shrugged with a loose roll of his shoulders, walking away from the witch's hut. Kuro and Arthur follow behind the wizard as he leads them back towards the castle. Arthur rushes up to his mentor's side, hands smoothing out his tunic as he gives Merlin a brilliant smile. Absolutely astonished by the level of skill demonstrated by the wizard.

"You were really great, Merlin, but-but you could've been killed." Arthur said with a mystified smile. Merlin had faced a literal fire breathing dragon and came out with a victory. Merlin was a hero. Merlin returned the grin Arthur gave him, giving the boy a wink and a short laugh in response.

"It was worth it, lad, if only you learned something from it." Merlin said, before looking at Arthur expectantly. His eyebrows raised as he waited for the boy to explain what he learned. Arthur snapped his fingers, nodding his head.

"Knowledge and wisdom is the real power." Arthur answered with a sincere power behind his words. Acknowledging that Merlin had won the duel of knowledge and wisdom, rather than brute force and raw power. Outsmarting the old witch.

"Right you are, Wart, so stick to your schooling, boy. It'll do you more good than any swing of the sword ever could" Merlin said, with a wink and short laugh. He turned towards Kuro, giving him a respectful bow before taking a few short steps. Waving his hands in the area around him as he wrings out his wrists and straightens out his robes. "Now, if you boys will excuse me. Dark work is afoot, and I need to consult a rather… influential individual who can help me to address the powers at play here. So I must be off immediately. Arthur, best of luck to you, lad. Kuro? I hope you found what you are looking for."

"Thank you, Merlin." Kuro nodded, giving the wizard a short bow in respect. "I appreciate all your help."

"Will I see you again, Merlin?" Arthur asked, his lips pulled into a frown before the old wizard reached out and rested a hand on the man's shoulders. Giving him a few claps of acknowledgement and a joyful head nod. "What if I need you and you aren't here?"

"Wart, listen to me. Before you need me, you will see me again. That I promise you." Merlin spoke sincerely and with his whole heart, before taking a few steps back and shaking out his wrists and ankles. His hands smoothing out his beard and straightening his hat to a point. "Arthur, Kuro? It's been an honor and a service. Till we meet again!"

With those being the wizards' final words, Merlin folds his arms together, and begins to charge up his power. And then, much like a rocket blasting off into orbit, the wizard is shot up into the heavens with such force and a high speed. A trail of white starlight and smoke follows him as he disappears amongst the clouds and the blue skies above. As he breaks the atmosphere, he disappears in a twinkle in the sky. Much like the stars that shone the night they returned to the night's beautiful skies, the one night in Traverse Town when everyone returned home.

The area is left in a dense cloud of smoke, Kuro and Arthur coughing up their lungs as they quickly remove themselves from the immediate area to save their breaths.

"And that's the way to leave. Trying to suffocate us. So dramatic." Kuro complained with a laugh, fist pounding against his chest as he finally caught his breath. Waving away the excess smoke away from his face. Kuro glances over at Arthur who is similarly waving away the smoke and coughing. Kuro took a moment to recognize and remember the blonde hair he had, the sharp chin and willowy frame. Because it was time to say goodbye.

Kuro could only sigh with a sense of remorse, a hand reaching over to rest on the buckle of his messenger bag.

With the ability to conjure Dark Corridors now in his combat repertoire, it was time for him to leave this world. Which meant he would have to leave Arthur. Whose company was one that he began to really enjoy over the last few days. Kuro fumbled with the strap, just as Arthur approached him with a wide grin.

"Kuro! I wanted to tell you, I made squire! Kay was knighted this afternoon while we were playing with the squirrels. I leave for London tomorrow for the tourney!" Arthur's voice rose to a triumphant tone, his eyes wide and shining with enthusiasm and joy. "I get to be a squire! Finally! I'm so excited for you to come with me and see me at work! It's going to be fun!"

"That's awesome… Arthur…" Kuro's eyes darted to his messenger bag, hand firmly held onto his strap before his fingers could begin opening the bag. Kuro, with a nod, slowly loosened his tension and let his hand fall to his side. Barret was counting on him, and DiZ had more to teach him. But, Arthur… "It's just…"

What was one more day? Especially if it was a day spent with his friend. On what could be the most important day of his life? Kuro gave Arthur a welcoming smile, reaching over and giving him a squeeze of the shoulder with the same hand. Kuro nodded, the two of them now walking out onto the main road.

"When are we leaving in the morning?" Kuro asked with a warm grin, as the dark skies gathered and the pair returned to the fortress. Friends meet the dark road as evening fast approaches with a warm energy between them. "I want to make sure I get some good rest."