Taking Back the Crown

by JCMorrigan

Mozenrath. Archibald Snatcher. Roman Torchwick. Mad Madam Mim. Yzma. The Huntsman. Wuya. Ayam Aghoul. Their mission: take over the multiverse, or look fabulous trying. Rated M for swearing, steamy implications and VERY bloody battles. Contains slash and het shipping.

43. No Time to Waste

42. No Time to Waste

Aghoul had tried everything on the blue heart, from magic to pounding it against the table of the small room in the inn that the eleven had crowded into with the intent to use it as a headquarters to make their next decision. At last, he admitted that he had no idea what to do with it, and the Archmage was right: it was of no use to the WHAM ARMY.

"Then that's a bust," Wuya remarked. "So much for old magic. Now, you've had your turn. There's only one person left to hold the compass."

"You better actually steal that cube," Aghoul cautioned as he forked the compass over. "Or else we're going to have to start all over. And I don't think anybody wants Roman in the lead of the team again."

"Will you people give me a break?" Roman sighed.

"Or," Ragdoll suggested, "you could let ME – "

"NO," everyone else in the room emphasized.

Wuya clutched the compass, letting out a low laugh. Her fingers curled around it, sending it into a small pocket carrying dimension in a puff of violet smoke. "First things first," she decreed, "let's patch up the aesthetic damage." She waved a hand toward Roman, whose coat was suddenly completely free of the wounds it had been dealt by the Archmage's rain of embers and electricity.

"Sweet!" Roman remarked as he twisted about to look around himself at the freshness of the fabric.

Wuya turned to look at Snatcher, who pulled his coat about himself protectively. "I'd rather you didn't," he grunted. "I've kept this coat up to standard with nothing but a needle, thread, and my own fingers for years. I'm not about to let it get all dolled up by magic now."

"Suit yourself," Wuya said with a shrug. "Does anyone else have any complaints?"

Most uttered responses in the negative. Mozenrath stared straight ahead, silent.

"I will say Aghoul's strategy wasn't COMPLETELY wrong," Wuya said as she went to work touching up the others' ensembles. "We could definitely use stronger magic on our side. Something that really packs a punch! But instead of chasing dead trails, we need a sure thing. Something we know will work. And that's where Rémington and Grany come in. After the Eliacube, what is the thing on this world we can most easily use for our evil scheme? The most powerful weapon you know!"

"Well, the Shushus come to mind," Rémington mused.

"You never explained that," Yzma told him. "What even IS a Shushu?"

"A Shushu," Rémington clarified, "is a demon that lives inside an ordinary object." He drew a pistol and twirled it. "Like this gun."

"Show-off," the gun droned. "You're going to make me dizzy if you keep that up."

"Shushus make weapons more powerful," Rémington went on. "If this were an ordinary gun, it wouldn't be half as accurate or pack half as much of a punch."

"But the fun part about Shushus," Grany cackled, "is when you merge with them to become an unstoppable monster."

"A tactic favored by my brother, not me," Rémington clarified. "It's very easy for a Shushu to take over your consciousness and become the one in control of your body. I've had to free Grany from the clutches of Shushus more times than I can count."

"It doesn't happen all that often," Grany argued, bristling. "It definitely happens less often than you trying to carry out a completely stupid idea that I have to bail you out of the fallout of."

"So you're saying our best shot is something we already have," Wuya sighed. "I don't see how your guns are going to make any difference if they haven't won us the fight already."

"Well, you haven't seen me transform yet," Grany argued.

"MORE IMPORTANTLY," Rémington went on, "these aren't even the most powerful Shushus there are. Oh, believe me, they're powerful. I wouldn't waste my time on something so-so. But there are worse out there. Especially Ombrage."

He paused, waiting for everyone to grasp the importance of the name he had just said by recognizing the moment of silence he gave it. At last, Yzma burst out, "What IS Ombrage?"

"She lives in a ring," Rémington explained, "and from what I hear, she has the power to transform people into mindless zombies."

"I'm out," Aghoul snorted.

"Not literal zombies," Rémington argued. "They aren't dead. Even though they do look that way, come to think of it."

"What did I SAY about undead slaves?" Aghoul asserted.

"He JUST said they only LOOK dead," Wuya emphasized. "Go on, Rémington."

"Actually, I think her trick is stealing shadows," Rémington mused.

"Stealing shadows!" Aghoul perked up. "Now, that I can get behind!"

"We actually ran into her, once," Grany explained. "A different Shushu was using her as a military force. Her army overran us and brought us into captivity."

"They say there is a risk that comes with using her," Rémington went on. "There are those who are said to have lost their senses of self entirely, giving in only to her desires and becoming who she said they were…claiming they loved her."

"Then we'll just give her to Ragdoll," Yzma stated. "He's expendable."

"You know, I'm beginning to feel unappreciated around here," Ragdoll broke in.

"Well, Mozenrath was right!" Yzma hissed. "You haven't done a SINGLE USEFUL THING outside of picking a few pockets!"

"Lay off Mister Twister, will you?" Roman snapped. "He's one of us now. He doesn't have to be USEFUL."

"I, for one, think he's an absolute riot to have around," Mim added.

Ragdoll beamed at her. "Why, tha – "

"But on the other hand, I always do love a good roasting session," Mim went on, "so don't stop pointing out how much weight he hasn't been pulling on my account!"

"Arguing will get us nowhere," the Huntsman broke in. "We simply have to choose someone to wield Ombrage who has the least risk of being charmed by her. I suggest either Wuya for her high level of magic or Rémington for his past experience with Shushus."

"I'll gladly volunteer for giving it the first try," Wuya said with a grin. "How bad can she possibly be when faced with the power of a Heylin Witch? I'll literally have her wrapped around my finger!"

"There's only one problem," Rémington stated. "After a rather…complicated incident, many of the world's most powerful Shushus were completely scattered. Ombrage was reportedly lost to the depths of the ocean. Maybe that's where she stayed. Or maybe she washed up on the shores of some island or another. No one knows. She could be literally anywhere in the world."

"Oh, that's just too bad," Wuya droned. "If only we had some sort of device that was enchanted to tell us where whatever we wanted was." She summoned the compass, waving it around. "Wherever are we supposed to find that kind of magic? I suppose we are completely without hope." She thrust the compass into Rémington's face; waggled it. "We will NEVER FIND THAT RING IN A MILLION YEARS."

"I get it, I get it," Rémington groaned.

"All we have to do," Wuya said in a more serious tone, drawing the compass close, "is command it to stop looking for the Eliacube and start looking for…"

The compass needle immediately swung around to point in a new direction.

"Perfect," Wuya said with a smirk. "Our plan is in place. Let's not waste any more time. Move out!"

Most everyone filed out of the room; Wuya was the second to last to leave. She noticed as she walked out that Mozenrath was not following; she turned back to see him still leaning against the wall, staring into thin air. "All right," she sighed, storming back into the room. "What is it?"

"The Archmage," Mozenrath said through gritted teeth, raising his hands to look into their palms. "He threw us aside like we were NOTHING." He clenched both fists. "Like swatting flies. We were supposed to be more powerful than that."

"You think I'm not mad about that?" Wuya retorted. "I spent years honing my powers as a Heylin Witch! I trained to become a conqueror of worlds! Even Hannibal Roy Bean had to answer to me! And now to be thrown around like some kind of rag doll – "

"Yes?" Ragdoll leaned back into the door frame.

"NOT YOU," Mozenrath and Wuya said at once.

Ragdoll shrugged. "Toodles." He took back off after the others.

"But we can't waste time moping!" Wuya insisted. "If we do that, then we'll never get the chance to pay him back later! And we WILL pay him back. We just need the right Sh – the right magic." She shook her head. "After all this time, I'm still having trouble not just saying we should go after Shen Gong Wu."

"Shen Gong What?"

"Magic from my world. Whoever was the master of the Shen Gong Wu decided whether good or evil reigned. I shouldn't need to tell you which side I was on."

"Well, maybe after this, we need to stop back on your world and arm ourselves with the most powerful Shen Gong Wu there are."

"We'll table the suggestion," Wuya decided. "For now, this Ombrage sounds like the closest thing we'll get to a Shen Gong Wu on this world. Once we have her in our grasp, Tyrian's little friends will have to bow to us! And so will that Archmage if we ever run into him again! Take it from me: when you're overpowered, the LAST thing you should do is give up."

"I take it this has happened to you before."

"Not in exactly the same context," Wuya explained. "More that…someone once stripped me of my powers in order to have control over me. I made sure he didn't come off the better for it. Now, are you going to sit here whining all day, or are you going to come help us find Ombrage and TAKE OUR CUBE?"

Mozenrath's brow furrowed. "I'm going to get that cube."

"Then HURRY IT UP!"

With a nod, Mozenrath breezed out of the room. Wuya finally followed, slamming the door behind her.

...

At last, Grimhilde thought to herself, she had done it. She held both hearts, Xander's and the girl's, high into the air, one in each hand as she stood on the edge of the cliff beneath darkened skies. The blood dribbled down her arms in a way that almost tickled as the wind whipped the fabric of her garments back violently.

The Dark Ace watched proudly from some distance back, knowing that it was because of him that the queen had succeeded. He was the one who had captured the girl. He had taken on and slain all those who Grimhilde had claimed he could not fight, and their bodies lay scattered in the ocean.

"It seems you have won," a voice said from behind him.

The Dark Ace turned to see an unusual sight: an alicorn of deep blue. Something about the view was familiar, but he couldn't place exactly what. "So we have," he confirmed. "What does it matter to you?"

"I wish to know whose hearts your queen has taken," the alicorn stated.

The ritual was completed; Grimhilde deftly crushed both hearts to dust before letting the remains be carried away by the wind.

"A foolish young man who fancied himself a hero," the Dark Ace boasted, "and the young chief's daughter of one of these islands."

"Did you know the girl's name?" the alicorn asked.

It never occurred to the Dark Ace that such information was valuable; he was, after all, dreaming, and truly only did have limited control over his own actions. "Moana," he said confidently. "It was Moana."

"Moana!" the alicorn gasped. She backed off, taking to the air.

Grimhilde was now turning to the Dark Ace, striding gracefully toward him. She opened her mouth to speak –

He woke up.

Xander, still bound, had drifted off to uncomfortable sleep against the cavern wall. Grimhilde stared into her mirror, a scowl darkening her face. So they hadn't won after all. Victory was still pending.

The Dark Ace pried himself up from the ground, approaching Grimhilde. "What do you see?" he asked, craning his neck to get a good look in the mirror.

Grimhilde immediately dismissed the image. Had she not been so concerned with the glass' visions being for her eyes alone, the Dark Ace might have spotted Luna, recalled her from the earlier battle, undone her entire advantage. But as it was, he only saw himself in the glass.

"It is none of your concern," Grimhilde stated coldly. "All you need to know is that the girl has not yet left the company of her protectors. We shall have to find a way to draw her out if this continues. Now that you are awake, keep watch. I wish to sleep."

"As you wish." The Dark Ace bowed.

Grimhilde retreated to the back of the cavern, and the Dark Ace took vigil at the entrance to the cavern, watching for a threat that would not come that night.

...

Luna's eyes snapped open. She lay on the planks of the great boat that carried her and her companions beneath a vast sky studded with brilliantly gleaming stars. Most of the group was asleep, but Moana and Riku were awake, keeping the boat on course. She could hear them discussing the sky overhead as the boat gently lapped over the ever-shifting dark ocean.

"I think I'm finally getting used to the constellations here," Riku said with a smile. "We had a different view back home."

Moana had stopped questioning the strange aspects of Riku's descriptions of his homeland; he had most likely come from the other side of the world. "All right," she told him, "time for a quiz. Which way is Motonui?"

Riku pointed. "That way."

"And where's Te Fiti?"

He pointed again. "In that direction."

"Good!" Moana nodded. "Soon enough, you'll be able to sail these waters on your own."

"I have to admit," Riku laughed, "I was having trouble until I figured out where Maui's hook was." He motioned to the appropriate constellation. "All those stories you told me about Maui stayed in my head, and now, whenever I need to find something in the sky, I start with that hook."

"Not a bad place to start," Moana remarked.

Luna gently trotted behind them. "Excuse me," she said softly, "but I have discovered something that you will want to know."

Riku and Moana turned to face her. "What happened?" Riku asked.

"Every night since we set sail," Luna explained, "I have been searching the minds of those of this world, trying to find the ones we pursued in hopes that we could learn more about them in their dreams. Tonight, I stumbled upon the dreams of the warrior with the red sword. He was most likely near the woman who orchestrated the kidnapping, but I dared not enter her dreams, lest she remember me. He seemed…less observant. More impetuous. I thought perhaps I could learn where they were hiding, but his dream did not yield that information. I saw something far more ghastly, I am afraid."

"Going into dreams is just something Luna can do – " Riku began to explain.

"Hey, I'm not going to question anything about you at this point," Moana told him.

Riku briefly wondered if now was the time to mention his otherworldly origins. He decided against it.

"The warrior dreamed of the witch taking Moana's heart and using it in her spell," Luna stated. "It was a dream, so perhaps it is not accurate. But your name was definitely mentioned, Moana."

"My name?" Moana repeated. "Me? They want to take my HEART?"

"I am afraid so," Luna stated.

"We'd better tell the others," Riku decided.

Nick, Nora, Ren, and Aladdin were roused – not without some difficulty on the part of waking Nora, who muttered nonsense for a full five minutes and then demanded pancakes before remembering where she was. When all were awake, Luna explained the gravity of the situation.

"This isn't good," Nick stated.

"Or…is it?" Aladdin challenged.

"HOW IS THIS GOOD?" Nora yelled at him.

"Well, think about it," Aladdin told her. "We have someone they want. That means we just might have a way to find Xander if we play our cards right. If we could somehow get Moana to go alone with them, then follow her…" He stopped to look to Moana. "I'm just thinking out loud. I don't want to put you in any danger that you're not – "

"I'll do it," Moana said resolutely. "If you're sure it's me they want…I want to help you get your friend back."

"You realize," Ren told her, "you're volunteering to walk into the lair of a pair of villains who probably want to kill you based on people you barely know."

"We've been sailing around these islands looking for Xander for days," Moana reminded them. "We're friends now. And more importantly…just, come on. Luna knows what the ocean says, and she can enter dreams. Also, she is a flying horse. You think I don't know a goddess when I see one? I have MET more than one god, you know! Well, okay, one goddess and one demigod, but it still counts! And I'm not going to turn down a mission from a goddess." She turned back to Aladdin. "Tell me the rest of your plan."

"Well, we'd still need a way to follow you," Aladdin mused. "A way to track you without them noticing so we could sneak after you. It's too bad that sigil you used on the guy with the sword didn't tell us much, or we could just use that."

"The problem with the Recusant's Sigil," Luna clarified, "is that Riku made a very small mark that was not charged. If I were to draw the sigil in a larger way on Moana and charge it through nature, I would be able to locate her anywhere in the world, and perhaps even beyond that."

"Then let's do that!" Moana decided. "Make the Rec…that mark on me, and I'll go act as bait!"

"Only if you are sure," Luna cautioned.

"I'm sure," Moana promised.

"Then we shall begin," Luna stated. "Turn around."

Moana turned her back on Luna, and Luna touched the tip of her horn to the nape of Moana's neck; in a shimmer, a great Recusant's Sigil of black appeared on Moana's back, hidden beneath her clothing. "Now step back into the center of the boat," Luna ordered.

"Why?" Moana asked.

"We are going to charge this sigil two ways," Luna explained. "Because I cast it, the first method we are going to use is moonlight."

"Okay." Moana stepped into the moonlight, gathering her hair over her shoulder.

The fabric of her clothing was going to get in the way slightly, Luna realized, but she wasn't about to ask Moana to disrobe in front of everyone, and the dual charging would more than enough offset the disruption of the moonlight's ability to reach the sigil. Everyone stood in silence for a moment, watching as the light simply shone down upon Moana.

"That should be enough moonlight," Luna announced. "Now, because of your connection to the ocean, we will use its water for the second charge. If you would kindly enter the water."

Moana obliged, sliding off the boat and into the sea, where she floated on her back until Luna said the charging had completed. As Moana clambered back onto the boat, Luna closed her eyes, sensing the sigil. It stood out clearly in her mind, vibrant and bright. She would be able to see it from great distances.

"You are ready," Luna declared.

"So when do we do this?" Moana asked.

"Once we find a suitable island," Luna told her, "and we may have to wait until sunrise. At least one of our enemies still sleeps."

...

There hadn't been an overly large turnout for the audition held at the Euripedes Auditorium. The theater was a grand but rickety old building, peeling paint and creaking floorboards hinting at its complex history. Perhaps five people had shown up for the specific role being presented that day, and three had already gone forth. That left two in the lobby, sitting on opposite ends of the room, finding they had nowhere to stare but at each other and nothing to do but make conversation. Conversing with strangers, of course, is a high-risk action. If it goes well, one may find oneself with a new friend. If not, one may find oneself kidnapped and locked inside an abandoned tuna canning facility.

One thought the other was a little old for the role, but wasn't about to say that, as it would have been incredibly rude. After all, the other had aged gracefully, her hair still raven-dark, probably as the result of dye. "Have you been in much theater?" they asked her.

She looked back at them, nodding her head. "A few shows," she confirmed. "And you?"

"I'm mostly in…" They struggled to find a way to describe it. "Independent productions. This is the first chance I've had in months to audition for an actual production."

"Well…" She considered telling them "Good luck" on purpose, hoping they were superstitious enough to be affected by the lingering stigma. She thought better of it. "Break a leg." She offered them an inviting smile. "What's your name?"
"Landry O. Eliason." That was a lie. It was actually "Ainsley Orlando." "What's yours?"

"Elizabeth Ruse." That was a lie. It was actually "Ellington Feint."

The director, one W. Oscar, pushed open the crooked door to the lobby to call out, "Eliason?"

It took a moment.

"Landry O. Eliason," Oscar repeated.

"That's you," Ellington stated, her suspicion prickling.

"Right," Ainsley said suddenly. "It is." They stood, following Oscar to the auditorium itself.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Ellington asked.

"No," Ainsley told her. "Go ahead."

Ellington strode after Ainsley, taking a seat in the middle row of the auditorium, where she knew she would be easily missed. In her head, she was already doing the math: how long would she have while "Landry" rattled off their audition? She shifted to the edge of her seat, ready to creep away as soon as her rival for the role began to speak. She didn't really want the part, anyway. If she got it, so much the better, but she was here under false pretenses, an expression which here means "not to actually audition for a play."

"All right, Landry," Oscar encouraged as Ainsley positioned themselves in the center of the stage, beneath a glowing spotlight, taking a relaxed stance. "Whenever you're ready."

Completely on cue, Xerxes appeared in the midst of the auditorium, floating above the stage some distance away from Ainsley. Perplexed as to his new location, he veered around to the front of the stage to get a better look at the auditioner.

Not knowing, of course, that Ainsley was terrified of anything that even passingly resembled a snake.

They screamed, fleeing into the wings. There, they came across a chair used as a prop in the theater's most recent show. Driven entirely by panic and phobia, Ainsley picked up the chair and hurled it out at Xerxes, yelping all the while. Xerxes didn't see the chair coming; it bowled him completely offstage.

Ellington was already in the midst of making her escape. She had no clue what manner of creature had just appeared onstage (though it did resemble a creature her family had a history with, but that particular creature lacked the power of flight). The extra chaos, however, offered her some cover. She could run, wait for the incident to be over, and have some extra time while Ainsley made up for lost ground by redoing their botched audition. Then she could come back, act like she'd never been gone, and carry out her own audition. She slipped discreetly into the hallway.

When the chair smacked Xerxes, it dislodged the star shard from his mouth. Xerxes and the chair bowled right into the front row of seats while the star shard was sent sailing through the air, coming to rest in a ventilation shaft that was missing its grate near the floor. The shard teetered for a moment before rolling down the shaft to unknown parts of the theater below.

"NO!" Xerxes cried. He was desperate to regain the shard, but first and foremost, revenge was on his mind. If Ainsley was scared of him, then by the gods, Xerxes would give Ainsley a good scare. He bared his teeth, laughing as he sped onstage and into the wings.

Ainsley's screams took on an even higher pitch; in frenetic desperation, they made for a backstage door, bowling out into the hallway, tripping over their own feet in the process –

And nearly knocking down Ellington Feint, who was making her way down the hall. She halted in her tracks, not having expected someone to just come falling out of a door at her. Ainsley, lying on the ragged carpet, looked up, meeting Ellington's ankles with their eyes and seeing something that filled them with dread.

The top of one of Ellington's black socks was sagging. Only the very upper edge of the tattoo on her ankle was visible, but Ainsley was well-acquainted enough with that shape to know what it was. And just when they thought they had a well-earned rest from everything to do with that sigil.

There wasn't time to dwell on it. Ainsley dashed off a quick "Sorry" before scrambling to their feet to slam the door behind them; Xerxes plowed into the wood at full speed, whacking his head hard. Frustrated, Xerxes began to chew on the door handle from the other side in an attempt to pry the door open; Ainsley held it shut fast.

Ellington resumed her scurry down the hall; Ainsley called out to her, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom!" she yelled back, picking up the pace.

Ainsley knew better. They truly wanted to just ignore this: to go back onstage and focus on the audition. The entire point of using a false name was so that people didn't trace them back to the nefarious Count Olaf, who was at that time occupied at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill and leaving Ainsley relievingly unsupervised. For once, Ainsley could have actually furthered their career as an actor, a real actor, and not been tethered by a scheme that contained far more murder than they were comfortable with! But they also knew that if Olaf ever found out they had let someone with the mark of V.F.D. scuttle off to a suspicious location and not done anything to stop her, they would be in a world of trouble. Olaf would find some new and terrible way to chastise them. And somehow, Olaf would indeed find out.

Xerxes gave up on the door, opting instead to go after his missing shard. He tore out from backstage, fleeing into the vent down which he'd seen his treasure go.

When Oscar was quite sure the creature was gone, he rose from his seat, striding quickly backstage. Figuring Ainsley had gone through the back door to hide, he gave the handle a turn. Meeting resistance, he knew Ainsley was holding it shut to keep the beast at bay. "Landry," Oscar stated, "that thing is gone."

Letting out a breath of relief, Ainsley opened the door to face Oscar.

"I assume you want to finish your audition," Oscar said in a calm tone.

That's what I want to do, Ainsley thought, but that's not what I'm about to do.

"I…need to use the bathroom first," they said hurriedly before turning to hurry down the hall they'd seen Ellington disappear down.

"I'll wait!" Oscar called after them.

...

During Xayide, Neo, Ravess, and Vexen's journey through the tunnels of the Balmera, it became apparent that Vexen was not averse to long conversation when among people he respected, so long as the topic at hand was his favorite: himself. Neo took no umbrage with this, as she preferred to listen rather than speak anyway. Xayide took no umbrage; Vexen had no interest in asking her to do magical things for him, and his tirade about his many accomplishments was a much-needed break. As for Ravess, she found she actually enjoyed hearing about Vexen's skills in science.

"You mean to tell me you actually created a person?" she reiterated. "From nothing?"

"Not necessarily from nothing," Vexen recapitulated. "While I did create the replica Riku's body from tissue I cloned from my own genetics, I had to make his mind out of memories of Riku gathered from the fool Sora. Creating a physical body is child's play. Creating the mind inside is considerably more difficult. The Riku replica ended up far more unstable than I had originally planned, and sought to establish an identity for himself as the real Riku. Should I ever attempt to replicate again – which, I can assure you, I wish to do, as I still have yet to perfect the art – I shall have to find a source of thought, a 'spark' of life if you will, that does not come with the baggage of wishing to be the person whose memories were robbed. I should like to produce a creation that is, in fact, wholly original. The method still needs to be divined, but I will figure it out."

"You would actually be able to create life itself!" Ravess realized. "You realize that is something they say is only accomplished by gods."

"I will gladly take my place alongside them," Vexen stated.

"Perhaps you can create a less aggravating brother for me," Ravess sighed.

"I will definitely take it into consideration," Vexen replied. "Though I had wondered of the nature of your relationship. Do you really harbor true hatred for him? I would not blame you if you did. After all, I do. And yet the two of you traveled as a matching set upon your reunion in the wastelands."

Neo and Xayide exchanged surprised glances. After quite a while of talking about replicas and other experiments, this was the first time Vexen had asked a question of anyone else, and they weren't sure he had realized he'd done it.

"It is complicated," Ravess admitted. "There are days I wish I'd just left him to his fate. And yet there are days when he does impress me, even if only slightly. I have always had to be caretaker for both of us. He's far too stupid to survive on his own, even if you put him in a luxurious mansion filled with food and water, let alone in the wastelands. It…simply doesn't feel right to be without him. And yet I can hardly ever seem to find his company enjoyable. I'm not sure if this is sibling love or some sort of irrational attachment that has come from being in his presence too long."

"I wouldn't know," Vexen replied. "After all, I could not stand to be a caretaker any longer than I had to. Have you any idea what it's like, as a grown adult, to have to watch over a small child day in and day out, when that child does not, in fact, belong to you, but to your superior?"

"You think watching over Snipe now isn't exactly like watching a small child?" Ravess countered. "Besides, this is Ienzo you're referring to." She thought back on how he'd described the child only a short time earlier in the conversation. "He was quiet. Mature. He stayed out of trouble."

"Stayed out of trouble! I continually had to remind him NOT to wander off! And yet what did he do the minute my back was turned? I should have let the Unversed devour him! Then I wouldn't have had to put him on a metaphorical chain! I never asked for a child!"

"And I never asked for a brother!"

"If I may interrupt," Xayide said, "I believe that is what we are looking for." She gestured ahead.

The quartet had come upon an immense, glassy crystal half-submerged in what qualified for earth within the Balmera. "So it is," Vexen remarked, bristling that he hadn't been first to notice it. "We shall have to take care in removing it. It should respond to magical energy far better than more primitive methods of digging. Xayide! Dislodge it at once!"

Xayide nodded, slightly grumpy that it was now back on her to perform a magical favor but aware that no one else present was fit for the task. She knelt on the ground, settling her hands to the side of the crystal.

Neo suddenly flinched, waving to get the others' attention and pointing back down the tunnel.

"Stop, Xayide," Vexen commanded. "We are not alone."

The four turned to look down the tunnel, hearing the chatter of a large group of people.

"Actually, since we were under Galra domination for generations, they would never let us write our stories down in print," Shay was explaining to Kairi, Allura, Hunk, Pidge, Chip, Madison, and Genie. "So we made an oral tradition out of storytelling instead. I've memorized all the tales I was ever told as a child. It might even be close to a hundred now."

"You memorized a HUNDRED stories?" Chip repeated in awe.

"That's amazing – " Kairi began to say.

Then the two groups spotted each other in full, all falling silent.

Kairi was the first to break it, her voice hushed by complete shock: "Even…?"

"Oh, goodness, no," Vexen groaned.

"EVEN!" Kairi broke into a run toward him. "I can't believe it! We finally found you! We've been looking for you everywhere, and – "

"NOT!" Vexen thrust out his hand, sending a wall of icy spikes tilted in Kairi's direction to erupt from the ground; she skidded to a surprised halt. "ANOTHER! WORD!"

"Hey!" Madison snapped. "We broke into one of Maleficent's bases trying to find you! We were worried, okay? Especially Kairi! You could be a little more respectful!"

Vexen put an index finger on each of his temples, rubbing them slowly. "I was hoping not to deal with such nuisances on this mission."

"Who is this?" Ravess asked, disgust evident in her voice.

"Ansem's other child," Vexen replied. "Kairi. Thankfully, she spent most of her time as Ansem's mother's charge instead of mine. That being said, I had to watch over her far too much for my own liking. A sickeningly saccharine brat."

"Hey, are you even listening to us?" Hunk called out across the ice field. "They've been LOOKING for you. Stop pretending we're not here."

"It's okay," Kairi said softly, breaking into a smile. "That's just how Even is. He's always been grumpy."

"That seems to corroborate with what we have seen so far," Xayide teased.

"Where have you been?" Kairi asked. "How did you escape Maleficent?"

Vexen clicked his tongue, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Kairi, you naïve child, whatever made you think I had been taken by Maleficent?"

"You were on reconnaissance," Kairi reminded him. "You were looking into what Maleficent was doing in Radiant Garden. Then you disappeared – "

"Of my own volition, child," Vexen snapped. "Had I been forced to play babysitter to the Restoration Committee one moment longer, I would certainly have snapped."

"I'm…not so sure you didn't," Chip pointed out. "Kairi, something's off here."

"You're not even going to put up a pretense?" Xayide asked.

"You and Mr. Snatcher may find use in such tactics," Vexen grunted, "but I see no reason to thrust myself into a situation where I even have to pretend to not be utterly repulsed by her and her kind."

"Even…" Kairi trembled, the reality of what she was seeing beginning to take shape. "I'm…" She steeled herself. "I'm going to ask you one more time! Where were you?"

"If there's one upside to you finding me, it's to see the look on your face when I tell you this," Vexen stated smugly. "I have found a much more rewarding employer than your Committee. You may know him by the name 'Mozenrath.'"

Kairi, Madison, Chip, and Genie all gasped at this revelation.

"You're working with HIM?" Genie cried.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Vexen confirmed. "And DO stop calling me by that outdated moniker. I am 'Vexen' again."

"Again?" Madison repeated.

"He used that name when he was part of Organization XIII," Kairi explained, taking a tentative step back. "When he had Sora and Riku captive in his twisted game."

"Speaking of," Vexen said casually, "those two as well as you have been thorns in Mozenrath's side for far too long. I'm sure he would be most grateful if I brought one of his foes to him to dispose of as he saw fit."

"NO!" Kairi screamed. "YOU DON'T MEAN THAT!"

In the next moment, she was sealed in a block of ice that kept her still and silent.

"Hmph," Vexen grunted. "She didn't even attempt to draw her weapon. Such sentimentality would have gotten her destroyed regardless of me."

However, Madison, Chip, Allura, Hunk, and Pidge had drawn their weapons. Genie smacked one fist into the palm of the opposite hand. Shay stared Vexen down.

"Let her go right now," Allura threatened, "and we won't make this hard on you."

"I have a better idea." Vexen called his shield to hand in a shimmer of snowflakes. Neo twirled her parasol in her hand. Ravess fitted an arrow to her bow, drawing back. Xayide rubbed her hands together, producing sparks. Vexen's smirk widened as he looked over Kairi's companions; "I'll bring in the matching set."

He was able to divide his concentration enough to form ice casements around Allura, Pidge, and Genie. The former two were able to cut through their solid, cold bindings with their bayards – a bright pink whip in Allura's hands and a short green blade in Pidge's. Genie simply turned the ice around him into snowflakes, which fell into a perfectly formed snowman. "Do you want to build a snowmaaaaaan?" he sang sweetly before letting loose a burst of magic that melted the ice spikes between his party and Vexen's.

Ravess loosed an arrow at Chip; Hunk skidded between the two, his own bayard – in the form of an overlarge gun – raised and aimed. He let off a quick round of ammunition at the crystalline arrow; it was caught midflight and destroyed. Chip returned fire with a silver arrow from his crossbow; Ravess shot it out of the air with her next arrow, both shafts tumbling to the ground upon collision.

Once the field was clear of ice, Neo went charging across one way; Madison, Allura, and Pidge sped to meet her from the other direction. At a flick of Xayide's wrist, scarlet chains burst up from the ground to snap at Allura, Madison, and Pidge's ankles; Genie quickly retaliated, transforming the chains into vines that ended in bright red flowers. Neo cartwheeled, her foot deftly spinning around Pidge's bayard and smacking the green paladin in the chest. Pidge toppled to the ground; Neo rose up, one foot on Pidge's chest, drawing her blade from her umbrella.

"NO!" Allura cried, cracking her whip at Neo. Neo leapt out of the way, dancing past each of Allura's strikes with the whip. Madison rushed in with her sword, swinging it to meet Neo's blade, but instead of parrying, Neo merely ducked under the blade, letting Madison stagger.

"You know what I think, lady?" Genie told Xayide. "I think you need a TIME OUT!" He snapped his fingers, and Xayide found herself surrounded by a great metal cage. Xayide thrust out her own hands to retaliate, only to find no response from her magic. Somehow, the Genie's prison was hampering her ability to cast. She seized the bars, willing as much power as she could into her hands. With difficulty, she was able to pour heat through her restrained aura and down through her arms, the bars turning red in her arms. Genie's jaw dropped to the floor as he watched Xayide bend the bars far enough apart to step through.

"I don't appreciate being caged," Xayide stated casually before she summoned a great column of flame to engulf Genie.

"YYEEOOOOWWW!" Genie, now bright red, sped out of the fire, flying circles around Shay. "HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!"

Madison gave up on Neo, quickly sidestepping and leaving her to Allura and Pidge, who were having little luck catching her. She held her sword high, charging Vexen. "KAIRI THOUGHT OF YOU LIKE FAMILY!" she cried as she swung the sword.

It bounced off the hard surface of Vexen's shield. "How touching," Vexen harrumphed.

"YOU BETRAYED HER!" Madison tried to jab the sword around the shield, but Vexen shifted slightly, blocking the blow. "YOU BETRAYED THE COMMITTEE!"

"Do you honestly still believe I care?" Vexen caused the ground beneath Madison's feet to solidify into ice; Madison slipped and fell, landing hard on her stomach, as her sword spun away. "I will say your friend lied. This hasn't been hard on us at all."

Ravess found herself locked into a stalemate. Firing upon Hunk and Chip was not working at all; they were able to strike down her arrows every time. However, she knew if she tried to switch targets, she would leave herself open to their fire. Gritting her teeth, she nocked her next arrow while stepping forward slowly, loosing it as she took a slighty quicker step, watching Hunk fire it down as she strode toward the pair of shooters, nocking, speeding, loosing, breaking into a run, leaping over where her arrow and Chip's collided, coming down hard enough to plant her foot into Hunk's face while letting the next arrow fly at Chip. There was a cry of pain as the crystalline tip lodged deep in Chip's shoulder.

Madison had enough time to scream "CHIP!" before she was enclosed in another chunk of ice.

Hunk was forced onto his back from the impact; Ravess repositioned both her feet upon his chest, aiming her next arrow at his head.

When Shay's fist connected with her stomach, the shot went wild and planted into the tunnel wall.

"YOU SHALL NOT HURT THEM!" Shay insisted, throwing her other fist at Ravess' face. With her free hand, she grabbed the bow and pulled. Ravess gripped tightly, but Shay's brawnier arm gave her the advantage, and the weapon slipped from Ravess' fingers completely. Shay snapped it over her knee.

"NO!" Ravess screamed. "You will PAY FOR THAT!" She threw a punch of her own at Shay's face – her feet now planted on Hunk's stomach. Hunk simply rolled over to throw her off balance and onto the ground.

"SHAY!" Chip tossed his crossbow to Shay as hard as he could with one arm injured. Shay caught it, fumbling briefly before pointing the weapon around at Ravess.

"You shall NOT harm them," Shay insisted once more.

Ravess scrambled backward on all fours. "No…this can't – "

A wall of ice rose between her and Shay. Ravess used this cover to retreat back behind Vexen. "Don't think this puts me in your debt," she snapped at him, her eyes locking onto his emerald green irises for just one crucial moment.

"I am not so foolish," Vexen replied.

Neo thrust her blade at Allura's face; Allura only just managed to evade, and several locks of her white hair were cut, tumbling to the ground. "Oh, that does it," the princess grumbled, swinging her bayard.

Pidge released her bayard's whip function as well, sending the short blade out like a grappling hook.

By chance, both of the bayards reached Neo at the same time. Neo escaped unscathed, but her blade was ensnared by the pink and green cords. She gasped as Allura and Pidge both pulled back at the same time; the blade was yanked away from her. Allura quickly darted forth, caught the blade by the hilt, and spun it to point at Neo.

Neo turned and barreled toward Vexen, who sighed and groaned, "All RIGHT."

This time, the ice went up around Allura and Pidge faster than they could comprehend it.

"ALLURA!" Hunk cried, trying to figure out where next to aim his gun; there was no single shot that would free his fellow paladins. "PIDGE!"

"BE QUIET!" Vexen yelled, freezing Hunk, Shay, and Chip in one blow.

All the while, Genie and Xayide had been trading blows. No matter what one could conjure, the other could meet it. Xayide forged a whip made of magic for each hand, lashing out; Genie transformed into a weed-whacker and cut through both. He was then choked by a host of vines that sprouted from the earth and threatened to tangle him; he took on his humanoid form once more and shrank to slip through. As each of his teammates became encased in ice, he became more and more nervous. He had to do something, he knew, and quickly so.

"Whew, it sure is a good thing you're using all this ice!" he yelled at Xayide. "If you'd been using fire, you would have roasted me by now!"

"So you don't like fire," Xayide replied with a smirk. "Then you can burn."

"XAYIDE, WAIT!" Vexen attempted to yell. "IT'S A TRAP – "

But Xayide was already loosing fireball after fireball at Genie, who flitted across the tunnel, hiding behind each of the blocks of ice that contained his friends in turn. As each fireball connected, it melted the icy prisons, freeing Kairi, Madison, Allura, Pidge, Chip, Hunk, and Shay.

"Now that we've got the band back together…" A ten-gallon hat appeared upon Genie's head, and a rope tied into a lasso materialized in his arms. "It's time to play VILLAIN ROUNDUP!" He twirled the lasso once, twice, thrice before slinging it at Vexen, Xayide, Neo, and Ravess. It pulled the four into close quarters, back to back.

"Your scroll is ringing," Ravess grunted to Vexen upon hearing a distinct high-pitched tone.

"I don't care!" Vexen barked.

Xayide struggled against the rope. "My…magic!" she grunted. "It's stifling my magic! I can barely use it!"

"Well, use what you have to get us out of here!" Ravess snapped.

"We're surrounded!" Vexen reminded them both. "You had better have a good exit strategy!"

Neo nudged hard against Vexen, nodding to let him know that she had it covered.

Kairi stormed forward to face Vexen. "I can't believe you," she said coldly, though her voice quavered. "I thought you changed. I thought you remembered what it was like to care about me! And what about IENZO?"

"Foolish girl," Vexen spat. "I never changed. And I never cared. Without a heart, I am better off. And that is what makes me stronger than you. Your purity of heart will make you soft in battle. You will NEVER become a true Keyblade master! You will die with open arms and tears in your eyes!"

Xayide was finally able to overpower the magic that Genie was using to keep the rope bound around the quartet. Neo activated her Semblance. All the heroes saw was the four villains suddenly evaporating into a gentle snowfall that rained from above as the rope tightened upon itself. Neo's blade and the remains of Ravess' bow were slid out of the hands of their captors.

"They're gone," Madison panted.

"We can't be too sure," Allura insisted. "Everyone, stay on your guard."

"Chip!" Shay knelt over the injured Yellow Ranger. "You are bleeding! We need to get you to the surface!"

"I'll be fine," Chip grunted.

Shay shook her head. "We need to go now. Can you stand? Can you walk?"

Chip proved that he could. "Okay. Let's go."

"Not to throw a monkey wrench into the plan," Genie interrupted, "but does that crystal look familiar to you?"

Madison realized it. "That's the shape we need for the hourglass!"

"Allura," Shay said, "I will guide Chip to the surface. Whoever wishes to accompany me may do so. You can give enough energy to the Balmera to exchange for the crystal." She began to guide Chip out of the tunnels; Pidge followed.

"Exchange energy?" Kairi asked softly. "How does that work?"

"The Balmera requires replenishment when its crystals are taken," Allura told Kairi. "I was able to give my energy as payment for years' worth of Galra mining, once. This should be far less strenuous."

"Can I try?" Kairi asked. "It's not fair to ask you to give energy for the crystal we need."

"If you're up to it," Allura told her, "then of course."

Kairi just gave a brief nod. Instinct led her to kneel before the crystal, placing her hands on the ground. She willed a small piece of herself to join the Balmera's aura of life, and as it did, the crystal unearthed itself.

"You're probably gonna need help carrying that," Hunk pointed out.

Kairi turned, giving him a weak smile. "Just a bit."

"Allow me!" Genie conjured up a wagon for the group to lay the crystal in; Hunk and Kairi took the front of the wagon, pulling it along as Allura led the way back out.

"Kairi," Hunk said, "I know this probably doesn't make things any better, but…I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kairi replied. "You don't have to be sorry about anything. It was…me who was stupid. For thinking he could change. I knew all about the horrible things he did when he wasn't with the Committee. I just…I just thought…"

"Hey, sometimes, people change," Hunk reassured her. "And sometimes, people aren't as bad as you think. You just had rotten luck with that guy."

"You're right," Kairi replied, thinking of Riku and Ienzo. "I just wasted so much time – "

"He wasted your time, Kairi. You didn't waste anything. Literally ANYBODY else would have been glad you came this far to make sure they were safe."

"I must agree," Allura said firmly. "I may not know all you've been through looking for him, but I could tell your concern was genuine."

"He's right, though," Kairi sighed. "I am too soft. I'll never be able to master my weapon. I'll let everyone down."

"Allura's nice," Hunk pointed out. "She's nice to pretty much everyone. And she can still kick total butt. She's almost…is it too much of a stretch to say the heart of Voltron?"

"You flatter me, Hunk," Allura said, "but really, you're the better example."

"Don't listen to anything Ev – Vexen said about you," Madison urged. "He's a traitor and a liar. And he's wrong about you. You being nice is going to make you a BETTER Keybearer, not a worse one."

"Now," Kairi realized. "I just have to figure out…how to tell the Committee." She blinked back tears. "I…don't think I'll be able to talk for a while. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Hunk reassured her. "We don't have to talk."

And while the group rolled the crystal along, they were silent.

...

Vexen, Ravess, Xayide, and Neo reconvened once they were sure they had reached enough of a distance away from their foes that they couldn't be found or followed.

"How absolutely dreadful," Ravess groaned, holding up the halves of her bow in dismay. "I can't imagine having to LIVE with that girl or any of her disgusting little friends."

"Believe me, the friends are new," Vexen muttered. "It seems as though the Keybearers are building their forces even more rapidly than we are building ours. This is worth a report to Mozenrath."

"I cannot believe they humiliated us that way!" Ravess ranted on. "That beast of a girl made me look like a complete fool! I can assure you, I do not normally have this problem! I am a competent fighter – "

"Say no more," Vexen interrupted, looking Ravess dead in the eye. "Given the circumstances, I would say you performed admirably."

Xayide hadn't known Vexen very long, but she could already tell that this was not part of his regular vocabulary. Neither had she missed that both times Vexen had acted uncharacteristically civil, it had been toward Ravess.

The scroll in Vexen's pocket kept on jingling. Neo put her hand up to her ear, giving Vexen a questioning look.

"All right, all right!" Vexen seethed, removing the scroll and holding it to his ear. "WHAT IS IT?" he barked.

"Spitfires reporting in," Irmaplotz answered.

"Irmaplotz, I don't have time for your ridiculous games!" Vexen barked. "Ravess, Xayide, Neo, and myself have just lost perhaps our only opportunity at obtaining the appropriate crystal to power the base!"

"Fine by us," Irmaplotz replied. "We found our own."

"Don't be ridiculous," Vexen snapped. "There's no way YOU THREE could have obtained an appropriate crystal when the actual competent half of this brigade failed to do so."

Firefly's voice cut in over the phone: "Then you might wanna look to your left."

Vexen's head swiveled; Neo, Xayide, and Ravess followed his gaze. Snipe, Irmaplotz, and Firefly strode down the side tunnel connected to Vexen's resting place, and the crystal Snipe carried clearly fit the requirements Vexen had asked.

Temporarily dumbstruck, Vexen hung up the scroll, slipping it into his pocket. "It seems you may be worth an infinitesimal amount after all," he relented as soon as he found his voice.

"All RIGHT!" Snipe bellowed. "We're INFINITESIMAL!"

"You just keep telling yourself that, brother," Ravess said with a smirk.

"Regardless of preconceived notions about each other," Xayide pointed out, "we must admit that these three succeeded where the four of us failed. Though I doubt they had any trouble with Keybearers."

"Oh, we had trouble, all right," Firefly related. "We ran into a crazy cat lady. And not the sexy kind that steals cat paraphernalia in a skin-tight black suit."

"She was some kind of sorceress, I guess," Irmaplotz added. "She thought she could scare us off with a bunch of fire elementals, but they were pushovers."

"An ally of the Keybearers who wish to play hero and vanquish us, perhaps?" Xayide theorized.

"She wasn't playing hero," Irmaplotz explained. "She was trying to scare us. She very specifically mentioned picking off Mozenrath's allies one by one to try and strike fear into him. It was pretty cliché."

"Then we have more than one enemy after us on this world alone," Vexen mused. "Very questionable. This shall all have to be taken into consideration with Mozenrath and his council. He may not be able to give a definitive course of action in his current amnesiac state, but I'm certain I can fill in the gaps." He took another look at the Spitfires. "I suppose this would explain why you returned for your armor, Garfield."

"About that," Firefly replied coldly. "Thanks for warning us about your little security system."

"I don't understand," Vexen replied.

"I think you do," Firefly insisted. "The way the entire base tried to snuff me out when I went back on my own. You better count yourself lucky I've dealt with weirder death traps back in Gotham."

"I do not count your safe return as luck," Vexen snorted. "However, what you have said concerns me. I set no such trap. The failing crystal at our home base may have caused fatal malfunctions. All the better we get our new crystal back to where it belongs."

"And then I can take a nap, right?" Irmaplotz asked.

Vexen cast a Corridor leading back to the Cyclonian warship. "Let us be off at once."

He strode confidently through, and his six cohorts followed.

...

The sky was thick with dark clouds above the nearest island that the boat of Moana and company docked at. It was clear this was a land unlike any that the questing group had encountered since setting out from Motonui: no plant life was visible save for the skeletonized trunks of leafless palm trees. The sand had been darkened in a way that reminded Riku, Nick, Nora, Ren, Luna, and especially Aladdin of the Black Sands in what was once Mozenrath's domicile.

"What happened here?" Nora wondered out loud as she looked about.

"The Darkness," Riku answered. "Its scent is strong here."

"We are close to Te Fiti," Moana explained. "When Maui stole her heart, the corruption of nature began with her and reached out to the islands closest to her. This was once a thriving paradise like my home. People probably LIVED here. But the Darkness overtook it, and now…" She trailed off.

"We don't know anybody lived here," Nick argued. "This might have just been an empty island."

"Guys?" Ren called over from a grove of dead palm trunks. "You're going to want to see this."

The group crowded around him to view the remains of a village, even bigger than Motonui. Planks that had once held up walls of homes cracked and fell apart, rotting in the sea air.

"It was a village," Moana breathed, horrified by the sight.

Riku rushed into the midst of the buildings, calling out, "Hello? IS ANYONE THERE?"

"No one is here," Moana said as she gently approached him from behind. "The Darkness robbed the fish from the oceans and poisoned the coconuts. If the people didn't sail away to find a new home, then they died of starvation."

Riku drank in the horror, hoping that the village's prior inhabitants had actually taken to the sea and found a more hospitable home.

"There's no way to know," Moana told him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"I just thought if there was anyone left," he said softly, "we should help them. But you're right. There's no one here."

"The person we need to help is Xander," Nick insisted. "We have to split up. Get Moana on her own."

"Luna," Riku asked, "can you still sense her?"

Luna nodded. "Wherever she goes, I will know."

"Good," Riku said definitively. "We'll round the perimeter of the island. Moana, you go that way – " He gestured. " – And we'll go the other way. It's a big island, so that should give Xander's kidnapper plenty of time. If she finds Moana, Luna will be able to sense it. If we meet up on the other side, we'll just have to try again on another island."

"Sounds good to me," Moana replied, smiling slightly.

"You're sure you're okay with this?" Riku asked her once more.

"I'll be fine," she promised. "Just don't forget to come after me."

She parted ways from the group, setting out along the shoreline while the others traced the other half of the perimeter.

The island was quite large, and Moana wandered its shores for thirty minutes, feeling a sense of dread borne from the absence of any sound but her own breath in her lungs and her feet against the sand.

Then, cutting through the heavy grayness of the air, a sudden raspy cry: "Help! Oh, help me!"

"I'M COMING!" Moana immediately cried, rushing inland, where she heard the call.

It was an old woman cloaked in black who staggered among the bare trunks of the palms, barely holding herself upright against them. "Please, help me!" she moaned plaintively.

"It's okay," Moana said once she came upon the woman. "I'm here. I can help."

"Oh, thank goodness," the woman sighed. "A girl. But you're not from around here, are you? I thought I was the only one."

Perhaps it really was a helpless victim who needed her assistance, Moana thought. Or perhaps this was the trap. Either way, this woman didn't need to now Moana wasn't alone. "I'm from another island," she stated. "I sometimes explore the seas by myself to…calm my nerves! Nothing like wayfinding to relax you, am I right?"

The old woman seemed to doubt her, looking into her eyes for an uncomfortably long time. "I've had to watch my village fall prey to the Darkness and die here," she said at last. "I am the only one. I tried to sail away myself, but every boat we have rotted away. It was the curse of Maui! Now I'm trapped here! And I'm running out of food." She withdrew an apple from the folds of her cloak. "All I have left is this sole apple."

The fruit appeared strange to Moana, and now she was convinced that this woman's claims were not legitimate. The theft of Te Fiti's heart was a thousand years ago, she thought; this village would have been dead for centuries. "I can take you to another island," Moana stated tentatively. "We can go back home to my village. There will be plenty of food for you there. You will be welcome."

"Oh, thank you, child," the woman sighed. "Thank you ever so much. Kindness like yours is very rare. It must be rewarded." She extended the hand holding the apple. "Here. Take it for yourself."

"Your only apple?" Moana replied. "That's all the food you have left! I can't take your LAST PIECE OF FOOD!"

"Oh, no, I insist," the woman urged. "There will be more food where you come from, will there not? I won't need this apple anymore."

"Oh, there'll be plenty of food, all right," Moana said with a nod. So this was the game, she realized. The woman wanted her to take a bite of the apple, which was likely poisoned. She didn't know how long she could feign the signs of death, but she would do what she could. "I think I'll take that apple after all. Thank you!"

Moana grasped the shining red fruit, taking it into her own hands. Her teeth broke the skin in one slow and careful bite. She held the flesh of the apple in her mouth, noticing her tongue begin to turn numb. So it was poison. She dropped the apple in the darkened sands, staggering, pretending to choke.

And the old woman began to laugh.

Moana placed both hands over her mouth, giving a few dramatic coughs as she transferred the apple's meat into her palms, getting rid of the offending flavor. Hopefully, she thought, holding it inside her mouth for as long as she did wouldn't undo her. She then let herself collapse right over onto the ground, the apple-meat hidden away in a clenched fist.

"FOOLISH GIRL!" Grimhilde crowed, levitating Moana by magic. "Soft hearts like you never realize how kindness will be their undoing! Now, sleep, princess. Make your last slumber a good one, since this time, there will be no kiss from a true love to wake you!" This was followed by a long, loud cackle.

Slumber, Moana thought. That was good. She could keep breathing, and Grimhilde would be none the wiser. If Riku and the others failed to come in time, she could drop the ruse, standing to defend herself. But what then, against a woman whose magic was powerful to lift Moana and now carry her across the island to where a hidden canoe lay waiting? She would try something, however ineffectual it was. And she would find the mysterious Xander and take him with her. After all, the woman was misinformed enough to call her a princess. She had to be taught a few things.

Grimhilde lay Moana down upon the planks of the canoe, with one of Moana's hands – the one clutching the chunks of apple – dangling into the water. The apple was discreetly let go.

Across the island, Luna flinched. "She is leaving the island."

...

Jasmine flinched, finding herself no longer on Oma Island but instead in an emerald-green valley with an uneven landscape; the sun shone high overhead, bathing the wooden houses below in bright light.

She spun, taking in the view. She had definitely been transported far away from Tyrian. How far, she couldn't quite ascertain yet. This made Qilby all the more dangerous of an adversary, she realized. She wasn't even sure she was still on the World of Twelve.

Knowing she had to figure out some answers, Jasmine jogged into the heart of the valley, looking out for someone she could ask about her predicament. Casting her gaze about, she took note of the fact that the valley seemed to be populated by anthropomorphic pandas. This neither confirmed nor denied that she was still on the same world she'd been not a moment ago.

She chose one of them at random: a panda – or, more technically, a Pandawa – who was occupied planting small bamboo shoots in a moderately sized field. "Excuse me," Jasmine said somewhat loudly.

"Hm?" The Pandawa stopped his work to look to her. "Ah hello, Miss! Can I help you?" He beamed.

"This is going to sound strange," Jasmine replied, "but I need to know where I am."

"Ah, yes!" the Pandawa stated. "You must be lost! Well, fear not, for you have come to absolutely the right place: the beautiful valley of Pandalucia! I am Pandiego de la Vega; who might you be?"

"My name is Jasmine," Jasmine responded.

"Jasmine!" Pandiego repeated. "A fitting name for you. It's pretty, just like you."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't have much time to spare," Jasmine insisted. "I need to know how close I am to the Sadida Kingdom." She prayed he'd heard of it.

"Not that far," Pandiego answered, "but not that close, either. Why? Is that where you are looking to go?"
"Yes," Jasmine said with a nod. "The Sadidas are about to be in danger, and I – "

"The Sadidas? In danger?" Pandiego repeated, his expression souring. "I happen to have one very good Sadida friend, and I should hope no harm comes to her. What seems to be the problem?"

"Had you heard any news about Qilby?" Jasmine began.

Pandiego's brow only tightened. "If this involves Qilby, then it is a grave matter indeed. Tell me everything."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time."

Pandiego nodded. "At least wait for me to gather a few friends. You can explain everything on the way."

"On the way?"

"I'm taking you to the Sadida Kingdom," Pandiego resolved, "and I'm bringing help to deal with Qilby when we get there."

...

Yugo barely had enough time to get his bearings before he ducked so the boufball wouldn't hit him in the head.

"TIME OUT!" the announcer of the game called. "We seem to have an uninvited guest on the field!"

Yugo recognized his surroundings as the Bonta boufbowl arena. Why Qilby would have transported him to the middle of an active game made little sense, but then again, he supposed, it was all about getting him as far away from Qilby as possible before the final plan was put into place.

"It seems to be Yugo!" the announcer realized. "The Eliatrope! Hero of the World of Twelve!"

The crowd went up in a cheer.

"Please, please!" Yugo thrust up his hands, waving them in order to try and silence the horde. "I need your help!"

"I think he's trying to say something to the audience!" the announcer declared; this shut everyone up.

"The Sadida Kingdom is in danger!" Yugo cried once he had room to speak. "I have to get there as soon as possible! It's Qilby! I think he's going to try and destroy this entire world!"

...

Amalia found herself surrounded by the silver sheen of metal. So it was back to the Crimson Claws with her. "How inconvenient!" she seethed.

But she was well aware of the danger Qilby posed to her kingdom, especially with his new companions. She needed all the help she could get, starting with a ride back to the mainland.

Her eyes alit upon the small building from which Adal conducted his business. "Of course, it had to be him," she sighed before trudging in that direction.

...

As soon as Sora hit the ground and the portal he'd been thrust through dissipated, Ruby and Papyrus separated from his body, rolling across the soil.

"Okay, that could've gone better," Ruby groaned meekly.

"THIS IS TERRIBLE!" Papyrus moaned. "IF THEY COULDN'T BEAT ALL THREE OF US WORKING TOGETHER…"

"We'll find a way," Sora insisted, sitting up; the other two were doing the same. "Right now, we've gotta get back to the Sadida Kingdom."

"You heard what Papyrus just said!" Ruby emphasized. "We can't take on those three on our own!"

"We've gotta take 'em on!" Sora cried. "It's the only way to save this world from them doing…whatever they're doing to drain all the life from it!"

"I said on our own," Ruby corrected. "We just need something else. Like better weapons, or a really smart plan, or a lot of help."

Papyrus stood to full height, taking a look around. "THERE APPEARS TO BE A CITY ON THE HORIZON," he noticed.

"Great!" Sora exclaimed, practically leaping to his feet. "We can ask for help there!"

The city was surrounded by a circular and dark wall; a troop of guards stood at posts around the barrier, especially thronging the gate. "They don't look friendly," Ruby remarked as the trio approached.

"I dunno," Sora rebutted. "They're smiling!"

And so they were, though it seemed a rather forced smile. The trio could by then see the rather unusual details of their bulky armor: their helmets were topped with a hammer-shaped piece of metal with a heart-shaped stamp fashioned on the end of each.

"HALT!" one said as the trio grew closer. "Are you happy?"

"Huh?" Sora was taken aback. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Just answer it," the guard growled.

"AS A MATTER OF FACT, NO!" Papyrus answered. "WE ARE MOST DISSATISFIED, TO PUT IT LIGHTLY! WE HAVE ONLY JUST DISCOVERED THAT A TRIO OF NEFARIOUS VILLAINS IS ABOUT TO DRAIN ALL THE ENERGY FROM THIS WORLD, STARTING WITH THE SADIDA KINGDOM! DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A HAPPY SITUATION TO YOU?"

"Then we can't let you in," the guard insisted. "Happiness is compulsory in the city of Breta! No one gets in with a frowning face!"

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID?" Ruby screamed. "The entire WORLD is in danger!"

"Even in times of trouble," the guard capitulated, "the law is the law."

"Come on," Sora beckoned, beginning to step away from the gates. "We need to rethink this."

Ruby and Papyrus followed. "Maybe we should look somewhere else for help," Ruby suggested.

Sora shook his head. "We don't even know where we are. It might take us too long to find somewhere else. I've got a better plan. If we wanna get into that city, we just have to pretend to be happy! Better yet, we can actually MAKE ourselves happy!"

"AT A TIME LIKE THIS?" Papyrus scolded.

"Come on!" Sora encouraged. "If anyone could get through the end of the world with smiles on their faces, it's the three of us!"

"HE HAS A POINT," Papyrus realized.

"We've just gotta think happy thoughts," Sora commanded. "Sort of like when you're trying to fly."

"SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE," Papyrus told him, "THE MOOD YOU ARE IN DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO ACTUALLY FLY."

"Oh, right," Sora realized. "That only works in Neverland. But we're not trying to fly, anyway. We're trying to get inside that city! So pick the happiest thoughts you can imagine!"

"Really?" Ruby groaned. "We're really doing this plan?"

"HMMM…WEARING THE UNIFORM OF AN HONORARY ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus suggested. "COOKING A DELICIOUS MEAL FOR A TABLE FULL OF FRIENDS! MAKING SNOWMEN! RECEIVING THE LATEST GIFT FROM SANTA CLAUS!"

"Ooh, Santa's a good place to start!" Sora picked up. "Visiting Santa…sailing a pirate ship…winning a tournament with a shiny trophy…singing in a musical!"

"All right," Ruby sighed, giving in. "Eating a whole plate of cookies in one sitting. Food fights. Board games! All-girl rock bands! Cuddling with your dog! FORGING A NEW WEAPON!"

As the three returned to the gate, the guard, still with a false smile plastered upon his face, barked, "You three again! Come back when you're happy!"

"Do these look like the faces of unhappy people to you?" Sora asked. Ruby stuck out her tongue, Papyrus crossed his eyes, and Sora did both, all three making a loud "NYEHHHHHHHHH!"

"All right," the guard relented, "that's plenty happy. Come on in!"

Each had their hand stamped with a small heart on the back before being allowed entrance to Breta.

The city itself was largely pink and festooned with flowers on every available surface. The people who walked the streets each seemed to be humming their own song, though some of them seemed more genuinely gleeful about it than others. There was a smile on everyone's face, but on about half, it was downright forced; others seemed to enjoy the pro-happiness law.

"So…who do we ask for help?" Ruby wondered out loud.

"I SAY WE TRY THE BIG HOUSE IN THE CENTER!" Papyrus decreed.

"Might as well go right to the top," Sora agreed. Still in a good mood, he challenged, "Race you guys!"

"YOU'RE ON!" Ruby yelled before dashing away.

"YOU FORGOT ABOUT HER SPEED SEMBLANCE, DIDN'T YOU?" Papyrus realized.

"Yep," Sora admitted before he and Papyrus took off to try and catch up to the red blur.

Inside the palace of Breta, the governor, a dark-furred Ecaflip woman with long hair in a deep red shade sat upon the high throne, which towered twenty feet above the floor. A white-furred Ecaflip man with short chestnut hair stood at the throne's side. "It is a lovely day, isn't it?" the governor asked her husband.

"Melo, every day is lovely in Breta since you took back your throne," her husband replied. True, it had taken him a while to get used to the mandatory decree of happiness, but there was something to be said for forcing oneself to always have a good attitude. It put him in a state of contentment that was not easily broken. True, it had been a while since he'd felt true overwhelming bliss, but that didn't bother him much.

Three guards marched into the audience chamber. "Governor Melo!" the foremost guard announced. "Three visitors demand an audience with you!"

"Do they bring good news?" Melo asked.

"We asked," the guard continued, "and they said yes, they did."

"Then show them in," Melo commanded.

Sora, Ruby, and Papyrus strode into the chamber, each bowing slightly before Melo's throne. "So you're the governor," Sora greeted. "Nice to meet ya!"

"As it is a pleasure to meet you too!" Melo replied cheerfully. "What is the good news?"

"You get to help save the world today!" Sora announced.

"AT FIRST," Papyrus admitted, "WE THOUGHT OUR NEWS WAS BAD. BUT THINKING IT OVER, WE REALIZED THE BRIGHT SIDE TO IT!"

"Save the world," Melo mulled over. "What are we saving the world from, and how?"

"Qilby is sucking all of the energy out of this world at the Sadida Kingdom," Ruby explained. "We're not sure when, but it's going to be soon. We need to head there right away."

"The thing is…we're kinda lost," Sora admitted. "But if you help point us in the right direction, then, when we save the world from Qilby, you'll have helped save the world by helping us!"

"I do like the sounds of being a hero!" Melo agreed. "In fact, I think I shall send my strongest troops along with you to defeat him, and go to combat him personally!"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, my love," her husband concurred. "Though Qilby is dangerous. I hate to admit it, but I am a little…" He squeaked out the next word: "Worried."

"Don't worry for me, Sho," Melo replied. "With all of our best guards and these three cheerful visitors on our side, how can we lose? Besides, this way, we can finally spread our happiness to the entire world!"

"Um, do you really think this was a good idea?" Ruby whispered to Sora and Papyrus. "Because I'm starting to think this wasn't a good idea."

"WE SHALL SET OFF AT ONCE!" Melo declared. "WE WILL SAVE THE WORLD, AND WE WILL MAKE THE SADIDA KINGDOM KNOW OUR HAPPINESS, WHETHER THEY WANT TO OR NOT!"

Sora shrugged.

"WE CAN PROBABLY DEAL WITH THIS LATER," Papyrus offered to Ruby.

"GUARDS!" Melo bellowed. "ASSEMBLE!" She turned to Sho. "My love, if you could please watch over the city of Breta while I am away…"

"Anything for you, my love," Sho replied sweetly.

"You think the others are okay?" Ruby wondered out loud, softly enough that Melo couldn't detect the uncertainty and negativity in her tone.

"I know they are," Sora said confidently. "And I bet they're rounding up help just like we are! There's no way we can lose!"

...

Shortly after Sora, Ruby, and Papyrus had figured out their entry pass to Breta, the WHAM ARMY docked on the other side of the island. They had taken their latest ship (the Devastating Pestilence) around the island's entire perimeter, and the whole while, the compass' needle had pointed right back at the landmass, indicating that Ombrage had washed up somewhere there. The eleven disembarked, with Wuya in the lead, keeping a careful eye on the swing of the needle.

"So how's being leader treating you so far?" Mozenrath asked as he sidled up next to Wuya.

"Actually," Wuya replied with a smirk, "I'm used to working with idiots, so this is familiar territory."

Everyone behind cried out "HEY!" or some form of it.

"Calm down," Wuya sighed. "At least I'm not planning to betray all of you in order to make a power play for myself. …Yet."

"So you backstabbed the last people you worked with," Mozenrath deduced.

"More or less," Wuya said with a shrug.

"Why them," Mozenrath asked, "and not us?"

"The question I ask myself every time I wake up in the morning," Wuya responded. "Well, let's compare you to the last group. Insofar as I have to parent any of you, which is more often than I'd like, it's never as strenuous as having to chase after Jack Spicer and tell him to rethink every single move he made. He was always trying to prove himself better than me when he had about as much evil in him as a dumpling. As for Chase Young…I won't lie; Mozenrath, you sometimes remind me of him. The difference is you've never put me on a short leash."

"Would he happen to be the one who repressed your powers?" Mozenrath asked.

"Yes," Wuya replied. "The fool thought he could prove his dominance over me by stripping me of almost all of my magic. I just proved I could make a little go a long way.

Her smile widened. "And then…there was Hannibal Roy Bean. I actually genuinely liked him for a change. He and I were planning to pull off the betrayal together. Sort of a partners-in-crime thing."

"Don't tell me you two were romantically involved," Mozenrath groaned. "And if you have to, spare me the details."

"We weren't," Wuya confirmed. "It was a completely platonic evil partnership. Sometimes, I still miss him. He'd probably get along well with this group."

"What were they REALLY like?" Mozenrath asked. "Besides annoying, controlling, and tolerable."

"Well, Spicer was an idiot with his head in the clouds," Wuya described. "If you think Roman Torchwick is impetuous, you should meet Jack Spicer. Which I don't actually recommend. He may know a lot about robots and machinery, but nothing about anything else. He's a loser, plain and simple, and he's afraid of everything. An absolute embarrassment. And he's loud. Not YOUR brand of loud. High-pitched and demanding loud.

"As I've said, Chase has more than a few things in common with Mozenrath. The attitude, the confidence, the narcissism…he's one for biting off more than he can chew and finding a way to swallow it anyway. It really is too bad he doesn't play well with others. And he does NOT play well with others. Then again, neither do I, and I probably would have done the same thing to him that he did to me, but I don't really care.

"As for Hannibal, he was a Heylin demon through and through! An embodiment of pure evil! He had class! He had style! He was even a bit playful. He was the trickiest of the Heylin I ever knew, and his power stopped just short of rivaling mine! That's the basic rundown. There were more, of course. The cat girl, the fat ninja, the Cyclops…but those were the important ones."

"Sounds like a real party," Mozenrath stated.

"Believe me, it wasn't," Wuya told him. "As for you…I can actually respect you. Even Ragdoll at his most useless is good for SOMETHING."

"My talents have just been underutilized on this mission," Ragdoll argued. "That's all."

"And there's something harder to explain," Wuya admitted. "When you let me out of that puzzle box, I wasn't actually intending to LIKE you. ANY of you. But you all got under my skin and grew like some kind of painful infection. So congratulations. You did it. You made me not actually want to destroy you all in your sleep."

"I'll take it," Mozenrath stated. "Though I don't exactly see you complaining about being in charge."

"Because I absolutely love being in charge," Wuya confirmed. "And you're all still idiots. Just the likable kind."

"I have one question more about these…Heylin," Yzma broke in. "Did they know how to put on a good karaoke night? Or a dance party. Either/or."

"Not at all," Wuya replied. "That's your other advantage over them."

"Here's my deal," Mozenrath proposed. "You keep not backstabbing us, and we won't put limiters on your magic. You don't hurt us, and we won't throw you in a puzzle box."

"Deal," Wuya said with a nod.

The compass needle began to spin round and round rapidly. "We're right on top of it," Wuya realized, using her foot to dig into the sand and shove it aside. A small purple ring with a spherical stone edged by prongs that resembled catlike ears was revealed.

"Can it be?" a soft, feminine voice emanated from the ring. "Has my true guardian come to save me? Oh, please, let it be true! Save me, and I will be yours forevermore!"

"Can it," Wuya snapped as she bent to pick up the ring in one swift motion, holding it up in the palm of her hand, fingers barely curving into claw shapes around it. "I know your tricks. Did you really think I was going to fall in love with you at first sight?"

"Love at first sight?" the ring continued. "No one believes in that!"

"Now, that's more like it," Wuya chuckled. "So you're Ombrage."

"You've heard of me," Ombrage replied. "Who are you? You are something I've never seen before on this world. You are…different."

"I'm a Heylin Witch," Wuya answered, "and my name is Wuya. You now belong to me. Actually, it's a relief being able to pick up something magical off the ground without having to challenge someone to a ridiculous competition over it."

"I am very magical," Ombrage boasted. "I can give you my powers. I can make you a force to be reckoned with."

"I already am a force to be reckoned with," Wuya stated. "Not that I won't make use of your powers as well. I've heard you can steal shadows."

"Among many other things, yes!" Ombrage confirmed. "As many shadows as you want! All I need is for you to agree to become my guardian."

"And?" Wuya went on. "What's the catch?"

"There isn't one!" Ombrage insisted. "Unless, of course, you wanted to…help me take on a physical form…"

"Off the table," Wuya snapped.

"Please?" Ombrage begged. "I could help you even more that way!"

"What if I said I'll think about it?" Wuya replied. She had already resolved not to. But she needed to say something to get Ombrage to agree to work with her, and she knew it.

"All I need you to do is consider," Ombrage promised.

Wuya nodded. "Consider it considered. Now, about you helping me."

"Yes, yes!" Ombrage urged. "Just slip me around your finger!"

"That didn't sound dirty at all," Roman mocked.

"All right," Wuya affirmed. "Starting now…I'm your guardian. Don't make me regret this!"

She gently slid the ring containing Ombrage onto her right ring finger. As soon as she had done so, she felt a jolt; black curlicues of pigment spiraled up the skin of her arms, marking her as a guardian bonded with her Shushu. She staggered slightly; already she could feel a rush of power she hadn't known before added to her own.

Then she became aware of the rest staring at her; of course, none of them wanted to stoop to asking if she was all right. "What are you looking at?" she barked. "We have what we wanted now! All we need to do is test it."

"Yes, yes, a test!" Ombrage encouraged. "Let me show you what I can do!"

"There's civilization on this island, right?" Wuya asked.

"I will take you there!" Ombrage insisted.

Wuya felt herself swept up, becoming a black shadow that whipped over the land of the island. She forced herself back into human form, digging her toes into the earth. "WHAT was that?" she barked at the ring on her hand, looking back over her shoulder at the beach she'd left behind.

"I was taking you to the city!" Ombrage answered. "Like you asked!"

"Not without my idiots," Wuya growled. "We wait for them to catch up and we keep them close, or we don't have a deal. You will tell me, USING WORDS, the way to the city. Or I throw you in the ocean. Do you understand?"

"You wouldn't throw me in the ocean," Ombrage tested.

"Wouldn't I?" Wuya slid Ombrage off her finger. "I happen to like my idiots. That's why I don't want to destroy them every time they slip up. You, on the other hand, are not one of mine. You're completely disposable."

Ombrage was curled into a fist, and the arm swung round, winding up for a pitch.

"WAIT!" Ombrage cried. "DON'T!"

"You have one sentence to change my mind," Wuya warned.

"I'll look after your friends!" Ombrage promised. "I swear! They are the next most valuable people in the entire Krozmos after you!"

"That's more like it." Ombrage was returned to her resting place on Wuya's finger; Wuya once again felt the rush of their powers melding, the light tickle of the demon markings decorating her arm.

The Huntsman was the first to come into view, leading the charge after her. "I've found her!" he called back to the rest. To Wuya, he said, "To think you would leave us behind after that heartfelt confession."

"It won't happen again," Wuya replied dryly. "Will it?"

"Absolutely not," Ombrage vowed.

...

No guards showed the visitors into the Breta audience chamber this time. Sho sat upon the throne, watching as the ten strangers and their Bow Meow simply walked into the room.

"Do you bring good news?" he asked.

"That depends," Wuya replied. "Where are all of your guards? This seems pathetically low-security for the heart of a thriving metropolis. There wasn't even anyone at the gate."

"That is because my guards, along with the governor, are going to save the world," Sho replied.

"Explain," Wuya demanded.

"You haven't heard?" Sho said in surprise. "Qilby is going to drain all of the Wakfu of the world out through the Tree of Life in the Sadida Kingdom. The governor and all of her best men and women have gone to stop him, along with three very odd strangers in red."

"Right back where we started, is it?" Snatcher broke in.

"Well, now we know where he's going," Aghoul stated. "Took him long enough to decide he wanted to get there."

"And where Qilby goes," Mozenrath reminded the group, "the Eliacube goes. If he really intends to drain all the…" He looked to Rémington.

"Wakfu," Rémington defined. "Life force. Energy."

"If he really intends to drain all of that from the world," Mozenrath stated, "he's going to have to stay in one place."

"Not for too long," Grany clarified. "If he takes all the Wakfu from the world, the world will implode!"

"Or maybe explode," Rémington said casually.

"Which isn't much better!" Grany snapped.

"Well, he'll be there just long enough for us to take our cube and leave," Mozenrath emphasized.

Sho shook his head. "This really all sounds like bad news. And if you are bringing bad news into Breta, I must insist you leave."

"I'm afraid we have even more bad news," Wuya taunted, smirking.

"Don't tell me," Sho huffed. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Then I won't tell you." Wuya transformed into a shadow just long enough to flick up to level height with Sho on the throne before reforming, levitating in front of him. "I'll show you."

She held out her fist, with Ombrage gleaming on the ring finger, in Sho's face, which had taken on an appearance of terror.

And that was the last thing Sho remembered.

...

Hidden deep within the heart of the Sadida Kingdom was a secret, sacred place. It took the form of a cavernous grotto, with luminous sea-green walls. Only certain hidden pathways led to this place, where amidst a pool of water surrounded by beaches of green grass, the oldest creation of the Sadida god, the Tree of Life, sprouted and twisted, its bark alive with the writhing names of every living Sadida written in it. The tree itself was connected to all Sadida, and its destruction would have meant the end of the race. But the cavern itself carried even more gravity: it was the heart of the World of Twelve, and a discerning eye could have found a sizeable keyhole in its walls.

Thanks to Hades, the great clock that had once belonged to Noximilien bypassed all of the secret doors and passages, moving through the Darkness directly into the cavern. It rested on one of the beaches, two of its mechanical legs sunken into the pool of water.

"Be careful," Qilby warned his two companions. "This place is full of tricks. Don't believe everything you see, especially if it is what you want to see."

"Don't even worry about it," Hades rebutted. "This is god stuff, and, if you'll remember, small little detail, I am a GOD. Whatever this tree wants you to see, nope. Nada. None of it. Down here, so long as I'm around, what you see is what you get."

"Qilby," Tyrian said with a wide grin, "I believe in order to start work, we need something from you."

"We don't need to start work yet," Qilby grunted. "They won't arrive for some time."

"You're only saying that because when you give up your hand, you won't even have power," Tyrian teased.

"Not QUITE true, actually," Hades interjected. "What if I told you that you could take off the cube arm and STILL have two hands, not to mention upgraded portals thrown in completely free of charge?"
"I'm listening," Qilby stated, interest piqued.

"Here's what I'm thinkin'," Hades said. "I give you a superpowered arm, just like the one you have on now, only THIS one runs on Underworld juice. You and the cube can be as far apart from each other as you want, and you'll still have all the powers of the cube. Plus, making portals that send people halfway across the world won't be such a drag on you anymore. All you have to do is strike a deal with your local Chthonic god, that's me, and the aforementioned is totally yours! Of course, not for free. I am going to ask one tiny little thing by the way of payment."

"And that is?" Qilby asked, suspiciously raising a brow.

"Something I've basically had since we started working together," Hades told him. "I just need you to make it official. You have to swear complete and total loyalty to the boss. Not me. The REAL boss. Maleficent. No, you haven't met her yet, but I have a feeling you're gonna like her. It was her sending us here that got you out of the plane of eternal boredom in the first place. By working with us, you have in fact been working for her. Literally nothing changes. Look at me. Look, Qilbs. Do I look like the kind of guy who would lie to you about this?"

"I suppose if I don't agree," Qilby stated, "I'll not only lose the Eliacube, but risk you throwing me back into the White Dimension."

"Yeah, that might happen," Hades admitted. "Workplace hazards, y'know? You're already one of the gang. I just need it official that if you get sick of the arrangement, you're not gonna use that scythe of yours on the boss. That's what breaks the deal. You hurt Maleficent or anyone she named part of the inner circle, you lose the arm, and believe me, pal, that's gonna be the least of your problems."

Qilby thought it over. Hades and Tyrian were volatile; he could only assume that whoever sent them was much more so. But that was all the more reason to take the deal. If he refused, there was no telling what punishment he would receive for not entering the agreement at all. And considering his own strength, he realized he knew exactly how much Hades was not to be taken lightly; Tyrian could be overpowered, but not Hades, and certainly not anyone who ordered Hades around. Besides, the perks of the deal were enticing. Not only the powers, but the thought of working with a whole new organization, one in which Qilby would never have to be alone again. They would not be his people, but they would be of like minds, if these two were any indication.

And yet…if things did go sour, there had to be a way to turn the deal back around on Hades. Just as Qilby had done with Rushu. There was always a way to use the weight of the strong against them, and Qilby took comfort in this fact as a failsafe.

"You in?" Hades urged. "Gotta take off the cube first, Qilbs."

Qilby tried not to look too overly eager as he did so, dismembering his own left arm until it took cube form, handing it to Tyrian, regaining his beige skin tone and brown hair.

Hades extended his right hand. "Seal the deal?"
Qilby reached out with his remaining hand and clutched it. "We have an agreement."

As the clasped hands pumped, bright blue light emitted from the joining. Qilby's entire skin took on its pallor once more, black markings reappearing. A new left arm appeared at his side, joined to where the previous one had been: like the Eliacube arm, it appeared to be made of light, but instead of sea green, its aura was pale blue. Qilby flexed the fingers, tested the elbow joint. It acted exactly like an arm should.

"Impressive," he complimented.

"Now you're ready to go," Hades assured him. "Which should come in handy when the Mozen-brat shows up. Do we need to run the choreography for that again, or…?"

"I know my part," Qilby insisted. "As I am sure you both know yours."

"Then why don't we get this machine up and running?" Tyrian asked, holding up the Eliacube.

Qilby could see no reason why not. Hades simply gave him an "All you, Scorpion Boy."

Gleefully, Tyrian placed the cube in the central mechanism of the clock. The workings sprang to life, with metal instruments circling the cube, giving to and taking from it.

Outside, clamps affixed themselves to the wall, around the edges of where the sharp-eyed would see the keyhole.

And the wicked work began.

...

A/N: A note on Xerxes' journey: that is in fact the world of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's based on the Netflixverse, and takes place sometime during "The Miserable Mill." "Ainsley Orlando" is my fanon name for the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender. I did fill in some gaps from the bookverse; Ellington Feint is a bookverse-exclusive character from the "All the Wrong Questions" prequels. I have written some ASOUE stuff in the past and am planning on writing some ASOUE stuff in the future, which is all signified by my referring to the Henchperson as "Ainsley," but this fic is NOT connected to anything else ASOUE that I have written and is a separate canon, shared name aside.