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.

56. Twilight Falls

56. Twilight Falls

After the abduction of Hans, the Hyrule castle mobilized. Troops picked up weapons. Advisors scuttled back and forth, issuing orders. Zelda had changed out of her wedding gown into her more usual attire of white and purple; the skirt offered her greater mobility, and there was no way she was staying behind while the others sought Hans.

She caught up to Link as he spoke to Rusl, Ashei, Auru, and Shad in the throne room. "So they think they can just swoop in here and take one of our friends, yeah?" Ashei was saying. "We'll make them think again."

"We have no idea where they've gone," Shad pointed out.

"We'll find them," Link insisted. He faced Zelda; "You're going?"

"I must," Zelda insisted.

"I was hoping you would," Link said with a smile and a nod. "He'll need to see your face again after all the danger he's been in."

"We'll have him back again in no time," Rusl insisted.

One moment, they were in agreement, standing together in a chamber brightly lit by the carved-away segments in its walls that opened it up to the sunlit landscape outside. But the very next, darkness covered the entire room; in fact, it covered everything the eye could see outside. Link and Zelda flinched as they realized they stood alone in the throne room, with only four blue lights resembling flames flickering in the air before them.

"What…what happened?" Zelda gasped.

"No…" Link gaped at the blue lights. "It can't be…Zelda, the last time I saw anything like this…"

"The Twilight?" Zelda filled in. "But why? How?"

"I don't know," Link admitted, beginning to panic. When the land had been covered in Twilight magic, in a time that seemed longer ago than it was, it had transformed every living being into an intangible spirit, unable to be sensed by the ordinary human eye. Link and Zelda had always been safe, relatively. Link had, in the past, undergone a rather intense transformation into the body of a wolf, and that didn't seem to be the case this time. They each wielded part of the Triforce within their spirits, hers of Wisdom and his of Courage: gifts from the goddesses. This mighty force protected them from the warp of the Twilight, and it seemed to be what was keeping them in human form at that moment. That much, they didn't need to say out loud.

A low chuckle broke into the air; Link and Zelda both gasped as they looked up at the door to the throne room. Storming in upon heavy footsteps was the last person they had thought they would see again.

Ganondorf gave them both a smirk as he surveyed his work. Behind him, to one side, Ursula flitted in, circling Ganondorf once before settling down on clouds of Darkness she formed in midair with her bare hands, tossing a sphere of it up and down like she was about to toss a simple snowball. At Ganondorf's other flank, Cinder Fall's glass heels clinked against the stone of the castle floors.

"The Triforce still protects you," Ganondorf observed.

"Are these two going to be a problem, honey?" Ursula asked, catching the sphere of Darkness repeatedly.

Cinder gave a single "hmph" of smug laughter. "They don't look like much."

"They were responsible for the demise your master retrieved me from," Ganondorf explained, "but their victory was by a bare margin. Besides, we have already stripped them of one of their most powerful weapons."

"What do you want?" Zelda snapped.

"What do we want?" Cinder repeated mockingly. "What do you think, Princess?"

"That throne does look very comfortable," Ursula said gleefully. "It's too bad I won't be the one sitting on it."

"You are the last obstacle standing in my way," Ganondorf informed the pair, "and you shall learn this time not to defy the king of light and shadow. Unless, of course, you perish before the lesson sinks in."

Link had had enough talk. He withdrew his sword, flying at Ganondorf with a wild cry.

He was stopped when the floor between him and Ganondorf exploded upon contact with the sphere Ursula had finally stopped juggling and thrown. Link was thrown backward, sword dislodged from his hand as his back hit the throne. He struggled to stand, ready to draw another one of his tricks upon these invaders.

Zelda reached out with her spirit, expecting to contact the four spirits of Light. However, she recoiled, finding a sudden emptiness where her connection with each of them once had been. It was as if Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru had disappeared.

"Is something wrong?" Ganondorf taunted as he advanced upon her. "Something missing? No, not missing. Changed. No longer do the spirits serve your Light. They are composed of pure Darkness, and they bow to our whims."

"You lie," Zelda accused.

"It is the truth," Ganondorf insisted. "Four generals of our choosing stand beside them, encouraging them to spread destruction."

"No one could withstand this Twilight!" Zelda cried. "No one but you!"

"And yet you see two others who do," Ganondorf told her. He raised his fist, clenching it so the back of his hand was in full view; the golden mark of the Triforce gleamed upon it. "Do you understand?"

"The Triforce of Power," Zelda realized. "You lent them the – "

Before she could say another word, Ganondorf had grown close enough to seize her by the neck with both fists. And Zelda, deprived of her connection to the spirits, had no Light magic with which to fight back.

While Zelda and Ganondorf had conversed, Link had withdrawn a heavy ball on a chain, twirling it above his head for a few rotations before lobbing it directly at Cinder. He was taken off guard when Cinder lifted off the ground, leaving only empty space where the ball had been thrown; her eyes glowed with bright fire.

"That's a cute trick," she taunted. "I think I'll borrow it." Shards of obsidian swirled around her, congealing into the shape of a large sphere the size of Link's new weapon, a chain trailing from its edge. Cinder hefted up the chain, spinning the ball once over her head before slamming it down upon Link's weapon; the heavy metal ball cracked upon impact with Cinder's projectile.

Link fumbled for his bow next, loading and loosing an arrow with a lit bomb attached. Ursula simply backhanded it, letting it explode against the ceiling. Link aimed again, but Cinder and Ursula were making figure eights in the air, not keeping stationary enough or moving slowly enough for him to make a solid choice in aim. Hoping for the best, Link let another arrow fly. It too hit the ceiling.

"This game of catfish and mouse is entertaining," Ursula remarked, "but I think it's time we get to the good part." She gathered two clouds of Darkness in her hands, molding them into projectiles.

Before Link could react, he had been blasted with both, his body wracked with pain as he was slammed against the floor. He was altogether surprised none of his bones had broken.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see tiny flames lighting up around him, sustaining themselves on the stone. But, more importantly, he saw Ganondorf's fists wrap around Zelda's neck. She was punching and kicking for all she was worth, striking Ganondorf's midsection again and again, but the Triforce of Power lent him enough strength that her efforts were equivalent to beating up a stone statue.

It happened almost by instinct. Link withdrew a grappling clawshot, aiming it carefully.

While Ganondorf had strength that far surpassed that of mortals, he still was not prepared to receive a grappling hook directly to the face. Reeling and shaking his head so as not to have its blades dug into his eyes, Ganondorf loosened his grip on Zelda.

Link gave that clawshot up for dead, just as he had done with the heavy ball and his iron sword. He always did prefer to travel with a pair of clawshots, however, having discovered both on his last adventure. And it was this second he pointed at the edge of one of the cutaway windows. It hooked on; Link engaged the chain to pull him toward it.

He sped away from the ring of fire Cinder created just before it flared up, engulfing what was now empty space. Cinder gritted her teeth and growled.

Link extended an arm as he sped toward the window; it wrapped around Zelda's waist. Ganondorf, still off guard from the grappling hook to the face, let go of her; Link clutched her tightly as they careened to the window together. Once they reached it, the pair, working in tandem, positioned themselves on the other side of the clawshot without moving the tool, extending its chain to rappel down the side of the castle.

"NO!" Cinder seethed as she soared toward the same window.

Link let go of the clawshot once he'd reached a parapet below; he and Zelda broke into a run, disappearing in the labyrinthine gables of the castle.

As Cinder became more and more heated, this time in the metaphorical sense, Ursula floated up behind her to pat her condescendingly on the back. "There, there, sweetie. Everyone loses a nemesis every once in a while. Of course, few of them have as much power as you and still manage to waste it – "
"YOU WERE THERE TOO!" Cinder rounded on Ursula. "THEY ESCAPED YOU TOO! AND WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Please, angelfish," Ursula said coldly, "let's not start anything else we can't finish."

"I…HAD…THEM…"

"Forget about them," Ursula told her. "We'll catch up with them later. They're the only two people alive in this entire world who don't work with us. They won't be hard to find. For now, just relax!" She reclined in the air. "Enjoy the spoils!"

Ganondorf wasted no time planting himself upon the throne. "This is where I was meant to be," he announced.

"If you think small," Ursula told him.

"And what does that mean?" Ganondorf asked.

"This is still part of the test," Ursula reminded him. "If all goes well here, more thrones await."

"And how long before we move upon them?" Ganondorf asked.

"We have to prove ourselves," Ursula told him. "By which I mostly mean you have to prove yourself. Three days. If we can hold this position for three days, we'll call it a success. Though, really, the sand already worked, so no matter what, we've won."

"And those…that PAIR?" Cinder growled.

"Sweep the city for them all you want," Ursula told her. "Like I said, they won't be hard to find. Though I'll bet they're on their way outside the city limits. We'll need to get the word out to our four friends. I'm guessing one of them will have the honor of bringing them down."

"Three days," Ganondorf repeated. "Such a short span. It will pass quickly. Send word to our generals, Ursula. We shouldn't leave any loose ends."

"But really, what are they going to do?" Ursula teased. "Unbending reality isn't an easy task."

"That is true," Ganondorf agreed. "To transform the spirits back to their former state would be an impossible feat."

"It should at least be amusing to watch them try," Cinder said as she lowered herself to touch shoes to the floor with a clink. Her mood was still sour, but improving. "We'll have to have the generals report to us just how hard they tried."

"It's going to be a good three days," Ursula chuckled."

...

The Gerudo Desert was also suddenly shrouded in Twilight, leaving Mozenrath, Wuya, and Irmaplotz quite confused to what had just happened to everyone else standing with them atop the Arbiter's Grounds.

"Where…did…?" Mozenrath wondered out loud, properly confused.

Irmaplotz pressed a hand to her forehead. "They're hiding for a surprise party, aren't they? I can't take another surprise party. Not after last time."

"They're not planning a surprise party," Wuya said dryly. "Why would you think they were planning a surprise party?"

"BECAUSE I WAS TRAUMATIZED, SO MY MIND GOES TO THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO," Irmaplotz answered.

"The answer might actually be simpler," Wuya observed, looking around at the five blue lights that flickered in midair. "After all, you don't go looking for phoenixes if there are cranes around." She passed a hand through one of the spirits. "Hm. You know, I'm used to this being the other way around. But that's definitely him."

"Him who?" Mozenrath asked, growing suspicious.

"Torchwick," Wuya answered. "And judging by the number of spirits around him, we also have…" She paced around the collective, waving a hand through each spirit to read their thoughts. "Zevon…Demyx…Yzma…and Hans."

"What HAPPENED to them?" Mozenrath demanded angrily.

"What do the three of us have in common that they don't?" Wuya asked.

Irmaplotz opened her mouth -

"Don't answer; I'm being rhetorical."

Irmaplotz swallowed her words.

"The three of us are tied to the Darkness through magic," Wuya observed. "Be glad you're wearing that gauntlet, Mozenrath, or you'd end up like the rest of them. A large part of the world was just blanketed in pure Darkness – "

"No," Mozenrath realized, "it's not pure Darkness. It feels…different. Like a half-Darkness."

"Twilight, then," Wuya redefined. "Actually…given what I know about Hyrule, that makes more sense. Yes, Twilight. A large part of the world was just blanketed in Twilight, and anyone not used to bathing in Dark magic on a daily basis was deconstructed into spirit form. I'm almost jealous that I didn't get to join the party."

"They don't look like they're partying," Mozenrath observed.

"Can we STOP TALKING ABOUT PARTIES?" Irmaplotz begged.

"Well, right now, they can't interact with the physical world," Wuya pointed out. "Hence the 'almost.' I'm pretty sure the only reason they're hanging around is because they know we know they're there. Most people wouldn't."

"Are they dead?" Mozenrath asked.

"No," Wuya answered. "Well, not technically. So don't get all worked up about it."

"I'm not getting worked up about it," Mozenrath told her. "I'm just curious if necromancy would work on them."

Wuya shrugged. "Might as well try it."

Mozenrath held out his hand, palm up, before clenching it into a fist. Electric blue crackled around his curled fingers, splashing out into a pulsating burst with a crashing sound. Wuya and Irmaplotz instinctively backed off.

Pain shot through Mozenrath from the wrist backward, and he bit his lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood. The blue lights expanded, shaping themselves into more solid form before coming into full color.

" – NOW? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" Roman was shouting as he returned to the physical realm in human form.

"No," Irmaplotz replied. "Try again."

"Dammit," Roman muttered. He waved a hand in front of her face; "HEL-LO! CAN YOU…" It then sank in what she'd said. "Oh, ha ha. Hilarious."

"We've regenerized!" Zevon realized.

"Okay, can we take what just happened and never do it again?" Demyx asked.

"At least Mozenrath fixed it," Yzma sighed.

"Pretty talented, there," Hans remarked as he approached Mozenrath, who was lowering his hand. "Did you just perform five full-on resurrections by just using your mind?"

"And the gauntlet," Mozenrath said as he lowered his hand, letting himself breathe more evenly. His hand dropped to his side, and he let the magic dissipate.

The moment he did, he saw the change ripple through Hans, Roman, Yzma, Zevon, and Demyx; they winced, starting to lose solidity.

Mozenrath quickly sent a surge of magic back into his hand, and their expressions grew more comfortable. He couldn't let up, he realized. He had to keep his spell going in the background, or else they would collapse into spirit form again. There was no way he'd be able to concentrate on necromancy as well as doing and thinking other things, but he found a workaround: a way to phrase the spell in his mind to confine it to his hand and not move, as though locked in place by a barrier. That seemed to work.

"Are you all right?" Yzma asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Mozenrath said through gritted teeth. The problem with keeping the spell that gave his friends human form in his hand meant there was always some degree of hurt in the background of his body, as though he had just the very ends of pins stuck into his skin, threatening to press deep. "Fine," he repeated, forcing his mouth to relax, putting the mild pain on the back burner. "A little constant pain never killed anyone."

"Is that from keeping us here?" Yzma asked.

"Yes," Mozenrath admitted. "Would you rather NOT be here?"

"Well, you COULD undo whatever did this Twilight, then come back for us," Yzma told him.

"NO!" Mozenrath snapped. "There are too many variables in that plan. We're doing this my way, and you're staying like that."

"Wow," Hans remarked. "You're pretty passionate about this. Especially since you're counting me, and ten minutes ago, you were ready to filet me over a mirror that can't be built."

"You haven't proven yourself yet," Mozenrath told Hans. The pain was getting easier to ignore the longer he put up with it. "I at least needed to give you a chance to fail miserably."

"Well, thank you," Hans replied coyly. "If that's really what you're expecting of me, I hope not to live up to your expectations."

Mozenrath found himself far too distracted by the smile upon Hans' face at that moment: so coy, so smug. Not unlike what he saw in the mirror on a good day. He felt that much more confident in his decision to keep the man around based on that smile alone, for it silently spoke of the ambitions of the man who bore it.

"Something wrong?" Hans asked, still smiling. Mozenrath realized Hans had become aware of how much he was holding Mozenrath's attention before Mozenrath himself had figured it out.

"Besides the shroud of Twilight covering as much of the known world that we can see?" Mozenrath retorted immediately.

"Well, obviously we've got to figure out who is behind this and how to reverse it," Yzma brought up.

"Yeah, that sounds like way too much work," Demyx sighed.

"Mozenrath is literally dying to keep you in the physical plane!" Yzma reminded him.

"I am FINE," Mozenrath urged. "What we NEED is to figure out how to get into the Twilight Realm from here. Though…Twilight Realm. Twilight magic. There could be a connection here."

"This better not be leading up to anything related to that unicorn," Wuya said teasingly.

"Can we all just collectively forget about the unicorn?" Mozenrath sighed with an upturn of the eyes. "If we figure out who had access to so much Twilight magic and where they got it, we could have a direct route to where we need to go."

"So where do we start looking?" Yzma wondered out loud.

Hans flinched, noticing something almost imperceptible in the distance as he looked back over Mozenrath's shoulder at the view over Hyrule. He raised an indicating finger. "That might be a start."

All others turned to take a look at Hans' sight of interest. A great polygonal wall of pure Darkness had erected itself around the Hyrule castle, large enough to be seen from the distance.

"Barriers like that go up for two reasons," Mozenrath related. "To keep things out and to keep things in. The timing can't be a coincidence. All right. The search begins."

"All of us?" Demyx groaned.

"Why NOT all of us?" Mozenrath demanded.

"Because, uh…" Demyx fumbled for a better reason than "I don't want to." He came up with "It might not be safe! The person that cast that spell is obviously powerful. They already wiped out all but three of us in one shot! Somebody should stay back in case something happens to the others."

"As much as I know you're just trying to get out of doing the dirty work," Mozenrath mused, "you do have a point. True, there's safety in numbers, but there's also safety in having a backup network. We'll start small. A team of two or three who are best suited to reconnaissance. If that team doesn't return in, say, three hours, we'll break out the rest of the search party."

"I can't find any flaws in this plan," Yzma said with a shrug.

"And if my mother approvalates of it," Zevon asserted, "then it must be a good plan!"

"No comment," Roman muttered.

"So who's the lucky team?" Irmaplotz asked.

"Well, it would have to include someone who knows the lay of the land," Mozenrath thought out loud. "That brings us down to Hans or Wuya, and only one of those has earned my trust AND proven herself in battle time after time. Wuya, you'll go."

"I'll snoop around," Wuya said with a nod. "See what I can find. Not to mention I'm the only one who can read the spirits that will be floating around town."

"As for the rest of the team," Mozenrath realized, "we'd need someone to accompany Wuya who knows how to break in and out of a dangerous area without being seen. Someone practiced at the art of gathering information and slinking about in the shadows. Someone who, maybe, just maybe, made a living out of that before coming to work with us. Given his résumé, I think Demyx is the EXACT person to send on this mission."

"WHAT?" Demyx sputtered. "You're…no, you're sending the wrong guy!"

"Didn't you once get on and off Mount Olympus without getting caught?" Mozenrath reminded him.

"Well, yeah, but – "

"And was Vexen exaggerating when he said you were suited for the Organization's recon missions?"

"No, but – "

"And do you honestly think," Mozenrath concluded, "that I could send anyone else here without them setting off a chain reaction of explosions that would draw attention?"

"Oh, come on," Demyx urged, "it's not like Roman would literally blow things up!"

"No, he kind of hit the nail on the head there," Roman admitted.

"But what about Yzma? Or Zevon?" Demyx begged.

"I…sometimes instigate the accidental explosion," Yzma confessed.

"I think I have two explosionate potions on my belt right now," Zevon added. "Or is it three…?"

"These are seriously your friends?" Hans asked Mozenrath.

"I ask myself the same question on a daily basis," Mozenrath replied. "And somehow, the answer is yes. Would you believe I don't have any regrets to date? Except maybe Demyx."

"Speaking of," Wuya broke in, "the sooner we gut Castle Town, the sooner we can solve our little mystery." She clapped Demyx on the back. "Come on, water boy. Let's get a move on."

"Are you KIDDING ME?" Demyx asked in a panic. "We're going to get slaughtered down there!"

"If you think anything is going to slaughter me," Wuya told him, "you haven't been paying attention. And you're my ticket in and out, so you're not getting slaughtered on my watch." She cast a Corridor that led into the thoroughfare of Castle Town. "Now move it or lose it."

Demyx pointed suspiciously at the Corridor. "Where does that lead?"

"Downtown – "

"Okay, no," Demyx sighed. "You're just going to walk right into a trap. Take us to the edge of town. Or, even better, outside it. If you're going to make me do this, you're going to do this my way."

"Now, that's more like it." Wuya dismissed the Corridor and raised another. "Lead the way."

"I may have gotten myself killed," Demyx grumbled as he stormed through, "but I only got myself killed ONCE, which was pretty impressive for everything they put me through!"

Wuya gave the others one last shrug before disappearing after him. The Corridor dissolved.

"And now we wait," Mozenrath summed, with a glance out toward Castle Town as if he could see Wuya and Demyx moving about in the streets, which, of course, he couldn't.

"Sooooooo," Roman brought up, already having a conversation topic in mind. "I was wondering about the clothes."

"What clothes?" Yzma asked.

"The clothes we were wearing before we went all…ghosty," Roman clarified. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know," Mozenrath groaned. "Is it important?"

"Well, yeah," Roman urged. "Do we get the same clothes back when you bring us back? This goes for in general."

"No," Mozenrath told him. "They're manifestations drawn from your last living memory. Which was not an easy part of the spell to master, but it does beat bringing everyone back naked."

"So you're saying Archie's coat is NOT the same one he died in," Roman concluded.

"No," Mozenrath confirmed. "That would be literally impossible."

"You don't know how attached he is to that coat," Roman emphasized. "If he knew about this…he's not going to know about this. Not unless he figures it out on his own. Which he probably will. And then you're going to pay for it."

"I'm ready," Mozenrath said casually.

"Though, more importantly," Roman went on, "this is not the same hat I died in. This is not the same hat I disappeared in. This is, twice over, NOT MY HAT."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Mozenrath asked.

"IS THAT GOING TO BE A PROBLEM?" Roman mocked. "You have no IDEA what my hat and I have been through together!"

"This really isn't my problem," Mozenrath sighed.

"Yeah, well, it's a problem you caused," Roman accused.

"And what do you want me to do?" Mozenrath asked. "Go find the exact Grimm that ate you, cut it open, and repair your hat from the damage done to it by its digestive fluids?"

"Well, you can bring PEOPLE back from the dead," Roman urged. "Why not hats?"

"Hats don't have souls."

"Can you scientifically prove that?"

"Yes."

Roman gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well, then. We're at an impasse."

"You have A hat," Mozenrath reminded him. "That's going to have to be good enough."

"It is a stylish hat," Yzma complimented.

Roman swiped the hat off his head, looking it over. After some deliberation, he said "You'll do" and settled it back over his hair.

...

"All right, everyone," Stork announced from the helm of the Gummi ship. "We're approaching Hyrule."

"OUR NEXT ADVENTURE BEGINS!" Papyrus said excitedly. "WERE I LESS COMPOSED, I WOULD BE READY TO BURST WITH ANTICIPATION! BUT I'M NOT, SO I'M NOT."

"Well, I'm excited!" Katara said outright. She sat next to Ruby, giving the girl in red a look of concern. Ruby was slumped in her seat, hands fiddling with Crescent Rose folded on her lap and her gaze fixed on her hands. "Hey…are you okay?" Katara asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said halfheartedly, "I'm fine."

"What's wrong, Ruby?" Jasmine asked. "You can tell us anything."

"I know," Ruby sighed. "It's just…things we all knew already. After all this time, I'm not sure I can face Cinder. I know last time I did, I won because of a power I still don't understand and don't even know how to control. That shouldn't even matter, because this time, I'm surrounded by friends who've helped me take down things that were probably worse. And I've always known we should keep moving forward for the sake of those we haven't lost yet. But then I think about actually looking Cinder in the eye, and it scares me."

"I sure don't blame you for being scared," Stork told her. "I would be too. Actually, scratch that. I already am. But…heheh…you probably all guessed that."

"You can do it, Ruby," Sora assured her. "I know you can. After everything I've seen you do, this is gonna be a piece of cake for you."

"It doesn't feel like cake," Ruby argued. "Unless you count the part where if you eat too much of it and it makes you nauseous. This is the person who killed Pyrrha right in front of my eyes."

"It's not about not being scared," Aladdin told her. "It's about getting in there anyway and making them think you're not scared. That always works for me."

"We all have demons to face," Riku added. "Sometimes they're on the inside, and sometimes they're on the outside. But the only way we can beat them is to do exactly what you said: look them in the eye."

"You'll all be there, right?" Ruby asked, lifting her head.

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus chirped.

"We're in it together until the end!" Sora added.

"You know," Katara suggested, "if it's really that hard for you to face…we could even do it without you. As long as we made sure you were somewhere safe, we could go find Cinder and take her in for you."

"And by 'take her in,'" Stork asked for clarification, "you mean…"

"Aang wouldn't want us to kill her," Katara said sternly. "We need to find a way to disable the powers you said she has and take her back to Radiant Garden. Or to your world. Wherever she can be locked up and looked after."

"Disabling her power is going to be difficult," Riku pointed out. "If the Fall Maiden really has as much power as you say she does, it won't be easy to just shut off."

"But we'll find a way," Aladdin said reassuringly. "There's ALWAYS a way."

"So what do you think?" Katara asked. "Should we just get you comfortable on the ship and bring Cinder back for you?"

"NO!" Ruby blurted. "It's really scary for sure. But it's something I HAVE to do. I HAVE to be there to stop her. I have to do it for Jaune and for Pyrrha and for all of Beacon. I don't want to fight her alone. But I know this is my fight."

"Then we're in it together," Jasmine asserted.

"Uhm…" Stork broke in from the helm. "We may have run into a slight problem."

"Problem?" Sora repeated.

Stork stepped back from the dashboard and gestured out the window. Before the ship, a world was visible, but with no discernible features. It was encased in a globe of dusky gray, swirling and writhing with traces of yellow. "I don't think Hyrule is supposed to look like that," Stork announced.

Riku gaped. "It's completely covered in Darkness." He strained to get a better look. "I…think it's Darkness, anyway."

"Is it safe to land?" Jasmine wondered out loud.

"I dunno," Sora replied. "I heard bad things happen to the people who just run into the realm of Darkness without magic to protect them. Riku and I were fine, but we were only there for a little while. Master Yen Sid said we were lucky it wasn't worse. A whole world covered in Darkness might not be the best idea to just land on."

"We're probably just safer turning around and going home," Stork suggested.

"STORK!" Papyrus scolded. "AFTER WE CAME ALL THE WAY HERE!"

"We're not giving up!" Ruby insisted.

"Look, I'm not even sure this is the right place anymore!" Stork argued. "This is the spot Merlin said Hyrule would be, but we can't even get close enough to tell if that's Hyrule! And if it is, no one said Cinder would still be there if it was covered in Darkness! She's probably in as much danger as we would be!"

"Not if she was tied to the Darkness," Riku mused, closing his eyes to think. After a pause, he gave a nod, then opened his eyes. "I was tied to the Darkness once. And Darkness still lingers within me. I never was able to leave it all behind. It might be safe for me to walk on that world. But only me."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Katara said worriedly.

"It's the only option we have right now," Riku reminded his cohorts. "I should go alone onto that world. If I find a safe way to bring the rest of you down, I'll come back. If I haven't found a way and it's been a while, I'll still come back. If it's been too long…then go back to Radiant Garden to ask for help."

"I don't really like this," Aladdin admitted.

"Well, I think it'll be fine," Sora insisted, reaching over to give Riku's hand a squeeze. "If Riku thinks he can do it, then I know he can do it!"

Riku responded by bestowing Sora with a look of affection. "I don't know for sure. But I have a good feeling. I'll be careful. I know I have a good reason to come back safe." He then faced forward; "Stork? Can you get the ship close enough to the atmosphere to drop me off?"
"That's going to be a pretty long fall," Stork told him.

"I know how to handle long falls," Riku insisted. "You don't get to be a Keyblade Master without learning that."

"And how exactly are you going to get back up to us?" Stork asked.

"Well…" Riku turned around to look at Aladdin. "I'll just do what a certain good friend of mine would do: I'll improvise."

"Now, that's what I like to hear," Aladdin told him.

All the while, Riku hadn't let go of Sora's hand, nor vice versa, and neither wanted to be the one to disentangle fingers. They met each other's gaze, holding it before Riku flashed Sora a bright smile. "I'll be okay," he asserted.

"I know you will," Sora replied. "I just…don't want to let go."

"Then think about when I come back," Riku told him.

Sora finally removed his hand from Riku's to give him a salute and an "Aye-aye!"

"Preparing to get in position for dropoff," Stork announced, moving the ship closer to the Twilight-bound world.

Riku stood, crossing to the door. "I'm ready," he said decisively.

...

Lie Ren tucked himself away in one of the highest and smallest towers of the Radiant Garden castle, in a round room that was adorned only by some simple benches with cushions. It was a suitable aesthetic for his purpose. He cracked open the book he'd found in the library and began on the first page.

Twenty pages later, he became aware of the sound of approaching footsteps. His head snapped upward; he beheld the sight of Madison entering the same room. "Oh," she said softly when she took in the sight of Ren. "Hi."

"Hey," Ren replied, puzzled.

"I didn't think I'd find anyone else up here," Madison said shyly.

"I didn't think anyone else would find me up here," Ren replied, his tone hushed as though he were in a public reading space. His eyes flicked to Madison's hand, where a thick book with a blue cover stood out. "Did you come up here to read that?"

"Yeah," Madison admitted. "It gets kind of loud in the library."

"Tell me about it," Ren sighed. "It's great that we have the library to use as a meeting space for important discussions or a relaxation space for playing games. But so many people are using it for those things that we've pretty much forgotten that libraries are supposed to be quiet places for reading. When I was down there picking out this book, Leon was having some kind of strategy meeting with Cid and Merlin, and it was impossible to concentrate, so I just set out to find the quietest part of the castle there was."

"Me too," Madison admitted. "They're still having that meeting, except Kairi and Lea have joined up with them, and for some reason, this involved Lea showing off his new Keyblade and demonstrating battle moves in the middle of the room. I wanted someplace I wouldn't be disturbed. You don't mind if I join you, do you?"
"I don't mind if you want a place to read," Ren told her, "but I'm really not in the mood to have a long chat or anything. I'm just getting into this book, and I want to focus on it."

"That's good," Madison told him. "This book looks really interesting, and I was hoping I could just concentrate on it. So how about you read and don't say anything, and I'll read and not say anything?"

"That actually sounds perfect," Ren told her.

She settled down on the bench opposite from Ren, pulling back the cover of her book. They spent the next half hour in total silence save for the turning of the pages, each disappearing into their own mental space prompted by the books.

They were both snapped out of it when a new set of footsteps, hurried and hard, approached at lightning speed, and both knew it wasn't another reader come to join the silence. "There you are!" Yuffie said when she came into view. "I've been trying to round everybody up, and you two were really hard to find!"

"That was on purpose," Ren told her, and Madison nodded agreement.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble," Yuffie huffed, "but we have really, really important guests, and Leon and Kairi wanted them to meet everyone at once so they didn't have to go over their story five hundred times. Everyone's waiting in the library! Come on!"

Madison and Ren shut their books at last, standing to follow Yuffie. Yuffie started out with a run down the stairs, then doubled back when she realized Ren and Madison weren't keeping pace; the trio walked far too slow for Yuffie's liking.

"What were you reading?" Ren asked Madison, suddenly curious.

"Promise not to laugh?" she replied.

"I promise," Ren said sincerely.

"It's a romance novel," Madison told him. "I found it by chance in the library, and it looked really good from the first few pages. I know most romance novels are filled with gross subtext about relationships that would be dysfunctional in real life, but I still thought I'd give it a try in case this one was different, and so far, the way the main couple meets is really sweet."

"I'm glad you found something you like," Ren said with a nod. "I usually don't read romance myself, but that's mostly because of the problems you just mentioned. If this one is different, would you tell me by the time you finish it? I might want to read it."

"Of course," Madison said cheerily. "What about you? What were you reading?"

"Nonfiction, actually," Ren answered, "though it feels unbelievable. It's a basic textbook on the theory behind magic. I figured now that we're dealing with magic out in the open, I should know more about it. It's really fascinating. People really are capable of so much more than I thought was possible."

"Tell me about it," Madison replied. "Ever since I became a Mystic Ranger, magic has been my life, and everything just seems more unbelievable the longer we go on." Her face suddenly fell. "I wonder if I'll ever be able to use my magic like I used to again."

"I'm sure you will," Ren told her. "We'll find a way to get your wand back. And if we don't, there are probably plenty of other ways to amplify your powers. We are talking about an infinite number of worlds here with different magical rules and sources."

"That's true," Madison realized.

"Hey," Yuffie broke in, "are you two…?"

Ren and Madison waited for her to elaborate, but she left it there. "Are we bookworms?" Ren guessed. "I don't read nearly as much as a friend I knew back at Beacon…" He thought of Blake. "…but it's a pretty frequent hobby."

"No, no!" Yuffie corrected. "Are you two…YOU know?"

"Are we…introverts?" Madison filled in. "I know I've always felt more comfortable behind a camera than in front of it."

"No!" Yuffie shook her head. "Are you two a THING? Like, are you TOGETHER?"

This prompted a frantic chorus of "No, no!" from both Ren and Madison.

"We're just friends," Ren stated calmly. "We're still getting to know each other."

"I like someone else back in Briarwood, anyway," Madison added. Not that he would ever see her as more than a protégé, she added in her mind, but that didn't nullify her feelings.

"Well, I think you'd make a cute couple," Yuffie said enthusiastically.

"We're just going to have to disappoint you," Ren told her.

"Waaaiiiiit," Yuffie realized. "You…don't have a thing with NORA, do you?"
"No," Ren said straightforwardly. "She's also just a friend. A lot of people make that mistake, though."

"GOOD," Yuffie said a little too energetically. "Well…good as in…I think you two have a great friendship, and I wouldn't want you to ruin it!"

Madison and Ren exchanged knowing looks, their mouths upturning into sly smiles. "I don't think you have to worry," Ren said, his words going to Yuffie as his eyes spoke to Madison of the knowledge they'd deduced about where Yuffie's feelings lay.

Everyone currently residing in or working out of the castle was gathering in the library, which Ren, Madison, and Yuffie entered through the upper door. Neither Ren nor Madison was prepared for the sight that awaited them in the room's center; from the second level, they could see down below that the esteemed guests were a short anthropomorphic mouse, a slightly taller duck, and a very tall dog.

"That's everyone!" Yuffie called out to Kairi, who waited below for Yuffie's signaling wave.

"Great!" Kairi said with a smile. "Everyone, this is King Mickey of Disney Town, royal knight Goofy, and court mage Donald Duck."

"Hi, everybody!" Mickey said with a wave and a look around the library.

"Pleased to meet ya!" Donald added.

"Sure is a lot of people here!" Goofy remarked.

"So." Kairi turned her attention back to Mickey. "You said you had a problem you wanted to talk about? Maybe we can help!"

"We sure do," Mickey affirmed. "A while ago, we were forced out of our own castle by a group of nasty villains. They were the ones who stole the Datascape."

"They're with Mozenrath," Kairi said in a sour tone.

"Exactly HOW much stuff going wrong was this guy responsible for?" Nora complained.

"Still not as much as Maleficent," Nick reminded her.

"The thing is, we expect Maleficent to be doing everything she's doing," Lea explained. "She's always been there from the start. These people with Mozenrath came out of nowhere."

"All save that confounded Mim," Merlin huffed. "I never would have thought she'd gain actual allies! But we're getting quite off track. Do continue, your majesty!"

"Well, they used your Claymores to chase us all out," Mickey explained. "We've been tryin' to work on a solution to get everybody back into the castle and make it safe again. The problem is as soon as any one of us gets near it, the Claymores go berserk and attack."

"That's not the only problem!" Donald huffed, folding his arms. "The Claymores don't target humans, so you'd think we could just send somebody human in to fix it! But nooooooo! We can't disable the Claymores without some kinda password!"

"Or figurin' out how to crack them," Goofy added.

"HACK them," Donald corrected.

"So we'd kinda just been stayin' in town and feelin' real down about it for a while," Mickey went on. "But then I remembered! Back when I visited Ansem, the REAL Ansem, he and I set up the central computer in his lab space to hook up to Disney Castle so we could keep in contact and share our discoveries! I just might be able to use that computer to link back to Disney Castle's system and turn off the Claymores!"

"Except we still don't have that password," Donald grumbled.

"But at least here," Kairi assured, "you'd have enough time to work it out without Claymores attacking you."

"So whaddaya say?" Mickey asked. "Can we give it a shot?"

"Of course!" Kairi said gladly. "And you can meet the rest of the team, too!"

"I'm sure we've got a lot of stories to swap!" Mickey laughed.

"Well," Kairi said, "just to start out…"

She began detailing brief introductions to everyone in the library. Once names had at least been traded, the majority of the group moved off to the laboratory to begin work on the mysterious password.

...

Demyx and Wuya crept stealthily into Castle Town, keeping to the alleys. "Stay in the shadows," Demyx whispered.

Wuya gave him a nod, and together, they darted through the shade.

Blue spirits flickered up throughout every street. Wuya flicked a hand through light after light, coming up with nothing. "They're just as confused as we are," she noted.

"There has to be somebody here who knows something," Demyx groaned. "And they better turn up fast, because this place is giving me the creeps!"

On and on they went, finding nothing. Wuya suggested searching the main roads, but Demyx pooh-poohed that idea, insisting it was safer to stay in the side streets.

"And if the ones who know what happened aren't staying to the side streets?" Wuya retorted.

"Well…I guess we could take some risks if it's been too long," Demyx relented.

As they continued, Demyx suddenly said, "Hey, can I ask a personal question?"

"You can ask," Wuya told him. "I can't guarantee you'll get an answer."

"Really, what's your story with the guy who used to be the boss of this place?" Demyx inquired.

"Does it really need that much explanation?" Wuya replied. "Simple story. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl try to outdo each other in progressively grander acts of evil. Boy and girl end up impressing each other instead, boy and girl end up in bed together, boy and girl fight like a married couple; one day, girl realizes boy isn't fighting fair anymore and decides to fight unfair right back. Boy calls girl too flamboyant, girl realizes she's bored with boy's austerity, boy and girl hate each other, and boy and girl break up."

"Well, there's your problem," Demyx pointed out. "Why would you get with somebody you hated?"

"Love and hate aren't opposites," Wuya told him. "Not that what we had was ever love. But rivalry means you have an interest in what each other is doing."

"Yeah, but it wasn't a good interest," Demyx observed. "Why wouldn't you just wait for somebody who was more like you? Somebody who was less boring and more flashy?"

"I suppose if I were to try and enter a real commitment again, that would be the sensible thing to look for, wouldn't it?" Wuya admitted. "But I've learned my lesson about commitments. Friends are fine. Lovers are more work than I need."

"I hear that," Demyx agreed.

"…You hear that?" Wuya said, suddenly alert.

"Yeah, I do," Demyx told her. "I just said so – "

"No!" Wuya hissed. "Do you HEAR that?"

It was a small sound: an insistent clink, clink, clink. A "clink" that couldn't possibly have been made by any lingering spirits.

"Hide!" Wuya snapped.

Demyx was already cowering behind a pile of crates. Wuya joined him, peering around the edge.

Cinder stalked down the street perpendicular to them both, gaze fixed forward rather than on the alley. Even if Demyx and Wuya had been standing in front of the crates, Cinder wouldn't have seen them. Wuya sized her up as she watched her pass, briefly contemplating starting a skirmish and then thinking better of it. They waited ten minutes after Cinder had passed the alley to creep out of hiding.

"Keeping to the side streets was a good move after all," Wuya remarked.

"I told you!" Demyx insisted. "So who was it?"

"Someone I fought before," Wuya answered.

"Was she better than you?"

"I could take her if I had to. But right now, it's better to keep a low profile." Wuya gave Demyx a pointed look. "You know, you remind me of one of my former co-workers."

"Oh yeah?" Demyx replied. "In a good way or in a bad way?"
"Bad."

"Oh."

"He was just like you in a lot of ways," Wuya elaborated. "He was whiny, scared of his own shadow, and completely tactless. But you have a lot of advantages he doesn't."

"Really?"

"You're smarter than you let on," Wuya remarked. "More powerful, too. He had book smarts, but no head for the streets. You seem to be the other way around. You could actually make something of yourself if you wanted. Stick with us, and we could make you a bona fide evildoer. We could make your name one to be feared."

"Huh," Demyx replied. "You could really make something outta me? Nobody's ever even thought I had potential before. Xemnas just wanted me because I didn't have a heart and that's it."

"Well, you've got potential to spare," Wuya told him. "You could be a monster."

"I don't know if I wanna be a monster," Demyx admitted. "I just wanted a normal life where nobody bugged me."

"Who needs that?" Wuya urged him. "You could have infamy and fortune! You could rule your own country and strike fear into the hearts of goody-two-shoes! You could be respected!" She held up and clenched a hand for effect.

"Respect sounds nice," Demyx admitted. "Speaking of, this is the nicest any of you have been to me since I joined your army. I kinda thought you all hated me."

"Like I said, you're tactless and whiny," Wuya reminded Demyx. "But you're one of ours now, so we're taking responsibility for you. I'm personally making sure you don't die out here on this mission."

"So if that person with the clicky shoes from earlier tried to kill me," Demyx asked, "you'd protect me?"

"Of course. Don't be stupid. Assuming, of course, you'd do the same for me."

"…Yeah," Demyx said after far too long of a pause. "Totally."

Wuya was unconvinced, but shrugged it off. She didn't need him to defend her anyway. "Just keep moving."

They resolved it was safer to enter the main roads now that they'd seen Cinder pass by; she would probably assume that everything she'd passed was clear, so as long as they traveled down the direction from which she had come, they would be relatively protected. It was down that route that Wuya found the floating spirits of Shad, Ashei, Auru, and Rusl, who had all made it out of the castle and were aimlessly seeking help in every direction.

When she read their memory of recent events, she was frozen, eyes wide.

"What?" Demyx asked. "What did you find?"

Wuya began to laugh. A low chuckle at first, but it grew and grew.

"WHAT?" Demyx asked again, now very concerned.

"I see how it is," Wuya said cryptically. "He wants to play the game again. He's already set up the board, and he thinks he's winning. Well, I'm about to shuffle the deck."

"I think you mixed metaphors," Demyx informed her.

Wuya cast a Corridor. "We're going back to the desert."

"You know what's going on?"

"Oh, I know EXACTLY what's going on." Wuya punctuated this with a giggle. "Things are about to get interesting."

...

Radiant Garden's metropolitan area was practically littered with weapons shops, and they fared quite well, given the general clientele of the town. In one such weapons shop, located near the edge of the city, shopkeeper Groeb Bearman finished polishing the last sword hung up on the edge of a rack.

The deep clearing of a throat brought his attention to the front counter. Somehow, a pair of customers had arrived at the shop without Groeb even noticing. One was tall, bulky, a crooked black top hat balanced atop his head to offset his black ensemble and even blacker beard, contrasting his pale complexion. The other, female in appearance, had skin a shade more tan than her companion but long golden hair far lighter than his; she was clothed in gold and white, with an ankle-length skirt.

"Yes, yes," the bearded one said in a voice with a heavy accent that one from an Earth territory might have called Russian. "This is place. This will do."

"Can I help you?" Groeb asked.

"Yeah," the golden-haired one said in a soft tone, her accent identifiable to American by anyone who recognized the other as Russian. "Whaddaya got for weapons?"

"This…entire shop is weapons," Groeb offered up.

"Yes, yes, can see that," the bearded man said with a wave of his hand. "We are adventurers from far-off lands. Are looking for weapons to defend selves from Heartless." He let his eyes travel over the selection. "Yes…that." He pointed directly at a double-edged axe with blades of jet black. "That will do."

"Do you wanna hear any of the specs?" Groeb asked. "Attack, defense – "

"No, no, already know is what I want," the bearded man insisted.

"I like the looks of that one," the customer draped in gold said as she pointed to a broadsword with a glimmering golden sheen. "That's not real gold, is it?"

"Of course not," Groeb assured her. "Real gold would buckle in a fight. Not to mention be far too expensive for the average weaponry seeker. That's gold-plated mythril. It's heavy-duty. You know, that one actually amplifies any pre-existing fire magic – "

"Sold," the golden-haired customer said decisively.

Groeb wrapped up both weapons, then waved to the pair of customers as they took their purchases away. "You know where to go if you need more!" Groeb called out.

Once they were out of earshot, Snatcher, settling the sheath of his newly acquired axe upon his back, hissed, "You're going to give the game away."

"He didn't suspect a thing," Garfield said with a toss of his golden wig.

"I've told you a hundred times, you've got to pick a different accent!" Snatcher insisted.

"And I've told YOU a hundred times I can't actually do any accents!" Garfield snapped back. "My voice is fine. That guy bought it." He sheathed his new sword in his belt.

"I don't see why you were so concerned about the composition of your weapon's metal," Snatcher went on. "They're only for show. To sell the façade, so to speak."

"Yeah, well, try saying that again when we get caught up in a fight without our real gear," Garfield argued.

"Can you even wield a sword?"

"Can YOU wield an AXE?"

"Touché."

They entered the main square; the castle towered on the horizon. "Our foray begins," Snatcher announced.

"Lead the way, Dad," Garfield teased with a nudge to Snatcher's upper arm.

...

An insistent knock came at the door to Neo's quarters. Neo set the book she'd been reading aside to answer it, finding Scarlet on the other side.

"Neo!" Scarlet chirped. "I have a surprise for you!"

Neo cocked her head quizzically.

"Come on!" Scarlet seized Neo's arm and began to drag her down the hall. It was curiosity and affection for Scarlet that prompted Neo to let her do such a thing. "I know it's hard for you to dance around Snatcher's allergy," Scarlet explained on the way, "so, now that he's out of the base, Herb and I whipped up a little something we think you'll enjoy."

That heightened Neo's curiosity. She now actively walked to keep pace with Scarlet.

"Just a little bit further…" Scarlet pushed open a pair of imposing-looking doors, revealing a long room filled with a polished dining table on the other side. "TA-DAAAAA!"

Herb, standing to the side of the table, gestured to the table's head with an echoing "TA-DAAAAAA!"

Neo gasped. There, awaiting her, was an enormous mound of ice cream settled in a gargantuan bowl. Scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry dominated, but Neo could make out swirls of other flavors in the mix as well, based on the color. Speckles of chocolate, marshmallow, and fruit peppered the soft substance.

"It's all yours!" Scarlet announced as she backed off to stand on the other side of the table, across from Herb. "Dig in!"

Neo gestured to herself; for me? Really?

"REALLY!" Scarlet and Herb said as one.

Neo didn't need to be told again. She swiped a spoon from beside the ice cream dish and plunged it into the dessert, filling her mouth with it. It had been far too long since she'd been allowed such a frozen treat, and she doubted she'd get the chance to eat it again anytime soon, so she resolved to make the most of it. She hadn't even sat down, simply standing to shovel spoonful after spoonful into her mouth.

"Are you enjoying your treat, Neo?"

There was something off about Scarlet's voice when she asked. Neo couldn't quite place it at first. She looked up from the ice cream dish to gesture a response –

And gazed down the length of the table in Salem's hideout. Where she had been sure Herb was standing not a moment ago, Arthur Watts smirked proudly at her. And instead of Scarlet Overkill, Cinder Fall was positioned across from him, giving Neo the same look.

"Didn't you hear me?" Cinder asked coyly. "I asked if you were enjoying your treat."

Neo's body seized up, and not out of fear. What she wanted to do was grab the nearest object that could be used as a weapon and launch herself at Watts. He would be easier to take down; she would worry about Cinder later. But her limbs didn't obey. They dropped to her sides, freezing there. Her legs wobbled, and she lost her balance, collapsing onto her back, where she couldn't move a millimeter, staring up at the ceiling.

They'd poisoned the ice cream, she realized. Cinder and Watts had done something to the ice cream so that when she ingested it, she would be completely paralyzed.

"Not so tough now, are we?" Cinder mocked as she stepped into view, looking down upon Neo. Her eyes flared with flame; she held up a palm full of fire. "It's time we taught you what happens to traitors."

"Now, hold on." Watts extended an arm, placing a hand on the forearm connected to Cinder's handful of fire. "We could kill her straightaway. But then again, I designed this toxin to immobilize her for three hours. Would it not be more enjoyable to let her live most of it out in this room? We could spend the time finding a more…excruciating way to put her out of her misery. I'm sure Tyrian has a few ideas. But after spending two hours on the floor, she'll lose all sense of dread. She'll be internally begging for us to please, please get it over with. Think about it, Cinder."

"You know…" Cinder let the flame extinguish, her eyes returning to normal. "I like the way you think, Dr. Watts."

"Praise? From you? How unusual."

"I don't intend to make a habit of it."

The pair disappeared from Neo's view, and she could hear their footsteps, particularly the glassy clinks of Cinder's shoes, departing the room. She tried in vain to move, even just her little finger, but it was as if her mind had been implanted in a body made of stone.

The door shut, and all Neo was left with was the view of the ceiling. There was no further noise. There was no further disturbance. All Neo could do was wait and observe her own heart rate as it grew ever more quick.

...

Neo opened her eyes.

As soon as she realized where she was – in her bed on the WHAM ARMY warship, book sprawled on her stomach where she'd let it drop – she sat upright, feeling her heart pound.

Now she recalled. She'd simply been laying on top of her comforter and reading a book, and she'd drifted off to sleep from there. The ice cream, Cinder, Watts, the paralysis: all a nightmare.

She shuddered. Few things actually frightened her. But this nightmare seemed to have reached into her very subconscious and pulled out something she wasn't aware she could fear. She held up both hands, wiggling the fingers to prove that she still had a range of mobility.

Then she leapt off the bed, her book crashing to the ground. She needed to be near other people. The real Scarlet and Herb. Peter. Mim. Aghoul. Anybody. Of course, once she'd found company, she would play it cool. No one needed to know she'd been affected by something as trivial as a nightmare.

But for now, she worried that if she were alone, the dream would somehow find a way to seep back into her reality.

...

Riku landed hard on the street, crouching to absorb the shock. After taking a moment to collect himself, he stood tall, taking in his surroundings.

He appeared to be in a town of some sort: one that reminded him aesthetically of Radiant Garden, but seemed to be lower-tech, judging by the absence of any electrical lights. More importantly, the semi-Darkness he had seen from above hung thick in the air, giving everything a sickly shade. Flecks of black floated like ash. He could smell a faint background scent of Darkness, but it still was not true, pure Darkness; it was diluted. He'd never encountered anything quite like this before, and was unsure of what to call it.

He began to walk forward, contemplating calling out. Judging by sight alone, the town was deserted (though he gained an eerie vibe whenever he passed a cluster of the strange blue lights that bobbed about). But perhaps everyone was indoors, in hiding. Perhaps they were hiding from the quasi-Darkness. Or perhaps there was a greater threat on the loose.

Riku summoned his sword to hand, carrying it loosely at his side. He knew he was just as likely to run into enemy as he was into friend in this strange environment. With that in mind, he began his search for other signs of life.

The first twenty minutes proved fruitless, and Riku wondered if he'd begun his search in the wrong place. Then he heard the hustle of foosteps behind him. He turned; a figure darted around a corner before he had time to visually grasp what he was seeing. Raising his sword and keeping it at the ready for an attack, he slowly followed the path he'd seen the figure disappear down.

A narrow alleyway led to a recessed door, one that seemed almost impossible to find if you weren't specifically looking for it – or hadn't seen someone flee in this direction. Cautiously, Riku eased the door open, putting one foot into the room beyond.

He had entered a tavern, from the looks of it, with tables set up all around and a bar dominating one side of the space. No sooner had Riku taken in where he was than he realized that he wasn't alone.

"STAY BACK!"

The cry came from the far corner, where a young man in green stood at the ready with a bow drawn, arrow aimed directly for Riku's heart. A young woman clad in a gown of lavender and white stood behind this youth; her expression was of fear. And while it seemed the man with the bow was, at first, angry, Riku realized upon a second look that he was frightened too.

Tentatively, Riku lowered his sword. "I'm not here to hurt you," he stated.

"Then why are you carrying your sword like that?" the woman asked.

"In case I met someone who wanted to hurt me," Riku answered. He let the sword dissipate. "But I don't think you do."

The man in green accepted the truce Riku's gesture had begun, easing the arrow off his bow and laying both pieces of the weapon on the table.

"You're afraid," Riku stated. "I can tell. What…happened here?"

"You…don't know?" the woman replied.

"Who ARE you?" the man asked. "Why aren't you being affected by the Twilight?"

"Twilight," Riku repeated. "That's a fitting name. I was wondering what it was. I knew it wasn't pure Darkness." He snapped out of his reverie. "My name is Riku. I think…this Twilight isn't affecting me because I've been tied to the Darkness before, and it's still a part of me. Once you've been steeped in Darkness, then Twilight doesn't matter. I'm guessing the same is true for both of you."

"No," the woman said, shaking her head. "The Triforce protects us."

"Triforce?" Riku repeated.

"The force of the goddesses," the man clarified. "You must be from far away if you don't know."

"Far away is right," Riku confirmed. "I've come from another world."

He waited for the disbelief. Instead, the man said curiously, "Like the Twilight Realm?"

"I'm guessing it's something like that," Riku said with a smile, trying to see if he could ease his company into comfort. "My home is actually called the Destiny Islands, but I've been to a lot of different worlds lately."

"So you don't know about the Twilight," the woman realized.

"Not this kind of Twilight," Riku affirmed. "Can you tell me more about it?"

The man looked to the woman with curiosity and trepidation. "Can we trust him?" he said quietly.

"We have no choice," the woman responded. "We need help."

They turned back to Riku. "My name is Princess Zelda," the woman introduced.

Riku flinched. Immediately, he went down on one knee, bowing his head. "I didn't know – "

"You don't have to do that," Zelda said softly.

Riku rose. "It feels like every royal I talk to eventually says that to me," he teased.

"My name is Link," the man added. "It's…nice to see a friendly face."

"Same here," Riku said with a nod. "So what happened?"

"An enemy we thought was long dead reappeared," Zelda said worriedly. "He's somehow…changed the guardian spirits of Light into spirits of Darkness."

"That's what he said he did, at least," Link clarified. "He's not the kind of person you can trust to tell the truth."

"But I felt my connection to the spirits sever," Zelda emphasized. "I was no longer able to share in their Light. I was left defenseless."

"Wait," Riku said. "You might have to start from the beginning."

So they did. They told Riku how Hyrule was guarded by the four spirits: Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. How they protected the Light of that world, and lent it to Zelda to use in battle. How Ganondorf had used a pawn from the Twilight Realm to threaten them in the past, weakening them so Twilight could dominate the land. How the Twilight turned everyone it touched into spirits, save those marked by the Triforce. How Link had slain Ganondorf to bring peace to both realms. How Zelda had been about to be married, but her betrothed was stolen from her just before Twilight blanketed the land and Ganondorf stormed the throne room with his two cohorts.

Had Zelda gone into a little more detail about Hans' kidnappers rather than just naming them as people she assumed worked with Ganondorf, Riku might have put together some pieces of the puzzle then and there. As it was, Mozenrath's presence on that world was left undiscovered for the time being.

"He said he had four generals stationed with the spirits of Light," Link concluded. "They have to be surviving the Twilight by borrowing the Triforce of Power, just like the other two."

"Tell me more about the two that were with Ganondorf," Riku demanded. "I think I might know who he's working with."

"They were both women," Link explained. "They could both fly. One of them was only human from the waist up. She had the legs of an octopus."

"Ursula," Riku realized. "That means Ganondorf is working with Maleficent! What about the other woman? What was she like?"

"She was dressed in red," Link described. "She had magic like I've never seen before. She controlled fire, and she made black weapons out of thin air."

Riku was taken aback. He knew that description. "Cinder," he named. "Cinder and Maleficent are working together."

"You know them," Zelda said plainly.

"We've been fighting them for a long time," Riku explained.

"'We'?" Link and Zelda said as one.

It was then time for Riku to explain: how he was a Keybearer, trying to bring order to the worlds, even though he didn't have his Keyblade at the moment. How he and his friends had made many enemies on many worlds, but it seemed the majority of these enemies were now lining up under Maleficent's banner. How he had friends from so many other worlds, and a group of them had come seeking Cinder in particular. Ruby's story, and why Cinder was vital for her to pursue.

"I told them I'd get back to them," Riku finished. "I wanted to find some way to bring them down onto this world safely. But with the Twilight, I can't do that. The Darkness isn't part of them the way it's a part of me, and they haven't been blessed by your goddesses. Is there any other way they can enter this world without losing their forms?"

"No," Zelda said somberly. "Not that we know."

"The only one I can think of who would know is Midna," Link said wistfully.

Riku nodded; Midna had come up in Link and Zelda's story as the one who'd assisted Link in vanquishing Ganondorf.

"I wish she were here," Link went on. "Not just because she could help your friends, but…because she always knows what to do. She can look at any situation and see something I missed. Some kind of solution. She wouldn't be afraid…no. She would be afraid, but she would already have a plan to fix what went wrong, even if it took her years to carry it out. She'd smile, and she wouldn't give up. But I should be glad she isn't here, because that means she's safe."

"It sounds like you care a lot about her," Riku observed.

"I do," Link confirmed. "Sometimes, I feel like there are ways I'm closer to her than people I've known my whole life."

"She's strong," Zelda contributed, "and a loyal friend. If it weren't such a danger to her, I would wish her here too."

"If I could just see her smile again," Link lamented. "Just once."

All three were suddenly aware of a piercing white light sparking in the center of the tavern. It started out as a small globe, then expanded, becoming larger than a human being.

"What…is it?" Link gasped.

"I've heard of this before," Riku realized. "I've even seen it. The Light in our hearts opens up pathways to the ones we care about most when we need them most. It's rare, but…I think that Light will lead you to Midna."

"My heart…is connecting me to Midna?" Link repeated. "I…can't. Not when we're all in so much danger. I can't bring her into it."

"But that doesn't mean you can't see her," Riku urged. "If you really want to see her smile again, then go into that Light."

"Can I go with you?" Zelda asked. "I would like to see her again as well. Not only that, but I don't think it's safe to stay here. Those people…Ursula and Cinder…will come looking for us."

"If you go, I'd like to go too," Riku insisted. "You've got me curious about what this Midna is like. And I'm not too big on the idea of staying back here alone either."

"Yes!" Link insisted. "You should both come!"

He charged into the Light, his heart racing at the prospect of once more looking Midna in the eye. Zelda followed, and Riku brought up the rear. The Light sealed itself shut once all were through, leaving no trace that they had occupied the tavern.

But a moment after Link, Zelda, and Riku had disappeared, Cinder crashed into the tavern through the ceiling, tearing through the beams and rafters as an aura of flame engulfed her. Teeth gritted, she scanned the room while hovering above, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two blessed by the Triforce who had gotten away from her. Finding nothing, she zoomed directly upward and out of the building, continuing her search elsewhere in town.

...

At first glance, it would be difficult to believe that the Twilight Realm and Hyrule were so connected, for the Twilight Realm was different in almost every possible way. Its landmasses were composed of islands floating in an abyss; the sky was purple above and golden below, giving a dark cast over the land, though not without its brightness. And the sky remained that way permanently, always. The architecture of the city was dark and blocky, the palace tall and imposing. The Twili, the inhabitants of that realm, were often short, with skin of black or pale green marked with glowing green patterns of lines.

The royal family was taller, more humanoid; Princess Midna in particular towered above her subjects, with nearly luminous blue-green skin offset by bright orange hair that flowed down over her shoulders and broke into twin lengths that tied together in front. She had inherited this color scheme from her parents, King Selenos and Queen Soleanna, who had abdicated the throne to her only a year ago, leaving her a fresh ruler when Zant betrayed her and stole everything she had to her name, warping her realm and her people. Now that Zant and Ganondorf had been foiled in this realm, Selenos and Soleanna had been freed from their imprisonment in the bodies of wild, feral creatures. Once they were reunited with Midna, she never apologized for failing when faced with Zant, for letting her realm fall into the clutches of the wrong man. She knew she never had to, and Selenos and Soleanna never expected her to.

They spent the earlier part of the day strolling through the royal gardens out back of the palace, where even the plants differed vastly from those seen in the world of light, ranging from black, twisting vines to ballooning red flowers the color of a setting sun.

"You know," Midna said as she looked to the sky, "in Hyrule, the sky changes every hour. The sun gets higher in the sky in the middle of the day, and everything gets brighter. Then, after the brief twilight phase at the end of the day, everything goes dark except for the stars."

"How awful that must be," Soleanna said in disgust, "to be beneath a sky you can never rely on to be the same."

"It was awful," Midna sighed. "Sometimes I miss it."

"Better you had that adventure than us," Selenos joked. "I don't think I could have handled it."

"Do you want to go back?" Soleanna asked out of curiosity.

"That would mean leaving my entire home behind," Midna said instantly and sharply.

But it wasn't a "no," and Soleanna realized that immediately. It was a remark made to cover ambivalence.

A sudden yell rang out across the gardens: "MIDNA!"

Midna recognized the voice immediately, and a shot of adrenaline pulsated through her. How could it possibly be him? How could he possibly be here?

She turned. There he was, standing at the edge of the rows and rows of flowers: Link, with Zelda to his left and an unknown boy to his right.

"Who is that?" Soleanna asked.

"He isn't a Twili!" Selenos cried.

"No," Midna said breathlessly, a smile taking over her face. "He's a friend!"

Link broke into a run, careful to leap over each row of plants and avoid crushing any royal property, hurrying toward Midna. Instinctively, he put his arms out in front of his body, ready to embrace her. But certainly, he realized, that was no way to greet the ruler of the Twilight Realm. He hadn't interacted with her after she'd taken the throne once more, and he realized their dynamic might have changed; he might now have to pay more respect. So he slowed his steps, lowering his arms as he came to a halt before her.

He looked into her eyes, unable to find words. She looked back for but a moment, saying nothing as well. Then she remarked, "Do you think I'm too immaculate to touch? Is that it?"

She reached out, pulling Link close to herself. And once she'd broken down that barrier, he felt more free to wrap his own arms around her, returning the gesture in full force. He had also only known her true form for a short while, and was unused to her having such a tall body, thinking back to when she was a tiny imp the proper size to ride upon a wolf's back. He liked that she was now able to embrace him.

Riku and Zelda carefully made their way through the gardens to the reunion site, watching contentedly without saying a word.

"I missed you," Link said softly as he and Midna stepped apart.

"I thought about you every now and then," Midna teased. "How did you get here?"

"I can't really explain it," Link admitted. "Riku knows more about it than I do."

"Riku?" Midna repeated, looking to the strange silver-haired boy. Certainly this was who Link was referring to.

"That's me," Riku confirmed. "And you must be Midna." He bowed.

"Don't do that," Midna groaned.

As Riku straightened back up, Midna asked, "So what happened to Link to bring him here? Since you're apparently the expert."

"His heart opened up a pathway through the Light," Riku elaborated. "I've seen it before." He thought back to Beast carving his way to Radiant Garden, back when it was Hollow Bastion, just to find Belle, and of Phineas bringing the Mystic Rangers to the same town because of his connection to Leelee. "It only happens when one person cares about another a lot…" Thinking back, both Beast and Phineas had been in love with the respective people their hearts had drawn them to, hadn't they? It was an interesting thing to note. "…and when one person needs the other most." Though it had happened for Sora and Riku finding their way to Kairi as well, so the type of bond did vary. Still, it bore consideration to wonder what sort of bond Link and Midna truly had.

"You need me?" Midna repeated. "I should've known I couldn't leave you alone. You'd never get anywhere without me." She giggled.

"I wanted to see you," Link told her.

"There has to be more to it than that," Midna asserted. "Your friend just said you NEEDED me. Is there some kind of problem?"

"There is," Link admitted, "but I don't want to get you wrapped up in it."

"Maybe I want to get wrapped up in it," Midna argued. "Tell me what it is, and I'll decide for myself."

"Midna!" Selenos said in shock. "Are you suggesting you want to meddle in the affairs of the world of light again? You can't – "

"Oh, shhhh!" Soleanna told her husband, holding up a hand in front of him. Selenos halted his complaints, knowing much better than to defy Soleanna.

"I…" Link could only state it after taking a deep breath to clear his head. "Ganondorf has returned. He brought allies, and he somehow transformed the spirits of Light into spirits of Darkness. Hyrule is covered in Twilight again, and Zelda and I are the only ones who haven't been transformed into spirits."

"Then what's he?" Midna asked, indicating Riku.

"He's from another realm besides either of ours," Link told her. "He's been fighting evil in many realms, and he wants to help us."

"Another realm, is it?" Midna looked to Riku.

Riku nodded. "It's true."

"He came with several friends," Zelda added, "but he's the only one able to walk safely in the Twilight. Darkness is a part of him, and it keeps him safe."

"It's too bad I wasn't there," Midna related. "I could work a spell that would keep all your friends from coming to any harm, easily. Well, it's not too late to fix that."

"You can't!" Link argued. "Ganondorf's allies make him too strong! You'd be in danger!"

"I have the power of the Fused Shadow on my side," Midna reminded him. "Do you really think I'd be in danger? You must think very little of me."

"No, I don't!" Link insisted. "I don't think little of you at all! I just – "

Midna gave him a teasing smile. "I know. I was joking. But it sounds like you really do need my help."

"But we have no way to get back," Link realized.

Everyone was made aware of a piercing, shining light that started out as a mere orb and expanded into a gateway. "Looks like your heart is leading you home one last time," Riku realized.

"Then I'm going with you," Midna insisted.

"But then YOU'LL have no way to get back," Link told her.

"Is my realm the one in danger?" Midna retorted. "We can find a way after we've made sure your world is safe again."

"In all the worlds, there must be a way to put back the gateway between your realms just long enough for Midna to go home," Riku added.

"Just let me say goodbye," Midna demanded, turning to Selenos and Soleanna, who regarded her with a shocked expression.

"Mi…Midna," Selenos finally forced out. "You…you would…"

"I would help a world that needs me," Midna told her father. "I'm sorry it means having to leave you behind. But maybe, if Link's heart led him to me, mine will lead me to you when the time comes."

"We understand what you have to do," Soleanna told her daughter.

"We do?" Selenos said in disbelief.

"We once ruled this kingdom long before you were born and for quite some time after," Soleanna reminded her. "If you so decree it, we may take up the throne again."

Midna drew herself up tall. "It is my decree as the ruler of the Twilight Realm that you may take my place to rule as king and queen again. We can work out the details of what happens when I get back when that actually happens."

Soleanna moved forward to hug her daughter. "Do what you must," she said solemnly. "We will think of you every moment you are gone."

"You're not going to be so easy to forget yourself," Midna replied.

It was then Selenos' turn to embrace Midna goodbye. "I cannot believe you are doing this," he sighed. "But you always have been strong-willed, and you know the difference between right and wrong. If you believe this is the best path…then it must be true. I love you, my daughter."

"I love you too," Midna said. "Both of you."

Riku almost found the sight too much to bear, as he recalled not giving his own family the grace of goodbye the night he had given himself up to the Darkness: a memory that he knew would weigh heavy on him always.

Midna stepped away from her parents, toward Zelda, Link, and Riku. "Well?" she said. "Let's get moving before that thing closes."

She shoved ahead, reaching a hand out to touch the passage first, seeing if it would harm her. Light magic often burned her, and too much of it could prove fatal. But while this was uncomfortably warm, it merely forged itself into a container around her, the Light itself keeping a safe distance as the walls of the byway. Once she was confident that she would not be hurt, Midna strolled right into the passage. Link waited for Zelda and Riku to make it through safely as well before stepping in.

Then, as before, the corridor closed, sealing Hyrule and the Twilight Realm off from each other again.

...

The first thing Riku noticed upon the group's return to Hyrule was the hole in the roof of the tavern. "Someone came looking for us," he realized. "It's not safe to hide here anymore."

"Just take me to your friends," Midna insisted. "I want to see what kind of people came to us in our desperate hour."

...

The atmosphere in the Gummi ship was relaxed at first, but the longer Riku was gone, the tenser it grew.

"I hope he's okay," Jasmine said with concern.

"Urgh!" Katara grunted. "This would be so much easier if one of us could just get down there and LOOK FOR HIM!"

"Okay, you're not going to believe this," Stork said in his own state of incredulousness, "but I think I just found him."

Midna flew up toward the Gummi ship on a surge of magic, surfing on it with her bare feet; she held Riku's hand in her left and Link's hand in her right, with Zelda clinging to Link's spare hand. That contact made them able to ride along with her to where the ship hung in the sky.

"HE SEEMS TO HAVE MADE NEW FRIENDS," Papyrus observed.

Sora flung open the side door, letting Midna, Riku, Link, and Zelda enter. "Come on in!" he welcomed. Once all were settled and the door shut, Sora nearly tackled Riku in an embrace. "I KNEW you'd be okay!" he proclaimed.

"Like I could afford to get in trouble with you waiting on me," Riku replied, nearly crushing Sora in his own arms.

"Uh…hi," Ruby greeted the three guests. "Who are you?"

"My name is Midna," Midna said with a sly smile, "and I believe I'm your savior on this particular day."

"So you're Riku's friends," Link realized. "Riku met us down below. My name is Link."

"And I am Princess Zelda," Zelda added.

"So can you tell us what EXACTLY is going on down there?" Stork asked. "You know, why it's all…shadowy?"

"None of you really could survive down there without turning into spirits," Midna observed. "At least, not the way you are now. Just give me a second and I'll fix that."

She held her hands with palms together, creating a small sphere of dusky Twilight magic in between them. She opened up her hands, letting the orb grow and grow until it enveloped the whole ship. Stork and Katara winced, unsure at first whether to trust the spell.

"There," Midna resolved. "Now you'll be protected."

"This better not be a trick," Stork grunted. "Also, you didn't answer my question."

"I only know what they told me," Midna retorted.

"They have an old enemy named Ganondorf," Riku explained. "I think he's working with Maleficent. At least, he's working with Ursula for sure. Ganondorf came back with several of Maleficent's forces and covered the world in Twilight magic by corrupting the Light spirits that guarded it. Link and Zelda are the only ones who were able to withstand it because of a blessing from their goddesses. Midna comes from a world where everything is surrounded in Twilight magic, so she's fine."

"Sounds like we have another world to save," Sora resolved.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Stork groaned.

"But that's not even the part that will matter most to you," Riku went on. "Ganondorf isn't Maleficent's only new ally on this world." He looked directly to Ruby.

"No," Ruby breathed.

"They're working with Cinder Fall," Riku confirmed.

Ruby stood bolt upright, clutching the collapsed Crescent Rose at her side. "We've gotta go down there and take 'em down!"

"I like her," Midna said with a grin.

...

As Sora's party, now of eleven, marched down the central road of Castle Town to get to the fortress at its heart, they swapped stories, with Link, Midna, and Zelda learning of the visitors' adventures and the visitors learning of the past struggle of Link, Midna, and Zelda against Ganondorf and his use of the Twilight.

"So what's the plan?" Stork asked. "Do we have a plan?"

"The plan is we march right into that castle and give Ganondorf and Cinder a piece of our minds," Aladdin responded confidently.

"You know," Stork grunted, "everyone said you were more of a plan guy than just 'march up to the stronghold of our doom and start a fight we can't finish.'"

"I can practically finish this fight on my own," Midna tried to assure the others. "Just watch when we get there."

They finally reached the castle gates only to find the entire building protected by its shield of impenetrable Darkness. Ruby attempted to walk right through it, thinking it only an intangible projection of magic; the others all cried out to warn her before she slammed right into the hard wall.

"Okay, ouch," she muttered. "That is a very real wall."

"OF COURSE THEY WOULD NOT MAKE IT EASY!" Papyrus realized. "IT'S ANOTHER PUZZLE WE HAVE TO WORK OUT!"

"And it has an easy solution," Midna told him. "Watch this."

Her outline bubbled, indicating a transformation about to take place.

"Step back," Link warned the others.

Everyone quickly backpedaled to give Midna some space. Several plates of black armor appeared, orbiting Midna until they slammed into the shape of a horned helmet that covered her head. The helmet seemed to pull Midna's entire body left and right; as she staggered, she muttered, "You'd think I would have learned how to control this stage!"

Then she became gelatinous and expanded within the span of a moment; where the Twili woman had stood, there was suddenly an enormous creature, a six-armed spidery behemoth topped off by a gargantuan version of the horned helmet, its skin glowing black and gold.

Stork squeaked, attempted to make a comment, and then simply collapsed in a dead faint.

Midna, now in her more sizeable form, clambered up the side of the wall of Darkness, pounding into it with all six feet. She drew back one limb, curling it around; a golden spear forged of Twilight energy sparked into her grip. Midna slammed the spear against the Darkness as hard as she could.

There was a flash of bright light –

And the spear shattered in Midna's grip.

Frustrated, Midna balled up the digits on the two frontmost of her limbs, pounding on the wall over and over. She materialized weapon after weapon, and all broke against the barrier. Finally, she slid back down to the ground, deflating into her Twili body once more and looking quite tiny in comparison to what she had just been.

"I don't UNDERSTAND!" she cried. "I was able to bring down the same kind of wall BEFORE! What's different NOW?"

As Jasmine and Aladdin gently helped Stork back to consciousness and set him on his feet again, Riku gave the wall a visual once-over. "What's different is Maleficent," he said decisively. "Anyone who works for her would be able to make a more powerful barrier. They would expect someone who has your power to challenge them. And I'm guessing it's only made stronger by the corruption of this world's Light."

"No!" Ruby moaned. "NO!" She withdrew Crescent Rose, charging at the wall. "Cinder is JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS WALL!" She made an angry stroke at the barrier, her blade glancing off it. Again and again she sliced, making no impact, as she cried out, "I! HAVE! TO! GET! THERE! I'M! SO! CLOSE!"

"RUBY, PLEASE CALM DOWN!" Papyrus implored, putting a hand on each of her shoulders. "YOU'LL BREAK YOUR WEAPON THAT WAY!"

Ruby ceased the scythe-strokes, taking several ragged breaths before finally forcing herself to calm down. "You're right," she sighed as she collapsed Crescent Rose. "I'm just wasting our time this way. But we can't give up now."

"And we're not going to," Aladdin insisted. "Riku, didn't you say that wall might be as strong as it is because of those Light spirits being corrupted?"

"I think that's probably the case," Riku affirmed.

"So if we could save the Light spirits," Sora concluded, "we could weaken the barrier!"

"And save the world while we're at it," Katara chimed in.

"That won't be easy," Zelda informed the others. "If the Light spirits have truly become Darkness…I do not know how to return the Light to them. There may not be a way to do such a thing."

"When Zant weakened them," Link recalled, "they had me return the Light to them in vessels. But then, they weren't corrupted. If Ganondorf was telling the truth, there might be no vessels this time that we can use. There's nothing that can fill them with Light."

"Do I have to think of everything?" Midna groaned. "Of course there's something that can fill them with Light, remember? Your sword! We imbued it with the power of the Sols!"

"The Sols?" Sora repeated.

"Stones from the Twilight Realm that provided us with all the Light we needed," Midna explained. "That's how we made Link strong enough to match Ganondorf last time! All you should need is that sword, and we'll be able to change the Spirits back easy!"

"I don't have the sword anymore," Link said rather sheepishly.

"You don't HAVE it?" Midna repeated in disbelief. "You better not have LOST it!"

"I returned it to where we found it," Link told her. "Once Hyrule was safe, I thought it would be most respectful to the goddesses to put it back in their care."

"Well, Hyrule ISN'T safe anymore!" Midna cried. "We have to go get that sword back RIGHT NOW!"

"Then we will," Link resolved. "It's going to be a long journey…"

"We can take it!" Sora insisted. "We've made tons of long journeys before!"

"WE'RE WITH YOU!" Papyrus affirmed.

Link looked around at the enthusiastic faces of his new allies (insofar as Stork's expression could ever be called enthusiastic at the prospect of a dangerous quest), surprised to see that the people he'd only just met were already willing to follow him across the land. He gave them all a nod. "Then we'll go," he stated, taking his first steps away from the castle.

The group moved all the way out of town, beginning a trek across the spacious fields and heading into the forest.

...

While Wuya and Demyx made the rounds in Castle Town, Mozenrath, Hans, Roman, Zevon, Yzma, and Irmaplotz found themselves with time to kill. While Yzma grilled Hans about whether or not he liked karaoke (the answer was yes) and what sort of music he liked, Roman and Zevon got into an idle discussion of things they'd blown up and what their most impressive chain reaction explosion had been. Mozenrath made his way to the edge of the roof of the Grounds, settling himself there with his legs dangling off the edge, and stared out upon the now darkened landscape before him. It had its own morbid beauty to it.

The Huntsman had wandered back into his mind. He couldn't help but wonder what the Huntsman would think of all of this. If he would enjoy the view off the Arbiter's Grounds. If he would have approved of Hans or not. What difference he could have made in the wedding crash. The conversation Mozenrath could be having with him right now about it if he were here. If he only wanted to be here at all.

Mozenrath became aware of the presence sitting next to him after it had been there for some time. "A speciedaler for your thoughts," Hans prompted.

"I don't see how what I'm thinking about is any of your concern," Mozenrath replied sharply.

"You'd better not be thinking about the Huntsman again," Yzma stated bluntly as she settled in on Mozenrath's other side.

"It isn't my fault he won't stop crossing my mind," Mozenrath grumbled. "If I didn't know better, I'd think he was doing it on purpose. But then again, that would involve him wanting me to suffer, which would involve caring about what I feel in some capacity, so he wouldn't do it."

"Apparently, whatever's going on is HER concern," Hans observed.

"I didn't even love him," Mozenrath went on. "Why…why does this BOTHER me?"

"It's certainly irrational," Yzma confirmed. "But then again, irrational is becoming our norm, is it not?"

"What is this?" Hans asked. "Guy trouble?"

"Well, since you've heard this much of it," Mozenrath told him, "I was…involved with an associate of mine. For reasons too petty to even believe, he decided he wanted nothing more to do with me outside of professional boundaries."

"Ouch," Hans replied. "That is rough. So, have you thought about how you're going to kill him yet?"

"I'm not going to kill him," Mozenrath groaned. "I can't."

"Why not?" Hans asked. "I kinda took you for that kind of guy."

"There's any number of people I would kill for slighting me in smaller ways than he did," Mozenrath growled. "But I can't…kill…him. Maybe I should have. But I can't."

"We were all in a position to do exactly that," Yzma pointed out, "and we didn't. You did come close to burning Vexen to a crisp a second time."

"And the list of people I should have killed grows ever longer," Mozenrath sighed.

"But do you REALLY want to kill Vexen, either?" Yzma asked.

"Don't make me get introspective about that," Mozenrath told her. "No one wants that."

"Well, if your associate wanted to cut things off with you, it's his loss," Hans remarked.

"I'd say don't try and flatter me," Mozenrath told him, flashing him a smirk, "but I do so enjoy being flattered."

"All I know is you're a looker," Hans replied, "and you have an ambitious spark anyone with our kind of morality should appreciate."

"Not wrong," Mozenrath told him. "Not wrong at all." He sighed back into a slump. "I'm above this."

"You know…" Irmaplotz chimed in, sitting down on Yzma's other side. "It's like this book I once read. There was a princess and a barbarian from two different kingdoms. One day, they met, and they fell in love. It was the most magical few weeks of either of their lives. But then they found out they were too different to be together, and nothing could change that. So the barbarian dumped – " She paused. "The princess dumped the barbarian. But ever since then, the barbarian couldn't stop thinking about her and wishing she'd been more like him and that they hadn't had that difference that forced them apart. Even though he was by all rights a strong, independent woman capable of ruling her own kingdom and creating her own destiny! She shouldn't need a man! She shouldn't care! But she never did – "

"I thought it was the barbarian who couldn't stop thinking about the princess," Yzma said in confusion.

"…I might be getting some details mixed up," Irmaplotz said sheepishly. "Anyway, the point of the book was that even the strongest and most capable people can end up getting caught up in thinking about the people they lo – were romantically involved with. It doesn't make you weak. It makes you human."

"Not big on being human," Mozenrath grunted.

"Well, too bad," Irmaplotz told him, "because you are."

"How did it end?"

"What?" Irmaplotz asked.

"The book," Mozenrath asked. "How did it end?"

"I…don't know the ending yet," Irmaplotz admitted. "I never got that far."

"You know, I like the sounds of this book," Zevon told her, plopping down on her other side. "There's nothing like reading a good tragicady. What was it called? Because I want to find out how it ends!"

"Well, would you look at that," Irmaplotz said dryly. "I've suddenly completely forgotten the title and the author."

"Curses!" Zevon hissed.

"Nobody asked for my opinion." Roman settled himself on the other side of Hans. "But you're gonna get it anyway. This whole Huntsman thing? Can't say I saw it coming, but now that we're here, I also can't say I'm completely surprised. After all, when you've seen the shit I have, you start to learn that life's not a fuckin' fairy tale. True love doesn't prevail. Not everybody gets a happy ending. Even if you are the good guy. You'd think that being the bad guy would make you a little safer. If life is unfair, at least it will be unfair in your favor. But every villain is the hero of their own story, right? And all heroes are fucked."

"Not necessarily," Yzma told him. "Everyone in Fantastica did insist we were fictional characters. It is possible, though unlikely, that we ARE in fact in some sort of fairy tale in which we get our way."

"No, we most definitely are not," Roman said coldly. "Trust me. If we were, I wouldn't have seen half the shit I've seen. You know, I really thought that this whole WHAM ARMY thing meant a turn for the better, and it's made me see the upside of things. But Skullface might just have marked the beginning of the end. First, he says he doesn't want to be our pal. Then he quits the team. Then someone else gets it into their head to follow. And one by one, it all falls apart."

"NO!" Mozenrath screamed suddenly, staring Roman down. "That is NOT going to happen! You're right about one thing. This is NOT a fairy tale where things will magically go our way if we let them play out. I learned that when I was younger too. And that's why I started standing up and taking action to MAKE things go my way. I stopped LETTING the world take things from me. I became the Mozenrath you know, I sacrificed for power, I killed Destane, all so I could write my own story! I am NOT going to roll over and let that stop now! Not for me, and not for any of you! We are going to stand up TOGETHER and write the ending of this story ourselves! Even if it takes more sacrifice. I'm not letting myself be ruled by the existence I mean to rule, and I'm not letting that happen to you either!"

"Me specifically?" Roman asked. "Or 'you' like the group?"

Mozenrath's smirk returned. "Both. You know, Torchwick…I can't believe I'm about to say this, but…"

He very nearly admitted it: that he was jealous of the relationship Roman had cultivated with Snatcher, and he was coming to realize that while the specifics would be different, it was something he wanted for himself. But before he could bare that part of his heart, Wuya and Demyx walked back onto the Grounds rooftop, and Mozenrath found himself rather relieved that he had been saved from revealing more than he usually did.

"You're back!" Yzma proclaimed, being the first to hustle into a standing position, with the others following suit.

"You look like you were having fun," Wuya remarked.

"All you guys needed were six sticks of sea-salt ice cream," Demyx joked.

"That'd be nice right about now, actually," Roman realized. "Have they invented ice cream on this world?"

"Given that it doesn't seem to have advanced technologically one bit since I was gone," Wuya answered, "I would say no."

"Please don't actually start eating sea-salt ice cream and staring off into the sunset," Demyx begged. "It was a joke. It's totally a hero thing."

"It sounds all too cutesy," Mozenrath said with distaste. "Anyway, what did you find?"

"You're not going to believe this," Wuya said with a smirk. "It appears Ganondorf isn't as gone as we thought."

"You're…strangely happy about this," Yzma said suspiciously.

"He's invaded Hyrule and corrupted the four guardian Light spirits of this land into spirits of Darkness," Wuya went on, her grin growing. "He's appointed a general from his new alliance to accompany each spirit and make sure no one tries any funny business. And given who I saw patrolling the town, I know exactly who those allies are."

"You are SUSPICIONOUSLY happy about this," Zevon chimed in.

"Who did you see patrolling the town?" Roman asked.

"Oh, no one special," Wuya told him. "Friend of yours. Fiery."

"Shit," Roman muttered, realizing exactly who she was talking about.

"Meaning Ganondorf's friends are Maleficent's friends," Wuya went on. "Four of them are guarding the spirits of Darkness. The four of them are borrowing the Triforce of Power from him. Meaning if we defeat them, I could take that power for myself…"

"…And you might just have a chance at breaching the border of the Twilight Realm," Hans realized.

"Oh," Wuya said sheepishly. "That too."

"This is about giving the final one-up to your ex-boyfriend, isn't it?" Mozenrath realized.

"It seriously took you that long to work it out?" Wuya scolded. "I'll finally have the last laugh! I'll bring his empire crashing down around him! He's giving it three days to sit on the throne before declaring it a success. We're about to make it the worst three days of his life! With the Triforce of Power, I could best him in combat and DESTROY him! And yes, I do mean literally. I want the last thing he sees to be me, reveling in my victory as he fades away!"

"Assuming he can't just teleport out of the way once he realizes you're getting the best of him," Roman pointed out.

"He won't admit it to himself until it's far, far too late," Wuya cackled.

"You care an awful lot about this," Yzma said sourly. "Are you sure you don't still have some kind of feelings for him?"

"The only feeling I have for him is bloodlust," Wuya replied coolly.

"Which is still technically lust," Roman observed.

"We have our new plan," Wuya outlined. "We're going to find all four of his generals. We're going to beat the Triforce of Power out of them. And then – "

"And THEN," Mozenrath took over, "we're going to cross into the Twilight Realm and find the Fused Shadow. You know, like we came here for in the first place."

"After we put Ganondorf in his place," Wuya argued.

"Our plan for multiversal domination is bigger than your argument with your ex-boyfriend!" Mozenrath snapped.

"You of all people should understand rivalry," Wuya scoffed. "This one's been going for over a millennium."

"BECAUSE YOU WERE TRAPPED IN A BOX FOR MOST OF IT!"

"Okay, I think we all just need to take a deep breath here," Hans suggested, holding up a hand toward Mozenrath and Wuya each. "Once we have the Triforce of Power, there will be time for both the Fused Shadow AND beating up Ganondorf. Though, honestly, if you ask me, I think Mozenrath's plan is the better bet here. Because once we have the Shadow AND the Triforce, we can use them BOTH to eliminate Ganondorf."

"That is true," Wuya realized. "He'll be instantly obliterated."

"So can we call a truce for now?" Hans suggested.

"Well, no matter the end, we are going after the same means," Mozenrath relented. "And if Wuya does agree to get the Shadow first…"

"It does sound like a distinct magical advantage," Wuya admitted. "All right. We'll do the Shadow first. But then you have to promise me we'll target Ganondorf."

"Bringing down Maleficent's elite is always satisfying," Mozenrath remarked. "We'll do it." He turned to Hans. "So. Where should we start?"

"Four spirits, four provinces," Hans laid out. "The closest one is Lanayru, but it's still going to be a walk."

"I say we cut the distance by going back to Castle Town first," Demyx suggested.

"You want to tango with the Fall Maiden?" Wuya asked skeptically.

"…You know, I don't even know what that means," Demyx admitted, "but it sounds bad, so no."

"We'll go from the edge of the desert," Mozenrath resolved, casting the Corridor.

Roman walked over to Demyx, nudging him lightly. "Care to provide any road trip tunes?"

Demyx called sitar to hand; "Only ALWAYS!"