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.

58. Black Eagle Circling the Sky

58. Black Eagle Circling the Sky

It wasn't long into the journey to Eldin Province that Roman Torchwick noticed Irmaplotz's new facial accessory.

"Wow, Four-Eyes," he remarked, "you look like a fucking nerd."

Irmaplotz flinched. This was exactly why she didn't like to wear her spectacles in everyday business. In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten to remove them post-battle. "Well, you look like you went out of style fifteen thousand and nineteen years ahead of schedule," she snapped.

"What does that even mean, Four-Eyes?" Roman laughed.

Irmaplotz gritted her teeth. "YZMA! Roman is calling me names!"

"Why are you telling ME?" Yzma replied. "What am I supposed to do about it? Just because I'm Zevon's mother doesn't make me yours!"

"You heard Yz-Mom, Four-Eyes," Roman stated. "I do what I want."

"Grrrr…" Irmaplotz tapped her glasses, letting them vanish; the horizon became just a little blurrier. "There. You can't call me Four-Eyes if I only have two."

"That's a good idea," Mozenrath told her. "Take off the glasses that correct your legitimate visual impairment. That way, whenever we get attacked next, you won't be able to see what our enemy is doing clearly, you'll become grievously injured, you'll allow the REST of us to be grievously injured, and you make things that much more of a hassle for me when I have to deal out resurrections."

"Fine," Irmaplotz growled, snapping her fingers; the spectacles reappeared. "I'll put them back on. But you're only doing this so Roman can keep calling me names."

"He calls everyone names," Mozenrath sighed.

"You think I'm happy about being Yz-Mom?" Yzma added.

"Well, if the stiletto fits…" Wuya teasted.

"My relationship with Zevon is barely parental!" Yzma groaned.

"Exacticly!" Zevon agreed. "Also, now that we've defeatalized one of Maleficent's generals and obtainmented part of the Triforce of Power, I declare a celebration to be had with cake and ice cream!"

"You're not eating that much sugar, mister," Yzma snapped.

Zevon shrugged. "So I have a question for Mozenrath."

"I can't guarantee I'll have an answer," Mozenrath replied, "but try me anyway."

"How did you do it?" Zevon asked. "How did you get your life together so young? As much as I hate to admittance it, I barely knew what I was doing until I joined you."

"Well, there are several factors that go into success," Mozenrath said casually. "The most important, of course, is sacrifice."

"I see," Zevon responded. "Tell me more."

"You get out of this world what you put into it," Mozenrath stated. "Not what you deserve. So you have to be ready to work for what you want. You have to be ready to work your hands until your fingers bleed. To keep moving even when every last cell in your body is begging you to shut down. To experience nights where hunger threatens to tear you apart from the inside out." His tone was growing ever colder. "To be rejected. To be struck. To be burned alive. To risk your life again and again in the hopes of attaining something that can give you the upper hand. To suffer an eternal pain in exchange for ultimate power. THAT is how you achieve success."

A silence spread over the group. Then, once it had run its course, Zevon said meekly, "And if I don't want to do that…?"

"Well, you won't really have to worry about that, since you're with us," Mozenrath said rather reassuringly. "I would focus more on the second factor of success: harnessing forces of great power and putting them to work for you. Your most crucial weapon is, of course, your own mind, but even that's useless if you don't have the power to back it up. Thirdacs, wind jackals, genies, the Philosopher's Stone – any of it will do if it's in capable hands. Whatever you want to accomplish, there's magic out there that will let you do it."

"So you're saying I should find some kind of powerful magic for myself," Zevon mused.

"Again, not something you have to worry about given present company," Mozenrath reassured him. "But if you were on your own, it would be worth consideration."

"I may take you up on this all the same," Zevon stated. "I always have been missing a signage-ature magical flair."

"And those potions don't count," Mozenrath replied.

"Since you bring it up," Zevon told him, "they work well enough, but I could use something with more of a punch!"

"I wasn't suggesting them," Mozenrath clarified. "I was saying outright that those potions don't count."

"Then we're in agreeancement!" Zevon laughed. "I am frustrationed by their limiterations anyway. I only have three remaindering."

"Then make them count," Mozenrath commanded.

"Oh, I will," Zevon promised. "Now, what to take on as my own personal powerhome? I always have liked jewels and crystals."

"I might actually be inclined to help you if I didn't have better things to focus on," Mozenrath told him. "There are plenty of untapped resources out there that would be better off among our forces than anywhere else. But, as it is, we won't need them. We have our spell, and we're coming close to completing it."

"Are you sure it's wise to bet all our eggs on the same horse?" Zevon asked.

"Idioms too, huh?" Wuya sighed.

"WHAT did you just call me?" Zevon snapped.

"People who worry about diversifying their plans are the people who expect to FAIL at their plans," Mozenrath clarified. "I don't expect to fail at this plan."

"That's a smart way to look at it!" Zevon agreed.

A confident way to look at it, Irmaplotz thought, but not necessarily a smart one. She knew far better than to say that out loud.

"I'm glad to know your point of view," Zevon went on. "It was enlightenating."

"So, um, back to that whole 'sacrifice' speech you made," Hans broke in. "Did you actually live your life like that?"

"I don't see why you need to know," Mozenrath replied curtly.

"It just seems like the kind of thing a person might need to talk about," Hans told him.

"Well, I don't," Mozenrath said casually.

"I'm ready to listen if you do," Hans added.

"I know better than to cough up my whole story to people," Mozenrath responded, just as casually.

Yzma thought back to the tents pitched in the fields of Fantastica, back when Mozenrath had believed a little differently.

"And, most importantly," Mozenrath added, "I've grown beyond my past."

"I should have figured," Hans said with a soft smile.

...

Aeleus was a man of few words. However, he knew Radiant Garden's castle and its grounds inside and out. The latter was why he had been selected to give "Nikolai and Bridgit Pike" a tour of what was to become their new domicile. The former made it incredibly difficult for Snatcher and Garfield to obtain the information they wanted from him along the way.

His idea of giving a tour was minimalistic enough. He opened the doors to the lower level of the library, leading his two charges inside and stating "This is the library." He ascended the stairway to the second level without a word as they followed.

"So, uh…what goes on here?" Garfield asked.

"Reading," Aeleus answered.

"How many books does library have?" Snatcher inquired, wondering if it was possible to juice more than the bare minimum of information out of his tour guide.

"Too many to count" was Aeleus' only answer. The trio was silent until they exited the library's upper level doors.

Trying to get answers out of him about the information that actually mattered was even more frustrating.

"How many people currently call castle home?" Snatcher asked.

"Many," Aeleus replied.

"Who's in charge of this outfit?" Garfield asked.

Aeleus had to give this some thought before simply saying "It depends upon whom you ask" and not elaborating.

He didn't even react when he opened the door to the next room to find a fire springing up right out of the center of the floor. Snatcher panicked, backing away in a hurry, but Aeleus held up a hand before him, as though that was supposed to calm him from the thought of being burned alive; "It is all right."

Garfield was more entranced by the flames than any mortal should be under the circumstances, and gave the situation a fair assessment before making a move. The fire, it seemed, was contained. It was only about the size of a bonfire, and not spreading. Actually, describing it as a bonfire looked perfectly accurate, judging by the two people sitting near the fire and holding out skewers with marshmallows over it.

"Lea," Aeleus scolded. "Nick. Do not do that."

"Hey, chill," Lea replied, plucking a marshmallow off the end of his skewer and placing it in his mouth. Talking around the sweet fluff, he explained, "It's contained. Magic, remember?"

"I actually really miss being able to do this myself," Nick sighed.

"You will burn the carpet," Aeleus reprimanded.

"We took precautions," Lea explained. "Look."

There was, in fact, a glittering layer of energy beneath the fire's base, shielding the carpet from the flames.

"Still," Aeleus said, "there are perfectly good fireplaces to use."

"This is warmer," Lea argued as Nick chowed down on the marshmallow he had been roasting.

Aeleus shook his head. "Come. We will move on."

"Who are they?" Nick asked, indicating Snatcher and Garfield.

"Name's Bridgit," Garfield said as he approached the fire. "And this looks like my idea of a good time."

"Well, have a seat, Bridgit." Lea patted the floor next to him.

Garfield settled carefully on the floor, as one does when wearing a skirt, and Lea handed him a skewer and the bag of marshmallows. Garfield immediately plunged his marshmallow into the flames, catching it on fire before blowing it out and starting to peel the blackened outer shell away. "So what are you planning to do with this?" he asked.

"With the fire?" Nick clarified. "Basically marshmallows."

"With this guy giving you a hard time?" Garfield pointed back at Aeleus. "I say we torch some of his stuff. That'll stop him from getting on your case." He threw a look over his shoulder at Aeleus. "You hear that, big man?"

Aeleus glowered at Garfield.

"Um…we're not gonna do that," Lea said, mildly flabbergasted.

"Fine," Garfield said casually as he burned up the next layer of marshmallow on his skewer. "Waste a good fire."

Aeleus' glare turned to Snatcher.

"My daughter," Snatcher said sheepishly, "she is spirited young lady, if lacking in manners. Once burned my best shoes over mild disagreement. Is harmless, though. I assure."

"C'mon, Dad," Garfield urged. "We're here to make friends."

Snatcher took a step toward the fire, but Aeleus grunted; "Our tour is not complete."

"Daughter has point," Snatcher told him. "We are here to get to know new home. New home is not merely building. New home is people INSIDE building. I wish to know new friends."

He took his own seat on the floor, thinking the arrangement rather undignified, as Garfield passed him a marshmallow. "And who might you be?" he asked.

"We still don't have a good answer to that question from you," Nick pointed out.

"I see," Snatcher said with a nod. "Then we must get acquainted, no? Bridgit and I are travelers from ravaged homeworld."

He spun his story yet again as Lea and Nick listened in awe. After condolences were offered, the tables were turned, and Lea and Nick introduced themselves, telling their own stories. All the while, Snatcher and Garfield listened and learned.

...

Using the money she had earned from Leon, Sadira had invited three of the other current inhabitants of Radiant Garden out for a girls' afternoon. She had thought it a perfect day, what with the sun shining overhead as it was in a topaz-blue sky.

Street vendors abounded with wares to market in the square. Sadira had become particularly entranced by a cart of jewelry. "What do you think?" she asked, holding up a necklace with a red gem and one with a green gem. "The red or the green?"

Moana, Nora, and Yuffie exchanged confused looks.

"Okay, you pick, then," Sadira offered. "Which ones do you want? Whichever one less of you pick, I'll get."

"You really don't need to do that," Moana informed her.

"I said I'd treat you to whatever you wanted so long as we stayed on budget!" Sadira reminded her. "This doesn't even scratch budget!"

Her three cohorts remained silent.

"Okay, what's going on?" Sadira sighed.

"It's just…it's…well…" Moana scrounged for the words.

"We're not really into this fashion stuff," Nora admitted.

"We're just here because it's fun to hang out," Yuffie added. "I really couldn't care less about red or green."

"I think they're both good?" Moana offered.

Sadira rolled her eyes. "Seriously? This is kind of what girls' days out are all ABOUT."

"I prefer the kind of girls' day out where we beat up monsters," Nora said with a grin as she slammed a fist into the opposite palm.

"What about playing some harmless pranks?" Yuffie suggested.

"Or going for a walk outside the city?" Moana added.

Sadira sighed. "Sorry I dragged you all out here. I just thought a shopping trip would be, y'know, fun."

"It is fun!" Moana said hastily. "Just…not the shopping part of it."

Nora and Yuffie nodded in agreement.

"All right," Sadira relented. "Just let me pick one necklace and we can go do something else."

She turned back to address the vendor, but found herself hung up on the color choice once more.

"You know, they do have different effects in battle," the vendor reminded her. "The red one enhances your fire magic, and the green one increases the efficacy of Cure spells."

"Got anything that can give me extra power with sand?" Sadira asked.

"Sand?" the vendor repeated. "Now, that's a new one…"

The moment was interrupted by a loud string of curses being flung from down the street. People hurriedly moved out of the way of a barreling chase.

"I'd know that foul mouth anywhere," Yuffie proclaimed.

Just as she'd expected, the source of the racket was Cid Highwind, though he was in hot pursuit of a strange and speedy little creature. Moana, Nora, Yuffie, and Sadira watched as the blue, six-limbed mammal skittered across the road and up the wall of a nearby shop, coming to rest on the corner of a roof. Cid charged after him, stopping at the wall. "YOU PUT THAT BACK WHERE YOU FOUND IT, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Cid screamed, shaking his fist at his quarry.

The blue creature just blew a loud raspberry at Cid, clutching a chunk of Gummi close to his chest. "Stupidhead!" he retorted.

"WHY YOU – "

By this time, Sadira had put both necklaces back on the shelf, and she, Nora, Moana, and Yuffie had rushed to the scene. "What's going on?" Yuffie asked.

"This little SHIT has been stealin' Gummi from my garage for half a year now!" Cid growled. "Every time I think I've gotten rid of it, it comes right on back and helps itself!"

"I need it!" the blue creature insisted haughtily.

"Need it?" Moana repeated. "What do you need it for?"

"It needs it because it's a fuckin' thief!" Cid insisted.

"Maybe let's try talking this out first?" Moana suggested.

"Hey!" Nora yelled up at the blue creature. "Come down from there so we can talk to you!"

"Nuh-uh!" The blue creature shook his head, clutching the Gummi closer. "Not with him!"

"Then we'll talk to you from here," Sadira resolved.

"If there was anythin' to talk about," Cid grumbled, "the little shit woulda paid for that Gummi like everyone else!"

"Maybe he can't afford it!" Sadira said defensively. "Some people need to steal in order to live, you know!" Hands on hips, she fixed Cid with a fierce glare.

"You mighta convinced me if it was food," Cid told her, "but who the fuck needs Gummi to live? Besides, look at it! It's just an animal!"

"Not animal!" the blue creature insisted. "Intelligent life form!"

"Why do you need the Gummi?" Yuffie yelled.

"Build ship!" the blue creature explained. "Vroom, vroom!"

"See?" Cid groaned. "That ain't necessary to live one bit!"

"YES! IT! IS!" the blue creature insisted.

"I feel like there's some misunderstanding going on here," Moana said calmly. "If we can all just keep talking – "

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Cid groaned. "Talk all you want. I'm findin' a way to get up on that roof!"

"You want?" the blue creature taunted, hoisting up the Gummi. "You GET!"

He chucked the Gummi as hard as he could at Cid's head. Cid only just barely caught it before it would have bludgeoned his head with some force. "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF PUTTIN' ONE OF THOSE PAWS IN MY GARAGE!" he yelled as he stormed away.

The blue creature hung his head, dejected.

"He's gone now," Yuffie stated. "You can come down if you want. We're not gonna hurt you."

"We seriously just wanna know what's going on," Nora added.

The blue creature sized the four young women up visually, trying to decide if they looked trustworthy enough for him to share his story. Eventually he resolved it was better to try and find someone sympathetic to his plight than to keep sticking it out alone, and he crawled gingerly down from the roof.

"All right!" Sadira said, pleased. "Now we can figure out what's going on!"

Moana knelt down to better get on the blue creature's level. "What's your name?" she asked.

"My name Stitch," the blue creature said proudly as soon as he was settled on the street, standing on two legs and holding the other four limbs up as arms.

"Stitch?" Moana repeated. She held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you. I am Moana of Motonui."

Stitch grasped her fingers in a claw, and they gingerly shook hands.

"I'm Sadira," Sadira added. "Nice to meet you!"

"And I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" Yuffie added.

"Nora!" Nora cried happily.

Stitch nodded. "Nice…to meet you."

Moana withdrew her hand gently. "So you're trying to build a ship?" she asked.

"Uh-huh!" Stitch nodded. "Stitch need ship to get home!"

"Home?" Moana repeated. "Where is your home?"

"Home on other world," Stitch explained. "Stitch lost. Stitch not know how far away world is from home."

"How'd THAT happen?" Nora asked.

"Heartless!" Stitch began to tell the tale, with a special emphasis on every word. "Heartless attack home. Galactic Council call Stitch to fight! Stitch fight Heartless in space, far from home." He then gave a visual demonstration, balling up all four fists and maneuvering them to appear as though they were in an aerial battle, complete with sound effects. "But then!" He rammed three fists into his fourth – his upper right – and sent the upper right sailing up over his shoulder with a "Waaaaaaaaaa" sound.

"They hit your ship," Yuffie realized, "and you got thrown off course!"

"Stitch crash here," Stitch went on. "Ship not working. Radio broken."

"That must have been around the time of the big battle against Organization XIII and the Heartless," Yuffie realized. "I remember seeing you there for that."

"Yes, yes!" Stitch insisted. "Stitch fight Heartless! Protect new world!" He gave a dejected groan. "But Stitch want to go home. So Stitch build new ship, but stupidhead get in way!"

Moana stood back up to full height. "Maybe we can help," she offered, giving looks to Nora, Yuffie, and Sadira. "We all came from different worlds, and we visit new worlds all the time. Maybe we can help you find your way home."

"REALLY?" Stitch's face lit up with glee.

"Sure we can!" Nora agreed.

"We should go to the castle right now!" Yuffie suggested. "All of us, together! We can talk to Merlin and see if we can use the hourglass to figure out where Stitch's homeworld is!"

"That sounds like a plan to me!" Sadira said emphatically.

"Now THIS is the kind of girls' day I can get into!" Nora commented.

"Heyyyy!" Stitch broke in. "Stitch not girl!"

"Right," Nora corrected. "Pals' day, then."

"Race you there!" Yuffie turned and rushed in the direction of the castle.

"Oh, you are SO on!" Nora charged after her.

"Hey, no fair!" Sadira yelled as she chased them both. "You didn't even warn me!"

Moana gave Stitch a look before the pair broke into a run to catch up.

...

Rémington was running for his life.

The red-orange sky of Fab'hugruta cast a hellish glow over the black and cracked stone that Rémington's feet hit, one after the other so rapidly, they blurred from view when Rémington glanced downward. Behind him came the chatter of a stampede of Shushus: not the tamed creatures that lay imprisoned in his weapons, but the demons in their natural form, as beings with long limbs and twisted claws.

The ground shook as an immense Shushu, his gargantuan orange body bulging with muscles and his head crowned by curving horns, landed on the path in front of Rémington, blocking his way. Rémington recognized him immediately: Rushu, the Shushu king – at least in the form he chose to use to intimidate humans.

For a moment, Rémington skidded to a halt, not sure if it was worse to continue forward and into Rushu's clutches or fall behind to be mauled by the Shushu army that pursued him. There were no other options; the ground dropped off like a cliff to either side, and Rémington couldn't see the bottom of what would be a very long fall.

Rushu made the choice for Rémington. Grinning, the demon king held up a hand, pinching his captive by two fingers. He had a fluffy black Bow Meow by the tail, swinging him back and forth.

"GRANY!" Rémington yelled in a panic, not even bothering to wonder why his brother was once more in feline shape. He darted forward –

And, as the lead Shushu of the army seized the hem of his cape, was jolted backward, falling on his back and landing face-up as the Shushus swarmed over him.

They didn't seem to want to do him in just yet. Instead, they clawed at him, leaving scratches that bled. The pain was nothing. Rémington had endured worse, though in contexts that were usually more pleasant in general. As it turned out, they were merely holding him down to create an audience.

Rushu loomed over Rémington, holding Grany high above his head. Tilting his chin up, he opened his mouth, beginning to lower Grany.

Rémington twisted and squirmed, unable to break the grip of the Shushus that held him down. "NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Rushu's lips closed around Grany. He withdrew his hand, swallowing with a smile plastered across his face.

Rémington barely cared anymore about the Shushus holding him down, and thought that they might as well get his execution over with.

...

Heart pounding. Eyelids snapping open. Rémington was awake.

So that was why Grany had been feline once more. It had all been a dream. Rémington found himself nowhere near Fab'hugruta, but instead stretched out across the couch in the living room of the apartment Mim and Aghoul called home. A thin blanket had been draped over him as he took his afternoon nap.

It wasn't real, he told himself. None of it was real. Grany was in no danger. Rémington himself was in no danger.

He reached up to his collarbone, feeling for a relatively recent bite mark Mim had left there. He pressed his fingers into it, letting the hurt radiate through his shoulder from that point. That calmed him, and brought to mind some very pleasant memories.

Now came the question of whether or not to attempt sleep again. It became clear that Rémington was far too shaken to return to slumber. Instead, he slid off the couch.

Mim and Aghoul had vacated the apartment; Mim had allowed him to stay on the couch. He now wanted to find Mim and see if she had time to spare to create any more scintillating memories that would wash out the vision of that hellscape. His creative mind was already flooding with taunts he could use to flirt, ways he could start up a small war that would be resolved in the bedroom (or anywhere else more exotic, with relative privacy).

He refused to be bested by a nightmare.

...

Tucked away on one of Radiant Garden's side streets, the Resplendence Café enjoyed moderate business: enough to keep it up and running, but never overpacked with patrons. Its walls were painted pastel pink and blue, its waitstaff outfitted in the same palette. In addition to its indoor seating, it featured a courtyard with a scattering of outdoor tables, all pristine white with fluted legs.

Kairi had suggested she and Jaune sit outside for their first date. Each had a steaming cup of tea before them. Jaune had to admit sitting outdoors was a splendid idea, given the weather (though really, he thought, which of Kairi's ideas weren't splendid?). He couldn't imagine things being any better.

Panic set in when he realized the pressure was on to come up with something to talk about. It had been easy when he and Kairi were merely friends, but now, he felt a sudden weight to what he said, as though uttering the wrong sentence would collapse the foundations of all they had built. Kairi didn't seem concerned; she was in the midst of a sip of tea. Jaune cycled through his memories of all they had been through together: fighting Grimm in Remnant, splitting up to face different foes on the Balmera, suspecting friends of foul play in Atmos. It all added up to a disheartening pattern.

"Man, destiny has not been nice to us," he blurted.

Kairi set the cup down. "I know what you mean," she said somberly. "It seems like everywhere we go, there's a new enemy waiting to destroy what we care about. But there's been a lot of good, too. We've made new friends and learned about new worlds.

"Focus on the good," Jaune said with a nod. "I like that. Let's…not talk about any depressing stuff on this date, okay?"

"Okay!" Kairi seemed more than pleased with that suggestion.

"So," Jaune went on, "uh…I…um…" Questions formed in his head that he could ask her, but none of them seemed good enough. Every topic he wanted to broach suddenly felt silly.

Kairi could sense his trepidation. "Can I ask a question?"

"Yeah, sure!" Jaune answered, flushing furiously. "Go ahead!"

"What kind of music do you like?"

It was a question Jaune himself had considered putting on the table, but it had seemed so base when he thought of it. When Kairi said it, it sounded natural. He really had to stop thinking of this as such a high-stakes event, he realized. This was the same Kairi he'd known through all their adventures, and she wasn't about to call off the date over the wrong conversation topic. "I like a little bit of everything," Jaune answered. "I'm really not picky. But I do kinda prefer the stuff on the radio to anything else. I know it's all popular and generic and probably bad music, but…I dunno, anything with a good beat makes me happy."

"Well, whatever's popular on Remnant would be new to me," Kairi replied, "so I don't think I'd think it was generic or bad."

"Well…okay." Jaune withdrew his scroll and a pair of earphones connected by a wispy cord from his pocket. Connecting the latter to the former, he announced, "I actually have my favorite song here on my scroll. Nora thinks it's kinda…cringey. It doesn't have any bad language or anything. It's just popular, and it sounds like a lot of other things. Ren was always too polite to say anything bad, but I know he doesn't like it either."

They both acknowledged, mentally, that Pyrrha would have had her own take, which, Jaune alone knew, was an expression of liking for the song that he had at first thought false but later realized, to his surprise, was genuine. But the topic of Pyrrha fell under the "depressing" label, so they both decided not to touch it at that moment in time.

"So," Jaune concluded, "wanna listen?"

"Of course I do!" Kairi said enthusiastically.

Jaune passed her the scroll. She had only a basic familiarity with handheld musical devices, but it was easy enough to figure out to just press the giant "play" triangle in the center of the screen. The song had a strong beat to it, and the vocals were put through heavy synthetics. Partway through the first verse, Kairi found herself moving ever so slightly, bobbing her head to the tempo. "I like it!" she said after the first chorus. "It's very upbeat."

She finished out the song before handing the scroll back to Jaune.

"So what about you?" Jaune asked. "Music-wise, I mean."

"Well, I like songs that are happy. Songs you can dance to," Kairi answered. "But I also like songs that are epic and powerful, like with an orchestra and a choir. I'd show you my favorite song, but all my CDs are back on the Islands, and we don't really have phones like yours that can play music."

"That's fine," Jaune replied. "I would love to listen to your favorites someday, but it's no big deal right now. Looks like neither of us is into the slow sad-song thing."

"No, not really," Kairi agreed. "I'd rather listen to something that makes me smile or feel powerful."

"So, what's the music like in Radiant Garden, anyway? I've been here for how long and I haven't even heard one popular hit from this place."

"I don't listen to it as much as music from the Islands, but there are plenty of good songs…"

While they chatted, their cups of tea were emptied, and they ordered seconds.

...

As Luna, Ienzo, and Merlin sat around a table in the library's upper level, Luna said with a smile, "I am glad all of our new guests are getting accustomed."

"And even more glad Aeleus was able to handle the tour so we can get some work done," Ienzo added.

"I wouldn't count on that," Merlin huffed. "You know, I've been thinking about converting parts of this castle into smaller libraries and studies for private use."

"And why is that?" Luna asked.

"Because this one's too loud!" Merlin insisted. "Everyone seems to pass through here at least once daily, using it for any purpose except what libraries are actually meant to be used for! Mark my words, you can't expect a moment's peace here before someone comes along and – "

The lower level door slammed open. "MERLIN!" four female voices chorused.

"See?" Merlin sniffed. "As I predicted."

Sadira was the first to skid into the proximity of the table. "Have you seen – " she began before realizing she was looking at exactly who she wanted to talk to. "MERLIN!"

"Yes, yes, it's me," Merlin said sulkily. "What do you want?"

By that time, Nora, Moana, Yuffie, and Stitch had caught up. "We need to ask the hourglass something," Yuffie explained. "We need to figure out where this little guy's home is."

"Lost," Stitch emphasized.

With a sigh, Merlin rose from his chair. "Very well. I suppose I can't abandon someone in an hour of need."

"You know, if it helps," Yuffie pointed out, "Stitch has been annoying Cid for a really long time now, and helping him is probably the last thing Cid wants to do."

This seemed to improve Merlin's mood. "Well, then," he said, suddenly enthusiastic, "what are we waiting for?"

Within moments, Merlin, Sadira, Yuffie, Nora, Moana, and Stitch were positioned near the hourglass. "Soooooo…just ask question?" Stitch confirmed.

"Yes," Merlin cautioned, "but choose your words carefully."

"Hmmm." Stitch thought it over, then gave a nod. "Okay. Stitch know question."

Merlin raised both hands, then flicked them at the hourglass, starting the lightning necessary to power its sands. The contents of the glass swirled and whirled; Stitch watched them, mesmerized, before remembering his role in the scene. "Where Stitch family?" he asked.

The sands then formed an image: a spaceship, inset with Gummi at integral points to allow it to pass between the worlds, flying through interspace.

"It seems your family has figured out how to traverse the worlds," Merlin observed.

The ship grew smaller and its surroundings more vast, suddenly revealing a crucial fact. A sphere marked with the castle of Radiant Garden was quite near the ship, but if the ship continued on its current trajectory, it would miss Radiant Garden entirely.

"They're close!" Moana realized. "We have to get them to stop here!"

"Merlin!" Nora cried. "Cast a spell or something so we can talk to them!"

"There's a far simpler way than that," Merlin informed. "One of the towers is set up to send radio transmissions to incoming Gummi ships."

"WHICH ONE?" all four young women yelled.

"The northeast!" Merlin said hastily. "Yuffie, you'll know it as the crooked one. Now hurry, hurry! Before that ship passes us completely by!"

Nora, Moana, Sadira, and Yuffie bolted, Stitch crawling eagerly behind.

"I do hope they are in time," Merlin said to himself, realizing he very much did care about this mission over his work.

...

Though the ship had been built only for space travel within the boundaries of one world, its passengers had managed to fix it up suitably enough to hold together under the pressures of interspace. When Heartless got involved, they knew they had to do so. The Grand Councilwoman of the Galactic Alliance had revealed to them exactly how much space there was outside what they knew, and had stated with a heavy heart that if Stitch had been knocked into that abyss, there was an eternity of places he could be, and it was likely that if he hadn't come home by now, he would never.

Lilo Pelekai had refused to accept that answer. And when she had suggested launching a search party to look for Stitch, she had two enthusiastic cohorts in this idea and one legal guardian who said it was all right to explore interspace so long as everyone was home at a reasonable time for dinner.

Day after day for months, ever since Stitch had been lost in the great battle against the Heartless invaders, the ship had set out from its homeworld, crossing vast expanses of interspace. Its passengers had landed on many worlds, keeping their visits brief, simply trying to figure out if Stitch was present or not. So far, their quest had turned up no results, and the latest venture was nearing its end.

"Please?" Lilo begged. "One more hour?"

"Am sorry, little girl," Jumba Jookiba said from the driver's seat. "Nani gave strict dinner deadline."

"And we wouldn't wanna make her worry!" Wendy Pleakley added from the seat next to him.

"But I'M worried!" Lilo reminded them. "Stitch is lost out there, and he needs us! And I really, really, really feel like ths time, we're gonna find him!"

"Would not get hopes up so high," Jumba sighed. "Remember, we are searching infinite space. Is no guarantee Stitch is actually not on any of worlds we crossed off list."

"Well, I'm not giving up!" Lilo asserted, stamping her foot.

Pleakley gave Jumba a solemn look. "One more hour?" he asked. "I think we all need it."

"All right," Jumba relented. "One more hour. And we will search one more new world. Pleakley, call Nani and let her know we will be late."

"Try hailing Stitch's ship again!" Lilo suggested. "Maybe we're close enough to his radio this time!"

Before Jumba could touch any of the dashboard controls, a light illuminated and a soft beep echoed throughout the cabin. "Hm," Jumba remarked, "seems someone else is hailing us."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Pleakley asked shakily.

"I have a good feeling about this!" Lilo insisted cheerily. "Pick it up! Maybe it's Stitch!"

Jumba flipped a switch, and instantly, the sound of a voice greeting, "Hello? Hello?" followed by a voice saying "Hailing mysterious ship! Come in, mysterious ship!" filled the cabin.

"Is mysterious ship," Jumba replied. "Who is mysterious caller?"

A third voice broke in: "We're looking for – "

The voice was completely overridden by a more familiar one: "Lilo? LILO?"

"STITCH!" Lilo screamed.

"Well, whaddaya know!" Pleakley commented, overtaken with relief. "He actually did call us!"

"Little Stitch!" Jumba replied. "We have all been worried sick for you!"

"We kinda figured that," one of the voices on the channel stated.

"He's been trying to get back to YOU for months," another added.

"Well, who're you?" Pleakley asked suspicioiusly. "If this is the part where you tell us that you're mobsters holding Stitch hostage for a high ransom, I'm not gonna be happy here!"

"We will not take threats to Stitch or rest of ohana lying down," Jumba added.

"No, no, no!" a voice said hastily. "We're not trying to RANSOM Stitch. We're trying to get him back to you!"

"And if you don't change course," another added, "you're going to miss the right world."

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Pleakley asked.

"Telling truth!" Stitch insisted.

"I'll take it," Lilo decided. She ran up to the dashboard, positioning herself next to the radio. "Where ARE you?"

"We have coordinates ready so you can fly right into town," one of the voices stated.

"What's your name?" Lilo asked. "I feel like if you're going to give us flight directions, we should know your name."

"I'm Sadira," the voice stated. "But the one who actually knows how the flight coordinates work – "

"Is me!" another voice broke in. "The great ninja Yuffie!"

"NINJA?" Lilo's eyes lit up. "Cooooool!"

"And you're Lilo, right?" one of the voices who had not identified herself asked.

"That's me!" Lilo confirmed.

"Just follow my lead," Yuffie promised, "and you're going to be a family again real soon, okay?"

"Okay!" Lilo affirmed.

Pleakley leaned around to whisper to Jumba, "You think we need to blend in?"

"Never hurts," Jumba replied in an equally hushed tone. "But first, we land."

"Okay, so if you're ready…" Yuffie began.

...

Trials in Brakmar were held on the Boufbowl field, where torches lit the arena beneath a blood-red sky. The bleachers were filled with a hungry audience that thrived on seeing punishments dealt. A panel of judges sat at a bench at the far end of the stadium, but the high judge had his own podium, where a gavel twenty times his size waited to pound the ground at his verdict. On the opposite side of the gavel was a balance scale.

Rémington Smisse stood before the judges, hands chained behind his back. He drew himself up tall, fixing the high judge with his most confident glare, but Grany, sitting in the bleachers, knew it was all an act.

"Rémington Smisse," the high judge announced, "no fewer than twenty plaintiffs have accused you of larceny. How do you plead?"

A single bead of sweat rolled down Rémington's face. The balance scale was loaded on one side with the money paid forth by his accusers to make sure he was punished. The only way to win a trial in Brakmar was to outweigh it on the other side with a bribe of his own.

"It looks like the defendant is backed into a corner!" the announcer – because a pageant like this always had an announcer – proclaimed. "How WILL he escape this tight spot?"

"It…" Rémington laughed nervously. "It looks like I'm a little…strapped for cash at the moment…"

Grany had a single purse hooked to his belt. It would be nowhere near enough, but he had to try something. He rose from his bleacher, making to bolt for the scale.

As he took a step, he was suddenly wracked with convulsions. He doubled over, hitting the ground on all fours. Then came the sensation of his skin tightening, and his entire shape changing –

When he finally got his bearings, he took in just how large everything was now in comparison to himself. Panic surged through him. He was, once more, a Bow Meow, with no explanation.

No time to figure out how or why. Only time to save his brother.

Grany scooped the purse up into his mouth, darting down the bleachers – not an easy feat, since the audience was packed. On his journey, he got glimpses of what was going on down below.

"If you have no proof of your innocence," the high judge stated, "you will have to pay recompense to your accusers with the only price they demand."

"How much?" Rémington sighed.

With a smirk, the judge announced, "Your head."

Rémington took a cautious step back only to find a legion of law enforcement standing behind, blocking him from making a quick exit. "My…my head?" he repeated. "Just for stealing?"

"So says the law," the judge declared.

"CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!" the announcer crowed. "The worst fate of them all! There won't be a rebound from this setback!"

Just hang on a little longer, Grany thought. I'll get you out of this somehow. I don't know how, but somehow –

"You have no proof?" the judge asked again.

"Well…um…the thing is…" Rémington sputtered.

"This court finds you guilty," the judge proclaimed.

The massive gavel slammed into the ground hard enough to shake the arena.

A little longer, Grany willed the judge. Just a little longer. It was past the point where he could buy Rémington's innocence, but maybe he could interfere with the execution –

Rémington was forced down. An executioner with a gleaming axe approached.

A little longer –

The axe rose high into the sky, catching the torchlight on its razor edge.

A little longer –

The axe whistled down.

Grany's paws hit the field at the same time his brother's head rolled to greet him.

...

"NO!"

As soon as the words left Grany's lips in reality, he realized where he actually was: in his bed upon the WHAM ARMY warship. He sat up, patting down his entire body to make sure it was still solidly human.

Rémington. Where was Rémington?

Grany's feet hit the ground, and he burst out of the door of his apartment just in time to cross paths with his brother. "You're not dead!" he cried in amazement and relief.

"Of course I'm not dead," Rémington stated casually, though he himself looked a bit shaken. "Why would you think I was dead?"

"…No reason," Grany replied. "Where are you going?"

"To find Mim," Rémington answered. "For personal reasons."

"Of course you are," Grany sighed. Business as usual. "I'll let you go…do that."

As he turned to leave Rémington to his quest, Rémington surprised him by asking, "Bad dream?"

Grany faced Rémington once more. "How did you know?"

"I had one myself," Rémington admitted. "It's a bit strange."

"You don't think we had the same dream, do you?" Grany wondered out loud, thinking of how easily Rémington could have dreamed of himself facing capital punishment.

"That would be impossible," Rémington replied, now finding himself curious as to if Grany had dreamed himself being swallowed by Rushu. "…It would, wouldn't it? Maybe you should tell me your dream."

Grany nodded. "And then you tell me about yours."

They fell into step, still making their way toward Mim's last known location as they disclosed their nightmares to each other.

...

"Your rooms," Aeleus introduced as he led Snatcher and Garfield to a pair of doors.

Garfield nudged one of the doors open. "Pretty sweet setup," he commented.

Aeleus then turned away, stating, "Your tour is over. You will not get lost." It wasn't a question.

"Excuse me," Snatcher called after him, "but am going to need several items to outfit room. Such as soap – "

"It is taken care of," Aeleus said as he strolled away.

"Aren't you from, like, the first century?" Garfield asked once Aeleus was out of earshot. "I wouldn't have taken you for a guy who cares about soap."

"Nor would I have," Snatcher replied softly, now in his natural timbre, "but it becomes addictive. Moreso than others."

"If you're about to tell me what personal hygiene products you DON'T use, ignorance is really bliss."

"Duly noted."

They both ducked into one room, Snatcher making sure the door was firmly shut and latched behind them. Garfield, finding his current skirt left him no way to sit cross-legged on the bed, draped both ankles over the side resignedly as he drew his scroll from his pocket.

Across town, in a small inn of ill repute in the cleanliness department, the Huntsman and Vexen shared a room of their own, each using his scroll to look up whatever topics he desired and not interact with the other person in the room, which, strangely, gave them more respect for each other than either had had before. The Huntsman's scroll vibrated in his hand, indicating an incoming call.

"They are reporting," he stated, and this got Vexen's attention. The Huntsman answered the call with "Report in" over speakerphone.

"You certainly did take your time about it," Vexen added.

"Gimme a break, okay?" Garfield responded. "We had a lot of things to see and people to meet. And I mean a LOT of people. We're talking serious trouble here. You said you routinely get beat up by about eight of these guys? Because I've got bad news on that front – "

"Nothing, of course," Snatcher broke in, "that we can't overcome by learning more about them. Which we certainly have. Besides, if we were to attack the residents of this castle in their current state, we may just have the advantage. Our most persistent foes are, at the moment, quite absent."

"Most persistent foes?" Vexen repeated.

"The child with the key," Snatcher explained. "The girl with the scythe. The green abomination. The girl you mentioned who could control water at a whim. The undead shell. Lord Mozenrath's royal nemesis and her consort. And the apparent lover of the child with the key. All are off on some quest or another."

"Harassing Mozenrath, in all likelihood," Vexen assumed.

"Not quite," Snatcher clarified. "A name was dropped. Seems they're pursuing Miss Fall. Should they continue on this course of action, one side or the other may very well be wiped out without us having to lift a finger."

"Mozenrath will find that a disappointment," the Huntsman said without thinking. "He would far prefer to have a hand in the destruction of both."

"I'm sure you're right," Snatcher replied, "but we're better off the other way, and you know it. There will be other enemies we can bring down, of course."

"Why do you care what qualms Mozenrath will have, anyhow?" Vexen snapped. "An enemy dead is an enemy dead. This is not a conclusion that can be swayed by emotional factors. I thought you of all people would have the sense to know that!"

Snatcher knew when a conversation was best hijacked. "And I thought you of all people would know better than to waste valuable time arguing petty matters," he stated. "We've a lot to go through. Names, tales of origin, and magical powers for each to boot."

"We got a bunch of files, too," Garfield added. "Some recordings. Some pics. A lot of people around here who I was able to talk into taking a selfie with me. I'll send 'em over after we're done talking."

"Very well," Vexen said. "Begin."

"I am rather eager to hear what we are up against," the Huntsman admitted. "Perhaps a challenge shall allow us to prove our worth."

"To begin," Snatcher stated, "the wizard Merlin. Perhaps the greatest obstacle we have, once the factors I named previously are removed."

Snatcher and Garfield spent a couple hours revealing the information they had learned to the Huntsman and Vexen. Jaune and Kairi were the last to be discussed. "All of this is anecdotal, of course," Snatcher explained, "as neither was present in the castle at the time."

"Nor were…" the Huntsman took a moment to recall the names. "Nora, Yuffie, Moana, and Sadira, by the way you told it." It was moreso a repetition to make sure he had absorbed the information properly than anything else.

"As I said," Snatcher confirmed. "However, Mr. Vexen, it seems your young charge is well-respected as a warrior and a leader."

"She is no longer my charge," Vexen grumbled. "May the powers that be spare me from having any other."

"Given what I heard plus your account from the Balmera," Snatcher deducted, "it would be wise to discover an exploitable weakness within her that would allow us to have the upper hand sooner rather than later."

"Did you hear any reason as to why she attacked me with a sword?" Vexen inquired.

"A sword?" Snatcher repeated. "Er…I don't see the oddity in a sword."

"She did not use a Keyblade against me," Vexen stated. "This goes against all I knew of her when last I walked upon Radiant Garden grounds. Your next mission is to discover why she did not use her Keyblade."

"Gotcha," Garfield replied. "We'll get the dirt for ya."

"You have done well," the Huntsman stated. "We now know the names of more of our foes than they know of us. Names will not win us battles, but it is a start."

"I thought you'd find the powers more interesting," Garfield told him.

"I found them quite interesting indeed," the Huntsman confirmed. "I have an additional task to request of you. Determine why Sadira, Nora, Yuffie, and Moana separated themselves from the group and if they are to do so again."

"What are you planning?" Vexen asked with suspicion.

"One girl possesses magical powers," the Huntsman answered cryptically. "The others can be overcome with mere strength. It could be an opportunity in hiding. You will know more details if my thoughts are proven correct. As you yourself said, Vexen, an enemy dead is an enemy dead."

"Very well," Vexen said. "I will follow your lead. It had better bear fruit."

"If that is all you have to report," the Huntsman commanded, "end this conversation and begin sending files."

"What, no 'I love you'?" Garfield teased.

"At once," Snatcher confirmed. "I will begin – "

"Uh, no," Garfield interrupted. "I'm sending the files."

"For the last time, Mr. Lynns, I know well how to work a scroll – "

"For the last time, MR. SNATCHER, it's called a 'phone' – "

"Yet you berate us for wasting time on petty arguments?" the Huntsman challenged.

"…Actually," Snatcher said, "Mr. Lynns will be the one to send what we've retrieved. I have other matters to take care of."

"Like what?" Garfield asked.

"Private matters," Snatcher answered.

"Okay, are you going to sneak around doing stuff behind my back?" Garfield asked. "I know you think you're smarter than me, but that's a cold move."

"I assure you it is absolutely nothing relevant to our mission," Snatcher told him. "This business is more…personal."

"Okay, now I'm just getting gross mental images," Garfield groaned. "And you guys are probably regretting me not hanging up before we got here."

"It isn't of THAT nature," Snatcher growled.

Vexen gave the Huntsman an expression that clearly read "If I were the one holding the scroll, I would hang up without explanation or courtesy."

"I await your findings," the Huntsman said before disconnecting the call.

Back in the bedroom, Garfield suggested, "Flip for who gets to stay here?"

"No need," Snatcher told him, moving toward the door. "I shall take the other chamber. This one is yours."

"Right," Garfield said with a nod, now focusing intently on the scroll and the precious files stored within it.

As Snatcher repositioned himself in the other bedroom, settling onto the plush mattress of the bed, he thought about what he was about to do. It was too sentimental. Too cliché. He wasn't the sort of person to call someone simply to hear the other's voice.

It was a good thing, then, that he had such valuable information that needed to be shared.

The scroll rang once, twice. Then the other line picked up, and a syrupy voice, trying far too hard to sound sexy, declared "Hel-looooooo."

"Hello to you as well, Torchwick," Snatcher replied, a grin spreading over his face. "I trust you're well?"
"Peachy, actually," Roman responded. "So, why'd you – oh, hang on. Yeah, Righty says hi."

Snatcher could hear a faint voice in the background insisting that "What I SAID was WATCH WHERE YOU'RE WALKING!"

This was followed by Roman holding the phone away from his face and saying "I know what I'm fucking doing – "

And this, in turn, was followed by a THUMP that indicated that Roman had collided with a tree, then a sentence Snatcher couldn't quite make out, but was pretty sure was Mozenrath saying "I have no sympathy for you."

"So what's up?" Roman said clearly into the scroll once more. "Just call to hear my gorgeous voice, or what?"

"That is absolutely not the reason," Snatcher said hurriedly. "I thought you might take an interest in some of what Mr. Lynns and I have learned during our stay here."

"Juicy gossip," Roman said with interest. "Do tell."

"It seems – "

"Waitwaitwait," Roman interrupted. "What's your situation like there?"

"My situation?"

"Well, you know," Roman said. "Did you talk your way into a four-star suite, or are you sleeping in the middle of the road?"

"Closer to the former," Snatcher related.

"Gotcha," Roman said with a click of the tongue. "Okay. So back to business."

"First of all, you'll be glad to hear Miss Rose is absent from the premises."

"Aw, I was hoping you'd be able to give her hell from me."

It only then occurred to Snatcher: Roman had interrupted his discussion to check up on him. He decided not to give it too much thought. "She has a great many cohorts here, however. Them, I may be able to do something about in your name."

"So long as you don't blow your cover."

"Perhaps just a little mayhem, then," Snatcher suggested teasingly. "Stepping on a boot lace here, tipping a drink there – "

Roman snorted. "Archie, that level of shenanigan is so beneath you, it's not even funny."

"And yet you laughed. Are you saying you've no sense of humor?"

"Whoa, now. That's a pretty serious accusation – hang on." He turned away to address a background voice: "Righty, you know damn well there is no data plan on these."

(In the background: "One of these days, that argument is going to work."

Another voice, this one Wuya: "I wouldn't bet the farm on it.")

"Continue," Roman bade Snatcher.

And so Snatcher spent a little while updating Roman on his discoveries, then gaining a mission status on the venture Roman was taking part in. It was, of course, all business –

No, he thought, it didn't have to be. That was the very trap Vexen and the Huntsman had fallen into, and the very trap he still had yet to convince them to free themselves from. It wasn't about business at all. And this was one thing he wasn't going to delude himself about.

...

When Link stopped walking, then Midna, Zelda, Aladdin, Jasmine, Ruby, Sora, Riku, Papyrus, Stork, and Katara halted in succession.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

"The shores of Lake Hylia are just ahead," Link revealed. "We should have some kind of plan."

"We get close enough to Lanayru to smack the light back into her," Midna related. "What's complicated about that?"

"I don't even know how the sword will work," Link admitted. "I don't want to do anything that would hurt Lanayru. There's even a possibility this won't work at all."

"Don't say that!" Sora encouraged. "Of course this is going to work!"

"Yeah, no, I'm pretty sure it won't," Stork sighed. "It's too convenient to be plausible."

"We have to try, at least," Link insisted. "The other problem is the guardian our enemies have set here."

"And if they're connected to Maleficent," Riku emphasized, "we need to be ready for anything and everything."

"WHEN ARE WE NOT?" Papyrus commented.

"I don't think this will be a problem," Midna brushed off. "The Fused Shadow will allow me to take care of whatever's waiting."

"About that," Katara brought up. "When you say 'take care of' our enemy, does that mean killing them?"

"If they're as bad as you say, why wouldn't it?" Midna replied.

"Well…we kind of have a thing about that," Katara pointed out.

"A thing," Midna repeated.

"Well, it's just that I in particular know someone who believes all life is sacred," Katara said hurriedly, "and he's taught me how valid that view is."

"MEANWHILE, I HAVE A VERY GOOD FRIEND BACK HOME WHO BELIEVES THAT THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES IS TO RUN THEM THROUGH WITH A SPEAR," Papyrus added, "AND SHE'S TAUGHT ME HOW INVALID THAT VIEW IS. THIS DOES NOT MAKE HER ANY LESS MY FRIEND, OF COURSE."

"It's something we keep discussing," Riku explained. "We all came into this with different ideas about killing. And right now, what seems best is to avoid it."

"If possible," Stork added.

"Avoid killing?" Midna repeated. "I can do that with no problem. If you want to take this guardian alive, we'll take them alive. I'm not a brute, after all. I can handle this with finesse."

"A noble stance to take," Zelda said with a solemn nod.

"So Midna's in charge of Lanayru's guardian," Ruby reiterated. "And the rest of us just…do the best we can?"

"I don't see how we can know what will happen before it does," Zelda stated.

Link sighed. "You're right."

"So we improvise," Aladdin said with a playful shrug. "Always works for me."

"I hardly ever go into a fight knowing what I'm doing!" Sora stated proudly. Then: "Wait. I don't think that came out right."

Link gave a brief nod. "Let's go."

The party began to move once more; Stork muttered to himself that they were all most certainly doomed, which might have had a bigger impact if this weren't the fiftieth time he'd done so on the journey there.

Lake Hylia stretched out before them, the dusky skies reflected in its waters and making the area seem all the darker. Link pointed across the water; "There!" He indicated Lanayru's cavern. "That's Lanayru's spring."

"How do we get there?" Ruby asked.

"If you're not afraid to get a little wet…" Midna dipped one foot into the water, then gracefully stepped in and submerged herself, swimming toward the cavern on the opposite shore.

"POOL PARTY!" Ruby shrieked before running in after Midna. "Well, okay, lake party. You know what I mean!"

No one had an objection to swimming, and they emerged on the opposite shore somewhat soaked.

"That isn't bad for Crescent Rose, is it?" Stork asked, suddenly worried (about something new, anyway).

"Nah," Ruby dismissed. "Crescent Rose is waterproof. I thought of that during the conception stage."

"Be careful," Link warned. "This is where an enemy will be hiding, if anywhere."

Weapons were drawn in a mass motion; the party tread carefully but confidently forward.

Sora, noticing a conspicuous absence of anything in Zelda's hands, walked closer to her, asking, "Hey, Zelda, are you gonna be okay? You don't have a weapon." Neither did Aladdin or Jasmine, he knew, but they could still last a while in a fight.

Zelda nodded slowly. "I will be all right," she said calmly. "Although…I do wonder if perhaps I have a plan after all."

"What kind of plan?" Midna asked.

"Deep down, these are still the light spirits we have always trusted to guard our realm," Zelda reminded her. "Perhaps our connection is still present in some form. I wish to try and speak to Lanayru before we attempt anything else. I may be able to convince her to come quietly."

"I'm not sure you understand," Midna rebutted. "Someone messed with what they are completely. Lanayru isn't going to listen to you. She probably won't even know who you are."

"I still have to try," Zelda insisted.

"And that's how we go from having a bad idea to a TERRIBLE idea," Stork groaned.

"Actually, I think she should try it," Katara suggested. "She might be onto something. And if it goes wrong, the rest of us can step in, right?"

"I like how this sounds," Ruby commented.

They had run out of time to decide. The spring lay directly before them. The group surveyed their surroundings in confusion.

"Wasn't there supposed to be someone here to try and stop us?" Aladdin wondered out loud.

"They're probably in hiding," Riku said in a low tone, moving to a battle stance.

The waters rippled, causing a flinch throughout the party. All at once, Lanayru's head burst from the water, jaws open and encircling a sphere of swirling Darkness.

All others joined Riku in striking battle stances – all but two.

"Go on," Jasmine whispered to Zelda. "We'll be right here if it goes wrong."

Zelda stepped out front, walking calmly toward Lanayru, wet skirts dragging on the ground.

"No…" Stork muttered. "No, no, nononono…"

Zelda positioned herself in front of Lanayru, looking up to meet the great serpent's gaze. "Lanayru," she said calmly. "I must bid you listen to us. We are here to help you."

Lanayru cocked her head, indicating she was taking Zelda's words under consideration. Link and Midna awaited Lanayru's reply.

But it seemed words had abandoned Lanayru in her transformation. She reared back only slightly, barely perceptibly.

Jasmine noticed it, and, intending to make good on her promise, she darted toward Zelda, intending to push her to a safer location than where she currently stood. Had she been the only one with that idea, it would have worked. Unfortunately, Stork had been waiting, tensed, for something to go wrong, and from the moment he saw Lanayru move, he burst toward Zelda from the opposite direction. As it were, Jasmine and Stork cried "LOOK OUT!" and collided with Zelda at the same time from either side; all three ended up falling to the ground just as Lanayru loosed a sphere of Darkness from her mouth. The magic made contact with the fallen three at the same time, drawing from them three screams.

"JASMINE!" Aladdin cried.

"ZELDA!" Link and Midna chorused.

"STORK!" Sora and Ruby yelled.

When the sphere's obscurity cleared, Jasmine and Stork found themselves bruised and battered, but whole and awake. Zelda, however, was out cold.

"Zelda?" Stork crawled to her side, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her gently. "ZELDA! …Oh, this is not good, this is NOT GOOD – "

Lanayru took this chance to surge forth, twisting once in a snapping motion to curl Stork, Zelda, and Jasmine up in her coil. She barged out of the cavern, knocking all the others down on the way.

"HEY!" Midna snapped, the first to get up and turn after Lanayru. "You're not getting away with – "

The Shadow Insects exploded from the spring, swarming over the group.

Midna let out an ear-splitting scream, covering her head. "DON'T LET THEM TOUCH ME!" she shrieked. "I HATE BUGS!"

Link rushed to her, but Sora got there first, staring him down. "You have to go after Lanayru!" Sora urged. "You have the sword!"

"Protect her," Link commanded before turning and barreling down the cavern toward its entrance.

Aladdin, Ruby, Katara, and Papyrus followed him, knocking the bugs out of their way with fists and bones. Midna knelt on the ground, making herself spherical and whimpering. The insects crowded around her, seeing an easy target; she was far too anxious to summon any of her magic.

"We can't leave her!" Sora insisted to Riku.

Riku nodded. "We shouldn't kill any of them. But we can stir them up!"

Sora extended a hand, and Riku followed his lead, taking it. They spun toward each other, colliding in a bright flash of light. When it faded, Sora had absorbed Riku into a Drive, bearing Oblivion as well as his own blade.

"TAKE THIS!" he yelled at the insects, whirling round and round and building up an air current. Between his and Riku's strength combined, they whipped the insects into a cyclone, swirling them away from Midna. As soon as she saw the opportunity, she leapt up, speeding out of the cavern.

"Don't let any more of them out after her!" Riku commanded from within Sora's mind.

"Got it!" Sora affirmed, facing down the insects' source, blades at the ready to knock them back. "It's really just like the bees in the Hundred Acre Wood. But bigger."

With Riku guiding his hands, Sora parried the surge of insects at every stop.

Outside, Lanayru had burst upward toward the dusky sky, holding her three prisoners captive. She had used her advantageous position that none could reach to fire spheres of Darkness at those who faced her. Ruby had been ready on the defense, using her scythe to cut down sphere after sphere, to Lanayru's frustration.

Midna ran out to the small strip of shoreline where her comrades were gathered to see this scene. "MIDNA!" Ruby yelled after parrying another volley. "Can you turn into that giant spider thing again? We could use the giant spider thing!"

"Here's the problem," Midna explained. "If it were just Lanayru, I could do that. But she has three very small captives. If I pull out the stops now, I could end up hurting them. She has to let go first."

"Then we'll get her to let go," Link resolved.

"I think I have an idea," Katara realized. "I don't know if it will do what I want, but it's all I have. I need to get up high, and I need Lanayru to be distracted from me."

"If it's a distraction you want," Aladdin said, "I can help with that. Hey, Ruby. I hear you're a pretty fast runner. Are you a fast swimmer, too?"

"I can be," Ruby replied, "if I get a chance to get in the water without Lanayru FIRING THINGS AT ME!"

A wall of bright blue bones slammed down in front of Ruby, deflecting the latest shot. "IT WON'T HOLD FOR LONG!" Papyrus worried.

"Okay, everyone!" Katara yelled, realizing the new first step in her plan. "Get in the water and SCATTER!"

The lake's waters rippled as Aladdin, Link, Midna, Katara, Ruby, and Papyrus entered. Lanayru's head twisted about as she searched for a target above the surface.

"OVER HERE!"

Aladdin had made himself known, and the moment he called out, Lanayru turned to launch a sphere. He was faster, disappearing beneath the water and speeding off to another part of the lake. The Darkness impacted where he had been but moments prior, and the shockwave propelled him forth.

"HEY!"

That was Ruby, bobbing in the water and waving at Lanayru. She fired at Ruby; the girl in red ducked beneath the surface and zoomed with the speed of a torpedo.

That gave Aladdin enough time to resurface and yell "COME AND GET ME!"

Lanayru whipped back and forth between the two as they signaled her attention:

"CAN'T CATCH ME!"

"TOO SLOW!"

"YOU'RE IT!"

"ARE YOU EVEN TRYING?"

This gave Link, Papyrus, Midna, and Katara a chance to gather on the opposite shore, where they had more room to move.

"DO YOU STILL NEED TO GET UP HIGH?" Papyrus asked Katara.

"Yes," Katara said. "Right by Lanayru."

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" Papyrus said with a flourish of both hands.

An enormous bone hovered vertically in the air before Katara. Another one took its place slightly above and behind it. Bone after bone slid into place, making a stairway that led right up beside Lanayru.

"Thanks!" Katara said gratefully. Steeling herself, she muttered, "I hope this works."

As she took her first step onto the stairway, she drew up a fountain of water from the lake. Ascending further and further upward, she drew that fountain along with her, making sure it was still connected, threadlike, to the lake below. This sort of bending took quite a bit of effort and concentration, and more than once, Katara nearly fell off the staircase. At last, she arrived in the air near where Lanayru was twisting about to attack her quarry.

Katara flicked the water she'd been drawing alongside herself, looping it around Lanayru's neck. Then, at Katara's behest, the water froze, making a long pole down to the lake and continuing to anchor as ice below the surface.

Lanayru, finding herself collared, thrashed hard to break the ice. In the process, her grip on Stork, Jasmine, and Zelda loosened, and all three plunged toward the water below.

Stork's hand flew to his chest before he extended both arms to grab hold of Jasmine and Zelda's hands. He never had gotten out of the habit of packing a parachute somewhere on his person in case of emergency. The chute opened, but the weight of three was too much for it, and all it did was provide slight drag in their descent. They hit the water, sinking fast. Stork and Jasmine repositioned to grab onto Zelda and swim her to the surface.

"Did she breathe any water?" Stork asked in a panic once all three were above surface level.

"I don't know," Jasmine replied.

"We need to get her to the shore," Stork said urgently, and he and Jasmine moved to guide her there.

Lanayru's convulsions finally took effect, breaking the ice collar. Katara, seeing her need to make an exit, dove off the top stair, landing gracefully in the water below. By that time, Midna, having banked on Katara's success, had made it up the stairway Papyrus was keeping in place.

Midna leapt, landing squarely on Lanayru's back. Once there, her form quivered, and she erupted into the shape of the beast fueled by the Fused Shadow. Her limbs wrapped around Lanayru, and her weight dragged the dark spirit down to the water's surface, where they collided with an immense splash. Midna wrestled Lanayru to the shore where Link was waiting, sword drawn.

Lanayru's face rested before Link, her head held in place by Midna, and Link approached her with the flat of his blade held up toward her. The metal glowed a faint blue; once its tint caught Lanayru's eye, the snake settled, struggling less and less. Link was then close enough to touch Lanayru, and he rested the flat of the blade against her snout.

The change radiated outward from the spot where the blade touched like ripples outward from a rock thrown in a pool. What was once Darkness became glowing Light, spreading over Lanayru's face and down the rest of her body.

As she became Light once more, her skin sizzled against where Midna held her, and almost too late did Midna realize the ramifications of being a creature of Twilight and touching Lanayru during her return to pure Light. With a cry of pain, Midna relinquished her hold on Lanayru, retreating into the water.

Link quickly removed the sword from Lanayru's skin, rushing to look out over the lake and find where Midna had gone down. Fortunately, the transformation he had begun with the Sols' power was not about to stop. Light imbued the rest of Lanayru, reverting her to the form she had been before the sands of Goab had warped her.

In the meantime, Stork and Jasmine had hauled Zelda up onto the nearby shore. Stork rolled Zelda onto her back and tilted her head to the side; water dribbled out onto the ground. "This is strictly professional," Stork stated before turning her head back upward. Pinching her nose with one hand, he pressed his mouth to hers.

He had made sure to know the practice of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation almost immediately after joining the Storm Hawks, figuring at least one of his teammates was going to get themselves into a situation where it would be needed. He bristled at the thought that he was doing this without any sort of airway bag to stop whatever pathogens were in Zelda's mouth from entering his own, but the circumstances didn't allow him to take the time to obtain one or lament the lack of them.

When Stork felt Zelda stir, he backed off, watching as she opened her eyes and slowly rose to sitting. "It was a necessary life-saving operation," Stork said hurriedly, hoping she wouldn't get the wrong idea. "You inhaled water. It wasn't personal."

Zelda nodded with a smile. "I understand. And I thank you for rescuing me."

That was when the heavens opened. For once Lanayru, guardian Light spirit of the Lanayru province, had been returned to Light, the Twilight over the entirety of her domain was lifted as well. The sun broke through the dusky gray above, and brilliant blue chased all of the other murky colors away.

The insects had ceased to fly from the spring, and this brought Sora back out to witness the brightening. In a shimmer, Riku separated from him, regaining his body.

Lanayru looked to Link as Link's gaze wandered over the water. "Hero of Hyrule," she said in a voice that was soft in tone yet boomingly loud, slow and deliberate, as though every syllable were given artistic thought and weight. "You have changed me into something I believe is what I was meant to be. You have restored light to much of Hyrule. Yet you seem distracted."

"Midna," Link said worriedly. "Where's Midna?"

"Your companion rests in the shadows," Lanayru assured him. "The harm dealt to her is not grievous. You may go to her soon. I wish first to properly thank you…and to voice my concern."

Link forced his gaze back to Lanayru. "I apologize if I disrespected you," he said sheepishly, bowing his head.

"You gave me no disrespect," Lanayru told him. "You care for her. I cannot fault you. It is to be expected of a heart such as yours. It seems you have found many similarly brave and pure hearts." By now, Ruby, Aladdin, and Katara had joined Link and Papyrus on the shore, and all were riveted gazing at Lanayru; Ruby and Papyrus in particular were making faces of awe that most with less dignity than Lanayru would have found completely ridiculous. "I am glad, for it seems you have a difficult journey ahead.

"It seemed to me as though my existence as a spirit of Darkness was all that had ever been. Yet now that I think of history as I know it, it does not favor that memory. My brethren and I were transformed by Dark forces. I sense even now that three remain in their transformed states. You carry with you the power to restore them. It is up to you to do so."

"AND WE ABSOLUTELY WILL!" Papyrus asserted.

"Beware the one who has changed us," Lanayru continued. "Such great power is to be feared. Facing that one is a great risk that will endanger your lives."

"I'm ready," Ruby stated. "Someone has to face that danger."

"And I'm pretty sure we're the only ones who can even walk in the Twilight without turning into spirits," Aladdin brought up. "But we've all faced Maleficent's goons before. We'll do it again!"

"I give you my blessing," Lanayru stated. "And once we four are whole again, we will be able to properly aid you."

"Thank you," Katara said respectfully.

"I shall not keep you," Lanayru concluded. "You have little time to waste. The fate of this world rests with you."

With that, she turned and floated back to the cavern that housed her spring. It was just then that Sora and Riku managed to swim up to Link, Katara, Papyrus, Ruby, and Aladdin; Zelda, Stork, and Jasmine approached by land.

"Jasmine!" Aladdin rushed to his bride, taking her hands up in his. "You're okay?"

"I'm all right," Jasmine confirmed.

"I WASN'T WORRIED!" Papyrus remarked. "I KNEW THEY WOULD ALL BE ALL RIGHT IN THE END!" This statement wasn't entirely true.

"What happened?" Sora asked. "What did we miss?"

"Lanayru gave us her blessing," Link informed him. "She warned us about the forces that transformed her and the other Light spirits and reminded us that we're the only ones who can save them."

"It won't be easy," Riku remarked, "but we've already come this far."

"Where's Midna?" Jasmine asked.

"Lanayru said she had gone to the shade," Link explained.

It took some searching, but Midna was found tucked beneath a tree far inland, staring at the palms of her hands. The others stood back while Link approached her gently. "Midna…"

She snapped to attention to look at Link, giving him a coy smile. "Looks like I have to remember to let go sooner next time," she teased.

"Are you all right?" Link asked. He recalled, long ago, when she had been exposed to Lanayru's full light and nearly perished.

"Don't worry about me," Midna told him.

"May I see your hands?" Link asked.

Midna gave a defeated sigh before stretching out her arms. She had wanted to prolong this, but she knew if she resisted, it would make Link all the more suspicious that she wasn't as fine as she seemed.

Link flinched when he saw the burns that covered her palms and stretched out over her wrists, patterning her arms.

"It isn't that bad," Midna insisted in a huff.

"You need some kind of help for it," Link told her. "Maybe now that the light is returned to Castle Town, we can go back and – "

"We're not going back!" Midna spat. "Not after we came all this way! And it isn't like your doctors know how to treat a Twili."

"Um…can I try something?" This was Sora, stepping forth into the conversation.

"You might as well," Midna told him.

Sora's blade appeared in a flash, and he extended it toward Midna. As he spoke the word "Heal," a green aura surrounded Midna, washing over her skin. The burns receded; their marks were still present, but they no longer looked so angry.

"Huh," Midna commented. "That took away the pain." Upon seeing Link's expression, she quickly added, "It wasn't that much pain!"

"Will you be able to walk?" Link asked.

Midna first responded to that by drawing herself to a standing position. "Of course I can walk! Don't assume I can't!"

"Sorry," Link said with a flush, nervously scratching the back of his head. "I just got worried after Lanayru transformed that you were…well, I know you're strong. I shouldn't worry so much."

A soft smile crossed Midna's face. As much as she was trying to preserve her ego, she had to admit she was touched to hear that Link had worried for her. "I'll forgive you," she teased. "Well, one down and three to go, right?"

"Right!" Link said with a nod.

"That wasn't so bad," Midna remarked as she, Link, and Sora rejoined the group. "There better not be bugs next time, though. I HATE bugs!"

"We'll keep the bugs off you," Sora promised.

"Nice plan, by the way," Midna told Katara. "That was clever."

"Thanks," Katara replied. "I really owe it to Papyrus for making the stairway."

"IT WAS NOTHING!" Papyrus said flippantly.

"And we did it just like you two wanted," Midna asserted. "No one died. Though wasn't there supposed to be someone here we weren't going to kill?"

"Oh, right!" Katara recalled. "The guardian Maleficent stationed!"

"That is odd," Jasmine added. "There was no one to be found."

"Maybe they ran away for some reason?" Sora suggested.

"Maybe there never was one," Ruby pondered, "and we fell for a lie."

"Maybe they're hidden away in the shadows," Riku countered, "and we haven't seen the worst yet."

"I'm going with that one," Stork agreed.

"I don't know how likely this is," Aladdin brought up, "but what if someone else got to them first?"

"Who else could walk in the Twilight?" Ruby reminded him.

"Yeah, you're right," Aladdin said with a nod. "Probably not likely."

"Lanayru wasn't worried about it," Link recalled, "so something good must have happened, if there ever was a guardian at all."

"Then let's not worry about it," Midna suggested. "So, we all agree Eldin next, right?"

"That makes the most sense," Zelda concurred.

"Eldin's going to have a lot less water," Midna said pointedly at Katara.

"I think we can manage," Katara replied.

...

Eldin Province, as Midna had said, was dry, rocky country. That was something Mozenrath, Yzma, Roman, Demyx, Irmaplotz, and Zevon were finding out firsthand while Hans and Wuya were reminded.

Wuya brought the party to a halt partway down a road leading to a small village tucked at the base of a mountain. "Kakariko Village is ahead," she announced.

"So?" Mozenrath asked.

"So that's where the spring is," Wuya explained. "And, by extension, Maleficent's next general." She turned back to face the others. "We're not going in there without a plan."

Without needing to be told, the group formed into a circle. "I don't know how much we can plan without knowing what we're up against," Mozenrath brought up, "but I do know one thing." He glared directly at Demyx. "Last time, we got set back because of YOU."

"What did I do?" Demyx moaned.

"I don't know what you did," Mozenrath reminded him, "but we were doing perfectly fine until little miss emo saw you doing whatever it is you did and set her pet snake on you."

"All I did was summon my weapon!" Demyx whined. "That's what I was supposed to do, right?"

"Well, you did it wrong," Mozenrath asserted. "This time, do it right if at all."

Demyx let out another whine, this one wordless.

"Okay, this has been bothering me for a while now," Hans broke in, "but what's with you?"

"What do you mean, what's with me?" Demyx replied.

"Why doesn't anybody here like you?" Hans asked.

"I don't mind him," Zevon stated.

"I'm pretty okay with him," Irmaplotz added.

"Okay, you two are cool," Demyx affirmed.

"His problem is that he doesn't pull his weight," Mozenrath related.

"Look, I just don't do well on teams, okay?" Demyx sighed. "The same thing happened to me when I was working for Organization XIII. I always had Saïx breathing down my neck for 'not pulling my weight.' Whatever. I'm just always gonna be that guy. It's not like I actually care."

"Interesting," Hans commented. "That doesn't really answer my question, but I guess it's just something I'll have to see in action. Anyway, it sounds like the last attack was triggered by the enemy figuring out you had a weapon on you."

"What am I supposed to do about that?" Demyx groaned. "NOT fight? …Actually, that's a good plan. How about this time, I don't fight?"

"Here's an actual good idea," Wuya broke in. "You walk in with your weapon in hand. That way, you can start using it right away, and nobody can stop you from summoning it."

"Okay, you're cool too," Demyx decided. He took two steps back to get enough room for the sitar before calling it to his hands.

"He might actually be our best play," Wuya brought up. "Hit Maleficent's stooge with enough of those forms you can summon and they'll be overwhelmed."

"You're saying DEMYX is our best play," Mozenrath said in disbelief.

"What was I thinking?" Wuya replied. "We'll just have you blast our problem away with your magic. Oh, wait. You can't USE your magic without vaporizing half the team."

"Fair point," Mozenrath sighed. "All right. The plan is Demyx."

"Beyond that," Wuya said, "we'll have to improvise."

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate improvisation?" Mozenrath groaned.

"I LOVE improv!" Irmaplotz broke in. "Especially the game where everyone's attending a party, but they all have different weird personality traits, and the host has to guess, and I think I just figured out what I want to try and organize when we get back home!"

"I'm in!" Zevon crowed.

"I don't know what she's talking about," Mozenrath grunted, "but I'm sure I'll hate it."

"Improvising is our only option," Wuya reminded him. "Well, that and hitting them fast and hard. Also, I get the general. I want no misunderstandings there."

"No misunderstandings," Yzma agreed.

Wuya turned back to face the road. "Let's go."

As they made their way, Zevon muttered to himself, "You've got this. We've got this! We rock. We can't lose. I'm not nervous. There's no reason to be nervous. Who's nervous?"

Kakariko's buildings were well spaced out, round and built of stone; one lay close to the province's sacred spring. At the shore of the spring, a lone man awaited, tossing a hunting knife into the air and letting it spin before catching it by the handle, again and again and again. When he saw the party approaching, he gave the knife a final spin in his hand before tucking it away at his belt and picking up the Huntsclan-issue crossbow that leaned against his leg.

"Shoulda known you'd come along," Percival C. McLeach chuckled, raising the crossbow. "You kiddies just can't resist trying to swim in the grown-ups' pool, can you?"

"Okaaaaay," Roman replied, "making cracks about kids being outside their boundaries is my thing. And when I do it, I taunt actual kids. Not people a hundred years older than me."

"I'm not THAT old!" Yzma protested.

"That's right," McLeach remembered with a smirk. "The witch did say you couldn't even hold your own against a bunch of little girls."

"Ooh, burn," Demyx laughed.

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON HERE?" Roman yelled at Demyx.

"It's eight against one," Wuya reminded McLeach. "Do the smart thing and surrender your piece of the Triforce of Power."

"You think I'm stupid?" McLeach snapped. "It's eight on one because I'm the only one they need here!"

He punctuated that sentence by firing a green blast from the crossbow.

Wuya sidestepped it by just a hair, knowing full well the Huntsclan technology could stand up to her magic. Her red mane whipped behind her; the green bolt clipped a few stray strands off. "I was hoping you'd make it fun," she admitted, lighting both hands up with flames of the same green color.

McLeach gave a whistle, and the waters behind him shuddered. In a sudden burst, an enormous eagle composed entirely of Dark energy erupted from the spring, taking to the air with great flaps of its black wings. Its claws clutched at a sphere of pure Darkness.

"Finally got my eagle," McLeach laughed, "and this one's worth more to me alive than dead!" With another whistle, he commanded, "Take out the pretty boy in blue!"

The spirit Eldin swooped over McLeach and down toward the assembled members of the WHAM ARMY. At once, Roman, Yzma, Zevon, Demyx, Wuya, and Irmaplotz scattered. Mozenrath was frozen momentarily, unable to process the situation until the bird was headed directly for him.

He then became aware of another form inserting itself in between Eldin and his target. Hans attempted to block the blow, but given Eldin's size and momentum, he only cushioned it. Both Hans and Mozenrath were sent spilling across the battlefield.

Mozenrath rolled all the way back into the stone wall of one of the buildings at the spring's edge. His head swam as it smacked into the hard wall. He tried to fix his sights on Hans and was vaguely able to perceive the auburn-headed prince lying splayed out on the ground a short distance before him, a small pool of blood gathering in the dust.

This instinctively made Mozenrath angrier than his rational thought told him he should be.

He attempted to stand, using his sword as a crutch. Pain shot through one leg, indicating it was probably not suitable to stand on. Mozenrath pushed past it anyway, wobbling to his feet and raising his sword.

A green bolt was planted right in his other leg, sending him down with a sharp cry.

By then, Demyx had gotten his bearings. With a yell of "DANCE, WATER, DANCE!", he strummed the sitar, sending dozens of watery forms spreading out over the battlefield and converging upon McLeach. McLeach gritted his teeth in frustration as he shot down form after form.

Roman positioned himself with Cudgel raised, fixing McLeach in his scope. He considered whether he had enough firepower to blast right through the water forms and hit McLeach. It was probably better, he thought, to wait for an opening. Just as he thought such a thing, the forms before him were thinned in ranks, leaving a direct path in the air to McLeach –

Eldin dropped his first sphere of Darkness directly on top of Roman.

"NO!" Yzma, Zevon, Wuya, and Irmaplotz cried.

After the collision, Roman lay facedown on the ground, unmoving, one arm bent at an odd angle.

"That's it," Irmaplotz muttered, racing to position herself below Eldin.

"NO!" Wuya screamed, reaching out after Irmaplotz. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the girl and McLeach. Irmaplotz, McLeach, Irmaplotz, McLeach –

She made her decision too late. Irmaplotz forged a massive projectile of green energy, hurling it upward at Eldin. Eldin's response was to build up a second sphere of Darkness and drop it. The sphere plunged down through Irmaplotz's feeble attempt, landing on the girl with a shudder that rocked the earth. Now Irmaplotz lay next to Roman, eyes shut, glasses shattered some six inches away from her face.

Gritting her teeth, Wuya abandoned the pursuit of McLeach and launched herself into the air. She landed hard on Eldin's back, seizing the spirit by the back of the neck with a magically charged grip. Eldin gave a screech as Wuya jerked on his skin, attempting to steer him. The spirit faltered in the air, bobbing up and down as he tried to amass more Darkness to drop.

Yzma and Zevon raced toward Mozenrath, who had sunken to both knees. "MOZENRATH!" Yzma cried, immediately kneeling to meet his height.

"Don't you dare die on us!" Zevon said worriedly.

"I'm not going to die," Mozenrath growled. "I need to get close. I…need…to make him…pay." He tried again to stand and fell immediately backward.

"You're not going anywhere," Yzma informed him. "Now stay down before you break something."

"NO!" Mozenrath argued.

"If YOU go down, we ALL go down!" Yzma reminded him. "Without you, none of us are coming back from the dead! So YOU'RE NOT GOING TO – "

Her sentence ended in a shrill scream. The green bolt that had cut through her shoulder was embedded in the building's wall.

"MOTHER!" Zevon cried. He looked worriedly about, unknowing of what to do. He thought back to the three potions still on his belt. At least one of them could come in handy, and he mentally selected the best one for the job. That would do him no good, however, at that distance; he couldn't hope to throw it such that it would hit McLeach. McLeach would probably shoot the flask out of the air anyway.

As he pondered, Eldin managed to build up another sphere of Darkness.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Wuya demanded.

Eldin dared. His talons loosed the sphere on Mozenrath, Yzma, and Zevon below.

Zevon and Yzma braced for impact.

A dome of water suddenly surrounded them, exploding into droplets when the Darkness collided with it. This had neutralized the Dark attack. Demyx had made his way to the trio as quickly as he could while balancing his sitar.

"So you do pull your weight when it suits you," Mozenrath grunted.

"Hey, I just saved your life!" Demyx snapped. "Now you have to be nice to me!"

Eldin wobbled into a position to make another swoop down at the four who remained conscious on the ground. Wuya poured all her magic into resisting him. She was bolstered when Demyx sent a fountain of water rocketing into Eldin's chin, causing the eagle to veer greatly off course.

"That's it," Wuya growled. "You are going to your room."

She let go of Eldin's neck, but a harness appeared around the area she had just removed her hands from; it connected to reins that rested in her hands, allowing her to better steer the Dark spirit. She took him for a ride round and round over Kakariko Village.

Yzma stood, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. "BRING IT DOWN!" she yelled at Wuya, staring up in awe that Wuya had gotten the massive spirit under her control.

That was when the next bolt hit her in the leg. She was felled with yet another scream.

"You keep lettin' your guard down!" McLeach laughed. "I knew you were a bunch of morons, but I didn't know it was this bad! I woulda killed you with that last shot if I didn't know the boss wanted me to make it painful."

To his delight, Mozenrath was yet again trying to stand. "But you," McLeach said softly, so only he could hear, "you've taken your hits. I don't think she'd mind if I killed you right here."

The crossbow's aim was fixed upon Mozenrath's heart.

McLeach was then struck by a rush of watery spheres that sent him reeling, stepping back into the waters of the spring. Demyx's fingers danced over the sitar's springs.

"Demyx," Zevon urged, "keep playing! I have an idea, but I need your help to executivate it!"

"Does this idea involve me risking my neck?" Demyx asked.

"No," Zevon answered.

"Then I'm in," Demyx said.

Watery forms erupted over the battlefield once more, charging McLeach head-on. McLeach steadied himself, muttering about "stupid kids and their stupid magic" as he brought them down again and again. The water that sprayed from them pooled on the ground, flowing toward the edge of the spring.

Before McLeach could process what was happening, that water had risen up into a small wave, crashing over him and leaving him soaked. It took him a moment to realize all he'd gotten was wet. "WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO DO?" he yelled smugly at Demyx and Zevon.

"Wait for it!" Zevon called back.

That was when the potion that Zevon had poured into the water Demyx had commanded and brought to McLeach kicked in, having absorbed through McLeach's pores. The poacher's arms became limp and unable to hold the crossbow, which splashed into the water at his side. His legs no longer bore his weight, buckling all too flexibly and sending him splashing down onto his back, facing upward in the shallow water.

"RUBBER BONE POTION!" Zevon cried triumphantly. "KABOOM!"

McLeach muttered several vulgarities to himself under his breath.

Wuya had by then mastered her control over Eldin, and she sent the spirit diving straight down into the spring. McLeach braced himself; Eldin entered the waters behind him, disappearing into the water. Wuya let go of the harness, flipping backward and landing gracefully on her feet before McLeach.

"What're you gonna do?" McLeach taunted, even knowing the futility of his position. "Kill me?"

Wuya quickly snapped downward and scooped up his hand, clamping it in hers and drawing the Triforce of Power through McLeach. She smiled as she noted the triangular crest on the back of her hand glowing ever brighter. Then she let his hand fall.

"WUYA!" The cry came from Yzma. Wuya turned just in time to see Yzma, on her knees, loading up her atlatl. "CATCH!"

The dart went soaring through the air; Wuya snagged it, gave it a spin, then plunged it directly down into McLeach.

It pierced his chest, knocking into his ribcage, a good distance away from his heart. "You missed," McLeach said with a grin.

"Did I?" Wuya retorted.

In a cloud of pink smoke, McLeach transformed. His new body was propelled high into the air. Wuya smirked as she saw the tiny shadow fall –

And was horrified to realize he was now a fish. And, since his body had been completely recomposed by the transfiguration potion, he had regained a skeleton.

The fish splashed down into the water; Wuya chased after him. He leapt over a small hurdle in the earth, then into the very depths of the back of the spring. Wuya persisted, diving into the deeper water just in time to see McLeach squirm his way into a crack in the furthest wall of rock that made up the spring's containment. She threw enough magic at the wall to blow a wide crevice in it, but there was no fish to be found; he'd made his escape.

Wuya stormed, dripping wet, toward Yzma, yelling, "A fish? A FISH? I completely LOST him because you made him something that could breathe underwater! I was expecting a frog! Or a rat! Something that could DROWN!"

"You think I'm in any position to be picky about what potion I grabbed?" Yzma snapped back, gesturing with her good hand at her injured shoulder and the leg that was seeping blood. "Why didn't YOU just stab him somewhere fatal with it?"

"I thought we were on the same page!" Wuya groaned. "He shot you in the leg to make you suffer, and I stabbed him somewhere nonfatal to make HIM suffer before he was SUPPOSED to drown! An eye for an eye!"

She was aware of the spring rippling behind her, and she whipped around, creating an enormous pot lid that slammed down on the spring's depths; Eldin crashed into it from below, but it only clattered slightly. "I won't be able to hold that forever," Wuya informed Yzma, Zevon, Demyx, and Mozenrath. "We'll need to figure out a recovery plan."

"Well," Mozenrath remarked, "I can get us Roman and Hans back and patch up Yzma's wounds in – "

Without going any further in that sentence, he waved his right hand, and those he had named, along with Demyx and Zevon, became flickering blue lights. Another wave brought them all back.

"I thought you were gonna count us down from three!" Demyx moaned. "I was NOT ready for that!"

"Now," Mozenrath muttered as Hans and Roman approached the group, "about me and Irmaplotz."

"Oh, don't tell me I missed all the fun," Roman teased.

"All you missed was me saving the day," Demyx answered.

Roman was silent a moment before asking, "No, seriously, what happened while I was out?"

"It was actually I, Zevon, who secured our victoriosity!" Zevon proclaimed, placing a hand on his chest. "You're all welcome."

"That makes…slightly more sense?" Roman relented.

"You did good," Wuya said with a nod toward Zevon.

"What about me?" Demyx griped. "That plan would NOT have worked without me!"

"That is true," Yzma agreed. "Congratulations, Demyx."

"Looks like you can be a team player after all," Hans observed.

By then, Irmaplotz had come back to consciousness. She walked drowsily over to the group, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Ow," she complained. Noticing her glasses missing, she conjured another pair out of thin air, resting them in place.

"Welcome back to the show, Four-Eyes," Roman greeted.

"I'll be willing to give Demyx his share of credit," Mozenrath decided, "if he can fix me."

"What?" Demyx sputtered. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"It occurred to me as we were journeying here," Mozenrath informed him. "We don't have the Spirit Waters, but we do have plenty of run-of-the-mill water. The kind of water that waterbenders can use to heal. Do I have to spell this out for you?"

"Riiiiiight," Demyx realized. "So if I fix you, you'll admit I'm actually a valuable associate."

"I can already see where this is going," Mozenrath sighed. "You won't make a move until I promise you that much."

"You're smart."

"I'll say it right now," Mozenrath relented. "Demyx, you are a valuable associate when you actually want to be – "

"Ah, ah, ah!" Demyx stopped him. "No 'whens' or 'ifs.' Just say it."

"You're a valuable associate," Mozenrath said plainly, "and without you, we would probably all be dead right now. Now START HEALING."

"On it!"

It only took Demyx a few minutes to restore Mozenrath's legs to working order and repair the blow his head had taken. Still, Demyx remarked that "Wow, I'm out of practice. I really hope you don't need much more of this."

Mozenrath stood, brushing himself off. He cast his gaze at his surroundings. "Wuya," he asked, "how much longer can you hold down that spirit?"

"Long enough for the rest of you to scavenge the village," she assured him.

"It's just that with all of the inhabitants currently unable to possess physical forms, much less stop us," Mozenrath explained to the others, "that leaves everything here ripe for the taking." What he didn't say was that given the difficulty of this battle, he wanted to amass as many useful tools as he could in preparation for the next one. Everyone inferred his point anyway.

"All right, team!" Zevon commanded. "DISPERSIONATE!"

"DISPERSE!" Irmaplotz corrected.

"THAT, TOO!" Zevon added.

As Wuya returned to the spring to hold down her spell, the others broke up to search Kakariko Village for items of importance.