74. Strategies and Counterstrategies
Kairi couldn't remember exactly how she had lost consciousness. Something must have happened; she must have fallen and hit her head, or something had fallen on her. All she knew was that she was waking up from a period of being out cold.
Several things were very wrong with the picture that greeted her when she opened her eyes. She was lying on a cold, hard floor, which is where she assumed she had fallen. But even before she registered that, she realized that no color was reaching her eyes. Everything she saw was starkly black and white with some grayish shades, as though the world had been drawn with only a graphite pencil on paper. She must have hit her head so hard, her vision had been damaged, and inwardly, panic started to build around that.
But it had to wait. For as she rose, she observed that she was in a room she did not recognize as part of the Radiant Garden castle. That might have been fair. She knew she hadn't yet seen everything the castle had to offer. It was a large chamber, however, and she was sure a room that big wouldn't have escaped her notice. Besides, if an accident had befallen her, wouldn't she remember what room she had entered last?
It seemed, however, that this was the result of no accident. For the room was filled with other bodies. Kairi's blood ran cold until they began to move en masse. They weren't dead. Just unconscious.
Jaune was nearest to her, sitting up and pressing a hand to his head. "Kairi?" he asked, his voice muffled by lethargy. "What…happened? Why am I here?"
"Why are WE here?" Madison corrected.
Kairi began to take stock of who was all present in this strange chamber. She counted all five Mystic Rangers, Nora, Ren, Jaune of course, Mickey, Donald, Goofy…
"Gosh," Mickey remarked, standing up. "Somethin' real bad musta happened to knock us all out."
"Something suspicious," Ienzo commented. "This reeks of foul play."
There was Ienzo. And near him, Aeleus, Cid, Yuffie, Aerith, Lea, Merlin, Leon…
"Is anyone else seeing black and white?" Moana asked.
"I thought it was just me!" Chip cried. "That's a relief."
"Or is it?" Aladdin posed.
"Where'd all the color go?" Goofy asked in concern.
Aladdin, Kairi noted. Carpet, Sadira, Genie…even Genie? What could knock out a genie?
"Well, rise and shine, everybody," Genie declared, hitting snooze on an alarm clock he had summoned for dramatic effect. "It looks like we have to solve…" He spun in a quick cyclone, emerging dressed in a trenchcoat and a deerstalker cap. "The mystery of the missing colors!"
"That's not all that's strange," Aerith remarked. "Where are we?"
"Are we even in the castle anymore?" Nora wondered out loud.
"And where's everyone else?" Cadance asked.
Cadance. Luna. Kairi ticked them off in her mind.
"I've no idea where the civilians are," Merlin observed, "but it seems all of us who played a part in recent heroics have been summoned to this monochromatic chamber."
"Not all of us," Kairi said worriedly. "Has anyone seen Riku?"
For a moment, they looked among themselves, a few calling out Riku's name, but he was nowhere to be found.
"I don't like this," Leon said coldly.
"Me either," Nick contributed.
"Something's wrong," Jaune said worriedly. "Really, really wrong!"
"Maybe we should have a look around outside this room, wherever this is," Goofy suggested.
"Or maybe we should look around this room first," Sadira corrected, having spotted something out of the ordinary.
The chamber seemed to be an ordinary round room with bare walls. The object Sadira had spotted was floating in midair near one of these walls. She approached it cautiously, drawing everyone else's attention to it: a small theater screen with an intricate border, covered by a pair of curtains.
"I know what that is!" Donald cried. "Sora, Goofy, and I saw a bunch of those in the Disney Castle of the past, before it was a castle! They showed us all this stuff about Maleficent and Pete!"
"How does it work?" Sadira asked.
"Ya just pull the rope," Goofy told her, "and the curtains move!"
Sadira looked back to the group cautiously, wondering if she should.
Kairi stepped up next to her. "We're all here," she reminded Sadira. "Whatever's behind that curtain, we'll face it together."
Sadira gave a firm nod. Then she pulled the rope.
The crowd gathered around close to get a good look at the small screen. It was blank for a moment before focusing in on a face they all knew well: that of Maleficent. Not only that, but she was in full color, unlike reality around them, and it was easy to tell that she was standing inside the Radiant Garden castle chapel.
"Good morning, my little pets," she greeted.
"You think she can see us?" Jaune whispered to Kairi. "Or is this just a recor – "
"I can assure you this is not a recorded message," Maleficent stated smugly.
Kairi's hands balled up into fists. "What do you want?" she snapped at the screen. "Where ARE we?"
"Where are you?" Maleficent repeated. "Why, you're in Villain's Vale: the castle my companions and I have called home for so long now. We have taken up residence in your former quarters. It has so far been a demonstration in how much more comfortably you live. Should you choose to remain in the Vale until our business is concluded, I would hope you would see the other end of said demonstration."
"Like you can't just make things more comfortable whenever you want!" Cid barked.
"As for why you are here," Maleficent continued, a laugh now playing at entering her speech, "that matter is more complex. I am certain you have by now noticed oddities in your surroundings beyond your changed location."
"Yeah," Chip piped up. "All the color's gone!"
"Oh, dear," Maleficent teased. "It must be a fixture of one of your bad dreams. I wonder which one of you has nightmares about the world losing its color?"
At once, Nick, Vida, Madison, Xander, and Chip all said "Me."
"I am sure there is quite the miserable story behind this phenomenon," Maleficent said in what was nearly a chuckle. "You'll find that isn't all that's changed about your world. You currently reside in the last safe haven in the city excepting the domicile I now inhabit. Outside the Vale walls, you will find other fragments of your fears: nightmares you have had come to life. The city suffers your fears, growing more desolate by the moment."
"The city!" Kairi cried. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE CIVILIANS?"
"I have merely returned them to their homes," Maleficent replied. "Nothing more insidious than that. Of course, their homes remain in certain disrepair after the blackout. And now they are hounded by the monsters of your slumbering minds…how tragic indeed. What saviors you are to have let them fall to this fate."
"Like that was our fuckin' fault!" Cid barked.
"You…you SNAKE!" Aladdin added.
Maleficent really did chuckle. "Snake? You seem to have confused me with your former nemesis Jafar."
"Well, it doesn't matter what you did," Kairi continued, "because we're going to undo it!"
"That you are," Maleficent confirmed. "In fact, that is what I am counting on. There is only one way to return the city to normal."
"We're in a nightmare world, right?" Chip guessed. "So everyone must be asleep! We just gotta wake everyone up!"
"I must inform you that despite the dreamlike qualities of this world, you are very much awake," Maleficent went on. "What I have done is bring your nightmares into reality rather than vice versa."
"HOW?" Jaune cried.
"With the magic of the sands, of course," Maleficent stated. "I merely found the correct combination to bend reality to my will."
"You can't do that with just sand," Nick huffed.
"Actually, she can," Sadira piped up. "I once used sand magic to switch places with Princess Jasmine. Like, actually switch places. And in her hands? She could make WHATEVER she wanted happen with that spell."
"There is, of course, a way to reverse what I have done," Maleficent explained, "and only one way. If a better future were written for Radiant Garden in the Book of Prophecies."
"But we don't have the Book of Prophecies," Kairi said instinctively.
"I was given reason to believe Sora knows its location," Maleficent explained. "If he does not, then this has all been but a pleasant amusement. If he does, however, he must bring it to this world and use it to write a future in which the nightmares cease and my associates and I are ousted from the castle. I have cast a further spell over this entire world: none may leave, but all may enter, and communication may go all ways. You will find radio equipment used to contact Gummi ships within the Vale. I suspected from the moment I transported you that Sora was no longer on this world, as he was missing. You will call him and summon him to return to Radiant Garden with the Book."
"So you can follow him and take the Book for yourself," Kairi spat.
"Precisely," Maleficent said with a grin. "Yet you have no choice. And as an added incentive, something most precious to Sora has been removed from the equation. Princess, kindly take a single step forward."
Kairi knew she shouldn't have, but she didn't know what harm taking a step could do. As she did so, her shoe connected with something hard that scraped between her toe and the floor. A glance downward told her what she had stepped on and miraculously not broken in the process of doing so. It was no longer red, but its star shape gave away its identity as the charm Riku had taken to commemorate his love for Sora, the one that bonded them with the Unbreakable Connection enchantment. In shock, Kairi knelt to pick the charm up.
"Riku," she said softly once she met Maleficent's gaze once more.
"The boy Riku remains within my clutches," Maleficent said, with the air of one who is keeping more of the truth under wraps than she cares to reveal. "I am to understand he is where Sora's heart truly lies. If Sora ever wishes to see his dearest friend and lover again, he will use the Book. And you are to deliver to him that message."
"We'll stop you," Kairi said in a low growl, teeth gritted. "We won't need the Book. We won't endanger Sora. We'll get Riku back ourselves. We've fought worse than you before."
A chorus of "YEAH!" went up throughout the crowd.
"Kairi," Ienzo protested, "perhaps it is best to weigh our options. If the entire city is in danger – "
"If Maleficent is tipped off as to the location of the Book of Prophecies," Merlin argued, "it will be more than Radiant Garden that is in danger!"
"I trust you will make the correct choice," Maleficent said smugly. "If you wish to test yourselves against what I have done, however, then I invite you to venture outside these walls. Perhaps after you have seen what this nightmare truly holds for you all, you will be more inclined to do as I command."
She punctuated this with another chuckle, which escalated into a laugh, which preceded what was practically a howl of sadistic glee. The image faded from the screen; now there was no color anywhere.
"So that's it," Jaune said somberly. "We have to get this Book or…"
Kairi shook her head firmly. "We can save Riku. We can save this city! We can DO it!"
"I am certainly inclined to believe that, my dear girl," Merlin agreed.
"But if we're gonna figure out how to stop Maleficent," Mickey stated, "we're gonna need to figure out what needs stoppin'. We're gonna have to see what it's like outside."
Kairi clutched the charm tightly before pocketing it. "Then let's go."
…
Sei'an city was a metropolis of low but ornate buildings in the commoner's quarter, the structures gaining height in the aristocratic district on the far edge. Purple seemed to be all the rage in the composition of the architecture, with most of the structures featuring at least some purple accent. The roads fought for space with canals that twisted in a labyrinthine fashion throughout the entire city. Cherry blossom trees were in full bloom all over town.
"First things first," Mozenrath announced as he led the company into the city, "those trees are going down."
He hadn't worried about bringing such a large group this time. In a busy metropolis, crowds were to be expected. No one was even giving them a second glance despite their variegated attire.
"You'll only need your five to poison them," Yzma pointed out. "What are the rest of us supposed to do?"
"Enjoy some extra time off," Mozenrath told her. "Take in the sights. Enjoy the city, as much as that's possible when there are sakura petals falling all over."
"We should have someplace to rendez-vous," Snatcher pointed out.
"And I'm getting hungry!" Snipe complained.
"How about we find a nice restaurant?" Scarlet suggested. "Herb and I will scope one out, and we can all meet there later."
"That sounds sensible," Mozenrath said with a nod. "Just send a text when you've found something." He had to admit he was getting quite used to the efficiency of scrolls.
"On it!" Scarlet nodded.
The group dispersed, leaving Mozenrath, Mim, Aghoul, Wuya, and Xayide to locate the first of the cherry blossom trees. Mozenrath did have to admit he wasn't fully clear on if these were Guardian Saplings, but if there were that many of them in the city, taking them out couldn't be good for the natural balance.
"I think we know what to do at this point," Mozenrath stated.
This time, the order went Mim, then Aghoul, then Wuya, then Mozenrath. As Mozenrath extended his hand to Xayide, she recoiled.
"Is there a problem?" Mozenrath asked sternly.
"Your aura," Xayide admitted, "and that of Ayam. They are almost too much to bear. They carry the stench of death."
Mozenrath had a snippy retort on his tongue, but at the last second, he swallowed it. Xayide had done a good job wrecking the Guardian Saplings on route to Sei'an. "Go tag in Irmaplotz," Mozenrath sighed. "She can fill in. You're free to go."
Xayide bowed. "Thank you."
After she had departed, Mozenrath announced, "We can stop holding hands now. It's awkward."
In a nearby kimono shop, designer Mr. Chic's search for a new trendy design to put on his wares was seemingly over. "I can't believe it!" he gushed. "It's wonderful! It's perfect! Wherever did you come up with such an aesthetically pleasing design?"
"Well, this symbol has always meant something personal to me," Roman said as he removed a paintbrush from the canvas on the back wall, where he had finished drawing out his jack o'lantern emblem. "So I thought…why not share it with the world?"
"I'll begin production immediately!" Mr. Chic cried, racing to a bolt of fabric. "The streets will be lined with this design by high noon!"
"As they should be!" Roman crowed. "Though, uh, aren't you gonna give a little credit where it's due?"
"I'll be sure to give your name to every customer – "
Roman put up his hands; "Not THAT kind of credit. I'm talking about a credit to my funds. I also take cash."
He walked out of the shop fifty yen richer.
His attention was immediately diverted by a whistle. Knowing that it had been directed at him in particular, Roman turned in the direction of the noise, noting a black cape disappearing around the side of Mr. Chic's shop. Following the signal, he found Demyx, Rémington, Grany, Ragdoll, and Firefly awaiting him.
"Whoa, guys, where's the party?" Roman laughed.
"We are the party," Firefly replied.
"It occurred to us that we're in a city we've never been before, where no one knows our names or faces," Rémington announced.
"And some of those buildings over there look like they belong to people who are LOADED," Grany added.
"So, being thieves, we figured we could pull one over on this town and score some epic loot," Demyx stated. "And since you're a fellow thief, we really figured we couldn't pull it off without you. I mean, we could, but then you'd probably get all mad that we left you out – "
"And you're a fun guy to run heists with anyway," Firefly interrupted.
"So, what do you say?" Ragdoll asked. "Care to partake in some old-fashioned pilfering?"
"You guys know me too well," Roman replied slyly. "I'm in."
"Now remember," Rémington announced, "this is a civilization where most buildings are made out of wood. If we don't want to cause a scene, Garfield over there doesn't get to use his weapons, or else we end up setting half the city on fire."
"Remind me why I even came armored, again?" Firefly sighed.
Ragdoll patted his shoulder sympathetically. "There, there. It'll be more than useful when we're going toe-to-toe with the sun goddess."
"I did see this big building earlier with a huge padlock on the door," Demyx volunteered. "It didn't look like it was a house. I bet it's some kind of warehouse or storage room. I bet we could find some good loot in there!"
"That's observant," Grany pointed out.
"I was kind of the recon king back in the Organization, after all," Demyx reminded the others. "…Right after Vexen. And only when I really WANTED to. But this? This is where it pays to be observant."
"All right, gentlemen," Roman declared, "let the crime spree begin."
Irmaplotz walked as briskly as she could to where Mim, Aghoul, Wuya, and Mozenrath waited by the first cherry blossom tree. "Okay, when Xayide said you were by the big sakura tree, she really needed to be more specific," she complained.
"Your magic should be strong enough to fill in at this point," Mozenrath informed her. "All you have to do is join your essence to ours and channel it through Mim in order to give her enough power to bring down the tree."
Irmaplotz shrugged. "How hard could it be?"
Hands were joined once more. As the quintet's auras flowed freely into one another, Irmaplotz cringed. "I see why Xayide quit the job," she remarked. "Mozenrath, Ayam, you two have auras that feel like dead pelicans."
"Dead I get," Aghoul responded. "But why pelicans?"
"I'm just getting a pelican vibe," Irmaplotz replied.
"Forget the pelican," Mozenrath growled. "Focus on the tree."
Mim pressed a single fingertip to the tree's trunk, and its petals were shed almost immediately.
"One down," Mozenrath remarked, "about twenty more in this city to go."
That earned him several groans.
Yzma and Neo strolled down the open-air shops of the vendor district, peering in on jewelry and accessories of all sorts. What really caught Neo's attention, however, was a shop selling scrolls of parchment.
"Excuse me," Yzma asked the vendor after Neo had dragged her to this particular shop. "May I ask what you are selling here?"
"Only the finest literature!" the vendor boasted.
Neo gave Yzma a look that suggested Yzma should have obviously known it was a bookstore.
"We specialize in the tales of the adventures of the goddess Amaterasu since her descent to Earth to defeat all the Darkness in the land," the vendor went on. "All of them are freshly written and illustrated by the great talent Issun! Every story you would want to know about her is here!"
Neo and Yzma's eyes lit up at that. "So you're saying," Yzma clarified, "if we wanted to analyze Amaterasu for tactical weaknesses, this would be the place to learn that?"
"Is…that what you're looking for?" the vendor replied.
"No," Yzma said flatly.
"Then, I suppose, yes," the vendor admitted.
"How much for the entire set?" Yzma asked.
The price was steep; when she heard it, Yzma requested, "I believe I misheard you. Could you repeat that, please?"
So she heard it again. "Repeat it again," she commanded, "but make it lower."
Neo gave a sigh, rolling her eyes. Her hand went to the hilt of her sword.
"We are simple tourists, by the way," Yzma asserted, eyes on the vendor while her words were directed at Neo. "We're simply here to take in the sights, hear about certain local current events, and not make a scene by, oh, I don't know, assassinating anybody."
"Why would you even bring that up?" the vendor asked, now a little frightened.
Neo left her sword alone.
"Bring what up?" Yzma said, playing clueless."
"You said 'assassinating anybody' – "
"No, I didn't. I said 'setting anything on fire.'"
Neo gave Yzma a glare to assert that arson was Roman's schtick, not hers, and she didn't need to be cautioned about it.
"That doesn't make it any better," the vendor admitted.
Yzma and Neo felt someone come up behind and between them, slipping an arm over each; they were both ready to punch out whoever thought he could initiate such a touch with them before they realized it was Roman. "Are we having a problem here?" he asked.
"I'm just coming up a little…short-handed," Yzma admitted.
"How short-handed?" Roman asked.
The vendor repeated the price.
"Oof," Roman said with a wince. "Now, can you repeat that, but make it lower?"
Neo's eyes rolled all the harder.
"I'm kidding," Roman said as he removed his arms from his friends' shoulders and dug around in his pockets. "This should cover it." He set several yen, three necklaces, and a handful of crystals on the counter.
The vendor relented and handed over all the scrolls Yzma had indicated, promptly choosing to forget Yzma had said anything about assassination or arson.
As Yzma, Roman, and Neo walked away from the shop, Neo already poring over the first scroll, Yzma asked, "Are we on a thieving spree again?"
"You know it," Roman said softly.
Another sharp whistle alerted him to Demyx, Firefly, Ragdoll, Rémington, and Grany waving him over from across a canal. "And it sounds like we've just hit another jackpot," Roman informed Yzma and Neo, "so this is where I bid you ladies goodbye." With that, he was gone, dashing across the bridge.
"Well," Yzma said with a shrug, "there's always time for some light reading."
Neo passed her a scroll.
Mozenrath, Mim, Aghoul, Wuya, and Irmaplotz made a systematic sweep of the city, not taking a direct perimeter route in order to avoid the suspicion of the trees suddenly falling ill in a pattern. Eventually, they had taken out all of the major trees in the area, and the smaller ones were starting to catch the negative effects, proving once again how much sway the cherry blossom trees held over the natural balance. Not a moment too soon, Scarlet informed the WHAM ARMY via text that she had found quite a nice restaurant that served quality food, and this was accompanied with a description of the landmarks around the building. One by one, they all filtered toward and into the building, taking places at the ample indoor seating. Only one was missing, but those who took notice of his absence figured he would be along soon.
As food was delivered to the tables, Hans told Mozenrath, "Now you ask me one."
"All right," Mozenrath resolved, willing to humor Hans. "What's your favorite color?"
"That has to be the most bland question you could have asked," Hans laughed. "Not that I mind. And the answer's royal blue."
"I see someone's trying to score points with me," Mozenrath replied slyly.
"I'm serious!" Hans insisted. "It looks distinguished!"
"Now ask me one," Mozenrath demanded.
"Give me a minute," Hans ordered. "I have to think of something more inspired than your favorite color. Which, by the way, I think everyone knows."
After some time, he said, "Okay. What's the best food you have ever eaten?"
"That's not even a question," Mozenrath told him. "Let's just say that in my younger days, I worked in…servitude. My master wasn't the kindest of men, and not the kind who complemented my brand of unkindness, either. I had my reasons to kill him and add him to the army of undead that was passed from him to me upon his demise. When I did, I ransacked his kitchen. For as long as I'd known him, he'd held out on me. He would keep all the best food for himself and relegate me to scraps. With him out of the way, I could eat whatever I wanted. So I had the undead Mamluks who then worked for me whip up the most satisfying dish of tahdig I've ever eaten in my life."
"So was it good because it was actually good food," Hans asked, "or because of the victory?"
"Does it have to be an 'or' scenario?" Mozenrath replied. "Since then, I always have had a taste for tahdig."
"What even is tahdig?"
"So much to learn." Mozenrath shook his head. "Fried rice served over steamed rice. You make it all in the same pot."
"So it's just…rice," Hans reiterated. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. It sure would explain the plain rice stew you ordered just now. You're not very adventurous when it comes to food, are you?"
"I know what I like," Mozenrath asserted. "Is that so wrong? Meanwhile, I see you've ordered…I don't even know."
"It's a sea squirt," Hans explained, using a pair of chopsticks to raise the dissected sea creature from his plate and hold it out before Mozenrath. "They're pretty good. You should try."
"No."
"Come on." Hans gave his coyest grin. "Just one bite. I promise you won't die."
Mozenrath then realized the full extent of what Hans was offering, the way he still held out those chopsticks, in front of Mozenrath's face. To respond would be to show a potential vulnerability. But it was still an enticing prospect. Though his logical mind said no, to refuse, Mozenrath delicately closed his lips over the bite Hans offered, taking it into his own mouth off those utensils that had already been in such close contact with Hans' saliva.
Sea squirts, as it turned out, tasted tangy and like a stolen kiss.
"Not bad," Mozenrath said, though that was an understatement of the situation. He was now rather flustered and trying not to let it show.
Hans recognized this immediately. "You really are new to this whole relationship thing," he observed. "And that's fine. I don't mind."
Mozenrath considered offering something from his own dish for Hans to eat. Rice stew wasn't ideal for that; it lacked novelty, despite its comforting taste and texture. He knew he would need to get the upper hand sooner or later and stop feeling like such a star-struck fool around Hans whenever the atmosphere turned flirtatious. "Lack of experience doesn't necessarily mean lack of proficiency," he managed.
"So you're a romance savant," Hans said flatly, clearly not believing it.
"Listen," Mozenrath told him, "if I weren't good at this, would I know that the next move would be – "
He cut himself off, pressing his lips to Hans' cheek, which was smooth and warm in a way that didn't really make Mozenrath less flustered, thereby defeating the purpose of the act. Perhaps he should just give in, he thought, and stop trying to save face over the fact that he was smitten.
"You're right," Hans replied when Mozenrath backed off. "You're a complete pro at this."
Mozenrath sensed the sarcasm but didn't remark on it. "You know," he said, shifting topics, "what I'd really like to do is order a tall glass of milk and drink it all in one go, now that I'm finally allowed to. But that wasn't on the menu."
"I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to make up for lost dairy later," Hans assured him.
"Where is Snatcher, anyway?" Mozenrath wondered out loud. "He's been gone for a while. Almost too long."
"Because bringing him up is sure a romantic thing to talk about," Hans sighed.
As if on cue, Snatcher burst through the front door, wan and breathless. "Terrible news!" he cried. "The absolute unacceptable has happened!"
Mozenrath and Roman were the first to get up and approach him; the others followed suit and filled in behind. "What happened?" Mozenrath asked dryly.
"Now, before I go on," Snatcher stated, "I want to begin by saying that we've simply got to accept this turn of events."
"I don't have a good feeling about what's coming," Roman said flatly.
"I've had a run-in with a messenger who brought news from the village where we began," Snatcher explained. "He was quick to announce that Amaterasu has returned to Earth!"
"Which is exactly what we wanted!" Mozenrath said happily.
This set up a cheer throughout the room.
"I'm not FINISHED," Snatcher growled, quieting everyone down. "The goddess has…picked up certain company. Heroes of dubious origin who follow her and chase off monsters of all sorts whilst restoring beauty to the land. They are as follows: a warrior woman with golden hair, brandishing a cooking implement. A flying armored man bearing striking colors. A man who looks as the dead returned to life, with no flesh nor internal organs. A creature of bright green, with four fingers per hand…"
Now, finding familiarity in these words, the listening audience began to groan.
"A witch with the power to manipulate the waters," Snatcher went on. "A young girl bearing an oversized scythe."
"Noooooo," Mozenrath moaned.
"A dexterous woman, clad in teal," Snatcher went on.
"NOOOOOO," Mozenrath moaned louder.
"And a boy," Snatcher concluded, "whose weapon takes the form of…a key."
"No, NO, NO!" Mozenrath stomped on the floor of the restaurant.
"In all fairness, we should have seen this coming," Vexen pointed out. "After all, we did discover they have their ways of tracking our movements. I'm certain they are well aware we are here and have devised appropriate strategies to best us."
That was absolutely not what Mozenrath needed or wanted to hear at the moment. To be honest, he still wasn't quite over the embarrassment of the slide projector. Managing to forget that some of his most dangerous enemies could track him on a whim was considerably more humiliating than delivering a slide presentation upside-down. "Then we need counterstrategies," he said through gritted teeth. "They may be strong, but we're intelligent. Most of us, anyway." He gave that some thought. "Make that about half of us. We need to figure out how to shake them. What we need is – "
"DID SOMEONE SAY 'PLAN'?" Yzma cried from across the restaurant.
"NO!" Mozenrath yelled back at her.
Then, after a long pause and a resigned sigh, he concluded, "We need a plan."
"NOW DID SOMEONE SAY 'PLAN'?" Yzma yelled.
"WE DON'T NEED AN YZMA PLAN!" Mozenrath snapped back at her.
She weaseled her way through the crowd to stand next to him. "Hear me out," she said firmly.
"Do I have a choice?" Mozenrath sighed.
"Neo and I have spent most of the day reading about Amaterasu's adventures on this world," Yzma explained. "Typical heroics. All the best villains die far too soon. But isn't that just how all literature goes? Anyhow, one story in particular caught my eye. The fearsome Ninetails, who I understand to be some kind of fox, had tools known as the Fox Rods that granted her immense power. She challenged some stuffy old ocean king in battle, and he swallowed the Fox Rods, which subsequently turned him insane and drove him to rampage across the ocean in dragon form, which, if you ask me, is one of the more preferable ways to fall to Darkness. And before you ask, no, the dragon body wasn't tied to the Fox Rods. He could do that before."
"I would ask why that's relevant," Mozenrath sighed, "but I get the feeling you're about to explain that part to me, and I'm not going to like it."
"To continue," Yzma went on, "Ninetails got the Fox Rods back after Amaterasu accidentally killed the dragon king and handed the rods right back to the worst possible person. What a hero. Ninetails attempted to go on a destructive rampage of her own, Amaterasu tailed her to Oni Island, which changes position every night and can never be traced by any map, and the two of them had the sort of epic showdown I'm sure any retelling other than literature would blow out its budget on. Ninetails, of course, died, because we can't have anything nice in this story, but what became of the Fox Rods was a mystery, as was the fate of Oni Island. Some say it disappeared along with Ninetails, but others aren't so sure."
"I'm still not hearing a plan in this," Mozenrath admitted.
"Indulge me," Yzma bade him. "We travel to Oni Island. We claim the missing Fox Rods for ourselves. We come back to shore, where we open a chain restaurant selling highly addictive hamburgers. It will be no time at all before our pesky adversaries pull into the drive-through craving a bite to eat. We serve them the Fox Rods grilled up in hamburger patties, and they all fall to Darkness and become rampaging monsters!"
"I feel like I lost brain cells listening to that," Mozenrath sighed. "Why not just forge the Fox Rods into an arrow and shoot one of them in the heart with it? Wouldn't that have the same effect, but more dignified AND more probable?"
He then realized what he'd just said.
"That actually would work," Yzma confirmed.
"Did you seriously just make a good plan out of an Yzma plan?" Firefly commented.
"Hardly," Ravess said snidely. "They don't even know if Oni Island exists, and it can't be traced on a map!"
"True, it can't," Mozenrath said as he withdrew a certain object from his pocket. "This, however, might show us the way. And according to it…"
He let the compass needle spin, willing it to point the way to Oni Island. The needle fixed itself in a direction and stayed there, rotating to point in that direction no matter how Mozenrath tilted the instrument.
"…That island is definitely alive and thriving," Mozenrath concluded. After a second test with a different subject, one that yielded a point in the exact same direction, "And so are the Fox Rods."
"It's brillianced!" Zevon cried.
"You are all missing the critical piece of the puzzle," Vexen said dryly. "While we chase down these Fox Rods, our adversaries will have finished restoring the Guardian Saplings. Once that problem has been solved, Amaterasu will vanish from this world and return to the Celestial Plane."
"Problem," Mozenrath repeated. "Prooooobleeeeem."
"You're onto something," Hans said with a smile. "I know that look, and that's the look you get when you're onto something."
"Our persistent playmates do love solving problems, don't they?" Mozenrath announced. "And from the sounds of it, so does Amaterasu. You know what that says to me? That they'll stick around as long as we want them to so long as we give them enough problems to solve."
"Very astute," the Huntsman said with a nod.
"Listen," Hans said to immediately follow that up, "I knew you'd figure out something. You're the leader for a reason."
The Huntsman couldn't quite shake the feeling Hans had broken in just to speak over him. Surely Hans didn't consider him a romantic threat. That would be preoposterous. He let it be.
"Now all we need to figure out is what we can do to keep them running around until we can play Artemis," Mozenrath went on. "Then, with one of them transformed into a monster of horrific proportions, the brats will be distracted, they'll split up, and we can lure Amaterasu out on her own by going back to the Shinshu Field Guardian Sapling – if only because that will make the best battlefield. That's when we strike. In the meantime, while the eight of us founders will go on a hunt for the Fox Rods, we're going to need what I'll call 'Problem Squads.' Teams of you that can create problems."
"Well, I have a few ideas," Yzma volunteered, retrieving a scroll that depicted a windmill and unrolling it.
"Just so long as I'm not assigned to work with anyone stupid," Ravess huffed.
"This'll be fun!" Scarlet gushed. "Team bonding!"
"I hate team bonding," Demyx grumbled.
"All right, Yzma," Mozenrath commanded. "Tell us a few more stories of the exploits of Amaterasu. I want to see exactly how we can brew trouble."
…
For as long as he could remember, Riku had never been outside the castle walls of Radiant Garden. The best he could do was to observe the city from one of his lookout spots: the balconies, the edges of towers, or gables of rooftops. It confirmed what his mother had always told him: that the castle was the only place left in Radiant Garden with color. It had been that way ever since the Desolation, long before Riku was ever born. Life inside the castle was safe, comfortable. If Riku wanted it to stay that way, his mother had insisted, he mustn't entertain the thought of leaving. Out there was only danger waiting to swallow him up. Besides, what could the world outside offer that he didn't have within the castle? The people who made up the royal court were his family (even if none of them were related by blood) and showered him with everything he could ask for.
Still, he found himself on the gable yet again, having slipped out a window to reach an otherwise impossible spot, looking out over the city below. It was as it always was: frightened people scuttling through the streets as quickly as they could to get their business done, hordes of monsters prowling the area, some bigger beasts terrorizing distant districts, chasms opening up in the very earth to reveal a foul liquid boiling below the surface. Nothing about it looked at all inviting.
Riku desperately wished he could explore it.
"Hey," a voice said from beside him. "Thinking about what's out there again?"
Riku didn't even have to look to know who it was; the very voice made him smile. If there was anything more important to him than his dreams of leaving the castle, it was friendship, and he had two of the best friends anyone could ask for. One of them had just used her magic to teleport next to him on the gable. That was just her way: utilizing magic to make easy what Riku had thought difficult.
"You're not gonna tell Mom, are you?" Riku laughed.
"Like I'd rat on you," the girl replied, sitting down next to him.
"You tell on me all the time," Riku reminded her. "Remember when I ate the last of the candy, and I made you swear – "
"I was six!" the girl argued.
"You still betrayed me, Mal," Riku said with a smile.
He turned to look at her. She was dressed considerably flashier than he was, in an array of purple leather and green silk: a tunic, jeans, and accessories to spare. It all complemented her deep violet hair. Riku knew it wouldn't be long before his sister was chased down by the resident "fashion police" of the castle to be forced to wear something more elegant. Then again, his time wasn't long in that regard either.
"Oh," Mal teased, "like you've never stabbed me in the back. Remember when I spilled ink on Cruella's white dress? You said you'd take the fall for me, and you so didn't. And you can't even argue that you were six. You were twelve."
The siblings shared a laugh.
"THERE you are!" a new voice snapped from back up at the window that Riku had used to launch to the gable. "How am I supposed to follow you out there?"
Riku and Mal both turned to flash a smile at the friend who filled out their trio, framed in the window and trying to cautiously climb over the sill.
"I believe in you!" Mal cried.
"You know you aren't supposed to be out here," the girl insisted, continuing her tentative stunt.
"YOU'RE not gonna tell, are you?" Riku asked, though he knew the answer.
"Unlike the both of you," she said haughtily, "I'm not a backstabber."
Ungracefully, she leapt from the sill and landed hard on the gable, bending her knees to take the shock of the fall; Riku and Mal both tensed, ready to catch her should she slip. From their sitting position, they both got a glimpse of the girl's hooves hitting the tile beneath her long and loose black skirt. Lianna was technically handmaiden to Riku and Mal, though their relationship extended beyond professionalism. Her bloodline contained heritage of the goblins that took care of chores throughout the castle, therefore, while she had the height of an ordinary teenage human girl and mostly the same outline from a distance, her lower half was more boarlike, her eyes were a piercing yellow, her skin a dull shade of gray beneath her black braids of hair, and her mouth featuring a set of tusks that protruded from her lower teeth up over her upper lip.
"I don't see why you want to go out there anyway," Lianna said matter-of-factly as she settled down on Riku's other side. "It's nothing but chaos."
"I know," Riku sighed. "I've been told that for almost seventeen years. It's just…something inside me wants more."
"More than what we have here?" Lianna was perplexed. "We have everything we could want!"
"But it's all in one place," Riku reminded her. "And sometimes, this place just feels too small."
"Well, I'll give you that," Mal said resignedly.
Riku's eyes drifted up toward the sky. While he could still see his friends' colors out here, as well as those of the castle, the sky was a blank gray with clouds of darker gray floating across it, with no visible sun. "Do you ever wonder what exactly happened in the Desolation?" he asked. It was strange; he thought he surely would have brought this topic up with his friends before, but he couldn't recall exactly if or when they'd conversed about it.
"Y'know, I don't even know," Mal admitted. "I just know it was some kind of big bad scary thing. The world had color, the Desolation happened, and now it doesn't."
"I've done some research into it," Lianna admitted. "The topic is considerably buried in history. However, from what I understand, it came about thanks to a war with evildoers. They wanted to ruin the world, so they rounded us up and forced us into this castle, thinking it would be our prison. Instead, it became our haven. We remained here safely as they destroyed our world outside. Now there's nothing left out there."
"It's too bad," Riku said idly, his gaze still lingering on the horizon. "You really think it happened to the whole world?"
"I KNOW it happened to the whole world," Mal confirmed. "That's what everyone says, anyway."
"And what about other worlds?"
Lianna and Mal were stunned by this reply from Riku. It took a while before either could form a response. "You think there are other worlds?" Mal said at last.
"That's just something made up for fantasy stories," Lianna huffed. "As much as I wish there were other worlds we could escape to."
"There's literally never been any evidence that there's another world besides this one," Mal confirmed. "Though same on the wanting to escape front. You know, just for a vay-cay."
"So you two do want to leave the castle," Riku said smugly.
"Only sometimes," Lianna said softly. "When I feel as though I've seen all there is to see."
"It does feel small, sometimes," Mal added. "Which is so not fair, since everyone here loves us. Even if some of them do it in really weird ways."
"I know," Riku said solemnly. "And sometimes I feel like thinking about this is betraying them. But I also know it's important to follow my own heart."
"You still have to explain where you got this whole other-worlds idea," Mal said as she nudged Riku's arm playfully.
"I don't really know," Riku admitted. "It just sort of…came to me one day. It just didn't feel like this was all there could be. What about what's beyond the sky? What if all the fairy tales and fantasy stories we read were secretly true, and they're just waiting for us to come find them?"
"Well," Mal told him, "if you somehow end up being right about this, and you find a way to get to another world, I'll be right there with you."
"As will I," Lianna agreed solemnly.
"It wouldn't be an adventure without your best friends, right?" Mal urged.
"Moreso that being among best friends would make an adventure tolerable," Lianna teased.
"Then it's settled," Riku resolved. "We'll go together. But first, we'd have to get outside the castle."
"That's not happening," Mal reminded him.
"I know," Riku grumbled. "The barrier."
The barrier had been in place since before Riku's birth. His mother had always told him it had been cast by an evil force – she made sure to specify "evil" rather than "Dark," for here in the castle, it was well accepted that Darkness was not evil – to imprison the inhabitants inside, and this seemed to corroborate Lianna's account of the Desolation. As long as the barrier was up, however, it served not only as a boundary to keep everyone inside the castle but as a protective measure to keep the monsters out. Though it was most visible as an intricate magical seal laid over the front doors of the castle, it locked every other exit and even formed an invisible sphere around the exterior, preventing Riku, Mal, and Lianna from leaving via the rooftops. Riku hated the symbol on the doors and made a point of avoiding looking at it as much as he could. It smelled faintly of blood.
"By the way," Lianna announced, "Cruella and Grimhilde are looking for you both. That's what they sent me to tell you. They'll probably initiate a search party if you aren't found soon."
"Well," Mal sighed, "it was fun while it lasted."
"Wanna give us a lift back inside?" Riku asked.
"I would much prefer it to trying to climb back through the window," Lianna emphasized. "I'm not so certain I wouldn't fall to my death."
"All right," Mal sighed. "Because it's you two. But you know you can't expect me to bail you out every time you get stuck outside."
"Hey, I could get back inside anytime I want," Riku laughed. "This is just more convenient."
"I should leave you both out here," Mal joked; they both knew she wouldn't.
She took Riku's hand, and Riku took Lianna's. Mal closed her eyes. "When my eyes open wide, take us back inside!" Her eyelids shot up, and the trio vanished in a shower of sparkles.
They reappeared in an interior hallway of the castle, now scrambling to stand up. "All right," Mal resolved, "let's go find the fashion police."
The trio's steps took them down the hall and around the corner before they encountered another figure, one whose presence made them all stop in their tracks.
"Well, hello, my pets," Maleficent greeted with a smile.
"Hi, Mom," Riku and Mal said casually in unison.
Lianna curtsied. "Lady Maleficent."
"Enjoying our day, are we?" Maleficent asked sweetly.
"We're having a pretty good time," Mal confirmed.
"Is that so, Riku?" Maleficent asked, staring down her son.
"Yeah," Riku said with a nod.
"I do hope you were not sneaking outdoors again," Maleficent said slyly.
"Would we do that?" Mal asked nervously. "Seriously?"
"With all due respect," Lianna stated, "the barrier should render that a nonfactor. That being said, we were indoors playing games."
"I am glad to hear it," Maleficent said. "After all, I fear somber times are coming."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Riku asked.
"Dr. Facilier has cast his gaze into the future once more," Maleficent explained, "and he has seen the fast approach of enemies who mean us ill."
"Yeah, well, the barrier won't let them get far," Riku pointed out.
"I suppose it will not," Maleficent said with a nod. "Yet in the unlikely event that it does, I must know you will be prepared to fight whatever evil may come to oust us from our home. Perhaps you should pay a visit to Hades in the arena. Doubtless he will have any number of challenges set up for you to hone your skills…all three of you. After all, I cannot always protect you."
"We'll check it out," Riku promised. "But first, we should figure out what Cruella and Grimhilde want from us."
"We know what they want from us," Mal sighed. "They're gonna get on our case about our outfits again."
"They do know best when it comes to such matters," Maleficent stated. "It will not do to have you look slovenly."
"I have TRIED to offer them fashionable alternatives," Lianna sighed. "Especially to that ghastly yellow."
"A valiant effort," Maleficent congratulated, "and I laud you for it. Perhaps it is best left to the professionals. Lianna, escort Riku to Cruella's chambers at once; I believe that is where they both wait. Mal, I would like a word with you."
Mal's blood ran cold. "Uh…okay," she replied, trying not to betray her nerves. "Sure."
"Let's be on our way," Lianna told Riku.
"Right," Riku replied.
As Lianna and Riku disappeared down the hallway, Maleficent fixed her gaze on Mal. "I believe you know well what I have implied," she said once she was sure Riku was out of earshot. "They are fast approaching."
"Seriously?" Mal replied. "Already?"
"You know what you must do," Maleficent said coldly. "See to it Riku plays his part."
"I will," Mal replied, matter-of-fact.
"Go," Maleficent ordered. "They will be waiting."
Mal wasted no time catching up with Riku and Lianna.
Truly, the most satisfying way Maleficent could have ever devised to keep Riku in captivity was to use the warping of reality to rewrite his memory and let him believe he was her son. It was a victory for her to regain his loyalty, which she had once possessed and lost. The masquerade currently involved pretending she was on the side of heroism, but after enough time had passed, she could truly groom Riku into a worthy successor in the Darkness. If Sora failed to alert her to the location of the Book of Prophecies, that would serve as Maleficent's consolation prize. She could make him destroy his own friends. She could eventually expose him to the other worlds and enlist his help in conquering them.
For now, she was well aware that the most valuable thing to Riku was friendship. That was why she had seen fit to create Lianna and Mal. They stood in for the Sora and Kairi of Riku's true childhood – albeit minus the romantic connection Riku had with Sora. They would be what tethered him to Maleficent even more than his rewritten identity. They were both aware of the parts they played, and they were executing the roles perfectly.
No matter what the outcome of this venture was, Maleficent mused, she would win something.
…
It had been a long walk to Sei'an City from Kamiki Village, especially considering all the detours made to reach each Guardian Sapling. Once the city gates were passed, Amaterasu and her squad of Cinnamons felt something of a victory.
Amaterasu had learned quite a bit about her companions over the course of the journey. Not only about their backstories and goals, but about their relationships with each other. For instance, ever since Kazuichi had made that comment regarding Sakuya's body back in Kamiki Village, the air surrounding him had been tense, but no one really seemed to want to approach the discussion head-on. It was as if something about him had them all walking on eggshells, and Amaterasu bet it had something to do with the metal leg he sported.
Then there was the matter of…
"Wow!" Sora cried as he looked upon Sei'an City. "This is amazing! We should go explore!"
"AWESOOOOOME!" Ruby shrieked. "I don't even know where to start!"
"We need to stick together!" Katara snapped. "We can't afford to get lost here!"
"Are you seriously going to try and be a killjoy NOW?" Ruby groaned. "This place is too cool!"
This was another occurrence that Amaterasu had taken note of on the trip. Katara was organized and sensible, but often times, when she made a proposition in the name of everyone's well-being, it went against someone else's idea of what would be logical or fun to do, and Ruby seemed to take it the hardest.
This was not helped, of course, by…
"WE WON'T GET LOST!" Papyrus scoffed. "I, FOR ONE, HAVE AN EXCELLENT SENSE OF DIRECTION!"
"And can that sense of direction lead you back to us when we all split up?" Stork asked. "Need I remind you we still have no way to communicate with each other?"
"Oh, yeahhhhh," Sora realized. "I didn't even think of that."
"Of course you didn't," Stork muttered.
It wasn't the first dig that Stork had made at Sora or Papyrus on the trip. Amaterasu knew from the way these eight interacted that they were all very good friends. However, these little disagreements had a definite pattern, and left unchecked, they would definitely throw a wrench into things.
Perhaps there was something Amaterasu could do about that. She was growing quite fond of the others.
As astonished as the Cinnamons were to see Sei'an City, the people of the commoner's district, now with full faith in Amaterasu's goodness and deeds, were just as astonished if not more so to see her. "IT'S AMATERASU!" someone cried.
Amaterasu, sensing what was coming, closed her eyes and gave a momentary groan.
The throng built up thickly around the newcomers, and at first, it started innocently enough. "Praise Amaterasu!" one of them cried.
"Mother of us all!" another added.
"Thank you, Amaterasu!"
"You saved us from the Darkness!"
But wait for it…
"Amaterasu!" a plaintive voice cut through. "The ferry boat still isn't working! Please help our city!"
And then another: "My father is sick again! Can you help me?"
The requests piled up:
"Someone stole my purse!"
"I've been trying to complete the next ultimate dish, and I can't figure out the final ingredient…"
"My cat is stuck in a tree!"
Amaterasu regarded all of them. It wasn't that she didn't want to help. But she couldn't do all of these things at the same time, and the trees were the first priority. She had noted first thing that they were as bare as the primary Guardian Saplings.
"Excuse me!" Katara butted in. "Your goddess shows up, and the first thing you all do is bother her for help with your problems?"
"At least go one at a time!" Sora added.
"We're here on a very important mission," Jasmine contributed. "Amaterasu has to restore the sakura trees first. That isn't negotiable."
"And who are YOU?" someone barked. "Who says you get to speak for Amaterasu?"
Amaterasu gave a bark and looked back toward her traveling companions, hoping the message was clear that she was perfectly all right with them speaking up.
"Divine warriors?" someone asked.
"I don't know about divine," Rapunzel said nervously.
"But maybe some of these problems don't need divine intervention," Sora mused. "Maybe we can fix it with regular magic and mortal hard work."
"What if we did split up?" Ruby reiterated. "Amaterasu, you could work on the trees while the rest of us work on your to-do list."
Amaterasu gave that a bark of approval.
"Still don't have any way to contact each other," Stork reminded the group.
"So we'll meet up at a landmark." Jasmine pointed to a giant elevated brazier in the midst of the first road. "After we've been around the city for a while, we'll all come back here to this brazier."
"That's a plan!" Kazuichi agreed.
"All right!" Ruby declared. "Cinnamons, MOVE OUT!"
The Cinnamons dispersed into the crowd, asking about the various problems of the city dwellers to see what might be solved most easily. Amaterasu sprinted off toward the first bare cherry blossom tree, beginning her work; whatever her new friends couldn't take care of, she would be more than happy to sort out later.
Ruby, in the meantime, couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Something about the city was suddenly making her nervous. She realized, after talking to a few different people, that it was the fact that several of them were wearing kimonos that differed in color but bore the same pattern on their backs. Fashion crazes were not something to get inherently upset about, but Ruby almost felt like that jack o'lantern face was laughing at her in particular.
Papyrus was immediately drawn to the cat-in-tree problem, able to create a ladder of bones that let him climb up to retrieve the wayward mammal. As soon as he climbed back down, the cat scratched and twisted her way out of his arms. "WELL, YOU'RE WELCOME!" he huffed angrily as the cat bounded off. "THIS IS WHY I'M HESITANT TO BE POLITE TO CATS!"
He walked back out into the street, entering a row of open-air shops reminiscent of Radiant Garden's, albeit with quite different architecture. He gave the counters cursory glances, curious about whatever caught his eye. All the while, he noted with relief that he was only really being gawked at because he came in the company of a goddess; no one had made any remark to his appearance. After all, these people did now recognize the presence of the divine in their lives. If the divine showed up with a literal talking skeleton, that was par for the course and shouldn't be questioned.
Interested in one shop in particular, Papyrus approached to get a better look. His curiosity had been drawn by the array of writing and art supplies on display, but once he got close, he became aware of the vendor in a heated argument with the counter itself. An even closer look revealed that the vendor was not yelling at his own counter but instead at an incredibly tiny person, only an inch tall, who was hopping up and down on the counter like an infuriated grasshopper.
"You think I'm going to buy ink at THOSE prices?" the tiny man chirruped. "You're overcharging ME? Do you even know who I am? I'm the Celestial Envoy, you know! The one and only Issun, who got you all to realize Amaterasu was saving your sorry behinds in the first place!"
"The price isn't up for debate!" the vendor insisted. "I don't care if you're Amaterasu herself!"
"EXCUSE ME," Papyrus broke in, "BUT DID I HEAR YOU SAY YOU WERE ISSUN, THE CELESTIAL ENVOY?"
"Yeah?" Issun snapped. "What's it to you?"
"SHE'S IN TOWN, YOU KNOW," Papyrus informed him. "I BELIEVE SHE ACTUALLY WANTED TO MAKE A POINT OF SEEING YOU."
"Ammy's back?" Issun said in surprise. While he was too small for Papyrus to read his expression, he could tell there was joy radiating from the tiny man. "Forget the ink! I gotta go find her!"
"WE ARE ALL MEETING UP BY THE GIANT TORCH IN THE MAIN ROAD ONCE WE'RE DONE TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS," Papyrus explained.
"Well, you're gonna take me there, bonehead!" Issun exclaimed, giving a mighty leap and landing atop Papyrus' head.
"WELL, YOU'RE RUDE!" Papyrus scoffed. "IF THE NAME YOU CALLED ME WASN'T ACCURATE, I WOULD BE VERY OFFENDED! AS IT IS…I'M MORE HALF-OFFENDED."
"Whatever," Issun babbled. "Take me to the giant torch, please, thank you, you're welcome."
"SARCASM NOTWITHSTANDING, THAT WAS MUCH BETTER," Papyrus replied.
Ruby was the first to arrive back at the brazier. The more she had explored Sei'an City to assist its civilians with their problems, the more she had seen of the fashionable new kimono patterned after a jack o'lantern, and she couldn't exactly put her finger on why she didn't like it.
Papyrus was next to arrive, introducing Ruby and Issun. One by one, the other Cinnamons returned, having done their share of good all over town. Finally, Amaterasu herself showed up, proud that all of the cherry blossom trees were again in full bloom.
"Hey, Ammy!" Issun bounded up and down atop Papyrus' head. "It's good to see you, ya big fuzzball!"
Amaterasu cocked her head in surprise at seeing Issun so soon.
"Don't tell me you forgot about me!" Issun teased. "And after I've been doing all this hard work telling your stories to everyone!"
Amaterasu replied with a pleased bark.
"I knew you'd be happy to see me!" Issun bounded off Papyrus' head and toward Amaterasu –
Who lunged forward, snapping her jaws around him.
As the Cinnamons gasped, Issun put up a fight inside Amaterasu's mouth; "HEY! FUZZBALL! THIS WASN'T FUNNY THE FIRST FIFTY TIMES, AND IT'S NOT FUNNY NOW EITHER!"
Amaterasu seemed to disagree, having an air of amusement and mirth as she spat Issun back onto the ground. She then let him hop back up onto her head without argument.
"Ammy and I have a special relationship!" Issun explained. "I'm not just her Celestial Envoy. I'm her interpreter! I can tell you what she's thinking anytime!"
Amaterasu shook her head no.
"It's nice to meet you," Sora stated. "So…you basically journaled what happened on your adventures with Amaterasu?" Given Issun's size and his occupation, it was hard for Sora not to be reminded of a certain other tiny chronicler he knew.
"Journal?" Issun was practically steaming. "JOURNAL? I don't just do journals! I make art! Gimme some paper and I'll show ya!"
The Cinnamons looked confusedly to each other; who had paper on their person? It was Rapunzel who recalled she'd taken a few sheets along in a pocket in case the inspiration to paint really struck her. She lay one of them out on the ground.
Issun took up a brush too tiny to see and used it to quickly sketch out Rapunzel's portrait. "There you go!" he said when it was done. "And I picked the prettiest one of you, too!"
Rapunzel picked up the picture, admiring Issun's work. "It really is beautiful!" she observed.
"Eh, not as good as the real thing," Kazuichi dismissed.
"You're really good," Sora told Issun.
Amaterasu cocked her head slightly, trying to warn Sora not to let her friend get a bigger head than he already had.
Stork picked up the hint. "We're not exactly the poster children for small egos around here," he stated. "You'll fit in just fine."
Amaterasu gave a pleased bark.
"So what happens now, Ammy?" Issun asked. "Another great adventure? Fighting demons? Slaying evil?"
Amaterasu made a noise that sounded like a "Hmmmmm…"
"We've already restored the trees," Ruby brought up.
"But still no sign of Mozenrath," Jasmine said sternly. "He's making trouble somewhere, and we have to figure out where."
That was when the messenger cried out, "AMATERASU?"
He bolted toward her, falling to his hands and knees before her. "Amaterasu," he said breathlessly, "mother of us all. I was bringing this news to the emperor, but now that I see you, I know it is you who must know. Something terrible has happened!"
"Right on cue," Sora commented.
"The Gale Shrine in Kusa Village has stopped turning!" the messenger cried in a panic. "Without the shrine to harness the Divine Wind, the village may very soon become cursed!"