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.

99. You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

As the MLS Vicious settled in the hangar of the warship, Mozenrath noticed the absence of the main ship. "Hm," he remarked. "Roman must still be out. Looks like I'm twenty munny richer."

Discord lowered the gangplank with a snap, and Mozenrath, the Huntsman, Wuya, Hannibal, Snipe, Draco, and Hämsterviel descended one by one before Discord floated down as well.

"We'll need to get you situated in the base," Mozenrath told Discord, "though somehow, I get the feeling that won't be a problem for – "

The entire group pulled up short when they spotted Roman Torchwick leaning against the wall by the door to the hallways beyond, Snatcher hovering at his side in a pose that betrayed mild anxiety.

"So you are back," Mozenrath stated. "And here I thought – "

Without a word, Roman, with a dismayed scowl, fished twenty munny crystals out of his pocket and flicked them onto the floor, where they clinked and rolled in a chorus of chimes.

"That's…not how this works," Mozenrath said in confusion. "You got back here before me, so – "

"I don't have it," Roman said coldly.

Mozenrath flinched. "What…don't you have?"

"Your fucking shiny cube," Roman grunted. "I don't HAVE it."

"And how did your mission go?" Snatcher asked with a very forced smile.

Mozenrath ignored him, focusing on Roman. "What do you mean you don't HAVE the Tesseract?"

"I mean it was being guarded by three of Maleficent's stooges, okay?" Roman huffed. "And these guys were NOTHING like what we've dealt with already. You almost had to pull a mass resurrection if you wanted any of us back at all."

"So you just GAVE UP AND LEFT THE TESSERACT BEHIND?" Mozenrath roared.

"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO FUCKIN' DO?" Roman cried, straightening up off the wall to make emphatic hand gestures. "These guys were maniacs! Corpsey got ripped apart, and Iceman is stitching him up right now! Mister Twister got tied in a literal knot! Both Gar and I nearly got our NECKS CRUSHED, and I legit thought Archie had bit the big one for a few minutes! EVEN NEO WENT INTO HIDING! Maleficent's people have the Tesseract, and they have NO intention of letting us take it!"

"I DON'T CARE," Mozenrath growled. "GO BACK, FIND A WAY TO OUTSMART THEM, AND GET ME MY TESSERACT!"

"YOUR Tesseract?" Roman snapped back. "This is a JOINT VENTURE, remember? And I'd like to cash in on my half of that joint venture while still getting to keep all my joints!"

"Mozenrath," Wuya said sternly, "calm down."

"NO!" Mozenrath yelled. "I REFUSE TO CALM DOWN! OUR ENTIRE PLAN HINGED ON COMBINING THE MAP WITH THAT TESSERACT. I MANAGED TO FULFILL MY HALF OF THE ARRANGEMENT, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S SO HARD FOR THIS IDIOT TO DO THE SAME THING! Do you even KNOW what I had to go through to get this?" He thrust the map in Roman's face. "You think the Tesseract was the ONLY thing Maleficent was trying to keep from us? Because I had to deal with MALEFICENT HERSELF. Not to mention the Keybrat and Aladdin and some souped-up, puffed-chest man-child of a wannabe tyrant!"

"We could've just gone home and skipped Aladdin," Wuya said dryly.

"And Hater was NOT the primary threat out of THAT particular outfit," Discord said in a matching tone.

"Ah!" Snatcher broke in, trying to defuse the situation with a change of topic. "You've made a new friend, I see! Welcoming him to the ranks! Bit of an oddball from the looks of it, but then again, we already employ a talking bean and a giant rat, so par for the course – "

"Both of those are standin' right in front of ya," Hannibal snorted.

"HAMSTERRRRR!" Hämsterviel shrieked by bounding up and down.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE COMPETENT!" Mozenrath yelled at Roman.

"We're still on that, then," Snatcher sighed.

"IT WAS EITHER THE TESSERACT OR ME!" Roman yelled back. "NOT TO MENTION ARCHIE, GAR, MISTER TWISTER, NEO, ICEMAN, AND CORPSEY! TAKE YOUR FUCKING PICK!"

"Well," Mozenrath replied, tone steadily rising in volume, "considering I'm weighing the key to my empire against A CREW THAT WASN'T EVEN COMPETENT ENOUGH TO FETCH THAT THING FOR ME – "

"You know what? I'm done." Roman turned on a heel and began to storm away.

"Torchwick, no!" Snatcher took one large step after him, catching Roman's forearm in his hand. "Don't do anything rash!"

"I'm not quitting the team," Roman growled. "I'm not THAT stupid. Unlike some of us here."

"Your grudge isn't with me," the Huntsman seethed.

"I'm just done talking to THIS asshole," Roman snapped. "I have plenty of friends here who AREN'T HIM."

"As do I," Mozenrath agreed coldly.

"Just let me go," Roman said in a tone that was suddenly and utterly defeated. Snatcher let go of his arm and watched him stomp out of the hangar before turning back to the group.

"Lord Mozenrath," he stated stonily. "I truly wish I could say I didn't expect this sort of behavior out of you."

"DON'T TALK DOWN TO ME!" Mozenrath yelled.

"Considering you're many years younger and a good deal shorter than me, I do believe I can, in fact, TALK DOWN TO YOU," Snatcher growled. "Torchwick risked his very life to get you that Tesseract, he did! Sprang an obvious death trap despite Mr. Vexen's desperate pleas in order to even attempt to claim it! I had to watch him nearly be killed twice, and be able to do nothing about it! And that's before I myself was knocked right out cold, but it isn't as though it's any use getting you to care for ME at the moment, is it? No, it's aaaaaaall abouuuuuuut Mozenrath!"

"That's kind of how we work," Wuya reminded him sourly. "We're ALL self-centered at the core. It's WHY we work as friends."

"All the same," Snatcher countered, his eyes boring directly into Mozenrath's, "you could at least show us a modicum of respect for the attempt made, rather than throwing a childish tantrum about the toy you didn't get! Do you think I pitched a tantrum after Trubshaw's child was thrown out the window and my plans with him? …Well, I did, but then I picked myself right back up and came up with a new plan! Worked myself to the bone for TEN YEARS to get what I wanted!"

"And how did that work out for you, again?" Mozenrath sighed.

"Too well," Snatcher growled. "If you'll recall, my cause of death was getting exactly what I wanted. And you'll get yours, too, once you get your head out of the orifice where it's buried. Until then, consider that perhaps if I'd had kindred spirits like you have rather than utter morons for henchmen, I'd have cut my time in half at LEAST, and you're not going to make up for any lost time by cutting ties with your partners in this operation."

"You say that," Mozenrath replied coldly, "like Roman himself isn't an utter moron."

"Because he isn't," Snatcher asserted, "and I'm not going to make any overblown attempt to prove it to you, because I KNOW you know he isn't."

With that, he turned to take his own leave. He breezed through the door, then turned back, propping the door open just a bit with his elbow as he quickly threw in, "Oh, and also, we've got Misters Lynns and Merkel back butMissQuinnrefusedtocomealongandalsoouronlyshipwasdestroyed. That's all! Can't stay! Double-booked; important appointment!"

With that, he was gone, Mozenrath's jaw dropping at the further disappointing news as he heard Snatcher's shoes clattering down the outside hall at top speed.

"So," Discord asked nonchalantly, "how about that tour you promised?"

...

The Comet Observatory had pulled to a halt over the atmosphere of Radiant Garden. Rather than land, Rosalina had called Sora, Roxas, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, Jasmine, Kazuichi, Jim, Amelia, and Doppler to the Gate that hovered off the upper walkways.

"The easiest way to get back down below will be to reassign the Gate," Rosalina explained. "It will transport us directly to the Outer Gardens."

She raised a wand tipped with a golden five-pointed star, then hesitated.

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked.

"No," Rosalina stated wistfully. "Not wrong. It is just that I have not reassigned the Gate from one world in particular in many years. It was a very special world to me. However, nostalgia is not as important as the tasks that must be done."

She then held the wand high into the air. A cyclone of aqua-blue magic swirled down over the Gate, enveloping it in soft light.

When it subsided, Rosalina nodded. "The Gate is ready. Please go ahead. I will follow."

Sora charged through enthusiastically to find himself suddenly in the outer gardens of Radiant Garden. Turning around, he saw the city rising majestically behind him. He had been told that the fountain in the outer gardens contained a hidden entrance to a now-defunct water purification facility below, and as he understood it, that door was located on the side of the fountain that faced the gates. Rosalina's Gate had opened up a new door on the other side of the fountain, facing all who passed through it (as Sora's allies were now doing) toward the final gate that led to the road between kingdoms.

At that exact moment, a familiar-looking Gummi ship was descending into the outer gardens. When Sora realized where he'd seen that ship before, he broke into both an open-mouthed smile and a full-tilt run.

Riku had barely exited the Gummi ship when he heard the familiar cry of "RIIIIIIKUUUUU!". Given only a second's worth of warning, Riku turned happily toward the sound of Sora's voice only to find Sora leaping at him for a hug. Caught off guard, Riku didn't brace himself in time, and the force of the collision knocked them both to the ground, Riku's back hitting the pastel-colored cobblestones while Sora rested atop him.

"Oops," Sora said sheepishly. "Sorry."

Riku couldn't help but laugh. "Don't ever change, Sora."

They kissed, as it seemed natural to do, and Riku playfully initiated a roll so that Sora was now the one on the ground and Riku on top. Once they broke apart, Riku stood up, telling Sora, "I got something for you."

"Really?" Sora bounced up to his feet in one leap.

Riku retrieved the crystal bracelet he'd acquired at the Crystal Fair, dangling it outward. Sora gasped, the sparkling red from the stones catching his wide eyes. "Riku, it's BEAUTIFUL!" He seized it immediately, locking it around his wrist.

"I know we have the Wayfinder charms already," Riku stated as he held up his own wrist to show off his darker bracelet, "but I thought we could match with these too. …That sounds kinda silly now that I'm saying it out loud."

"Hey, we can NEVER have too much stuff that matches," Sora laughed. "Just don't try to make me wear a yellow vest."

"What's wrong with a yellow vest?" Riku asked, pretending to be offended.

Before Sora could make a retort, he saw two more familiar faces exit the ship. "Luna!" he called out, waving frenetically. "Cadance! How'd your mission go?"

"Quite well, in fact," Luna stated, "though I am afraid we have come to deliver some bad news."

"Well, I wasn't exactly going to lead in with that," Cadance admitted, "but…we kind of just came back to say goodbye."

Sora tilted his head. "Goodbye?"

"And we're here to say HELLOOOOOOO-O!" Pinkie Pie cried as she bounded out of the ship, leading with her Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.

"We'll explain more once we get everyone rounded up in one place," Cadance stated.

"I see you have also made some new friends," Luna said as she inclined her head toward Jim, Doppler, and Amelia; they, as well as Goofy, Donald, Aladdin, and Jasmine were falling in line behind Sora.

"So these are your pals, huh?" Jim asked.

"We're gonna have to do a lot of introductions later, aren't we?" Sora realized.

"You have no idea," Riku replied.

To answer the question Sora had been forming, Sonia disembarked from the Gummi ship at that moment. "Hello, everyone," she said with a pleasant smile. "It is so nice to finally meet you all."

That was when Kazuichi strolled through the gate, and once a familiar shape caught his eye, his vision locked onto only one person, and he could see nothing but her.

Before he even knew it, he was charging toward her. "MISS SONIA!" he yelped. "MISS SONIAAAAAA!"

Sonia's eyes widened, and she did a visible double take. "KAZUICHI! You are RUNNING!"

She didn't know.

Kazuichi ground to a halt before he could embrace her like he had wanted. "Uh…yeah," he said nervously, pulling up his pant leg to reveal the prosthesis. "This happened."

Sonia gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.

"It was an accident," Kazuichi said quickly. "I had an accident, and…I lost my bad leg. But that's okay, because I can run now! Like you said! And that has to be better than me limping around, right? I can walk with you now, if you wanna walk anywhere!"

Sora and Riku exchanged worried glances, so much passing between them: the untruth of Kazuichi's statement, the dark reality Sonia didn't know, the way she was disinterested in walking anywhere with him but hadn't yet said anything to that point.

"If you are happier this way," Sonia told him, "then I am happy for you."

"I KNEW you would be!" Kazuichi cried. "So what are you doing here? What happened? …Wait. Where's…everyone else?"

"They will not be coming," Sonia informed him. "They are still asleep."

"What took you so long, anyway?" Sora realized. "Did you guys get held up at Xavier's? Or did time just pass faster for us than for you?"

"That's – " Riku began.

That was when the final members of each group turned up. Mal and Lianna exited the Gummi ship while Rosalina and Roxas caught up from the Gate.

"IS THAT - ?" Sora and Riku cried at the same time, each looking over the other's shoulder.

"Yup," Mal confirmed. "I'm Mal."

"Lianna," Lianna stated as she curtsied. "I don't believe we've met."

"But you've gotta be Sora," Mal realized. "You're EXACTLY how Maleficent described you."

"And YOU'RE exactly how Riku described YOU!" Sora realized.

"Uh…hi," Roxas said shyly as he looked to Riku. "Riku. Been a while."

"Yeah," Riku agreed. "It has."

The two boys stared at each other for a while before Sora broke in, "Are you two still mad because of that fight you had last time you met?"

"I'm not mad," Roxas insisted. "I'm just…"

"I'm not mad either," Riku stated. "I wish it hadn't come down to that. I hate that I had to hurt you, but I don't know what else I was supposed to do."

"I don't blame you," Roxas admitted. "Really, I don't anymore. I know now how much you cared about Sora. What you did was the only way to save him. You were fighting for someone you loved. I was just fighting for myself."

Was that true, though? Roxas seemed to think there was some reason he had been particularly cross with Riku barring his way, but it escaped him.

"I just thought maybe I might not be the person you wanted to look at," Roxas concluded.

"Same here," Riku told him. "How are you even back?"
"Magic ring thing?" Sora answered with a shrug. "How'd you get Mal and Lianna back?"
"Rainbow powers on the moon," Mal answered casually. "Also, I'm sensing there's some weird drama going on here between you guys…?"

"It was my fault," Roxas said quickly. "I was still trying to figure out who I was. I'd spent so long thinking of Xemnas and Organization XIII as the people who gave me a purpose that I didn't know the difference between right and wrong anymore."

"Stinks, doesn't it?" Mal sympathized. "Maleficent was like that to me and Lianna. It was rough, and we only had her for about a day."

"You worked for Maleficent?" Roxas' jaw dropped.

"She's…technically my mom?" Mal said with a shrug. "I dunno. She literally brought me and Lianna into existence, so I thought I owed her loyalty."

"Sounds like how Xemnas brought me around," Roxas groaned. "He found me after I was first born as a Nobody, and he gave me my name. I couldn't see why not to trust him until it was too late."

"Hey, Riku," Sora realized. "Roxas is…sort of like my brother, don't you think? We both saved our lost siblings!"

"Yeah," Riku agreed, "we did!"

"Let's all go back to the castle," Sora suggested. "I can't wait to have everyone meet everyone!"

"I am quite looking forward to getting to truly meet the Committee myself," Rosalina said with a smile.

"WHEEEEE!" Pinkie Pie was already bounding toward the city gates. She broke into song: "MAKIN' OUR WAY! TO RADIANT GAR-DEN! A BEAUTIFUL PLACE! THAT I AM RE-GAR-DIN'!"

"I like her," Sora immediately decided.

As the group moved through town, they splintered into several subfactions, though the crowd still kept together. Sora and Riku went out front, relating their adventures to each other before the rest of the general public would get to hear. Rosalina, Luna, Twilight, and Doppler were caught up talking about the cosmos and how big they truly were. Kazuichi had taken Sonia's hand to lead her through the city, and he babbled on about everything interesting in town while Pinkie Pie listened in for the purpose of learning about the city and Rarity tried to judge how well the two Hope's Peak alumni matched romantically. Jim and Aladdin talked over the hypotheticals of parkour on the rooftops; Rainbow Dash had no need for that, since she was capable of flight, but she listened in all the same. Applejack's description of the apples that she grew back home were making Donald salivate. Goofy asked Lianna a variety of questions about herself. Amelia decided to put her best foot forward with Cadance, being that she was a royal, and Jasmine and Cadance alternated explaining the Radiant Garden hierarchy to Amelia. Fluttershy walked along silently, keeping to herself and just fine with that. Finally, trailing along behind, Mal and Roxas found endless similarities between their pasts, crying out excitedly over each admittedly tragic experience they had shared ("And he made my best friend lie to me!" "I was actually the best friend who had to do the lying. Two sides of a coin, am I right?" "Yeah!").

When they finally reached the road up to the castle gates, they found Aerith, Cid, Leon, Yuffie, Aeleus, and Lea making their way down.

"We saw your guys' ship land!" Yuffie cried. "Welcome home!"

"Hey!" Sora greeted. "Wait a minute…where's Ienzo?"

"He and King Mickey left for Disney Town shortly after all of you took off," Leon stated. "Those two apparently have some kind of surprise for us."

"A surprise from Mickey?" Goofy repeated. "I can't wait!"

"You sure made a lot of friends," Aerith said as she looked over the newcomers in the group.

"We sure did!" Sora cried. Then he realized. "And there's one friend in particular who I think one of you is gonna be glad to see."

"Oh, yeah?" Lea replied casually. "What, did you find – "

The crowd parted to reveal Roxas, who looked toward Lea apprehensively.

Lea gasped, unable to complete his sentence. The next sound that came from him was a half-cough: "Roxas?"

Roxas was rooted to the spot, unsure how to proceed. Then Mal gave him a slight nudge on the back of his shoulder, and that was apparently all he needed to get walking toward his best friend of days past.

"Hey, Axel," he greeted. "Sorry. Lea."

"Is this some kinda trick?" Lea asked, voice shaking. "'Cause if it is, it ain't funny."

"No," Roxas confirmed, coming to a halt before Lea. "It's me." He was shaking now. "Axel – Lea – I…I wanna say I'm sorry. When I ran out – "

"No!" Lea interrupted sharply. "You ran out 'cause I messed up, remember? I shouldn't have lied to you. All this time, I wanted to hang out with you again, but I finally got to thinkin' that maybe it wasn't even the best for you. That you were better off in Sora, without me to ruin your life."

"You didn't ruin my life," Roxas told him. "You MADE my life. I'm NOT better off without you. You're my best friend, and I…I wanna get a chance to talk things over with you. As me. Without Sora."

"Roxas, I…" Now Lea was the one trembling. "I'm sorry…"

Then Lea surged forward, wrapping Roxas in a tight embrace. Roxas returned it after only a moment's pause.

"We should go inside," Lea realized once the hug was complete. "No use in standing out here. There's obviously a LOT of stuff you guys need to catch us up on, and you and I, well, we can talk later. Just get the rest of it out on the table."

"I'd like that," Roxas told him.

"Well, come on!" Sora cried. "Let's round everyone up! TO THE LIBRARY!"

...

"You almost WHAT?" Yzma cried in a horrified ire.

"Died in a black hole, permanently, alongside the only person who could've salvaged my soul," Wuya said casually as she crossed one leg over the other.

She sat on a chaise longue in the magically-expanded chambers she shared with Yzma, and Yzma, just now hearing the most shocking part of the tale of the Etherium mission, stood before her, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

When she finally found her voice, Yzma cried, "And you didn't think to CONTACT ME?"

"Sorry if I was busy trying to set the light ship back on course and prevent everyone from dying horribly," Wuya said calmly. She had worried Yzma would react like this, but still she kept her cool, knowing that would be what piloted them out of rough waters.

"This is unacceptable!" Yzma began to pace back and forth in front of the chaise. "Unforgivable! Inconceivable! I can't even begin to conceive it!"

"That is what 'inconceivable' means," Wuya snarked.

Yzma halted, spun, and pointed at her. "You are FORBIDDEN from ever doing that again."

"From doing what, exactly?" Wuya sighed.

"From almost dying!" Yzma clarified. "Or dying at all! You're not allowed to get anywhere CLOSE to death! Do you hear me?"

Now that sparked an instinct in Wuya. Her voice hardened as she said, "So you want me to stay home and out of trouble, then."

"Are you even listening to me?" Yzma asked. "I never said that! I never even implied that!"

"Wha – "

"Of COURSE go out on all the adventures you want, and do what you need to so we can put together our empire! Get into as many dangerous situations as your black heart desires! Just don't DIE IN THEM!"

Wuya was now baffled. "You realize how irrational that sounds."

"I'M IN NO STATE TO BE RATIONAL!" Yzma cried. "I CAME THIS CLOSE – " She pinched her forefinger and thumb together, leaving a hairline space. " – TO LOSING YOU COMPLETELY AND NOT LEARNING ABOUT IT UNTIL LONG AFTER THE FACT!"

There was a silence as the two women stared each other down; Yzma was now breathing heavily, shoulders rising and falling dramatically.

"You know," Yzma stated in a somewhat more subdued tone, "I've had many, many, many, MANY partners over the years. Some of them charmed me. Most of them simply physically attracted me. None of them would last, and sometimes, I thought it was because I was simply too good for any mortal, but other times, I thought perhaps it was because I knew I could do better, to in fact settle for none but the VERY BEST. It was basically a revolving door. Kept things exciting. And then you came along! You threw me completely off! Because all of a sudden, I'm involved with you, and for once, the first time I can remember in my LIFE, I DON'T WANT TO THROW YOU OUT WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU! And now I'm hearing some black hole almost DID THAT FOR ME?"

Wuya found herself unable to speak for a moment, not quite expecting that level of candor, and finally supposing she should return it. "You know," she stated, "you and I are similar in a lot of ways. I had a revolving door of my own. You know about Chase and Hannibal. I made a couple passes at Katnappé, but she was never interested…can't blame a girl for trying, though. There may or may not have been a temporary and embarrassing episode with Grandmaster Dashi. What can I say? Good girls fall for bad boy appeal and bad girls get caught up in the good boy appeal. But I knew I came first before any of them. If I had to cut and run, I wouldn't regret anything. I was ready to do to Chase exactly what Mozenrath did to him if he did me wrong. Hannibal is my oldest friend, and even him, I could have destroyed and walked away from with no remorse. Not at random, but if the situation called for it. Now, you…I've asked myself before if you used one of your potions on me when I wasn't looking, because you, I would actually feel guilt upon betraying."

"…I can assure you no love or lust potions were used over the course of our relationship," Yzma said, rather flustered. "Not that I hadn't thought one might be necessary."

"You still don't believe I could find you attractive?" Wuya gave an exaggerated pout.

"What do you think I am?" Yzma countered. "Archibald Snatcher? I'm perfectly happy with who I am. I just know what it looks like from the outside!"

Now, that wasn't true, and Wuya knew it. Yzma might play a more convincing game than Snatcher, but deep down, she and he were cut from the same cloth, and that cloth was riddled with insecurities. A good thing, then, that both Roman and Wuya were metaphorically good with a sewing needle.

"Then surely you know that you're just so deliciously evil," Wuya said in a sultry tone. "Ambitious, demanding, cruel, murderous…"

She rose from the chaise, striding behind Yzma. Yzma had a few inches of height on her, so she levitated just slightly, enough that she could comfortably slip her arms around Yzma from behind and lay her chin on Yzma's bony shoulder. "Dying on you would be betraying you," she said softly into Yzma's ear, "and as I said, I couldn't do that with a clear conscience. Looks like I'll be taking your orders after all. I do love when you give me orders…"

Now, that was a direct innuendo based on events that had already taken place between the two, and Yzma shivered.

"What if next time one of us goes out," Wuya suggested, "the other has to go too, so we can keep a close eye on each other? Would that make you feel better?"
"Infinitely," Yzma replied, softening into Wuya's embrace.

"Good." Wuya's finger stroked down the side of Yzma's face. "You're such a good kitty cat. You know that?"

"I see exactly what you're doing," Yzma replied, knowing this to be yet another reference to language they used behind closed doors. "And it's working."

"Let's not fight anymore, kitty cat."

"Well, all right. But only because you saw reason."

Wuya relinquished her grip if only to seize Yzma's hand, laughing as she pulled her lover into the bedroom, and Yzma couldn't help but smile following her.

...

All of the assembled Radiant Garden heroes – the extended Cinnamons, Sora thought to call them – were arranged around the library, looking down from the upper balcony and on from around the golden table. The adventuring parties from both the Etherium and Equestria had pooled in the center of the room, and there seemed to be some kerfuffle among the crowd as to who should speak first and about what.

It was then decided that Luna and Cadance's news would have the biggest immediate impact, so they took to the floor. Luna glanced around the library before stating, "Cadance and I have returned to bid you all goodbye. After this meeting is closed, I shall transport both of us back to our home world."

"WHAT?" Ruby cried out in dismay. "WHYYYYYY?"

"Ruby," Ren chided softly, feeling that response had been far too blunt.

"It's nothing against any of you," Cadance stated. "We've loved the time we spent here, and we're glad we could help you all out with all of the chaos. But when we went back home…we realized how much we missed it. I've been away from my husband and my empire. I need to be there, to speak with my ponies, to keep improving the Empire, to live with Shining Armor…maybe even start a family."

"And I must return to my duty of raising the moon over Equestria," Luna insisted. "Doubly so, now that we have learned it is the site of much Darkness brewing. I cannot leave the burden of both heavenly bodies on Celestia's shoulders any longer. And, truth be told, I miss my sister as well."

"We love you all," Cadance stated, "and we're going to miss you. We'll keep in touch as much as we can, and I hope our paths can cross again. I personally want to thank you for making me feel so welcome and including me in your adventures."

"However, our time has come to leave," Luna stated firmly. "My sister's apprentice and her friends, however, have volunteered to join your cause in our stead."

On the upper balcony, Nick, Vida, Xander, Madison, and Chip all exchanged quick glances. This development was bringing to mind some thoughts they had recently entertained.

"You should introduce yourselves," Luna suggested, looking to Twilight.

Twilight stepped forth, clearing her throat. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," she began, "and I am the Equestrian Princess of Friendship, former bearer of the Element of Magic, and a beholder of the Rainbow of Light. My friends and I would be more than honored to help you fight against your many enemies and rebuild this and any other world that needs us, all while fostering new bonds made across worlds."

Applejack nodded. "Name's Applejack. Pleasure to meet y'all. Really lookin' forward to this, to tell you the truth…an' comin' from me, well, the truth done got some weight."

"I'm Rainbow Dash," Rainbow Dash said cockily. "Fastest pony in this or any world."

"Ruby, don't," Jaune whispered to Ruby, who was already glaring at Rainbow Dash for this claim. "It's not a contest."

Ruby then nodded, her expression softening. "It's okay. Actually, if she's faster than me, that'd be pretty cool."

Jaune nodded in agreement.

"Because that would mean she might finally be able to leave Pietro in the dust," Ruby cackled, and Jaune sighed, knowing his message had been missed.

"I am Rarity!" Rarity stated proudly. "This really is a wonderful castle, I must say. Sure, it may be falling apart a bit here and there, but the aesthetic is truly gorgeous. Somewhat of a mix between medieval and Gothic architecture, and do I detect a bit of steampunk? Minus the steam, of course."

"I'M PINKIE PIE!" Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly. "I'm sososososooooooo excited to meet all of you and learn what makes all of you special! And while I'm here, we are gonna PAAAAAR-TAY!"

"I'm…um…" Fluttershy made an honest attempt, but all of these new eyes boring into her, from beings who were clearly not from her world, no less, were causing her to worry and worry. "I'm…" She turned her head so that her long pink mane shielded her face. "…sorry…"

"This is Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie filled in. "She's reallyreally shy but she's reallyreally nice so she might not wanna talk to anypony at first but if you're all nice to her then she should be suuuuuuper nice to all of you and also she really loves animals so that'd be a great way to make her feel comfortable if you have any pets that need taking care of and she's one of my best friends ever so I hope you can all get along!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kazuichi broke in. "They're not the only ones we brought back, y'know! Their team also brought back the single most important person in all of the fucking worlds! So show her some damn respect!"

"I am NOT the single most important person in any of the worlds, let alone all of them!" Sonia said hastily. "My name is Sonia Nevermind. I hail from Jabberwock Island, where Kazuichi also spent his days, and I have come to share adventures with you and do my part to help as well."

Riku looked from Mal to Lianna. "You two might as well jump in."

The pair stepped forward. "Hey," Mal said with a small wave. "Name's Mal. You might remember me as Maleficent's dream-minion who tried to convince Riku he was your mortal enemy while we usurped your castle. Sorry about that."

"We are now dedicated to serving your cause," Lianna stated with a polite curtsy. "Our fealty lies with the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee and those who I am told are unofficially referred to as the 'Cinnamons.' Though I have several questions regarding the name of the latter."

"Mal and Lianna?" Kairi gasped. "But we lost you when – Riku! How did you get them back?"

"Well, it's a long story," Riku admitted.

"Literally why we're here," Stork reminded him.

So Riku explained it all: how he'd been unable to wake the comatose members of Class 77, how he had related the fate of the Brotherhood to the X-Men, how Luna had received the concerning dream, and all ensuing adventures on Equestria, culminating in the lunar battle against Mirage, Pitch, and Sendak.

"Don't tell me we have to worry about THOSE guys now, too!" Sora groaned.

"It is fortunate that so many reinforcements have arrived," Lianna stated. "You seem to have more enemies than we were aware of."

"Yeah, but what's the story on Roxas?" Lea broke in from where he leaned over the long table. "Anyone gonna clear that up?"

"Well…um…explaining him and Rosalina and Jim and Amelia and Dr. Doppler works better in context," Sora admitted.

"I wanna tell the story!" Donald insisted.

"We'll tell it together!" Sora decided.

This resulted in him and Donald trying to talk over each other for a good minute before arranging a system to alternate. At last, they managed to tell the story in full, though Donald's version was slightly more embellished.

"I see," Leon said with a nod. "So. Roxas. What have you decided to do?"

"I wanna stay here with all of you," Roxas emphasized. "I already feel like I know you through Sora, and I wanna help. The WHAM ARMY, Maleficent, the Keyblade War…I want to be a part of it."

"You could come to training sessions with us at Yen Sid's!" Sora realized. "I guess that makes us eight lights instead of seven."

"It would be nice to learn how to use the Keyblade better," Roxas stated as he summoned his up just to make sure he could still wield it. "I can't do half of what you can do. But I'd like to."

"And eight lights gotta be better than seven!" Goofy insisted. "I know it might be all parta some prophecy, but more's better, right?"

"More's always better!" Donald agreed. "Especially if it's me getting more ice cream or more munny!"

"Well, you know I'm always up for getting ice cream," Roxas laughed.

"I'd be careful with that ring," Leon warned Sora. "Now that we know what it's capable of doing, it needs to stay out of the wrong hands."

"Well…okay," Sora replied, "but before you lock it up, I was hoping we could use it to bring back Naminé, too."

Kairi gasped, placing both hands over her mouth. "Naminé - ! Yes! If we can save her, we have to! She needs to have her own life! To be her own person!"

"I can't argue with that," Leon said with a smile. "All right. We'll free Naminé. But then this 'Shen Gong Wu' has to go under protection and study. If Ienzo were here, I'd just hand it over to him."

"Where is Ienzo, anyway?" Sora asked, realizing he couldn't see the long-banged scientist in the crowd.

"The li'l fella just plumb took off with the king," Cid explained, "sayin' somethin' 'bout some 'secret project' or whatever. Sounded like he was tryin' to make us all some kinda present. What the fuck could work for all of us, I got no damn idea."

"Well, if Mickey's involved," Goofy pointed out, "it's gotta be somethin' real special!"

"Now," Leon went on, "regarding our other volunteer." He turned his gaze to Rosalina. "So you want to help."

"Yes," Rosalina confirmed. "I have spent many centuries traveling the multiverse, and devoting myself solely to fostering Lumas into their growth as new planets, stars, and worlds. Yet with the gathering chaos around your situation, I can no longer sit back. I will offer all I can to the effort of preventing the current threats from spreading further."

"I will warn you we have no idea when we're actually going to get them all to stay vanquished," Leon pointed out. "If ever."

Rosalina smiled softly. "I can wait a hundred years if need be. My Observatory has already agreed to the proposition, and the Gate has been linked to Radiant Garden, allowing people to pass between the Observatory and this kingdom as they please. The Observatory allows fast travel to multiple areas in the multiverse depending on where I enchant it. It could eliminate the need for Gummi ships in some cases, though it is not as convenient to send larger parties."

"That would be useful," Leon admitted.

"Did she just say the Observatory AGREED to this?" Sora whispered to Donald and Goofy.

Goofy shrugged. "Well, askin' the Observatory would just be good manners."

"That's not the point!" Donald hissed. "It can't talk!"

"Well, I used to think ducks couldn't talk, either," Sora shot back.

"AND YOU ARE SAYING, SO WE ARE PERFECTLY CLEAR, THAT WE DO NOT NEED TO GIVE YOU ANY ADVANCE WARNING WE ARE COMING?" Papyrus stated. "THOUGH I PROBABLY WILL, ALL THE SAME. IT IS RUDE FOR GUESTS TO SHOW UP UNINVITED."

"I mean for the Observatory to act as a necessary waystation," Rosalina stated. "All I ask is that those who enter it are those whom I can trust."

"Yeah, but what about that time the WHAM ARMY just walked right through our front door?" Jaune asked. "What's to stop anybody from going through that gate? That's not even to mention all the regular old crooks in town, like the Weasels and the Turks."

"Or the BROTHERHOOD," Ruby seethed as though they were the worst of the lot.

"Actually," Merlin stated, "I may have just the spell for this. There's an obvious reason we couldn't use it on the Radiant Garden castle, but one silly old gate should be easily protected with a Fidelius Charm. For those of you who don't know what that means, it amounts to bestowing the location of the gate as a 'secret' to one person, most conveniently Rosalina herself. Then, only those she tells directly about the Gate will be able to see its appearance! And due to the secret resting with only one keeper, no one she tells will be able to tell anyone else. A villain couldn't even torture it out of you!"

"That sounds perfect," Rosalina stated. "I would like to test this charm out later with a select few. If it is successful, then I will make the rounds to tell the rest."

Stork let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that the secret couldn't even be tortured out of him. After all, he was secure in that he would never intentionally betray his friends, but there was a worst-case scenario that enough physical harm could loosen his lips, and Stork always did like to prepare for the worst case.

"I'm assuming that will be how we send Jim, Captain Amelia, and Dr. Doppler home," Leon went on.

"Actually," Jim broke in, "I was wondering if…I could stay too."

"WHAT?" Donald and Goofy cried in unison.

"But, Jim!" Sora protested. "What about – "

"I came this far to get Silver's map," Jim insisted. "Now, I don't have it anymore. Mozenrath does. If there's a way for us to get it back, I want to figure out how. And besides…we're all friends now, right? Your problems are my problems." He gave a sly smile. "Though I would want to check in with Mom and – "

Then, he sighed, his demeanor visibly changing. "He is going to be so mad I ran off without telling him."

"Who is?" Sora asked.

"B.E.N.," Jim groaned. "He's a friend I rescued on my first voyage to Treasure Planet. You guys turned up at exactly the time I knew I had to go, okay? I didn't have time to track him down."

"He's gonna kill you, isn't he?" Kazuichi guessed.

"No," Jim sighed, "but he's probably gonna cry."

He turned to Amelia and Doppler. "Look after them for me, okay?"

"I beg your pardon?" Amelia retorted sharply. "Look after Sarah and B.E.N.? I should think not. YOU are the one who agreed to this cockamamie long-term assignment, and YOU are the one who needs looking after. Delbert and I will be staying here with you."

"But Amelia!" Doppler gasped. "The children!"

"Can easily be brought to this very castle, where we can keep an eye on them," Amelia stated. "After all, adventure does do a young one good. Especially young as they are. Get them started right from the ground!"

"YOU HAVE BABIES?" Ruby shrieked.

"Your position!" Doppler argued. "You've work to do…haven't you?"

Amelia sighed. "You know I've had far less of it as of late, and you know quite well why. The courts never were ready for me. After all, when a woman has a sharp tongue and a quick wit, she immediately becomes the primary public enemy to all things law and order. When a MOTHER has a sharp tongue and a quick wit, how MUST she be treating her poor children? I'd like to give those stuffed shirts a good month without me at least to realize how getting along without me comes with immense difficulties. And judging by the amount of women noted in this room, I'd wager this is a far more tolerant environment."

"I'd like to think so!" Kairi confirmed. "We could take care of your room and board here. And you could take up a job helping us out, like Nani does! There are a lot of ways a naval captain could give us a hand."

"And…my…work?" Doppler finished, his voice growing weaker as his inhibitions did.

"Delbert, love," Amelia replied, "I already know you've worked out SOME way to get around that, because there's no way in Heaven or any of the planets that you don't want to have this adventure."

"Oh, you know me too well!" Doppler burst out. "I'll do it! WE'LL do it! We'll look after Jim AND all the worlds! I mean, how hard could it really be?"
"Looking after all the worlds?" Amelia replied. "A simple affair once you get it streamlined. Looking after Mr. Hawkins? Almost insurmountable difficulty."

"Hey!" Jim snapped, though playfully so.

"Is there even room to fit everyone in here?" Lea wondered out loud.

"We'll make do," Aerith told him. "We have had a lot of people able to move back into their homes recently."

"And I could always, y'know, room with Nora," Yuffie suggested.

"I'm cool with that," Nora agreed.

Goofy lightly nudged Sora, who smiled, now in the know.

"Awww," Donald sighed, looking around at all the newcomers. "So much for the world order."

"When has anything around here EVER been in order?" Sora replied.

That got everyone in the library to let off at least a little laugh, and spirits were high, for the future seemed bright.

...

Yzma was in the midst of an incredibly delicate operation. She knew she had to put three drops and no more into the flask she was working on in order to achieve the desired effect. She gently squeezed the bulb of the soft plastic dropper, and a single bead of liquid fell into the flask, changing its contents from lavender to violet and leaving a smoke puff in the shape of a noose. The second drop darkened it to plum, and the smoke puff took the shape of a skull and crossbones.

"Miss Yzma!"

The sudden greeting caused Yzma to drop the entire dropper into the flask; the potion inside changed from black to bright blue to pure gold before the flask simply exploded, glittering gold liquid coating the entire table and thankfully not a single glass shard stabbing into Yzma or the perpetrator. The smoke cloud that ensued was a veritable mural of the outlines of flowers, hearts, and a smiling sun.

When the overly cheery smoke cleared, Yzma found herself staring down an Archibald Snatcher who was trying very much not to look like the dog who'd unrolled the toilet paper and failing miserably. "You know, you can't say that's my fault," he stated hastily. "All I did was be polite. It's you who's got to be more vigilant. And it is called a 'dropper,' after all; makes more than sense you'd drop it – "

"Get to the point," Yzma told him stonily.

"I was simply wondering if I could borrow from your fabric reserves," Snatcher replied. "Specifically a bolt of crimson." He held his jacket open to display it in all its glory. "This color."

"What do you need it for?" Yzma asked.

"Top secret," Snatcher replied.

"…I suppose," Yzma relented. "But it'll have to wait until I've cleaned up and spoken to the technical division. I am NOT giving you the key to Wuya's and my apartment."

"Fair enough," Snatcher stated.

It was then that Garfield Lynns came striding through the lab, declaring, "You know, I missed that rollercoaster."

Yzma gasped. "You're back! I mean, of course, I knew that. It just still amazes me that Roman, Snatcher, and Aghoul could actually do something RIGHT."

"Humorous," Snatcher groaned.

"Did I miss anything?" Garfield asked.

"You should actually be GLAD you weren't present for the Brotherhood brouhaha," Yzma stated.

"I'm gonna have to make a rain check on asking what that means," Garfield admitted. "Right now, I got a mission. You guys know where Irmaplotz might be hangin' out? She wasn't in the reading room, but rumor has it she's dating someone who works down here."

"Ah, yes," Yzma confirmed. "Jack Spicer. That's the boyfriend, I mean. She's actually one of the two things inconveniencing me at the moment. All I wanted was to talk to Jack Spicer and Herb Overkill about a certain project I need completed – "

"This is the first I'm hearing of this," Snatcher broke in. "What manner of project?"

"Top secret," Yzma droned.

"Turnabout being fair play and all," Snatcher muttered.

"But Irmaplotz apparently thinks it's date night with Jack," Yzma went on, "and Herb is busy talking to Gothel of all people. I need to talk to Herb and Jack, and until the both of them leave, I'm not going to be able to get anywhere!"

There was a brief pause before Garfield realized, "Oh. You meant until Goth and Irma leave."

"Was that not OBVIOUS?" Yzma cried.

"Well, the way you worded the sentence," Snatcher pointed out, "you put it as though it were Mr. Spicer and Mr. Overkill you wished to see evicted, which made utterly no sense whatsoever."

"I'm starting to see where Zevon gets that whole word mix-up thing," Garfield commented.

"Just…go…talk…to Irmaplotz," Yzma seethed through gritted teeth, face taking on a slight crimson tint.

"Misters Spicer and Overkill have set up shop in the rear of the laboratory, to the right," Snatcher stated. "Opposite from the medical wing."

"Where I wouldn't go at the moment," Yzma stated, her disposition softening. "Vexen is attempting to stitch Aghoul back together in there, and last I heard, Vexen was attempting to mansplain how to do an autopsy to our team's literal corpse. Egos are colliding, and you don't want to be anywhere near the fallout."

"Duly noted." Garfield gave an informal salute as he departed. "Seeya."

As Garfield progressed through the laboratory, he passed by Gothel, who was departing after her meeting with Herb. "Oh," she stated, plastering on a smile. "It's you."

Garfield didn't let the pleasant expression on her face distract him from that wording. "Darn right, it's me," Garfield confirmed. "So why were you talking to Mr. Nice Guy back there?"
Gothel winked at him. "Top secret."

"That's just the theme today, isn't it?" Garfield replied.

Gothel simply kept walking, and Garfield decided to do the same.

As he passed the turn-off to the med bay, he could faintly overhear Vexen and Aghoul still having the exact argument he'd been warned about. Progressing further, he approached the wing set aside for robotics and technological work. The sound of clanking metal and working tools was apparent to him immediately, but it was soon drowned out by a more important sound.

"…And, I dunno," Irmaplotz was saying to someone, though she was still out of sight. "Maybe I really was starting to think of him as an older brother figure. He sure treated me with more respect than Mom did up until he bailed."

Garfield froze in his tracks. This was exactly why he'd known Irmaplotz was the next person he needed to talk to. However, it was possible he hadn't let it sink in exactly how badly she'd taken his betrayal.

"It wouldn't even be so bad if it hadn't been after everything with Dave," Irmaplotz went on. "First, my mom puts all this pressure on me and stops treating me like her daughter. Then my first real boyfriend dumps me because he's 'good' and I'm 'evil.' Then I make a bunch of really cool new friends, but the guy I look up to like family decides to run off. I guess that's just the pattern. I care about people, and they leave."

The clanking subsided by half, indicating that one of the two people hard at work had ceased to do any further on his project. Then Jack Spicer's voice, a little unsure yet sincere: "Well, if it makes a difference, I'm not gonna go anywhere. And I'm sure not gonna try and go GOOD again."

A pause, followed by Irmaplotz's voice saying "Thank you" in a quavering tone.

Garfield knew he could turn back. He could avoid facing his shame a little longer. He still didn't think it was wrong to break away to chase after Harley, but he hadn't considered the impact it might make on the younger girl who looked up to him at all, and perhaps he could at least have left her some sort of parting letter. A text, even, just to thank her for the good times. Yet even more strongly did he know that now was when he absolutely had to step in and own up.

He proceeded to the back of the laboratory; as soon as Herb, who was not-so-discreetly listening in on Jack and Irmaplotz while working on Gothel's "top secret" project, spotted him, he did not greet him but rather threw a large white sheet over the work in progress so he would not see what Herb was building. Garfield turned to see where Jack, his coat discarded to show off his paper-white arms protruding from his black tank top, was perched over a Jack-Bot as Irmaplotz sat on the floor with her back pressed to the worktable, legs crossed beneath her long skirt.

"Hey," Garfield stated as he strode into view, attempting to look more comfortable with the situation than he in fact was.

Irmaplotz gaped at him, eyes wide. "Gar…field?"

"Heard you missed me," Garfield teased.

Irmaplotz slowly stood up. "You came back," she stated in awe.

"Yeah," Garfield replied. "Turns out I missed you too…li'l sis."

"You came back," Irmaplotz repeated. "After you left me."

"Yeahhhh, mistakes were made."

"You LEFT me," Irmaplotz said once more, and now Garfield could suddenly detect the edge in her voice, the clenching of her teeth, the balling of her hands into fists.

"…I should've put on my battlesuit before coming down here, shouldn't I?" Garfield realized, heart pounding.

"YES. YOU. SHOULD'VE."

Within seconds, Garfield was barreling out of the laboratory at top speed, doing his best to dodge the rain of haphazard bursts of magic being hurled at him by Irmaplotz, who pursued him rapidly while yelling, "YOU ARE DEAD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Seizing her opportunity, Yzma rushed back to the technological wing where Herb and Jack were now watching wide-eyed after where Irmaplotz had chased Garfield out. "FINALLY!" Yzma cried. "Now that I have you all to myself, I am in need of your services!"

...

The Mystic Rangers had assembled in the Roccas' room to discuss the matter that had been bothering them as of late. Vida and Madison sat on the bed, being that it was their bed, after all. Nick leaned against the wall. Chip sat cross-legged on the floor while Xander stood tall in the center of the room.

"Cadance and Luna left," Nick stated. "That means we can, too."

"Don't say that so casually!" Vida snapped. "You just sound like you wanna get out of here as soon as possible!"

"You KNOW that's not how I feel," Nick stated. "And we've talked about this. You wanna go too."

"Well, yeah," Vida agreed, "but I just…I'm not looking for the first excuse. It's a big decision."

"I mean…all those powerful new people did just show up," Chip pointed out. "People AND ponies. Or are ponies people, too? Either way, maybe that would make up for us being gone."

"At the risk of tooting my own horn," Xander pointed out, "our Megazord was what turned the tide against Maleficent last time. We'd be depriving Radiant Garden of its most powerful people."

"But we're already depriving BRIARWOOD of its most powerful people," Nick reminded them. "And you know what kind of bad guys turn up over there."

"He's got a point," Vida sighed. "I dunno. I just…I miss the Rockporium. I miss Toby."

"I miss the dating scene," Xander added. "I'm not just saying that casually. There were a couple guys there who I had a really good feeling about, and maybe it could actually go somewhere if I stuck around long enough."

"I miss Leelee and Phineas," Chip broke in. "And Clare! And even Necrolai."

"And I really, REALLY miss my mom and dad," Nick asserted. "After everything I went through to reunite with them…this almost feels like all of that just got undone. I know everyone here sacrificed something to be here, but…"

"But for them, it's like it's worth it," Vida finished for him. "They all want to be here more than they want to be wherever they lived before this."

"And when does it even end?" Xander asked. "It's like Leon said. We've no idea when we're going to bring any of these villains in. If we ever do."

"We did finish the main quest," Chip pointed out. "You know, saving Necrolai and Leelee. Now we've been doing what for us is sidequests, and the real plot is with everyone else. That's kind of how I see it. I mean, I would miss everyone here, too."

"But we could visit," Xander pointed out. "It's not like we'd be saying goodbye forever."

"There's GOTTA be a way to travel back here now that we know this world exists," Vida asserted. "Udonna might even know a way."

"Somebody here definitely would," Nick volunteered. "Merlin, Cid, Sora…"

Vida turned to look at Madison. "You okay? You haven't said anything."

"Oh," Madison replied. "It's…I'm fine. It's just complicated for me."

"How is it complicated?" Chip asked. "We'd be going back home to see Daggeron! I know you miss that guy! Actually, am I wrong or do you kinda like him – "

"Chip!" Vida barked.

"No, it's okay," Madison responded. "I used to. A lot. And I still like him as a friend, but now there…might be someone else. And unlike Daggeron, I think this person might actually like me back."

"It's Ren, isn't it?" Xander stated almost smugly.

"That obvious?" Madison asked.

"You two are always disappearing to your little book nook together," Xander pointed out. "And reading quietly in the same room might not be my idea of a perfect date, but it sure is yours."

"I miss Briarwood too," Madison confessed. "And I worry about what will happen there if we aren't around to protect it. I also know that I shouldn't make any huge life decisions based on a crush, and I'm DEFINITELY not going to split up the Mystic Rangers. It's just that…leaving him is gonna be kind of hard. Especially if he does like me. What kind of person would just…do that?"

"Ren is smart, like you," Vida reminded her. "He would know that you don't make big decisions based on a crush. Like you said. He'd understand if you had to leave. That's just all the more reason for us to figure out a way to visit again."

"They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder," Xander pointed out. "Maybe spending some time apart will show you whether this was meant to last."

"Then I guess that's the biggest thing holding me back," Madison stated. "Otherwise…I'm with the rest of you. I kinda just wanna go home. They need us, and we need them."

"So we all agree, right?" Nick recapitulated. "We wanna go back home. We'd love to visit if we can, but we'd rather not stay forever."

The silence in the room amounted to a lack of argument.

"Then I'm gonna tell Leon," Nick stated. "We did our part, and we're going home to Briarwood."

...

Rémington Smisse was in the mood for cereal. No, it wasn't anywhere near breakfast time on the warship clock, but did that matter? It was always time for cereal. And since the base-wide dairy ban had been lifted, he could actually eat it with milk this time.

He didn't bother going down to the communal kitchen; after all, if you went there, it was largely because you wanted to see who else would show up so you could socialize while you ate. That was something to consider whenever Mozenrath tried to claim that everyone else's presence was driving him slowly insane while eating a bagel in that very kitchen. No, Rémington decided to just fix himself midday breakfast within the comfort of his own apartment, though he didn't bother closing the door all the way as he entered, simply too apathetic to make sure the lock clicked.

Within the kitchen, he opened the pantry, removed a cereal box, placed it on the counter nearby. Turned back to the refrigerator, rustled around in it for a bit, eventually found the milk. Turned to place it on the counter near the cereal.

The cereal box was gone.

Rémington stared in disbelief for a moment. Then, still not entirely sure how to explain the disappearance of a cereal box, he felt over the countertop with both hands, as though it would magically arise from the marble in response to his touch. He straightened up, baffled as could be. Perhaps he hadn't actually gotten it out of the pantry like he thought he had?

"Looking for this?"

The sound of the voice of another got Rémington's attention. He turned around and looked up to where he estimated the source.

The instant he did so, the cereal box came flying out of the ventilation duct set near the ceiling, beaning him right between the eyes and spilling flakes as it tumbled to the floor.

"HEY!" Rémington yelled up at the ventilation duct.

"Is that any way to greet your old friend who's returned after a brief stint of betrayal?" a familiar voice emitted from the shadows of the vent. "Before you get all excited, I will remind you that your line should involve how throwing a cereal box is hardly a greeting either."

Rémington's eyebrows shot up. "Ragsy? You came back?"

"I told you. You were supposed to chide me about the cereal box."

"Just get out here!" Rémington cried with a smile.

Peter Merkel squirmed out of the vent, twisting upside-down as he did so in order to hook his knees over the duct's edge and hang from it. Looking at Rémington completely upside-down, he put out a hand, spinning it on his wrist effortlessly so that it appeared thumb-up. Rémington grasped it without a second thought, and the two thieves beamed at each other.

"Am I glad you came back," Rémington stated. "First Demyx turning traitor, then you and Garfield…Roman and Neo and me were the only real thieves left."

"Well, now that I've returned," Peter resolved, "we can get up to some real shenanigans. Ooh! Though there is a caveat. Garfield and I will have to leave when our other partner in crime calls."

"Wait, what?" Rémington repeated, letting go of Peter's hand. "Who's your – "

The conversation was momentarily interrupted. For through Rémington's not-quite-closed door, both could hear the sudden sound of several small, rapid explosions, punctuated by Garfield yelling, "I'M SORRY, OKAY? I MESSED UP! BUT IF YOU KILL ME, THAT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF ME COMING BACK!" and Irmaplotz responding with "THEN I'LL JUST HAVE TO HURT YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF – WAIT A MINUTE, WE HAVE A NECROMANCER!"

As the cacophony faded down the outside hall, Rémington wondered out loud, "Should we do anything to help him?"
Peter considered it. "You know, I really think she's all talk. She just needs to get it out of her system. Villains, you know?"

Rémington nodded in agreement.

"Now," Peter went on, "as to the tale of Harley Quinn…"

...

The Fidelius Charm had not yet been cast on the Gate for a couple reasons. First of all, Rosalina had wanted to send Jim, Doppler, and Amelia to the Etherium and back posthaste, and should the charm backfire, she did not want the Gate to become unavailable. Second, it seemed a few curious Lumas had left the Observatory to wander around Radiant Garden in Rosalina's absence, and once that was discovered, the charm was definitely put on hold, as they would not have been directly bestowed the secret yet. A search party was already being arranged to track down the baby stars with Sora and Roxas at its head, and Rosalina meant to join them as soon as she had set up the Etherium contingent.

She led the trio across the lawn to the Terrace dome, which was the same shape as the nearby Fountain dome. It was covered with bright green grass, and its interior was patterned with shades of blue, a deep royal silhouette of a castle against a sky-blue background with white stars painted in the sky area. The same white paint festooned the rounded ceiling in the form of celestial bodies, and the floor tiles made a star in the shape of a compass rose that did not point any particular direction, since the Observatory could face any way at any time.

"I see you really made use of the cosmic motif in this room," Doppler commented. "Nicely done. Very aesthetic."

A telescope and a small chair were placed at the far edge of the room. Three small Lumas, two varying shades of green and one soft blue, were chattering away near that furniture; upon seeing Rosalina, they all faced her and cried out, "MAMA!"

Rosalina smiled. "Hello, little ones," she greeted. "Could you please find Polari for me? I have a couple wayward children to find in the city outside."

"Right away, Mama!" the mint-green Luma cried, and the trio sped away.

"So how's this work?" Jim asked.

"We will start by doing this," Rosalina stated.

She raised her star-tipped wand, and the ceiling was awash in glowing blue. When the illumination subsided, Rosalina explained, "Each dome on the Observatory can link to five locations across the multiverse, though there are alternate ways of accessing more across the decks. I have severed a previous link and replaced it with Montressor. Your entry point should be on the Benbow Inn grounds."

"Entry point?" Doppler repeated. "I'm afraid I'm not following."

A jet-black Luma with electric-blue eyes sailed into the room. "You wanted to see me?" he greeted.

"Yes, Polari," Rosalina replied. "I hate to trouble you, but I have business in the city beyond the Gate, and these three wish to temporarily return to their home planet before settling in here. I have already created a link to their destination. Can you guide them the rest of the way?"

"Of course!" Polari agreed. "Let me take it from here!"

"Good luck," Rosalina said before exiting the dome.

"All right!" Polari floated over to where Amelia, Doppler, and Jim were still relatively baffled. "First things first, I'll direct your attention to the blue star at the top of the ceiling overhead."

Three gazes went up, and for the first time, at the very zenith of the dome, they could all see a faint blue twinkle.

"Reach for that star," Polari directed them. "Three is a bit of a stretch…but it should work. I wouldn't try this with four at once, though."

Jim shrugged. "Okay." He extended a hand upward, toward the blue glow.

Instantly he was drawn upward, to the ceiling. He braced his arms in an X shape above his head, fearing he would crash, but instead, the ceiling seemed to fade away, and suddenly, Jim was floating in a star-studded abyss.

"Guys!" he called down. "Hey, guys! CHECK THIS OUT!"

Doppler and Amelia had seen Jim phase right up through the ceiling and out of sight completely. Before either could panic, his voice reached them. "Well," Amelia resolved, "I suppose the only way to go from here is up."

She reached ceilingward and let the blue star take her up to float alongside Jim.

"AMELIA!" Doppler cried out, now seemingly alone in the room but for Polari. "Oh, dear, oh, dear…well…I guess I don't really have a choice, do I? Here goes nothing!"

He extended his own hand, and now he was floating in the same abyss, comfortingly once more beside his wife and ward, looking to what awaited.

"Great heavens," he said breathlessly.

As the trio floated around the blue star, they could see images of miniaturized worlds. Four were unfamiliar, though they made out green meadows, planets that seemed to be entirely made of dirt with no plant life, and strange cosmic formations that looked like grids of glowing tile. One of the five projections, however, was all too familiar: a dark planet of varied landscaping, with what appeared at first sight to be a silvery crescent moon hovering beside it but, to those in the know, was actually a spaceport.

"Montressor," Jim said in awe. "Home."

Polari appeared beside the trio, having no need of the blue star to maintain his own position. "You are currently orbiting what is called a 'pull star,'" Polari explained. "From here, you can see the areas the Observatory is linked to, or the ones in this dome, anyway. There are five locations per dome, and six domes total, though that's not counting the – she told you this already, didn't she?"

"Good catch," Amelia stated. Obviously Polari had read the expression on her face.

"Choose the location you want to go to," Polari stated, "and the pull star will become a launch star that takes you there. You'll need a Luma to get back, but that's what I'm here for. I'm sure I can handle all three of you."

"A launch star?" Jim repeated rather smugly. "Now, that sounds like fun."

"Um, no," Doppler stated. "No, it doesn't. Surely the method of transit is not simply being LAUNCHED across the cosmos – "

"I'm gonna try it," Jim stated.

"You had to have seen this coming, love," Amelia stated.

"I really did," Doppler sighed.

"Let's see," Jim muttered. "So if I want to go to Montressor, all I'd need to do is think about – "

At his will, the blue pull star transformed; while Amelia and Doppler yet floated in its grip, the star, now a bright orange launch star, settled itself around Jim, spinning him fast before shooting him like a bullet.

"It's being launched across the cosmos," Doppler said in apprehension. "Well, that's frightening. …I mean 'enlightening.' Nothing frightening about that at all."

"The launch star can hold two," Polari pointed out, having caught the way Amelia called Doppler "love."

"Shall we, then?" Amelia extended her hand to Doppler.

Somewhat nervously, he clasped it. "All right. We've been through more treacherous things before, haven't we?"

Together, they honed in on Montressor, and the orange star launched them. Polari followed soon after.

Jim was nothing short of awed by his journey through interspace. He seemed at times to be moreso teleporting than traveling – he blew past asteroids, plateaus, and other cosmic bodies so quickly, he often couldn't make out exactly what he was seeing through the blur. At one point, he was almost sure he'd just passed through a flock of some giant, horrific creatures that could have swallowed a planet whole if they'd wanted. Despite the vagueness of the sights, however, simply being surrounded by all that ever was passing by at a fast clip was invigorating. Colors blended together into a fabulous rainbow. Stars twinkled as though raining in a meteor shower.

And then, in what couldn't even have been as long as ten minutes, Jim had landed on the lawn outside the Benbow Inn, smiling up at his home as a bright sun hovered overhead.

"That is how I want to go everywhere from now on," Jim told Amelia and Doppler as they landed behind him, hands still locked tightly together.

"I will admit it was only about half as terrifying as I'd suspected," Doppler stated casually.

"It was efficient," Amelia added, "if undignified."

"C'mon." Jim urged them to follow. "Let's go."

Sarah hurried to answer the knock at the door, telling patrons in the dining hall to wait just a moment. Every time the door had been rattled since Jim's departure, Sarah's first instinct was to assume Jim had returned, even when logic dictated it would instead be a new customer. When it truly was Jim this time, Sarah almost couldn't believe it.

"Jim - !" She wrapped him in a tight embrace.

"Hey, Mom," Jim said softly, almost laughing as he wrapped his own arms around her.

"Well, don't just stand out here!" Sarah beckoned, hurrying Jim, Amelia, and Doppler toward the inn's door. "Come inside!"

As they entered, a copper-colored robot of lean, clanking joints and featuring two wide LED-studded eyes peered out of the kitchen, holding a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon. "Sarah," he asked, "do we have any more blupes? I know nobody ORDERED blupe pancakes, but who doesn't love blu – "

He instantly dropped bowl and spoon, the former of which shattered in a splatter of pancake batter (that he had in fact been preparing for the noon hour meal rather than breakfast; as he'd said, nobody had ordered blupe pancakes). "JIMMY!" The android charged full tilt toward Jim.

"B.E.N.!" Jim cried out. "NO – "

B.E.N. just about tackled Jim, and he only just managed to stay on his feet with a minimal amount of teetering as the robot locked arms around him. "I missed my bestest buddy SO much!" B.E.N. moaned. "When I heard you were gone, I was beside myself! No, literally, I kind of got worked up and my head popped off and we had to set it beside myself for a few minutes while Sarah figured out how to put it back on. But now you're back, and you have to tell me EVERYTHING! Didja get the map? Didja? DIDJA?"

"Just hang on, okay?" Jim chuckled. "We'll tell you everything."

"I'll clear a table," Sarah stated.

"If you don't terribly mind," Amelia brought up, "I would greatly like to see my children again."

"As would I," Doppler added.

Soon, she was holding onto Isaac and Abigail as Doppler cradled Marie and Anne; they sat around a small round table at the back of the room with Jim, Sarah, and B.E.N. Morph flitted over Sarah's shoulder. All together, Jim, Doppler, and Amelia told the tale.

"So…you didn't get the map?" B.E.N. said disappointedly as they reached the crux.

"No," Jim grunted. "That Mozenrath. HE has it. That's why…well, we'll get there."

When the tale was concluded, including the plan for Radiant Garden, the table was left in stunned silence.

"That's…incredible," Sarah stated. "As in I can't actually believe it. Whole other WORLDS? A floating observatory? A fairy-tale kingdom? MAGIC? How am I supposed to buy that ANY of that is real?"

"Oh, it's quite real," Polari stated as he zoomed across the inn's dining area.

"That is a talking star," Sarah said in awe.

"A Luma, actually," Polari corrected.

"Well, hiya, Luma!" B.E.N. grasped one of the Luma's points in between two of his metal fingers and shook it as a hand. "Guess that proves there are more things in Heaven and Montressor, doesn't it?"

Morph teasingly took on an exact copy of Polari's form.

"That's a good likeness," Polari stated in response. "In any case, I do want to confirm that the entirety of this story has been true."

"And now you want to stay there," Sarah repeated. "Further away than even I know."

"You could come along!" Jim suggested. "You BOTH could!"

"Jim, you KNOW I can't," Sarah said immediately. "I have the inn…and this is just more than I can handle! I'm not the adventuring type! That isn't for me!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass, too," B.E.N. stated. "No offense. It's just that, you know, out there is only A MILLION WAYS I COULD END UP HORRIBLY AND VIOLENTLY CRUSHED AND DEACTIVATED! But don't let that stop you."

"In that case," Amelia stated, "I suppose this is goodbye."

Doppler suspected it wouldn't be that easy. "Sarah," he said gently, "I know this is hard to take – "

"Hard to take?" Sarah repeated in disbelief. "I've just been told about at least ten things that shouldn't exist! But most importantly, I've been told that my son is NOT, in fact, coming home, and will instead be spending goodness knows HOW long in this…Brilliant Garden place!"

"Radiant," Doppler corrected. "It's 'Radiant' Garden."

"I don't care!" Sarah cried. "Jim, I love you. Whenever I look at you…you're always going to be my little boy."

"MOM!" Jim set up to argue.

"Jim, let me FINISH!" Sarah asserted. "You're my son, and I want to protect you from all the dangers out there! …Which is why it's so hard for me to remember, sometimes, that you really have grown up. I know I didn't want you going on this map chase until it finally hit home that this was something you NEEDED to do. That the universe WANTED you to do this. And I still wonder if going this far for something of Silver's is worth it. But that's your mistake to make. This sounds like you've thought it through otherwise, and Delbert and Amelia seem to agree this is a good idea. It's going to hurt to let you go…but if this is REALLY what you need to do…then…"

"Hey," Jim broke in. "I'll find a way to visit."

"Easily done," Polari reminded him. "We're already linked to Montressor. Bringing you back and forth should be a breeze. Though nobody told me I might be bringing four babies back as well as you three. They are small, so I should be able to manage nonetheless…"

"I'm gonna miss ya, buddy," Ben whimpered. "I dunno, I'm just too much of a chicken to actually take the leap. Since you gave me my memory banks back, I've been going over the memories of my adventures with Nathaniel, and HOO BOY! NOT FUN TIMES! I'm all adventured out! But hey! At least you'll be having fun! But you gotta come back and tell me about it sometime! And…Jimmy…" His voice quavered all the more, growing soft. "Promise me you won't replace me with another robot, okay?"

"Okay," Jim laughed. "Though I don't know where I'm gonna find a robot that's both as helpful and as obnoxious as you."

"STAY SAFE," Sarah insisted. "And that goes for all seven of you! At the FIRST sign of things getting harder than you can handle, you come home, okay?"

"You gravely underestimate how hard of circumstances we can handle," Amelia teased.

"If this is to be our last meeting for a while," Doppler suggested, "let's make the most of it, shall we?"

"I'd love to," Sarah bemoaned, "but I've gotta cater to the lunch rush. I'm behind already."

Morph burbled excitedly, becoming pink and gelatinous once more.

"Hey, Morph," Jim requested. "Help Mom take care of the place, okay?"

Morph took on the form of Jim's head in miniature in order to chirp, "Take care of the place! Take care of the place!"

"That's a yes," Sarah stated. "I've gotten pretty good at Morph-speak. Anyway – "

"Anyway," Doppler suggested, "how about the rest of us act as your short-order chefs and waitstaff through the luncheon hour, and after the storm clears, THEN we spend some more quality time together?"

"I'll organize a system to make up for your lost time," Amelia volunteered.

"And it's not like I'm not used to waiting tables here," Jim groaned. "THAT'S something I won't miss."

"Jim!" Sarah cried.

"Kidding!" Jim protested. "I'll help!"

"I can carry a few plates myself!" Polari volunteered. "That, and help entertain the children while their parents work."

"LET'S GO, TEAM!" B.E.N. cried before charging back into the kitchen, feet stomping through the glass bowl shards and spilled dough on the way.

"…We should clean that up first," Jim realized, and everyone agreed.

...

Several dishes shattered immediately in the wake of a blue tidal wave of magic, their shards spreading out over the floor. They were in good company alongside the splinters from the furniture, the crystals ripped out of the kitchen appliances, and the hinges from the detached cabinet doors.

At last, Mozenrath ran out of steam. He surveyed the wreckage, breathing heavily.

No Tesseract. No Atlantean Empire. No point.

Then he waved a hand, beginning to magically piece all of his (and the Huntsman's) broken items back together to form a neat and tidy household. His arm stung from the effort, the physical pain punctuating his inner turmoil. However, he was losing feeling in the extremities of his right hand, giving him the suspicion that his flesh was being eaten away, or had already been.

He knew what everyone else would say. The loss of the spell they'd originally been going after was one setback they'd already bounced back from, and given the presence of the map, the portal system was still halfway into production. They'd just have to find a workaround. A workaround they wouldn't need if Roman Torchwick had a backbone in the first place –

That argument, of course, wasn't going to get Mozenrath anywhere, and he knew it. He was even starting to get a little bored of simply being angry. He'd already destroyed everything in the apartment, and, as of that moment, finished repairing it.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he would eventually have to put in an appearance. The Huntsman had let him be alone, probably suspecting that Mozenrath needed to unleash a flurry of violence to quell his frustrations. Discord's housewarming was left to the rest of the team, without Mozenrath even thinking about the results. Now that Mozenrath was finally burned out, he supposed the others would want to know where he'd gone, why he'd gone there, and who was to blame.

Straightening his turban and cape, Mozenrath swept out of the apartment gracefully, beginning to stalk haughtily down the hallway.

He'd barely gotten three steps before wickedly long fang-like spikes jutted out of both ceiling and floor, interlocking to form a wall. After an interval, the spikes retracted, and Mozenrath could see they spanned several feet down the hallway. He was wise to this game, and waited it out. The spikes slammed into each other again, and anything that would have been between them at that moment would have been simultaneously crushed and impaled.

After Mozenrath had gotten a good enough sense of the timing, he charged over the next retraction, bolting at top speed. He just managed to sweep his cape out of the way on the other side before the spikes closed on empty air.

"Now what in the – " he began before a loud "schlorp" noise brought his attention around front.

The floor before him had transformed into a pool of viscous black ooze that bubbled and pulsated threateningly. The only way across was a thin bridge, wide enough to accommodate one foot at a time. Even Mozenrath was willing to admit to himself that he couldn't simply walk across without losing his balance.

Complicating matters was how an entire shark suddenly erupted from one side of the narrow bridge to land on the other with a splash that splattered the ooze everywhere.

Mozenrath simply skirted this by teleporting himself to the other side, though he feared what awaited him there.

It was bandsaw blades. Bandsaw blades that formed a maze through the hall as they shimmied up and down, offering only the thinnest windows to pass through without being cut to ribbons.

Mozenrath found this an easier challenge to get around; it just required a lot of patience and observation. He sidled between the blades, suffering only nicks to the fabric of his clothing.

Here, the hallway made a sharp turn, and as Mozenrath rounded the corner, he had a pretty good idea of who to blame for this pandemonium. Unfortunately, he hadn't planned for another obstacle to be awaiting him the moment he completed the turn. Here, the floor was enchanted to speed forward like a conveyor belt set to max, and the moment Mozenrath set foot upon it, he was catapulted all the way down the hall. Thankfully, no other nasty surprises awaited him here but a blank wall at the end of the road; he went airborne at the belt's end, on a direct collision course. Throwing his magic into gear, he halted an inch before he would have smacked right into the plaster.

Steadying his stance, he roared, "DISCORD! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

The response was a hearty disembodied laugh. Discord popped into existence beside Mozenrath, posing, "If it isn't funny, then why am I laughing so hard?"

"I know you did this," Mozenrath growled. "Fix it."

"Me?" Discord replied, feigning innocence. "Why, I can't take credit for this! …Well, not ALL of it, anyway. Okay, all right, maybe up to fifty percent at most."

A second disembodied voice warned him, "DON'T YOU GO PUTTING YOUR NAME ON MY HALF OF THE WORK!" before a particular plump, lavender-haired witch also revealed herself.

"Oh, good," Mozenrath sighed in sarcasm. "He found Mim."

"Discord is absolutely delightful!" Mim cried. "He has so many deliciously vile ideas! Collaborating on him to make the first leg of the home base death course was jolly good fun!"

"And Mim knows how to add the most sadistic little touches to my blueprints," Discord added. "Oh, how I've missed laughing at others' near-death experiences!"

"First leg?" Mozenrath groaned. "There's MORE?"

"Well, not yet," Mim replied. "We're still working up the plans for the next set."

"The death course would theoretically cover this entire level of the building," Discord stated. "The obstacles could rotate, keeping everyone on their toes!"

"No," Mozenrath said flatly. "Dismantle the first leg, and don't build any more. That's an order."

"Hmph!" Mim folded her arms. "You're no fun!"

"I know," Mozenrath stated, "and I'm proud of that. But look at what you made. Nobody wants this! Nobody's going to enjoy this!"

The belt shot its next fodder down the length of the hallway; the victim curled into a ball before literally bouncing off the wall at the end. Peter straightened himself up before commenting, "Now, THAT was a workout. Best I've had in ages!"

Discord and Mim grinned eagerly in Mozenrath's direction.

"NO," Mozenrath insisted.

"Well, nothing you can do can make us change our mind!" Mim insisted.

"What ARE you going to do?" Discord posed sarcastically. "Systematically destroy all of our obstacles one by one?"

Garfield was then shot down the hall, stumbling as he reached the end of the belt and barreled down the nearest turn-off, repeating a mantra of "Gottarungottarungottarun!". After the sounds of several sonorous explosions, Irmaplotz rounded the corner, blasting the floor until it ground to a halt.

"YOU THINK THAT'S GOING TO STOP ME?" she yelled as she charged after Garfield. "DID YOU THINK I WOULDN'T VERY SPECIFICALLY BLAST THROUGH THAT WALL OF SPIKES, PAVE OVER THE SHARK SWAMP, AND CUT DOWN ALL OF THE BANDSAW BLADES ON MY WAY TO GET MY REVENGE ON YOU FOR LEAVING ME WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A GOODBYE, AS A RECAP FOR ANYONE JUST TUNING IN?"

Discord, Mim, Mozenrath, and Peter watched them run off into the distance and out of sight. Then Discord and Mim pouted simultaneously.

"I should've known it was too horrible to be true," Mim moaned.

"And after all the work we put into that!" Discord sighed. "It took me thirty whole seconds to conjure the whole kit and caboodle! Thirty seconds I'll never get back!"

"Well, maybe," Mozenrath suggested, "if you put that energy toward designing torments for our ENEMIES instead of our ALLIES, your instruments of torture wouldn't get torn down! …As quickly."

"Not to mention a lot of our enemies are innocents," Peter pointed out. "And isn't harming innocents a lot more fun for both of you?"
Discord and Mim both gasped as if this were some sort of completely new revelation.

"Of course!" Discord realized. "The WHAM ARMY is already chaotic! We need to ruin ORDER!"

"Everyone here already has it coming!" Mim added. "We need to punish the people who DON'T deserve it!"

"To the drawing board?" Discord suggested.

"TO THE DRAWING BOARD!" Mim cried.

They both vanished with an obnoxious exploding sound and a rain of star-shaped confetti.

Mozenrath looked from the site of the vanishing to Peter; Peter shrugged, giving his usual smile. Then Mozenrath rolled his eyes and continued to stalk down the hallway.

...

The Grand Hall of the Radiant Garden castle had undergone some light remodeling. Though it still seemed a shadowy place, with purples and blues dominating its palette, the obvious insignia of Maleficent and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness had to go. The previous carpet from the entryway had borne a gigantic Heartless sigil, so that carpeting had been pried up to lay down a solid burgundy. Some of the torches in the room had been carved in the shape of dragons to mirror Maleficent, so they were taken down, replaced by ordinary candelabras. The other torches had been extinguished and re-lit, as their blue flames were found to be fueled by Hades' magic; now they blazed orange. The wall of the upper deck had once proudly sported a stylized emblem meant to evoke the image of Maleficent in robes and headdress bearing the Dragon's Eye; this had been painted over and was currently blank, seeming rather empty.

Some things could not be erased, however. The glass coffins in the walls where the Princesses of Heart had been imprisoned – six in the entryway and one set high up on a balcony opposite the upper deck – were tricky to remove, given how well they were embedded and a few trace enchantments. So they remained: a grim reminder of the castle's history. Then there was the enormous device that powered the portal to that world's heart, and very nearly opened the way to the Door to Darkness. That was far too big to erase, and some among the group (mostly Ienzo and surprisingly Aerith) suspected it might be good to keep around in case it could be used for something more positive. However, for safety's sake, it had been powered down, looking to be no more than a great decoration in the shape of the Heartless emblem. The Lightning magic that had coursed through the surrounding pipes, once supplied by Maleficent's own power, had dried up.

All in all, it was the room that proved that some atrocities could never be completely expunged.

Which made it all the better to use as a setting of hope.

In the entryway, over the new carpeting between the six coffins, Sora and Kairi had gathered among themselves those who most intimately knew Naminé. Roxas, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Lea stood around the room, eager to see the results.

Lea, however, hung back by the door. The more he went over it in his head, the more he wasn't sure this was the best idea, him being there. The last time he'd seen Naminé, they'd been on good terms, even run together for a while after Riku had spared them. But Lea had entertained other thoughts back then, prioritizing his search for Roxas and his grudge against Xemnas. He hadn't thought too hard about Naminé, and he didn't know how hard she'd really thought about him.

There were other memories of her he didn't really want to face.

"You ready?" Sora asked Kairi.

Kairi gave a decisive nod and a light "Mm."

"It doesn't hurt," Sora told her. "I promise."

"Didn't hurt me either," Roxas assured with a grin.

"How does it work, again?" Kairi asked.

"Well, I just put on the ring and told it to do whatever it does," Sora said with a shrug. "I guess you do the same?"

Kairi put out her hand, palm up. "I'm ready."

Sora placed the winged ring in her hand, and she adjusted it to settle on her finger. Raising the ringed hand into the air in a fist, Kairi proclaimed, "Magic ring, please set Naminé free!"

She was immediately engulfed in a shimmer, and a second outline stepped away from her own. The glow subsided, and Kairi gasped as she beheld the other who stood before her.

The girl was her age, hair a soft blonde and cascading over her left shoulder, eyes blue as the sea. She wore only a stark white dress that stopped above her knee and a pair of sandals.

"Naminé…?" Kairi gasped.

Naminé smiled at her. "Yes."

"NAMINE!" Roxas immediately surged forward, enveloping Naminé in a tight embrace. Naminé was caught off guard, and yet couldn't help but return the gesture, smiling brightly.

When Roxas let her go, Sora attempted to explain: "Naminé! We brought you back with – "
"I know," Naminé interrupted. "I saw through Kairi's eyes. I've seen everything. Everything relevant to this moment, anyway. I'll save you the trouble of explaining."

"I can't believe it," Roxas said in awe. "We're back. We're BOTH back. As OURSELVES. And we're WHOLE."

"I once believed this could never happen," Naminé stated. "But now it seems like this is how it was always meant to be."

"OH!" Sora cried. "Naminé! There's something I've been meaning to say to you! I wanted to say it for a while now."

"Oh?" Naminé looked to him with curiosity.

"Thank you," Sora said earnestly. "For…well…I don't really know firsthand. I guess I was asleep, or forgot about it, when you helped us out. But I found my note in my journal telling me to thank you, and I never did. And Riku helped me fill in the blanks about what happened in Castle Oblivion. I know now that I wouldn't be me if it weren't for you."

"An' I wouldn' remember anythin' 'bout my own family!" Goofy pointed out. "Not my son, or my home, nothin'!"

"I'd be trapped in that castle forever!" Donald added. "I couldn't live in that stupid maze of plain white!"

"Donaaaald!" Sora groaned. "White's her favorite color! …I think. I mean, she always wears it, and we figured out that room in the old mansion was hers…"

"Ohhhh," Donald moaned. "Sorry. No offense."

Naminé giggled. "I do like white. But I also like all the other colors. When I'm drawing, there's a time and a place for all of them. Even the white space on the paper. Maybe that's why I always liked white…because I used to think I was just the white space on the paper. Kairi was the color."

"Even if that was true, you couldn't have one without the other," Kairi stated. "But it's not true. You're as colorful as any of us. Actually, I want to thank you, too. For helping me escape from the World That Never Was. You didn't just break me out of that cell, after all. You helped me find the strength to fight. I've…actually had trouble finding that strength lately, but remembering how you gave me the courage to run, to try to stand up to Saïx…I think that's what let me actually wield the Keyblade for the first time. And thinking about that helps me out even now."

"I owe you one, too," Riku stated.

Naminé shook her head. "No. We're even, remember? You let me get away after DiZ ordered you to – "

"I shouldn't have let him tell me to do that in the first place," Riku asserted. "I want to have let you go because you deserved to live. So I'm taking back the favor. We're not even because me letting you go wasn't about the score. And you did so much for me. Guiding me through the castle when you could…and helping Sora to wake up. Sora is the person who means the most to me in all the worlds, and I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't saved him."

Riku then became conscious of Sora's hand intertwining with his and squeezing affectionately.

"So thank you," Riku told her.

"And thanks from me, too," Roxas stated. "You were a friend for me during times that were confusing. When you led me back to Sora, everything suddenly made sense."

Naminé frowned, shaking her head. "I thought I was helping to complete you. But all I did was – "

"Was give me a chance to remember who I'd been," Roxas broke in, "and actually live my life through Sora without worrying about how I'd face the Organization alone. I guess we kind of…thought Sora and Kairi might end up having a different relationship than they did, but all the same, whenever he looked into her eyes, I saw you, and I knew I wasn't alone."

"Hey, I'm not apologizing for falling in love with Riku," Sora stated.

"I can't apologize for Jaune, either," Kairi laughed.

"And I'm not apologizing for stealing Sora," Riku chuckled.

"It isn't stealing if he and I weren't meant to end up together!" Kairi reminded him with a beam.

Roxas allowed himself a laugh before saying, "Back to the point, everything you did ended up being for the best. And you did so much to touch the lives of so many people. People like me."

"And me," Riku said.

"And me!" Kairi added.

"Me too!" Goofy chimed in.

"More importantly, me!" Donald cried.

"And me." Sora nodded, making direct eye contact with Naminé. "Thank you, Naminé. From all of us."

Yet there was one person who hadn't thanked Naminé. As Lea watched her, he could barely call to mind those moments they'd spent running through the Darkness, following Roxas' trail. No, his memory dredged up how they'd first met, and what became of them then. She was smiling now. She hadn't been when Marluxia had held her out before him to act as a shield, and Axel had stated quite frankly that he could and would cut through her without remorse to get to him.

When he was certain the others were distracted, Lea quietly turned away and exited the room. Sometimes it impressed him that Riku and Ienzo were so easily able to turn away from their sins. From the outside, it would seem that Lea was the most casual of them all, but many days, he felt as though he had the most to answer for out of all of them.

Eventually, Naminé would remember. And Lea was certain that she would refuse to look at him in much the same manner that he found it difficult to look at her.

...

Draco Malfoy was perusing the central library of the warship.

Well, to be fair, perusing in the library was a secondary agenda. Primarily, he was hiding in the library. He'd made the mistake of letting slip to the Huntsman that he'd once gotten mauled by a hippogriff, then had to explain how and why he'd been mauled by a hippogriff, and subsequently had been subjected to a far-too-long rant about why it was crucial for any prospective hippogriff slayer to be conscious of the etiquette of the creatures and play their game without blowing it like an idiot. Draco had barely gotten a word in edgewise to make the point that he had no interest whatsoever in killing a hippogriff, let alone being polite to one for any other reason. It was all a big waste of time, if you asked him. But the Huntsman hadn't asked him, and had kept on scolding until Draco had made up an excuse to run off, hence the hiding.

While he was there, he felt he might as well look over the collection. It all seemed to revolve the history and science of a world called "Atmos," which Draco remembered to be Snipe's homeworld but didn't know much about (or care much about) beyond that. There were books about magic, but they hinged on the necessity of crystals, giving Draco the impression that Atmos was just a world of Muggles who thought they could play at being wizards.

The way Zevon was. The way the Huntsman was. The way most of these people were whom Draco had just cast his lot with.

He plucked a book from the shelf, scanned it, found it uninteresting, replaced it. Pluck, scan, scoff, replace. Pluck –

The cover art surprised him, at first, as it seemed to be an artistic rendering of none other than Discord.

When it asked him, "Found any interesting reading material?", Draco realized it wasn't an artistic rendering.

He dropped the book in shock; Discord stepped out of the cover, pulling the book off him from the top down like a pair of pants. Now Draco could see that the book's actual cover was plain text on a brown leather background. "So?" Discord pressed, leaning over Draco. "How are we liking the WHAM ARMY life?"

"I don't see how that's your business," Draco said brusquely as he pushed past Discord to keep searching the shelves.

"Looking for something in particular?" Discord asked, picking up the fallen book he'd come from. "I just might have a recommendation – "

"I SAID," Draco asserted, "it's not your bloody BUSINESS."

"Oh, dear." Discord's lips twisted up into a smirk. "It sounds like somebody already knows what I want to talk to him about."

Draco paused. "Why don't I like this?" he sighed without even turning around to face Discord.

"See, I've done my homework," Discord told him. "I know everything about my favorite characters, remember?"

Now Draco whirled on him. "Don't talk about me like I'm some character in a fairy tale that you can just write to be however you want."

Discord glanced away; "Who's gonna tell him?" Back to Draco. "To the point, I seem to remember a certain tenet of the Death Eater manifesto. Something about nonhuman creatures being unworthy to wield magic. But YOU stuck up for me."

"Oh, bloody HELL – " Draco turned away to begin escaping at a brisk walk.

"I think you liiiiiike meeeee!" Discord teased, singsong, keeping up with Draco by floating through the air to match his pace. "I think you liiiiiike meeee!"

"Piss off."

"But really," Discord asked, "why break one of the core beliefs you were raised with?"

"Because I'm not Voldemort's toy anymore," Draco insisted. "You KNOW that."

"But certainly Lucius raised you to think creatures like me beneath you," Discord pointed out. "A lot of so-called 'pureblood' wizarding families do in your neck of the woods. You would've thought this since literally birth. All joking aside, I do believe you've begun actually thinking for yourself!"

"I'm being rational," Draco explained, pausing to actually stare Discord down. "Fifth year, Potter was nearly destroyed by my father because of a well-placed word from a House-Elf. Sixth year, my plot to assassinate Dumbledore was nearly exposed completely because Potter employed THAT SAME HOUSE-ELF. Think about it the way Mozenrath would. How could we have let someone that deceptive turn around and join sides with the person he helped us nearly kill? We might've won the war otherwise!"

"Very perceptive," Discord complimented. "And treating this House-Elf as an equal, as you said earlier, would have made him far less likely to betray you."

"Not an equal," Draco spat. "But an ally nonetheless."

"Baby steps," Discord remarked.

"You're going to help us win our war," Draco emphasized. "If the world really is about power more than it is good or evil, then we'd be fools to make an enemy of you. It's like having a basilisk we can strategize with."

"Well, that's not a one-to-one comparison," Discord commented. "See, I absolutely CAN turn living beings to stone on eye contact, but I avoid petrification on principle. I'm proving a point a thousand years in the making to somepony who believes she's a high horse on a high horse. Now, there are FAR more creative ways to take pieces out of play than petrification, and more fun, too!"

"Is there a point to all this besides mocking me?" Draco snapped.

"Well…as a matter of fact…" Discord seemed almost nervous. "There may be one teensy-tiny thing I wanted to bring up with you."

Draco sighed. "What is it you want?"

"You interest me," Discord began.

"NO," Draco barked. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! Just because I'm willing to ally with one of whatever you are doesn't mean I want to DATE one!"

"DATE me?" Discord repeated. "Yeugh, GAG!" He made a point of letting his tongue loll out. "Let me make one thing clear: I DON'T date humans. There are just so many humans on so many worlds, and they're all so BORING. You think I would waste my time on a creature that commonplace? I mean, who decided THIS – " He gestured up and down at Draco's body. " - was ATTRACTIVE?"

"You've made your point," Draco seethed. Then, letting the corner of his mouth flicker into what might've been a smile's genesis, he went on, "Though it seems we agree on something."

"No, this is more of a general interest," Discord went on. "See, you had redemption gift-wrapped. You felt remorse for your actions, and there was certainly no shortage of people willing to forgive you. I mean, Harry Potter forgave Severus SNAPE – "

"Snape was far more noble than people give him credit for," Draco spat, "and that's not meant as a compliment."

"See, I'm glad you passed that little test," Discord stated with a sly grin. "Somehow, everyone seems to hang up on how bad of a teacher he was and credit him with more bad deeds than us REAL villains. I transform a city into a heckscape of confusion and yet people overlook this so they can complain about people like SNAPE whose crowning achievements of villainy are BULLYING STUDENTS? Oh, but obviously, I have some sort of pure soul that deserves redemption, despite having been rotten through and through from the get-go, but Severus' tragic past can't be allowed to excuse him, no sir-ee! How am I supposed to get ANY credit if all of the negativity is directed away from ME and toward – "

"Is there a point to this?" Draco sighed.

"Well, as I was saying," Discord went on, "it would've been fairly easy for you to change tunes. And yet instead of changing from 'bad' to 'good,' you changed from 'associating with the people you'd known your whole life' to…well…Zevon. I was just wondering if perhaps you regretted anything, and if so, how you overcame it. Not that I've ever had any regrets. I certainly don't have anypony specific I left behind who I'm fond of, and that DEFINITELY doesn't have me questioning this decision to join the WHAM ARMY that I'd already put a lot of thought into. But let's say, hypothetically, you were speaking to someone who did."

"A lot of the Slytherins turned around after the War," Draco admitted freely. "Associates of mine. Friends, even. Bulstrode. Greengrass. Carrow – only the younger ones. Goyle. I thought about it. I probably had good enough reason to follow what they did. But it never felt right. I didn't know who I was. I still don't, and I'm only saying that because you KNOW that. But I knew what they were becoming wasn't me. It was more than just my father's influence that drew me to things like wishing I were the heir of Slytherin or joining the Inquisitorial Squad. I wanted power. I wanted that power to be my own, on my terms. Maybe that's part of why I argued for you. Because here, they're offering that for both of us."

"And you never wondered if you should…double back?" Discord asked. "Obviously, you're having a much more comfortable time in your own skin, but you could've had friends who already knew you. Who were already attached to you."

"I know," Draco said softly. "And I have wondered."

The lack of any argument after that made Discord realize that Draco was probably not the person he should've sought after in this particular matter, for the matter Discord was worried about plagued him as well.

"Oh, dear," Discord muttered. "We have gotten ourselves into a predicament, haven't we?"

To the surprise of both, a third voice popped up: "This is by no means an unusual phenomenon."

Draco and Discord jolted at the suddenness of the intrusion. They took the final paces forward to look around the massive shelf, spotting where Vexen sat at a table, three books propped open in front of him as he frantically took notes from all down into an order that made sense to him in a blank journal. With his eyes so focused on his work, it was at first difficult to tell if Vexen had been addressing the other two, and so Draco and Discord looked to each other in confusion. At last, Draco ventured, "Were you talking to – "

"There are times at which a person comes to a moral crossroads," Vexen went on, still not looking up. "The catalyst is an opportunity for the slate to be wiped clean, and everything forgiven. What does the established sinner do with this chance? After all, fortune favors the morally upright. Those who do good deeds are rewarded for their efforts with friends, family, stability, familiarity, and recognition. You'd think to be a fool not to take it. Perhaps there is even a flicker of a past attachment held toward a few of those who were present for your turning point, or who had been a part of your past. Perhaps you thought it best to act in the name of the one you believed you had wronged, though he wasn't there to see it and perhaps never will be. Suddenly, redemption looks so enticing."

A pause, broken only by the scratching of his pen on the paper. Then he continued: "But it isn't enough, is it? You have everything you wanted, yes, but you lost the most valuable thing of all in the process. You lost your own sense of self. You blunder about in a half-haze of sensibility, toeing the line. You strain to display even the slightest expression of yourself that does not tarnish your new image. Until one day, an incendiary incident puts it all into perspective. You hated that image. You hated the people you thought you wanted to recognize you, and you always did. You respected some, but that respect is long gone. After all, you've changed. You've tasted wine from another cup. Suddenly, you're no longer willing to trade in who you are, who you wish you could be without consequence, for the superficial perks of heroism. And yet, for us, we no longer have to choose. That is the brilliance. As asinine as Mozenrath can be in his lapses of temper, he and his cohorts have created an environment for people exactly like us. We can now say what we wish, how we wish to. Mild venom thrown among fellow villains can be forgiven and forgotten. We are allowed to desire power, riches, fame and fortune, the ability to push research beyond the limits of what ethics would dictate!"

The pen paused. "We thought we wanted to atone," Vexen stated, now more somber than before. "But what we really wanted was not to be alone."

In an instant, the pen had begun moving again, and Vexen was quick to add, "But I speak, of course, in hypotheticals to outline your cases. All knowledge I have on the matter was gained through observation. Nothing more."

"Oh, was it now?" Now Draco was definitely smiling.

"It was a VERY good point, even if it was obviously based on your life story," Discord pointed out. "Perhaps it was never THEM. It was what they REPRESENTED. After all, I finally got to shut away a bookworm to make inside jokes with his friends, and he APPRECIATED it. Not like some others I could mention."

"There's only one person I could say I miss," Draco realized. "And she isn't even a person. The rest of them can rot in Azkaban for all I care. Toeing the line: that's all they'd want me to do!"

"And perhaps there is a component to where I miss them," Discord admitted.

"There always is," Vexen spat. "But it isn't worth pursuing."

"'Always'?" Draco repeated.

"Don't be foolish," Vexen stated. "Everyone here has someone they remember fondly from before they became what they are. No one is born evil, despite what Mozenrath might claim while embellishing his biography. We've all had to sacrifice something besides our right hands. But in the end, isn't this better? We may now focus on what TRULY matters."

"Power," Draco said with an ever-expanding smile.

"Chaos!" Discord cried happily.

"Research," Vexen stated. "Which, I might add, the two of you are currently interrupting, so if you are QUITE done – "

That was when Garfield skidded into their wing of the library. "Need a place to hide," he said in a single breath.

"Say no more!" Discord cried as he put his fingers together.

Snap.

In that instant, two things happened.

One: a green-edged portal, not a Corridor of Darkness but a direct portal, appeared in midair, leading completely elsewhere, and Garfield barged through it without a second thought. The portal snapped closed once he was on the other side.

Two: the air temperature of the entire library dropped by several degrees. A light snowfall descended.

"I suppose you think that's funny," Draco huffed as he batted a cloud of snowflakes away from his face.

"Well, I do," Discord admitted, "but the snow isn't mine, actually."

They both turned their attention away from the portal's residue to see Vexen suddenly standing behind the table, shield up, his eyes wide with horror. Small chunks of ice had arisen in patches on the floor surrounding him. It was now quite obvious that he was the source of the sudden blizzard conditions.

"Oh," Discord realized. "That's right. Snapping WOULD – "

"IT'S NOTHING," Vexen insisted, far too loudly. "NOTHING AT ALL! FORGET IT EVER HAPPENED AND GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS! I WON'T DISCUSS IT FURTHER!"

He dismissed his shield, struggling to regain his composure as he sat back down, his eyes boring ever harder into the work he was compiling in the journal. Now, when he wrote, his hand shook, making the writing less legible.

"What's all that about?" Draco asked softly.

"I'll explain later," Discord told him. "We should let him get back to his boring old paperwork."

"Where'd you send that other one, anyhow?" Draco asked.

"Oh, Garfield?" Discord's face lit up with glee. "He wanted a place to hide. He didn't specify WHERE. Irmaplotz will never think to look for him on the planet of Karn. The thousands of deadly alien species that hunger for human flesh, on the other hand, will have an easier time finding him."

"Bring him back," Draco demanded.

"But I was going to organize a viewing party for his survival attempt," Discord pouted. "There was going to be popcorn."

"BRING. HIM. BACK."

"You really are like a miniature Mozenrath, you know that?" Discord pressed his claw-tips together –

Thought better of it.

Clapped his palms together.

Garfield stumbled out of the ensuing portal, his clothing muddied as he batted insects away from his hair. "When Irmaplotz gets tired of trying to kill me," he grunted, "I'm coming after you."

With that, he took off sprinting again.

"We'd best be going, ourselves," Discord stated as he grasped Draco's shoulders to steer him away from Vexen's freshly chilled workstation. "Though, if I may make one last recommendation…"

He placed the book he'd used to make his entrance in Draco's hands. "Just some light reading I thought you'd enjoy," he stated before breezing off like a kite through the air.

Draco read the title: "Legends of Atmos Past." Somehow, he had the distinct feeling Discord wanted him to take this specific book for a reason, and so he carried it with him as he departed.