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.

104. Cards on the Table

HAURCHEFANT GREYSTONE

CASEY THAYER

GREMLIN GUS

SHALUA RUI

ISAARU SHOKANANI

PETER PROKOFIEV

Those were the names that read, from top to bottom, on the polished stone memorial stone that had been erected in the castle gates area – where Sora had once thought he'd lost Goofy for good. Where Aqua still worried she'd lost Terra.

The memorial stone had been readied within hours. Most of that time was just the polishing; Aeleus was able to use his power to carve it from the cliffside and engrave the names upon it quickly, then embedding crystals from the fissure in a tasteful border and topping it off with a stone carving of a heart with wings to represent the freedom everyone hoped the hearts of the lost had achieved after all they had gone through. The stone had replaced one of the flower beds entirely.

There were no coffins. There wasn't enough left of Isaaru to bury, and the others were all in such a state that no one wanted to look at an open casket.

Kairi stood at a temporary podium before the memorial stone, clad in a long, unembellished black gown. Before her stood a sizeable crowd. Nearly all of her friends were present: Sora, Riku, Jaune, Ruby, everyone else called Cinnamon, even Ven and Aqua. The only person she couldn't locate was Ienzo, and she didn't blame him, knowing what she knew. That group made up the rear of the crowd.

In front of them, other civilians, most of whom Kairi couldn't name. And then, making up the very front of the crowd, those the deceased had left behind.

Shelke Rui regarded the monument with an impassive expression. Maroda held a sobbing Pacce close to him. Peter's grandfather wept openly, as did the boy's former animal companions, Ivan, Sonia, and Sasha, who leaned upon each other.

As it turned out, Haurchefant was the son of a rather prominent rich man in the kingdom – not quite at McDuck level, but well-off enough – known as Edmont de Fortemps. He and his other two sons, Artoriel and Emmanellain, looked toward the memorial with silent severity. Beside them stood the raven-haired Lalafell in the purple top hat; she was the one who couldn't keep from crying, dabbing at her eyes as her shoulders silently heaved.

Gus was from a sizeable gremlin family as well. Mourning him were his husband Barry, his and Barry's son Jamface, his brother Tim, Tim's wife Fifi, Tim and Fifi's son Markus, and Markus' fiancé Prescott. The gremlins were not so composed as the de Fortemps family, wailing and comforting each other physically.

Casey had no immediate family in the area, but as it turned out, before his demise, he'd been courting no fewer than three women at the same time: Virginia, Marceline, and Margaret. Kairi found this act of womanizing distasteful, yet she couldn't deny any of them the right to grieve. Upon finding out that they'd each been "shared" by the athlete, their reaction had not been to fight or to denounce him, but rather to join hands, as each felt he had treated her well, and on that they could all agree. They sobbed as well, catching tears in embroidered handkerchiefs.

Kairi had been called upon to deliver a eulogy, and after fighting every battle she'd fought with the Keyblade, facing down enemies who could annihilate her in one blow, and falling into Maleficent's and Xemnas' clutches respectively, somehow, this was the most difficult thing she could recall doing in her entire life. She'd never lost anyone before, not really. There was Sora, but by the time she'd remembered he was even gone, he was back. There was Riku, but he'd come back as well. There was Lea, but she hadn't liked him at the time that he'd dissolved, and he'd come back in time to earn her favor. There was her father Ansem, but he was still alive out there somewhere; Sora had just confirmed it. Of course, they could no longer use the hourglass to figure out where, exactly, he was, and it was too dangerous to simply guess and storm the World That Never Was without knowing where they'd stashed him in the metropolis. The castle was too obvious; they probably welcomed an invasion, a chance to thin the ranks. All the same, Ansem was alive, and Kairi didn't believe he was to die in Xehanort's clutches so long as they needed him for whatever they wanted from his mind.

These hadn't been her friends. They'd simply been people she'd passed by in the castle halls. She'd heard news of Casey's victories, vaguely recalled Haurchefant holding a door open for her, had maybe talked to Shelke about current affairs once when they'd ended up in the same lounge without ever meeting Shalua. Knew a friend of a friend of Gus. Had no memories of Isaaru, Peter, or their families.

All the same, thinking of their loss tore her apart from the inside. Putting pen to paper to write down her feelings about them, she found the sheet tearstained without so much as a word written. They'd been innocents. They were the people she was supposed to protect. They had lives, families, and above all, a sense of bravery that had led them to attempt this assault. In a strange way, it had worked. Kairi had done the math. If they hadn't held Blackheart up those extra few minutes, he would've gotten out of the hourglass tower a lot sooner, and might've come as far as the Great Hall before Merlin, Genie, and Ruby could've stayed him.

She couldn't imagine what the people weeping before her were going through now.

It took all her courage to begin speaking. "We're here because six very brave people gave up their lives to save us all," she stated. "They were all strong hearts, acting out of goodness and a determination to protect those less fortunate. There are those who might say their sacrifice was for nothing, but that WASN'T true. If they hadn't done what they did, then there would be a lot fewer of us standing here now than there are. I think what it goes to show is that while we talk a lot about the heroes that are chosen by the Keyblade, by the Silver Eyes, by purity of heart, by Mystic Morphing, by the Elements of Harmony…those aren't the only heroes that exist. They're not even the most important ones. The real heroes are all of us who have it in our hearts to do good for another person, even if it's something small. Anytime you've stood up for someone, put your hand out to someone, just been a friend. You've been a hero. Because the people we mourn today, the people who cared enough, they weren't the chosen ones. They were – "
"They were the ones you were supposed to protect!" a voice cut through.

Grief can do strange things to people. For example, if you let someone walk into a dangerous situation, knowing full well how hazardous it really was, but you were confident they were strong enough to pull through, you might think, while they still drew breath, that they would prevail, or that you'd even come to terms with the fact that they might not. And yet, once they are extinguished, it suddenly seems not to be the fault of the person who acted of their own free will, nor the fault of the mourner who let them walk away. There is a desperation to pin blame, as if punishing the one at fault will bring the lost one back, and that responsibility can lie neither with the loved one nor with the deceased themselves.

Such was why Jamface had hovered to the front of the crowd, pointing an accusing finger at Kairi. "She claims to be our protector, the useless gant de toilette, but she let my father go to his doom!"

Kairi was struck silent, unsure what to say. For one, to argue would be rude. For another, she wasn't entirely sure he was wrong.

"Not just her." Grandfather Prokofiev pushed his way to stand beside Jamface. "Where was the entire Committee when my Petya was running the halls alone? Getting each other to safety? Putting us last?"

"It wasn't LIKE that!" Jaune cried, surging up from the back. "Kairi did what she could! THEY ALL DID!"

"Jaune," Kairi rasped, too softly to be heard. "Please don't…"

"I thought the castle was supposed to be a safe place." Shelke did not rage, but somehow, her soft, cold tone pierced harder than a roar of anger. "My sister wasn't safe."

"If we are not to trust the leaders of this kingdom," Jamface went on, "who can we trust?"

"SHE DIDN'T SEND THEM TO THEIR DEATHS!" Jaune argued. "IF SHE'D BEEN THERE, SHE WOULD'VE DONE EVERYTHING SHE COULD TO STOP THEM!"

"But she wasn't there," Shelke stated.

"You quiet down!" Grandfather Prokofiev yelled at Jaune. "You've never lost anyone like my Petya! You have no right to talk to me about this!"

Jaune's face went red. "How…dare you," he seethed. "How DARE you say I've never lost anyone I loved? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO I'VE LOST!"

"GUYS, CALM DOWN!" Sora rushed between Jaune and Grandfather Prokofiev, putting hs hands up between them, as though afraid they would come to blows. "We're all sad, okay? And we're all a little angry! I'm angry, too! I'm angry at myself for not being able to help! But arguing with each other isn't gonna do any good! We need to stick together!"

"N'importe quoi," Jamface dismissed. "You see how far STICKING TOGETHER has brought us."

"YOU SHUT UP!" To everyone's surprise, it was Pacce who was yelling now. "My big brother was tough! So was Peter! I thought they could beat the bad guy! I thought it was gonna be okay, because they were really strong and smart! They knew they were breaking the rules! It's not their fault or hers! It's the bad guy's! He's the one who killed Isaaru and the others!"

"He's right." The Lalafell was now the one to step forward, wiping her face clean of tears. "Haurchefant was a good friend of mine for years. I knew him too well for my own good, I think. And if he got a bad idea in his head that he thought would protect other people, the only thing that could've stopped him would be Hydaelyn or Zodiark. I wasn't there when he died, but I bet it was with a smile on his face, and I bet he was trying to get everyone else to cheer up, too. It's how he was. I'm not blaming him for his own death. But I do know he knew what he was getting into. It was his choice. And if the Committee had stopped him, or more Keybearers had been there, then he…h-h-he…" She was struggling to hold the crying back. "He would've found another way around them."

"Maybe YOUR friend chose!" Grandfather Prokofiev raged. "MY GRANDSON DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING!"

"WELL, I WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD HIM TO GO!" Pacce argued. "SO WHAT ABOUT THAT? BLAME ME!"

"YOU ARE ALSO A CHILD!" Grandfather Prokofiev told him. "IT WAS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THOSE OLDER AND WISER TO PROTECT HIM!"

"Shelke and Maroda were right there!" Pacce blurted. "They didn't see him – "

"Don't blame me," Shelke warned.

"Pacce," Maroda said softly. "I accept my wrongdoing, but now is not the time."

Pacce folded his arms with a "Hmph."

"I'm sorry," Kairi said, crying a river now. "I'm so, so sorry – "

"You should be," Grandfather Prokofiev growled.

"I don't think we have anything more to hear from you," Jamface told her.

"I agree," Shelke stated.

"We do," Grandfather Prokofiev argued, "but only one. Tell me, princess, the answer to my question."

Kairi held her head up. Through her tears, she said, "I will."

"Is it true that my Petya was still alive when he was found, and one of yours had the opportunity to save him, but did not?"

"No," Kairi lied. "He was already dead when we found him. It was too late."

Grandfather Prokofiev eyed her up and down, severely doubting her words. Then he muttered, "We will hear no more."

Kairi left the podium, just wanting to vanish into the crowd. Jaune took her into his arms, leading her away and whispering to her, "Don't listen to them. It's not your fault. They all know, deep down, that you'd never let any harm come to anyone. They're just hurting inside."

"I know," Kairi said, but this was accompanied with even heavier sobs – for herself, for them, for the ones they'd lost.

Sora and Riku were quick to flank her and Jaune. "Let's get you out of here," Riku suggested.

"There are some leftover coconut cake pops in the freezer from the baking club's last meeting," Sora suggested, knowing how much Kairi had liked those treats. "I don't think they'd mind if those disappeared."

Once Kairi had been escorted away, the crowd – those who didn't know Kairi intimately and hadn't spoken on her behalf thinking it incredibly unprofessional that she'd had to be coddled over a loss that wasn't hers – slowly dispersed, the unfortunate not realizing they were under grief's spell. The Lalafell was the second to last to leave, giving the stone monument a final smile, as though telling Haurchefant she was proud of him.

The last to leave was Twilight Sparkle, who found herself riveted by the entire incident. It seemed such a great tragedy. She had never known such unhappiness. Only a world where friendship saved the day every time. The others who had wielded the Elements, they had known loss, but this was a completely new feeling to her. She had thought she would be prepared, but she couldn't make heads or tails of how deeply the cut was felt by those around her.

What was the proper thing for a good friend to do in this situation? As she grasped, it seemed the only thing that would do any good was to fix the problem, but she knew she couldn't bring back the dead. Nor should she study to; it would have consequences.

Then again, the idea was ever so slightly tempting.

At long last, she turned to leave the empty square, hooves clopping up the stone.

She then heard soft footfalls behind her.

She hadn't been alone.

Quickly, she teleported herself to a nearby rooftop, staring down at the square to see if she could get a visual on her stalker, and how long it would take that person to find her. She suspected an enemy that had remained for the purpose of watching her. Was it Discord? Was it Blackheart?

Instead, she saw Ienzo materialize from thin air as he approached the monument. Her heart caught in her throat as she realized that he'd been there the whole time, camouflaged by illusion.

He'd told Kairi how he hadn't been able to save Peter. Kairi had told Sora. Sora had told Rapunzel. Rapunzel had told Applejack. Applejack had told Twilight. She knew.

He pressed his hand, silently, to the monument. Then he slid down to his knees before it, hand still reached up to contact the stone.

He needed a friend, Twilight knew, but what was a friend to do? She wracked her brain, wondering if it would be better to distract him, to console him, to tell him it wasn't his fault.

In the end, she didn't know. This was a friendship lesson she had never learned. So, like a coward, she spread her wings and took off to fly back to the castle without saying a word to him.

...

Hans Westergaard stared down his opponent with fierce intensity, determined not to back down. "No," he growled.

"But why noooooot?" Demyx whined at him from across the table.

"You know why not," Hans told him coldly.

"This is our big chance!" Demyx insisted. "This is the one thing we NEVER got to do! And now, we can finally take what belongs to us! Whenever we want! Without having to tiptoe around you-know-who!"

"It's not worth it," Hans stated.

"You're a baby," Demyx accused.

"I should never have left you in charge of this," Hans snorted.

"Uh, yeah, you should've," Demyx retorted. "This is the best possible outcome."

"No," Hans insisted. "It was something perfectly good, and you ruined it. Now I refuse to even be associated with it."

"C'monnnnnnn! I already put an INVESTMENT into this!"

"And now you also have to refund my half."

"Hans, this is everything we ever wanted! And now you won't stand by me?"

"Dem," Hans replied, "any other time, any other place, you know I would. But this crosses a line. This is something you need to do alone and not involve me."

"Well, fine," Demyx resolved. "I'll just take it all for myself. You don't get any."

"I don't WANT any."

"…You sure?"

"Demyx," Hans sighed, "this was supposed to be a landmark. And then you went and did THAT, and now I just can't help feeling like…I dunno, like you betrayed me. Which I guess isn't all that bad. The fact that we're traitors is why we're together in the first place. I love the traitor in you and you love the traitor in me."

"Silence, traitor."

"Don't you pull that 'Silence, traitor' on me!" Hans groaned. "You backstabbed me. Plain and simple. And now I want no part of it. This was never the way it was supposed to be, and you know it."

"But…just…aaauuuugh!" Demyx groaned. "This is the FIRST PIZZA WE WERE ABLE TO EAT WITHOUT ROMAN FREAKING OUT, and you're all mad because I didn't let you order!"

"No," Hans reminded him, "I'm mad at you because you put PINEAPPLE. ON. THE. PIZZA."

"BECAUSE PINEAPPLE IS REALLY GOOD ON PIZZA!"

"NO! NO, IT ISN'T! IT'S DISGUSTING! THAT'S THE KIND OF THING ANNA WOULD EAT! IT'S TOO SWEET, AND PIZZA IS SAVORY! YOU DON'T PUT FRUIT ON A PIZZA! YOU JUST DON'T!"

Gothel breezed past, giving a casual wave. "Hello, boys. At it again, I see."

"Hi, Gothel," Hans and Demyx said as one before diving right back into their argument:

"See, hard and fast rules like 'no fruit on pizza' are how things get STARTED. Then it becomes 'no running in the lobby' and then 'no using Darkness to solve your problems' and then 'no waterboarding people you don't like' and then finally it's 'no talking while I'm monologuing' and it's just a drag! Didn't we become the bad guys so we could, y'know, not have to follow rules?"

"I'm not enforcing a rule, Dem! I'm telling you about an immutable law of nature! Pineapple and pizza are two forces that are incompatible!"

Then it hit them both.

They leapt to their feet, ignoring the slowly cooling pizza. "GOTHEL?" they cried in unison.

"Miss me?" she asked, grinning.

"Please tell me you're on our side now," Demyx begged. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE ON OUR SIDE NOW."

"Well, actually, I'm just here to borrow a cup of sugar," Gothel teased.

Her tone was such that Demyx, for a moment, didn't even focus on how ridiculous the words were that she'd said. His shoulders slumped in disappointment; "Aw, man. I was hoping – "

"Dem," Hans said gently, "think about it."

"Oh!" Demyx realized. "So you DID backstab Mozzy!"

"About time," Hans told her. "We have better parties anyway."

"I mean, I'm still trying to reinstate karaoke night over here," Demyx admitted, "but it's going over like a lead balloon."

"But we do have bonfires," Hans brought up. "Bonfires and dancing. Though as usual, the de facto leader does not dance, and this time, cannot be persuaded."

"I'm looking forward to it," Gothel said smugly.

"So why'd you do it?" Demyx asked excitedly. "Why'd you peace out?"

"Oh, a few reasons," Gothel said offhandedly. "For one, our goals ended up differing wildly. They wanted to take over Atlantis. I wanted to drop literally everything in a quest for eternal youth. Which, by the way, was apparently some kind of TASK for them, whereas I had my first restoration draught brewed by Grimhilde just now. Please. I was wasting my time, energy, and beauty on a bunch of incompetent morons."

"Welcome to the darker side," Hans told her. "The most incompetent people here are…well, let's face it: me and Dem."

"Heyyyy!" Demyx whined. "I resent that! Edgar is below me at LEAST!"

"Right," Hans realized. "We do have a useless butler. Actually, correction: JOKER has a useless butler."

"In any case, I'm glad we could get the band back together without the…undesirables," Gothel stated. "Really, Vardaros would've been perfect if it were just us three, don't you think?"

"Yeah!" Demyx cried. "Hey, real quick – what's your opinion on pineapple on pizza?"

Gothel stared at him blankly. "Pineapple on – Demyx, dear, you're going to have to start using real words."

"TRY IT!" Demyx swiped a slice of the pizza, holding it up into Gothel's face. "You're gonna love it, okay?"

As Gothel recoiled, Hans put a hand on Demyx's arm to rein in the pizza. "No, she's not," he argued, "because it's disgusting on principle."

"In any case, I have places to be," Gothel told them. "Now that the soap opera is over upstairs, I have a chance to catch Maleficent and talk to her about long-term plans."

"Oh, yeah!" Demyx realized. "They let you watch? I tried, but they kicked me out."

"Me too," Hans added. "Though, really, they could only fit so many people around that mirror. That part's understandable."

"I didn't want any part of it in the first place," Gothel droned. "Since when did mindless violence become such a staple of entertainment?"

"Wow," Demyx commented. "You really are a mom."

Gothel scowled at him. "If you want to keep talking about me like that, then I'll play the part and ground you."

"You couldn't!"

"I could put in a VERY good word with Maleficent."

"You don't have that kind of power," Hans called out. "You just showed up. What reason does she even have to trust you?"

"Oh, I have valuable knowledge Maleficent NEEDS for the current scheme," Gothel said cryptically.

"You know how to kill a god?" Demyx asked.

"I know of an entity powerful enough to do exactly that if turned loose," Gothel went on, "and several different methods of releasing him…though none that are going to come easy."

"It's a bluff," Hans sighed. "There is no way you suddenly know something like that since we last saw you."

"Assuming that I only learned it then," Gothel told him. "Do you really think I'd have gotten Maleficent's favor over something I didn't know INTIMATELY?"

"Hey, Hans," Demyx realized, "I think she's been keeping secrets."

"She really did belong with us," Hans realized. "Here's to the two-faced."

"Indeed," Gothel commented. "As I said, of course, I have places to be, so we'll take a rain check on me telling you how I humiliated Roman Torchwick and nearly managed to mutilate him and bring him into custody."

She turned to sweep out of the dining hall, but by then, she had both men on her tail, babbling:

"WHAT?"

"You're gonna need to explain that."

"SERIOUSLY, YOU DID WHAT?"

"Also: you didn't invite us? I'm hurt."

"Fine," Gothel sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'll give you the short version on the way."

Maleficent was in high spirits when Gothel, Hans, and Demyx came upon her and Hades in the throne room, standing near the bonfire pit. In fact, she was in the midst of a good cackle, throwing her head back and all.

"Awww, maaaan," Demyx groaned. "We missed a good show, didn't we?"

"Only the best," Hades informed him. "Though for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure it was too gory for your upset little stomach."

"Hey, I'm tougher than you think!" Demyx argued. "Just try me sometime!"

"Dem, you once threw a horror book across the room because the text somehow managed to jumpscare you," Hans sighed.

"IT WAS ENCHANTED!" Demyx lied.

"Seriously, it was the perfect show of fireworks from beginning to end," Hades informed the trio. "He opened by blowing the door to bits, walked in there like he owned the place – "

"And made short work of dispatching the fool king!" Maleficent laughed, reveling in the memory of Mickey's downfall once again. "His allies fell before him as wheat in the harvest!"

"He hit 'em quicker than they could throw themselves at him," Hades went on. "Boom bada-boom-boom-boom! And just when I was gettin' a little tired of the routine where they all manage to barely get away with their lives – "

"A squadron of overzealous neophytes, slaughtered painfully!" Maleficent cackled. "The fools thought their hearts would stand as those of underdog heroes! Little do they know that such things only exist in fairy tales!"

"In the REAL world, evil triumphs over good," Hades stated. "It's why you can't get rid of us, babe. Throw me in the Styx. Stab you in the heart. Beat us to a pulp with a giant key. We keep comin' back, and better than ever!"

"Their demise was nothing short of theatrical!" Maleficent related. "Each of them felled in succession, through increasingly creative means!"

"The room practically got painted red," Hades added. "Not that I didn't love the black. You know me: I love everything black. Black bird, black moon, black sky – "

"As I am the same," Maleficent agreed. "Yet the spilled blood of the innocent did accent the décor so. As it should, since my fires no longer light its torches."

"Also, as a bonus, we got to watch Blackheart just get DCC percent DONE with the chapel," Hades wheezed. "I didn't even think about that! Did you think about that?"

"He shows much promise," Maleficent stated proudly. "His willingness to tread upon holy ground to achieve his goal proved his loyalty. I will admit, however, it was amusing to see his expression upon entry."

"And as the closing act," Hades stated, "a KID shows up. A KID thinks he can take on an actual demon prince from Hell."

"The child reaped precisely what he sowed," Maleficent stated, very much amused. "In the end, our goal was accomplished, and should the fools attempt to build a second device to watch over our inner workings…well, we shall have to teach them a second lesson, shall we not?"

She and Hades burst into synchronized laughter, doubling over.

"And I missed all of iiiiiit," Demyx whined, though deep down, part of him was relieved he hadn't had to see that much gore. It wasn't the cruelty he objected to; it was the visceral reaction to the blood.

Hans patted his shoulder. "It's okay, Dem. We can go on our own mass slaughter if you really want to." Though he knew Demyx wouldn't want to, and Hans wasn't all that keen on the idea, either. It was another thing that made them work. They could and would shed blood, but the fun was in the manipulation, not the mindless violence.

"What a mature form of entertainment," Gothel groaned.

Hades and Maleficent were in such good spirits, they decided to outright ignore Gothel so as to not have to interrupt their momentum with getting angry at her for what was really just a friendly tease. "If I had ONE complaint with the whole thing, though," Hades admitted, "it was the aftermath. Which, okay, yeah, the kid couldn't control that."

"Aftermath?" Hans repeated, confused.

"I checked in down below after the body count finalized," Hades explained. "See, when a person dies, that's usually just the starting point of where I get to have the real fun. Only here's the problem. You know the good place? Elysium or whatever you wanna call it? A long time ago, the rest of the council put a No-Hades-Allowed ban on it. That is part of my TERRITORY and I'm not allowed anywhere NEAR it. I just rule it on a technicality and see to the basics, and if I skimp on maintenance, I get bureaucracy up the wazoo. So any heroes that get deemed good enough to go there, I don't get to touch. At all. So I pop my head in, ask how things are going, fry Pain and Panic 'cause I just haven't done that in a while and it's fun, and then we get around to the topic of the six people Blackheart killed in the chapel. And what happened to them? Fast-tracked directly to Elysium. Every. Single. One. Even the chauvinist egomaniac baseball player. You're telling me this is how we reward stupidity now?"

"I sympathize with your disappointment," Maleficent told Hades. "However, I can assure you their deaths will be far from the last we are responsible for. You will have your fun in time. I will see to it if nothing else."

"Babe, you are a gem," Hades told her. "And by that, I mean strictly the cursed kind that's taken the lives of every yutz who tried to lift it out of its altar."

"You are not without your own glimmer," Maleficent replied, grinning.

Demyx made a loud gagging noise to mock them, which also went ignored so as not to kill the mood.

Footsteps coming down the entry hall alerted all five to a newcomer, and as they turned to see who approached, Hades spread his arms out; "If it isn't the demon of the hour!"

"You liked my little show?" Blackheart asked.

"It was most satisfying," Maleficent informed him. "Most importantly, however, the scrying hourglass is no more, and the WHAM ARMY's compass has nowhere near its capabilities. We carry out our business in secrecy."

"The only people who know are you, me, everyone in this room, and the other people Malef and I hand-picked," Hades told Blackheart.

"Cool," Blackheart replied. A pause. Then: "Also, I told somebody else about our plan."

"Eh?" Hades looked at him, dumbfounded, a dangerous flicker of orange in his flame.

"Then I brought him back to the house for a play date," Blackheart went on. "I was hoping he could stay over."

"Explain yourself at once," Maleficent commanded stonily.

"Ooooooh," Demyx said hushedly, "someone's in trouuuubllllle."

Gothel and Hans nodded in agreement, and the trio watched the drama unfold.

"I found him wandering around the base of the mountain," Blackheart explained. "The only people who come here are either idiots who need to get killed right away or people who know they can play in the big boy pool. So I thought I'd bring him up here, and you could decide whether we kill him or hand him a floatie."

"Kid, this had BETTER be good," Hades seethed.

Blackheart turned back to the dark hall, waving someone forward. "C'mon. Meet the parents."

As the newcomer stepped into the chamber, Gothel, Demyx, and Hans all felt their jaws drop. Now, this was an attractive man, they all thought. Tall, strong, with defined facial features…the fact that he was blue wasn't what they were used to, but it didn't really detract from the picture.

"Oy vey," Hades sighed. "I can already tell this is gonna go over like a pair of wax wings. See, me and ice aren't on the best terms."

"Tell me," Maleficent demanded coldly. "What business do you have with us?"

"Why, you seek ultimate power, do you not?" Flurious asked with a grin and a flourishing gesture. "What a coincidence! So do I. I am willing to share that power with you, in exchange for just one thing."

"And that is?" Hades asked skeptically.

"A solid alliance built on mutual respect, of course," Flurious stated. "One in which we should watch each other's backs if trouble comes to call."

"You got someone after you?" Hades asked.

"He will not for long," Maleficent stated, her eyes drawn to Thunder Edge at his thigh. "Tell us more about this absolute power you seek."

"It occurs to me that you could perhaps use the power of the Corona Aurora in your endeavor," Flurious stated.

"The Corona Aurora," Maleficent repeted. "An old yet famous tale. What know you of it?"

"You will recall the two brothers who disputed over the crown?" Flurious posed. "Only one survives. And he stands before you now."

"Can we keep him?" Blackheart asked.

"If he truly is the brother of legend," Maleficent stated, "he will be a valuable addition to our forces."

"How'd the other one get snuffed?" Hades asked. "And whether you tell the truth is gonna make or break it here."

"Why, I eliminated him, of course," Flurious stated.

"GOOD," Hades said, pointing at Flurious. "YES. YOU. I LIKE YOU. Believe me, I've had it up to Olympus with bad brothers." He turned to Maleficent. "Malef, do you see what we have on our hands here? This isn't just one of the Corona bros. This is the one that came out on top in the feud."

"Indeed, I have realized," Maleficent stated. "Very well. You shall join us on a trial basis. What is your name?"

"A bold move, to ask one to directly give his name to a faery," Flurious remarked. "Yet I fear you not. You may know it. I am Flurious."

"Flurious," Hades groaned. "Oy vey, and here I thought 'Ayam Aghoul' was the worst pun I was ever gonna hear in my eternal life. Well, let's get you set up." He clapped twice. "Dem-Dem. Show the guy a room and get him an ice-cold beverage."

"WHY ME?" Demyx whined.

"Because you made fun of me and Malef when we were having a MOMENT," Hades explained. "Now get moving before I decide being Flurious' servant is too good for you."

"I'm his SERVANT now?" Demyx cried.

"You defy Hades?" Maleficent challenged, almost coy; she trusted Demyx because she knew he would give in.

"Fiiiiiiiine," Demyx growled gutturally. "Let's go. I'll give you the grand tour."

He shuffled away, and Flurious strode after him. Gothel and Hans were quick to follow. "You know," Hans remarked, "I knew somebody else who had an ice motif once. Hated her."

"How wonderful," Flurious said sarcastically. "I'm certain we crossed paths at the ice summit."

"Why don't you tell us all about it?" Gothel asked, not realizing he was being facetious.

"You ever just realize that we have no less than three idiots in the ranks?" Hades asked as he watched them leave.

"They have their uses," Maleficent said rather wistfully. "Unlike some."

"Uh…hey," Hades asked, "were you havin' second thoughts over…y'know? 'Cause I could fix it with a snap of my – "

"Leave him where he lies," Maleficent snapped. "My decision was not incorrect, and I see no reason to rectify it."

Hades knew then he had to drop the subject of Pete.

Blackheart raised his hand.

"Yeah?" Hades addressed him.

"Can I go now?" Blackheart asked.

"Sure," Hades told him. "But no more bringing in strays off the street, got it?"

"No promises" was all Blackheart said before he breezed out of the room.

"Annoyances though we may have encountered," Maleficent decided, "this day has been a success. Between Blackheart's display, the shattering of the hourglass, and the new additions to the fold, I might be tempted to say we cannot fail."

"YES!" Hades agreed. "Overtakers RULE!"

...

"SHELKE, WAIT! PLEASE, SHELKE, DON'T!"

As Kairi chased the other girl through the castle atrium, she knew it was futile. Shelke was already on her way down the hall to the broken doorway.

"You can't stop me, Kairi," the brunette girl said calmly, and Kairi hated how she could stay so enigmatic, so unreadable, and appear to be all right with the world when in fact she was harboring hatred and sadness that pressed against her from the inside, threatening to burst through. Yet it never would. It would be filtered into a cold, refined sharpness.

"You don't have anywhere to go!" Kairi pleaded desperately. "Your house isn't finished yet!" She'd already let Shalua be lost. If she didn't think of something good to say, then she would be responsible for letting the younger Shelke walk out and condemn herself to a lonely homelessness. Kairi couldn't have that on her hands. "You're not SAFE out there!"

That caused Shelke to pause long enough for Kairi to catch up. They faced each other, and it struck Kairi that this shouldn't be how it was it all. They were just two teen girls who liked the color pink. They shouldn't have to do this, one of them trying to beg for the other's safety out of obligation to her people, the other throwing her own life to the dogs because she'd had the only family left ripped away from her by an attack from Hell itself.

"I'm not safe in here," Shelke stated, again displaying no emotion, but that spoke louder than words.

She then turned and walked out into the sunlight, and Kairi knew she'd been beaten. Could she even promise safety to anyone anymore, now that Blackheart had proven how easily Maleficent's new forces could worm their way in? No – she'd known how easily they could get in, and they were still patching up from that literal nightmare. It was the straw that had broken Shelke's shoulders after piling her burden up so high.

Kairi knew she wouldn't be the last to leave.

The redhead trudged to the library, in a daze half out of reality. Upon entering its heart, she found Ienzo seated at the long golden table, books scattered before him on its surface as his long hair spilled over his face and hid it.

Kairi was surprised to see him out of his room, but then again, she supposed that the library was as good of a place as any for him to feel safe. She hesitated a moment, then approached him, thinking that perhaps he'd come here because he did hope to run into someone he could share his grief with.

Slowly, she pulled out the opposite chair, lowered herself into it. His gaze was fixed on his book. She couldn't tell if he knew she was there.

"Ienzo?" she croaked.

His head raised slowly, and she could see the redness in his eyes. He'd been crying recently. He opened his mouth, finding himself unable to say anything.

Kairi reached out her hand across the table. Ienzo gently clasped it, then tightened his grip.

He finally found the words he'd been struggling to say: "I could've saved him."

"It wasn't your fault, Ienzo. I know you can't believe that right now, but you need to hear it anyway."

"It was my fault," Ienzo said hoarsely, on the verge of breaking again. "I'd known for a while that I wasn't able to cast Cure. I should've taken action to fix that, especially after Kazuichi…but Aerith was there, and…my ego got in the way. I'm afraid maybe Zexion isn't as gone as I thought. He was a child, Kairi – "

"You are NOT Zexion," Kairi insisted. "You were him, once. But you're not him now. I did the same thing, covering up the magic I wasn't getting down in Yen Sid's classes. It isn't about being the worst of yourself. It's just about being…a person."

"He…he should've lived so much longer…and his grandfather…"

"He should've," Kairi agreed somberly, still placing no blame on Ienzo.

"I'm sorry I didn't stand up for you at the funeral," Ienzo whispered. "I was there. I was just too afraid…"

"I think you would've made it worse," Kairi told him honestly. "I'm glad you didn't stand out. I wouldn't have wanted him to yell at you. I can take it. I know…I didn't react like a princess should. But this is what I'm going to grow up to deal with. Just let me take the worst of it, and stay safe, please?"

Ienzo's hand shook in her grip. "No. I can't just…I'm your older brother, I need to protect you."

"We protect each other. We're a team."

"Kairi, I…I can't protect anyone. Not even you. I'm…starting to wonder if…I'm even…"

She could tell what he was about to say: useful. "Ienzo," Kairi said firmly, "Shelke Rui just left. I couldn't stop her. She said she couldn't stay here anymore, and this castle was as safe as she'd be on the outside, and I couldn't really argue. But it made me think. She's going through this because she lost her older sister. Shalua was the only family she had. I can't blame her. It has to be horrible and traumatizing. And that's when I thought about myself. It's horrible to think, but seeing Shelke fall apart without Shalua just makes me so glad that I still have you. You don't have to protect me. Just please don't leave me. Please try not to get taken from me, and I'll do my best to help you."

He was almost stunned. She had so many other friends who'd been in her life longer, or in a greater capacity than him. Sora. Riku. Jaune, especially Jaune. But as he looked into her eyes, he knew she'd begun to remember. Books read together. A plot hatched to escape the castle and explore the kingdom, turning into panic when they'd become separated. Playing board games, and Ienzo even playing with Kairi's dolls despite not being much of one for toys in general, as he had wanted to make her happy. The way she'd greeted him with an unknowing smile when he'd been welcomed into the fold of the castle, innocently asking where his parents had gone. The way she didn't make him speak when he didn't want to, cheerfully telling – had it been Braig? – that she could talk enough for the both of them. How he'd listened to her secrets and believed in her, like she could do anything despite being so small in a big world.

He let go of her hand, pulled away, and she was momentarily afraid he was retreating, but then he rose and came around to her side of the table, and she knew exactly what he wanted – she wanted it too.

They embraced tightly, each vowing mentally not to let the other fall if they could help it.

As mentioned, grief does strange things to people. Some cope with a tragedy in the vicinity by trying to make inappropriate humor out of the situation. For example, Stitch was attempting to bring levity to the castle by stealing random objects coveted by those close to him. He snuck into the library and scuttled onto the roof; Jumba, in close pursuit, shook his fist. "COME BACK WITH THAT!" he yelled, eyes glued to the shiny metal object Stitch held in his mouth.

Stitch sprouted his secondary arms so he could transfer the gadget down to them, letting out a high-pitched cackle.

Pleakley was the next to enter, pointing up at Stitch and scolding, "Hey! Now is NOT the time for joking around, mister!"

"Sticks in mud," Stitch accused before blowing a raspberry.

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at the scene, and Ienzo found himself laughing softly as well as Stitch climbed ever higher, waving the gadget and yelling, "Nana-nana-boo-boooooo!"

"Give back evil prototype THIS INSTANT!" Jumba demanded.

"How are we supposed to make toast without it?" Pleakley asked.

Jumba then noticed Kairi and Ienzo's presence. "Is definitely superweapon battery core," he said quickly. "Has nothing to do whatsoever with making toast or other breakfast materials."

"Then maybe we should let Stitch keep it," Kairi laughed.

"You think is less deadly in HIS hands than mine?" Jumba asked. "I know how to contain device! He will use it for personal space heater, inevitably triggering catastrophic chain reaction that destroys world and all other worlds for very large radius!"

"Small toaster is warm," Stitch argued. "Also boils eggs. Stitch like eggs."

"You know, you really are a little monster sometimes," Pleakley huffed.

"Also cute and fluffy!" Stitch insisted.

However, when the library doors opened next, Stitch gave a gasp at the sight of who entered, promptly dropping the device (which was, in fact, a miniature heater for cooking breakfast foods) right into Jumba's hands. "VEN?" he cried. "AQUA!"

Ven and Aqua promptly looked to the ceiling. "STITCH!" Ven cried, waving at him.

"Heh hehhhhh, what do you know!" Jumba cried. "Is blue warrior! And friend of hers Stitch is also knowing!"

"You know them?" Pleakley asked in surprise.

"Yes!" Jumba cried. "Before ever was annoyed by YOU being force of lawful good, was annoyed by HER being force of lawful good! Of course, she never was as interesting."

"It's good to see you too," Aqua chuckled. "I'm guessing you turned your act around."

"Have done NO such thing!" Jumba insisted. "Am still very, INCREDIBLY evil!"

Kairi and Ienzo were mouthing "No, he's not" behind his back.

"Am glad to see you have returned!" Jumba stated. "Though…looks as if neither of you have aged day. Your world was swallowed by Darkness the way ours was, yes?"

"Actually, it's…complicated," Aqua answered.

Stitch dropped right into Ven's arms, and Ven laughed as he gave the furry blue alien a friendly hug. "Great to see you again!" he cried.

"Circle," Stitch insisted.

"Circle?" Ven repeated.

"It's something I told him before I left his world," Aqua explained. "I said I hoped that my circle of friends could become his circle of friends someday."

"Well, to begin," Jumba said, gesturing toward his partner, "this is Pleakley. Is complete and utter killjoy. No fun whatsoever. All the same, is most kind and beautiful person you will ever meet."

"And Jumba might be a lazy slacker with NO regard for the rules about ANYTHING," Pleakley retorted, "but I'd be lying if I said he wasn't a true friend to everyone he got along with."

"It's nice to meet you," Aqua told Pleakley. "I'm Aqua. This is Ven."

"Hey," Ven greeted. "So you're from Jumba's world too?"

"I was the agent assigned to supervise him in Stitch's recapture!" Pleakley announced. "That, uh…that didn't exactly go as planned after I got fired and we ended up settling down on Earth as our new home planet instead before getting roped into a mission to round up the other 625 experiments he made for three years. But hey, I guess that's life for ya!"

Ven shrugged. "I didn't expect to be a living half of the weapon that could bring back Kingdom Hearts. It happens."

Aqua peered around Jumba and Pleakley to see Kairi and Ienzo. "I think I remember you," she realized, looking to Kairi.

"Really?" Kairi stepped forward to join the group, Ienzo following.

"Yes!" Aqua realized. "You're Kairi, aren't you?"

Kairi gasped. "How did you know? Did we meet?"

"Yes!" Aqua told her. "When you were just a little girl! I met you on my first expedition to Radiant Garden. It was a long time ago. I don't blame you for not remembering." She reached out to point to Kairi's necklace. "I see you're still wearing your charm."

"My charm?" Kairi repeated. "I've had this necklace my whole life. I always wore it on the islands because it was the only thing I had from my first home that I didn't outgrow. After I learned about Radiant Garden, it felt right to keep it on. Did you have something to do with it?"

"You were wearing it when I found you," Aqua told her. "You'd gotten into trouble with some Unversed, so I fought them away. But you said you could take care of yourself. All the same, I thought it couldn't hurt to give you a little extra help. I enchanted your necklace with a charm I knew so that whenever you needed help most, your heart would put out a call, and someone would find you."

"Oh!" Kairi realized. "So it must've led Sora to me! And Riku! And…" Now she was on the verge of laughing again. "Could it maybe work like this? If I was feeling down about myself, it would lead the most obnoxious boy in town to me to give me a distraction?"

"Um…" Aqua regarded her with confusion. "I…guess that's one way it could work?"

"Thank you," Kairi told Aqua sincerely. "I think your spell has come in handy for me more than once."

"That must've been the day that you and I decided to explore the kingdom, Kairi," Ienzo stated. To Aqua: "She and I hatched a plan together. Our father was very protective, and he wouldn't let us leave the castle for our own safety. Even certainly didn't help the cause. Kairi and I snuck out, but we became separated by the monsters we now know to be Unversed. We were both brought back to members of our family by kind strangers." Ienzo then smiled at Ven. "One of those kind strangers was you."

"Huh?" Ven was confused. "But I don't – " He suddenly gasped. "You're IENZO?"

"To tell you the truth," Ienzo chuckled, "I didn't think I'd be taller than you the next time we met."

"You're all grown up now!" Ven cried. "It's WEIRD! You were so small! Anyway, I'm glad you and Kairi both got home safe. Is Even around? I should probably catch up with him too."

Ienzo and Kairi exchanged a knowing, anxious look.

"Don't tell me he…" Ven began, expecting to hear of Even's demise.

"He's very alive and well," Ienzo stated.

"He's just…kind of decided he wants to destroy us instead of working with us anymore," Kairi stated. "And the more I think about it, the more I wonder if maybe that's what he wanted all along."

"Oh," Ven replied. "That's terrible. I'm so sorry." Then, thinking on it: "Actually, to tell you the truth, I did think it was a little creepy how he said his path was going to cross with mine again. Almost like he was gonna make it happen somehow. But then I figured I was just reading too much into it."

"You won't want to cross his path again," Ienzo told Ven. "However, Lea should be somewhere around the castle, if you want to say hello to him."

"Already did!" Ven said with a smile. "Roxas, too. Things got a little confusing for a bit. Even Lea said it was a lot to get memorized."

All had a laugh at that.

Ven then felt a tug at his pant leg; glancing down, he saw Stitch with eager, questioning eyes. "Terra?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," Ven told him. "We're still looking for Terra."

"But we're going to get him back," Aqua insisted. "No matter what."

It was that statement that started it, truly, though Ven didn't let it show. It had felt like a metal knife being scraped on a plate just wrong to make a terrible squealing sound. He thought he could let it go.

Stitch pouted for a moment at the news of Terra. Jumba also felt a twinge of wistfulness within him, thinking back to the brunette man he'd met for such a brief time on the Council ship. It had been a time in his life when he'd rejected the notion of friendship, once bitten and twice shy from Hämsterviel, who he was determined to maintain had meant nothing; his divorce hadn't helped matters. He'd decided he wasn't the sort to make friends. His family on Earth had changed that, little by little, and if you wanted to get technical, Pleakley had started it. However, when he had met Terra, Terra was the only person who had listened to him about his Experiment 626, who had taken an interest without criticism. He'd even loosed Sparky (then 221) on Terra at the time, thinking it was just what villains did to the hapless, but it was nothing more than a display of trying to impress the man, and Terra had responded casually enough. If Jumba had really had his head on his shoulders securely, he might've realized that he was making friends with Terra then and there while believing he had no capacity for friendship, and furthermore, that he wanted a friend in Terra, someone just to talk to.

"You knew him?" Pleakley asked softly.

"Yes," Jumba replied simply. "I did." And no more.

Stitch, no longer wanting to dwell on such sad things, immediately changed the subject: "Lilo!"

"Who's Lilo?" Aqua asked.

"Stitch best friend," Stitch explained.

"Ah, yes," Jumba explained. "Lilo and Stitch are practically inseparable. She is here as well, along with big sister Nani."

"If you really wanna join friend circles," Pleakley suggested, "you should meet 'em! I get the feeling you'll get along great!"

"Is time like this when I think Lilo and Nani very lucky to be having each other," Jumba commented.

"Oh, yeah," Ven realized. "That girl and her sister…"

"We were actually just talking about that," Kairi admitted. "I was thinking about how lucky I am to have Ienzo."

"And I think I'm only just realizing how lucky I am to have Kairi," Ienzo added.

"You two are kind of like siblings, right?" Kairi asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Ven replied, a little nervously. "You could say that. We did all grow up together with the same master."

"He was like our father," Aqua went on. "And to tell you the truth, when I was stranded in the Darkness, I realized I did think of Ven and Terra like my family. I just want to protect them and do what's best for them, always."

"Always?" Ven repeated.

"Yes," Aqua affirmed. "No matter what."

"Even if what's best for me is letting me choose my own path instead of keeping me at home?"

It had basically slipped out unbidden. Ven had thought he'd quashed those feelings. Yet when Aqua had mentioned trying to find Terra, it had opened up an old wound.

"What does that mean?" Aqua asked.

"You know what it means," Ven told her, voice firm. "It means you told me that the only thing I should do was turn around and go home. Because you said so."

"Ven," Aqua replied, taken aback, "that was ten years ago."

"Was it really?" Ven asked. "I was asleep for all that time, and time passed differently for you in the Darkness. It was like yesterday for me. You told me to do as YOU SAID and go home."

"Ven," Aqua replied, her own voice firm, "you didn't listen to me."

"Because it wasn't the right thing to do, Aqua. I went on to help people. I learned the truth about myself. If I'd gone home, that wouldn't have happened. You didn't know anything about me. But at least I'm the lucky one, right? I had the heart of pure light. If I'd had too much Darkness in there, then you wouldn't have cared at all."

"Ven!" Aqua gasped. "Where is this coming from?"

"You KNOW where it's coming from!" Ven snapped at her. "I'm talking about how you treated Terra!"

"I never treated Terra as anything but a friend!"

"That's not true!" Ven cried. "You got mad at him because he was going after Vanitas, and that wasn't what YOU wanted him to do! Remember how you told me not to fall for what Maleficent said about him? That he hadn't really done all those bad things? You went right up to him and accused him of actually doing all of it! What was THAT about?"

"I was pointing out what I saw!" Aqua argued. "I was just telling the truth! That doesn't make me awful! You were the one who called me awful that day!"

"YES, YOU WERE, AQUA!" Ven all but screamed. "YOU WERE BEING AWFUL!"

Jumba, Pleakley, Stitch, Kairi, and Ienzo all watched this unfold, stunned silent, wondering if they should intervene but unsure how.

"And you know what's worse?" Ven went on. "The way you told Terra at the Keyblade Graveyard that you could never trust him again, and he was out of control for the rest of his life because of the Darkness."

"Ven - !" Aqua gasped. "I never said that! That's NOT what I said!"

"You said he'd go astray again!" Ven reminded her. "How does THAT not mean what I said?"

"IT'S DIFFERENT." Aqua scowled. "And if you don't remember, Terra was the reason the Master was DEAD."

"NO, AQUA!" Ven cried. "I WAS! ERAQUS DIED BECAUSE OF ME!"

Aqua recoiled, as though she'd been shot point-blank in the heart. "Ven…what are you saying?"

"The truth!" Ven told her. "But you don't care about the truth, do you? You just care about pointing fingers at the Darkness! What if you'd known I was the reason Eraqus died? What if I'd been the one with the Darkness in me?"

"Ven…I…I don't know…"

"I think I know exactly what you want, when we find Terra!" Ven snapped. "You just want to put him and me where you can keep an eye on us and make sure we don't do what you don't want! That's all you've ever wanted!"

"WELL, MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S WHAT YOU NEED ME TO DO TO YOU!"

The moment she'd yelled it, Aqua knew it was the worst possible thing she could have said. She gasped at herself, covering her mouth.

Ven gaped at her, stunned. Then, softly, "You're still awful."

"Ven," Aqua attempted. "Please, Ven, I didn't mean it like that. Ven, I'm sorry – "

"Too late." Ven had already turned on a heel and begun to storm out. "Don't try to follow me. I want some time alone that I don't have to steal from you."

After a pause, Aqua yelled, "FINE! I don't want to deal with you either!"

She waited until he'd left the library, then took her own exit.

Jumba, Pleakley, Stitch, Kairi, and Ienzo stared after them for a long time. Then Jumba remarked, "Well. That was awkward."

...

When the door to the apartment opened, Archibald Snatcher was just tugging the ends of the bow atop the gift box into place. Perfect timing. He scooted it to the center of the bed, waiting for the entrant to notice its presence.

Roman sighed his way into the bedroom as Snatcher attempted to pretend he had no knowledge of any gift boxes that might be anywhere in the vicinity. His game was unnecessary, however, as Roman simply didn't notice it. He sat right down on the bed – still wearing Snatcher's jacket and the pants Mozenrath had conjured for him – and groaned, "Well, THAT was a day." The box lay behind him, ignored.

"Indeed, it was," Snatcher told him, almost giving away his excitement. "But now it's over, you're back here safe and sound, and we can move forward to more productive things. For example – "

The expression on Roman's face read nothing of even relief. He was troubled, and Snatcher cut himself off midsentence, realizing now was not the time. "Something's amiss, isn't it, Torchwick?"

"I knew you'd know," Roman sighed, slumping.

"Well, all right," Snatcher bade him casually. "Tell me all about it."

Roman avoided his gaze for a moment, glancing to the side of him. "First of all, Righty invited himself over this afternoon. We get a three-hour grace period, but he wants to talk to me alone. Not looking forward to that conversation."

"And whyever not?" Snatcher asked. "I went and proved he still cares for you, didn't I?"

"It's not that simple, and you know it," Roman replied. "First of all, I literally had enough cash to fund the whole sand thing in my pocket, and Mother Bitch swiped it right off me. Second, what he did in the heat of the moment isn't gonna matter when he gets his head screwed back on. All he's gonna see is the worthless, clumsy fuckup who ruined everything. The one who didn't get his Tesseract. Yes, I know what it's called. And now the one who could've won him the sand WAY earlier, but that's now a moot point."

"Well, then, remind him of what you've brought to the table!" Snatcher asserted.

"That's the fucking THING, Archie!" Roman cried, now looking up at him, and Snatcher was struck by his uncharacteristic vulnerability. "What DID I bring? What did I ever actually do for this team? I don't have magic! I can't slay dragons! I don't make potions! I can't talk my way into things the way you do! I don't even know what my Semblance is! All I can do is act like a foot soldier, and we have way more than enough of those! Hell, Neo's got more of what it takes than I do! Getting out here and seeing the big wide worlds was fun at first, but now it's just a reminder that I'm in even deeper over my head than I was with Salem!"

Snatcher made a noise of derision. "Torchwick, if you think you're worse than me – "

"Didn't you hear what I just said? You're our diplomat! You're our silver tongue, Archie! You're the smart guy! You're the guy who started cleaning up Righty's mess with me the minute it started! You're covert ops! You give this team SO much that no one else can, and I DON'T HAVE THAT! You are WAY more valuable to this operation than I am! Get it?"

It took Snatcher a moment to process this. "You're saying that you…YOU, Roman Torchwick…you consider yourself inferior to ME?"

"I keep telling you I'm the same as you," Roman muttered, lowering his gaze. "You never believe me."

At first, Snatcher wasn't certain what to say. But as usual, that didn't last long. "Torchwick, you simply MUST believe that you're nothing short of invaluable to this association. Your combat skill, your very nature of risk-taking, your absolute energy are a flavor all their own. No mere foot soldier leaves your imprint. Moreover, you belong among the founder circle because you're our close companion. Once, it was simply the eight of us against all the worlds. We forged a bond in FIRE, we did. And there are few fierier than you."

Roman gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Yet if you still doubt there's nothing unique you contribute," Snatcher went on, "consider this a moment."

He bent down to one knee, then both of them. Roman regarded him inquisitively, confused by this behavior. Snatcher then reached out with both hands to grasp one of Roman's.

"You better not be asking me to marry you," Roman said so sharply Snatcher wasn't sure whether it was banter.

"Nothing so droll," Snatcher told him. "When you and I first became acquainted, I was a man unsatisfied. And I never shall be satisfied until I've gotten all I can get. It's what unites us, is it not? Yet it was different, before. I had within me a wound I was convinced would never heal. Metaphorically speaking, of course. As of this very moment, that wound – still metaphorical, mind you – is finally solidifying into scar tissue. And that is because of YOU. God forbid I ever become fully dependent on you, or your 'other half,' however it's called. I am my own man, as you are yours. For better or for worse, however, you just might be the reason I CAN stand on my own without falling prey to certain old delusions…allergies. There. I've said it, and it can't be unsaid. I came to terms with it because of YOU. I learned my path was not to cheat my way to victory within the system but rather to operate outside of it because of YOU. I learned other human beings were tolerable and more because of YOU. And NONE OTHER can make such a claim. If absolutely nothing else, the effect you've had on me is immense. For what little that matters."

No doubt remained, now. Snatcher loved him. He loved Roman Torchwick. He didn't expect Roman to say it, to feel it, or to even hear it. He knew Roman would recoil from the very thought. It would just be Snatcher's little secret with himself. He'd already aired out all the old ones. It was time to keep a new one inside.

When it was clear he'd finished speaking, Roman regarded him with an absolutely awestruck expression. He fumbled for the correct response for several seconds before whispering, "God damn. You know I don't have anything that pretty to say back to you, right?"

"I'm trying to tell you, Torchwick, you've no need to whatsoever!" Almost a hard edge to his voice now; when would Roman give in and believe him?

The answer was right then, at that moment, when Roman leaned downward enough to catch Snatcher off guard with a kiss that started gentle and increased in intensity. Strange, to be lowering to him, Roman thought. Their height difference, however slight, made that a staple when they were standing, but one of their (many) favorite roleplays to do in private that would inevitably lead to lewd times was when Roman would decide to indulge Snatcher's power fantasies completely, playing the role of the subservient underling and obeying his every whim, doing his best not to break character and let on just how much he enjoyed being commanded in that situation. Needless to say, he spent a lot of time kneeling. This being the other way around was a bizarre reversal, the novelty of which was enough to make Roman think that maybe, just maybe, this was a moment he should be taking to heart.

When their lips parted, the first thing Roman said was "I should probably give you back your coat."

"Yes!" Snatcher practically sprang to his feet. "You do that!"

"O…kay?" Roman tilted his head in confusion. He knew Snatcher loved that coat, but he didn't think it was that much of a thing to get enthusiastic over. Standing, he complained, "I'm gonna have to figure out who I gotta bribe to get my old threads back. Especially the hat." He squirmed his arms out of the sleeves, reluctantly handed the red fabric back.

"But of course," Snatcher told him. "It is your staple, after all. Then again, variety is the spice of life, and if I may offer an alternative, temporary as it may be…"

"What are you up to?" Roman asked. "You're up to something. You did something. What did you do, Archie?"

Snatcher looked over Roman's shoulder at the box on the bed, smiling all too conspicuously, and Roman followed his gaze. The white box was sizeable, the sort one might find a pressed suit in. "You made me some kind of clothes, didn't you?"

"Well, go on," Snatcher urged. "Have a look-see."

Roman pulled the box closer, fumbling with the red ribbon for a moment before digging a knife out of the nightstand and slashing through the bow completely. Lifting the lid, he began, "Let's see why you're acting like a kid on – "

His words caught in his throat as he saw the colors awaiting him.

"Well?" Snatcher asked.

Roman slowly turned, revealing the expression of awe on his face. "You. Fucking. Didn't."

"I most certainly did," Snatcher affirmed. "Well? Go on. Put it on. Let's see how it looks."

Roman wasted no time discarding his temporary pants. Within moments, he was garbed in the new pieces Snatcher had made for him. The entire ensemble fit perfectly – tight enough to flatter his figure, loose enough to be comfortable. Roman figured Snatcher would have all his measurements down pat from mending his regular clothes, but he realized he wouldn't have put it past Snatcher to know his body by feel now, to have picked up the lengths and curves in a more tactile manner. A white shirt made up the base of the new ensemble; over it slipped a red jacket, this one not quite as long as Snatcher's nor cut with as dramatic of tails, but the same shade of red, and edged in gold to boot, with a high collar. The little differences were what let Roman know that this coat was meant to complement Snatcher's, but not simply be a copy of it, and it all felt more suited to Roman himself. A white ascot spilled out over the jacket neckline in lieu of his usual gray neckpiece. The pants were black and plain, but they culminated in bright red shoes that were almost duplicates of Snatcher's save for the much lower heel and rounded toe.

"You can't fool me, you know," Snatcher teased Roman. "Doubling back over yourself on that 'matching outfits' comment. Really. I know you wanted one."

"Okay, you got me," Roman confessed, beaming brightly. "Look, you can allow me ONE oversentimentality, right? In all honesty, I'm just impressed. I know this is the LAST thing you wanted, but that's too bad, because you gave me this now, and that means I'm going to keep it and I'm going to wear it."

It wasn't the last thing Snatcher wanted, not by a long shot. He hadn't realized how seeing Roman in clothing that complemented his own was transforming into a desire to peel those clothes right back off him, and not out of any dislike for the look. How had he not known how attractive this would be earlier? "There's one more piece, of course," he said. "You've probably guessed what it is."

He turned to the closet, fetching the item that wouldn't have fit in the box from the upper shelf. When he faced Roman again, he presented to him a red top hat. It was much shorter than Snatcher's own, and it was festooned with a burgundy-and-gold ribbon that tied in a peppermint-striped bow. Once again, a means to be the matched set, but in such a fashion that this was definitely Roman's hat. "And you can thank Miss Yzma for lending me the – "

The hat was out of his hands; Roman was already positioning it atop his head proudly.

" – raw materials," Snatcher finished. "So? Your thoughts? Your praise, rather?"

"This might just be the sexiest I've ever looked," Roman replied, eyes lit up with joy. "Wait until everyone else gets a load of us looking like THIS." A rather sheepish shift of posture. "I still, uh, want my other outfit back. There's nothing wrong with this one! There's EVERYTHING RIGHT with this one! I just want both because I'm a greedy fucker and you know this."

"As I expected," Snatcher said with a nod. "There've been whispers of a karaoke night tonight, by the by. It'll be Lady Caine's initiation ceremony. We'll present ourselves in matching attire."

"And steal the show right from her," Roman chuckled. "Good call."

"For now, we've…two and a half hours to Lord Mozenrath's arrival, am I not right? Seems a rather wide span of time…"

"He knows what we need it for," Roman said with a wink.

"Indeed so," Snatcher replied. "Smart man, he is."

They came together for another kiss, and Snatcher could feel through it the thank-you that Roman was far too proud to ever say.

...

Aqua found herself outside the door of an entirely different library, wondering whether or not she should enter.

She wanted someone to talk to about what had transpired between herself and Ven. Someone who hadn't witnessed their argument – she couldn't bring herself to turn back and beg Kairi, Ienzo, Jumba, Pleakley, and Stitch to hear her out, not after what they'd seen. Her instincts drew her to one person in particular.

On one hand, Rosalina was someone incredibly new to Aqua, someone she had only known a short while. On the other, so was practically everyone else in Radiant Garden. Perhaps it would've made more sense to go to Mickey, or even to see if she could take the train to meet Yen Sid, but instead, she couldn't erase from her mind those blue eyes looking into her own beneath the waters of the Realm of Darkness, and how the woman surrounded by light had made a point of getting Aqua to safety without knowing her at all.

Could Aqua really repay that with this sort of burden?

She stood outside the entrance to the Observatory library, where she'd been informed Rosalina had gathered with several Lumas. Her feet froze there, before the threshold where the curtain had been pulled, and she considered turning back. This was a bad idea. She had no business getting Rosalina involved in this.

A Luma peered around the curtain, this one a soft blue. "Hello!" she chirped. "Are you here for the story?"

"I, uh…" Aqua didn't know how to respond.

"Mama's story is just about to start!" the Luma insisted. "You should come listen!"

"All right," Aqua replied, feeling it would be rude to turn the invitation down. She pushed the curtain aside, stepping through to the small, cozy alcove of books.

In the wake of Blackheart's rampage, Rosalina had set up sessions to read her favorite stories to the Lumas that wanted to hear them, taking requests and acknowledging as many as possible. It was therapeutic both to see the tiny stars happy and to read tales with uplifting endings to contrast the reality. The library was a sanctuary where nothing tragic needed to enter.

The Luma, one named Aurigae, zipped into the room as Rosalina had opened the next book. "Look who I found!" Aurigae chirped.

Rosalina looked to Aqua with surprise.

"Hi," Aqua said sheepishly. "I was kind of just passing by, and your friend invited me in."

Rosalina smiled warmly. She had rather an attachment to Aqua after their little adventure together, and she knew Aqua must have been hurting from the tragedy. Therefore, Aqua was more than welcome to enter this space where no harm would come to anyone. "You can make yourself at home," Rosalina told her. "Would you like to hear a story as well?"

"I'd love that," Aqua said with a surprising relief. She took that as her cue to sit on the floor, making herself comfortable.

"Which one is it now?" Aurigae asked an adjacent Luma.

"The wayward comet!" the other Luma, called Velorum, answered.

"I love that one!" Aurigae chirped. "I haven't heard it in so long!"

"Let us begin," Rosalina said calmly before turning the opening page. All present, Lumas and Aqua alike, watched her raptly. "Once upon a time, a silver comet streaked through the sky, between the stars. The comet had run the same course time and time again for millennia, having memorized the sights of her route. One day, however, she wondered just what would happen if she decided to go a different way than was assigned to her."

It was a simple story, one about a sentient comet exploring the beauty of the cosmos, and Aqua loved every minute of it. Rosalina narrated with a calm passion, a reverence for the tale she was telling, and she spoke of the details in such a way that Aqua could picture the comet's journey perfectly, in vibrant color.

The story came to an end all too soon. "The wayward comet now appreciated everything she saw on her usual route," Rosalina said. "However, the new sights she had seen only served to make her happier in her memories of them, and she knew one day, she would travel again and see even more." The book closed.

"I wanna be just like that comet when I grow up," Velorum chirped.

"Perhaps you can," Rosalina assured him. "It is all up to you."

"Another?" Aurigae asked.

"I will gladly tell more stories later," Rosalina assured. "However, since Aqua has come all this way, I would like to speak to her in private for some time. Will that be all right?"

"Sure thing, Mama!" Velorum cried, and soon the library was evacuated of Lumas, leaving only Rosalina and Aqua in the library.

"I sense something is wrong," Rosalina told Aqua. "Have you come to speak of the tragedy?"

"No," Aqua told her. "I mean…I don't think so. I think maybe things got as bad as they did because we all had it on our minds, but…" She turned her head away. "I shouldn't trouble you. I'm sorry." She rose to her feet.

"Aqua." Rosalina's voice was firm. "I know we have not known each other for long, but you are a friend to me. If something troubles you…I want to help. It will not be a burden to me."

Aqua met her gaze again, reading the sincerity in it. "I was talking with Ven about the time before we were lost to sleep," she began, "and…Rosalina, I ruined everything!"

Before she knew how she had gotten there, she and Rosalina were in each other's arms, and Aqua was sobbing heavily into Rosalina's shoulder, the shorter levitating slightly to make up the height difference. Rosalina calmly let Aqua cry and listened sympathetically to her tale of how she had dredged up the old argument with Ven.

"He's right," Aqua moaned. "I am awful. I shouldn't have said what I said, but I didn't stop myself, and now…now he thinks I just want to control him, and what if he's right?"

Rosalina let go of Aqua slowly, and Aqua, taking the hint, loosened her own grip. Rosalina backed up to look Aqua in the eye. "Hmm," she remarked. "Wanting simply to control your friend does not seem like you. Why do you think it might be what you want to do?"

"Because it's what I thought I would do," Aqua admitted. "I wanted to bring Ven home. I wanted to stop Terra from falling too deep to the Darkness. I should've found a way to do that."

"Why do you think you should have done so?"

"Because I was too late," Aqua answered. "I wasn't around, and Ven…he was targeted as a weapon. He wanted to end himself. And Terra went down the dark path too far. Our master was struck down by him, even though Ven thinks it was his fault somehow."

"Terra seems to be a key to this dispute," Rosalina identified. "What exactly did you say to him at the Keyblade Graveyard?"

"Exactly what Ven said," Aqua stated mournfully. "That Terra would go astray again. That I couldn't trust him."

"Why did you think those things?"

"Because I thought I could trust him," Aqua replied. "When Master Yen Sid first told me the news, I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it! But…what if I was wrong? Facts were looking me in the face, and I was losing the Terra I thought I knew. I didn't know what to do! I thought maybe…if he would just come home with me, then…but by then, we didn't have a home anymore, and it all just came out wrong. I had nothing to offer him but my fear."

"Was there something you feared about Ven?" Rosalina asked.

"Of course there was!" Aqua insisted. "I was afraid he was too young! That's what the master always said! I thought he was going to get hurt! And he almost did, so many times! If Terra and I hadn't shown up in Radiant Garden…that's when I told him to go home. After he was almost destroyed by that THING. And the more I learned about Vanitas, the more scared I got, because I knew he was after Ven. I couldn't let Ven get hurt!"

"You gave Ven his orders because you were afraid for his safety," Rosalina identified. "You spoke harshly to Terra because you were afraid for his safety, and for your relationship with him. Was there a fear that drove you to redirect Terra's path?"

"Yes," Aqua said softly. "The fear that he was already slipping away from me. From our master. From our family. I kept telling myself that what I heard couldn't be true. That he couldn't have done what he did on all those worlds. To Aurora, to Snow White. But with all of those different stories piling up…what if he wasn't the Terra I knew anymore?"

"Do you believe, truly, that he was not?" Rosalina went on.

"Not now," Aqua said. "Not anymore. I've had time to think, and I wonder if maybe…Terra was just too used to doing what he was told. If the Evil Queen and Maleficent saw that in him and used that to get him to work for them. That's how Xehanort got to him. He was already in such a bad place because of failing the Mark of Mastery. Terra was trusting, and loyal. No…he IS trusting and loyal. He's not gone yet."

"And are you afraid that his trust and loyalty would allow him to be used again?" Rosalina asked.

"Of course I am," Aqua answered. "He didn't know how to see through the lies. He got hurt because of it, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."

"I see." Rosalina nodded. "So everything you did, you did because you were…"

"Afraid," Aqua filled in the blank. "Afraid of losing my friends. My brothers. But it didn't matter. I lost them anyway. Maybe because of what I did."

"Please do not focus on what you did in the past," Rosalina implored her. "Think of what you must do now. The only question that remains as to the past is this: when did you let them both know that fear was at the heart of your actions?"

It finally sank in. "I didn't," Aqua realized. "I never spelled it out like that. I didn't think I needed to. It wasn't something I ever said, that I was afraid of anything. They must have thought I was trying to control them for the sake of having control. They didn't know how afraid I was for both of them. I never let them know."

"You are not awful," Rosalina reiterated. "I think you simply miscommunicated to your brothers your feelings toward their journeys."

"You're right," Aqua told her. "How did you know?"

"I had a feeling," Rosalina replied. "The way you acted around Ven when he first awoke reminded me of something I had seen in myself once, from both sides of the story. When I first set out to build the Observatory, I was gone from home a long time, and I was still a child. I accepted caring for the Lumas as my responsibility, and I knew it was my destiny. The Lumas brought me back home one day to say my goodbyes. My father was furious. He tried to forbid me from leaving his home. It was my brother who stood up to him and told him I could take care of myself, that he didn't need to worry for me. We spent many days on my homeworld, trying to sort things out. I realized my father was afraid that I would be harmed out there, and that he wouldn't be able to protect me. We eventually reached an agreement, and he and my brother let me go. My father said it was exactly what my mother would have done. One day, I will have to tell you the whole story of how I came to this place and met my Luma family."

"I'd like that," Aqua said with a slight smile.

"All the same," Rosalina went on, "I did not truly understand my father's fears until much later, when I had grown up by several years. Three of my Lumas went adventuring on a volcanic planet, and they were nearly burned up in an eruption. I was beside myself. I forbade all of the Lumas from leaving this sanctuary until they were grown. They agreed at first, but then I saw how sad it made them, not being able to leave home. I realized there must be a balance. I needed to protect them, but stars need to be able to explore the galaxies. It is like the story of the wayward comet. Seeing new things enriches their lives. When I confined them to the Observatory, I watched them begin to fade, becoming more and more sorrowful. So I lifted my ban. I knew it meant a risk of losing some of my children. And that has happened in some very unfortunate cases. But it is worth it to know that they are living their own lives and making their own choices so that they may grow into what they are meant to be."

"Just like Ven," Aqua realized. "All the traveling he did taught him things about himself and about the worlds. How did I never see it?"

"Because of your fear," Rosalina told her. "Your fear was not misplaced."

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?" Aqua asked calmly.

"Because I knew you needed to make the connection yourself," Rosalina told her. "What do you think you must do?"

"Talk to Ven," Aqua replied. "Tell him the reason why I acted the way I did. And then…make an effort to change it. I just hope it's not too late." The tears began to flow once more. "Rosalina, it's already too late for Terra. I told him he couldn't be trusted anymore! I let him think he was a lost cause!"

"There is still time for Terra," Rosalina assured her. "He is not lost yet. I cannot say for sure what will happen, but I have a good feeling deep in my heart that you will reunite with him. After all, the power of hearts that want to reunite with each other is the most potent force in all of the worlds. Nothing can stop it, nothing at all. When you do, you will have many opportunities to speak with him about what has been done and what can be done."

"Thank you," Aqua said through her tears. "Thank you so much. Down in the Darkness…there were times even I thought I was awful. I thought my heart was so hollow, it might as well be a demon's. I had to face myself in the World Within. How did you know that was wrong?"

"I see a piece of myself in you," Rosalina told her. "Likewise, I see a piece of you in me. That is how I know the depth of your heart's goodness."

"You're better than I could ever be," Aqua said softly. "You watch over all of these Lumas, all of these worlds…"

"You take action," Rosalina said firmly. "That is something you should not ignore."

Aqua nodded. "I think I'll be okay, now."

"You may stay longer if you like," Rosalina offered. "I want to invite the Lumas back in for more stories, if that is something that interests you."

"That sounds wonderful!" Aqua said with a bright smile that almost negated the puffy redness around her eyes.

"I will make you some tea before we settle in," Rosalina decided. "Do you prefer a certain flavor?"

"Anything's good," Aqua answered.

Before Rosalina could suggest apricot tea, Aqua's GummiPhone rang out, a soft, sad tune she had picked out for her ringtone. "I'm sorry," Aqua said as she withdrew the phone to answer it; Rosalina nodded in understanding.

Aqua pressed the button to answer, seeing Mickey's face. "Hello? King Mickey?"

"Aqua!" Mickey replied. "Hang on just a second. I'm waiting for Ven to pick up."

Then the second voice came through the audio channel: "Hello? Mickey?"

"VEN?" Aqua said in surprise.

She swiped at the same time Ven swiped, and they looked to each other, both rather lost as to how they were supposed to appear to one another.

"Could you two meet me in the courtyard?" Mickey asked both of them. "I got somethin' important I wanna tell ya! Well, actually, it's somebody else who's gotta say it."

"Sure," Aqua said gingerly. "Be right there."

"Me too," Ven agreed.

They all hung up at the same time. Aqua looked up at Rosalina. "I'm sorry I have to back out on our plans, but – "

"Go," Rosalina told her with a smile. Yes, on the inside, she was disappointed that she didn't get to spend more time with Aqua, but this seemed like the perfect gateway for her to reconcile with Ven. "We can spend time together another day."

"We will," Aqua promised. "I'll see you later!"

With that, she charged out of the library.

Rosalina hoped that she took with her a little piece of the tranquility that had been cultivated there, perhaps bringing to Ven a hope that nothing more would trouble either of them.

...

A wall of Cyclonian weapons rested before Draco Malfoy. To either side of him stood Wuya and the suited-up Katnappé, the latter looking considerably more bored with the whole affair than the former.

"Choose your weapon," Wuya demanded.

"I've never thought about this," Draco admitted. "I've never been THAT sort of soldier!"

"Time's up, so I'm picking for you." Wuya swiped a staff off the wall. "You're still leaning on your magic as a crutch, but there will eventually be a time and a place for it. So let's start you off with something where you can use magic AND might."

"Magic IS might," Draco muttered.

"So it is," Wuya replied. "Still, it never hurts to have a backup plan in case a reptilian cat master strips you of your powers in order to keep you under lock and key."

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?"

Wuya shrugged. "Voldemort was a snake. There's a parallel in here somewhere. Just take the staff."

Draco did so, begrudgingly.

"Atmosians would use this to channel the magic of the crystals they attached to it and amplify their effects," Wuya explained.

"Seems a bit flashy compared to a wand." Draco paused, and before Wuya could say anything about how that was the point, he stated, "I rather like that."

She smiled. He was coming into his own, all right.

Katnappé forced a dramatic yawn. "Are we going to fight or not? This is all purrrrrfectly boring."

"We have to choose what crystals are going to be the signature attack first," Wuya said as she offered up a treasure chest filled with Atmosian crystals laid out organized by color on black velvet.

"Wake me from my catnap when you're done with the boring stuff," Katnappé groaned.

The door to the training room opened, and in sauntered Lady Caine, followed by the Huntsman. "So this is where you practice," she observed.

All eyes were drawn to her. "You must be the new girl," Wuya said almost flirtatiously.

"Yeah," Lady Caine replied. "What about it?"

"Just wanted to say welcome to the fold," Wuya replied.

"This is Wuya," the Huntsman introduced. "Master of the Heylin magical arts. Her protégé, Katnappé…and Draco Malfoy, who isn't allowed near a hippogriff ever again."

"Will you LET IT GO?" Draco groaned.

"Our newest warrior goes by Lady Caine," the Huntsman introduced.

"Is there a first name that goes with that?" Katnappé purred – pretty much literally.

"No," Lady Caine said sharply. "The Huntsman here told me this is where I could get a sword." She drew the sabre from the Corona armory. "Not that I can't work with this, but he tipped me off that you had better." This with a smirk.

"Oh, indeed we do," Wuya replied, gesturing to the wall of weapons. "Take your pick."

Draco pulled his staff closer to him. "Not this one. This is mine."

"I said I wanted a sword," Lady Caine reiterated. "I don't do magic."

Draco automatically sneered at her for that. Wuya shot him a glare.

Lady Caine approached the wall with a smile as she searched it with her eyes. "Okay, I like this." She reached up to dismount an enormous blade, one almost comparable in size to that the Dark Ace wielded.

The others had doubts, momentarily, that she would be able to even lift it, but she'd soon backed away from the wall, spinning the hilt in her hand to twirl the massive blade about herself deftly. "This feels right," she remarked.

"You seem confident," Wuya observed. "Shall we test to see if that's warranted?"

"Bring it on, Red," Lady Caine demanded with a grin.

"Oh, you're not ready for me yet," Wuya told her. "But Katnappé should be able to give you a workout."

"Finally," Katnappé sighed, "some action."

She walked out onto the practice field, staring Lady Caine down. "Blondes have more fun, you know," she teased.

"I know." Lady Caine smirked. "Redheads actually get business done."

"Ohhhh, I like her," Wuya said with a pleased grin.

"Me-ouch," Katnappé moaned. "I'm gonna have to give you a nasty scratch for that."

"If I don't declaw you," Lady Caine taunted.

They agreed wordlessly to charge each other. It turned out to be an even match off the bat; Lady Caine was dexterous with her blade, swinging it with the grace of a natural, and Katnappé was adept at dodging it and parrying with her claw-tipped gloves. As Lady Caine's movements became more erratic, Katnappé activated the Lotus Twister to be able to bend out of the sword's path in impossible directions.

"She already blends in well," the Huntsman commented as he took his place beside Wuya and Draco. "I have high hopes for her."

"She's right about redheads, you know," Wuya said as she nudged Draco with her elbow.

"Don't start," Draco warned her. "More work goes into this hair than you know."

Katnappé and Lady Caine, realizing they were at a stalemate, called it off. "You're not bad," Katnappé complimented.

"You're pretty good yourself," Lady Caine replied. "It's been a while since I've had a gal pal." She thought it over. "Actually, have I ever had a gal pal in the crime circuit?"

"Friends?" Katnappé asked.

"I'd say you earned it by keeping up," Lady Caine told her.

"You do realize you weren't utilizing the full potential of your sword," the Huntsman pointed out.

"Say what now?" Lady Caine asked him.

"Atmosian weaponry is powered by crystals," the Huntsman informed her. "Different crystals produce different effects in battle. From the looks of it, your sword can conjoin two for a combined effect."

"Ah, yes!" Wuya held up the treasure chest once more. "Take your pick."

"Hmm." Lady Caine hovered over the box. "What does this one do?" She lay her hand on a purple crystal.

"An Enhancer," the Huntsman stated. "It increases your strength tenfold. A good choice for a basic augmentation, if not that strategic."

"I think I want something more unique," Lady Caine suggested. "How about this one?"
"Gravitron," the Huntsman told her. "Not to be used unless you have a need to attach two things to each other permanently."

"I think I'll pass." Lady Caine settled her finger on a third, a glowing yellow stone. "This?"

"Solaris," the Huntsman explained. "It gives off heat, and is resistant to drain, but requires a solar charge. Not a favorite concept of mine."

"What drains these anyway?" Lady Caine asked.

"The Leech crystal," the Huntsman explained. "There isn't one in that box because it would absorb the power of all of the others, then, after time has passed, explode violently. A risky choice for a weapon. I am counting down the days until Mim designs herself one that runs on it."

"Remind me to remind her to do that," Wuya commented.

"Must you?" the Huntsman sighed.

"I want to see something explode at an inappropriate time," Wuya told him, "but not anywhere near my gorgeous face."

"Point taken."

"All right," Lady Caine suggested, tapping a crystal with beige-and-tan swirls. "How about this one? Not the prettiest, but maybe it's one of those deals where it looks bad on purpose."

"That is a Nimbus crystal," the Huntsman explained. "It can create a cloud cover, or it can have its power redirected to strengthen a weapon's blow depending on how it is inserted."

"Cloud cover," Lady Caine reiterated. "Okay, let's start with that." She plucked the crystal from its place. A sudden sparkle caught her eye, and she pointed out a prismatic stone that glimmered with a colorful spectrum. "Now, THIS is the prettiest gem in the box."

"That is only a Rainbow Smoker," the Huntsman told her. "It creates a small, useless puff of multicolored smoke. It's only good for party tricks."

"No, I think it'll work." Lady Caine picked out the Rainbow Smoker. "Now show me how to put in the Nimbus so it makes cloud cover."

The Huntsman demonstrated the procedure of Nimbus crystal installation to Lady Caine, and she inserted the Rainbow Smoker in the slot below where the Nimbus made up the pommel. "Got anything not-alive I can practice on?" she asked. "This could get messy."

"Allow me." Wuya threw a lever, setting a practice routine into motion. Dummies waved back and forth like ducks in a shooting gallery.

"Okay." Lady Caine raised her new customized sword. "Let's go."

She gave it a few swings, and the air before her was filled with a thick fog of every color in the rainbow, obscuring the segment of the room where the targets danced. Lady Caine charged directly into the fog, disappearing from view.

"This should be good," Wuya remarked.

The sound of metal hacking against wood and canvas echoed. The smoke began to dissipate, and as it slowly cleared, through the rainbow mist, Wuya, the Huntsman, Katnappé, and Draco could see Lady Caine's silhouette flicking the sword downward, her work completed.

The practice dummies had all been decapitated.

Wuya clapped. "They never saw it coming," she complimented. "Mostly because they're dummies made out of canvas, but the practical application should mimic the test."

Lady Caine stalked her way out of the mist and back into view. "I think I'll stick with this setup," she told the Huntsman.

"You made a Rainbow Smoker into a useful tool." The Huntsman's tone betrayed his awe.

"What she did was make the gayest sword in existence," Wuya commented.

"Why is my sword gay?" Lady Caine asked.

"The rainbow," Wuya said flatly.

When Lady Caine regarded her with confusion, Wuya went on: "A rainbow flag has been adopted to mean gay pride on several worlds. Apparently not yours."

"Why a rainbow?" Lady Caine asked.

"The colors all represent things like healing and unity and a whole lot of heroic sentimentality if you think about it too hard," Wuya answered. "I just focus on the aesthetic."

"All right." Lady Caine shrugged. "It's the Gay Sword now."

Wuya put out her right hand. "Welcome to the fold."

Lady Caine shook it firmly. "Good to be here."

And with that contact, Wuya got the answer she needed to know. "I'm glad to hear that…Ermentrud."

Lady Caine blanched, looking as though she'd just had a bucket of ice water dumped over her head. Then: "YOU DO NOT CALL ME THAT. EVER."

"I can see why you got rid of it," Wuya snickered.

Lady Caine flicked her hand out of Wuya's grasp. "I'm guessing touching people is how you learn their dirty laundry." She raised her blade, pointing it at the Huntsman, Draco, and Katnappé. "Also, if my first name leaves this room, the Gay Sword rips you in half. Not an empty threat."

"All right, all right!" Draco replied. "Calm down! I won't tell anyone your bloody stupid name!"

"Our little secret," Katnappé chuckled.

"I see no reason to give it away, considering," the Huntsman stated.

"If that's settled…" Lady Caine strapped the large blade to her waist, where its tip nearly scraped the floor by her feet. "I'd like to get to know this place better."

...

Ven charged into one of the side lounges and threw himself onto the couch, burying his face into a pillow and screaming.

He thought he was over this. He thought he'd forgiven and forgotten. Why did he have to bring that up again? He knew Aqua was a good person.

Didn't he?

The past still hurt. He needed closure on it. He couldn't just move on without an apology. How was he supposed to know he could trust her? And just now, what she'd said…he could barely believe it. Was it the heat of the moment, or a revelation of her true intentions?

He loved Aqua, he'd missed Aqua, he'd wanted so badly to see her again and be friends as they had been. He still wanted that. But how could he achieve that with this in the way?

Had he been the one in the wrong? That seemed hard to believe with all of the anger boiling inside of him. How could he be this angry over his own error? Yet he'd known, on some level, he shouldn't have picked at the scab.

He punched the back of the couch, which yielded without breaking. He'd needed that.

Then he pried himself up to think about his next move only to realize that the entire time, Papyrus had been sitting at a nearby table, working on a jigsaw puzzle and acting like there wasn't a blond youth having an angry meltdown three feet away from him.

"Sorry," Ven said without thinking.

"HM?" Papyrus turned to acknowledge him. "SORRY FOR WHAT? YOU WEREN'T BOTHERING ME. I FIGURED YOU WERE JUST DOING SOMETHING YOU NEEDED TO DO…WHATEVER IT IS YOU WERE DOING."

Ven sighed. "I'm just…working some things out."

"WORKING THINGS OUT? LIKE A PUZZLE?"

Ven thought, at first, that Papyrus had misunderstood, had taken that literally. Then he realized there was a chance that was just a really clever way to refer to how perplexing his dilemma was. Being that Papyrus' face was a skull, he could make himself very hard to read if he wanted to. "Sorta like that," Ven replied. "The puzzle you're working on seems like more fun, though."

"WELL, THERE IS ROOM FOR ANOTHER PERSON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE IF YOU WISH TO JOIN ME. NO PRESSURE, OF COURSE. I JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE FUN…" The eyes sunken in his skull shifted.

Ven knew. Papyrus wanted company, and Ven needed a diversion right now. It was perfect. "I'll give it a shot!" He took his place at the other end of the small table, pulling up a wooden chair. "I never was too good at these things, though."

"ACTUALLY, JIGSAW PUZZLES ARE EASY IF YOU KNOW THE SECRET," Papyrus told him. "DO YOU KNOW THE SECRET?"

"Tell me!"

"YOU HAVE TO START BY GATHERING THE EDGE PIECES," Papyrus explained, "THEN MATCH THEM BY COLOR. ONCE YOU'VE DONE THAT, YOU CAN BUILD THE FRAME RELATIVELY EASILY. IT JUST TAKES TIME. THEN YOU MATCH THE REST BY COLOR AND ARRANGE THEM BY WHERE IT LOOKS LIKE THEY TRANSITION INTO THE FRAME."

"That's really smart," Ven realized. "I always just kinda try to stick two pieces together and hope for the best." He began to slide several edge pieces toward himself.

"IT IS ALWAYS NICER TO DO JIGSAW PUZZLES WITH FRIENDS," Papyrus mused. "I HAD INVITED MY ROOMMATES, BUT…WELL, IT'S ALL RIGHT TO JUST BE YOU AND ME. I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THEM, THOUGH."

Ven understood Papyrus wanted to talk about whatever had occurred with his roommates. "What happened?"

"I WORRY FOR THEM IS ALL," Papyrus said as he pieced several fragments into the beginnings of an image. "KAZUICHI AND STORK BOTH SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY EVERY NOW AND AGAIN. AFTER WHAT HAPPENED…NEITHER IS IN A VERY GOOD PLACE. I HAVEN'T BEEN HAPPY EITHER, BUT I WANT TO TRY TO BE, ALL THE SAME. WE DO NEED TO MOVE ON, AFTER ALL. DON'T YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT THE ONES WE LOST WOULD WANT? I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HELP TO INVITE THEM TO DO THE PUZZLE WITH ME, BUT NEITHER WAS IN THE MOOD. THANKFULLY, RUBY AND RAPUNZEL WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE THEM TO HANG OUT WITH THE TWO OF THEM, SO I KNOW AT LEAST THEY ARE SAFE. I SHOULD HAVE NO CAUSE TO WORRY, NOW."

"But you still do," Ven realized.

"OF COURSE I STILL DO," Papyrus sighed. "I WAS GOING TO CLAIM I DIDN'T, BUT I WANT TO SEE THEM SMILE AGAIN. WELL, ALL RIGHT, TO BE FAIR, I WANT TO SEE KAZUICHI'S VERY POINTY SMILE AND STORK'S LOOK OF CASUAL INDIFFERENCE. I DON'T WANT TO THINK THAT…WELL. WE SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT SUCH DEPRESSING THINGS."

"I'm sorry," Ven said automatically.

"NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE, MY FRIEND," Papyrus told him. "AFTER ALL, YOU DID NOTHING WRONG!"

"But…I kinda did," Ven realized. "The only reason you weren't there to help was because you were waking me up."

"BUT, VEN…IF I HADN'T HELPED WAKE YOU UP…THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE YOU. AND I WOULDN'T WANT THAT AT ALL!"

"My life isn't worth six," Ven sighed.

"YOU DON'T MEASURE LIVES LIKE THAT," Papyrus told him. "EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT. THAT IS WHAT I BELIEVE, ANYWAY. THINKING ABOUT HOW I WAS ABLE TO HELP SAVE YOU AND AQUA IS SOMETHING THAT MAKES ME A LITTLE HAPPIER IN THESE TIMES."

"Well, then I'm glad," Ven decided.

He was stunned by how soon Papyrus had taken a shine to him, though Sora had assured him that was normal for Papyrus. Ven liked that. After all, he'd always put his best foot forward on the worlds he'd visited, hoping to make some new friends himself after growing up in such a cloistered space with only his family. From what he understood, Papyrus had gone through something a little similar, dreaming of becoming a royal guard while having to live underground in a small town. Never really making that many friends until someone had come along to forge new connections throughout the monster community. Ven really felt he could understand that, minus the stigma that came with being a monster, and so he already felt quite comfortable around Papyrus, knowing each was looking for the same thing in the other, and each was ready to offer it.

That was why Ven decided to share perhaps a little too much: "Though things aren't going all that great with Aqua right now, actually."

"OH?" Papyrus replied. "WHAT IS WRONG?"

"That 'puzzle' I'm trying to work out," Ven said, snapping together a fair amount of pieces in the literal puzzle. "I had a big fight with her, and…I'm trying to figure out what to do. Is it okay if I…vent about it a bit? Or is that not something you wanna hear?"

"OF COURSE I WANT TO HEAR IT!" Papyrus said with sparkling eyes deep in his sockets. "I, PAPYRUS, AM HERE TO ATTEND TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDLY NEEDS AND CONCERNS! THAT INCLUDES LISTENING TO YOUR GRIEVANCES AND OFFERING APPROPRIATE ADVICE!"

Ven found himself smiling. "Okay. Here goes."

His smile faded as he related what had passed between him and Aqua. Papyrus had stopped working with the jigsaw puzzle entirely, regarding Ven raptly throughout. When the story had ended, he hemmed and hawed before deciding, "WELL, I DO NOT THINK YOU WERE COMPLETELY WRONG IN SPEAKING UP. I THINK MAYBE YOU WERE A LITTLE WRONG. BUT ALSO, AQUA DID ACT A LITTLE AWFUL. I AM SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT SHE TREATED TERRA THAT WAY."

"It really hurts me to think about," Ven related. "At the time, though, I didn't bring it up because…well, other things were hurting me more."

"I AM SORRY YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH SO MUCH HURT. DO YOU STILL HURT AS MUCH AS YOU USED TO?"

"No," Ven replied. "This fight with Aqua hurts, but at least I know we're both safe and sound. Xehanort's out there, and Terra's still missing, but we're not on the run, and we're not being stalked, and I know there was just a guy who broke in here and did…all that, but still, it feels so different from when we were jumping from world to world, chasing after Vanitas and trying to figure out what was so wrong about everything. Back then, it was starting to feel like the Keyblade and knowledge of other worlds was a burden. When I met Sora, for real, it seemed more like a celebration. I wonder what it would be like here if we hadn't just lost so much. I have to think that here…it is more of a good thing to be what I am."

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Papyrus insisted. "HOW COULD A KEYBLADE BE BAD? IT LETS YOU TRAVEL TO NEW PLACES, MEET NEW PEOPLE, AND SOLVE ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS!"

"The Keyblade is why we all got into the big fight," Ven sighed. "And why Xehanort wouldn't leave us alone."

"I'M NOT SO SURE," Papyrus pointed out. "FIRST OF ALL, I HAD A GOD OF HYPER-DEATH MANIPULATE ME INTO ROUNDING UP ALL OF MY FRIENDS IN AN ATTEMPT TO DOOM ALL MONSTERKIND, AND I NEVER HAD ANY KEYBLADE. I DON'T THINK BEING CHASED BY A VILLAIN IS NECESSARILY RELATED."

Ven laughed, then immediately felt bad about it. "Sorry. I just – "

"NO WORRIES," Papyrus told him. "MY JAPES ARE AMUSING, AFTER ALL." Even though what he'd said was no jape. "AS FOR YOUR FRIENDS, WELL, FIGHTING IS SOMETHING FRIENDS DO. IT IS PART OF FRIENDSHIP. ONE DAY, YOU AND I ARE GOING TO HAVE OUR FIRST FIGHT, AND IT WILL BE WONDERFUL BECAUSE IT WILL MEAN WE CARE ENOUGH ABOUT EACH OTHER THAT IT MATTERS WHAT WE THINK OF EACH OTHER! OF COURSE, WE WILL THEN USE GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO PUT OUR RELATIONSHIP BACK ON TRACK."

"I never thought about it like that," Ven admitted. "It really only does hurt so much because Aqua is one of the best friends I've ever had. She and Terra. Oh, and by the way, I'm not really looking forward to you and me ever fighting, but if it does happen, I hope it lives up."

"DO NOT WORRY," Papyrus told him. "IT WILL. NOW, HERE IS SOMETHING THAT OCCURS TO ME, AND I WONDER WHAT YOU THINK."

"Okay."

"TERRA HAD GONE TO A BAD PLACE. DO YOU BELIEVE AQUA WAS HARD ON HIM BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT WITH TIME, HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN BETTER?"

"Yeah," Ven replied. "I KNOW Terra. He's a good person. Even if he got mixed up in some bad things, that doesn't mean we should just stop trusting him. He needed our help. He needs it right now. I think he can…" A sigh. "I HOPE he can come back to being who he used to be. Vanitas did tell me that Terra would never be the same again, and it looks like maybe he was right."

"OF COURSE TERRA WILL NEVER BE THE SAME," Papyrus stated. "HE WILL HAVE CHANGED SIMPLY BECAUSE HE HAS EXPERIENCED MORE. JUST LIKE YOU HAVE CHANGED BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHEN YOU SET OUT ON YOUR ADVENTURE. CHANGE IS NOT ALWAYS BAD. I DO NOT LIKE IT MYSELF, SOMETIMES, BUT TERRA COULD END UP BEING DIFFERENT FOR THE BETTER WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HE LEARNED WHAT HE DID WRONG."

"That's a great point!" Ven said enthusiastically.

"SO DO YOU THINK THE SAME ABOUT AQUA?" Papyrus asked.

"What does that mean?" Ven asked, now confused. "Aqua never fell to the Darkness."

"NO…BUT SHE DID DO SEVERAL THINGS THAT MAKE YOU ANGRY. THAT IS SORT OF LIKE THE DARKNESS, I THINK. SHE MADE SOME MISTAKES AND DID THINGS THAT WERE WRONG. DO YOU THINK SHE IS A LOST CAUSE FOREVER? OR DO YOU THINK SHE COULD BE LIKE TERRA, TOO, AND CHANGE FOR THE BETTER?"

"I hadn't thought of that either," Ven realized. "Yeah. Of course she can change!"

"IT WILL TAKE TIME, OF COURSE," Papyrus told him, "AND SHE HAS TO BE THE ONE TO DO IT. NOT YOU. BUT IF YOU BELIEVE IN TERRA, THEN I THINK YOU CAN BELIEVE IN HER, TOO. ME, I LIKE TO BELIEVE ANYONE CAN CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. EVERYONE HAS THE POTENTIAL WITHIN THEM TO BE TRULY GREAT."

"That's wonderful," Ven told him. "What made you realize that?"

Papyrus was silent a while before saying, "I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN REALLY SAY. IT JUST FEELS LIKE THE RIGHT THING." Another pause. "MAY I SAY SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT AQUA?"

"Go ahead," Ven invited.

"WELL, THIS DOES NOT EXACTLY JUSTIFY HOW SHE TREATED YOU AND TERRA," Papyrus disclaimed. "HOWEVER, SHE CARED VERY MUCH ABOUT GOING TO FIND YOU AND WAKING YOU UP. SHE SAID SHE HAD WANTED TO DO IT FOR ALL THAT TIME SHE WAS LOST IN THE DARKNESS. YOU SAID YOU THINK OF HER AS A SISTER, YES?"

"Yeah," Ven confirmed.

"I HAVE AN OLDER BROTHER," Papyrus told him. "HIS NAME IS SANS. HE IS PERHAPS THE FIRST TRUE FRIEND I EVER REALLY HAD. HE TELLS VERY TERRIBLE JOKES, AND HE IS THE LAZIEST PERSON YOU WILL EVER MEET IN YOUR LIFE, BUT HE HAS A VERY GOOD HEART. HE AND I GET ALONG QUITE WELL. EVEN NOW, I WONDER HOW HE IS DOING, BACK IN THE WORLD I LEFT. HOWEVER…SANS IS…STRANGE. YOU SEE, AT SOME POINT, HE DECIDED THAT NOTHING SEEMED TO MATTER, AND I COULD NEVER GET HIM TO TELL ME WHY. HE NEVER TAKES ANY ACTION TO FIX A SITUATION. HE SEEMS TO HAVE THIS STRANGE ATTITUDE THAT THINGS WILL JUST WORK OUT, OR IF THEY DON'T, THAT THEY WEREN'T MEANT TO, AND IT WOULD HAVE ENDED UP THAT WAY NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES. AFTER WE LEFT THE MOUNTAIN, HE SAID IT WAS INTERESTING, AND THAT MAYBE THINGS WERE MORE UNPREDICTABLE THAN HE GAVE THEM CREDIT FOR. I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES SENSE. YET STILL HE IS STUCK IN HIS WAYS. HE WILL NOT LIFT A FINGER TO CHANGE ANYTHING, EVEN SOMETHING HE CARES ABOUT. I DO NOT DOUBT THAT HE IS GOOD, NOR THAT HE LOVES ME. I LOVE HIM VERY MUCH.

"YET…I KNOW THE TRUTH DEEP DOWN. IT IS HARD TO ACCEPT. BUT IF I WERE IN YOUR POSITION, IF I HAD BEEN SENT TO SLEEP FOR TEN YEARS, SANS WOULD NOT HAVE COME TO FIND ME. HE WOULD HAVE TRUSTED EVERYTHING TO WORK OUT AND BELIEVED SOMEONE ELSE WOULD DO IT, EVENTUALLY. IT IS JUST HOW HE IS. I CANNOT REALLY ARGUE ABOUT IT. STILL…IT SEEMS TO ME THAT FOR ALL OF AQUA'S FAULTS, I TRULY WISH THAT SANS WOULD DO FOR ME WHAT AQUA DID FOR YOU. AND FOR THAT, I HAVE TO ADMIRE HER. EVEN IF A LITTLE LESS SO, KNOWING WHAT I KNOW, BUT I WILL NEVER NOT ADMIRE HER AT ALL."

"I'm so – " Ven realized that Papyrus would dismiss his apology again, and this time, Ven really didn't have anything to do with the Sans situation. "I mean, that's a lot to think about. If I'm being honest, I don't like hearing that your brother treats you that way."

"IT'S NOT A WAY HE TREATS ME," Papyrus clarified. "MORE LIKE A LACK THEREOF. AND I THINK YOU WOULD CHANGE YOUR MIND IF YOU GOT TO KNOW HIM. MOST PEOPLE DO."

"I wanna meet him," Ven decided. "But you're right. Aqua did come to save me. If she really didn't care, then she would've left me behind. Maybe it's just complicated. I like to see things as good or bad, and maybe that's because I was forced to become all Light. But what if that's Aqua's problem, too, and she thought Terra was bad because of a few mistakes? Maybe that just means she and I are more alike than I knew."

"THERE IS A REASON YOU TWO ARE FRIENDS," Papyrus pointed out.

"I should tell her I'm sorry," Ven sighed. "I don't just want to sweep it all under the rug…but I shouldn't have freaked out. I should've just talked to her without getting angry."

"AND THAT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN CHANGE, OF COURSE."

"Just…not right now," Ven insisted. "I'm still feeling all emotionally confused. If I talk to her now, I might make it worse."

"WELL, YOU CAN HELP ME WORK ON THE PUZZLE A LITTLE LONGER IF THAT WILL HELP."

"I really think it will."

For a while then, the conversation became purely about the puzzle, talking over who had pieces of what color and what the overall picture was supposed to look like. Ven found himself enjoying the puzzle much more than he usually enjoyed doing jigsaws, and the image of a deep cavern festooned with a rainbow of crystals soon began to take shape on the small table.

Then Ven's GummiPhone rang; a slow, calming tune Ven had chosen. "Sorry," he said as he withdrew the phone. Then he stared at it for a while, letting it ring.

"YOU SHOULD ANSWER THAT," Papyrus told him.

"I know," Ven replied. "I'm just…nervous, I guess. That must sound silly. Being nervous about a phone."

"NOT REALLY," Papyrus told him. "MANY PEOPLE ARE. DOES IT HELP TO KNOW I AM RIGHT HERE?"

"It does," Ven told him with a smile. "Thanks."

He was greeted with Mickey's face, and the mouse was finishing the sentence " – for Ven to pick up."

"Hello?" Ven said. "Mickey?"

He then heard another voice on the audio channel: "VEN?"

Ven swiped the screen immediately, looking Aqua in the eye as she did the same to him. He didn't know what he was supposed to convey as he looked to her, and he found her face unreadable.

"Could you two meet me in the courtyard?" Mickey asked both of them. "I got somethin' important I wanna tell ya! Well, actually, it's somebody else who's gotta say it."

"Sure," Aqua replied. "Be right there."

"Me too," Ven agreed with apprehension.

They simultaneously disconnected. Ven held the phone as though it had become much heavier.

"ARE YOU READY?" Papyrus asked him.

"I think I have to be." Ven looked him in the eye. "Thanks, Papyrus. For everything."

"NO WORRIES!" Papyrus said proudly. "YOU CAN ALWAYS COME TO ME WITH ALL OF YOUR TROUBLES AND WOES!"

"I'm not gonna put THAT burden on you," Ven laughed, "but I really appreciate that you're willing to try anyway. I'll see you later, okay?"

"SHALL I SAVE THIS PUZZLE UNTIL WE CAN FINISH IT TOGETHER?"

"That's a GREAT idea!" Ven cried joyfully. "I'll be back! Promise!"

As Ven charged out of the library, Papyrus began his search for some yellow caution tape to cordon off the puzzle table.

...

As Roman expected, Mozenrath simply materialized in the middle of his apartment without knocking. Roman wasn't sure how to act the part of the host, given their current dynamic. A proper host might have offered a drink or something, but Roman never was the proper-host type. So he just leaned both elbows on the counter and waited instead, which he knew was absolutely not how to host.

Mozenrath did a double-take at what he saw. "Great," he groaned. "Now there really ARE two of you."

It took Roman a moment to remember he was wearing the new threads. "And you have to live with it."

"That'll be fun. Not."

"You know you love us. You think we're cute. You ship us."

"I WHAT you?" Mozenrath's brow furrowed.

"Never mind," Roman sighed. "It's a word Four-Eyes taught me. Anyway, you came here to apologize to me, right?"

"Please," Mozenrath scoffed. "I came here to…"

He had come to resolve the situation. He and Roman couldn't go on with this tension between them, and he knew it. Even he was sick of being angry at Roman, though he was still convinced Roman was the one who had done wrong. However, he wasn't the apologizing type, and given that Roman wasn't either, he'd have thought Roman would understand that, accommodate that. No, he would have to find another way to break the ice, and one that would get them talking to the point where things were normal again without anyone having to apologize or learn anything.

Unless it was Roman apologizing for leaving the Tesseract behind, of course. Which wasn't one hundred percent necessary, but would be nice.

"…to learn one of your card games," Mozenrath decided.

"Seriously?" Roman asked, a little intrigued by the proposal.

"Where I grew up, they didn't look too fondly on gambling," Mozenrath explained. "You either had to learn backgammon or go to Getzistan if you wanted to play games. I never liked Getzistan, and I've played enough backgammon to last me a lifetime. Chess was a saving grace. I know you know an extensive library of amusements with a deck of cards, and I want to see the appeal in the riskier ones."

Roman shrugged, pulling a stool over to the counter. "All right. Let's do it."

Mozenrath magically dragged a stool over to its other side, taking a seat across from Roman. "Name the game," he commanded.

"Poker," Roman decided. "You ever play Atlas Hold 'Em?"

"Were you even listening?"

"Right. So here's the deal. …Literally."

He placed two cards before Mozenrath, face down. "This is your hand." Then two in front of himself. "This is my hand. Normally, we don't let each other see our hands."

"As per usual for me," Mozenrath said with a grin.

"Good one," Roman replied. "Anyway, because you're learning, I'm gonna have you go face-up with your hand."

"All right," Mozenrath relented. "I'll let you spoon-feed me for now, but I'm going to need you to let go of my hand really soon."

"That is a seriously mixed metaphor."

"Is it? Both are about you treating me like a child."

"Okay, okay, drop the metaphor thing," Roman decided. "So. You have a hand that is…not great. But we can work with it. See, here's what you can do…"

He outlined all of the hands, their values, their rankings. Mozenrath nodded in understanding, committing it to memory.

"So, with that in mind, I turn up the flop." Roman placed three cards on the table. "Keeping in mind that if this were a real game, I couldn't get away with being dealer AND playing a hand. Anyway, take a look at this. You like the way this looks with your hand?"
Mozenrath assessed, looking for patterns. "I think I do."

"Good. Then make a bet."

"Are we playing with real money?"

"I'd love to, but no, we're not. Chips mean nothing."

A multitude of chips were spilled onto the table, and Mozenrath selected five to put forth, since five seemed like a good number.

"Now, here's the thing," Roman told him. "The more you go on, the more you have to decide how you're gonna bet. See, you can play it safe. You can bet based on how good or bad your hand is. Match if it's good, raise if it's REALLY good, or fold if it's shit. Or you can try to scare me into folding by putting big money on a crappy hand."

"Understood," Mozenrath stated.

"I'm gonna raise," Roman decided, "just because this is a learning experience." He put out seven chips. "Now, whoever wins gets ALL of that."

"All right."

"So then I put down the turn." Roman flipped a fourth card over. "What's that do for ya?"

"It's not great."

"I agree."

"Still, I like your strategy." Mozenrath placed ten chips in the pool. "Pretend you don't know what I have."

"That's a risky play, Righty. Your hand isn't THAT good."

"I know. But that isn't the point, is it?"

"I'll match it, then." Roman contributed his chips. "And finally, I turn up the river." A fifth card was overturned. "How about now?"

Mozenrath grimaced.

"Wasn't a big help, was it?"

"No."

"Your move?"

A handful of chips tossed into the pool. "All or nothing," Mozenrath said firmly.

"Well, okay." Roman put in his own chips. "Spell out for me your hand."

"Two pair. Seeing as I highly doubt you got that lucky, either."

"I wouldn't count that out." Roman turned up his own hand. "A straight."

"HOW?"

"That's the game, Righty!"

Mozenrath gritted his teeth. "Deal me another. And this time, you don't get to see my cards."

They played to conclusion once more, and Roman won again, pulling a crushing victory. Mozenrath scowled as he demanded another round, then another. Again and again, Roman took the pool.

"I don't UNDERSTAND," Mozenrath growled. "How am I supposed to STRATEGIZE?"

"What do you MEAN?"

"How do I get a better hand?" Mozenrath asked. "How do I change out what I have for a set that has a higher chance of beating yours?"

"You don't!" Roman insisted. "The game's not about that! I know you're used to chess, where you and the other guy go until one of you takes the other down. Or you figure out you can dance around each other forever. Both of you gun it until somebody bites it, and that's because the other person was smarter. This is different. You don't just go and go and go. You have to figure out where to raise the stakes and when you should fold to keep what you have! There's no way to improve your hand unless you're counting cards! And you may think it doesn't matter for you, like you've got nothing to lose, but not everyone can stop caring about what's in the pot, Righty! Those of us who spent their lives focusing on surviving, not dying for power, figure out the risks you JUST DON'T TAKE!"

He wasn't talking about the game anymore, of course, and he knew he had to rein himself in, lest he flare up Mozenrath's anger. Mozenrath, however, looked more flabbergasted than anything. He was silent a while before saying, "That's good to know."

"Do you count cards, Righty?" Roman asked.

"No," Mozenrath told him. "Why?"

"Do you know HOW to count cards?"

"No, and you better tell me where this is going."

"Righty." Roman sighed. "Why am I winning every single hand?"

Mozenrath realized it then. "You're cheating."

"Bingo."

"Why are you CHEATING when you're teaching me the game?"

"Well, because we're the bad guys, remember?" Roman told him. "This is how you and Mimsy run a game of chess. But now that I'm thinking about it, maybe it's good to keep in mind that sometimes, you're gonna run into the other player who can cheat all day long, and you have no idea how to keep up. And THAT'S when you have to cut your losses."

He'd poked the wasp's nest on purpose with that one. He'd already done enough damage; what could more hurt?

Mozenrath looked at him, wide-eyed, then nodded slowly. "One more hand."

"I'm gonna cheat."

"I know."

"Your funeral."

Mozenrath let it play out. He lost, of course, as he refused to fold. However, after the stage had been set by Roman's victory, he mused, "You know, I think there's more strategy to this game than you credit it for."

"How so?" Roman asked.

"You have to account for every card on the table," Mozenrath told him. "Sometimes, hoping for a perfect flush will mean you overlook a pair of twos. Even though a two would look like a useless card. If you play it right, it's still worth something. Personally, I think there's potential value in all seven cards in the hand."

Now he wasn't talking about the game anymore, either, and Roman caught on immediately, momentarily regarding him with a stunned expression. Then he melted back into his poker face, simply nodding. "Good observation. I like it." He shuffled the deck. "So. You coming down to karaoke tonight?"

"I'll pass."

"Is it me? Because I thought we just had a moment."

"We did," Mozenrath told him, "though I'd rather you pretend we didn't. No, I'd rather skip out so I can focus on the recruitment plan. I need to organize the order in which I visit new worlds for the bid so I have the maximum efficiency possible. Not to mention look over the candidate list one more time to make sure I'm separating the competent from the incompetent. Let me tell you, Hämsterviel keeps insisting on one, and that man better be something incredibly more impressive than he sounds like. There are a lot of details I'm putting together, right down to the fact that some of these worlds are going to be more accommodating than others. I can't afford to lose too much time singing songs."

But you can afford to waste it losing at cards with me, Roman thought, and now he was certain the bad blood was cleared. "That actually sounds like a reason you NEED to show up," Roman told him. "You can't just gun some convoluted strategy plan for twenty-four hours straight."

"I can, I will, and I already have and then some."

Roman flinched. "Righty, are you…eating? Sleeping?"

"I'm not THAT ready to die," Mozenrath retorted snidely.

"That didn't really answer my question," Roman told him.

"Don't be stupid," Mozenrath told him. "I took a break. Just recently."

"A break-break, or are you talking about when Archie called to let you know the Motherbitch went rogue and tricked you into admitting you liked me?"

"Does that not count as a break?"

Roman sighed. "Whatever. Do what you want. I'm just saying all work and no play is going to make Mozenrath even duller than usual."

"That almost sounds like an incentive."

Roman cut the deck. "One more round? And this time, I won't cheat."

"All right. And if you're going to stick to that rule, we'll put actual munny on this."

Mozenrath teleported away from that match ten munny richer – Roman's hand had been better, but he'd folded.

...

Kairi sat on the stone bench of the outdoor courtyard, closing her eyes and turning her face upward to listen to the wind. Sometimes she could pretend it sounded like the breeze back home on the Destiny Islands.

She then returned her attention to the journal where she was writing a letter she never intended to send.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't be proud of me," she set down on the page. "I know that's silly to think about, but Roxas told me how hard you used to be on him. I know you grew and changed since then. But have I? Am I the kind of daughter you would want to have? When you saw me in the World That Never Was, what did you think? Did you recognize me? Would you have wanted to acknowledge me as yours, after I was captured twice and failed to protect myself without the strength of my friends? Would you want to acknowledge me now? I think about how you would have acted today, and I don't know what you would have done. I just know you would have made people happier than I did. They'd be less angry. I wish you were here right now. Even if you didn't want anything to do with me, you would be able to help everyone else so much more than I can."

The sound of soft footsteps alerted Kairi to the presence of another, and she lifted her head to see a woman standing before her, an adult but a quite young one, one who Kairi was certain she'd seen around the castle but never really knew. "Princess Kairi?" the woman asked with a smile.

Kairi took in the sight of her: her blonde hair kept back by a white bonnet, her diaphanous pink dress that rather matched Kairi's own color scheme. She hoped fervently this woman did not want to admonish her further. "That's me," she said with a forced smile, closing the journal quickly.

"I was thinking more about what you said at the funeral today," the woman said calmly, "and I wanted to thank you."

"Really?" Kairi was taken aback.

"Yes," the woman replied. "You see, I have never thought of myself as…much. I have never done many great deeds, and to be honest, I sometimes do not care for my reputation in the kingdom, even though I think it may be my own fault. The first thing people will say about me, often times, is that I am a 'coquette,' and I admit, I can have a little too much fun flirting. It has been difficult for me to make friends; I pretend I am not shy, but that is not the case. The men of the town know I play 'hard to get,' though, and…there are several personal reasons I have found it difficult to let any of them get close to me. The last one I thought might truly love me, he was awful, not at all the unique intellectual I thought I saw in him, and he only wanted – well, that would not matter to you. What I wanted to say is that sometimes, I feel as though this is the only mark I have ever made. Yet when you spoke, I began to truly consider what you had said. Suddenly, the acts of kindness I have done seem to be more important than I realized. Perhaps I have it in me to do more. I apologize for not standing up for you at the time."

"It's okay," Kairi said with an honest smile. "That probably would've gotten you in trouble, too. Thank you for telling me all this. I still feel that way sometimes, even after all I've done, and it's something I know I have to remember, that I have strength in me…even when it hides away." Her smile grew brighter. "You know…I think I have some lines to cross out in a letter."

"Oh?"

"I wasn't going to send it anyway. I just…there's someone who's distant from me who I wish I could see again. I guess we both have tricky things that complicate us." Kairi looked the woman in the eye. "I wish you luck. Finding your strength. And finding the right guy."

"I may just have an idea of who might have my sense of humor," the woman admitted, "if he'll forgive me. However, before I even think of that, I want to figure out more about who I am. I want to know where my strength lies. We will both do that."

"Yeah," Kairi agreed. "We will."

"I didn't mean to trouble you while writing your letter," the woman said as she turned to walk away. "That was all I had meant to say."

"Wait!" Kairi stood up. "What's your name?"
The woman turned to give her a smile. "Katrina von Tassel."

"Thank you, Katrina," Kairi said. "It means the world to me."

Maybe, Katrina thought, I have just learned where I can start.

As Kairi saw Katrina leave through one door, she noted Mickey entering through another. "Oh!" he said in surprise. "Kairi! I meant to follow up with you after…well, the big old mess that happened. You doin' okay?"

"Yeah," Kairi told him with a renewed sense of confidence. "I think I am."

"Well, that's just great!" Mickey told her. "Now, you know if that stops bein' the case, you can come talk to me, right?"

"I know," Kairi affirmed. "Thank you."

"I'm glad things are lookin' up!" Mickey told her. "Though if you could do me a favor…could you let me, Ven, and Aqua have some privacy in the courtyard for a little while? We just gotta make one phone call."

"Sure thing." Kairi then flinched, recalling the earlier dispute. "Are Ven and Aqua okay now?"

"Whaddaya mean, are they okay?" Mickey asked, confused. "Did somethin' happen?"

"They got in kind of a big fight," Kairi told Mickey.

"Well, gee, I didn't know that," Mickey said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "They both said they'd come down to the courtyard, and they didn't seem to be fightin' then. Maybe they made up?"

"I hope so," Kairi told him. "Some of the things they said were serious…but I guess I don't know their story well enough to say. That's probably all the more reason I shouldn't listen in. I'll see you later!"

She took off out of the courtyard as Mickey waved and told her, "Buh-bye!"

He then withdrew from his pocket not a GummiPhone, but a different sort of communication device: round and red.

Ven arrived first; Aqua came after. Mickey could tell now there was apprehension in the gait of both, and he supposed they hadn't resolved their quarrel just yet. All the same, they were keeping the peace to acquiesce to his request.

"You wanted to see us?" Aqua opened.

"Yeah," Mickey told her. "Well, actually, like I said, it's really somebody else who wants to talk to ya. If you gimme a minute, I'll get him on the line. The thing is, you might be a little surprised that he wanted to say anything. I'd just say you should give him a chance."

"Um…okay?" Ven shrugged.

Mickey pressed a couple of buttons on the communicator, and Ven and Aqua could see him speaking to someone who'd answered. "Hello! Guess what? I got them both here!"

"Very good," a deep voice that both registered as somewhat familiar stated. "May I…er…may I see them?"

"Here ya go." Mickey turned to pass the communicator to Aqua.

Aqua took it into her hand, positioning it so she and Ven could both see the screen – resulting in a simultaneous gasp. The voice may not have clicked, but there was no way either of them could forget that face.

"Captain Gantu," Aqua spat. "What do YOU want?"

"I figured that might be your reaction," Gantu said in a sheepish tone that threw her off guard. "I had wanted to clear up a few things. It surprised me to hear that you had both been lost. That put a few things into perspective, actually."

"Why do you care?" Ven asked, his voice hard-edged.

"Well…because…" Gantu sighed. "Because I wanted to apologize. All those years ago…I suppose it's been ten, but our world's fall to Darkness made it a little shorter for me…when you found your way aboard my ship, I treated both of you with excessive force and dismissed you entirely. I viewed you as a threat to my position, and I very nearly grievously injured you in particular, Aqua. I could've even killed you, and I had no regard for that outcome. As it turned out, your viewpoints turned out to be instrumental when it came to making peace with 62 – with Stitch. So please know that I am truly, deeply sorry for the way I have treated you both."

Aqua and Ven exchanged glances. This didn't seem like the Gantu they'd crossed at all. Finally, as they both faced him once more, Aqua said, "Thank you…but I'm not sure the memories of our fight are going to fade so easily."

"How do I know I can trust you now?" Ven asked sharply.

"I understand," Gantu said with a nod, and, strangely, a smile. "I did not seek to obtain your forgiveness, nor your validation. All I sought was to right a wrong. I am relieved to know you are both back to your health and station, and I wish you luck in returning Terra to the same state."

He disconnected the call before anything further could be said.

"That was…weird," Ven admitted.

"It was almost like he was a different person," Aqua agreed. "I'm with you. I'm not sure we can trust him."

"Even if we can," Ven said, "it's gonna take a while for me to not be mad about what he did to us."

"I think you'd be surprised," Mickey volunteered. "Gantu's really changed since you saw him last. His world went a long time before falling into Darkness. He's had time to learn a few things. That's just kinda what happens, y'know? The more people see and learn, the more they grow and change!"

Ven and Aqua found themselves looking at each other again.

"Yeah," Ven agreed, not taking his eyes off Aqua. "They really do."

Aqua smiled. "For the better." A quick look at Mickey. "Is it okay if Ven and I have some time alone?"

"You betcha!" Mickey waved as he darted out of the courtyard, feeling optimistic about what was to come.

As Aqua turned back to Ven, they both said in unison, "I'm sorry."

"Wait, what?" Ven responded. "I mean…thank you. It means a lot to me. I was just starting to think that I was probably the one who needed to apologize for. You know, since I called you awful."

"No, Ven," Aqua told him. "You had a right to say those things. I don't like how you said them, but I should've figured out the way I was treating you and Terra. I don't really think it's best to keep you under supervision. I just want to keep an eye on you both because…I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what will happen to you if I'm not there. I'm afraid of what will become of us when we start to disagree. I'm TERRIFIED of the thought that I might not actually be able to trust Terra, and that's why it came out like it did, even though I should know better. And I'm just as scared that you'll get hurt out there, even though I KNOW you can fend for yourself. So many times, I thought it might've been your time to leave home, and then I never convinced myself of it. Down in the Darkness, I had to face myself in a dark mirror reflection that looked like the queen's from the Dwarf Woodlands. She told me that my heart was hollow, and deep down, I knew why. For the very same things you pointed out. I shouldn't have tried to control you."

"The thing is, I figured out you only did it because you were scared for us," Ven told her. "Once that became clear, it was easy to see that you really loved both of us. I lashed out because it hurt to hear things that scared me coming from a best friend like you. It just makes sense that if you heard things like that from me and Terra, you'd lash out, too. You were always looking out for us. Kind of like our mom."

Aqua laughed. "I'm not sure I'm ready to be a mom."

"I think you already are," Ven said with a smile.

"I think I just have to trust you more," Aqua told Ven. "You DON'T need to be where I can see you at all times. I just have to stop being scared, or live with it."

"And I just have to remember that you don't do things just to be mean," Ven told her. "You always have a reason, and that reason's easier to understand than I thought."

"Ven…" Aqua said, her voice cracking slightly. "What if it's too late for Terra?"
"You think we won't find him?" Ven asked forlornly.

"No, I think we'll find him," Aqua assured him. "Nothing in all the worlds can stop two hearts from reuniting when they want to find each other. I'm just afraid that by the time we save him, he won't want anything to do with me anymore because of what happened."

"I didn't treat him the best, either," Ven admitted. "I think there are probably things he regrets about how he treated us, too. But as long as you think we can save him, then I think it's gonna be okay. Because the thing about friends is that they fight. It's just part of sharing your heart with someone. Terra's our friend. I know that much. And that means he'll be ready to talk to us about everything."

"That does sound like Terra." Aqua paused a moment, pensive. "Ven…can I ask you a question that might be hard to answer?"

"Okay," Ven replied. "I'll let you know if I can."

"What happened when the master died?"

It did, in fact, take Ven some time to find the words. At last, he said, "I was half of what Xehanort needed to forge the x-blade. You know this. Eraqus and I talked about it, and we both knew that the only way to stop Xehanort was if I didn't exist for him to use. Eraqus should've killed me then. Terra showed up when he was about to, and I didn't have time to explain to him what happened. Terra got me out of there by sending me to the Destiny Islands. I didn't see the fight, but…I didn't have to. Terra killed Eraqus because he thought he was protecting me. I even think Xehanort set it up so he'd walk in on that."

"Oh, Ven…" Aqua said softly. "That's why you wanted us to put an end to you. That was never the answer."

"Yes, Aqua," Ven told her. "It was. It's what needed to happen."

"I guess I just don't believe that because we're here now, and it didn't," she countered. "But back then, we really didn't have a way to know that, did we? It was all just one big misunderstanding."

Yet she was silent a moment longer.

"Aqua?" Ven asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Aqua replied. "I'm sure the master made the best choice he could at the time."

What would she have done in his place? She didn't even know. Surely there was a way to save both Ven and Kingdom Hearts. Wasn't there? But Master Eraqus would have jumped at another way as soon as he'd seen it, and he'd had ample time to weigh his options. It was a fool's errand, as far as she was concerned, to try and come up with a solution where Eraqus couldn't find one.

"It scared me at first," Ven admitted, "but it was either me or all the worlds in existence. I knew which was more important. He did the right thing. I was just…"

A tool, he thought. A weapon to be used by the Darkness. Something that didn't need to exist. The way he saw it, he didn't need to have agreed with Eraqus in that moment. He saw himself as what Eraqus saw: the key to saving the Light.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Aqua told him. "Not now that Xehanort is looking for the Seven Lights. And don't get any ideas, because if the Seven Lights are gone, he'll just find new ones. This time, we're going to BEAT Xehanort. Once he gets all of his Darknesses lined up and clues us in to where we can find him, we'll stop him from ever forging the x-blade. This time, the only way we can win is if you keep existing, and you prove that he was wrong to ever try and control you!"

Ven felt as though his heart were breaking, but out of joy rather than despair. "Thank you, Aqua. I'll do it. For you. For Terra. For all of you! This time, I'm not gonna look for an end to me!"

Aqua reached out to lightly ruffle Ven's hair. "So. Now that we got all our cards on the table, is there anything you wanna do? Anything you've missed doing since we split up?"

"You were conscious longer than I was," Ven told her. "What did you miss doing while you were down in the Darkness?"

"Everything," Aqua told him. "But right now, what I want most is just to get some ice cream and have a walk around in the sunlight."

"Then let's go!" Ven insisted. "I want ice cream, too! We can look around town and see if all the places we knew ten years ago are still here!"

"What are we waiting for?" Aqua laughed.

They left the courtyard with a better understanding of each other than they had had before.

...

Lady Caine had kept Wuya occupied in the training room long enough that Draco could slip away. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to learn the Cyclonian staff. It was that after seeing Lady Caine put together the clever smoke screen of rainbow, he now had no idea where he even wanted to begin with his crystals of choice.

He headed to the cauldron alcove, but as he disembarked the roller coaster in the laboratory entrance, he was hit by a small paper airplane enchanted to fly at him.

Unfolding the tiny paper, he read the words in a large, bubbly print: "Zevon is angsting. Last chance to run! ~3 I"

Draco really did think about taking that opportunity to escape before instead withdrawing his wand and torching the scrap of paper. He proceeded to the alcove. He was in for a knut, in for a galleon with these new friends of his.

Putting on his best faux-surprised expression, he came upon Zevon seated in a chair cauldronside, slumped over and head in his hands, while Irmaplotz hovered over him with an expression halfway between concern and frustration. "UUUURRRRGHHHHH," Zevon groaned.

"What's happened now?" Draco sighed.

"I AM ANGSTRATING," Zevon grunted.

"I can SEE that," Draco replied. "What are you angsting ABOUT?"

Zevon straightened up, then overcompensated, leaning back. "I'm never going to find a romanticizic partner!"

Draco did a double take. "This isn't about those bloody gems?"

"Oh, no, finding the gems will be easy," Zevon groaned. "And I already have the crown itself. That part's not a problem."

"And the key to unlimited magical power is taking second priority to your LOVE LIFE," Draco reiterated.

"Already tried that angle," Irmaplotz sighed.

"I'm not disagreeing that you're going to be single forever," Draco told Zevon, "but out of morbid curiosity, why do YOU think so?"

"Because I can't flirt!" Zevon moaned. "I tried seducting the Green Magystic Ranger on a fake date, but it wasn't enjoyifiable at all! I didn't WANT to waste time with banter that's just compliments! I COULDN'T EVEN DRINK MY INTRICREDICATELY CRAFTED SODA AFTER HE GOT HIS BACKWASH IN IT!"

"So you didn't seduce a man," Draco retorted. "So what?"

Irmaplotz was already shaking her head.

"It DID work," Zevon clarified. "That is how the crown came into my possessition."

"Wh – " Draco flinched. "Then what's the bloody PROBLEM?"

"The fact that flirting wasn't ENJOYABLE!" Zevon groaned. "I don't want ANYTHING that goes with traditial relativationships! I don't want to do the cards or the gifts or that stupid holiday with all the hearts that was made to sell mercantiledise!"

"Then don't get a relationship!" Draco barked. "If you don't want someone, then don't get someone! You're probably aromantic!"

"But I'm NOT!" Zevon wailed. "Over the progressivation of my life, I have encountranced a subsequence of increasate obsessequious crushes of all genders!"

"I think it's really sad that neither of us actually needs to struggle to understand him anymore," Irmaplotz said dryly.

Draco nodded in agreement.

"The first of which was a spicilicious llama herder's daughter who lived in my village," Zevon went on, ignoring the other two entirely. "Ah, Malina. What could a person say about her but that she was exquisible, conflagrational, radiasplendent? To use any less of a word on her would be – "

"Grammatically correct," Irmaplotz subbed in.

"Disrespectible!" Zevon cried. "How I craved her company. I constructified a shrine to her in my room, collecting every articlism she touched or left behind and gracing it with a portrait of her I had commissionated because I refuse to spend that much time standing still in front of a canvas. Alas, it was not to be, not for my lack of romanticizical graces but because morally, she was a stickler-in-the-mud. She seemed to think I was 'megalomanian' and 'reprehensivolting.'"

"Dunno where she got that idea," Irmaplotz commented.

"Because I AM!" Zevon argued. "That's the point! SHE was the one who was wasting all of her talents on trying to be a…" He grimaced. "PRODUCTICAL MEMBER OF MIDDLE-CLASS SOCIETY!"

Irmaplotz and Draco winced at that as well.

"I knew she and I could never make a life together," Zevon sighed. "The final straw was when she refusated my twentieth requestion for her to date me. I resolutivolved that I would move on! I set fire to her shrine and laughed as all of her memoramentos burned to ash! Then I evacuscaped my own home, symbolizically abandonating my past! Also, my furniture caught fire when I burned the Malina shrine, and I had nowhere to live. Thus began my life as Zevon, wonquering conqderer!" A pause. "Where was I going with this?"

"Your love life," Draco and Irmaplotz said in unison.

"Ah, yes!" Zevon cried triumphantly before slumping again in depression. "My love life that will never come to fruitition because I am nonaroromantic but have no desire to pursuse the necessitary societalistic convenientions! No one will WANT me!" A sigh. "Perhaps I should ask my mother for advision. Or one of her companiohorts. I wonder if Archibald Snatcher – "

"NO!" Irmaplotz screamed so suddenly and loudly, some of the bottles on the shelves shook. "Do NOT tell Snatcher you are having problems with your love life! EVER!"

"Dare I ask?" Draco pried.

"Before there was Jack," Irmaplotz said gravely, "I complained to Snatcher once that I had trouble attracting men, let alone keeping them." With a wave of her hands, she held a leather-bound journal. "He gave me this."

"Let me see that." Draco swiped the book from her, prying open its cover and practically screaming as he read the words "How to Seduce Heterosexual Men and Obtain Their Blind Eternal Loyalty: A Comprehensive Guide by the Venerable and Experienced Archibald Snatcher, Esquire?"

"Three hundred pages," Irmaplotz specified as Draco was finding that out for himself by flipping through the book. "HAND. WRITTEN."

"Then just take it and throw it out," Draco told her.

"He gave me homework based on it," Irmaplotz replied.

"He WHAT?"

"HE ASSIGNED ME A THREE-PAGE ESSAY ON CHAPTER ONE: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEASING AND FRUSTRATING," Irmaplotz insisted. "Which I still owe him."

"Despititioning your romanticalance with Jack Spicer?" Zevon said in awe.

"Yes," Irmaplotz said dryly. "Because flirting and seducing men to get them to give you things is a life skill every teen needs to have, apparently. Seriously, it's the fourth century B.C., for crying out loud. Wake up and smell the feminism. Seducing is such a tired sterotype. Women these days take matters into their own hands and just turn the guys into werecows."

"Or llamas!" Zevon suggested.

"Or ferrets," Irmaplotz mused. "Ferrets would be fun."

"FERRETS WOULD NOT BE FUN," Draco said quickly.

"Anyway, I guess I'd just tell you not to worry too much about it," Irmaplotz told Zevon. "I spent waaaaay too long mooning over a guy because he was good and I was evil, and I thought there had to be some way of converting him to the dark side because the only way to have a fulfilling relationship was to make him convert to my ways. Then I met Jack, and I realized that was wrong. What I needed was a guy who was evil to start with, but also had that same sensitivity and – don't tell him I said this – a touch of femininity that lent him dimension. Not to mention devotion, a sadistic streak, and really great hair."

"What does that have to do with me?" Zevon asked. "That is not the problem I am having at all! If you are referencing to Malina, I'm over her! I'm not even sure that was her real name anymore, actually."

Irmaplotz shrugged. "I don't even know where to start with your problem. I was just telling you about mine and hoping that would get you to not freak out. Also, I wanted to talk about how perfect Jack is."

"Draco?" Zevon sighed. "Any suggestimations?"

"I'm still busy trying to figure out my own bloody self," Draco told him, "let alone LOVE."

"Okay, just putting it on the table here," Irmaplotz suggested. "What about the obvious?" She gestured vaguely from Zevon to Draco and back.

"BLOODY HELL, NO," Draco snapped.

"It won't work," Zevon sighed. "I've never been attractivated to him."

"I'll die before I trade any affections with a filthy Muggle," Draco spat. Then, in a tone that betrayed more honesty than his default response, "Also, maybe I WANT the trappings. I'm not about to waste my affection on someone who won't treat me as I deserve to be treated in a romance. Zevon can go his way; I'll go mine."

"So what's your story with it?" Irmaplotz asked. "Love, I mean."

"Pansy Parkinson," Draco spat. "An absolute pug-faced, moony lunatic who refused to leave me alone. I toted her as a trophy for some time before getting bored with all of it."

"Anyone you actually wanted?" Irmaplotz questioned.

Draco shifted. "Perhaps. Two people interested me. I'm not certain if it was in that way or not."

"Spill," Irmaplotz commanded.

"Daphne Greengrass' brat sister," Draco told her. "She couldn't have been more different from me. All energetic and sympathetic. Perhaps that's why I thought about her so much. It doesn't matter. She turned on the Purebloods after the war. Went to stand with Potter and his friends."

"And who was the other?" Irmaplotz prodded.

"None of your bloody business," Draco muttered, realizing he shouldn't have opened this can of worms.

"This is a safe space," Irmaplotz reminded him. "No judgment. Look, me and Zevon both had crushes on total good guys. …Girls. Good guys and good girls. One of each."

"It's not important anyhow," Draco grumbled.

"It was totally your archnemesis Harry Potter, wasn't it?" Irmaplotz said casually.

"Shut it," Draco warned. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Zevon broke into loud laughter. "YOU HAD AFFECTIONACTION FOR YOUR ARCHENEMESIS!" he bellowed. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THAT'S HYSTERIOUS!"

"WHA – " Draco sputtered. "YOU WANTED AN UPTIGHT LLAMA HERDER! AND YOU DON'T HARASS IRMAPLOTZ ABOUT DAN THE BARBARIAN!"

"Dave," Irmaplotz corrected abruptly. "It was Dave. Not that it matters anymore. But it was definitely Dave. Which isn't important or relevant. Forget I said anything. Don't forget the 'Dave' part, though."

"Oh, Draco," Zevon said with a smile, "your admittancion of your embarrassifying secret was exactly the pick-me-up I needed to snap out of my depressional funk. Now I can return to being my glorificous self!"

"HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN?" Draco cried in astonishment.

"Just go with it," Irmaplotz told him. "That's, like, rule number one on my homeworld about literally everything. GO WITH IT."

The sound of rushing footsteps was heard; Jack Spicer skidded into the potions alcove. "IRMAPLOTZ!" he cried, eyes sparkling. "T minus twenty minutes!"

"I wasn't even paying attention to the time!" Irmaplotz cried. "Let's go!"

"Go where?" Draco asked.

"Karaoke night," Jack replied, attempting to sound suave. "Irmaplotz and I have worked up a setlist of duets and solo numbers that we're going to perform in order to CRUSH the competition."

"What competition?" Draco asked. "Since when is karaoke a competition?"

"Since my mother lost to Snatcher and had to take home the silver medal last time," Zevon stated, actually producing a silver medal from his pocket for emphasis.

As Draco gaped, Irmaplotz mouthed "Go with it" at him, and he finally decided to take her advice.

"We are TOTALLY gonna rock the stage tonight!" Irmaplotz cried. This was followed by a boisterous laugh of "BWOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Jack chimed right in with a shrill "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"

Zevon and Draco watched them laugh for two solid minutes.

"Maybe relationshipping is overrated," Zevon realized solemnly.

"Definitely," Draco concurred.

...

Twilight Sparkle was taking her mind off the recent tragedy by exploring the Radiant Garden castle, and as it turned out, it contained no shortage of surprises she found utterly riveting.

She wasn't sure anyone who even lived here had actually taken all the paths available from the lift station; by experimenting with the crystals that controlled the lifts, she had made her way into secret rooms, dead ends, and places she wasn't sure could physically fit on the castle blueprint. A lot of it, she couldn't make heads or tails of – crystals that didn't seem to react to her magic; containers or doors locked in such a way that she didn't have the keys. Statues of mythical creatures that had no business being that hidden away.

The computer terminal in the downstairs laboratory area was more accessible. It was also unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before. "So this is a…computer," she mused, rearing up to put her front hooves on the counter. She recalled that there had been buzz about Mickey using this device to make advancements to connect the worlds. "I wonder."

It reacted to her magic, removing the need for her to utilize a mouse or keyboard. As she experimented with the device, it didn't really occur to her that it particularly belonged to anyone, least of all that any of the files on it did. "Wow," she muttered. "It's like a whole lot of books contained in a single page."

She happened upon one data set in particular. "A code?" she muttered, scrolling through what looked like pages and pages of nonsense. No, not nonsense – there were patterns here. Definitely a code of some sort.

A conjoined file. It opened. It was a mirror to the encrypted data, but this was the decoded version – only bits and pieces filled in, many spaces left blank to account for the untranslated segments. Someone had been trying to figure out what the strange file was saying.

Twilight's natural curiosity took over, and she found herself looking at the untranslated segments, seeking out patterns. Something occurred to her, an arrangement she'd seen before, and she was on the verge of breaking through –

"Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude, but…what are you doing?"

Twilight yelped, all four hooves hitting the floor as she spun to see a rather flustered Ienzo watching her. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry! Was I not supposed to touch that? I just got curious, and I've never SEEN anything like it before, and I – "

Ienzo put up his hands, looking rather panicked. "Please," he begged her, "don't worry. I'm not upset. Though those ARE my files."

"They are?" Twilight's eyes grew wider. "Oh no. I am sooooooo sorry. I didn't know they were private."

"That's understandable," Ienzo said with a nod. "After all, you haven't seen a computer before, is that correct? I didn't exactly have it labeled not to touch. I can't fault you."

Twilight bit her lip. She'd already apologized, and he'd accepted. Still, it seemed she couldn't just walk away. At last, she realized there was a new question this raised: "If that's your file…were you the one who wrote the coded text, or are you the one decoding it?" Then, all in a hurry: "But if it's private, then you don't have to – "

"I don't mind," Ienzo cut her off. "Really."

He strode forth to the terminal, scrolling through the translated file. "This one is my work," he explained. "I've been trying to decode the other file. It's…well, it's a rather complicated story."

"I like complicated stories," Twilight said without thinking.

Ienzo paused, wondering how much he should divulge. Then he concluded that he was best off throwing caution to the wind. Whether that was born of logic or a desire to connect with someone, he didn't know, nor did he want to. "The coded text was provided to a friend of mine from within the heart of another," Ienzo explained. "It refers to some sort of obscure phenomenon regarding the composition of that heart. I know that much. Given recent events, I can only suppose it spells out the links to Ventus and Roxas."

"So it's about Sora," Twilight deduced.

"Indeed," Ienzo replied. "To make matters more complicated, the provider of this information was…I might call him a vestige? Of my father."

"Oh," Twilight replied, unsure how to proceed. Did he want to talk about his father? Did he not? Obviously, the man wasn't there, which suggested a tragedy.

Ienzo guessed correctly at the reason for her apprehension. "He is missing, at the moment. We now have confirmation that he is alive, but we aren't sure where he's being held. And as of…recent events, we no longer have a scrying device to ask about it, nor can we remake one. All the same, it seems to be a time when many people we once thought lost are returning. There may yet be…"

He found himself unable to say the word.

"Hope?" Twilight filled in.

"Yes," Ienzo said softly. "Incredible as the concept may seem. For every two steps forward, two or more back."

"I saw you at the memorial after the funeral," Twilight blurted. "I was late to leave, and I heard you come out of your illusion. I thought you were stalking me, so I hid and watched, but then I realized you were just there to mourn, and…I didn't know what to say, so I left."

Ienzo looked stunned at this news, but Twilight could not tell whether it was positive or negative. "I don't blame you," he said at last. "I hardly know what to say myself. Nor do I know what I wish to hear. In all honesty, I've been trying to focus on other things. Thinking about the tragedy is doing me no good whatsoever. I've thought through it all I can, and my mind simply chases itself in circles, calling up hypotheticals and realizing that they don't matter now that the present has arrived. I keep trying to distract myself, but it is as though I am locked in a cycle, constantly punishing myself for…I'm sorry. This isn't relevant to you at all. I shouldn't ask you to take my burden."

"It is relevant to me," Twilight assured him. "I really think we could be friends, and friends help each other with their problems."

"You do?" Ienzo replied. "Not that I'm doubting. I'm just surprised you took to the idea so quickly. Sora and Papyrus are the only people I know who are so quick to decide where potential is for friendships."

"Well, for one, I took friendship on as my personal duty back home in Equestria," Twilight answered. "I'm kind of the princess of it."

"A princess of friendship?"

"Yeah. That must sound weird…"

"No," Ienzo assured her. "It doesn't, really."

"But more importantly," Twilight told him, "I already failed you once. It already hurts to think about you hurting over this."

Ienzo regarded her quite quizzically.

"…I was told a lot about you before I came here," Twilight admitted. "Apparently you and I have a lot in common. A love of reading, an interest in studying new and powerful magic…"

"Those are things that interest me, indeed," Ienzo confirmed. "I have to say I wasn't told about you. I would like to get to know you better, if you don't mind."

"Not at all!" Twilight beamed. "Actually…um…so this might sound really awkward, but…"

"That seems to be the staple of this conversation. I think maybe we should just speak our minds without worrying about what is awkward."

"Well, when I was looking at the file I didn't know belonged to you," Twilight told him, "I thought I could kind of see patterns in the parts you didn't get to yet. So I was wondering if you minded if I shared my thoughts with you on it."

"Please do!" Ienzo said with enthusiasm. "I've been struggling with this encryption for quite some time now. My father always did like his puzzles. He believed there was little reward in getting things the easy way. Though this might be less his intention and moreso the hazards of translating data out of a human heart and into digital form."

"Okay." Twilight put her hooves on the counter again. "So look at this section here." She highlighted a segment of data via magic. "It's similar to the other parts you've translated."

"I noticed that, yes," Ienzo muttered, "and yet when I apply the same cipher, it comes out as nonsense."

"Well, I think that's because it's written in columns that go up and down, while the data that you worked on went left-to-right," Twilight suggested. "Furthermore, I also think you start at the right column and work your way to the left."

Ienzo gave a start. "Twilight! That's – I see the pattern now! You're brilliant!"

Twilight found herself blushing. "I wanna say I am…and also 'thank you'…but I didn't figure it out just by looking at it. This is the same writing style that they use in most of Abyssinia. I've had to translate chapters from Abyssinian to Equestrian before, and that's how I learned the writing pattern."

Ienzo's fingers flew over the keys long enough to write a string of decoded text, then mark where he left off. "Was there anything else?" he asked.

"Yes," Twilight told him. "See this block down here?" She highlighted more. "It DOESN'T look the same."

"I fear it might be too damaged to salvage," Ienzo admitted. "It seems to be obscured by glitching."

"I don't think it's 'glitching,' whatever that is," Twilight replied. "I thiiiiiiink it's actually a form of pictogram. It just reminds me of some of the text that's been unearthed in the Somnabulan archeological digs."

"Of course," Ienzo said, barely above a whisper. "But how to decode it…"

"Some of the text here still looks like the cipher from above," Twilight stated. "I think that's the clue. If you use those for context, you can figure out other words."

"Amazing!" Ienzo honed in on that block of text. "Do you mind if we concentrate on this one for a while? I would like to break its cipher before moving onward."

"That weirdly sounds like fun," Twilight admitted. Then, on an impulse, "By the way, I DID notice that another block has language patterns similar to a code printed in the epilogue of A.K. Yearling's 'Curse of Tenochtitlan Basin,' which I now know to be based on a real-life alphabet that Daring Do herself encountered and translated, but we can get to that later."

"I think this part links up with where the word 'memory' was mentioned earlier," Ienzo observed, keys tapping beneath his rapid fingers. "That might make this word…'erased.' Yes, 'erased'! I see it now! It reads 'He was erased from the memory of all.' That makes sense! After all, during the year Sora was kept out of commission, he was erased from the memory of everyone who had ever – "

He then noticed the way Twilight's face was contorted and the way she was slightly rocking, consumed with a thought she felt the need to share. "Is something wrong?" Ienzo asked sincerely.

"Well…yes," Twilight told him. "It's just that…this pattern doesn't match up in one critical way. The beginning of the sentence uses a different pictogram than appears later down in the block. And based on the context…I'm not entirely sure, but I think that doesn't actually say 'He was erased from the memory of all.' I think what it says is 'SHE was erased from the memory of all.'"

Ienzo's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make sense." He looked back to the screen, eyes poring over the code. "However…if I'm reading this correctly…that IS what it actually says. That was an insightful observation. There may be more pieces to the puzzle than we realize."

"Maybe the answer is in the rest of the code!" Twilight said excitedly. "We should look over the whole thing!"

"Well…er…that is one problem," Ienzo told her. "See, I am perfectly content spending hours at a time on a single task, but that isn't how most people function, and – "

"And?" Twilight cocked her head.

"The file is enormous," Ienzo told her. "We could spend half a day on it and only progress a few pages' worth."

Her eyes glittered. "YES! This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!" She clapped her hooves in excitement.

Ienzo gave a light laugh. "Then let's dive in!"

...

By the time Roman and Snatcher entered, on each other's arms with their matching ensembles, most everyone else was gathered. This was how they'd planned it. After all, what was the point of making such a presentation if not everyone was going to notice them at once?

They could hear gossiping whispers and a few annoyed groans at the fact that they were now color-coordinated. "I'd call this a smashing success," Snatcher told Roman.

"And the night is young," Roman replied.

Irmaplotz was already onstage, belting out a mournful song about love and loss to untimely demise. Though the lyrics were in a language most didn't understand, they could still glean from it the utter passion and melancholy behind it.

Roman and Snatcher made their way to the front table, not noticing a delayed Lady Caine scooting into the room behind them, having gotten momentarily lost en route.

As the lovers in red were seated, Yzma groaned, "WHY am I not surprised?"

"At least they look good," Wuya said with a shrug.

"They look all lovey-dovey and sappy is how they look," Mim huffed. "You'll sooner see me dead than MATCHING any of my partners!"

"Aghoul's thaube is the same shade of lavender as your bodice," the Huntsman sighed.

"No it isn't," Mim argued, even though it absolutely was.

"I concur that it's disgusting," Aghoul spat. "And I would know disgusting."

"Oh, what a disappointment that neither of us gives a whit about what you thinks," Snatcher said as he put an arm around Roman's shoulders to draw him closer.

Which made Roman feel warm in more ways than one, since it was Snatcher who'd first opposed this idea to begin with. "What about you, Dragonface? Are we hot or not?"

"You know quite well I have no opinion," the Huntsman replied. "Dress as you wish. I never saw any reason to coordinate other than denoting solidarity and rank among a troop, yet that seems not to be the direction we went with in this operation."

"Well, that's all of us assembled except one," Yzma realized. "Where IS Mozenrath, anyhow?"

"We all know he just wanted to poop the party," Wuya sighed. "All so he could say he's above it all."

"Which is ridiculous, seeing how VEXEN is here," Aghoul huffed. "That's where the bar really is."

"Actually," Roman pointed out, "Righty straight-up told me he wanted to play hooky so he could catch up on his homework."

"He has been spending a good amount of time in the study," the Huntsman pointed out. "I assumed it was a combination of his determination and a way to remove his mind from your dispute."

"How is that going, by the way?" Mim asked, eyes sparkling. "Has Mozenrath banished you yet? Are you plotting an elaborate revenge?"

"We're cool now," Roman stated. "Enough said."

"Why do I NEVER get the chance to help anyone plot elaborate revenge around here?" Mim huffed as she folded her arms.

"He is eating well and getting rest, right?" Yzma asked. "Not that it matters to ME what he does to his own health."

"Based on what we talked about, I'm gonna go with no," Roman replied.

Instinctively, the Huntsman and Yzma looked to each other.

"It may be time to enact Plan DMOOTSBHC," Yzma muttered.

"I'm not certain what, exactly, that is," the Huntsman replied, "but for Mozenrath's well-being, we may soon have to drag him out of the study by his cape."

"What do you think the acronym stood for?" Yzma asked in astonishment. "Plan Drag Mozenrath Out Of The Study By His Cape! It couldn't have been clearer!" She shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going to need a laughing gas bomb, a small amount of gunpowder, and about a pound of chewing gum."

"Or you could just march in there and drag him out by his cape," Wuya suggested.

"That would be more economical," Yzma realized. "Especially given the inflation rates on gum recently."

"We should give him more time," the Huntsman declared. "After all, I should like to believe Mozenrath knows his limitations." Then a sigh. "For once, I would like to be proven correct on that front…"

"Just say the word and Plan DMOOTSBHC is a go," Yzma told the Huntsman.

"Agreed," the Huntsman replied.

"For now," Yzma decided, "I have a gold medal to reclaim."

"Not if I've anything to say about it," Snatcher challenged.

Across the room, as this conversation took place, Lady Caine chose a seat at a table at random. She found herself seated among Garfield, Peter, and Jack.

"Whoa," Garfield said as soon as he intook the sight of Lady Caine. "Déjà vu."

"You must be Lady Caine," Peter said with a bright smile as per usual. "We've heard quite the gossip about you. A tale full of twists and turns, one might say."

"Yeah, you could," Lady Caine agreed. "So. Who do I have the pleasure of sitting with?" She leaned forward, elbows comfortably resting on the tabletop.

"Peter Merkel, at the moment," Peter introduced, "though professionally, I am better known as Ragdoll!"

"Name's Garfield Lynns," Garfield contributed. "In the field, I go by Firefly."

"And Little Red?" Lady Caine asked after Jack said nothing.

"SHHHHHH!" Jack hissed. "That is MY GIRLFRIEND, and I am trying to LISTEN TO HER SING!"

"…Are you crying?" Lady Caine observed.

"IT'S HAY FEVER!" Jack cried before going back to staring in awe at Irmaplotz and weeping over just how beautiful she sounded.

"So," Lady Caine asked Garfield, "what's the story here? Let me guess: I look vaguely like some long-dead girlfriend."

"Not even close," Garfield replied. "You're not gonna believe this, but you actually give me serious vibes of the frontwoman of this rock band I like. It's the hard stuff. Guitars, screaming, and expletives."

"See, where I come from, I've never heard a guitar that sounded like 'the hard stuff,'" Lady Caine told him.

"Then do I have a few albums to make you listen to, Lzzy," Garfield said cockily.

Lady Caine accepted that "Lzzy" was going to be her nickname from him for at least the moment. Probably the name of that singer. Definitely better than "Ermentrud." "So what's the point here?" she asked. "We all get up on that stage and sing?"

"Indeed!" Peter affirmed. "It's great fun. It's classified as 'karaoke' because all of the musical accompaniment is pre-recorded. Given the repertoire of worlds our hosts have visited, they can conjure up just about any song you please."

Lady Caine thought it over a moment, then said cryptically, "Not the song I wanna sing."

"I would ask," Peter replied, "but your enigmatic tone implies a dramatic reveal that I would so hate to spoil."

Irmaplotz concluded her sad ballad, stepping off the stage. Jack quickly wiped away his tears, not wanting her to know how much she'd moved him, though she'd find out he'd cried within five minutes anyway because he couldn't button his lips around her.

Lady Caine stormed the stage before anyone else could get the chance, stepping up to where all eyes were on her, wondering what the neophyte of the faction was going to bring to the table musically. She approached the microphone, tapping it twice; she'd observed how Irmaplotz used it and connected how it worked with the amplifiers. Then she leaned toward it and spoke;

"So this is the first place I've actually been allowed to do this. Actually, ENCOURAGED to do this. Every time I would try to rope the old crew into this, they would say it was stupid and only for softies like the Snuggly Duckling crowd. Anyway, I have something I want you to hear, but I guess it's not technically 'karaoke,' since there's no way any of you has the backup music for this recorded. Just go with it."

Curiosity was piqued. What was Lady Caine's mysterious song? Why would no one know it?

She took a deep breath, almost nervous, then began, at first, simply speaking: "I grew up destitute and poor. They said I'd die out there for sure."

The tune formed in her voice as she continued: "But I set my sights and started to ascend. I ran the criminal underground and found it just a bit profound…that I got there motivated by revenge."

The melody was bouncy, almost unfittingly so given the subject matter. The sort of thing that most of this group might hate if it weren't for the thought Lady Caine had put into these lyrics.

"Since the princess took away my ever after," Lady Caine went on, "taking out the ones involved has been my theme. With your help, I'll kill King Fred, and just like you, want Gothel dead!"

That earned a cheer.

"What I'm saying here," Lady Caine sang to round off the first verse, "is that I've got a dream!"

She put up her hands, clapping them once, twice, thrice in midair. The crowd picked up the pattern. Hands were raised, slapping together in perfect rhythm.

"I've got a dream!" Lady Caine sang to her new percussion. "I've got a dream! It's too late for those who wronged me to redeem! Why cut the hair on Punzie's head when I can cut her throat instead? Like everybody else, I've got a dream!"

She had meant to stop there. Yet she had stirred up embers she hadn't expected, and a fire was ready to break out.

For one, Ravess had caught onto the basic pattern of the melody, and, violin to chin, had risen, beginning to play the proper orchestration to back a hypothetical second verse.

For another, Yzma and Snatcher, the usual suspects, were now hurrying onstage as fast as they could, pushing and shoving one another but neither managing to gain a lead. They knocked Lady Caine aside as a duo, and then, looking to each other, quickly and wordlessly agreed upon a truce. Snatcher seized the microphone first, and to the beat of the clapping, against Ravess' new accompaniment, he, sang out, "I'm a corpulent, crossdressing gay…"

Yzma swiped the microphone. "And I'm a woman of considerable age."

Taking the mic back, Snatcher continued, "To the White Hat sort, we mightn't well be real."

Back and forth they passed the microphone as needed. Yzma's voice rang out, "Which is why we'll use our talents…"

"To obtain a lavish palace…" Snatcher embellished.

"From which we'll bring our emperors to heel!" Yzma cried joyously.

"At the upset, we'll take over giving orders!" Snatcher belted.

"And we'll execute dissenters as we deem!" Yzma trilled. "As for the men who used to trash us?"

Snatcher grinned; "We'll eat what gives THEM rashes!"

Then, together, they chorused, "Yes, right out on our sleeves, we've got a dream!"

Snatcher picked up the chorus: "I've got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!" Yzma backed.

"I've got a dream!" Snatcher repeated.

"I've got a dream!" Yzma responded.

In contrasting harmony, bass and alto, they unified once more: "We'll deprive the current bourgeoisie of steam!"

"On their upturned nose, we'll spit!" Yzma declared.

Taking on Frou Frou's accent and pitch, Snatcher punctuated, "My dear, we're here. Get over it."

He kept that accent as he now took a soprano over Yzma, showing her up by one octave in their last reunion: "Yes, right out on our sleeves, we've got a dream!"

Inspired, Garfield stood up and cried, "I just wanna steal stuff that's expensive!"

Peter stood up right beside him, chorusing, "I wish to steal things too, but just for fun!"

"I want a world to run!" Hämsterviel chimed in.

"An inventor's work is never done!" Herb Overkill piped up.

Discord shot up; "I want chaos!"

Then Scarlet; "I want the crown!"

Then, to everyone's surprise, the Huntsman, proclaiming, "I want to bring the dragons down!"

And Aghoul, seeing his chance to play up one of his favorite trash-talks, leapt onto the table and placed his hand on his heart to belt out, "AND MOZENRATH WANTS TO DO IT WITH A UUUUU-NIIIII-COOOOOORN!"

As the audience had begun to sing out, Roman, also seeking some mischievous amusement, slid in to sit beside Vexen. "Hey, Iceman," he whispered. "I'll give you twenty lien if you go up there and sing a verse."

"Absolutely not," Vexen said without even looking at Roman.

"Fifty lien?" Roman tried.

"You cannot pay me enough to embarrass myself so," Vexen insisted.

"C'mon, Iceman!" Roman begged. "It'll be fun! You NEVER cut loose!"

"You're literally only suggesting this to me because you suspect I will be humorous to watch onstage, and you want a quick laugh."

"Well…yeah," Roman admitted. "Anyway, one hundred?"

"NO."

Roman shrugged. "Suit yourself, Iceman. Though it might be worth considering that if you don't get up there and sing…I WILL."

Yzma was startled to realize that Vexen, now onstage, had whipped the microphone out of her hand, rattlesnake-quick. He spoke rhythmically as opposed to actually singing; "I have dreams, too, I suppose. Though by now this army knows I share not your fervent passion for authority. No, I seek to make a move in my field of choice that proves…"

His eyes traveled over the faces of the baffled crowd and the very satisfied Roman Torchwick.

And as the next words left his lips, they melded softly into the song's tune: "My intellectual superiority."

The crowd was just about to go wild. Vexen knew it. And that rush of validation and admiration made him think that perhaps there was something to this whole performing-arts gig, after all. Yet just as the cheer had built, it was cut off abruptly by the crack of a blue lightning bolt striking the stage, Mozenrath materializing in its wake.

"GIVE ME THAT," he demanded, swiping the microphone roughly from Vexen's hand.

The crowd stared, waiting for him to admonish them. Obviously, he'd been watching from a scrying window up in his study, over the table of schematics and plots. They figured he was here to break up the party for having too much fun, to assert his dominance over them all once more. Most likely, he was offended at Aghoul bringing up the unicorn again.

Mozenrath was well aware of the apprehension and the expectations. That was why it gave him such a smug air to raise the microphone to his lips and smirk before singing out loudly, "I'VE GOT A DREAM!"

Now the crowd did go wild, exploding into whoops and applause.

"I've got a dream!" Mozenrath continued as he walked across the front of the stage, relishing in the attention. "I will build the grandest empire, most supreme! With each passing day and night, I guess this teamwork thing's…all right." A wink. "I'm satisfied to know you share my dream!"

From the foremost table, Mim, Aghoul, Wuya, Roman, and the Huntsman stood up. At the same time, Yzma and Snatcher arranged themselves behind Mozenrath. All seven of his fellow founders pointed at him, chorusing, "He's got a dream!"

In response, Zevon leapt atop his own table, pointing directly at his mother; "She's got a dream!"

Draco gestured vaguely around to the entire room, feeling relaxed enough to smile as he declared, "They've got a dream!"

Hannibal, Ashley, Tubbimura, and Jack were inspired to rise up from their respective scattering across the room, uniting as Heylin to sing, "We've got a dream!"

The crowd sang out as one: "So our differences aren't really that extreme! We're one…big…teeaaaaam!"

A long pause; an expectant silence.

Then Roman Torchwick, proclaiming, "CALL US ASSHOLES!"

"VILLAINS!" Wuya chimed in.

"VICIOUS!" Mim screeched.

"But the prospects are auspicious," Mozenrath declared onstage.

Once more, the WHAM ARMY united to sing, "'CAUSE RIGHT OUT ON OUR SLEEVES, WE'VE GOT A DREAM!"

Sensing the song's climax, the critical line was passed back and forth rapidly, like a ball –

"I've got a dream!" Irmaplotz cried.

"I've got a dream!" Xayide sang smoothly.

"I gotta pee!" Snipe declared.

"We've got a dream!" Rémington and Grany yelled in synchrony.

"No," Vexen said with arms folded as Roman pouted at him.

"Xerxes have dream!" Xerxes chimed in.

Neo held aloft a large sign with the words "I'VE GOT A DREAM!" printed on it in bold lettering.

Lady Caine stepped back to the front of the stage, and Mozenrath handed her the microphone so her voice could ring out as she led the WHAM ARMY in their final chorus together: "YES, RIGHT OUT ON MY SLEEVE, I'VE GOT A DREEAAAAAAM!"