Okay, I can explain myself.

Remember when I wrote in my Chapter 1 AN that I just kept expanding on this fic when I got way too old for it cuz I was on my "lmao, this ain't ever leaving my head again" shit? Well, the Show By Rock anime came out when I was in college and it was then that I decided I was going to replace my original Atlantica stand-in with it.

None of that sounded good. I'm sorry.

Also, so like, being able to incorporate music was a personal requirement for Atlantica stand-ins so there, uh, might be some minor musical elements mixed in. Again, I really didn't think I'd ever let this leave my head again and I had actually started imagining everything as a visual medium at that point and didn't really think how weird this would be in written form. Don't worry. It won't be a lot. This chapter in particular has the latter half of the anime's first season TV size opening, "Seishun wa Non-Stop". I was originally going to straight up have the entire opening in there but decided that was overkill. Reading the lyrics isn't necessary so you can just like...skip them when you see them.

A strum of a guitar, a beat of the drum, a hum of a star-to-be; these were the common sounds and sights in the bustling MidiCity. A mecca of the world's pride and culture all in one place, there was never a dull moment in this neon lit capital. The bright lights beamed all throughout the night sky, and the city's centerpoint, the aptly named Center Tower, glistened with the sheen of the large crystal-like chunk that laid neatly on top. This was the kind of place one would lose themselves in. The kind of place that one would spend hours upon hours venturing through just taking in all the life that sang through the streets. The kind of place that a certain magical girl in red would find herself pondering upon for months on end.

Ashley sat quietly off in the city outskirts and gazed at the mesmerizing glow of color from atop a rocky cliff. She often found herself sitting in this very spot, just observing this strange world from afar. They had discovered MidiCity not too long after she joined Maleficent's ranks. It was in the middle of the green witch's spree of destruction when she let the Heartless loose to wreak havoc indiscriminately. It'd be a terror in itself just to list how many worlds were lost in that period, yet somehow, there was something about this world that piqued her interest enough to let it slide.

Most worlds were dictated by the power of light and darkness through abstract means. There was no real way to quantify or personify either concept outside the otherworldly invasion of Heartless. But when they discovered MidiCity, they found that light was its main energy source. And in fact, it wasn't even known as light at all. It was the power of music, harnessed into the same kind of essence and energy that was ideal to defeating the Heartless. As one of her first tasks in this villainous guild, Ashley was assigned this world as her own personal turf. Whenever she had the time for it, she would figure out the inner workings of the place, find out how everything operated, and find out how they would be able to take down a world that was ready made to fight against them.

As the months passed, she whittled the world's defenses slowly but surely. While it still stood proud despite her best efforts, it was not what it once was. The lively music that whirred on through the air would've been a bountiful symphony in the past. It was stuck in an awkward state; a world that was a formidable fortress, but also one that was dying a slow and painfully dragged out death. Because of that, Maleficent had grown bored of it a long time ago. She had allowed Ashley to continue doing her thing, but after a string of frustrating defeats, it was now time to pull the plug on the whole project entirely. They had more important things to worry about than keeping this stubborn old world around.

This is my chance, she thought nervously to herself. She knew the ins and outs of this world better than anyone else. After all her humiliation, this would be the moment she would fall in Maleficent's favor once more.

"Are you done moping around or what?"

Ashley shot a glare behind her. Two of Maleficent's other apprentices, Heather and Trent, were assigned alongside her in this decimation effort. Heather was doing what she normally did; taking every opportunity possible to belittle her and drive her nerves up the wall. Ashley could not think of a single moment in time when she was ever glad to be in the same general distance as the textbook high school mean girl. And then there was Trent who was a whole other class of frustration. He slouched on to a nearby rock and looked away with a face of annoyance. He looked like he knew all of this was beneath him. Like he knew she was beneath him. She could not get a proper read on the guy, but it didn't take a genius to figure out he enjoyed the company of his allies as much as a speck of fire enjoyed being lit on ice.

"Don't just look at me like that," Heather spat at her silence. "How long do you expect us to just sit around and watch you emo it up?"

"We can't just jump into things carelessly," Ashley grumbled back in annoyance. Truthfully, she very much was stalling, but as if she was going to let Heather have an up on her.

"Oh, sure, I get it." She narrowed her eyes and let out a sarcastic laugh. "Can't slip up in front of the boss. Don't want to be puked on again, right?"

What the heck is her problem?

Trent could only roll his eyes at the verbal catfight that was unfolding in front of him. Sure, he'd rather wrap this up quickly too, but not if he had to listen to this insipid banter. He already had enough of Heather making enemies with a goth girl back on the island. Of all the things he was being forced to tolerate through this partnership, her juvenile pettiness was one that really drove up his patience.

"Still acting like a dumb kid after all this?" He rolled his eyes before making his exit.

"Excuse me?" Heather replied in shock. "What did you call me?" She chased after him.

Finally. The little red witch was all alone again. Just herself and the city. Just how she liked it.

"...

…

...And we'll make the most of our time living with the love we're giving

We'll party on non-stop!

And we'll live our lives just like a movie, so we can dance groovy

To that happy ending bop!"

Off in the distance, she heard the faint notes of a guitar. A taped performance was probably playing on a projector somewhere. It was fairly common for songs from various bands to blast out during random times in the day, and she sometimes found comfort wondering what new tunes she'd hear each visit. As time dragged on however, more songs came in repeated rotation, and she began to hear the same tired artists again and again.

"...And we'll shed the gloom that comes out breaking, smiles that start shaking,

We'll face tomorrow on!

Dreams that won't stop, even at the final beat drop,

We'll soar and we'll fly and sing our forever song!"

Even so, she couldn't help humming along in bliss.

"That's our future ode!

C'mon, ready?

Let's go!"

oOo

MIDICITY

oOo

Alakazam, Loudred, and Mokona all gazed up at the towering landscapes in awe. This wasn't the first time they'd landed themselves in a city of course, but this one left all those typical brick walls and musty streets in the dust. Neon lights lined the metallic structures, and every color of the rainbow beamed down at them in the shape of lively and adorable signs and symbols. Those other worlds may as well have looked ancient compared to this one.

"Cities in our world used to look like this too, right?" Al gaped as he timidly scanned the various shopfronts.

"You'd probably know better than me," Loudred laughed in amazement.

"Cody, Cody, Cody," Mokona jumped up and down like a hyperactive child. "Look at that! Look at this! Look at there!"

"Hold on," Cody sighed absentmindedly. He'd been too busy looking incredulously at his new monkey tail to match the others' enthusiasm. Frankly, with Mokona's disguise function having been dormant since the Mystery Dungeons, he was caught completely off guard with this minor physical change and was almost resentful he seemed to be the only one in the group who apparently needed cloaking.

"I wanna go there, I wanna go there!" It was like they were Mokona's guardians accompanying him at a theme park.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down a sec," Cody laughed lightly. While the others continued to marvel at the sights, the young teen admittedly wasn't as transfixed. He used to visit Toronto quite frequently back in his world, and aside from a more gaudy palette, it didn't seem all that different.

"Kinda reminds you of home, yeah?" He could feel a girl's voice ask him.

A little, he responded in his head. It might've been a testament to how much this bizarre occurrence broke him down, but the strange Phantom Gwen that had tailed him this entire time became so well acquainted that he now often found himself actively conversing with her whenever he heard her voice chime in.

"Were you a city guy?"

Mm, I wouldn't say so. They're fun to visit though. You?

"Love them." It was silly to think that this hallucination seemed to have opened up to him, but her response was a level of enthusiasm he'd never quite seen from the real Gwen. "Just crowds of people from all different walks of life, gathered in one place. You get lost in them, and you're both alone and not." Her voice suddenly soothed into slight melancholy. "Trent lives in Toronto, you know. I was hoping to visit him and just wander around the place after we got back. But you know, I kind of wonder if he actually hates places like this."

Maybe. In his head, he thought for sure that he did. But in truth, who really knew what that guy thought?

"Look, look, look, LOOK!"

Cody's inner conversation was interrupted by Mokona's shrill cries of excitement. He'd already pranced around like he was on a sugar high, but now he could barely contain his excitement.

"That looks cool!" He hopped and jumped as he pointed to a far off dome, what was most likely a concert hall. Music notes had physically manifested around it and fluttered about, imitating the motions of scrolling sheet music. "I wanna go, I wanna go!"

Mokona already zipped off before the others even had a moment to respond.

"Hey!" Al shouted off angrily. "We're still trying to find the King. Have you forgotten about that? We can't just be running around like tourists!"

"Al," Loudred rested his hand sternly on his friend's shoulder. "Let him do whatever he wants."

"Wh-seriously?"

"Yes," Cody nodded, almost despondently. "You remember, right?"

…Oh, yeah.

After everything had wrapped up back in Death City, they were left with the troubling predicament of what exactly to do with Eva. She was still knocked out cold and they were certain the next time she was up, she'd be on the same wavelength as a boss-level Heartless out for their heads..

So naturally, they sucked her up into Mokona's little hammer space forehead gem and left her be.

Mokona was probably too full of childish glee to realize it, but he may as well have been a walking tyke bomb at that very moment.

The others shuddered at the very possibility of what would happen if she got unleashed once more and wordlessly chased after their tiny companion without further complaint.

…

Meanwhile, as the group made their exit, someone else eyed the very same dome they were headed towards. A meek young girl clad in a frilly gothic dress clutched her delicate hands tightly onto a pink, heart shaped guitar. Her black cat ears made soft and frightened twitches and her matching tail wavered behind in uncertain motions. Her large, emerald eyes glimmered with quivering unease. She was the kind of person who would hide at a single sign of danger, but there was something she had to do, and she knew in her heart there was no way for her to get out of it. With a false air of resolve, she made her way to the dome, the fragile clicks of her Mary Janes petering off into the distance.

oOo

"Oh, did we miss it?" Just as they reached the building entrance, the ethereal musical notes that trailed around in the sky had all but faded. Cody groaned in disappointment. Even though it was the group mascot who dragged them here, a part of him had genuinely looked forward to kicking back for a bit.

"Aaaaaaaw," Mokona drooped his body down like squished gum.

"Well, we can still check the place out while we're here I guess," Al awkwardly patted the little furball's head, clearly not used to being in a comforting role.

"Yeah," Loudred added. "We can pick up a souvenir or…" His words trailed off alongside his usual jovial smile. Unbeknownst to the others, his hypersensitive stereo ears drummed off in an uneven lull. The vibrations were off. Panicked even. He hoped it was just continued excitement from the concert venue, but he was preparing for the worst.

The others quickly noticed his out of character silence and promptly ran inside. With how obvious the rumbles grew, something was definitely amiss; yet, the lobby was clear and clean without a single soul in sight. Cody carefully summoned his Keyblade and gripped it closely to his chest. He darted his eyes around with the same anxiety one would have traversing around in a horror game.

Slowly but surely, they inched their way towards what sounded to be the source of their fears; the main concert hall of course. What havoc was occurring inside fought in a numbing grind against the building's soundproof walls. They were so close, yet still they couldn't confirm their fears. They latched on to the handles and pulled and prodded with all their might to no avail. It was almost frustrating how much was getting in their way from confirming the inevitable.

There was one last card up their sleeve. His arms up and steady and his eyes narrowed into a silent glare, Al emitted a soft glow to the handles, hoping to rip them open with his telekinesis. With each passing second, his face contorted into an increasingly agonized expression, and the glow grew and grew until it encompassed almost the entire entryway itself. If he would just keep concentrating. Steady…steady…

The doors finally flew open and the Large Body that had blocked it off with its grip bashed right into Alakazam like a magnet. And if that wasn't enough, the concert goers who were helplessly trapped inside ran out screaming in a continuous stream. The small, mascot-like anthropomorphic creatures barely even reached past Cody's knees in height, yet the spewing crowd was enough to feel like one was caught in a post-storm mudslide. All the while, Al kept whimpering pathetically below a struggling Large Body. His voice peaked each time one of the panicked animal creatures thoughtlessly bumped and pushed him to the side. Loudred had to startle them further with the light shake of an Uproar just to clear enough of a path to help his friend up.

With the Large Body defeated and Al set free, the group charged straight into the main concert hall where the Heartless storm had set and simmered. The typical Shadows, Soldiers, and Large Bodies hobbled around the walls and floor while a colorful flurry of the small doll-like variants swirled around in the sky like petals in the wind. The Blue Rhapsodys, the Red Nocturnes, Yellow Operas, and Green Requiems spat out every conceivable form of magic and transformed the room into a bizarre elemental snowglobe. Cody could only take a few steps before slipping on a random ice patch and crashing straight on to the floor. Meanwhile, Al was subject to random bouts of burning, Mokona to a mini tornado, and Loudred to crackling thunder bolts. It was a mess navigating through the room let alone fighting in there.

Cody's face had just met another harsh fall to the floor when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. A young male teen, seemingly just in front of him shouted off his name in confusion and shock. His head pounding in pain and his eyes scuffed from all the dirt, dust, and disgust they'd collected from the floor, he drearily peered upwards…

…And saw Tyler cowering behind a large speaker right on the corner of the stage. What's more, Justin hid right beside him, both dressed in bright and gaudy pop star costumes.

"Tyler?! Justin?!" Cody managed to cough out in between the floor germs that had infected his mouth.

"What are you doing here?!" The jock yelled back as he carefully ducked his head from an incoming fireball.

"What am I doing here? What are you two doing on stage?!"

"Oh, funny story," Tyler laughed nervously with Justin nodding along. "So the two of us woke up in the middle of an intersection and—"

"You two," a new voice cut in, one that almost seemed princely in nature. "Start playing, now!"

So absorbed by their seemingly random reunion, the three nearly choked at the sudden realization that someone else was there. Or in Tyler and Justi's case, the sudden reminder. They turned their eyes to the center of the stage where a guitar clad young man calmly adjusted the microphone as if the real concert was still alive and well. Fitting with his princely voice, he had striking blonde hair and an elaborate bright blue idol uniform, one even gaudier than the pale green ones Tyler and Justin were in. His face was calm amongst the chaos and his eyes were narrowed in a keen and daring shape like a cunning fox. A fitting look alongside his brown fox-like ears and tail.

"What?!" Tyler shouted back, alongside Justin who cringed and flailed his arms in a disapproving gesture.

"Those four need our help. We can't just stand here."

"B-b-but we've never been this close to those things before," Tyler replied, alongside a rigorously nodding Justin.

"I'm sorry," the young man said while he strummed a quick test chord. "Might I remind you that your contracts both state that staying in this band means you're to help protect this town without any hesitation?" He faced the two, his eyes closed in a blissful tone and his smile wide and bright. "You wouldn't dream of breaking contract, would you?

"You don't wanna get fired and left back in the streets again, right?"

If looks could kill, the two would've been shot dead on the spot.

Tyler and Justin zoomed right back towards the center stage and scrambled for the two instruments that were left idle during all the commotion. Tyler nearly tripped and stumbled trying to situate himself behind a drum set, and Justin haphazardly tuned a cello in record speed. Then there was Cody who gaped at the scene, completely dumbfounded that those three were seriously about to resume the concert in the middle of all this.

"What in the world are you—"

With just a few strums, the stage was already set. Those strange ephemeral musical notes once again manifested themselves in the air. An uninformed eye would groan over the annoying clutter that had developed alongside the magical hodgepodge that already populated the space, but any MidiCity resident knew what would happen next. Drawn in like the three had just sprayed the room with catnip, the flying mages foolishly crowded around the notes and were met with instant doom. The faint sparks of lightning, fire, ice, and what not sprinkled around in their place until there was nothing left.

"What?" Cody mumbled to himself in confusion. He only grew more confused when he looked back at the three perpetrators on stage, now transformed into a chibi fox-donkey-peacock trio, much like the small anthropomorphic concert goers who fled the room earlier. And he grew even more confused when he realized the three were singing and playing along to an energetic boy band song amidst all this. And he grew even more confused when he looked at his hand and suddenly realized his entire body had started to glow with tiny visions of the musical notes slowly gathered around him. He wasn't the only one. His three companions were encased in a faint glow too. And on top of that, their bodies suddenly felt much lighter, like they could individually take down the rest of the Heartless on their own if they wanted to. Needless to say, the remaining ground based Heartless were as good as gone.

It couldn't have been more than a few minutes. The Heartless that had absolutely mobbed the concert hall were no more, wiped thoroughly without a trace. With their song now over, the strange pop band reverted back into their more human-like forms, and the music notes once again drifted off into nothing.

"That was amazing," Al said breathlessly as he examined his hands with awestruck eyes, hoping that even a small glimmer of the miracle glow was left.

"It was like my body was moving on its own," Loudred said, just as amazed.

"Do it again, do it again," Mokona bounced excitedly. "Encore, encore, encore!"

"No can do, little guy," the blonde guitarist laughed as he bent down to get a better look at his tiny new fan. "We've gotta clean this place up now."

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Tyler eyed over to Cody with a cocky stride.

"Yeah, but," the boy blinked. "What did you guys do?"

Justin joined in with a boastful cello chord in response.

"I mean, I get that you guys played music, but what the heck happened?"

"Well, you see…" Tyler was more than happy to explain how he and Justin somehow became newfound heroes. In fact, he was ready to start the entire story all over again from the intersection incident. But right at that moment, at the very corner of his eye, he saw a faint shade of black. A lone Shadow had crept away hidden in the walls and somehow survived that entire massacre. It reformed itself right behind the Keybearer, ready to make a surprise slash across his back, and all Tyler could do was watch. "Look out!"

!

BAM!

The sneaky little Shadow was gone, crumpled away and fading off on the ground with the dent of a heart shaped guitar on its head. Cody turned around, expecting to get slashed silly by a stray ant. Instead he was greeted by the reddened face of a young catgirl. Her arms were outreached, clenching onto her guitar handle like her life depended on it. Her eyes were shut and her face looked to be on the verge of tears. She looked to be around Cody's age, but her frail and shaky demeanor could've convinced anyone to think she was much younger than she actually was.

Silence passed, holding itself just like the young girl was with her own shaky breath. Finally, the timid last minute hero opened her enormous gem-like eyes and let out what little was left of her air into a series of hiccuping gasps. She just saved Cody's back, but she certainly didn't look like she thought she'd succeed.

The awkward geek wasn't sure what to say. The poor thing looked like she could break down at any minute if he wasn't careful enough. It took insistent nudges from his two Pokemon pals to finally reach his hand out to her. "Hey, are you alr—"

"THANKS FOR SAVING ME!" She practically exploded in his face.

"...Uh," Cody blinked. "I mean no problem, but shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

It was her turn to blink in astonishment. "Um, uh…" Her face flushed into a hue as pink as her guitar as she tried to stammer herself into saving the bumbling exchange.

"Cyan," the blonde man called out to her from the stage. Her ears perked up instantly, seemingly relieved to be released from that fumbled conversation. "Are you alright? What are you doing here?"

"S-syuzo," he squeaked back. There was another round of stammers, her words too unsteady to properly voice them out. She then shook her head around and finally took in the full scope of the aftermath. The concert hall was an absolute wreck, and there were four strangers who seemed just as eager to look for answers as she was. With a rough gulp, she turned back to Syuzo and finally finished in a nervous half whisper. "Could we talk backstage for a sec?..."

oOo

With peace restored to the building, Syuzo welcomed everyone to an elaborate feast in his waiting room. All the craft services that had gone abandoned during the confusion were now theirs for the taking. Everything from sandwiches to cookies to chips to the Tails patented language candies the Keyblade Crew graciously donated were passed around sloppily across the room where the rowdy bunch ate themselves silly. Cody was more than eager to play catch up with two fellow ex-campers, and Tyler and Justin quickly took a shine to his current companions. It was like a warriors' battle; full of boastful joy and merriment without a care in the world.

Which was why Syuzo sat there with the fakest of smiles as the sole party attendee who remembered poor Cyan was sitting there like a flaking furball.

"Man, so what is with this weird monkey tail?" Tyler spoke in between munches.

"I told you," Cody responded, quickly pulling his temporary tail away from Tyler's grabby hands. "It's like a cloaking thing to fit in the world. Mokona made it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you want one?" Mokona hopped around eagerly.

Justin gave a frantic disgusted headshake in response.

"Why not?" Loudred chuckled. "You were a peacock back there, right? Wouldn't it be cool to run around with peacock feathers?"

Justin's headshakes intensified.

"I mean, I turn into a donkey when that happens," Tyler snorted. "That would suck. Who wants to be stuck walking around with donkey ears?"

"Dude, how'd you get stuck with a donkey?" Cody asked.

"Bro, I wish I knew. Like, did they beam a personality quiz into our brains before we landed here? I am totally not a donkey. There's gotta be a better animal for me, right? Something that's cooler. Nicer looking. Smarter. More gentlemanly."

"Would the cool, smart, pretty boy gentleman donkey care to read the room?"

Tyler and Justin, who were basked in a party mood, froze like deer in headlights. Syuzo had that smile again. The one that looked soft and kind, but was actually a perfect simulation to being stabbed by a demon in hell. The duo promptly dropped their food and straightened themselves until their backs started to bend over backwards.

"So," Syuzo looked over to the guys with his hands folded politely below his head. "You four are here about the Heartless, right?"

The gang looked at one another. Normally, they would've started internally panicking and making asses of themselves trying to explain all this "other worlds" business away, but with Tyler and Justin there, it was clear the guy already knew something was up.

"We've been dealing with those things for months now," he responded like he could tell the four wanted to know how and why he knew. "With them hanging around for so long, you just learn to piece things together eventually."

"Months?!" Cody exclaimed with widened eyes. From his experience, those creatures' sudden appearance usually meant a world was on its last legs.

"How are you guys able to just go and have a concert with all this going on?" Al asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, those concerts are why we're still here," Syuzo gave a knowing wink. "Did you see that big tower in the center of town? Well, that thing helps convert happiness into energy, and here, the best way to harness happiness is through music. All the stages in town are specially built to help generate that energy. That's what you saw back there with all the music notes."

"So, you're saying music is basically the same as light here?" Al nodded while he pieced everything together.

"Bingo!" Syuzo snapped his finger. "And since MidiCity's the music capital of the world, there's more than enough bands and artists to help with the cause. We were putting up a good fight for a while. But…" His smile shifted into a slight frown. "I guess those Heartless and the witch in charge of them caught on and they've been picking off bands one by one. Even my old bandmates…"

Tyler and Justin stiffened in fright. Syuzo looked at them with what seemed like a sad frown, but to those who knew better, it was an open sign of contempt at the below average replacements he was stuck with.

"A witch, huh?" Cody couldn't help but roll his eyes. Of course, this was that Maleficent woman's work. Who else would it be?

"There's not too many of us left, unfortunately. After a bunch of them started getting lost in the darkness, groups have been going on hiatus left and right. Can't say I blame them."

"You've been handling it really well." Cyan finally took a break from looking down nervously at her knees to give her senior a well earned compliment. "You've been doubling the number of concerts you do, and you went and recruited new members after the others were…"

Her voice trailed off and she returned to planting her quivering eyes below her. She knew it was time for her to explain herself, but it was like a part of her was trying to shut her brain off from all the guilt that had built up.

"Th-the truth is," she mumbled. "I was getting really scared and I wanted Plasmagica to go on hiatus too. But when I tried to tell the others…" The small glints of waterworks started to return. "Chuchu got mad and ran off. Moa, Retoree, and I split up to try to look for her, and I haven't seen or heard from any of them since." She keeled over until she was practically a ball on the chair. "Something bad happened. I just know it."

The others were taken aback. It wasn't hard to figure out what fate may have fallen on her friends. They eyed each other with guilt ridden faces. With how loud and merry they were earlier in spite of Cyan's sorrows, they felt like the scum of the earth.

"This is all my fault," Cyan sniffled as she looked over to Syuzo with a pleading face. "What should I do?"

The young man bit his lip. He was the kind of guy who was always on top of everything, but even he wasn't sure if there was a right answer to this predicament. After all, he was in the same situation not too long ago and look how that turned out. Despite his typical demeanor, to say even he got out of that, or rather was still going through it, mentally unscathed would be a lie. "Well…"

"We'll help look for them."

Cyan, Syuzo, and those two guys looked on expectantly at Cody and his group. So distraught by Cyan's tears, they didn't even hesitate to spring right into this impromptu search and rescue. Cyan's eyes, still wet from her small sobbing drips, glistened in awe. Syuzo, meanwhile, reacted with hesitancy.

"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news here, but it might be too—"

"Not too late!" Mokona interrupted hastily.

"Yeah, you can't give up without trying," Loudred declared as he beat his fist to his chest.

"Trust us," Cody clicked his tongue with the confidence of a cheesy Saturday morning hero. Al couldn't help but silently roll his eyes behind him in response. "We're Heartless experts. If anyone's gonna be finding and saving your friends, it'll be us."

"Well," Syuzo mulled it over. "I guess if you put it that wa—"

Cyan violently slammed her palms to the table. "Let me come with you!"

…

"Uh," Cody shifted his eyes around the room and attempted to assess the situation. Everyone was just as surprised as he was. "Excuse me?"

"It's my fault, so I'll help."

"Hey, listen," Al scratched the back of his head. "It's probably going to be really dangerous. I don't know if—"

In no time flat, Cyan was on her tippy toes right up in Al's face. "I'm going!" Her cheeks puffed up in a childlike attempt to seem threatening.

The boys weren't sure what to do. The girl was on the verge of a breakdown not too long ago. And earlier, it was apparent it took everything in her just to knock that one single Shadow down. Everyone they'd ventured with thus far were able to hold their own. Escorting a civilian was a whole other ball park.

Cody's eyes continued to ping pong around, desperate to see if anyone else could make the final decision. It was clear however that everyone was at a loss for words. Calling her inexperienced would've been an understatement. But look at her. How could anyone just say no to someone who had such fire in their eyes? In a way, it almost reminded him of…

"Sure, I don't see why not."

It was Cody's turn to be the object of everyone's quaking stares. Was he nuts?

"Oh, thank you!" Her mouth pursed into a catlike squeal. "I promise, I won't get in the way."

He could feel it. Everyone was thinking the same thing: Are you insane? It'll be your fault if anything happens to her. But hey, people probably thought the same about him in the past and look where he was now.

Syuzo sighed and attempted to recompose himself with a collected smile. It came out as twitches instead. "Remember, those things are serious trouble. Don't go falling into danger now."

"Don't worry, I won't!" Cyan shouted off happily before quickly skipping out of the room.

A mix of worried expressions and daggers shot at Cody who could do nothing but shrug sheepishly in return. What's done is done he supposed. With continued eyes of reluctance, the boys made their way out of the room. Their goals were set: Find Cyan's missing friends and hope to dear God they don't accidentally get her killed.

…

"Oh! Almost forgot!"

Mokona quickly slipped back and performed a drive-by magic zap at Tyler and Justin before making his final exit. Even beyond the walls of the building, one could hear hysterical cries about donkey ears and peacock feathers. And within the walls, Syuzo would be stuck listening to these buffoons for the foreseeable future.