"Hm...How is it that jester can use my power?"

"Hello there. Come to watch the show too?"

Grape looked to the voice. A young creature stood next to her, many eyes and tentacles. He was a pleasant lilac, with all other eyes besides his main resembling freckles. He smiled warmly.

Grape looked back to the jester, who now held someone in his grasp. "He looks similar to Grape the Great. I have never met that man, nor made any sort of jester to work with me. So how does he have Darkle?"

"You're very beautiful. My name is 40 Guy. But everyone just calls me 4D for short."

"Interesting name. What are you, creature?"

"I'm a 40 Guy. All of us have the name 40 Guy until we prove ourselves."

"...Odd. My name is Grape Lyre." She bowed, removing her hat and folding her arm in front of her.

He bowed, all hands to his sides. "I heard there was a crazy villain on the loose. He's been capturing people and turning them into puppets."

She looked back to the jester, who was now leaving the building alongside Izuku. "Puppets, you say? I can create as such. Is that an ability of Darkle, or some other dark force I'm sensing from him?"

"I'm from a different planet. Where are you from?"

"A place called Dark Realm. It was made by our leader, Rex, who just so happens to be my caretaker. And what a wonderful leader he is."

"Our? Leader? Are you in a gang?"

"Gang? Nonsense. I am part of a band of thieves known as the Sour Bunch. Of course, different leaders caused it to be known by different names."

"I have a leader too! His name is Create-O-Guy. He's amazing. Do you want to meet him?"

"Uh...I'm not entirely sure about that. I'm a solo act myself..."

"What do you do, besides steal?"

"Well, I'm a fan of theater. Specifically tragedy. You see, I deem to-"

A large black beam fired right past her. It destroyed a few buildings and tore up the ground. Grape exhaled sharply.

"That was close. That nearly hit me."

"You like tragedy? But isn't tragedy sad?"

"That's the beauty in it. People always seek these impossible 'happy endings' to all their stories. But that's not how real life is. Real life is harsh, cruel, unforgiving. Tragedy is simply a mirror of that. It shows the harshness of the world in a dramatic stage light."

"Do you want the world to be sad? That sounds pretty depressing."

"I want people to realize the truth. Instead of hiding behind lies, I want them to realize that nothing they do will ever remove the fact that the world is a cruel and awful place. I aspire to turn this world, and all worlds, into a perfect tragedy. I almost succeeded, once, if it weren't for that princess in pink."

"Create-O-Guy can help you get that goal. If you want a tragedy, he'd be happy to work for you. He wants to clear everyone off this rock. I can take you to him."

"Did you say...'work for' me? Not I work under him?"

"He and his allies work together, not under."

"Hm...Take me to him. I want to hear his bargain. I will decide my fate then."

"You won't regret it."

"Here we are! The 40 Guy Mothership!" 4D signaled down a hall. "If you head straight that way, then enter the doors, Create-O-Guy is right through there."

She bowed again, thanking him, and headed off. The hall was long, lined with blinking lights. It reminded her of the UFO she had to make for the Mighty plays back at Sparkle Theater. She smiled, thinking fondly of her Sour Bunch. She had no idea where they were, hoping they were alright. Hope, of course, was not enough for her. She wanted to see them again. But when the world turned inside-out, she lost track of them. She had felt a bit ill herself when she came to Japan, and desired to know if any of them survived. Rex told her they were replaceable, but she saw value inside each one of them. They were family, after all.

She opened the door and entered. Beyond her sat a giant. He looked like 4D, but much larger and a peaceful yellow. Grape bowed to him.

"I was led here by your friend, 40 Guy. I'm pleased to make your company. My name is Grape Lyre, leader of the Sour Bunch."

"I see." He leaned forwards a bit, revealing he had long tendrils atop his head, like the whiskers of a Chinese dragon. "And that means he found someone willing to help us."

"He told me you could help me get my tragedy."

"A tragedy, hm?" He sat back, resting his cheek on the highest tentacle on his right side. "Entertain me."

She told him the same she said to 4D. He considered it for a moment, then smiled. He grabbed something from the desk next to his chair, holding it up.

"Alright. If you can be of any help, I'll accept it. You see, our world was destroyed. We've been traveling through time and space since then in search of a new world to live on. Provisions are running low." He pat his knee. "But, this world has the same air, food, and water we need to survive! And since it's so unattractive, no other species will search for us here! However, the humans are in the way. We'll die out really quick if we share this planet with them. So I want to rid this world of humans. I mean, all they do is destroy this planet anyway." He scoffed. "Why would we share a world with them anyway? How could they possibly accept us if they can't even accept themselves?"

"And what do you wager?"

"Hang on, hang ON! Wager? I never promised anything besides your tragedy."

"Well, you didn't expect me to do this for free, did you? I have a family to care for, and and reputation to uphold." She rubbed her thumb against her pointer finger. "So, what are you willing to part with as payment?"

"Hm...You want to rewrite fate, right? I think I have the most perfect gift for you." He lowered his item. "See this? It's the Screamer. It can create anything I want. It uh...can get a bit loud, so you might want to cover your ears."

He pointed the gun towards on of his right tentacles and pressed the trigger. It let out a bone-chilling scream as a fountain pen appeared in his grasp. He held it out for Grape to see.

"What do you think? It's a pen, sure, but there's more. It can change any story. All you need to do is write how you want it to end. From fiction to real life, it can change the world for the better or worse."

"So, you'll just hand me a tragedy on a silver platter?"

"But..." He closed his tentacles over it. "You need to prove your loyalty. Bring me Dimentio and Olive, then I'll hand it over."

"Satisfy my curiosity, who might those be?"

"Curiosity killed the cat you know."

"Satisfaction brought it back."

"Heh. I like you. Fine, I'll show you who you're looking for." He opened a holographic screen. "This one is Olive. He looks like paper, but don't be fooled! He's actually a robot."

Olive's picture changed into a beast with long limbs and black goo connecting pieces of metal together to form his body. His image now bore a frown instead of the smile it had before.

"This is Dimentio. You might recognize him as the jester capable of using your magic..."

"How do you know about that?"

"40 Guy makes a pretty good scout. That might be his skill. He just needs to...prove it to earn his name. He told me 'bout you while you were headed down the hall. I didn't want to overwhelm you with knowing info on you, so I asked a few questions."

"Mhmhm! I can understand that. I have a few scouts myself."

"Do you agree to this bargain? I'm not one for breaking promises and deals, so you can expect me to keep my word...As long as you keep yours."

"I can make a promise, and I can break one. Rest assured, I'm on your side for this. I also agree that humans need to die."

"Alright. The deal is sealed! Take all the time you need to prepare. And make sure you remember their faces. I gotta go get some lunch." He up and left, leaving the witch alone.

She looked at the image of Olive first, remembering the bangs blocking his eye, the demonic body, and the sadness in his eyes. She looked to Dimentio's image next.

He only had half a mask, a deeper sadness behind his smiling eyes. He wore a blood-stained poncho. His yellow hair stuck slightly from his hat. Sure enough, it was the same jester that used her Darkle without her permission. She scowled.

"He will pay dearly for what he's done."

Author note: 40 Guy, how I've missed you.

Remember when I said Magic and Magica were revivals from when draco70 and I were younger? The same goes for 40 Guy and the 40ies. I'm so happy that I'm able to bring back the nostalgia from our childhood into my stories. Also, I don't know WHAT we were doing with the Screamer. What the heck was up with that? Lol