-Not that long ago- 

Roxas wasn’t as strong as Namine. No one he knew was. But he was a fairly strong Empath himself. And with Namine already acting as a station for the island, it wouldn’t take much sustained effort to reach out, and grab.

And once he had, laid out in the cave, was an older Shuichi Saihara.

Roxas hadn’t picked him randomly. He had conditioned a hundred people in his time. Hundreds, maybe. He had lost count. But he had felt the link to Shuichi the second he had stepped into the island. Something about Maki’s presence making it more obvious. And even that hadn’t made Shuichi his pick. There were other conditioned people nearby. Ones he had worked on himself. In that, Shuichi wasn’t special.

But Shuichi had been his first.

You never forget your first. 

It had been hard, conditioning Shuichi. As Roxas stared at him, watching the man–so much older. Who was this person, this grown man where the child should have been, the preteen, the teenager–groan and start to ‘wake up’ on the stone floor, he realized an irrational part of him resented the person in front of him. He had been so difficult. Roxas had struggled so much to do his first conditioning. To the point where he had been punished. To the point where he had been shamed and frightened and embarrassed for not getting it done faster, cleaner, more smoothly.

Teaching the smart kids how to memorize things was supposed to be easy.

Obedience was standard.

And yet, Roxas had struggled so much, to make Shuichi’s conditioning work… and a wild part of him wanted an apology. For Shuichi to explain himself. Why it had been so difficult with him. The ones he had done after hadn’t been hard. Just Shuichi.

“What…?” Shuichi murmured, sitting up and looking around, “...where?”

“You’re dreaming,” Roxas said, leaning against the stone wall, glaring at him, “I’m guessing you don’t know where you are?”

“...” The man looked at him. Roxas was confused by the flash of pink in his eyes, before they shifted back to the gray-gold he remembered. “...does it matter where I am, if I’m dreaming?”

“Don’t be cute. You’re going to go back to sleep soon, but I need to hear something, while there’s no one around to scold me,” Roxas said, frowning, clutching his hands tightly into fists, “You will give me the information I ask for, Shuichi: you will have access to the memories of when you were 13. You will explain why your obedience training needed reestablishing after it was successfully put in at 11. Begin.”

Shuichi just stared at him for a moment… before looking around the cave. Standing up with a little wobble to his steps as he murmured, “This is either a terrible nightmare or I’m in some trouble here,” heading to the cave entrance.

“Where are you going!?” Roxas demanded, startled. All the authority in his voice tilting up in slight surprise as Shuichi just stood up and walked away from him. “Come back here, now! You can’t just walk away from me?!”

Shuichi, for a moment, just walked faster towards the cave entrance… before he stilled. Staring at the sunlight outside, as if debating with himself… before turning to look back at Roxas. Something furious in his gaze. “You’d dare order me to do something?”

Roxas was surprised at the venom in his tone. He took a step back when Shuichi turned, stepping towards him, that flash of pink shifting in the sunlight again as he said coldly at him, “Who on earth do you think you are? Who do you think I am? I don’t obey anyone’s orders. Not gods, not kings, not some blond twink in an ugly black hoodie. I am the head of a household of princes. I am a lord of Luminary and I am its damn boogieman. I make storms and inhale power… and you would dare!?” Shuichi took another step forward, seething, eyes cold as the ice of the deepest caves, “Order ME? By the time I’m done with you, you will get on your knees and beg me forgiveness–gah!”

Roxas had been startled just by Shuichi’s defiance and his pure fury. But after a moment, he remembered where they were, and who had the power here. Grabbing Shuichi, he flicked through the island, finding the others and, mostly wanting backup, threw Shuichi to the center of the group, explaining, “His conditioning is broken too.”

Maki quickly went to help Shuichi up, who sagged slightly in relief to see her. “Oh, good, I was afraid I was screwed there. Maki, I think we’re in an Empath dream.”

“No kidding,” Maki murmured, getting Shuichi to his feet before stepping in front of him, a protective scowl on her face. “You will let us both out. If you really don’t feel emotions, you should know, I should worry you.”

Zexion looked only faintly surprised to see Roxas and Shuuichi pop in. As Axel said, varying results was right… If Roxas had gone off for sentimentality or to settle a grudge…well, it obviously hadn’t worked out. 

…but Shuuichi Saihara was fully aware of Empaths, familiar with Maki, and his conditioning was broken too…

Zexion waited a moment, but when the two very explicitly non-psychics didn’t disappear, Namine not granting Maki’s demand, well, they were just going to stand there otherwise. “So not biological, definitely,” Zexion muttered to himself, before looking over Shuuichi in that same curious way. “...Roxas, I’d hope you wouldn’t waste air saying his conditioning was broken in the same way it’s always been.”

Roxas flinched, embarrassed–Axel snickered watching that. Uh huh. Sooooo emotionless–before looking away, gritting his teeth. “No. It… it doesn’t work at all. You can try it yourself.”

“You will not,” Maki said stiffly, “We’re done for now. Finding me is one thing, but dragging Shuichi here? Whatever benefit of the doubt you had, you lost it now.”

“Please, I’m not trying to antagonize you,” Namine said, a tad desperate, “I realize this has gone poorly, but more and more it’s looking like you have answers we need. We’re trying to help.”

“This did not feel like help,” Shuichi said darkly, glaring at Roxas, who huffed again, “This feels like an abduction.”

“...” Namine looked down, sad, biting her lower lip, “...we’ll… we’ll try again later. When everyone’s calmed down. We put the wrong foot forward. We’ll do it better next time.”

Just like Maki’s… Zexion had theorized that the distant mountain was related to her resistance, but Shuuichi didn’t have that, so whatever had happened that made them resistant…that made them aware and rather well-informed about Empaths, it was something…

Zexion made a little sound, like the wind had been knocked out of him, before slowly lowering himself to the ground. Looking mildly irritated and distracted as he muttered, “Damn it, 9, what are you doing?”

A little…distressed, maybe, Zexion squinted at nothing. 

Maki squinted. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Ah, theeeee mothership’s got some technical issues,” Axel said, reaching over to steady Zexion, giving Namine a ‘now??’ look as he said, “Can we go now? They’re not going anywhere, we can come back begging and pleading later.”

“We will come back,” Roxas said, warning them, staring at Shuichi, “You haven’t seen the last of us.”

“Roxas, bud, can we tone it down on the villain talk? That’s not our thing anymore, remember?” Axel said dryly, before finally just saying aloud, “Namine? Now??”

Namine sighed, looking back to Maki. “...till next time.”

And in a blink, they were all back in the real world. 

Kairi frowned, looking over at ‘9’. “...are you okay?” 

Ienzo’s body sat still, unmoving, almost as if it was unblinking and unbreathing, for a moment. Two. A few longer than would stem concern of someone just spacing out for a moment…

Before it looked up, blinking at Kairi. “It seems that 9 forgot to eat anything today. He likely won’t be back in charge for a while, after that sort of mistake.” Ienzo’s body paused for another moment. “It doesn’t seem like I can move our body up, just yet. I’ll fix that mistake when I can.”

The body frowned a little, a glaring tell that it was 6 in charge now. More present than the others, which Zexion had always thought was a little redundant, but…6 had always been the closest to him. 

“...Ienzo remembers her. It’s possible that may be a bad thing. However, she and Lord Saihara might be the best breakthroughs we could ever hope for, concerning our experiments, so on Zexion’s behalf, I’m requesting to continue to be a part of this endeavor.” 6 blinked Ienzo’s body blearily. “...not that he’s ever away from the island for long, but you understand what I mean.”

“The island’s for everyone, I’d never ask any of you to leave it,” Kairi said gently, “Let’s get some food into you. It’s not good to overwork yourself like this.”

“Geez, we really screwed that one up royally,” Lea muttered, stretching out as he stood up, looking around warily at the ex-tavern they were squatting in, “Sora, you want to help me help, uh… I’m guessing ‘6’?”

Sora glared at Lea, his face exhausted. “Why? He can carry himself.”

Lea sighed. Sora had been particularly grumpy ever since they had left the factories. Lea was guessing it was a defense mechanism. If Sora had felt helpless and overwhelmed in the factories, suddenly being out in the world had made it ten times worse. While Sora had sometimes relaxed and shown the real side of himself to Lea, at least, now? The guy was constantly on guard. Trying to appear more intimidating than he was.

Lea didn’t love it. Freedom had its problems. They were still figuring things out. 

“Apologies,” 6 said shortly, “While assistance would expedite time, Sora’s correct and I will be able to maneuver Ienzo’s body soon. You do not have to pay for 9’s mistake. I would not be surprised if he is the next assimilated.”

“It’s curious,” 6 mumbled, “Logic would point to functions becoming smoother, the more we reintegrate, however it seems to be just the opposite. I suppose we can’t discount the myriad changing variables outside of our body, though. It would be interesting to re-run this experiment in a more stable environment.”

Ienzo’s visible eye fluttered a little, before the body took a breath and forced itself up, 6 focusing carefully on the floor. “...I think we’ve had enough of unethical experiments, though.” And Ienzo re-splitting himself up was, perhaps, not a great idea. 6 couldn’t imagine all this had been particularly good for their development. 

…Ienzo’s development. 

“I’m really not sure if that could have gone worse.” Kairi sighed, watching Lea put a hand on Ienzo’s back, encouraging him towards the kitchen. “I really hope we didn’t just make an enemy out of the person we’re trying to help.”

Sora, watching Lea and Ienzo head to the kitchen, scoffed as he crossed his arms, “Should we really be trying to help anyone else right now? We’re in a tough enough spot as is. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.”

Kairi didn’t answer Sora. She just pushed her fingers through her red hair, scratching at her scalp for a moment. “...Sora, can you go check on everyone? Without whining about it?”

Sora winced, looking away. He wasn’t whining… before getting up and storming out. Though, storming out to do what she had asked. Scratching at the dirt and sand lightly caked onto his arms from moving furniture that morning.

The factory Empaths, when they had been released from the warehouses, had celebrated when it first happened. And were still celebrating, to be fair, they didn’t regret being free… but Luminary had basically ignored their existence, once they were out. Had pretended to not be aware that there were literally over a dozen people who had been locked away inside for basically their whole lives… and now had no idea what to do. Or where to go.

Or really even knew who they were. 

It had been easy, in the factory. A process the group had been raised into by other, older Empaths, a way to mentally ‘save’ themselves from the reality of their situation. When they had to condition, change. Be another person. Let that other person, that construct, do what had to be done… and when you were done? Go back. Be who you were, the real you, the one that would never hurt anyone… carefully. Only do it on the island. Or in your most private moments. But otherwise? Turn off your feelings. Don’t be that person you were trying to protect. Be Heartless. Be Nobody.

‘Sora’ had been happy. The nice one. The encouraging one… but even ‘Sora’ was ‘Roxas’ right now. Leaving the factory not making it easier to be Sora, but actually harder to not be Nobody. The wrong personality, essentially, taking control.

Everyone was experiencing a similar issue. Their fears and anxieties of the new life situation they were in made it almost impossible for anyone to be ‘themselves’. They were all trapped in their Nobody forms, and no one knew how to escape. It only seemed to get worse as time went on, more confusing, more unpredictable.

It had been Riku–Ansem–who had suggested that maybe if they started working to redeem themselves–ease some of the stress and anxieties that plagued them–maybe they could get control of their feelings again. Bring back their hearts.

This was very hard to do when you had no money, nowhere to go, and no help but other people in the same situation. Which was how the group, banding together, had ended up squatting in a near entirely abandoned part of the city, taking over a few empty buildings that were tucked away in a back alley that had once been a street before the development of bigger buildings around it had essentially cut it off from the rest of the world. It was too out of the way for shops, so no shops had stayed. It was in a rough part of the city where there were plenty of better areas for the more established impoverished around them to have already claimed it. The alley and buildings themselves had been half buried in sand when the Nobodies had found it. They had spent a ton of time just digging the buildings out, making them, if not livable, at least hollow.

It wasn’t an easy place to live. They were lucky the pipes still worked, as Sora heard Lea pour some water for Ienzo as he headed upstairs, going to find the others.

Lea watched him go, before passing the water to Ienzo. “I’m going to go ahead and agree with you on the whole ‘no more unethical experiments’ thing. I’m guessing it’s bad for all of us, head-wise. Not getting us any closer to getting our feelings under control, which is the whole point, right?”

Ienzo’s body nodded a bit, sipping from the water. It had been an early lesson Zexion had quickly given to his constructs, that immediate course correction only caused further problems to the body. Downing any water or food would more likely cause regurgitation, so it was more effective to take things slowly. 

Not that they had an abundance of food to scarf down, but regardless. 

“Yes,” 6 agreed. “Or perhaps a different sort of control would be more accurate. But if we are pursuing Riku’s hypothesis, then re-training how we look at the world and other people is essential. Not regarding others as objects or test subjects, depersonalizing them, essentially. Being open to the idea that interpersonal relationships can be more than multiple people using each other for their own gain.” 6 smirked faintly. “As incorrect as that sounds.”

“In a sense,” and this was another sign that it was 6, as he huffed a shadow of an ironic laugh, “having empathy.”

“...” Lea looked away, frowning. 

It had been a bit of an open secret, back at the factory, that the creation of Axel hadn’t effectively killed all of Lea’s feelings. Some of them had been better at creating Nobodies than others. ‘Axel’ had been… decent enough at being cruel. Being selfish. Self-serving.

But Lea had never entirely buried his empathy, in Axel. And it had always worried him, hearing the others talk they really had managed to do it. He had always half thought they were all lying to themselves, pretending they were actually entirely without feelings when they weren’t. Hurting themselves pretending.

He still sort of thought this was the case. But it was harder to argue it now. Everything was so confusing out here.

“What about those two people you’ve been trying to reverse condition?” Lea asked, “Are you doing another session with either of them soon? Cause, I’m saying maybe you should cancel. I think all of that set you back a bit, man.”

6 paused, eyes going distant, movements a little more mechanical as he raised the body’s arm to keep sipping water. He gave a small hum as he blinked and refocused on Lea. “Perhaps that would be wise, though not for the reason you presented. Our body isn’t at a point of exhaustion, so the sessions haven’t interfered with its physical health.”

6 frowned a little, not…exactly agreeing with that. But while he was encouraged to argue with Zexion over theoretical and philosophical debate, matters of their body were…less encouraged. 

“However, with the new evidence presented by the woman and Lord Saihara’s resistance to conditioning, greater progress might be on the horizon for the others if they can be convinced to work with us.” 6 furrowed Ienzo’s brow, visible eye narrowed in contemplation. “...I don’t think she was lying when she said her resistance was irreplicable, but the fact that Lord Saihara was resistant too… It would indicate another method. One that possibly is replicable. I’ll need to confer with Sora, about exactly what he experienced with Lord Saihara. If nothing else, it may prepare us more for our next attempt at contact.”

“Yeah, that mountain thing she had… Did anyone else feel a shock of, uuuuuh, mortal terror when they saw that?” Lea asked, directing his question to Kairi too, who was resting against the bar counter, laying her head down against the cracked decorative stone, “Because I was suddenly feeling very mortal, when I saw it. Whatever that mountain is? Is dangerous.”

“Mmmm.” Kairi groaned, closing her eyes. “...I have a headache. Do we have any painkillers left?”

“Let me go digging, hold on,” Lea said, patting Ienzo’s shoulder a bit before he started opening up random drawers behind the bar counter, then heading back to the back and looking through the kitchen counters. “...I have found a random pill with a number on it. Want to try it?”

“....” Kairi pouted, “.....nooooo, I guess not.”

“Wise,” Lea agreed, pocketing it. Who knows! Maybe it was a good time waiting to happen! More likely it was another roofie. He’d try it before bed that night and see what he got. “Lord Saihara… it’s still pretty wild, isn’t it? That an Indentured got taken on as a concubine? I mean, Prince Kaito knows he didn’t have to ask, right, if he wanted some tail. He could have just ordered him.”

“Ugh.” Kairi groaned.

“We’re just lying to ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that’s what we literally set them up for,” Lea reminded her dryly, “They don’t make you entirely brainwash a person just to make them do the dishes. I’m just saying, it’s kind of wild to me a real person did something like that. Can’t decide if it’s hopeful or if I’m just being naive. Maybe he had to take him on because of the baby or something. Pretty sure I heard the prince had a kid with him, just can’t remember if it was before or after making him a concubine.”

“You’re literally just quoting rumors you heard at bars,” Kairi sighed, sitting up and rubbing her temples, “For all we know, Lea, Prince Kaito’s a monster who kidnapped that guy. We just don’t know anything, really, beyond that the lord’s broken his conditioning somehow. And that now he’s pissed at us.”

“I only brought it up in case that’s the reason they broke their conditioning,” Lea said, “Maybe they didn’t? Maybe Prince Kaito did something to make their conditioning exclusive?”

“...we have no idea what that mountain is,” 6 muttered, not exactly to the others, but still audible. “No idea where to even start, which is extremely novel even for minds with a few unique quirks. It’s not a construct, it’s not a defense, which she wouldn’t be able to make because she’s not a psychic, and yet it’s such…an intrinsic part of the mind. Some part of it, when she started to attack Namine, almost felt compulsory, but not…psychically. It’s something entirely different. It could be a reasonable theory to posit that it’s connected to her ability to resist, the ‘not biological’ reason, but there’s no way to tell for sure without greater understanding.”

Zexion would be contemplating that for some time, 6 knew. He hoped not to the point their body got no sleep tonight. They were helping shovel out one of the old shops tomorrow. 

Frowning, 6 nodded a bit along with Lea’s points. Some Indentured really had just been used for domestic labor. People needing that kind of servant, and just taking advantage of the system to get cheap, reliable labor. But even if it was another layer of safety against servant rebellion…that’s not the reason why obedience was so ubiquitous in the program. Obedience was for making people do things they wouldn’t want to, wouldn’t be convinced to otherwise. 

All Indentureds had had their bodies sold by the state, but some were in more…violating ways, potentially. 

However, Ienzo’s gaze lost focus a bit as Lea and Kairi discussed Lord Saihara’s situation more. The body’s grip on the cup tightening. “...no. For Lord Saihara’s conditioning to not be ‘broken’, but changed by another party, Prince Kaito would’ve had to fix it first…which even with more exclusive conditions, Roxas would’ve been able to recognize, if not exploit. But he said his conditioning wasn’t working at all.”

A slight wince tightened Ienzo’s expression. “...a-and Lord Saihara and th…that woman are friends. To the point of…a sibling relationship. And they’ve been friends with Prince Kaito for years. If Prince Kaito was capable of altering their conditioning, it wouldn’t be naive to say it wouldn’t be for the purposes of exploitation.”

Kairi looked up from where she was laid against the counter, blinking blearily at Ienzo. “...I guess you’ve always been better than most of us at keeping up with what was happening in the world. Though… you do know her name is Maki, right?”

But Kairi looked surprised as Lea waved his fingers across his throat urgently, miming for her to not ask. Lea and Ienzo were both older than Kairi. From an ‘earlier batch’ as they liked to call it in the factory. It wasn’t a ‘rule’, but for whatever reason Empaths tended to be found close together, in bursts. There could be no new Empaths found for years, and then suddenly three at once, like what had happened for Kairi, Sora, and Riku. Then months, or years again, before finding another handful all at once. 

Ienzo and Lea had been a part of a fairly large batch found all at once, 6 or 7, Kairi couldn’t remember. It made them more like ‘siblings’ than she and Lea were. Ienzo and Lea had partially grown up together before Kairi showed up. She and Lea had just come from the same dirtbag parents who had been just as easily bribed the second time to give their second kid up to the program, years later.

“We’re nosy,” 6 mumbled, before another wince went through them, their grip tightening even more as they sagged a bit, closing the body’s eye for a moment. 

…yeah. He knew what her name was. 

Stiffly, 6 got out, “...Ienzo doesn’t…like saying her name.”

Kairi frowned, giving her sort of friend a more concerned look. “...does he… want to talk about it? It might feel better than spending all night on some new experiment?”

6 honestly couldn’t remember the last time anyone had actually spoken to Ienzo directly. He was sure there were likely lapses, no system was perfect, but…sometimes… He wasn’t sure even Zexion knew how to get to Ienzo anymore. The best they could muster was Zexion himself, and as many shared memories between all the constructs to get as close as they could. 

Not that he’d ever told any of the others that. 

“I highly doubt it,” 6 said blankly, acting far more like the other constructs for a moment. “If anything, working on a new experiment, given this new experience, is the most positively exciting thing to happen in a while.”

He paused. “...I will make a case to ensure our body gets proper rest, however.” No need to get Aeleus or Even involved this time. 

“Do you want to try the pill I found for tonight?” Lea asked, patting Ienzo’s back sympathetically, “It might be a roofie! That’s one way to get to sleep!”

6 gave Lea a dry look. “The last time 2 took something you gave us, we were in no position to make observations on the effects. So if you wanted to kill us, you could be less patronizing and at least make an outright threat.”

6 blinked, before furrowing Ienzo’s brow a little, glancing curiously at Lea and Kairi. “...it’s quite a bit of oversight that none of us have asked yet… At this point, we’re over 40% reassimilated, which should, if it’s going to at all, be a significant enough proportion to indicate notable changes… Have…you guys noticed anything different about us?”

6 didn’t care that much outside of the experiment, considering that it wasn’t like all the constructs were…being erased or something like that. They were returning to Ienzo’s original essence. 

…still, he knew that 13 had admitted to missing some of their reassimilated fellows. It was…strange. 

“Um… sort of,” Lea said, looking over to Kairi who straightened up, looking over them in concern, “The fact that you’d even ask is new. Back when you were, uh, more, it was hard to get your attention at all. Even the construct that was in control always seemed distracted talking to the others. Unless it was an experiment, everything in the real world has been an afterthought for you for… years now.” Lea sighed. 

“For as long as I’ve known you,” Kairi agreed, “It’s only been since we left the factory that you’ve been interested in what any of us have to say. So that’s different.”

6 nodded slightly. “Zexion didn’t specifically make us to talk. Some communication was inevitable, but I suppose it’s even moreso now.” Now that the only schedule around was the one they made themselves. And even that was more of a construct to not be left completely adrift. If one of them wasn’t where they were supposed to be--and that was a misleading way to say it; it was more like, where they hadn’t agreed to be--then…there wasn’t a guard or handler that was going to get them. 

Tipping Ienzo’s head back a little, 6 contemplated something for a long moment…before looking at Kairi and Lea with a genuinely earnest question. “...is that something that warrants an apology?”

“To us? Nah. We all cope in our own ways. You just took the construct idea and ran with it, but it’s not like we all haven’t done something similar. You guys remember when ‘Saix’ refused to talk to anyone unless he thought it was the full moon? But none of us knew when the full moon was so it’d just be… random?” Lea laughed lightly, “And he was always such an ass about it too. Was glad he grew out of that, even if he just got kinda grumpier in general after that.”

“Maybe we all do owe apologies to each other, in some ways,” Kairi frowned, “Even for things our Nobodies did. All of us doing it doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t hurt. I know what Namine… what I did to Sora’s memories, a few years back…”

Lea winced, looking away uncomfortably. “...you fixed it.” Sort of. It was hard to talk about what happened to Sora. What had happened to Xion… it hurt for Lea to think about, sometimes. He had liked Xion… “And we all had our ‘breakdown’ moments.”

“Again, it might not matter that it was common. Just that it happened,” Kairi said softly, eyes heavy with regret. “If I had realized what I could do, I wouldn’t have done it… but that doesn’t change I had to rebuild him. And I couldn’t get Xion back at all.”

“...she was just a construct,” Lea whispered, “It’s not like anyone died.”

But the sentiment was hollow. Right now, they were practically all just literally constructs. Trying to solve themselves, trying to re-assimilate themselves, sure… but it didn’t feel like ‘nothing’ when something happened to one of them.

“I’m just saying, maybe it’s something for all of us to consider,” Kairi said.

That was true. The ‘Nobody’ concept itself was a coping mechanism, and one that they had all been grandfathered into. It was impossible to say if they hadn’t had it, if one of them could’ve found another method that…caused less harm, 6 supposed. To each other. To themselves. Not to the Indentureds they hurt, at least entirely. Zexion wasn’t convinced that a ‘lesser’ form of torture, or having sympathy for it would’ve helped any of the people they changed while they were doing it. There was a possibility it would’ve just taken longer, which was worse both for them and the Empaths. 

But it wasn’t just the Nobody stuff that had caused hurt among their group. 

6 glanced down, back to sipping their water. 

…it had been a strange time, when it had just been Roxas. And not even regular Roxas. It hadn’t affected work much, other than some of them overseeing to make sure their handlers didn’t notice anything, but in their downtime… Well. Strange. Enlightening to see such an edge case of memory manipulation. 

…even remaking Xion wouldn’t be exactly the same, even if Kairi could manage it. 

“...we’ll contemplate a proper apology,” 6 said after a moment. “8 still hasn’t picked up anything noteworthy with the ghost box since that “Tulpa” announcement, but maybe we’ll get news that’ll help. Messages are still becoming more frequent.”

It made sense. Empaths from all over would’ve heard about the end of the Indentured Program by now, and they’d naturally gain more confidence as time went on. Zexion was…undecided if they resented that or not. Increasingly becoming aware of just how many Empaths were out there. 

Just how many people had left them to their fate.

Most of the other Empaths felt the same way. Not just about other Empaths, but also ‘real’ people in general. People who got to live outside the factories. People who got to be things other than factory Empaths and the Indentureds they created. Even living out in the ‘real’ world now, it was hard to feel like they were a part of anything. Real people didn’t understand them either. People didn’t even know what Empaths were. No one liked to talk about the factories.

They felt alien and other, everywhere they went. It was a difficult way to exist. It didn’t help that even the OTHER alienated group, Indentureds, hated their guts. Not personally, they couldn’t, not with the way conditioning went. But enough to avoid them when they realized where the Nobodies had come from. Real people didn’t want to acknowledge they existed. Indentureds were afraid of them and avoided them.

They really only had each other–

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“Oh, that’s never good,” Kairi whispered. 

“I’m on it,” Lea said, reaching over the bar counter and picking up the sharp disk he had adopted as a weapon. He had no idea what it was originally. It was just a circular slab of metal they had found in one of the buildings in the alley, but it had been weirdly sharp, and he and Isa had spent some time gluing a hard piece of wood in its center, Lea practicing swinging it around in the back.

He wasn’t much of a fighter. None of them were, not in the real world. But he thought it made him look intimidating, at least. It reminded him of the fire swirls he used in the dream worlds.

Opening the front door, Lea couldn’t hide the grimace as Demyx–just Demyx–was shoved into his arm, three men scowling at him as Demyx scrambled up, running behind Lea even as he shouted, “Yeah, that’s right, I’m going to knock your lights out if you’re not careful!”

“He’s yours?” one of the men growled.

“That hugely depends,” Lea smiled, “Does he owe you money?”

“He sure damn does, and he says it's here,” the man said, crossing his arms over his chest, “He snuck into our brothel for a show without paying the entrance fee–”

“I paid! I paid in music! I was there as entertainment!”

“--and got himself caught by trying to play for coin in the corner, drowning out the show with his racket,” the man scowled, “He owes an entrance fee and a compensation fee for distracting from tips to our performers. All in all, it’s 20 gold, and I’m being so generous with that. Who’s paying up?”

Lea’s smile strained. They did not have 20 gold. They didn’t have 5 gold between them. “...can he pay with his body?”

“WHAT!?” Demyx shouted.

“And take away more business from our performers? Fuck no.” The man scowled. “We are getting our money out of him though. Some way or another.”

6 internally sighed and put his glass down, feeling clear-headed enough to walk steadily over to the door…still behind Lea. But giving Demyx a look that strongly suggested he shut up. 

“20 gold?” 6 repeated, calm and unimpressed. “I didn’t realize brothels were hiring comedians as security these days. If it’s the kind of place he’d go play, there’s no chance your patrons would be feeling generous enough for that disparity in price. Unless, of course, it’s the sort of establishment that they would be embarrassed to patronize, which I’m sure the temples would be delighted to know about, with their new regulation audits. Though, I’m sure someone as reputable as you has already notified them.”

“Six gold would be more than sufficient for his disturbance,” 6 calmly explained, “Along with a verbal agreement to prevent future disturbances.”

The man glared at Ienzo, sniffing slightly. Tightening his grip as he crossed his arms, scowling. “...we’re not doing anything we’re embarrassed about.”

“They’re playing out non-consent stuff,” Demyx whispered to Ienzo.

One of the guys shifted their weight a bit, looking away, while the other one cleared his throat. The temples were very openly against BDSM scene plays, and now that regulations had been reinforced, were cracking down on it more. They said it went against the worship to Atua that sex was supposed to be. It wasn’t technically forbidden, but every brothel who used that as their main theme knew the temple would find something on you if you were patronizing that sort of scene, and you’d be paying crazy fines until you were shut down. 

Easier to keep things private. Quiet. Hidden in bad neighborhoods. 

Easier to not have some asshole go whining to the temples too. 

“...tsk. Fine, six gold to make this all go away,” the man agreed, raising his eyebrow, “Do you have it?”

“Can he clean the floors for a while?” Lea argued.

“STOP TRYING TO SELL ME!”

“You brought a GANG TO OUR DOORS, MAN! Just wipe down some sticky floors for a month or something!” 

Ah. Then he definitely had the leeway to haggle so low. 6 had guessed that any brothel Demyx had been able to walk to would have something the temples would find objectionable, in their recent zeal to clean up the brothels, but BDSM? It wasn’t even a grey area threat. 

As soon as the man agreed, 6 had wandered off, uncaring about so abruptly leaving the conversation, but while Lea and Demyx were still arguing, he returned, holding out six gold to the man. “Here. Our apologies for the inconvenience.” 

Demyx gasped, while Lea tried very, very hard to not give Ienzo a ‘are you shitting me?’ look. Hopefully the guys would assume their shock was not knowing Ienzo had that sort of coin to spend…

The guy took it, looking over the coins. Taking one and biting it, bending it a little, testing to see if it had the right amount of resistance. 

“...alright. We’re square. But,” the man glared at Demyx, who smiled back at him, “you ever try to walk into our establishment again? You pay double. And you don’t bring that oversized instrument in. Next time, we won’t be so agreeable. Got it?”

“Course, course! Bye now! Stop by any time!” Demyx said brightly.

The three men scoffed, before heading off. Lea closed the door… before giving Ienzo a baffled look. “We do NOT have six gold. What was that!?”

Ienzo’s body gave Lea a blank look, before looking a little distracted and dazed. “Counterfeit. Similar enough that a place that’s counting gold in the hundreds won’t notice,” 6 paused, before mumbling, “...should let Lauriam know we need to make more…”

“Someone’s going to end up killing us,” Lea said dryly, hoping those counterfeits really held up… before glaring at Demyx. 

Demyx just barely dodged as Lea reached over to grab his ears, though he didn’t dodge the knee to the stomach as Lea shouted, “You said you were going out to earn some coin playing at the market! What were you doing at a brothel!?”

“I did! I just didn’t make any coin there. And a guard threw me out after enough people complained,” Demyx admitted, catching his breath after the hit, “But then I thought, you know who has coin to spend, is bored, and probably drunk? Brothel patrons! So I saw one on the way back and thought, bam, that’s where I make my fortune!”

“Right…a BDSM brothel?” Lea said, voice straining, “Really?”

Demyx shrugged. “Nothing there gave me a bad vibe. The performers seemed fine. It’s just a brothel like any other.”

“We do not need to make more enemies, just stay out of places like that… stay out of everywhere! Go to a corner and pretend not to exist for a while!” Lea shouted at him. “Gah!”

“Thanks for the save, Ienzo!” Demyx called, ignoring Lea, “Or, which Ienzo am I thanking?”

6 doubted it. At least for that reason. There was a reason he and Lauriam had only told a few of the others about the counterfeits, more than just how slow they were to make, and thus how few they had. As nice as it’d be to basically have unlimited money, trying to buy things like groceries or hygiene supplies, basically things from markets or smaller stores, with their counterfeits would be the death sentence Lea was talking about. Places that turned over smaller batches of coin frequently, often handled by more than a few people with critical eyes. 

The counterfeits were for emergency money. For big establishments or, Atua forbid, the government. Places that already had huge stores of money with relatively little turnover, most of the coin just sitting in vaults. And had consequences that…well, the worst case scenario wasn’t there anymore, but regular prison or a debtor’s execution if someone really fucked up was still bad. 

Thus why they hadn’t told Lea or Demyx about it. 

“6,” 6 answered Demyx, still a bit dazed, before shaking himself a little, purposefully focusing on Demyx. “...we’re sorry for regularly dismissing you. Don’t lead gangs back to where we’re staying, next time.”

“...eh? You’re sorry?” Demyx asked, bewildered.

“Really, he gets the first apology? Augh, I need a nap,” Lea grumbled.

6 blinked at Lea. “I’ve done something actionable to help him. Simply speaking an apology to you, especially not as Ienzo himself, seems like hollow service. Unless it’s something you’d like anyway?”

“I feel like I’ve missed a whole conversation,” Demyx said, shrugging his sitar off his back and throwing himself into one of the booths, which puffed with dust and sand at the impact. Strumming a few mindless notes–the string was clearly out of tune–he tilted his head curiously at them. “You guys phiiiiilosophising? Sounds fun, count me in!”

“I don’t know what I’m asking for, I’m just trying to… augh, I don’t know. Where’d Kairi go?” Lea asked, looking around, “Did she run off because of the knock? Rude. What if we had needed help?”

“Then our strongest Empath shouldn’t be in the line of fire,” Demyx pointed out, “Cause we’d probably need her to get out of trouble… ya doi.”

“Him. You apologized to him first. Just… does anyone want a drink?” Lea sighed, heading to the back of the bar, “There’s still some of that rum bottle left.”

“How are we on food?” Demyx asked, strumming poorly.

Lea would have chastised him for playing badly, but he knew it was part of his–well, hers–attempt to fix things. And honestly, they could use any chance they could get. Instead, he rested on the counter tiredly and said, “Dilan managed to negotiate some mango that’s too worm ridden to sell at normal prices, and Aeulus went out with Riku to hunt lizards. So what does that tell you?”

Demyx smiled brightly. “That we have dinner tonight! Heck yeah!”

6 maneuvered Ienzo’s body back to the bar and their abandoned glass, going back to their intended task of making sure Ienzo’s body didn’t completely shut down. A difficult task, especially these days, but that was why Zexion had put so much consideration into the other constructs, he supposed. Maintaining a body was more complex than one might think.

“She was gone when I came back to get the coins. Perhaps she went to go warn Sora and whoever else he found,” 6 theorized, before shrugging a little at the point Lea repeated. “It stands to reason we’ll apologize to all of you at some point. I don’t think it discredits either Ienzo or Demyx that Demyx is easy to do favors for. For example, acquiring a cup of shaved ice to apologize to you with is a bit more difficult a task.”

There were other things that could be used for Lea’s apology, but Zexion knew for sure that Lea liked cold, sweet treats. Keeping him from debt, or music for Demyx, ice cream and tomfoolery for Lea…some of the others’ interests weren’t so easy to think up, but 6 supposed that was some of the point, that Ienzo had been so disengaged with them.

Absorbing that they’d actually manage to have food today--6 wouldn’t exclaim it in the same way, but Demyx’s cheer was an appropriate response--6 hummed shortly before answering Lea’s question. “No, thank you.” Not that there had been all that many opportunities, but in conference the constructs were willing to agree that Ienzo’s body didn’t take alcohol very well. Already doing poorly enough that 6 had been sent to replace 9, they didn’t need anything making it harder.

“Good, because apparently I exaggerated how much we have left,” Lea said warily, bringing up the rum bottle and shaking the sliver of alcohol still at the bottom of the brown bottle, “Demyx?”

“I’m alright! Probably going to sleep soon. Earning coin at a brothel all night is exhausting~” Demyx chuckled.

“Did you… actually get anything?” Lea asked, not sure what he was hoping to hear. If yes, at least Demyx hadn’t entirely wasted the night and day. If no, at least the dumbass hadn’t hidden coin from them when they literally had gang members at their door demanding they pay up.

Lea knew better than anyone how quickly a situation like that could go tits up. Not always, but any shakeup that didn’t end with someone beaten was a bout of good luck.

“Eh, I had a few people throw me some coin because they thought I was funny. Obviously they took everything off me before bringing me here, so noooot really,” Demyx said, laughing at Lea’s sigh at that. “Relax. Things are going to improve for all of us soon, I can feel it! Ol Lord Statue over here is loosening up for once,” Demyx said, nodding to Ienzo, “That’s gotta be a good sign, right? Oh! And how did the whole ‘redeem our sins’ quest with the savior herself go? Feeling more human?”

“Namine could barely talk to her for three sentences in a row without threatening to mess with her mind and Roxas decided to drag Lord Saihara into it for no reason other then to make things harder, as far as I could tell,” Lea said dryly, sipping his half cup of rum, “So it didn’t go well.”

“Hah. Claaaassic Nobodies. But then, is that so shocking? We’re all used to acting certain ways up there,” Demyx said, strumming his sitar, “It was already a tough habit to turn off in dream land. The fact that it bled out here at all? Yeah, I’m not surprised we're not doing better on the island.”

Damn. 6 really was glad that they’d haggled down the ‘fee’ then. Sure, he doubted what Demyx had earned was more than a handful of copper, which compared to even a single gold was something a gang wouldn’t even think about but…it was still insulting. Even a few legitimate coins would help out their situation a lot. 

Just blinking at Demyx as he called Ienzo ‘ol lord statue’ (not a single one of those descriptors seemed accurate), 6 nodded Ienzo’s head slightly to confirm Lea’s rundown of their experiment…before usually lidded eyes widened slightly, an unusual amount of visible interest almost making him look lively. “However, it was discovered that neither of them have working conditioning anymore. While not clarifying anything, which is reasonable considering the circumstances of having the people that enabled their conditioning in the first place make an unannounced visit, they didn’t seem wholly opposed to keeping it a secret. She simply said her method was not replicable, but considering that Lord Saihara was resistant as well, I believe that there’s something worth investigating about it all.”

“Namine is not going to give up after one failed attempt at contact, anyway, so we’ll get more chances to bargain for information.”

“Hmmmmmm~” Demyx hummed, clearly trying to hum in tune with the sound the sitar had just made–he failed–before raising an eyebrow at Ienzo, “Broke their conditioning, huh? That’s pretty big news, if it’s true… Look, I know we’re doing the whole ‘turning over a new leaf’ thing, but, for something that important? Maaaaaybe we just go in there and–” More out of tune strums, “--do things the old fashioned way.”

“No,” Lea said dryly, “Roxas is already barely keeping it together, and I’m pretty sure Namine is on the edge of a relapse herself. We can’t just ‘dip our toes’ back into that stuff, it makes us more disconnected from our hearts than we already are.”

“I love how you say it like that. ‘Disconnected from our hearts’. Like it’s a physical thing that can just slip from our grasp.” Demyx smirked. “It doesn’t have to be your oh so precious friends. I just need a small power boost, and I’ll go grab the info.”

“You’re slipping,” Lea said.

“...I’ll go grab that hella info, bro.” Demyx grinned.

Ienzo’s eyes went distant again, that dazed look falling back over the face. After a few beats, 6 admitted, “It is tempting. However it occurred, there would definitely be answers in their minds, memories, whatever it was that changed…but even aside of the ethical concern, I don’t think it would be enough. Anything that breaks conditioning is unheard of.” And Ienzo had been trying for years, even before they were freed and his experiments didn’t have to be as secretive. “Whatever that method is, we’d need a conscious explanation to even begin to hope to replicate it.”

Ienzo got an increasingly hazy look. “...likely by…whoever explained Empathy to them…which is my personal…guess.” The body started tipping against the bar counter a little. “I don’t believe it’s…likely that they…somehow remembered their time at the…factory. And that wouldn’t…give them knowledge about Empaths either. Lord Saihara called it an Empaths’ Dream… There was a personal…familiarity there…”

“...bu’they weren’t… They were wary bu’nnnot…the kind of frightened I’d… Dun…think it was…familiarity with…that guy…”

“Oh, watch it now!” Demyx said, hurrying off his booth and running to catch Ienzo, Lea hopping the counter to hurry over and help him sit the man down. “When’s the last time you slept? And I mean really slept, not running around in dream land.”

6 grunted softly as Demxy and Lea caught Ienzo’s body, making a small disgruntled sound as it was settled into a more secure sitting position. “I believe…in preparation, Zexion has been making…’rangement…” Ienzo’s eyes fluttered a bit. “...Friday…I think.”

“You know, maybe I should roofie you,” Lea grumbled, he and Demyx hefting Ienzo up, “Come on, let’s take you to bed. I know four days isn’t your record, but it’s still bad and really unnecessary by this point. No one’s punishing us, you don’t have to pull all nighters anymore.”

“Heh, man, that brings back memories,” Demyx grinned warily, the three carefully going up the stairs. They had to watch their footing on the staircase, the only part of the building that didn’t have a strong stone foundation and so had rotted with time and disuse. But once they got to the second floor, it was a lot easier to get around, the second floor not having had the same weather issues that the open windows on the first floor had caused before the Nobodies had claimed the place. “Didn’t feel like torturing that day? Welllll bully for you, that means you get extra Indentureds. Going too easy? You get the problem one. Still not enough? Hey, how much fun would it be to be in their place for a bit? Stiiiiiill feel like slacking off? Always a way to make it worse…”

“Even he wouldn’t be crazy enough to reveal himself to them, right?” Lea muttered, “Is it too much to hope that wherever that creep disappeared to, he’s dead?”

“Like we’d be so lucky.” Demyx snickered, before declaring, “Honies! We’re home!”

A few of the Nobodies looked up from where they were sitting around on their cots. There weren’t enough upstairs rooms for everyone to get their own space, so they had pulled mattresses and bedding in from wherever they could find them and basically all just claimed a space in one of the rooms that had been designated for sleeping. Ienzo’s spot was in the back corner of this particular group, as Luis looked up from where he was practicing card tricks on his cot. “Ooooh, look at that. Ienzo finally work himself into a fainting spell again?”

Isa, who had been reading in his, just glanced up for a moment before looking back down to his book. “Glad I thought to air out the linens today. Should be smelling clean, if Ienzo’s actually sleeping here tonight.”

“Don’t think that’ll be…necessary,” 6 mumbled. As much as he normally left the matter of their body to the other constructs, Ienzo usually did relent to sleep when their body started shutting down like this. Perhaps they had been too hard on 9, though 6 wouldn’t retract his guess about 9 not being put in charge of their body again. But it wasn’t a failure on their end if their body started having symptoms from sleep deprivation. 

Though, all-nighters weren’t exactly something Ienzo had started doing because of their schedules at the factory. The slight wrenching of his shoulders from Lea and Demyx having to half carry their body was more nostalgic, in 6’s opinion. 

He chalked it up to teenage rebellion, even possible in a place like the factory. But Ienzo had learned very definitively that purposefully sabotaging someone’s conditioning just wasn’t an option. All the older Empaths had warned him to just do what they were told, but…well, every theory and law had to be tested. 

6 made a low sound, even if he had been the one to bring up that guy, but with a breath, he did attempt to straighten out their body a little more as Lea and Demyx hauled him over to their room, glassily glancing at Luis and Isa. 

“...it’s greatly appreciated, Isa,” 6 said carefully, focusing on not slurring anything. “I believe Ienzo will accept getting rest, at this point.” A shadow of a small fight went through 6’s expression. With the real life examples of broken conditioning right in front of them, there was nothing more that Zexion wanted than to get to work, conferring with the others about what had happened, checking in with Sora about his encounter, testing his own hypotheses with what he’d seen…

But their body couldn’t go on like this for much longer, without rest. And if they didn’t want to make more trouble for the others than their contributions were worth, then…sleep. As inconvenient as it was. 

Lea and Demyx helped Ienzo lay down on his cot, Lea stretching his back with a grunt while Demyx grabbed a blanket and threw it over him, patting Ienzo on the head. “Niiiighty night. Don’t let the sand fleas bite!”

“We don’t have sand fleas,” Isa said, flipping the page, “I took care of that.” 

“It’s also an expression, Isa, lighten up wolf boy.” Demyx snickered, patting Ienzo again before saying softly to him, “It’s all gonna be there still when you wake up, man. So just… give yourself a minute. It’s fine.”

Sleeping, as a construct, was easy. Just move Ienzo’s body to a safe place, a position that wouldn’t be painful, if that was possible, and close their eyes. Ienzo sleeping was…more difficult. But that was his problem. 

Murmuring thanks, 6 turned Ienzo’s body on its side and curled up under the blanket, closing its eyes and preparing to leave control of their body…but he lingered for a moment, peering an eye out from under their bangs at Demyx. “...it will be,” he murmured, “...m sorry, again.”

“Another apology to the layabout,” Lea groaned, shaking his head in exasperation, “I better be getting a lot of shaved ice when it’s my turn. One of the good flavors too! Like… blue.”

Demyx snickered. “Ah, the mysterious ‘blue’ flavor. Still searching for it, huh? Haven’t accepted it was a dream yet?”

“It was too real, too detailed. The blue flavoring is out there, somewhere,” Lea said, looking determined, “I just gotta keep looking.”

Demyx didn’t tease Lea too much on that. Everyone had their, well… reason. Not necessarily ‘to live’, to be excited about things. Lea had apparently tasted a blue flavored shaved ice cream once, exploring an Indentured’s mind, and it was the greatest thing he had ever tasted. He shared the memory with anyone who was willing to take him up on it, and yeah, the blue flavored ice shavings were very good… but they had never found its equivalent out in the real world, now that they were out of the factories. Lea determined to find it still, despite all the growing evidence it had literally just been something the Indentured had dreamt up. 

Demyx sometimes wondered if Lea had just… liked that particular person, and that was why the ice shaving had tasted so good. But he’d never bring it up. It’d be a bummer conversation.

“Hey, could you two scram? Things were peaceful up here, let the guy sleep, and us do our thing,” Luis insisted, flicking his wrist, frowning as the card he had been trying to sleeve popped out and fell on the floor, “Damn.”

“Fine, fine,” Demyx said, standing up and, giving Ienzo another little wave, heading off. Lea right behind him.

Not another, but an extension of the original, since Demyx hadn’t really…acknowledged it. 6 supposed that might just be something Ienzo had to live with; they could make their plea, but he wasn’t going to demand certain reactions. …but there was something worthwhile in the attempts, he thought. Paying more mind to the people he’d been around for the majority of his life. Even if the only reason was circumstance. 

(...there was another group of people he knew, brought together by circumstance and staying that way, and how they felt about those bonds, but…it wasn’t something Ienzo could think much about, yet. Unfortunately, if he sought to speak more with…her, and Lord Saihara, it might be an inevitability.)

…he would keep looking for the blue shaved ice, for Lea. Maybe one day he would have the means and a recipe, and…there was worth in the attempt. 

…the others were worth the attempts. Were worth looking at the physical world, at least a little. 

6 let himself fade back into Ienzo’s consciousness. It wasn’t long before Ienzo’s body was breathing softly, drool already collecting at his parted lips.

-

Shuichi woke up first. 

He sat up, staring at the wall for a bit. The warm rays of a barely rising sun peeking through the edges of the blackout curtains. The room was warm, their fire tended to and crackling, though dimly, clearly on its last logs.

After a moment, Shuichi got up and went to put a new log in. Miyako was bundled for the night, but Shuichi liked to keep the room warm for her regardless. She was not a little baby who enjoyed the cold and The Wet was still an ongoing battle, though she was tolerating bathtime more these days. If Kaito lamented his daughter’s apparent innate dislike of water, Kokichi was grieving her utter distaste for snow. Both men desperately trying to goad her more into the desired playtimes, when all Miyako seemed to want to do was stretch out and enjoy hot, sunny spots.

She’d be overjoyed in the summer, crawling around in the grass, maybe even standing up and taking a few steps by then. Shuichi was guessing spring and summer were going to be her seasons. It was a nice thought.

Maki knocked lightly, and Shuichi let her in. He pointed wordlessly at Miyako, and Maki seemed to consider this, before giving him a ‘wait a minute’ motion. Then she left, and after a moment, came back with a sleepy Timothy, who yawned as he went to the crib like instructed, fetching his sister and sleepily plodding back out, heading back to his room where he and Miyako would snooze with Chase for a bit. 

Their main concern out of the way, Shuichi and Maki closed the doors behind them, considered the two still sleeping princes, curled up and snoozing in bed… and with a confirming nod from Shuichi, Maki brought up her leg and slammed it against the footboard, knocking the headboard back into the wall. “Ouma, Momota. Up.”

“OhgodI’mupamIIate!?” Kaito said all at once, sitting up and, not really seeing anything, looking around blearily, Kokichi having accidentally fallen onto his lap from where he had been snoozing on Kaito’s chest. Kaito still subconsciously grabbed him, but it was clearly all muscle memory as he looked around, oddly enough patting Kokichi’s side like he was a fussy Miyako as he said, “What happened!?”

“Both of your people ruined our night,” Shuichi said coldly, crossing his arms, “Handle this.”

“SNNNNKK!!” Kokichi drew in a breath so sharply it sucked into his nose from both his mouth and throat, spurring a coughing fit even as he felt his mattress jolt up and pat his side. Hacking into his forearm, Kokichi blearily looked around.

Maki, Shuuichi…no Miyako? No Miyako?!? But…well, not unconcerned Maki and Shuuichi, but not tearing the castle apart and, oh, there’s his sweetroll, just in the other hall… Not unconcerned Maki and Shuuichi…

Wiping his mouth, Kokichi gave one more cough, before giving his husband and sister an utterly baffled look, accompanied by a clear, “Bweh???” 

“L-look, if someone’s up singing carols in the middle of the night, I dunno what I’m s…” Kokichi squinted, before frowning more worriedly. “...Griffin’s supposed to make sure visitors aren’t a thing.”

“No, but apparently ‘mind-knappers’ still very much are,” Shuichi said dryly, glancing over at Maki, “Raise the pressure.”

Maki hopped onto the bed, her hair starting to shimmer in the heat coming off her body as she stormed over to the two princes. “You, Momota, need to call that worthless bum cousin of yours and find out where the warehouse workers have ended up, and you, Ouma, need to find out where they are in the Empath world they are, so we,” she gestured back and forth between her and Shuichi, who was nodding, “can go yell at those idiots in THEIR HOUSE! Not ours! They’re lucky I didn’t eat them!”

“Uuuuuh, Maki, can we tone it down?” Kaito asked, both valiantly defending Kokichi by putting his arms around him, while at the same time shrinking back less than valiantly as she loomed over them, “I still haven’t caught up on what’s happening, why are we being yelled at??”

“Because they are YOUR people and this should have been dealt with before they came knocking on OUR brains,” Maki insisted.

“Maki and I talked it out a bit, and decided hunting down old victims and thanking them in the worst way possible probably isn’t something people not busy getting their lives together do,” Shuichi said, tilting his head a bit, “Which means they were probably abandoned once they were freed. And now are making their aimlessness our problem.”

“Who… wait, please guys, I’m not being cute or anything, I really don’t understand who we’re talking about,” Kaito pleaded, “Someone fill me in?”

Uh-oh. Well, that was something to bring up to Temp and Alter Ego, see if there was something they could do about that. Kokichi even remembered feeling a little resistance from Saint Madison when Kaito had voluntarily wanted to come visit Kokichi’s mind…but Kokichi supposed that that bit of resistance didn’t mean much for someone who was doing things nonconsensually. 

…people doing things nonconsensually. In Maki and Shuuichi’s brains. That were warehouse workers.

Kokichi’s eyes bugged. “Oh fuck!” He gave Maki and Shuuichi an alarmed look. “The Togami Empaths visited you?!? And…” Kokichi’s eyebrows twitched in confusion. “Thanked you?”

Shaking his head a little--one thing at a time--Kokichi squirmed out of Kaito’s arms and knelt in front of Maki, his expression growing serious. “They shouldn’t be able to…but can I do a non-invasive wellness check on you guys? Just in case?”

“Of course, Kokichi/You better.” Shuichi and Maki spoke at the same time, Shuichi coming up to sit on the bed as Maki huffed, sitting down. 

Kaito, in turn, blearily watched all of this… before scratching his temple a bit, looking to the crib. “Where’s my baby?”

“Sleeping with Tim,” Maki said.

“Oh, cute. Okay… I’m going to make us some tea,” Kaito decided, standing up and heading to the little drink stand they had long ago put together. Turning on the kettle burner and grabbing some pre-made packets as he said, “You all want tea, right? Is the sun even up? Man, it's early.”

Nodding, Kokichi raised a hand to the side of Maki’s head, taking a breath to wake himself up more calmly before gently reaching out to her mind. He didn’t need to hold up his hand or anything, but…well, especially after what just happened, Kokichi felt like it was better to give some indication that his family would be able to notice that he was doing something. 

“Tea’s good…” Kokichi sighed a little. “It’s early for us…which means, depending on where they are in Luminary, it’s still the middle of the night. I guess I’m not one to talk, though, since that’s when I do Empath stuff… Might be a worse sign if this had happened during the day.”

Frowning worriedly, he raised a hand towards Shuuichi’s head next, looking him over. 

“...they didn’t mess with anything, as far as I can notice…which pretty much means your minds are all good,” Kokichi confirmed, before frowning even more. “...what happened?”

Shuichi sighed, a little relieved, even as he said, “I didn’t think they had. I just…augh, that whole thing was so… frightening.” Shuichi lowered his shoulders, the stress really showing on him now as he confessed, “I haven’t felt that helpless in a long time. I tried to intimidate them and one of them literally just dragged me around. They could have done anything and I wouldn’t have been able to…”

Kaito came back with some tea, passing it to Shuichi, then Maki and Kokichi. Sitting back down on the bed, he sighed, blowing the steam off his cup. “...you said you wanted to know where they are… Do you want me to ask Kaede to take care of it? Uh…” he glanced at Kokichi, “...taaaaalk to them?”

“No. I just want to know where they are so that I can tell them I know where they are,” Maki said, sipping at her tea, “They might have an advantage over us in our minds, but me throwing an address at them might make them more cautious next time.”

Kaito let out another little breath, before looking around, finding his meditation stone on the nightstand and reaching to grab it, idly rubbing it with his thumb as he held his drink in his other hand. “...can you just start from the beginning?”

“There’s not actually a lot to tell,” Maki said, “I woke up on a beach. We were on a small island, and I mean, small. The whole island was maybe the size of a wing of this castle. It felt more like a very large playground than a scaled down village, if that gives you any context.”

“Playground was a word for it,” Shuichi agreed, “I woke up in a cave. There was a door inside of it, but there were all these little children's drawings sketched into the stone. I saw wooden swords and jump ropes just left on the ground.”

“I saw a sketch from you, Shuichi,” Maki said.

“What?” Shuichi frowned, “I’ve… never been there before. What made you think it was me?”

“It was a sketch of your hat in some wooden boards above a bed. One of them told me you made it. He said it like I should have remembered,” Maki said, “There was a girl, Namine, and she sounded like she was the one who brought me there. She sounded like she wanted to thank me for freeing her from the factory, but said she was going to rifle through my mind in the same breath, looking for how I’m breaking my conditioning.”

“The guy who brought me there seemed angry with me,” Shuichi said, “Something about wanting to understand why I was so ‘difficult’. When he realized my conditioning was broken, he dragged me to the girl and guy Maki was talking to. The guy really wanted us to explain how our conditioning was broken.”

Kokichi’s expression softened and he scooted to put his arms around Shuuichi, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. It sounded terrifying. Empathy was already so difficult to navigate as someone who could use it; part of why he was so careful and always asking after his loved ones when they explored his abilities together was just for this reason. It was scary, being in a position that you were genuinely helpless in. 

That people were exploiting that…

…it might sound selfish, and cruel, but Kokichi realized there was a part of him that had hoped he’d just…never run into the Togami Empaths. One of the first things Alter Ego had ever told him, had warned him of, had explained the reason behind the secrecy of their community…was the Togami Empaths’ reality. Their kidnapping and subjugation. Their abilities that had allowed a violating and violent system of slavery and…human trafficking to flourish. That had so personally and viscerally harmed his loved ones… 

The way he had heard it, they were victims too, but…

Well, Kokichi didn’t know. And that was why he had hoped their paths would never cross. But they had, now, so…time to figure everything out. 

“...maybe a lobby, or…a collective, maybe, that sounds like… And if they had expected you to remember, then…maybe it was somewhere they’d brought people before. During their time in the warehouses,” Kokichi softly hummed, before sighing. Looking unsure. 

“...optimistically, I’d hope that maybe without the corporation, they want to figure out how to undo conditioning too…and are just kinda bad at talking with people. I can’t imagine being made to constantly delve into peoples’ most private selves led to great social skills…” Kokichi frowned more. “...but I can also understand something like ‘pride in work’, and if that guy was angry with you, Shuu-chan, then…maybe they just want to know where they went wrong…”

He sighed and sipped his tea. 

“...I’ll help you tell them off. But can I ask for Alter Ego to come too? I’d do everything I can to do this safely, but…I-I mean,” Kokichi looked a little unsure, “Even if I’m abnormally strong, I’ve only ever, like…’faced off’ against one other Empath at a time. If there are a few of them…I’d feel better having more backup on our side.”

His frown softened with sorrow. “...and if they are in a bad spot…I want more help with that too.”

“Ummmmm, if it’s coming down to a potential fight? I’d actually vote you invite both Alter Ego and Temp,” Kaito said, giving his family a worried look, “When is this happening? I need to make sure we have so much migraine stuff ready. I can’t ask you to ‘go easy’, Kokichi, not when it comes to our husband and our Maki’s safety, but, just… I’ll have things ready. I just… is it going to be tonight?” Kaito asked, already fretfully thinking, “I’ll call Kaede today, see if I can’t get that address. Or maybe Fuyuhiko? I bet his family has an official line setup.”

“I don’t know if I want to put them on the yakuza’s radar,” Shuichi admitted, “And maybe we should hold off on getting Kaede’s eyes on them too, until we know for certain they’re enemies. We might ask her not to interfere, but if she does there’s nothing we can do about it. It might be wise to avoid that altogether for now.”

Kaito looked to Maki, who glared at her hands for a moment, considering it… before she puffed out her cheek. “Fine.”

“Okay, well, I’ll still just need to make sure we have plenty of medicine around. And a bucket. Two buckets, one with ice will help… could ask Ikuo to watch Miyako for the night…” Kaito murmured, still considering all the recovery work Kokichi was likely looking at, if it went at its worst.

“I hope it won’t be a fight,” Kokichi frowned, “But…if they were able to support your consciousnesses to the point you fully remember what happened, and not just that weird stuff went on, and…they were at least able to bridge one of you? That’s…a lot of power.”

Bridging non-Empaths was something that put Kokichi on the community’s radar, after all. Though…something didn’t sit quite right with him. Sure, you could make other scenery in someone else’s mind, but…

He didn’t know. It just felt like there was more going on, than the type of bridging he was familiar with. 

“I’ll message Alter Ego and Temp, today,” Kokichi promised, giving Kaito a sweet look at the preparations he had in mind too. Something occurred to him, though, and a small, impish grin quirked his lips as he gave Shuuichi and Maki an amused look. “...in the meantime…if you’re down for it? I can kinda ‘give’ you guys, like…a big poster. It wouldn’t be a defense, since that’d wear me out a bit, but it’d be something that’d let anyone trying to peek in today know that you’re aware and they’re not welcome.”

Maki’s brow went a little skeptical, mostly because of the way Kokichi smiled. “It better convey how serious I am. None of your cutesy little drawings.”

“Hey, a cute message from a powerful figure can be intimidating just by how casual it is,” Kaito assured them, tucking his mug between his thighs and reaching an arm around Kokichi, shaking him a bit as Kaito grinned at Maki and Shuichi, “Kokichi can be so intimidating with his cutesy looks! Like that letter he sent us, our first week here! Remember?”

“...” Maki squinted, “The one that was so cute that I tried to set it on fire?”

“Yeah!” 

Shuichi sighed, before smiling at Kokichi. “I think some sort of notice would be wise, yeah. At the very least it might make them think twice.”

“That’s the spirit!” Kaito grinned…before taking his hand back and rubbing it over his face, rubbing his temples a bit… before he looked up and grinned again. “Hey, let me go make us some breakfast! Are you guys hungry? I’m betting you haven’t eaten since you woke up.”

Shuichi considered Kaito for a moment… before nodding. “Yes, Kaito, that would help. Thank you.”

“Okay, food! I’ll check on Tim real quick too, make sure he and his baby sister are good. You guys relax, this won’t take long!” Kaito promised, heading to the door.

Kokichi snickered a bit, before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, it really isn’t a funny situation… But I just got the mental image of, like… Poking your head into a window to snoop, but discovering the whole thing has been plastered with red paper. Just, like…utter denial.” He gave Maki an amused look. “...you tried to set my letter on fire?”

Still a little tickled, Kokichi took a breath. “But, okay, I’m really not gonna make them cute or playful or anything. Your minds are your business, and it’s not okay if someone else is just walking in.”

Giving Kaito a thankful look for the idea of food, Kokichi sighed a little to himself. 

{The Empaths formerly from the Togami Corporation on either of your radars? Because they’ve just suddenly popped up on mine.}

Somewhere, Alter Ego’s ear twitched. {I’ve peeked in, but I try not to linger. They’re all lower level empaths, but the way they’ve refined it is… weird. Tricky to walk undetected. Why?}

Temp, bouncing a poor weepy baby plagued by the hiccups, sent back, {I’ve heard things, but nothing I’ve confirmed or looked into. I’ve heard they lived more within the mental plane than they have in reality. I’ve also heard their Empath abilities have become a closed loop around each other. Is that why you’ve struggled to peek in, abomination?}

{Basically, old man. You can’t step into any of them without thirteen eyes suddenly staring back at you. They have constant tethers connected to each other. It’s a bit unnerving, honestly.}

{Sounds difficult.}

Kokichi’s eyebrows scrunched together in worry. At a point, preconceived notions would just make the upcoming confrontation more difficult, but…living more in the mental plane than in reality, being constantly tethered to other people… To him, that did point to people that might be having trouble adjusting to freedom. 

{...yikes} his feelings summed up.

{Well, it sounded more like three than thirteen, but some of them mind-knapped Maki and Shuu-chan last night. One said that it was to thank Maki, but then they started inquiring about conditioning and…well, either way, Maki and Shuu-chan want to confront them, and I’ve agreed to help. But I did want to ask you guys for back-up. Is that something you’d be down for?}

{I can volunteer to be an emergency backup to call upon because–} Images of Temp and Addason locked down in the manor alone, Addason’s nanny off with her own family, just the two of them. The manor quiet, still, bordered by muffling snow. Honestly, a surprisingly content and at peace baby boy, chilling out and delighting in the silence. Still, hiccuping baby and only one dad. {--I can’t take my eyes off him for too long. But in an emergency, I will of course come when you call.}

{Addie’s already getting so big,} Alter Ego said in mild awe, {And of course I’ll be there, Kokichi. Also, I’ll check in with Griffin. They weren’t designed to break tethers or bridges, but I can try to refine them to alert you if someone does.}

“Aw~” Kokichi cooed softly, his coo palpable over intent as well. {I’m glad you two are doing well. Mi-Mi’s happy with us so close all the time, but she is not happy about the snow. My poor girl is a summer lover, that’s for sure.}

Pausing, Kokichi blinked at Shuuichi. “Alter Ego says that they can refine Griffin to give me a notice if someone tethers or bridges to you. Is that something you’d want, sweetheart?”

“That would be a bit reassuring, yes,” Shuichi said, “I thought about calling to you for help, before realizing I didn’t actually have a way to do that. Like I said, it was a bit frightening.”

“I’m going to eat them this time, if they try it again,” Maki said.

Kokichi gave Maki a tired smile. “It would be deserved, after the warning.”

{Yes, please, that would be very helpful. Hopefully something like this won’t happen again, but…better to have some prevention. We still have some preparation to do, so it’s not immediate, but I’ll let you know when we have a time?}

{And, uh, sorry for the very early morning call, even if you were already up, Temp, and, uh…you don’t really sleep, Alter Ego.}

{Technically one part of me sleeps. He is in fact snoozing right now. Say hi, Hiro.}

...eh? thought Hiro. Confused and in the middle of a dream about pancakes falling from the sky.

{Sorry, that was mean of me, I let him go back to sleep.}

{Your existence is so alarming to me.}

{Says the thousand year old cretin.}

{Anyway, never worry about disturbing me, Kokichi. I know you’d do the same.}

“Breakfast!” Kaito called cheerfully, opening the door with a platter in his hands, “We got lucky, someone was already making waffles downstairs and they donated some for us! I’ve also got some meats and fruits, and a few eggs. Everyone eat up, okay? I can get more if you’re still hungry after!”

{XoD}

{I would. But, still, thank you. I really appreciate you guys.}

“Ooooh, that’s kind of them!” Kokichi perked, looking eagerly over at the waffles. “Thanks, Kai-chan!”

Kaito put down the platter, passing out the plates, looking over to make sure everyone had something of theirs. Kokichi had that slightly spaced out ‘talking to people in his head’ look, and Shuichi and Maki had been discussing Griffin while Kokichi was out of it. Kaito was pretty sure Shuichi was trying to talk Maki into getting her own little alarm.

Kaito gave a little shaky breath… before shuffling behind Maki and Shuichi, and wrapping his arms around both of them. Careful to not jostle their plates out of their hands, Kaito held them close. Resting his head against Shuichi’s, but holding Maki as close in as he could.

“...I’m sorry you guys had a scary night,” Kaito said, kissing Shuichi’s head, then Maki’s, hugging them tight again before pulling back, “But! We’re all going to take care of this, and it’s going to be okay, alright? We’re on top of this, it’s not going to happen again like that…and Maki, I agree with our Shuichi, you really should have an alarm. At least until this is all sorted out. Just as a safety measure. We all know you don’t have any idea how to awaken your inner dragon, who you’re not, remember?”

Shuichi rested his head against Kaito’s arm for a moment, smiling lightly, while Maki just huffed, “...fine. But I would get to design it.”

“If our Empaths can manage that, then heck yeah.” Kaito grinned, kissing her head again. “Something small and unobtrusive, I’m sure one of them can manage that. Right Kokichi?”

“Absolutely,” Kokichi said, giving Maki a sincere nod. “I know I like making things a little goofy, but…that’s just who I am. My aesthetics. It’s all well and good for my own mind, but…” Kokichi gave his family a slightly pained smile. “...you’ve all had more than enough of other people designing things in your heads. The more control you have over it, the better--I’ll just be there to facilitate.”

With that, Kokichi dug into his waffles, taking a bite…before sighing. “Thirteen, by the way.”

“According to my mentor, there are thirteen of them.”

“...” Kaito’s grin briefly strained…before he chuckled, ruffling Shuichi’s and Maki’s hair for a moment before sitting down with them, picking up his plate. “Well, that’s why you’re bringing Temp and Alter Ego with you, Kokichi. We’ve handled worse! Hell, we all escaped a massive dream hive mind… thing,” Kaito said, waving his hand vaguely, “we can handle some over enthusiastic stair people.”

“...stair people?” Shuichi asked.

“I mean, that’s essentially who we’re dealing with, right?” Kaito frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t like that they mind-knapped you. That really, really upsets me! …but, these are people who were trapped in the warehouses, right?” Kaito confirmed, looking uncomfortable, “The reasons Empaths even feel like they need to hide? I can’t help but feel… as the Momota, as you kept mentioning, Maki, that maybe I should be… advocating you all put your best foot forward?” Kaito said, looking away, uncomfortable and guilty, “If you can. If they give you an opportunity.”

It could be naive, but Kokichi, in his heart of hearts, didn’t think that it would come down to a fight. If things started going badly, then…they could just leave. And between a few of the things that Maki and Shuuichi said the Togami Empaths did, and the fact that…well, Maki and Shuuichi had woken up? Without people in their head? And had come to him and Kaito so they could talk about this?

…Kokichi could be reading it wrong, but it didn’t sound like the Empaths wanted a fight either. 

Kokichi sighed, resting his cheek in his hand for a few moments, chewing through some fruit. “...I’m not happy about what they did, but…Kai-chan is right. One of the first things I ever knew about Empaths as a whole were that the Togami Empaths were a horror story. But…they are real, living people. Who…” Kokichi paused, his eyebrows scrunching. “...well, know enough to…probably have heard that Maki-chan fought on the revolutionary side, on a platform of ending the Indentured Program. Which would free them, which is what… You said her name was Namine? What she thanked you for…”

Kokichi snorted knowingly at himself. “...it wouldn’t even be the first time I’ve seen someone in a bad situation and prompted them to come to Dicea.”

“...” Kaito looked at Kokichi for a moment, before nodding. Taking a sip of his tea.

“It’s not that I’m not sympathetic. But they still have an uphill battle to make up for our first impression.” Shuichi said, “And I don’t enjoy being looked at like a project. If we can accomplish nothing else. I want to make certain they understand our minds aren’t a public park to take a walk through.”

“Same. We establish that we are not easy targets… and then after that we can actually talk to them properly.” Maki said, “So, good. Thank you, Kokichi.”

“Of course,” Kokichi gave her a warm smile, “Nothing less, for you guys. Your minds are yours, period.”

-

It was a bit hurried, maybe, but they did end up going to confront the Togami Empaths that night. Miyako was being watched by Ikuo, Kaito had his battle station of anti-brain exertion supplies readied, and Kokichi had let Alter Ego know, before kissing Shuuichi’s cheek and squeezing Maki’s hand. Promising to let them come to no harm. 

Tracing back the signature from Maki’s memory of the drop in, Kokichi felt out for it, and…

…yeah, it did feel weird. Like one thing, but multiple people and…sturdy. Like bricks that had been stacked and mortared by countless hands over countless years, maintained faithfully. Like a collective, but even what little Kokichi had learned about those, from the gathered wisdom of the Empath community within him, didn’t…feel quite right. 

There was a moment, where Kokichi hesitated. Just wanting to…knock, essentially. It was startling, when someone just appeared in your mind. 

…but that was exactly what the Togami Empaths had done to Maki and Shuuichi, and he knew that wasn’t his family’s style, especially when they wanted to make a point, so, internally cringing a bit, he just…plopped them down. Not with extra fanfare, any more than the visuals of his portal, and…

It was a beach, just as his family had described. A tiny island, treehouses nearby, children’s toys…

And one of the largest men Kokichi had ever seen, looking at them in muted surprise. But before Kokichi could even start to bolster himself up for an explanation or what might happen, the man put a finger to his lips, and held his other hand flat, parallel to the ground, before gently lowering it. Telling them to…be quiet, Kokichi figured.

It was a little bizarre, both how subtly different and yet exactly the same it felt, to be here. Shuichi and Maki both knew, conceptually, that this was a different ‘island’ than the one that had been… made? In Maki’s mind? Maki’s mind being the main thing sustaining the imagery, though absolutely influenced by her visitors.

The main thing missing now was the mountain. The horizon was now instead a perfectly clear blue, the dark ocean tides mixing and melting with a bright blue sky. No sign of Maki’s most definitive mental map anywhere to be seen.

But beyond that, there were smaller things. Things that they might not have noticed had it not been so recent a visit. Shuichi and Maki had barely noticed it, but the island transferred into Maki’s mind had been warm. Hot. The treehouses had broader edges around the windows, the barriers wider. Easier to climb, easier to run across, the entire area in subtle ways lending itself to someone who wanted to move around the island quickly and considered going around buildings an unnecessary divergence.

It had also, again, in small ways, looked more… real. The sand a little scratchy, seaweeds clumping in unattractive ways where the ocean came up to the sand. The colors more realistic, muted.

Here? 

It was like stepping into a storybook.

The colors were all so bright. Not just the sun, but the colors themselves, like everything had been painted over recently by Kokichi in one of his more reserved moods. It was… cartoonish. Not like living in a cartoon necessarily, but walking around a space that had clearly had childhood drawings in mind when the place was being designed. The air smelled so fresh. Flowers were blooming like fields at the top of the tree lines. Entirely absent from the one in Maki’s mind, the pleasant sound of a waterfall drew the eye to… well, a waterfall. Just nestled neatly in between two treehouses, somehow falling from nowhere and falling into nowhere, the small pond it was pouring into rippling but never overflowing.

A daydream. A child's daydream. One entirely unmarred by Maki’s grown, pessimistic outlook and desire for ease in her own abilities.

The man in front of them was new.

Maki glanced at Shuichi and Kokichi to see how they would react to the man’s bid for quiet. Shuichi, not one to ignore a warning before he could assess a situation, just frowned before glancing around. Maki looked behind them, looking for ambush or danger. They stayed quiet.

Kokichi nodded slightly, before opening his mouth…and closing it. Considering something for a moment. If he needed to convey something quietly in the physical world, then he’d either use Sign or intent, but…given that these people were from Luminary, he doubted they knew Sign, and…in the mental plane, and how Alter Ego had described the Togami Empaths’ minds as so interconnected, sending intent might be the loudest thing of all. 

So…quietly, Kokichi said, “Hello.”

The man gave a nod back. 

“Earlier some of your friends visited my friends,” he gestured to Shuuichi and Maki, “and we were hoping to talk about that. …why should we be quiet?”

Kokichi had barely finished speaking when there was a sudden swirl of flower petals, another man with pink hair appearing with an oversized scythe brandished, his eyes sharp and focused…before in a blink he relaxed, the scythe disappearing as he crossed his arms casually. “Oh, you. And…you?” He narrowed his eyes curiously at Kokichi. 

Seemingly absorbing the situation in a flash, the pink-haired man scoffed a bit. “Papa Bear just wants to make sure Sleeping Beauty stays asleep, don’t take it so seriously.”

The large man made a quiet disapproving sound.

Maki did not have any of her weapons here. She did not know how to make them either. So, when she saw the scythe, she just followed it with her gaze. Ready to step in front of Kokichi or Shuichi if it came at them, and accepting that stepping in its way was the only action she could truly take. Just waiting.

She felt relieved when the scythe disappeared. Maki knew there was very little she could physically do here. And because her skillsets were so unhelpful here, she was going to let Shuichi and Kokichi take the lead… for now.

Shuichi, in turn, felt an itch to put his hands together in front of his stomach. It was a servant’s posture, a small display of deferment, common to both servants and Indentured alike, though while servants had to be requested directly to perform tasks and it was considered good form to thank them and consider what they might need for it, Indentureds were expected to mind read and react before the energy of a request had to be ‘wasted’. 

Shuichi wanted to go into the pose because he was nervous.

Feeling nervous offended his sensibilities now. And frowning, he stepped forward, raising his head as he said, “Please inform Namine that she has an audience.” He briefly considered asking them to inform Roxas as well… but felt like his point was better made if he didn’t bother with that. The absence of the request a dismissal of his importance.

Namine, in turn, already knew they were there… and had only not arrived as she quietly panicked, trying to decide how she was going to handle this.

One of them??? Was here??? Uninvited, un bridged by one of their own???

This was unprecedented. Other Empaths were afraid of them–or ashamed of them–so no one bridged to them, not without quickly leaving once they realized exactly what they were bridging to. The only person who had ever just showed up unrequested was him, who was informed whenever conditioning wasn’t proceeding as expected.

To put it more succinctly: Namine had no idea what to do right now. No one had taught any of them how to kick someone out of their mind. They had never learned. Namine had no idea how to get them to leave– “Psss,” someone whispered in her ear, where Namine was looking down at the beach from one of the upper floors of the tree houses, “That’s your cue.”

Namine turned just in time to see a flash of golden fur before it disappeared. There was a step in her mind, and she felt a fourth figure now, small, walking in the shadows of her mind. 

This was getting out of hand. 

Needing to face this head on, Namine took a breath, before stepping forward. She stepped out of nothing onto the sand, taking another steadying breath… before smiling warmly at the intruders. “Hello. Um… welcome. To Destiny Island.”

…Kokichi didn’t know what to make of that, other than…just what the man had said. One of them needing sleep, he supposed, and the larger man not wanting anything too psychically loud to wake them up. He supposed his presence at all was kind of loud--the nature of being ‘big’--so…well, he wasn’t trying to make enemies here. He could keep ‘quiet’. 

But they still had come for a purpose, and as Shuuichi declared it and a girl appeared--Namine, Kokichi guessed--Kokichi gently returned her smile and gave a nod. “Thank you for the welcome. I, uh,” he huffed a soft laugh, “there’s a lot more to do than talk shop, but this collective lounge is really something.”

“If you’re 8,” Marluxia drawled, looking around a little dismissively, before looking back at Shuuichi and Maki. A small, sardonic grin pulling up the corner of his mouth. “...you know, it really does just feel like us that the first two people the Redemption Squad visit happen to be friends with a ridiculously powerful Empath. Here to wreak some havoc in revenge?”

“That does seem to have our luck written all over it.” Namine smiled sheepishly, gazing at Kokichi, trying to get a read on him, and realizing, “... I can’t see all of you.”

What she meant by that, was that she had stretched herself out to feel the edges of Kokichi’s bridge, his tether to her, and just… couldn’t. It was looking for a door in a wall, only to realize the wall was the door. Pulling back from her attempt to reach him, to see into his mind, Namine instead bowed low from her waist. “Please forgive us. We hadn’t meant any offense. We got overzealous.”

Meanwhile, behind Kokichi, Shuichi, and Maki, Lea had gotten the message and stepped out of a dark portal, quietly stepping onto the sand behind them. Lea assessed the situation quickly, before Axel grinned, stepping closer to them, hoping to give the others an advantage for whatever this was if he could surprise and separate the trio– “Meow.”

“What the hell?” Axel said, looking down at his feet. A golden cat looking up at him. “Uuuuuh, oh, come on, we have psychic pets now?”

“They’re not a pet,” Maki said, looking back at Axel, frowning, “And we know there’s thirteen of you connected to this place. If you’re going to overwhelm us, you could be less cowardly about it.”

“Cowardly? Did you guys hear that? I’ve been here five seconds, and already the royal assassin’s decided I’m a coward. How rough is that?” Axel grinned, though he had to step back from the cat a bit, its golden gaze unnerving him. 

Kokichi’s expression softened more. He supposed it was difficult to come in peace when your very presence was like a kaiju poking out of the ocean. “I come from the discipline that finds it a bit rude to make introductions without words so…sorry about the whole,” Kokichi gestured to all of himself. “But as alarming as us just being here must be…we’re not here to fight, or harm any of you. We just want to talk.”

“Uh huh,” Marluxia drawled, watching the debacle between Axel and…a cat. “You know, I don’t exactly believe that you’re content to just call us rude and cowardly…as right as you may be.”

Lexaeus looked at the new group, before nodding slightly to Shuuichi and Maki. “Then talk. Namine did not intend to harm you either.”

“We wanted to make it very clear that our minds are off limits,” Shuichi explained, looking around warily. There were more people popping up around the beach, up on the wooden walkways, peeking out of the windows. More and more of the Empaths connected to this lobby realizing something was happening and coming to see. “Considering last night? We felt it’d be wise to come and prove our point in person… as much as we can, in this plane.”

“I see…” Namine placed her hands crossed in front of her, and Shuichi and Maki both relaxed slightly, “I understand. Please know, we felt like that was the only way we could speak to you. It’s not as if there was a way we could… ask permission. To violate is the nature of Empathy.”

Maki frowned. “That’s incorrect. But… I can see how you’d believe that by this point. But the correction is easy. Ask permission when you arrive.”

Namine pressed her lips together, looking away. “...perhaps I’m making excuses I shouldn’t. We did not feel like we needed permission. We wanted to talk to you. We did not think you’d want to talk to us.”

“Geez, way to out us, Namine,” Axel snickered, putting a hand on his hip and tipping his head, “Just say we made an oopsie and let them fill in the blank! You’re making us sound mean~”

“I feel like honesty might be the wise choice here,” Namine said softly, “We are dealing with a powerful Empath, the woman who ended the program, and an Indentured who managed to marry into the royal family, now a lord. This is perhaps a group we should not be trying to fool with false platitudes of good will… not when we’re not really capable of conveying sincerity.”

“Ooooh! Are we just saying it aloud to them!?” A new blond woman, as picturesque and oddly beautiful as the rest of them, laughed from where she was leaning against the boardwalk barrier, smirking down at the group as she waved by wiggling her fingers. “Welcome to the land of the heartless! Don’t worry~ you’ll meet nobody here.”

Around the people that were watching them from the trees and the houses, there were little accompanying chuckles in the dark. And almost like they had been given permission to do so, the bright, colorful clothes that they had all been wearing all morphed and shifted into long, black cloaks. Namine’s outfit the only one that shifted, not to a black cloak, but to a simple, white, almost glowing dress. Namine now holding in her hands a drawing pad, as she sighed, “...again. Honesty feels like the way forward here. My friend up there is being a bit cheeky in her wording, but… she’s not wrong. If this feels… ominous? Malicious? Those are the feelings we're trying to correct. To fight against. We’re not capable of anything else. That's why we wanted to talk to you.”

Kokichi’s brow furrowed a bit, from all the little things the Togami Empaths were saying. Like Maki, he understood some of the outlooks they might have gained by this point. Empathy being…well, a power over others, that was regularly exercised by its own nature. Of it being violating, and giving those that could use it a sense of superiority over those who couldn’t. Not in haughtiness, but in entitlement. 

But…some of the other stuff, like…capability, and correction, he didn’t…

…the land of the heartless?

“Hey, feel free to say no, but I’ve been kinda holding back here,” that got a few raised eyebrows and incredulous looks, “but if I’m getting what you’re saying…” Kokichi frowned. “May I feel you more?”

Shuichi couldn’t help but smirk as the disquiet both the admission and request garnered. He didn’t feel the same way about it that Kaito did, but… it was satisfying. Having a husband who could make people who had been content to drag you around a second ago, step back and treat you more cautiously. It felt nice, to be protected by someone who was strong. 

Shuichi hoped he’d get the chance to pay Kokichi back someday, at least in some sense. He’d like to make Kokichi feel safe as well.

Namine’s lips pressed together in concern again. A few of the others looked to her, waiting for her cue… and the girl nodded. “If you… would like. Yes,” she said uncertainly. Like she was worried to find out what might happen if she said no.

Kokichi gave her a sympathetic look, before, well… Nothing really happened. And it wouldn’t feel like much. Honestly, if Kokichi wanted, it wouldn’t feel like anything, but like the hand he’d put up for Maki and Shuuichi before, there was a blatant sense of someone “seeing”. An obvious indication that Namine wasn’t alone in her thoughts. And given the tethered nature of the rest of the Togami Empaths…

Kokichi’s eyes widened, and he paled, lips going thin. A quiet, “Oh fuck,” his only indication for a moment.

While at the same time, twelve became thirteen, Zexion suddenly appearing on the beach, looking at the newcomers intently. Lexaeus looking up and sighing with defeated disappointment. It was too much to hope for, he knew. 

“You’re back,” Zexion noted with muted surprise, before looking at Kokichi and Alter Ego like he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at. “...ah, so that explains how you know everything.”

“Alright, fine,” he brushed past, “Have you considered sharing more about how you’ve broken your conditioning, or was this purely a social call?”

“It was a warning/we needed to come to an understanding–” Maki and Shuichi both glanced at each other, having accidentally spoken over each other, before Maki nodded. Shuichi continued, “We’re not people you can just play around with without consequences. Maybe once we were, but that’s not the case anymore. Whatever we were to you in the warehouse? Is done now. You can’t treat us that way.”

“Funnily enough, we don’t actually want to,” said a man from out one of the windows, Luxord spinning cards effortlessly through his fingertips as he leaned against the railing, “Intellectually speaking, anyway. We came to you trying to make amends. It’s that one's idea.” He pointed to a man sitting on the broken pier, a fierce looking person, Ansem nodding slightly as Luxord continued, “But we all agreed it’s the way forward. Can someone please explain it to them clearly? I had a few drinks before bed, I’m not up to it.”

“Our hearts are broken,” Roxas said from the boardwalk, resting his hand on his chest and scowling, “We’re broken. We didn’t used to be… The people you’re talking to? Us? We’re masks. Constructs. We call ourselves Nobodies, because we were always supposed to be temporary… but now…”

“We’re stuck!” Larxene scoffed, thumping her cheek onto her fist as she groaned, “Stuck here, stuck in the real world–”

Kokichi nodded, worry growing through the shock on his face. “They need to find their closets.”

Briefly, everyone was confused… but Shuichi’s eyes widened. “Oh.” 

“Oh?” Maki said, looking to Shuichi.

“You remember what happened, when I first had to rescue Kokichi from his mind? How we were told?” Shuichi asked, Maki nodding, “Kokichi had locked himself away and needed help getting out. But the person in the real world? Who was helping us with Miyako… it was Kokichi but… wrong. Like he was empty. Not cruel, but…”

“A little disconnected from everything?” Namine asked.

“Maybe a bit quicker to pragmatism?” Vexen offered.

“Not unconcerned or uninvolved, but…?” Axel shrugged.

“Uninvested?” Saix offered.

“Or invested in all the wrong ways?” Larxene giggled.

“Muted,” Roxas said. 

“Oookay, anyone else going to add anything?” Alter Ego said, hopping up onto Kokichi’s shoulder, looking around, “There’s actually a name for this sort of Empathetic mental defense, though I’ve never seen anyone take it to the extreme you all have. It’s an AutoPilot defense. You create a construct to perform duties and actions you don’t want to do yourself, while you yourself hide away in your mind to do what you actually want to do, or to protect yourself. It’s essentially creating a construct to be you, for a while. Though usually they’re shallow but identical copies. You all…”

“We’re well defined,” Ansem said, crossing his arms, his voice a deep rumble, “we know. We were meant to feel like other people entirely, to our Empaths. To feel ‘other’.”

“And now our merry band of misfits are the only ones in charge in our minds,” Axel sighed, scratching at his head, “And we’re not exactly thrilled. I can feel me, the real me, wanting to come out, and I want to let him! But… like Larxene said. We’re stuck. They can’t escape and we can’t seem to let them out. And none of us are equipped to handle real world problems, like talking to people, or getting a damn job. Every time someone sasses me out there, I just want to drag them in here and throw fire at them till they change their tune… it’s not a good long term solution!”

“It iiiiiis a comforting thought though,” Larxene giggled. 

“Perhaps you can see why we’re struggling with this so much,” Namine frowned, “Even my first impulse keeps being to use my powers, to try to subdue you all in some way… it’s a struggle, to go against what feels like instincts to me. To try to do what I think Kairi would really want, in this moment. Which is to be honest with you.”

Kokichi nodded worriedly, tilting his head a bit to accommodate his mentor. What the Togami Empaths were describing, the AutoPilot defense… It seemed like a natural progression of that defense, if it was something they all had done for…years. Kokichi could remember not wanting to come out, to not let anything take him out of his closet, too buried in his pain. If these people had been doing it for so long…he could see it being a case of their closets disappearing even to themselves, locked behind countless layers of instinctive self-defense. 

Which would leave only the construct behind. 

And while Kokichi hadn’t done anything cruel to his family…he’d made his daughter cry for hours, and freaked his husband out beyond compare. It was only the love his husband and mentor had for him, the care they showed, and Kokichi’s trust in them that allowed them to…heal him, essentially. 

A construct living the majority of a life…

“Not to mention that none of us actually know how different our other selves are at this point,” Marluxia hummed, leaning on his back foot. “Sure, we could play around in a dream, but even that’s been a while, and if they were exactly the same, well, then a handful of children would be just as unequipped for grand freedom as we are.”

“Unequipped or different, it’d still benefit us to choose who’s presenting,” Zexion countered, before looking back to the visitors. “For full transparency, one of our plans for ‘regaining our hearts’ was, as Luxord said, based on the hypothesis that trying to atone for our biggest misdeeds--that is, the harm we caused implementing conditioning--might be the key; thus why Namine sought you out.” He nodded to Maki. 

Right after though, Zexion’s visible eye narrowed. “However, if you’re familiar with this “AutoPilot” defense, then perhaps there’s a more intrapersonal solution to this. Which would also solve your issue of treatment.”

“I really only know what it is,” Alter Ego said, looking around at the group, tail flicking, “But untangling what you have going on? I’m not sure how anyone would even start. It would likely be invasive.”

“We’ve already solved our problem,” Maki said, nodding towards Kokichi. “This is our solution. We’re not negotiating that. However… I am curious about you all,” Maki admitted, looking around, “You’re the reason conditioning exists. I’m having difficulty accepting that you can’t simply turn off what you turned on.”

“It is nowhere near that easy,” Axel frowned, “You have any idea how hard conditioning is in the first place? It takes us years. The person we’re doing it to has to be in the exact right mindset, the right environment, it has to be sustained, and then we have to know what we’re doing in the first place. And it’s so easy to check that something’s gone wrong! Every few weeks, few days, we have really specific things those we conditioned have to be able to do or respond to on command, and if they don’t, bam! Suddenly everyone’s having a bad time. It’s a rigorous process, is what I’m trying to say. It’s not something we can just turn off in an afternoon… at least, not yet.”

“I’d like to ask,” Shuichi said, looking around, “What’s the most objectively powerful thing the strongest among you is capable of doing? I know Empaths essentially have power levels… what’s your upper limit?”

“In comparison to what?” Larxene asked.

“Well… can you change a person's personality?” Shuichi asked.

There was silence. The others looked at each other, before Roxas said, “...an Empath can do that?”

“No, none of us can do that,” Namine said, “We can change the makeup of a person's mind with little nudges and a lot of outside help. That’s why the environment needs to be so specific. Changing a person outright? No, that’s not something we can do.”

Shuichi nodded, relaxing a little at that, as Alter Ego asked, “What about leaving constructs in other people's mind? That’s a difficult feat to accomplish, how easily can you do that?”

“I can do that… well, ‘easily’ is not a term I’d use,” Namine frowned, “But with time and the right environment and knowing what we’re doing already, most of us are capable of doing that over years, with only some of us needing a power boost through our connection.”

“That’s impressive,” Alter Ego said, “Transferring power between Empaths is a rare skill. You all have mastered that?”

Namine nodded, before gesturing around the shared lobby. “I didn’t realize it was rare, but, yes. We can share power here. It helps the weaker among us do what everyone else can.”

Of course it’d be. If it was so simple, they would’ve figured it out already. However, just like seeing Shuuichi and Maki without functioning conditioning, even hearing that what they’d done to themselves was a known method in the Empath community was…huge. They were conclusively not working with impossibilities anymore. Knowing that an end goal was possible, even if they didn’t quite know the means was…everything to Zexion. It meant his efforts were well-placed. 

As much as it seemed distasteful to him, to agree with Axel, Marluxia nodded at his explanation of conditioning. “Conditioning was a process that had been refined years even before the most ancient of us were snagged, and the factories had whole teams of people battering down the willpower of Indentureds before any of us got assigned. For reversing it, we don’t have a blueprint, and we don’t have endless resources or a government with a knife to our throats demanding we do it right--until the two of you,” he raised an eyebrow, “we thought it was something that had never been done before.”

Marluxia flashed a sugar sweet smile Zexion’s way. “Must feel nice to know you’re not a total conspiracy theorist, hm?”

Zexion didn’t bother rising to the bait…but Kokichi looked between them with interest. So they had been trying to undo conditioning. Even still, though…Kokichi didn’t feel safe about telling them the method, yet. Even if it was an issue they were aware of, the fact that the Togami Empaths still disregarded others’ autonomy was…not the kind of trust that inspired Kokichi to reach out, just yet.

Nodding a little, similarly impressed that the group had mastered such a tricky skill, Kokichi shifted his weight and tugged on his hair a little. Feeling the impulse he had warned his family about before. “...I wouldn’t ask to be a part of anything invasive, but…I would like to help you all out. If you want it.”

“We… do want it,” Namine said carefully, glancing between the four of them, “But I have noticed you’ve ignored most of our questions.”

“It’s less ‘ignored’ and more we don’t have any good answers for you,” Shuichi said, “That was why I asked about power levels. I don’t know much about how to break conditioning, personally, but I do know that what happened to me was the influence of a strong Empath. I don’t think you could do what helped me.”

“And like I said before, my resistance is innate,” Maki said, “No one freed me. I realized one day I could make it stop, and did.”

“Darn,” Roxas whispered, before squinting at Shuichi, “...there was still always something off about your conditioning from the beginning though. I followed all the instructions to the letter, we did everything right. Maybe you didn’t break your conditioning yourself, but it never took hold the way it was supposed to. I have to know why. It’s always bothered me.”

Shuichi gave Roxas a dry look. “...maybe someday you’ll earn an answer.”

Roxas scowled. 

“Everyone, please, this person… I’m sorry, I just realized, we haven’t even gotten your name,” Namine realized, looking to Kokichi. “I am Namine. Pleased to meet you.”

Zexion frowned a bit. The influence of a strong Empath…but there had been two things specifically Shuuichi and the cat had asked. Changing someone fundamentally as a person, which, if that was the key, then they really were out of luck for that method, but…creating a construct in another person? As Namine said, she could do that…and if they worked together, it could be easier to do as well. A construct in another person…

As he ruminated on that to himself, Kokichi blinked before letting out a sheepish laugh. “Oh, whoops, I forgot introductions, huh… My name’s Kokichi, it’s nice to meet you too.” He gave Namine a small Luminary-style bow, before directing another at the others. 

Lexaeus looked mildly surprised, before bowing back and introducing himself, and at his prompting, Marluxia relented into his own introduction. 

Namine startled a little…. But no, it couldn’t be the Dicean prince. He had been… well, to be blunt, too nice to be Lord Shuichi’s husband. Shuichi too casual around him. Even the Nobodies had managed to hear the rumors by now: Prince Kokichi was a menacing machiavellian type, a sinister schemer who had managed to brutally subdue the Luminary prince, and had taken on the Boogieman as a second husband because of their similar, cruel way of handling the world from the shadows…

Plus, Kokichi Ouma was seven feet tall. He was compared to the visage of a rotting, gnarled tree pretty often, looming and unblinking. This person couldn’t be taller than 5’3, maybe.

As one by one everyone gave their names, Shuichi committed them all to memory… before looking at the man right in front of them. “And you?”

Zexion blinked, before saying a little off-handedly, “Hm? Oh, Zexion. Thought you caught my name before.” A little more curious, now, he tilted his head at Shuuichi. “Despite being supported by Empaths, do you not remember yesterday as clearly as an average memory? You,” he nodded to Maki, “Didn’t seem to recognize him in the drawing either. Hm…”

A heavy tome appeared in Zexion’s arms, though he didn’t open it. Instead, he just nestled it against his forearm as he seemed to get lost in thought again. “Interesting… The nature of appearing in a dream, unsupported, does lend itself to partial recall, but often through the haze and obfuscation one normally gives dreams. However, being aware in an Empath dream tends to occur in total recall later. Which the two of you were…but by your own knowledge, and not any effort on our part. I wonder…”

Tipping his head back to look up at Larxene, Marluxia made a ‘pcheww’ noise and rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Space cadet’s blasting off again.”

“He should have perfect memory too,” Roxas said, “That was one of his conditionings. Endless replays in dreams, leading to perfect memory during the day.”

“One of the sacrifices for breaking my conditioning,” Shuichi shrugged. “And Maki and I don’t really remember much of anything from our time in the warehouses. We mostly just remember long days in isolated rooms.”

Namine nodded. “That was always the first step to getting you into the correct mindset for conditioning. Loneliness and isolation opens up a mind for conditioning in the first place. After that, desperation and self-loathing. Terror and helplessness. Each piece of conditioning requires gradual but consistent destruction of the ego. And once we’ve accomplished it, we can successfully leave a construct behind to maintain it… but once that’s happened? There’s no need for you all to remember your destruction of ego. It’s unnecessary for the construct to do what it needs to do. So I always buried the memories, and always added a condition that you wouldn’t want to know. So no one ever looks.”

Maki frowned. She didn’t love, that her lack of interest in how her conditioning happened was something implanted in her. But even knowing that, she couldn’t think of why she would want to know. It just seemed like pain for its own sake, remembering.

Alter Ego sent to Kokichi {I’m not sure how to play this. I think they genuinely want to help with conditioning… but I don’t know if it's wise to encourage people this ill to be running into other people’s minds to ‘fix’ them. Maybe if we helped them with their AutoPilots? Afterwards perhaps we could recruit them to our cause? Our end goal was always to share this knowledge with other Empaths, and having weaker ones try our methods might be an easier way to map it out for anyone to be able to do it.}

Basically…what they had guessed. Everything second or third hand Kokichi had ever heard about the warehouses, it seemed like something you wouldn’t want to remember. Maybe not a choice to be taken out of people’s hands…but Kokichi still did see it as a small mercy Namine had given people. 

{Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too… Even if they’re more familiar with what conditioning can look like, I still don’t think it’s something that someone should be facing while they’re dealing with personal problems this…huge. But I still want to help them. And I think they could help a lot with refining our methods.}

Kokichi frowned a little to himself, before looking up plaintively at the Togami Empaths. “...if nothing else, I’m willing to discuss my experience getting out of AutoPilot, so that could be helpful with all your cases, but… Well, long story short, I was super freaked out when I came back to myself?” Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Like…it wasn’t good in a ‘keeping ahold of myself’ kind of way. So I’d caution, if it was something you’re gonna explore…maybe just doing one person at a time. And…well, I do feel a little awkward asking, but…”

Kokichi’s voice softened. “Is your situation in the physical world…okay?”

Again, a silence. The group all looking at each other, uncertain how to answer. 

“...we…” Axel hesitated, looking around the group, “...all ate today? Everyone got a portion today?”

Everyone nodded… before, reluctantly, Roxas shook his head.

“Roxas, buddy! What do you mean no? I saw you go into the kitchen!” Axel said. 

Roxas shrugged, looking away. “...there was only one portion left, and I knew Ienzo hadn’t eaten yet. So I just brought it to him. I wasn’t hungry.”

“We are… struggling a little,” Namine admitted, “It’s one of the reasons our situation has become so urgent. We can’t find regular work, and we’re trying to keep alive 13 people. And people aren’t exactly welcoming when they figure out who we are. It feels like every time one of us gets a hold of some way to make coin, it’s a countdown for us to slip up, forget where we are, who we are, what we’re capable of… it’s been an adjustment.”

“I don’t suppose brainwashing people in a warehouse for decades gives you a lot of marketable skills,” Shuichi murmured.

“I got a job as a dishwasher for two weeks,” Ansem rumbled, looking irritated, “Got fired for asking when I was going to be paid. And I still regret losing that job. I was able to bring leftovers from the kitchen home.”

“I was on the road when a carriage was coming,” Namine said, “I kept staring at it, trying to make it levitate over me until someone pulled me out of the way. I just forgot that I couldn’t move objects around at will anymore.”

Zexion paused, looking a little confused, before frowning at Roxas. “...I would implore you to make different decisions in the future. I believe the rule is, you snooze you lose.”

“Some of us have skills that work better than others,” Marluxia sniffed, before scoffing and looking away, “...though not ones that are good for keeping us all out of trouble. It turns out ‘hundreds’ of people are a little harder to keep tabs on than ‘dozens’.”

As the Togami Empaths revealed more and more about their situation, Kokichi’s worry grew and grew, the line between his brows carving deep. And, eventually, he could only turn to Shuuichi, eyes practically shimmering with a puppy dog plea.

Shuichi gave Kokichi a look. → (¬д¬。) this look.

“...” Shuichi sighed, looking back at Namine, “...could we… invite you to visit us? In person. At least until things are more settled for you.”

Namine blinked. “...I’m sorry? Invite us where?”

“To Dicea. The capital, specifically, Usott. I know it’s a journey, but it’s an easier one now than it used to be. If you started travel now, you’d likely be here by summer, if not even spring.”

“Dicea…?” Namine whispered.

“Are you crazy!? I hear Dicea disappears people,” Axel frowned, “You just disappear and you never come back.”

“I heard that if you upset an official, they send you into the woods and you’re eaten within a few days,” Saix said, “They’re where wolves live, you know.”

“I heard someone was found with an iron stone on them, and the town beat him to death with it,” Larxene said, “Though, I don’t think any of us have any Atuan symbols, so… maybe it’d be fine?”

“Who have you all been talking to?” Shuichi frowned, “I never heard any rumors like that when I was in Luminary, and I heard a lot of Dicean rumors.”

“You knoooow… just things you hear,” Axel shrugged, “Around. Pubs and stuff.”

Kokichi wilted a little more with each rumor. It was one thing, knowing the wartime propaganda his family had heard. It was another, hearing just random town rumors just from the past 10 or so months--distinctly after the war ended. Leaning into Shuuichi’s arm, Kokichi moaned, “Our international reputation is so baaaaad… I really did think things might be better with all the pamphlets… Ugh, we really need an ambassador…”

But, even if he did decide to take the job, it was still a few weeks at least until Shin and his party made it to Usott. 

Zexion gave Kokichi an unsure look, before humming softly. “...there is a lot of psychic activity in Dicea.” His voice considering.

Shuichi patted Kokichi’s shoulder sympathetically. He guessed it’d take time for people to get to know their neighbor countries, after such a long war. 

Maki, in turn, rolled her eyes. “None of that is true, but also, just come anyway. We’ll send funds for your travels. Worst comes to worst you end up going from one shitty place to another. What do you have to lose?”

Silence at that. It was a good point… “You’ll pay for our passage?” Namine asked softly, “What about… food?”

Shuichi twitched. “Wow, we’re really about to bribe you to come to a better situation, so that we can help you. Yes, we’ll send you funds to feed yourselves too.”

Axel narrowed his eyes. “What’s going to be our interest rate? How soon does the interest start to build? As soon as we get it?”

“It won’t be a debt. It will be a gift,” Shuich said.

Quiet tension. Not sure if they believed him.

Kokichi sighed softly, picking himself up from Shuuichi, before giving the Empaths a serious look. 

“...I’m gonna open myself up a little, so you can check if I’m lying,” he warned, before offering a soft smile. “For one? We are in the same community. One of the first things I ever learned about Empathy was your situation, and that because of it, my and my loved ones lives would be in danger if the wrong people figured out I was an Empath. It was a danger for me…but reality for you.”

Marluxia looked to the side, glaring a bit. 

“...it wasn’t enough to help you, while the Program was still running, and…for that I am sorry,” Kokichi said sincerely, “But having the chance to help out now, that’s something I want to take, if you’ll accept.”

“...and on the other hand, I have personal issues with Queen Kaede,” Kokichi said dryly, “And it, unfortunately, does not surprise me that the government hasn’t fulfilled what should be its promise to you, after kidnapping you all then promptly abandoning you. It’s something I take personal offense to. I can’t really dig my hands in to change every policy and program in Luminary, I’m not about to start another war…but it is in my power to give aid to you, so…that’s what I want to do. Doing right by you, because it’s what I believe is right. No more, no less.”

Speaking plainly, Kokichi offered, “By my personal sense of worth, and as an Ouma promise, we would like to send you the funds to come to Usott, along with funds for food.”

Every word was sincere.

Namine wasn’t really the leader. In the factory, they hadn’t really had a leader. Just the people who controlled them. 

But out here, she was as close as they got to someone who, in the mental plane, could protect them. If Kokichi was lying? If he was fooling their senses somehow… Namine had the best chance of noticing. So they all looked to her.

“...” Namine smiled. “...we’d be foolish to not accept. We will happily accept your funding and invitation. Thank you,” she said, bowing. 

Alter Ego’s whiskers fluttered. {She thinks we’re easy to take advantage of.} he whispered to Kokichi. The cat not holding back on reading her. {She thinks exploiting us might be a good backup plan if they can’t save themselves.}

Kokichi was a little amused. {Maybe that proves her point, but I’d rather ‘be taken advantage of’ if it means they’ll be in a better position. But I still hope they’ll take up the offer.}

Zexion shrugged a little, the matter seemingly settled. “Not like the scenery really matters, I suppose,” he said off-handedly, before giving Kokichi a curious look. “...we don’t exactly have a postbox.”

Kokichi sighed a bit, tugging the back of his hair. “Yeah… Figuring out how to send you the funds is a whole logistics thing… To be blunt, I have less faith in Kaede to get it to you, but I kinda doubt you’d all want to do business with the yakuza, if they’d even take up a personal favor like this.”

Marluxia snorted lightly. “Okay, I have to ask now, what do you have against the queen?”

Kokichi grimaced a bit. “She’s a jerk.”

“She’s manipulative,” Shuichi added in.

“She’s unreliable,” Maki concluded, “But, we’ll figure out how to get the funds to you. We need an address.”

Namine told them where they were staying. It was Roxas who said, “You said you were going to try to undo our defenses one at a time? Are you going to wait for us to get to Dicea before you start that?”

{In theory we don’t have to.} Alter Ego said to Kokichi, {I’ll leave it up to you though.}

“No, it’s not dependent,” Kokichi shook his head, “And we did prep for…well, worst case scenarios on our end, so we’re in a good position for that. I’d just caution, again, that whoever goes first is likely going to need support in the physical world too. If that’s not something doable right now, then…well, I guess I’ll still tell you how it went for me, and give you all an open offer to contact me when you are ready, but…otherwise?”

Kokichi grinned softly. “Who first?”

After some thought, Axel said, “I feel like out of all of us, Zexion would want it the most… but also his case is really tricky? Unusually so for us. Plus, I don’t know how easy it would be to observe if you yourself are the test subject, which I also think Zexion would want to do.”

Zexion gave Axel a dry look. “Speak for yourself, why don’t you. On the contrary, I believe I’m handling managing different constructs better than all of you. My case is non-urgent, and I would prefer observing how the process is handled. Upon observation and analysis, it might even prove to be something we could do for each other, which cuts down on the schedules needed to coordinate.”

Even not trying to read them, there was a general sense of doubt, as Zexion proclaimed to be handling things the best. 

But regardless, he carried on. “Why not Roxas?” Zexion proposed, looking over to the blond, “You’re younger than most of us, so if it’s a matter of whiplash, it would be less severe, and you’re miserable.”

“Who’s miserable?” Roxas grit his teeth, before looking over to Shuichi, “...I’d volunteer to be first if it meant he answered my questions.”

“I said I’d answer when you had earned it,” Shuichi said. 

“Tsk…” Roxas crossed his arms, looking away, “...I might as well volunteer. Sora coming back would be a boon. It’s not like anyone would miss me.”

Axel narrowed his eyes. “Wait, I don’t want that to be the reason… Roxas, I’d mi–”

“It sounds like we’ve got a volunteer,” Namine said, sighing relief, “Thank you, Roxas.”

Kokichi frowned a bit, but he kept himself from trying to make assurances. For one, he really didn’t know what would happen to these advanced constructs once they freed the original personality. They could just end up hanging around like the constructs he was more familiar with. They could end up disappearing back into base essence. It…might be healthier for the Empaths to reabsorb their constructs. He didn’t know…but it was a conversation to have once they started looking at the realities more. 

Nodding a bit, accepting Roxas’ choice, Kokichi sighed softly. “Okay, so… When I used AutoPilot, my…emotional self, let’s call it, had retreated into a mental space I considered the most secure I have. And even the spaces around it were, not to a great extent, but still meant to obfuscate where I was. Really, it was only the fact that I had given a friend of mine a…bypass of sorts, a metaphorical key to my inner self, that they were able to find and retrieve me so quickly.”

Kokichi frowned. “However, even finding that representation of my emotional self, I was so hurt that I needed someone I trusted to…well, is this a phrase in Luminary?” he glanced around, “To fight my inner demons? To combat my fears and insecurities and allow myself the space to calm. So, to help you find and help Sora…who would you trust most for that, Roxas?”

Roxas frowned, glancing around. “For Sora…” 

His eyes went to Ansem, who gave him a reproachful look before shaking his head. “I’m not Riku,” he reminded him.

“Right…” Roxas sighed, glancing at Namine before shaking his head. He and Namine didn’t get along much, not after what happened to Xion. Finally… “I guess it has to be Axel. Axel was the one who trained me, he was the one who was there when I was first being created. For better or worse? You’ve already seen everything,” Roxas said to Axel, “You were there.”

“Pffff, just ask him to marry you already! Have fun getting killed by the only person here who actually likes you, loser,” Larxene called, putting an L on her forehead. “Wouldn’t it be so funny if they lobotomized you by accident? Anyway, byeeee~” she called, disappearing into a black portal.

“I doubt this will be solved in a night. Don’t be foolish and not eat in the morning, Roxas. You’re not getting out of lizard hunting duty tomorrow if you complain about hunger,” Saix said, disappearing into his own black hole.

One by one, the other Nobodies disappeared, a few of them expressing their doubt in this venture, one or two halfheartedly bidding Roxas some sort of goodbye, most just disappearing.

It was only Namine, Zexion, Axel, and Roxas after a moment, and Namine smiled lightly. “I guess I’ll leave this part to you. We’re counting on you, Roxas, to bring Sora back to us. You’re right, out of all of us, he was friends to many of us. If having someone close to us is what’s needed to fight demons? Sora can save many of us… If by some luck he returns by morning? Goodbye, Roxas.”

“Goodbye, witch,” Roxas said.

Namine smiled, and disappeared into her own black portal.

Axel shook his head. “Geez…what was it, twenty minutes? And everyone was already starting to get steadily bitchier… Actually, hey, Kokichi, right?” Axel said, looking to the little Empath, “You should know, the version of all three of us you’re getting right now? This is the nicest we’re going to get, here, and it’s gonna get worse the longer we’re in here. Spending time in Destiny Island’s surface lets us relax, but anywhere else? We lose more and more of our hearts, the longer and deeper we explore here. And I doubt we’ll be lucky enough to not have to go into Kingdom Hearts. You won’t even recognize us, and you need to be ready for that, got it?”

“Kingdom Hearts?” Maki asked, raising her eyebrow, “What is that?”

The three Nobodies glanced up at the blue sky, though Roxas shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. None of us have any idea how this is going to work, right? We shouldn’t assume anything.”

“At risk of absolutely sabotaging my own curiosity…” Shuichi looked to Kokichi, “Should we be here still? How are you holding up?”

-

Meanwhile, back in the real world…

Kaito stared at his family, all laid out together in bed, Kokichi holding Maki and Shuichi’s hands. Cute…

Reaching over, he laid the back of his palm on Kokichi’s forehead. Felt a little warm. Reaching down for one of his buckets, he pulled the handtowel he had resting against the ice and, folding it, laid it across Kokichi’s forehead, before checking Maki and Shuichi. They seemed okay. Kaito still patted both of the back of their necks with a dry handtowel, noticing a bit of sweat.

He glanced at his watch. They had agreed that he’d try to get them to subconsciously drink some water after a certain amount of time. He had straws and water bottles ready. He still had some time left.

He sat back down, pulling onto his lap a book he was going to read. He hadn’t started reading it yet. He stared at his family.

-

Kokichi raised an eyebrow but gave Axel a serious nod. “Well, thanks for the heads up. I’d like to say I can handle it, but we’ve really only just met. Still…as long as this is something you want, I want to help, and if that means…essentially standing against your worst impulses, then so be it.”

“Fighting your inner demons, standing against worst impulses… Metaphors are often the language of the mind, but this is starting to sound more like CBT than a groundbreaking defense circumnavigation,” Zexion mused, mostly to himself. …of course he had stayed, don’t be stupid. This wasn’t a once in a lifetime chance, considering there were thirteen of them, himself included, but seeing how much stronger Empaths worked, not to mention Empaths who had been taught in different ways, on a problem that plagued their group… Zexion wasn’t leaving for anything. 

Giving his husband and sister a sheepish look, Kokichi took a deep breath. “I’m…okay. It’s easier bridging you two to other Empaths than it is to non-Empaths, and I have been practicing for this sort of thing… And, well…” Kokichi gave Roxas an apologetic nod, before looking to Shuuichi. “Even if it is brief, you two do have history, so there’s a chance that’d be something that’d help. And,” Kokichi laughed softly, “Maki-chan being here does give me more confidence. You’re really good at simplifying, like…thought-loops.”

“There is something extremely appealing about essentially either wiping out the power or existence of the people who conditioned us,” Maki admitted, looking back at the Nobodies, as they seemed to think of themselves, “while at the same time helping people imprisoned by the program. It’s what I imagine it’s like for you when Kaito lets you get two different pastries.”

“As another sweets lover, yes, it’s very similar.” Shuichi smirked lightly. “Also, while I didn’t want to say anything before, though thank you for recognizing my title, if for now you could just refer to me as Shuichi? Lord Shuichi or Lord Saihara is a mouthful.”

“Ngh… I can’t help but feel you’re just inviting an audience to laugh at us, but…” Axel looked back at Roxas, “How you feeling about this, bud?”

“If them staying means I potentially get my answer about what went wrong with Shuichi’s training?” Roxas said, “Then fine, they can stay. I don’t care.”

…well, that was a bit of a side benefit for his family, Kokichi supposed. And it wasn’t exactly fair to Roxas…but the most honest reason Kokichi had? Even with Alter Ego there, even though Maki and Shuuichi weren’t Empaths…Kokichi just felt safer with more people there. He truly wanted to help the Nobodies, but they’d had one very tense conversation together, and even getting consent, given the nature of the AutoPilot defense…Kokichi was expecting some antagonism. And having his family there just made him feel more brave. 

“It seems the team is decided, then,” Zexion hummed, focusing back in on the whole group, “So shall we go to your mind, Roxas? Following the same pattern Kokichi explained from his own experience, the place to start would be a ‘safe place’.” He narrowed his eyes a little. “...but not Destiny Island, which, admittedly, would be my first guess.”

Kokichi nodded a little. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I think we’d need to rethink our approach if your emotional self was locked in a collective outside your own mind.” Kokichi tugged the back of his hair, looking a bit weirded out by that idea. 

“That’s a point. We’re not even in your mind, Roxas,” Alter Ego said, looking around, “Which I must say, is still impressive. Namine might be sustaining this lobby primarily, but it doesn’t feel like we’re in her mind either. We are, but the fact it feels so separate from her? The skill this place expresses is…really impressive. Sorry, there’s just not another word that feels right for it.”

Axel shrugged. “I’d say thanks?? But we inherited it. This place is a second home to me, and I help keep it sustained, and I still don’t entirely understand how it works. How it was explained to me when I was first learning was it was like weaving a basket, but I’ve never weaved a basket, so who knows, maybe he was full of it.”

“The worlds are a lot easier to create,” Roxas agreed. “There’s too many layers to untangle here.”

“You all keep referencing ‘worlds’,” Alter Ego noted, “In fact, you have a lot of little words that seem to represent certain Empathetic ideas to each other.”

“Makes sense, if they learned how to use their Empath abilities in a bubble,” Shuichi said, adjusting his hat, which was suddenly on his head, his very cool cloak that he had gotten to make himself feel like a very cool detective now on. Maki looking very amused as she realized this, looking him over as he continued, “They had to make up their own terms. We know ‘Hearts’ basically means feelings, right?”

“Not… I mean, yes, but not entirely,” Roxas said, “It’s the part of us where feelings come from. Within ourselves. Our hearts.”

“Sure,” Maki said dryly, “Shuichi, where was Kokichi’s closet?”

“Literally our room closet,” Shuichi said. “Where he hides when he’s upset.”

“Right. So, you,” Maki said to Roxas, “Where do you go when you’re upset? I doubt it would be a shared space either way. Where would you want to be alone?”

“I still want my planet question answered,” Alter Ego said.

“I’m never upset. That’s half the point,” Roxas said, “Sora, though…”

Roxas closed his eyes, trying to remember. Roxas didn’t remember well, things that happened before he was ‘born’, for lack of a better word. What had Sora liked? Where had he found comfort? Where…

“...glass?” Roxas said uncertainly, opening his eyes, “Glass.”

Zexion closed his eyes, tracing the edge of the tome in his arms. “Whatever the foundations of the island were, they’re lost to time, at this point. The first Empath in the factory long gone, and any oral history they might’ve passed to others lost or obscured. While it’s not something noteworthy to us, you, cat, pointed out that our skill in lending power to each other is unusual--and that is a significant tool in maintaining the island. It’s a much larger endeavor than any one of us would ever be able to make, but by giving it a constant feed--one might think of it as the trade for spending time here--it becomes more than the sum of its parts.”

That was how Vexen had explained it to him, anyway, and Zexion’s own observation corroborated it. Like all the pieces of energy and power the Empaths over time had fed to the island grew off each other, and didn’t just remain in the same form they were given. 

“The worlds are offshoots,” Zexion continued to explain, figuring to answer the cat’s question while Roxas thought. “The form the island takes is due to Namine’s influence, as the main keeper and the strongest power, but its scenery isn’t to everyone’s tastes. Thus, should one of us want to, we can create a gateway of sorts, using the energy and stability of the island, but more malleable for our own design, and ‘where’ that is, is another world, only accessible through the main hub of the island, for all that they’re essentially personalized to the person that made them.”

In general, they did treat the worlds as more private than the island too, though that could depend on the day and circumstances. 

“For example, my world is a library. Not as tricky as condensing my personal knowledge into a library as a place in my own mind, because of the power from the island, and with the boon of including things the others have read too,” Zexion explained. 

“Wow…” Kokichi murmured… “Like…collaborative lobbies, sorta. But within a shared space, rather than a first line defense in a mind… That’s…pretty incredible, honestly…”

As Roxas found his answer, Kokichi waited a moment, seeing if he would elaborate…before looking to Axel and Zexion when nothing followed.

Axel shrugged, a bit sheepish, before reaching over and ruffling Roxas’s hair, who half scowled and half pouted at him. “Not super clear there, bud. You know what, I say we just head to your world and figure it out from there. Come on, lead the way.”

Roxas huffed, knocking Axel’s arm off his head. “Don’t treat me like a kid. You’re barely older than me. Come on,” Roxas said, heading down the beach, towards the caves.

“Don’t listen to him, he loves it.” Axel smirked, shrugging at the others before following him. 

“...heh. Reminds me of Kaito and Doppio, a bit,” Shuichi said, the group following them down the beach, “Could just be the red hair and the bad attitude.”

“If Kaito wakes me up at some point, I expect to be dragged back in,” Maki said, as they went into the cave, kicking aside a doll in her path as Roxas went to open a door embedded in the wall of the cave, heading inside, “You know how he is, he gets fussy. And I don’t want to miss out on this.”

“Same,” Shuichi said.

As they stepped out onto a… road? Rain pattered down, thunder rolling through the sky in distant, flashing bursts of light. Alter Ego hissed slightly, before jumping into Kokichi’s shirt, letting Kokichi catch him as he peeked his head out, glaring resentfully at the storm. Though, their golden eyes widened as they looked up. And up. And up…

“...this isn’t the glass you were talking about?” Maki asked.

“What, this place?” Axel asked, like they weren’t surrounded by massive, rigidly rectangle, mountain high buildings entirely made of glass. “This is Roxas’s planet, he wouldn’t be struggling to remember this.”

“The glass I’m thinking of is colorful,” Roxas agreed, looking around, “There’s never any color here. It’s always dark here. Turbulent. It represents me well.”

“Edgelord,” Shuichi whispered to Maki, who nodded.

Kokichi snorted softly, giving Shuuichi a grin. “I can see it. Though for both their sake, I hope Roxas is less frustrated, less often, with Axel.” And, well… It was more difficult, since how the Nobodies looked weren’t just mirrors of their real appearance, like Kokichi was doing for himself. But Kokichi still did get ‘angry teen’ vibes from Roxas, and ‘playful 20-something’ vibes from Axel. 

Roxas’ vibe only rang out more clearly as they walked into his world, Kokichi looking at the glass towers in astonishment. It was…such a contrast. The wild violence of the storm, with something so fragile like glass, especially built up so high, but even so, there was something so…sturdy and oppressive about the buildings, almost like he was looking at concrete instead of glass. Kokichi had never considered brutalist form but with more delicate mediums… It’d be fascinating to paint…

But that could come later. 

“Colorful?” Kokichi hummed, holding one of his hands over Alter Ego’s head to hopefully mitigate some of the rain. “Like stained glass?” He perked up a bit. “There’s a whole Luminary art movement with stained glass, so if it was something Sora’s seen, then…that is something that could be here!”

“Mosaic stained glass,” Zexion hummed boredly, his book gone, likely to save it from the rain, “The oldest pieces dated to 156 OR, an art form derived from the flourishing glass manufacturing in Luminary, but predating the usage of mass plate furnaces, it utilizes smaller shards of colored glass re-smelted into iron frames, lending itself to a dappled, impressionistic image. Despite being more easily made than single-piece stained glass, it’s still a luxury art form, and thus most likely to be found in places that would commission it, such as temples, theaters, and the homes of the elite.”

“Was Sora religious?” Shuichi asked. 

Roxas hesitated, before shaking his head. “Not really. No more than anyone is. I couldn’t picture him hiding in a temple…” Roxas stared at Shuichi, “You weren’t very religious either, I recall. I was surprised to hear you got married. You didn’t strike me as someone who could love.”

Shuichi’s eyes narrowed, but he just shrugged. “If you’re hoping to unnerve me by making observations that you had towards an 11-year-old? Spare yourself the embarrassment.”

“I have a theory,” Maki said, feeling far more comfortable voicing it now, “What if we just scared the piss out of this version of Sora, and see where he runs to? I doubt it’d be hard.” Maki looked Roxas up and down, who took a step back from her. “He seems easily bothered.”

Axel stepped in front of Roxas. “Hey, if we’re sharing ‘ideas’, it’s easier to move around these spaces when they’re in use. Maybe we should let Roxas play around with the two Indentureds, see where it takes us. We know you can ‘handle it’.“ Axel sneered, his left brow twitching. “It’ll be fun, like old times.”

Kokichi gave the entire group a look so dry they might as well have been standing under a mass umbrella. “As far as I understand it from my own experience, distressing the person locked away because of AutoPilot is one of the worst things you could do, Maki-chan. And as much as I’d prefer not to exert my influence at all in your minds, I won’t allow any of you to harm Shuu-chan or Maki-chan, Axel.”

A peacekeeper, hm? Zexion wondered how effective that would end up being. 

Looking around the glass buildings, Zexion tilted his head a little (...to the side with his bangs, he’d learned a rather embarrassing lesson that tilting his head the other way when he was wet was a good way to get wet hair in his eyes). “...Kokichi, you said that the areas around your ‘safe place’ were meant to obscure the actual place your ‘emotional self’ was hiding, even if the area would be easily seen adhering to the rules of physical space. That stands to reason we could even be standing right under where Sora is, none the wiser. What revealed your space before?”

Kokichi turned, looking up at Zexion before looking a little sheepish. “Ah, well…” He glanced over to Shuuichi. “You…said it was a note, right, sweetie?”

Shuichi shot Axel and Roxas another cold look, before looking to Kokichi. “I hurt Kaito with my powers. It was written on a piece of paper, taped to the door. I always considered it a warning to me specifically.”

“Still, that does tell us there might be signs of what's bothering Sora enough to keep him hidden,” Maki pointed out, looking around, “It might be a literal sign, if Kokichi isn’t unique in just posting a note somewhere.”

“Perhaps we could split up?” Alter Ego said, “I can feel the edges of the space here, it’s not a terribly big city, just tall. Normally I’d suggest just letting the memory of the person lead us to where we’re going, but I doubt Roxas can make a memory of Sora.”

Zexion doubted it was something so obvious--he felt like someone would’ve noticed a literal note from themselves in their world--but…well, it wasn’t the worst idea, and deeper observation of Roxas’ world could lend itself to something. 

Kokichi sighed a little. “...I don’t totally love the idea of splitting up, but if it’s not that big…it would help us cover ground more quickly.” Kokichi looked around the buildings for a moment, before doing a little testing hop. Humming to himself softly before giving Roxas a small smile. “Permission to fly?”

Roxas looked up towards the sky, before nodding. “It’ll just feel like jumping, but it’ll take you where you’re trying to go. Sora’s the one who knows how to let people fly… but you can run vertically too.”

And to prove his point, Roxas kicked off the floor, leaping several stories high towards one of the buildings, before running up the rest of it to the edge. Glancing down, his face hidden by the storm and the hood, before he disappeared onto the roof.

“...you know, for being one of us? A Nobody. He’s really not that bad of a guy,” Axel said, looking to the others, “We’re not supposed to feel anything, but clearly we do. And he does look out for people, when he can. He’s just grumpy about it.”

“Forgive me if I don’t seem reassured,” Shuichi said dryly.

“Tsk… like you’d have done any better, in his position. I’m sure people loved you as The Boogieman.” Axel scowled, before turning with a flourish, swaggering off as he said, “Don’t take forever searching, this isn’t a vacation, hear me?”

Shuichi and Maki didn’t answer him. Maki looked to Kokichi and Alter Ego. “We’ll explore the ground.”

Kokichi’s eyebrows raised, a smile growing on his face. Yet another new way of flying in dreams… Just as well, really, since he doubted Roc would be very happy flying in this weather. He had figured he’d try one of Alter Ego’s methods, maybe summoning tiny storm clouds to hop on, but this method seemed like a ton of fun. 

Zexion watched the small interaction between Axel and Shuuichi quietly. Roxas did have an ‘attitude’ as some called, what Axel called ‘grumpiness’, but his other assessment was correct. Roxas cared about others, in the limited capacity they had been able. Even today, forgoing food just to ensure Ienzo had some. 

He wasn’t sure what Roxas really thought about their quest for forgiveness. If it was something he really wanted, or just answers. If it was something Sora would want. If it was something Shuuichi would ever give. 

That last bit was the major sticking point, but…even if Roxas never found forgiveness, Zexion hoped he would at least find peace. Maybe his antagonism with Shuuichi would be the conduit for that, who knew. 

Shaking his head a little, Zexion turned, a few clones appearing beside him before taking off in different directions. 

Watching all the Nobodies leave, Kokichi huffed a little before giving his family a smile. “Alright, I’ll go above. Hmmm,” he frowned slightly, “Since I’m bridging you here, I should be able to tell if you need me, but…”

Sticking his tongue out a little, Kokichi concentrated for a moment before making a little clerk’s bell and hollow cored dagger, giving them to Shuuichi and Maki respectively. “These will be connected straight to me, but the sound they make should alert the others too. I…” Kokichi squinted, “think you should be able to call Griffin with this, Shuu-chan, and…well, I think it’d be dangerous for you to call anything, Maki-chan, but it is something you’d be able to defend yourself with that wouldn’t be something a construct in this world would be able to ignore… so…”

He gave them both a grin. “Be safe, I love you.”

Shuichi lit up at being given the bell, leaning in to place a grateful kiss against Kokichi’s cheek, while Maki immediately started spinning the dagger, getting used to its weight. She flicked her wrist and it disappeared–her pants immediately turning into a skirt, some things law to Maki– before smiling lightly at Kokichi, nodding. “Be safe. Love you.”

“Thank you, Kokichi. Love you,” Shuichi said, stepping back and pocketing his bell. 

Shuichi and Maki gave each other a glance, before heading down the road. 

“Alright, time to look for a sign,” Kokichi mused to Alter Ego, taking a breath. And, with an excited grin, he bent his knees before taking off! Soaring into the sky with a delighted giggle, watching the weird glass buildings shimmer in the rain and lightning. If nothing else, these were some spectacular visuals. 

-

Kaito startled as, out of nowhere, Kokichi giggled under his breath. Staring at him for a moment, Kaito murmured, “Gonna assume it’s going well,” as he looked back down at his book. Now, the detective had just discovered the femme fatale, waiting for her in his office… Kaito was certain she was going to end up betraying him, but he was still very interested in the upcoming scene anyway…

-

The city was unlike anything Maki and Shuichi had ever seen… as a one for one. Massive, rigid towers of glass that all darkly reflected each other, rain falling so hard that it felt like a bucket pouring directly over your head, each step kicking up a bit of liquid. So fundamentally unlike their desert region that to compare it felt foolish.

…and yet.

Shuichi’s gaze was dipped beneath his cap, looking at the doors around them, fluorescent lights in a language he didn’t recognize, and might not have been a true language at all. He noticed Maki’s gaze upwards and said, “A copper for your thoughts?”

“It looks like Luminary,” Maki said.

Shuichi looked around and knew what she was talking about. The deep alleys between the buildings, the way the entrance to some of the buildings dipped down into the earth, the entrance buried beneath the ground. The fluorescent lights were in all the same spots that a tapestry would be hanging, fastened in front of windows and down the front of doors. The way the buildings went up, and up, and up… Luminary. Reskinned 

“...it makes sense. He’s Luminous,” Shuichi said.

“I know. I was just thinking how odd it is, that some place he clearly invented looks so much more like Luminary than Dicea does. You couldn’t mistake this place for anywhere in Dicea. Nowhere I’ve seen, anyway,” Maki said, looking around, “But I see Luminary all over it. Just… different.”

“I wonder why it’s so different,” Shuichi said, “Why not just base this on the cities?”

“I was thinking about that too… he could just be creative. I could imagine Kaito doing something similar. But it could also be he just… didn’t see much of Luminary. So he took pieces he remembered and made something new with it,” Maki said, looking at the flickering green light sign, “The signs made of light are inventive, I’ll give him that.”

“Hmm,” Shuichi said, looking around warily, “I wish they were in Common. I’ll be annoyed if there literally is just a sign that says ‘Sora is Here’ and we can’t read it.”

“It would be kind of funny.” 

“You’ll laugh about it plenty, while I’m just groaning in a corner.”

“Hmm,” Maki hummed, “...do you recognize any of this?”

“That it looks like Luminary? Yes.”

“No.”

“...” Shuichi looked around, “...no. But I wouldn’t, would I? They buried the memories. Though…”

Shuichi stopped, looking down one of the dark alleys. The streets themselves were somewhat lit by the fluorescent signs, but the alleys? Pitch darkness. “...Kokichi explained to me, once, what my conditioning looked like. I had a hard time conceptualizing it. I always knew conditioning felt like a panic attack was starting. I had one of the ‘not allowed’ thoughts, like holding back information, and suddenly my chest would tighten up, and I couldn’t breathe. And I knew if I just obeyed, I’d stop feeling like I couldn’t get air into my lungs. And I never lasted very long before I was desperate to make that stop and would just spill anything I knew that might make it stop.”

Maki knew all of this, but she nodded along anyway. Dr. Mariah’s insistence on endlessly beating the dead horse was not a new idea to the two. Maki and Shuichi had told each other things they already knew a thousand times, simply because the act of explaining it felt relieving. Easing the tension, to speak and be heard. Understood. 

Interrupting a conversation like that with something like ‘yes, I know’, or ‘You already said’? Would have been a betrayal. One they might flippantly do to others, but to each other? To whoever Maki and Shuichi were to each other at that moment, a best friend, a pseudo sibling, an experimental crush, the Other Person Who Got It… they’d never dare. Not something that cruel, not for them, not to each other.

So instead Maki said, “Nightmare.”

“Nightmare,” Shuichi agreed, “But the way Kokichi explained it? It wasn’t a panic attack. In my mind, apparently it was men made of shadows. Seeking me out and literally choking me out until I complied. Violent attacks that my body thought were really happening, and were reacting accordingly.”

“Sometimes I wonder what my conditioning might have looked like, in my mind,” Maki said, following Shuichi as he walked towards the dark alleys, “You know what mine were like.”

“I do,” Shuichi said.

Maki explained anyway, because again, that was a part of it. A part of how they were there for each other. The same information, shared over and over. Relieving the pressure. “Disobedience meant my loved ones were going to die. I always had violent images of my siblings, all dying one by one. The longer I disobeyed? The more I was convinced that more of them were falling. That every second I held back…” Shuichi and Maki stood just outside the dark alley. Waiting for their eyes to adjust. Realizing they wouldn’t. “...another one of them was killed. Disobedience felt enormously selfish. How could I risk their safety, delaying? Even though logically I knew nothing was happening to them.”

“Was it ever me?” Shuichi asked. “That you imagined?”

“Yes.” Maki said. 

The two both considered that, before Shuichi reached for Maki’s hand. The two wordlessly heading down into the alley. Letting the shadows fall over them, thick and heavy as ink.

-

It was pretty hit or miss, if any of them talked about Before the Factory. Sometimes it was a treat, sharing a sunset in their shared world, or a treat someone hadn’t tried before, and it could be nice, hearing a little of someone’s life…before. When things were “normal”. 

A lot of the time, and especially once their Nobodies were presenting more and more, it just didn’t come up. Not important, too painful, too insulting. 

Zexion didn’t know much about Sora’s life before the factory. He wondered where he had seen the mosaic stained glass, what the situation was for it to become a safe place in his mind. If he had regularly traveled city streets with deep alleys and impossibly high buildings, where he had started to dream of glowing lights over every surface. 

He wondered if he should ask, if they succeeded and Sora was able to come out more. If that would mean anything to him. Sora had always been friendly even with the most terse of them, so Zexion didn’t think the effort would be wasted, but he also didn’t think basing things on the most optimistic versions of each other was looking at things realistically. Even as themselves, even naturally upbeat, they weren’t in a good place. 

But maybe things finally turning up would be the kind of hope they needed. 

Zexion paused, feeling an echo within himself. 

26 saw Shuuichi and the woman go into the oppressive darkness of an alley, hm? Perhaps he should follow and observe.

-

Roxas frowned, feeling a shiver up his spine, something in his mind itching… He found himself following the source of the itch, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, until he stopped at the edge of one. Feeling compelled to look down, he found his eyes struggling to focus on anything. The alleyway here dark. Darker than the others. Like you could reach down and touch it…

Roxas reached down the side of the building, grazing his fingers over the darkness.

It shifted at his touch. The shadow physical. Moving like smoke. 

Roxas had not realized there was an entrance here. A way down. He didn’t follow pathways in his own mind. He walked in and out of portals, showing up where he wanted to be. He had long forgotten that there were literally just pathways he could walk. 

Why did it itch?

Frowning, Roxas took a breath, and jumped down into the darkness.

-

Shuichi gasped. His next step at first just feeling like he had stepped into mud, before that sludge leeway disappeared, and it was like he had just stepped out into air. His grip on Maki’s hand hardening, Maki–unable to catch anything to pull Shuichi back up–just leaning forward, letting him drag her down into his fall. 

Wherever this was going? She was in it with him. 

Again, that brief, sludge feeling. Like they were crashing through mud, before they phased upwards, through the floor. “Shuichi!?” Maki called out into the darkness. 

“I’m okay.” Shuichi gasped, squeezing her hand again, before letting it go to stand up. Shaking lightly, the darkness thick around them, oppressive. Shifting, like smoke rising up. 

He blinked, as if he could clear his vision and see something. And in a way, it worked. Because when he opened his eyes, he could see red eyes in the dark. Lightly glowing. That small glow allowing Shuichi’s gaze to adjust enough to see the outline of the person around those eyes.

It looked a little like Roxas. Younger, maybe? Smaller. A boy with red eyes, covered thick with the darkness that surrounded this place. But even recognizing the silhouette as a boy, it felt like a creature. An animal. Its eyes just staring at them. Hungry. 

“...” Shuichi frowned, “Sora?--H’AH!” 

Shuichi gasped, raising up his arms automatically to protect himself as the creature lunged towards him. But before Shuichi could even finish his scream, Maki had pulled him back by the collar, throwing him behind her before jumping toward the creature, plunging the dagger into its neck. 

It disappeared into a puff of smoke, and Maki landed on her feet. But Shuichi’s eyes widened as, as soon as she landed, four more creatures grew from the floor around her. These things just small, animalistic walking nightmares, each leaping for her. “Maki!” 

But as Shuichi scrambled up, feeling automatically for his electric baton–feeling fear well up into him when he just patted clothes–he didn’t have a chance to go defend her, creatures appearing in front of him, Shuichi having to scramble backwards. Maki stabbed two of hers in succession, one throwing itself onto her back, so Maki flipped forward, ripping it off her back in the tumble and pinning it down to stab it, before immediately turning around to stab the fourth one that had thrown itself at her.

As soon as all four were dead? Eight more popped up. “Fuck,” Maki whispered, before starting to stab at the new ones. “Shuichi!?” 

Shuichi tried to call back, but he was thrashing beneath the grips of two of these monsters, a third one standing on his chest, reaching down for his throat. 

Out in the darkness, Roxas watched. Eyes wide. Watching Shuichi. 

There was a quiet sound from the darkness, and while it was nearly impossible to see, a few of the dark figures swiping at Maki…hit something. Like an invisible barrier that they smacked into full force.

Eye focused in concentration, Zexion held his hand out, his Lexicon open in his other. 

“All this is to help you, you know,” he muttered to Roxas, “You could do something instead of just standing around like an idiot. You’re more than capable.”

“None of this is going to help,” Roxas whispered, still watching Shuichi, who had managed to kick off the shadow that was trying to choke him, though he still couldn’t pull himself up from where the other two had grabbed him, “Has it occurred to you that maybe our originals don’t actually exist? Maybe they were lies we came up with, pretending there was any part of us that was still good. Maybe they disappeared because we couldn’t keep up the mask anymore.”

Zexion knew that wasn’t true. He was very aware of Ienzo. But he knew that Roxas’ worry wasn’t something to completely dismiss. While the idea that an Empath could completely change a person’s personality was…mind-blowing (heh), the idea that…ego could be lost? Or changed? That wasn’t absurd at all. People were always changing, and the concept of…giving up the past, perhaps, was perfectly reasonable. 

However.

“Still good?” he questioned, eye narrowing a little as he blocked more swings from the dark creatures. He was thinking, but he hadn’t come up with anything to get the ones on Shuuichi off him yet. The creatures were touching him, and while already what he was doing to cover Maki was a bit difficult, going that far was more than Zexion was comfortable managing. “So you don’t believe you as you are, Roxas, is ‘good’? That it’s a concept solely relegated to Sora, and, in your theory, a ‘mask’ conjured for…what, self-esteem and ego?”

“Isn’t it?” Roxas whispered, gritting his teeth as he stared at the monsters–his monsters– trying to brutalize the two new victims thrown into the darkness. “Is there anything different about me, then those things down there? To you? To…” Roxas’s teeth grit harder, his expression twisting, “Xion? I thought she was good. I didn’t understand why she existed at all. I thought maybe Sora was starting to act like Ienzo, like maybe there’d be a lot of us, but she was so… different. Better than me, and I wondered if maybe…”

Roxas gripped his hands tightly into fists. “I wondered if maybe Sora made her to save me. I was so unhappy, and then Xion appeared, and she was quiet, but kind, and she made me laugh, and with her and Axel it was like… maybe… maybe I was more than this…” Roxas gestured to the monsters… before letting out a shaky little laugh, “And Namine obliterated her in an instant. Just gone. It was all just gone, and all I was was… this again…”

“...I never got the obedience to work for him,” Roxas said, staring at Shuichi, “Everyone knew I had messed up the information recall, but no one found out he didn’t have obedience. I was terrified they’d find out. That one day it’d just come out. I was so afraid. And then Xion showed up…”

Roxas eyes suddenly softened in grief… before he scowled. Focusing on Shuichi. “I have to know why. Why did Xion have to exist, just to die like that?!” 

And leaping forward, two blades appeared in Roxas’s hands, Shuichi just barely managing to sit up, Maki having thrown her dagger at one of the shadows pinning him, allowing him to fight the other off. Shuichi had pulled the dagger from the ground, tossing it back to Maki, before looking back, eyes widening as he saw someone more solid coming at him from the darkness– “Maki!” 

Maki had just barely looked back in time to see Roxas leap at Shuichi. Running for them, throwing her dagger again, it would have hit its mark–into the top of Roxas’ skull–but suddenly his body was down faster than she had calculated. Roxas stabbing the blades into the ground either side of Shuichi rather than into him, the sound of shattering glass being Maki’s first clue that they weren’t standing on a solid surface, but on top of a glass plane, which disappeared from under Shuichi first. Plunging Shuichi and Roxas below. 

Maki went to go leap into the hole after him, but the shadows grabbed at her legs, dragging her back. Screaming, she kicked a few off, before grabbing one of the edge shards of glass and breaking it off, stabbing it into the side of its head. 

-

Kaito glanced up as Maki grunted in her sleep, gritting her teeth, clutching Kokichi’s hand harder. Taking one of the cooling rags, he laid it gently across her collarbone, hoping it might soothe whatever stress she was under.

-

“SHUICHI!” Maki screamed. 

(Sometimes Zexion thought that the others forgot what constructs were. Empaths, within themselves, couldn’t create anything new. Different perspectives, sure, different veneers, neat thought experiences…but it was their brain. They might talk in metaphor, but everything they did had a very physical counterpart. Everything was just…them.)

(So, no. Roxas wasn’t different from the dark creatures. But he wasn’t different from Sora or Xion either.)

(...and placing the blame of Xion’s ‘death’ on Shuuichi was…)

“Shit,” Zexion muttered, giving it an attempt, but illusions couldn’t fool the concept of gravity. Grabbing the side of his tome, he started slamming it into the creatures holding Maki back, trying to help free her.

-

Kokichi’s eyes widened, feeling his family’s distress. Immediately honing in on his connection to them, he moved. 

-

Zexion’s help was, well, helpful, but it was clear that the shadows had a new purpose, and that purpose was to keep them from following Shuichi and Roxas to wherever they had fallen. Even as Maki got to her feet, more and more shadows formed, swarming them like ants, only Zexion’s barriers and Maki’s expertise keeping them from being entirely overrun. And worse, as Maki took step by step closer to the hole, she found she couldn’t find it. Like it had filled in behind them…  and while she tried slashing at the floor to make a new one, she couldn’t focus on it, every time she focused on slashing the floor giving the shadows more room to dogpile her.

She didn’t know how she was going to overcome this. 

But she would.

-

Shuichi fell, his back towards where he could only assume the ground was, staring up at Roxas, who was glaring down at him with murderous rage. A familiar expression, but Shuichi was surprised at how… alarming it was, to see it again. 

He had gotten comfortable in Dicea. Not being looked at like that. Shuichi didn’t like seeing that rage, that hatred for him, on someone’s face again. All of the more frightening, difficult things about being a detective–about being the Royal Detective, the Boogieman–coming back to him.

But that fear only went through him for a moment. Because he looked past Roxas, and his eyes widened in wonder for a moment. Seeing, briefly, a large, circular image, and while he only saw it a moment before the darkness smothered it, falling too far from it to see it, Shuichi couldn’t help but think in a moment of wonder… wow…

And then Roxas tried to swing at him with his blade, and Shuichi, in a moment of pure instinct, brought his leg up and kicked off the side of the blade. Straightening his body to fall faster, looking down at the platform below them. And if it was anything like what Shuichi had briefly seen above them?

Feeling determined, Shuichi took a deep breath. Forcing his body to calm. Cool.

They fell, but the air thickened around them. Slowing them down. Like they were spiraling through water. Before landing, gently, on his feet, watching dispassionately as Roxas practically crashed against on his heels, falling onto a knee before catching his balance as he glared at Shuichi. 

Shuichi didn’t say anything. He just watched Roxas. 

“You bastard,” Roxas whispered, glaring at Shuichi, “We all had our roles to play. Who were you to say no!?” 

“You have a lot of energy,” Shuichi observed as Roxas ran at him, raising both blades. “And I know from my family, that some people need to spend that energy, before they can hear anything.” He pulled out his bell and, lightly, rang it. 

Ding, ding.

“Griffin?” Shuichi said, as a clawed hand suddenly rose up from the darkness, “Help him out.”

Griffin screeched like a banshee, pulling themselves up from the darkness and flying into the air, the wind from their wings pushing Roxas back, before they spiraled back to the ground, just shy of hitting the floor before–screeching, looking like the shadows that Roxas himself used, their appearance slightly changed by the environment–they glided towards him, as quick as a crossbolt, and just as painfully, knocking him in the chest, backwards. 

Shuichi watched for a bit, as Griffin screeched, clawing at Roxas, who brought up his blades to block against their attacks, trying to swing back at them. But everytime he did, they swooped back into the air, screeching like a siren before spiraling down again, another gliding attack against his chest as they howled. 

After a bit, Shuichi started to lightly walk the parameter of the podium they were on, squinting down at the dark beneath his feet. And now that he knew what he was looking for, he could see the small lines. Even feel them, against the pressure of his shoes, as he said, “You’re missing a piece of yourself, aren’t you.”

“Of COURSE I am!” Roxas shouted, trying to look over to glare at Shuichi, but unable to tear his eyes away from Griffin for too long, “That’s why we’re HERE!” 

Shuichi supposed he was making some assumptions. Perhaps the girl had been Sora. But he suspected the figure in the middle was Sora, the way Roxas and the third person spun around him symbolic of his centering their two sides.

Which meant Roxas didn’t feel whole. Even outside of what the Nobodies were trying to do. Roxas was missing something integral to him, even as a construct.

It had been a beautiful image. A grieving piece of art. The girl's eyes closed, her body limp and drifting into the spin, while Roxas’ eyes had been peeking open, just starting to raise his arm towards her. Dark, monstrous creatures swarming around him while blue flowers were sprouting around her.

It was a self-image, but Shucihi thought a self-image that gentle, that longing, meant something. And while Shuichi couldn’t guess how he factored into all of that… “You had questions for me?”

“What!?” Roxas gasped, Griffin’s talons clawing into his stomach, knocking him down, though he immediately pushed himself up, jumping back as they swiped again. 

“You had questions,” Shuichi said calmly, still walking the edge of the podium, “Go ahead.”

“Y-you…” Roxas’ eyes were wide, jerking around, trying to see everywhere at once. Fighting Griffin and talking at the same time was hard… but only physically. Roxas’ mind a little calmer, a little more focused, now that his ‘body’ was taking on most of the work of his meltdown, as he demanded after a moment, “Why didn’t the information recall work!? What did you do!?”

“I have no idea,” Shuichi said, “but, my best guess? Is actually that it worked too well. It stemmed from fear, and I was… always afraid. There was an…” Shuichi lightly kicked the shadows drifting around his shoes, enjoying the breeze as Griffin screeched, flying past him in another attack, “undercurrent of constant fear that never really went away. Not even when it was supposed to. Not when I was given more respect, or rewards, or was with my friends… If I had to give up information because I was afraid? Then I was always going to give it up. And maybe conditioning hadn’t accounted for that.”

Roxas was tackled, skidding in front of Shuichi’s feet. Shuichi looked down at him. “That’s just my best guess.”

Roxas screamed, bringing up his blades, trying to slash at Shuichi’s legs. But Griffin grabbed Roxas’ foot and yanked it up and over their head, crashing down onto the podium.

Shuichi noticed, at this hit, there was, briefly, a small spark of light. Like the darkness had been jostled, and Shuichi could briefly see a bit of color. Different from what he had seen, red where there hadn’t been any red. 

Shuichi was onto something. “What else?”

-

It had taken 26 a few moments to orient himself, sort of. It was easy to go through a process of ‘swapping places’ with another construct, but it had left 26 in a random part of Roxas’ world without much direction to know which part, and while Zexion could sort out whatever was going on, the information that he was getting from him was a little alarming and--

Ah. There.

“Axel!” he called, waving down the cloaked figure. “The others found something--I think Roxas needs help!”

Axel, who had been literally knocking on doors of the buildings, hoping one might just open if he was persistent enough, startled at the shout, before looking over. “What!? Shit, okay, lead the way! Dammit bud, can’t take my eyes off you for a second–”

Axel continued cursing to himself, running through the rain. 

-

“H’ah… h’ah!” Roxas gasped, struggling to keep up the battle now, the latest hit knocking him to his knees again, propping himself up by his blades, “Nnng.”

“What else?” Shuichi prompted again. No longer walking, Roxas on the direct opposite end of the podium as him, placing a hand on his lower back, peering at Roxas from the shadow beneath the brim of his cap. His gaze pink, as he said, “What did you want to know?”

Roxas panted and gasped, his gaze glancing over at Griffin, who had grown still. Their wings flapping, keeping them hovering in the air, but not attacking. “...y-you remind me of someone,” Roxas glared at him, “...a-an old man… h-he’d do this too… beat you while asking questions in this… tone.”

“...” Shuichi’s gaze softened, not unsympathetically, though he said, “I didn’t grow up with the luxury of choosing to be kind either. The best I got was lesser evils. And, like you, recently I’ve been given a second chance at life. To be someone better than someone who interrogates someone as they’re beaten.”

Stepping forward, Shuichi peered down at Roxas, moving closer towards the center of the podium. “...you’re trying to be better too, I think. That’s what all this is about, after all. Getting your ‘heart’ back… but you said you needed answers from me to do that. So, if we’re allll calmed down…” Shuichi squatted down, peering at Roxas, “What did you need to ask me?”

“...how did…” Roxas tried to stand, thinking about trying to swing at Shuichi again, damn the creature that was protecting him and just try, his fault, it was all his fault Xion even existed, it was his fault that Roxas had needed her, his fault that she had to live such a stupid, small existence– “...how did you subvert the obedience training? You were on track, and then suddenly, it was just all gone.”

“...I don’t know,” Shuichi said again, “But my best guess?” He shuffled onto his knees. Sitting respectfully, against his ankles, hands on his knees as he stared at Roxas. “...would you believe me, if I thought, and really believe, the answer was my mentor loved me a lot?”

“What?” Roxas said, brow furrowing.

“We’re supposed to be kept in the dark for a while, during the days,” Shuichi said, “Not long. Maybe an hour, and not even every day. Mentors were encouraged to use leaving an indentured child locked up in the dark for a little while as a small way to punish them, for little things. Maki and I were given closets. Not together, we didn’t entirely know each other that well then, just... It was standard. Normal. I think considering how minor the punishment was, most mentors didn’t think twice about it.”

“But my mentor?” Shuichi said, “She never did. Her punishments were always to make me study. If I couldn’t do something, to keep trying till I could. She never beat me. Never cut me. Never locked me away in dark places… and when it became known that my information could be compelled from me? By non-authorities? She convinced people that it was a slight of hand trick she had taught me. That I was making rumors for myself that people would believe, so that I could feed people false information when I wanted to and could deduce things by who believed what.”

Shuichi paused, before laughing lightly. “It was all bullshit, of course. But it spared me being sent back to the warehouses. Or, the factories, as you guys call it. I guess the difference between being locked up there and ‘producing’ something there. Changes what it looks like to you.”

“...are you trying to say,” Roxas laughed lightly, the sound frustrated, still trying to catch his breath, “That you broke your obedience through the power of love?”

“I guess so.” Shuichi smiled lightly. “My life is a cheap copper novel.”

“...lucky,” Roxas scowled, hitting the floor once… before bringing up his blades and screaming, “That can’t be it. Love doesn’t fix things like that! And if it does, why you!? What, are you better than me, worth more?! You were the boogieman, how were you any better than me?! Better than her!?”

Shuichi didn’t say anything. Just watched as Roxas pulled himself to his feet, glaring at him. “Love… love? This isn’t a storybook.” Roxas brought up his blades, glaring at Shuichi, who remained where he knelt. Just watching, Griffin keeping their distance as Roxas stepped towards him. “Love doesn’t save anyone.” 

-

It was a precarious balance Zexion and Maki were maintaining, not being overrun by the dark creatures, but not being able to make any progress either. This wasn’t helping, and he could only imagine how things were going down below, and (fuck, Zexion wanted to see it, this was just floundering, not observation!) He just needed to think, think, how to--

“Oouph,” he grunted, skidding on his side as one of the creatures took a lucky shot. Or…not so lucky, Zexion was sure he had smelled…

There was a small pop of light, like a tiny firecracker, the creature recoiling off of Zexion as Kokichi and Axel landed in the darkness, Kokichi giving Zexion a concerned look, though there was a tightness in his expression looking over the creatures. “What’s going on? Roxas and Shuu-chan are…?” Kokichi’s expression was puzzled, just barely glancing down before he threw a few more light poppers, keeping creatures at bay. 

…light…and…

“On three, if you have a moment, hit the ground!” Zexion ordered, summoning up his concentration. It might not be enough; even distracted as he was, Roxas was stronger than him… But Zexion had always prided himself on expertise above strength. If he created the sound of shattering glass while the others struck it, then…just maybe…

Maki let out a small huff of relief when one of Kokichi’s light poppers dislodged one of the shadows around her neck, Maki kicking another one off and stabbing a third, before, hearing what Zexion shouted, she brought down her dagger into the ground with a scream.

Alter Ego, in turn, jumped out of Kokichi’s shirt and before he landed on the podium, had transformed into a leopard with massive claws, scratching at it. 

“Roxas, you dummy,” Axel muttered, listening for Zexion’s countdown, raising up his spinning fire and bringing them down onto the center of the podium.

There was a massive CRACK sound.

And like gold mending a broken vase together, cracks started to light up throughout the podium–

-

Roxas and Shuichi both looked up at the sound of the shattering glass. Above, the mosaic glass of Roxas and Xion balancing each other lit up, cracked, yes, but shining a golden color. The center, which had been an image of a boy with brown hair, seemed entirely broken, golden in color. 

Shuichi glanced down, and while the podium below them was still dark, he had the confirmation he was looking for in the slightly darker silhouette. They were standing on another mosaic, one level down from Roxas’.

Roxas’, in turn, brow had twisted in grief as he looked up, his eyes only on the shattered and cracking image of– “Xion…”

“...” before he started to squint, seeing something plummet down, “...Axel?--GAH!”

“You moron!” Axel shouted, kicking Roxas in the face, knocking the guy backwards onto his ass before landing on the podium, almost stumbling for a moment before straightening up, stalking towards Roxas. Every other word fire spitting up from his hands and shoulders as he shouted, “Are you trying to sabotage yourself!? Roxas, these people are here to help you, why are you acting crazy!?”

“I’m not crazy!” Roxas shouted up at Axel, his eyes wide as Axel stomped over to him, “They don’t want to help us! No one wants to help us! We can’t even help each other, none of us are real, Axel! We’re just going to keep spinning the drain until someone kills us or erases us!”

“Roxas…” Axel hesitated, giving his friend a concerned look… before he shook his head, rubbing the back of his head as he said, “Damn, I knew I shouldn’t have let you volunteer to go first. Roxas… no one wants to get rid of you, man. I don’t want to get rid of you! I want you to be whole.”

“That’s not what happened to Xion!” Roxas insisted, trying to stand for a moment but his legs giving out, going wobbly as he fell onto his knees, bringing up his fist and hitting the ground, “She just disappeared! She died! She died and no one cared because she wasn’t real! No one but me cared–!”

“Roxas,” Axel said, kneeling down, putting a hand on Roxas’ shoulder, “You know I did. I do… but that’s why I want this for you so badly.”

“You want me to disappear?” Roxas grumbled, knocking Axel’s hand away, “Some friend…”

“Hey, listen. Look who you’re talking to?” Axel demanded, knocking his finger against Roxas’ chin, pushing his head up as he said, “It’s me, Axel. Not Lea. Axel. You know what’s special about Axel? He’s Roxas’ best friend in the whole damn world… got it memorized?”

“...Xion disappeared…” Roxas looked tearily at Axel, “How could you want me to disappear?”

“She’s not gone anywhere, Roxas,” Axel said, “Look, I miss her too, okay? How she was. But she’s not gone. That’s why I wanted this to work for you, that’s why we’re all struggling so much, Roxas…because we’re disconnected from the rest of ourselves. Xion isn’t gone, she’s just back in Sora. Back to base essence. And you’d feel it, her, you, if we could get connected to ourselves again. Xion’s not gone. She’s waiting for us.” Axel grinned weakly, lightly fifting the side of Roxas’ jaw as he said, “And you’re keeping her waiting because you forgot what base essence feels like. It’s not disappearing. It’s going home.”

“...” Roxas seemed to struggle for a second, his expression tensing, looking away, like his chest was squeezing hard on him… before he looked back at Axel. “...home?”

-

Zexion panted lightly, squinting at the sudden golden light. If there were any of them that could break through to Roxas, especially in a spiral, it was Axel. The two had practically been inseparable since they met, had been through some of the worst things together and had actually confided in each other, Zexion knew, instead of just existing in parallel like some of the rest of them did. 

He hoped it would be enough. 

The dark creatures seemed to hesitate around the gold light more, so Kokichi could take a moment to look around and check on the others. “I guess one more person to help is good,” he hummed, tapping on a crack and feeling it just as solid to him. Though he gave Zexion a concerned look, even throwing another light-cracker at some approaching creatures. “Are you okay?”

“That was pushing the extent of my abilities, but I’m alright,” Zexion assured, taking a breath and readjusting his Lexicon, “Though I’d prefer if the others finish this up soon.”

Maki in turn, was squinting down into the hole, trying to see past the glare and into the darkness… before huffing and, with a roll, just falling in herself. 

Like Roxas had, Maki hit the ground hard, rather than her descent slowing near the bottom like Axel’s and Shuichi’s had. She looked around, sighed in a bit of relief when she saw Shuichi brushing himself off next to Griffin, before hurrying over to him. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Dare you, you won’t,” Shuichi said casually, before tapping at his lips, “They’re having a moment over there.”

“I should kill him for the shit he pulled up there,” Maki said, glaring at the two Nobodies.

“Eh, don’t,” Shuichi said, shrugging.

“Shuichi, we’re trying to help him and he attacked you,” Maki whispered. “And we already owed these people nothing. They conditioned us.”

“I know… they conditioned us. Tortured us. Apparently this one choked me out with shadows when we were kids and it messed him up. We have a lot of reasons to be resentful…” Shuichi stared at the two Nobodies for a bit… before leaning in to whisper into Maki’s ear, “Isn’t it really, really satisfying to see how much we won?”

“...” Maki’s lip twitched, before huffing, “You’re a bastard.”

“I know. But in my defense, we’re also actively helping these people, so…” Shuichi shrugged, “I’m not losing any sleep over it. But yes, I don’t feel a need for revenge for the attack. He’s going through a hard time. I’m enjoying watching him go through a hard time. It’ll be nice when he pulls himself out of it… speaking of, I’ve been reading his lips and I think that’s happening soon…”

Over at the Nobodies, Roxas gave Axel a tired look. “So… let’s say I do return to Sora… then what? We’re still stuck. No one wants us. The factories kicked us out. No one on the outside wants us. We’re basically just waiting to starve… What hope is there for us?”

“Um… geez, I don’t know about that one,” Axel admitted, “I guess… my hope is that we’ll figure it out? Maybe this thing with Dicea will work out. Or maybe we’ll find some other way forward. But, Roxas, man… I want us to be okay, first and foremost. Me and you. Whole and happy. If all that happens in the future is that we have each other? That Sora and Lea stick together? Then…” Axel offered Roxas a hand to lift him up, “that’s all the hope I need.”

Roxas stared at Axel’s hand… before taking it. Letting Axel pull him up. Holding Axel’s hands hard between his own hands, a brief moment of grief on his face… before he looked up at the broken podium above them. Looking again at Xion’s cracked, shattered portrait. 

“...hey, Axel?” Roxas said, looking to his friend, “...don’t keep us waiting too long, okay?”

Axel squeezed Roxas’ hands back. “...okay.”

Roxas took a step back, and with that step, it was like the dark lining caked onto the surface of the podium they were on, for lack of a better word… flew away. Like a flock of birds disturbed on a path, the darkness fluttered up and drifted into the void, which turned from ink to a shifting, turning gray as a massive mosaic podium lit up, displaying a brown haired boy laid out against it, the other members of the factory displayed in small background circles around him, his eyes peeking open like he had just awoken.

Axel looked down at the podium, before looking up… and just briefly, his face tensed with pain… “Hi Sora.”

“Come on…” Sora smiled, “Don’t look at me like that. You saved us. We’re whole.”

“Yeah…” Axel whispered, staring at him… before stretching an arm over his head, looking away, “Well, not that I care. I am heartless, I don’t have feelings.”

“Uh huh,” Sora snickered, poking Axel’s back. “Don’t worry, you didn’t make the wrong choice, okay?” Sora insisted, running real quick to get in front of Axel, smiling up at him, before placing a hand over his chest, “I can feel us. He got what he wanted. He’s with Xion again. We’re whole… thank you.”

“...don’t worry about it,” Axel said. Disappearing into a black portal.

Sora sighed, before looking around. “Oh, wow, there’s a lot of people in here. Hi!” Sora said, waving at Maki and Shuichi, before looking up at the podium above them, which had gone dark, “Hello! Welcome to my mind! Sorry it’s been so… messy!”

“Sora!!” a voice called from above, and if any of the people on the lower level looked up, they’d see Zexion half dangling from the broken glass, his Lexicon floating in front of him. “Was that just a greeting since Roxas didn’t, or are you having trouble remembering things that happened while he was fronting?!”

Hanging onto a cloud--soft and fluffy-looking, instead of stormy--Kokichi gently floated down to the lower group. “Hello! No need to apologize, no one’s ever at their best when they’re--oof--struggling.” Plopping down on the lower level, Kokichi trotted over to Shuuichi and Maki, looking them over before pulling Shuuichi into a comfortable side hug and putting a hand on Maki’s shoulder for a moment. “Now, I’m sure there’s a lot for you to get to now, mostly rest, I’d advise, but…how are you feeling, Sora? Is there anything we can do for you before GTFO-ing outta your mind?” Kokichi offered a bashful smile.

Sora snickered at Zexion’s call, before calling up, “I remember, but, I don’t know, that wasn’t entirely me! So I thought I should say hi! I’m not sure how much I remember yet!”

Shuichi smiled, leaning into Kokichi’s hug, as Maki gave Kokichi a small nod. Sora, in turn, looked to Kokichi, scratching the side of his neck bashfully as he admitted, “I both really do need a nap and also really don’t feel like sleeping yet. I feel like I’ve been asleep for a long time… though, thank you all for your help! And, especially you, Shuichi,” Sora said, looking to Shuichi, bowing low, “I know it must have seemed sort of dumb to you, Roxas needing to know how you got through your conditioning. He was… blaming himself for things that didn’t really have anything to do with you, but I think he saw that stuff with you as some sort of starting point for it all. He wasn’t doing well. Getting answers let him think about it all a little clearer.”

“I understand that,” Shuichi said, thinking of all the questions that had plagued him about Nao. Questions he hadn’t been allowed to be plagued with when it came to his conditioners, but, well…he didn’t feel much of anything about that. Regardless if that was by design or not, he almost didn’t care by this point. He had gotten his own revenge, as he explained, “And closure can help a lot, with thinking about old slights. Not that I slighted him–”

“No, you didn’t. We… I,” Sora’s smile flickered at that, a deep sadness in his eyes as he said, “I did something horrible to you. And at this point, all I can really do is apologize…”

“No, no, get up,” Shuichi said quickly, literally gesturing for Sora to get back up quickly as Sora went down onto his knees. Sora giving him a confused look as Shuichi explained, “That gesture has weird baggage for this family… look, if you really want to apologize to me?” 

Sora nodded. 

“...” Shuichi thought about it, before saying, “Apologize to me again in 192.5 days.”

Sora blinked. “...what?”

“That’s what I want. You want to apologize for conditioning? Apologize again in 192.5 days.” Shuichi said, before raising an eyebrow, “Unless that’s too inconvenient for the act of torturing and brainwashing me–”

“Uh, no! 192.5 days! I will, I swear it!” Sora said, before frowning, “Why… why that many days?”

“Because it’s 385 days divided by 2.” Shuichi explained. 

“...okay, why that–”

“He’s already given you his ultimatum. Kokichi asked you a question,” Maki said.

“Ah, right,” Sora looked to Kokichi, smiling, “You’ve already really come through for me, just as an individual, I feel bad asking anything more… but I have to ask: how soon do you think you’ll help one of my friends? So I can tell them.”

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a fond look, just…so many things he loved about Shuuichi on display here. His understanding and empathy, his harmless asshole impulses, his prideful guy that wouldn’t bend, but doesn’t build himself up from pushing others down… Kokichi loved him so much. 

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi gave Sora an earnest smile. “You don’t have to feel bad, I’m the one that brought it up and offered in the first place. And I’m sticking by that offer of help. I know it can feel invasive, having a stranger be present for a difficult, intimate moment, but…anything I can do to help, and whatever help you guys want, I stand behind it.”

“As for the next time, shoot, well…” Kokichi sighed a little. “Not as soon as, like, tomorrow. We specifically planned things for tonight, so I have responsibilities I can’t always arrange around… And I think the schedule is something I want to plan with our husband,” Kokichi nodded to Shuuichi, “But, with all that in mind? How does a week sound? And that would probably give you time too, if there’s any tips or hangups you’d want to bring up as well.”

“Of course, that makes sense. Especially for scheduling around your husband's schedule,” Sora said, nodding to Shuichi, smiling at Kokichi… looking at Shuichi, looking at Kokichi… before literally jumping in place as he said, “WAIT, YOU’RE THE PRINCE!?”

Quickly Sora bowed again, this time at Kokichi, stammering out, “Th-thank you so much for all the help, your grace! And, a week is of course perfect! And, uh…” Sora looked back and forth between Kokichi and Shuichi, still absolutely startled, staying in his bowed position as he said, “You’re a lot…” shorter, “more generous than I heard! And you two…” Sora looked at Shuichi’s small, pleased smile, and couldn’t help but smile back. “...you seem happy. I’m glad. I’ve never read one but… I think I’d like copper romance novels, if that is what they look like.”

Zexion rolled his eyes a little, notes still jotting themselves down in his tome. Sure, yes, he’d been skeptical at first too when they heard the name, but…Kokichi had literally sworn to the Ouma name, while indicating he was from Dicea in front of all of them. That wasn’t something just anyone would do and still treat it meaningfully. While not saying it outright, Kokichi hadn’t exactly been subtle about who he was. 

Kokichi jolted a little at Sora’s unsubtlety, though, before he started stammering and gesturing Sora up. “O-oh, I mean, yeah, but! You don’t have to bow! I’m happy to help others in the community out! You’re welcome?”

Shuichi smiled, placing his hand on the back of Kokichi’s head, and bowing with him back to Sora, who gasped and flustered at the treatment, though was able to straighten back up once Shuichi and Kokichi rose. “We’ll see you again soon, Sora. And, if you need Kokichi, please feel free to reach out to him. And if you need myself or Maki…”

“Don’t,” Maki said.

Making a little ‘oh!’ sound, Kokichi quickly took Shuuichi’s hint and bowed to Sora, before nodding along with Shuuichi’s parting. “I can’t always respond right away, but I’ll do my best to be prompt! Have a good week!”

And with a wave, Kokichi gently brought his family back home. 

…it was a pretty solid cue, but Zexion called down once more, “Sora, don’t immediately go to sleep! Wake up and talk to the others for a bit, whatever you want.” And then he left as well.

-

13 blinked blearily, feeling the barest scrap of energy return to him. 

…perhaps…he’d overdone it a bit. 

Slogging Ienzo’s body down the blocked alley, he returned to the tavern, blank-faced, but somehow looking exhausted even still, his heavy breathing even more of a sign of life. Steel-gripped onto his hoodie-turned-basket, he maneuvered Ienzo’s body up the worn stairs and looked into the bedroom. Gaze blank as he took Sora’s prone form in. Disregarded, he supposed. 

Without a word to the others, he turned to go back down.

“Wait, Ienzo!” Riku called, he and Kairi having been watching Sora with concern, “How’s the experiment going?”

“How far have they’ve gotten?” Kairi asked, before her eyes narrowed, “Why are you… I thought you were laying down in the other room. You have your shoes on.”

13 didn’t stop for them, heading towards the kitchen. “The experiment has finished with what looks to be a preferable outcome. Sora seemed present and fully cognizant, though Prince Kokichi’s warning seems to have been apt if he hasn’t woken up.”

Getting to the kitchen--still breathing heavily--13 put down his hoodie on a counter, before just staring at Ienzo’s hand. Forcefully letting go of the makeshift handle he’d made from his sleeves and the end of the hoodie. His body shaking a little. 

The smell of, not warm, but still fresh food would be more apparent. 

Kairi and Riku looked at each other, before Riku nodded at her, Kairi heading down while he waited with Sora.

“Are you… cooking?” Kairi asked, sniffing the air, “Is that why you went out? You were hungry?”

13 blinked blearily, before starting to put away doggy bags and take-out containers of…well, a lot of things. All sorts of hand pies, fried fish, fries, wings, quesadillas… Bar food, essentially. 

He blinked again at Kairi. “...Ienzo would appreciate the faith in our abilities, but despite our growing efforts, I don’t think our cooking is very consumable yet.”

Kairi blinked… before gasping, “You bought take out? Ienzo, we don’t have that sort of… eh,” Kairi sighed, running her hand through her hair, “...I guess if you were hungry. And, in theory, we don’t have to be as strict with funds anymore, if that guy really does send us funds. I have no idea how to even start getting passage to Dicea…”

Even while normally blank-faced, 13 gave Kairi a look that was even drier. “I didn’t buy anything, I’m very aware of our monetary situation. And even if Prince Kokichi and Lord Saihara seem sincere, that money isn’t here now, and it’d be foolish to rely on anything that isn’t actually available to us.”

“And it’s not for me. Zexion had asked Sora to wake up, after we all left, but evidently his fatigue is too great. Hopefully there will still be food left by the time he wakes up, and we can make our proper apology.”

Kairi’s eyes widened, looking at all the food… before smiling lightly. “You got us all food? Huh… what happened in there? You’re not usually the thoughtful type,” Kairi said, now that she was aware she could have some of this, staring at one of the quesadillas with focus. Cheese… “This doesn’t seem like you.”

“Thanks,” 13 said, his tone really just dripping with gratitude. “You were the one who suggested that us making apologies to each other was something to consider, no? Or were you just expecting us to never act on it?”

With someone else considering the food, it was no longer a responsibility 13 had to put it all away, so with that task done…he sank against the cabinets, flopping his head onto his knees…before scrunching his nose a little and scooting forward enough to let his head tip back against the cabinets too. 

It was easy to power through physical tasks as a construct…but that didn’t mean that their body hadn’t been used, and that there weren’t consequences waiting for them.

Kairi pouted, looking down at Ienzo. Looking at the food, she grabbed some of the fish and the fries, before sitting down, passing him the paper towel she had put them on. “...you’re overworking yourself.”

Deception was Ienzo’s game, top to bottom…but 13 just nodded a little. They didn’t often discuss their abilities with the others--it defeated the point--but some of them did have more of a clue than others. Kairi, not from closeness, really, but simply because Zexion could never hope to pull one of their illusions over on her. 

“Zexion had to force a conscious illusion over Roxas,” 13 explained. “With the other stuff we were doing…it was too much.”

13 sighed deeply, slumping more against the cabinets. “...I’m going to sleep for the next 190 days. If our body’s moving around, assume I’ve been reassimilated.”

“Okay,” Kairi said, “But eat first. It’s like hibernating. Pack in the calories, then you can sleep for… why 190 days?”

13 felt like their body would absolutely reject anything going into it right now…but Kairi had a point. Picking up a fry, 13 munched through it. “There’s something I know we’ll want to observe in 192.5 days. Better not to be just waking up for that, so two and a half days should be good enough. And it’s a more pleasant number.”

“Oh… that makes sense,” Kairi lied, resting her head on the cabinet as well, pulling in her knees and resting her elbows against them, “...was it hard? For Sora to become whole again?”

13 looked at Kairi for a moment…before Ienzo’s visible eye went blank. Silence continued for a few moments, before he blinked, Zexion looking around for a moment. 

“Yes and no, as irritatingly vague as that may be,” he answered, “The actual actions of what occurred seemed relatively simple, as much as many of us struggled against Roxas’ constructs--representations of his reservations, I have to assume, though I’ve not had the time to recall and analyze the events yet. However, it seems what’s needed is…”

Zexion rolled his eyes with a small sigh. “Honesty with one’s self. A brutal kind, untempered by internal reason, and thus needing a compassionate counterpart in the form of someone trusted to verbally combat the worst of doubts and fears. A difficult feat for anyone, let alone with as many hangups as our lot.”

“Oh…” Kairi looked at the ceiling for a moment… before getting up. Grabbing the quesadilla she had been looking at, before sitting down again.

Munch.

“Mmm,” Kairi hummed happily, before tilting her head. “Out of all of us, Roxas seems best suited for that. He’s always been the… ‘protests too much’ kind of guy. I always felt like he was just waiting for an opportunity, you know? A chance to talk his feelings out… I’m glad he got it,” Kairi said. “...I’d say I’d miss him, but…”

Namine smiled sadly. “I won’t.”

Munch.

“The rest of us are going to struggle with that,” she said through her food.

Zexion grunted, finding no argument to that, though, true to nature, he did with Kairi’s second statement. “He’s not gone, entirely anyway. He has always been a part of Sora, and Sora, now, isn’t just lacking a Roxas-shaped hole in himself. A construct can only be unutilized, not destroyed.”

…barring, perhaps, extreme circumstances, but that would just be unproductive for the types of things they were talking about. 

Looking a little dismayed to have to do such banal bodily upkeep as, ugh, eating, Zexion did take a few more fries. 

“...I believe so. Some of us are more honest with ourselves, but considering that it seems there needs to be impetus from another party…I’m expecting resistance.” His head lolled to the side. “...ugh. I hope relatively few actually involve fighting again, though. I suppose it was a stroke of luck Roxas had an extra few audience members this time, for that.”

“Hee~ Well, that makes a little sense. Roxas loves sparring. He and Axel used to spar each other all the time for fun. I know he talked a few of the others into playing around with him too.” Kairi smiled lightly, despite what Zexion said still talking like they were reminiscing over a lost friend. “Did you guys fight jumping up and down those big, dramatic buildings of his? I tried it once… wasn’t my thing.”

“Do you want some water?” Kairi asked, getting up to get herself some.

“No. In a…void, perhaps, some sort of coalesced darkness, over giant rondels of stained glass,” Zexion described, “Though the darkness…dissipated? Maybe, once Sora returned. Though there still wasn’t any scenery besides the glass.”

“...yes, please,” he asked after a moment of consideration. The massive headache he could feel settling in around his exhaustion wouldn’t go away with water, but it’d likely help. “It was Sora’s ‘safe space’, as Prince Kokichi described… I figure it would benefit us to do some thinking on that, personally, for whenever each of us goes through the process. We still needed to find it, but the less time theorizing and searching, the more efficient the process will be, I believe.”

“A safe place…” Kairi filled a glass, one for herself, one for Ienzo, passing it to him as she sipped her own, “...did any of us have a ‘safe place’? Why would mosaic glass make Sora feel safe?”

“...I guess we can ask when he wakes up,” Kairi said. “Riku’s really looking forward to it. I think he thinks seeing Sora will spark something in him. Wake something up… poor Lea,” Kairi said, looking to the front door, “He stormed out. Roxas might just be Sora, but I’m sure he’ll still miss the construct. They never really got over the Xion construct. They’re sentimental.” Kairi smiled sadly. “...I thought about nudging their memories of her a little, once. To make them stop missing her. I just thought that maybe they wouldn’t like it, when all was said and done.”

“There’s much to discuss,” Zexion nodded, making a small thankful noise as Kairi passed him the glass. “As much as I’m loathe to admit 13 may be correct. I will simply have to count on the rest of you to take note of Sora’s behavior if he wakes up before I do.”

As she brought it up, Zexion thought about asking another line of questioning that had occurred to him, about Kairi, Sora, and Riku’s relationship before the factory, but Kairi’s notes on Lea seemed a little more…pressing. 

“What a painful altruist,” he noted without much inflection, “Considering Axel was the one to make the truly changing argument for Sora to return. But concept and reality can be quite different things.”

Zexion gave Kairi a side-eye, before sipping from his glass. “...pain is part of life. Some may be better left forgotten, but it should no longer be our--or, pointedly, your--choice to make for others. Their life isn’t yours.”

Kairi smiled–again, sad… most of her smiles were tinged with sadness–as she glanced back at him. “...I know. And it’s a lot harder to get away with too, when it’s you guys. So I usually don’t.”

The ‘usually’ hung in the air. The witch just sipping at her water again. Staring sadly at nothing.

Zexion sat in the silence, begrudgingly tending to his body…before he sighed softly. “...perhaps she’ll come to your…cardial-reintegration. If you’re that desperate to have an outlet for guilt.”

“You should go to sleep, Ienzo,” Kairi said, sipping her water, “Do you want me to get someone to help you upstairs?”

Zexion rolled his eyes. Sure. Whatever. It was their choice to ignore him, though fat chance that had in ever shutting him up. 

He glanced down at his body, before frowning a bit. “...maybe.”

It had been necessary, both for just the location of the kinds of bars near drop-outs of college kids would be out drinking at on a Wednesday night, and for getting far enough that there was practically no chance of anyone recognizing him, but walking across town, while one part of him was trying to fool the senses of a stronger Empath, while also altering the sense of anyone who’d give him more than a glance in the physical world was…

…perhaps not the wisest thing Zexion had ever done. But strict adherence to logic wouldn’t provide him the proper venues to apologize to the others anyway. 

“Okay,” Kairi said, putting down her glass and giving Zexion a small nod, “I’ll find someone. Get some rest, Ienzo. Sora will be around to answer questions in the morning.”

-

Siffrin took a deep breath, clutching Tiana’s bell to his chest. The final challenge of the first floor–having stolen the memories of their quest, the group interacting like strangers until finally noticing items they held on them triggered some memories–dissipated around them, the last of the missing memories finally returning…

And several of them said all at once, “Ingo!” 

“Oh Goddess,” Leana cursed, pocketing the items that had helped remind her she was a princess and a warrior back into her clothes and pouch before scrambling to her feet, “How long were we in this damn room!?”

“I think that was the final challenge though,” Eddie said, following Leana as she quickly headed back to the lobby, “Now it’s just the final push!”

Jeremiah shook his head slightly, the greatest show of shame he allowed himself before being quick at Leana’s heels. What horrid purposelessness, though, if there was ever a greater argument to the ‘doubts’ showcased by Jeremirrah earlier… Lack of responsibility and the opening to act on pure selfishness hadn’t changed Jeremiah for the better any, being in a dungeon notwithstanding. If anything it had just pushed him into aggravation. 

All that was easy to let go of with a clear purpose remembered, though. 

As the party returned to the library, it seemed that they were returning to someone else’s trial.

“L-look, Loop, I’m sure Brathy was quite persuasive, he gets like that sometimes, but I feel fine! I can get up no problem, i-if you’d get off me!”

“I don’t even want to try to guess which of your crazy party would kill me first if you got up and collapsed, so just staaaaaay laying down, darling, and I will get you what you nee– oh!” Loop blinked, their arms wrapped around Ingo’s neck, foot on the back of the couch as they tried fruitlessly to push back, trying to drag Ingo back onto the couch. But their attempt was frozen as the party burst back into the library, Loop saying cheerfully, “They’re they arrre… oh, Ingo, oh no, we’ve been caught,” Loop looked away bashfully, even as they opened up their arms to let Ingo fall off the couch, “In such a compromising position~”

Siffrin squinted at Loop. Perv.

“Wah!” Ingo squeaked, only half-catching himself as he fell off the couch, tinting pink. Sticking his tongue out at Loop for a moment, he then lit up, getting up to scurry over to his friends and--

“W-weh?!”

Brathy glowered at Ingo as he held his cousin by the shoulders, immediately wheeling him back to the couch. “Yer damn right I can be persuasive, not that you ever listen, ya little shit! I don’t care if you’re feeling fine! You an’ I both know that you can’t just sleep off an attack like that, an’ I’m not lettin’ you make your lungs collapse ‘cause you wanna tempt fate!”

“It’s good that you’re stable,” Jeremiah agreed, before gruffly commanding, “Stay that way.”

“We just finished the last room so…it’s just the other side now,” Mellia said, catching Ingo up, since he’d been out cold the last time they were in the library. “Final push, then we can get you to a hospital.”

Ingo pouted at them a bit, though he did let Brathy sit him down again. “...so you’re all ready to fight the king?”

Leana sighed, allowing Brathy to do his job and look over Ingo, assessing the group as a whole now that she knew her brother was comparatively alright. 

The first floor challenges hadn’t been without their strains and consequences. The damn ‘forgetting’ room hadn’t been physically stressful, but the group had been stuck in there for what felt like a very long time, staring at each other like bewildered, mildly frightened strangers. 

Beyond that, there had been a room where you had to relive difficult past memories and, while thinking the answer was to accept it, it was less shocking that Eddie, Jeremiah, and Brathy had to change the memories into their most badass, wish fulfillment type alternatives. Eddie had started a rock and roll career and howled at a screaming stadium of ravenous fans. Jeremiah had basically single handedly won a battle that had gone poorly in the war. Brathy had refused to say his, but Leana suspected he had confessed.

One of the rooms had required a lot of swimming. Leana had turned into a mermaid.

One room was literally just all of them sitting for a group portrait. Leana had the picture in her pocket. They all looked tired.

That was her main concern. That it had been a long… day? Already, and they were all tired. Not ideal to battle in…

…she glanced over at Ingo. Whose skin was still violently red around his neck and chest. “Yes. We’re ready.”

Mellia’s feathers all rustled in a wave as she held her fists to her chest. “I’ve been ready to drive that fucker into the ground for ages now! He better hope he’s ready!” Emotions were powerful things, and one of a bard’s greatest strengths was bolstering and evoking emotions in their songs. Among the sadness and grief and fatigue…Mellia was so angry. Still. 

Angry for her people, driven from their home, so dispersed their history was forgotten, at least in her neck of the woods. Angry towards a dumbfuck god with bullshit challenges that seemed more like a willpower test or a waste of time than anything really meant to prepare them for the fight ahead. Angry for a whole nation of people who had had their futures stolen. 

And Mellia was just hoping that if she focused on the anger enough, she could power through until the end of the fight, and maybe it’d finally be all spent by then. 

Giving Brathy a…well, honestly kind of bratty, testing look, Ingo slowly stood back up…but just to go to his sister. Pulling her into a hug, and giving her a kiss on the cheek for good luck. “Hey, who was it that saw the face of damnation itself and told it to get lost?” he cheekily grinned at Leana, “Just be sure to spice the battle up in the stories when we get home; I can give you tips to rehearse on the way back.”

Looking to the others, Ingo gave them a bright grin. “You’ll be fantastic, I know it! And when you meet everyone unfrozen again, be sure to talk me up, alright? I hate to make a bad impression.”

Leana smiled at the cheek kiss, leaning against him for a moment before he pulled away.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to tell them yourself, Ingo!” Eddie said, before tilting his head, “Mostly because I don’t think we can just leave you behind. This is a tunnel, right Loop?”

“Mmmhm~” Loop said, staring at their non-existent fingernails.

“Which I think just means this is a place built specifically to get us to where the real version of this house actually is. I don’t think we can trust that this place will still be here once we go through the other side.” 

“Oh! Welllll if that’s the running theory, then I guess we can juuuuuust~” 

Ingo hadn’t even taken a step before Brathy scoffed, jerking his thumb across his neck as he nodded to Jeremiah. Nodding back, the retainer scooped Ingo up, the prince squeaking before giving both men an unamused look. 

“Would prefer it if you stayed lying down, but no walking, and no bein’ up more than necessary,” Brathy reiterated, arms crossed. No argument to be made against him. 

Mellia gave Ingo a smile that was just a little too cute to be sincere. “And if we run into anything, I’ll be giving you a lift out of trouble. I would just fly you the whole trip but,” she huffed a groan, leaning forward a little to let her arms dangle, “maybe lose 30 pounds first. Or 50.”

“Mellia!” Ingo squeaked, flushing red.

Brathy rolled his eyes and flicked Mellia between her wings, causing her to squawk and jitter forward a step, her wings quickly flapping a few times. “No workin’ him up either, impossible task as that may damn be.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, pouting.

“Alright,” Leana said, looking to Loop, “How do we exit?”

Loop glanced meaningfully at the third door at the center of the counter wall, “I can’t imagine~ Anyway, you all have fun, it was lovely to meet you, but–”

“Eddie, grab Loop, they’re coming with us,” Leana said, rolling her eyes, turning to the main door. 

“Ah! Bad dog! Look, for all we know, I’ll evaporate or something!” Loop huffed as Eddie headed over and, with a twist of his neck, extended a handcuff that was attached to the pack around his back, clasping it around Loop’s wrist, “I, for some intents and purposes, was made for this dungeon! We have no idea what will happen if I leave!”

“The Change God consistently rewards bold choices,” Leana said, turning to Jeremiah, “Ask Jeremirrah how he feels about it.”

“Can we assume that the rest of the… npcs?” Eddie said, looking around the library, at the snowmen and the chickens, the looping bartenders and the–now three adults, a woman with a nervous demeanor and curly hair having been found in one of the rooms–and the child looking through books. “Have real world counterparts? And we shouldn’t herd them out of here?”

“No one else is real,” Loop said, rolling their eyes, “I told you that from the beginning.”

“I don’t really know what will happen to me either,” Jeremirrah said, “But I’m not that worried about it, if I’m honest. It’ll be good to see a version of myself escape. It’ll be good to see all of your escape, really.”

Jeremiah gave Jeremirrah a nod and--blink and you’ll miss it--a small smile, before turning back to Loop. “If the Change God had a different idea for you, they can fight us about it. Ingo didn’t go running through the rooms looking for us so far, so you’re halfway a decent babysitter, and we need someone at least pessimistic enough to keep him from doing the same in the real House.”

Turning, Jeremiah headed towards the door, Mellia flicking forward to open it for him. Brathy gave Loop a small shrug as he passed. “You’re one of us--ya get used to it after a while. Stop resistin’. Sometimes actually gets fun, once in a while.”

“I do not need a babysitter!” Ingo proclaimed, a tone of wheezing in his voice now, though he looked over Jeremiah’s shoulder at Loop. “...but if I’m going to make sure I’m not left in a void or something, you should come too, Loop. We’re not leaving anyone to be stuck here anymore.”

Loop shifted their weight uncertainly, Eddie, to his credit, not actually moving forward yet as their reluctant guide seemed to think it over…

To Siffrin’s surprise, Loop glanced at him. Like they were trying to assess them.

“...we don’t want to leave you behind,” Siffrin said, “I don’t think we can move forward without you, now.”

Loop hesitated… before letting out a frustrated breath. “Fiiiiiiine, whatevs. Lead the way.”

Eddie trotted ahead, Loop looking oddly like someone walking a dog as they allowed the hold of the handcuff nudge them forward, the group heading to the front. 

Jeremiah got there first, and opening the door, they stepped forward, and… it was a lounge. 

But importantly, it was a lounge where the group could clearly see the bar from the first safe room they had gotten to off to the right, an open door showing it to be some sort of restaurant, club house style thing. And it was filled with people. People who were perfectly still, some mid-drink, others holding each other, a few with their heads laid out on small, round tables, passed out or resting by the time they were frozen. 

To the left was a closed door that had a sign that read ‘Administration Office’ before listing hours and encouraging walk-ins. In the center was a grand staircase, leading up, more doors behind it suggesting the building was bigger than the false one they had just gone through.

Noticeably, was the scent in the air. And the sound of wind. And the sun on the back of their necks, as Leana looked back to the door they just had come through, and had to shield her eyes for a moment. Natural light now feeling a bit unusual, all of them having been stuck in the dungeon for a while.

Hey eyes adjusted and… “What?”

Leana, with the rest of the group following her gaze, couldn’t help but step outside the House, staring at the landscape. The House was at the top of a massive… hill, was the best word, but it was clearly man-made, a large marble podium with stairs that lead all the way up. The House had a grand view, able to see out for miles and miles, and what Leana saw was… a marble city. With glass ceilings and well maintained, perfect gardens nestled between seemingly every building, little rivers–man made, they had to be, there was no other option– beautifully twisting in multiple directions throughout the city itself, little canoes able to pass through elegant, arching bridges over the rivers. 

And past all of that, a grand, circular pathway, filled with grassy fields and artwork and elaborate tiled walkways, all decorating the border of the city–country?--that just… stopped. At the end of that circle. A massive blue sky beyond it. 

A cloud was in the middle of passing through the city. Its top looked like fog moving quickly through the thin pathways around the buildings. It exited the other side, a fully formed cloud again.

“A city in the sky,” Eddie whispered. 

Siffrin stared at the beautiful, ethereal landscape… and felt, briefly, a touch of disappointment.

(Not mine.)

“Holy…” Ingo breathed, his jaw dropped. They had been told and…well, implied, at least, a few times that the missing, forgotten, frozen country was in the sky, but…that had always been something so difficult to conceptualize, as a firmly terrestrial person. But really seeing just the utter…void of blue, was…

A-and it wasn’t even just the sky! The city they were in itself, it was…it was… It was a type of grandeur and beauty Ingo had never even imagined before, wouldn’t have even known where to start, almost feeling like it was some sort of creative depiction of a godly paradise, though Ingo felt by this point that the people here didn’t worship Abatea. It was…

Mellia startled, feeling a hand on her shoulder, not even realizing she’d taken a step forward, her wings half-outstretched. Feeling the real breeze flutter through her feathers, the fresh air feeling right in her lungs.

“We can gawk when we’ve won,” Brathy reminded her, and the group at large, “Got the feelin’ we’re on a timer here. We gotta get goin’, if we wanna be able to see more of this later.”

Almost as if to prove Brathy’s point, there was a sudden rumble beneath their feet, and a flash of light above them. Loop–pleasantly surprised to still exist and had been getting un-handcuffed from Eddie–and Siffrin’s eyes both widened, looking up as they both remembered, “The Head Housemaiden!” 

Siffrin winced–ow–but recalled, “Th-the Head Housemaiden was holding the King back, she was giving us time to run… us…”

Siffrin’s eyes suddenly went back into the House. Starting to sweat, like something terrible had occurred to him, as he suddenly burst into a run. 

“Siffrin! Don’t–” Leana shouted, but sighed in relief when Siffrin stopped in front of the door at the top of the stairs, calling up to him, “We need the keys!”

“Right,” Siffrin said, looking back and forth, “The key to this one was in the room farthest to the right, right? Come on!”

“Be ready for a fight,” Loop warned them, “All the head games were the Change God. Everything here? Is going to be Sadnesses, disturbed by us. They’ll attack on sight, and the impression I always got was they’d be stronger.”

The group looked up at the flash of light, Loop’s explanation fresh in their minds. The House would be unfrozen, briefly, once…and it seemed that they would be joining the middle of a fight, rather than starting a new one. 

Like the lounge in the trial House, this real lounge seemed safe from Sadnesses, so Jeremiah followed Siffrin up the stairs when they paused, depositing Ingo by the locked door. 

Giving Jeremiah and Siffrin a serious, yet encouraging look, Ingo grinned. “Good luck. Give ‘em a little extra for me, will you?” He gave them a wink and…

…it never got easier watching his loved ones leave for a fight. But Ingo refused to let his smile dim while they could see.

-

They had felt pretty confident when they first went to grab the key. They knew exactly where they were going, even if the House was bigger than the tunnel version of it had been. The hallways they needed to go into were still laid out exactly the same, and while the rooms were now normal classrooms and storage rooms, they could still recognize the layout of the weird challenge rooms they had hit. The key still exactly where they had found it the first time, though now it was in a desk.

So navigating the House was easy, once they got their heads around it… it was the Sadnesses. 

The Sadnesses’ hike in difficulty they had not been expecting.

Siffrin, perhaps a bit too eager to rush through, had taken a risk of attacking one of the Sadnesses that had been in their way in the hall, one they recognized as a weaker type. It had turned around and, with a wail, knocked him back on his ass, and as it wailed more and more Sadnesses swarmed them, attacking in a group. 

Loop had been hit hard as well, but seemed to shake it off, sticking near the back of the group, only fighting when something got close, lashing out with a light that formed in their hand that looked a bit like a curved blade. They fought like they were afraid of being seen, and were reserved in their attacks.

Eddie, Leana, Jeremiah, and Melia all fared a little better, though Melia at one point was knocked into the roof, falling before Brathy managed to slow her hit on the ground. By the time they got to the door, unlocking it, and facing the massive Sadness that stood between them and the next floor, the earth had rumbled again, a low, terrible wail vibrating through the air. The battle above them still going.

“We can’t delay,” Leana said when they defeated the Sadness, getting to the second floor, “Brathy, heal us, and we have to keep going. Who knows how long she can survive him alone.”

Brathy whipped up a small heal for everyone that took some of the edge off, and they continued forward. Again, the navigation was easy, they knew exactly where to go. Begrudgingly, Leana had to admit that this aspect of the Change God’s plan had worked out in their favor. The battle above them did not give them time to look around and explore, they had to keep moving.

Jeremiah took a hard hit from a Sadness that had managed to sneak up on the group while they were grabbing the next key, hidden in an office. As the group fought, Mellia asked, “Why the heck are all the doors locked anyway?!”

“We hoped it would stop the King here, if we couldn’t defeat him,” Siffrin recalled with a wince–his memory of this place slowly but surely returning with every floor–as he said, “We worried if someone came across this place and found him at the top of the House, if they had a means to free any of us they’d free him first, thinking he was our leader. They’d have been frozen too.”

“An optimistic problem to conceive. Seems no one ever found this place,” Loop said, brushing off an attack against them like it was nothing, seeming more irritated than anything. “Waste of our time.”

Eddie and Siffrin again took hard hits, the two looking a little ragged by the time they got to the third floor. Thankfully, Brathy was able to whip up a stronger heal this time, getting them both more back on their feet as they went to tackle the third and final floor. 

It was a rough series of fights, and only the sounds of the battle above kept them moving at the breakneck speed they were on. But as they opened the third door with the key they found in a dorm room, they frowned, a new, closed door meeting them. Decorated with stars.

The keyhole for the door was strange, and for a moment they were all flummoxed… before Siffrin glanced down at Beatrice in their coat, remembering the note. Right. His dagger…

Surprised this would possibly be the solution–was it not his dagger? Had it been given to him?--Siffrin slotted the ‘hooked’ dagger into the keyhole, only to see it form a perfect doorknob. Twisting it, they opened the door and…

Inside, at the base of the stairs, four people were frozen around an intricate, circular pentagram. Every single one of them was in a battle stance, like they had been mid a large, terrible fight when they had been frozen. 

In the center of the circle, was a hovering Siffrin. As frozen in time as the rest of them. A vague, shimmering energy around his frozen form, like there were versions of them flickering in and out rapidly. Breaking into pieces.

“What?” Eddie said, staring at the hovering Siffrin, before glancing at, well, their Siffrin, “Um…?”

Loop stared warily at the hovering Siffrin, before muttering, “Well, I guess that explains how I was so… coherent. Though…” Loop glanced over at Siffrin, something genuinely concerned running through their features, “What does that mean for you?”

“What explains you were so coherent?” Leana asked.

“Nevermind, we don’t have time and it doesn’t matter right now… Siffrin,” Loop said tensely, as Siffrin walked over to the frozen four surrounding the other Siffrin, “It doesn’t matter right now.”

The closer he got to the circle, to the other Siffrin, the easier it was to remember them…oh, this was why he couldn’t remember. It hadn’t been a specific curse. A part of him had simply been left behind… (Again. Siffrin growing thinner and thinner, each place he left a piece of himself frozen, lost to time)... and this was the piece that had known. Known the marble city. Known the Change God. Known the four here, surrounding him. Fighting to protect them.

“...” Siffrin stared at the more and more familiar faces… and their expression scrunched up in anguish, as he reached out to the closest one, Mirabelle. “Please wake up.”

He pushed her shoulder a bit, entirely unable to move her, as he insisted, “Wake up. Wake them up. Mirabelle? Please? Please–wake them up!” Siffrin looked back to Leana, desperate, “Wake them up! Rally can do it! Wake them up!”

Leana tensed at the demand, her eyes not without sympathy. “...I can’t. I have to save it for if any of us get frozen in battle. If she couldn’t do it, that must mean she ran out of Rally, or whatever she uses,” Leana said, nodding towards Mirabelle, “I have to save mine.”

“Th-they’re my family, please, they need to wake up!” Siffrin insisted, “They can help us fight the king, they can–”

Loop shot forward and slapped them across the face. “You are wasting time, we can wake them up when the king is defeated, stop with your stupid breakdown!”

“That’s enough, Loop,” Leana said, before looking softly at Siffrin. “Siffr–”

But before she could say anything, another House-rumbling WAIL filled the air, and this time, a feminine cry could be heard with it. The Head Housemaiden taking a blow. 

“We have to go,” Leana said, before hurrying forward, around the frozen group, “Come on.”

Siffrin watched helplessly as Leana kept moving forward, staring over at their family… before Eddie nudged his hand with his nose. “They’ll wake up when we win.”

Siffrin gave a shuddering breath… before nodding. Hurrying forward. 

Ingo clenched his back teeth, looking at Siffrin’s family around the…multiplied Siffrin. It was…awful. Staying back, watching his family and friends come back through each battle increasingly hurt. Bruised, battered, bloodied…Ingo knew protesting his case would just waste time, but it was concerning that Brathy had relented to at least letting Ingo walk behind them, after the last blow Jeremiah took. 

These weren’t losing chances…but they weren’t great. Not the full preparation before a fight you wanted, but…they didn’t have time. 

Ingo gave his friends’ backs a pained look as he lagged behind them…before looking back to the group below. Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, Bonnie…Siffrin. 

…Ingo slowed down more. They didn’t want him on the battlefield anyway. 

“We’ll win for them, Siffrin,” Mellia said quietly, before the group took a collective breath, heading to the courtyard.

In the courtyard was the Head Housemaiden–Euphrasie–and the King. 

There were, surprisingly, no Sadnesses helping the King in his battle, but it was clear that he didn’t necessarily need any. He was massive in size, for one, he took up half the roof just in his size alone, his full metal armor seeming to suck in light rather than reflecting it as hair as white as Siffrin’s twisted and pulled like moving tentacles from beneath his helmet. He covered his face with his hands, but when he wailed, he opened up his hands and massive water bullets, the same that many of the Sadnesses used, whipped out and bombarded the Head Housemaiden’s body.

The Head Housemaiden, seeing the next attack coming, raised her hands and growing from the ground out of seemingly nothing came…three snowmen?? Each snowman taking some of the blast before two were obliterated, the third one shuffling forward to land a hit against the king, before disintegrating. Then the Head Housemaiden waved her hand again, and around the King the pillars of the courtyard shifted and changed, unbalancing him and toppling to his knees before he could ready his next attack.

Magical, fantastical, yes… but clearly just delaying attacks, as the King quickly recovered and started to wail again… before this time he opened his hands and light, like a beam, shot out and hit the Housemaiden in the chest before she could conjure a defense, sending her sprawling onto her back with another cry, the House rumbling at the intensity of the sonic wail. 

But as the party rushed forward, the King’s wail silenced… and sounding amused, he said behind his hands, “Oh… is it done then?”

“Brathy, pull the Head Housemaiden back!” Leana ordered as the party got in formation, lining up in front of the battered, fallen woman. “Hold the line!”

“Hold the liiiiiine,” the king rumbled, huffing a little laugh, “How official sounding. Reinforcements have arrived then. You have all disturbed our peace. Look at what has become of our fair Housemaiden, because of your interference. Hooooow terrriiible.”

“They actually did it,” Euphrasie whispered, as she was pulled back, “My god came through… for once.”

“HEY, YOU FUCK!!” Mellia screeched, taking to the air, her furious expression almost scarier than the dark aura starting to emanate from her again. Her wounds visible, but, for the moment, seeming to not hamper her at all. “GET READY TO HAVE YOUR MISERABLE ASS KICKED ALL THE WAY BACK OUT YOUR MOUTH!”

Brathy knew he still had to conserve his energy for the long haul, but he did still cast a light heal over the Head Housemaiden, briefly checking her over. Though, he couldn’t help but snort at her whisper. “Attribute whatcha want to your god, but I’d say Siff came through more. Ya can get the full story once we’re done here, ma’am.”

Jeremiah said nothing, but readied his axe, holding the line to Leana’s orders.

…

…back downstairs, Ingo looked at Siffrin’s family again. 

…man, he hoped his family wouldn’t slaughter him for this. Ingo closed his eyes, putting a hand on his chest. As much as he tried to reassure… Damnit. Stupid, coincidental…allergy. There wasn’t even a room like that in the real House, it was just…incidental. Unlucky. 

He could hear his breaths, obnoxiously loud as he kept them deep and slow. It was like an…itchy prickling at the bottom of his chest, threatening to…well, be worse, he knew. Brathy was a fantastic healer, Ingo knew he wasn’t wrong. 

…he didn’t want anyone to die…

Above, the King’s gaze followed Mellia’s flight, somehow able to see despite covering his face. “Little Flutian… why the anger? Ooooooh. Oooooh… I would have preserved your kingdom too, if I could have. Beautiful sky communities… perfect. Utterly perfect. I wish my curse could have reached your mountain peaks.”

Leana called up to Mellia, “Hold! Hold…” Leana’s eyes were searching the king, trying to assess him… before calling out to the massive being, “This is your only chance to surrender! If you refuse it, we will fight you until you have died. This is your only chance to survive the next hour, I suggest you take it!”

“A leader…perhaps another Housemaiden?” The King rumbled, looking down at Leana, who glared back. “No…too rough in your skin. Hair damaged by the elements. Crass. Ugly. You come from the surface. Oooooooh… how tragic… a Flutian fighting with filthy surface dwellers…”

Brathy groaned. “Uuuuuugh, why do we always gotta fight racists?! C’mon, man! I know one prejudice leads to another, but why’s it always them?”

“If you’re running your life by the thought anything ugly should perish, you could save us all the hassle and end yourself,” Jeremiah said dismissively, simply waiting for Leana’s cue. Somehow doubting that this king would surrender. 

…though it would be nice if he did. It was just like Leana to offer, despite everything they’d seen. 

“Perfection is a myth, supplan-mizè!” Mellia crowed, “Maybe open your eyes to the world and feel something for once!”

“The others would agree with you… ooooooh, but isn’t that part of what makes them perfect? To love those so inferior… oooooh, oooooooh… you,” the King said, turning his attention down to Siffrin, who glared warily at him, Loop glowering at him from behind them, “I knew you’d be trouble. Why? Why you, of alllllll my enemies? You, who should be by my side, fighting my cause…. Why??? You, who saw the fall.”

Siffrin frowned, his brow twitching– (Their home was dying the color draining his hair was white the sand the stars falling falling)--before a headache chased the memories away. Siffrin unable to remember distinctly the place the King was referring to… but able to understand. “This isn’t a solution,” Siffrin said softly, glaring at the King, “Freezing a place in time isn’t preserving it. Mirabelle… Mirabelle already told you. This isn’t life. Life is change–”

“And change is destruction… ooooooh… ooooooh… what a terrible, cruel belief…” The king huffed, before saying darkly, “Let’s change you, shall we?”

“Jeremiah, Mellia, go!” Leana shouted, recognizing the King was about to attack.

Mellia gave Siffrin a grin, her look confident, for all her anger. Not a moment of doubt as she smiled at him, before amassing magic in her hands. “Everything deserves to rot!” she sang, launching a miasmic spell at the king…before it suddenly lit up with a verdant green, thick jungle vines sprawling out, the spell not meant to harm, but to restrain. “BECAUSE EVERYTHING DESERVES TO GROW!”

“By your word, Blessed,” Jeremiah called, dashing forward with his axe aloft…but to deflect and parry the king’s attack, a battle cry at his lips. 

Downstairs, Ingo took a slow, labored breath…before relaxing his body. Hearing a song in his head, and guiding his arms in an elegant circle in front of him, starting a dance he’d practiced for years. Finally ready to share it with an audience of four.

The vines wrapped around the King’s arms, forcing his hands to stay on his face. Unable to wail his attacks, one of his hairs whipped out, trying to strike out blindly, though Jeremiah’s parry kept it from landing. 

“Siffrin, Loop!” Leana called.

Siffrin and Loop shot forward, both slicing at the King’s legs, before scrambling back. Leana, having held herself and Eddie back for this reason, shot forward to make up for Siffrin and Loop’s retreat when more hair shot out, trying to attack them, both of them parrying the attacks.

It was a solid first round of attacks, perfectly coordinated and defended… but the King snapped the vines after a moment, opening up his hands as he wailed, and dozens of hard, liquid bubbles belted out like a rain of crossbolt arrows, bomboarding the group all at once. 

As the group staggered, getting back onto their feet after the brutal attack, the King taunted, “Oooooh, how surprising… ranged fighters, magic users, daggers and, look, the leader even has a whip again. Was I really woken up to have the same fight with different faces? What made you all think you’d fare better than the last group? Oooooooh… what lovely optimism. Perhaps that optimism itself is worthy of being frozen… preserved forever…”

“Be careful!” Euphrasie weakly called out, “You have to deflect his time curse before he can cast it, there’s no chance after!”

“Oooooh? Can one of them deflect my spell… which one…”

Leana frowned, wrestling with herself… before she called out, “Attack at will!”

“They did mention you never shut up,” Jeremiah grumbled, before going in, using the reflection of his axehead to know where to cover where the others were. 

“YOU’RE FUCKIN’ DUMB, OLD MAN! YOU SURE YOU DIDN’T FREEZE YOUR BRAIN?!” Mellia taunted, gathering more offensive spells, ready to make this hurt.

Brathy glanced at Leana for a moment, before he thought, ‘Abatea, if you have spare mercy, please don’t let any of these idiots tell Eimdall about this’. And, in a pantomime of an accident many years ago, he put a hand over his scarred eye, holding his staff out in front of himself. “So, my blood trembles with fervor, the midnight hour at hand. Our great lady, grant me your power, so that I may use the path you’ve laid before me!”

Ingo spun, dipping himself backwards as his arms arced over his head like a waterfall, his chakrams seeming to float down them. His steps graceful and assured, a smile on his face, despite everything. His torso practically rolled, like the joints of his hips weren’t even there as he turned, pushing himself into a multi-turn spin on one foot. 

And his eye started to glow. 

The King moved to take his hands away from his face again, but groaned in pain when Mellia’s attack burnt against the back of his hands, the King leaving them where they were to protect his face for a moment, his hair rising up again.

Loop, warily, moved to attack the King again, but seeing the Head Housemaiden without Brathy by her side now, Loop stepped back, going to stand in front of her, planning to just absorb attacks so she wouldn’t be hit again. 

The King, in turn, turned his head towards Brathy, and rumbled, “I see.”

Siffrin shot out, going to deflect some of the hair that had shot out towards Brathy, though cried out when one managed to whip into his back, and then into Brathy’s side regardless. 

Leana, moving with Eddie, attacked the King at his knees, Leana looking for her opening to do something impressive, something that would activate Rally. As the King moaned and wailed from the attacks, there was a pressure around him, and a terrible, sweet scent that was starting to build. Like caramel was starting to burn in a pan, as he whimpered, “How can they not understand… to be frozen is to live forever… to stop time is to preserve everything wonderful about you right now… your drive to fight. To win. To save others… will you ever be more beautiful than you are now? How could you not relish the chance?”

“We’ve done it before,” Leana said, leaping onto the King’s knee, “It gets old.”

She hopped up from his knee, onto his elbow, focusing–pull in their admiration, their awe, their love, be someone they can rally behind, BE IMPRESSIVE–as she leapt into the air, flashing out her whip to wrap around his wrist and– “GAH!” 

His hands shot out, both grasping her tightly between them. The caramel scent growing thick as he peered at her, rumbling, “Ooooooh… perhaps there is something truly perfect, in something that comes from dirt trying to bind the powers she would otherwise call divine… You and I, little leader. You and I will be frozen in a dance even more perfect than the battle you just awoke me from. Beauuuuty in the underdog striiiiving. Together, we will be perfect.”

“King, no!” Siffrin shouted, but the King wailed, and this time hundreds of bubbles formed. Pushing the group back and onto their knees, wailing on their bodies as they tried to reach him, trying to pull a thrashing, writhing Leana from his grip.

The scent getting strong. Stronger. Like it was coating into their nostrils. Over their skin. Like it was a physical thing, creating a layer over them.

Their movements started to sludge.

Mellia let out a guttural sound, trying to keep her wings flapping. Not about to let some low-down deluded piece of garbage take more of what was HERS.

Laid out on the ground from the king’s strike, Brathy could only scowl, reaching out a hand to do something, damnit! He didn’t have Rally, but he was a damn prince of Eslley and he wasn’t just going to…

Jeremiah’s eyes were only on Leana. Feeling like he could get one, two steps closer to her through sheer force of will. Jeremiah didn’t care about kings or gods…he just cared about his friends. 

Eddie howled as he tried to step forward, and his translator just screamed, furious and trying to move. As he collapsed against his paws though, he saw they were starting to lose color, to turn gray. Some part of him couldn’t help but find comfort in the idea, well, even great tragedies made great stories…

Loop watched all of this, feeling oddly let down as their body started to stiffen. All that sacrifice, all that work… even with two of them, they still… hadn’t been able to save their family. 

Siffrin tried to push forward, but the fight was draining out of them quickly, the sweet scent getting into their mind along with coating their body. Perhaps the freeze would be peaceful. Perhaps, in the last moment, they’d get back the memories they had lost. Perhaps, in the last moment, they’d be whole again. Perhaps they’d dream of their family. 

Maybe it really would be perfect? Was there fault in hoping for it, when they had no other choice?

He just wanted his family back.

He just wanted–

There was a very bright light. 

It was blinding.

Mirabelle had tried to explain to the other Housemaidens, over and over, how her blessing worked. “You build the creation blessing within yourself, and you push it inside of them,” she had explained, “It’s like creating anything else the Change God allows us, just… you have to feel the shape of it.”

“The shape of what?” the Housemaidens had asked, trying to learn, trying to recreate what Mirabelle was able to do in large bursts of power, “What are you building inside of people?”

Mirabelle frowned, not sure how to explain it. “The parts of them that want to live? To move forward? To change?”

“Those are all concepts, Mirabelle,” Euphrasie had said uncertainly, “Those don’t have a shape. What does it look like?”

Mirabelle knew there were no words for what she was talking about. She could just feel it. The thing inside of people. Herself. Could grow it, how you grew a seed in the ground, giving it sunlight and water, watching leaves sprout. The feelings as physical to her as dirt in her hands, as she desperately tried to explain, “Their hope.”

And when the light cleared. 

–HIS FAMILY!

“Give them BACK to me!” Siffrin screamed, absolutely certain, certain, that this time he could do it as they shot forward, slicing at the King’s knees. The spreading gray fading from his body as he could move again. 

Eddie growled, deciding, no. The best stories ended in comebacks, as he shot forward, attacking with Siffrin, trying to pull out the King’s leg from under him. 

His hands woefully occupied, Mellia gathered her energy for the nastiest Goetia spell, aimed right at the king’s face. A spell that Bryce hadn’t even taught her, but she’d learned, watching her parents on the battlefield. A spell that had once been aimed at the people fighting beside her, but now was cast for them. 

Mellia loved her parents, mourned a father that could no longer hold her and a mother that had never really existed…but all birds flew the nest, and Mellia had more people in her life to love. Curing her parents could wait--she had a battle to fight. 

The bright sigil of a Seraphim spell burst from Brathy’s hands, knitting together the wounds of the party, patching them together. His conserved energy not making this a last ditch effort, but aid exactly where it was needed. Brathanial Dianthe was a Prince of Eslley, and he was going to bring everyone home, damnit! Don’t get it twisted!

Jeremiah launched into the air with a battle cry, not even needing Minuet, and hoisted his axe over his head, swinging for the king’s wrists. He was never abandoning anyone again, not Leana, not his friends, not himself. Being here was his choice, and Jeremiah was going to make his choices matter. 

The light of Rally illuminated Ingo’s face as he danced, somehow…knowing. All their hearts beat as one.

The King WAILED as his wrist split open, one of his hands hanging, barely attached, as Leana was released, falling. But Leana didn't hesitate, whipping out towards the still attached hand and catching it, dragging it down and and catching her foot into some of his chest armor, holding on as she shouted, “Aim for his face!” 

Loop huffed, clapping their hands together and, when they separated them, three buzzing, bouncing lights hovered between their hands, before they pushed them out towards the King’s face. Loop had been killed by a reflection of the King over and over and over and over again… and so they could be forgiven for the hum of satisfaction as the lights burnt into his face. The King wailing. 

The King tried to swing at them all with his hair, but Eddie and Siffrin’s attack on his leg tilted him to the left, and his hair shot downwards to steady his massive body. Just as he was starting to stabilize, Mellia’s spell finished, and the King’s whole body suddenly seized in pain, every nerve end in his spine lighting up with PAIN, making him unable to move, let alone scream. 

Feeling a rush of relief from Brathy’s spell, the party hit and attacked the King during his pained spinal attack, taking advantage of the opening. Blow after blow landed on him, and for a moment, it felt inevitable that the King would fall. Any minute now. Any minute! Come on! How much health could he possibly have!? 

But as their barrage of attacks slowed down, their bodies forcing the party to take a breath… the King still stood. Huffing in pain, yes, but still standing.

Part of his helmet had been cracked open in the blow Jeremiah had hit against it in the barrage of attacks. A big, black colored eye looked around, and despite the way he wept and moaned, insisting people would love their fate if they just understood… there was fury in his eye. A mad anger that burned, welling tears in his eyes as he said, “Enough. If I cannot save you, then I will destroy you. If you will not accept eternity, I will give you oblivion.”

More and more aqua bubbles multiplied and multiplied again as they fell out of his eyes. Filling the air, hovering over the group, multiplying again, the group staring at a new upcoming barrage of attacks, as the King’s eyes started to glow, preparing a beam to go along with the barrage. 

“He really does just never stop talking,” Odile observed, pulling out her book and raising her hand, “I’ve got the laser.”

“I-I can handle the bubbles!” Mirabelle agreed, raising up her hands, focusing as power began to build between them.

In front of the group, bright pink shields started to form, taking the brunt of the impact as the tears shot forward, trying to pummel the group. Around the King himself, a bright yellow triangle formed, which seemed to catch and disperse the brunt of the beam when he shot it out. 

Both shields and triangle faded immediately once the King’s attacks were done, but the effect was already clear: it would take time for the King to build up an attack like that again. Time he may no longer have.

Loop stared at the two women, before startling when a small body bolted out. “Head Housemaiden, Head Housemaiden! Hey, glowy guy, is she okay!?” Bonnie demanded, already pulling out a health vial to feed to the Head Housemaiden, adding to the healing that Brathy had managed to spare her. 

“Um…” Loop said, before jolting, a hand patting their back.

“You guys need some fresh fighters? Woke up to some really nice dancing, I feel WEIRDLY refreshed! Like I could go a whole ‘nother round!” Isabeau laughed, tightening his hands into fists as he smirked, glaring at the King as he stomped forward, “And I think I will.”

The Head Housemaiden took a shaky breath, getting up shakily, as she called out, “Don’t let him recover! This might be our last chance!”

Mellia looked down in surprise, before giving a laugh, twirling in the air. “Nice cover! Makes me think it’s time for a few of my own!” She really was more of a bard than a mage any day. 

“Good timin’ on the supplies,” Brathy grunted in approval, before narrowing his eyes a little. Nice dancing? Oh, for fuck’s…

Jeremiah gave Isabeau a small nod, adjusting his positioning to make way for another melee fighter.

Behind the party, Ingo entered the arena, red cheeked, but eyes focused and determined. “Brathy! Mellia! Let’s make this last push count!”

(Long ago, Abatea had learned of a terrible plight. A people not protected, as their opposing force proclaimed, but stifled. Not offered the chance to change their own fates, or be granted the mercy of others to heal the blows, so that they might learn. And, true to her nature, she had agreed to help.)

The mark of the goddess of aid, hospitality, and mercy glowed bright from Ingo’s eye, while the expertise of a dancer’s Inspiration sparkled from his hands as he moved, now having a song outside of his head to dance to. The greatest magical enhancement a goddess could scheme up, centuries in the making. 

Siffrin was near the King when all of this was happening, and he looked back, eye wide with wonder and a stark, burning gratitude as he realized, “You’re awake! You’re here!”

“Sif!!” Isabeau laughed, giving Siffrin a bright, thrilled grin, “You did it! But let's save the celebration for after! We have a country to save!”

“We do,” Leana said, the whole group practically buzzing with energy and strength. Her brother’s Rally lighting them up, Mellia’s song strengthening their muscles. Brathy’s heals having brought them all back out from the red. “Attack at will! Put everything you have in it!” 

“You cannot stop me! I will save this country! I will save Vanguard! Vanguard will never change!” the King wailed. 

“Someone should have had a very long, serious talk about consent, with you,” Odile said, flicking her wrist and giving platforms for the fighters to jump off of, Isabeau, Jeremiah, and Eddie taking advantage as they attacked the King’s shoulders and chest. “Vanguard never wanted this. It doesn’t matter what you saw fall. That doesn’t change their choice.”

“Whatever you saw, also, isn’t an excuse, by the way!” Isabeau shouted, punching in some of the armor, denting it until it became a puncture into the King’s skin beneath it, “Siffrin saw the same damn thing and you know what happens when he remembers? He loves us more! Protects us the way we want to be protected! He and Loop fought through TIME for us! You have no right to say he doesn’t understand, when he’s the only one who could, and he’s still! Fighting you!”

Siffrin nodded, lips pressed thin. He didn’t talk much through battles, but Isabeau had always known what to say, as Siffrin simply added in, “They don’t want your help. Not like this.”

“Ugh, why are you all even trying to explain? This giant asshole never listens anyway,” Loop grumbled, shooting forward to fight with the others now that the Head Housemaiden was covered. 

“I think some things are for our own satisfaction,” Euphrasie said, smiling lightly as Mirabelle stomped forward. 

“We do NOT need saving!” Mirabelle shouted, raising up defense after defense as tears and hair went wild, the King in a desperate final attack, “We are a country of change! Some change is pain! Some is joy! Some creates and some destroys, but we are never, EVER stagnant! Curse you, thrice-changed King! Curse everything you wanted for us! Curse your ideas of perfection! Curse your vision of us! Vanguard will not be a pretty painting you can hold in your hand, unable to thrive, unable to grow! Vanguard rejects your perfection! And now you need to DISAPPEAR!”

The group attacked, and attacked and attacked as Mirabelle held her hand up, blocking every counter attack. Mellia singing her song giving strength, Leana allowing the Rally of her brother’s dancing to fill her, fill all of them, push them forward. Every member of the party pushed forward, pushed on, and screamed a battle cry, determined to save the lost sky city, finally, centuries of being trapped.

And the King, whose massive body was made of spellwork, grew still. Collapsed. His wailing ending in a small, whispered whimper… as he murmured as his body began to dissolve into dust, “Will I go home now?”

The question was never answered for the party. The King disappeared, nothing but his armor remaining, clunking to the ground.

Later, after some time and processing… Siffrin, despite everything, hoped the King would.

There was always a moment at the end of grand battles, that moment still tensed, ready to go, wondering, is it really over? Not ready to relax just yet, be caught off guard by a false fall… But reality, as time moved on, always came in. 

It was like a collective breath. 

We did it?

Did we really do it? 

Really?

It is do--

“You little fucking moron!” Brathy grouched, just catching Ingo as he fell to his knees. They were all breathing heavily, bodies starting to slouch as adrenaline--and the magical equivalent--started to dwindle off its peak, but Ingo’s wheezing sounded truly painful. But even so, there was a grin on the prince’s face.

“You never fuckin’ listen to anyone, I swear to Abatea, Ingo, you’re gonna get yourself killed one of these days. Ya gotta stop proving us wrong all the fuckin’ time, you’re so dumb, how can an idiot be right, ya dunce.”

Ingo would’ve laughed if he had the breath, looking blearily up at Brathy as his cousin laid him down, pressing a glowing hand to Ingo’s chest while tearing the cork from a mana supplement with his teeth and chugging it like a party guy that’d just learned the vortex technique. 

“Ingo!” Leana shouted, able to focus her attention on her brother now that the battle did seem to be truly over, rushing over and kneeling next to Brathy.

Siffrin frowned, stepping towards Ingo… before hesitating. Looking back, Isabeau catching his breath next to the armor, glaring down at the armor… before he looked up, catching Siffrin’s gaze. “Oh, Sif, is your friend okay?”

Siffrin smiled, tears at the edge of his eye as he felt a warmth of love and joy run through him, as he said, “I-I’ll go check… Isa…”

“Yeah? Phooo, that was scary… yeah, Sif?” Isabeau asked, still looking down at the armor. 

“...I missed you.”

“Missed me?” Isabeau said, sounding genuinely surprised… before he gasped, “Oh, right! It’s been WAY longer for you! I feel like I just saw you not even twenty minutes ago, right! Sh-shoot, we’ll have a proper reunion soon, I promise! Oh, I’m a dunce, it’s been ages for you.”

“SIF!” Bonnie shouted, “You're fastest! Head Housemaiden says we need to go grab a proper healer! To check his lungs!” 

“O-okay!” Siffrin called, running to Bonnie, who like Isabeau, didn’t seem to realize what an event this was for Siffrin. Bonnie just leading the way as they headed down the House. 

“Well, that was eventful. Ngh, I’m tired,” Odile muttered, pushing up her glasses, before looking over to Loop, “...I have questions for you.”

“I probably don’t have good answers~” Loop said brightly, “I can waaaaaait, there’s so many more important things to focus on right now! Like, did everyone unfreeze?”

But that was answered quickly, as up came some Housemaidens, shouting for Euphrasie as they got onto the courtyard roof. “Head Housemaiden, Head Housemaiden! Did you do it!? Is it done!?”

“Calm, calm, everything is alright,” Euphrasie said gently, waving the two Housemaidens to hold off for a moment as she turned to Mirabelle, “Give me a moment. Oh, Mirabelle…” Euphrasie smiled, taking the much smaller woman’s hands in hers, squeezing them fondly. “I knew you were the right choice. You chose well. You and your friends… you saved Vanguard.”

Mirabelle didn’t seem to quite process exactly what was happening, her gaze still going back to the armor over and over, as if she kept waiting for it to get back up… before her eyes welled up with tears. Leaning against Euphrasie, unable to say anything. Just weeping in honest, shocked relief.

“‘I missed you, Isa’ and you react with ‘what?’” Isabeau grumbled to himself, kicking the floor a bit, so damn mad at himself as he headed towards where everyone seemed to be gathering, “Who knows how long it’s been for poor Sif, but nooooo, gonna act like it’s no big deal, huh Isa? Stupid… hey, um.” Isabeau looked to Jeremiah. “This might sound like a weird question, but what month is it?”

Mellia landed, a bit shaky on her feet--woof the comedown from all that wasn’t great while you were in the sky--and headed towards Ingo. Taking a look at the others starting to come around, and with a huff, spreading her wings wide. He’d hate having all sorts or strangers seeing him like this…

Jeremiah seemed to have a similar idea, if less horizontal space, but, well…he’d been told the way he stood with his axe on the ground could look quite intimidating. He took Jeremirrah out of his pocket wanting to check on him--if he was even still there--but grunted at Isabeau, acknowledging him. “January, at least when we entered. I doubt saying a year would mean anything to you.”

Despite Brathy’s grouching, and the fact he could never quite draw in a breath that felt right, Ingo still reached a hand out towards his sister, grinning at her. Wanting to offer comfort, even if he couldn’t say anything. They’d won, after all, and Siffrin’s family was back. It was supposed to be a time for celebration. 

“Oh, okay,” Isabeau grinned, watching Jeremiah walk off, “...why wouldn’t the year mean anything to me?”

Leana let out a shaky breath, taking Ingo’s hand. “...I don’t know what to say,” Leana realized, laughing lightly, bringing Ingo’s hand up to rest it against her cheek, “I want to be mad at you, but I’m so proud. You more than came through. We were finished. You saved us.”

It was so classically Ingo, Jeremiah had to admit. Painfully so, like a plot twist or a reveal in a novel so in line with its themes you should’ve been able to call it from page one. 

Siffrin loved his family, and wanted to free them. Ingo loved Siffrin…so he had. 

Typical. 

Fuck, Jeremiah wanted to kiss him breathless until Ingo promised not to do something so reckless again, but instead Ingo was breathless by his own doing, and it had saved their lives. 

Typical.

Ingo could only hazily smile at his sister (I did good? You’re proud of me?), though the moment was…well, maybe not shattered, but broadened a bit as Brathy noted footsteps quickly approaching, not looking away from his patient as he explained, “Allergic reaction to ulfinium, went into anaphylaxis some hours ago. Had an epipen injection and focused symptomatic healin’, but he just exerted himself like nothin’ else. What treatments ya got in fuckin’ Sky Town?”

“We have adrenaline shots, please give us a bit of space, he’s going to seem briefly like he’s getting worse, but then quickly get better,” the healer promised, kneeling down and putting on their stethoscope, listening to Ingo’s lungs as the second healer opened up a bag they were carrying. They didn’t have adrenaline by accident: the bag was filled with different vials of medicine, like it was prepped for a myriad of different scenarios. And as the first healer kept track of vitals, the second started inserting a syringe. First one, then another, then a fourth…

Siffrin watched in concern. There was a lot they wanted to say to Ingo. To thank him for… but it could wait. They just wanted Ingo to be well.

Meanwhile, in the back, Isabeau was whispering to Odile, Mirabelle, and Euphrasie, who all looked more and more concerned… before the Head Housemaiden whispered to them, “Whatever has transpired, Vanguard will adapt. If we are forward in time, well… what unique things we will get to see. How vastly a world might have changed, then. But we are all alive. All is well.”

Eddie couldn’t help himself. He went back to the edge of the roof, looking out at the view. Astounding… a city in the sky. What an incredible thing to witness. Eddie was glad he had come.

Finding that acceptable, Brathy relented his spot, allowing the, well, the others had said Vanguard, hadn’t they, the Vanguard clerics to tend to Ingo. Still under his watchful eye, though. And…it did look worse, Ingo’s wheezes sounding like they weren’t pulling anything in at all anymore, his body shuddering…

But eventually, a clear breath came from him. Then another. Then regularly. Ingo letting his smile fade a little as he closed his eyes, utterly exhausted, though it felt like his heart was pumping a mile a minute. 

Even if it would probably be smarter to wait--ha. Since when had he ever done the smart thing? Ingo put off just passing out, wanting to get a few words in, post-battle. He didn’t want the narrative to spiral too much out of his control when he did let himself rest. 

Opening his eyes a little again, Ingo looked around the people surrounding him, and seeing his search, Jeremiah turned to Siffrin and Loop. Jerking his head towards Ingo. 

“Oh, that seems to be our cue, Stardust,” Loop whispered to Siffrin, who immediately shuffled forward.

Siffrin stared at Ingo for a moment, trying to think of what they wanted to say, now that everything was calming down… before they suddenly gave Ingo a watery, smirking grin. “...tsk. And you thought you wouldn’t dance.”

Ingo’s grin brightened again. “You really beat me to the ‘told you so’, huh? Unbelievable… But I did tell you so. That we’d do it.”

Despite being able to breathe easier now, everything started to get a little, er, wavy in Ingo’s vision, telling him his stubbornness could only delay things so long. Taking in a weak breath, his gaze barely focused, Ingo called, “Hey, know they deserve a more proper invitation…but let everyone know they’re invited, ‘kay? ‘Til I can tell ‘em myself.”

Blinking slowly, Ingo breathed softly before looking to Loop. “...oh, never told you, did I? But you’re invited to my party too, Loop. I’ll cry if you don’t ‘n that’ll be super embarrassing in front of everyone so…at least to see that, you gotta come. ‘N all the other stuff we talked about…’f you’re not too busy catching up on the world finally.”

Ingo blinked blearily at Leana, still at his side. “...Ana? I’d assume you’d all be panicking, but…we’re not actually all spinning around right now, right?”

Brathy huffed, shaking his head. “Lucky bastard. Go to sleep, Ingo, and be happy you just haven’t gotten worse effects of mana sickness. You can chat with everyone when you wake up.”

“Fuck off,” Ingo mumbled, closing his eyes, “You’re so critical all the time, crybaby…”

“I’ll check my calendar, see if I can move some things around,” Loop said, their tone idle, but their expression warm, “It’d be interesting to see you all dressed up, at least.”

Siffrin just nodded, wanting Ingo to fall asleep. He looked so tired, and Siffrin wanted to see him improve. There’d be time later.

“Oogh… okay,” Leana said, standing up and heading to the Head Housemaiden. She needed to make sure they all had lodging. Somewhere to rest. Yes, celebrations would happen. But for now.

Rest.

-

The King was defeated in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise.

Almost everyone involved slept until the evening.

As the day went on, the country itself, Vauguard, was scrambling to figure out what had happened. The massive air country had frozen over a long period of time, with people not caught up in the wave of the curse running into different areas until eventually there had just been no more places to run. So while people were celebrating suddenly waking to life, many more were trying to figure out where they were staying for that night, trying to send word to their sectors, or just starting the long trip of getting back to their sectors to get back to their family, their friends. People who had run together and gotten separated at the last minute had spent the day searching for each other, several reunions loudly, tearfully celebrated in the streets… and some people realizing, as hours went by, that not everyone had survived the fate of the Sadnesses.

The day was chaos. 

No one even suspected how much time had actually passed yet. 

For everyone frozen? It had been like blinking. The terror of the curse catching up to them, over taking them… and then in the next breath, it was gone, and they were back. For some, who had been caught in the morning sun, they hadn’t registered even an hour had passed. The truth of what had happened would be difficult for many to get their heads around.

Euphrasie knew this. But, well… in truth, she was a guide to the flying country more than anything. They did not have a leader. The long, sprawling city, and everyone in it, would have to figure it out for themselves, over time, the different sectors starting the difficult process of connecting with each other to make plans. Likely, each sector would end up handling the situation differently. 

But, Euphrasie gave advice to the Houses of the country, and as Housemaidens from different Houses scrambled into the Head House, asking for recommendations of how to comfort their sectors, Euphrasie told them to prepare feasts. Food always helped, and the Houses hosting massive dinners would give people still trying to find each other places to potentially meet up. Hold a feast! Celebrate the victory! 

And, doing so, Euphrasie invited all the party members to come down from the rooms they had been given to sleep throughout the day and enjoy the feast at her table with her. 

“You really don’t know how long you were out there, Siffrin?” Odile asked, passing them some bread.

Siffrin shook their head, taking the bread and munching on it a bit. “I feel like I was only awake for maybe a few months. But…”

“But it’s been way more than a few months, right?” Mirabelle said fretfully, pushing her palms together, “Oh dear… perhaps something went wrong with the ritual? Why would it have taken you so long to make it to the surface?”

“Could have been your Change God pulling a trick, Housemaiden,” Loop said. They had refused to call Isabeau, Bonnie, Odile, and Mirabelle by their names, so far. They had all noticed, but no one was sure how to ask ‘what’s up with that’ yet, as Loop continued, “I remember being in that tunnel for, goodness, lifetimes. Maybe they were waiting for a ‘fun’ moment.”

“Nnn,” Bonnie kicked in their seat a bit, scratching into their ear, before pointing out, “Maybe it’s something to do with the Rally guys? I mean, we knew when we sent Sif that we needed someone who could do that. And Sif brought back TWO people who could! Double our chances?”

“That’s an interesting thought,” Euphrasie agreed, smiling sheepishly, “Unfortunately, I’m sure we’ll never actually know. The Change God is a lazy deity. If there’s not something in it for them, they’ll never answer our questions.”

Despite being invited, it was a scant showing to the feast. Ingo probably could’ve easily been asleep all day, but during the few moments he woke up it turned out he really wasn’t so lucky as to escape all the common symptoms of mana sickness, and Brathy had all but tied him to a bed to ensure Ingo would stay put and heal. 

At one point, Jeremiah had approached anyone official-looking that wasn’t busy managing several crises at once to ask how high Vanguard actually was. And, finally getting an answer, he’d left the House and went to the edge of the city, looking out into the expanse. Mellia, too tempted by the open air now that she wasn’t dead on her feet, joined him. 

…

…

A tousled--yet clearly tried to be set in order--blue and pink head peeked into the feast room, looking around warily, before Ingo grinned and scuttled over to the Head Housemaiden’s table. He looked…worse, than at the end of the battle, pale and peaky, and he had an IV pack strapped to his side, but Ingo still smiled charmingly as he approached, touching his hand to his heart. “I do hope it’s not horrible etiquette to be late. Your invitation was very kind, Head Housemaiden.”

The Head Housemaiden looked up, smiling lightly. “I did invite you, but I do hope you’d still be in bed regardless, if you aren’t well enough to join us. We can have food sent to you?”

“And miss out?” Ingo laughed before looking a little sheepish, tilting his head at the party. “Though I do get being able to catch up and all. I can, uh, go and not risk more of Brathy’s wrath.”

Siffrin and Loop glanced at each other uncertainly, not sure what they should encourage or not. Ingo had a habit of ignoring what was good for him. 

But Isabeau, ever hospitable, laughed and gestured to an empty seat next to himself. “Forget that, you already made the trip down here! Come on, take a seat, if you get worn down you can head off in a bit, but we’d love to have you!”

“We really have to thank you again. When we were swarmed by the Sadnesses in the ritual, I really thought that was it for us,” Mirabelle gave a shaky little sigh, “When you woke us up? It really felt like being brought back to life.”

“Yeah, especially after how long it was… I know I told you, Sif, that it felt like it had just been twenty minutes, and that’s still kind of true,” Isabeau said, “But the more I think back, the more I think had… dreams? But instantly and really long.”

“I dreamt I set snow on fire,” Bonnie said. 

“That’d be an impressive feat,” Odile smiled lightly, “How’d you manage that?”

“I dunno. I don’t remember.” Bonnie shrugged.

“Thanks!” Ingo perked, taking the seat, “And I’d love to actually meet all of you properly and…” he laughed bashfully again, “not? In the middle of a battle or while I’m needing immediate medical assistance.”

Getting food--manners in mind, but he was starving--Ingo blushed a bit but smiled kindly. “Really, I’m just glad I could help. Loop and your letter did say Rally was the answer, but there was a part of me that wondered if it was just, like, an immediate counter. I’m really thankful it worked as, like, resuscitation too.”

Ingo tilted his head a little, listening to Bonnie’s dream, before a thoughtful expression came over his face, eating a bit before he wondered, “...maybe your Reflections were more connected than we thought? Or, I suppose it could just be a coincidence, still… We found your Reflection in a room filled with snow and snowmen, Bonnie, and your Reflection did set it on fire.”

“Oh!” Bonnie said, considering that… before smiling, “Cool.”

Siffrin smiled lightly, though the exhaustion was clear in their gaze. “It was a bit cool, yeah. But I’m glad you don’t remember it much. I thought it was scary.”

“Don’t be a goober, Siff, it’s just snow,” Bonnie huffed.

“How’s your memory, Sif?” Isabeau asked, giving his friend a concerned look. “We knew there was a risk it was going to jumble you more than you’re already jumbled… Sif here has had some pretty extreme memory issues since we met him,” Isabeau explained to Ingo, “We could get enough out of him eventually that we know he came from the same place the King did and we could figure out something had happened to their home that drove that guy insane. But half the time Sif can’t even remember the things he’s told us about the place they came from, and none of us can remember it at all. It just… disappeared.” 

“Sif said it was a flying island,” Bonnie recalled.

“Black sand, which is a shame we can’t see for ourselves, I’d love to know why it was black,” Odile recalled.

“It had a mountain in its center?” Mirabelle said, tilting her head, “And they didn’t worship the Change God. From what Siffrin’s said, they worshiped stars, for some reason.”

Siffrin listened to this curiously. He didn’t remember any of this. 

“Sounds like a weird place,” Loop said, looking to Ingo, “Speaking of weird places. You invited us all to your dance/ball/mating ritual thing. What’s it like where you’re from?”

Ingo listened to the party with wide eyes, taking in their secondhand descriptions of Siffrin’s home. And…a lot of things all connected together, perhaps making for a bit of a lame, “Oh.”

“...” Ingo tilted his head a little. “...to be honest, when Siffrin talked about those things, I thought he was talking about here. But…that does make a few things make sense…” He huffed a little. “Then I’m sticking to my ‘memory curse theory’, even if I’d made it for the wrong place initially!”

He did give Loop a questioning look for a moment--Siffrin’s home had worshiped stars, so…with Loop calling them ‘Stardust’...?--before perking, a bit of color flushing into his pale cheeks at Loop calling the ball a ‘mating ritual’. Huffing that off, Ingo did straighten himself, ready to…be a bit of an ambassador, he supposed. “Eslley’s mostly rainforest, though there are some wetland plains and ravines, like the one we entered the House of Change from, Sif,” Ingo nodded to his friend, before grinning at the group. “Siffrin and I actually met in one of the forests! They’re a lovely walk…iiiiif you check the weather beforehand.”

“Um…” How…did you describe a home? “Well, we don’t have a lot of marble, I suppose,” he started, recalling his look at Vanguard. “A lot of Eslley’s buildings are wood-based, because of how much it rains, and I guess you’d say the facades go out sorta?” Ingo tilted his hands out, trying to show the shape he meant, “So there’s always places to get out of the rain, though unless it’s particularly bad, most people don’t mind.”

Ingo stalled for a moment, trying to think of what would matter to describe.

“Their food is amazing,” Siffrin said, looking to Bonnie, “Lots of recipes that I bet you’ve never heard of.”

“Really!?” Bonnie gasped. 

“Yeah, especially a lot of really hot recipes. I think you’d like those in particular,” Siffrin said, thinking, before his nose wrinkled, “And they do bathhouses, like you all do. It’s still very weird.” 

“Someday you’re just going to have to accept it, little one,” Odile smirked, “Not everyone has such hangups on nudity.”

“I hope the portals open up again soon. I feel bad that you’re stuck here until our mage towers can organize themselves,” Mirabelle said, giving Ingo a worried look, “After everything you did for us, I’m sure you’re eager to go home.”

Siffrin looked down at his plate tensely. Loop sighed, sipping at some soup. 

Ingo lit up, grinning as Siffrin praised Esllean food. “Considering there were a ton of recipes I’d never even heard of and I grew up right next to Eslley, I’d truly be surprised if you were familiar with everything. But, and you’ll just have to take my word, it’s all quite delicious.”

His mirth faded a little at Mirabelle’s concern, that…certainly a trenchant point, though, he gave another little ‘oh’ sound. “...you know, I hadn’t thought all that much about how we were going to get back down,” Ingo mused, glancing down like he’d see the edge of the sky below his feet. “But it is relieving to know there is a method down.”

Ingo grinned wearily. “We hadn’t really left on a quick trip, but I’m sure Mum and Dad are getting a little concerned by now…”

-

Jeremiah wasn’t all that surprised, when he saw the black dot on the horizon…but he was by the time it came closer, and he saw that it wasn’t just a black dot. 

Even with Minuet’s clear approach, Jeremiah had still barely processed--

“Mother,” Jeremiah said more of a statement of fact, his shock striking him still. 

A glimmer of magic faded from around Courtille Valtan’s face as she dismounted from Minuet, giving her son a warm look. “Son. Oh Jeremiah…” Unbothered by his statue-like disposition, Courtille came forward and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. “Mon petit chevalier, I’m so proud of you…”

She snorted softly, ruffling his hair. “Couldn’t even send a letter, huh? Really had to make the Exalt send a message out to Osyren.”

“I don’t need to write you about my day to day job, mother,” Jeremiah said stiffly, despite the way he’d curled into her embrace. 

Courtille rolled her eyes. “Going on a mission to save another country isn’t something Princesse Leana can ask you and you know it.”

Jeremiah let out a little huff. “How did you even get up here? I was expecting Minuet if you all could see Vanguard from Eslley, but you’re not a wyvern.”

As if just waiting to answer him, there was a caw from Minuet’s saddle, and a flurry of black feathers that swooped right over to Mellia, who had just been awkwardly watching the reunion from the side. With a squawk of her own, Mellia embraced the raven with a cry. 

“Daddy!?”

“My heroic daughter!!” Bryce proclaimed, nuzzling against her shoulders, “You’ve been on the adventure of a lifetime! I couldn’t wait one more bower~”

-

“Do remind me, I must ask… I believe her name was Mellia?” the Head Housemaiden confirmed, Siffrin and Ingo nodding, “I must ask her if she might speak to some of the Flutians I know are still in the country. Flutians were helping evacuate people and bringing in supplies, and not all of them managed to escape back to the mountains when the curse was spreading. They risked a lot to help us, and it seems, might have paid a price none of them could have envisioned, if as much time as you suggest has truly passed. And I can only hope the other sectors managed to evacuate families whole, for who they got to the surface… I know our sector never sent children alone. People advocated that space should be opened up by sending only children for a while, in order to save as many of them as possible, and I advised against it. I understand the thought otherwise, but I’m glad I stuck to that now. As much as we risked the children still in the country to the curse, orphaning them when we didn’t have to would have been worse.” 

The Head Housemaiden, briefly, looked troubled. Difficult conversations had in makeshift ‘war rooms’ like they had seen in the House a recent, heavy memory…

“You did the best you could, Euphrasie,” Mirabelle said softly, “We all did.”

“Can I go see my sister soon?” Bonnie asked, looking to their party, “She’s awake now, right? Everyone’s awake?”

“We’ll take you to the outer ring to find her in the morning,” Isabeau promised, “I know you wanted to see her today, but that’s a few days trip even in normal circumstances, and half the roads are going to be blocked up… we just needed the day.”

“I know, I know, I just want to see her,” Bonnie said, “I want her to know I did it. That I made it. She told me to keep running and… I did. And I want her to know it.”

“She will, soon, Bon-Bon,” Siffrin said gently, “We’ll find her.”

Ingo’s eyes widened a bit. Sure, they’d found out that the Vanguardians had known Flutians but…some were here?! Now revived, back in time? Ingo couldn’t help grinning, knowing how excited Mellia would be. “I’m sure Mellia would be delighted, even if…a lot’s changed. She was really shocked, when we started hearing about Flutians going through the dungeon, so getting the chance to meet some who’re here… Well, I’m sure you’ll hear it from her.”

His excitement tempered a bit as the conversation shifted from that, though. Even if a whole nation’s worth of people were saved…there were always sacrifices in war, ones no one wanted to make. Ingo still had trouble really conceptualizing it, but if it really had been centuries, enough time for events to become history, then myths, then…nothing… 

He supposed it could still be happy. In all likelihood, the people who had managed to evacuate would’ve lived long, full lives on the ground, even if they carried the ache of their missing home. They would’ve had families and descendants and…well, lives. In some ways, it’d be more difficult for anyone revived now who missed them. But there were still many reunions possible.

…and, like the balance of all things, goodbyes. 

Ingo offered Siffrin a kind smile. “So…think you’re going to stay in Vanguard for a while? It does sound like there’s a lot to do.” He laughed softly. “Don’t let me put you off, but rebuilding a country is a ton of work, even if you all have a huge leg up already.”

Siffrin hesitated. “I mean, I’m just… helping my family. I’m not rebuilding anything–”

“I’m heading to the surface, personally,” Loop said, spinning their soup, “Whenever you’re heading back? I’m going to hitch a ride. Thanks.”

“Loop…” Siffrin whispered.

“Are you sure?” Odile asked, “You understand, around here you’ll be a celebrity. But down below? Unless there’s a society of glowy-head people, you’re going to have a tough time.”

“I’ll do some body modifying before I go. It’s a Vaugard specialty, after all. I’ll pick for myself a cute new look, a cute new… identity. Be someone new,” Loop said. “Then take that new person and go see the world as them. What better way to honor,” Loop said with a roll of their eyes, “the god that created me, than to take this opportunity and just… change.”

“You seem pretty private about your situation, Loop,” Mirabelle said softly, “But I know we owe you an incredible debt. The way I understand it, you volunteered to give… gee, it sounded like hundreds of years to that dungeon, all to help us. And, as grateful as I am for that… I wish I just understood why?”

“Perhaps I was being purely altruistic. After all, hundreds of thousands of people live in this country. They needed rescuing,” Loop said.

“Heck yeah they did, and you deserve to be recognized for that,” Isabeau agreed, before looking away uncomfortably, crossing his arms, “But…I saw enough guardsmen turn their backs on Mirabelle, and this country, because that wasn’t enough. The reality of the Sadnesses, what was happening to people, scaring them off. I know how rare it is for that reason to be enough.”

“Well, then why did you do it, fighter?” Loop asked.

“Me? …” Isabeau smiled sadly, looking down, “Honestly, if maybe literally just… anyone else had agreed to go with Mirabelle? Maybe I wouldn’t have volunteered. But here was this Housemaiden, alone, begging for help, and she was about to be sent out with no one stepping up… I couldn’t let her walk away like that. I wanted to save Vaugarde, yes, but I left because Mirabelle was right in front of me, and she needed me to say I’d come with. I left for her.”

“Oh, Isabeau…” Mirabelle whispered, pressing her palms together, her lower lip wobbling… before she said fiercely, “You were enough! We were all enough! Even if it didn’t feel like it when we were all trying to find ways to fight the King, even if it felt hopeless and we were outmatched… we were enough! We proved it! In the end…well, with an extra special bit of help, of course.” Mirabelle smiled fondly at both Loop and Ingo. “But even that was Siffrin going to find help, and my faith… we did it. Whatever mistakes we made? We did it!” 

“You did!” Euphrasie said cheerfully, clapping, “You succeeded! Heroes of Vaugard!”

“No big deal,” Odile smirked, “Didn’t break a sweat.”

“Madam Odile says she doesn’t do a lot of body stuff, but trust me, she does,” Bonnie said conspiratorially.

“WE DEFEATED THE KING!” Isabeau shouted, the courtyard everyone was feasting in raising a cheer at the statement before going back to their conversations.

“Cheers, cheers, cheers,” Siffrin said softly, taking a drink.

Ingo gave Loop, at first, a surprised look, but then a confused one, glancing to the others. However, he did keep his mouth shut. If, for whatever reason, they didn’t want the others knowing about their connection to Siffrin then…Ingo wasn’t going to be the person to force that conversation. 

…he did like the glowy-head, star body look, though. He’d miss it, however Loop decided to change, though Ingo was sure whatever they landed on would be just as lovely. And…it’d be nice to travel home with them for…however long Loop wanted to stay in Eslley. 

…heh, it was the same reason he was so adamant in inviting Siffrin and his family to the ball, but Ingo found himself feeling a bit impatient for it already. He’d…he’d really miss them. 

Ingo raised his glass at the cheers, grinning fondly at Siffrin. “Cheers, cheers, cheers, for heroes doing what they do best.”

Isabeau laughed, overhearing this–not the only one, as Bonnie asked “What is ‘cheers, cheers, cheers’? It sounds stupid. Let me try!”--and cheering along as the kid gave it their best attempt, the others joining in… He glanced at Siffrin. Then looked at Ingo, then back at Siffrin… before awkwardly sipping at his drink.

-

Kaito, on baby duty, had decided to bring Miyako with him to go play with the kids in the castle. Shuichi did not know what his husband was doing with five rambunctious children and an infant and a dog, but he decided not to go and check when he had heard war cries and some crashing earlier, trusting Kaito to handle it. 

Kokichi had been out there with them for a while, but had eventually needed a break, coming up to the room and saying something about ‘capture the flag’ being a very intense game before laying on the bed a bit, clearly just catching his breath. Shuichi had given him a warm smile, before going back to reading his book.

Shuichi had thought Kokichi would go back out any minute, but some time went by and now his husband was doodling in one of his artbooks, and it was starting to seem like it was going to be a very chilled out day. The record player that Shuichi was pretty sure by this point that Kaito had straight up stolen from the music room was playing some light piano music, and at a particularly good song, Shuichi had found himself putting his book on his lap and just looking out the window a bit. Staring out at the frozen landscape, which looked lovely in the warmth of the room, fire crackling along with the music.

It was, in some ways, a perfect moment.

…Shuichi was having some difficulty just existing in it, though. Kokichi’s presence in the warm, quiet, lovely room just… distracting. Shuichi glancing over at him.

All things considered, Kokichi was feeling pretty good. He’d woken up the last morning with a particularly irritating headache…but it hadn’t been a migraine. And while he’d taken things easy still, the most strenuous thing being filling Kaito in on how their drop-in had gone, Kokichi had still felt up to playing with the kids today, helping stave off cabin fever. 

At least he had for a while, but the Baby Assassins took Capture the Flag very seriously, and while on a good day it’d simply delight him, today he’d needed to tap out. Lounging in bed while the fire crackled, sharing the space with Shuuichi, lightly putting together the scenes from Roxas’ world, it was all mellow and comforting and…

Kokichi glanced up, catching Shuuichi looking over at him again. Smiling fondly, Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “...copper for your thoughts?”

Shuichi startled, bringing up his book to his nose as he said, “Oh, sorry, my gaze was just wandering and…” He squinted, confused as he stared down at the text. Had the story started writing in code, or… oh. Oh. He was holding the book upside down.

…harrumphing, ignoring the slight flush to his cheeks, Shuichi put the book back down as he said, “You… look nice today.” He said, glancing over at Kokichi, before pouting a bit, “I like your… outfit?”

…look. Shuichi couldn’t help but feel silly, sometimes, when it came to flirting with his partners. Mostly because he wasn’t ever really sure what he wanted out of it. If he knew for a fact all he wanted to do was pay Kokichi a compliment and make him smile, easy, he’d do that. If he knew for a fact he wanted to cuddle–which did sound pretty good right then, honestly–he’d go and curl up around him without saying anything at all. And if he knew he wanted more, he’d… talk Kaito into starting something and let Kaito do all the hard work of risking embarrassing himself taking a swing.

But Kaito was downstairs! Being Dad Guy! And so Shuichi was taking a second trying to figure out why he couldn’t entirely tune out Kokichi’s presence right now. Was it the way the light was hitting him, glowing on him on the bed? Was it that nice lavender smell, Kokichi’s bodywash drafting over? Was it seeing Kokichi do very cool Empath stuff and shooting light bows at monsters and just overall being very impressive last night?

Maybe! Who could say! 

“Is it new?” Shuichi asked about the outfit.

Kokichi raised both eyebrows, before grinning brighter. “Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’, “Though I did get these socks a month or so ago. I’m not really running low or anything, but the first thing that comes to mind for me when I start thinking about winter clothes is wool socks. And I like the patterns on these~” 

Setting his drawing pad to the side, Kokichi scooted around to half lay on his side, before beckoning Shuuichi over, patting their quilt. “If you want a closer look to remind yourself of my clothes, though, Shuu-chan has my full permission.”

Shuichi glanced down at said socks. Okay, actually, those were very cute socks.

Shuichi’s eyes widened slightly at the invitation… before he pinked lightly, looking away. Darn it, Kokichi suspected. Suspected that Shuichi found him… just, he was very pretty, it was very distracting, Shuichi really couldn’t be blamed for noticing– “Sure, if I’m not putting you out.”

Putting his book aside, Shuichi went over to the bed, laying down next to Kokichi on the quilt, grabbing one of the pillows and resting against it as he laid on his side, staring at Kokichi. Looking over his features like he might be committing them to memory… before he glanced down at Kokichi’s shirt. “It’s a nice shirt. I like the colors,” Shuichi said, lightly running his fingers over the cloth, “...the headache hasn’t come back, has it?”

“Shuu-chan never puts me out. What could make a day better than being around one of my favorite people?” Kokichi hummed, looking Shuuichi over fondly as he came over. It was true! Kokichi loved spending time with his husband, however that time was spent. Even just getting to look at Shuuichi was a treat, and one Kokichi was happy to constantly indulge in. 

“Thanks~ I know I tend to go for bright colors, but more muted ones can still be a lot of fun when they’re saturated like this,” Kokichi giggled softly, before giving Shuuichi a small shrug. “It’s never really left. But I’m feeling okay, just don’t have it in me to pull off sick ninja moves to avoid full-on 10-year-old tackles.”

Reaching forward, Kokichi felt along the side of Shuuichi’s sleeve, touching just to touch. “I was a little worried… It’s been a while since I’ve bridged non-Empaths like I did for you and Maki-chan, but…well, this time was way different. And I knew what to expect, and kinda…how to do things, rather than just forcing my way into the outcomes I wanted with brute strength, you know? And that made it a lot easier on me.”

Kokichi’s expression softened. “I felt a little bad, when Axel and I joined Maki-chan and Zexion fighting the shadows since…it felt like I wasn’t doing much. But I didn’t want to overwhelm Roxas either…” His eyes scrunched in pride as he scooted closer to Shuuichi. “I’m lucky my Shuu-chan’s a smarty-pants who can cut right to the heart of a matter. I know I missed a lot of it, but you were so cool~”

“You’re stronger than I am. I can never handle all of those kids even on my best days. I have no idea how you and Kaito do it,” Shuichi laughed lightly, “And we were pretty prepared to handle a much worse case scenario, so while I hope your headache goes away soon, I’m glad it was just a headache.”

Shuichi laughed lightly at Kokichi’s praise, before saying softly, “In truth? It was less being ‘smart’ and more just taking in everything Dr. Mariah’s been telling Kaito and Maki for the last year. And things Kaito’s told me. I’ve watched him practically claw at walls, foaming at the mouth, for what ends up being little more than just desperately needing to talk at someone. That and the dance-arguments he and Maki do… Roxas was so angry, and was attacking me and asking me questions at the same time, and the whole time I just kept thinking ‘I’ve seen this before. I know what this is’.”

Shuichi shrugged. “So I let him fight Griffin to blow off steam and let him keep talking and asked him questions until he was finally starting to talk with me, rather than just at me. It was a lot of just letting him wear himself out, really. Then Axel took care of the rest of it.”

“And while I think you were more than impressive last night,” Shuichi said very honestly, still recalling Kokichi flying through the air, looking light and bouncy and joyous as he hopped from building to building, “There was a lot of us there, and just bridging was a lot of work already. It’d have been silly to leave it all to you. We wanted to help, and we got a chance to, because of you.”

Shuichi leaned in and lightly kissed Kokichi. “And that’s very impressive.”

Kokichi nodded in agreement--he was preeeeetty pleased not having to spend the rest of the week in bed…even if being there by choice right now was nice--before snickering quietly. “I don’t wanna refute you, but I’d still call learning from others and applying those observations ‘smart’, sweetie. You noticed a pattern you’ve seen before, and used all the lessons we’ve all learned from ‘em. And even in that position, it’s not the easiest thing to keep your cool to help someone while they’re lungin’ at you.”

Still, he pressed into the kiss, looking very pleased by both it and Shuuichi’s compliment. “Hee~ I’m finally starting to get a hang of the whole, ‘problems get solved easier with more people working together’ thing, huh? Maybe I’ll send a message to Dr. Egami before my next appointment so he can bake something extra special that day.”

“It’s worth celebrating. Goodness knows it's a lesson Dr. Mariah’s been beating into all of our heads. ‘You all keep managing each other, none of you grieve together’,” Shuichi said, trying–and utterly failing–to mimic Dr. Mariah’s soft tone, “Honestly, the fact that she’s right is always the most annoying thing about her.”

Shuichi reached over to lightly run his finger over Kokichi’s cheek, before admitting softly, “I don’t want to do anything to worsen your headache. Which, oddly enough, makes this easier to say… you are very attractive today. I know I’m supposed to say I find you attractive every day, but most days I don’t notice anyone’s attractive. But today? I just can’t stop noticing how pretty you are. It’s one of those days where I’m reminded why Kaito picked ‘beautiful’ for you.” Shuichi said softly, “You really are.”

Kokichi snickered over Shuuichi’s impression, his brays making him bounce lightly against the mattress. “I do appreciate that she’s right, though. Even if it’s lessons it feels like I take waaaaay too long to really learn, I find it relieving knowing that there’s someone who has the patience and perspective to go over my mistakes with me and actually have advice at the end of it. Even if it’s something I’ve heard ten times before.”

He smiled at the light touch to his cheek, finding himself laughing a little more, even as his cheeks pinked. Shuuichi just bringing out a light mood in him. “Aw, you’re making me blush… You make me feel beautiful too, you and Kai-chan both. I never thought my self-image was poor or anything, I know I’m cute, but you really know how to make a guy feel special.”

Tapping his toes lightly against Shuuichi’s shins, Kokichi hummed softly. “...well, I don’t wanna push my luck on my headache either… But I’d be very happy if Shuu-chan thinking I’m attractive today leads to some kissing. I can never get enough of how pretty you are, especially just pulling back from a kiss.”

Shuichi flushed a little, looking away in pure self-defense at the compliment. “...heh,” Shuichi laughed lightly, smiling affectionately as his gaze drifted back to Kokichi, “You know, that’s still news to me? I mean, I knew in an abstract way I was attractive for… well, Kaito’s never let me forget it, so since I met him, really. And it’s not like people never flirted with me.”

“But I’ll admit, I’ve always thought of myself as a sort of ‘every man’ sort of look?” Shuichi admitted, shrugging lightly, “I never thought anything in particular struck out about me, Kaito’s very biased praises aside. But when you say it… I’ve just noticed I like looking at myself more and more these days. In the mirror, I mean. The weight doesn’t feel distorting anymore. My chest and hips don’t feel as…alarming. Sometimes I’ll move my face around to get that right angle for the pink, and…”

Shuichi smiled lightly. “I just like it. Maybe not all the reasons behind it, but I like that it’s the person that makes you look at me like that. You tell me I look nice, and when I look in the mirror, I do. It’s very odd.”

Shuichi, feeling emboldened, leaned in for another light kiss… before saying softly, “You are very cute, it’s very obnoxious. I’m just saying, it’s not fair to both be so pretty and so cute. How are Kaito and I meant to cope?”

Kokichi pressed his face against his shoulder, where he was leaning against their bed, just…beaming. He was so proud and just so…happy, for Shuuichi. The greatest thing he could hope for someone was peace with their body, but Shuuichi having gotten to the point where he felt comfortable and confident and attractive? Kokichi could remember their old conversations, Shuuichi feeling uncomfortable with himself, feeling like he didn’t know himself, and to get from there to here…

Kokichi pressed a kiss to the side of Shuuichi’s mouth. “Gorgeous. One of the first things I ever thought about you was about how handsome you were, and that was before you’d even opened your mouth and sealed my fate. My fate of going head over heels, of course. And you’ve been pretty every moment since.” He snorted softly. “I do have my biases. Shuu-chan’s eyes get me swooning constantly, and I couldn’t tell you how many times I flustered myself painting your hips in the portrait I made.”

Grinning unabashedly, Kokichi came in for another kiss. “Soooooorry, guess you’ll just have to marry me. Good thing you’re already on top of that, huh?”

“I feel like I took care of that recently, actually,” Shuichi laughed lightly, before smirking a bit. Gently taking Kokichi’s hand and, as he leaned in to match Kokichi’s kiss with his own, resting his husband’s hand against the dipping curve of his hips. “You like to paint here? Long strokes, I imagine…”

Shuichi suddenly blinked. “You should paint my body at some point.”

Then he laughed, looking light and relaxed as he said, “Why is it always the oddest things that get my attention? Kaito still brings up the ‘table’ incident, he’s going to laugh at me forever about wanting to be body painted. But, well…” Shuichi shrugged, unbothered, “I think that’d be fun.”

Kokichi hummed appreciatively, letting Shuuichi guide his hand, but feeling the curve of Shuuichi’s hip with pleasure. Unable to resist snuggling a little closer to Shuuichi. Though he just giggled at his husband’s suggestion, looking more excited as he thought it over. “I have been curious about body paint… I know people can do some really wild stuff with it, though I don’t think I’d wanna recreate clothes for, like, an illusion-thing.”

“Hmmm, but Shuu-chan with a snake winding around his body? Or with poison dart colors of his own? I’d call that a blast of a day!” Kokichi booped his nose against Shuuichi’s affectionately. “Let him laugh~ It’s a nice sound, anyway.”

Shuichi gasped lightly, entirely caught up in imagining himself with snakes winding around, or little dart frog markings… before giggling lightly at Kokichi’s nose boop, nuzzling in. “He’ll end up more excited than both of us. No one can talk me out of this now. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I love you, Kokichi,” Shuichi whispered.

“Yessssss,” Kokichi giggled, “Oooh, I get to go browse body paints now~ I’m probably spending no less than three hours at the art store when the freeze ends now, sorry not sorry~”

“I love you too, Shuu-chan,” Kokichi murmured back, gazing at his husband with all the affection in the world. 

-

“Wuaaaagh… ughooo ugha.”

“I feel ya, Miya. Those kids play dirty,” Kaito agreed, his words slightly muffled.

“Gnfuu! Fuwah!”

“I agree, it was very rude of Mike to launch off Dad’s back. You’re so real for that, Miya, thank you,” Kaito said, every word tickling Miyako’s belly, since she was laid out on his face.

“GYAAAAA-HEEHAHAHA!” Miya peeled in sudden laughter, wiggling on Kaito’s face.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’ll be okay to just lay on the stairs like this, Miya.” Kaito said, indeed, laid out on the stairs where he had eventually collapsed when all the kids had outran and worn him out, “Honestly, you’re very purple and I’m bright red, anyone who trips on us has it coming.”

“And you’re talkative enough to warn those with colorblindness too,” Lio noted, amused, as he came down the stairs, a new coat of shell pink nail polish on his nails. Pausing, before he lowered himself to sit on the steps by Kaito and Miyako, still plenty of the staircase available for people going up and down. “Kids off running amuck?”

“They’re sooooo determined to run off every bit of muck, man. I don’t know where they find the energy. No way I ever had that much energy when I was their age. They’re all on drugs, I bet,” Kaito said, lifting Miyako off his face and resting her on his chest as he looked over at Lio, “Hey Lio. Nice nails.”

“I’d wager the unlimited hot chocolate station in the dining hall, myself, but drugs is a decent bet,” Lio laughed, before giving Miyako a little wave and grin, and Kaito a nod. “Hey, Kaito, ‘afternoon, Miyako. Thanks, I’ll be sure to pass along the compliment to Nela and Elthea later. Once my banishment from ‘teen girl HQ’ expires, at least.”

He shook his head with a lament. “You be a perfect model and that’s the thanks you get. It’s truly a brutal world. Hopefully yours is a kinder ruler.”

“She’s in a good mood right now, but watch, later today Dad’s gonna do something unforgivable, like put on her new diaper slightly wrong, or sneeze, not come running fast enough the second she wants little feet taps, and then bam,” Kaito said, patting Miya’s butt a little as she gurgled, “Dad punishment time. She knows what she’s doing when she wails. Mean little baby.”

Sitting up, Kaito chuckled, kissing Miyako’s head before bouncing her against his chest. “Wanna go get some hot chocolate with me? We could spice it up with a shot of something, but mostly I just think my husbands would love me if I ended up bringing some up later. Though a little brandy in hot chocolate sounds sooooo nice, doesn’t that sound nice, Miya? Does little baby Miya want some brandy? Well, tooooo bad, no brandy for Miya. Some finger licks of chocolate though.”

Lio watched Miyako’s gurgling with warm fondness, just the simple joy of seeing a happy baby. “As much as other parents have made me a little jealous at times, half the time I think I lucked out a bit, skipping that phase.” He huffed a small laugh after a moment’s consideration. “Not the wail phase, and I think it’s just expectations that keep even us from still being in it.”

“Tis the season,” Lio agreed, taking a breath to get back up again, “And more for family seems like a good call. I think Cheri’s taken the morning to read, so it’ll be nice to check on her later with a drink to pre-empt my banishment.”

Raising his eyebrows, he asked, “Does Miyako already like chocolate? I’ll…admit, I don’t really know when the food changeover stuff happens.”

“Eh, she likes it sometimes. We still have her mostly on nectar and some soft baby foods, but every now and again we’ll dip our finger in something and just let her lick it. You know, really encourage her to bite people more.” Kaito laughed, standing up and walking with Lio down the stairs. “My poor godson, Addason? We call him Addie. Every time we set up a playdate for these two, Miya tries to stick some part of him in her mouth. It's very normal baby behavior, we’ve been assured, but Addie doesn’t do it back, so it feels very mean to watch.”

“Man, I can’t even imagine Miya here as a teenager… though you know…” Kaito suddenly whimpered, only half playing it up as he said sadly, “I suck with teenagers? I’m so bad at teenagers. They hate me, just, genuinely, I’m not even exaggerating. One day Miyako’s going to roll her eyes so hard at me that they nearly pop out of her head, and I’m just gonna die on the spot man. My little itty bitty baby… don’t ever be a teenager, Miya, dad loves you soooooo much.” Kaito whimpered. 

“Gwa-hahagha,” Miya said. 

“Gwahgaga indeed,” Kaito mourned.

“Eh, every group of toddlers needs a real biter, you’re just giving her an early start,” Lio chuckled, shaking his head a little hearing about the high intrigue of baby dynamics. That really was something he’d lucked out on skipping, though. By the time each of his kids came into his life, they had been firmly out of the ‘sticking random things in your mouth’ stages. And it had been a little easier keeping track of Bianka’s curious poking at things with two older kids to be additional pairs of eyes. 

Not a perfect success rate, but Lio hadn’t had to babyproof his whole home so…definitely easier.

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Lio sighed in commiseration. “They can be heartbreakers, that’s for sure. I-I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Cheri and Nela, but the first time Cheri went on a date? Or when Nela told me to stop fussing over her and pay attention to myself? Arrow right through my heart.”

“...but, you know,” he shrugged a little, smile bittersweet, “it means they’re growing up and…I’m really grateful that they have that chance to. Even if it means they’re not the little kids that follow me like ducklings anymore.”

Lio ran a hand through his hair, rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling. “...it still wigs me out thinking how Cheri’s older than I was when we met, now. Yeah, the law says she’s an adult now, but…she’s still so young. I don’t get how she still has any respect for me at all, for how clueless I must’ve been.”

“How old were you when you adopted her again?” Kaito asked, “Honestly, I’m sure I’m going to be wondering the same thing one day. Though at least I’ve been considered an adult for a while already. You know what’s incredibly creepy? I have never gotten over finding out my husband was still technically a child when he was engaged to me. For, like, a year. For a year I was engaged… to a child.”

Kaito shook his head. “I mean, not by Luminary standards, which I guess is why no one mentioned that to me until after I met him? But wow did I feel creepy! So darn creepy. Anyway, all that to say I’m sure Kokichi’s feeling that ‘too young to be a dad’ thing even more than I am. Poor little cutie. Poor little cutie taking care of our little cutie~” Kaito cooed at Miyako, holding the door open to the dining room for Lio. 

Lio’s expression turned sheepish, knowing that this was a whole can of worms in itself. “...18,” he admitted, “Though technically I was just an emergency contact for Cheri until I turned 20, because of the whole child caring for a child thing.”

Giving Kaito a thankful nod for the door, Lio let out a slow sigh. “Right, the Luminous legal age is…sorry, I don’t quite remember, but it’s really young, right? 15 or something? And that…is pretty weird. I’m sure I couldn’t even start to get into all the politics around your wedding, but that’s kind of, uh… Brutal.”

As they got to the hot chocolate station, Lio set out two mugs--since Kaito had said ‘later’ about his husbands, he figured they’d make more later--and started getting them ready.

“Lio, my man, my friend, my companion through this fathering lifestyle… I am only not shouting in shock because Miya doesn’t like it when I shout suddenly,” Kaito said, “18?”

“Legal age for us is 16,” Kaito said, “It’s been as young as 13 in the past, but my grandfather pushed it back up to 16 because people didn’t like that some people were taking the 13 age a little too… literally. Socially? It’s considered bad form for anyone over 20 to be sleeping with anyone younger than 17, 18.” Kaito explained, “And usually there’s an argument made that it's just about signing contracts that the ages keep changing, but in practice it's more just about how much you can legally protect the kids if someone tries to take advantage. I mean, there are solid arguments for changing legal ages to accommodate contracts for or against whatever age you’re talking about, just because of how our hierarchy system works and how important contracts are to us and in theory not relying on other people to sign those contracts coooould protect some kids… but in practice, it’s usually a bad sign of the times in Luminary, how low the age limit’s gotten.”

Kaito blinked, having said all that in one long breath, Lio having had time to actually make him a mug of hot chocolate and pass it to him by the time Kaito had lost that train of thought. Kaito staring at the mug in mild confusion before realizing, “Oh, sorry, I went on about that for a while. I think about stuff like that a lot. But that’s kinda what makes me so squicked out about being engaged to Kokichi even at just 19? Like, in theory I shouldn’t care, right, because that’s still a year after even socially Luminary finds it acceptable, at the latest. But all the legal independence stuff that comes with all that… it matters! Kokichi couldn’t consent to marrying me when he got engaged, though I’m sure there’s some legal workaround for how they managed it… I guess technically we weren’t engaged engaged until I asked him to marry me when I arrived, and he had been 20 for like… I don’t know, almost two months by then? I guess being promised to each other didn’t make it legal…”

Kaito sipped his mug of hot chocolate, and hummed in appreciation. “Sorry, man, I overthink things. Where were your parents?”

Lio gave a grimacing, self-deprecating grin. “Yeah, I know.”

Though he didn’t get to explain much more as Kaito gave some…rather robust explanations of his own. Which were interesting! When they’d met, Lio had been amazed at just how…put together and driven Clara had been, even amid a waking nightmare. On their journey back to Dicea, she had mentioned that Luminary’s legal age was lower than Dicea’s--he could still remember the utter disbelief on her face when he told her it was 20--and…that made a little more sense. The fact that she had been navigating the world as an adult for a little while already, though, uh, some of her badassery he’d just learned was a Redgrave exclusive. 

He still preferred Dicea’s reasoning, probably because he was a parent and wanted his kids to have every protection they could possibly have for as long as possible, but…yeah, it did make sense that having the legal autonomy for your own choices could be a form of protection too. 

Though Lio didn’t get to muse on that, or tell Kaito that it was fine to ramble about it before he launched into another ramble…and Lio could only laugh. “You’re good, you’re good. That’s interesting, the sort of history for Luminary, and…well, I guess you’d know best how it was for your husband, other than him. Guess you just have to be thankful that things worked out alright in the end and, uh…not promise your kids at 19?” Lio sipped at his own mug of hot chocolate. “I get the impression that’s not a pitfall you’d stumble into.”

Half shrugging, Lio tried not to be too blunt. “My parents passed away when I was a kid, and I was in my late teens when I got fostered. Nice folks, but I guess we never really clicked in a ‘parent-child’ sort of way.” And…here was the sticker. Looking a little embarrassed, Lio tried to allay the feeling by taking another sip of hot chocolate. “I, uh…might’ve fudged a few numbers, called in some favors to make it out to fight in the war. Since, as flexible as the organization could be, they still didn’t let kids go out to the front lines. Or, uh, join the militia at all.”

Lio glanced around, before sighing a little to himself, giving Kaito a miserably embarrassed look. “...I’d already been planning on fighting, but my girlfriend at the time had just broken up with me and…yeah. Kind of peak dumb teen behavior.”

“If anyone tries to marry off my baby girl, I’m going to rearrange their teeth~” Kaito cooed at Miyako, who looked up at him curiously as he smiled sweetly at her, “I’m going to bury them in the garden alive and hope they dig their way out so I can bury them again~”

Kaito sipped his mug, before snickering, “Which is an easy promise to make, since my husbands wouldn’t ever do it either.”

Listening to Lio, resting against the hot chocolate stand for a moment before nodding towards one of the tables, suggesting they take a seat for a bit while they sipped their mugs, Kaito made a breathy little whistle attempt. “Oh noooo, going off to war cause the girl broke up with you… that is very teenager, you’re right.” Kaito laughed, “Did she ever find out? Did you send her a letter from the front lines, passive aggressively suggesting, man, you could die any day out here, shame she missed her chance?”

Miyako was lucky, having a dad who loved her very, very much. No dubious marriages for the next generation here. 

“Oh gods no,” Lio snorted, covering his laugh, “I was very much the ‘I’m going to go somewhere no one knows me and turn my pain into something for the greater good’ type. I cut contact with her, like…immediately. I can’t even imagine what she would’ve thought, and I don’t really care to, especially now.”

“Mostly, it’s just mortifying to look back on, and ammo I can’t really fight back against when my kid wanted to go to a concert at night and she can just pull out all the receipts of the dumb teen stuff I did.” Lio rolled his eyes a bit. “Sorry I didn’t send a message, Dad, but at least I didn’t join a war at 18. Yeah, I put off this project until the last minute, but at least I don’t have to plead my foreign friend to sign documents because I impulse adopted a kid at 18, Dad. I will always be my kids’ worst case scenario.”

Kaito laughed, bouncing Miya in his arms a bit as she gave a loud ‘GYA’ in solidarity to his laughing. “Oh nooooo, that’s brutal. Come on, give the old man a little slack, it’s not like you did a bad job! Though, man, who…” Kaito tilted, looking Lio over a bit as he realized, “Who let you anywhere near a warehouse? That’s where you found her, right? I… oh.”

Kaito paused, thinking of something, before he looked around warily. They had been alone when they had entered the dining hall, but Kaito wanted to double check now, as he leaned in to whisper, “Actually, this is something you and Cheri probably both need to know, sorry, this didn’t occur to me till just now that it’d effect you…we uh… we have a bunch of old ‘warehouse workers’ on the way to Dicea. To stay.”

“It…was kind of complicated. You…uh, last I heard, it wasn’t something reported on that much in Luminary, but…you heard of the NEST Incident?” Lio hadn’t been…thrilled, hearing that Cheri had gone to talk about all that stuff alone, but it was really just that last part he was disappointed about. The royal family were good people, sympathetic to the magic community, and a lot of the big dangers just mentioning that Cheri had been born in Luminary or that they had been around NEST weren’t threatening anymore, but… He’d just wished she’d told him. 

But it was out there, and if Kaito wanted to know… Clara did say it’d probably be good for him to talk about it more. 

But before even getting into that, Lio raised an eyebrow at the whisper, before… Lio’s expression went serious. Casually, he leaned an arm on the table, tapping a finger on his temple just like he was resting. “...like…’warehouse workers’?”

“Yeah, like exactly what you think I’m saying, is what I’m saying,” Kaito whispered back, before pausing, “...unless you think I mean actual warehouse workers for, like, bottle tops or something. Not that. The secret ones.”

Kaito squinted at Lio, searching his memory… Nest, Nest… he knew Lio had gotten Cheri from one of the factories, that she had been a captured Empath–oh no wait.

Kaito winced. A confusing memory of Tengan that Kaito had dismissed and forgotten as just the old man being really unusually pissed suddenly gaining a lot more context. That was happening a lot in the last few months, actually. It turned out, Tengan had actually been pretty loose-lipped around Kaito, generally. But due to a dozen different things–Kaito’s ignorance, all the half-information, the conditioning, probably no small part to Tengan just literally messing around in Kaito’s head whenever he felt like it–most of the stuff Tengan had said to Kaito, Kaito had dismissed as just being confusing shitty grown up stuff and not thought any more about. 

But with more context and the occasional old rant the old man had monologued at him coming back at odd times, a lot of it had just been… brazen. 

Kaito remembered Tengan being pissed that ‘good ones’ had died when the factory exploded. It had been unusual, because Tengan hadn’t just sounded like he was annoyed at the setback, like everyone else did. Tengan had sounded… offended. Almost hurt. Like the people at the factory had been people he knew, and he was pissed that anyone would dare kill off his peers… which made way more sense now, to Kaito, knowing they were Empaths who had… well, not been slaves. Empaths like Tengan, who had been there because they wanted to be.

In retrospect, Kaito could assume that, as much as someone like Tengan could have one… those had probably been his friends.

Kaito before now just mostly remembered that for being expected to apologize over and over again for something he had nothing to do with and didn’t entirely understand. Not even an overly painful memory, just a weird one. One that made more sense now. Little pieces of information finally coming together.

“I didn’t know it was called NEST, but you mean the exploding factory. Yeah, I knew that. That’s the one you got involved in, right?” Kaito said, “Cheri was from there? That’s what my husband told me.”

“Okay… Okay.” Lio nodded, intently staring at the empty space between them. “...okay.”

A bunch of conditioner Empaths coming to Dicea…wow. Um. Well, okay, he would tell Cheri, and the network too, if they didn’t have tabs already, but… 

…he did know the Birkins were outliers. Cheri’s testimonies, for how good a 9-year-old who barely saw her parents were, but also some of the documents he and Clara had found that night proved that. Not to mention everything their network had been able to find about the human trafficking trade to Danganronpa over the years… Most of the Empaths in the factories had been prisoners. Slaves. Doing awful work, yes, but…with no choice. And Lio couldn’t fault them for not choosing to die, despite all the harm that had been done to the people who went through the warehouses. 

So…now…freed, more than unemployed, he could wager, a group was…coming to Dicea. At…the behest of the royal family, so…

Lio glanced up, giving Kaito a grim nod. “Yeah… From what I learned later, NEST was a different beast, more like a compound, so Cheri wasn’t actually in the warehouses most of the time, but…yeah. So…” He shrugged a little. “It’s…complicated.”

Frowning a little more, but concern bleeding through his face now, Lio asked, “The…guests, I guess, that are coming… I guess they wouldn’t be headed to Dicea if they were, but…are they alright? Like, with travel plans… Safety. All that?”

“Hah. Diceans…” Kaito grinned, shaking his head at Lio a little, “I’d have totally different questions, if I was you. But you? Immediately asking if they’re okay. It’s a Dicean trait, I’ve seen enough of you do that to feel pretty confident saying that.”

Dipping his finger into his now cooled hot chocolate, Kaito coaxed Miyako to suckle on his finger as he said, “Honestly, I’m not sure? Kokichi promised to fund their way, but there’s no easy way to send funds right now. I mean, my family even now still sends me a monthly allowance, but that was a funding system they set up specifically with me in mind months before I ever even arrived. Probably before I even left. Sending money to Luminary and making sure it gets to the right person? A lot harder. So I’m not sure how that’s going to work out for them yet. Might have to beg my cousin for help.”

Lio’s expression lightened a little at that observation, laughing a little to himself. “You just wait until you come by our place to drop Bianka off or something to really see how stereotypical I can get. I think I’ve ended up cooking maybe three times this whole freeze, with how much people want to share food they’ve made.”

There were some less light-hearted stereotypes, sure, but…the former were ones Lio found he could live with. 

Rubbing his jaw a bit as Kaito explained more about the Empaths’ situation, Lio nodded to himself, thinking…before sighing. “I’d have to get in contact with her about it, but… Clara, Cheri’s mom, she’s Luminary, and living there right now. She, uh…” Lio rubbed the back of his neck, “She’s pretty involved with all this stuff, to say the least, and she was mentioning coming to Dicea once the weather warms up more.”

Lio smiled fondly. “Clara’s a busy woman, but she made sure to spend every freeze here, while Cheri was little, be here for her birthday…” He snorted. “She hates how cold it gets, and eventually Cheri just told her to start snowbirding, and we could celebrate her birthday in the spring together. It’s been a little less often, with everything that’s been going on in the world, but she was writing me about a friend of hers that she thought could use some greenery, so…”

Lio trailed off a little, before looking sheepish. “Sorry, rambling. But getting people with particular needs around to different countries is sort of Clara’s bread and butter. I can talk to her about being a middleman for your group.”

“...” Kaito gave Lio a small, awed look… before practically squealing as he brought up Miya and, gently but enthusiastically, waving her up and down as he beamed at her, “Dad is such a good consort, Miya! Miyaaaaaa, did you see Dad being a consort just now? Did you see dad being a socialite? Miyaaaaaa, Dad did such a good job just now!”

“GYAH!” Miyako squealed, wiggling in excitement. She was going up and down!! Hell yeah!! 

“Sorry, I just, ahem, anyway.” Kaito laughed, giving Lio an endlessly pleased look. “We can totally take you up on that! Let me bring it up to Kokichi, and if he’s interested, I’ll set up a conversation between you two to set it up… because that is suuuuch a prince-consort thing to dooooo~” Kaito said cheerfully, practically glowing as he swayed happily side to side. “But I’m sure it’s going to be helpful! Also, aww, it’s nice to hear her mom made such an effort like that. Shame it couldn’t be an all year thing, but I’m sure she had reasons.”

Lio couldn’t help smiling at Kaito’s sheer joy--and Miyako’s cuteness, as well--a little confused, maybe, but…well? If Kaito was that happy at linking another ‘friend of a friend’ favor, then…good! It was a good system to have. 

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Lio encouraged Kaito, “Though I do have to write Clara about it. Luminary’s a big place, she’s probably not just down the block from your group. I’m sure she’d want to help, but there are a lot of logistics in play.”

A little more relaxed, Lio smiled fondly. “She did stay for a while, when the three of us came to Dicea together. She has citizenship here and everything. But…well, I’m sure you’d understand,” Lio shrugged, nodding to Kaito, “Luminary’s her home. I don’t think Clara could really make herself leave forever, and Cheri and I wouldn’t ask her to.”

“Plus…” Lio’s gaze went to the side, growing a little drier, “After everything we saw at the NEST Facility… Neither of us could really just let things be. Clara’s role just includes more traveling than mine does.”

Kaito was still absolutely thrilled–SOCIALITE HE HAD DONE A SOCIALITE THING–but his joy turned into something both… still pleased, but a little more thoughtfully somber as he nodded, playing with Miyako’s hands as she sat in his lap, staring up at him. “There’s lots and lots and lots of people in Luminary, the people who live there will improve it, but… there’s something a little relieving, in Luminaries who leave the country and then go back. Not that they’ll ‘save’ Luminary or anything, but…I don’t know. It’s reassuring to know Luminaries will stay to make things better. Luminary needs all the good, strong people it can get, willing to make a decision that difficult. It’s good that there are Claras.” And Olivers. And Kyokos. 

Nekomaru hadn’t ever seemed tempted to stay in Dicea, despite not having fought in the rebellion that now influenced the country. Kaito didn’t know how Maki’s mentor really felt about any of this, Kaito had never had the courage to ask. 

In retrospect, Kaito wished he had. Mr. Nidai was a little intimidating and Kaito often found himself just trying not to make too much of an ass of himself in front of that man, but now that he was gone… Kaito wished he had taken the time to get to know why Mr. Nidai hadn’t wanted to stay. What he had gone back to Luminary for. 

Maybe one day he’d ask him.

“...you don’t have to tell me what you saw, or what you’ve seen,” Kaito said, “Entirely because those memories might suck and I don’t want to ask you to relive them for my own curiosity… but a part of me does want to know more, about all of that. If you ever wanted to share it.”

Lio nodded in agreement, his expression soft. “Luminary’s a country of good people, and the people that stick around to make the rest of everything reflect that… Not to get too Dicean on you again, but that’s what really makes a country, in my opinion. I’ll admit, I couldn’t understand why Clara wanted to go back, when she first talked about it…but I think I get it more now. Her home’s a place worth fighting for. Literally, and in the small everyday ways too, that you do by just living there.”

Lio…couldn’t really say if he’d hated Luminary, when he’d snuck into a war as a teenager. They were aggressors, people he was fighting, yeah, but he hadn’t gone into fights eager to take as many Naries down as possible. And yet, there were still so many, well, stereotypes that he hadn’t realized he’d believed until he met Clara. He hadn’t even believed at first that she was Luminary, unable to connect someone so…just like him, so human, to a people he’d always heard were brutish and violent and harsh. But Clara had been kind, and funny, and sweet, and protective, and scared, and determined and…a person. And it’d left him having to rethink how he thought about the country, along with a lot of other things. 

Sighing a little, Lio looked at the remaining hot chocolate in his mug, swirling it lightly, before he snorted. “...I feel like a conversation like that would be better had over tequila and…not with tender ears around, than over hot chocolate. For fair warning.”

“Sounds like you’re promising me tequila then,” Kaito grinned, “No take-backs, I am taking you up on that. Alcohol and terrifying life stories! With no itty bitty baby ears around to sponge up the horror.” 

“I’d genuinely love that,” Kaito said, shrugging, unashamed, “I mean, you can always change your mind. But I would love to do that. Not just because I like getting to talk to people like that, but also because…everything about that place could potentially help with something in the future, for me. Either from a Momota stand point or an Empath standpoint, maybe even just a Luminary one…knowledge helps.”

“And, honestly, man, you coooould consider it a trade,” Kaito gently coaxed him, “My loyalties to Luminary policies these days are shaky, to say the least. I don’t know a lot about a lot of things, but I do know a little about a lot of things. Maybe the right question could help you out someday? Just as food for thought.” Kaito said, standing up, “Alright, I’m going to bring my husbands hot chocolate. Oh, Bianka was protecting a flag in my shrine, if you have any trouble finding her. Sort of up in the air if she’s still there, but that’s where I last saw her. Trying to steal her flag, Mike jumped off my back and ran off with it. Those kids are ruthless.”

“Sure, man,” Lio chuckled, “I think I can keep that promise. As long as you’re sure what you’re getting into, I mean. Because I don’t know how well I’d pivot out of it if you get me going.”

But Kaito had a good point. Knowledge helped. 

(It was something Clara had had to face recently. Even terrible knowledge that you wanted to put behind you helped, because ignoring it just left you on the backfoot when someone else didn’t have the same reservations. So even if it hurt…it was better to know.)

Lio nodded consideringly--it was…a very generous thing to trade, considering the more actionable things Lio could do with knowledge, than Kaito could do with a horror story from Lio’s past--but just huffed a laugh as their conversation came to a close. “Thanks for the tip; I’ll be sure to watch my back when I start looking for her.” He rolled his eyes with dadly fondness. “Why am I not surprised Bi and Mike are on different teams… Alright, it was nice talking with you, Kaito, and…thanks for letting me know.”

-

Tangouai walked through the crowd and shouted through the thumping music, “Have you seen me anywhere!? But cuter? Yeah, cuter! I didn’t stutter! Have you seen me? My height, my face, generally softer… if you don’t know what I mean then you didn’t see me! Hey, you, did you–”

And after a while, someone had.

That was eventually how Tangouai found his brother, sitting in the boiler room, staring at the opposite wall tiredly. 

“Hey, Kaiden,” Tangouai greeted, sitting next to him.

“Hey, Tango.” Kaiden said tiredly, “Not dancing?”

“Eh, too many lame songs in a row.” Tangouai said, glancing over his brother, looking for something. Maybe a book, or a notebook, or… “Are you just sitting in here?”

“I wanted to be alone.”

“That’s a real bummer for you, huh.”

Kaiden shrugged, “I don’t mind if it’s you.”

“Awww, I’m so special,” Tangouai grinned, nudging Kaiden, who hummed. “...unless, it’s okay that it’s me, becauuuuuse I don’t spark your–”

“It’s not as bad as it used to be,” Kaiden said, closing his eyes, “But yeah.”

“Come on, man, why do you keep telling us you’ve kicked this thing when it’s just not happening?” Tangouai sighed, “Do your partners know?”

“They might. I haven’t said it, but I’d be surprised if I’ve actually managed to hide it from them.” Kaiden admitted, “It is getting better, and I just keep thinking… maybe it’s just slow to kick in for me? I don’t want them to worry.”

“Who’s worried? You’ve got it under control, I’m sure they’d be thrilled you want to jump their bones!”

“Shut up.” Kaiden grumbled, “... I don’t want them to feel like they’re taking advantage of me. Leanne said that once. That she felt like she was taking advantage during the heats.”

“Yeah… yeah.” Tangouai said, knocking his head back into the wall, “...are you still sporing? Can people smell you?”

“I’m not sure. That’s kind of why I’m avoiding the crowds. No ones been acting weird to me yet?” Kaiden said, frowning, “But it can be tough to tell. It’ll just feel like someone’s talking to you and then you realize halfway through the convo, uh oh, their eyes are a little dazed.”

“Yeah, I don’t miss that.” Tangouai admitted, “I always preferred it when it was obvious someone was affected by the spores. Just, immediately acting like a horny asshole, because it meant I knew what I was dealing with. The subtle ones could be gut punches.”

“Yeah.”

“...Milo enjoyed being affected by your spores, though.” Tangouai smiled, “Leanne might feel like she’s taking advantage, but Milo’s all about it.”

“I know,” Kaiden smiled lightly, before sighing, “I was just hoping. But it’s been months and all the medicines’ managed to do is lighten the effect. I think I just have to admit to them that I’m still going into heat.”

“You really do seem fine to me. Remember when we were teenagers? You were practically feral, man.” Tangouai laughed, “I had to hold you back from slobbering on people.”

“Shut up,” Kaiden laughed lightly, “Yeah… at least it’s not that anymore.”

“You’re just… still a seedling, man.” Tangouai shrugged, “There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. You have two partners to take it out on. The folks at the strip clubs can be very accommodating. You know Leanne and Milo wouldn’t mind.”

“I’ve thought about it.” Kaiden admitted, frowning, “It might make Leanne feel a bit better. Milo would want to join me.”

“He would. He’d love it,” Tangouai said, reaching up to ruffled Kaiden’s hair, “You always overthink everything. You don’t have to be embarrassed that the medicine didn’t revert you back to human. Seedlings are cool! I was a seedling most of my life! There are things I miss about it!”

Kaiden gave Tangouai a dry look at that. Tangouai paused, trying to think of something, “...I used to be able to take a punch like nothing.”

“You still take a punch like nothing.” Kaiden reminded him.

“Yeah, but now I’m just being tough. I used to not even feel it. Seedling Tangouai in one of the cage matches? I’d have been unstoppable.” He chuckled. “Would have laughed it off. Wanted to fuck my opponent after. Used that as an intimidation tactic.”

“Gross.” Kaiden said, though he smirked a bit while he said it, “Shame I’m not a fighter.”

“It really is.” Tangouai laughed, “...you want me to walk you back to your room?”

“Hah…” Kaiden looked at the ceiling for a bit, before saying softly, “In a minute. I like sitting with you. And it’s warm in here.”

“Hell yeah, boiler room brother time.” Tangouai said, settling in.

-

Well, on the plus side! Ingo was no longer having intermittent nosebleeds! On the negative, he…l-look, he had been paying attention when his aunts had told them all about mana sickness and all that, even if he hadn’t been able to use magic at the time, it was important to know! But Ingo had truly thought it was something that, you know, only lasted like a day. Sucked, but with rest and food and a supplement or two, you’d be alright.

…but, er, maybe Brathy’s continual lectures, er…had a point. About, uh…severely over-using magic that had never been practiced before, and with reserves that had never been trained, not to mention going what they were guessing like a day and a half with a severe allergy attack that he hadn’t rested through and it was only luck that his lungs hadn’t collapsed or had been damaged worse…

His cousin had been saying all that. So maybe it wasn’t so surprising that, despite a stunning vision outside and a whole new nation of people to meet that likely would appreciate a helping hand, Ingo mostly…slept. 

…well, the others had likely left to go find Bonnie’s sister anyway, so…he wasn’t missing out on too terribly much, he supposed. 

But while he still wasn’t absolutely rearing to go, one of the rare moments Ingo was awake, he’d put himself into some sort of order and…well. He supposed some fresh air would be nice, at least.

It didn’t take long for Ingo to run into someone. Specifically, Loop. Specifically, immediately, as while Ingo walked out of the guest room given to him, a door opened a few doors down nearly the same time, Loop having stepped out and, surprised by the coincidence themselves, gave Ingo a startled look… before raising an eyebrow. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be on bedrest?” they pointed out, “Didn’t you nearly kill yourself going to dinner the other day?”

Ingo mirrored the startled look, before brightening, seeing Loop, before rolling his eyes with a pout, the expressions going through his face at lightning speeds. “I was fine, and I’ll go back in a bit! I just want to enjoy some of the day while I’m awake to.” He sighed, slumping a bit. “Even doing it I don’t understand how people can sleep all day. Stick to your altruist roots and don’t snitch on me, okay?”

Straightening, Ingo started walking into the hall, tilting his head and giving Loop a friendly, curious look. “What are you up to today, though? Any fun plans?”

“Hmmm… well, if you must know,” Loop said, wrapping their arms lightly around their waist, resting on their back hip, “I was going to go people watching. Look for some inspiration, for lack of a better word.”

Ingo gave Loop a slightly more puzzled look for a moment before he lit up with understanding. “Ooh, right! You were talking about, er, body…modification, stuff, before. I know, like, literally what the words mean, but I’ll be honest I don’t really get what that all means…”

Ingo tilted his head the other way in thought. “I’ve heard of metamor potions, but I’ve never met anyone that uses them, let alone the first idea of who might actually be able to make one.”

Loop shrugged, before gesturing around the hallway. “It’s a Vaugard specialty. Everyone who worships the Change God is expected to entirely change at least once. And the Vaugards tend to interpret that in its most physical definition. The person you are at the second half of your life should be unrecognizable from the first half, is the belief.”

Loop rolled their eyes a bit. “Not my own belief, personally. I think it’s all a bit… arbitrary, really. But, for my purposes of wanting to live in the world? Convenient.” Loop looked Ingo up and down, before saying, “Would you like to join me? You can help me pick out a butt. You do seem to be the expert.”

“Huh…” Ingo mused, following Loop’s gesture with his eyes, almost expecting that to be illuminating. “I’d think that’s something that just happens naturally, but I can see how taking a more active approach can be a form of spirituality. And one of creativity, which can be fun!”

Flushing a bit at another butt comment, giving Loop a flustered look, Ingo huffed softly. “I do like to think I have an eye for aesthetics…but it feels like it defeats the point to tell you I like how you look already.” Shoulders bouncing with a quiet laugh, Ingo gave Loop a nod. “But I’d like to join you all the same.”

Stretching his neck a little as they headed out, Ingo hummed. “...I suppose it can be a little daunting, looking different from everyone else. I’ve not exactly met another star-person before. Though, personally, I enjoy uniqueness.” He rolled his eyes playfully, gesturing to himself. “Don’t really meet many people with this going on either.”

Loop, leading the way down the hall– fully intending to sit at a balcony outside a study they had found the other day, the second floor a great view of the people walking out and about in front of The House–glanced with a bit of side-eye at Ingo, giving him a blatant look up and down his body, before saying, “I feel dangerously at risk of unintentionally insulting you to ask, darling… what on earth are you referring to? Your butt is phenomenal, don’t get me wrong, but it’s less ‘unique’ and more just ‘perfecting an otherwise common trait’. What else am I meant to be looking at?”

Ingo rolled his eyes, flushing more, before explaining. “Natural two-color hair, for one. I was never around areas where dyes were that available until just a few years ago, so it never occurred to me to dye, and…didn’t happen for a lot of other people the other way, I suppose.”

“Aaaaaand Goddess-mandated heterochromia,” Ingo snorted, pointing to his Deity Mark, “Though my sister does have the same. I’ve always thought it looks less jarring on her, though, since her eyes are blue. I suppose you could call the Marks rare on their own, but considering I’m surrounded by people with them by design, it’s not something I think a lot about…” Ingo paused, before amending with a mumble, “These days, at least.”

Loop reached over, flicking Ingo’s bangs with their fingers, before saying, “If that’s natural, chances are you just have some of the flower folks’ DNA in your history. Which would make sense, you definitely have that ‘cutesy sweet’ thing going on.”

“And, do you?” Loop asked, stopping at the balcony before gesturing Ingo to look them in the face, peering at his eyes a bit, “...oh yeah, look at that. You do have weirdo eyes. What a freak~”

Chuckling a bit, Loop took a seat at one of the small tables on the balcony, bringing up their feet to rest on the small table as they peered over the balcony. “But sweet-cheeks, I have a burning ball of fire for a face. Along with whatever’s going on with this,” Loop said, wiggling their fingers in front of their face, watching the little stars sparkle and shimmer in the light, “So forgive me if I find the comparison a bit lackluster. You know I still don’t have any clothes? No one mentions it. I literally walk around naked all day and no one notices, that’s how odd I look.”

“Flower folks…?” Huh… Nothing really came to mind for any people he knew that were, like, plant-aligned. Something to pull at when boredom came to him later, he supposed.

Ingo stuck his tongue out a bit at Loop, before taking the seat on the opposite side of the table, still just…stunned by the open sky straight again. But the people and buildings below were just as incredible. “Technically I don’t have heterochromia, but since my Deity Mark glows blue, it makes it look like I have a brown eye and a blue eye. Torturous insults aside, it is a bit weird-looking.”

And while the pink in his hair was obviously from Tiana…well, Ingo had been a little insecure about it when he was younger. While sometimes it had given him comfort, the fact that he apparently looked just like Cordovan when his father was younger was something most days Ingo didn’t know how to feel about. 

Ingo shrugged a little--fair, just having different coloring wasn’t exactly like Loop’s situation--before humming softly. “...do you want clothes? I figured if you hadn’t gotten any, that was more because you didn’t want any. I heard there used to be, like…uh, stuff called ‘indecency laws’? In Eslley, I mean. But there were a lot of protests from people asking just what about any given body was indecent.”

He chuckled a bit, reminiscing. “Sister Avi told me about a protest a lot of dragonkin participated in to challenge the claim it was about genitals, since they don’t have them externally, right. She’s said the reason she spends a good chunk of monsoon season naked is to pay homage to those protests, but I think she just enjoys the way warm water feels on her scales.”

Loop squinted at Ingo, before shaking their head. “See, this is how you end up with bathhouses. One moment, you’re letting the scalies walk around naked, next thing you know, everyone’s bathing together. It’s weird, darling. You all are weird.”

Then Loop looked down at themselves, before huffing, “I suppose I just need to get myself clothes then, yes. Not that I have any genitals to hide either. They seem to have at some point just…” Loop squinted at their crotch, “...abbsooooorbed? Back into me? Or something? I’ll admit, I did not notice it happen while it was happening, one day I looked down and, boom, star crotch. Which is a bit of a reeling shock, I can assure you.”

Ingo gave Loop an even look. “I’d rather be weird and naked than live in a place where people are ashamed of their bodies. Or calling dragonkin ‘scalies’. I know you’re not an Abatean either, but Sister Avi is a holy woman, and I’d prefer if you didn’t insult her, or her species as a whole.”

It didn’t seem…particularly prejudiced to Ingo, which was why he wasn’t pressing it more, so…with his piece said, he relaxed again, before giving Loop a curious look, glancing over their body. “Yeah, I’d be pretty freaked out if I just woke up one day without anything there… Um…” Ingo’s brows scrunched a little. “...I don’t know why I assumed… Did this all happen gradually to you, Loop?”

Loop hummed in acknowledgement, before answering the next bit, “Yeah, a little bit over time. But don’t ask me how long it took. I noticed in pieces, but I’m sure the actual process was like a gradient. I usually only noticed anything was different in the mirror room. If you’re curious how it’s possible I wasn’t able to track it, consider ‘noticing’ when you went from a teenager to an adult. You could look at a teenager now and see how different you look from them. But I bet you didn’t notice when it was happening. It was like that.”

Loop stared down at the crowds, not really seeing anyone. Their eyes just glazing over the people below, before they mused, “Having hair again would be weird. I don’t have body hair. Want to feel?”

Ingo fussed with his bangs a little, considering that. It sounded a little scary, to be honest, but he supposed most full-body, gradual changes like that were. Case in point, puberty. “I mean…I took my vow when I was 15, but I know what you mean. Startling… Was it nice getting taller, though?”

Loop was a good bit taller than Siffrin, after all. He supposed that was something direct most people could relate to but…well, Ingo thought it’d be a pleasant surprise to find yourself taller over time. 

He made a small questioning sound before glancing at Loop’s starry body. “If you’re alright with that? I did assume the ‘sensitive’ comments you made before were about touch.” Ingo smirked a little. “I never did get to give you an ‘Abatea’s ears we did it’ congratulatory hug.”

“Your ‘vow’?” Loop asked, clearly entirely unfamiliar with the concept, before snorting a bit, “Getting taller was the weirder part of it, really. My face breaking apart to become bursts of light and my skin darkening into a space-like void almost made a sort of sense, in a screwy sort of way… but taller? Out of all of that, it just felt the most random.”

“And you can go ahead and hold onto that congratulatory hug,” Loop said, shaking their head, “I haven’t actually touched anyone in… who knows how long. For all we know, I melt. Do you really want to melt me? Like a chocolate bar left in the sun…chocolate sounds good, actually. I haven’t had a chocolate in a long time either.”

“...Abatea’s ‘ears’?”

“My vow of adulthood,” Ingo clarified, before looking a little amazed by Loop’s descriptions of how their body changed in their years in the dungeon. Terrifying! And terrifying in a new way that the scariest parts seemed par for the course! If becoming taller seemed odd for Loop, then Ingo couldn’t resist asking, “I, er, well, I suppose I don’t actually know, but both your eyes work, right? I’d guess that’d be a bit weird to have happen too.”

Groaning, Ingo pouted and slumped over the table, huffing over his denied hug. “Then why’d you offer?! What a tease! I’ll get one out of you eventually; too bad, you’ve given me a goal, and considering we both know exactly how the last one turned out, you’d be better off just giving in now.”

“...chocolate does sound good,” he hummed, closing his eyes to think of sweet treats. Ingo was just fine on provisions, thanks! But a nice floral tea with some pastries or tea cakes on the side…something he was definitely looking forward to, going home. “I should show you my favorite patisserie when we get back to Eslley, if you don’t want to immediately book passage to another continent. Their chocolate eclairs are really to die for.”

Opening his eyes, Ingo just blinked at Loop, before shrugging, blushing lightly. “Oh, you know… I-it’s just a phrase, I guess. But, uh…I guess not one you’d really hear around here, or from any of the reflections…”

“I offered because I thought it’d fluster you. You’re very easy to tease,” Loop said with a small shrug, “Didn’t think you’d actually take me up on it. Which at least means you’re not entirely predictable. Interesting~”

“And you’re right, it’s not a phrase I’ve heard of. Though the reflections aren’t a good indicator of anything. They all just said the same thing, forever, to the point where you sort of just stop hearing them. I cannot tell you how many times I listened to the King tell me how grateful I should be for being frozen in the ‘perfect moment’ of fighting him,” Loop scoffed, disdain dripping from their tone. “And no, actually, I still can’t see from the bad eye. I wasn’t going to mention it, but if you look closely? My right eye is a slightly grayer shade of black then the left eye. Which I think just means the useless thing is dead in here,” Loop said, tapping against their right-side temple, “But no, the vision never came back.”

“Not that it bothered me much even when the injury was fresher and I was wearing the eyepatch all the time,” Loop said, “Sure, I hit counters more often, but there was always something more important going on. It never really took priority, the whole ‘depth perception’ thing. Oh, I’m curious… when your eyes do the glowy thing? Can you see?”

Ingo pouted at Loop. “Come off it, I’m not so ridiculous an offer to touch someone at all is going to set me off. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally bothered Siffrin because I forgot about his touching thing. I’m an affectionate person! I like hugs! Sometimes I forget that some of my friends don’t like hugs.”

Grimacing a little, Ingo sighed. All the Reflections were a little unsettling, to be honest, but listening to the King repeat himself countless times? What a nightmare… But it was that repetition Ingo had been talking about. The Reflections were of real people, so what they repeated were things that person would’ve said and known about so…without any indication yet that anyone in Vaugard worshiped Abatea, Ingo had no reason to believe any of them would say any invocations specific to her, to Loop.

“Oh?” Ingo leaned a little closer, as Loop had done for his eyes, and peered between theirs. It was really subtle, so that was likely why none of them had commented on it before but…yeah. A slight color difference that…really could be attributed to lighting, if anyone noticed it. But there. “Huh… Well, I’m glad it doesn’t bother you.”

Sitting back more properly, Ingo twirled a bit of his hair with a sheepish look. “Well, uh…sort of. It’s like having a bright light right in front of my face, um, which I guess is literally what it is, but…not something I feel like I have to squint through? And…” Ingo hesitated for a moment. “...um, no one else in my family’s ever mentioned it? But the last two times, it sort of feels like I get tunnel vision or something. It’s hard to focus on anything but the people around me, which is…a bit odd, not in the moment.”

“Interesting,” Loop said again, “And convenient. I have to imagine dancing in battle would be rough, if each time you did it you were suddenly blind. I suppose if you just had a little personal bubble that you committed to staying in? Still would be inconvenient.”

Loop’s gaze caught someone in the crowd, and they asked, “Maybe I should go subtle. What do you think of black hair? Like that lady down there.” They pointed out a woman walking by with a bob of black hair.

Ingo nodded, his expression growing awed and flustered. “Normally battle dancers have to have incredible awareness of the battlefield. They’re supportive fighters, primarily, but that doesn’t mean that they never go on the offensive, and everyone’s a target in a battle. So to stay close to the people they’re supporting, but not getting in the way of their attacks, while avoiding being attacked themselves and seeing opportunities to weave in--i-it’s really incredible, seeing a seasoned dancer fight. Like the whole field is their stage and each other person is just part of their performance.”

Getting a hold of himself, Ingo followed Loop’s gaze and looked down on the people passing by. “Cute~ I am a fan of ravens. And not just Mellia’s dad,” he snickered, “You might say subtle, but I think there’s something charmingly striking about black hair.”

“I suppose I just know so many people with black hair that it just feels easy to slip into,” Loop mused, looking through the crowd, squinting… before they huffed, leaning back, “It’s irritating. I keep just picking traits that remind me of Siffrin. Outside of the black hair, everything is just ‘Siffrin’ but slightly to the left. It’s hard to imagine myself any other way… but being a slightly different version of Siffrin is just… irritating.”

“So, do you think you’ll be practicing your dance fighting thing more?” Loop asked, not necessarily trying to change the subject, but more just… having two different conversations at once. Not overly concerned about what Ingo responded to as they said, “The impression I got was you didn’t practice it beforehand. Accepted your life as a booty-shaker? Which, by the way, you were clearly destined to be. Do I need to be more obvious that you have a great ass? Am I being too subtle so far? You have a fantastic ass.”

Resting his head in a hand, Ingo nodded slightly. “However things might’ve started, you are different people. Choosing your own way to look outside of them is, like…” Ingo searched for the right word. “...uplifting for an…individualistic sense of self? But on the other hand, how you imagine yourself is you, and it’s not…like… Something that Siffrin has…dibs on? Just because he’s the one that didn’t get screwed over by a god as much.”

Ingo snorted. “You two don’t really strike me as the types to enjoy being twins.”

Flushing again, Ingo let out a flustered groan, giving Loop a miserably embarrassed look. “You’ve made that incredibly clear. L-look, I…” Ingo turned even more red, glancing around like he was worried about someone overhearing, even if it was just the two of them on the balcony. “...I know I… You know. It’s not really something I can help! And you pointing it out every five seconds doesn’t help either!”

Huffing in his own embarrassment--look, he might’ve just talked a lot about not being ashamed of your body, but there was a reason he wasn’t a nudist himself--Ingo glanced to the side and shrugged. Trying for casual, and missing by a mile, his shoulders stiff. “I mean hopefully I’ll never have to use it again, but…yeah, I guess. I’m not in any sort of organized militia anymore so…no one to tell me no.”

Something occurred to Ingo, and his facade dropped, his body language ringing his worry true. “...unless wherever I go has, like…laws of pacifism that prevents practicing martial skills, I guess…”

Look looked increasingly pleased as Ingo flustered and flushed, their tone a sing-song as they said, “Theeere we go~ It took me being more blunt than I’d like, but absolutely worth it to watch you turn bright red like that. Very cute.”

“Ah, right, the marriage. The someday betrothed. The… ball princess person,” Loop said vaguely, “That’s going to be a whole thing, isn’t it. I suppose I’m signing myself up for the drama of it all, going back to Eslley with you. I suppose if nothing else I’ll be able to give you someone to whine about how ugly all the participants are.”

Ingo gave Loop a pouty look before resting on the table again, his gaze low. “Oh please, I’m sure all the princesses are going to be lovely. But…it will be nice, having you be there.” Ingo glanced over, giving Loop a small but genuine smile. “If you’re willing to stick around? Then…I’d really appreciate that.”

“...uuugh,” Ingo groaned, dropping his head onto his bicep, “I am…not looking forward to all the prep lectures I’ve missed. If anyone says the words ‘make up for lost time’, I’m going to cry. That, I’ll definitely whine to you about.”

“I’m sure they will allllll be lovely,” Loop said, still idly watching the crowd as they added in, “But you’re going to be expected to marry one. Which I think, maybe, means you should let yourself consider if you’re actually going to be attracted to all of them equally. Because it sounds like a shame if you let yourself be married off to someone you didn’t want to admit disgusts you. But that’s just me, I really would not know. Spoiler alert for things about Siffrin you might not know, but they never dated anyone before we went into the dungeon, and my dating game did not improve. I did bury my head in one of the snowmen’s chest once, trying to cool myself down… I wonder if that counts as ‘being intimate’. I was inside them.”

Loop glanced over at Ingo, before asking, “Forget the prep. I’m sure other people are doing all the prepping you’ll need. What do you want out of your future betrothed? Do you have a type?”

Ingo made a considering hum--that was…a good question, though if the snowman didn’t consider it intimate, Ingo wasn’t sure--before mumbling to himself, “I doubt that’ll be a problem…”

…insecurities aside, Ingo would be shocked if there were any princesses he wasn’t attracted to. Maybe in personality, though he did hope not, but…just by pure first impressions? Ingo had yet to go anywhere and not fall in love with someone there, his record holding strong. 

Tilting his head, Ingo gave Loop a plaintive look, before seriously considering the question. “...I want to marry someone kind. I know complete altruism isn’t something feasible for running a country but…the kind of person that holds value in kindness? I think that means a lot, for a person.” Ingo sighed a little. “I mean…ideally it’d be nice if we were relatively close in age, but that’s not something I can really be picky about. And…I dunno…”

Ingo looked off to the side again. “...being an heir, or a leader, is…really time consuming. An incredible amount of work and stress and…all that. For a political marriage, it’s not… I mean… I just… …it’d be nice if I married someone that actually wanted to spend time with me, despite all that. ‘N someone that wouldn’t just be…embarrassed by how awful with politics I am.”

“Are you awful with politics?” Loop asked, sounding genuinely curious about it. “I suppose I just took it as a given that you’d be… well, I’m not even sure what it means to be ‘good’ at politics,” Loop admitted, brow furrowing, “...knoooowing about politics? I suppose? I really don’t know what it means to be a politician. I know Vaugard has politics, and people who argue it, but I’ve only ever heard about it vaguely, a long time ago. I can’t remember what the place I grew up in did for politics at all. I really have no concepts.”

Ingo nodded slightly, his own concept not all that different, at least for a long time. “It’s like…policy. Being able to look at what’s going on in a country, and to even do that, having established ways for people to express their day to day and issues, and set up representatives for different areas and viewpoints, like religion and industry and stuff, and figuring out what would be best. A-and, like, having an idea of what ‘best’ even means! And then being able to argue those ideas, without dismissing others, and being able to create compromises that are sometimes real compromises, or things to appease certain people now so they’ll help you later, or things that just sound like compromises but are just intricate ways to say your idea and have it be better agreed with, and…”

As Ingo rambled, he looked increasingly stressed out, sweating a bit. 

“Ooooooh,” Loop squinted, “...that sounds hard. Don’t do that, that’s how you bald early, sweetie. You’re right, I couldn’t imagine you smooth-talking your way out of a wet paper bag, that is not your thing.”

“But, it doesn’t have to be, does it?” Loop asked, “I mean, you’re just getting married, it’s not like you’re running the country. Any country.”

“I knoooow,” Ingo whined, “I’m too cute for political debates. It’s why I’m meant to be a trophy husband, I guess. Just good for making goddess-blessed children one day.” 

That was really the biggest bargaining piece Eslley had. World economy capital was something they needed his marriage for, and while they would take alliances seriously, and Ingo liked to think that really meant something… The fact that Ingo had a Deity Mark that he could pass down to children in another royal line was the biggest offer they could make. 

Sighing again, Ingo rolled his head back down on his arm, pressing his forehead against his bicep. “In most places, I think so… I mean, spouses usually have some role, but usually not leading ones, if I’ve absorbed any cultural lessons right. But there are places, like…Dicea, even though I’m definitely not marrying into there, where there’s long-standing traditions of the spouse being, like…super involved with running the country. I don’t want to be total dead weight, but…I don’t want to mess things up either…”

“Why not Dicea? Some sort of enemy?” Loop asked, mostly because of just how certain Ingo was, humming a bit. “You’ll make lovely blessed babies. You seem like you’d make a good father, at least. Assuming you don’t lose the baby at a market or something. You strike me as the kind of guy who might put down a baby carrier for a minute and realize you never picked it up again halfway home,” Loop teased. 

“And you won’t be a deadweight. You’ll be, in theory, raising the next person to run the country, right? Seems like a lot of responsibility.” Loop paused, before saying, “Well, based on one kid. I guess the rest would just be extras. Which is a bit of a bummer. I hope they don’t get a complex… do you have a complex?”

“No--we’ve actually had like…no contact with Dicea until recent history. Which makes sense, since Basacta is halfway around the world, so we haven’t had much history with any of the countries there, but…still.” Ingo snorted softly. “It’s just that their only princess is a baby, so not exactly considering marriage prospects. Their royal family did write us that they’d be coming, though, so it’ll be interesting to meet them regardless.”

Laughing softly, Ingo shook his head against his arm. “Oh please don’t speak that into existence. I’d like to think I’ll be a little more put together by the time I’m a father, but that is too terribly me. My poor future children.”

(...Ingo didn’t really…even know what being a good father looked like. But he supposed it couldn’t be all that different from a good mother so…he’d try.)

Half shrugging at Loop’s point--he supposed raising the next heir waaas kind of important--Ingo hummed softly. “Not for leading. We didn’t have a country when I was old enough to understand what one was, and Leana’s always had a leader personality. In some ways, it’s kind of a relief to know without a doubt, barring absolute horror, that I’d never lead Eslley. And Mum never treated me any less than Leana.”

Ingo’s expression softened, fond and gracious, but not without a hint of guilt. “Mum did a lot for me, growing up. I know I never made anything easy, being me, but she was always…perfect to me. And my aunts practically treated me like a third son too. I really just felt like a normal kid until…” He sighed. “Well, I wasn’t anymore, and I was suddenly in a new place surrounded by people that took the weird symbol in my eye super seriously and called me things like ‘prince’ and ‘blessed’. But I already knew I wasn’t like Ana or Dad by then.”

“I… well, I was going to say ‘I imagine’, but I really can’t,” Loop admitted, shrugging, “Everything about you sounds so bizarre to me. I imagine watching you go through this process will make it sound less like some odd, bittersweet fairytale.”

Loop sighed, looking up to the sky. An endless, endless blue…

“...a part of me hasn’t quite accepted that any of this is actually happening,” Loop admitted, staring at the blue, “Not even in a ‘maybe this is another room in the dungeon that the Change God is using to mess with me’ sort of way. I haven’t seen anything new in the dungeon in a long time… I just mean… maybe I’m dreaming? Or lost it. Everything about you sounds like something out of a dream. A good or bad one, I haven’t quite placed my finger on yet, but certainly something interesting.”

Ingo looked up at Loop, just…taking them in as they looked at the sky. Part of him still stood by the apology he’d made in the dungeon bathhouse, that the first real people Loop had to talk to in ages were them. They weren’t exactly a bunch very good for normal conversations, at least past small talk, and Ingo knew his life was better suited for a crazy novel or a fever dream. 

…still, it was actually what happened, and Loop’s story was no saner from his perspective. 

Ingo smiled softly. “I’d hope a good one. If I were truly a man of your dreams, that’d be a first,” he teased, winking. “...while I don’t think it necessarily disqualifies me or any of this from being a figment, I’m quite sure I’m real. And that we’re really sitting in a beautiful marble city in the sky, as dream-like as that sounds to me. That we beat the King and…now the future awaits.”

The look Ingo gave Loop was fond. “...I’m really glad you get a future, Loop.”

“Pff. Sap~” Loop said, their tone clearly pleased, before looking back down at the crowd of people. “...you sound like a bad judge of it, overall, but… would I… really not stand out that much?” Loop asked, crossing their arms, “And I mean for real. If you tell me I’d fit in and I go and people start chasing me with pitchforks, I’m grabbing one and throwing it at you. I need a real assessment. I don’t want to set myself up to be hurt.”

Ingo grinned cheekily, before raising his eyebrows, smile fading into surprise. “Oh, I mean… No mob stuff, I promise.” He sat himself up straight again, wanting to convey his serious sincerity on that. “Like…I think people might be curious, and some questions might get annoying, but when it’d come to safety? You’re a person, just like anyone else in Eslley. As far as I’m aware, we don’t really get, like…”

Ingo trailed off, struggling to even verbalize the idea. “...race? Crime? I know Mellia’s gotten some hurtful comments before, but…not because she’s a Flutian. Just…that the only Flutian besides her some people had ever met was her mum during battles, and while that’s still awful and no reason to treat her badly, it’s more of a personal thing than…violence because of the way someone looks.”

He paused again, stretching his legs out a bit from his seat and looking up. “...Odile said you’re a celebrity here, but…I don’t think that’d be untrue at home either. The news wouldn’t be as widespread, admittedly, but…you’re a hero! And that’s something people in Eslley would recognize too.” Ingo grinned warily. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Dad’s been subconsciously working on a big ‘valiant heroes’ speech for when we get back. He’s awfully good at those.”

“Hmmmm… I do love the appeal of being ‘the big valiant hero’ somewhere Siffrin… isn’t.”

Loop paused, tapping a finger against their waist for a moment. “... I haven’t told him. So you’re aware.”

“He might know.” Loop shrugged. “Maybe he’s guessed. Maybe he’s waiting for me to bring it up. Maybe he thinks he understands… who knows,” Loop said, brow furrowing, “But I don’t know if I ever want to have that conversation with him. I know I certainly don’t want to do it now. I just… it’s frustrating. I’m sure you can guess. In so many respects, you’re right, I’m not that person anymore… on the outside.”

“But I still feel like myself,” Loop said softly, “My face changed, my voice changed, I lost all my clothes, my robe, my hat, my boots with the little heels… I lost my family. They don’t recognize me. Even if they did recognize me, they’d never treat me the same. My personality changed in that dungeon. Talking to no one but myself warped me. I couldn’t be who I was when I entered if I wanted to be… I’d just be pretending to be someone who hadn’t… done all of that. For so long. Screaming at the air.”

Loop blinked. “...I came up with the name ‘Loop’ on the spot, when you all walked in. Siffrin felt like a really pathetic lie, so I couldn’t say that. But I feel so lost…no matter what I do, I feel like I’m pretending to be someone. I’m not Siffrin to the world, but I am to me. And I’m not Loop to me, but it’s the only thing that makes sense out here. And I just… don’t know how to… be.”

Ingo looked back down, frowning slightly. A sympathetic concern overtaking him. 

He supposed he couldn’t know for sure, until Loop had just said it, but by how Loop hadn’t told the others, Ingo…figured that it was something they were keeping to themself. He wouldn’t know how to start that sort of conversation either, to be fair, let alone one…with himself. 

Ingo hadn’t meant the starry body, when he’d said that Loop wasn’t the same as Siffrin. It was the fact that, within the dungeon, Loop had just had a different life. Different experiences, different ways of handling it…an eternity of repetition and solitude. No one would be the same after that, and Loop wasn’t. So…the Siffrin that had experienced the dungeon for eons wasn’t the same as the Siffrin that hadn’t. 

But, like Ingo had also said, it didn’t mean that the Siffrin that hadn’t had a claim to identity, just because of…luck. 

Ingo looked down for a moment, not knowing where to even start with all of that…before he glanced back up. “...I won’t tell the others, so I wouldn’t just do it all the time, but…would it feel weird if I called you Siffrin when it was just us?”

Loop clearly seemed to consider it. Staring at their knees, a contemplative, uncertain look on their face. “...I think I’d rather pick a new name someday, and learn to love that one.”

“Do you want to know how I got the name Siffrin?” Loop asked, looking at Ingo, “You have to understand, when I showed up in the city? I remembered nothing. Not how I got there. Not where I came from. Not… my name.” Loop said, “I only had my robes, my hat, and my boots. And I just… existed. Knowing vaguely something was wrong, something was missing… I got things back later, but only because people would tell me stories about myself that I had accidentally told them string of consciousness style, and immediately forgot when I said it. Everything I know about myself? Someone told me.”

“And I was wandering around, fighting Sadnesses, avoiding people because all I knew about the world was that things kept attacking me and I wasn’t sure if people would be any different,” Loop explained, their tone… even. Missing the sarcasm they used so consistently that it sounded like an accent on them. Just speaking. “I was off in those forest rings. You see all those trees over there?” Loop said, pointing towards the far horizon, “That’s much bigger in person than it looks from here. I was lost in it. And a woman found me out there. I can’t remember her name now… I’m sure Siffrin still does, but I can’t. But she saw me shivering in a tree and said she’d take me to a town. And as I was following her, she noticed after a while that my memory was inconsistent. That she could get me to start remembering, and then a headache would come and I’d lose all the progress I made.”

“But she was convinced persistence would help. We walked all day, and kept doing that over and over. She’d get me talking, I’d start to remember, headache, then lose. Talk, remember, headache, and then starting all over again,” Loop said, staring at the horizon, “And at a certain point, I got angry with her. I asked her what the point of trying over and over and over again when I clearly wasn’t making any progress, and never would.”

“And then she handed me a piece of paper. She had been writing down things about myself that I had told her. That I had escaped from a dying city because my parents cast a spell. That it was the only way to save me. That my robe grew with me. That all the color drained from my city and my body and my clothes. That my hair didn’t used to be white. That this King fella she was telling me about sounded like he came from my city too.” Loop blinked. “And then she said the oddest thing, while I was looking at the list. ‘One must imagine Sisyphus happy.’”

“And then instead of answering me what that meant, she said ‘We’ll introduce you as Siffrin. Sisyphus is too on the nose.’ I still don’t know what she was referencing. But the name stuck.”

That was fair enough. Something wholly Loop…and maybe with a little more thought than a split second decision, though ‘Loop’ had grown on Ingo. Maybe just because of the person the name belonged to.

Ingo leaned forward a bit, listening attentively to the first continuous memories Loop had. Smiling a little, at how history had apparently repeated itself with Siffrin. Amazing how good forests were for meeting people, apparently. His heart warming, hearing about the woman that had found them, her persistence and…well, just the kindness of a stranger, not leaving anyone behind. 

Though as Loop got to the name origin, Ingo’s eyebrows raised a little in surprise, his head tilting to the side in thought. “...huh… You know, her abstraction did work, I wouldn’t have put that together… Though that’s an interesting interpretation to have…”

“Mmhm… so~” Loop said, the sarcasm back, as they gave Ingo a stern, expectant look. “You’ll really have to dig deep, finding the reference for my new name. Good luck, bubble butt~~ I’m counting on you,” Loop said, standing up to stretch, before casually walking off. 

Doing the same thing over and over again…but Loop was now free from that, well, loop. Hmmm, Ingo did enjoy stories about broken cycles, it couldn’t hurt to do a little research. 

“I won’t let you down, then!” Ingo responded, laughing lightly, “Just wait until I come to you with a whole list of possibilities and make you regret it.”

He did feel the impulse to get up and follow Loop, for as much as that could paint him as a lost puppy, but, uh… Ingo looked back out at the balcony view, taking a breath as even the lack of true horizon seemed to pulse a little in his vision. He’d…rest a little longer before getting back to his room. And…probably going back to sleep.

Damn Brathy being right! Again!

-

Sora laughed as his legs swung happily at the edge of the roof, wearing loosely a sun hat as he watched the clouds go by. It was a nice day out! And getting to lay out in the sun like this, to take all the time he wanted to watch a sky full of clouds lazily drift by? Listening to the sounds of the city bustle around him…

Sora smiled, feeling a sudden desire to be out there! Just… out in the world! 

Catching the edge of the roof’s lining, he swung into one of the windows, looking around to find someone to, wellllll, babysit, he knew. It was discouraged for any of them to go out alone, and while he knew a lot of his friends ignored that rule, well, Sora was a team player! Plus, it’d be more fun to go with a friend! 

Hearing murmurings, Sora knocked on one of the doors. “Ienzo! Zexion! Number whoever’s in charge! Heeeeeeeeey! Come on, come out!”

There was a pause, before Ienzo’s body opened the door, giving Sora a blank look for an extended moment. “...hello, Sora. Is there something you require from Ienzo at this moment? I’m afraid that if it isn’t an emergency, he’s rather busy at the moment.”

Zexion, well, alright, had slept for a long time, after getting Sora back. He’d really overworked himself, and not just to the point of being a bit tired and slow--he’d truly begun to struggle to function. And for everything he had learned from the Dicean Prince and the process of Roxas regaining his heart, Zexion needed to be on top of things. 

The idea of leaving a construct in someone else’s mind to block conditioning was…fascinating, honestly. Such a direct combatant that… Okay, it wasn’t like the idea had never crossed Ienzo’s mind, but the reason he hadn’t pursued that option was…even boosted by the others, he simply didn’t think he was powerful enough to achieve something that could go toe-to-toe with conditioning. 

But power requirements, to a point, could be diverted through practice. 

So once he’d regained his energy? It was experimenting time. 

Sora smirked, putting his hands behind his head and tipping it. “Busy doing whaaaat?”

But before Zexion could answer, Sora ducked around Zexion, looking around to make sure there weren’t any unfortunate test subjects hanging around, before pushing Zexion out the door. “Come on, you need to study me, right? I’m back, I’m whole, take me for a walk! Walkies! I need walkies!” 

Ienzo’s body stumbled slightly as Sora pushed it around, 4 taking a moment to right everything, especially as he conferred with 6. Unless it was for a revelation, or, like he’d told Sora, an emergency, the constructs tended not to directly contact Zexion in the middle of an experiment. “That…is true.”

Ienzo blanked for a moment before 6 gave Sora a half amused look. “What are you, a border collie? It is to our mutual benefit for you to have someone watching your back if you want to go out, and us to observe you, so on Ienzo’s behalf I’ll agree, though he is occupied for the moment.”

Heading for the front door of his own volition now, 6 gave Sora a curious look. “You seem to be in good spirits, to an almost shocking extent, though from what we recall of our time together on the island, that seems quite in line with your general demeanor. How are you feeling?”

“Ooooh, those are the black and white ones, right? I want to pet a dog! Can we get a dog?” Sora asked, snickering as he practically soared out the door, stretching out as his sunhat hung behind his neck, before reminding Zexion, “Don’t forget your sun umbrella! It’s really bright out here! I still can’t get over it, it’s so sunny…”

Their chances to see outside of the factory had been sparse, and always through barred windows. Sora was practically skipping as they headed out of the alley that they were hidden inside, pushing aside the rotted planks of wood that businesses around the area had tried putting up to make the backsides of their buildings less vulnerable. Holding the plank open for Zexion to head out, Sora looked around at the crowd going up and down the dirty pathways, before picking a random direction. 

It wasn’t too windy, so a lot of the stores and restaurants that were open in this area had pushed up and open their windows, the tapestries blanketed over the windows to create shade and shelter as guests moved the tables out more into the open air beneath them. Being able to push up and prop open the roof high windows cooled down the buildings inside, especially the restaurants with kitchens, most of the cooking happening in the back alleys so that the heat could vent up without burning up the people who were sleeping in apartments above the street level markets. 

The upper floors of the buildings weren’t strictly apartments, and there were tapestries blowing in upper floor windows, advertising what was hidden away above the stairs. Hairdressers, seamstresses, and tutoring services the ones that Sora could see off the cuff as he looked around. 

It was so exciting! Life outside of the factory! Which he explained to Zexion, “Why wouldn’t I be in a good mood? I woke up outside the factory! This is it, Zexion, this is what we always dreamed of! But not still just trapped on the island… out! In the city! Why wouldn’t I be excited?”

“Yes, they’re a herding dog similar to types of sheepdog, remarked upon for their high intelligence. If you have the means to provide for a dog, by all means,” 6 drawled, snagging a sun umbrella by the door and pulling up the hood of his jacket for good measure. A small mercy of winter, he supposed. It had been miserable still covering up to go outside during the summer. 

6 knew Zexion’s opinion of ‘real weather’, and more specifically the sun, considering their usual climate, wasn’t so…amazed. There was some awe, sure, but Zexion was just as content with the placid days on the island. Maybe even moreso, since they didn’t result in burns, or sand in your eyes, or a weird, crusty, sticky feeling from being outside. However, they were aware enough that the others were more awed, so that was something to keep within. 

It was more interesting seeing all the people around, living simple lives, but that wasn’t exactly something any of the constructs interacted much with directly. 13 was still a little grossed out by his excursion the other day. 

6 hummed softly, following Sora’s lead. “Do you find it easier to be optimistic, then? Because the others, not to mention Roxas, find and found it quite easy to come up with reasons for that.”

“Optimistic?” Sora said, giving Zexion a mildly incredulous look, like the man had said something baffling, “Why would I need to be ‘optimistic’? Things are good! It’s not optimism if there are things to be happy about.”

It could be tough to tell, when you were going to step into a wealthy neighborhood or a slum. Right around the corner from the slum they were hiding out in was a proper market, rich with decoration, entertainment, and more robust stores with fewer people actually living among them. Down the center of the pathway was a long, colorfully tiled shallow fountain of water that went down the entire market pathway. Sora lit up to see it, watching as some young kids ran through it and splashed each other, older people sitting by the fountain side and watching the kids play while chatting with each other.

A warm winter day was basically ideal weather in Luminary. The sun would still burn you if you weren’t careful, thus the hats and umbrellas, though there were plenty of people who seemed to revel in the baking heat without either. But the wind that whipped through the city was genuinely cooling, cold even, and you could wear thicker, more expensive, high class clothing without worrying about ruining them in the haggard heat. People tended to come out more in the winter, relaxed and spending more time outside, socializing in general. 

It only got ‘cold’ in Luminary closer and closer to the east. Sora had heard that closer to the border, there could even be snow! Sora would love to see snow in real life, if only just once.

Envious of the little kids in the fountain–it was generally only acceptable to do up to 5 years old–Sora smiled brightly, looking around the market, pointing past some guards lurking around as he said, “Let’s check that place out!”

It was a novelty store, filled with niche toys, odd clothes, and figurines. Basically the sort of store trying to draw in the puzzle/model trainset crowd but disguising it as being ‘edgy and hip’. Teenager paradise. 

“And yet, there are those who can find things to complain about even amid fortune,” 6 mused, “Which does paint your more appreciative outlook as optimism. So I suppose the answer is yes. Still, it does beg the question if that’s something more unique to you, or a…lightness, I suppose we can call for now, that’s applicable to all such transitions.”

…it would be nice, if it would be easier to feel positive about things once each of them had regained their heart. There was so much uncertainty now. Sure, things were awful in the factory, but at least they knew what to expect. Out in the real world? Well…some days a hyper-powerful Empath came on behalf of friends that you meddled with and proposed a deal that could potentially change your entire lives. Again. 

A greater turn of fortune, sure, but what 13 had said to Kairi held true. Regardless of Prince Kokichi’s intent, until they had the actual means in front of them, they were more or less in the same predicament. 

But that predicament did allow them to wander into town as they liked so…that was something to be optimistic about. 

Following Sora’s indication, 6’s gaze lingered on the guards for a moment before giving his companion a small nod. “Keep your mind about you, though. We don’t want any trouble.” Especially since they wouldn’t be buying anything. 

Sora waved his hand dismissively at the warning, before eagerly looking at the weird novelty puzzles. He knew they were technically in danger everywhere they went, but well… what else was new? The factory hadn’t been safe. Their worlds hadn’t been safe…sure, mostly for other people, but they had all had their moments. With each other, with other Empaths, even the people they were conditioning occasionally managing to put them in danger.

Sora couldn’t remember clearly what life had been like before he had ended up in the factory, but… he was pretty sure it hadn’t been safe then either. He was pretty sure people had literally just ‘found’ him. A starving kid wandering around with no one claiming him, being essentially saved and taken to the orphanage. Everything spiraling from there.

So, yeah, they were ex-factory workers squatting in a decrepit tavern with no legal coin wandering around one of the areas where guards would beat the shit out of you for breathing in someone important’s direction… but whatever! Still a good day! 

Sora oooo’d and awwww’d over some kickass armor that was nestled in the corner–too expensive to ever sell, Sora bet the shopkeeps just displayed it to show off they had it–before saying, “Oh, oh, Zexion, look at this world puzzle! This is cool, right?” 

It was a large wooden statue of the world, a map of the planet etched into the wood, half of the puzzle pieces laid out on the floor, showing how getting a box of the pieces would give you a cool globe to build. Sora looked curiously at the half of the planet that was built, before asking, “Are we on that side? Which one is us?”

6 idly looked around the store, mostly sticking to Sora’s side. It was very…

(Ienzo had never had a lack of knickknacks to fiddle around with, things from countries he knew and ones he had to go consult an atlas to nail down. It wasn’t always a safe bet to assume anything he hadn’t noticed before was from his parents’ latest vacation. They always had imports from all over the place coming in, novelties sent from quick friends made overseas, the latest advertisements from merchant logs. Not to mention that every other month or so they seemed to enjoy rearranging everything in the house, so it could even be something old he’d just never stumbled across.)

Kitschy. 

Humming to indicate he’d heard Sora, 6 peered at the puzzle. “...quite a bit of ingenuity, making a three-dimensional puzzle like this, and a globe fits the theme well.” Nodding once, 6 pointed to Luminary, front and center on the completed part of the puzzle. “Here. Then there’s Tiavel above Danganronpa, here, before the Forgotten Isles, and Novis below Dicea. It seems this is working off a relatively recent map, at least from what geography I know.”

“Wow…” Sora whispered, staring at only half the world, trying to conceptualize it, “There’s so many places… and all of them are as big as Luminary, right? Luminary is huge… the world must be so big… it’s exciting!”

“Admiring the three-dimensional world puzzle?” the store-keep asked, a large, portly man who reeked of suntan lotion, some of it still visible on the bridge of his nose as he grinned down at the two, “Very reasonably priced! Only two silver.”

Two silver actually was genuinely a really good price… but Sora knew that even if they had it, they couldn’t spend it on this. Straightening up, he smiled sheepishly at the store-clerk. “Apologies grandfather, we were just looking.”

“Are you sure? Bargaining is good for the spirits. Don’t want to try to talk me down a few copper?”

“Not quite, but your overall assessment is correct.” 6 was sure the square mileage of at least a few countries was information that was somewhere in Ienzo’s mind, but unlike many of the facts that came up readily available, those didn’t so…not that important to go looking for them. Especially since the real world was a little more demanding of attention. 

“Perhaps once payday comes around,” 6 gently turned down, offering the clerk a polite smile. “That would give us time to refine our haggling approach, at least.”

Sora nodded, before looking back at the puzzle… before suddenly grinning, looking back at the clerk as he said, “I’d trade some work for one!”

The store-keep’s eyebrows went up a bit, before chuckling, “Some work? My shelves are stocked, lad, and I’m not so foolish as to let you run a register for just the day… though…” The shopkeep rubbed his chin a bit, clearly just somewhat charmed by Sora’s offer and trying to think. “...I do have some deliveries that need to be made. Supposed to do it over the course of a week, bridging items to the royal district during the off hours, but if I had someone dedicated to doing it for the day? Could be good advertising, people bragging they got their deliveries early.”

6 gave Sora a dry look. Keep your head, he’d said. Don’t cause any fuss, he’d thought was clearly implied to all of them…

…but even for a non-essential, this would technically be a handshake job, and while none of them had been able to hold onto employment…

All of them had been Nobodies. It was an asinine hypothesis to posit that there was something inherent to a construct that made them unable to have employment, but…this could be a good test to see if it was easier to interact with others in a professional setting once they had their hearts back…

6 gave Sora a more considering look. “...the royal district is a bit of a trip. Especially without a map.”

…and with way more scrutiny, especially for people who very obviously weren’t supposed to be there, if the shopkeep didn’t have some sort of indication to give Sora. 

“Hmmm, well, let’s see…” The store-keep went to his counter, looking through it before taking out a piece of paper with a little ‘aha’ sound. “Gave these out to the kids last All Saints Days, they got a prize if they found all the saint statues on the maps,” the storekeep explained, showing an awed Sora the little paper pamphlet of the city, covered in graphite fingerprints and colorful chalk circles where the kid had managed to find the statues. 

Taking out a darker graphite pencil, the shopkeep circled three points on the map, all in the royal district. “I’ll only ask you to do three, that seems like two silvers worth of work. You just be sure to remember to use the servant entrances. You know what those are?”

“They’re entrances on the side of the house?” Sora asked.

“Dug into the earth, opening into the basement,” the shopkeep nodded. “There’s always a little sign to indicate the servants’ entrance. You’re looking for this,” the shopkeep said, making a small circle with a line straight through it, “That way you don’t stumble onto the house's backdoor, or private basement entrance. If you make a mistake and knock on the wrong entrance? Don’t name me, I won’t vouch for you.”

“Got it,” Sora said, taking the map, looking at it in wonder, “I won’t let you down!”

“You won’t. Now, I’m still no fool, lad. I expect one of you to leave your ID behind, so you have something to come back for. Nothing I’m sending with you will make you your fortunes to steal, but in case you’re tempted to try your luck anyway.”

“Oh, of course,” Sora said, pulling out his wallet. Portrait identification had been the one thing they had ensured workers would have, once they were kicked out of the factories. They made a lot of things easier, but especially the arresting process. Everyone was expected to have one to be seen on command by the guards. “Here.”

The shopkeep took it, reading it over… before frowning. “Do you not live anywhere, lad?”

“I was between places when I got the card,” Sora explained. 

“Hmmm… alright then. Let me go get the deliveries.”

Hm. Helpful, but not anything purpose-made. Just on hand, and reasonably so. The sort of advice you’d expect from someone used to deliveries, but no more than that. And the collateral was reasonable, but…

{You’ll have an issue if any particular guard we walk by feels bored that second. So you need to be careful, Sora. We don’t exactly have the means to pay bail, and any guard letting you out on a ‘whim’ is going to spell trouble.}

There was a slight “echo” to 6’s message, feelings of confusion then incredulity before a general sense of ‘don’t make this anyone else’s problem’. 

6 sighed softly. “...I wasn’t exactly signing up for this, when you wanted to go out today…but I suppose it is rather demanding data.” 

{Unbridled, certain confidence.}

“Come on, what else were you doing today? This gives us a reason to explore!” Sora said cheerfully, “We can’t spend all of our time at the tavern, it’s depressing. It’s time to go stretch our legs!”

“I love the gumption. Alright, here you two go. See the numbers on the address?” the shopkeep said, having written 1, 2 and 3 on the packages. “Those coordinate with the numbers I marked next to the circles. The servants will give you a receipt, don’t leave without being given one! Bring back all three receipts, the globe is yours!” 

“Thanks, grandfather!” Sora grinned, bowing before winking at Zexion, holding two packages to Zexion's one, “Come on! I bet we can get this done in a few hours, easy!” 

“I already told you what I was doing today,” 6 said, dangerously close to grouching. Having the presence not to mention that it was what Zexion was still doing, even more consciously alerted to what Sora was doing with their body. But, well. They weren’t strangers to running multiple experiments at the same time, and ones on the level of potentially getting them arrested (or an equal alternative) either, so…

The hypothesis of a lust for life continued to be tested. 

“Thank you,” 6 bowed Ienzo’s body as well, carefully holding onto the package Sora had left him, before following Sora out, checking over the addresses casually. Unfortunately each city in Luminary Ienzo had ever seen--not a lot, admittedly--were all laid out differently, so there wasn’t any expertise he could offer here, but…hm. Looking at the map this…did seem to be an efficient route…

…

After a few moments, 6 informed Sora, “7’s keeping a log of everywhere we are, just in case.”

“Thanks 7!” Sora said cheerfully, walking with Ienzo with that little skip in his step. 

Luminary was very flat. At least, in comparison to Dicea. It did have pathways that were higher and lower than each other, but that was almost always due to the way the buildings and roads had been built and dug onto into the earth, the city over time building on top of itself. 

So, on occasion they’d have to climb up some staired pathways to get to a different road, while almost immediately needing to climb down a shorter set of stairs, to go around a building that was roughly equal to where the pathway they had started on was. 

The more they went around the alleys of the buildings–straight, clear pathways were rare in a Luminary city, which was why large fountains or garden flower beds tended to be displayed in their centers, the city making use of its rare simple use of space–the more they stumbled upon other makeshift homes, people less fortunate than the Nobodies to have not found a private, walled off building to squat in. 

Sora couldn’t help but glance at the people sitting in the alleys in their makeshift tents, though most of them didn’t so much as glance in his direction as he hurried by. He wasn’t really sure what he was looking for, for a minute… until he saw it. 

A brief, familiar face. One of more than Sora could have ever counted, put through the factory line, coming out Indentured.

Sora looked away, not staring too long. Likely, the person he had seen was hiding that they were Indentured at all, which was why they were out living in a tent. Sora had been warned by his friends that a huge reason to not mention he was from the factory was to not make someone think he was an ex-Indentured. The conditioning was not wearing off. Ex-Indentureds, still easily mind controlled, just out on the street? Didn’t tend to stay there. Too valuable to leave alone.

Sora took a shaky breath as they got out of the winding pathway, approaching the cleaner, well-decorated, colorful and golden streets of the Royal District. “...things are going to be better, when the conditioning is finally gotten rid of… right?”

Another benefit to keeping an updated positional log of their movements was that from 7’s data they could expand their internal mental map of the city. Creating a puzzle piece from the journey today that could slot in with all the others they’d made since being released, all for, if needed, a 1:1 mental replica. Not just a map, but taking note of what flowers were in bloom when, the general traffic flows of people depending on the time of day, the various transitions of building materials in certain areas. Exact data, as perfect as they could manage. 

Was that something helpful to have, especially if they did end up leaving? Maybe not, beyond the map, but Zexion continued the project regardless. More information was always helpful to have. And there was always more to gain. 

6 glanced to Sora at his question. “Yes. Without a doubt, a lack of conditioning will tangibly improve the lives of those currently with it.”

“...but it’s not going to solve every problem,” 6 said a little more gently. “And those aren’t our problems to worry about, beyond our own circumstances. It’s what a lot of people were hoping for, with Queen Kaede coming to the throne, and all the new representatives advising her--new ideas to look at wealth distribution and general welfare, and likely many other categories that I’m not exactly educated on.”

“But in certain ways? Yes. Things will be better.”

“Yeah… look, I know it’s not our fault, but…” Sora huffed, putting the packages on one of his shoulders, shrugging a bit with his free shoulder, “...it still sort of feels like our fault. You know, I’ll never forget this one Indentured I was conditioning… her name was Etsi. And she didn’t fight back, she didn’t run, she didn’t beg or plead… you know what she did?”

“She spent the entire time in the factory trying to talk Roxas into killing himself,” Sora said, frowning, “She used every argument under the sun. Said he’d be better off. Said the world would be better off. That it was the moral choice. Heroic. That even if it meant she was shuffled off to a different Empath, that I, individually, would have still done the right thing. Made the world a slightly better place. She was so… calm about it. Confident. She was hard to argue with.”

“...I mean, obviously we didn’t,” Sora laughed lightly, shaking his head tiredly. “But that was a tough time. Roxas got really quiet and mean after that, and I don’t know if he ever really recovered. I remember it was Xion who told him to just tap into her emotions every time she started sounding really convincing, and feel how much she hated him. It’s harder to accept ‘go kill yourself’ as a rational argument, when the person saying it would kill you with their own hands if they could. Stops being an argument and starts being a murder attempt, you know?” Sora said, laughing lightly… before his head dipped, looking sad, “...I hope I never hear an argument like that again. I just wish things were better.”

…yeah. 

(It was hard to think about that.)

6 thought that they all had similar stories, at least once. Maybe not the same vibe Roxas had, but suicide baits…yeah. They were torturing people, naturally some would come to the conclusion that the way to make it stop was to end the torturer. 

None of their group had gone for it. Thinking about it now, Ienzo had never asked the older Empaths if any before had. Maybe it was a scary question, if the answer was yes. Like all of them refusing was a dam that someone making a different choice would burst. 

Because wasn’t that true? Not for one, but if they all had died, and there was no one to implement conditioning at all, that there would stop being Indentureds?

It wasn’t really. There would always be new Empaths found out, and all their deaths would do would be stranding those Empaths without any sort of help or solace at all, and likely even worse treatment from the facility. 

“That was good advice, from Xion,” 6 remarked quietly. Thinking about everything Sora said, how he said it… About the feelings that, in theory, he should be able to tap into full force now. Some that were the exact reasons they had made Nobodies in the first place. “...do you feel like you agree with any of those arguments? Or some of your own, with the same conclusion?”

“No,” Sora said, “But I think Roxas did. I think he convinced himself that he was evil for not giving into it, that it was just more evidence of how hopeless he was. But, well… I think you’re going to find it’s different? When you’re looking at your life as a Nobody, after everything is done and you’re whole again. It still feels like something that happened to somebody else? Which, good, right, because that had been the whole goal…”

“But when I think about watching what was happening to Xion and Roxas… I just felt sad. Defensive of them.” Sora said, “Especially the Nobodies, individually. Because I made them. I made them to do all those things, and to face all those people, and handle all those memories… it wasn’t their fault. They existed because I didn’t want to do it. And watching them blame themselves for something I made them do? It makes me… feel responsible for them. And what happened to them, and to the people they hurt. It wasn’t Roxas or Xion’s fault. It’s not yours, either.”

“And maybe it’s mine,” Sora frowned, “But that doesn’t seem quite right either. I mean, I was just a kid when I showed up to the factory. I grew up there. And that’s kind of easier to see objectively too, watching Roxas grow up. He was a kid! So was I! It feels pretty obvious the bad guys are the people who put us there in the first place. Like, if Roxas is my fault? I’m someone else’s fault. Does that make sense?”

Feeling like it happened to someone else. 

(If it was happening to someone else, it wasn’t happening to you.)

It was the point. 

“...I’m not an authority, when I say this, so keep that in mind,” 6 hedged, “But…I think that’s a good thing, to feel that sort of compassion for yourself. To feel responsible for Roxas and Xion, and the hardships they went through, I mean. Not to hold yourself culpable, but to recognize the difficulty, and the effect it had on them and…want to protect them. I think that’s good for…wholeness? Maybe? But perhaps your self-esteem as well.”

6 shrugged a little, though he answered, “Yes, I understand. It’s one of the greater flaws in Etsi’s logic, as you presented it to me. Conflating individual culpability with a systemic problem is a tool to invoke helplessness and guilt, preventing organization and change. We may have been cogs in the machine, but we weren’t the ones making the designs, if you pardon the metaphor.”

…briefly, 6…paused. Before blinking, giving Sora a look that…no, it couldn’t be. But…maybe it looked a little wary. Nervous. 

“...you were a kid when they brought you in. As yourself, whole again, does…it feel like you’ve missed out on some of those years? Between first making Roxas, and now.”

It shouldn’t. Constructs were still you, and experience was memory. If you had the memory, then that time was yours. So…it shouldn’t. 

(What did that mean for you, if you spend two thirds of your life as someone else?)

“How do you mean?” Sora asked, giving Zexion a confused look. “Between making Roxas… well, maybe? But I still felt like myself when we weren’t… you know,” Sora sighed, “‘Working’. I guess I did miss out on those years in a normal kind of way. We weren’t exactly getting to live life much just stuck in the factory all day. But I still felt like I had room to exist during downtime, while Roxas was working… well, in the early days.”

“There had been a few years there where…I’d come out, and it seemed like a ton of time had gone by?” Sora said, struggling to remember. His mixture of dissociative Roxas memories making it tough to pin down a hard timeline, as Sora said, “I remember first noticing that when I was 16, so… maybe four years ago? Losing bigger chunks of time. Days, then weeks, once a few months… and of course I didn’t wake up at all in the last six months.” Sora said, “...it’s hard to describe. Because I remember being Roxas, so I was awake the last six months. But only retroactively. I guess I lived a bunch of experiences but… haven’t…”

Sora pouted, looking for the right word. “Experienced those experiences yet… thought about them… processed? Is that the word I’m looking for?”

The dirt pathways had morphed into red-dusted brick pathways, each pathway lined up by small, intricate patterns of colorful tiles. The two went around a small statue that came up to their hips, vines growing around the statue blooming winter flowers, the statue itself of a large, panting dog with ears like blades. Following the map, they came across a household– individual houses were more common among the royal district, large, towering buildings tending to be strictly government buildings within the district as well as guard towers–where they went through the arched gate and past the stone walls, heading quickly to the side of the large home, looking for the servants entrance.

‘6’ nodded slightly, a faint frown on Ienzo’s face. That wasn’t…promising. He knew Ienzo had been aware of quite a lot even when he wasn’t moving their body or projecting on the island, but would that…be enough? They weren’t quite so naive to assume that by having a different system they would be able to bypass all the issues the other Nobodies had started to have; at the most just figuring they would be different issues, but…

Well. At least processing was something they were good at. 

There were more questions to ask, but Ienzo’s face went a bit hazy, as the two of them quietly looked around for the servants’ entrance to the house. And, just as the shopkeep had described, there it was, descended into the ground with a sign of a circle with a line through it. 

The one with the free hand between them, Ienzo’s hand knocked on the door, before stepping back, since Sora was the one with the corresponding package. 

Sora reached up to pull the bell, purely for the joy of hearing it ring, beaming up at Zexion and laughing lightly, bouncing on his toes.

After a moment, a girl opened the door, at first half hiding behind the door, before stepping out further at seeing Sora smile brightly at her. “Delivery! On behalf of the Clocks and Shocks store!”

The girl–14, maybe 15–took the package, double checking the address, before bowing back to Sora, who quickly bowed in turn, causing the girl to nervously bow back again, Sora mildly confused as he bowed back– “Wait, do I not bow last?”

“Eep!” the girl eeped, blushing hard, before explaining softly, “I-I’m higher ranking because this is the house I serve…”

“Oh! My bad,” Sora laughed, pinking, “This is my first job, sorry to make a fool of myself.”

“You’re fine,” the girl said softly, glancing nervously between them two before saying, “Wait one moment, I’ll go write a receipt,” and closing the door.

“Hee~” Sora laughed, giving Zexion a wink, “This delivery stuff is a piece of cake! We’ve got this!”

Well. That was a bit overkill, perhaps, but ultimately harmless. 6 would leave Sora to the future bells. 

Giving the girl that opened the door a small nod, 6 mostly just…watched the interaction. Fascinated by the microcosm of culture happening in front of him. The gestures associated with the fine tunings of hierarchy, the fluster of the girl, perhaps just from anyone at her door, but 6 thought there was a non-zero chance it was because of Sora, who was certainly not bad looking and had the sort of friendly charisma that drew people in (ref. The shopkeep, and how they ended up here in the first place). 6 wondered if this was something the girl would think about later today, or simply just a one-and-done experience in a line of others. If, again, all this was something that had to do with being in touch with one’s heart, or if it was Sora specific--

“Hm?” 6 blinked at Sora. “I would hope so. I don’t really want to walk all the way back to the market with these packages still.”

“I do wonder what they bought. Wouldn’t it be funny if it was the puzzle globe itself?” Sora laughed, before smiling brightly when the girl opened the door again, bowing first this time. “Miss.”

The girl turned bright red, squeaked out something as she bowed, handed them the receipt, and escaped inside. 

Sora laughed again, calling through the door, “Have a good one!” before they headed out. “Easy peasy~”

Walking down the pathways, Sora and Ienzo double checked the map, before heading to the next house, further into the royal district. The further in they went, the larger the homes became, and the sparser out they were as well. The wealthy or noble inhabitants showing off their status in the form of difficult to water and maintain gardens, elaborate decorations, stone walls with vines growing through them. 

The two deliverers were not aware that there were eyes on them, at this point. Following loosely behind.

The front gate of the next home– or, really, small manor–they went to was locked, but after some looking around, they realized there was an unlocked side gate that specifically led to an enclosed path downwards to the servants entrance. This was a quicker delivery than the last one, mostly because the servant–an older man who smelled of food and was wearing a wet apron–was clearly in the middle of things and didn’t have time to delay with them. Confirming the package, they got the receipt, before heading off to the last place, which was deep into the royal district, just off its center, where a small, private market would circle the government buildings. 

As they walked, Sora asked Zexion, “So what do you think about the idea of moving to Dicea? I don’t really know much of anything about the place. I hear it gets cold there?”

Glancing at the receipt, 6 hummed, “It seems to be what I can only assume is a game called ‘Snake Charmer’. If you’re still curious, we could likely find a copy back at the store and see what it is.”

Deliveries was certainly not a job Ienzo would’ve ever picked out for himself. In fairness, until very recently he’d never considered any job at all, other than the one he’d expected to be doing for the rest of his life, in all likelihood. He wasn’t totally physically inept--Aeleus had been one of the biggest advocates in the factory for making sure none of them neglected their physical strength, as much as they were able--but it was a lot more moving around than anything he’d consider naturally. 

But he did have to admit, it was interesting to see different parts of the city. One could just walk casually to the royal district and other wealthier areas on a whim, but that tended to be just asking for trouble. Having slightly more purpose, and one that directed you to specific areas was…interesting. 

“I’ve heard the same,” 6 answered Sora, “Depending on the area, I’ve heard that they get multiple feet of snow during the winter. Naturally, that implies that they get quite a bit of precipitation, so I’ve heard that water-based activities are popular during the summers, similar to Novoselic.”

Ienzo’s shoulders raised up minimally in a shrug. “I don’t particularly care about any location. If we would be able to receive more aid there, good. If we would be more accepted into the fold, perfect. If that would be true here, then I don’t see much point in the trip, as enlightening as some of the experiences may be.”

“What are your thoughts?”

“I’m kind of excited, myself,” Sora admitted, the two cutting through the edge of the royal market. The buildings were much nicer in this area, smaller and designed seemingly with specific purposes in mind, rather than whatever the clerks were selling adjusted to accommodate the building they were renting out. Sora was surprised that the more he looked around, the more certain he was that there weren’t any tapestries here. Signs instead made with thick oak wood that wasn’t common for the area, written in elegantly fonted Common. Sora wondered how the market withstood wind storms… but then realized, looking around, that the border of massive buildings from the rest of the city essentially protected this area from getting hit by the harder winds. So they could be more daring with their decorations.

Sora had no way to know this, but the royal district, while still distinctly Luminary, was also highly fashioning the architecture, food, and if they went in, the clothing as well, to Danganronpa styles. Thick, heavy dresses were starting to become more common among the people walking around, and while light leather armor was everywhere, there were more glints of metal and elaborate scaled armor among the patrons. Though, to be clear, only maybe 1 in every 10th person was wearing any sort of armor, and the armor was clearly decorative, rather than functional.

No one was wearing capes.

But as interesting as it was all to look at, Sora and Zexion moved quickly through the edge of the market, already the eyes of guards on them, the area clearly unwelcoming to anyone who wasn’t fitting the dress code. Hurrying through and trying not to draw attention, Sora said, “I remember talking to Riku and Kairi when we were little, about how badly we wanted to go out and see things. We used to talk about sneaking out of the factory and heading to the coast, finding a boat and just… sailing out!” Sora smiled brightly, eyes wide with wonder. “And just seeing where we landed! And now… well, it’s interesting, because in some ways?” Sora said, looking around, “I feel like we’ve already started doing that. I barely recognize any of this, it's all so weird and cool! So different from the factory! But it’s only the start, you know what I mean? Now that I’m out? I just want to keep going.”

The connection between increasing superfluousness and ill-suitedness to the environment with wealth was definitely something 6 quietly noted. Not an astounding revelation, but something to note all the same. It was…a curve, he supposed. A certain amount of wealth creating opportunities to have things extra, from what was absolutely needed for survival. It would be…survival, long-term survival, nice survival, comfort, long-term comfort, luxury, encompassing luxury, then…hm, he would have to think of an appropriate term, for self-imposed difficulty for the sole purpose of showing off the wealth you had to maintain it. The horseshoe of standing out.

…though it was evident they were on the other side of it. Best to ponder this more later. 

6 smiled softly as Sora spoke of childhood dreams. He would be more surprised if any of them hadn’t at one point dreamed of sneaking or breaking out of the factory, but Sora (and the other youths of their group) adding in a zeal for adventure afterward… It made logical sense, wanting to ‘stretch out’ as much as possible, after being confined. 

6 smirked lightly. “Is that why the island is an island? A place Kairi had sailed away to?” Huffing a small amused sound, 6 hummed quietly. “No matter where you are, there’s always something new to discover, someone once told me. I don’t think it’s literally correct, but the sentiment of finding something new in what might seem familiar, if you’re willing to engage with it, is something I agree with. I don’t think you’ll be lacking for excitement any time soon, Sora.”

Sora laughed, rubbing the bottom of his nose as he said, “Bring it on! I live for the excitement!”

The third and final place was a real, proper manor… and it was…

…odd.

Sora stared at the rusted gate in confusion, the garden–if it still could technically be called one?--of dried out, dying plants, brittle and brown with the exception of overgrown bushes, which were a dark, almost intimidating green, a strong foliage that had killed every other plant in the yard to survive themselves. There was a film on the edge of the window glasses, creating a haze in all of them, like the windows had not been washed in some time. There was a thick layer of red dust over everything as well, the red sands that colored the city edges all a similar maroon red somehow?? Having managed to collect on this manor as well. As if sheer time had allowed it to build up, despite the area being mostly protected from the wind storms. 

“Is this… really the place?” Sora asked, looking for the sign that would indicate where the servants entrance was. He couldn’t see anything. Maybe in the back. “This place looks abandoned.”

“Hah! Called it,” someone said behind them, a young male voice chuckling as Sora looked back just in time to see a man nudging the guy next to him, smirking, “Two of Crazy Maya’s whores. Told you.”

“No way, they’re not dressed well enough.” The other man, almost identical to his friend but just distinct enough to suggest ‘friends who had been perfectly content to only talk to people exactly like themselves’ rather than family. “Even Lady Maya’s not gotten that desperate.”

“The money’s got to run out someday. I bet the temple’s been sending the others as charity.”

The two, along with being similar looking, were dressed in similar high fashion. The man on the right–fair skinned, brunette hair, blue eyes–wearing intricate, scaled chainmail that chimed like bells as he notably put his hand on the hilt of his blade, which was thick and jewel encrusted and curved upwards just at his hip, and most certainly was not compensating for anything. The other man–slightly tanner skin, slightly darker brunette, green eyes– wore dark pants of a difficult to place leather, and a sheer, white blouse that had to burn under the sun, had he not been holding his own sun umbrella, and smoking a very, very long kiseru that was also unusually thick and decorated and curved upwards and, goodness, definitely wasn’t compensating for anything. 

Sora wasn’t an idiot. And he was an Empath. He knew these two were looking for trouble… but he still greeted them with a smile and a wave, “Hi! We’re delivering packages, actually!”

Both of the men laughed like Sora had said something hilarious, before one giggled, wiping at his eye, “Oh, I bet you are.”

6 double checked the map, frowning. You did get the ostentatious rich people, but a fair amount of eccentrics too (though the two categories weren’t mutually exclusive, he knew well). Though…leaving even a large house to rot was a possibility, but if the store had gotten an order from it, 6 doubted it was truly abandoned…

Ienzo’s visible eye boredly glanced up at the peanut gallery. Not as bad as he’d expected, honestly. 6 would be content to just ignore them, but as Sora piped up…

6 sighed. “Come along, we don’t want to keep up guests to any of the houses. Judging by these fine fellows’ demeanors, they seem quite eager to get to their business inside. We’ll look along the back for the other entrance.”

6 bowed Ienzo’s body to the two men, the look in Ienzo’s eye entirely disinterested. “Good day, sirs.”

{If they make any moves towards us, make me an opening?}

Unfortunately these two dumbasses seemed too clear-minded for 6 to get in…but that was something nice about being with a stronger Empath.

{Curious/annoyed/oddly excited/a little guilty about how excited/you’ve got it!}

Sora, as an Empath, had never felt a real need to make his messages pointed or coherent. He just opened himself up and poured all of himself into a message before stopping all at once, like a faucet that could only be fully opened or fully closed. He wasn’t incapable of sending clearer messages. He just didn’t bother.

“Oh, ‘sirs’, so one of them does know their place,” one of the men ‘whispered’ to the other, who laughed. 

And as Sora and Zexion walked around the manor, the two men made no secret of brazenly following them. Whispering to each other and laughing. Clearly intending to follow them for a bit.

Sora and Zexion did find a servants’ entrance. Unlike the others, this one didn’t go through a side gate first. It dipped down into a tunnel that went beneath the gate, disappearing into beneath the manor. It was a sloped tunnel, which meant in theory it was simple to bring in large cartloads of items without disturbing the view too much, which was maybe the original purpose of the tunnel. 

Right now? It just looked like a very likely dead end with no way out if they went inside. Which was very likely why the two men had been laughing, following them brazenly.

{Dangerous/fight?/they have a sword/ I want a sword :(/what if they follow us in/let’s take their sword :D/what do we do?}

…

…

(SERIOUSLY?!)

6 internally sighed, looking at the tunnel. The things people did to make labor invisible…

{We are not stealing, we don’t need guards coming after us.}

{...but we can make things uncomfortable. Give me an in.}

Was it sliding backwards a bit on their new ‘don’t mess with people’s minds’ ethos? Perhaps a little, but Ienzo had quickly found in the real world that there were certain less ethical actions he was willing to do under the reasoning of survival. He didn’t think the rich assholes following them would kill them, but whatever they had in mind certainly wouldn’t be great so…

Well, Ienzo had never really considered himself ‘nice’. 

(As much as that label was something that could pertain to a 7-year-old.)

Nodding Sora into the tunnel, Ienzo followed, mentally doing the same. 

Despite what the manor looked like, the tunnel was actually well-kept. Smoothed on the sides from use, the dirt packed in tightly. Dark, but not like the light from the sun was immediately blocked off. 

To the men, it was none of those things. Within steps, it would be like standing at the precipice of abyss, the darkness seeming to stretch on into eternity with an eerie silence, the world cut off. The ground would feel suspiciously soft, almost muddy but with a slower give, and the air would turn damp and frigid. The maw of a hostile beast before them. 

Sora nodded, walking down into the tunnel and, as he did, reaching out…

It was easy. Just like nudging his foot into their minds, creating a little hole, before reaching over to Ienzo, offering a hand out. Able to connect their minds, bridging them, like it was second nature to do so. 

And as he bridged, he got pieces of the men, clearer than just reading them from afar. The one in the armor was struggling in his new role in his father’s company. He could feel the resentment of others in the business, longer and more experienced and as far as he could tell maybe just genuinely smarter than him?? But unable to compete with his nepotist status. And the more he worked, the more he realized they were right to resent him, feeling overwhelmed with business decisions that had seemed effortless when he had been watching his father do it.

And it was making him bitter. Angry. He wanted to flex his status on people who were clearly inferior to him, to get some of that confidence he had had before his wits had actually been seriously challenged. His business aptitude was fake, but the sword at his hip was real, and maybe the world–ie, two random people–needed a reminder of how superior he actually was! 

The other guy had a crush on his friend and would literally murder people if his friend did it first. Anything to spend time with him. 

Sora felt these things about them and knew that for the first one, the conditioning method he would have used would be ‘Voices’, where insulting, chittering voices would get louder and louder and louder the more he refused an order, until the cackling, jeering voices would sound like a thunderous screeching in his mind, all overwhelming and crowding out his thoughts and simply filling him with the thoughts ‘YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO DECIDE, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW WHAT YOU’RE TOLD, THEY’RE RIGHT YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU CAN’T TRUST YOURSELF JUST LISTEN.’

The other guy he’d condition to make himself feel heavier and heavier the more he disobeyed, until his body couldn’t move. People with specific, loyal love mentalities were easy to condition into that heavier, heavier mindset. You just had to redirect that loyal, loving feeling to act as a literal weight around them. And because it was endless? So was the weight. Just a simple act of redirecting a feeling to produce a new result.

Sora took a deep breath, as both those analyses ran through his mind, making him feel…queasy. While behind them, at the start of the tunnel, the two men started sputtering, “Wh…what?”

“That crazy lady did something to the tunnel,” the other man whispered, “We can’t go down there, there’s something wrong with it.”

“Let’s just get out of here. Lady Maya’s probably going to eat them. I hear that’s what happens to the escorts. They go in and never come out.”

The two laughed nervously, clearly feeling like they got the last laugh… before both suddenly ran off. Needing to get away from that odd, otherworldly, hungry hole. 

Sora broke the bridge and laughed, looking at Ienzo, “Nice! Good job!”

6 let a slow breath out of Ienzo’s lungs, before smiling softly at Sora. “Thanks. I figured it wouldn’t take much.” 

Something Ienzo had learned--or relearned--upon being around normal people in normal circumstances again was…that conditioning was severe overkill. There had always been the impression in the factories that it was a lot, but it wasn’t until he rejoined society that Ienzo could really see the scope of just how unnecessarily all-encompassing it was. 

It wasn’t difficult to get people to do what you wanted. It wasn’t even that difficult to do it without Empathy at all. In most situations, all you needed was the slightest nudge. A few assholes throwing their weight around weren’t people looking to prove their bravery, so just the hint of unease was enough to turn them onto looking for easier targets. Drunk college students were sympathetic to someone stressing over a paper, or a weepy stranger crying over being broken up with, stresses they were likely all too familiar with themselves, and were willing to bring someone they thought of as ‘like them’ into the crowd. 

What conditioning was, was absolute control with no effort. Perfect manipulation that you could buy. A way to push to human limits, when that was something the average person never really needed. 

Revenge was a folly, Ienzo knew, but sometimes he found himself irrationally wishing that the Queen hadn’t dismantled the program, just so he could do it himself, as he’d worked on plans to for years. …but those plans had never even slightly come to fruition, so it was just…needless, residual anger, he supposed. 

Lowering his voice, 6 put a gentle hand on Sora’s shoulder, making it clear even in the dimness. “...are you alright? Is this the first time you’ve done that, since?”

“I’m okay,” Sora said, though he paused as he said it, “...I guess that’s weird, isn’t it? That I’m okay? It just felt natural. Like a muscle memory.”

Sora looked back at the light at the start of the tunnel, before he admitted, “I immediately thought about how I would condition them too. That also felt… like muscle memory. So… I guess separating ourselves didn’t entirely separate us from the process, maybe? Like, for a second, I was just thinking like Roxas… but it was me.”

Kicking the floor a bit, Sora pouted… before brightening up. “But I did feel bad about it! So that’s got to be something, right? Anyway, let’s go deliver this package and then head out. I’m hungry.”

Heading to the door, Sora went up to knock… before frowning, realizing that, yeah, there was something written on the door. A piece of paper whose edges were coated with grime to the point where it had looked like a part of the door.

Solicitors

Fucking what are you doing here?? Do I look like I have money???

Everyone else

I’m probably upstairs just go up and shout I wont automatically put a bolt in the back of your head (unless I’m drunk then maybe run and come back later)

“What?” Sora pouted, “Oh come on, we were so close! We need one more receipt!”

Tapping his foot impatiently, Sora had the good sense to hesitate for five seconds… before he pushed open the door, heading inside.

“It would be muscle memory. If nothing else, those are things we’re extremely practiced with,” 6 drawled, “A few months away isn’t going to distance us that much. And Roxas is a part of you, so the impulse makes sense.”

Ienzo’s shoulders shrugged a little. “Thinking about conditioning doesn’t mean much. It was our field, we can’t undo the pathways we carved that inform how we see the world. But we have the choice, now, not to act on it, and that has greater meaning. You didn’t do anything to them so…yeah. I’d say you’re doing well.”

Sighing a little--food would be easier to get if they were actually trading this job for money, instead of a puzzle--Ienzo squinted at the note, taking a few moments to be able to read through it…

Well. He wouldn’t trust ‘crazy’ from those two, but ‘odd’ didn’t seem as unlikely… Sighing again, 6 followed Sora inside the manor. 

At least if this Maya was drunk, it’d be even easier to alter her aim. 

Sora looked around curiously. He had never been inside of a manor before–if he thought about it, he’d realize he couldn’t remember ever being inside a house before either–and this felt like a rare opportunity to not only see inside, but gawk. 

So far… it was dirty! 

The servants station here was a basement kitchen that had clearly not been used in some time, and the last time it was used, it looked like someone had burnt the stove to  pieces, its entire top covered in soot. In the corner was a laundry room that seemed somewhat more recently used, clothes left in heaps, some of them clean but still just left in bundles next to the washing stations, like someone had put them aside with the idea of ‘finishing’ later. 

A quick look around showed a small dining room–likely where the servants had eaten–connected to small rooms, each with a bell in the corner. There were no signs of life in these rooms, and one of them was filled with stuff, only recognizable as having once been a bedroom because some of the stuff had been stacked onto an old bed. Portraits, mostly. Of a portly family, prim and proper, all of them with little drawings of mustaches and tails and fangs painted onto them. 

“I can’t believe someone lives here,” Sora murmured… before deciding, “Actually, I’m surprised more people don’t live here! This would be a better place to squat than the tavern. I mean, a fixer upper, for sure, but… look! Beds!” 

Sora beamed, like he had it all figured out… before saying, “Shoot, we’re here to deliver a package, not steal someone’s manor. Alright, let’s head upstairs! Crazy Maya just said we had to shout, right? Let’s do it!” 

Finding the stairs, Sora laughed, running up them and disappearing up them, shouting as he went, “LADY MAYA! DELIVERY! FROM CLOCKS AND SHOCKS!!”

…

It was something they’d long decided was useless to think about. 

(...but sometimes Ienzo had wondered what happened to his parents’ manor. Considering what had happened, he had to assume seized by some power or another, but…)

(...it seemed a terrible waste, to him, if all of their belongings had been trashed, labeled as foreign propaganda and too dangerous to go to market. A bit unlikely too, considering how precious any items could be in the right hands.)

Ienzo’s eyes lingered on the graffitied portrait for a moment, taking in the faces of likely old occupants. He wondered what happened to them. 

6 jolted a little, startled by Sora’s shout, and quickly sped up to follow him.

“Wow!” Sora shouted, looking around in awe at the main entrance hall he had found himself in, looking up at the ceiling as he said, “This place is huge!”

And… still dirty! And poorly lit. Sora squinting around the false wooden walls, which led up three floors to a domed skylight that should have let plenty of light in, if it wasn’t coated with red dust on its other side. Because of that, the entire area was tinted with this red haze, the ceiling decorated with elaborate flower engravings that would have suggested a theme, had at some point a ton of decorations not clearly been taken off the walls.

There were a lot of tapestries though… uh, stolen tapestries, as far as Sora could tell. They had to be, they were too functional to have just been bought. Tapestries for storefronts, road maps, Atuan temples, restaurants. It was clear the owner just liked the look of tapestries and hung them up wherever, a massive ladder still propped up next to a tapestry hanging off the second floor banister advertising a sauna lounge. 

“Lady Maya?” Sora called, “LADY MAYA? …LADY CRAZY MAYA?”

“You know, I tend to shoot a warning crossbolt at anyone who uses that nickname in here,” a voice said from above, a deeply feminine, haggard tone accompanying an increasing stench of marijuana, the two able to see the smoke puffed out before the woman leaning against the railing came into view. Holding a crossbolt and peering down at them with thick brows and a shockingly intense–and yet still somehow lazy looking–silver-white gaze, long brown hair coming over tanned olive skin like string as a tang-top just barely covered her as she glared down at them. “But… full bias admitted? You look cute as fuck. I don’t remember calling for more escorts, but you know what, I’d happily pay.”

She took a deep breath off her kiseru pipe, before peering down at Ienzo. “...you’re cute too. Sure, I’ll pay double.”

“We’re not escorts!” Sora shouted up, waving at her, “We’re delivering! For Clocks and Shocks! We need a receipt?”

The woman peered down at Sora, blinking slowly… before pouting, “Shaaaame. You’re both in the wrong line of work. Also, what, it takes two people to deliver a puzzle now?”

…definitely a co-opted manor. And while he’d had to check in on the memories, Sora’s point was well-made--it seemed odd that only one person would be squatting. Sure, maybe sticking around the royal district, especially this far in it, was more trouble than a lot of people wanted to risk…but not everyone. For an enclosed space, still with beds? Even if it didn’t have any other amenities, this was a haven for the impoverished. 

And yet…

6 looked up as Lady Maya made her appearance, his nose wrinkling at the smell of weed. Still not a deterrent for everyone but…ah. More of one. Trying to just breathe through Ienzo’s mouth, he called up, “For multiple, evidently. May we complete the delivery, please?”

Maya took another long drag of her pipe, staring down at them. Her gaze almost otherworldly in the odd red lighting, bright silver eyes catching the light through the haze of smoke as she peered down at Ienzo specifically… before she shrugged. “You need a receipt, right? I’m up here, you’re down there. Figure it out.”

Then she walked away from the banister, heading deeper into the manor.

“Wait! Hey, come on now, give us a chance to catch up! Come on, Zexion!” Sora encouraged, running up the stairs. 

6 let out something suspiciously close to a groan. He couldn’t just leave Sora alone to face some weirdo squatter with enough coin to throw around for puzzles, but…uuuugh, it already reeked just with what Maya brought with her peering at them. 

C’mon, 6, you can do this! You were made for this. Anything Ienzo didn’t want to deal with was your job, and you can deal with a horribly pungent scent that made you want to throw up for a few seconds. 

Psyching himself up, 6 gave the stairs a despairing look before forcing Ienzo’s body after Sora, bunching his hoodie over his hand and plugging his nose, hoping to avoid the majority of it until they were face to face with Maya again.

…whine. He could practically see smoke getting thicker as they followed. 

They literally did just follow the smoke, and she seemed to know they would. It was interesting: the upper floors were in much better condition than the servant quarters and the main entrance. It was like the lower part of the manor was meant to be as uninviting as possible, torn to shreds and looking abandoned, with the exception of random decorations that told the story of theft and odd eccentricity. 

Going up though?

It wasn’t ‘manor’ beautiful. In the sense that someone still very clearly lived in this space and didn’t regularly clean it. But there was a more obvious attempt to make the upper floors livable. Homey, even, silken quilts pinned up and folded like ribbons across the hallway walls, random paintings– some beautiful, some amateur– hung up around wooden walls that, when exposed, showed someone had also painted all over the walls at some point. Random flowing shapes, all manners of color, interweaving in a way that suggested the artists–there was evidence of different styles–hadn’t started painting with a plan and had just kept going until the mood left them. 

There were oil lamps on upstairs as well, and that and the open windows–all still with that film of red–led to a warm atmosphere as they followed her into a room that was covered in pillows and bedding, three desks lining the wall with a map heavily marked up pinned to it. There were balls of paper strewn about, like she had started and stopped a dozen different letters, and a large, bowl-like bed in the corner, like someone had repurposed a massive weave basket and turned it into an oddly beautiful, round bed, enough padding and bedding on it to make lounging on it look glamorous. 

Maya had gone to one of the desks and was writing up something, holding up a slit of white paper as she said, “Your receipt.”

“Ah, thank you, Lady Maya!” Sora said, reaching over to take the receipt from her, before startling as she yanked it out of his reach, more than a bit taller than him. “Wha?”

“Do me a favor,” Maya said, “Open up the box. Just to make sure it’s really a delivery. You two could be assassins, for all I know.”

“Assassins?” Sora pouted, “We’re not assassins. We’re delivery guys.”

“Sure,” Maya said. Clearly not convinced.

6 couldn’t help his lingering gaze, despite wanting to get through this as soon as possible. And it wasn’t even for their mental map, though every little thing was cataloged as dutifully as everything else. It was just… The quilts. The eclectic assortment of paintings. The paint on the walls, even, though it really wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen before. 

The upstairs of the manor just had so much…personality. Like every atom there was an etching of who’d lived there, making it seem far less abandoned and more…living. 

(The Anatomy of a House, was it…? They would look for the poem in their memories, later. Wander the copy of this place while reciting. It seemed like it’d be a true experience.)

But it still did reek. The open windows helped, a little. 

Regretfully lowering his hand as they found Maya again, 6 just shrugged and searched his pockets for a moment, looking for, ah. Not a key, but a scrap of metal that was very like one that Ienzo had found in their alley. Lauriam had said it wouldn’t be helpful for their counterfeits, so Ienzo had kept it, never sure when he’d need something small and sharp. 

Indicating for Sora to hold the box, 6 sliced open the sides, flipping the flaps open before he turned back to Maya. “Puzzle enough for you, Ma’am?” he said, tone dry but polite…and a little stuffed, 6 still trying not to breathe through his nose.

Maya, of course, had no way of knowing this… but Sora gasped when he saw the puzzle inside. A glass casing of a hundred little, glass mosaic pieces, all laid and scattered atop of each other, glistening in the light as Sora said, “I’ve put one of these together before!” 

“Oh?” Maya smirked, looking down into the box and nodding approvingly, “These are pretty, right? Kind of pricey, at least unless you’re willing to go far out into the outer city for it. Do a lot of puzzles?”

“I… didn’t think I did,” Sora said vaguely, staring at the pieces. 

“What about you?” Maya said, gaze shifting to Ienzo, “Do a lot of puzzles, kid?”

6 softened Ienzo’s expression a bit, before the curiosity bled in. Neither Roxas nor Sora had been able to recall where Sora’s fondness for stained glass came from, and the searching questions they’d asked hadn’t come up with anything. But if it hadn’t been an installed mosaic window, and a puzzle instead?

“...would be more widely available, easily transferable, quite possible, and the act can easily be meditative…” 6 quietly mumbled to himself, a revelation in the works…before blinking at Maya. “Of this kind, no. Though considering this was your order, I have to assume you do…or you’re getting into the hobby for the first time. But considering it’s the middle of winter, most people would consider that the most unlikely time to start up an indoor hobby, so I’d assume the former theory more readily.”

“Hmmm, I like artsy, gaudy things like this,” Maya admitted, “I put them together and hang them on my walls as decorations. You know, you might not be escorts, but you’re not bad looking. You should stick around, help me put it together… though,” she looked at Ienzo, raising an eyebrow, “If your nose puckers up any harder, it’s going to invert itself. Smell issues?”

“Ah…” Sora looked longingly at the puzzle for a moment… before shaking his head, “Apologies, ma’am, but we have to bring these receipts back to the shop. We traded my ID for these packages, we can’t risk the shop closing before we get back.”

“You… wait, you traded your ID for the right to deliver packages?” Maya asked.

“We’re delivering packages so he’ll give us a cool globe puzzle to put together!” Sora said excitedly, “It cost us too much, so we had to trade some work for it.”

“How much did it cost?” Maya asked.

“Two silver.”

“Hoooow many packages?”

“Three!”

Maya took a deep breath of her blunt, before digging into her pockets. Handing Sora two silver, as she said, “You don’t tell him you got that, understand? These puzzles are cool, but their material is super cheap, making you run across the city without an ID is way overpaying.”

“Ah, are you sure? Um… thank you, ma’am,” Sora said, bowing, before showing Ienzo triumphantly, “I earned coin!”

“More like the world has odor issues,” 6 mumbled, before quietly watching the exchange between Maya and Sora. He…didn’t get any malice or dangerous feelings off her, and Sora would be able to feel any before he did. Enough money to throw around to buy puzzles as art pieces, to be known by the locals to be here, but not thrown out, eccentric enough to just give money, but…

“...we’re still not escorts,” 6 said mildly, not outright accusing anything, before giving Sora a gentle nod, and Maya a bow as well, having to adjust his hood back a little as he straightened, “But if you are sure, thank you.”

“Still in the wrong field. Escorts make good money,” Maya said, giving Ienzo a long look… before she said, “You. Hold that pose.”

Sora looked at Ienzo, then Maya. “What pose, he’s just standing there.”

“That sort of grumpy, I’ve been here too long pose. Hooold, hooooooooold,” Maya said, opening up a drawer in her desk and looking around some papers, “Hoooooooold–there.”

Then, she turned around and held up an envelope. She looked at it, looked at Ienzo, looked at it… before nodding. “Mhm. No doubt.”

Then she put the envelope away in the desk and said, “Okay, you two have a good day then, feel free to show yourselves out.”

6 narrowed Ienzo’s eyes. While he really would like to get out of there and have a breath that didn’t make him want to remove his head…

“What was that about? ‘No doubt’ what?”

“Yeah, that’s weird, isn’t it. What I just did? It’s probably nothing,” Maya said, leaning against the desk and shrugging, “Everyone knows I’m Crazy Maya. Can’t put too much stock in anything I do… but~”

She smirked, taking another puff of her pipe and saying through the haze of the smoke, “Next time you visit? Maybe I’ll tell you.”

Aw fuck.

“...” 

“...you’re really trying to entice another visit by holding some ‘oh so mysterious’ esoterica over my head, banking on the assumption I’d just be too curious to leave it alone,” 6 drawled, unimpressed, some part of him burning with the fury that knew he was too curious to leave it alone. “You know, shrouding your actions and intentions behind your reputation really doesn’t work when we don’t know who you are.”

“You don’t?” Maya asked, sounding genuinely bewildered, “How did you miss me, I’m a local legend. I’m Crazy Lady Maya Momota.”

“Crazy lady Maya…” Sora paused… before squinting, “No you’re not.”

“Yuh huh.”

“No, nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh.”

“You can’t be a Momota, they all live in the capital. And the royal family is, like… literally a handful of people now.”

“They live in Novoselic too, there’s a Momota there. Dicea too.” Maya shrugged. “And one here. But theeeeeen I bet one of you knew that already.”

This was not the metaphor that Ienzo’s mind commonly manifested in. But if you are willing to suspend disbelief for dramatic effect, imagine, if you will, a large conference room, filled to the brim with constructs. Some of Zexion’s constructs had permanent, dedicated jobs, so they were rarely ‘seen’ among the others, but generally, the constructs milled around the ‘office’, making Ienzo’s brain processes more efficient, refining old memories, taking note of the physical world even when not in charge to jot down things one of them might’ve missed. 

At that moment, though, it was like they all froze for a moment, before a tornado warning started blaring, red flashing lights illuminating the sudden chaos. Papers everywhere.

Momota. Momota, not in the capital. Momota, living, not Kaede, not Byakuya, not Kaito. 

Maya Momota. In Chonis. 

Expression completely blank, Ienzo’s body mechanically turned around to head back out of the manor. They had already been dismissed. 

(It was…very reminiscent of some of the worst times in the factory, when Ienzo had needed to go to one place from another.)

“One of us knows… hey, hey, where are you going? Ze… uh,” Sora glanced back to the woman, who smiled and gave him a little wave. He bowed to her. “Thank you for, uuuuh, well you know! Bye, Lady Maya!” 

“Come back anytime~” Maya called, as Sora rushed after Ienzo. 

“Zexion, Zexion? Are you okay?” Sora asked, catching up to him on the stairs.

“Ienzo is functioning,” a detached voice responded, Ienzo’s body still moving steadily towards the second set of stairs and the servants’ quarters they had passed through. The internal map coming in handy right away. 

(Small mercies. She didn’t say anything. A clue more blatant to him than to Sora, and Sora wasn’t the type to pick up on those kinds of things. Would he return, though?)

(Bad bad bad bad he can’t)

(We can’t change others’ actions, only our own)

(WE CAN’T)

(She may not say anything even if he does? If this is just a game to her, then…it’d be no fun without him playing, right?)

(This was not a game, oh gods, they were going to throw up…)

(No. We aren’t. We can’t afford the dehydration or loss of food right now.)

(We need to get back to the shop, turn in the receipts, get Sora’s ID back, and go back home. Those are the actions that need to be completed. Nothing else matters. Get it done.)

“Um, okay?” Sora said, keeping step with Ienzo as they headed out of the tunnel, and up out into the pathways.

They walked in silence for a bit, Sora sort of hoping Ienzo might just… need a minute. Before he said, “You know, if she scared you, we can get some of the others and go make her apologize. I think she’s a noble, but that doesn’t mean she can do whatever she… did?” Sora asked, sounding uncertain, “We’ll back you up!”

(Scare…ha.)

It was some time before Ienzo spoke again at all, just seeming like he was back to nearly wholly ignoring the people and world outside of his head. Just like the factory. 

But things weren’t like the factory. 

Quietly, Ienzo’s voice murmured, “...sorry, Sora. This is 2, I’m…going to need you to promise never to bring up that I’m in control right now, or what I’m going to tell you. I know that’s not fair to ask, but I can’t let the others know about this yet.”

2 glanced over at Sora, not breaking stride, but his expression regretful. “Lady Maya didn’t do anything wrong, necessarily, and we don’t need to bring the others into this. I can’t explain much more, but she’s involved with Ienzo’s past. Things he and the others prefer not to think about, so it’s kind of major damage control central up there right now.” 2 offered a shadow of a wry grin, glancing up at Ienzo’s head.

“O-oh, um… okay?” Sora said, giving his friend a concerned look, “...um… look, Zexion, if you… you’re not in this alone, okay? And I don’t mean all the you’s in your head. I hope if you need me? Need any of us? You’ll lean on us. We’re your friends, and…”

Sora sighed, “Just know you can count on me. No matter what. Okay?”

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” 2 said, sounding weirdly grim and…determined.

He was quiet for a few more moments before telling Sora, “...I think something’s wrong with Ienzo. More than the obvious. And…I don’t think Zexion can help this time.” 2 gave Sora a look of importance. “I think he’ll impede aid, actually. Which is why you can’t let on that I’m talking to you like this, okay? I…have some ideas, but I need time. Just…remember this, if the time comes.”

2 smiled faintly. “I’m counting on you, and the others, and maybe that prince too…with his friend. Ienzo will be counting on you too.”

“Okay, Zexion… and…” Sora smiled, “I think the rest of you are going to be too distracted by whatever's going on to care, so… I just wanted to say thank you? Today’s been amazing. I know you had other things you wanted to do and we’re not that close but… you really came through for me today! So I’ll come through for you.”

Sora brought up a pinky. “I promise.” 

2 softened Ienzo’s expression. “...despite what difficulties we may have expressing it at other times, you’re our friend, Sora. What you’ve gained back is a precious thing, and if it’s what’s allowed you to desire to live, rather than just survive, I think that’s a worthy pursuit of being. And it’s something I want to encourage, as someone that cares about you.”

(None of them had ever said it. And it was something they hardly ever thought, either. But the Nobodies were Ienzo’s family. Even if he couldn’t do anything for anyone else…he wanted to be good to them.)

(They were worth caring about, and Ienzo cared so much.)

2 gave the pinky an amused look. “...hold on, moving our body a lot might draw some attention.” Though, after a little longer of walking, Ienzo’s body did a mildly odd movement, almost like there was too much oomph to the upswing of an arm, and, briefly, his pinky connected with Sora’s. 

“Thank you, Sora,” 2 said softly…before giving the younger man a more amused look, “And sorry you’re going to get…what did Demyx call us? Stone Lord Ienzo, likely for…a few hours, I’d guess, if not the rest of the day.”

Sora giggled, giving Ienzo a nod. “That’s okay. It’ll be a nice walk.”

Whistling lightly, Sora and Zexion headed back. Triumphantly getting Sora’s ID and puzzle back, and Sora buying the tavern some food for everyone, ending a strange, interesting day.

-

Shuichi walked into the bedroom, before shivering. “Did the fire go out? Why is it so cold–Kaito?”

“Shhhh,” Kaito whispered, not looking back at Shuichi as he waved his hand to shush him, staring intently at Miyako, “I’ve figured it out, Shuichi. The trick to make her like water…baby hot tub.”

“Kaito, that water is steaming!” Shuichi said, heading over quickly as he looked aghast at Miyako, who was sitting in her little bathtub bucket on the window seat, the window wide open. A little hand towel placed on her forehead to catch sweat as she peered up curiously at Shuichi through the steam. “How hot is that!?”

“Not that hot,” Kaito said, dipping his finger in, “It just looks like it's steaming a lot because it’s so cold outside.”

“It’s freezing out there, Kaito, why is the window open at all!?”

“To make the baby hot tub feel more appealing, Shuichi! Look! Look at how chilled out she is!” Kaito insisted, reaching in to rub Miyako’s feet a little, Miyako still looking curiously at the exasperated blue father. “She doesn’t like The Wet, but she loves The Heat, sooooo in this instance, I think the love of heat beats the hatred of wetness.”

“Kaito, you’re going to get her sick,” Shuichi scolded.

“Nooo, she’s fine. The steam’s keeping her head toasty too. Well cooked soup baby~” Kaito singsonged, “Warm little bread roll.”

“I’m closing the window, Kaito, go put more logs on the fire,” Shuichi said sternly. 

“Awww, but baby hot tub time… fiiine.” Kaito sighed, getting up to go do as he was told.

“I know she’s getting bigger every day, but she’s still not even one yet, Kaito, we have to be careful with her! I have no idea when babies can safely be in hot water! Maybe never!” Shuichi insisted, closing the window and grabbing a towel nearby, picking up Miyako from the tub and wrapping her in it, “Oh, my poor baby, left with her stupid father.”

“I am certain she can be in warm water, handsome,” Kaito said, deciding not to take the ‘stupid’ comment too personally while Shuichi was in fussy dada mode. “Kids start swimming at six months old! Miya’s almost a year old! Oh… Miya’s almost a year old,” Kaito suddenly whispered, eyes growing wide and wobbly.

Shuichi huffed, holding Miyako to his chest, who almost immediately leaned her head against him, starting to snooze. “We have a few months still before we hit that benchmark. Go get one of her onesies, the heat clearly made her sleepy. We’re drying her up and putting her to bed.”

“Ooooh, let’s put her in the bear onesie. Time to hibernate, Miya,” Kaito cooed, bringing Shuichi the clothes as his husband finished drying her.

The two dried her off and got her dressed, Miya fully asleep already by the time they had put her back in the crib. Kaito stared at her for a bit–little sleepy bear Miya!!--before heading back to his husband, who was changing out his jacket now that the one he was wearing was wet, wrapping his arms around Shuichi’s back and resting his chin on Shuichi’s shoulder. “I missed you.”

“Kaito, Maki and I were chatting in my study for maybe two hours,” Shuichi reminded him, “Where’s Kokichi?”

“I dunnoooooo,” Kaito pouted, “Hanging out with someone. Someone who’s not me. You both abandoned me and Miya. We had no choice but to enjoy baby hot-tub time. Mmm…” Kaito closed his eyes, kissing Shuichi’s neck. “I want grown up hot-tub time too~”

“Isn’t that a shame for you,” Shuichi huffed, “We’re on baby duty.”

“Let’s find a babysitter. Go sit in the hottub with me. We’ll be warm and wet and naked and it’ll be awesome.” 

“Naked?” Shuichi said, pretending like he had no idea why Kaito was so needy right now as he said, “I’m pretty sure being naked isn't a requirement of the hot tub.”

“I want to blow you under the water until I pass out,” Kaito whispered against Shuichi’s ear.

“Kaito!” Shuichi said. Not scandalized, just a little genuinely concerned as he turned around, giving him a worried look. “You don’t mean that… do you?”

Kaito pouted a bit, looking a little chastised as he shrugged. “Kind of? It wouldn’t hurt me. It’d be exciting. Come on, don’t look at me like that, you’re going to make me self conscious. You like to make me submit, right? I feel like being submissive today, what’s wrong with that?”

“Making you pass out in a hot tub sounds more than submitting…” Shuichi said uncertainly, taking Kaito’s hands and sitting down with him on the bed, leaning in to kiss him. “Stop pouting. You want something exciting, right?” Kaito nodded, Shuichi humming in thought. “Okay… give me a second to think about it. We can think of something safer than keeping your head under boiling water.”

“I still don’t think it’d be that dangerous. Maybe for our ‘Kichi, yeah, but not me,” Kaito said, sticking his tongue out a bit. “But alright… wait, does that mean we’re going to do something?” Kaito asked, smiling excitedly. 

Shuichi smirked, rolling his eyes. “Why not, it’ll be fun. But we need to find a babysitter. Not Tim.”

“Agreed, agreed. Could see if Ikuo would mind? Maybe Hideki?”

“Hideki?” Shuichi asked, “Really?”

Kaito shrugged. “Sure, why not? He’s not bad with Miya.”

“Sure, we’ll ask him… What are you actually craving?” Shuichi asked, a few different ideas spinning in his mind now. “You want something exciting, but there’s different versions of that…”

“Pressure,” Kaito said, used to this type of question, “I want it to be difficult. To put some sort of pressure on me. Maybe even a little uncomfortable? Not hitting, but–”

“I know no hitting. Still, feeling masochistic today?” Shuichi said.

Kaito snickered, leaning in to place a peck on Shuichi’s lips. “Which is why I’m very, very lucky to have you~”

“True,” Shuichi said, petting Kaito’s hair back a bit, before glancing over at the closet, “...you were really embarrassed, once, at the idea of being seen in those cat ears.”

Kaito blinked, following Shuichi’s gaze to the closet… before he turned bright red. “No, those are cute Kokichi things!”

Shuichi raised his eyebrows. “...is that a real no, or you playing into this?”

Kaito’s left eyebrow twitched, an uncertain, wary, excited grin stretching across his face. “...I want my safe word to be ‘Too much’. Because that’s something I might say if it really is too much and I can’t remember that I even have a safe word. Also, double tapping you with my finger,” Kaito said, reaching over to tap Shuichi’s arm twice with his finger, smirking, “For when my mouth’s full.”

“Understood. So…do you want to risk being seen in the cat stuff?”

Kaito’s grin turned into that odd mix of a grimace and excitement. “...no.”

Shuichi smiled, leaned in, and kissed him. “I’ll go find a babysitter. You go get dressed. And I mean all of it.”

Kaito shivered. 

-

Hideki, surprisingly, was the easier to find of the two that day, and was, still surprisingly, very down for watching Miayko a bit. It seemed to help that Miyako was all snoozy and would likely just sleep through his sitting. 

He had asked Shuichi what their plans were, and Shuichi had said they were just doing a ‘date day’. 

And they were! This was absolutely a date day. Just… maybe a somewhat unconventional one, as Shuichi looked around the hall, before calling back, “You can come down.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Kaito whispered to himself, shivering as he hurried down the hall, Shuichi smiling warmly at him in a way that was so condescending that Kaito glared at him, whispering, “D-don’t think you wouldn’t be more e-embaressed than me, if we’re caught. I-I’m made for stuff l-like this.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anyone see you,” Shuichi promised, looking up at the cat ears poking out around Kaito’s carefully waved, tufted hair, “If we stumble across someone, you’re allowed to take it off before they get a chance to see.”

“A-and the other stuff?”

“The ribbon’s a fashion statement,” Shuichi said, looking at the red ribbon they had stolen from Kokichi’s arts and craft supplies, wrapped in a bow at the front of Kaito’s neck, “And… just keep your back towards the wall? I doubt anyone will notice. Maybe it’ll just be another fashion statement?”

“J-jackass.” Kaito said, a shaky grin on his face as he shifted his weight uncomfortably, Kokichi’s–because this was supposed to be a cute Kokichi thing, dammit!!-- tail up and over the back of his waistband, swaying behind him as they walked, its front part pressing forward and down that was just… agonizing to walk with. 

Kaito wished it hurt. It’d be so much easier to walk if it hurt. It did not hurt. “W-where are we even going???”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Shuichi admitted, “Where do you think it could potentially be busy?”

“Too much.”

“I was kidding, but okay,” Shuichi smiled warmly, kissing Kaito’s cheek, observing him for a moment… before whispering, “Do you want to see if Aiichi’s office is empty?”

Kaito’s eyes widened, clearly blue-screening. Shuichi watching him with some amusement as Kaito struggled with his horny side, his rational side kicking and screaming against it… before stammering out in a hushed, regretful tone, “T-too much, Kokichi wouldn’t like it.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, “I thought that might be the case. Just wanted to watch you force yourself to say no.”

“B-bastard.”

Shuichi was about to come up with another outlandish suggestion to get Kaito to panic a little– should they go find Waku? See what she thought of the ears?--when they both stiffened, suddenly hearing footsteps. “Off, off, take it off,” Shuichi whispered.

Kaito quickly took the cat ears off, hiding them behind his back and leaning against the wall, trying and failing to whistle as Shuichi straightened his clothes, both of them trying to play it off like, oh yeah, they were just hanging around in some random hallway, just hanging out like princes did, nothing weird about it as Hajime turned the corner, looking up from a book he was reading as he gave the two a startled look. “Oh, hey. Shuichi, Kaito. You two just come in from the cold?”

“Huh?” Kaito said, knowing damn well his eyes were too wide as he grinned at Hajime manically, “What makes you say that?”

“You’re really red.”

“Just came up from the sauna, actually taking a breath from walking up the stairs. Overdid it,” Shuichi smiled, “Studying?”

Hajime looked down at the Luminary text he was reading, nodding. “Mhm! Preparing to apply for the ambassador role. Did you guys know that almost thirty percent of their economy is from their mines?”

“Wow, really?” Kaito lied, as Shuichi responded honestly, “Yes, we know.”

“Oh… right, of course you’d know,” Hajime laughed, “Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. Also, you guys should probably drink some water, you really are just crazy red…” Hajime’s eyes grazed down to Kaito’s neck. The ribbon there. Kaito’s odd posture. The sheer fluster coming off both of them…

He didn’t know what was happening, exactly. But Hajime had been accidentally caught up in enough of their bullshit to realize, “Nope, I’m leaving. Don’t want to know,” before determinedly walking off.

“Bye, Hajime!” Kaito called, before laughing weakly as Shuichi put his face in his hands and groaned, “Hey, that one was not my fault. And Hajime’s a bro, he won’t tell anyone.”

“I’m choosing to believe he just needed to leave suddenly and wasn’t aware anything was happening at all,” Shuichi grumbled, “Put your cat ears back on, we’re going to the mirror room.”

“Fuck yes,” Kaito whispered, eagerly following him. 

-

For all the chaos that came with a whole nation suddenly unfreezing and being brought forward a …long but indeterminate amount of time, things were relatively calm. Ingo had carefully recovered his energy back, Mellia was tearing through the collective magical knowledge of Vaugarde (which was quite extensive) back on her original mission, Brathy had gotten to know many of the Housemaidens and had been trading tips and tricks on healing magic with those that practiced, and Jeremiah had been dragged through the city by his mother, Courtille getting to know their new upward neighbors and volunteering four hands and a set of wyvern wings to whatever matters the Vaugardians had needed to settle in reestablishing themselves. 

Things really felt like they were…settling. And it made Ingo all too aware of the final leg of the hero’s journey--something he’d talked about with Eddie as well--the return home, changed. While that was still true, Ingo was looking for a little more change, especially since Siffrin and the others had returned, so with their incoming departure on his mind, he headed out to find some people he’d really like to get to know better before correspondence got a little harder.

Ingo would have to be directed a few times, but he’d find, in fact, the whole family hanging out on a balcony in the sun together.

Odile was sitting on a bench near the wall–she didn’t do well with heights, and this kept her from seeing the view–and was writing in a book, a woman that looked a great deal like Bonnie sitting with her. Siffrin was on the other side, sitting on the balcony rail itself, watching as Isabeau hefted Bonnie up, who was standing on his hand, calling to Mirabelle, “You ready?”

“Go!” Mirabelle said, putting up her hands, energy starting to warp around her.

Bonnie cackled maniacally as they were tossed up into the air, shouting “WOO!” as Mirabelle shouted out a spell. Isabeau waited to see if he’d need to catch them, but Mirabelle’s spell caught them, Bonnie slooooowly floating down, before lightly bouncing off the floor. “THAT WAS AWESOME!!”

“Well done, Mirabelle. Between this and saving all of Vaugarde, they may make a Housemaiden of you yet.” Odile smirked. 

Siffrin clapped a bit, smiling lightly… before his eye caught Ingo’s. “Hey Ingo. Want to hang out with us?”

“Whoa…” Ingo gaped, of a similar mind to Bonnie’s reaction at the display of magic. It wasn’t like something he’d never seen before, but it was a type of casual use he hadn’t really seen in…a while. It was impressive all the same. 

“Ah, hey!” Ingo waved, giving Siffrin a grin. “Well, if you’re going to give such a gracious invitation, I couldn’t possibly refuse, hm?” Laughing with a wink he walked a little more confidently forward, giving the others friendly nods as well. 

“Was that a feather fall spell?” he asked Mirabelle, a laugh in his voice, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one cast in such a fun way before.”

“Oh, yeah,” Mirabelle smiled shyly, “I sort of struggle to use them under pressure, so I try to practice with them when I can. They’re a lot of fun to use casually, but I really need to be able to use it on command if it’s important…” she said, looking to Odile.

Odile huffed, “Don’t bring it up. I’ve forgiven you. You got the spell cast eventually. We all survived. Just, you know, one of the most terrifying moments of my life, that’s all.”

“Geez, what happened?” Fleur, Bonnie’s sister, asked.

“We all fell off a Mage’s Tower,” Bonnie explained, swaying happily, “And we all grabbed each other's hands in this big circle thing to slow our fall? And Belle couldn’t cast her spell for a bit because everyone was screaming at her and she got freaked out.”

“Ugh.” Odile shivered.

“Hey, we all made it just fine, it’s fine! Those are the sorts of stories we’ll love telling when we’re all older,” Isabeau laughed. 

Ingo leaned against the balcony, a sheepish, understanding grin on his face as he twirled some of his bangs. “It’s a different beast, using any sort of technique in practice and then in do or die. Pressure isn’t always a helping hand.”

Sometimes it pushed you past mental barriers into something you’ve been trying to do your whole life. Others, it nearly got you killed. Quite the gamble. 

Ingo’s eyes widened a bit, hearing Mirabelle’s ‘nearly got you killed’ moment. Yeesh…yeah, he agreed with Odile’s shiver there. “Terrifying,” he murmured. 

It had been terrifying when Siffrin had jumped from their falicorn’s back, way back when, and even knowing a slightly better safety net like someone with you knowing feather fall…still terrifying. Especially with Mirabelle getting too freaked out to cast it.

Snorting a little, Ingo mused, “I’m not so sure how many people will believe even just the story we had together, but that certainly doesn’t diminish the fun in telling it.”

“I mean, I believe you all one hundred percent, and I still have a hard time believing half of what I’m hearing,” Fleur said, crossing her arms and huffing, her biceps flexing as she did so, “To think my little sibling did all of that…”

“Oh, Boniface was quite brave,” Odile said, Bonnie keening in a massive grin at the compliment, “There were a few moments where we would have been in quite a bind without their help.”

“You’re thinking of the cave-in, right Madam Odile?” Isabeau asked, Odile nodding as he chuckled, “That was a scary one, I’ll admit. A building collapsed around us while we were fighting through a horde of Sadnesses, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it out. We were all pinned in different areas, we could hear each other but none of us could really do anything. We couldn’t hear Bon-Bon at all and I was afraid of the worst.”

“It would turn out, Bonnie wasn’t wasting breath, because they were shuffling through the wreckage to get out,” Siffrin explained, “They said they were going to get help, and, well… they did.”

“They were so clever! They found a Sadness that we knew expanded when it was put under stress?” Mirabelle said, “And Bonnie lured it to the wreckage, before pushing it inside. Realizing it was under attack, it swelled in size, and Odile was able to get out and finish it off, before saving the rest of us.”

“Wow, that’s brilliant!” Fleur said, before squinting at Bonnie, “Where’s all that cleverness when it comes to your studies?”

“Studies are boring. Saving my friends’ lives is better.” Bonnie shrugged.

Ingo listened, awed. He’d gathered by this point that Siffrin had had a full-on adventure before they’d met, that things hadn’t just started with the last defense in the House, but hearing the adventurers’ exploits…wow. 

“Ingenious,” Ingo had to agree with Fleur, before giving Bonnie a cheeky, approving grin, “And I’ll have to agree with that. I’ll accept disagreement, but I doubt I’ll ever be swayed from the ‘saving friends’ lives’ camp.”

“It is a heck of a rush! Though… if everyone I know and love could stop being in danger for, ah, I don’t know, let’s say forever?” Isabeau laughed, “I’d appreciate it. You guys have taken years off my life in stress alone!”

“I’m not planning to do anything more dangerous for a while,” Odile shrugged, “Advising on the best way to rebuild our country should keep me busy enough.”

“You sound sarcastic, but I know you absolutely mean it, and that’s a little terrifying,” Mirabelle smiled, “You sound nefarious. Like Jafar! From Alladin?”

“Oh, oh, I know that one! Jafar’s the person who secretly runs the country as the sultan’s advisor, right? Doing schemes and stuff?” Bonnie asked, before peering at Odile, “...yeah, that sounds like Dile.”

“Thank you, Bonnie. I hope to be as thorough as Jafar is,” Odile smirked, “At least for our section of the city. Though who knows? Maybe I’ll conquer the entire country.”

Fleur squinted at her. Entirely uncertain if she was kidding. Everyone laughed, and that did not clear up anything. 

“Ingo’s going to go back to rule over a country too,” Siffrin said softly, “Not his, but one of the others. He’s going to do great.”

“Oh yeah?” Isabeau grinned, looking at Ingo–puffing up his chest a bit–as he asked, “Wow, sounds important!”

Ingo laughed a bit with Isabeau, whole-heartedly agreeing with him. It was amazing, everyone having gotten out in one piece…and Ingo would be lying if he said his sister’s pride didn’t feel incredible. But he’d much rather never have to do anything this dangerous again. Everyone just staying safe for the time being. 

Alladin…oh! Ingo perked a little--Bonnie’s explanation very helpful--the name pinging in his head. Siffrin had told him about that story! Though referencing a different character. Hmmm, maybe he should make an effort, maybe accompanying Mellia, to see if he could find that…1000, something, collection of stories. Learn a little more of his friends’ culture. 

Since…

“E-eh?” Ingo startled lightly, blinking at Siffrin before flushing lightly, looking a bit sheepish at their boasting. With a half-grin, he twirled some of his hair anxiously. “Ah, well, yes, it is pretty important, but, uh…less about the leading stuff. I…really don’t know how involved I’m actually going to be, wherever I end up. But I’m planning on doing my best for the role I end up with.”

Trying a little too hard to casually shrug, Ingo explained, “That’s what the ball invitation you’re all invited to is for--though I do promise to send proper ones once I get back home. It’s…my betrothment ball, for figuring out who I’m going to marry.”

Everyone stared at him.

“...oh,” Fleur said, tilting her head, “...congrats?”

“What, you’re engaged?” Isabeau said, laughing suddenly, “That’s great!”

“He doesn’t know who he’s engaged to, Isabeau, please have more restraint than that,” Odile sighed.

“You don’t know who you’re going to marry… A ball to figure out who you’re marrying?” Mirabelle said, clasping her hands together, pressing her palms tight… before her face scrunched up a bit, “Ew? That’s really gross?”

“Mirabelle,” Siffrin frowned, tone chastising.

“I mean obviously we can expect certain cultural differences,” Mirabelle quickly added in, still frowning… before shuddering, “But still: ew.”

…ew?

Ingo immediately started sweating, his shoulders curling in a bit, his gaze dropping to where he was fussing with his fingers. “I-I mean…it’s…” he mumbled, voice pitching a little higher before he cleared it, “This…is the alternative we decided on, rather than cold writing. Seems…nicer, maybe, to meet people before proposing…”

“Mmm,” Mirabelle wiggled her shoulders uncomfortably, clearly trying to bite her tongue as everyone gave her pointed looks… before she burst out, “You shouldn’t just meet someone before proposing! That’s gross! You should love them! At least know them??”

“Mirabelle,” Odile said stiffly, “We’ve talked about this.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s just wrong to not say something. You can’t just nod along when something bad is happening, you need to speak up or it will just keep happening,” Mirabelle insisted. “People shouldn’t be forced into love! For any reason! It’s gross!”

“Mira, come here,” Isabeau insisted, placing a hand gently on her back and taking her aside, giving Ingo an apologetic smile before quietly talking to her in the corner. 

“Belle’s got weird issues with love stuff,” Bonnie explained to Ingo, “You should have seen her when Siffrin pointed out our bonding earrings are to prep us for marriage–”

“THAT’S STILL GROSS AND I STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO FEEL ABOUT WEARING THEM!” Mirabelle called from around Isabeau, who laughed lightly before redirecting her attention.

“What we’re saying is please forgive her, she can be a bit careless with how she says things,” Odile sighed. 

…yeah. 

Ingo attempted a weak smile at Odile and Bonnie, though his gaze still couldn’t quite meet theirs. “N-no, I understand, I w-wouldn’t want Mirabelle to feel uncomfortable speaking her mind around me. I-it’s not… I mean, I get…” Ingo looked to the side, something a little…defeated about him. “...mostly, I agree. It’d be nice, getting to know someone and falling in love before marrying them.”

With a breath, Ingo picked himself up with false cheer. “Just isn’t always how things shake out.”

He gave Siffrin a curious look. “Bonding earrings?” 

Siffrin shrugged, before pointing at their own ears. “Not my thing. My ears aren’t pierced.”

“It’s not very prevalent in my culture either,” Odile said, “And I wouldn’t practice it myself, I have earrings just because I like them. But for Vaugarde? When you’re married, you wear an earring that represents your partners, and your partners wear one that represents you. And what Mirabelle takes such offense to, is, well, if you look around…”

Odile gestured to everyone, their earrings all glistening in the sunlight, Bonnie smirking as they wiggled their ears. 

“Everyone here had their ears pierced when they were babies. Vaugardes pick what earrings they wear as they grow up, of course, but they don’t really have a choice or not in opting into the bonding earring practice. When Siffrin pointed out that their ears being pierced as infants was to prep them for marriage, Mirabelle had a bit of a fit.”

“IT’S MAKING A BUNCH OF GROSS ASSUMPTIONS!” Mirabelle shouted from around Isabeau, who shrugged, giving up as she darted around him, insisting, “AND SEXUALIZING INFANTS! It’s terrible!”

“Ooh…” It took until just then for Ingo to realize that…yeah. Every Vaugardian he’d met had had their ears pierced. He…supposed it just hadn’t been all that noteworthy to him, considering his ears were pierced too. 

Honestly, the practice of wearing earrings to signify your partner sounded quite cute to him…though having your ears pierced as a baby? 

“Well…” Ingo hummed, half to himself, just working out his feelings on the matter in real time as he fussed with his bangs, “Marriage isn’t inherently sexual, and it is pretty easy to let the holes close up if you don’t want a piercing anymore…but I do see the point about having them in the first place…”

Ingo tilted his head a little. “Phoenix told me once that there was an ancient Myprosian practice around tattoos, though I don’t remember exactly what they all signified. It was pretty involved. I know some of it was to obscure who had a Deity Mark and who didn’t though, making it more difficult for people to judge fights… She said it was eventually outlawed because of consent concerns. I guess it’d be kind of like that.”

Again, everyone gave Ingo a bewildered look. “Interesting,” Odile finally said, “Would it be alright to see the mark you’re speaking of? You have one, yes–”

“THEY TATTOOED BABIES!?” Mirabelle squealed, looking horrified. She started to sway on her feet, looking a little ill, as she murmured, “I’m going to pass out…”

“Oh, I’ve got you, Mira!” Isabeau said, catching her and steadying her shoulders, patting her on the back as she panted a bit, “And I don’t know, that sort of sounds like a neat tradition to me! It’s not like you can’t get tattoos removed or marked over as you get older, and I bet the kids loved comparing tattoos.”

Siffrin sort of wanted to talk about weird childhood customs his own people had had. He felt like there had been something but… well, like with everything else, it was on the tip of his tongue and he couldn’t remember it. He let it go, and just said, “Do any of us have tattoos?”

“Fleur does,” Bonnie said, pointing to their sister, who nodded.

“On my back,” Fleur said.

“As do I,” Odile said, smirking a bit, “On my lower back. From days gone by.”

“No tattoos here, but I’d be up to getting one someday, if just for the experience,” Isabeau said, still fanning Mirabelle. 

Ingo winced a little, looking sheepish at Mirabelle’s outburst. “I-I mean…not for hundreds of years…” He didn’t remember the exact timeline, or if Phoenix had even given him one. Though it, uh, did occur to Ingo that what was ‘ancient’ history to him could’ve easily been analogous to the others. 

He, uh, had a feeling it was a good thing time magic was so rare. 

Ingo shook his head a bit, to the question of having tattoos, before he gave Odile a nod, pushing off the balcony railing. “Oh, and, yes, Madam Odile,” He’d noticed how the others referred to her by now, “It is a little harder to see from afar.”

Coming over to the bench, he pointed to his right eye, kneeling so she could easily see Rally. “My sister has hers in her left eye, though Deity Marks can show up on any part of the body. My cousin has his on his forearm, my dad has his on his shoulder, and my aunt has hers on her forehead.”

“Oh, it doesn’t have to be in the eye?” Siffrin realized, startled, “I didn’t realize that, I just assumed it was always an eye thing.”

Siffrin had just assumed the others marks were, well, tattoos.

“Very interesting,” Odile said, peering into Ingo’s eye, “Tattoos wouldn’t have helped your situation much… oh, I suppose I should ask this, now, while it’s on my mind.” Odile sighed, leaning back. “Is Draius alright? A desert up in the northern hemisphere. I’ve come to grips with already that everyone I knew there is long gone, but… I guess I’m just curious how the whole place ended up.”

Ingo made an amused sound, unable to keep himself from glancing over to Siffrin for a moment. “I know, my dad really sells the whole ‘only ever wears one sleeve’ thing as a fashion statement. I couldn’t really tell you how rare it is for Deity Marks to show up on someone’s eye, but I do get the impression Leana and my cases are a little more unusual. A friend of ours used to joke that we were twins separated through time or something to have our marks so evenly split.”

Blinking a bit as Odile leaned back, Ingo raised his eyebrows before humming consideringly. “Draius…” Normally he would’ve bashfully admitted that world geography wasn’t a strong point of his but…well, with all the marriage prep, it certainly had grown from a weak point. But…

Ingo rocked on his heels a bit as he wracked his mind. “Sorry, but the name isn’t familiar to me. Um…I’m pretty sure Lutzen is a desert, though I don’t know a lot about the country itself.” Ingo twirled one of his earrings. “Or…the continent, really. Fein is so aggressively isolationist that, well, to Eslley at least, we don’t get a whole lot of contact. Mostly just whatever Othain trades.”

“Heh… well,” Odile shrugged, “Either way, whatever was there wouldn’t be what I grew up with. I’m not the first to trade their old home for a new one, and I’m not even the only one in this group to have lost my home in its entirety. If Draius is gone, then that is simply what has happened.”

The others looked to Odile, who smiled lightly before looking away… and then ‘oophed’ as Siffrin, Isabeau, Bonnie, and Mirabelle all ran to her, throwing themselves into a group hug.

“You’ll always have a home with us, Odile!” Mirabelle insisted. 

“S-such a brave face! S-stop being so cool, Madam Odile!” Isabeau weeped.

“Dile, Dile, that means you’re staying for good, right!?” Bonnie said, “We’re all staying together!?”

Siffrin said nothing. Just holding on tight as Odile rolled her eyes, though her hands lightly pet Siffrin’s and Bonnie’s hair, as she leaned into the hugs a bit. “Where else was I going? I didn’t stick with you all so long just to stop now. Yes, I’m staying. Obviously.”

“YESSS!!” Bonnie screamed, “DILE’S STAYING!!!”

It was a good outlook to have, for moving forward…but it was still awful, losing your home. Still, there were incredible things about the ones that you gained. 

Ingo deftly moved back out of the way as the adventurers swarmed Odile, smiling warmly at the embrace. A family reunited, and staying that way. More than the stories and the prestige and sense of justice…it was this, that made Ingo happy he’d fulfilled his promise to Siffrin. That he’d made it in the first place. 

(...even if there was someone not getting this. But Ingo could only hope for things to be alright in that case.)

Fleur stood up, walking around the ecstatic, chittering group as she went to stand next to Ingo, watching the display.

“...it’s a bit strange,” Fleur said softly to him, “I’m glad it happened. I’m basically in these peoples’ debt… forever, for saving my sibling. I just wasn’t expecting them to come back with an entire family. Bonnie hasn’t asked me to do it yet, but I know they want to move here to be near them. And I guess I’m going to…it’s strange, watching them love someone else like that.”

“Sorry to just randomly vent to you,” Fleur whispered, shrugging a little, “Just had to say it aloud as it came to me.”

“You’re alright,” Ingo assured, light mirth in his tone, “I’m happy to be someone to vent to. I imagine this is all a bit much, from your perspective. One moment it’s just you and your sibling, and the next…the world’s changed. Your sibling has grown while you weren’t there to witness it, and while it’s good…it’s still different. And sudden.”

Ingo sheepishly half-shrugged. “I know the concept of change is a bit heftier up here, but I think even embracing it, the time to acclimate shouldn’t be discounted…or that acclimation at all. Sometimes you just need to say how strange things are.”

He glanced back at the group fondly, utter affection in his eyes. “The whole reason we, Siffrin, me, my friends, set out to do all this was knowing that Siffrin had a family counting on him, so it is less startling from my end…” Ingo laughed softly. “Sorry, that sounded like I had a point, but I don’t really. I’m just happy to see them back together, I suppose.”

“Oh… you know, it plain just didn’t occur to me that you’d need a reason to come?” Fleur admitted, giving Ingo a curious look, “When a god tells you to go, I just assume that’s it, you go. But I suppose you all don’t actually follow the Change God. That does feel a little different, that you went on your own accord. Thank you.”

“Oh! Well…” Ingo laughed bashfully, turning pink, “You’re more than welcome. I’d say don’t give me too much credit on that account, since we didn’t really know about the Change God’s plan at first, but…I suppose that sort of boils down to the same thing. But it felt like the right thing to do. My friend had their loved ones in trouble…I couldn’t imagine not helping out.”

Ingo rubbed the back of his neck, looking more sheepish. “Aaaaand luckily my government thought the same. I’d be a bit more worried about getting back home if I’d snuck out.” 

“Well, the Mages Towers would have still sent you back anyway, I’m sure,” Fleur said, “Though, I gotta assume the other side of the portals must be… well, they could be anywhere? Hopefully still in your country… I’m rooting for ya.” Fleur laughed, patting Ingo on the back a bit. “I’m sure it’ll be fine! They’ll test it before they send you! Probably!”

Ingo sweat a little. “H-hopefully.”

It would be…certainly something to cause an international incident trying to get back home.

“I mean…i-if Lady Courtille had been able to see Vaugarde from Osyren, then…we’re…p-probably close by?” Ingo said unsurely, peeking out over the balcony like he’d actually be able to see the ground. 

“Probably!” Fleur said cheerfully, having literally no idea.

The family disentangled themselves, looking fondly at each other, though Siffrin looked over to Ingo. Staring at him a bit… before he turned to the others. “I’m going to spend some time with Ingo, okay?”

“Oh?” Isabeau said, “Can I come–oof.” 

Odile, who elbowed Isabeau in the stomach, nodded. “Of course, little one. Go.”

“Have fun!” Mirabelle said cheerfully, before turning back to the others.

“Don’t do anything weird to him, Sif, not everyone has as much patience as we do,” Bonnie huffed, turning as well.

Siffrin smiled warily, before heading over to Ingo. “Want to go for a walk?”

Ingo gave Siffrin a mildly surprised look, before grinning, giving a nod. “Oh, uh, sure!” He glanced back at the others, giving them a wave, before giving Siffrin a slightly confused look, even as he took Siffrin’s lead to start walking. “Your family is pretty fantastic, I didn’t mean to pull you away or anything. Heh, I mean, you’ve spent plenty of time with my family already.”

Ingo smiled down at Siffrin. “Nice being back together?”

“It is. And… I love spending time with them, but…” Siffrin shrugged slightly, smiling sadly, “I have plenty of time with them. But only a limited time with you… I’ve heard the portals are running. You’ll be able to leave soon.”

“...I’m going to miss you,” Siffrin said softly.

Ingo laughed brightly. “Oh, come on, it’s not like you’ll never see me again! Once we figure out how mail’s going to work, you’re going to be absolutely inundated with letters, it’ll be embarrassing. And if the portals are as casual as everyone keeps talking about them, then visiting is something I’m definitely counting on!”

“...but I’m going to miss you too,” Ingo said, more sober as he gently squeezed Siffrin’s shoulder. “Can’t tell you how tempting it is to find something random in your room at the Palacio and say it’s something you forgot, just to immediately come visit again. And I’m definitely going to oversleep past breakfast, without you knocking on my door.”

A little shaky breath left Ingo in a soft sigh, before he nudged Siffrin’s arm with his own. “...I’m really glad we met, Siffrin. I hope I’ve made it clear, but…you mean the world to me. That you’ve gotten so much precious back, I… I’m so happy.”

Siffrin glanced down at Ingo’s squeeze of their shoulder, listening to his reassurances and jokes and just…

He came to a stop, waiting for Ingo to stop and look back at him. And as he did, Siffrin shot forward. Hugging him tight as he buried his face in Ingo’s chest.

“...” Siffrin rubbed his face into Ingo’s shirt, before whispering, “I owe you everything.”

Noticing Siffrin stop, Ingo paused, looking back to him questioningly. And his eyes only widened for a moment as Siffrin collided into him, wrapping Ingo up into a hug, Ingo putting his arms around his friend in turn. Tilting his head down on top of Siffrin’s as his eyes burned. 

“...” Ingo took another shaky breath before smiling into Siffrin’s head. “...y-you know I’ve already collected on that debt. You’re my friend…you don’t owe me anything more than that.”

“Everything you’ve gained, your happiness…that’s my happiness too. Nothing else needed.”

Siffrin just gave a shaky sigh. Holding onto Ingo tighter. 

“...I want your happiness to be my happiness too,” Siffrin said softly, “So… if you’re unhappy? If you ever need me? I’ll come running, okay?” Siffrin looked up at him, tears bubbling out of his eye, “Always.”

There was a shaky, crooked, teary-eyed…genuine smile on Ingo’s face as he looked back down at Siffrin. “I’ll count on it.” Sniffling, Ingo pulled Siffrin back into the hug, his voice quiet and muffled. “...I love you, Siffrin.”

Siffrin smiled, burying his face back in. “...I love you too, Ingo.”

-

As it always tended to be after the Freeze, there was a sudden influx of work to get to as all the mail that had been building up could suddenly reach its destination. But while for most people this was a pleasant thing, like getting a response from a penpal, or…perhaps a little confusing, like getting a strange Unity card from your estranged little brother, for Usott castle that meant…

…that all hands meetings in the mornings took hours. 

Kokichi didn’t mind that much, and it was important for getting everyone caught up after a little over a week off, but…it was long. Sitting back in his seat, Kokichi took a deep breath and refocused himself for the next matter. 

“...alright, next, we’re going to need to set high court days coming up, for the case of State v. Pectra and Fenton,” Hideki announced, several pages in to a stuffed clipboard. “This is a case contested from the Entente Grove local court, from the defendants Olivia Pectra and Xuan Fenton, over the claims of child neglect regarding their son, Quincey Pectra.”

Kokichi’s eyes widened a little, absolutely focused in. …you’ve got to be kidding…

“Quincey was recently hospitalized for an electric shock, which Entente Grove was investigating past claims of an accident, finding that the harmful object leading to the injury was an invention of Pectra and Fenton, holding them culpable. This has led to further investigation about the defendents’ past care of their child, which will be discussed in court. For those of you interested in attending the case, or are part of proceedings, recommended reading is Lydom v. Bugge, Zogel v. Hampton et. al., and Hankins v. Gibson and Anastasio. On the list for clerical work today will be sending out jury duty notices. Next…”

No…

-

“Miyaaaaa~” Kokichi sang, voice still melodious even as he warbled…muffled, under his daughter’s belly. “My Mi-Mi, I love you so much… I’m still gonna ask to hold your hand when you’re 16 and you’re gonna be so embarrassed and ask why Daddy is so lame, but I want my sweetbun to be safe and happy forever…”

Miya pouted, unsure how to react. On one hand, Daddy face time, which was always delightful and slightly ticklish. On the other hand… wet. Hmmmmm.

“Would it help to point out Tim’s been electrocuted, and he’s fine!” Kaito said, scratching lightly through Kokichi’s hair, having been listening to a sniffling, warbling version of the story Kokichi had heard earlier. “I’m sure that kid’s going to be okay too! He came out of his coma! That’s… a step in the right direction?” 

“It iiiiis…” Kokichi warbled, gently tapping Miyako’s feet. He knew he couldn’t compare to the master, but it was something he’d taken up doing after seeing Kaito do it so much to the point it was just habit for him now too. “I’m glad he’s doing alright! It’s fantastic that he, and Tim, are okay, but…”

Kokichi groaned. “Can??? Parents take care of their kids for like…two months?! Without CPS getting another investigation? I’m thankful for their work, but I wish they had less of it!”

“Daddy’s making sure you never have to spend the Freeze in the hospital the whole time, Mi-Mi, any big mean injuries have to go through me first,” he moaned.

“U-WAAHoo!” Miyako said determinedly, wiggling on Kokichi’s face.

“That’s Miya-speak for she’s very, very grateful for how much Daddy loves her and knows she can always count on him,” Kaito said wisely, still lightly petting through Kokichi’s hair, “And there’s a lot of people in Dicea, babe! Loads! For every abused teen that comes across your desk and, quite frequently, literally our laps, there’s gotta be, like… two or three more that have great relationships with their parents! Maybe even… five!” 

Kaito chuckled a little, before sighing, scratching Kokichi’s scalp as he reminded him, “In a way, the hard part is really done for Quinn right now. People noticing something is wrong and starting to help? That’s when things start to get better! Quinn might not realize it in the moment, but… someday he might look back at the shock as something that began a better part of his life. It’s good when we hear about it. It means it’s not still happening quietly.”

Kokichi sighed, before blowing a raspberry into Miyako’s stomach. His sweet girl, so gracious in letting her fathers fuss over her… They really were raising her right. 

“...yeah…” Kokichi conceded, “I just…wish it didn’t take an injury that nearly killed him. Or that things weren’t bad in the first place. I always took the risks in my childhood as major outliers, and I know my job means I hear about a ton of outliers too, but…it just feels never-ending lately.”

“...you think it’s being too much of a busybody to…urgh,” he groaned. “...I just…the case file says he’s 14, and since his parents have to be here for the court battle, he’ll be here too under additional supervision and… You think it’d be too much if I reached out to Doppio and Arven to, like…be peers? Around? People he could relate to and maybe hang out with while the case is going on? The castle isn’t boring but…it could make things easier on him to not have to spend all that time alone, or with an adult keeping an eye on him.”

“...he has a sister…” Kokichi hummed, “Maybe she’d come…”

Miyako peeled into excited, high laughter, giggling as she waggled happily, nuzzling into Daddy as she beamed in delight. Yessss!! TICKLE AIR!!!! 

Kaito smiled lightly as Miyako giggled, before humming at Kokichi’s idea. “We could ask them, Doppio and Arven are good boys, they’d probably make an effort if nothing else. At the very least they might be a welcome distraction… thoooough, asking me if it’s too much?” Kaito gently took one of Kokichi’s hands, bringing it up to kiss his pinky, “Babe. I am not the person to ask. I am always a risk of just saying ‘let me at the kid, I’ll take him to a swim park’.”

“He’s got an older sister?” Kaito assumed. He didn’t think Kokichi would bring it up in the same thought of having an adult watch Quinn if she wasn’t. “Um… man, as much as I’d love to assume of course she’d come and of course that’d be a good thing, I remember Dr. Mariah drilling into us once that two kids being in the same abusive situation didn’t mean they were abused the same ways. Maybe hope for the best and prepare for the worst there?”

“I know,” Kokichi hummed fondly, smiling a bit into Miyako’s tummy and squeezing Kaito’s hand gently, “And we’re not actually, like…involved this time. Other than being greater community. Other than sitting in on the case, it could really be that I don’t run into any of their family at all…I just…”

He just hated hearing about another hurt kid that was potentially going to have their world turned upside down even more. It made Kokichi want to find ways to help out, even if it was just momentary reprieves in a shitty, yet necessary process. 

“She was mentioned, but not as part of the neglect case, so I’m assuming that means she’s of age,” Kokichi explained his thought process, before frowning, rubbing Miyako’s back with his free hand. “Yeah… Like, best case? She’ll be there to support him, and…if his parents really are found guilty, maybe she’d be totally down for taking him in, or something… Worst case…”

Kokichi sighed. “...well, we know how well CPS works.”

“They do a BANGER job at finding adopters!” Kaito said cheerfully, “I’m only a little horrifically jealous every time I see how thrilled Doppio is with his new family. Arven’s doing well with his, I know, all the siblings are adjusting great–” Kaito knew that one extremely recently, as all the siblings had shown up at the castle once the snow had lowered a bit, demanding ‘Big Sis’ host a massive snow day with them. Maki had dragged Shuichi into it with her, their third husband not having come back from her kidnapping him yet. “--Mike is… technically not adopted, but let’s be honest, Medli’s putting in some work there.”

Kaito squeezed Kokichi’s hand lightly, as he said softly, “For every kinda cruddy parent in Dicea we stumble across? There’s so many who are fantastic, Kokichi, and just waiting for a chance to prove it to a kid who needs it. And that’s thanks to Oumas, by the way. Remember what everyone was telling me, when I couldn’t let Addason’s interviews go? The Oumas made sure this is a system that works. And it does. You guys did amazing, and a lot of kids are benefiting from it.” 

Kokichi took a deep breath. For every John Doe that psychically created a kid for his own gain, there was a whole house of former acrobats and tattoo artists and more that were over the moon to nurture new life…that was also just a sweet teen. For every Professor Sada that just left their kid one day, there was a Tsume Inuzuka (along with the rest of the extensive Inuzuka family) that claimed that kid and refused to leave the castle until there was paperwork proving it. For all the kids who were going to have their futures signed away, there was a big sister that fought a war for them, and a mass of kind-hearted people who had been willing to jump through a million hoops to ensure brighter futures. For every broken, strained relationship of a mom out of her depth, there was a community patient and kind and ready to help mend it.

Dicean kids weren’t doomed, struck by some unique curse of parents never measuring up. It was just an unfortunate percentage that Kokichi was highly aware of. But there were good solutions to that misfortune anyway. 

No Dicean left behind. 

He squeezed Kaito’s hand again. “...it’ll be okay,” Kokichi landed on, humming softly against his daughter. “We’re gonna make it okay. And even though the court case is gonna suck, whatever the verdict, Quincey’s gonna have people looking out for his best interests and…he’ll be alright.”

“Well, if Kokichi Ouma says it, then it’s true.” Kaito smirked, leaning over to place a kiss against Kokichi’s forehead, then on the back of Miyako’s head. “You remember that, sweetroll, Daddy’s always right~ Unless Dada says something else. Then you’re on your own kid, I’m not getting into the middle of that.”

“Phwooorgh.” Miyako gurgled, blowing a bubble with her mouth. 

“I know, it’s cruel, but Dad needs some survival instincts.” Kaito snickered. 

“Daddy and Dada can respectfully disagree on some things, it’s a good exercise in critical thinking, and realizing there isn’t always just one answer to things,” Kokichi advised his daughter with sage words, before lifting Miyako into the air, smiling up at her. A moment of that fun, flying feeling…before back down, into his arms this time as he sat up. “Dada does have better sense than getting super-duper involved with kids we don’t know that are already being helped, though. Not everything’s your responsibility, Mi-Mi, and Dada’s a great teacher for learning how to stay in your lane.”

“Learn from Dada, Miya, Auntie Dragon’s gonna make taking over a country sound like something you can get done in an afternoon, and Daddy’s gotta actually hold back to not do that in an afternoon,” Kaito cooed… before he tilted his head, “...that is way too accurate though. Daddy’s so strong. It’s very sexy.” 

Kaito kissed Kokichi’s temple again, before asking, “So are you dooooone? With work today? I’m only asking because Miya just missed you a lot, that’s all.” Kaito pouted. “You were in meetings for aaaaages.”

Kokichi nodded solemnly. “Buff Daddy for Buff Miyako. Dada has a lot of great lessons, Dad too, but Daddy has special secret ones for Miyako. Like…some of the things you think you can solve by being strong end up leaving a lot of other problems that even the strongest person can’t solve alone. So that’s why we hold back, even when it seems like it’s a quick fix.”

Looking up at the kiss, Kokichi smiled at Kaito’s pout. “That’s the post-Freeze dump for you. If I was in meetings all day, then that’s not even half of what the mailroom’s like. But, yeah, I’m done for today. And I missed Miya toooo~” Kokichi cooed, nudging Kaito’s shoulder affectionately, though he smiled down at their daughter.

Kaito gave Kokichi a warm, proud look as Kokichi explained to Miyako some of the things that, well… kept Kaito up at night, wondering how he was going to explain to his super powered baby that she couldn’t just super power all of her problems away, even if, like… she could. Kaito had once thought he might try to convey it like how he had needed to be careful what he said as a prince, the wrong word potentially ruining someone’s life, and then in the more physical way of being a bigger person, needing to account for your size if people were nervous… but none of that equaled what Miyako could do on a whim. Miyako was more than just ‘big’ in a physical, buff baby sense, she was… ‘Big’. The amount of space she took up in the universe just… bigger. Than anything Kaito could honestly conceive of, even with his powerful background.

Kaito didn’t really know how to prepare someone for that. But Kokichi did. And now that his husband was willing to really look at who he was and what he was capable of? Kokichi would be able to help their daughter in ways that Kaito couldn’t have hoped to. And Kaito was grateful for it. Individually, both his daughter and his husband's abilities were gifts. Together? It was a relief. The two balancing each other out in each other and, frankly, Kaito’s life that made grappling with either one less intimidating. If Kaito couldn’t help, they could help each other! Phew! 

“Rgh-ooo,” Miya echoed in solidarity with Daddy’s clearly nonsense ramblings. Yes, yes, Father, we can all make The Fun Sounds, let’s not get overzealous. “Gw-egh!”

“So true, Miya. Daddy owes us so much attention now, after neglecting us all day,” Kaito agreed, “You made vows about it and everything, babe, so you gotta do it, no take backsies.”

“Can’t go back on those vows, true,” Kokichi nodded, craning over to kiss Miyako’s head, before stretching the opposite way to kiss Kaito’s cheek, “So! Dad and Mi-Mi get allllll the attention.”

He suddenly giggled. “I would suggest going on a walk, now that we can again, but I don’t think even for my attention Miyako would trade going out in the cold right now. Mmmm, what do you think, Kai-chan? Lessons of fun are really your forte.”

“Hmmm,” Kaito closed his eyes, trying to imagine something, “...we could give her access to a massive ship and let her play at being a pirate? No? Too young? Sorry, Miya, Dad tried to get you your own pirate ship, sweetbun. But Daddy said no.”

“G’wah!” Miyako shouted. 

“I know, he’s just unreasonable,” Kaito sighed, before suggesting, “We could go see what desserts are being made by the kitchen? Give Miya a lick of warm chocolate?”

Kokichi’s eyes gleamed. “Now there’s a grade-A idea~”

-

Kokichi was very pleased with himself. A week later, and no headache to be found, so he had judged things right from that perspective, even if, er, the influx of work after the Freeze was still pretty…intense. But after two longer days, Kokichi felt okay with sleeping in more in the morning if he had to. 

And he wanted to show he could keep his promises, even the smaller ones. 

-

Not having to make a point, on Destiny Island anyone on the beach would, strangely enough, see a…balloon. Drifting towards the island on the breeze, a box attached to the bottom, weighing it down just enough not to drift into the yonder. Inside the box, was a simple note.

Have time to talk? :o)

Sora summoned his keyblade–wanting a sword in the real world reminded him that he could have a SUPER cool sword on the island!!--and hopped off one of the trees to snag at the gift, opening it up and humming slightly at the note. 

{Are you here now/ the balloon is a neat idea/ I don’t know how to do it back :(/ Gonna do this the old fashioned way!!/ Hello??}

{Haha, no worries, I just thought it’d be less intrusive to send a message like that. I’m not there right now, didn’t wanna barge in on you guys. ^w^/)}

{I promised to touch in in a week, right? May I come over?}

{Yeah come over!!/ Oh good, cause Axel’s sad :(/ I have a suggestion of who to make whole next!!/ Spoiler alert: sad Axel :c } 

“Shoot,” Kokichi sighed, moving his sunglasses to his head with a concerned look, an obnoxiously patterned button-down half open and tucked into shorts, Kokichi much more ‘beach-ready’ as he appeared on Destiny Island this time. “I was a little worried after he left you before…but, alright, that makes that decision easy.”

Offering a smile and a wave, Kokichi greeted, “Heya, Sora! It’s nice to see you again--cool sword!”

“Nice outfit!” Sora cheerfully greeted back, giving him a wave as he ran across the sand. “A lot of the others are around too, I think they’re just being a little skittish. You’re a really powerful Empath, did you know that? You have a whole…” Sora smiled, waving his hands around him, “energy to you. It’s kind of inspiring! Makes me want to flex my own abilities!” 

“Whiiiich, I’ve done with this! Check it out,” Sora said, showing Kokichi his keyblade in closer detail. “Okay, for right now it’s just a figment, but, the goal is that someday? This baby here will be a full on construct! One that can help unlock my friends from their doors!” Sora said, grinning at the key, “...somehow.”

“Thanks!” Kokichi chirped, before looking a little sheepish. “Yeah, I’m aware. I try not to be just, yanno,” Kokichi waved his arms around in an interpretive, chaotic circle, “Overwhelming, and all that, when I’m visiting people, but I guess if I’m not suppressing everything, which can be kind of startling to just find someone in your mind, there’s still a little bleedout.”

But it wasn’t always something to hide, and if Kokichi could be inspiring, instead of just terrifying?

Kokichi lit up, his eyes gleaming as Sora showed off the very cool key-shaped sword. “Oh, that’s awesome!! Both in design, and for what you wanna make it for! Aw, that’s such a cool project, making a construct specifically to help Empaths out from their AutoPilot blocks? Heh, if I come across anything that might help you out, be sure I’ll pass it along!”

Looking around the beach a little--he did feel the other Empaths, though he supposed there wasn’t really a way he wouldn’t--Kokichi hummed softly. “Well…as much as I’m down for helping out Axel tonight, that’s…probably something he should actually volunteer for himself? Even if you guys all agreed before, I don’t wanna surprise anyone before they’re ready…”

“Oh! But!” Kokichi popped up, “I do have news for the physical side of things too! My husband found out about a contact in Luminary that we’d be able to send money securely through, and she’d be able to help with the travel stuff too. We’re still in the starting contact phase, but if it works out, things should be moving along soon!”

“Oh! Oh yeah!? That’s amazing! Um…” Sora looked around, before calling out, “Namine! Can you stop looming ominously? Prince Kokichi had news!” 

“I apologize,” Namine said from right behind Kokichi, strolling past him like she had appeared out of nowhere. “I was just trying to get a read on how things are going between us. You made Sora whole, and we are very grateful for that,” she said, standing next to Sora and bowing to Kokichi, “But it’s hard not to worry about… what it is you’re getting out of this? Helping us, sending us funds…” Namine gave Kokichi a shy, nervous look. “You must want something from us.”

Kokichi glanced back as Namine appeared and walked around him, not laughing, but amused. He didn’t think it was a sense of drama that was inherently Luminous, but…it was something he could easily see his family doing. So, uh…instead of potentially intimidating, it was…kind of sweet, in his eyes. Though he knew better than to mention that. 

Bowing back, at Namine’s bow, Kokichi offered her a soft look. They had been over his reasoning before, but…well, he could understand the suspicion. “If I can give you something concrete? Then…hearing that you guys have been trying to break conditioning is something I’m interested in,” Kokichi half-grinned, “I mean, considering my loved ones, my people, have it? If there’s a mass breakthrough we could work on together, then it’s in my best interests that you have everything you could need for that. Stability inside, outside, enough to eat, a comfortable place to live, security…all that.”

“If knowing that sets you more at ease, I’m glad…but I would be dishonest if I said that was my main reason.” Kokichi shrugged apologetically. “You’re Empaths, you’re part of my community, and that’s something that’s really important to me. Not to pull this card too much, but I’m the next leader of Dicea, so my ethos is to take care of my community. To do everything I can to create systems to support them, and…well, I can’t create systems in Luminary, that’s not my right. But I can do things personally to support you, and offer a place in the space I can create systems in. So…I’m doing that. Because it’s important to me.”

“Awww, that’s sweet!” Sora smiled… before glancing at Namine, pouting, “Come on, can’t you just take my word for it? He’s telling the truth! I can feel it in… my heart.” Sora placed his hand on his chest.

“Your heart…” Namine said, staring at his chest, forlorn and uncertain, yet longing, “I suppose if I have to trust in anything, it’s the light of the heart that we’ve all been searching for. Otherwise, why do all of this?”

“That’s right! The light inside of me is reaching out! Towards the light in Prince Kokichi–ow!”

“Can you guys not do that in front of an outsider, you know we sound like a cult when we start talking strictly in metaphors,” Axel sighed, pulling back from hitting Sora in the back of his head and cleaning out his ear with his pinky. “Did I hear myself getting volunteered?”

“Uh, yeah! I just thought, well… you’ve been really down this last week, Axel,” Sora said, “I know you have me, and that in some ways, that doesn’t really… make up for Roxas and Xion. I know it’s different.” Sora frowned at him. “Though their light shines through me, the darkness makes it hard to penetrate into your world and–”

“Yes, Sora, I’m sad that my fellow constructs are gone. I mean, they’re whole, and, you, yeah, but… eh.” Axel sighed, looking away. “Them going back to base essence makes them feel really far away. So… I don’t know. If getting my heart back means I’d feel closer to them? Sure, I’d be up to being next.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Namine smiled, before looking to Kokichi, “But, before we get into all of that, your grace, you said you found a way to fund us?”

Aw, very sweet…and a little culty-sounding, Kokichi could admit, but he supposed if you had been locked away with the same few people your whole lives and basically had to create a second reality to survive, then you’d come out sounding a little culty. Just as a matter of course. 

Kokichi waved a little to Axel as he arrived, his gaze softening as he agreed to go next, though…

“Ah, yeah,” Kokichi nodded, “A little convoluted, but my husband has a friend that I talked to, that has a contact in Luminary that might be able to help you guys out. Apparently they’re pretty practiced at moving both money and people across the border, so if she thinks she can get to you guys alright, then we’ll have a way to get you the funds, and, well, actually a sort of escort-slash-tripguide to Usott. Apparently she’s coming with another person? But they’re both allied with psychic stuff, so it’s safe.”

“You know, I really wasn’t expecting to interact this much with, like… actual Momotas,” Sora mused, “After being freed, I mean. You’d think they’d all be busy, honestly, being… divinely ordained and stuff?”

“Sure, if Atua was real,” Axel said, rolling his eyes, Namine giggling along with him.

“Hey, I know! I just mean, ruling the countries!” Sora said, blushing a little–he was one of the Nobodies that had held onto religion the longest, growing up in the factory. “It’s just weird, right? Prince Kokichi and Prince Kaito helping us. They’re probably busy ruling Dicea! You’re busy ruling Dicea, right?” Sora asked Kokichi, looking a little desperate for Kokichi to agree, just not to be teased by the other two about it.

“We’re of course happy to accept whatever help you send our way, your grace,” Namine said softly, “And the sooner, I will admit, the better. We’re using counterfeit coins and bargaining lately to stay afloat, but thirteen people is difficult to feed every day.”

…

Kokichi just smiled lightly. 

(Some revelations weren’t his to give. And…knowing that a god hadn’t been able to help you was probably more pain than knowing a little more about the universe was worth.)

Kokichi gave Sora a gentle look. “Mostly right, and especially right now. My dad’s still going strong, and our admin team kicks butt so it’s not all on me, but…” Kokichi gave a little laugh, trying not to make it sound stressed, “It…is a lot of work, keeping a country’s wheels greased. Though, uh, you did reach out to us first.”

Some of Kokichi’s mirth faded, hearing more about the Nobodies’ situation--counterfeiting was…dangerous, and pairing that with asking if everyone had eaten a certain day…--and he nodded more seriously. “If I could somehow ensure that you all got everything tomorrow, I’d be thrilled, but…I wanna make sure it actually gets to you, you know? Not tariffed at a million points or ‘conveniently’ lost somewhere along the line.”

Kokichi shrugged a little tiredly. “I know hope doesn’t fill stomachs, but…I just hope that we can sort things out soon, and you guys can get the help.”

“We’re counting on you then, Prince Kokichi,” Namine said gently, crossing her hands over her stomach and bowing to him slightly, “Hope doesn’t fill stomachs, but it gives us the strength to push forward. For that, we thank you.”

“Yeah, besides, I’ve found I can make some coin delivering things around the city!” Sora said cheerfully. “Our mail’s not great, so it turns out a lot of stores could just use someone running around if you just offer. I’m practically the breadwinner of our group! You should all take my last name~” Sora teased the others, grinning.

“Which would be?” Axel asked. 

“....okay, but if I had a last name, you all should take it,” Sora harrumphed. Before saying excitedly, “Should I pick a last name?! I mean other than the general one the ID people assigned me? I’m whole now, maybe that’s a way we can celebrate! Picking a last name!”

“Wouldn’t you be picking all of our last names, if we’re all taking your last name?” Axel smirked lightly.

“Oh yeah… shoot, I better make it a good one,” Sora said, thinking hard.  

Kokichi perked a bit, happy to hear that there was some good news to have--a week wasn’t much indication for long-term employment, like the others had told him before that they had trouble with, but every new chance was a new chance--and just…enjoyed seeing the other Empaths teasing each other. 

Though at that moment, a flurry of petals fluttered by in a gentle wind and…somehow Kokichi got the feeling of {Not gonna happen, get fucked} from them, which was…wholly disjointed, coming from flowers.

And that wasn’t just left to ruminate on, as Zexion appeared, flipping distractedly through a book. “I imagine we’d all have the opportunities to change things name-wise upon getting new identification.” His eyes barely flicked to Kokichi, before going back to the book. “Since our Luminary ones would only take us so far, I’d think.”

“Ah, well, we do accept Luminary IDs for everything you’d need a Dicean one,” Kokichi shrugged, “but since we’d be filing your citizenship, if there’s any changes you want, that could happen there.”

“Then I’ll have till I get to Dicea to pick a new last name!” Sora said, pumping his fist into the air. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Axel sighed, rubbing Sora’s hair. “Tone down the cute, heart-boy. Look, your grace, when exactly do you want to do my… brain battle thing, whatever it is we’re going to end up doing. Were you planning to do this… now?” Axel asked, looking a little uncertain, “Cause it’s a little sudden on my end, to just suddenly go and try to break open my head. I’d like at least an hour to be a little freaked out about it.”

“As much as a Nobody can be freaked out,” Namine said.

“Right, right, we’re all emotionless, I know the corporate motto,” Axel huffed, giving Kokichi a ‘what can you do’ shrug.

…aw.

Kokichi returned Axel’s shrug with a sweeter smile. “Any night you want, really, including tonight, even if you wanna do it later. I’d just like a heads up so I can coordinate with my husbands to make sure everything’s alright if my daughter wakes up in the middle of the night or something.”

Zexion peeked up from his book with a dry look. “If you’re saying I came over for nothing right now, I’m going to leave.”

“Like most of you isn’t here anyway,” Axel said dryly, “...let’s do it later tonight. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s Sora, or if there really is something we’re fundamentally missing, being Nobodies, but Sora’s been able to achieve basically anything he’s set his mind to this week. Roxas and Xion were brilliant, but things had a habit of falling apart for those two…who knows. Maybe Lea can help more, getting us all over the border.” Axel shrugged. “All I can think to do is hunt lizards and steal carriages. That’s not long term solutions. And, well… I miss my friends. If going back to base essence means I can feel them again? That’s worth it.”

Zexion shrugged passively, true to his word disappearing as soon as Axel gave the word that things were happening later…leaving Kokichi to give the spot where he was a…rather confused look. 

Though, he reignited his smile to give Axel a nod. “As long as it’s something you want? Then I’m here to help. Can…” Kokichi gave him an awkwardly sheepish look. “Mm, I don’t mean anything by this, but can you send intent out? I don’t wanna bother you all here, so I could head back to mine, and you could just let me know when you’re ready?”

“Some of us can,” Axel said, “...not me, but I’ll ask one of the others to help me out.”

“We will see you tonight, Prince Kokichi,” Namine said.

“See you soon, Prince Kokichi!” Sora called cheerfully, waving. 

-

“...it’s actually the distinct lack of physicality that allows the novel to be more dramatic than the stage play, rapid changes of scene contributing to the dream-like quality that characterizes the protagonist’s teen perspective and disconnect from the realities of her world. The dream, the ideal, which the novel is satirizing.”

“Perhaps, but the nature of theater allows the world to feel more full--the dead characters allowed a medium to remain relevant without confusing the narrative, other characters not in the main focus allowed to react and live, not just waiting around placidly until the main characters deign to turn their focus on them.”

“While maybe providing for a more exciting experience for the viewer, I’d argue that’s actually a detriment to what the narrative is trying to achieve.”

13 passed by 54 and 91 apparently discussing the differences between the novelization and stage play of some piece, leaving them to the debate that he figured would last quite a while. Literary discussions usually did. 

The vast library-like maze of Ienzo’s mind didn’t feel…empty these days. As always, there was a din of chatter that made the ambient white noise rather loud on any given day, and no matter where he went there were other constructs passing by, sorting books, or having chats with other constructs. 

It was just…less. Than it used to be. Noticeably. 

13 sighed a little to himself, glancing at the books in his arms, continuing on his way to shelve them. 

Like most of you isn’t here anyway…

It was factually true. Whatever one of them was doing, the vast majority weren’t paying any mind, continuing on with their tasks. Any piece of Ienzo the others had interacted with over the years was just a…fraction. 

It was true. So that fact should just be acknowledged, and then move on. 

…so why did it feel like they should be bothered by that? It…wasn’t like they had lived a halflife. They were always pouring over experiences, analyzing and absorbing them, Ienzo’s mind rarely ever at true rest. 

(...a disconnect from the reality around them, though. So few of the experiences Ienzo thought about were his own.)

Maybe it was why they were so fixated on trying to make apologies to the others. Their own acknowledgement of that perpetual distance and…

Knowing, even if only in quiet parts of themself, that it wasn’t…good. 

13 traced the binding of the books in his arms before gently sliding them back into their shelf spots. Precious cargo, all the same. …2’s proposal was…concerning. Zexion had made them, was the one, essentially, in charge, even if they were all Ienzo. Going against him… 

But Ienzo was always their priority. He had always been. For him, for…finally looking at reality, for being there…13 would help. He just hoped this wouldn’t be a big mistake. 

…it would be nice being back with the others, though. He missed them. 

-

Elthea didn’t usually do, like, preparatory magic. Elemental mage magic, stuff she could just summon with her own energy, was sooooo easy and usually suited whatever need she had that could need a magical solution. Prep magic had all sorts of rules and procedures and stuff that made it a total snoozefest, so whatever her brother thought, Elthea usually avoided it. 

…but it did tend to be, like…more stable. And had more longevity. So…it wasn’t like it was useless.

Making use of the little workshop she knew her brother and his students had set up on the fifth floor of the castle, Elthea pushed open the skylight with a huff, letting in the almost full moonlight. The bulk of her energy would happen on the full moon, but a few nights of nearly full moon power could only make things better and…

Elthea really wanted this to work. 

Leaning on her hip as she regarded the diagram in the book, she rolled a piece of chalk in her hand, preparing to draw the rune circle on the board she’d found. 

Shuichi usually knew what nights he was going to wander off from the bedroom and go practice magic. But tonight, admittedly, he had just been feeling restless. Usually, or at least usually as in his new normal, Shuichi was a deep sleeper and didn’t have much difficulty in falling asleep. Whatever Seiko’s drugs had done to him had just entirely fixed his already mild sleep issues, and according to Kaito, Shuichi only sometimes randomly kicked out in irritation, that was how deeply he slept. 

Shuichi was sure Kaito exaggerated his sleep kicking anyway. If you listened to the red head’s tales, Kaito spent nights randomly pulling Kokichi back from wandering around the bed, eating things, and moving Kokichi around to protect him from Shuichi sleep-kicking. Shuichi was sure it didn’t happen that often. No, he was not going to take the bruises on Kaito’s legs as evidence, Kaito ran around a lot, he could have gotten those leg bruises anywhere.

Besides, Kaito by his own admission barely remembered waking up to do those things now. Apparently his sleeping tablets just letting him wake up long enough to maybe do one of those things… sometimes. 

Anyway, Shuichi had woken up, got restless, and decided tonight was a night for maaaaagic. Dammit Himiko. 

Shuichi was, mildly, surprised when he opened the door that there was someone already in here. Shuichi blinking at Elthea in confusion. “...a bit late to be doing maaaagic, isn’t it?” Shuichi asked, before hearing himself, frowning. Darn it, Himiko.

Elthea startled slightly, blinking up at the door in surprise, her shoulders already squaring to defend herself…before she huffed, sniffing a little at the prince. “Not when you need moonlight! And it’s not that late anyway--you’re here, aren’t you? Can’t be late when the guy with a baby is still up.”

“So! What are ya doin’? Not just taking stock of the room, I’d guess,” Elthea snickered. She’d…hope so. Considering she’d heard Lluwyn call Shuuichi ‘reckless’ before, she thought the prince was on the cooler side of things, but he still was friends with her brother, and if he was gonna snitch to Llu that she was up here in the middle of the night… Uuuuugh, she didn’t need that lecture! But she wasn’t about to out herself right away either. 

“I’m usually the exception of most rules,” Shuichi said, closing the door behind himself as he headed in. “And I have two perfectly functional husbands who can both watch our daughter. It’s a plus to marrying two men, if I’m honest. I’m never really leaving the work to one person. I’m leaving it to many. Which probably means it’s fine.”

“I did strongly consider bringing Miyako with me, but she was sleeping, and Himiko keeps pointing out to me that perhaps I shouldn’t let the baby near magical potions that might explode,” Shuichi said, “Which is a fair point. Anyway, I thought I’d practice body transformation magic. You?”

“Fair,” Elthea giggled, “I’d think my brother would throw more of a fit than Himiko-chan about letting babies near experimental magic, but I totally get if you consider her warnings more than his.”

Looking down at the board, a collection of ingredients next to her, Elthea’s mirth calmed a bit as she sighed. “...I’m trying to convert an owk burn salve potion into an insulation potion. Putting the enhancements in the right kind of rune circle and charging it under the moon should do the trick…I guess.”

She stuck her tongue out a little. “Not my forte, but I’m not dumb. Just cause Llu spends every waking moment studying this kind of esoteric stuff doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying any attention.”

“Oh, I don’t tell him. Professor would murder me,” Shuichi said wisely, looking over Elthea’s ingredients curiously, “And I’m not sure who you’re insisting your intelligence to right now? I’m very aware you’re not dumb.”

Looking at the rune circle, Shuichi asked, “Is there a reason you’re going for heat resistance? Or just practicing?”

Elthea pouted a bit--she was just covering her bases!--before sighing again, looking over the circle before continuing to fill it in with her chalk. “Nela, you’re friends with her sister, so you know her… She’s not really a mage, but something went weird with her mana system when she was born? Like…”

Another sigh, before Elthea lifted a hand, a small flame appearing in her palm. “You get it when you cast magic now, right? You can feel the flow of energy in your body, and then you channel it into the shapes you want.” Elthea closed her hand, extinguishing the flame. “Nela’s body is like…her energy is always in the form of fire magic, unshaped, and just…through her all the time.”

Grinning, her canines poking out a little, Elthea giggled. “It’s kinda cool, actually! She’s really warm all the time, and if she laughs really hard sparks fly out of her mouth sometimes…but…” Elthea’s smile faded, “...it’s really painful for her. Like…duh. Imagine that your blood is replaced by embers.”

Shrugging a little, Elthea went back to the circle. “She says she can manage it pretty well, most of the time, and her dad gets it, yanno? But… I dunno, maybe something like this would help her? I thought maybe insulating her system would get it to stop damaging the rest of her body, even if it’s not forever…”

Something conflicted went through Elthea’s face before she huffed. “...well, it’s not like making it now is now or never. Whatever Llu says, I’m not leaving.”

“Huh… interesting,” Shuichi said, taking out his journal and starting a new page, jotting down ‘magical illness’ before adding in a formula explaining the symptoms. “And that makes sense to me. Or, I should say, making a temporary potion to alleviate symptoms makes sense to me. Some illnesses just need to be managed, and that means regular intake of medicine. Which, if your potion worked, would essentially be just what you’ve made for her: medicine. Seems wise enough to me.”

“I’m half convinced you two just live here now,” Shuichi said a tad dryly, smirking lightly at Elthea, “You came down for essentially a weekend trip… how long ago now? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, I’m learning a lot from your brother. But I don’t think anything could make either of you leave by this point. You seem caught up.”

“I’d be interested in helping you out with this potion,” Shuichi said, “If you’ll have me. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at the fire hands you do so effortlessly, but I’ve been told the chances of accidentally burning myself are high, so I’ve been avoiding it. One injury and my husbands’ concerns over my magic hobby will become full-blown paranoia.” Shuichi huffed, “So it’d help me out, and honestly, I think what you’re doing for your friend is admirable.”

“Right!” Elthea perked up, nodding excitedly as Shuuichi surmised the exact page she was on. “Like, ideally charging it for a few days around the full moon will make it last a while, so she wouldn’t have to have a potion every day or anything, but if it helps? Then I think it’s better than having to have a freaking pharmacy log of what kinds of pain-killers she’s been taking lately.”

It wasn’t a cure. Elthea had no idea how to fix someone’s whole mana system being out of wack. But it could help, and that was worth trying for her friend. 

Elthea rolled her eyes a little before pouting. “Uh, we’d always planned on staying a few months. Do you have any idea how long it took to walk down from the mountains? Llu can read fast, but he takes forever to take notes on books he’s really interested in, and I wanted to spend time with Big Sis Nadya for a while anyway.” She shrugged. “Admittedly, you and Himiko-chan did extend those plans…”

“...but Llu’s been talking about leaving once the snow melts more and it’s not a nightmare to travel anymore,” Elthea said softly, “Going to see the elementals in Novoselic, or travel to other continents to see how magic’s developed there…freaking nerd.”

With a breath, Elthea mustered up something belligerent, though there was still a tinge of softness to it. “I’m not leaving. Usott is so much fun, and I have friends here, and Nela said her dad could help me sign up for school when the next term starts next month and I could just…be a normal teenager for once.” Elthea’s eyes scrunched. “...but I don’t want Llu to be alone either. He’s so…dumb. He needs someone watching his back.”

“Oh,” Shuichi said, pouting. Professor was leaving? But… but magic! Shuichi’s potions and spells were strong when they worked, but… they so rarely worked!! Gah! “He should stay. Perhaps forever? That seems reasonable.”

Shuichi sighed, knowing that wasn’t really a fair thing to expect. If Professor wanted to head off and explore magic in the world, Shuichi should wish him well… but he didn’t waaaaaaant to do that, he waaaaaaanted to keep learning. And for the professor to not be alone as well. The world was a big, dangerous place. It was dangerous to go alone. “Here, I’ll take this,” Shuichi offered, seeing Elthea put aside an empty bottle for her ritual. 

“Though, actually… wouldn’t the elementals maybe know something that could help your friend?” Shuichi reasoned out, “Elementals aren’t actually purely their elements, according to my research. There’s physical beings inside those layers of earth and fire and what have you. They must have some way of protecting those forms from their own elements, even if that way is something biological and natural. Like…” Shuichi considered it, “...maybe a special type of sweat? Magic sweat that protects the body? I’m not a biologist, I’m just spitballing. I just mean, your brother might be able to find something she needs there.”

Elthea considered that, looking over the runes to make sure she hadn’t made any mistakes…before pouting. “...maybe? I guess it wouldn’t be too far off to question, at least. Nela says she’s pretty sure she’s just human, but even ‘just humans’ can have weird biological things…”

Setting the board down, Elthea gave Shuuichi a worried look. He was an adult, and her brother’s friend, so…he should have answers, right? “...I don’t want him to go. We’ve always been together. You…you can talk him out of it, right? There’s plenty of magic to study in Usott.”

“Me? No. I couldn’t possibly convince him not to go,” Shuichi said plainly, settling in on his knees beside her, “But, I could potentially ask my husband Kokichi to talk to him. Kokichi could talk milk into uncurdling. He’d give it a very sincere, insistent speech that performing its function as milk was a vital part of the greater community, and that Kokichi was sure it could rise to the occasion… and the milk wouldn’t be able to look at his sweet, round face and dare to let him down. At the very least it’d immediately become yogurt to try to make up for its failures.”

Shuichi glanced over at Elthea, curious to see if the joke would land… before sighing, “...I could ask him to stay, but Elthea…if you need him to stay for you, you should tell him that. It shouldn’t be something you have to trick or pressure out of him. You should be able to explain yourself, and because he’s your brother and I know he loves you, he’d keep your best interest in mind.”

“And if he doesn’t? Well… that’s something important to know about him, in the end,” Shuichi said softly, “And you can make more informed decisions, knowing that. You can decide if you’re okay with that, for one. If that’s something you can forgive. Or, maybe, even something you’re okay with, for his sake. But either way, it’s something you should know.”

Elthea snorted a bit--the heir apparent was very hard to say no to, and while she hadn’t ever been on the receiving end of his ire…that was a good thing--before sighing. Her gaze falling as her hands curled into fists in her lap. “...he’s already stayed for me. Practically our whole lives. How could I…” She let go of a frustrated breath, running her fingers through her bangs as her jaw tightened. “...how could I ask him to stay when he’s always given everything for me? I tease him about being a big nerd and stuff, and…yeah, we started off this trip for him, but… I-if he really wants to go, I couldn’t…”

Elthea huffed, loosely wrapping her arms around her middle, glaring off to the side. “I’m 16, I shouldn’t need my brother there to tuck me in every night. If he wants to go traveling the world then…that’s what he should do. Not…be tied down, just ‘cause our parents are gone.”

“No,” Shuichi said, giving Elthea a dry look, “You’re 16. My husband–the red headed one–would literally call you an infant right now. And I’m half sure he’d be sincere about it.”

“Because Prince Kaito is super normal about kids, no offense,” Elthea shot back, before huffing. “You know what I mean… I mean, your mom just left, right? And you’d already left her when you moved here. Like…you hadn’t even thought about asking her to come to Dicea with you initially, right?”

“I was 22 when I left. I’m 24 now. But… that’s almost besides the point. I’m not talking technicalities,” Shuichi said, “What I’m saying is, by no one's definition do you not still need adults in your life you can trust. That you’re close to. I know your brother isn’t your parent, and that puts pressure on you not to treat him like one. But right now he is the adult in your life and… ugh.”

Shuichi sighed, shaking his head. “Scratch that, I’m not even sure if I entirely believe in all of that. I think when someone no longer needs to be taken care of wildly depends on the person and context, it’s really not an age thing. But. He’s your only family, and you need to be honest with him that if he goes, you’re going to feel alone. Regardless of age or even how much you think you’d be fine without him? That’s true. You’d be asking him to stay because you still feel like you need him. No legal requirements, no even real social or personal obligation for him to stay… you two just need to have that conversation being honest that that’s what you’re asking him. To stay because you still need him.”

“And he might make a really good counter argument that you don’t need him and he wants to go, and you should think about it if he does, or think about it now and decide if you’re okay with that. But if you’re trying to get him to stay,” Shuichi said, giving her a pointed look, “Just be honest about why. You’re allowed to want things. It’s not like you just don’t deserve him.”

Elthea gave Shuuichi a long, searching look. 

Lluwyn and Elthea constantly bickered with each other. They had practically their whole lives. Lluwyn thought she was too reckless and undisciplined, content to rely on brute strength when he knew her potential was so much higher…but it wasn’t as if he didn’t understand her call to adventure. It was something he’d fought against for a long time, within himself too, remembering what happened to their parents…but it was still a feeling he understood. Elthea thought he was too strict and single-minded, so entrenched in magic and what they meant to the village that he forgot the rest of the world…but it wasn’t like she ignored him. 

It wasn’t like Elthea wasn’t listening to anyone who tried to give her wisdom. 

She let out a breath, wiping her chalky fingers on her pants. “...okay, fine, I’ll talk to him. You don’t have to threaten me, people will get weird ideas.” Elthea offered him a small grin. “...soooo I heard you were down for helping me out with some midnight magic?”

“Don’t joke, I feel like if people heard I threatened a teenage girl asking me for help, people might actually believe it,” Shuichi sighed, before nodding, “Please, take the lead. I’m happy to help.”

-

Axel was waiting at Destiny Island, nudging his foot into the sand a bit, making little holes as he kicked the sand up. 

Whelp… whelp whelp whelp. Guess he was doing this today. This was what he was doing. Gonna go be… Lea. Gonna confront inner turmoil for the privilege… to be… Lea.

…the debt collecting low ranking gangster. Lea. Sold by his parents because he was such a waste of space Lea. Leeeeaaaaaaa.

…yaaaaaay.

Kokichi was pretty pleased with himself, all things considered. He had no idea when Axel would want to give an attempt, so he’d just…gone to sleep. Making sure he wasn’t going to spend the whole night up, and he’d put together a little ‘alarm clock’ to wake him when he received any intent. And it worked! 

So he was a pretty picture of pleasant pride as he arrived back on Destiny Island, giving Axel a wave…before pausing. Giving the man a concerned look. “...if you don’t really wanna do this, I’m not gonna push the issue,” Kokichi assured after a moment. “I know you gave your reasons before but…it’s you. You’re not locked into anything.”

“Is it written on my face, or did you read my brain already?” Axel asked, smirking a little as he shrugged, “I appreciate the concern, but this is something that’s gotta happen eventually. And if you make this work for me? Presumably it’ll be that much easier to make it work for the next guy.”

Crossing his arms, Axel kicked the sand some more, before saying, “Look, Roxas and I? We’re the easy ones. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but Roxas wasn’t that different from Sora. Not in the ways that count, I think. Sora’s a giant ol bundle of sunshine, yeah, but at his core he’s just a guy who cares about people and is willing to try things. Roxas was the same. Even if he pretended not to be.”

“Me?” Axel said, sighing, “When Lea made me, he didn’t bother making me someone who couldn’t feel anything. He told everyone that because that’s what we were all supposed to do and the others, especially the older guys, could get real peer-pressurey about it. Something about Empaths going insane if they didn’t fully commit to the bit, I don’t know, whatever it was that had them so freaked out about it happened before my time. But me? Lea made me to just… be a more ruthless version of him. More capable, practical. He didn’t want me to be a mindless machine just cranking through new Indentureds on a factory line. He based me on mob bosses he knew.” Axel said, grinning wanely, “People who could hurt you with a smile. Because it was all just part of the job.”

“Honestly? He barely made me on purpose,” Axel said. “I was meant to be a mask he could take on and off at will, he didn’t want more than that. But the others’ strength developed me, over time, and one day he was gone and I was here. And… I don’t know,” Axel scoffed, “...it’s probably because he based me on bigger assholes in our gangs than him? But I can’t help but look back and think it was pathetic. That if he was going to be that weak, he deserves what he got.”

“But I don’t want the others to feel that way,” Axel said, glaring at the sand, “So I gotta get over that.”

Axel, and some of the others, had mentioned that before. That Roxas was the ‘easy’ one. Honestly, Kokichi wasn’t sure how true that was, since if Roxas hadn’t happened to pull Shuuichi over while they were talking to Maki, or Kokichi hadn’t brought him when they came to the Empaths, then… Axel had been the one to seal the deal, so to speak, but Kokichi really thought that Shuuichi being there, and Roxas getting to confront him was something that he’d needed to get to that point in the first place. 

…and on the other hand? Kokichi didn’t know any of the Nobodies well, but he thought that they might be overstating that difficulty a little, in comparison to each other. 

Because…

“Interesting,” Zexion hummed, tilting his head, “So your core motivation is still rooted in a consideration for others’ feelings, despite claiming to be modeled just off of ruthlessness. Well, that’s something to consider through this, I suppose.”

Bowing lightly to Prince Kokichi, Zexion blinked at Axel. “Have you decided who you want as your ‘trusted person’ to come along on this endeavor?”

Axel sighed, scratching through the back of his hair as he rested his hip against his hand. “Geez. Well, whatever, it’s not like it’s a secret. Blah blah blah, Axel cares about people, report it to the papers. Like I’ve tried to hide it in years.”

“And, actually…” Axel crossed his arms, looking at Kokichi, “I thought I’d try to do this without a ‘trusted person’. You’ve only done this once, we don’t know we actually have to have another person involved. And going on a brain tour of trauma might be something some of the others are less thrilled to volunteer for. Might as well at least try to do it with some privacy, just to see if we can…except for you, I guess,” Axel said, looking dryly at Zexion, “If I told you to back the fuck off, I’m sure Zexion number 3002 would just pop up in there somewhere. Right?”

Zexion returned the dry look. “If your purposes for trying to do this privately are experimental, then all the more reason for me to come. If we can grasp a full understanding of how our AutoPilot defenses are working, then it might be possible to do this without the help of a stronger Empath, or to at least create a workable flowchart for others in the future. Considering what happened to Roxas, I doubt you’d be able to record your experiences as thoroughly.”

The look grew even more sardonic. “I’m sure anyone who wants revenge can take it in full when it’s my turn, don’t worry about me coming just to gawk at your trauma and insecurities. I really don’t care.”

Kokichi sighed a little at that, pulling the back of his hair. “That’s kind of the part I’m worried about, but…if you do wanna try this as an experiment, then let’s try, I suppose. Given my and Roxas’ experiences, I’m kind of expecting I’ll have to at least argue against you at some point, Axel, which…I’m not really sure I’d have good arguments for, but…let’s give it a shot!”

With a hopeful smile, Kokichi held a hand out, offering Axel to lead. “Have an idea where Lea might be?” He paused at that, though. He’d gotten the impression that…at least some of them weren’t using their real names, as the Nobodies, but this was the first time he was hearing Axel’s, and…Roxas, Axel…Sora, Lea…

Kokichi squinted. “...did…some of you just make an anagram of your name with an ‘x’?”

“Look, man, if you isolate a group of people and give it enough time? Dumb shit becomes ‘tradition’. Always.” Axel chuckled, nodding to Kokichi before leading the way, bringing him up to the treehouses. 

Axel brought them into a seemingly random bedroom, opening up what looked like a closet, but on the inside was a small metal tube with a ladder that went down. Getting onto the ladder, Axel led them down the tube, where inside of it were two doors. On one side, the wooden door had a sign above it that read Super Awesome Secret Sauna. 

The other side had a simple drawing of Axel with his tongue out, snarling out like a sharp-toothed devil. “This is me. We put my door near the Super Awesome Secret Sauna because my door gets pretty hot. I think you’re going to notice a lot of our worlds’ entrances have similar connections and reasoning,” Axel said, opening the door and ignoring the steam immediately coming off of his hand as he held it open for them.

Roxas’ world had been a city. One that was clearly based on Luminary, for anyone who had been so familiar with Luminary cities that even the aesthetic change made it recognizable. A dark, wet, depressing world… but one still based on the idea of freedom. On movement and exploration. A city you could go out and explore.

Axel’s world took them onto a splintered, unsteady looking wooden bridge held up by frayed, thinning rope, above magma that shifted and burned a bright, dangerous red just below the wooden bridge. And above and around them was stone. Decoracted stone, yes, with dragon statues that had gaped mouths as more magma poured from their lips into the lake below, colorful tiles seared into the frame of doors that lead to tunnels further into the caverns… but the atmosphere wasn’t one of open exploration, inviting you to wander around, to see what you could find.

The air was thick with the heat and while it didn’t burn the way it should, it was far from comfortable. Every step on the wooden bridge creaked dangerously. Each door out of the room looked identical and menacing. This was not a place to explore. This was a place to survive. An environment that screamed ‘you’re stuck now. What are you going to do next?’

Axel, at least, seemed unbothered by it, looking around before looking back to explain, like someone showing around their office, “So, most of our worlds are kinda designed with the idea that conditioning people is their main purpose. That’s why you’re going to find they all kind of suck to be in, in some way or another. The factory did a lot of work putting the Indentureds in enough stress that our conditioning could take hold, but we had to keep it consistently high the entire time we were working. If conditioning was happening, it had to feel miserable, sort of thing.”

“Actually, that’s why we let Indentureds take breaks on the island,” Axel said, gesturing back to the door. “If we weren’t actively conditioning, they didn’t need to be stressed out, and honestly, keeping them under this much pressure, too long? Does more than condition them, it can seriously break them. Do too much, and an Indentured can just get so traumatized they retreat into their own head and don’t come out again, or they start acting so crazy that even if they obey they can’t really be relied on,” Axel said. “Learning to not go near that breaking point and letting them rest was something we all had to learn to do. Thankfully I don’t think any of us really learned the hard way, totally breaking someone, but I know a lot of us came close. I sure did a few times,” Axel admitted with a shrug, heading towards one of the tunnels. 

Look, this was a serious thing! Axel was extending a lot of trust towards Kokichi! 

…but just like Roxas’ world, Kokichi couldn’t help but look around in awe at the…basically fire temple Axel’s world was. Kokichi could so easily imagine Link pressing forward with courage, ready to face another challenge from Ganondorf and the Goddesses. Clad in a Goron Tunic, or maybe Fireshield Earrings, depending on the book…

This was a dungeon. 

But, er, really not one meant for courageous heroes to explore. A dungeon in…the other sense. 

Though even that was a revelation. “Wait…” Kokichi said slowly, glancing between Axel and Zexion in astonishment. “So you brought people in the program into your minds? Not just implementing the conditioning in theirs?”

Zexion raised his eyebrows slightly, filing that reaction away. “Even with a power boost, going into others’ minds is still pretty difficult for many of us. Generally, it was easier to pull them to us and take a more…outside-in approach, generally speaking. Even if a lot of Indentureds weren’t really sure what was going on. Even if they could remember, it would mostly seem like a very strange dream.”

“Oh… So that was why Namine talked like Maki had been to Destiny Island before…” Kokichi mused. He frowned a bit, Cathan coming to mind. Someone fully retreating into their mind during conditioning… At least it wasn’t permanently. Though he could see why it’d be tempting. That’s basically what all the Nobodies had done and…well, even if it wasn’t as much, harm always affected two people, at the least. 

Kokichi nodded a little, still looking around the beautiful, magma-filled dungeon…before his voice took on a sheepish tone. “Hey, Axel? Uh…maybe a weird question, but are you a fan of adventure stories?”

“Yeah, I’m definitely not strong enough to jump into other people’s minds. The only two places I’ve ever been are Destiny Island and here.” Axel shrugged. He was one of the weakest Empaths, if not maybe just actually the weakest one in some regards. He had long stopped being embarrassed by that, and just focused on what he was good at… which was effectively conditioning people. 

Axel had some of the quickest conditions on record.

…and yeah, they kept a record. A lot of them liked to beat each other's times, or try different techniques to see if they could handle them. A game made out of it. It was cruel, sure, but that was literally what Nobodies had been designed to do. Be cruel.

Though, while admitting he wasn’t a very powerful Empath wasn’t that embarrassing… he still flushed. Scratching his nose and looking away as he said, “Uh… well, sure. Who hasn’t read one or two or…” Axel coughed, “An entire series of some? …Look, the fire temples are cool! It’s easier to design stuff like this if you have an inspiration in mind! I’m not embarrassed!” Axel said, looking horribly embarrassed.

Huh… That could be something to consider when making the defenses. He’d talk to Temp and Alter Ego about it later. 

Kokichi lit up at Axel’s response, beaming excitedly. “I love the Link’s Adventures series! And the fire temples are super cool; niihii, I used to set up stuff in my room to play pretend in a lot of the dungeons? If I’d realized my Empathy sooner, I know I totally would’ve done something like this too!”

Not to torture people in, Zexion was sure, but he gave a placid nod. “I have memory copies of every installment in my library…barring if any came out in the last six months, I suppose.”

Axel gave Kokichi a surprised look at that… before he grinned, chuckling a little as he stuck his pinky in his ear, scratching at it as he said sheepishly, “Wow, you even guessed which series? I guess my recreation isn’t half bad. Yeah, I grew up on those books, I used to save coin every year to get the latest installment. I had to practically beg the supervisors to get us copies after we were locked up… I, after I was locked up.” Axel frowned, confused at himself. ‘We’? Why had his mind gone to plural pronouns? “But I had to know what happened next, so the begging was worth it. Link’s an awesome hero, I always thought the fire chapters were some of his most impressive moments.”

Axel looked around, as he explained, “I don’t really have any of the puzzles in here, but sometimes I make versions of the monsters if someone’s being particularly difficult? I have Volvagia somewhere around here. You remember that one? Big ol fire dragon. Scary as hell if you don’t know she’s coming, but I actually think she’s really pretty to look at if you know to expect her.” Axel motioned for the others to follow him down the tunnel, clearly wanting to show off.

Kokichi laughed a bit, braying sheepishly. “I mean, this really is how I imagined some of them, so true, but also lucky guess. They’re such amazing stories that it really would be the series I think of first.” Giving Axel an encouraging nod, Kokichi blushed lightly. “I got my husband a collection of the most popular trilogy of ‘em his first birthday we spent together, so it has a bit of an additional sentimental meaning to me too.”

As much as Zexion enjoyed discussing books, he did mostly keep quiet, looking at Axel for a moment at his pronoun confusion. Or…clarification. Zexion supposed he was the most obvious example, but with Lea making Axel so similar to himself, and not just…an automaton, really…hm. It’d be interesting to see the developments on this. 

Though it looked like they might be taking a detour first.

“Hoooooooo!” Kokichi warbled in excitement, doing a tapping little dance between his feet. “Yes!! I’d love to see Volvagia! I might be a little biased, but dragons are so cool, and I thought her backstory was so neat? Ooooooh, if you’re okay with me telling him, my husband’s gonna be so jealous!!” 

Axel laughed, giving a nod and a wink to Kokichi. “A Momota prince jealous of something I have? You know what, that’s flattering, be sure to tell him in detail.”

As they headed down the tunnels, one-eyed bats hanging from the ceilings and watching them pass unchallenged, Axel slowed his walking to match Kokichi’s pace. Peering down at him before laughing lightly, shaking his head. “It’s a little bizarre, just walking with royalty… Hey, I’m sure you hate questions like these, and I know it’s not really the point of any of this. But since we don’t really know what we’re supposed to be doing in here yet anyway, can I ask you questions about the Momota?”

…Zexion’s ears perked, and he glanced with surreptitious eagerness at Kokichi. 

Kokichi snorted a bit, giving Axel an amused look. “I’ll have to hear what the questions are before knowing if I hate them or not, and I can’t promise to answer everything, but…call him Kaito? And I’ll answer what I can.” There was a bit of a devious snicker from the Dicean Prince. “My friends are all sick of it by now, but any chance I have to gush about my husbands, I’m gonna take.”

“Really…” Axel said, looking a little surprised, “...look, I don’t really know how to talk politely to anyone anyway. I’m pretty sure I should have bowed earlier and called you your grace this whole time, and it wasn’t me being rebellious or anything to not do that, I just straight up forgot. Even if I know someone’s gonna beat the shit out of me for it, I tend to forget my P’s and Q’s, just by my nature. So, one, sorry about that, and two, I just need you to know that so you understand where I’m at when I say I am… really shocked by how casual you are. Still! Despite treating you casually. Your grace,” Axel added on as an afterthought, before snickering. Entirely proving his own point.

“Honestly, if you had asked me to picture you before we actually met you?” Axel asked, before grinning, putting his hand palm down just above Kokichi’s head, before raising it up higher and higher, “Well, first, I thought you’d be taller. But also, I thought you’d be some sort of buff badass. I mean, you married the Boogieman. The Wild Prince’s personal hound. That alone sounded like it should have taken some serious personality, if nothing else. But then there were all these rumors that you were having the Momota’s… uh, Kaito’s, legs broken… or was it arm? I don’t know, it was just big news for a minute there that the prince had gotten married and then made a run for it, gotten the shit kicked out of him for the effort. That you were taming him, basically.”

“And all of that feels real silly to say now, because meeting you, and even meeting Shuichi…well, you’re strong as hell, and Shuichi’s not exactly a bundle of flowers, but neither of you are anywhere near as intimidating as the rumors made it sound. So, like… is he the same? Rumors overblown? Or did you actually have to tame him?” Axel asked curiously. 

“Oh…right…” Kokichi blinked in surprise, before tugging on some strands of his hair lightly, giving Axel a sheepish grin. “You know, you’d think I’d remember by now. So!” Kokichi clapped his fingers together, tilting his head, “Forms of respect and social etiquette are suuuuper different in Dicea than they are in Luminary. Like, there’s a bit more nuance, but as a quick, general guide? It’s like…complete opposites. The whole bowing and your grace stuff just…isn’t a thing in Dicea, and talking casually is how you’d approach a stranger without giving off the kind of vibes like you wanna fight someone. So, uh, to me, you’ve been really polite so far!”

Not entirely…but generally, and some of the verbiage, well, that was a lesser issue. 

Kokichi sighed a bit. “Okay, that is a rumor that does bum me out, though I can see how it got started, compared to some of the others… No, like… I dunno how much you guys heard of him, but the old Head Secretary of Luminary? Huge asshat, one of the worst people I’ve ever met, and for shits and giggles he decided to mess with Shuu-chan and Maki-chan in some bullshit last hurrah… Kai-chan went after them, after our wedding, and got in an accident with his horse, which is how he broke his arm. I’d sent one of my friends, a member of the Usott Guardforce after Shuu-chan and Maki-chan as soon as we noticed they were missing, and thankfully she was able to help them all out, but…Kai-chan getting escorted back to the castle, after a sudden departure, and coming back injured?” Kokichi shrugged tiredly. 

“But Kai-chan really is a sweetheart,” Kokichi continued with a fond grin, “I don’t know the exact rumors in Luminary about him? He does have a temper he’s been working on, and he did go out partying a lot before we got married, but he’s always been a friendly, ‘let’s have a good time’, ‘I’ll sit down and have an ale with ya if you wanna talk’ kind of guy. And I’m very lucky to have married him. And Shuu-chan too.”

Zexion hadn’t meant to be that obvious about it, but he found himself holding a book to his chest as they walked through Axel’s tunnels, his brow furrowing a bit. “...I don’t mean to totally derail from your proclamations of love but…you knew the Head Secretary? From what we’ve gathered, no one really knows what happened, but…do you know what happened to him?”

At that, Kokichi faltered a little, before grimacing. “Uh, well…”

“Yeah, I picked up on that too,” Axel whispered to Zexion. Not to hide it from Kokichi, but more like he was afraid of being heard, instinctively lowering his voice when the topic of Tengan came up. Shoving his hands into his robe pockets, Axel hesitated for a second… before gritting his teeth. “You know what, I’m not keeping secrets for that bastard. This might come as a surprise to you, Kokichi, but…the head secretary?”

Axel paused, taking a breath. “...was an Empath too.”

Kokichi gave Axel a wary smile. “No, I know that. And…I guess if you guys know that, then…” He sighed, scratching the back of his head. “...okay, I’m going out on a bit of a limb here? Officially? Yeah, I don’t know what happened to Buttfuck Tengan and the party. Unofficially? Because of Empath stuff? I know.”

Practically--well, literally--feeling Zexion’s curiosity, Kokichi explained, “Tengan’s dead. And…most of the party are too. The ones I knew were still alive were in Danganronpa last I heard, but I really don’t know what’s happened since then, especially with the whole panic over there…”

Zexion sped up, unintentionally looming over Kokichi a bit as he looked at the prince intently. “What panic?”

Kokichi’s eyes widened a little, before his mouth made a little ‘o’. “I don’t know exactly? They’ve always been strict about information getting out, but like…a month and a half ago? Totally silent. Kai-chan has a friend that has family in Danganronpa, and according to their letters, it’s mayhem. Like…parts of the country literally on fire.”

Zexion could only stare at Kokichi for a moment, before furiously writing in his Lexicon, the fact that he was physically doing the motions extremely telling for how much this information blew him away.

“Woah. I mean, I don’t know anything about Danganronpa, but that’s crazy,” Axel admitted, also thinking privately to himself that it was a shame about the missing party, though not that surprising after this much time… though…

Axel grinned, eyes lighting up with excitement. “Ding dong, the witch is dead?! Seriously!? You’re sure, one hundred percent??”

…so they didn’t know about Flora, or were covering it pretty well. Kokichi didn’t feel great lying about that, but…well, for now? It was simpler this way. 

“One hundred,” Kokichi nodded, feeling some of his smile return just from Axel’s blatant excitement. “The person that was Tengan is absolutely gone. His body’s still there, but him? Dead.”

“Good riddance,” Zexion mumbled, still scribbling away, before he paused, looking up at Kokichi in astonishment. “Wait, his body’s still… Is that the personality rewrite that Shuuichi brought up before?!” He gave Kokichi an even more bewildered look. “You…”

Kokichi gave him a sheepish look. “Yeah, but not me. I just know who did. But…if that’s something you guys wanna celebrate, then I’m happy to pass the news on.”

Axel’s eyes widened, his grin getting a little twitchy as he murmured, “Oh, that’s scary as fuck. More people than you can do that? Ooooooh… terrifying.”

“But!” Axel shouted, pumping his fists into the air as the tunnel opened up to a massive dome cavern filled with magma and floating platforms of stone, Axel rushing forward and jumping on one of the platforms, it waving and shaking beneath his weight as he looked back at them, laughing. “He’s dead! That bastard is dead! Worse than dead! Good riddance! We can’t believe it… we survived and he didn’t! DING DONG!” Axel shouted, as the magma behind him suddenly erupted, a massive, snake-like dragon made of lava roaring up and through the air as Axel cackled, “MASTER TENGAN’S DEAD! HA HA HA HA HA!!”

And then Axel looked down, and fire started to form around his body, his eyes glowing a bright, burning orange as flames started to spin rapidly around his hands. “Fuck… does that make anyone else really excited!?” he asked, as above them Volvagia screeched. “God, we’re PUMPED!” 

…oh, so they were…very acquainted. Which still made Axel’s reaction make sense, but, uh…

“Oooh…” 

Even as Kokichi marveled at the long, squiggly dragon, Zexion made a low hum, murmuring to him, “Perhaps a shame we didn’t detour to find a hammer before this…”

“I was hoping this wouldn’t be a boss fight,” Kokichi hummed back, before shrugging a little and hopping to one of the platforms, grinning a little at the sort of squishy feeling as the rock rocked on the magma. To Axel (?) he snorted, “Probably not tonight, but sometime I should tell you about how I wrecked the shit of a memory of him. Not one of my proudest moments, but it was pretty cathartic.”

“HA HA HA Heeee~” Axel’s cackling cut off into a near wheeze as the magma surrounding them started to bubble, sparks of fire dancing around Axel’s skin as he mused, “Man, I’d have loved to have done that. Too risky though. That guy would show up and just… dig. Through your memories for fun. He knew how to find just any rebellious thought you had and just twist it all up to make you feel pathetic for even considering it… god, I hated him. I’d have given anything to see him go down.” Axel grinned, the magma boiling around him… before he let out a breath, calming.

And oddly, that caused more of a reaction. 

The magma around them started to lift up and out of the lake, creating floating bubbles of magma that gently lifted upwards, like a lava lamp. The dragon effortlessly flew around the massive bubble of floating magma, the lights of the magma shifting shadows around the cavern as Axel looked up to watch, grinning at the display as he said, “It’s not like he visited a lot, but fuck, I always resented how it was one of us that was doing it, ya know? Another Empath. And he had the gall to treat us like whining, whimpering children when we argued with him, like we were being unreasonable to call him out on enslaving us… The factory supervisors thought we were fucking demons, they wore a ton of protective charms around us to keep us out of their minds and still acted like any second we’d change into massive beasts and devour them, they’d never talk to us if they could help it. But they were human, at least it made some sense… he was one of us. How could he do that to us?” Axel asked, frowning as he watched the magma bubbles float, “I don’t think any of the Nobodies at their absolute worst could have pulled the shit he did. And he was whole. Makes you wonder…”

Zexion glanced to the side, gripping his book a little tighter. So many of the extra defenses and additional confoundry in his mind was specifically because of Tengan. He had been happy to share his knowledge with the others, teaching some of the kids who didn’t know how to read, or just opening his library for people to have some peace with a good book…and how Tengan could just essentially knock all his bookcases down? Bypassing--well, it really had just been a normal library then--the maze and going straight for Ienzo’s more closer kept memories that he wasn’t so quick to share with others…

It was insulting. And frightening. Sure, the Nobodies had taken a lot of each other throughout the years, but no one had done it with such entitlement and ease as fucking Master Tengan. 

Kokichi frowned in agreement, carefully watching the movement of magma, but not doing anything about it yet. Just seeing how this was playing out. “I really wasn’t being hyperbolic when I called him the worst person I’d ever met earlier. He was a nightmare and the world’s better off without him in it.”

“Yeah… yeah.” Axel sighed, letting out another breath, the atmosphere calming more. The magma no longer bubbling and moving the platforms as Axel let out a loud, exaggerated huff of breath. “Sorry, could feel myself heating up there, for a second. You know, I thought it was weird, that Roxas kept acting like he was conditioning someone when we were all in his head. Stalking someone through his city, acting harsh and vindictive, quiet, quiet, then lashing out… that was a conditioning technique of his. I kept wondering why he was doing that, I assumed it was just because Shuichi was there.”

“But now that I think about it?” Axel said, looking warily at Kokichi, “Having someone who’s not another Nobody in my head like this? Everyone else who’s ever been in here is Master Tengan and Indentureds. And it’s like my skin itches. Every bit of me keeps aching to start conditioning you, to just let myself… do what I’m supposed to do, is what it feels like. Like, rationally, I feel fine, I know what’s going on… but emotionally? I want to burn you and make you scream.” Axel said, fire still flicking off his skin as he stared at Kokichi, “...no offense.”

“None taken,” Kokichi smiled wanely. “I suppose that’s a good reason to figure out if you all’d be able to do this without me, then. Even if provoking you is a way forward, I’d like to think there’d be a way without that kind of distress--enough that it’s worth looking into, at least.”

“You’d think that what you’d ‘emotionally’ want to do would be the answer, or at least a clue,” Zexion hummed, watching the magma curiously. “...you started talking in plurals again. I want to think that’s significant, though I don’t know for what.”

He squinted at Kokichi. “...you have semi-permanent constructs, yes?”

Kokichi blinked. “Uh, yeah, but I don’t--”

“Do you find yourself grouping them into your ego, when you talk?” Zexion continued, cutting Kokichi off.

Kokichi scratched the back of his neck, thinking about it. “Um… Not…really? Like, I know they’re a part of me, but I actually kinda treat them separately. Enough where I’ve gotten warnings from other Empaths about letting myself buy into that fantasy too much. But I like to think I’ve found a good balance.”

“Oh, yeah, so I wasn’t the only one to notice that,” Axel said, rubbing the back of his neck a bit, “Yeah, that probably is relevant, though hell if I know why… I think I was happy? Really happy. But then happy turned into angry real fast…I don’t know, guys, I’m genuinely trying to think this through with you. I just feel a little stuck on where to go from here. I feel like I know my own mind pretty well, I’m having a tough time imagining there’s gonna be a hidden mosaic podium thing hiding a piece of my heart in it. Doesn’t feel like me.”

Axel looked curiously over at Kokichi. “Man, you must make some incredible constructs though, with how strong you are? She’s my most complicated thing I’ve made,” Axel said, nodding up to the dragon, “And really she’s a figment more than anything. Just moving decoration. Is it possible to see something you’ve made?” 

“Your theatrics don’t tend towards poetics,” Zexion mused in agreement. 

While it was a nice compliment, Kokichi just blushed and looked a bit sheepish. “Uh, well, that’s nice of ya, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up that much… Um…” As much as Kokichi liked showing Chibi Kaito things, maybe a visage of the prince from the family that enslaved you wasn’t…the kindest thing Kokichi could bring out. Thankfully, he did have another chibi to show off. 

There was a sudden exclamation of bells, as Chibi Kokichi, dressed like a certain pirate princess soared over the floating rocks, jumping from place to place as he stared starry-eyed at Volvagia, practically trembling with the sense of badassery. 

(*◎◯◎*)

“Woah!” Axel said, watching the little Kokichi-looking thing bounce around, Axel giving a small, impressed whistle as he watched it animatedly follow Volvagia around. “Okay… and that’s not a figment? What does it do?” Axel asked, though he couldn’t help but grin a bit at the little thing’s just… whole vibe. Its joy and excitement a little infectious as he laughed, watching it jump from platform to platform. 

Laughing sheepishly, Kokichi watched Chibi Kokichi bounce around the boss room with fond enjoyment. “These days, he’s mostly a mental health check-in--like a “physical” representation of how I’m doing. I’ve struggled a lot with my mental health in the past, so having him be around to remind me to eat, or tell me to slow down and take a nap or something if I’m overworking myself? He’s been invaluable, really, helping me make healthier choices for myself.”

“I also have a construct that helps me with memory retrieval?” Kokichi said, catching Zexion nodding knowingly, “And Chibi Kokichi helps keep him from getting overzealous too. I’ve got some funky stuff in my head, and not always things I’d like super easily accessible, so while that construct is all about efficiency, Chibi Kokichi helps be a voice of reason for what’s actually good for me, and not just good in general.”

( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)(\ Chibi Kokichi blushed, patting an arm nub to his squishy face demurely and kicking a leg, though he seemed very pleased with the praise. 

“Woah, really?” Axel said, giving the chibi a more considering look… before looking to Zexion, “Dude, you need one of these.”

Zexion gave Axel a dry look. “I’d think you’d be encouraging me to have fewer constructs, considering some of your comments lately.”

“Uh…yeah, I know we’re focusing on Axel today, but I was wondering…” Kokichi gave Zexion a curious look. “What’s with the numbers?”

Zexion sighed beleagueredly. “While most of us have one construct that’s now managing our AutoPilot, I created many for various purposes. Considering we’re all the same, it was a bit useless to have names, so we’re numbered. I was the first, before that practice, so I am called Zexion, but the others are called 1, 2, 3, and so on.”

A concerned look started to grow on Kokichi’s face. “Do…you really have 3000 or…?”

“No,” Zexion waved away, “That was hyperbole.”

“He does have over a hundred,” Axel said, giving Zexion an equally dry look back as he said, “His numbers have gone up mid conversation with me… twice. Which basically means one construct got fed up talking to me, and made a whole new one just to get out of talking to me more. Twice.”

Pointing to Chibi Kokichi, Axel argued, “One of these would have told you not to do that. Since apparently you don’t have any self restraint with that stuff.” 

The concerned look grew even more, Kokichi pressing his fingers together over his mouth. Hm. Hmmmm.

Zexion just rolled his eyes at Axel. “I’m already reassimilating, aren’t I? And we still are looking for an appropriate occasion to apologize, since you turned down the offer to do it just with words before. Like…” He scoffed lightly, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oooooh nooo, it turns out I made a bad coping mechanism while we were enslaved, what a fucking shooooock.”

Chibi Kokichi stopped on a rock between Axel and Zexion, looking between them in concern now too. 

Axel scoffed, crossing his arms as he said, “At least you know it was a bad one. Look, you’re not the only one who made a damn annoying construct. I’m sorry, I know we’re not supposed to say it, but Saix’s wolf thing is annoying, okay? You can’t just turn into a damn wolf every time you’re stressed out, you can’t make another copy of yourself, and you know what, Larxene is a total bitch! Like, we all made annoying constructs!”

“But man, yours worried me,” Axel frowned, voice softening. “I know you’re already trying to fix it, and that’s great, but Zexion, you are buried in constructs. And I don’t know if that’s something you can just… turn off! Like… like what if Roxas was a fluke!?” Axel asked, gritting his teeth. “What if the rest of us can’t just… turn it off?!” he asked, as the magma started to bubble again.

They could, and they did. It was like a mantra at this point--lock a group of people inside their whole lives, torture them, make them torture others, and see just what kind of group of freaks you get. A group of tense, vindictive, bitchy freaks. 

…ones that did love each other, as much as any of them could experience love. And the way Zexion tensed was more belligerent this time. He knew he was ‘buried’ in constructs, that’s why he was working on it. Why he hadn’t volunteered first, for science. Until it was just Zexion and Ienzo left, Zexion wasn’t sure how successful they could even be, bringing Ienzo back so…he was working on it!

But his worries about being able to bring Ienzo back at all weren’t something unique to him alone.

As Chibi Kokichi peered up at Axel curiously, Kokichi sighed softly. “If it’s not a switch, then it’ll be consistent efforts that you’re still worth going through. If there’s anything I’ve learned since starting to use my Empathy more? It’s that there’s not a lot in the universe that’s truly, without exception, unique. You all aren’t…irreparably broken, or anything like that. Any type of healing just takes time, and care, and help.”

Axel sighed, crossing his arms and staring down at his feet, grumbling…before glancing down at the chibi, who had ended up on his platform at some point. “...damn, this thing is cute,” Axel muttered, kneeling down and, hesitantly, patting it on the head. “...maybe this just isn’t going to happen tonight.”

Looking up at the, well, bigger Kokichi, Axel shrugged with a small, tired smile. “We can keep exploring my mind if you guys want. Dig until we find something. But if it's about consistent effort, then maybe I’m hoping for too much that I’m about to pull a Roxas and Sora’s gonna pop out just… ready to go. I don’t even really know what the big differences between me and Lea even are, really. Lea was just a gangster bum too stuck in the mud for anything to work out for him. He wasn’t that different from me, I’m just… more violent, really. Easier.”

“And in some ways, I feel better than the guy who first walked into the factory,” Axel admitted, lightly scratching Chibi Kokichi’s head, “Look, I don’t want to give the factory any credit, because it doesn’t deserve any, but… for the first time I was eating every day. I rarely had to worry about anyone just randomly coming to beat the shit out of me. I think I got into maybe three actual fights in my early days and after that just… never had to hit anyone ever again. Never got hit. I got paler, sure, being stuck inside all the time wasn’t great, but I got healthier in a lot of ways too. Slept better. Made friends without constantly worrying someone was going to sell me out…”

Axel shrugged. “I honestly think I got nicer in the factory. As Axel. That the only thing I really needed help with from a construct was just… being more how I was when I was Lea. Beating people who didn’t have the bosses’ coin ready or dared talk back to him. I’ve always been a hired torturer, when it comes down to it. It was only when I became Axel that it felt like it took real effort.”

Chibi Kokichi pushed up into the head pat, giving Axel a bright look. 

Seeing that, Kokichi couldn’t help but smile too, though it was more bittersweet, hearing Axel’s story. It could be that trying to bring Lea back wouldn’t work tonight, but it was still worth the effort. Any and all healing was worth the effort. And…hearing that Axel’s life, in some ways, was better in the factory, stable, with a sort of safety that sounded more predictable, what was needed from him clear and…

Chibi Kokichi made a few happy bell sounds at the head scratches, before looking up at Axel-Lea, and then looking at Kokichi, putting his hands together. 

Meanwhile Zexion had been thinking…

…things happened when Axel got worked up. He’d already seen how Prince Kokichi was a peacekeeper, so it made sense he’d try to calm Axel down, but if getting ‘fired’ up was what was different, was the variable that made a reaction…

Almost out of nowhere, sighing a little as Zexion finally made a little hop over one of the rocks, Axel’s, Zexion asked, “Hey, Axel? Do you recall, some years ago, when you and Saix were on break at the same time, but I was sent to find you, and you two were nowhere to be found? So I had Marluxia get access to some of the doors with locks, and we found you two mid-coitus, and even I was a little surprised to find bite marks on your thighs, though less surprising that Saix barked at us, and–”

“What the FUCK MAN!?” Axel shouted.

Volvagia, who had just been harmlessly drifting in between the magma bubbles, suddenly screeched as she turned her attention to Zexion, Axel’s eyes burning red again as he shouted, “You all PROMISED never to bring that up again! It wasn’t my fault he regressed in the middle of it, I’m not… I didn’t do it on PURPOSE!” Axel insisted, face burning red with humiliation and a little guilt at the memory.

No, he hadn’t done it on purpose, but he uh… sure hadn’t stopped it, once he realized what was happening. Which he had known even then was a fucked up thing to do. Saix literally became mindless when he went into ‘wolf’ form. The guy would have had no idea what was going on at that point. 

It was not Axel’s proudest moment, and why Zexion had known it’d get a reaction as he demanded at Zexion, “Oh, WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT IT!? Like you even know what it’s like to be with someone! I can’t believe you’d say that in front of a STRANGER! Augh, you know what?”

Axel suddenly grinned, hovering up as he suddenly laughed, fire erupting from his mouth as Volvagia screeched, crashing down into Zexion, “BURN, BABY!” he shouted, as the dragon opened up her mouth wide, and then chomped down onto the construct. 

“UH?!” Kokichi said, voice cracking and face blazing with second-hand embarrassment. He had…no idea what Zexion was trying to do, but outing a very private memory was so not cool on several levels, and Kokichi could only look between the two Nobodies helplessly for a moment. 

There it was… A successful reaction. Not all experiments had significant findings, but Zexion wasn’t exactly known as the most patient of them. He stood placid against Axel’s mortification--somewhere inside of him, several constructs internally facepalming or bashing their head against a wall--but readied himself for Volvagia’s approach, hopping back a few times to avoid the dragon, putting up a barrier…

And blue eyes widening in panic for a moment, as the dragon went through them like nothing.

(Illusions didn’t work on someone working emotionally, not from environmental cues.)

It didn’t occur to Axel that the barrier could work–he was way too focused on how pissed he was over what was happening in front of him–and so the dragon didn’t so much as falter in its path, screeching as its massive maw snapped out at Zexion. The magma bubbles forming behind him to pressure him towards the snapping bite, giving him nowhere to back away too until–

Chomp

“HA HA HA HA HA!” Axel cackled, hovering over his platform as the magma boiled and bubbled, jostling the platforms, “You want to mess with FIRE?! GET BURNT! Got it MEMORIZED!?”

Kokichi’s eyes widened in panic, as well as a useless step forward taken, but… He could only hope that Zexion had gone back to his own mind.

-

Ienzo’s body gasped, everything feeling like it was burning, his brain feeling like it was melting…and all he could think about was--

You can’t be out in the open if you’re seen it’s worse, they don’t deserve your pain, hide, hide, HIDE IENZO!

Stumbling through the halls of the tavern, they tried to think of anywhere small and hidden to get to, just…

To stumble into large, strong arms. 

Aeleus held Ienzo steady, looking at him in concern. Ienzo was jittering, more than shaking, and by the blood already dripping down his nose… 

“...I’ve got you,” he softly reassured, guiding Ienzo to a bathroom. Gently maneuvering him over the toilet, just in time for Ienzo to start throwing up, the blood coming out of his nose gushing more violently. 

Reaching over, Aeleus wetted a cloth and draped it over the back of Ienzo’s neck, and held him. Just waiting for this to pass. 

-

It was hard to tear his eyes from where…Zexion had just been, but Kokichi’s gaze was pulled up at the sound of bells. Chibi Kokichi, having caught a ride on Axel, was dangling from…what looked like a bright red dragon’s tail? Pulled out the back of Axel’s cloak. It looked like that, but also…

Kokichi could feel the anger from it. A hot, violent anger, not unlike what Kokichi felt from Kaito at the peak of some of his rages, the kind of anger that…made you violent. 

With another chime of bells, Chibi Kokichi threw down a grappling hook, and, well…Kokichi had read the story before. 

Instead of trying to reason with Axel this time, Kokichi twirled the grappling hook and launched it towards the end of the Fury Tail, and, pulling the line taut, Kokichi took a deep breath and ran himself towards the end of his rock, launching himself forward into a huge swing.

So, here’s the thing.

Kokichi’s level of power just straight up played by different rules. See, Axel’s perception of himself wouldn’t necessarily have made a literal, actual tail pull out from beneath his coat. It’d never occur to him… but Kokichi was, whether he was conscious of it or not, able to see the entirety of a mind, when he was motivated to. And Kokichi was strong enough that his interpretation of what he was seeing? Reflected and transformed the landscape of where he was. 

Kokichi could see the part of Axel that protected him–protected Lea–by making him more ruthless. Not a construct, but an aid. Axel was not a construct. He was Lea. Just with help. And with Chibi Kokichi’s assistance–the chibi literally made to assess mental health–he could literally see the part of Axel laid bare now in his anger that protected him with that anger, manifesting it into a tail. 

And while maybe anyone else would have had to talk Axel down. Convinced Axel to pull the tail himself. Maybe even beaten him until he was willing to remove the tail just to save himself… Kokichi was different.

Kokichi had to hold back from changing the world. 

And with Chibi Kokichi seeing the problem, and Kokichi having the solution manifested in his hands–literally just pulling at the piece hurting Axel–it was child's play to pull back on the line, with a yank, and literally rip the constructed Aid out from Lea’s, as he would call it, ‘heart’. 

The tail went ‘pop’. And with it gone… Axel. Lea. Frowned and suddenly went, “Oh, shit. I think I hurt Ienzo.”

And the dragon lined the cavern walls as she started to turn to stone. The magma around them cooling into dense, black volcanic rock, Axel… Lea stepping down onto the ground as he looked around uncertainly, “Shit… shit…” before looking down at the red dragon tail, still writhing on the ground as a squeaking chibi held on for dear life. “...the heck is that?” 

The tail went ‘pop’. And Kokichi, swinging from it, went, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

However, like his namesake, luck favored Kokichi on that day, and instead of plunging into bubbling magma, he simply skidded on cooling volcanic rock, getting up after a moment and rubbing his back with a groan. 

Making his way back to…Lea, Kokichi looked at the tail in bewilderment. “...well, I didn’t expect that. Uh…” Placing a sandal on the thick part of the tail, pinning it, Kokichi reached down to pick Chibi Kokichi up, giving his little self a fond look as the chibi let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “...damn, sorry about that. Chibi Kokichi looked more into you, I guess…”

Frowning worriedly at Lea, Kokichi explained what his construct had seen. “...you didn’t make an AutoPilot. You had an aide directing any major feelings into anger, and that anger into violent impulses. This…is that aide. Axel, Lea…is just you.”

Chibi Kokichi nodded vigorously in confirmation, before popping up, giving Lea a wink and a pose, a specialty of the pirate princess for the hero beating the dungeon. 

“An aid…” Axel… Lea? Said as he looked down at the weird tail thing, which had started slowing down and… “Oh, gross.”

The tail started to disintegrate, but something shined within the center of the melting flesh. Reaching in, Axel pulled out a red ruby stone, bordered with gold… before he chuckled lightly, “Oh, the Goron spirit stone. Always did like the Gorons. Tough, but also looking out for each other… geez.” 

Axel–Lea???--rubbed the stone against his forehead a bit, resting on his knees as he struggled to wrap his mind around that. “...we did used to wonder if maybe I wasn’t strong enough to make a construct. I got here as an adult. Bit of bad luck turned into worse luck, sort of thing. I had no idea I was an Empath until I was 22. I knew I had lucid dreams, but lucid dreams were a thing, I never thought anything supernatural of it. Just meant I had cool dreams.”

“Then I ended up arrested and thrown into the Indentured Program, got to the factory, and the first time I was up for conditioning? Suddenly I’m being pulled into a new room and the supervisors are afraid to be near me and I’m locked away into a place I didn’t realize was going to be my home for the next damn decade… being told I’m fucking magical and that I need to suddenly be able to do all these magical things… create a whole new person…”

Lea–Axel–grinned shakily, looking tiredly up at Kokichi. “...I thought everyone was faking it, for a long time. Faking being new people. I couldn’t manage it. I didn’t know what they were talking about. I picked a new name, gave myself little markings for when I was doing Empath stuff, but no matter how hard I tried, I never felt… different. I just felt like I was still the guy being sent to beat the shit out of people, but now it was magically. Which was easy at first, but… it got harder, over time. As I started to feel better. The better I felt, the harder it was to hurt other people. And so I guess what I did was…” Axel looked down at the stone, frowning, “Just made something that made it easier to get past the guilt? But, yeah… I never did feel like a different person. I guess I pretended so long that I forgot I was pretending… guess I have my own shitty coping stuff too…”

Kokichi couldn’t help his own soft laugh, stepping back as the tail disintegrated and revealed the Goron Ruby. Just as he had imagined, reading the books, again. Axel, Lea’s prize for confronting his power. 

Crouching down to match Lea as he rested, Kokichi listened to his story with a heavy heart. Living your whole life, into adulthood, knowing the world a certain way…and then everything changing. Not just your circumstances, but your entire perception of what reality was…

And on top of that, being a prisoner, and having to do atrocities… 

Kokichi gave Axel a small smile. “...I didn’t find out I was an Empath until I was 20. And I was so…terrified, learning about magic, my abilities…” His gaze softened apologetically. “...you guys. That I subconsciously created an entire mental block to keep me from remembering any of this while I was awake. I did it to protect myself, sure, but…it created so many problems for me, and for my family.”

“If that’s what I did just to avoid coping with knowledge? Then…of course you guys developed all sorts of methods to deal with life. That’s not your fault, and it’s not your fault for having trouble…’turning it off’. You did what you had to to survive, even stuff that didn’t have a blueprint,” Kokichi nodded to Lea, “And…you made it. It did what it was supposed to. Now it’s just the shitty process of untangling it all, that’s all.”

Kokichi paused, before giving Axel a kind, sunny smile. The kind of look that Kaito called ‘ethereal’, and once compared to the mercy of his saints. “...hey, Lea? Axel? I’m glad you’re alive.”

Axel considered that look. Axel, like most Atuans, didn’t actually believe in the stories. Too much bad blood had been done in the god’s name to really want to indulge the idea that you might still be beholden to him after death… but honestly? The prince felt, briefly, like a miracle. Divine intervention. It’d be easier to have faith, if help always looked like this.

“...Call me Axel,” Axel decided, giving the prince a grin back, “It wasn’t the intention, but that was the name I picked when I started to like myself more. The name I picked to survive with my friends. If I really have been just Lea this whole time, going under a new name…then I like this version better. Even with the complicated stuff.” Axel decided, looking down at the stone, “...So. Axel. Got it memorized?”

Kokichi could only grin brighter. “Got it. Though, uh…”

Looking embarrassed--Chibi Kokichi covering his eyes for a bit--Kokichi tugged the back of his hair. “I’ll…forget about the thing Zexion said before. That’s really not my business. But…” He frowned a bit in concern. “I’m sure you’ll be pretty tired after this, but if you, or if you could tell someone to check on him? Best case scenario he just went back to his own mind before Volvagia ate him, but if he didn’t…”

“I only know my own experience, but being hurt psychically really sucks in the physical world.”

Axel went beet red, looking away with a huff. It wasn’t like Saix was an actual animal! He was not a ‘dog fucker’! Axel would have preferred to have just kept fucking Saix, thank you very much! Augh! 

Though… Axel sighed. “No, I know. Trust me, we’ve kicked each other out of our worlds before, I know how brutal it can be. Wake up and it's like your brain was knocked around like a ball. Namine can be kinda brutal about it, so trust me, I know. And I’ll… go out there and apologize. ‘Coitus’. What a dick… Look, I’m not going to volunteer him to go next, but there’s a few of us who definitely need help more than others. Saix is sure one of them for reasons that are probably obvious to you now,” Axel huffed, before softening, “But Zexion is another big one. Even just talking to him can be overwhelming sometimes… I don’t know how he lives in his own head. I’ve heard him describe it, showing me with messaging, and I couldn’t get my mind around it. It’s like a labyrinth in there.”

“So, I’m only saying not to do him next, just because I really want you to know what you’re doing by the time you get to him,” Axel frowned, “Cause he’s really gonna need the help.”

Kokichi winced, nodding a bit. “No offense, but feeling what you guys have going on is, uh…terrifying. Hearing that he did that to himself over a hundred times? I’m…sure it’s different when it’s yourself but…” Kokichi pressed his lips together, tugging on the back of his hair in worry. “Splitting yourself up that much…”

It wasn’t like splitting your soul, Kokichi didn’t think, but if it was a similar concept in any way, that was…dangerous. 

He let out a small sigh. “Well, thanks for the warning. It seems like he’s pretty determined to figure all this out too so…I have faith we’ll have a good method by the time it’s his turn.”

“...speaking of,” Kokichi grinned softly, “I should get out of your head. I’ll check in again next week?”

“I’ll let the others know. Hey, when you talk to the Momota–Uh, Kaito–play me up a bit, yeah?” Axel smirked, giving Kokichi a wink, “It ain’t much, but there’s something fun in the idea that a damn Momota might find me cool. And, hell, I’m a free man out in the world now…if there was ever a time I get to be the cool one? It’s now. Second chance at life, time, baby!”

“Ahem, I mean your grace,” Axel corrected himself, smirking as he gave Kokichi a wave, “Bye. Thanks for the help, little guys.”

-

Axel opened his eyes in the real world, and with a groan, sat up.

Kairi gave him a concerned look. “...are you fixed? Are you whole?”

“Yeah, we all need to have a conversation about what it actually means to be ‘whole’ right now. I don’t think it’s as clear-cut as we were all thinking before,” Axel said, standing up, “But give me a second, I gotta go find Ienzo. Burnt him out of my mind, I’m sure that sucked.”

“He’s vomiting in the bathroom,” Kairi frowned, standing up, “And what do you mean? It’s all very clear. Is the light back in your heart–”

“I was never damn heartless, ‘sis’.” Axel frowned at her. “And honestly, I think calling us all that might be making things harder, not easier. None of us are entirely emotionless and we never have been… not even you, witch.” 

Kairi didn’t say anything to that. Just watched Axel with a carefully constructed, sad expression as he wandered off to look for Ienzo. 

-

Ienzo, indeed, had been vomiting in the bathroom. For…quite a while. The blood from his nose starting to come out in clumps that were in all likelihood just deep-sinus snot, but were enough that Aeleus was starting to feel a little more worried than he had been, especially after Ienzo passed out. But things seemed to calm down a little once he did, and it was all Aeleus could do to just make him comfortable in his cot. 

But, a few hours later, Ienzo’s mind not recovered enough that all the constructs were aware again, 2 realized he had a chance. 

So it was with drool sliding down the side of Ienzo’s face, and toilet paper still stuffed in his nose, 2 pushed Ienzo’s body up with fervor, looking around as he croaked out, “A-gsul?”

“Geez, there you are. You know, if you’re trying to make me feel bad, could you shove it and just get better already? I’d rather you spar me then keep this bullshit up,” Axel said, grabbing a cup of water he had prepped aside and bringing it to Ienzo, “Don’t bitch at me, I’m going to make you sit up. Hold on.”

“Shut up,” 2 said off-handedly, before squinting at himself, “No, sorry, that’s wrong, I… I’m so sorry Zexion brought that up, we did promise to never bring it up again, that was fucked up. There were so many other ways to freak you out, it didn’t have to be that one.”

2 easily went up with Axel’s help…and then some, leaning towards him with almost fever-pitched eyes. Ienzo’s usually calm or tired blue nearly blazing. “You can’t tell any of the others, okay?! I think I’m - oh, I’m 2, by the way - I-I think I’m the only one lucid right now, so I gotta -”

He cut himself off with a breath. “Something’s wrong with Ienzo. With all of us. I shouldn’t be able to just choose to talk with you like this. I don’t know if it’s reassimilation, or just time, or stress, but something’s wrong. And I think Zexion’s just going to make it worse.”

Axel frowned, but focused on making 2 drink, insistingly putting the glass to his lips at the end of Ienzo’s plea. Once Ienzo started sipping Axel stopped being as forceful, just keeping it steady for a bit, waiting for the water to go down before Ienzo gasped for a breath. Axel tipped the cup back, giving him a moment. 

“...okay, warning heard. But… what do you want us to do about it?” Axel asked genuinely, “I can’t get into your mind without you pulling me in, and it’s up in the air if Namine would take me, let alone one of the others. And once we’re in there, we’ll be lost in a second. No one can get anywhere in your mind without Zexion basically guiding us by the hand.”

Axel frowned, before asking, “Should I ask the prince for help?”

There would be something almost poetic in the irony, if Axel drowned them. But it wasn’t looking like he was letting up, so 2 just withstood drinking the water until Axel took the cup back. 

Bringing a shaky arm up to wipe Ienzo’s mouth, 2 gasped a few times, before grimacing. Knowing what he was about to ask. “...I need as many of you as possible to come when it’s Zexion’s turn to get his heart back,” 2 informed, looking…distinctly unthrilled by the prospect. “As many people who’ll agree. And just…do what Zexion says, at first. But when I contact you all in there, I need you to trust me. Even if he comes after us. And…”

2 looked around warily, almost as if he was expecting his fellow constructs to somehow physically be in the room with them. “...I think you need to request Maki Harukawa to be there too. Zexion will never ask, but if she says that she’s there, like…for Prince Kokichi’s sake, or for her own curiosity, he won’t demand she’ll leave. He was telling the truth before. He knows going to watch all of you guys go through it is invasive, he doesn’t feel like he has a right to deny you if you want to come.”

2 closed his eyes, taking another deep breath. “...I’ve already gotten the chance to tell Sora, so if you need to discuss it with anyone, he knows… But you can’t let on to any of the others of me that any of this has happened. If Zexion starts realizing how haywire we’re really getting? We might not ever get a chance to get back to Ienzo.”

“Wow… okay,” Axel said, frowning as he considered the man, “I’ll admit, I thought you would be one of the ones who’d struggle to get helped with an audience, when I was talking earlier about some of us preferring privacy. But… alright, heard. I’ll do all of that, okay? You can count on me.”

Maki Harukawa? Axel was pretty sure Ienzo hadn’t been a part of her conditioning, that had been his sister. So why…?

Whatever. If it’d help, Axel would make damn sure The Reaper was there. It wasn’t like she had seemed the bad type, when they had met her. She had been the one to fight for the program ending, everyone knew that. Her siblings had all been rescued, and the ones who had been freed but were grown and left behind had insisted on spreading their belief in her. None of them would hear anything less than that Maki Harukawa had fought for them. And through them, the story had spread.

If Maki Harukawa had fought a war to free her siblings, which they all insisted she had, and won? Then Axel would have to trust she’d come to bat for another Indentured. Because at the end of the day, that was what the factory workers had been. And why they were free too.

“Now drink more. Seriously, if you look at me any crazier then your eyes are going to pop out of your skull. Drink, you weirdo,” Axel insisted, pushing the cup back.

2 grimaced more. “We’re certainly not going to be happy about it. But all good experiments need peer review. And if it means getting Ienzo back, then…whatever, we’ll deal with it.”

Relaxing just a bit, 2 half-rolled his eyes and took the cup this time, drinking from it. “...I can’t believe you made a dragon eat him. Ugh…” 2 pulled one of the wads of toilet paper from his nose, looking distastefully at the bloodied end. They were going to be smelling blood for ages… 

“There was a dragon, right there, all ready to go when you decided to humiliate me in front of the damn prince,” Axel said, scoffing a bit, “You knew what you were asking for. Munch-munch dragon time.”

“And seriously, it’s not just me, okay? That story is humiliating to Saix too, and as annoying as his damn construct is, he doesn’t deserve to be belittled over it. I should have kicked him off when I realized what was up, but instead I just… it’s just not a fair story to share about him.”

Tengan had found that memory, once. Axel had stood there shivering while the old man watched it, and had actually felt relieved when the man just laughed and said “Shame neither of you are my type.” Whatever the hell that meant. Axel didn’t know what it took to draw that bastard’s eye, and he could only hope the guy just never found it. He wouldn’t wish him on anyone.

Ding dong, thank god that bitch was dead.

“Should make you do a damn submission bow and then kick you in the back. But, whatever, a nasty headache and a nosebleed is good too, I guess.” Axel huffed. “You eaten anything? I’m craving roasted lizard tails, for some reason,” he said, smirking a bit.

2 sighed, looking tired. Back to one of Ienzo’s more frequent expressions. Yeah…yeah, he knew it wasn’t fair. That was something he was hoping was more Zexion than Ienzo, for however distinct their personalities were by this point. He knew they did have some ethics, but…the bar was very low, most of the time. It didn’t matter how people were treated as long as the experiment went through. 

“If I could make a promise that would count, I would, but…hopefully Ienzo can make one himself, soon,” 2 shrugged, before giving Axel a beleaguered look, “If any of us put anything in this body it’s going to immediately come back up. ...why does that feel like you’re making a clever joke, though?”

“Oh, man, you missed everything. Alright, so first of all, I’m ‘whole’. But also, I’m still Axel,” Axel explained, before continuing to recount exactly what happened after Ienzo was eaten. 

2 stared at Axel in astonishment as he regaled him on the tale of…not regaining his heart, but drop-kicking a no-longer-needed tool to the wayside. 2 made a few motions like he was holding a large book and about to write in it…before blinking at himself, scoffing at the air in his arms. 

“...I’m so pissed that we missed that, and you’re going to have to explain that all over again to whomever’s put in charge next. Might make Zexion think twice about our involvement, though.”

“I’m sure I’m going to be telling that story ten more times this week, so it’s fine. Really does change exactly how we approach everyone's heartless issues though,” Axel frowned, “Turns out I was never a construct at all, which is a hell of a thing to realize. And it sets a precedent–see, I know sciency words too–that the others might have all thought they were making the same things, but we all went about it in different enough ways that it might just straight up be different things. Like, the fact that Sora ever had two Nobodies at all is still weird and none of us know how to explain it or why he did it, including him. Why didn’t any of your constructs come out with their own look and personalities, when both of his were basically entirely different personas, and you both did basically the same thing? It’s all just… not as straightforward as we all talk about it.”

2 pressed a few fingers to Ienzo’s temple, still absorbing everything. “It seems so… So much of the time I was told that intent was a method of communication that could be clearer than spoken word, bridging the gap between semantic and personal meanings, but there’s still so much wiggle room, I guess…”

More for them all to ponder, along with everything else they’d learned, but it was just conversations one of them would have to have with others all over again, since 2 was keeping this on the downlow, so…not something he thought would be useful to brainstorm over with Axel now. 

Though…

2 gave him a searching look. “...do you really think Ienzo should make a…what did Prince Kokichi call it, a chibi?”

“Um, yeah?” Axel said, raising an eyebrow, “None of your other constructs stopped and told the rest, hey, no, let’s stop doing this. Clearly you need to designate one to do it… I can’t guess why the prince made his all small and cute like that though. Maybe to make him care about its well-being more?”

Axel did not know what a chibi actually was. If any of the Nobodies knew of chibis, none had ever thought to explain it to him. Even calling Chibi Kokichi a ‘Chibi’ was mostly a technicality. It had been, mostly by accident, refined into a proper construct by continuously interacting with an actual Chibi. A Chibi influence making it Chibi-like. 

All Axel knew was that it was small and cute and Ienzo could probably do with one.

“The more time I spend with the prince, the less that seems like a requisite for him to care about something,” 2 drolled, before sighing a little. Looking exhausted. “...I suppose we’ll see what Ienzo decides. I’m the closest we’ve had to any of us having a ‘let’s stop and consider this’ in years, and I know just how well that’s going.” 2 rolled his eyes a bit. 

“Make yourself ten inches high and give your face more eyes than sense, then try saying it to him again,” Axel smirked, “Or, chiming it at him? The thing just made bell sounds. I don’t know if that helps or hinders its job, but it was cute. Look, I’m going to go get you food. If you can’t keep it down that's your problem, but you look awful so we’re just going to see how much some food can do. I don’t care if you make a different number deal with it, we’re getting food in that body. I’ll be back,” Axel said, standing up and heading off. 

He paused at the door, before looking back. “Look, I don’t love how you did it… but thanks for the help today.”

And then he was off.

Any of them would have to be able to get to Ienzo first. 

“Thanks, Axel,” 2 said quietly, before laying Ienzo’s body down again, letting himself meld back into general consciousness. The rest of it none the wiser. And trying to eat would be someone else’s problem.

…look, he knew that was the whole issue in the first place, but 2 never said he was going to take the first step to change things. Give him a break.

-

Quinn was nooooooot struggling. Being sort of a ghost was really cool, actually, and he didn’t even remember nearly dying anyway, so everything was fine! Even if his voice was all messed up now, and he had some pretty vivid scars and…he got kinda tired more easily now…whatever! That stuff wasn’t a factor when he was all green and spooky, so, again, fine!

And it was, yanno, whatever, that his parents were apparently being investigated by CPS, and contested their court case, so they were all going to Usott, and Lyra was being even weirder than normal, and Quinn had to listen to his parents excitedly explain all at once what all their ghost-destroying gadgets did and…EVERYTHING WAS FINE!

He did not need to call up some stranger because he was struggling! He was just…curious. 

And it was super easy to sneak out of the house now, so Quinn just waited until the others were asleep before going ghost and flying off to the community center--which was cool, flying was cool--and…

Well, Quinn had never used a phone before, but it couldn’t be that hard, and after some fiddling around he…gave it a solid try! And dialed the number on the card the he-had-to-admit-probably-wasn’t-a-dream guy had given him. 

“‘Ello, you’ve reached the Ghost Bureau, this’sid Kyle speakin’.”

“Hi! Erm, hello, uh, this is, um,” Quinn shook himself. Come on, man! “My name’s Quinn, a guy named Lazaro Gepano gave me your number to, uh…talk?”

“...Lazaro Gepano?” Kyle asked, his voice incredulous. “What in the hells could that feckin’ reaper… Well, alright, ‘ello, Quinn. Wha’ cannae do ya for?”

Quinn blinked. “A reaper? What, like the long cloaks and scythe and…oooh, that makes a lot of sense, actually. Um, yeah, I died? Sorta? And he gave me your number ‘cause you’re a ghost and…yeah.”

“Oof.” Quinn could practically hear the wince. “My condolences on th’ death, ‘n’t easy fer anyone efin if ya come back from it. You feelin’ okay? One ‘a th’ most dangerous things for a new ghost is fixatin’ on your death, can drive a fawk mad.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m…also sorta alive still? And I got out of the hospital recently, so that’s good, but, uh…” Quinn trailed off, before speaking quickly. “I can also turn green and invisible and go through things and fly and my breath gets kinda misty sometimes.”

“...”

“...well, I’ll admit tha’s a new one fer me. Bu’ I’m glad you’re alright. Does th’ green stuff jus’ ‘appen to yeh, or canyeh control it?”

“I can do it on purpose, but sometimes it just happens. I’ve fallen through my bed a few times. Luckily not while my parents are downstairs or anything.”

“Heh, does seem a bit ‘f a hassle… Er, Quinn, how…old are ya?”

Quinn sighed. “I’m 14.”

There was silence on the other side of the line for a bit, and Quinn shifted his weight nervously until he heard a soft sound. 

“...aw, lad, I’m so sorry. Rarely an easy thing to accept, death, but…it always feels particularly unfair to a kid. Even if you are sort of alive…you’re sort of dead too. An’ I’m sorry for that.”

Quinn shrugged, though he was a little confused by how…comforted he felt. “...thanks.”

-

Kaito… had made a pie. 

And he was pretty sure it was actually kinda good! He had stuck a toothpick in like Chako had taught him and tasted it down the middle, and he had followed all the steps he had learned in his cooking class–sure, he hadn’t gone to class in a while, but he still remembered this bit!--and he had even made the crust which was absolutely going above and beyond because the kitchen literally had pre-made crusts just there to grab but no!! He had made his own crust! Because the cookbook Kokichi had given him had said that some Luminary style crusts had fruit mashed and mixed into the crust itself, which needed specific mixes so that the crust wouldn’t fall apart if you did that and…

It had been an ambitious pie! Kaito had nearly cried when it had come out of the pan cleanly. Look! He made an apple pie with snowberry crust! Which was probably going to taste amazing! Who didn’t want a hint of mint to go with their warm apple/cinnamon combo!? Oh, sure, Kaito hadn’t used a recipe that did that explicitly, but he couldn’t see an issue with it! He was sure it tasted great! 

Very proud of himself, he went to the PTA meeting that afternoon. It was apparently something they always did the first few days after the Freeze, the schools assessing before the new quarter started how the students might have been affected by the freeze, accommodations that would be needed, school programs that would need to be adjusted based on how the freeze had gone. 

Kaito wasn’t planning to say anything at the meeting yet. He was going to get a better understanding of the schools his kids were going to. Tim had a habit of not keeping Kaito updated on what was happening in school, the kid mostly just not thinking any of it was relevant, and Kaito knew representatives to the high school sat in as well, keeping the process between the grades cohesive… or so Kokichi had explained it to him. So Kaito could maybe introduce himself to the high school representatives, get some socialiting done in case any of the kids needed help in high school! (Arven had BETTER be working on his damn project!!)

Kaito was, officially unofficially, a socialite. And Kaito had decided in the last month especially that he was going to respectfully disagree with both his husband and Dicea as a whole on what that meant. Dicea did have social negotiations with each other, and while those negotiations looked wildly different in Dicea than they did in Luminary, Kaito was going to learn them, dammit.

And that started with pie! 

…and figuring out where to put the pie. 

Kaito stared at the refreshments table with a more discerning eye than he had last time. Okay, that center cake was definitely one of the other parents, and moving it would be disrespectful. But! He bet anything the fruitbowl had been provided by the teachers, and if he moved it to the further edge of the table, he could risk readjusting the cups to give his pie room at the front of the table. Which, was only important because if people ate his amazing pie, he could say the crust was Luminary style, and that would impress them, and that might improve some feelings on Luminary culture a little, which was very important if Kaito ended up needing to help negotiate for the Luminary kids getting into cultural spats– “Oooooh, Kaitooooo, I did wonder if we’d ever see you at one of these! I remember Samantha just talking your ear off about it.” 

Kaito blinked, looking over at a woman who was vaguely familiar… oh! Mean cake mover lady! She had moved his cake last time! Sadie’s mom! 

Sadie’s mom.

…god, Kaito wished he could remember her name. He needed a damn courtroom assistant! Someone who would whisper names of people in his ears! Damn, okay, uh, cover! “Sadie’s mom, right? Aw, it’s nice to see you, how’d the family handle the freeze?” Kaito asked, grinning brightly, trying not to feel defensive as the woman gave his pie an appraising look.

“Oh, you know, quiet, productive. You know, Sadie got through three books over the freeze herself, studious little thing, I couldn’t beat those books out of her hands with a stick!” Sadie’s mom laughed lightly, before smiling brightly back at him, “And Tim?”

“Tim’s great! He didn’t get much studying done, but that’s because he was so busy with the other kids, his social life is just so jam packed at the castle,” Kaito grinned, “A popular guy, my Tim.” 

“Hah, isn’t that just the way of kids? Some study, some, oh, what did I hear… that he filled a room full of snow? Something adorable like that?” Sadie’s mom smiled, “Well, it takes all types.” 

Bitch. 

“He’s doing really well,” Kaito insisted, glancing at the array of food and guessed, “It’s a beautiful cake, is that yours?”

“Oh, you could tell? It is, I’ve been working on it since yesterday!” Sadie’s mom said cheerfully, before looking over Kaito’s pie, “Though, it’s always good to support the local bakers. Where did you buy yours?” 

Kaito’s grin tightened, “I made it myself, actually!”

“Ah,” she looked down at it again, “That explains it.”

He was going to have her ASSASSINATED–calm, calm. “You should give it a try! It’s actually in large part a Luminary recipe, the style is very unique for Dicea.” 

“Oh…” Sadie’s mom tucked her fingers under her chin, pursing her lips a bit, “...now, not to be a drag, but have you considered putting a warning on a note next to it?”

“...a… warning?” Kaito asked, a tad uneasily.

“Oh, see the others over there?” Sadie’s mom said, pointing to the backend of the table, where little folded over white index cards were placed beside them, “If your pie has any potentially allergic ingredients, or unusual textures, or surprising, potentially triggering mixes that people weren’t expecting? Basically anything that might be surprising. Most people try not to add any potentially allergic ingredients at all to their dishes for events like these, because it’s good sense more than anything, but for those who feel like they must we usually try to keep all the potentially dangerous treats in the same area, well labeled,” Sadie said, pointed to the back of the table, smiling brightly, “separate.”

“...” Kaito deflated a little. He wasn’t sure if Snowberries were something people were allergic to. Also, textures? Did fruit being mixed into the crust count as a texture thing? It was unusual… “Really? Your cake doesn’t have anything unusual or allergic in it?”

“I take great care with any food I present here,” Sadie’s mom smirked a bit, “I’d suggest you do so as well, next time. I’ll get you a card, go ahead and move it back, thank you.”

Kaito watched Sadie’s mom–Trisia! Trisia.--go get him an index card. Hoping the irritation wasn’t plain on his face, Kaito moved his pie around to the back of the table, writing in ‘Snowberries’ and, just in case, ‘fruit-crust’-- 

“Maybe just put Luminary-style?” Trisia advised.

HE WAS GOING TO THROW HER INTO A DUNGEON AND STARVE THE RATS SO THEY ATE HER TOES– “Good idea.” Kaito said, parenthesizing ‘fruit crust (Luminary style) onto the card, before putting it down next to his pie. 

“Well, welcome to the PTA, Kaito,” Trisia smiled, “I’m sure you’ll find it very helpful!” 

Kaito grinned back at her. Damn right he would.

-

Dear Arven,

Ha, right on the money, Levi’s the name and, I guess now, writing you letters is my game~! Hey, happy 16th! And ya don’t gotta send your new mom (congrats on that too!) after me, I’m 18. Just think of me as a long-distance upperclassman, okay? Because I’ll totally have good advice for you from another continent ;)

I’d say we could write whatever we want in these letters, and hopefully I’ll be a better correspondent than your mother. I really shine when bars are set so low. 

Oopsie, did I mention something religious before? I’m not really myself--guess it’s a matter of course when your home’s carved out by a god, but I don’t really think about Kyuurem on a regular basis, or any other gods. But I know who does! Just for you, I asked Maddie aaaaaaaaall about all that good theologic stuff. 

Basically Tiavel used to be guided by two gods, Avelona and Tistana, that were at odds with each other, for how they guided the people of their lands to live. Tistana guided that a good life came from power and stability, and Avelona guided by revelry and freedom. A long time ago, though, Avelona died, but the remains of their corpse started rotting and corrupting the land, and without a counterpart to balance them, Tistana went crazy and guided people into more and more intense forms of power. 

Those two crazy spirals of corruption was what the war that created Tiavel was about! The Tsar and Ani slaying Tistana and purifying Avelona’s corpse, allowing a new god, Kyuurem, to be reborn from them.

Pretty incredible story, huh? If I got any of it wrong, it’s Maddie’s fault~

Ha, so, I’m writing this letter over some time, right, since you said you were about to be buried in snow? Every time I tell someone about that, they look so dumbfounded! You are soooo right about foreigners being surprised! I got hurt a little bit ago (no worries, I’m fine now :)) and being at home for a week just from that nearly drove me hyper-bonkers, I can’t imagine literally being trapped in your house! Even if it’s normal, I hope it went well for you!!!

Ooo~ If you’re inviting me to be nosy? Don’t mind if I do! I heard about some crazy tech happening in Dicea--is the phone thing real? What’s it like? What’s food like over there? One of my friends is really into cooking, I think he’d get all fired up from the challenge of cooking foreign food if you have any recipes to recommend. If Dicea’s a garden kingdom, do you have a garden yourself? What sort of stuff do you/would you grow?

And turnabout’s fair, so to answer your questions:

1. Well, there are a lot of biomes in Tiavel, and I move around a lot. We have Mount Dullah in the middle of the continent, a huge volcano, a really cool area of basalt columns on the coast, a lot of forest and plains areas… I stay with my older sister in the capital, Saiph-Navam, to be close to school, and it’s pretty bougie there--a lot of transferred flowering plants like rose bushes ‘n stuff. Though there’s a Kyuu Rescue just outside the city that has a ton of different types of plants. I’m from Opelucid, though, which is closer to one of the forests. My grandpa keeps a huge numbing leaf plant in the kitchen, which is handy when I come home with a surprise injury--whoops~ I think we grow a lot of types of berries here compared to other places? Sorry, haha, I’m not really sure what sort of plants would be interesting to talk about.

2. Ack, same problem here!! Sorry, boyfriend Doppio! I don’t think they’re exactly the same as reptiles, but I do know kyuu-spawn are unique to Tiavel! I actually drew a picture of my partner, O Night, on my last letter. My grandpa’s partner, Bear Witness, is pretty scaly too, all covered in cobalt blue scales except for their head and wings which are bright red. Oh! We recently rescued a baby Therefore Infinity at my school, and while some subspecies are part plant, they’re usually kind of reptile-like too. The one we found was a bud form--I’ll give you a sketch of the little cutie~

Actually, here are sketches of me and Maddie too. Don’t be too harsh on my art, okay?! Anyway, she’s a tough gal to say no to, and she wanted some drawings from you guys too, so cut me a break and give me at least a stick figure to work with, alright? ;)

It’s nice to meetcha too, Arven! I promise I’ll write my next letter back sooner~

Levi of Opelucid

Arven finished reading the letter to Doppio, the two hanging out on a swingset. Everything still covered in snow, it had taken a little bit of clearing to give them room to actually swing, but now that the hard work was done Arven was lazily swinging lightly side to side as he read his letter, Doppio swinging on the other swing as Arven mused, “Dudes pretty chatty.”

“I mean…that kinda makes sense to me,” Doppio hummed, more rocking on his feet than actually swinging, though he did push off into little bouts once in a while, “If he was writing it over a while, to wait for the Freeze, then there’d be more to say, right? And it sounds like he did put care into answering all your questions from before. If you’re gonna write a letter to someone in another continent, I feel like you should make it count, since the mail takes a while.”

Nestling into his scarf to ward the chill away from his neck, Doppio thought for a moment. “...the kyuu-spawn things he mentioned sound cool. I wonder what he means by some of them being his ‘partner’.”

“I don’t know. He talks about it like it's obvious. Therefore Infinity…” Arven frowned, leaning against the chain, the air in front of him steaming as he huffed, “He drew a picture of a monster in the last one, didn’t he? Like, not a real animal. Do you think he’s making stuff up? Or it’s just…something we’ve never heard of before?”

“I’m not really good at being able to tell with that kind of stuff,” Doppio admitted, giving Arven a mildly embarrassed look as he rocked on his feet, “Though Mariah says I should give myself more credit than I usually do. It’s…yanno, possible? He got your mother’s letter by fluke, right? And…I dunno. It doesn’t feel outrageous to write to a stranger and make up a bunch of stuff for fun, even if there’s other ways we could probably find out true stuff about Tiavel.”

“But…” he shrugged, “Your mother found a bunch of weird animals too, right? And I’d have to guess different continents have totally different animals. And…I don’t think it’d be as fun to write with him, like, continuing on, if you’re not assuming you’re both doing it in good faith. Like…a-again, I’m not that good at telling, but…he does seem nice.”

“Some of the animals had been a little… unusual.” Arven admitted, “And I couldn’t always tell what they were. But I just figured, well, if you show me every animal in the world, there’s going to be a lot I don’t recognize.”

Arven looked at the little sketch of Therefore Infinity for a bit… before showing it to Doppio, “It looks like one of our pokemon.”

Nodding in agreement--that had been his point--Doppio then leaned over to peer at the sketches Levi had sent Arven, looking, first, at the one labeled Therefore Infinity. And he squinted. “...it does, huh. The whole, like…animal and plant hybrid thing we considered for some… Dooooo,” Doppio tilted his head as he softly drew the word out, “you think it’d be in bad taste to make pokemon off real animals from Tiavel? I mean, we did base Rattata off just rats, so I don’t think it’s that different…”

Doppio glanced at some of the other sketches. Cartoonish, and he could see some eraser marks, but… A girl with braids over her head and a sweet-looking smile, labeled ‘Maddie’, and a guy that…

Doppio’s eyebrows scrunched up. “...do you think Levi’s a furry? Or…is that really how he looks?”

“See, that’s the thing.” Arven said, lightly kicking some of the snow to give himself a little more side to side swing, squinting at the paper, “If I’m accepting the monsters are real animals? Do I also accept that Levi is a part-dragon hybrid… guy. Is that what we’re rolling with? That off country, dragon-guys are just a thing?”

More light kicking, before Arven shrugged, “We’ve had weirder experiences this year, to be fair. Dream people trapping us, our pokemon being its own reality for a while, Amaina, um, you. No offense, Aceto,” Arven smiled lightly, “And I don’t see why we can’t use Tiavel animals for Pokemon. We kept Kaito’s vagina clams. And his dick-sucking plant.”

Doppio nodded easily, no offense taken. A guy with what looked like horns and pointy ears was weird…but being honest with himself, still not as weird as a guy with color-changing rainbow freckles and perpetual fog breath, and that wasn’t even getting into Doppio’s nature of existence. The only weird thing was how open Levi was about it, but…if that was normal where he lived? 

Sure, Doppio would meet or hear about travelers from Luminary or Danganronpa or Novoselic, or even from Novis occasionally, but anywhere farther than that? He knew it did happen, but it was so rare to meet anyone from anywhere other than Basacta. So, without people traveling super far, it…could really be that entire magical peoples were just…casual about stuff. 

“Ugh, not that I didn’t try to protest against those,” Doppio grouched, before sighing, extending his legs to swing a bit. “...I dunno if she’s been off-continent, but Mariah knows a lot of stuff. I could ask her about it, my next appointment. And…well…for another opinion…”

Doppio looked up. “Angelo? You ever come across dragon-hybrid people?”

U_U

O.O

OoO just the tailey ones or the full on dragon looking ones?

O.O

OoO because yes.

“Yes?” Arven said, watching as Amaina materialized a swing in the middle of them, it thin and small enough to accommodate her little size while being just as long as theirs, Amaina squealing as she started to swing. “Why didn’t you ever mention it before?”

OOO WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OoO why would I?

OOO WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

“Well…” Arven pouted, “What other sort of people are out there?”

OOO WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OoO lots!

OOO YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That was a prime Amaina answer if Doppio had ever heard one. Smiling at bit at her joy of swinging, Doppio found himself getting into the spirit and swinging a little more too. “Well…that’s fair. One of my uncles is a cat-bird, two of them are different kinds of cats, one’s a not-vampire, one’s a seal only when he feels like it, my dad’s a not-zombie, and my other dad’s even more of a not-zombie…and your whole family are gonna be dogs tonight.”

Doppio shrugged a little. “I guess that’s not so surprising.”

Doppio swung a few times. 

“Are there frog people?”

OOO WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OoO yeah they’re kinda like mermaids they live in Kattia and Novoselic

OOO THERE’S LOTS OF WEIRD WATER THINGS IN NOVOSELIC

OoO probably because of all the water

“Huh,” Arven said, “...what would be unusual even for you, Amaina?”

OoO whatever the HECK is going on over in the Unknowable Isles

OOO THAT SHIT IS WEIRD

O.O an unknowable

OoO there’s like a whole island there that’s lost its memories forever

O.O

OOO AND SLIME

“Cool~” Doppio hummed approvingly. He figured frog people wouldn’t be the same as frogs, but if his uncles had taught him anything, it was that some cat traits still applied to cat people, so it was reasonable to assume the coolness of frogs would transfer over. 

The world was Big and Beautiful indeed. 

“...we should go to the Unknowable Isles someday,” Doppio said idly, before looking over and raising his eyebrow at Amaina. “What’s weird about slime?”

OoO it’s just that there’s lots of different types

O.O one is a giant cube with treasure inside to coax wary travelers to try their luck with it so that they might devour them

“Oh.” Arven said.

OoO others are VERY kinky and you shouldn’t go near them

“Oh??” Arven said, increasingly confused. 

OoO others are just normal people

O.O

OoO who might also eat you and or be kinky, but in a normal people kinda way

“Huh,” Doppio hummed, trying to imagine…tricky treasure slimes and… Well. He wasn’t really trying to imagine kinky slimes, and he wouldn’t even know where to start anyway. “And they’re all just called slimes? I can see how that would get confusing…”

He swung a little more. 

“...do you think you’re gonna give drawings back to Levi?” he asked Arven, smiling softly. “You are pretty great at sketching. You could send a drawing of Chief! Maybe they don’t have dogs in Tiavel.”

“Oh man, they might not have dogs?” Arven said, looking gobsmacked at that, before humming, considering, “...maybe I’ll ask Prince Kokichi to make some drawings for me to send? I bet he’d be impressed by drawings from the prince of Dicea. Not every day you talk to royalty.” Arven said, looking down at the drawings, “I bet ‘Maddie’ would get a kick out of it. She seems to like history.”

Amaina squealed as her swing went up and over the swing set, swinging over and over until she was wrapped up in it. 

@Q@ gah!

“Nice swing, Angel.” Arven called up.

@M@ I am trapped! 

“No you’re not, Angel.” Arven called up.

TmT YOU DON’T KNOW MY LIFE, BABY-SENPAI

Doppio laughed quietly, his shoulders bouncing with mirth. “Already showing off to your penpal, huh? That really would be cool, though, and I’m sure Prince Kokichi would be happy to. Hmm…” Doppio closed his eyes, stretching out his legs into a swing again. “I haven’t been by the castle since it opened up again… It’d be nice to say hi to people, I guess. I’ve been meaning to make some copies of recipes from my cookbooks for Kaito, for Unity. I guess I don’t really need to make an excuse to go over, but it still is one.”

Doppio tilted his head up, looking at Amaina. “...do you need some help getting untangled, angioletto?”

QmQ SAVE ME

“Amaina, Aceto could slip,” Arven scolded, “Just disappear the chains.”

O.O

OoO spoilsport

Amaina pouted, floating through the chain and drifting down into Doppio’s arms.

“Do you want to swing over there today?” Arven asked, kicking around the swing, “I don’t really need to rush to get the letter back, but we’re just hanging around anyway. Gives us something to do?”

…also fair. 

Doppio gave Amaina a fond smile as she floated into his awaiting arms, giving her a hug and a headpat as she got settled on his lap. “I can come save you another time, Amaina. Just, uh…hopefully not one that’ll really confuse people if they happen to look over.”

“Mm?” Doppio questioned, before shrugging after a moment. “Sure. We can get free hot chocolate too, while we’re there.” It wasn’t like Doppio didn’t have the money to go to a cafe, but…since the castle hot chocolate was really good anyway? It never hurt to be a little frugal.

The two of them hung around the swingset for a little longer, just chatting, but with a destination now in mind, they found themselves getting up before too long, heading towards the center of town. It wasn’t the literal day after things started to thaw, so there weren’t great swathes of people out and about, eager to leave their homes for the first time in a little over a week, but it was still relatively busy.

Which was why it might’ve not been so surprising to hear a familiar--and perhaps aggravating, to Arven--voice call out, “Oh, hey! Arven, Doppio!!”

Arven glanced over, raising an eyebrow. He saw Josie, Giovanni, Dimitri and Yuta all heading over, Yuta with an apple clutched into his mouth and a hand in Dimitri’s hand. Oh, huh. Arven hadn’t seen that one coming. 

“Hey,” Arven called back, immediately placing a hand on Doppio’s back. Just having it there. Showing affection, as Josie and his squad came up, “See you all survived the freeze.”

Doppio turned, looking over in surprise before he brightened, giving the group a wave. 

“Ha, close thing, I’ll tell ya,” Josie laughed, playing along. As was tradition, he’d spent the Freeze at the Fraldarius’, along with Dimitri, Dedan, and Irene and their families. It had been a very cozy week, poking Dimitri allllll about his new (though, uh, not as new as Josie had thought) relationship with Yuta, doing crafts with Dedan’s sister while not pushing Protective Big Brother Mode into strangulation territory, avoiding Irene’s attempts to muscle out Josie’s plans for post-grad, and getting his ass kicked by Hugo in spars. “Glad to see you two made it too! And that the new families survived the stress test.”

Doppio raised a concerned eyebrow. “I’d…hope so? I-I mean, that’s something CPS would, like…vet for, I’d think…”

“If only we all could have that,” Giovanni sighed, before handing over two packages to Arven and Doppio, resolutely not looking at Doppio’s extremely baffled expression. “Happy Unity. Keep ‘em or don’t, I don’t care…”

Arven gave Giovanni a surprised look, before taking his package and opening it up, peeking inside… before gasping, “Woah! Giovanni, these are amazing!” Arven said, looking over the little chess piece figurines of pokemon… not even just pokemon, but some of Arven’s favorites from their list, “How did you know?”

OoO he asked the others what you usually play as in your roleplay games

“... I can’t believe you’d guess which pokemon I like so accurately!” Arven said, ignoring Amaina as he gushed, “And they’re amazing looking! Thank you so much!” 

Arven paused… before looking sheepish, “I didn’t get any of you guys anything.”

“Oh gosh!” Doppio breathed, looking over the expertly sculpted pokemon with wide, amazed eyes. He did like the process of making their own pieces, but even with Giovanni’s tips and Dimitri’s detail help, Doppio could admit that most of the pieces looked a little goofy. Goofy in a charming way, absolutely! But these… It was almost like Giovanni had brought the drawings to life! Or he’d actually gotten the pokemon from the dream and shrunk them down. 

Doppio marveled at the little king and queen Indeedee pieces in his set before beaming at Giovanni. “Grazie molto! Giovanni, these are incredible, thank you!”

The green-haired teen just shrugged, looking away, though there was a hot flush burgeoning from his cheeks, and a little self-satisfied grin, that didn’t even dim when Josie nudged him in an extremely, ‘I told you they’d like it’ way. “Sure, no problem. Just thought when we were all talking about it that…hey. You sculpt your pieces, I sculpt anyway, felt too perfect to not do. Don’t expect anything back.”

Doppio had been pretty lax about Unity as well, since he’d never celebrated it before, but in the wake of the figurines, and…well, seeing a group of his friends here now… He eyed some of the boxes in Josie’s arms before looking imploringly at the group. “Are you guys busy right now?!”

Arven startled at Sudden Doppio Sounds as he gave his boyfriend a side-eye. What did he mean, are they busy??? What were they meant to be free for!?

Dimitri tilted his head slightly, his blond hair falling into his eyes a bit, “Um, I guess not? Are we?” Dimitri asked, looking down to Yuta, who smiled up at him from around his apple and said something incomprehensible with his mouth full, “I guess we’re free. Why?”

Josie raised an intrigued eyebrow. “I’m just dropping these off at the mail office, but then I’m all yours. And Gio here was in the same boat, just that we actually ran into you guys before he could mail them. Real lucky, huh?” Josie could only snicker at the elbow-to-rib shot Giovanni gave him. 

Still fired up, hearing that his friends were free, Doppio gave Arven a serious look. “There’s always basics in the upstairs kitchen--we should make Unity cookies.” He paused before giving the same look to the others. “I want to make you guys Unity cookies as thanks! And, like…nice holiday stuff!”

“...” Dimitri smiled, “Oh! That’d be really nice, I’d like that.” 

“Hrmm–HM!” Yuta hummed cheerfully around his apple, bouncing on his toes as he nodded, swinging his arm with Dimitri. 

“Oh,” Arven said, considering that… before nodding determinedly, looking back at the others as, with a far too serious expression, he said, “We should do that. If Aceto wants to make holiday cookies, then we’re making holiday cookies! It’ll be festive!”

OOO WITH SPRINKLES!!! 

“We should get sprinkles on the way!” Arven said determinedly.

“I just said you don’t have to do anything for the gift…” Giovanni mumbled, but there was a certain pleased air about him that kept Doppio from getting too worried about overstepping. 

“Yes!! Doppio and Arven cookies, ha, today really is a lucky day!” Josie laughed, giving an overenthusiastic gesture for them to lead the way. “I’m pretty happy to be on break, but I have been missing your club treats~”

“Eheh,” Doppio laughed bashfully, before looking between Arven and Josie. “Ah, well, you should probably send your packages sooner rather than later… Arven, you wanna go with him and get sprinkles from the main kitchen? I can start getting things set up upstairs.”

Arven shot Josie a tad bit of stink-eye–he had been hanging out with his boyfriend, and now they would be briefly separated, and he was pretty sure this was Josie’s fault–before he nodded, “Sure, will do. We’ll meet you there, Aceto.”

“We’ll come with you, Doppio,” Dimitri offered, he and Yuta stepping forward, “I’m not much of a cook, but I can follow simple instructions if you want help with setup.”

“HMMMM~” Yuta hummed around his apple.

OoO he says he can watch Dimitri be cute in the kitchen

“See you soon,” Doppio called back, giving Arven a squeeze of a sidehug before leading the way, thanking Dimitri for his offer, and…well, maybe he’d take him up on it, for Yuta’s sake. Boyfriends had to support appreciating their boyfriends. 

As the group left, Giovanni heading up with them, Josie grinned down at Arven. Just walking for a moment, until they got out of the crowds of the main hall, though they weren’t exactly alone in heading towards the main kitchens and mailroom. 

“Hey, I don’t mean for this to be a joke or teasing or anything, though I did figure you might appreciate it more away from the others,” Josie started softly, before adjusting the packages in his arms. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a tiny wrapped parcel, just a little bigger than a gold coin, and handed it over to Arven. “Happy Unity, man.”

Inside was a small medal on a thin chain, the front embossed with elegant, yet clear font declaring, “I Survived”. 

Josie gave Arven a soft smile. “My moms gave me one of those after my first year with them. As nice as the outcome is, it ain’t easy going through the CPS song and dance so…they thought it was something worth commemorating. Thought I’d pass the tradition on to you and Doppio now.”

Arven at first was a little confused by the chain. Turning it over to catch the words in the sun, trying to figure out what the joke was. It was far from surviving his first Freeze. Heck, he had survived most of his freezes alone, so it wasn’t that… big of a…

Arven stared at the coin.

His lips scrunched up, and he looked away, hoping his hair was doing as good a job as hiding his right side of his face as it did his left side. He was not sniffling! Anyone who accused him of getting teary eyed didn’t know what they were talking about! He was fine!

“...” Sniff, “That’s a nice thought, thanks,” Arven said, voice tight. “Does Aceto get one?”

Josie smiled gently down at his friend. If it was something Arven just wanted to laugh off, or just not really care about, Josie didn’t mind, but…well, his medal had meant a lot to him, when his moms gave it to him. He was glad to pass along something so meaningful to Arven now too. 

And Doppio, of course. “Yeah, I’ll prolly pull him aside after cookies. I know the others wouldn’t be dicks about it or anything, but, I dunno, I felt like you guys might like a moment out of the spotlight to get these.”

It…sucked. It sucked so bad having a family that didn’t care about you. Ones that hurt you without a thought, or with glee. And it suuuucked, having a group of adults rip you from that life and make you feel crazy when you resisted, and having to feel wrong, or broken, and afloat while you wondered if life would ever feel normal again…

And it was great, getting a family that thought the world of you, and loved you, and wanted only the best. But the process to get there was a nightmare and…yeah. A whole damn achievement for getting through it. Survival was something to be celebrated. They made it through.

“Yeah,” sniff, “He might get emotional, so that’s probably for the best.” Face wipe. 

Arven sniffled a bit, the two walking together… before Arven said, trying to mask his sniffles, “Who’d have guessed Yuta and Dimitri? Talk about out of nowhere.” 

Josie blinked, before sending an incredulous look Arven’s way…and then looking up with a sigh. “Look, see? This is why I didn’t think it was that insane that Dimitri could really be that oblivious! Some people are!”

“Dude, Yuta’s been thirsting after Dimitri since they met. And apparently Dimitri thought that they’d been dating since before the Crystal Ball.” Josie snorted in amusement. “It’s almost impressive how even the information around you you get you shuck off like a duck shaking off water.”

“Whaaaat?” Arven said, looking increasingly confused, “No way. I don’t think they even hung out that much. Next you’re going to tell me Fiora or Gerard are dating people. Though, I think they both have a crush on Eden?”

“...oh, wait,” Arven said, giving Josie a shocked look, “Did you know Eden and Dimitri are related?”

“...”

“Arven, it’s only the fact that my mom would kill me that I’m not dropping this boxes just to press my hands together,” Josie said dryly. “Fiora and Gerard are dating each other, Fiora asked him out before the ball. And I’m well aware Eden and Dimitri are related, considering I went to their parents’ wedding.”

“Seriously, it’s almost like a superpower with you,” Josie shook his head with a snort, before giving Arven a sly look, “You seriously don’t have any weird sigils on your body?”

Arven marveled at the idea that Josie had gone to Dimitri and Eden’s parents’ wedding. Woah…he wondered if that implied it happened recently? Wild.

“Coulda swore Fiora was a lesbian,” Arven murmured, shaking his head in unending revelations, before he gave Josie a curious look, “No? I don’t know… well you’re alone a lot, I think after a while you forget why you need other people. Honestly, for a long time I think you could have just put me on a mountain alone and I wouldn’t have thought much of it at all.”

“I think you get lonelier, the more you look at other people,” Arven said, not melancholy, just trying to recall what it had been like, “If you’re going to be by yourself? You have to commit. You have to live only a few feet outside yourself. You have to be your own world…because if you look at other people?” Arven said, frowning, “...you get achey. Just, inside of yourself, like it’s a physical sensation. You know, it was weird, because I didn’t notice I was lonely too much when I met Aceto? Being with him felt seamless, like he slotted in perfectly… but as I got to know more people through him? The princes, the chess club, my new family? Now being lonely sort of feels like a poison, in a way it didn’t before. Like it could kill me, if I let it. Which is why I had to ignore it when I was little.”

Arven paused, before shrugging, “Or maybe I’m just unobservant, that’s possible too.”

“She did really miss out on being a sword lesbian, huh,” Josie laughed, before giving Arven an easygoing shrug. “If you’ll allow me to expand on that theory? You either close yourself off, and forget about others, or you get so deeply invested in other people you become insufferably nosy. Other people don’t pay attention to you? Cool, I’ll just insert myself into every person I come across’s lives.”

Josie gave Arven a kind look. “Both kinda suck in their own ways. But I’m glad you feel less lonely these days, even if it’s become more of a threat. Good thing you have enough people around you to make it an empty one, huh.”

“Speaking of, you know if your folks have any Unity plans? Don’t mean to be too much of a gossip about your family, but I have heard of the Inuzukas. Figure a family holiday is gonna be a big to do, with a huge family like that.”

Arven squinted up at Josie, before genuinely asking, “Are you talking about you or Kaito?” Because it sounded like both, really. Though to this day, Arven still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to either of them. He knew Josie had needed to be taken from his family, and he knew Kaito had something to do with his tyrant brother, but, well, that was about as detailed as it got for Arven. 

“Yeaaaah, there’s a lot of us. I’m going to make dinner as my contribution, you can’t ask me to buy that many gifts.” Arven said, shaking his head, “And it’s going to be a big dinner too, they eat sooooo much. It’ll probably get noisy, but thankfully we don’t have any super close neighbors, so we can go pretty wild, noise wise. You?”

Josie snickered and gave Arven a wink. “Hey, make the assumptions you want. It means you remember enough for that~”

Honestly, Josie didn’t know Kaito enough to really whittle down his issues into a clean sentence like that…but he’d wager there was some truth to it. And for his own? Well…he had been the oldest of his friends--still was--and it had just…been so much easier to focus on them, then looking at his own life. Fussing over his friends like how he thought a good big brother should act and…after that, just getting into the gossip game, because it was easier to talk circles around people with stuff they’d be interested in too, rather than the ways his life were falling apart. 

Still not always great. But he was working on it. 

“I’d imagine,” Josie laughed, “But a dinner from you is a fantastic Unity gift. I hope you all have a fun holiday!”

Giving Arven a nod, Josie hummed happily. “Yeah, my moms and aunt and I have this tradition? We get a giant drop cloth and paint just…whatever on it. Mamà and Aunt Myrtle of course make beautiful vistas or creatures, but even if Mom and I just, like…splash paint? Or finger paint? It all ends up looking really cool together. Mamà wants to get it to the point one day where we can attach them all together and fully drape them over the house.”

“Oh, that seems cool…” Arven said, before glancing over at his upperclassman. Considering something… before he cleared his throat. “Ahem. Hey, random question. Don’t know why it comes to mind… how long did it take you to start calling your moms ‘Mom and mama’? That didn’t happen right away, did it? Did they ask you to?”

“Hm?” Josie raised his eyebrows, glancing down at Arven and nothing about him hinted at anything deeper than momentary surprise…though a deeper look would see the spark of understanding. “Oh, no way. Like, Mamà brought it up pretty early on that it was something I could call them, but neither of them insisted on it. Mom just asked me to call her Kana, actually. Geez, though, when I first started…”

Josie looked up, trying to think back. “I think…one of the first times I noticed, at least? I’d been living with them for about six months. Especially for that year, they always came over to walk me home after school, and after a while, we just started talking about our days.” Josie snorted softly. “It weirded me the hells out that someone was so interested in what I was doing, and not just to yell at me for it, but…after long enough, I started to trust it. Trust them. And I remember, I’d just finished with my day, and I asked ‘so what did you do today, Mom?’”

Josie chuckled, his voice bright and warm. “Knowing them, they absolutely couldn’t have been subtle about it, but I remember neither of them making a big deal about it, and it took me a while to even realize what I’d said. But…it just felt so natural. So then I just started doing it all the time. It’s just kind of their names to me by this point, but especially back then, I felt excited and just…happy, you know? They’re my moms, and I was saying it out into the world. It felt special, and it was something that happened on my timeline, so it was special to me.”

Glancing down at Arven, Josie gave him a half-teasing look. “Thinking about it for your adoptive mom lately? Sorry, but I don’t exactly have much brother advice to give.”

“Nooo,” Arven pouted, fiddling with the chain between his fingers as he shrugged, “I don’t know… I guess I feel a need to keep up, more than anything. Kiba calls me ‘bro’ and I keep having to remind myself we actually are now. Aceto calls his dads ‘dads’ just fine, and he has a thousand uncles, and that doesn’t phase him. Tim, I’m pretty sure, said he was adopted…uuuuh, a few months ago? A few years ago? No, it had to be less than a few years ago, Kaito only got here almost two years ago… anyway, Tim calls his parents ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ no problem.”

Arven shrugged, “I don’t want to be the only adopted kid who can’t get his head around it. What if Tsume takes it personally, that everyone else is saying ‘mom and dad’ and I’m just not? That’d be shitty, I’m pretty sure. I don’t want to be shitty to her.”

Josie gave Arven an amused look, though his voice was gentle as he assured, “It’s not that easy for everyone, and I’m sure Tsume’s the kind of person that understands that. Not that it’d be something you specifically struggle with, but, like, generally, I mean. And if it’s something you’re worried about, with hurting her feelings, then…that’s something you should be able to talk about with her.”

“You’re not in a race, you know,” Josie laughed lightly. “You don’t have to keep up with anyone--the only comparison you have to make is with yourself. If it feels wrong, or it’s just not something you think about in the moment, don’t force yourself. It might come later, you might find a different label coming easier, it’s all up to you.”

“I mean…” Josie gave Arven a leading shrug, “How often do you use labels for…anyone? Other than their names, sometimes, when you’re directly speaking to them, or someone else brings them up?”

Arven frowned, tilting his head a bit, trying to recall… one. 

“...” He frowned, trying to think, “.................... pri…. Prince Kokichi?” he tried, not actually sure if he did do that, unable to recall now that he was specifically thinking about it. “Boss?”

“I guess I don’t,” Arven shrugged, “Sometimes I call Aceto his last name too, because that’s what I always hear everyone else calling him. I couldn’t imagine actually having to keep track of a bunch of different titles… oh,” Arven winced, glancing around before confessing quietly, “I seriously had to stop calling Luminaries ‘Narys’ after I actually met some. I heard and used that word so often in my travels that I kind of forgot how much of a slur it actually was until I was just, like, literally staring at Kaito.”

Josie nodded knowingly, his point made…even if it was half a guess. Sure, he didn’t hear Arven use labels all that often, but it wasn’t like they had been super close all their lives. Still, Josie liked to think he had good intuition sometimes. 

Though, uh… One of the labels Arven apparently did use was more unexpected, and Josie winced a little. “Er, yeeeeeah, that’d be pretty…woof. Naga’s tits…” he sighed, hefting his packages higher in his arms, “It wasn’t like that was something I heard every day, but… Well, I hope people took after your example. It’d be heartbreaking for someone to say that around one of the dozens of little Luminary kids running around town.”

Josie grinned fondly. “There’s a few that come into Mom’s shop a lot? Siblings, I’d guess. They are very cute, especially how proud they are running errands for their household.”

Arven winced at the idea of the kids hearing any of the stuff he had heard over his travels about… well, them, he guessed. It hadn’t felt like he was talking about totally normal kids at the time. Arven wasn’t sure exactly who he was picturing when those discussions came up–older people especially in smaller towns liked to gossip about ‘the enemies’ to the new kid going through, and Arven had known back then it had all partially been a test to see who he actually was before relaxing around him, based on how he reacted–but he knew it was someone that looked a bit more like Kaito than it did, say, Tim, or any of the number of Luminary kids running around now. 

But even if his mental ‘Nary’ had looked like Kaito, they sure hadn’t acted like him. They hadn’t acted like anything other than mindless brutes delighting in murdering good Diceans on the battlefield. That was always the biggest argument, that Nary’s were so emotionally bankrupt that they loved murder, and that was why the war had gone on as long as it had. Because you couldn’t stop those bastards from their barbaric blood lust.

Now? It mostly seemed like Luminaries just… really had a thing about being ‘useful’. At least as far as Arven could tell based on the ones he had met. They seemed to have a compulsive need to remind who they were talking to that they had uses and skills and they were good at those things, like that was primarily how they thought of themselves and valued themselves. They held onto their titles as proof of their use and abilities, clutched at them like both prizes and shields. 

Arven wondered what it must have been like for Dicean fighters, to capture a Luminary on the field and when interrogating them to only hear ‘I’m a solider, I work in this squadron, I do this thing’ and that was it. Like that was the entire story, the only thing needed to know about the Luminary…because the Luminary themselves thought it was the most humanizing thing to offer them. This is what I am, this is what I do, this is how I’ve been useful, please don’t dismiss me as nothing, don’t hurt me… while telling the Dicean fighters nothing about themselves.

The disconnect must have felt insane. 

Arven blinked. He wondered if he was onto something? …eh, probably nothing no one else hadn’t realized ages ago.

“Those kids are pretty cute,” Arven admitted, “And kind of wild. Next time you’re at a festival, if you hear that the Luminary kids have gathered to do any sort of sporty thing, go take a look, trust me, they go so hard, it’s incredible. They’re just really competitive.”

“Yeah? Thanks for the tip, then,” Josie chuckled. “Though I’m not exactly unused to competitive monsters. It’ll be cute seeing ones that are still little kids, though, and not ones that regularly kick my ass. At least for a few more years~”

Getting to the mailroom, Josie gave Arven a small nod before going up to the main counter, Josie’s smile easy-going and charming to the beleaguered clerk as he got his mother’s packages set for delivery. Post-Freeze delivery was always a nightmare, so Josie tried to be extra considerate for those pulling out the stops for it. Especially to contrast those that were determined to have their ‘cutting it close’ Unity mail delivered hell or highwater. 

Coming back with a stretch, Josie hummed as they headed towards the kitchens next. “...man, I’m really not expecting to hear anything back, but I wish I could see my brother’s face when he gets my Unity card. I showed Yuta some of the art before the Freeze and his reaction certainly didn’t disappoint.” Josie laughed a bit. “It’s pretty cute, that Dima’s found a guy casually as dramatic as he is during RPs.”

“Yeah, that’s a thing. Yuta’s kinda… loud?” Arven said, tilting his head, “And Dimitri literally fades into the background wherever he is despite being taller than all of you and covered in bright colors. Except for roleplaying, which I’ll admit, Dimitri has his moments of being almost intimidating when he’s in character…I wonder how Dedan feels about it?” Arven said, “I mean, the way those two roleplay together… do you think it matters to him, Dimitri dating in real life? Since their characters are always joined at the hip.”

Lacing his hands behind his head, Josie tipped his head back a little, smiling softly as he considered that. “Fun juxtaposition, right? Ah, I miss the days when Dimitri was still shorter than me~ He’s still cute, but there’s something nice about being able to rest on your friend’s head…and not take lethal damage to the stomach,” he laughed. Josie was a tall guy in his own right, but the fact that two of his closest friends were taller than him? If it weren’t for Irene and Hugo, and Aspen sometimes when he hung out with them, Josie’s sense of regular perspective would be way off. 

“I mean, I can’t speak fully for them,” he established first, “But knowing Dimitri and Dedan for, like…both of them nearly a decade at this point? There’s always the kind of rough realization when a close friend gets a partner. If it’s a good relationship, then hopefully they’ll be a new friend too, and hangouts are just a little bigger, but there are going to be times when a couple just wants to spend time together, so…that’s time that isn’t friend time anymore, and that can be an adjustment. But them in particular?”

Josie shrugged a little. “They have the kind of relationship that, admittedly, I did poke around in ‘cause it seemed like the sorta thing that has the tilled soil for romance. But it’s not like that between them. Dimitri and Dedan just love each other as friends, and the sort of bond that’s made of a…like, insanely deep respect for each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve had this conversation already, checking in with each other.”

In an exaggerated motion, Josie dropped his arms before holding up a shaking fist, gritting his teeth with teary anguish. “Dima absolutely told Dedan that he was dating Yuta before telling me, the brat! I friend-parent him all these years and I’m repaid with the best friend getting told first! A tragedy of the youngsters flying the nest.”

Arven had been nodding along with all of that– it made sense, and fit what Arven had seen, even if it didn’t entirely fit into his worldview of what spending that much time with someone must mean–before giving Josie a bewildered look at that last bit. “...friendparent?”

He squinted at Josie with sudden, new suspicion, “...is it a red-head tall handsome guy thing?? To want to be everyone’s parent? What is that?”

Josie snorted, before giving Arven a wink and a sharp grin. “Hey, you think I’m handsome? Too late, Arven, I’m taking that compliment to the pyre~”

Easing off, Josie could only laugh. “Don’t go lumping me in with Kaito too much there! Just because we’re weirdly similar doesn’t mean we speak for the whole demographic.” Josie gave an easy-going shrug. “I’ve always been the oldest of my friends, so it’s always sort of shifted into me watching out for them. I like making jokes that I’m their third or fourth parent, or big brother, gives me a real false sense of accomplishment. Really, only Mercy’s older than me, but she’s got the carer-gene so strong that even someone triple her age would get doted on.”

Arven huffed, rolling his eyes, “I’m not blind, and there’s a reason everyone in school trips all over themselves every time you wink at them…”

Arven’s voice trailed off as he puffed his cheeks out, still fussing with his chain mindlessly as he looked around. Glaring at the ground even as his eyebrows twisted towards each other in discomfort, swaying side to side a bit as he considered something…

“...hey,” Arven said, his voice forcefully casual, like it was no big deal as he looked away, “So… so, you’ve had sex with, like, basically everyone, right? Has it ever felt…” Arven’s mind raced for the right words and fell hopelessly flat, as he settled on, “...bad?”

Josie blinked, looking down at Arven. Blinking again. Before his lips made a flat line as he made a strangled sound. Scratching the back of his head, Josie let the tension go with a sigh. 

“...alright, I’m gonna preface this--despite seeming like the best guy to ask about this? I, it turns out, am like the worst guy to ask about this.” Josie gave Arven a flat look. “It feels bad to me every time, Arven. I thought, until recently, that everyone was just kidding themselves about the mystique and vaunted pleasure of sex, just to uphold the illusion of it being something to want.”

“Turns out! No! Some people actually genuinely like sex!” Josie said, gesturing out and sounding genuinely baffled. “It’s good for them, beyond just, like, biological endorphins! Baffling, I know. And it’s supposed to feel that way, apparently.”

Calming from his theatrics, Josie looked over, giving Arven a concerned look. “...look, I know why I do it, but…if you’re having sex and it feels bad? You either need to have a long conversation with your partner to figure out a way that it’d feel good to you, or just…not have sex, if it’s bad no matter what.”

“Trust me,” he said dryly, “You wouldn’t be missing out on much.”

Arven squinted a little side-eye at Josie. What??? “You… don’t like sex?”

“...” Arven tilted his head, now looking less suspicious and more genuinely confused, “So is everyone lying about having sex with you? Because I thought you slept with everyone. Did I get that wrong?” Arven asked, genuinely uncertain. He was not the most observant person, and that could include getting the wrong idea about people and never observing enough to clear it up. 

“And it’s not that it feels bad!” Arven insisted, feeling suddenly a little defensive, though of exactly what he wasn’t certain as he amended, “It’s just… it’s good and bad! I don’t know if it’s supposed to feel like that? I don’t know, I shouldn’t have brought it up, nevermind.” Arven pouted, scuffing the floor in frustration, feeling a little irrationally embarrassed, despite being the one who brought it up, “It’s fine. Sex is fine!”

“No, you are right, I’m a massive slut,” Josie nodded casually, “I just hate sex. Funny little riddle there, eh? Constantly doing something I dislike.”

Josie just watched Arven through his embarrassed outburst before smiling a little. “Hey, I prefaced this that I might not be the best person to give you any advice you might want, but it’s fine to bring up, man. I can’t tell you how sex is supposed to feel. Apparently not like it makes you ill and wanna crawl out of your skin, but excluding that? There’s probably a lot of variance. If you’re feeling unsure, then the best way to feel more confident is to ask people you trust about it, and your partner too.”

Gently prompting him, Josie asked, “What’s bad about it?”

“Don’t call yourself a slut,” Arven said while barely thinking about it, still fretting over what he was trying to say as he absentmindedly corrected, “That’s a shitty thing to call yourself. Though you are a flirt.”

Arven glared at the ground, not sure if he would bring up anything more about it… before saying tentatively, “I think I keep ruining it, for me and Aceto.” He admitted, somewhat mumbling it, clearly embarrassed, “And I keep doing that in two different ways. Like… sometimes I get freaked out? But I don’t know why I’m freaked out? Like I just get… nervous, and I feel uncomfortable, but it’s not for any real reason.” Arven said, frowning, “And then, when that’s not happening, it’s like I’m too into it? And then I get really embarrassed because it feels like I acted really… stupid and Aceto just sort of put up with it… I feel like I just can’t get it right. I’m either a bundle of nerves or a dumb animal, and either way I always just end up worrying that it was all bad, afterwards.”

“And I don’t know how to ask Aceto how he feels about it, because… I don’t know. My boyfriend is really, really easy to read about just anything, like, he doesn’t hide much of anything from me, but I really cannot figure out how he feels about it when we do anything together. Which makes me think I’m doing it wrong! Which makes me feel worse and more freaked out about doing it badly… but maybe that’s normal?” Arven asked, feeling a little desperate as he looked at Josie, “I mean, I know sex is normal, but maybe it’s also normal to be… freaked out by it? Or something?”

Josie blinked, looking down at Arven in surprise…before smiling softly and shaking his head. Good kid.

“Alright, soooo, you could have other reasons too, but I’m just gonna put it out there,” Josie said, taking a breath like he was going to deliver a huge revelation, “You might be freaked out because you’re having sex. Like, me looking back and putting into context that everyone hasn’t been pretending this whole time--sex is anxiety-inducing! And uncomfortable! Even for people who like it, and especially when you’re young, or even just with a new person. Even for casual sex, it’s still something really vulnerable to do with someone, and, admitting my own bias, it’s pretty gross? Just in the way bodies are generally gross? So feeling weird about it is nothing to be ashamed of. Could be other stuff too! But could just be that.”

“Aaaaaand,” Josie stressed, giving Arven a playfully cool look, “no one is ever not stupid during sex. If anyone’s calm, cool, and collected, then they’re both trying too hard to be those things, and probably not that into it. You’ve gotta act a little stupid to really get into it, that’s why kinks can get so weird--sex is a totally different context than how you act normally. Like…think about it, someone might really enjoy dirty talk in bed, but if someone said those kinds of things, like…getting groceries? It’s just uncomfortable and strange. Context matters, and what anyone likes in bed doesn’t say anything about them outside that context.”

He rolled his eyes. “With a few exceptions, but I’m not trying to bog you down in the details.”

“One thing I can tell you with certainty, though,” Josie gave Arven a calmer look, “is if you’re struggling to know what’s going through Doppio’s head? Ask him about it. You’re right, he’s a straightforward guy, so just ask straight out. Just assuming you’re messing something up because you can’t mindread him is just a way to stress yourself out, man, and like…to destroy your self-confidence. Doppio likes you a lot, don’t be mean enough to put cruel words in his mouth.”

Arven opened his mouth, almost instinctively, to argue that he wasn’t doing that… before closing his mouth, scrunching up his lips into a ‘hmmm’ as he thought about it… “...I guess I am kinda thinking that Aceto thinks I’m dumb and, like, if I ask him about it, he’s just gonna tell me that.” Arven admitted. “...and then I guess I’d die, I don’t know, how do you come back from that? I’m pretty sure your boyfriend telling you you’re dumb and embarrassing during sex kills you on the spot. Pretty sure that’s science.”

“Unless you’re into that, which in that case makes you live more than ever,” Josie teased, grinning at Arven. “But…full honesty here? I don’t think I could even imagine Doppio ever calling you dumb. It’s pretty mean to him, that you think he would. Like you created this whole super awful version of him in your head, just to be mean to yourself with.”

“I mean…” Arven gave Josie a somewhat concerned look, sort of putting this together now, “If you thought everyone hated having sex with you, didn’t you do that to our… entire upperclassman population? I really have no idea how much you’ve actually slept around, I might be exaggerating just based on how many times I heard someone mention it. Did you think everyone just didn’t like you?”

Josie snorted dryly, giving Arven a side-eye. “You’re not getting rid of my sage advice by Uno Reversing into psychoanalyzing me. And I’d say I’ve maybe made my way through about half the upperclassmen. Maybe slightly less. I thought that people were buying into the hype of sex, and knew that I was down, then once they realized that it sucked, just moved on. Us mutually using each other then going our separate ways.” Josie narrowed his eyes. “...I still don’t buy that that’s not happening, totally, but…maybe more mixed messages on my end. But it’s not like most people were expecting a long-term relationship out of me, and the ones who were were kind of jackasses.”

Spelling it out more, Josie shrugged. “I figured people use me for my body. So I’d play along, and maybe be a jerk about making a point about using people while I was at it.”

Arven stuck his tongue out at Josie, “We’re having a ‘conversation’, ‘senpai’.” Arven said, stressing the last two words as he rolled his eyes, “That means it goes two ways. And I thought I was bad at socializing. Maybe I don’t have to worry about you sweeping Aceto off his feet.”

Especially if Josie didn’t even like sex in the first place. Which, weird, but it wasn’t like Arven was worried about Doppio leaving him for a different relationship. He just knew Josie was sexy and experienced and probably didn’t act like a dumbass during sex! Like, Doppio wouldn’t leave Arven, but Arven didn’t feel entirely confident he wouldn’t feel tempted to have just… actual, good sex, which was something Josie could offer, rather than just always having loser sex with Arven, where he couldn’t even not be weird for any part of it! Gah! 

…yeah, maybe that wasn’t super fair to his boyfriend. That was probably more Arven’s anxieties than reality.

Arven wasn’t sure what to say to what Josie was actually trying to do–honestly, he didn’t have enough experience with casual dating to have any hard ideas of what being used in them really meant–but he was kind of curious as he asked, “What was jackassy about the people who wanted to date you?”

Josie couldn’t help snickering at that, ruffling Arven’s hair a little. “I thought we already settled that with our adorable head judge! You two are locked tight--I like being a menace, not tearing my friends to shreds.”

The dining room looked to be a bit busy, for not exactly being around a meal time. Josie had lingered at the castle for free food before, but it wasn’t something he did often, so he deferred to how Arven wanted to approach the kitchen. 

Though he did roll his eyes with some exasperation. “Okay, normally I’d assume you know the type, but it’s hard to tell with you. The ‘I can fix him’ types? I don’t mind being prince charming or ‘exciting bad boy’ for a night, I do mind when someone makes up an idealized version of me in their head and then tries to manipulate me into it under the guise of being a damn saint. There’s nothing wrong with sleeping around; the people who have the idea that I’d stop if only I was dating them? Like it’s a ‘see the light’ moment?”

Josie grinned, though it was far less friendly than his usual ones. “I’ll admit to being an asshole myself, but they’re usually the most fun to ruin a relationship with.”

Arven pouted as his hair was ruffled, reaching up to fix it as soon as Josie was done, parting his hair over his burnt eye more evenly. As they approached the dining room–boy, had that been a long walk from the mail room to the kitchen–Arven strolled up to the kitchen door, knocking on it before poking his head in, “Can I come in and grab a few things from the pantry real quick?”

After getting the confirmation, Arven motioned for Josie to wait outside, disappearing inside for a moment… before coming out with a bag of ingredients. Non-plussed and unbothered. Arven would have been astounded if someone had said they had difficulties with the kitchen staff. They were so nice! To him! And thus to everyone, probably!

Heading out of the dining room, Arven raised an eyebrow at Josie, “I didn’t realize you had a reputation as someone who ruined relationships. I never hear about that.”

Heading, well, up, Josie figured from what Doppio had said earlier, to the other kitchen, Josie ambled along beside Arven before chuckling a bit. “It’s more understated than the rumors about me sleeping around. Mostly because, as I said, a lot of people, at least these days, only go to me for a short-term good time. But hearing around that I’m a heartbreaker, that I’m a horrible boyfriend, a no-good jerk? That stuff’s out there too. Doesn’t seem to deter people much, though.”

Josie shrugged a little. “Not sure how much staying power it’ll have once I graduate, either. There are people in uni and stuff that I did still go to school with, my old upperclassmen, but people, like…give way less of a shit outside of high school. You’re not seeing the same small group of people every day anymore, so, like…you don’t vibe with someone? Bye.”

“Hmmm,” Arven said, supposing that made sense. Well, for other people. He had always been a ‘Bye’ kinda guy. Though it was harder now that he had a boyfriend to stick around for. And a family. “I mean… you don’t like sex though. Are you still going to be a flirt once you graduate? You’re not sick of it yet?”

Josie chuckled, a little tickled by that. “Arven, I honestly don’t think I can stop. ‘Sick of it’, what a comedian… Flirting’s the fun part. If I mature in any way, maybe I’ll just stop saying yes to anyone who wants to share a bed for the night. But I think that’s a type of accountability I have a ways to grow to reach first.”

Arven gave Josie a somewhat dry look, before shaking his head with a sigh, “Maybe you should go to the strip club and ask those guys what good sex is like. I mean, I’m not going to, I would die. But if you’re going to sleep around anyway and it still feels bad to you? Maybe you’re doing it wrong. Are you sure you’re inserting into the right holes?” Arven said, mostly to tease. It wasn’t like he knew what that was like either, but he had heard one of his friends make the same joke years earlier and still thought it was funny.

Josie snickered, giving Arven a devilish look. “Considering the other prevalent rumor about me? I think I have the mechanics down, at least. And I know there’s some people out there who’d argue there isn’t a wrong hole to use.” Josie gave Arven a…slightly mean-spirited wink. “And if insertion’s all you’re thinking about, well, I’ll just suggest you broaden your horizons.”

…Arven had no idea what that meant. But he’d be damned if he admitted it, as he sputtered, “I’m just saying… you! Don’t know anything but insertion! Into… um…” Arven’s mind raced, trying to think of a ‘wrong’ hole, “...the penis.” He finished lamely. Because surely nothing ever goes in there. There was no way. Too small. 

“No, No. nuh-uh, I was FULLY intent to let you two just walk past me, but nooooooo, no.” Kaito said, while beside him Shuichi just sighed and put his face into his hand, the two having been walking towards the stairs as Josie and Arven had been coming up, “You both are way too young for that!”

“Kaito–” Shuichi groaned.

“No, sounding is dangerous, we have to say something!” Kaito insisted, passing Shuichi something as he said, “Hold my pie, handsome. You two! Have either of you ever heard of the ways that shit goes wrong!? Have you ever split a hotdog in two!?”

“Kaito.” 

“IT NEEDS SAYING!”

Josie’s shit-eating grin grew bigger, his inner self just busting up laughing, as he gave the princes a wave. “Hey, Prince Kaito, Prince Shuuichi! Nice to see you guys after the Freeze. Did some baking today? We’re actually on our way to do the same, or, well, Arven and Doppio are. I’m sure they’d be delighted to share some of the cookies with you two.”

←～（o ｀▽´ )oΨ “Fair exchange for somevery needed advice, I’d bet.”

Arven felt a weird mix of emotions. This was usually true when encountering Kaito. Arven… kind of liked Kaito, by this point! He had been looking forward to seeing him after the freeze. Had wanted to say hi! 

But auuuuuuuuugh this was the worst side of Kaito to deal with, as he flustered, “What are you even talking about!? We weren’t even talking about hot dogs!” 

“Hot dogs are just a very apt metaphor for how easy it is to split your damn dick in half! They’re not indestructible! You can’t just do whatever you want with them, they take care and maintenance! Look, I know it sounds cool and exciting, ooooh, let’s see what we can get up there, but the actual act of it takes experience and patience and you really should ONLY do it with someone who’s done it before–!”

Shuichi stood just slightly behind Kaito, holding a pie with only one slice taken out of it, looking increasingly dead inside. Why did this keep happening? He didn’t want to talk to teenagers about sex. He barely wanted to do what they were out here actually doing, which was looking for more taste testers for Kaito’s pie, when it had been cruelly left uneaten at the PTA meeting, according to his husband. Mint with apple was weird, and Kaito was weird, and Shuichi loved him but god dammit he was embarrassing to be around sometimes.

“--and that’s why I can’t just turn a deaf ear when I hear you talking about experimenting with that, it’d be the worst pain of your life!”

“What are you talking about, you’re a crazy person, no one would do that anyway!” 

“Good! Don’t!”

Arven and Kaito huffed at each other a bit, glaring at each other… before Kaito said, “You guys are making cookies for unity?” Kaito paused, “Do you want some pie to take with you?”

Josie simply laced his fingers behind his head with a grin as Kaito went on a safe sex tirade, explaining all the reasons why sounding was risky and a bad idea for novices, feeling ever enthused by every degree of embarrassment Arven gained. He did know how aggravating Kaito’s prying and advice could be, but it was also highly entertaining in some ways. 

“Doppio’s suggestion,” Josie answered, once the topic pivoted, “Gio was an absolute sweetheart with his Unity gift for these two, so Doppio got the idea to make cookies for everyone.” Giving the pie a curious look, he asked, “Sure, I’d be down. What kind of pie is it?”

Kaito, briefly, considered heading to the kitchen to make sure that, no matter what Arven might be curious about, Doppio knew he needed to absolutely treat Sounding like the dick destroying sex crime it was!!! (Well, no, not really, but it did give Kaito the Ick in a major way, so sometimes it felt like that to him)... but he knew that would ruin whatever it was the boys were doing, and if Doppio and Arven were celebrating Unity with friends, Kaito could hold off a bit. 

For next time.

But he lit up a little, grabbing the pie from Shuichi and passing it over to Josie as he said excitedly, “It’s an apple-cinnamon pie with a snow-berry infused crust! Take it, you all should give it a try!” and he could pry later to see if they liked it.

Shuichi, seeing hope that his day was not going to be spent either talking to teenagers or trying to appease Kaito’s wounded pie pride, reached over and gently touched Kaito’s arm, “In that case, let’s go walk around the gardens instead. Get some air.” Touch grass, Kaito.

Josie’s eyebrows scrunched a little in confusion. “Apple and…snowberry?” But by the time he’d slowly questioned the combination, Shuuichi and Kaito were already heading down the stairs, leaving Josie with a baffling pie.

He gave it a skeptical look before giving Arven a questioning one. “...you know more about cooking than I do. Are apples and mint actually a good combination?”

“Ummmmmm,” Arven stared at the pie, “...I don’t… know? It’s never occurred to me to try to mix them… maybe it’s a Luminary thing?” Arven asked, tilting his head a little. “Though, do you get snowberries somewhere it doesn’t… snow?”

He stared at the pie. Before looking up at Josie. “Let’s have Giovanni eat it first.”

Josie shrugged, having no idea…before he snickered lowly, giving Arven a wink. “Atta boy, now there’s an idea. Alright, hopefully the others haven’t gotten too ahead of cooking-making without us~”

(The group had only been able to look on in confusion and awe as Giovanni ate his slice of pie barely batting an eye. Hearing the combination from Arven, Doppio had been so baffled that he’d gone in to try a slice himself, only to almost immediately turn green, a reaction a lot of the others had too.)

(Doppio was…very concerned that Giovanni’s taste buds were broken. Though he did seem to enjoy the cookies.)

-

“Imagine, if you will, a road.”

With a piece of charcoal, 4 started outlining a diagram on a broken tabletop that they’d moved into, what Axel lovingly called, Ienzo’s ‘Mad Science Room’. It was a laboratory of some sort, they supposed. Next to a simplification of neural pathways, 4 drew, well, a road. 

“Just like real roads, the more a certain habit of thought occurs, the more ‘major’ the road becomes,” he explained, suggesting in brickwork in the widened road, little elevated points for dedicated walkways out of the way of carriages, “This happens naturally, the adage ‘practice makes perfect’ not simply a platitude. The more you think something, the easier it is to think.”

“Now, what conditioning did was accelerate that development of a major road. Created a pathway from, let’s say for example, a command to obedience,” he drew a ‘C’ on one end of the road, and an ‘O’ on the other, “Getting it to a point where it’s a clearly established path for your synapses, and, within the metaphor, perhaps…putting signs on paths to other outcomes, saying the road is closed, so this is the only option. And because it’s become so easy to tread this path, even after the work was done, it continues to develop the more it happens.”

“Now, what the new hypothesis suggests, is that we, essentially, leave something in your mind, what we call a ‘construct’, that would prevent those neural signals from using that path, to have something block that road and divert it to some other outcome--one that you would consciously choose yourself. However, it’s not as simple as that. You see…let’s anthropomorphize conditioning not just as the road itself, but someone who maintains it.”

Drawing a simple figure next to the road, 4 pointed, “Conditioning really wants you to use this pathway, at any cost, so whatever diversion the construct would make, conditioning would be there to divert that right back to the main - oh, yes, you’re right, it’s like a hydra, good point. However, not one that we can simply strike the heart of, not without leaving you braindead, so the stopgap we’ve arrived at is being able to make a construct that can destroy each new head of the hydra quickly and efficiently enough that you can create new, stronger roads in its absence.”

Sometimes Xiomara didn’t know just what she’d gotten herself into, listening to the man ramble on and cut himself off like he was having a conversation she couldn’t hear. But, what maybe stung the most, was that all that…did make sense. 

The end of the Indentured Program had been…a breath of air after living underwater, the sun rising after an eternity of darkness…at first. Her brothel hadn’t kicked her out, and she had nowhere else to go, but…at least being able to choose. To finally be free of conditioning and tell assholes to fuck off where she didn’t want to be touched, or how she didn’t want to be fucked, it would be…

Well, still a dream. Conditioning hadn’t gone anywhere. And even when the temples closed her brothel and took her in for their own, she still couldn’t say no. No matter what she did, cutting off all her hair, dressing in armor and spikes, telling losers to get lost in all other circumstances, someone just had to say the right thing in the right way and people could still touch her however they wanted. 

Xiomara had been desperate…and one of the girls she knew from her old district had kept in touch. Told her about some weirdos that…had come from the warehouses. That weren’t spreading it around, necessarily, but she’d heard that they were looking for a way to break conditioning too, and if there was anyone who’d manage to do it, it’d be the people who put it in in the first place…

So like a moron, despite being saved by servants of god, Xiomara had made a deal with demons. 

Well. Empaths, they called themselves, but same difference. Freaks. Though…none of them had ever tried to touch her. And while absolute weirdos, they were…nice, in their own ways. And if they actually managed to break her conditioning…

Xiomara sighed, giving Ienzo a dry look as he talked to himself. “Fine. But whatever sword-wielding hero you make in my head better not get a complex about it.” Raising her water with a sarcastic cheers, she took the mild sleeping aid she’d agreed to when they started this whole thing, ready to stare at the wall while Ienzo just stood there, apparently in her mind. 

…she really had gone crazy, huh.

Beside Xiomara, arms wrapped around the back of the chair he had claimed for himself, sitting with his legs wrapped around it as he leaned against the chair’s backing, Ienzo’s second volunteer had been nodding along lightly as the Empath talked, hoody laid out halfway over his head as he quietly observed. While he tended to relax once he was actually in the tavern and the room Ienzo tended to do his experiments on them in, heading in and out of the area he always had the hood up and the front zipped to his neck, his head ducked down and his hands hidden into the pockets, attempting not to draw attention, and to not be distinguishable to anyone who might glance at him anyway. 

He didn’t start every journey to the tavern in the getup. He got about halfway from the very lovely vacation manor his very generous patron set up, smiling brightly at people he recognized before nodding politely to those he didn’t as he got further out, before heading to whatever event he was doing that day: dancing, parties, theaters, brothels…whatever would give him the time frame he needed, as he instructed the bodyguards who protected him to wait outside for him.

Then he changed his clothes, escaped whatever area he was supposed to be in, and headed here. Where after time and patience and more than a little gold being passed around, he had found the factory workers, literally just knocking on their door one day and brightly volunteering to be an experiment, if anyone was still, you know… into that sort of thing, here.

He had half been expecting to need to pay them. He had not expected one of them to take him up on it without barely even asking why. He genuinely couldn’t tell if Ienzo was just trying not to scare him off with too many personal questions, or if it literally just didn’t occur to him. The guy was a bit off like that.

Rantaro smiled lightly at Xiomara’s question, before laughing softly, “Well, it sounds more fun than the sleep deprivation test. I was killing myself on peppers, trying to keep myself awake for that.”

Rantaro had never had a pepper before coming this close to the border. Spices just weren’t really a thing in the capital, and the farther away he got from it the more bizarre and difficult to eat the food became. People looked at him like he was crazy when he admitted he had barely tasted things that seemed to be common out here like ‘pepper’ or ‘turmeric’, and Rantaro couldn’t even begin to guess why central Luminary seemed to just have nothing like that despite having the wealth to import it, like they did most of their fruits. Just a weird cultural thing, he guessed. But he found most spices wreaked havoc on his body, which made them great for staying up an insane number of days.

“Now, you’ve told us before that conditioning uses different patterns to enforce our behavior,” Rantaro recalled, sighing as he rested his chin against the chair backing, “That’s why I get flooded by vague dread and bad smells when I have ‘thought crimes’, and get rushed with endorphins and nice smells when I self-correct. But Xiomara’s doesn’t work that way, so… I guess what I’m asking is if the construct you mentioned correcting us would work the same way as each other, or if we should expect that to feel different between us too.” 

“I would err on assuming it’ll be different,” 4 answered, not even having to confer with the others about that, “Though I’m not sure how you would perceive it. It could be a total absence of the behavioral alterations, leaving you with a sense that they should be happening, but aren’t, which might leave you with a different sense of dread and expectation, or it might be the expected symptoms, but not as all-consuming, leaving the space for you to actually resist.”

4 tilted Ienzo’s head pensively. “...yes, that would be its own problem, especially on a mass scale. Even if you could recognize something feels ‘off’ in that latter possibility, given that conditioning’s been impossible to resist since it was implemented, there would be no conscious or unconscious inclination to try to resist it… But, that’s only a guess of what might happen, so it’s a bridge to cross when we get there.”

Xiomara huffed, crossing a leg over her knee as she sat back, already starting to feel a little drowsy. It wasn’t necessary for her to sleep during these sessions--and she wouldn’t, no matter how okay the others had been to her thus far--but apparently it was easier for Ienzo to do his thing if they were a little fucked up. Tracked with how the warehouses worked, she supposed. “If it’s a fight I have to take up on my own at some point, then I’m rearing to go. Just get me to the ring, Woog.”

Zexion was going to give it a shot, at least. See if he could even start to make a construct powerful enough to combat conditioning. 

Rantaro gave Xiomara a small, sympathetic smile as he saw her eyes go a little heavy. “Let me know if you need some water, Xiomara. I can have a coffee ready to wake you back up properly when he’s done, if it’s alright for me to venture down to the kitchen,” Rantaro asked, his inherently lazy gaze tracing over to Ienzo.

Rantarou was an odd one, in many ways. Xiomara had also sought them out…but through a few connections Isa had been able to follow up on. Rantarou had just shown up out of the blue, from nowhere, already knowing about Empathy and it had been…a little alarming. But he had been sincere with just about everything he did and said, so, well, 4 figured that they were all extending some tentative trust towards each other. 

“Should be,” 4 said off hand, before narrowing Ienzo’s eyes a little. “...no, that’s completely beside the point, that shouldn’t matter at all. And he’s out anyway, did you not pay attention…? …fine. Unless he’s decided to be spontaneous, which happens often, Axel should be around downstairs, if you need any help in the kitchen.”

Xiomara leaned over the small table in front of them. “Maybe it’ll work faster if I just ignore him.”

Rantaro laughed lightly, before leaning back a bit, quieting down as he watched. He knew there wouldn’t be a lot for him to see in this. Most of Ienzo’s experiments, visually, weren’t really… anything. Just the man sitting, staring at nothing for a while. Sometimes, Rantaro thought he could ‘feel’ something, some sort of indication something was happening… but usually in those experiments, he had stressed out his body in some new way that honestly what he could have been feeling was just himself sitting quietly, aching in some new, inventive way. 

(When Ienzo had asked, in the beginning of the experiments, what Rantaro was willing to do to break conditioning, Rantaro had laughed lightly and smiled and said ‘anything’.)

(He had meant it.)

But he liked to imagine he’d feel some indication of his conditioning fading, when it finally happened. That it’d be something noticeable. So much of his conditioning had been personality based. A perfect housekeeper for one of the most important homes in Luminary, to its only country-side princess, fourth heir to the throne, third, then second by the time she was grown. Rantaro had been picked and cultivated specifically with Kaede in mind. Most royal and highly elite figures had Indentureds designed with them specifically in mind, though not all of them kept the same ones throughout all milestones in their life. If the elite allowed it to happen, contracts ended and their personally designed Indentured got to go ‘free’. That had famously–or, famously among Indentureds– happened with both Princess Ibuki’s and King Leon’s personalized Indentureds. Those stories giving other Indentureds hope about their own futures.

Then there had been outliers. What had happened with Lord Byakuya’s personalized Indentured, Kirumi Tojo, a horror story and a cautionary tale about the way that sort of conditioning could go wrong. 

But most of the time, what happened to Rantaro was just… it. Personalized conditioning to suit a specific person's needs, that got reinforced and refined as the years went on, contracts that, ‘inexplicably’ always, always ended up getting extended or renewed… forever. 

Kaede had promised a thousand times that it wasn’t going to happen to Rantaro.

But in the end, only The Reaper’s threats and the program being shut down entirely had actually freed Rantaro. And that reality haunted him, sometimes, even as Kaede seemed to take it as a given that she would still be the one maintaining Rantaro’s life now that he was freed.

…hell. Because of that. That feeling less like a gift and more just Kaede ensuring something she had always expected to be true, kept happening. Rantaro never really going anywhere. Never really being free of her.

Rantaro didn’t even know if he wanted to be free of Kaede. Not really. 

But he wanted to know if he did or not. And at this point in his life, he’d give anything to know the answer to that. Anything at all.

He didn’t initially realize it, though Zexion figured that was reasonable, considering he was seeing one of his friends be freed from his mind and that was a pretty incredible thing to witness. But, along with Lord Saihara had been another figure. One, that after he reviewed his memories for some time, Zexion realized was a construct. A…fully realized, humanoid construct, that’d had enough power behind it to go head to head with Roxas.

…that wasn’t something he was able to do. Zexion would fry Ienzo’s brain even trying. But, something a little simpler… Unfortunately, not something with a logic gate, since it would need to adapt as the conditioning did, but something that could learn wasn’t completely out of his reach. 

Among the cushions and drapes of Xiomara’s mind, Zexion focused. Drawing on some of the ambient power of the others through Destiny Island as he molded his intent. Hmm… Something to give her the power to fight, since she was ready to do it… Something to give her mind an opening to form new paths, resisting the pull of established connections…

It wasn’t something that happened every time, but enough that Xiomara had been alarmed and creeped out at first, but now begrudgingly ignored. Ienzo’s experiment really didn’t look like much from the outside, but there were signs, namely for this current one, him starting to breathe heavier, like he was exerting himself, despite having just been sitting in the room. 

“There he goes,” Rantaro whispered, giving Xiomara a knowing smile and shrug, “Feel anything this time?”

“Nope,” Xiomara drawled, popping the ‘p’ a little, though she mostly just looked too drowsy to actually be annoyed. “...though I’m not really looking forward to testing it, this time,” she admitted in a mumble, crossing her arms protectively across herself. “It’d be one thing to do things at my own pace, with clients. Another to throw a bitchfit just to prove I can say no. I mean…I’m lucky to even still have a job, even if it’s one I don’t want anymore.”

She scuffed her boot a little against the floor. “A vicious circle. I don’t want to try and get a job somewhere else until I know it won’t just turn into an unregulated version of the one I already have. Can’t break my conditioning in habits until I get a new job. But having it broken in any way will be worth it.”

“I get that,” Rantaro said, glancing over at Ienzo and feeling both oddly like they were alone and like they were being watched. But, Rantaro had always known at the least Ienzo and his fellow experimentee would end up knowing things about him, and while the details had never come up, he knew they knew already that he was a housekeeper for a specific person…which basically meant he was a personalized servant to an elite. Which one, they didn’t know, but they knew it meant Rantaro was, essentially, ‘expensive’.

So Xiomara would at least understand him a bit as he said quietly, “Most of my conditioning only works specifically when I’m working too. You’d think that’d make it easier for me… I mean, in theory, I could just leave my old owner and I’d be fine, right? But… it’s so hard to leave. And I can’t tell if my reluctance is conditioning or not. And if it’s not? How will I be able to ever tell at all, beyond literally admitting to them what I’ve been doing and asking to, hey, maybe try testing out being upset with me and seeing how I react? If I find it the most devastating thing in the world? For fun?”

Rantaro chuckled, like any of that had been a joke. He was used to defusing tension immediately and trying to lighten the mood. He was used to constantly appearing at ease and relaxed. That was a huge part of his ‘job’. To not ever appear disturbed or resentful or afraid at the wrong times in the wrong way. Everything about him had to be calming and pleasant in some way, even the bad things. Beautifully sad. Pleasantly afraid. Non-threateningly chastising. Rantaro’s whole training was putting other people entirely at ease. A perfect servant and companion.

Which was why he asked, “At the risk of sounding like I’m propositioning you… you could ask me to help test it, when you feel ready to. It feels wrong to offer,” Rantaro laughed softly, smiling–pleasantly–sheepishly, as he shrugged, “Because I’d be lying to say I’d get nothing out of it. But I could promise you’d have full control over the situation. Including my actions.”

Xiomara gave a commiserating nod, scoffing a little to herself in grim humor. “Would literally rather ask ‘master’ to come see this cool new knot I made in this rope, and, oh, by the way, where’s the nearest chair?” She rolled her eyes. Despite her distaste for sex work these days, the temple and priestesses treated her and the other prostitutes really well. Not even just compared to the conditions they had been used to before. In some ways, that just made Xiomara resent her conditioning even more, that it had ruined probably the best gig she could ever hope for. 

But even still, it was theoretically a job she could leave at any time. Rantarou’s situation? His life hadn’t been a vocational contract (as much as it literally was on paper), it was an emotional bond with someone that, until The Reaper had slain the program, was meant to be lifelong. Peacing out from someone you had been made for was… Well, like she’d snarked. Would be easier hanging yourself than even starting that conversation with whoever Rantarou had been serving. 

It wasn’t like she hadn’t started to feel for the guy, since they had signed up to be science experiments together. 

Still, Xiomara gave him a heavy side-eye…though it could’ve just been her drooping eyelids. “We’ll see, pretty boy. I’ll think about it.” She then gave him a sarcastic grin. “I’m pretty good at certain scenes, but something tells me I wouldn’t quite be able to do an impression of yours well enough for you to test.”

Rantaro laughed lightly, both looking endearingly scandalized while also pleasantly amused as he smiled warmly at her. “I don’t know if it’d work like that for me, no. Though, I have seen that work on other Indentureds.” 

Rantaro had seen Kaito, Maki, and Shuichi around each other enough to watch the games they had made out of Maki and Shuichi’s conditioning. Technically, as royal Indentureds, Maki and Shuichi should have only followed their most important conditioning triggers when it was the royal King and Queen themselves giving the orders, following lesser orders from lower people on the hierarchy ladder when given explicit instructions to do so. Kaito, technically, didn’t have blanket permission to order the Royal Indentureds to do specific missions, essentially because by the time he had gotten old enough where it’d be expected he’d be given access to something as dangerous as an indentured assassin, his reputation and station had been in literal tatters, Kaito not given access to a number of royal privileges because he was technically no longer an heir and was widely known to be a risk to national security, by right of being insane. 

But the three had learned Kaito could basically bypass all of that by just dipping his voice and shouting like his father would. Which the three of them made use of surprisingly easily, along with other little tricks and hiccups in each other's conditioning. Of which there were plenty. In some ways, it was shocking how poorly conditioned two extremely high ranking and important indentured positions had been. 

Kaede had once remarked that she thought one of the reasons the Royal Indentureds ended up in practice being the best in their fields was because their conditioning was so often badly done. That the ability to think for themselves and use creative solutions was what gave them their edge. That the only truly important conditioning requirement was the inability to betray the owner of their contracts. Kaede didn’t think anyone with perfect conditioning could actually survive in their positions.

Rantaro remembered smiling and asked if his own conditioning should be given some holes then, to let him better serve her. Kaede had laughed and told him he was perfect as he was. Rantaro had laid awake that night, wondering if Kaede had meant Rantaro himself, or his conditioning. Genuinely unable to tell. 

“So I guess if you were convincing enough, it would… but it’d be a hard sell, I think,” Rantaro confessed. 

“If you agree, then it’s nice that I have one gut feeling that’s still working,” Xiomara mused, before looking over as Ienzo seemed to come back to attention. She raised an eyebrow at him. “That was fast. Taking a breath of air, or are you actually done?”

Not that she’d complain if he was. Their longer sessions tended to be the more uncomfortable ones. 

“Even if this type is new to me, I’m quite practiced in making constructs,” 4 explained, trying to center their body again. “Still, this is simply attempt one on a new hypothesis, so I’m expecting iterations to be needed. Any change, internal or external, however, please be mindful of and report on our next meeting. If you find obedience easier or harder to resist, if you start having strange thoughts that don’t feel like your own, if you start experiencing conditioning symptoms without a trigger…those types of things, though that’s not an exhaustive list.”

Blinking at Rantarou, 4 asked, “Would you like a small break before your turn?”

Rantaro smiled uneasily–but in the most understandable way to express that unease, nothing aggressive or confrontational in it–as he asked, “Experiencing conditioning symptoms without a trigger? That sounds less than ideal. But, if that’s what the risk is… just be careful,” Rantaro said, giving Xiomara a compassionate, but trusting, look of concern, “Trust your instincts, okay? I’d hate to hear something happened because you waved away feeling off as being hungover or something.”

Though, asking him if he was ready, Rantaro smiled brightly, the gesture full of easy confidence. “I’ve just been sitting here, hanging out with Xiomara. If you’re ready to go, so am I. Let me grab a tablet.” 

“I’m not expecting that one, to be clear, but since it’s a theoretical possibility I figured it’d be helpful to warn you regardless.” Ienzo’s shoulders shrugged a little, 4 smugly informing 5 that, see, it was fine, that wasn’t something they should’ve gone over before making the construct, since it was such a slim possibility. 5 could only sigh and go over the ethics of consent once more. 

Xiomara pulled a face before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her gaze focused when she opened them again, even despite the sleep aid. “I’ll keep an eye out, even if it’s unlikely. I’ll see if there’s any temple upkeep I could help with this week.” She probably couldn’t get away with seeing no one until the next meeting, but, well, if things were going to be touch and go, she could exert the standards she had access to, before things got to the prayer room. 

Accepting Rantarou’s choice with a nod, 4 waited for the sleep aid to settle into Rantarou’s system, patiently feeling out the barrier to the man’s mind. Sure, technically Zexion only needed someone willing to be able to reach out for them, but…well, he hadn’t wanted to deal with unconscious defensiveness, so doubling up on sabotaging those just made things easier. 

Okay…for Rantarou, it was more on the side of emotional triggers, so…something that would stop the release of certain chemicals from certain stimuli… An…embrace, perhaps, of the full world, rather than a focus on one person, unhindering…

Rantaro blinked heavily, listening to the sound of Ienzo’s panting start to come in, deep, heavy breaths… and nuzzling his head into his arms, he laughed tiredly, “I don’t feel anything either.” 

“...” Rantaro smiled, closing his eyes, “But perhaps it will work anyway. We get nothing from not trying, right?”

“I think we’re a little late to be second-guessing this,” Xiomara drawled, feeling a new wave of drowsiness just from watching Rantarou get cozy. Damn it. “We’ve gone right into the demon’s den and invited them to take a look around. We’re in this until our conditioning’s gone, or we’ve just wasted a few months and way too many opportunities for blackmail.”

She snorted after a moment. “...I have no idea how to even explain this if he actually figures it out. I know some people jump at any chance when others say they know a way to get rid of conditioning, but, ‘hey, fall asleep in this rotting tavern in a back alley while a dude stares at you’ sounds way sketchier than some of the obvious snake oil out there.”

Rantaro laughed sleepily, eyes still closed as he murmured, “I worry about blackmail a lot too. I’ll admit, I almost ran when Ienzo told me there was another Indentured who’d be getting experimented on alongside me. No one really says it, but talking about conditioning even normally can feel pretty exposing and vulnerable… but I knew I wanted this, and I knew it meant I’d have to trust people who haven’t necessarily earned it. It’s just the way it is, for someone in our position.”

Rantaro’s smile went a little tight, at the mention of the snake oil salesmen. It was a bit of an epidemic right now, just because of how many newly freed conditioned people there were, trying to protect themselves from a society that seemed determined to push them back into the roles and predicament they had just been released from, but even before that, there had always been people selling false cures for conditioning. Sometimes it wasn’t even a matter of coin. 

“Remember a few years ago… no, six years ago? Has it been that long already,” Rantaro murmured, “Where everyone was talking about how there was some drug on the market that could nullify conditioning entirely? But no one knew which one it was, so people were just taking random things? People were convinced it had to be the hallucinogens for the rituals, so dummies would steal their households’ ritual stock and try going to work that day high to see if it worked… me. I was the dummy,” Rantaro admitted, laughing sheepishly, “I didn’t have anything important to do that day, I thought maybe I could just try it and see what happened. But I had never been allowed to perform those rituals myself, because I was always looking after her on ritual days, so I had no idea how messed up it actually made you. I thought I could just hide it, but I was entirely gone, just walking around talking gibberish. I was found out immediately.”

“...I think she knew what I was trying to do,” Rantaro said softly, “I told everyone I had just wanted to try getting high, but everyone had heard about the conditioning cure rumors. I think she pretended to believe me so she wouldn’t have to punish me that severely…I wish…” Rantaro sighed. “I wish I could just tell her what I’m trying to do now. I wish I could trust that she would understand… that she wouldn’t find some way to hurt me for it… but I just don’t know if I can. And this might be our only real chance.”

“....oh no,” Rantaro suddenly laughed, opening his eyes, “I forgot to get you coffee. I’m so sorry, it entirely slipped my mind.”

Xiomara nodded a bit, chewing on the inside of her cheek. At least that she’d seen, people only got arrested for ‘consorting with demons’ when there was a reason someone powerful wanted you gone anyway, and, thankfully, she didn’t have a whole lot of enemies she wasn’t protected from these days. Sure, it’d be humiliating to be found out that she was trying to get rid of her conditioning in such a desperate way, but…well, she’d live. 

…she didn’t want to get Ienzo or the others she’d seen around the tavern arrested or jumped for being demons, though. Or conmen. These experiments might be a huge flop, but while Xiomara didn’t really notice anything mystical going on, she did know that Ienzo was actually doing things while they sat in the room. On one hand, he just knew so much about how conditioning was implemented that that information on its own had convinced her to stay, but…well, he’d shown them. If she really wanted to, Xiomara guessed she could rationalize things as a hallucination, or tricking herself into believing what she was told, but…fuck it, it seemed real. 

So, they were a group of people who had to trust each other purely on unearned faith. 

Glancing over as Rantarou told the story of buying into that particular rumor, Xiomara snorted in amusement. “You know, I tried it for the first time this year? May not have helped you, but at least you got to be zooted for a day. Mostly getting away with it.” She muttered the last bit, shrugging a little, though she sleepily scowled that…that was even a part of it. That Rantarou’s owner had had to punish him at all, that she would end up sabotaging his efforts to truly free himself…

That they had been owned. 

Though she just gave him an unbothered shrug at the coffee mention. “We’ll just get one of these dopes to do it, a trade for getting out of their house faster.”

“...doubt ‘s your only chance…” Ienzo mumbled, looking pretty out of it himself, “Though for…for your employer, that’d…have t’ be a change about her, not you… Can’t help you wi’ that, sorry…”

Xiomara gave Ienzo a mildly bewildered look before dryly saying, “One thing at a time, genius, don’t blow a gasket trying to be chatty.”

“Come now, Xiomara, I’m sure Ienzo has this under control,” Rantaro smiled lightly, teasing in the most non-confrontational tone he had, “It’s not like he’d be reckless enough to work himself into puking again, after we were so insistent about him taking water breaks he needed last time. He’s very responsible, our scientist.”

There was a knock at the door that was entirely worthless as the person knocking literally turned the knob mid-knock anyway, Axel peeking in as he said, “Hey, those two still here–oh, they are.” Axel observed them, before turning his attention to Ienzo. “Hey, Kairi felt a ripple from you up here, sent me to go check on you. You overdoing it up here?”

Sitting back, Xiomara gave ‘their scientist’ a wholly skeptical look. That was another reason why she knew Ienzo was actually doing things. It would just be the strangest con if Ienzo just wanted people to infrequently watch him vomit or get nosebleeds or fall on the floor. Probably not the strangest kink she’d ever seen, but one of the strangest circumstances for it. 

…in one sense? It was…almost a little flattering how hard he was evidently trying to help them. 

“M fine,” 4 mumbled to Axel, not even bothering to look at him. “...di’n account sorta…have to…basically ‘cure’ artificial rejection sensitive dysphoria ‘long with…everything else… Fascinating, though, if mental illnesses could be managed through…this method.”

“Artificial rejection… oh, right, he’s one of Marluxia’s,” Axel remembered, specifically not using Lauriam’s real name in case either of the newly freed Indentureds felt like holding a grudge. “Yeah, that makes sense. Look, you’re rippling, so take a break and drink some water, Witch’s orders. I’m sure whatever you’re building in them doesn’t need to be finished all at once. No one was conditioned in a day, probably means no one can be cured in a day! Take a break!” 

With that, Axel glanced at the other two again, assessing if they were alright–the experiments could get rough on them, but other than looking sleepy they seemed fine–before nodding and heading back out, closing the door. 

“Waaaaait,” Rantaro called softly, laughing as he did so, “We didn’t get him to act as our dupe. Missed our chance.”

4 grumbled a bit--one didn’t simply stop in the middle of an experiment willy-nilly (oh gods he sounded like Even…)--before sighing, blinking a few times until his eyes focused again. 

“Damn,” Xiomara grumbled--though there had been a…reason she didn’t speak up when the redhead guy had popped in--before she gave Ienzo a narrowed eye look. “That rejection thing. What’s that?”

Ienzo blinked at her a few times before mumbling out, “oogh nobody luff me’ disorder,” then pulling himself up and wandering out without any more indication.

“....okay, I think he really does need this break,” Xiomara hummed, glancing after him with a mildly concerned look.

Rantaro, ever so softly, sighed… before, despite the drowsiness he felt, he sat up and smiled lightly, his hands lightly crossing over his lap as he stood up. “Let me go check on him and get that coffee I promised you earlier. After that, it’d probably be okay for you to head out, Xiomara. I doubt there’s more he can do today if he’s that out of it. Though,” Rantaro laughed, “Of course don’t take my word for it. Just let me get us all sorted out first before we get our go-ahead to leave for the day.”

Rantaro bowed his head to her politely–she wasn’t even close to an authority to him, but it was still polite–before walking out. 

Being in the tavern without Ienzo around was always a little more unnerving. There were a lot of people who lived here, and Rantaro tended to see glimpses of them as he moved around. Doors left open as people hung out in rooms, passing by people on their way somewhere in the hallways or seeing a glimpse of them as they disappeared behind a door. Hearing their voices as they talked to each other or to themselves or one of them singing while poorly playing a sitar. 

It was unnerving in the way spending time in a home you didn’t serve was always a little unnerving, as Rantaro headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Xiomara gave Rantarou a difficult look before sighing, politely returning her bow. There was a part of her that wanted to grab his head and exclaim, STOP! YOU DON’T SERVE ME! You don’t have to serve ANYONE anymore! We’re free, damnit! She just wanted to throttle him, demand that he make demands! Don’t make things as easy as possible on their hosts! 

…but Rantarou had expertly diverted the more mild suggestions of rebelliousness Xiomara had posed to him one of the first few weeks they’d regularly seen each other, and all her attempts after, and by now it just left her feeling…frustrated. And sad. She knew the quirks her conditioning had left on her, the automatic wariness she felt around anyone larger than her, even if they were an ally, the way she flinched from even incidental touches… It just sucked seeing someone else’s marks. 

Ienzo was already half a glass of water down before he remembered to set a kettle up, almost petulantly drinking as he thought…and then filled two more glasses. He liked to think he was creative enough to figure out a type of construct that would be perfect for going against each of Xiomara and Rantarou’s conditioning, and that was something that could only be refined through trial and error, but it was making sure the constructs would stay that was starting to look like the sticking point. Prince Kokichi’s constructs were so lively, asking Sora about Lord Saihara’s had painted a picture of elegant, deadly competence… 

The power to make a self-sustaining, learning, strong construct like that was…insane. There had to be another way to do it, but…even like this Ienzo felt like he just couldn’t…

There’s worth in the effort. 

He had to keep trying. 

Ienzo blinked, realizing he was just mushing his glass against his face, before he went to refill it…oh, and two for the others, and, kettle, rig--uh, it’s on? O…kay?

Rantaro quietly approached, assessing the situation quickly, before he smiled lightly, announcing his presence with the question, “Brain stuttering, a bit?”

“I see it happen to folks like you all the time,” Rantaro laughed lightly, smoothly coming in beside Ienzo and, while bowing his head in a way that looked like he was requesting permission, expertly lightly guiding Ienzo away from the cups and kettles and towards one of the seats purely by using the gentle nudges of social bubbles alone, starting the kettle before reaching for the coffee grinds and the stone grinder, smiling as he got to work, “People who use their heads a lot in their work, or just happen to need to do a lot of thinking that day. Your brains seem to get overheated a bit, and I think your mind gets pulled into so many directions that little things become impossible. I’ve had that happen a few times myself even, when I’ve gotten overwhelmed organizing things. It’s not a fun feeling, huh?”

Pouring the grinds into a strainer, Rantaro dipped the strainer into the kettle, letting it soak as he smiled warmly back at Ienzo, “You know, we are grateful for what you’re doing, Xiomara and I. I know you didn’t have to, and it’s not like anyone’s compensating you… it’s admirable.”

“...perhaps,” 4 eventually admitted, looking stubborn for a moment before being shuffled along Rantarou’s assembly, finding it, admittedly, a little easier to keep their body together sitting down. Watching the casual ease with which Rantarou moved through the kitchen. Though he supposed he shouldn’t really be expecting anything else. 

“...the limits of any given person’s focus are…quite shorter than what the attitudes around labor suggest,” 4 mumbled, drinking through his second glass more slowly. “For dedicated focus, people can only manage about an hour before needing a break, and ‘productive’ time is usually limited to four or five hours a day. Anything more than that, and it’s inefficient…while causing overexertion to…the individual…”

Letting out a breath, 4 pressed a knuckle into the space between Ienzo’s eyebrows, rubbing Ienzo’s forehead a bit. Overheated was…perhaps correct. 

Though 4 just shook Ienzo’s head a little, not even seeing Rantarou’s smile. “It wasn’t our choice, but we still ruined your lives. It seems like the only logical step forward to at least try and take accountability for what we’ve all done to you, and everyone else with conditioning. I may not have an answer yet, but there’s worth in the pursuit of it. Of anything I could dedicate myself into researching, this is the only real option I see.”

“As I said: admirable.” Rantaro laughed lightly, taking the mugs and, after turning the burner off, pouring the coffee infused water into three of them. Taking one of the mugs and passing it to Ienzo, as he coaxed, “Some people react differently to caffeine, so please feel free to ignore it if it won’t help: oddly enough, I find it soothing. I know, I know, I give the impression of someone who finds green tea to be too exciting,” Rantaro said knowingly, smiling his slightly lazy grin, “But I find being highly energized to be its own form of relaxing. Like I can put every muscle in my body at rest because I’m choosing too, and not because I have to. I actually really hate feeling sleepy.”

Rantaro, with that, took a long drink of his own mug… before sighing, “...I do wonder sometimes, why official employment wasn’t offered to you all. Personally, I find the idea of leaving you all to squat in poverty to be a… really odd choice, for the elites. Even if they were trying to hide what you had done from the greater population, maybe, hiding you would have still been easier with your cooperation. Employing you would have been smart. Of all the things to fall through the cracks, I can’t believe it’s one of the most valuable assets Luminary has.”

Another long sip of his mug, before Rantaro chuckled sheepishly, “I say, entirely as an observer. I can’t begin to guess the choices elites make, not really. Sometimes they baffle me, that’s all. I’m certain they’re simply aware of things I’m not… should I go up and send Xiomara home? Or did you want to work with us longer, today?”

“Thank you.” 4 accepted the mug, bowing politely to Rantarou, though especially with caffeine, he figured Ienzo’s body needed all the water it could get first. Caffeine-induced dehydration was not their friend. Though he smirked shallowly at Rantarou. “If that’s so, then my apologies for asking you to drug yourself so often. It’s a small concession comparatively, but I can acknowledge small discomfort is still discomfort.”

Looking more tired himself, though, 4 sighed a bit and sipped his coffee testingly, trying not to burn their mouth. “...maybe,” he quietly drawled, not much emotion in the word, “A source of stability might’ve been something some of us would be willing to sign ourselves away for again… But perhaps…” He closed Ienzo’s eyes for a moment. “Assets… Some of us were found because we had been initially put in the Indentured Program ourselves. Others were kidnapped. We all have our reasons to resent the decision-makers of Luminary, and maybe that’s why they decided we would be better left forgotten and hopefully lost to the wind. Regardless of reason, it is what they chose, and it’s proven to be a safe choice. None of us particularly feel a drive to make our voices heard.” 

Not when standing out had been what doomed them in the first place. 

4 sighed again, before starting to collect some of the drink glasses to bring upstairs. “...since you’ve been kind enough to make this wonderful coffee, I’d hate to ask you two to take another sleep aid, so I think that’s enough for today. While I wasn’t able to finish your construct, Rantarou, it still might provide some effects, so I’ll ask you to take notes on yourself in the coming days as well. Hopefully this is on the right track…”

“I know, I know, keeping up the symptom journals~” Rantaro smiled, “I have an opening to come see you in, say… three days? Would that be enough time?”

4 started to nod, before narrowing Ienzo’s eyes, muttering, “...what day is it…?” 

Taking stock of the mental calendar--several constructs chiming in with various clarifications about the day--he…frowned a little. “...I…believe so, yes. That…should be fine.”

…it was the day that Prince Kokichi said he’d check in again, but…if they had a session earlier in the day, they could get enough rest before night fell to properly observe whoever’s turn it was. It’d still work.

“Three days then,” Rantaro said, bowing slightly to Ienzo, before heading upstairs, intending to deliver the coffee and the news. 

-

Well, if there was anything to come out of this, Usott was a pretty cool city. Quinn had only been twice before, once on a school trip, once as a stop on a family road trip, and while he’d enjoyed both those visits too, he hadn’t really been able to look around much. The Dicean History Museum was incredible, and Quinn still fondly remembered the grilled squid he’d had, but if he were being honest, he’d heard that the capital university had an amazing observatory, and Quinn had been drooling at the prospect of taking a look…

Though, uh, maybe later. Considering he’d been told by quite a few people that he should stay around Usott Castle, at least for the first day of the trial, since he was new to the city, and…well, people knowing where he was was sort of…the point. Of everything. 

But the points about his safety were starting to feel a little moot, since, bafflingly--

Edgar cast a suspicious eye around the castle, nodding every now and then as Orlin rambled on about brownies. Again. Even in Usott, the power couple being weirdly serious about their declaration to be Quinn’s bodyguards. He…was almost a little scared to really believe that they’d biked all the way from Entente Grove just to be in Usott for Quinn’s parents’ trial, because it was a level of crazy that concerningly fit Edgar and Orlin, but was still, like??? Crazy. 

Which is what Quinn was starting to feel himself, listening to the two of them talk as they looked around the entrance hall of the castle.

“You’d hope they’d keep places neat anyway. Especially with the legacy rooms?” Edgar hummed, “Like Queen Miyako’s observatory; anyone messing up a place like that would be so lame.”

…there was an observatory here, huh?

Quinn glanced around before smirking to himself. Time to go ghost.

“I mean, they HAVE TO, right!?? I mean, not just because she’s dead and died in such a big way, but her husband and kid are still, like, RIGHT THERE!” Orlin flinched, his shoulders jerking a bit as he stressed himself out imagining, “You’re just going to go into the old murdered queen’s room and j-just!?? What, leave trash lying around!? For her grieving family to find!? That’s fucked up, man!!! That’s like her actual grave!! Oh, god, wait, do you think she DIED THERE!? THAT’S SO MESSED UP!” 

Orlin bit his lower lip, shaking a bit as he grew frustrated with himself, before tugging on his boyfriends arm, “Don’t let me shout about the poor, super dead queen around here, THAT’S messed up too! What if her family hears me!? Gah!! Quinn, tell me if you see an Ouma show up so I don’t go around screaming about their dead family member… Quinn?”

“Nah, she died near the university? We read something about it when we were learning about the LRG riots,” Edgar recalled, giving Orlin’s hand a comforting squeeze, “And all the Oumas are in the court room, since this is a major case. You’re all good, honey, though we can talk about something else. Right…?”

Edgar looked back, blinking. At the…empty space behind them where Quinn had just been. 

He shared a look with Orlin, starting to sweat. 

“...fuck, we lost Quinn.”

“AH FUCK!” 

-

“Check it out, check it out, see these gold lining swirls on the side?” Kaito showed Shuichi, pointing out the metallic linings at the top of the beautifully painted, wooden chest he had just spent the last hour carrying from the market and up to his shrine, “Just pretty swirls, right? Wrong! Let your eyes glaze a second, and you’ll notice the space between the metals actually are silhouettes of different animals! Look, look, this one’s even a wolf! Isn’t that… Shuichi, you’re not looking.” Kaito pouted.

Shuichi, who was bouncing Miya in his lap a bit, sat on the elegant layout couch, was looking up at the mosaic window, clearly distracted. “Hm? Oh, sorry, Kaito, it’s a very nice box–”

“It’s a chest! I managed to find a whole chest!” Kaito insisted, gesturing to the whole-ass chest he had found in the market. “It’s so pretty!”

“It is,” Shuichi said distractedly, “I’m just worried about Kokichi. You know how hearings like this can affect him. Is there something we should do to prep for this evening? Maybe go get a cake?”

“I don’t think a cake is what you give someone who feels bad seeing another abused kid,” Kaito frowned, leaning against the top of the chest, tapping his fingers against the solid wood with the fascinating, circular, sigil like drawings on it, the beautiful decoration having been what Kaito had been sold on, “He’s just going to need a long hug and a sympathetic ear later, handsome. And water. He’ll be okay.”

“I guess I just thought, with Arven and Doppio both successfully adopted, that’d be it for abused kids for a while,” Shuichi sighed, shaking his head as Miyako played with his fingers, “And yet…”

“At least this one makes sense for us,” Kaito grinned somewhat warily, “Our Kokichi is a high ranking member of the court. He’s gonna be expected to sit at difficult court hearings, especially ones that got this much social scrutiny. The kid was electrocuted into a coma. People are looking to the Ouma’s for guidance on how to respond to that. And that’s going to be a bummer sometimes. That’s the reality of marrying public figures.”

“Ugh, Kaito, this is why I lament with Maki. Just agree with me that it sucks, don’t explain it away.” Shuichi huffed.

“Uuuuuuh, and it sucks! It sucks so much! Should we go give ugly side-eye to the parents?”

“Better.” Shuichi said approvingly, though he made no move to get up. 

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!!

Went the chest. Not quite, but almost mimicking the sounds of Kaito drumming his fingers on it.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!!

“HOLY ATUAN FUDGE NUGGETS!!” Kaito shouted, his whole body jerking in shock off the chest, before he suddenly leapt over it, scrambling to throw himself in front of Shuichi and Miyako, reaching under the couch and pulling out a dagger as he held it in front of him, “SLAP MY FEET!” 

“UWAAGH-GYA!” Miyako shouted in solidarity. 

“Slap your feet?” Shuichi mused, peering around Kaito with a small frown at the chest, “Kaito, that might actually be a more unnerving saying than just the ‘damn it’ you were avoiding. Also, I think there’s an animal in your new chest.”

“T-there’s not! I checked! It’s empty!” Kaito panted, staring wide eyed at the thumping chest, “I carried it for an hour!”

“It’s clearly not.” Shuichi said, as the chest thumped heavily again, “Maybe there was a rodent tucked away in the wood. Also, why was there an alter dagger under the couch?”

“I dropped it, I was gonna pick it up later! It’s empty, Shuichi!” Kaito insisted.

The chest stopped making sound for a moment. Shuichi and Kaito staring at it… before Kaito scooted forward on his butt a bit, lightly tapping the chest with his foot. 

Coming from where the tap was, came another mimicking THUMP! And another. But after a moment, there was a new pattern on the lid of the chest. 

THUMP-THUMP thump-thump-thump THUMP THUMP!

…thump-thump-THUMP tap-tap-a-tap-THUMP tap-a-tap THUMP tap-tap-a-tap THUMP!

And the pattern continued, sounding…a little more like someone messing around on a drum set than just banging. 

Shuichi and Kaito stared at the chest. Miyako, in turn, started kicking her feet happily. Hell yeah. She knew rhythm when she heard it. 

“...Kaito,” Shuichi said, voice even, “Did you carry a person through the market, up the hill, and into your shrine?”

“No!?” Kaito said, giving Shuichi a bewildered look, “It was empty! It was already heavy enough just by itself, I opened it up to make sure it was empty! And that it’s big enough for all my cool sex toys! This was supposed to be my cool sex chest, Shuichi, not a…not a drumming secret person chest! I didn’t even know that was a thing!”

“Hmmm,” Shuichi said, before putting his foot on Kaito’s back and gently, but insistently, pushing him forward, “Go let the person you’ve apparently accidentally kidnapped out of the box, Kaito. And don’t let whoever is in there attack us. There you go, go on then.”

“Shuichi!” Kaito whined, being pushed towards the chest. He glared at his husband, who waved him forward as he moved himself closer to the wall with Miyako. Kaito groaned, before taking a deep breath. There was no way there was a person inside of there, but… holding his dagger protectively to himself, Kaito went to turn the metal knob that acted as a latch, popping the top up.

“WHOA!!”

Popping out of the chest a…well… Slightly translucent, green tinted humanoid with glowing green void-like eyes and, oddly enough, glowing green freckles under a mop of stark white hair…ghost, gasped as he stretched.

“Hey, thanks!! Man, I was stuck in there for ages, you wouldn’t believe it!” a…haunting, eerie, almost vibrating, not in sound, but in feeling voice chirped, the ghost grinning before taking stock of what was in front of him. The grin fading as he took in the dagger and…the man and baby nearby. “Oh…oh, I’m sorry, did I scare you? Look, I don’t mean you any harm, okay? I don’t want a fight.”

Bringing back a more tentative smile, the ghost held up his hands placatingly. 

So, listen.

Kaito’s never seen a ghost before.

Maybe that feels like an ‘no, duh’ sort of statement. It might be. But the reason it bears saying is because Kaito’s fear of ghosts has always been a reaction to essentially… a concept. Maybe an atmosphere. He shivers and has terrible nightmares after hearing comparatively minor ghost stories. He becomes paranoid and slow, sporadic, in environments that suggest this is where a ghost would enjoy hanging out. On occasion, someone will do something that is the equivalent of, say, putting on a sheet and going ‘boo’ to make him jump and scream and, more often than not, violently attack whatever is in front of him, which usually made the ‘ghost’ situation disappear immediately, as whoever was doing the prank suddenly had a lot of motivation to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible.

(Kaito, once, had allowed Korekiyo to spend a night with Kaito tied up, convincing him there was a ghost around, with no safe word. It had been talked through beforehand, Kaito had known what was going to happen, and had agreed to let Korekiyo get the thrill of seeing him genuinely, but safely, terrified.)

(It had been one of the worst nights of his life and he refused to speak to Korekiyo for a week. Had basically refused to even be around him. Korekiyo had basically had to beg for Kaito to hear him out, the two reconciling but Kaito insisting nothing like that was ever going to fly, ever again.)

(But even then, he had known, intellectually, there was no actual ghost. Korekiyo hadn’t dressed up in anything, hadn’t set up any props. Just stories and an atmosphere that Kaito couldn’t escape from.)

Kaito had never seen a ghost. 

And there was a real-ass fucking ghost right there.

The sound that came out of Kaito’s throat didn’t sound human. If he had been halfway capable of having a single, coherent thought in that moment, he’d have been embarrassed at the high, urgent whine that escaped, his eyes feeling too wide for his head as he started to shake. He was no longer aware he was holding a dagger. He was no longer entirely aware of his own body. He felt disconnected with every sensation that wasn’t just a painful, blinding sensation of pure, utter PANIC. Racing through him not like a burst of adrenaline, sending a person running, but like a deadly poison that took someone’s legs out from other them and the breath from their lungs.

Oh fuck he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t think about how bad that was, because all he could look at was big, dark eyes on a slightly translucent face, every nerve in his body screaming this is it this is the real thing it’s right there it’s right there KAITO ARE YOU AWARE IT’S RIGHT THERE DON’T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF IT LOOK LOOK LOOK.

Shuichi flushed out a throw blanket up and over Kaito’s head, letting it fall over him. He ignored Kaito’s sudden wail of confused anguish as as he stepped back, Miyako curiously sat on the couch behind him and watching the show as Shuichi said, “Stay under there, Kaito.”

“Shuichi?!” Kaito said, immediately reaching up to pull the blanket off–

“Stay.” Shuichi snapped, Kaito freezing for a moment, before letting his arm fall back down. Shuichi then turned his gaze to… the ghost, and smiled politely, “I’m very sorry, he has a phobia. Please give him a minute, I’m sure he’ll–”

“Don’t go anywhere with it, Shuichi!” Kaito shouted under the cover.

“I won’t, we’re still here,” Shuichi said calmly, before bowing his head politely to the ghost. “I apologize again. Thank you for trying to put us at ease. Please, don’t feel the need to run off. He’s fine.” Shuichi insisted, as Kaito gagged a little under the blanket. 

As the man in front of him began to visibly freak out, Quinn’s smile faded again, and he shrank back a bit, starting to glance around for an exit (forgetting that…basically everything outside of the chest was an exit if he wanted it to be). A…phobia, huh? 

(Sure, his parents were more…overzealous, than afraid, but fear could drive people into a lot of actions…)

Still making himself smaller, Quinn gave the man under the blanket a nervous look. “Uhhh… Are…you sure? I-I mean, I can just,” he gestured over his shoulder, “go? Um, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to freak you guys out, but I couldn’t get out of here on my own.”

”Oh, no, I really actually do insist you stay,” Shuichi said, frowning a bit, though he looked over his shoulder to check on Miyako on the couch, who was now zenly sucking on her big toe. Such a flexible baby. “See, while this is in no way your fault, the issue is that my highly supernatural phobic husband just watched you fly out of his new chest. If you leave at this point, and we can’t find you again? Well… that’s worse.”

Shuichi tilted his head, thinking a moment, “My other husband has a spider phobia. There was evidence spiders could crawl into the room. There wasn’t any spiders in the room, but to prove it to him we had to deep clean the space and cover the vent and even then it took time for him to really believe it. You disappearing now would be like my other husband, Prince Kokichi Ouma, seeing a spider, watching it crawl into the vent, and just being told to forget about it. They won’t. Better to try to understand exactly what’s happening with the spider… or ghost. You. Rather than just letting you disappear and leaving him to wonder.”

Shuichi was entirely talking out of his ass. He didn’t want the ghost to go away because Look!!! There was a GHOST!! Shuichi should talk to it! He didn’t know who he wished more was here right now, Himiko or Drake! Definitely not Kaito, but, well, that boat had sailed. 

Shuichi smiled, “Do you live in that chest?”

Oh…he supposed that made sense. Even if there was something scary in front of you, the idea that it was there, but you didn’t know where, just added, like, a whole layer of dread and surprise that would make the whole thing worse. Yeah, he could see that. 

Nodding to agree with the reasoning, Quinn paused, before green eyes widened incredulously at another thing he caught. “Wait, Ouma?! You guys are the princes?! Uhh…” Shit, if he got caught… Well, it wasn’t like he’d left the castle! But Quinn had a feeling that just disappearing otherwise still wasn’t what his parents and the lawyers and guards had in mind when they told him to stick around today. Uhhh maybe it’d be okay?

Though Quinn could only snort in surprise. “What? No. I mean, I don’t wanna crap on whatever shelter someone wants to take, but a chest is pretty lame. Nah, I just was flying and I guess I was gonna go through it, but I got stuck.”

He sighed, slumping a bit. “Seriously, I was starting to go a little crazy from boredom. Guess I should pay a little more attention to what I’m going through.”

“Fascinating,” Shuichi mused, walking around Kaito, giving him some space, even as he called to his husband, “Miyako’s on the cough behind you, Kaito. Maybe go sit with her when you start feeling calmer.”

Kaito gagged under the blanket again, unable to answer as he struggled through his nausea. 

Shuichi wasn’t trying to be unkind. In truth, he had never seen Kaito quite this… paralyzed before. And Shuichi thought the better idea, for someone Kaito’s size and temperament, was to give him space and not touch him, using the blanket to give Kaito somewhere to safely self-soothe for a bit. Kaito wasn’t like Kokichi, you couldn’t grab and hold him and it’d be safe if he thrashed or panicked. Kaito could hurt someone by accident. So best to leave him until he was ready to tell Shuichi what exactly he needed.

(Shuichi had no fears that Kaito might hurt Miyako either. For one, Kaito wasn’t right next to the couch, and second, Shuichi trusted Kaito even in this state would keep Miayko in mind. Kaito would sooner tear his own eyes out than harm their daughter.)

Looking down at the chest, Shuichi closed it, looking at the decoration that now looked far more like runes, as Shuichi theorized, “Perhaps this boxes old purpose was to contain supernatural or cursed items? I’ll have to find its previous owner and ask some questions, but that’s fascinating if so. I wonder which rune kept you trapped inside? Has anything like this ever happened before?”

Quinn gave…Prince Kaito a concerned look, but, well, he figured if his husband wasn’t freaking out and had a plan, then…he’d be okay. Maybe he’d be more okay if, uh, he wasn’t currently floating…and glowing. And green. But Quinn wasn’t rearing to get himself into trouble either, and disappearing during his parents’ trial and harassing the royal family diiiiidn’t seem like great things to be caught doing. 

Peering at the chest with the man--shoot, okay, Prince Kokichi, Prince Kaito, and their husband’s name waaaaaaaaas…--with a curious look, Quinn shuddered. “Spooky. But kinda cool too? I wonder how it works…”

Tilting his head to the side, Quinn half-shrugged as he thought about it. “Uh, not really? I’ve gotten stuck in weird places before, but then I remember, duh, I can go through walls and stuff, so I fix it really quickly. I’ve never found something I can’t go through if I’m focusing before. Which, uh…” He gave a small, nervous laugh. “Is why, um, thanks again, I’m really glad you let me out. It’d suck being trapped in a box for forever.”