Archive TP 32 — The Bog

“Come now, you think I’m that successfully manipulative?” Lauriam said in faux-hurt, though the grin on his face left it up to no other interpretation. “I’m adaptable, but full swords blazing, no plan-approach isn’t quite my style. I think a little more of you, you know, than to have expected just this to work--think I would’ve tried a little harder if I wanted to leave you high and dry.”

Though, this did seem to be working just fine for legitimate matters.

Back in a kiss, Lauriam gleefully felt up the newly exposed skin, running his palms over Xaldin’s back hair before starting to get even and fondling his backside…though that was soon harder to do. Lauriam lightly hissing at the nails grazing down his abdomen, inadvertently tilting his head to accommodate the kisses moving along his neck and pressed back as Xaldin started to work his dick…though Lauriam scoffed.

“Assumptive bastard at it again… Pattern recognition starting to fail?” Lauriam bit into Xaldin’s shoulder, rolling his hips aggressively against his hand, using his thighs as purchase on the crate as he reached up to tweak one of Xaldin’s nipples.

“What?” Xaldin chuckled, a race of arousal running through him like fire at the bite, the pinch against his nipples making Xaldin wish he had all the piercings he dressed himself with up in Destiny Island right now, hazy with arousal as he pressed his hips against Lauriam’s side needily, still quickly working his cock as Lauriam made it jump and buck against his palm. “Don’t want to be my pillow princess? But you look so good, biting and pushing against whatever I have you laid down on.”

(This wasn’t true. In the sense that Xaldin, only once, briefly, had gotten Lauriam on his back, before the man had twisted him around on his hips, sitting on his lap while Xaldin had leaned against the wall. It had been easier on Lauriam to adjust that way, and Xaldin had been happy to accommodate, and would again, if his dandelion insisted.)

But it was a hot mental image and one that, admittedly, Xaldin might have used on more than one quiet night with himself. Though nothing beat the reality of Lauriam in his hands now, his body moving hard and bucking against him, bracing on the crates as Xaldin kissed him hard and fast, trying to overwhelm him. Trying to earn his prize of lubrication. “Give it to me,” Xaldin whispered into Lauriam’s mouth, their breaths hot against each other as he insisted, “I’m going to make you feel so good, baby. Gonna touch every part of you, make you see lights~”

“You would think that’d fit me, hm?” Lauriam purred, mostly managing to hide the hiccups in his breath between words, soothing the reddened bite on Xaldin’s shoulder with his tongue. A momentary reprieve before the next one. “I do tend to think the smart path is for people to just give me what I want, but I’m not scared to get my hands dirty either, darling.”

Lauriam bit closer to Xaldin’s jugular (lighter than the one on his shoulder, admittedly), sucking for a moment as he found his balance and ruthlessly rolled both Xaldin’s nipples in his hands, fondling his chest as a whole as well. It felt like a point made, even as Xaldin found his mouth again, seeming to double his efforts on all fronts.

And…well, those efforts weren’t doing nothing. Lauriam shuddered into Xaldin’s mouth as he could feel himself getting wet, absolutely wanting the Nobody to make good on those threats.

It’d been a year. Marluxia absolutely could’ve found someone else. Could’ve gone to any of the myriad brothels around that Demyx seemed to be taking a tour of. But he hadn’t. And even back in the factory, Lauriam had never really considered anyone else. He was happy with his hands, thank you very much, but this?

“I’d like to see you try,” Lauriam bit back, literally as he nipped Xaldin’s lip, “Think you could even last 30 seconds in me? I’m more concerned about you waking up the whole tavern.”

“Fuck them,” Xaldin said, briefly, absolutely meaning it as he huffed, “Hope it keeps them from coming downstairs. You’re all mine tonight, dandelion.”

And he hissed in pain as a fresh bite bit onto the bottom of his lip, his cock thick and needy, wanting some of the pressure Lauriam had been putting into his hips and his fingers against his chest and his bites to drift down. Wanting badly that friction already–because dammit, he hadn’t exactly been following Demyx to the brothels either, the bastard–intoxicated by the movement of Lauriam’s body against him, the scent of him that Xaldin would argue to his dying days was warm, warm, burning floral fields… before he pulled back a little. Focusing on Lauriam’s dick as he felt cum start to wet and slide against his hands, slowing his ministrations as he gently squeezed at him, coaxing more and more out until his hands were sleek and sticky.

Xaldin panted, catching his breath as he still coaxed slow, rolling rubs up Lauriam’s shaft, before looking at the man himself. Lauriam’s skin glistened with sweat, several parts of him reddened from where Xaldin had pushed hard against him, his lips swollen from constant, rough attention. He looked amazing. His hair puffing up from the humidity building in the small, shared space, as Xaldin said, “You better decide now how you want me to fuck you, baby. Because right now I want to bend you over that crate and go wild.”

“...” And then something in him softened. His second look at Lauriam more appraising, as he said, “Unless that was enough for you.” Sincerely.

Lauriam snickered a bit, though one of his gasps managed to break free, Xaldin twisting his wrist just so that his fingers embarrassingly scrambled for purchase for just a moment against Xaldin’s arm. Tsking softly, Lauriam started kissing at his neck again, sliding his hands down Xaldin’s body.

“What, not even going to say something like how you can’t wait to see me on my knees?” Lauriam drawled, before he caught Xaldin’s eye. Blinking, almost a little…startled by the soft, caring sincerity there…and Lauriam could practically feel himself lighting red.

Each second going deeper, thoughts starting to buzz frazzled, Lauriam pushed Xaldin back a bit before he slid off the crate, turning around and leaning over it, hips in the air. His gaze resolutely to the side of the room as he steamed, though his voice was sharply demanding as he said, “I dare you to make me scream.”

Xaldin sure damn wanted to. And he was going to.

But the first thing he did, seeing Lauriam turn around and lean again the crate, long, gorgeous limbs inviting Xalin in straight towards a puckered little hole centered on a truly fucking amazing ass… was lean over him and place a kiss on his back shoulder blade. One, then another, before leaning over Lauriam’s shoulder to capture his mouth again for another little kiss.

Each little touch gentle. Full of a naked, vulnerable affection, his hand grazing Lauriam’s skin with a light, almost hesitant touch.

“...that’s in case that dull bastard Dilan never gets out of his own head enough to touch you like that,” Xaldin whispered, kissing Lauriam again, “If he never gets over his nerves and kisses you like a lover? I just wanted to do it once. So you’d know…”

He let the confession hang off. Looking away, uncomfortable. He was leaving soon. He had no right to say things like that. This whole thing was already selfish enough.

Lauriam was on fire. Someone had sprayed down haystacks that had been out in a drought for three weeks with kerosene and had perfected trick throwing six lighters all at once. Honestly, he was surprised the crate under him wasn’t smoldering.

Emotionally…? …look, the only thing Lauriam knew for certain was that they were far too deeply wrapped up in each other for too long to ever just mean nothing. And Lauriam trusted Xaldin, in one of the most important ways he could.

(But he had never even really expected…kindness. Sweetness. Something gentle, or even starting to approach the ‘L’ word. Xaldin, and Dilan, were capital ‘I’ Important to Lauriam, and that capital ‘M’ Mattered.)

(Getting that tenderness?)

Lauriam melted.

“...you’re the woooooorst!” Lauriam groaned, covering his face in the top of the crate, steaming harder. “Fucking sadist! Why’d you get to do that first?!”

Xaldin blinked, startled. Not having expected that reaction… but he chuckled. Placing more kisses on the back of Lauriam’s burning neck and shoulders, as he shrugged. “Suppose it’s just my nature, dandelion. Didn’t mean to make this harder. Though…” he smirked, kissing the back of Lauriam’s burning ears, “can’t say it isn’t cute, watching you try to hide from me. Careful~”

Then, because he was a sadist, he reached in with his clean hand between the space where Lauriam’s head was hidden against his arms, grabbing the bottom of his face and forcing his head up, wanting to see him. Xaldin smirked at the look on Lauriam’s face, half-overwhelmed and half-genuinely outraged, before he leaned in for another kiss. “If Dilan’s got any luck at all, he’s going to remember that face right there, baby.” Xaldin chuckled, before straightening up. Reaching to Lauriam’s ass with his cum covered hand.

Lauriam scrunched his nose as Xaldin excavated his face, knowing whatever he looked like right then was mortifying. But! What kind of guy did that?! A second away from fucking and just…kissed you softer than rose petals and wanted to make sure that you knew that he…

WHAT A JERK!! GAAAAAAAAAAH LAURIAM COULDN’T STAND HIM!

“Oh please, like you didn’t know what you were doing,” Lauriam grumbled, biting harder on Xaldin’s lips this time, wanting to make that impression last. Because he knew a little better this time what was coming. It didn’t help his mortification, but Lauriam took a deep breath, trying to relax himself…and still winced a little as he felt Xaldin start to push into him with a finger.

They were quiet, for a bit. Both because there was something nice in the quiet, and also something aggressive and alarming in it. The same dance they had been playing at, amplified in nervous, embarrassed energy as both of them listened to the small sounds of what Xaldin was doing, the small breaths that pushed out of Lauriam’s stomach and up his throat.

Every time Lauriam tried to say something, to coax Xaldin back into arguing, anything to cover the embarrassing noises of his body loosening and being pleasured, Xaldin would just kiss him again. Occasionally a deep, rumbling chuckle coming from the base of his throat as he listened to the frustrated whines that this move invoked.

When Xaldin finally pulled his fingers out, content with their progress, he pet Lauriam’s hair and kissed at his temple, before smirking. “Still want me to make you scream, baby?”

A visible shiver went down Lauriam’s spine as Xaldin pulled his fingers out, beads of sweat following the trajectory and finding temporary places of purchase in the small of his back. Lauriam was breathing heavily, only not panting by his own stubborn definition, hard again and even under threat of torture he’d never admit if it was more from the fingers in his ass or the soft kisses Xaldin kept shutting him up with.

“If you stop now you can never come back here because I’ll smother you in your sleep,” Lauriam cursed, eyes dark and cutting as he glared red-faced back at Xaldin. “Fuck me already, Xaldin.”

Oh shit. Hey, flower.

Licking his bruised and slightly bleeding lip, Xaldin chuckled, just grabbing Lauriam’s hips and straightening them up a bit, giving the other man a second to brace himself before–looooong having been ready and eager for this part–Xaldin pushed himself between the folds of Lauriam’s cheeks, grunting as he whispered, “Oh, fuck, baby, that’s it…damn, how have I gone a whole damn year without this. You feel how tight you are around me?” Xaldin chuckled, before leaning back and, with a small grin, lightly slapping the side of Lauriam’s ass, “I think the poor thing’s missed me, Lauriam. What do you think?”

But for all of his taunting, it wasn’t long before Xaldin had to move his hips. The way Lauriam’s insides pulled and dragged against his cock intoxicating, gripping Lauriam’s hips as he moved, making no effort to lower the heavy breathing of his needy grunts as he pushed and slammed his hips against Lauriam’s.

When he found his rhythm, his cock not going anywhere, he leaned over to rest his weight against Lauriam’s back, bracing himself on one arm against the wood of the crate next to Lauriam’s arm. This let him put more speed into his hips, yeah, but more importantly, Xaldin could look at Lauriam’s expression up close. Whenever Lauriam seemed intent to stare down into the wood, Xaldin just reached over and tilted his face to the side again, whispering, “Nuh uh. Let me look at you. God, you’re sexy~”

The room steamed with heat and after a while the wood of the crate started to bang against the back wall, both Lauriam and Xaldin putting too much of their weight into its edges. Xaldin found it fun to time his thrusts to the beat of the knocking wood, but Lauriam made this difficult after a while, determined to knock his hips back into him as he chased his own building release, making it harder and harder on Xaldin to control himself until– “FUCK!” Xaldin cursed, his hips suddenly shaking as he pushed as hard as he could into Lauriam, the warmth of his seed spilling like a sharp, electric sting, Xaldin half leaning on Lauriam because he honestly couldn’t keep much pressure on his legs for a moment, the two heavily relying on the crate. “Oh fuck… god damn…” He panted, eyes dazed with the haze of heavy endorphins and euphoria, only able to think, “Fuck, that’s good… that’s good…”

Lauriam couldn’t describe the sound he made when Xaldin properly pushed inside him if he tried, and moreover, he’d more likely put that effort into denying that such a sound was ever uttered into existence. It’d….it’d been a while. And one of the bigger things Lauriam had discovered during his first and until now only time with Xaldin, was that he liked sex. A lot. And this time…?

As much as Lauriam snarled and glared at Xaldin, especially with every taunt and nudge to keep him orbiting the older man, despite framing his own enjoyment as a bet? Lauriam’s eyes fluttered, his pants getting vocal, genuine, fun grins breaking through his more aggressive expressions, and even a few laughs broke out of him as, well, Xaldin made good on his words. Lauriam starting to see little splotches of blue and green and purple in his vision as Xaldin pounded into him, getting lucky with the positioning a few times and making Lauriam’s voice echo expletives in the room, all leading to a choked off little sound. The weight pinning him to the crate just making Lauriam feel warm.

“...hah….’g…..’ng hah….” Lauriam panted, basically only separated from the top of the crate by his hands. “What the fuck… We really didn’t do that for over a year?”

“Heh,” Xaldin laughed, chasing the warmth of his endorphins by kissing the back of Laurim’s neck some more, managing it between labored breathing, “A lot happened the last year. And, honestly, dandelion? Wasn’t sure if it was even okay we had done it that first time. Not for everyone else, but…” Xaldin huffed, “...well. I didn’t know if you had had any regrets. The world didn’t give us a ton of time to bring it up.”

“...wanna have a whole conversation about old regrets with my cock still rammed up your ass?” Xaldin teased, kissing Lauriam’s shoulder, “It feels comfy for me right now, just try not to squeeze or move or for god's sake, don’t sneeze.”

Lauriam snorted breathily. “From how much you like me biting you, I probably could’ve pegged you as a sado-masochist already. You know that telling me not to just makes it that much more tempting, right?” In fairness, though, Lauriam felt like he literally couldn’t flex a damn thing below the belt right now.

Even if it was exactly as ridiculous as Xaldin teased, Lauriam still huffed as he turned his head, resting a cheek on his hands as he looked up over his shoulder at Xaldin. “...why are you so damn convinced I’m ashamed of you?”

“Because I’m ashamed of me, dandelion,” Xaldin said plainly. The words out almost like they were just matter of fact, before reluctantly, he pulled out. Leaning back and, honestly unable to help himself, spreading Lauriam’s cheeks wide to watch some of his seed spill out. Incredibly pleased with the sight.

Then, huffing, he rolled his eyes at himself, before carefully sitting himself down against the wall. Wincing slightly at the ache of his hips as he did so, admitting, “I know we’re having a conversation right now, but I have to sit.”

Leaning back against the wall, head resting against the wood as he caught his breath, letting the sweat chill on his skin, honestly pleased as hell with the scent of them together that filled the room to its corners, Xaldin thought about it… before shrugging. “Yep, that’s really what it is. It’s something Dilan and I agree on. And it feels shitty to say this just after what we did, but, well, that’s the reality we’re living in right now…”

“God, I felt like I had cornered you, Lauriam,” Xaldin admitted, giving him a tired look, “You had nowhere to go. I watched you grow up, hell, let’s be honest, I helped raise you. At least as much as we’re ‘raising’ any of the teens that get stuck in the factory with us. I watched you get taller, fill out… I felt like a predator, the first time I noticed you were handsome. Because you had been just a fucking kid the day before, in my eyes. It’s a jarring, alarming feeling, watching someone grow up and then suddenly noticing they're an adult. I hated it. I wanted to gouge my eyes out. It didn’t feel fair to you.”

“Fucking predator-ass, grooming bullshit,” Xaldin muttered, staring at the other wall, “God, I wanted so badly for you and Demyx to get together. Just for you to officially be not interested. Tried to encourage him a few times. But you two fight like cats and dogs. It was maddening.”

…well. Yeah. That was an answer. And Lauriam was obviously not Xaldin, so it shouldn’t apply to him automatically, but…

He huffed a bit as Xaldin pulled out, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment…and resisting the impulse to kick Xaldin as the horny weirdo watched cum slide out of his ass. “Sure, sure,” Lauriam sighed, quickly making a decision about which one of his clothes to sacrifice. Underwear it was. He wiped himself up a bit before--in a tellingly Lauriam and not Marluxia move--sitting on the floor against the crate to face Xaldin.

…and it wasn’t like he didn’t get it.

Lauriam stuck his tongue out at the idea of getting together with Demyx. “Ugh, could you imagine? One, gross, even Marluxia and Larxene weren’t attracted to each other, two, I do not need any reasons for Ienzo to start concocting the world’s next undetectable super poison with me as the perfect guinea pig.”

He sighed, thunking his head back against the crate. “...I might get it more, if you’d immediately tried to fuck me after I spazzed out at 19.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Lauriam scowled to the side. “I remember feeling like a moron for kissing you. Because you’re right. You basically helped raised me. Ienzo was a toddler and Axel and Isa were dumbasses fucking each other so the rest of you were ‘hey, actual adults, here for guidance and as much reassurance as you can get in this hellhole’.”

Lauriam shrugged a little, glaring at the floor. “...but it just…stopped feeling that way, after a while. Probably helped that we literally didn’t do anything but trade potshots for nearly a decade. You’re hot. I like fighting with you. Even with the rest of the world even an option now, I…” Very quickly Lauriam trailed off, eyes widening in shock before looking down in confusion, quiet as he tried to sort out…all that.

A bit lamely, he at least finished, “I’m still happy with our thing. I’m not trying to trap you either, but just don’t be a moody ass about it and stop talking to me because you think it’s for my own good. Believe it or not, I’ve been an adult for a long time now, I can make my own decisions about what I want my life to look like.”

God, the kiss. The first one, anyway. Xaldin had almost asked Aeleus just to straight up kill him, after that. He hadn’t had the same stinging desire that the upcoming years would force on him at that point, but the kiss had felt good and had made a spark of arousal run through him and Xaldin would have happily slit his own throat to make that not true as he told the teen off. It had haunted him, that kiss. Until, eventually, he had vented that frustration with angry flirting.

And angry flirting had just… become their thing. Up to and including now, as Xaldin dryly said, “Uh huh,” while he picked up a chipped piece of crate wood and flicked it at Lauriam’s forehead, “A bunch of new hotties in the world to go have fun with, and you want to be some old man’s cum and dump? Would you just seriously think about this for five minutes? You’re so stubborn. I’m not going to take you seriously until you at least sound like you’ve considered your options.”

“Because I’m worried you just haven’t shaken the factory yet,” Xaldin admitted, “Just… for my sake, for that bastard Dilan’s sake. Would you at least think about what it might be like pursuing other people? I know that’s a lot to ask after I just fucked you silly, but I think you can string some thoughts together to consider that other people might be hot too.”

“Oh look, what a surprise, you’ve completely disregarded what I’ve just said,” Lauriam sarcastically drawled, batting away the wood chip as he gave Xaldin a dry look. “And what a prude too. What, because we fucked here, once, means all my other options are suddenly closed? Sorry, I must’ve missed the temple day where the priestesses remind everyone that who you fuck in the middle of the night is the person you’re taking your trials with.”

“Xaldin.” Lauriam glared across the room. “I’ve literally been myself for two days outside the factory. Of course I haven’t ‘shaken’ it, whatever that’s even going to mean, practically, and as if any of us have. Excuse me for trying to take an inside out approach settling things.”

He tsked, slouching more against the crate. “You know, I’m not sure how much of Marluxia trying to cut himself off from the rest of you was ‘panic’.” He said the last word mockingly, doing literal air quotes.

Xaldin chuckled, before looking away. Something tense in him for a moment… before he admittedly quietly, “I might be talking in absolutes, dandelion, because I’m not sure I’d handle it well, watching you go explore yourself with other people. I can’t speak for Dilan on this one, genuinely, I don’t know how he’d feel about it… but I feel a little possessive, I think. And I’m struggling with that, I think.”

And with that said, he gave Lauriam a wary look at that last part. “So… why did he do it then?”

(...yeah. He’d mostly just argued otherwise to be contrarian.)

(But he wasn’t about to explain why right now.)

That was some of the problem.

Lauriam huffed softly, the drop of his gaze…tired. And a little bitter. “I think you called it out before, when you were trying to goad him into volunteering. We’re control freaks, right? It’s hard to be one when your mind is perpetually connected and influenced by 12 other people.”

Lauriam knew, in the most truthful part of himself, that he couldn’t make it alone. For a lot of practical reasons, but he knew he’d just crumble without the others. He guessed he’d just never been built to be the kind of guy to go it alone. But sometimes it felt impossible to acknowledge the love and trust he had for the others, the kind of trust he had to feel okay with potentially hurting them because they’d still be there, when sometimes it felt like he’d just destroy and devour or be destroyed by anyone else. Acknowledging any of that with them made Lauriam feel like he’d dunked his head in acid and that maybe the solitude that’d actually kill him would be better.

“In our defense, we’ve both spent over a decade being encouraged to be control freaks,” Xaldin huffed, “...you know. In the most hopelessly enslaved way possible. Makes us damn interesting, if nothing else.”

“Honestly, I think we all need to have a group discussion about that,” Xaldin admitted, “Sora, Demyx, Axel, and who knows, maybe you, maybe me… I think we’ve all put a lot of pressure on ourselves, on this idea that allll the bad traits we learned in the last decade or so are just going to fucking magically disappear back into base essence with us. I don’t think Sora’s as innocent as he’s insisting he is, honestly, he’s acting younger now than he did when I first met him. Like he’s compensating.”

“And Demyx? Demyx acts like nothing happened at all, and I’m calling bullshit on that,” Xaldin said, shaking his head, “And maybe when Dilan comes out he’s going to be warm and mature and put together and you know what? I’ll call bullshit on that too. You can’t do what they did to us and just get well adjusted people on the other side. It’s gonna be a struggle for us all.”

“And maybe creating a comfort island out of the 12 people closest to us isn’t the answer, outside of the factory,” Xaldin said softly, “...but I think I’d go insane without it. And yeah. It’s shitty to admit that. I feel exposed, saying it aloud. A little pathetic even. But it’s also just true.”

“...I need you,” Xaldin said quietly. Staring at his hands in frustrated shame. “I don’t care how I have you. A friend, family, endless flings or, fuck, maybe telling you I love you and shit… but I need you.”

“Maybe, and maybe it’s just the ego, but it does feel like you all bring it up against me and how I take it too far more often,” Lauriam grumbled. Knowing that his long-standing klepto-routine in the factory didn’t help his case there, and especially when he’d tried it outside of it too. And the fact that a lot of the memories he was sorting out from this past year were about fighting with the others.

It was a fair point to bring up, a discussion needed--and fair to omit Ienzo from it because hoo boy apparently he’d had more going on than they’d thought--and…yeah, it sucked to admit, but Lauriam wanted to say that while Marluxia trying to separate himself was understandable, it was dumb, because Lauriam knew he’d go insane without their connection too, and…

…

A…and…

(Love?)

(....love?)

(Need you?)

Lauriam’s eyes widened in panic.

Ienzo rubbed his eyes, sighing as he tried to wake himself up a little more. He was almost to a good stopping place, then he’d call it a night. Look at how responsible that was! Good job, look at him, keeping a normal sleeping sched--

He jumped, hearing some yelps down the hall, and Ienzo opened the door, startling at the sudden roaring fire enveloping the tavern.

“Isa, Isa! Up! Now!” Axel shouted, grabbing Isa’s shoulders as he hefted him up, hearing the familiar sound of fire out the door, able to test the door with the back of his palm to know it was already too late, that the fire was right outside, as he shouted, “We have to go out the window! Come on!”

Isa opened his eyes and, despite being whole, despite all the progress he made, whined.

Axel dragged him along, heading for the window.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” Demyx whispered, stepping back from the door as flames licked the side of it, glancing down at Ienzo’s bed and seeing it empty, tears beading the corners of his eyes as he whispered, “Did his lab–?”

Even didn’t listen. He was grabbing all the blankets he had, wrapping them around himself, before saying to Aeleus, “I can make it. Take Demyx out the window, I’m going for our boy!” He reached for the knob.

Aeleus gave Even a grim nod and grabbed Demyx’s collar, opening the window.

Aqua landed on the ground with a huff, only looking over Kairi for a second for injury before looking around and whipping a rock at Sora and Riku’s window, shouting out for the boys, “Jump out, now. I’ll catch you!”

Ienzo’s eyes narrowed.

This wasn’t how fires broke out.

Holding his sleeve back, just in case, he reached out into the nearest ‘chunk’ (because they were chunks, weren’t they).

Ienzo’s suspicion was almost immediately validated, as his father suddenly ran through the flames, threw off the blankets, turned them over and folded them to grab the non-burning part, threw it back into the fire, looked back at his son with his skin ashen and his fringes burned, and said, “Bullshit that’s a fire. Who’s doing this, I’m going to cut a toe off!”

In his bed-nest, Luis snoozed. Unaware anything was happening at all.

In the closet, Xaldin frowned, looking around the closet. “Does it sound like you hear voices? Is someone shouting out there?” he asked, bracing against the wall as he stood up.

Lauriam smashed his previous clothes-related record, pants half-way up, boots on and shirt on one arm at least as he sprinted out of the tavern. Flames growing hotter and more furious.

“What the FUCK!?” Xaldin shouted, pushing backwards as Lauriam opened the door and fire filled the space between the hinges, “LAURIAM!?”

But before Xaldin could even comprehend what he was seeing, Lauriam had been engulfed in flames, throwing himself through them before he could even think to grab him. Xaldin ruthlessly stuck in reality, where his ‘length-shortening’ step wasn’t going to work, and Lauriam was just… gone.

Pure, shame-filled instinct told him to grab his boxers and pull them up while staring at his imminent demise. If he was going to burn to death, better to go with a shred of dignity, he guessed. Let the boxers melt into his balls, as he took a step back, then another, watching that fire swell, as he reached out to everyone {FIRE! GET OUT FIRE! [down on the first floor, near the chair room, GET OUT DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME]}

Riku’s eyes widened, looking back to the building. “Dilan’s still in there?”

Sora, who had just jumped out himself, landing in Aqua’s arms, gasped as he looked back, “C-Can we do a bucket chain!? Maybe we can douse it before it gets to him!?”

Luis sniffed. Drunkenly peeking an eye open as Xaldin shouted in his head that there was a fire, peering at the door… before he huffed, laying his head back down. {Haha, very funny. Go to sleep.}

Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck

{O-O It’s not a real fire.}

{O-O One of us is projecting an illusion of a fire.}

{ㅍ_ㅍ No, it’s not me.}

{O-O But I can’t dispel it either, it’s too strong for me.}

{O-o Namine?}

“Are you fucking…” Aqua let go of a harsh breath before giving Kairi a concerned look. “...but it isn’t you, right? Not subconsciously?”

Aeleus frowned a bit, having just gotten ready to go back in for Even, Ienzo, Luis, Dilan, and…well, he didn’t see Lauriam out back with the rest of them, so him too, when Ienzo’s message came through. But…other than Luis’ annoyed, sleepy message, everyone else felt panicked.

“Um. Um. It’s not me, but… um…” Kairi looked around with wide eyes, clearly overwhelmed. The truth that the fire wasn’t there not feeling real, the fire too there for her. But. But. But–

She believed Ienzo.

She closed her eyes. Took a deep, deep, breath… and then reached through. Snatching. Every. Single. Member.

And pulling everyone into Destiny Island.

Around her, one by one, everyone collapsed. Sora and Riku, who had been discussing trying to break down the wall where Xaldin was both collapsing to their knees immediately. Aqua wavering, before falling. Aeleus falling to his knees, before collapsing to his side. Demyx collapsing backwards.

Kairi sat down. Focusing. If this was a mental emergency? Then she was taking everyone where she was strong.

Isa made a nervous, animalistic sound, as he opened his eyes on the island. Everyone around him to either side, all stood on the ocean. Watching Destiny Island burn.

“...what the fuck is happening?” Vexen demanded, looking both annoyed and fascinated as he watched the fire hover on the buildings, the trees. Not actually destroying anything, but existing there, embers flying through the wind, “I’d ask if this was some sort of sick joke, but no one should be strong enough to even make it. So what?”

Ienzo made a movement like he’d meant to step forward, and then immediately second guessed that. His gaze concerned and…honestly a little scared. “...Lauriam?”

He was there. At least. But just as much on fire as the island in front of them. And not…right. Like a child’s drawing, but as if it was scribbled over and over on a bumpy carriage ride, the lines jittering and collapsing and reforming over and over in microseconds, and not even always just of Lauriam’s body. Sometimes like dozens of different flowers were all blooming and then going up in flames themselves in half the time as Lauriam’s form.

An overwhelming sense of panic coming from him.

“Uuuuh, is anyone else getting weird vibes from Lauriam?” Demyx noticed, taking a few steps away from him.

“Fuck,” Xaldin whispered, even as he felt a rush of relief seeing him. He was alive! He wasn’t a pile of ash! He was…. Uh, “Oh god dammit, I broke him,” he whispered.

“What do you mean you broke him, what on earth could you have… oh, dammit, Xaldin, I thought we talked about this!” Vexen shouted, also taking a few steps back from Lauriam, “Everyone give him some space!”

“W-why? What’s happening? Lauriam, are you okay?” Sora called.

Ienzo gave Lauriam a nervous look, though he took Vexen’s advice, before giving Xaldin a confused look. “...was that what the shaking downstairs was about?”

“Xaldin!” Terra chided, giving the man a dirty look even as he pulled Sora back a few steps. “He’s literally been back two days! I thought you were avoiding him until you found Dilan!”

(fuckfuckfuckfuck why were they it wasn’t hah even talking about fault he was on fire why was he on Destiny Island why was everyone here they were always always here Lauriam could never get away it’d drive him crazy but it also meant they

Couldn’t

Get

Away

From

Him.)

Ienzo’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he turned everyone invisible. Watching, horrified, as Lauriam’s flaming, jittery body exploded into vines, a massive tiered flower unfurling where he’d stood.

Namine’s eyes widened. She tried to reach out, tried to encase him in an emotion dome of {CALM] and then {NUMB} when that didn’t work, and when none of that worked she stepped back nervously as she confessed, “I’m not sure I can control him.”

Sora’s eyes followed the flowers up, up, and up… before he summoned his keyblade. “We have to calm him down!” he decided, looking to Ansem, “Ansem! Come on!”

Ansem started to float above the water, his arms shaking with power as he glowered at the flower creature. “It seems a heart of darkness is not so easy to shake off. Perhaps to bring him to the light, we must send him to the dark again.”

“Subduing him isn’t going to work!” Vexen tried to shout, but cursed as Ansem and Sora both flew into the air, starting to attack the massive flower. “Dammit, Xaldin. He just became whole! Any highly emotional experience was likely going to disrupt his mental stability!”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Xaldin whispered, staring at the creature, “I was thinking with my dick, I… have you seen this before?”

“Nothing to this magnitude,” Vexen admitted.

“Well, what are we supposed to do, old man!?” Demyx demanded, summoning his sitar from the ocean water, before strumming it, “Dance! Water, dance!” as more and more ocean clones of Demyx formed, trying to create a barrier between the construct and them.

Vexen scowled. Unwilling to answer. ‘I don’t know’ not being an option.

“What’s the lesser magnitude, then?” Ienzo asked, intently staring at the giant plant creature Lauriam had become, Zexion stepping out of his shadow with a chibo-sized Lexicon floating above his arm nub. “Why won’t subduing him work?”

And those weren’t the end of his questions as he glanced to Xaldin for just a moment. “What happened?”

“C’mon, Aqua, know plants are usually good against water but think this would be your kinda fight,” Terra whispered to himself, predictably feeling nothing in response. He kept his eyes on Sora and Ansem, ready to step in to protect if one of them faltered, but he let out an exasperatedly stressed little laugh hearing what Ienzo asked. “Kiddo, if you have to ask, I don't think now is the time for that conversation.”

Despite everything Ienzo rolled his eyes. “Lauriam’s freaked out. If there’s something specifically that freaked him out, I think that’s important.”

The giant flower monster let out…well, for ease, you could call it a shriek, but the sound was more like a massive tree cracking and splitting than anything human, or even mammalian. Its vines shot into the ocean floor, before, now without any tell or lead up, spiking upwards aiming right for Sora and Ansem…and everyone else standing on the water too, invisibility apparently not a hindrance at all.

“Keeping in mind that I’ve only seen something like this once before,” Vexen cautioned, before he was cut off by the screech, jumping backwards as vines shot up to stab at him, Vexen putting up a shield of ice and watching it shatter as the vines knocked him backwards into the water. “Gah! Miserable child… long story short! He’s not playing by the ‘rules’ anymore because he no longer recognizes them! It’s like playing make-believe with a child who ignores anything you add to the game, because he literally can’t recognize that other players are involved!”

“Are you serious!?” Axel shouted, putting up a wall of flames to stop the vines, before gasping as the vines ran through them anyway, hitting him back, “What? He’s god-moding!?”

“I don’t know that term, but, yes.” Vexen frowned. “Unintentionally. It’s a form of madness. At least, that’s what we reasoned among ourselves, the last time we saw this.”

“Uuuuh, what happened last time then?” Luis asked, this before his time.

“The Empath threw themselves into a wall and died while we were all distracted in here,” Vexen said grimly.

“Okay!” Namine said, frowning, “Someone needs to go get his body!”

Grimacing, Ienzo created platforms for himself and…well, anyone nearby he could make a path to, just running away from the vines. This was still Lauriam, after all, and if Vexen thought that subduing him wasn’t the answer anyway, Ienzo would prefer not to hurt him.

Though, not everyone felt that way, evidently. Terra was running up the sides of the vines, bringing down his broadsword fiercely to lop off and deflect the vines, Lexaeus taking a slightly more defensive approach in raising slabs of earth out of the ocean, but like Vexen’s ice, the vines easily shattered them. But as Vexen explained what had happened last time, Terra dropped down, giving Namine a grim look.

“If he might try to hurt himself? I’ll go. Don’t think I can do much to Plant-zilla in here anyway. Let me go, Namine.”

Hopping over to another platform, Ienzo tried again. “Xaldin?”

“What?” Xaldin demanded, dodging as vines tried to slam into him, scowling as he jumped back into the water, his spears hovering around him, “I… I don’t know! We had sex, we talked, we were talking about… I was trying to talk him into seeing other people! It was kind of an argument, he said sleeping with me didn’t mean he wouldn’t see other people anyway, and then not long after that this happened!”

“Yeaaaaaah, that sounds like we’re missing some pieces of that story, old man!” Demyx shouted, strumming nervously on his sitar as clone after clone took the hits he was dodging for him, “He said he was going to see other people and then turned into a giant fire making flower weirdo!? Not buying it!”

“I don’t know what to tell you! I didn’t say anything! I just…” Xaldin twitched, “...I dunno. I might have said I couldn’t handle sleeping with him if he was seeing other people! It was a whole conversation!”

Aqua quickly shook her head, getting up from the ground. Before anything else, she quickly dragged everyone outside out of the road, at least, and as she did, she thought. Dilan and Lauriam had been together, but Dilan absolutely would’ve mentioned that Lauriam was with him in the fire, so where…

Lauriam was freaked out. He made the fire. He had been panicking, so the fire was a distraction to…well, where had he run last time?

Able to pause a moment from dodging vines, Ienzo summoned his own Lexicon, focusing on the Lauriam-flower for a moment. Okay, what stopped plants… Being in an ocean was certainly a source of water, so…

Trying to grasp onto Lauriam’s senses, Ienzo crafted an illusion of a desert, piggy-backing off the experience of ‘barren’ that had been in his head before, using prior experiences to make something more believable…but it was like trying to apply wallpaper to a lax tent. Everywhere Ienzo pushed had too much give and just warped the picture everywhere else. Ienzo could be hit or miss trying to fool Lauriam normally, but like this?

“Did he start to get upset before the fire?” Lexaeus asked, trying to prompt Xaldin into thinking the series of events through.

“Well, sure, you know how he can get–gah! Demyx, what the hell!?”

Demyx was also a little surprised, because he had meant to throw water at Xaldin, but the water had turned into sand last minute, the island shifting around them into the desert, though… with inconsistencies. Namely that while the ocean had been replaced with sand, the island–and its fire–was still there, and also, the sand seemed to function like water. “What! Did! You! Do!? He doesn’t act like an ass for no reason! Just shitty ones!” Demyx shouted, deciding to ignore how weird the sand situation was and ‘splashing’ Xaldin again, “Tell us exactly what you said!”

“Ah, fuck,” Xaldin grumbled, frustrated both by the situation and his guilt. Was it because they had slept together? He should have waited, he told everyone he was going to let Dilan handle it, but… when had Lauriam actually gotten upset!?

Above them, Ansem went ‘Muwahahaha!’ like he was in control, which showed a lack of self-awareness in his evil laughter as the flower monster shrieked at him, blasting him back down into the sand with a cry.

“Riku!” Sora shouted, before glaring at the flower monster, “Lauriam, you can’t just knock us around! I’m not going to let you!” He shouted, before flying over to swipe at him again, “Just talk to us!”

“I said I couldn’t handle sleeping with him if he was sleeping with other people, that I’m possessive… I kind of gave him an ultimatum that he needed to answer me that night. I mean, not really, but I was… He was so confident and stubborn about wanting to be with me, it felt like he wasn’t taking it seriously at all!”

“Be with you?” Vexen frowned, giving Xaldin a dry look, “Sleeping with someone is not ‘being’ with them. You’re making it sound like he rejected a proposal.”

“Ah fuck,” Ienzo muttered, sharing a look with Zexion, who could only shrug. That was…new, to be able to alter the look of Destiny Island, even if it was only an illusion. Okay, so, drying the plant out wasn’t going to work, so…uh… You could…pull plants from their roots? But how did that wo…

Focusing again, Ienzo reached out towards Sora’s keyblade. The sword starting to shimmer.

“Aw, kid,” Aqua gasped, checking Lauriam’s neck over. Not broken, thank Atua or fucking anyone who’d be looking after them. Just faint bruises that Aqua had put there herself. Kid might get more from where it looked like he’d faceplanted, but that might be secondary to the blood gushing out of his nose.

It wasn’t just Lauriam flexing new powers now that he was whole, this was beyond his limit. But still just…not something he could control.

“Dammit, Xaldin,” she huffed, before bracing herself and scooping Lauriam into her arms, making sure his head was tilted down on her shoulder so he wouldn’t choke on his blood. Hopefully it’d stop by the time they got back home.

Aqua wasn’t going to count on that.

Lexaeus gave Xaldin as long a look as he could, though the moment was interrupted by another cracking screech, all the vines just twisting upwards now, before thorns shot out at the group. Raising a wall to block them, Lexaeus sighed.

“He’s happier taking a punch than a hug.”

“I wasn’t exactly being sweet!” Xaldin insisted, “It felt normal! I don’t know what I did!?”

Sora felt Ienzo sending power to him. Trying to help him be more effective against the construct.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Namine agreed, seeing what Ienzo was doing, before putting her hands up, adding in more.

More P O W E R

Sora felt his body tremble, and then orange eyes narrowed, burning as Sora’s whole body turned black. Black as in a creature made of shadow, his limbs twitching and contorting as he clutched his keyblade more, Ienzo and Namine’s power fueling him like raw, feral adrenaline as The Creature attacked The Flower. Both Sora and Lauriam mentally lost as they battled.

“...okay, I feel like that’s worse!” Demyx shouted, pointing at the battle happening above them between the two Empath constructs, “That’s worse, right!?”

“Oh, oops,” Namine said.

Luxord groaned, looking around drunkenly, at the weird ‘sand-ocean’ that was happening, before reaching out, trying to fix that… and suddenly everything around their legs was red. Wine now having replaced the sand that had replaced the ocean.

“Well, I tried.” Luxord sighed, before looking to Xaldin. “Could you just project the memory!?”

“What?! Of us naked and sweaty from sex?! Perv!” Xaldin snapped at him.

“By this point? Yes,” Vexen grimly argued, dodging the vines that were still perfectly content to keep taking random shots at them. “We can’t exactly ask Lauriam!”

“...yeah, I think that’s worse,” Ienzo noted, just fully jumping off one of his platforms into the wine as some vines got too close for comfort. “Were you just sending raw power, Namine? Maybe the shape of our intent would better aid Sora rather than overcoming him. Though it is interesting for it to manifest this…! …way.”

“Later,” Lexaeus advised, cutting through the end of a vine that had nearly skewered Ienzo.

The petals of the flower shuddered, starting to curl in. A rumble starting to ripple the wine, which Ienzo took in worriedly. “I think quickly, Xaldin! Whatever this is can’t be good!”

“Augh! Fine!” Xaldin shouted, falling to his knees at the rumble as he closed his eyes and focused–

{“And maybe creating a comfort island out of the 12 people closest to us isn’t the answer, outside of the factory,” Xaldin said softly, “...but I think I’d go insane without it. And yeah. It’s shitty to admit that. I feel exposed, saying it aloud. A little pathetic even. But it’s also just true.”

“.......” Demyx blinked the vision away… before his nose wrinkled. “Oh.”

“HOW IS THAT NOT A CONFESSION!? I swear, my next experiment I’m going to see what happens when you put stupid men in vats of boiling oil and then check to see if they’ve dissolved in a week!” Vexen shouted.

“What’s a confession!?” Xaldin shouted, outraged, “We were talking about the island! About being dependent on each other! I’d say the same thing to anyone!”

“Ew! Don’t!” Demyx shouted.

“It’s still a pretty unambiguous declaration of vulnerable, intimate feelings,” Ienzo reasoned. “I’ll admit, I don’t know why Lauriam would freak out to this degree from that, even if it did make him uncomfortable. I mean, we all are aware that we’re quite tied up in each other.”

Lexaeus thought for a moment. “...he might’ve gotten stuck on the ‘I love you’ part. Lauriam’s good at hearing only parts of things.”

“Sure, my feelings!” Xaldin argued, before sighing, looking warily up at the flower, “...what does it matter? He can’t hear us. What are we supposed to do!?”

“...Oh!” Demyx shouted, “Duh! We should head to his world! He might hear us there!”

That wasn’t a bad idea, but… Ienzo looked up worriedly. “...is it okay to leave Sora here? He seems to be doing alright on his own, but I’m not certain what might change without our influence being as focused.”

“Not all of us need to go,” Lexaeus said softly, “Just whoever needs to say the things he needs to hear.”

The rumbles got more intense.

“Oh, come on!” Demyx shouted, shuffling through the wine as he grabbed Xaldin’s arm, tugging at it, “Let’s go!”

Xaldin didn’t budge at Demyx’s pull, staring worriedly up at the flower construct… before he finally followed Demyx. The two running to the island and up the tree-tower, Xaldin grumbling, “Hold on, I’m coming!” any time Demyx looked over his shoulder and tugged him to go faster, before they went through Lauriam’s doorway.

They would not land in a peaceful flower field.

In fact, they wouldn’t get very far at all, dropping right into shoulder-high, thick brambles, thorns reddened and sharpened to needles. And all around the landscape were signs, like they’d been haphazardly shot down from the sky and were stuck at whatever angle they’d fallen at.

LEAVE

DO NOT ENTER

This place is not a place of honor

Nothing valued is here

What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.

The danger is to the body, and it can kill.

The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.

GO AWAY

“OW!” Demyx whined, landing in one of the brambles, pulling himself out miserably as Xaldin frowned at one of the signs, “You know, I got hurt a lot less back when everyone was a Nobody! Now it’s a lot of cuts and bruises and ear twisting has increased, like, times three!!”

“What in the hell…” Xaldin muttered, looking around the thorny maze. Well, hopefully it was a maze. He supposed there was nothing actually suggesting there was a way through this mess of thorns and vines other than, damn, he sure wanted there to be. “Really wishing we had his scythe right about now.”

“Maybe if we made one ourselves, it’d follow the rules of his world?” Demyx asked, focusing his hand out and… “WHAT? Where’s the water?!”

“So that’s a no for you being able to make anything right now, let me see…” Xaldin muttered, reaching up for his spears to crash down from the sky… and sighing, letting his hand fall. “I can’t even get my spears let alone make a scythe. Lauriam’s got this place under full lockdown. We need a stronger Empath with us.”

They both waited a beat, like maybe someone would appear… “Dammit.” Xaldin muttered. “Dandelion, what the hell is all this?”

“This is what happens when you act weird towards guys that are MY age!” Demyx shouted, “What’d you go and sleep with him for!? You knew it was a bad idea! It’s like sleeping with your uncle!”

“Ugh,” Xaldin groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “...I want to argue, but you know what?” He grumbled, looking around at everything that was happening as an immediate aftermath, “You’re right. This was stupid, I should never have…basically raised him, of course this wasn’t going to fucking end well. Should have never come home last night.”

Demyx frowned at that, before shaking his head. “No one’s saying that, just… Everyone knew this was going to be bad for him. YOU knew this was going to be bad for him! And, like… LOOK!” Demyx shouted, gesturing to everything around them, “This is PRETTY BAD! You KNEW! Why couldn’t you have just focused on Axel or Isa or Luis to get your rocks off?!”

“Because it wasn’t… nevermind,” Xaldin said, not willing to defend himself among all this, “What do we do here? Do we dig again?”

“No, that made everything worse before, right? You guys dug and his brain scrambled,” Demyx said, “He’s gotta be in this field somewhere. Maybe we should just start looking?”

Xaldin looked around the brambles… before shouting, “Dandelion!” as he started to push through some of the thicket.

“LAURIAM!” Demyx shouted, before muttering, “Ow, ow, ow,” as he pushed through some more. “OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!”

Get out get out get out GET OUT OF HIS HEAD

Built up enough tension, the flower monster exploded, a thick haze of pollen falling over the wine sea. It shrieked loudly again, this time just furiously trying to crush everything around it with its vines rather than honing in on jabs.

Ienzo moved to dodge again, but found something out very quickly as he clutched his throat in surprise, trying to cough. He couldn’t breathe. They didn’t need to breathe in their mental projections, of course, but the impulse to felt overwhelming, the pollen forcing a sense of suffocation.

“Aaahhhh fuck, fuck!” Aqua muttered as she finished pulling Riku inside, trying to get her family into at least a relatively safer place. He was…struggling to breathe? Not full on choking, thankfully, but like trying to breathe if you were unlucky enough to be out in a sandstorm…

She looked around the others, Lauriam still…

“Shit!” Terra cursed, before drawing on his connection to Namine, gathering enough power to send an SOS out.

{Uhhhh sorry, one sec, I’ll send help!} There were the faint echoes of a baby crying as Kokichi sent his intent back.

A man dropped out of the sky, a purple bandana around his neck that, as he calmly, determinedly fell, he quickly pulled over his mouth. Narrowed eyes took in the raging plant monster, widening in shock for a moment before he grimaced. “Oh, very not good.”

“I agree,” The Templar stepped out of a pillar of smoke, allowing the gravity of this ‘island’ to take him down as well, his cloak flapping behind him as he gave the place an appraising look, “So this is the infamous Destiny Island? I should have made time to visit under better circumstances, I doubt it’s always on fire and reeking of wine… You’re not Kokichi.”

Temp sounded genuinely baffled when he glanced over, having just been following Kokichi’s energy signature when he had sent out that he might need some assistance with the Nobodies. But this was… not even Kokichi in a mask. This was just straight up a construct of Nellis. A sophisticated one too, a fully developed memory of… well, frankly, someone Temp didn’t get along with very well, as he greeted stiffly, “Nellis Ouma.”

You could only hear if it your ear had become trained to it over time, but there was a distant ‘yowling’ sound that dimly preluded Alter Ego stepping into a mind, claws clutching into Nellis’ shoulder as they peeked around to peer at his face. “Fascinating! We haven’t practiced this, did Kokichi learn this from somewhere? Perhaps taking cues from the Amaina Chibi? But to send out a fully-formed memory!? Faaaascinating–Don’t land in the wine!” Alter Ego yowled, claws digging in.

Nellis winced, even as he spread his hands, landing mid-air above the wine. “Not the time, guys! We’re dealing with a full Entropic Meltdown here!” He glanced to the scattered Empaths staring at the new group and trying to either fight or avoid the flower monster, calling out with incredulous irritation, “What are you all still doing here?! He’s trying to kill you, you know!”

“We are not abandoning him,” Lexaeus bit out in short breaths, grabbing Namine in a dodge roll out of the way of a vine.

Ienzo wasn’t so successful with his words, but his gesture towards Lauriam was pretty clear in asking, ‘what the fuck is happening?’

“No, I know, just--” Nellis let out a short breath. “An Entropic Meltdown can only happen in a mindscape. Him being in his mindscape, and you all being here too, is just making it worse. Or, made it worse. You could save yourselves, but he can’t get out himself now…”

Cracking his neck a little, Nellis raised a hand towards the plant monster. “Out of courtesy, how many pieces do you want your friend in?”

“Uh, ONE!?” Axel shouted, though he didn’t get to shout long as the breath he took filled his lungs full of pollen, and as he was coughing a vine came down and crashed into him, submerging him into the wine.

“Axel!” Isa shouted, before growling and throwing himself at the vine, mindlessly biting and tearing into it as his form morphed half into a wolf, clearly trying to keep some hold of himself but also reverting to his panic state as he tried to stop his friend from drowning.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, down boy!” Luxord shouted, shuffling through the water and groaning, “I can’t believe booze has betrayed me like this,” as he felt his feet start to sink into the sand beneath it, before taking out a card and, flipping it, a massive card sprung into life in front of the vine, flipped, flipped again, and Axel was trapped inside of it, Luxord flicking his wrist to bring the card back into his hand. “I’ve got him! Come here, Isa!”

“Can’t we just let him calm down?” Namine frowned, looking over at the three… who were these people? Well, no, she could feel one of them was the Ouma, and she recognized the cat, but… “If I could just do an emotion dome big enough–”

“You’ve probably noticed already that none of your usual Empath abilities are working on him,” Temp said, looking up at the massive form the Empath had taken, “This is because the rules of his mind have become irrational to the point where even he cannot truly control it. Your friend here is not ‘acting out’ and needs some kind words and a quiet moment to calm down. He’s out of control. To himself, and everyone else. He needs to be subdued before he hurts himself, or more realistically at this point, you.”

“I’ve never seen this before,” Alter Ego admitted, looking up at Lauriam, “But I have heard of it. For an Empath? Losing control like this is raw, unrestrained use of his greatest Empath potential. Like, using his abilities at 200%. Which, as you might guess…”

Vexen narrowed his eyes. “He’s going to tear himself to shreds at this rate. There’s no time to let him calm.”

Alter Ego nodded. “Exactly.”

Tsking a little--fine, they could find another, slightly gentler method--Nellis observed the whole situation. The makeup of the monster, the different influences changing Destiny Island--and Sora for that matt - ah.

“Ienzo, Namine, draw some of your energy from Sora,” Nellis called, “Use it to fix the island if you need a place to direct it to. Has he made more progress on his keyblade figment?”

Looking to Temp and Alter Ego, Nellis explained more of his plan. “I could do it alone, but it’d be like ripping a plant out by its stem. I need your help lifting him like you’re transplanting something to a pot, keeping all the vines and shit from shooting out. That’ll expose the ‘heart center’ so to speak. Sora’s been working on a construct that’s dedicated to, well, in this case, basically cutting through the snowball of madness an Empath can lose themself in. If we give him an opening, he might be able to do it without breaking that guy apart.”

“Ah, I see.” Temp nodded, looking back to the creature before suggesting, “We might be able to assist by limiting the range of influence once they’ve redirected power. At least that way he’ll stop attacking them with vines.”

“...none of my shards know anything about plants,” Alter Ego admitted, “But I think I get it anyway. Come on, edgelord.”

“After you, abomination,” Temp said, the two flying up, before focusing on creating a dividing line between where Sora’s rage form and Lauriam’s plant form were fighting, and everything else. Familiar with the process with each other, as this was largely how they had tested things when they were trying to find a way to safely disconnect the babies from the hivemind.

Namine looked to Ienzo, giving him a nod, before reaching her hands up and focusing. Drawing some of the P O W E R that she had imbued Sora with and redirecting it into the island. Around her thighs, the blood red wine turned back into a light, greenish-blue, rebuilding some of the island.

Above, Sora gasped, his mind snapping back to him. For a moment there, he had been nothing but mindless intent, embodying the goal of his keyblade into himself. But, something about feeling the actual weight of what his construct was meant to do–something Riku couldn’t replicate yet, too heartless to mimic what Sora was doing in reality–made it easier for him to conceptualize it in his construct. And when the shadow completely left his keyblade, it reformed into something sharper, more defined, than the usual key-imagery his sword defaulted to. So different that Sora, as he caught himself in the air, decided it’d probably need its own name.

The keyblade that was formed from Namine and Ienzo’s influence, asking him to finally put his construct to work for one of their own?

He’d call it Oathkeeper, as he jumped through the air and swung at Lauriam.

It happened so fast that it almost seemed like there was a flash of light, minds struggling to process the sudden shift so it just omitted the transition all together.

One second, there had been a giant writhing plant monster in the sky.

The next, Lauriam skewered through the chest by Oathkeeper. Startled green eyes looking at Sora for a moment.

(Lauriam’s world rapidly dimmed, the signs collapsing and brambles almost seeming to deflate, leaving a dark, vaguely grassy expanse.)

And when Sora landed back in the proper ocean water…it was Lauriam, sort of. But mostly just a small, wavering ball of pink light.

Aqua sighed in relief, her family breathing right again, and finally Lauriam’s nosebleed stopped.

“Oh thank god!” Demyx shouted, collapsing in a pile of bleeding scratches as the brambles finally melted away, “What do you think did it? Was it promising he wasn’t in trouble!? Because I can’t actually control Vexen, I have NO IDEA what he’s going to do at this point.”

“Somehow I don’t think it was me calling him a big brat and telling him to calm the fuck down,” Xaldin admitted, also panting as he was covered in scratches, his hair a mess as he groaned, sitting up, “Maybe the others figured out something with the plant monster outside? Or Aqua figured out something in the real world?”

“I don’t know… but I still can’t find his surface consciousness!” Demyx admitted, looking around the empty field, “So it probably wasn’t us. Should we go back?”

“Lauriam! Lauriam!” Xaldin shouted, “...fuck, yeah, let’s go back, they must have done something.”

Back on the island, Ansem floated over to Sora, helping him up as Luxord finally managed to get Axel out of his card, each attempt a gamble he kept losing until he finally rolled well and Axel flew out, coughing up wine onto the sand. “Did we win?” Axel asked, looking around blearily, “Are we dead?”

“Well… this is odd,” Vexen murmured, peering closer at Lauriam, who was… a ball of energy, “What am I looking at?”

“An Empath whose mind and strength is weakened to the point where they can’t even form their surface level identity,” Alter Ego explained, finally able to conjure his usual cloud, hopping onto it and letting it float him closer to the hovering ball, “Essentially, a very injured Empath mind. It’ll take him a while to reform, and he might need some help doing so, both in here and out in his body.”

“Restrained help in here, I’d advise,” Nellis said warily, pulling his handkerchief down properly now that the air was clear once again. “Not for just any occasion of you seeing an Empath like this, but for…well, it’s pink, so I’m guessing Marluxia. For him, in this specific instance. Honestly, just the ambient energy you guys share by having the island might just be the limit I’d recommend.”

“Lauriam, now,” Ienzo corrected, collecting himself as he came up to give the pink light ball a worried look. “...you had a name for this, Entropic Meltdown. Is it just what…I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve ever traded names, Mr. Cat, but what you said, about full energy output, or…”

Nellis sighed a bit, grimacing. “It’s only happened a few times from what I know. An Empath can get swept up in their abilities from strong emotions, sure--Empathy Domes, or just affecting the mood of one or two people around them, getting caught in a loop of emotions, Auto-Pilot… An Entropic Meltdown is the grand culmination of all of that. The full, literal version of ‘your emotions controlling you, not you controlling your emotions’. The Empath loses all recollection or sense of being, of memories and sense of ‘want’, which is why it looks like they turn into a monster. They just act on the emotion that spurred it until someone manages to cut off their out of control energy, or until they burn themselves out to death.”

Nellis gave the ball of light a tough look. “...he thinks that anyone he’s close to he’s going to kill. And since you guys are all connected…he couldn’t get away to…panic? About something? So his power spiraled out of control and then did just that.”

“Their name is Alter Ego,” Temp introduced, “Though he occasionally goes by ‘Abomination’.”

“I do not,” Alter Ego said, bowing his head lightly to Ienzo, floating around the little ball of light, “And I’m getting the same echoes. A general feeling of trying to find space and being unable to do so. I suppose I can understand. It can be suffocating to be a shard even when you’re in harmony enough to create a person. What you all have going on is actually much more difficult to sustain. Fusion with imbalance built into it. It must take a lot of negotiating and adjustment for all of you.”

“Not really,” Axel said, as the exact time Luxord said, “Mate, you have no idea.” The two looking at each other in surprise.

“We have varying levels of influence on the island, it can take more out of some of us then others,” Namine conceded, her tone a tad stiff. Like she didn’t like admitting how much effort sustaining the island could be. “So… is he done panicking then? Should I just send him to sleep and let him heal while he’s unconscious?”

“Can we not talk about tranqing him,” Xaldin called, he and Demyx jumping from the tree house, walking through the sand as he glanced warily at the three new people. “Who the hell are they?”

“The Ouma sent aid,” Ansem said, his hair radiating as power shifted off of him with ease now, now that the world was playing by familiar rules again, “We lost the battle but won the war.”

“Where’s Lauriam!?” Demyx asked, sounding worried… before he gasped as he saw the pink light, “Oh no! Is he a ghost now!? You guys killed him!? What the hell, guys, not cool!?!”

“Not dead, just essentially base essence personified,” Alter Ego called.

“Oh… that doesn’t sound better,” Demyx admitted, as Xaldin walked over to the light, giving it a worried look.

“Base essence, huh… dandelion? Flower? You there?” Xaldin asked.

Ienzo bowed back, aware the new man and the one that felt like Kokichi didn’t bother giving their names. Well. Whatever. He sighed, giving Lauriam a sad look. “...he projected a house fire into all of our perceptions. I…assume, from that, as a distraction to find space. Recently as well his Nobody directly tried to sever himself from Destiny Island.”

Ienzo felt something terrifying and uncomfortable crawl under his skin…but looking at the small, wavering light, remembering how Lauriam had looked, set on fire and like he wasn’t even in reality itself, pushed the words out, “...we can’t fully separate our minds at this point. But…perhaps it’s worth looking at other options for giving each other space.”

Looking over as Xaldin and Demyx joined the others, Nellis gave a half-hearted wave. “Kokichi would’ve come himself, but he’s got a different meltdown to deal with right now. Sorry.”

The light just flickered in Sora’s hand.

Nellis sighed softly. “Last time this happened to Kokichi, he couldn’t really talk for a while. Sometimes you’d get pure, basal intent, but even that’s a lot for someone in this state. Lauriam’s likely able to do this much because of you all supporting the parts of your mind that’s him.”

Xaldin gave the light a sad, grim look.

……he guessed, by this point, he was just being self-important, to want to say goodbye. But Lauriam probably wasn’t going to be conscious for a while. And if he had done all of this just talking to Xaldin? After Xaldin had bore himself to him?

Maybe Dilan could salvage this, after Xaldin was gone.

“We need to wash him out in the world,” Xaldin admitted, looking away with a grimace, “Then put him to bed, I guess. How long should we expect him to be unconscious?”

“Damage this extreme? It can be difficult to estimate, but doing everything you can to keep his body healthy in the outside world will be the biggest determining factor,” Temp said, looking around the island, “...between myself and Alter Ego, them bringing in expertise of fusions and myself Empath control, perhaps we can help guide you in making this island more individually sustainable, so it’s not putting so much stress on the Empaths who are doing most of the pillar support.”

“The Empaths before us managed, and we can manage as well.” Namine said, again, a tad stiffly. “We’re doing fine.”

Alter Ego decided to kindly not mention the sheer multi-mind meltdown that Lauriam had been on the verge of triggering by killing the surface consciousnesses of the others in their shared space. This could have dominoed into something much, much worse.

Nellis was not as kind as he gave Namine an incredulous look. He pointed at Lauriam. “He just tried to kill all of you, and it almost worked. All because he wanted to be alone, and he couldn’t. That’s managing?!”

“It’s never happened before,” Namine said, like that explained everything.

“Well, no, it happened once before, and she killed herself,” Vexen said grimly… his expression darkening as he said, “You know how bad the island gets when one of us dies. That’s even with us all preparing for the end and helping them through it. When the death is sudden and violent like that? When they can’t pull themselves away in time to spare us, like Terra did? It’s…”

Luxord swayed on his feet, putting his arms around his stomach and looking pale, while Xaldin growled, looking away. Them, Vexen and Aeleus the only ones who had been around for that.

“You all have been doing an amazing job for Empaths who have been having to figure out something this complicated by yourselves,” Alter Ego said, tone warm… but firm, as they added, “But additional help and guidance will keep you safer, in the long run.”

“You have time anyway,” Temp said, looking to the light as he said, “I know a bit about your situation from Kokichi, of course. I do not think you can travel much while he’s in this state. Your trip will be delayed, I expect, which if nothing else means you all have time to do lessons with us.”

“Longer?” Axel frowned, crossing his arms over his chest with a grimace. “...we just broke a bunch of windows, jumping from a fire that didn’t exist. Our fencing doesn’t keep anyone out. And now we have someone who needs serious help in a place that bakes during the day and freezes at night… guys,” Axel frowned, looking to the others, “We have to find somewhere else to live, if we’re nursing someone back to health.”

Lexaeus closed his eyes for a moment, a deep breath building in his chest that he let out slowly. It was fortunate on all accounts, that the others wouldn’t have to experience that with Lauriam today.

Nellis grimaced, ready to argue more, before he suddenly winced, like someone had bonked him on the head. “What?” he hissed, before sighing, turning a bit to the side away from the group, pinching the bridge of his nose. “...too ‘Nellis’, I got it…fine. Just…”

As he turned back, brown hair turned lighter, and longer, wrapped up in an elaborate style, while purple eyes turned brown, all harsh lines turning softer and kinder. An elegant, regal air suddenly around as the woman in the flowing sundress gently took one of Namine’s hands, giving her a kind look.

“Alter Ego’s right. Lauriam breaking down isn’t your fault, or the fault of how you’ve maintained the island. What you’ve been able to do, how you’ve been able to support each other is something wonderful, and necessary, for your lives…” The woman’s smile was just as gentle as she continued, words implored to be listened to. “...however, your lives are changing. So the methods and routines you have will need to adapt. This is true for more than just the island, as daunting as I know that is.”

“But you’re strong, Namine,” she acknowledged, giving Namine a respectful bow of the head, “And you are all intelligent, capable people, and we’re offering to help as well. Things will be okay. You just have to take the steps to see them through.”

Ienzo was fascinated--seriously, what kind of construct was this? Prince Kokichi?!?!?--and also…terrified. This woman, whatever sort of construct she was, reminded him so much of some of the elites his parents had been friends with. Not just made nice with, but actually friends. And that kind of person was terrifying.

Subconsciously straightened up, remembering childhood lessons on posture, while sweating buckets, Ienzo nervously piped up to the group. “...we could talk to Lady Maya about a place to stay?”

Many of the others had a similar reaction. They were all raised in an environment and society that, at least on some level, taught you how to recognize and behave around an elite, even if you had never met one in person by that point. And for those who had only ever met Maya, who did not put out that vibe? This would be the first.

There was a lot of unconscious straightening of posture and lowering of eyes. Except for Namine. Who did not have the capacity or self-awareness to see anything other than, at best, an equal to herself. The witch just nodding back lightly, before sighing, “...I suppose we could accept some assistance.”

Luxord frowned at Ienzo’s suggestion. “What? The mad Lady Maya? Isn’t that lass constantly being spied upon by the royal family? Illegitimate Momota and all that?”

“Well, that’s assuming she’s right about all of that,” Axel pointed out, “She could still be crazy as everyone says. I mean, how much could she be being spied on if they let her do all of that to the manor? It could just be some abandoned building she took over and no one got her out.”

“Spies don’t equal babysitters,” Xaldin pointed out, “Though, houseguests also don’t equal problems. We’re not exactly ‘hiding’ from the government. Those people don’t seem to care about what we’re doing at all.”

“For now,” Namine said grimly, “I’d rather not be easy to find if they change their minds… but, honestly? Even with that concern, for Lauriam’s sake, that might be our best option. Her manor is a mess, but it’s still a manor, filled with intact bedrooms and food and and proper heating and ventilation–”

“Roofs that don’t leak when it rains,” Luxord pointed out, “Windows that keep the red sand out in the morning so we’re not all choking on particularly windy days.”

“I think she’d take us in,” Sora said, sounding a bit tired, though he was still diligently cradling Lauriam’s light, “I think she gets lonely.”

“We’re still not acting as escorts for her,” Demyx said dryly. Not quite over the hot tub prank.

Koharu blinked, looking over at Luxord in confusion. At the same time, Ienzo looked to the gambler as well and started sweating more.

…illegitimate Momota? Kaito…had mentioned his father having escorts, and Kokichi didn’t really know anything about Ibuki or Kaede’s father, or any of their extended family beyond that, but, well, if they weren’t sure if that was even correct--

“Ienzo says she’s trustworthy,” Lexaeus said simply, that the long and short of the matter for him.

Ienzo sweated more.

“...ah, I don’t mean to derail since this is an important matter, but,” Koharu spoke up, “may I ask what you mean by ‘illegitimate Momota’?” One that was spied on by the, well, legitimate Momotas, she supposed, and…sounded like she’d be happy to take in people down on their luck, which when compared to the other Momotas Koharu knew aside from the obvious, seemed like a particularly kind personality.

Luxord gave the Ouma–Kokichi’s signature was still very present in the…whatever this was he had sent. A construct?--a baffled look, no part of him believing, “What, your husband hasn’t mentioned it to you? His supposed sister they’ve got hidden away in our neck of the woods. The eldest of them, if the lass can be believed…”

Seeing the expression on Koharu’s face, he jerked his thumb at her and said to the others, “That’s another bit of evidence she’s full of it. I know her existence is being hidden from everyone else, but surely the Momotas themselves know.”

“Uuuh, no,” Demyx frowned, tilting his head as he said, “Actually, I remember her saying it was specifically being hidden from them to keep them from wanting to kill her as a ‘just in case’... uuuuuh, in fact, I think she asked Ienzo and I to specifically hide it from Prince Kaito…uuuuuh…”

The group went silent, all peering at Koharu with new uncertainty.

“...how was I supposed to know that!?” Luxord shouted, suddenly sweating bullets, “No one tells me shit! Actually, actually!” He suddenly said, putting up his hands, swaying dramatically, “Ooooh, I’m drunk! Who’s Maya? Mad lass?? Never heard of her! Made her up! Can’t trust a man who’s taken too much of his medicine; I say crazy, not-real things!”

“Smooth,” Axel said dryly, while Xaldin wacked Luxord in the back of his head.

Slowly, Koharu’s face lit up. “...he has a sister?”

Maybe it was a little in poor taste considering their downed member, though there was no way Koharu would know, but little flowers burst into bloom around her hair buns as Koharu grinned excitedly. “Oh wonderful!! Oh, if she’s the type you trust then she sounds lovely! Is she lovely? Oh, Kai-chan will be so excited!”

Though, she took in Ienzo’s terrified, alarmed look, and Demyx’s warning, and calmed herself a bit. “...why on earth would Kai-chan want to kill her? He’s perhaps the most family-driven person I’ve ever met, and he would be elated to meet a sibling that, please pardon me, doesn’t suck complete horse cock.”

She gave the group a more concerned look. “...I’m afraid I won’t be keeping this a secret from Kokichi’s husband, but I can omit that I learned this from you, if you are worried about retribution, or breaking promises.”

Ienzo made a stressed, strangled noise.

The group considered each other.

“...I’m down for lying to our future hostess that we ruined the one thing she asked us to do,” Xaldin said.

“But, isn’t that wrong?” Sora frowned, “Especially if we’re asking for a favor?”

“Especially if we’re asking for a favor,” Luxord said. “Definitely keep it secret.”

“Please, there’s thirteen of us in various states of mental disturbance at all times, we can’t keep it a secret,” Vexen scoffed, “I say we just throw Luxord under the horse. Let her take a finger from him or something.”

“Muwahahaha!” Ansem laughed, smirking, “Truly, a noble sacrifice, Luxord. Well done.”

“I am not giving up my fingers! I need them for card tricks!” Luxord shouted!

“Eh, I don’t get the vibe she’d do that anyway. She’s pretty chill, all things considered. Though she’ll absolutely rag on us, I guarantee it,” Demyx said, turning to the Ouma and saying, “Yeah, she seems a decent sort, considering she’s a noble. She’s a little off her rocker though. She hosts really good parties and does a lot of drugs… but, she also offered us a similar sort of help you did, your grace. Or, she offered it to Ienzo,” Demyx said, “But I got the sense she would have offered us more had she not just blown most of her funds on, again, a lot of partying and a lot of drugs.”

Koharu gave them an apologetic look. “My apologies. If she knows, I would be willing to corroborate that I ‘overheard’ it from you, and otherwise, Kokichi’s husband still does have connections in Luminary, so it’s not absurd he could’ve found out. I suspect that it will be its own ordeal on the Dicean side to figure out how to approach this information anyway.”

“But she does sound fun,” Koharu laughed elegantly, “And I’m happy to hear you’ve made some connections over on your side.”

Ienzo shrugged a bit, still not quite feeling in the clear yet. “I trust her. And not just from more personal things. She has a personal code of ethics you don’t see in nobles that often.”

“That’s a shame,” Koharu said softly, sincerely, before smiling, “But great to hear about her. …alright. As always, Kokichi is always ready to extend a hand should you need it, but shall we leave you to rest? It…is quite late in the middle of the night for you all, isn’t it?”

“If we weren’t in the middle of winter?” Xaldin said dryly, again glancing at the little light in Sora’s hands, “It’d be literal sunrise right now.”

“Thank you for your help. All of you,” Namine said, bowing to the Ouma and his weird cat and weird goth friend. The others bowed alongside her. “You have been more than kind to us. I am grateful you came in an emergency.”

Queen Koharu bowed back. “I am grateful we were able to help. Good luck, all of you, and my well-wishes for Lauriam’s recovery.”

Exhaustedly, Aqua threw a blanket on Dilan’s body.

And that was when everyone stirred. Sitting up and wincing, looking around the floor of the tavern where they had all been laid out, all with, honestly, various levels of ‘hung-over’ look.

“Ugh…” said the one of them who probably was actually hung-over, Luis looking around as he said, “Oh, this isn’t where I was expecting to wake up. Well, nothing new there… How's our boy?”

“Still asleep,” Sora said, having been laid out near Lauriam, who smelled freshly washed. Aqua must have cleaned him. “How are we going to do things like feed him?”

“He’s not in a coma… I don’t think,” Even said, brushing his hair back, “Certainly he’ll rouse. He just might be a bit out of it when he does. I wouldn’t expect any sparkling conversations for a while.”

“Great,” Xaldin said, his eyes drifting to the booth Lauriam had sat by when they were talking. The paper flowers hanging off of it, limp and abandoned. “...I really messed this up, huh.”

“To be fair to you, I don’t think any of us thought ‘I’m going to get my loved ones killed’ was going to be the reason he freaked out about you two getting together,” Axel said, before admitting, “Honestly, I thought the reason was going to be because of the amount of shit everyone else was going to give him for it. And I thought it’d be less ‘total breakdown’ and more him being pissy at us for a few months.”

“We would not have ‘given him shit’,” Even argued, before pointing at Dilan, “We were going to give him shit. Enough to make sure he treated this seriously, anyway. I was expecting the breaking point to be the literal breakup itself. Relationships of a romantic nature were already hard enough in the factory, and in case none of you noticed, we didn’t exactly encourage them. Even Aeleus and I had a ton of ‘for our own good’ private talks from older Empaths, warning us the dangers of trying to do so in the factory. Supervisors take notice, people get jealous, people get possessive, and jealousy and possession gets crippling when your whole world is a handful of people to begin with. Adding in the complication of one of the couples being one of the few adults in the other’s life by that point?”

“I know, I know,” Dilan said, rubbing his temples, “I did the best I could, okay? I didn’t possess him, I didn’t try to control him. I just… fucked it all up on the very last hurdle.”

“He was bleeding for a while. Wouldn’t expect him to wake up until his body sorts some of that out too.”

Aqua collapsed on a stool as everyone woke up, shaking her arms out. She liked working out! Aqua was proud of her muscles! But at the end of the day she was an average-sized woman that wasn’t built like a caravan like Dilan or Aeleus and carrying her entire family into somewhere they’d be safe and making sure they didn’t start spontaneously suffocating and that Lauriam didn’t bleed out (along with patching up the scratches by his hips and the fucking jizz in his ass, Xaldin) was TOO MUCH.

Though it didn’t sound like things had been much easier in the mindscape either.

Even as one of the ‘success cases’ of a romantic relationship in the factory, Aqua still gave Dilan a dry look, before she sighed. Getting caught up through little processing echoes in the others’ minds and the lingering memory on the island. “...as long as you know you fucked up…” she gave Dilan a concerned look, “...are you okay? Saying ‘I love you’ and having someone immediately try to run away can’t feel great.”

“I didn’t even say I loved him!” Dilan insisted, actual frustration in his voice, “I didn’t say it, I’m not that cruel! I’m basically dying in a few days!”

“‘I need you’ isn’t exactly subtle, Dilan,” Even huffed, “The fact that you can’t even recognize what that was is another reason you shouldn’t have tried this. Of course that was a confession, you ass.”

“Ugh…” Dilan groaned, putting his head into his hands… before shrugging, looking up tiredly, “Well, now I have my answer either way, huh? The guy would rather have a meltdown and murder all of us, than consider being serious with me. Question answered.”

“That’s not fair to say,” Sora frowned, “Weren’t you listening? He had a breakdown because he thought you loving him was going to hurt you. Probably because of what happened to his sister.”

“That still just tells me that before I brought it up in that exact moment, he never actually considered it.” Dilan scowled, looking away. “Which means for all of his arguing with me, I was right: he wasn’t taking this seriously, he wasn’t thinking about what this all meant. He was just fucking playing around and I was the dumbass that caught feelings. The very second I suggested it meant more to me? Total meltdown. It never occurred to him.”

“Tsk. Stop whining, you absolute child.” Even scowled, reaching over to twist Dilan’s ear, who gave a strangled little ‘agh!’ at the sheer ruthlessness of the ear pulling. “Avoiding thinking about something that causes him this much distress is not ‘playing around’. You better consider what you actually want to take away from this before he wakes up and you two have to talk.”

“Tsk. That’s going to be Dilan’s problem,” ‘Dilan’ said, waving Even’s hand off when he released him, “I’m done. I’m becoming whole. Tired of all of this.” He said, crossing his arms and looking away, scowling, “I was better suited for the factory. This has been miserable.”

Ienzo hadn’t picked his head up when he woke up, but he had been listening to the whole conversation.

…that wasn’t what ‘Nellis’ had said. Ienzo would rather hear Lauriam’s thoughts from himself, but with what he had to work with… It wasn’t ‘the people I love are going to die’, it was ‘I’m going to kill the people I love’.

…that felt worthy of a meltdown, to think that to yourself and then have to immediately face it in front of you. That made more sense than his initial guess of Lauriam just being freaked out by a confession, because even if they didn’t always call it that, they all loved each other. It was something that had…just…happened. Because they couldn’t escape…

Oh.

Ienzo looked up tiredly, just tilting his head on the floor. “...all our Nobodies were better suited for the factory. That was the point. …I think Lauriam was trying to get some space to think, but he couldn’t. And that’s why things spiraled as much as they did. But I believe, based on what the others said, was that Lauriam did consider what being with you meant, and that’s why he freaked out.”

Ienzo closed his eyes sleepily. “He might not feel remorse for killing a Togami employee, but that doesn’t speak to how he feels about murder in general. And of all people, I think it’d terrify him to kill one of us.”

“Maybe,” Dilan said, not sounding convinced, as he shrugged. Exhaustion settling on him as well, as he said, “I’m not going to get the chance to ask him about it. That’s Dilan’s problem now. I told him I needed him, and he ran away. That’s enough of an answer for me… that said?”

Dilan pushed himself up to his feet, giving Lauriam another long look… before heading to the door. “I’m going out. No one wait up.”

The others watched him for a bit, before Luis sighed, scrambling up. “Don’t worry, I’ll go with him. Man’s just wallowing in his own salt. Pulling the exact same shit as Lauriam, honestly, which trust me, I’m gonna let him know,” he told the others, heading out as well.

“Big fuckin’ baby…” Aqua sighed to herself before pushing off the stool with a groan. She looked to the others before commanding, “The best of us have only gotten a half-night’s of sleep. Any rooms without glass on the floor, go to sleep. We’ll need the energy to plead with Maya later.”

Ienzo grunted into the floor, already half-way there.

“Dilan! Dilan, would you just slow down, mate?” Luis sighed, following after the man as he pushed through the gate, “You’re overreacting.”

“I’m overreacting!?” Dilan said, before looking back with a scowl, “And stop calling me ‘Dilan’. It’s not working, we already know what it’s going to take to make me whole, and this bullshit name switcharoo pretending shit isn’t doing it, Luxord.”

Luis sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine, Xaldin, whatever you want to be called, you should come back. I feel exhausted and I actually got some sleep last night, I can’t imagine what’s keeping you on your feet.”

“Spite,” Xaldin said honestly, “I’m fed-up. I’m literally not the side of myself that can handle this, I’m the sadist-torturer and I should never have tried to be that dumbass’s ‘lover’. I’m done pretending I’m human enough for this, fuck him, fuck all of this, I’m going drinking.”

“Then good thing one of us actually remembered to bring money, hm? Because we don’t live in an area nice enough for the sympathetic dawn drinkers,” Aqua said as she caught up with the others, ducking through the gate. “And going out to a bar to get smashed after a confession gone wrong is one of the more human things you can do, I think.”

“God dammit. Do I also have to turn into a giant plant monster to get some alone time?” Xaldin grumbled, looking back warily as Aqua caught up, “Don’t you have someone else to scold?”

“Hey, if Lauriam couldn’t escape us, neither can you, mate,” Luis said, giving Aqua a welcoming look, “But, she’s got a point. Not a lot of places are open at this time of morning. Even the brothels would be getting their rest until about noon.”

“I know the kind of bar that never closes, because they don’t consider themselves a ‘bar’,” Xaldin said, heading determinedly away.

And that was how the three of them, for the first time for Aqua and Luis in literal decades, all ended up shuffled into a prayer room, with a full bar on offer, encouraging them to take all the time they needed to ‘pray to Atua’ together.

“...you go to temple to drink their free booze?!” Luis squawked, looking around in alarm at the various visages to the saints hanging around, the room lit by Atua’s sigil in a mosaic on the ceiling, “I’m a drunk and I don’t do that! How many times have you done this!?”

“Since I was a kid and I realized you could.” Xaldin shrugged, grabbing the liquor bottle and pouring himself a drink. “Dilan wasn’t a totally pure butterfly, he took advantage when there were things to take advantage of. And the temples use decent liquor to encourage you to come worship rather than, say, passing out a bar. You’d be shocked by how few people take advantage of that. Guess folks don’t like drinking their cares away under Atua’s all-loving eye, or something,” he said, taking a long swig and laying back on the pillows.

It had been a long, long time since Aqua had been in an Atuan Temple. Even one all the way close to the slums of Chonis, Aqua couldn’t help but let out a low whistle at the prayer room the priestesses had pointed them to. Not quite as gaudy as she remembered, but--looking at several saints bent over provocatively in portraits--it was close.

“You know, it’s practical, I respect it,” Aqua nodded, pouring herself a drink and finding a spot among the pillows as well. “And currently, a lot safer than taking a chance at a bar, especially if you’re going full in. Doesn’t seem like the priestesses mind for either a numbers game or true belief.”

She smirked a little. “You just might be the most pious of us all, then, Xaldin.”

“Don’t believe in Atua. Don’t even really believe in the religion itself, considering everything,” Xaldin said, raising a glass tiredly, “But the temples themselves? They’re usually just a bunch of women trying their best. You’ll never hear me say a bad word against the priestesses.”

“Well, if they’re going to give me booze? Guess I don’t have anything bad to say either,” Luis chuckled, eagerly reaching for one of the booze bottles himself, “You know, I’ve never been in a prayer room before? Only time I ever went to temple was when my mother took me as a kid. Once she stopped taking me, never felt a need to go. In my town, temple visits were for the young still learning the religion and the old who needed the comfort of it. Everyone else had jobs to do.”

“The way you talk about where you grew up, you might as well have lived in a different country. Grass fields, sheep? Didn’t think Luminary even had sheep, thought we were strict goat country.” Xaldin scoffed.

Luis shrugged, a distant, reminiscing look on his face as he said, “Kind of was a different world, yeah. I knew we were desert country in theory, but the borders? All green. Actual seasons. Didn’t realize how dramatically different our accent was until they dragged me deeper into the country… well. I’m proper Luminary now, I’d argue. Even if I still haven’t seen much of the desert myself yet.”

“Won’t see much of it either, on our way to Dicea,” Xaldin guessed, as far as he was aware their city about as far as the desert actually reached.

“Mmm… alright, we gonna talk about this now, mate?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Xaldin scowled, looking away, “I said my piece earlier.”

Aqua nodded in agreement, raising her glass to match. A lot of shit happened in Atua’s name, but the good stuff tended to come from the priestesses. She didn’t have a lot of love for the religion, but that was something she respected.

“Terra thought for ages you just didn’t know what goats were and called them sheep,” Aqua snorted at the memory, smile always a little bitter. “Until you fully just dragged us into a memory, think he would’ve never been convinced. It seems like it’d be nice, to see an autumn like from your neck of the woods.”

That might be something they’d actually see on the way. Whenever that would be, now.

“And yet you’re angry drinking, and not sad, ‘I just want to forget’ drinking,” Aqua pointed out, before she shrugged a little at Luis. “Guess we’re still warming up to that though.” She looked around the room again. “...I’ve never actually been in a prayer room either. Tended to avoid temples all together when I was a kid, actually.”

“Oh yeah?” Luis asked, giving Aqua a curious look at that. “I don’t know if I remember you ever telling me anything about where you grew up… or are we referring to the lad’s past?” he asked, “Though I’d believe anything you told me about him. I’m sure there wasn’t much you hid from each other.”

Aqua took a long sip of her drink, closing her eyes. “Terra and I met when we were 12. …Aqua and I met when we were 12. There are differences, whichever way you tell the story, but the setting and sequence are the same.”

He opened his eyes and gave Luis a grim smile. “It wasn’t a coincidence that we showed up around the same time. I would’ve warned Isa if we knew about him. I think Aqua knew it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“You knew Isa?” Xaldin asked, surprised, “Well, guess it’s not that unusual. The Heart of Light trio all grew up together too. Maybe Empaths are drawn together.”

“Don’t think we’re not talking about you,” Luis said, pointing at Xaldin, who scoffed, “Aqua’s right, you’re not acting like a guy who’s made peace with any of this.”

“Well, you’d know, wouldn’t you,” Xaldin grinned, his grin at Luis less than friendly, “We can barely keep a drink out of your hands for a few hours at a time. That’s not even taking into account that ‘mind numbing’ thing you did to your world. Way to commit to addiction, even when you haven’t had a drink in years.”

“Wouldn’t say years,” Luis said dryly, “I earned my little rewards, just like everyone else. And we’re still talking about you, you mean shit.”

Aqua nodded a bit, but didn’t continue as Luis prodded at Xaldin again. Xaldin would talk eventually, it was just a matter of greasing the gears. But making sure he didn’t hide behind old stories was good to make sure of.

“Yes, yes, you’re both pretty,” Aqua rolled her eyes, taking a swig. “Lovely poster children of coping, I’m aware, as one of your toughest competitors. Even if we started now, detoxing Luis is still going to take months. So might as well leave the door open for you, Xaldin.”

She blinked slowly at him. “Which it is. Whenever you’re ready. Because we’re your friends, ya jerk, and listening to booze-fueled wallowing and raging is part of that.”

Xaldin scoffed, sipping at his drink. Dumb. Stupid and dumb… “Is it too fucking much for me to admit I still had fucking emotions?” he grumbled, glaring at his drink.

“No,” Luis sighed, staring idly at the curvy bosom of a saint with a joyful look on her face, as she reached up to someone looking down at her. Looking at it but not really seeing it, Luis’ casino life having long gotten him used to staring past beckoning, inviting portraits of curves. “Axel didn’t believe any of us were actually Nobodies, just because of that. Though, I’ll admit… you’re one of the ones that came closest.”

“The thing is, Dilan did it right the first time! I really didn’t care about anything. Not you guys, not the people I conditioned, nothing.” Xaldin scowled. “I was perfect. I was exactly what I was supposed to be: a torturing, sadistic monster who only didn’t torture kids myself because it was boring. I reveled in making groan men scream for their mothers and grown women piss themselves in indignity. I was incredible. I was in my element.”

“He had a lot of reasons to be ashamed of me, in the beginning.” Xaldin chuckled. “I was a monster he designed, who wouldn’t be ashamed… but dammit… dammit…” He gripped the glass, scowling. Eyes reddening as he growled, “Almost two decades is a long time to be alive and not develop. To not grow. He made a picture-perfect Nobody and then just… pretended like he had nothing to do with me anymore. Like I was my own person. He could have done maintenance, he could have reset me every now and again, anything! But he didn’t. He just let me exist. And just trusted I’d be stagnant… dull idiot. Boring moron.”

Aqua sighed softly. It was why she had wanted to check up on Xaldin in the first place. Lauriam had his hang-ups too, sure, but no matter who you were, construct made for torture or no…Xaldin had bared his soul, took a very vulnerable time to be vulnerable…and he’d just been punished for it. That…was destroying.

“You have a lot of reasons to resent him in turn,” Aqua concluded, eyes low as she took in Xaldin’s heartbreak. A Nobody abandoned even before their Somebodies had gotten stuck.

“The man’s a coward.” Xaldin grumbled. “They were all cowards. They made us to deal with all of their baggage and we never even got breaks. They got to be together, enjoy Destiny Island, and for years we had to just sit in our little torture holes and pretend like none of us had any issues. And look what happened. Larxene was desperate for any sort of validation, playing endless shows no one wanted to see. Roxas was depressed, Namine killed Xion. Aaxqu was just,” Xaldin snapped, “obliterated out of nowhere, no one even had a chance to say goodbye. Zexion is a bundle of neurotic anxieties, Saix devolved into a damn animal… it never occurred to any of them that we needed maintenance. That they couldn’t just treat us like mindless machines, chugging along… look what Luis did to you, Luxord! He couldn’t have cured your addiction!? He designed you like this! This poor, miserable slob stuck in his ways, barely able to go a day entirely conscious!”

“Uh huh,” Luis said tiredly, taking another long sip, “Very poor design, I’ll admit.”

“They created us and then abandoned us, and we were all expected to be fine.” Xaldin scowled. “Not to develop sympathy or pity. Not to start caring about each other. Fuck us if we fell in love… I’m not going to go back there and bend myself over backwards trying to fix things with Lauriam so that Dilan can have an easier time of it once I’m gone. I just wanted my one god damn moment where I could just be some stupid asshole whose biggest sin was that he fell in love with a guy who seemed to like him back despite everything in the world being against us.” Xaldin scowled. “My own stupid little fucking fairytale, just… just once.”

“Ended up a nightmare. The guy I’m trying to woo fucking tries to murder me and everyone else and falls catatonic. Fucking…” Xaldin chuckled darkly, “Love story for the ages. God, I was so fucking stupid. What the hell was I expecting…”

Aqua frowned, looking at her hands around her glass. ‘Terra’ had never known Aaxqu. She’d been there one day and he’d shown up the next. A poor, grieving woman’s attempt to salvage the memory of someone she held dear.

…but still had to use that memory to torture people, something Terra had never done. So ‘Terra’ was always just a contradiction. A warped reflection of a memory.

Honestly, while Xaldin was right, Zexion was probably the construct that had maybe the most maintenance out of all the ‘true’ constructs. Considering he had made over a hundred to carry the load of torture and…existance. And it seemed like that was something Ienzo had acknowledged as well.

But even that left the poor kid a neurotic mess.

It felt like a half-assed deflection to note that none of their Somebodies had done it on purpose. They had never been meant to develop feelings, so their Somebodies didn’t think it’d happen. But it had, and still…nothing. Always forgotten.

Terra huffed sardonically. “For things to work out like we’re real people? None of us have ever been able to achieve anything but conditioning. And then the literal second they’re back, Sora has a job, Demyx has a band, Ienzo figured out how to undo conditioning and got a research grant. At this point Lauriam’s track record looks more like ours than a real person’s.”

Terra looked into the dark liquor in his cup. “...still are some things we can accomplish, though.”

Luis gave Terra a wary look at that. “Oh? And what is that?”

“Fun piece of trivia, not all the supervisors had the good sense to book it out of Chonis when the factory closed,” Terra said idly, slowly tilting his drink around the glass. “Though, coming here was your idea already.”

Now Xaldin had the good sense to look concerned. Any mention of the supervisors enough to put anyone in the factory on edge, despite himself glancing over his shoulder like maybe one of them would be there.

“...that was always one thing I couldn’t entirely get behind,” Luis admitted, sipping his drink again, “Though I understand why they did it. We already had to do the torture. Why’d the Nobodies also have to take the punishments?”

“Shut the hell up, Luis, I want to hear this.” Xaldin scowled, staring at Terra. “...stop being coy. How do you know where any of the supervisors are?”

Terra rolled his eyes. “Because I stalk them, Xaldin, how the hells else would I know?”

The little cruel smirk was an even clearer indication that he wasn’t even putting up the confused, token effort to be Aqua right now. “And some more, sometimes.”

“Ah, shit,” Luis grumbled, swigging back his drink and grabbing the bottle again, pouring some more, “Uuugh, this day’s just gonna keep on sucking, huh.”

Xaldin, though, had adjusted his seating. Now sitting upright, he leaned on his elbows, leaning in to stare at Terra. Looking for any hints of exaggeration, for lies… before he grinned lightly. “Terra, you crazy bitch… the supervisors? Really?”

Then some of that keen interest faltered, as he twitched in mild confusion. Scratching at his sideburns as he asked, “This is a dumb question, because out of all of us you have more reasons than most… but I still gotta ask why. None of us have ever even considered looking for them.”

“Sure, because we were terrified they were looking for us, for a minute there,” Luis said warily, “I still think it's a lucky break that the kingdom let us go in the first place. Can’t we just keep our heads down and get out of this damn country with our heads on our shoulders?”

“Part of it was that,” Terra acknowledged, giving Luis a nod, “We all thought the second we were out it’d be straight into dungeons. Then, that it was just for the supervisors to gather themselves to find a new…well, basically dungeon.” Terra’s eyes darkened. “I didn’t want to give them the chance this time. If they were going to come after us, I wanted to strike first.”

“As far as I’ve found out, though, none of them know where we are, or are particularly invested in finding out. Unemployment shuffles your priorities, I guess,” Terra snorted derisively, taking a sip of his drink. “Just like our Somebodies, just like the crown, just like everyone, they just want to forget us…”

Terra bared his teeth slightly. “But I haven’t forgotten, and they’ve more than taken their pound of flesh from us. I’m just repaying the favor.”

Draining his glass, Terra clenched his eyes shut with a pained look as he pressed the side of his glass to his forehead. Voice strangled, but quiet, as he said, “...it was Ventus’ birthday three weeks ago.”

That declaration was met with brief, heavy silence.

“...what would he be now?” Luis said, staring at his glass sadly, “13, right? Lad becoming a little man… 13 years already…”

“I remember Raxter was floating on clouds those whole nine months,” Xaldin chuckled, brushing his fingers against the brim of the glass, “You know he even told the people he conditioned? Was part of his whole ‘I’m in control’ thing, like haha, I have a life outside of this and you’re stuck in here with me–”

“Man, was that an exaggeration,” Luis scoffed.

“--but I think he just really wanted the chance to gush every single opportunity he could. He was going to be a father. Even in the factory… you both would have made great parents,” Xaldin told Terra, “Every version of you.”

“You know, I think subconsciously I remembered it was Ventus’ birthday?” Luis admitted, “I had a dream about you, Terra. It was so real. You were with us, in the tavern, complaining and fussing about the rotted wood. You were talking like you were gonna fix the whole tavern yourself, you just sounded so determined, and I knew it was because your lass and kid were in the tavern somewhere, and you wanted it to be better for them… I woke up convinced you were alive for, I’m not kidding, ten minutes. Wondering if you had ended up getting to those staircases after all.”

Luis closed his eyes, his face tensing with brief grief. “...it’s the dreams that hurt the most. Means I didn’t drink enough before I went to bed.”

“......I want in,” Xaldin decided, looking earnestly at Terra, “You’re right. They’re all getting better almost immediately, when they’re whole. You know what? Dilan’s probably going to get his man. He and Lauriam are going to have some sappy conversation, with their whole emotions and their not torture-based existences, and they’re going to figure it out, and they’re going to be happy, and fuck them. If my legacy is going to be torture and a confession that nearly gets us all killed?” Xaldin grinned wider, looking fierce, “Then I want to be a torturer. I’m going out on a high note.”

Terra nodded slightly to confirm, wincing more at the wounded ache in the void in his chest. He had never met Raxter either. Sometimes he wondered if things would’ve been less complicated if Aqua had just replicated him instead of Terra, but…heh. Maybe it was the fact that he was based off Terra, that he couldn’t hold it against her. They were hurting…he understood why she’d done what she’d done.

“We wanted to be parents so badly,” Terra whispered. “We knew growing up in the factory wasn’t a good life, but every good thing we could do we wanted to do it. The fact that Aqua got pregnant at all, that the supervisors didn’t immediately make her abort…neither of us believed in Atua, but it fucking felt like a miracle.”

Having Ventus wouldn’t have solved the fact that they were prisoners that tortured people all day long, knowing that that torture only paved the way for horrific exploitation…but he had felt like a ray of sunshine to cherish in their lives. Their lucky wind of change…

Terra let out a breath, opening his eyes. A cold fury in them. “If we weren’t looking to leave, I’d say maybe that’s a project Aqua might actually be able to succeed in, once I’m gone.”

He looked up at Xaldin, smirking. “Atta boy, there you are. Trying this in the daylight is asking for arrest, so take the day to prepare. I’ll come get you when I’m going out. And until then?”

Pouring some booze back into his glass, Terra raised it in a toast, grinning cruelly. “To Nobodies doing what Nobodies do best.”

Kokichi sat back exhaustedly, baby snuffles filling the room like it was nothing. Oh, fathers? It’s nighttime, is it not? That’s the time for sleeping, don’t you know?

Oh, his sweetbun.

“...I realize this is a horrible time,” Kokichi whispered, “But I have a ‘I don’t want this to turn into a secret’ news.”

“For me or Kaito?” Shuichi whispered miserably, the three having taken refuge near the fireplace, not trusting that the screaming wasn’t going to start in full force again any second enough to head to their bed. He was laid out on the lounging chair, while Kaito was face first on the floor, arms and legs spread out. “If the secret is Miya’s not actually related to me, I think for tonight I’d be okay with it.”

“Not a chance, handsome,” Kaito said into the rug, “That little look she gave us when we tried to appease her with a song? Alllll you.”

“Circumstantial evidence,” Shuichi said dryly, before immediately adding, “I’ll allow it.”

“Besides, it’s always me,” Kaito groaned, forcing himself to turn onto his side to look over at his husband. “‘Kichi, babe, Light of Dicea, beautiful, all the sugar in my life…when could you possibly have found news today? Miya’s been a grumpy, mean baby allll day. To the point where I can’t even turn off my mean, grumpy Miya voice, because that’s how long I’ve been talking like this today,” Kaito playfully sang-song, his expression grim with paternal burden, “Was it when the Nobodies messaged you again? Did those mean ol’ nosy Nobodies bring newsie-woosies.”

“Kaito, please.” Shuichi groaned.

“I can’t stopsy-wopsy,” Kaito said, even grimmer, “Oopsie poopsy.”

“I mean…it’s sort of news for all of us. Feels relevant that way,” Kokichi trailed off in his own whispers. Right next to Kaito on the floor, or at least next to one hand and foot as he stared questioningly at the ceiling.

Kokichi patted Kaito’s hand a bit. “It was them, yeah, and…that’s a whole thing, but it can wait. No, I accidentally found… You have a sister. She lives in Chonis too.” Kokichi frowned tiredly. “...apparently she’s never wanted to contact you, or others, because she was worried about…you killing her in retribution? Or something? I didn’t really get that part.”

“...” Kaito’s brows furrowed… and then one raised. Looking a little skeptical as he said, “What?”

“.........” Shuichi groaned, standing up to shuffle over to his jacket, flung over the chair, digging out his pen and small notebook, before shuffling back over to his lounge couch, sleepily opening it up and flicking back towards the beginning of it, muttering to himself as he jotted down some notes and reread some things, “Chonis, Chonis…”

As Shuichi muttered to himself, Kaito–still clearly dubious–asked, “Why do you think that, babe?”

Kokichi pouted a little, hesitating a moment before saying, “Well, okay, but she did ask them not to tell you, and so not to tell me, but it was an accident so please don’t link it to them, but…”

“They told me?” Kokichi tiredly shrugged, “Illegitimate Momota, oldest of…well, the wording was vague, but I know the intent was about you and your brother. Apparently people call her crazy, though, so some of them aren’t sure about that…but Ienzo is positive. And very freaked out they told me. What I know about him, he isn’t the kind of guy to just believe rumors, so…I’m inclined to believe him.”

Kaito grinned still incredibly incredulously, as he said slowly, “Babe, there’s no way there’s an illegitimate Momota kid, the temples keep track of this so much, it’d be an impossible secret to keep–”

“Ah, found it,” Shuichi said, flipping lazily through some pages, “It’s only a page summarizing something I wrote down in greater detail in a different notebook, NBC27–”

“C!?” Kaito startled, looking actually shocked as he sat up.

“Shhhh, Kaito, Miyako,” Shuichi whispered, putting a hand to his mouth before looking back to the paper. “But summarizing, King Leon visited Chonis either secretly or for dubious reasons innnnnnn…” and then Shuichi listed out a handful of dates which are very easy to reference because the current date was so easily on-hand, before finishing up, “with his longest stay being for an almost five month duration that lasted from mid-spring to late summer. I recall this one being notable because the popular theory was he was in Chonis having some sort of affair that lasted until the queen literally sent an assassin to remind him he had a kingdom to run. Maki would have to confirm, but I believe that was Nekomaru.”

Kaito blinked. Stunned. “............was it an affair?”

Shuichi shrugged. “I stopped looking into it by that point. I think I got bored once ‘affair’ stuff was looking like the answer. Again, Maki might know. Nekomaru would know too, but–”

“His conditioning would never let him bring it up,” Kaito murmured. Starting to sweat… before he looked at Kokichi. “They said she was oldest?”

Kokichi looked up in slight not-really surprise as Shuuichi brought up the deets, smiling softly at his husband. Always knowing what’s up… And from what little Kokichi knew of the atmosphere, an affair really was far more boring than…man, if his math was right, visiting a kid?

…the longest he had ever seen her was five months?

Kokichi looked over towards Miyako’s crib with an urge--that he Would Not Follow--to scoop her into his arms and just have her sleep like that the rest of the night before he looked back to Kaito, nodding. “Yeah. What I said is all I know, though--since it sounds like something she wants to keep secret, I imagine how they found out wasn’t a very involved conversation.”

Pausing, Kokichi thought for a moment before correcting, “Well, no. They also said she’s really nice for a noble, and Ienzo said that she has ethics he doesn’t see in other nobles, and she’s also helping them out financially I think, but to an extent because she throws huge parties with a lot of drugs so she didn’t have as much to give them. But they’re also considering asking her for help with housing, and so the fact that they’re thinking about that…she sounds pretty cool.”

Kaito’s eyes were wide, and got wider the more Kokichi talked.

Then, he laid back down, flopping onto his back. Staring at the ceiling. Clearly processing.

“........................................................................................................” blink, “....................”

“Chonis,” Kaito whispered, suddenly sitting up and looking at Shuichi. “Where is Chonis on a map? Hold on,” he said, scrambling up and heading to the art nook they had in the corner, grabbing one of Kokichi’s blank poster boards and hurrying back over to Shuichi, shoving it and a pencil into his husband's arms as he said, “Okay, go.”

“Kaito, what are you asking me to do? Are you asking me to draw out a continent map?”

“Go, go, go,” Kaito whispered, it sounding like a cheerleading chant, like Shuichi just needed some encouragement to fulfill the bonkers request.

Shuichi sighed, but instead of insisting Kaito just go find a real map, he did in fact draw an outline of the relevant landmasses, drawing out the border, Dicea’s capital, then Chonis, then adding in a little details and flourish before showing the number of miles it was between them, though he insisted, “I can’t draw out the marked out pathways, I’m not that good.”

Kaito stared at it, before saying, “It doesn’t seem that far. It’s like… this far apart.” Kaito put his hands close together.

“Kaito, you’re not crossing the border and going back to Luminary in the middle of winter to go see this person for yourself,” Shuichi told him plainly. “I won’t even sign off on you doing it in the summer, honestly. You have a baby, you’re busy.”

Kaito’s eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth– “And I’m the head of your household,” Shuichi reminded him.

Kaito hesitated, opened his mouth again, thought better of it… before he moved away from Shuichi and shuffled back to Kokichi, giving him a wide-eyed, pleading look. “Can you show me her?”

Kokichi couldn’t help silently giggling as Kaito goaded Shuuichi into drawing out a map of Dicea and Luminary, quietly joining in on the chant as well. Kokichi was positive he even had some atluses in their room that would cover Usott and Chonis, but this way was wayyyy more fun and wouldn’t have a crease in the middle.

And all things considered? It wasn’t…that far. But…

Sighing softly, Kokichi rubbed Kaito’s arm, before giving him an apologetic look. “I’ve never met her, so…I’d have to ask one of the Empaths for a memory. And, uh… I do feel bad about them accidentally betraying her trust, though I would ask, but…they’re kind of…busy. Right now.” Kokichi winced a little.

Kaito pouted… then he groaned. Laying down and curling up, staring at nothing for a bit. Still processing.

“......................................okay,” he said, suddenly sitting up. “Okay. Okay, okay! Chonis probably has a phone, right? I’ll just call and insist someone get a… wait, did you say what her name was?” Kaito asked Kokichi.

“I didn’t,” Kokichi smiled softly, “Her name is Maya.”

There was a beat before Kokichi’s eyes got big and wobbly. “...Miya and Aunt Maya…”

“Oh no, that’s really cute,” Kaito whispered, eyes matching in wobbliness. Before he blinked and shook his head, “Okay. Okay, okay, okay, so Lady Maya. Lady Maya of Chonis. If Dad was visiting her as a kid, she must have an allowance. Presumably that means the castle has records of her in some sense. No way the temples do, but the accountants must. Which means it’s possible Kaede already knows about her.” Kaito murmured, biting his lower lip, fussing with his fingers, “....no, there’s no way, Kaede’s not that gracious. So an accountant somewhere knows but the queen doesn’t. It’s worked this long, Kaede has no reason to look into it, so long as I keep my distance no one has to know…”

“..........but that’s so risky, Dad what were you thinking?” Kaito whined, running his hands through his hair, “That’s so stupid. He should have bit the crossbolt and just announced her, had her resign her claim. Hiding her!? That puts her in so much danger!”

“Kaito, shhh,” Shuichi reminded him.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kaito said, dropping his voice to a whisper again. “....Kaede has too much to lose to reason with her… okay, okay, okay. All you need to renounce your claim is a high ranking priestess, the witness of a Momota, and some paperwork for the temples, right?” Kaito said, clearly talking to himself as he murmured, “I can get all of those things. I’ll reach out to the priestesses, convince one of them to meet me at Chonis, we can get this taken care of in an afternoon, no assassins, no civil wars, nothing, it’ll be easy.”

“Kaito,” Shuichi sighed, “This woman has already survived this long, through several regimes now. Whatever your father did, it clearly left enough room for doubt that it didn’t make her a competitor for the throne. Even if she actually is the rightful heir and the legal queen right now? It doesn’t matter if no one recognizes it. And unless someone forces the issue, Kaede has no reason to want to look into it or bring it out into the open, because that makes her claim more shaky…plus, it’s nice to know technically Miyako isn’t the next heir now,” Shuichi admitted, shrugging.

“........” Kaito put his hands together, “.....would you guys be mad at me if I offered my newly discovered sister sanctuary in Usott? We’d just… quietly move her here, and then we can take the time we need to get her claim revoked. It doesn’t have to be forever. Just long enough where she’s not in danger anymore.”

If she had enough money, even after wild parties, to help the Nobodies out, but people still recognized her as a noble, then Kokichi could only guess she had a fund helping her out. Which was good! Yanno, not to completely leave your child destitute even if the longest you’d ever seen them was…five months…

Kokichi sighed a bit as Kaito fretted over inheritance. “...all that’s probably why she asked the Empaths not to tell you. You’re lovely Kai-chan, so you just want to help, but the general danger of her being unrecognized but unrenounced? If keeping on the downlow has helped her this far…”

Giving Kaito a soft look, Kokichi pushed himself up and pressed his nose to Kaito’s. “Upping your kidnapping score? You might match me one day.” He grinned a little more kindly. “Well, we already are helping out arrangements to move people from Chonis to Usott, and especially if they’re gonna be living with her? That would make things easier, huh?”

“We should contact her properly, though,” Kokichi nodded, “We can make all the arrangements, but we can’t force people to come here.”

Kaito pouted again, though he leaned into the little nose rub. “I just… don’t entirely trust Kaede, that’s all. Maybe she’d see reason, this is actually a really easy problem to solve if my…sister?” Kaito said, sounding out the word, baffled by it, “Doesn’t want the throne. But it’s only easy to solve if Kaede doesn’t mind the way history is going to remember it. Which is that she had to steal the throne from Atua’s true chosen by getting said chosen to give it up after she already became queen. Basically, for a brief moment, Kaede will always have been a false queen. An imposter.”

“I could try to mediate if the worst happens,” Kaito frowned, “But I’d rather know my family is safe without waiting for a worst-case scenario… still, you’re right. I can’t make any decisions on my own. I have to talk to her first. She might not want anything to do with me, considering our father… ugh, what a dumbass.” Kaito growled, a flash of real frustration clearly running through him as he thought about it, “God, that man couldn’t raise a kid to save his life. Literally. Dumbass.”

Kaito sighed. “Alright, I’ll calm down. It’s just big news, that’s all. I’ll call her, assure her that I have zero desire to ensure Kaede’s place on the throne through violence, that I just want to know she’s okay…man, a sister,” Kaito said, frowning. “I wonder what she’s like? A noble with ‘ethics’, however he’s defining that, with parties and drugs and a bunch of ex-indentureds looking to her for housing… huh. Doesn’t sound like any Momota I’ve ever heard of…”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

“....I guess Dad did have some sort of party lifestyle, if he was part of a band,” Kaito conceded.

“Really not what I meant.”

“Oh, Aunt Ibuki,” Kaito realized, nodding, “Yeah, you’re right. She moved to Novis for a reason. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did drugs.”

Shuichi groaned.

Kokichi gaze went a little flat. “I think your instincts are right, there. Kaede is very concerned with image, and…” he sighed a little, “...she does need to be, a bit. With how much she’s changing the structure of power in Luminary, if people can latch onto her claims being false, then that’s just more ease they’ll have in consolidating power again. Definitely not worth killing or ruining a woman’s life over, but…I think Kaede would prefer everything being as quiet as possible. So if you could arrange things with Maya to renounce her claim maybe not even in Luminary? Kaede might even support it.”

But it still did all rest on what Maya wanted to do.

Kokichi’s smile quirked, looking over to share an amused look with Shuuichi’s exasperation. Snickering quietly, he nuzzled into Kaito’s arms. “I know I’m biased, but… A noble with ethics, known as a party noble, had a great time taking ecstasy at parties but balks at weed, is currently living with ex-Indentured people… I dunno, that sound familiar?”

”...” Kaito’s eyes lit up with delight, “You guys think I have ethics?”

Shuichi threw one of the throw pillows at Kaito.

“Ow,” Kaito lied, sticking his tongue at Shuichi as he theatrically rubbed his head, before shrugging. “Whatever, I’m not talking out my buttocks,” he said, glancing at the crib, “I have not always been known as the ethical Momota–”

“Kaede literally used to run ideas past you to gauge your ‘disgust factor’ as a way to range if it was moral or not,” Shuichi reminded him.

“I didn’t know that, she never mentioned that until after I left Luminary. Look, I know it’s all really obvious now,” Kaito admitted, “But for a long time I was being compared to the two people everyone thought was going to bring Luminary into a golden age together. Byakuya hadn’t shown how ruthless he could be in public yet, Kaede was expected to take up her role as his head advisor with dignity, and I was the messed up brat having scandal after scandal with rage issues, talking to the air, and sleeping with half the city. I did not grow up feeling ‘ethical’. I was just making friends and having fun.”

“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for back then,” Shuichi admitted, “Which is a bit odd, since you used to. Remember all those people you helped? Funding, resource management, connections that you offered them? Sidekicks?”

“Oh. Yeah…” Kaito grinned, shrugging a little warily, “I guess all of that maybe diminished in importance in my mind, when I got here. But yeah, you’ve got a point! I did try to help, when I noticed ways I could. At least in little ways for some people…and I guess that’s what my apparent sister is doing too, at least for these particular ex-Indentureds… man, my ‘older sister’. Weird. I hope she likes me.”

“My Kai-guy~ Hates when people lie~ His best he’ll always try~ So no one has to cry~” Kokichi sang, snuggling up to his husband before smiling softly. Apologetically. “...I feel like I might’ve been a reason your sidekick-recruiting might’ve felt less important…I’m really sorry about that. But it’s wonderful, what you do. Even here Seiko’s made breakthroughs on vital medicines and health tech, and she’s one person! I can hardly fathom how much you changed with all your sidekicks in Luminary.”

Kokichi leaned up to kiss Kaito’s cheek. “If Maya has any taste at all? She’ll think you’re awesome. Because you are.”

Kaito, again, lit up at that idea. Before flushing as Shuichi said, “Favoritism.”

“Come on, man, Shuichi, handsome, I love you, but come ooooon,” Kaito grinned, giving Kokichi a side hug as he grinned apologetically at Shuichi, “Getting told I might have made a difference by the Light of Dicea? Come oooooooon. Tell me you wouldn’t be flattered.”

Shuichi stuck his tongue out at Kaito, before glancing over at the crib. “I think she’s actually down for the night. Do we dare risk getting into bed?”

“I really wish I had an egg here for you to apologize to,” Kaito admitted warily, staring over at their tyrant princess, “If we wake her up, she’s not going down again, I’ll tell you that. We barely won this round.”

“Winning feels like a far too generous term. She was just done toying with us by that point,” Shuichi whispered conspiratorially.

“Such a scary, mean baby.” Kaito shuddered, before snuggling back to Kokichi, holding him close. “I guess just more rug/fireplace time with the daddies. Worse fates, I’d think.”

It felt humiliating. It wasn’t enough that apparently Maya had tried to find him for years, and that she was funding his research, and that she’d given him an invaluable breakthrough; now Ienzo was going to plead that his whole family could stay in her home? It felt like he was taking advantage of her generosity and their tenuous connection.

But…

Zexion frowned worriedly as he sat under one of the trees on Destiny Island, Lauriam’s light hovering above his nubby hands. He felt…useless, heeding Nellis’ advice to not do anything more for Lauriam in their minds. All they could do was wait…

But he’d noticed that without anyone around, none of their projections hanging out on the island, either out and about or asleep, Lauriam’s light had dimmed. Flickering more often…until Zexion had picked it up.

He really couldn’t be sure if he was interpreting it right, considering that this had happened at all because Lauriam wanted space, but…it felt like the ball of light was scared without anyone else around. So, well… It wasn’t like there was anywhere else Zexion was going. Lauriam could come along too, he supposed.

…for his brother, Ienzo was willing to swallow his pride.

Pushing the door in the servants tunnel open, Ienzo walked through the servants quarters and onto the main floor, clearing his throat for a moment before calling out, “Lady Maya?!”

There was a long silence, for a moment. Long enough that Ienzo might have worried no one was home, where there was a sudden clang upstairs. Then a shattering sound, like something large had fallen over, followed by echoing ‘shit, shit, whelp, that’s fucked’ sounds, before the elegant and regal lost queen of Luminary peeked her head over the railing, squinting. “Eh? What. What’s up? Oh, Ienzo!” she recognized, having been trying to squint at him through the low lighting, “....what’s up? You need bail money?”

Ienzo glanced over, looking a little worried at the shattering sound, before he took a deep breath. Bowing deeply, he said, “I’m humbly asking for your graciousness on behalf of my family.”

“.....ehh?” Maya eh’d down, putting a hand to her ear as she leaned against the railing, “Speak up! I’m three floors up! I can’t hear you!”

“I’m humbly asking for your graciousness on behalf of my family!!”

“Oh, okay!” she shouted back, before watching him. “...grace granted!? What do you want four-eyes!? Or… wait, you don’t wear glasses. YOU SHOULD CHECK IF YOU NEED GLASSES! YOU STRIKE ME AS A GLASSES GUY!” Maya shouted down.

Ienzo sighed before straightening. “...my brother got hurt, and he needs long-term care. We can’t do that at our place so,” c’mon Ienzo just ask, “I came over to ask if we could stay with you.”

“Oh!” Pause, Maya looking around the manor. “...there’s, like, a dozen of you, right? Something like that?” she called down, running her hand lightly through her hair, spinning it lightly around her fingers… before she called down, “I’d probably need some help clearing out some rooms, but sure! Alright!”

…alright?

Ienzo clutched the inside of his hoodie through his pocket. “...we’ve been clearing out the area where we are right now, so…we know how to clean! And clear areas! A-and, yes, there’s thirteen of us.”

“Cool!”

“..........you guys coming today?” Maya frowned, “I don’t have anything in the kitchen. I could order pizzas?”

“...i-if that’s okay?” Ienzo said, sounding increasingly unsure. “Um…all our windows are broken so it’d be nice to be in an enclosed space. And, um, we do have some food! To bring. But if you want to order pizza, I-I guess? I’ve never done it before, but, um, no one has food allergies or anything…”

“Alright!” Another pause. “Bummer about the windows. Yeah, fuck windowless place, come on over.” …. “Any of you going to give me a lot of shit if I order some of the pizzas without a fruit topping? Honestly I love just slathering mine in vegetables and meat, but I know some folks won’t touch pizza that’s even been near one without a pineapple on it.”

Ienzo had not only never ordered pizza before, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever eaten one. So he just blinked and said, “We’re not that picky, I think that’s fine. Some of us are kind of assholes, but you are letting us stay here so I think any ragging will be minimal.”

“Cool!” Maya shouted… before looking down at herself. Wearing a robe that was sliding down her shoulders and nothing else, “Guess I’ll get dressed! Yeah, just start bringing your stuff over!”

“Okay!” Ienzo called back, before quickly bowing again. “Thank you!! We’ll be back in a couple hours!”

He paused for a few more moments before awkwardly heading back down the stairs to the servants quarters, feeling weirdly relieved and also incredibly stressed out.

The Nobodies, Aeleus carrying Lauriam while everyone else had bags hefted onto their backs and in their arms, shuffled into the manor a few hours later.

It was… weird. Coming into the place with the new expectation that they were staying. And while the manor had been trashed the last time they had visited, it suddenly had a new sense of ‘oh, this is how it is’ immediacy in their minds, looking at the various piles of junk and toppled over furniture around, littered with trash and debris from previous parties that had never been probably cleaned up after.

The manor was also huge. And after calling out a few times, their hostess not responding, the Nobodies and Somebodies all glanced around at each other… “I call dibs on the first nice room!” Demyx suddenly shouted, running for the staircase.

“Oh NO you don’t! Come back here!” Axel shouted, following on Demyx’s heels.

“Do we all get our own rooms!? Are there enough rooms for that!?” Sora gasped, before looking to Riku and Kairi. “Come on, let’s go find rooms near each other!” he shouted, the three taking off.

“What are the odds this place doesn’t have a liquor room?” Luis asked, wandering curiously near one of the hallway openings, “I mean, it’s gonna be on the first floor, right?”

“Don’t be a dolt, Luis, go find a room before all the damn kids steal the nice ones,” Xaldin scoffed, before glancing over at Aeleus with Lauriam, “Probably should see if there’s any bedrooms down here in the first floor, might make it easier to keep an eye on him.”

In some ways, the others’ excitement made it easier to be there. Maya hadn’t sounded hassled at all, but there was still a part of Ienzo that was tight with nerves, not wanting to take advantage of her good nature. On the other hand, though…it would be nice having more space. That was actually secure.

Ienzo looked back as Aqua patted his back. “You heard Xaldin, go find a room before the best are snatched up. Chances are in a place like this? You could probably set up a lab too.”

“I won’t search one out with those intentions before everyone has a space, but alright. I’ll be back to help with clean-up once I put my things down. Though from previous visits, the rooms on the upper floors are in better shape than the ground floor, if that’s a consideration for Lauriam.” With a nod, Ienzo left to find a space for himself.

“The front door’s jammed, but an upper floor would be more secure as well,” Aeleus agreed, though he looked to Xaldin again.

“I’d hope break-ins wouldn’t be an issue here,” Aqua hummed, looking around.

“We can ask the lady of the house if she’s ever had an issue, but yeah, you have a point,” Xaldin said, “Where is she anyway?”

“I think maybe just keep in mind where a nearby bathroom is, for Lauriam. He still hasn’t roused, but once he does, we’re going to need to make sure everything he needs isn’t down several halls,” Even said, glancing upstairs, “And if we’re all upstairs too, best to keep him nearby.”

Little by little, everyone started looking through the various rooms. Some were studies and others were so stock full of storage items that it was hard to tell what the room had originally been. But the manor was a massive place that even with all of that kept in mind, it still wasn’t long before the group started to busy themselves picking rooms and clearing them out, starting the cleanup process.

Eventually, Sora started running around, informing everyone that Lady Maya had returned with boxes of pizzas downstairs, and she was waiting in the kitchen. Even was stood at a door, which seemed to lead out into an indoor balcony, some sort of two story room, and he simply hummed when Sora called in to him that food was waiting downstairs. Caught up in what he was looking at.

It was strange, having so much space. Exploring the manor, and slowly realizing, yeah. You can claim this space if you want to. Really. For people who hadn’t had their own spaces since before the factory, and some not even then, it was enthralling in its discovery.

Though, it was almost instinctive, how they always traded off and made sure someone was with Lauriam. He still hadn’t woken up, but you never left someone injured alone, and if he so much as breathed a little heavier, they would know.

Slightly coated in dust, his hoodie tied around his waist, Ienzo paused as he headed downstairs at Sora’s message, seeing Even’s distraction. “...Dad?” Ienzo prodded again.

“Hm?” Even said, glancing back at Ienzo, before saying, “Oh, hello, my boy. Come here, I suppose it’s possible you might not remember having ever seen a room like this in real life… I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting to feel… affected.”

Inside was a massive, three story library. It was narrow, but it used up every square space of wall from the first floor up to the third, with a mosaic ceiling lighting up the space above. It wasn’t clean, per se, one bookshelf row had been knocked over at one point and the books left toppled, there were signs of people having been drinking or losing clothing items in there, plates of old food that had long fossilized.

But it was a library. Even staring at hundreds–maybe even over a thousand–books just sitting there, collecting dust, as he mused, “I didn’t think much of libraries, in my time at university. I suppose I had taken them for granted, I had always had access to them before. But after all this time, seeing one now…it feels surreal. That places like this exist.”

Ienzo tilted his head a little, but came forward, wondering what had gotten Even’s attention…so…

…

Ienzo had adored his parents’ library. It, like everything else in their home, was a mish-mash collection of passion from all over the world, maybe a fifth of the books in languages Ienzo couldn’t even read, but he spent what often felt like every waking moment in there, picking out books and teaching himself everything he could. Ienzo’s internal library was as expansive as it was from taking memories of books the people he conditioned had read, but it’d had a hell of a head start in its collection.

Seeing a real, physical library again?

“”✪〰✪””

Ienzo was practically vibrating as he shot into the library, immediately reading over titles with starry, excited eyes. A strange low sound humming in his throat.

Even smiled lightly, watching his son burst into the room, Even trailing after him a bit. He was glad to see Ienzo so openly happy about something.

For Even, he was still getting past the quietly sad part of him that was seeing all of this. He was not just the oldest currently living Empath in their group… he had been there longest now too. The Empaths captured rarely, to the point of as far as Even was aware, never, over 30 by the time they were caught, and Even had been no exception to that.

How many years had it been… he didn’t know. Couldn’t. He had no idea how old he was, not really. Somewhere in his 50s, he was sure. And he had been 24 when he had been captured. His exact birth-year wiped from his mind, courtesy of one head secretary who thought such practices were funny. Depending on how late into his 50s he was? Maybe 30 years…

“Anything catching your eye?” Even asked, a tad amused, as he noticed Ienzo struggling to carry a stack of books already.

“Everything?” Ienzo said, a wondrous laugh in his voice as he glanced back over to Even, his blue eyes looking more like a beautiful day at the peak of spring, perfect comfortable weather promising a world of adventure to explore. “There are already so many volumes I’ve never seen before! Did you know that they updated the Zoological Survey of Central Luminous Deserts three years ago?! And they actually let people publish pieces on the development of architecture based on wealth disparity? And I see them across the way, but I remember seeing the Secret of Droon series when I was a kid--it looks like they kept it going for years!”

Ienzo’s eyes sparkled, his voice in awe. “I could spend years going through all of this.”

Even smiled lightly.

Well, perhaps they could try to take a few with them when they left the country. They could ask the lady… or just steal them. He got the sense she wasn’t spending a lot of time in here anyway.

Downstairs, Maya was sitting on one of the counters in the kitchen, an extremely cheesy slice of pizza covered in broccoli and sausage just layering out of her mouth like a spotty, yellow wall, before the cheese snapped and and she pulled up the leftover cheese with her tongue, before she noted, “This all of you?”

“Oh, no, Ienzo and Even aren’t here, and Lauriam’s asleep with Riku,” Sora explained.

“Fair enough.” Maya nodded, the rest of the group that was present eating pizza. Some a little more notably tense than others, now that their hostess was there, appraising them. “You all find your rooms?”

“I think so, yes,” Kairi said softly, “Thank you again for letting us stay.”

“No worries, I have the space, obviously,” Maya said, shrugging, “But, I figure we should all talk about how this place works. One, you all already know there’s only one way in or out of the manor. Couldn’t open that front gate if I wanted to, lost the key a thousand years ago. That said… people do come in and out. For one, you’re not the only people hit by the indentured program who occasionally comes to me for help. So, uuuh,” she clicked her tongue, “I can trust that if you see someone in here, one, that you’re not gonna be weird at them, and two, it’s not anyone else's business they were here. Right?”

It was surreal. Sitting in a manor with a noblewoman, eating pizza. Aqua hadn’t doubted the stories the teens, Axel, and Demyx had told their group about Maya’s party, and Sora and Ienzo’s general statements about the woman herself, but, c’mon! Stuff like this didn’t just happen! And yet?

Aqua smiled amusedly. “Ah, so that’s why Ienzo likes you so much. Well, you know what you’re funding him for, so I can say he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out to people staying here, but other than that? Not our business.”

As long as people didn’t mess with them, there weren’t any reasons to start fights, and with other people who were screwed over by the program and Togami even less so. Really, it’d just be a bigger scale of Ienzo’s volunteers coming by.

“Good,” Maya said, looking around, “I know Ienzo, at least, has some sort of nose sensitivity thing. Sometimes this place will be filled with smoke. Your rooms with the windows open should be good enough to clear your air, and I can give a heads up beforehand. But that heads up usually has to do with parties. I have parties. Gatherings. Not as often as our neighbors would complain, but often enough.”

“She has escorts too,” Sora said knowledgeably, nodding, “All the time, I think half the times I’ve delivered here an escort greeted me first.”

“I have escorts over a lot,” Maya agreed, “I would also like you to not be weird to them. Unless you’re willing to compensate them for their efforts, they don’t owe you any ogling or flirting. Leave them be unless they seem open to talking. Understand me?”

Aeleus nodded in agreement. “They are working, and we are not paying. It’s a job.”

Aqua gave Aeleus a soft look before smirking a little at Demyx. “Unless we are paying. But even then, it’s no obligation to take a job just because someone’s waving money around. We lived around a lot of brothels, Lady Maya, we’ll mind our manners.”

“Exaaactly,” Maya said, biting into her crust before covering her mouth with her wrist, saying through the chew, “Oh, and, you can drop the honorifics when it’s just us around. I guess just remember your P’s and Q’s if you see someone visiting who seems somewhat official? It’s rare, but when neighbors visit or some official from the castle is sent to take inventory with me, it usually helps to keep them from being total gits about it if they remember I outrank them. That’s the only time I care about getting my titles right.”

“Wouldn’t in theory that mean we call you your grace or princess?” Dilan pointed out.

“If I seem to be amping up the ‘Mad Maya’ routine, go for it,” Maya shrugged, “but Lady Maya tends to be enough to deal. Most people in this area are actually just wealthy families without actual titles. Being a lord or a lady here is still a big deal.”

“Now,” she looked around, “Anything you all need to ask me? Questions?”

Silence for a moment, looking around at each other, “Oh!” Demyx said, “We were worried about security. Do you get break ins?”

“Yes, but not as alarming as that sounds,” Maya said, “Mostly it’s party goers or Indentureds who sneak in to sleep on the first floor and then leave when daylight hits, just in a tough spot and remembering this place was relatively open. And even then, that’s when I leave the servant door unlocked. If that door’s locked? Only way in would be to knock it down, it’s a good lock. No one’s ever tried it.”

“Could we ask to keep the door locked?” Luis asked, “We… well, we don’t actually know if we have any enemies, not really… but we might. And we only felt any real security in our last place because it was kind of hidden away. We’ll be a lot easier to find, coming in and out of a manor with nosy neighbors and party goers.”

“Mmmm, sure,” Maya shrugged, “Maybe we can split the difference, put some good locks in the kitchen and servant rooms, clear them out. If someone needs to crash, they can just chill in the servant area of the basement. How about that?”

And that would be a reason contributing to why Aqua was starting to like Maya. Down to earth, but keeping the advantages she had in a back pocket to deal with the snobs and bureaucrats of the world. Like she’d noted with Xaldin earlier, a practicality that Aqua respected.

Aeleus nodded a bit as they talked over security concerns. It was good in a general way for people seeking shelter to get it, but, well…while they weren’t committing to full incognito, they were people trying not to make waves. That extra bit of security would help in actually being able to rest.

“Sounds fair to me,” Aqua agreed.

Bleary green eyes cracked open.

Riku didn’t… do much. When there weren't other people to play off of.

Unless Sora was dragging him somewhere or Demyx was trying to make him laugh, or a dozen other little things to keep him engaged, Riku tended to just… sit still. Or stand still. Sometimes he would put something on his lap, making it look vaguely like he was doing something with himself. Kairi had once given him some paper and pencils and encouraged him to draw. And he had tried.

Later, when she came to check on him, he had shown her his efforts. The entire paper covered with x’s. Darkly scratched in, overlapped with each other, just over and over and over again, until they had covered every piece of the paper. When she had asked why, Riku had just frowned and said, “I couldn’t really think of anything. I just let my hand move. It made x’s.”

Otherwise. He just sat and stared. Not thinking about anything. Just waiting to be Ansem again.

He didn’t really know how to ‘exist’ without playing the maniacal villain part.

All that to say, Riku noticed immediately when Lauriam began to stir, because it had not occurred to him to look in any other direction since he had taken watch. He frowned, saying softly, “Oh. Are you awake?”

…

…?

Recognition. Okay.

….that was a good thing…?

Yes.

Lauriam just looked vaguely in Riku’s direction, unfocused, but just the barest hint of something there. Well…beyond quiet confusion. Thoughts were like trying to wade through over-saturated, cured gelatin, while any you tried to hold dripped through your fingers like goo. It was difficult for Lauriam to even comprehend anything, let alone form opinions or guesses from it.

OoO

{...?}

Riku frowned nervously. “I should probably go get help… or, no, sorry. That was foolish,” he admitted, before focusing.

{Lauriam is awake.} Pause. {What do I do next?}

Riku winced as a general flood of excitement and concern rushed through his mind, along with several exclamations to hold tight, they were on their way. From the noise, he guessed at least Ienzo and Even were coming, along with Aqua and Aeleus.

Dilan hadn’t responded.

It probably looked very strange on Maya’s end. One moment they had been eating pizza and chatting about living together, and the next?

“Shit, kid!” Aqua let out in a quick breath, immediately getting up and practically flying out of the kitchen, Aeleus giving Maya a small nod before following her.

Meeting in Lauriam’s room, Ienzo took in the slow, muted recognition in Lauriam’s expression with a small sigh, before looking to the others. “Zexion’s been watching over his consciousness, apparently there was a reaction there too. Maybe…”

Shuffling closer, Ienzo spoke softly. “Lauriam, can you hear us? You can use intent if you can’t speak.”

Lauriam’s eyes did track over to Ienzo, but…

{...⊓∏п…}

Ienzo frowned. What…did that mean?

“....hm.” Even frowned, placing a finger under his chin, tilting his head as he stared at the boy. “Perhaps just another sign of his disorientation? One of us should peek inside.”

“Um, should we take him to the bathroom?” Riku asked, “Isn’t that why we made sure we got a room with a connecting bathroom for him?” He gestured to the door. Lauriam’s room was actually one of the biggest ones they found, a ‘master’ bedroom for that floor, apparently, with Maya living in the one on the third floor. But, despite it being entirely too much space and too big a bed for one unconscious person, it also had the best accommodations for helping him out while he recovered, up to and including a fully stocked bathroom, bath, a walk-in closet to keep extra food and medicine in, and a full sized balcony with a bench, should he want to get some sun while he couldn’t move much.

It was a great room. Demyx had only whined a little that he had called dibs when they had given it to Lauriam, mostly because he really wanted the balcony.

Aqua sighed a little before giving Riku a small smile, wanting to reward his concern. “Yeah, let’s focus on the practical stuff. Bathroom, and we should try and get some food and water into him. It…looks like he’s kind of aware?” she said unsurely, “So hopefully some stuff he can do just being prompted.”

And as if that had been his own prompt, Aeleus came forward, letting Lauriam know through both words and intent, “Lauriam. I’m going to sit you up and then I’m taking you to the bathroom, alright?”

Lauriam squinted blearily, a quiet hum in his throat and…well, Aeleus didn’t feel him resist being moved.

{...🏅…}

{...🍃…∏…}

“Alright, I’m going in,” Even said, sitting down at the edge of the bed and then laying down, crossing his arms over his chest. “You keep tending to him, I’m going to see if I can’t figure out why we’re getting just images. Ienzo, please feel free to accompany me,” he said, before he closed his eyes. His body going lax.

He opened his eyes in Destiny Island. Stepping out of his lab area, he looked around, calling out, “Zexion! Are you still watching over him here? Where are you?”

o.o Coming.

Ienzo met with his chibo first, the two of them walking from the trees over towards the beach to meet Vexen part way. Zexion dutifully cradling the small pink light in his hands, not looking any different from that morning.

ó_ò I don’t think he’s recovered in any significant amount, at least beyond being able to send, what Prince Kokichi’s construct called before, ‘basal intent’.

ó^ò I can’t figure out what he means either. It’s…the feeling of a breeze wafting through leaves, which seems awfully specific, and…a feeling of victory? But on its own, not really with…

o_o Well, no, okay, with some personal pride. I’m not sure if Lauriam can conceptualize victory any other way.

Looking up at Vexen, Ienzo elaborated, “Zexion noticed that Lauriam’s light got dimmer when there was no one around, so that’s why he’s been keeping watch. It…seems a bit counterintuitive, considering everything, but…” Ienzo gave his father a concerned look. “...I think he was lonely.”

“Lonely?” Vexen frowned, before peering down at the light in Zexion’s hand, “Now listen here, Lauriam. I understand you’re not feeling well, but we’ve been rushing about all day trying to salvage the damage you did and also find your body a safe place to rest. We’ve been moving today! I understand it's dull, but you have to be patient, everyone’s rushing around, cleaning, getting their remaining things from the tavern across quite a good portion of the city. There will be more people around later, for now I need you to just rest. Lonely.” Vexen scoffed, shaking his head. “Always so needy, this one.”

{...}

{...[a sense of remorse, quickly followed by unsure confusion and not a small amount of fear]...}

ó_ò …I mean, yeah, that’s understandable.

ó^ò I dunno how much you’ll be able to get what happened right now, though, you’re pretty out of it.

Crouching down, Ienzo cupped one of his hands around the side of Lauriam’s light as well. “Long story short, you freaked out so hard you almost lost your mind. Prince Kokichi sent help, and Sora got his keyblade construct to work so you’re…” Ienzo hesitated a moment, “...well, you’re not dead.”

{!!!}

“Relax, no one else is dead either. You’re very bad at murdering people even when you’re trying your darndest,” Vexen scolded, “It’s fine. If anything, it was a valuable learning experience! I think you’ll be quite fascinated with the keyblade Sora established to defeat you with, it’s quite something, I imagine you’ll appreciate the design aesthetic. Anyway, we’ve moved in with Lady Maya now. You should be thrilled to hear that you got Demyx’s room from him. It’s quite nice actually, very luxurious, you have quite a lot to look forward to when you rouse.”

There was a small flare in the light, almost like that was a response of indignation. Which…just felt like a very Marluxia thing, to claim that he could absolutely murder the best if he wanted to. And Ienzo privately wondered if the immediate drawback from that was very Lauriam. As was…

O.O oh no

After the flare, the ball began to flicker and waver more, an untethered sense of fear coming from Lauriam…before it stabilized again.

And, again: {...🍃…∏…}

Aeleus was quick to keep Lauriam’s head from lolling as his eyes fell shut again, just sighing softly. It did sound like healing would be a lengthy process, so he wasn’t surprised.

Ienzo gave the light a pitying look. “...Lauriam, we don’t know what that means.”

“Wind through a door,” Vexen frowned, “Wind through a door… oh, trials compel me, are you asking about Xaldin?”

{!}

Ienzo glanced up, giving Vexen an uneasy look. “...Xaldin’s alright. He and Demyx went to your world when you were freaking out so he missed some of the rougher part of it. Can’t say he’s thrilled that all that happened after you two talked, though.”

There was a complicated, indistinct emotion, before the light dimmed for a moment. A brief, soft feeling of determination, before--

Aqua raised her eyebrows in shock, before she quickly shushed the others in the room.

“...tell…Xaldin I won…again…” Lauriam murmured.

ㅍ_ㅍ Victory and wind, huh

ㅍ_ㅍ I know we’re not good with interpersonal relations but what the fuck, Lauriam

Vexen… laughed. Something oddly proud in his gaze, as he said approvingly to the light, “I knew you weren’t out yet. Down, certainly, but not out. You always were the tough one, among all the new blood.”

{Xaldin. Lauriam wishes to inform you that he kicked your ass. And I agree.}

Downstairs, chewing on some pizza by himself, sad and brooding, Xaldin’s brows furrowed… before he muttered, “Man, what the hell. How am I supposed to keep up with Empath superpower meltdowns?”

“Ienzo, watch and learn. If you ever end up a ball of light, follow Lauriam’s good example,” Vexen said, patting Ienzo on the back, before looking back down to Zexion, “Alright, if more personal time between Lauriam and the others will help, we’ll start taking shifts. I’ll send Demyx first, I’m sure he can play music or some other trite passtime. Though… perhaps forgive Xaldin if he needs more time. Last night was quite a display. Time to process will be good for both of you.” Addressing that last part to the light.

Ienzo tilted his head, nodding a little to himself in consideration. Out of all the younger Empaths, Lauriam would probably be his first answer when posed with the question of ‘grit’. His sense of competition could get a little aggravating, especially how it had manifested into a superiority complex with Marluxia, but Ienzo couldn’t deny how it undeniably pushed Lauriam to greater lengths.

Maybe that was something that’d start to help his relationship with Xaldin, while Lauriam was otherwise out of sorts.

Sighing a little, Ienzo gave Vexen a dry look. “Until I can ask him about mechanics, I’m not sure what I’d be able to learn, even in the event of my intentions to not burn myself out so badly I can’t maintain a psychic identity fail.”

Zexion gave Vexen a little nod. o_o I can stay here a lot of the time, but Ienzo does need to sleep eventually.

ò_ó And as awesome as reading until we collapse tonight would be, you do need to sleep.

Ienzo pouted a bit. “...I slept this morning.”

There was another soft, complicated feeling from the light.

“Listen to your chibo, Ienzo, if you made a construct to help with your self-destructive tendencies, I expect you to commit to it,” Vexen said, giving his son another warm pat on his shoulder, before bowing his head to the little ball of light, “I’ll be by to ask you more questions when you’re more, hmm, formed, Lauriam. For now: rest.”

Then Vexen disappeared. Off to fetch Demyx. Asking him in person would be easier. More ears to physically grab.

Ienzo huffed a bit, though he stuck around on the island for another moment. Looking sadly at the pink light.

“...it is probably a conversation to have when you have more energy. I don’t…understand all the feelings you have, about love, and…well, privacy, I guess. But we’ll figure something out. You’re our family, Lauriam. You shouldn’t have to suffer so much that you lose your mind because of things being the way they always have. Even if it means the very fundamentals of what we know have to change, we’ll figure something out.”

Ienzo looked down, picking a bit at the hem of his shirt. Nervousness waving through him. Feeling daunted, for the first time, about what something like ‘love’ meant to him, and if it had the potential to turn him into a mindless monster too. Feeling scared by the suddenly very real confrontation that his family’s freedom might mean freedom from each other too.

But he just told Lauriam, “Promise,” before disappearing, getting up from the floor of Lauriam’s new room.

Zexion sighed and walked back to the shade of the island, cradling Lauriam’s light to his chest. ㅍ_ㅍ You figure it out too.

It was late, and everyone was already off settling into their new rooms when Aqua approached Dilan with a small, good humored smile. “Mind humoring me with a walk?” she asked, tilting her head towards the servants quarters stairs.

Even with everything that had happened. This had been on ‘Dilan’s’ mind all. Day.

He took a deep breath, before grinning at her. “An invitation from a fine woman as yourself? How could I say no?”

The two moved quietly down the stairs, the odd silence of the new place following them even more than it might have had they been sneaking out of the tavern. Heading into the kitchen and– “For fucks sake, Luis! You scared us!”

“Eh?” Luis gasped, looking up from where he had been sipping his dirty coffee, still blinking tiredly despite the caffeine he was putting in his system, “Really? You’re both still going out? After a long day like this? Did you know, mates, that of the three most stressful things you can do in your life, moving is one of them? It’s a lot of work!”

Aqua let out the breath that had caught, seeing Luis skulking in the kitchen, before rolling her eyes a little. “Considering I’ve already gotten married and had a kid, I think I’d know when life calls for a little stress relief, hm?” Smelling the coffee, she gave Luis a considering look. “...well, are you just waiting up, or going to ring the meeting bell?”

Luis grit his teeth a little. He knew he probably should. This was dangerous, what they were doing…

…ah, but dammit, these were his friends.

“I thought maybe I’d come along if I happened to see you,” Luis said, looking away uncomfortably, “Who knows, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, maybe we can do something fun instead. I haven’t been bowling since we’ve gotten out. Bowling could be fun.”

He didn’t offer the casino. Luis was an addict, but he wasn’t the type who was about to blow the only gold they had lucked into at the casino, not when the family needed it.

Xaldin huffed a bit, before grinning. “You’re all nervous now, but you watch, Luxord. Once things get started? You’re going to remember what you were made for. I can’t wait, myself. It’s all I’ve been thinking about.”

(Much easier than thinking about Lauriam.)

Aqua shook her head with a little smile, putting an arm around Luis’ shoulders before ruffling his hair a bit. “You don’t need to be so concerned, sweetie, but thank you for it anyway. Just don’t give us away, yeah?”

It would be harder being stealthy with three people, but they could manage it. Even if they couldn’t literally fade into their preferred form of shadow in the physical world, they did still know what to look for.

“Alright,” Aqua said, leading the way out, “It’s a bit more of a walk from this direction, but it’s a nice night. Good to get some fresh air after cleaning dust for hours.”

“Let me just fill my flask real quick!” Luis said, pouring his laced coffee into his flask, before quickly following behind.

Chonis was a city, but it wasn’t a big one with a lot of nightlife. Things tended to close early, and outside of the brothel and entertainment district, there was no real foot traffic around the markets and neighborhoods. But, so long as they steered clear of the expensive shops? There weren’t a ton of guards patrolling either.

It didn’t take long before they were walking down mostly empty pathways. Large red-coated stone buildings lining their way, lit by the rare lantern attached to the building entrances themselves, but mostly the moon.

“So, Aqua,” Luis said after a bit, “What do you think of our new host? I’ve got good vibes from her, but I’ll admit, I’m probably biased. Anyone willing to give me a room to sleep in by myself gets my good books right away.”

“I know, that’s a new one, right?” Xaldin chuckled, “What do you want to bet half of them are going to wake up in each other's beds tomorrow? I’m betting Demyx ends up with Ienzo, the trio’s of course gonna all end up in one of their rooms… heh, guess the three of us ended up together in a roundabout sort of way.”

It wasn’t always the easiest to tail someone when there weren’t other people around, but that just meant you had to learn about the times people were around. And those special moments in between, where you could catch someone, but there wouldn’t be anyone around to get the attention of… Aqua liked to think those were their own golden hours.

“I’ve got the same bias, so I don’t think it’s that surprising I agree,” Aqua hummed in amusement, “She’s kind because she can afford to be…but the places she directs that kindness betray that safety. And yet, she still knows how to utilize her power against those that would harm her. It’s an admirable balancing act that I don’t think she feels precarious on at all. Or maybe that’s what the drugs and sex are for.”

Laughing softly, Aqua gave Xaldin a tickled look. “I’d say the opposite for Demyx and Ienzo. Demyx is good at passing out wherever there’s space, but Ienzo already has trouble with sleep. Add in that this is the first time he’ll be sleeping somewhere by himself without being threatened first…probably since his parents died, if I can make a guess about what his orphanage was like? If he doesn’t try to stay up all night reading, he’ll absolutely ask Demyx if they can room together.”

“It’ll be an adjustment period. Maybe with the Ouma’s crew trying to help us expand the island, more privacy will be good for us… you know,” Luis sighed, “For as long as we’re actually going to be here. In some ways, it’s kind of a cruel twist of irony, ain’t it? I suddenly feel like we’re spoiled with lucky breaks, to the point where I’m a little sad we can’t take full advantage of one or the other. Worse places to end up than at a manor with a ton of coin in our pockets.”

“That’s always temporary, I wouldn’t lament it too much.” Xaldin said, “Whatever we’ll find in Dicea will be more permanent. I don’t want to base my entire safety, not to mention you all’s, on the charity of a lordess who seems ‘whimsical’ as all hell. That whimsy could turn against us someday.”

“I know you don’t…Xaldin, you really should go see Lauriam,” Luis said, “Especially before you go. I know you’re just going to be whole, that Dilan will make amends himself, but… I think Lauriam would be heartbroken, to not hear from you one last time.”

“He’ll get over it. I’m gonna be some shitty thing he and Dilan reminisce over someday. Like I said, I’m no one’s lover. I’m a heartless. A nobody,” Xaldin said, baring his teeth in a smile, “This is what I should be doing. Hunting someone in the night… heart’s already kinda pounding. Feels good.”

Luis didn’t think so. He just felt nervous.

“And worse things to have than multiple good options to take,” Aqua added, shrugging a little. “Maybe a cruel twist of irony, or just things balancing out. Having a lot of changes after being stagnant for so long, at least relatively. I think I could be happy not just counting divots in the wall dozens of times over to pass the time.”

And as lucky as it felt for Maya to have no qualms letting them stay with her, Xaldin was right. Even if the accommodations the Dicean Prince had for them weren’t as nice, just the fact that they’d be in a different country with citizenship papers that legally protected them would be a huge level of safety they just wouldn’t be able to have in Luminary.

Not while people who knew exactly who they were were still around.

Aqua’s eyes darkened with anticipation, though she did give Xaldin a glance. “...you don’t think it’s significant at all that the one thing he managed to get out while his brain’s scrambled was to make sure to rub something in your face?”

“It shows he’s got a wicked sense of humor,” Xaldin smirked… before he sighed, giving the other two a wary look, “Of course it means something. It all meant something. I didn’t dream up that he liked me back. It drove me crazy, how much he liked me. Kept me up at night just staring at the walls.”

“You or Dilan?” Luxord asked.

“Both. Dilan before I took over, me after. It’s…” Xaldin frowned, staring at the road beneath their boots. They really should get sandals at some point. The winter air was the only thing that made the boots bearable. “...overwhelming, to like someone back who so blatantly likes you. That hasn’t changed.”

“But that doesn’t change what happened.” Xaldin shrugged. “I told him I needed him. Everything went to hell. Maybe Dilan will be able to work around that, but me? Give me another chance to talk to him, I bet you anything I’ll accidentally stamp out that last bit of light he is. I don’t know how to be sweet, I don’t know how to be caring…honestly, I don’t want to go through all of that again,” Xaldin admitted, “It’s too much.”

“Your heart was broken, mate.” Luis said, “I understand that. But look, even with all this talk of ‘Dilan’ this and ‘Whole’ that, it’s still going to be you. We’re remerging with our other halves, we’re not disappearing entirely. If you go out still without this resolved, Dilan might not be able to do this without you.”

“That’s his problem,” Xaldin said, “Not mine.”

It hadn’t sounded like Lauriam was making a joke to Aqua. It sounded like he had put everything he had into a message, even after passing out once. Lauriam enjoyed teasing, but Aqua would go through quite a lot before ever calling him a jokester. And with Lauriam seeming like he at least somewhat remembered what had happened between him and Xaldin?

She had a feeling it meant more than she could parse.

“Considering that you being sweet and caring was the part that startled him the most?” Aqua said dryly, “Your prickly self might get him shining brighter. And it still will be your problem, because you’ll be Dilan.”

She shook her head a little, glancing down the adjoining streets near them. “I know you’ll do what you want, because you always do. But just hold his light for a bit, even if you don’t want to talk. One, we’re all taking shifts on it anyway, and two, whichever way things shake out, you can still say you were there, so no regrets. If Lauriam gets pissy he didn’t get to talk to you before you’re Dilan? Then he should’ve been more awake when you were there.”

“Aqua’s right, Xaldin,” Luis said, backing her up, “Being pissed is one thing, but even if he wasn’t whatever he is to you? He’s still one of us, and he’s hurt really bad right now. You can say whatever you want about being uncaring and unsweet, but I know you’re not the type to leave us when we’re hurt. Even back in the beginning, you’ve always been good to us.”

“... even that time I broke your toe?” Xaldin asked.

“To be super fair, that was your very first day ever hanging out in the body while Dilan hung out on the island, I don’t think it had entirely occurred to you that injuries weren’t something you’d bounce back from in ten seconds yet,” Luis said. “....but also, fuck you.”

“Heh,” Xaldin chuckled, “Ehh…alright, yeah, you’re both right. I’ll take my shift with the guy. But whether or not I can reconcile or if I even want to right now is beside the point. Who knows how long it's going to take him to recover. I can’t put off becoming whole indefinitely.”

“That’s true,” Luis sighed, glancing around the streets Aqua had led them to, “Hey… do we know which supervisor we’re looking for? None of them are better than the others, but if it’s Orlette we’re looking for? I just wanna know beforehand, mentally prepare myself.”

Even at their peak Nobody? No version of any of them had left anyone behind. Protecting each other was one of the only real things they had, and no one had taken it for granted. Even with their worlds changing, Aqua thought it’d take a hell of a lot more to change that.

…and Xaldin was absolutely going to talk to the little ball of light, there was no question. It was just a matter of getting him there, so getting him to agree? He may not solve everything with Lauriam, but it’d be a starting place.

Despite what she’d been doing, Aqua still grimaced. “Haven’t heard a peep from Orlette, so either she’s keeping an incredibly low profile, or she left Chonis. By this point I think it’s not just wishful thinking to assume the latter.”

“It’s Seifer,” Aqua said grimly, gaze growing more focused. “Got more than just a glimpse in a crowd of him a little over a month ago. He does late nights, so we should be able to bump into him in just a bit.”

She had narrowed down where he lived, but it was too risky actually going into apartments or tiered living areas. Even a cut-off scream could attract too much attention too quickly.

“Seifer,” Xaldin growled, eyes narrowing.

Luis frowned, a grim look coming over him, taking a swig of his flask before he admitted, “I’ll admit, that’d be a tempting one all on its own. After that shit he pulled on Isa…”

“I can’t believe he stuck around. The sheer arrogance,” Xaldin scoffed, “I mean, I know we all agreed to keep a low profile for the sake of the group, but some of these supervisors, how could they feel safe with us free? How could he not think Isa might not come after him someday?”

“Maybe he thought he was too far gone,” Luis guessed, before admitting uncomfortably, “He’s still not entirely wrong, if that’s the case. You all heard him growling and saw him biting last night, didn’t you? He’s talking more now, but I think we’ve got a ways to go before the regression stuff stops, based on how he was in the fight.”

“Maybe Isa would feel better having the guy's head.” Xaldin smirked.

Luis sucked at his teeth a bit. He had already decided he was going to try to keep it from getting to that point, if he could, but… he had a feeling warning the others about his view might just end with him sitting in a bar, waiting for them.

“Might’ve not worked as well on you and Aeleus, but you know they did all sorts of things to keep us weak,” Aqua said, her voice cold. A deep rage like undersea trenches in her chest. “They think all we are is pretty mind tricks…and part of that was by design, keeping us from sleep, confining us in small spaces, giving just enough food to keep us going, and, of course, just beating us down when we started to look just a little too healthy.”

“If I wanted to give them any credit, I’d say maybe they thought poverty would keep doing that work to us, but I believe they just haven’t thought about it at all.” Aqua bared her teeth a little in the moonlight. “They never see the physical attacks coming. And I think we can be an even worse surprise to Seifer than he was to Isa.”

Aqua had been looking forward to this one. There was a nice sense of vengeance to all of the supervisors, but Aqua really wanted to make this hurt.

The truth was? Seifer had assumed one of the other supervisors would have already sold the Empaths by now.

It was actually a pretty common belief, among the supervisors. Surely someone else was already going to swoop in and get them, by this point. Every single one of them had privately considered it, before each and every one decided that it was too much work for one person. Too risky. Especially competing with the other supervisors.

The supervisors hadn’t exactly been a tight knit group. Oh, sure, they had had fun together, sometimes… but for the most part, every member of the group secretly considered themselves the most reasonable and well adjusted out of all of them. The rest of the supervisors? Bunch of freaks.

Seifer didn’t consider himself a torturer. If you dug deep into him, he didn’t even really consider himself a slaver. He was just a guy doing a job, who had been… well, the reasons changed with the seasons: he had been keeping Indentureds who had been part of the program to begin with, enforcing their careers. He had been keeping Luminary safe from dangerous demons. He had just been keeping up the status quo, which was certainly said quo for a reason, and it sure wasn’t his job to wonder why.

But now that he wasn’t working at the factory. And hadn’t taken the massive payday that no doubt one of the other, arguably worse–because all the benefits of the doubt he gave himself definitely didn’t apply to those sadists–supervisors had no doubt taken advantage of? Well, life was moving on. He had bills to pay.

Unfortunately, his job in the factory didn’t equal a lot of transferable life skills. He was now working as a guard at a very nice hotel, nestled nicely in at the edge of the entertainment district. It was at least an uppercrust kind of place, the kind of place where the guests, traveling through Luminary in style and with fun little stops, might give him a little extra for a little extra effort or might invite him to have a drink or two… but admittedly, Seifer resented the hell out of the job. It paid a lot worse than what he was used to, and he didn’t get the same sense of… respect. Accomplishment. That he had at the factory.

Kow-towing to wealthy snobs sure wasn’t the same feeling as walking into a room where everyone was afraid to look you in the eye. Now that was a good feeling… Seifer kept thinking and looking, but there were just no other jobs out there that could, again, utilize his unique set of skills. God, he was good at keeping those creatures in check.

Again, not that that was why he had done it!

He wasn’t a freak like the others.

But he wasn’t going to lose sleep over having some fun with them sometimes.

…maybe he could get a dog. Name it Isa. Just for old times sake.

……nah, he’d never treat a dog like that. That’d be fucked up.

Shaking his head at himself, figuring he was just tired and that’s why his mind was drifting back to the days at the factory, Seifer whistled, adjusting his light coat as he walked down the street, heading home. Desert nights were cold. That was another thing he missed. Factory had decent hours. This damn place didn’t… appreciate…

Seifer’s eyes widened… then he squinted in the dark. Avoiding walking into the next building light, as he stared at a man drunkenly singing to himself, swaying down the sidewalk. A song he had heard a dozen times, in that same stupid accent… no way…

“On the farm, ev'ry Friday~” Luis staggered, leaning against the wall, clearly obliterated out of his mind as he drunkenly sang a song that for some reason, no matter how many years had gone by, the creature had never once gotten tired of, “On the farm, it's rabbit pie day~ Soooo ev’ry friday that ever comes along, I get up early and sing this little song!”

Seifer stared in shock. No way. What were the odds… Well, actually, this was the outskirts of the entertainment district, he could understand seeing Luis of all of them out here, drunk out of his gourd. That part made sense. But after all this time? Luis hadn’t managed to be rounded up yet??

That was shocking. That was… huh…

…… 13 of them at once was too much, but one drunk demon? One drunk, out of shape Empath-creature, all set up to do some conditioning?

How much could Seifer get for one of them…

He started to follow, eyes wide and heart pounding with potential, as he saw Luis stagger around into a back-road.

“Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, ruuun, run, run~” Luis crowed out, staggering down the road, “Snap, snap, snap goes the farmer’s knife. He’ll get byyyyy, without his rabbit pie. So run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run… run…”

“Don’t give the farmer his fun, fun, fun~” Terra whispered into Seifer’s ear, a dagger pressed against his throat. “You never change, do you. It’s almost boring.”

He pressed the dagger slightly harder, able to feel the vibrations from Seifer’s breathing through the metal. “I think you know better than to scream. Not very kind to lead a stranger to a corpse, is it?”

Seifer’s whole throat choked up. And though he couldn’t see her, not behind him and in the dark, well, there was really only one person it could be as he whispered, “Aqua.”

“Close, but no cigar,” said a voice to his left, Seifer’s eyes widening as he saw Dilan’s silhouette step closer. His eyes adjusted to notice the man’s hair and signature sideburns as he grinned at him through the darkness. “What’d you think was about to happen tonight? You thought you were going to take our man here and lock him up in some little room? Thought that was going to work out for you? Those days are long past, Mr. Seifer.”

Seifer hadn’t even noticed Luis had, at some point during all of that, backtracked. Now walking a lot straighter, whistling out the tune a bit before taking out a flask and sipping a drink. “I’m a little annoyed at how well that worked, actually. Come on now, I get no credit.”

“Just means you’re a good actor, mate,” Dilan grinned, before staring with a dark glint at Seifer, “Siiiir, you seem nervous. We just had some questions for you to clear up, that’s all. Then we’ll be on our way.”

Questions? What questions could they possibly have? What was Seifer supposed to know?

(All sorts of things, his mind was quick to remind him. Better get it all in order. Saying ‘I don’t know’ in this situation is begging for that dagger in your neck. Better know what you know.)

“What kind of questions?” Seifer whispered after a moment, licking his lips. They felt dry.

“Not here. Somewhere with more privacy,” Dilan said, looking around, “We’re in the outskirts, right? Luis, you were just saying you wished you saw the desert more. Let’s take a walk.”

“I could answer questions in my apartment,” Seifer said, trying to think quickly.

Terra gave Luis a thankful little nod. He had sped up the waiting game quite a lot. And it might take a particularly fun night or a little booze to admit it, but he had missed the song a bit.

“Come now, Mr. Seifer, and be the only people you bring to 32 Saint Martha’s Street this week? Now that would be worse than anything we have to ask you,” Terra chuckled lightly. “No, let’s go somewhere a little less embarrassing for all of us. You’d like that, right? Saving face, having people think well of you…all part of the job.”

Tilting his head a little, they started moving as a group. Making use of the high-walled alleys to try and keep the worst of the sand from desert winds out of the city, its first defense. And, already quiet to begin with this late at night, the silence as they walked grew more and more oppressive, even footsteps getting muffled by the growing layer of sand on the ground.

“What have you been up to, Mr. Seifer,” Terra asked lightly, like he was just making small talk with an old friend, “Enjoying the hotel life?”

The quiet walk had helped ease his nerves a bit, getting his head back on straight now that the panic wasn’t so immediate. Really, what was the current situation? Three of the creatures? Absolutely two of the more dangerous ones were here, Dilan was made of muscle and no one had forgotten the sheer fury Aqua had reigned on them for a long time after Terra died. It had taken a while to break her of it and they had eventually had to start threatening the others to get her to behave.

But Luis? Luis was nothing, a man who cringed every time they drew near and begged for his little drunken treats like a dog. He was easy to take care of. And the other two? Give Seifer time and he’d remember how to control them. He had done it almost a decade. He could handle this.

So, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin, he said, “Just a temporary gig. We didn’t exactly get much notice that the factory was going to shut down, if you’ll recall. Hard for an honest man to make ends meet in this city.”

“An honest man…” Dilan grumbled, “Sure.”

“What about you lot? I see you three have at least stuck together. I have to imagine the others are long gone. If you’re trying to see if I know where they were sold? I’m afraid you’re wasting your time.”

“I suppose eight months can be temporary, if you tilt your head,” Terra conceded, before sighing a bit. “Aw, really? Man, we were really hoping the more reasonable of you’d know… Since the Queen’s outlawed slavery, an honest man would surely pipe up about more people being sold into it, but if you really don’t know anything…”

There was an almost shockingly solid thud as Terra kicked directly in the center of Seifer’s upper back, the next step natural as he dug his heel into the ex-supervisor’s head. Stretching his arm as he twirled his dagger. “Guess we don’t need you, then.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Seifer shouted, trying to scramble away before gasping when he felt the foot against the back of his head, stilling him, “Are you out of your mind!? We’re out in the middle of the open, someone will see you nitwits!”

“Out in the middle of the open?” Xaldin frowned, looking around and scoffing, “You have a funny way of defining that. What, you think someone’s going to see us from those buildings over there?” he asked, pointing to the line of buildings that were the final stretch between civilization and the sandy, cracked ground they had been walking out to the desert on, “At this lighting?”

“More than that,” Luis sighed, “You think anyone’s gonna come rescue you if they do? As someone who’s spent my time in entertainment districts, sir, let me tell you, they don’t encourage a heroic mindset. If you saw something? No you didn’t. Everyone knows that.”

Seifer knew that. But still, he rejected that idea for a moment. Surely someone would look out the window at this time of night, see him being harassed in the distance, do something. Call the guards or…

No, he was on his own.

“I-I could help you find the others,” Seifer offered, grunting as more pressure was put on his neck, causing him to gasp, “I know where the other supervisors are, one of them would know where they were sold! I could bring you to them.”

“No honor among bastards,” Xaldin muttered, squatting down in front of Seifer. Considering him for a moment… before he grinned.

He reached out his hand and, affectionately, pet Seifer’s hair. Brushing that blond tuft back a bit, before he reached back and scratched gently along the back of Seifers ear. “Gooood boy. Terra, go ahead and lift the weight. I know he thinks he’s a big, dangerous wolf still, but he’s gonna learn real quick to be suuuuuch a good boy.”

Honestly, these were even better conditions than a lot of the places Terra had ‘reunions’. It was a bit harder to convince someone to walk with you when it was a one-on-one.

“Now, now, you just said you didn’t know anything,” Terra pointed out, tilting his head dramatically enough to be seen even as he pressed down harder on Seifer. “Are you having some trouble with your words, which is it? Maybe if you couldn’t speak at all you’d be more clear.”

Terra did pause though as Xaldin seemed to get an idea, and he huffed a little before stepping off of Seifer’s head. “Wow, it’s all ‘no pets, Terra’, ‘the fur will get everywhere’ when I want a cat. I see how it is. Though…” he gave Seifer a considering, dangerous look, “Dogs are easier to train.”

Warily, Luis drank from his flask, before peering back over to the buildings. They were very confident, and he hadn’t been bluffing, per se. But man, if they were to ever have some foul luck…

“Terra… oh,” Seifer scowled, sitting up onto his knees now that the weight was off, making a half-hearted attempt to get the red sand off his front before giving up, glaring up at them, “Why am I surprised. Course you’re still relying on those weird alternate identity things. Hell, now that you’re free? I bet you lot never bother pretending being the decent, quiet sides anym–HRK!”

Xaldin made no effort to hold back as he kicked the man in the stomach, bending him over double, waiting for a moment to let Seifer get his breath back, and then the second he started pushing himself up again, he kicked him in the side. “Good dogs stay on all fours.”

“C…c-crazy demons…” Seifer coughed, blood drooling off the side of his face. He had bitten his tongue. “S-should have locked you in that factory and burned you all down with it. You’re not fit to live among normal folk.”

“You know, I hate how true that is,” Xaldin admitted, squatting down to match Seifer’s eye level, reaching over to pet his hair. “Good boy, we stay down. We don’t jump…you have no idea how lucky you are right now, Seifer. What do we think, guys, is ‘Seifer’ a good name for our dog? You have no idea how lucky you are,” Xaldin frowned at him, petting him some more, “Out here? We’re so limited to what’s… possible. A broken rib here, some swallowed teeth there… In our worlds? The ones you sent all those people to without ever once seeing it yourself? Oooooh…” Xaldin grinned, “We’d have had a great time there. For hours and hours. Here? I’m begging you to last long enough for me to get a little tired.”

As much as Terra, well, ‘liked’ was a stretch, but, sure, liked seeking out the supervisors like this and evening the cosmic odds a little…yeah. Xaldin really needed this today. Xaldin wasn’t only a heartless sadist, but damn if he still was one and getting to let that run wild for the first time since they’d left the factory? And actually doing something worthwhile with it?

Terra hoped that Isa would get something out of this, if he ever wanted to see the memories. Xaldin was putting in the work.

“Hey, don’t talk so down to your creativity,” Terra laughed, before it became more of a snarl to Seifer. Reaching into a pocket, he carefully pulled out a small piece of broken glass, smaller than the size of his palm but jagged all around. Crouching a little to wave it enticingly in front of Seifer’s face, Terra cooed, “I’m sure puppy will do well enough to earn a treat. They do say positive enforcement can speed results up, right?”

Seifer was all sneer and snarl, until he saw the glass. Then his face went very still, his eyes following it. Sweat was starting to pool at his forehead, as he said slowly, suddenly very carefully, “I thought you all had questions for me. I can’t answer anything like that.”

Xaldin, in turn, practically cooed in delight, before chuckling darkly, “Terra, man, I should have watched you work more. Or were you holding back on the people who went through your world, cause I know you never did anything like that to them.”

Luis frowned at the glass. He had been ready to keep quiet for a beating, maybe let them take a finger or two. Losing digits was an understood form of justice, hell, they’d be in their right to take a whole damn hand. But swallowing glass… “Ah, see, that’s the thing though, pup,” Luis said, stepping forward as Luxord got down on one knee, putting a sudden arm around Seifer’s shoulder, “That’s all part of the game. Come on, you didn’t think I was gonna come along and we weren’t gonna play any games, now did ya? It’s dull if we just ask questions and you answer them. We want you to guess,” Luxord said, ruffling Seifer’s hair before standing up, taking a step back and shrugging, “Before it’s too late to tell us anything anymore.”

There. That might delay the glass.

But for as much as Luxord was trying to throw this man a lifeline right now, Seifer just seemed to suddenly grow more frustrated, perhaps the confidence of looking at Luxord over the other two letting him say, “What is this? Is this about what happened to Isa? What do you want me to say? I didn’t start the dog bullshit with him, I’m not a pervert. He just started growling one day. Practically did it to himself!”

Xaldin’s grin became grim, as he reached over to grab Seifer’s hair, “Man, some people don’t have a speck of survival instincts,” before he slammed Seifer’s face into the dirt. The hard, dry clay cracking Seifer’s nose inward, Seifer gasping before his head was slammed into the ground again, then again.

By the time Xaldin stopped, Seifer was struggling to breathe through the blood gushing out of his nose, before Xaldin jerked at his hair and half threw the man forward, towards the desert. “Hey, an extra rule for Luxord’s game. Luxord, you mind an extra rule?” Xaldin asked, looking back at Luxord, who shook his head, “If you can outrun us on all fours, puppy? We’ll let you go! Go on! You can do it! Run!”

Seifer was too dizzy and disoriented to think about it. He scrambled onto his feet– “Nope! All fours!” Xaldin said, kicking him back down, “Run! Run!”

Seifer tried to rush forward on all fours.

Xaldin chuckled as he watched him, before he glanced at the other two. “Man, I wish we had brought Isa. He should have at least gotten to watch this. I feel a bit guilty to leave him out.”

“And I thought you had answers, but I guess we’re just both wrong tonight,” Terra cooly shot back. Though, he just snorted a little at Xaldin as he straightened up. “I’ve had a lot of time to think creatively lately, my friend. And you really only need to go so far in conditioning. Out here? The sky’s the limit.”

As Luxord spoke up, Terra backed off again, letting him get his fun out of this too. And it really wasn’t a bad idea--the uncertainty and anticipation really could be half the torture in itself. Seifer would know.

Terra’s eyes went cold again as Seifer even dared to talk about Isa, and he watched with satisfaction as Xaldin showed what kind of punishment that brought. Even with the glimmer of hope as a cherry on top…

“I don’t know if he’d even enjoy it,” Terra admitted, shrugging a little as he watched Seifer scramble away, “And the last thing I’d want to do is trigger him while doing this. He deserves better.” Terra glared at the scum flopping over the sand and dirt. “We all do.”

Terra generously gave Seifer another second before running after him.

“Yeah,” Xaldin sighed, “That’s probably true.”

He strolled, Terra more than capable of catching up with him. Xaldin watched with some admiration as Terra caught up and kicked the man in the side. Seifer rolling onto his back as Terra brought his foot up to bring it down onto his stomach again, then aga–

“Wait, wait!” Seifer gasped, his voice a wheezing rasp as he suddenly put his hands up. Panic flooding his system as he stared up at Terra, drooling blood and mucus as he stared up at him. “The kid! I can tell you who took the kid!”

Xaldin and Luxord caught up, Luxord clearly confused while Xaldin scoffed, “I don’t know what lie you’re about to give us, but you should know, none of us are missing. You’re not baiting us that way, puppy. You still have a long night ahead of you.”

Seifer coughed and gagged, before forcing out of his rasping, shaking voice, “No, not the–the baby! I can tell you where the baby went!”

Terra’s foot hesitated for a moment in the air. But just for a moment, before doubling down, dark eyes spelling death. “Don’t you even talk about Ventus,” Terra growled, done playing around as he drew his dagger again.

“Oh, can’t believe you’d try some stupid fucking shit like–”

Luis bolted forward. Eyes wide and trembling as he threw himself over Seifer’s body. Staring up at Terra as he blocked his body from Terra’s blade.

Xaldin frowned, eyes widening with surprise… before he sighed, crossing his arms. “Luxord, man, I knew you had misgivings, but really? Now of all times, you’re going to throw your body over this piece of shit? I was expecting some last ditch speech about not wanting us to get caught.”

Luis breathed hard, eyes staring, clearly not sure what he should say, glancing at Terra’s dagger again. “...I can’t… let you throw this away, Terra,” Luis said, adjusting to cover Seifer’s body more, “If it’s possible…”

“It’s not,” Xaldin said, “They showed Aqua the body, Luxord, remember? We all felt that moment. Don’t you remember what it felt like?”

Luis stared at Aqua. Something… mildly terrified in his eyes.

“I can’t let you throw this away,” he whispered again.

Terra’s blade stopped right in front of Luxord. Eyes still furiously trained on Seifer. Not flinching, as Luxord spoke of the possibility, as they talked about Ventus dying, Aqua’s despair, her screams as she demanded proof, for the factory to not take yet another thing from her, and they had given it, and it had felt like her soul had been ripped out of her body.

Terra was steady.

“Move, Luxord,” he said. “My son is gone. But I can at least keep his memory out of the mouths of monsters.”

“...” Luxord swallowed hard. Still not moving. Staring at Terra. Eyes wide, panting… before his eyes reddened. “...I remember how it felt, yeah…I felt like I wanted to tear my chest open. Wanted to gauge my eyes out. I couldn’t fathom what I was looking at, and I was in my world, playing cards, just killing time until the birth was done. Felt like it’d be better than pacing my cell. Felt like death was everywhere.”

“Exactly,” Xaldin frowned, “Impossible to mistake.”

Luxord stared at Terra. He so badly wanted to be much more drunk than he was.

“...the…” he swallowed, “The Head Secretary visited me that night. While you were giving birth, Terra. Just showed up in my world, talking about wanting to play cards. I had… no idea why he was there… I figured if he was just feeling like messing with someone, better me than you. I played cards with him…”

“I don’t even remember what he was talking about,” Luxord admitted, “I was trying to tune him out, for the most part. He was talking about how his projects were going. Talking about all the little things he had to take care of… he said something about me earning a new bottle. I wasn’t listening. I didn’t even want it.”

Xaldin frowned. “...Luxord, what are you saying?”

“It came out of nowhere. He just put his hands on my face, and suddenly, for a flash, he was connected,” Luxord said, his voice small and shaking, “And suddenly death was everywhere. It was all I could think about. For a second, he connected to the island, it was like everyone screamed. All at once…” Luxord shivered, “...and then he stopped. S-said I had done well, opening myself up. I didn’t… I didn’t do it on purpose, he was just suddenly in. I didn’t understand what he had done, until later everyone was saying, god, did you… d-did you feel what Aqua felt…”

Luxord felt a few tears run down his cheek as he whispered, “I didn’t know for sure what had happened. It felt cruel to say maybe when I didn’t know. Maybe he just wanted to feel it with us, maybe it had come from you and I just got confused. But if there’s even a chance this man knows where Ventus is… Aqua, Terra, there’s a real chance he flooded our minds with death. Y-you might not have even seen the baby at all. He might have been fine…”

Terra just stared at Luxord. Unmoving. Unblinking. In the silence of the outskirts of the city, there was only their breathing, and the slight winter wind. It was like the entire world had stopped, still and calm…

Terra gently moved Luxord out of the way, before getting on his knees. Looming over Seifer and, somehow both shattering and not disturbing the silence of the desert, he jabbed his dagger into the dirt millimeters from Seifer’s head.

“Tell me where my baby is,” he whispered, “and you just might live to see sunrise, Mr. Seifer.”

The three were walking home as the sun rose. Considerably less pep in their step than they had had when they had first left the manor. Covered in red dust and blood specks, looking exhausted.

Luxord kept randomly bursting into tears. Quiet tears, clearly trying to suppress them. But as they walked, he’d just randomly start blubbering again.

Neither Terra nor Xaldin had mentioned anything about his big reveal yet. And it was clearly weighing on him. But, well… there was a lot to think about overall. A lot more than that to process.

“...a lord,” Xaldin muttered, “...a little lordling…”

Terra hadn’t said anything as they walked back, his dagger clean and safely tucked away again. But as they neared Maya’s manor, he said quietly, “If we don’t make it back before you’re all ready to leave with Miss Redgraves, leave without us. We’ll catch up.”

“Oh god,” Xaldin groaned, putting his face in his hands, “That’s true, isn’t it. We’re going to the capital. Ooooh, that’s gonna be such a trip…”

Terra finally looked over at Xaldin, frowning. “...I’m not asking you all to put yourselves in danger staying in Luminary any longer than you have to, let alone going to the capital. And we need to look after Lauriam, anyway.”

“I’ve never been to the capital before,” Xaldin grumbled, rubbing his temples, “Have any of us been to the capital before? I’m wracking my brain, but I don’t think so. I’ve heard the castle’s a town all by itself. Guess we’ll see…”

“Xaldin,” Terra called, glaring at him a little, “We’re not all going to the capital, that’s suicide.”

“Course we’re not all going,” Xaldin scowled, looking over at Terra tiredly, “The Heart of Light kids are all staying here. I’ll argue Vexen should stay too, though I’m sure he’ll argue. Aeleus could stay just to make sure if they do start traveling without us, they’re traveling with some muscle.”

“But that said?” Xaldin scoffed, “Of course you’re not going alone. You think you’re going alone? What, like we don’t care you’re running to certain death? Like we didn’t all grieve over your baby? And now Ventus is just out there somewhere, stolen? I’m not letting you go alone. I doubt the others will be willing either.”

Terra just looked at Xaldin for a moment…before almost just tilting over into his chest. Not even close to hitting a shoulder, like the real Terra would’ve. At first it seemed like Terra remained quiet, but listening closely there were soft hitches of breath, the smallest quivers of shoulders.

“...my baby is alive,” Terra whispered through tears, “Xaldin, Ventus is alive… We’re going to rip that castle apart.”

“Oh, damn right we are,” Xaldin said, wrapping an arm around Terra’s shoulder, holding him close as they walked slowly forward, shooting dirty looks to anyone who glanced over… before he glanced over at Luis. “Luxord…”

Luis just sniffled, shaking his head. Clearly still too overwhelmed to talk. He had only suspected Ventus was alive this whole time. Now that he knew? The guilt of keeping that suspicion to himself all this time was too much for him. He wanted a drink. He wanted a nap. It was too much.

“We’re not leaving this country without Ventus,” Xaldin said, looking back to Terra, “He’s one of us, whether he knows it or not. We’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.”

“He’s always been one of us…” A silent sob shuddered through Terra’s back. “What if he thinks we abandoned him? I would’ve torn the fucking walls off the factory to…i-if I had known…”

Just coming out of the servants tunnel, Aeleus looked around with a stern, disappointed expression…before it immediately softened, seeing Luis’ tear-stained face and reddened eyes, and Aqua buried in Dilan’s arm. He quietly gestured them in.

“Hey,” Xaldin grinned tiredly at Aeleus, leading the shuffling trio in, following Aeleus down the servants entrance, before heading to the servants quarters, knowing there was a bathing area there, “We’ve had a crazy night. A lot to tell everyone, actually.”

“They’re all mostly asleep,” Aeleus hummed, worriedly glancing at the bloodstains now that he could see them. “Just got off my shift with Lauriam, noticed you three away. Do you want time to rest, or should I get everyone up?”

“We just… need a change of clothes and a shower, more than anything right now,” Xaldin said, before his face darkened, “Ran into a supervisor last night. Seifer. Poor fella had a terrible series of accidents.”

Aeleus sighed, shaking his head as he left to bring down some clean towels and extra clothes for his family. “As long as you don’t bring trouble home.”

Ienzo had felt so…embarrassed.

He wasn’t about to give Even an ‘I told you so’ moment, so he had tried to take Zexion’s advice! He didn’t read that late! And he’d gone to sleep at a totally reasonable time!

…he’d tried to go to sleep at a totally reasonable time. He was in a real bed for the first time in ages, he’d actually made it down for dinner so he had food in his stomach, it was a relief to know that Lauriam was capable of some amount of consciousness, the manor was safe, his room was dark, it was quiet…

…it was too quiet. If the day to day still drove Ienzo crazy with how quiet everything was, he felt like he was wearing heavy duty earplugs for how silent his room was. And in that silence, the cold loneliness that never quite went away these days had grown and grown and…

Ienzo was a 23-year-old man. He shouldn’t have to toddle off in the middle of the night for comfort. But he did, barely staving off tears with deep breathing as he knocked quietly on Demyx’s door, hoping that his friend would be the least likely person to tease him, while still letting him stay.

“Gah!” said a muffled voice behind the door, followed swiftly by a crashing sitar sound.

After some scrambling, Demyx opened the door, little lines beneath his eyes suggesting he was maybe feeling a bit tired as he gave Ienzo a frazzled look over, before he laughed sheepishly. “Oh, shoot, could you hear me playing? Sorry, I was trying to be quiet… woah, bud, you good?” Demyx frowned, noticing Ienzo’s expression, stepping back to motion him in before glancing behind him to see if anyone else was there, “Something happen?”

“No, I couldn’t hear you.” Deep breath…though it came easier even just hearing Demyx’s voice. Looking down as he took the invitation in, pushing past the embarrassment, Ienzo admitted, “...I can’t sleep. Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Oh?” Demyx said, sounding surprised, before after a moment lighting up. “Heck yeah! I’ll be honest, man, this room was giving me the creeps,” he admitted, looking around the mostly cleaned out space as he said, “Not in a baaad, bad way, I know it's, like, ‘new space’ creeps. But still! If a ghost popped out of the closet, like, I’d be scared, but unsurprised sort of creeped. You know?”

Ienzo let out a little sigh of relief at Demyx’s easy--honestly enthusiastic--acceptance, tension easing out of his shoulders. He nodded a bit. “I understand what you mean, by your own description. Even if I don’t think ghosts exist, the uneasiness of the unknown lends itself to unsettling creation.”

Glancing at the sitar on the ground, Ienzo asked, “Were you playing to get some of the ‘new space creeps’ pushed away?”

“Hey, I think there’s some good evidence that ghosts are a thing!” Demyx insisted, not actually offended but more interested in the idea of talking about ghosts with his friend, as he went to go pick up his sitar, plopping himself onto the bed, “Oh yeah. Yeah, I figured if I couldn’t sleep, then at least I could get some playing in. Lower general creep vibes.”

He strummed the sitar a bit, playing out an easy little melody, before glancing out the massive window on the far wall, watching grayish-blue clouds drift past the moon as he played a bit, the curtains ruffling lightly as he had left the window open. “...This is pretty crazy, that we’re here, huh?”

Considering Demyx hadn’t been asleep and wasn’t going right back to sleep, Ienzo figured it wouldn’t be weird to join him on the bed, so that’s what he did, slightly twisted to face Demyx.

“Oh, believe me, I’d love it if there was concrete evidence of ghosts’ existence,” Ienzo sighed a little exasperatedly, “But people getting ‘bad vibes’ in a house or noticing things shifting around when they weren’t looking isn’t evidence. It’s expectational subjectivity. And even with experiences of ‘talking with people who aren’t there’,” he gave Demyx a knowing look, “There are plenty of other explanations that aren’t necessarily spectral.”

Just enjoying Demyx’s playing for a bit, nodding as he understood his friend’s reasoning for making the new space more comfortable, he followed Demyx’s gaze to the window. They had windows in the tavern, of course--that was a major point why they had needed to leave, after all--but Ienzo still hadn’t gotten over the novelty of just…casually being able to look outside.

“It was unexpected, definitely,” he quietly agreed. “Even if it seems like a matter of course to her, I’m really grateful Maya said we could stay. I don’t know the first thing about real estate otherwise.”

“Ah, see, but us being the way we are? People don’t believe in us either,” Demyx pointed out, strumming a bit as he grinned, “Though, I believed in ghosts even before I found out I was an Empath. I like to think the world is big and magical and exciting, even if I can’t see it all for myself. Like, the dragon stories? About the massive dragon skull half buried in the desert, near the capital? I don’t care that it probably is just a weirdly shaped stone canyon like everyone says, I love the idea that it’s actual ancient dragon bones. How cool would that be!?”

“We’ve had a long series of good luck lately,” Demyx agreed, music flowing through the room, easy and soothing, “Though, I think some of that has just been you. Like…” Demyx closed his eyes, thinking. “I don’t just mean the Maya thing. I’m thinking about the Ouma too. Imagine if he had just met Namine and Axel and Roxas. Those were the originals he met, right? That can be a pretty aggressive group! But then there’s you, and you’re out here trying to solve conditioning, and helping people, and apologizing way too much for things that didn’t really need apologizing for.” Demyx shrugged. “Even if the Ouma didn’t know what you were doing, I bet he could tell the group was worth helping based on you. Otherwise we might have never seen him again.”

“I think I can say I have pretty empirical proof that we exist,” Ienzo said amusedly, “And plenty of people believe in ghosts. The popularity of a belief isn’t what makes something true.” He paused, before amending, “Other than in the case of Tulpa, I think. But otherwise…people just pick and choose what they believe in, consciously or not, and act through their lives accordingly. My conscious choice is to base those beliefs in what I can prove or disprove. I can’t disprove that ghosts exist either, but proceeding as if they exist doesn’t improve my life in any way.”

It left a lot of grey space, for the things he couldn’t prove yet, but Ienzo did find those ‘in-between’ things exciting. Countless things to study and learn about. And the possibilities…

Ienzo laughed softly, covering his mouth. “It would be cool, though even just trying to imagine it, it’s hard trying to think of a creature that big. Volvagia would be the size of a baby in comparison.”

But speaking of Axel…

Ienzo gave Demyx a slightly surprised look before smiling hesitantly. “It was Maki and Shuuichi that first met the four of us, and that still wasn’t a great impression. I believe Maki was trying to kill Zexion with a building block. And…I think Prince Kokichi first ran into Aeleus and Lauriam, actually. I was the last person to show up, because my body passed out and everyone wanted me to stay asleep. I’m not sure how much Zexion really affected that impression; I think he just felt sorry for us.”

“...we got Ouma help based on Lexaeus and Marluxia?” Demyx said, eyes widening in shock, “We’re lucky he didn’t walk away backwards flipping us the middle finger.”

“Well, fine, whatever, then I’ll just argue general karma,” Demyx said. “I think I mentioned that the other day, that the world owes us some breaks. Well, it’s not just because we’re the most pathetic sopping wet meow-meows caught in the rain ever. They also owe us because you’re a good guy doing good things and that should be rewarded. Preferably with access to demi-god Empaths, almost a thousand gold coins, and some crazy lady who’s weirdly chill taking in thirteen people into her creepy, haunted manor.” Demyx laughed, nudging Ienzo slightly, “If we deserved any of this? It’s because of you. That’s what I’m saying.”

Ienzo snickered softly. If he remembered right, Prince Kokichi had been rather determined to aid Maki and Shuuichi in delivering a message that they weren’t to be messed with, so he didn’t think it mattered all that much who they ran into first…but all acknowledgement to his dad, Lexaeus and Marluxia weren’t exactly the most welcoming pair.

Nudging Demyx back a bit, Ienzo rolled his eyes. “I’m not complaining about things working out of us, but I think it’s been through all our efforts. I’ve just been trying to make up for some of the harm we’ve done--everything else? We’ve all been trying to make things work with this chance we never thought we’d get. I’d never be able to accomplish this much on my own.”

“And don’t single me out,” Ienzo flushed lightly, nudging Demyx a little harder. “As if you aren’t also a good guy doing good things. Even if people haven’t properly recognized it, music is important, and your gift with it is special. As if you aren’t just great being yourself.”

“Hah! Heck yeah, of course I am! Especially for the Empath community? Empaths don’t know what’s coming, they’re going to lose their minds once me and the band are ready to show off some of our music!” Demyx grinned, “I can’t wait for you to hear some of it especially, Ienzo, it’s, like, a mixture of fun and tragedy. With a cool, funky new sound! Sam keeps calling it electric, but I think we need to give it a specific, Empath genre name, y’know? Just nothing’s come to me yet.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Ienzo smiled softly, basking in Demyx’s excitement, “You know I love seeing experiments, and a whole new type of experimental music? It’s going to be incredible.”

Nodding a little as Demyx talked about needing a name, well, Ienzo was sure that he’d come up with a good one, but for fun he thought for a moment. Snorting and giving Demyx a smirk as he suggested, “Psychedelic?”

“Psychedelic?” Demyx said, mouthing the word as he echoed, “Psychedelic… that’s pretty cool! Psychedelic… I can see that working for our vibe. I’ll swing it by the others, see if they like it too. Thanks Ienzo!”

Demyx laughed, grinning at Ienzo with a bright, happy look, “What would I do without you?”

(There’s no way Ienzo could ever feel alone, feeling warm from that kind of look.)

Ienzo snorted. “Not have someone to play Twister with and actually have to bite the crossbolt and look up things in a dictionary.”

“Dictionaries are expensive! I’m a broke musician! Nevermind that chest of gold we have!” Demyx laughed, before putting down his sitar, stretching and yawning, “It’s late. Wanna head to bed?”

Ienzo laughed quietly before stifling the yawn he caught from Demyx, starting to get up. “Sounds good. I appreciate you letting me stay, but I won’t butt in on your first night in a real bed in forever. Floor’s just fine for me.”

“Nah,” Demyx said, grabbing Ienzo around the waist idly, before flopping backwards with him, “Come on! Be my cuddle buddy! If the ghosts see us together, they’ll realize they’re intruding on a cute moment and go away. Fool-proof plan!”

Ienzo jolted slightly, turning pink, but it wasn’t with much hesitation that he agreed, “O-okay. I still don’t have any proof that if ghosts exist they’d care about people sleeping together, but…okay.”

Flushing a little more, Ienzo testingly shifted in Demyx’s grasp. “...can I not be right on top of you, though? You know I can’t sleep on my back.”

“Fiiiiine,” Demyx said, Ienzo wiggling out of his grip as he laughed, the two shuffling back to the pillows. “This bed is massive anyway. I’ve never been on a bed this large, not even in the brothels. It’s kinda weird, right? Like, even with presumably two people, this is a lot of space,” Demyx said, flopping his head on the pillows, before admitting, “And I haven’t gotten used to the pillows either. I guess sleeping in luxury is kinda uncomfortable if you’re not used to it.”

Shifting around, Ienzo got settled on his side as usual, automatically bringing up an arm to cradle his head, which did take some configuring when there was a pillow there too. “A bit strange not to just have a mess of blankets on a cushion, or an ostensibly padded board more narrow than the width of your back,” Ienzo mused. “Guess we will just get used to it, for however long we’re staying here. I wonder what the standard sleeping situation in Dicea is like… Could be methods I’ve never even considered.”

“Oh yeah?” Demyx asked, the lull of sleepy atmosphere compelling him to lower his voice as he shifted onto his side, wrapping his arms around the way too fluffy pillow in an attempt to harden it a little. He felt like he was melting into this bed. It was strange, he didn’t quite like it yet. “Do you know of other ways to sleep? I mean, outside of just giving us scraps at the factory, and then making our own scraps at the tavern.”

“Mm,” Ienzo hummed softly, his eyes lidded, but just open enough to still see Demyx in the moonlight. “I suppose it’s not that different to a bed like this, but I know it’s customary in a certain culture that all their beds are inset into the floor, so your body is more or less level with the ground. I believe it’s an architectural choice to keep moderately cooler at night. I know there’s a method where the mattresses are more like heavily stuffed comforters, and to save on space you would fold up your mattress every morning and put it away.”

“There’s a type of bed that’s kind of a cross between a mattress and a hammock, where it has posts like a bed, but the ‘frame’ is woven rope or grass, and you don’t put anything on top of it,” Ienzo softly recalled, “It’s said to have a slight cradling sensation, and facilitate air flow.”

“Ooooh,” Demyx mused, “I like sleeping in hammocks, though I have to imagine it gets tough on your back. I think I like the idea of a bed you can roll up and put away. I feel like that’d have been really useful to us a bunch of times, you know?”

“Me and my folks never had a permanent home growing up. We’d stay in whatever beds we found in the places we were staying, especially as I got older,” Demyx recalled. “But I remember when I was little? We actually lived in a carriage. Who knows how my parents originally afforded it, but we had this big carriage that they put all of this mattress and padding into, and it was basically like our own little house that we drove from construction project to construction project. I’d sleep with them for, honestly, probably way longer than I should have,” Demyx admitted, “I think I was almost 10 by the time they realized I was getting too big to bunk with them. Then they started renting places for the months we were on every project.”

“Then, when I was old enough to want to live away from them, we picked a city that was sort of a home base for us? We knew a lot of people there, did a lot of networking for their contract deals sort of thing. I joined this sort of art house where a bunch of other broke creatives lived. I was really excited because I thought it’d be where I really got the chance to explore my music with a bunch of peers, but… it wasn’t really like that. Most everyone there was just creative by name alone, I never actually saw them work on anything. It was mostly just people getting drunk and having sex,” Demyx admitted, “Which was fun, but… well, I actually did the least amount of music writing or even practicing there. By the time I got into all that debt? I had almost stopped playing entirely. Not exactly a home of muses.”

“Handy,” Ienzo agreed, nodding slightly into the crook of his arm, “And a bit more structured than making a nest of anything comfortable every night. Even keeps threatening that my back’s gonna fall apart from the ways I sit, but I haven’t been punished for it yet.”

Was that maybe the wrong way to look at it? Possibly. Was it going to stop Ienzo from sitting on the floor and throwing his legs over chair arms? No.

Ienzo opened his eyes a little more as Demyx talked about his childhood, smiling softly as he recalled the days of traveling around in a home made for it. Quietly commenting that it sounded cozy. Which…wasn’t exactly the vibe of the ‘art house’.

“That’s a shame… For the debt, obviously, but…” Ienzo sighed softly. “I guess there is a prevailing sentiment about those years being made for experimenting and being a bit dumb. Wish there was less consequence for it.”

“Yeah,” Demyx sighed, “I mean, I imagine our situation isn’t the norm. But, yeah. I used to wonder what some of those guys were doing while I was in the factory, but now that I’m out? I’m not even really curious. It feels like a lifetime ago. Like something that happened to somebody else.”

“Hey, you grew up in the factory… is there anything about the outside world that surprises you?” Demyx asked, “I have to imagine our worlds at least gave you a good idea of what it was like out here. But you were 7 when you went in. For you, the last time you were out really was a lifetime ago.”

Ienzo nodded before going quiet, thinking that over. “...people are far more easily swayed than I thought. I’m not even speaking about Empathy, I just… People tend to be inclined to say yes to things if you just ask? Everything is…far less of an ordeal than I had thought. It makes basically any preparation feel like severe overkill.”

His eyes went lidded again. “Even and I found Maya’s library earlier? I’d seen my parents’ library before, but seeing a physical one again… And I know conceptually that there are far bigger ones out there, but I can’t… I don’t know how people aren’t constantly in one. Maya’s collection would take me years to go through, even just reading things through plainly.”

“...” Ienzo scrunched his nose a bit. “...things are overwhelmingly more pungent than even I’d braced myself for.”

“I’d say maybe we had just been getting lucky since we’ve gotten out, but honestly, even getting into that art house was just people saying yes because I asked them. I’d say people have to like you to want to do you a favor, but I don’t even think it’s that much: I think so long as you don’t freak them out, and they don’t dislike you? People are weirdly cool with saying yes to stuff,” Demyx mused, “...except loan money. Couldn’t get anyone to say yes to that to literally save my life. But, like, look at the consequences for not having it? If someone came to us and asked for our gold right now, I think the best I’d hope for in myself is giving them something… to make them go away. And then hope I never see them again. It’s scary to give it away, when you know how badly you might need it later.”

“But other things? Yeah, people are helpful, if you just ask,” Demyx mused, “My folks got a lot of little odds and ends for their construction work just by asking locals for help. Most people won’t even ask you to pay for it. They think it’s just fun contributing to a building getting made.”

“Man, I do not read very well,” Demyx admitted, “But if I could read more? I bet that’d be exciting. You’re going to just be stuck in that place, I can tell. Your own real life library, not just your world made up of things you already know? We’re going to have to beg you to come out sometimes.”

“Seriously, man, we have to get you a necklace of rosemary or something,” Demyx laughed, reaching over to poke Ienzo’s nose, “You have suuuuuch a tiiiiiny nose, how do you smell so well?”

Ienzo’s eyebrows raised a little. “...I suppose that’s true. I haven’t really tried asking for money, just the things I’d need it for directly. Maya and Prince Kokichi both offered coin first, so I don’t believe that counts…” He closed his eyes, considering that. “...Contributing to something cool… I think people just enjoy being helpful as well. If it’s not something that’s difficult for them? Such as parting with money. Then I think most people don’t even really think about sharing their means, or they can quite easily be convinced. It makes scheming feel a bit cynical and childish, actually.”

“Zexion’s already keeping an eye on it, even if I know he’s just as excited,” Ienzo grumbled, before sighing. “...I do conceptually get illiteracy, but… Even when I was little and tried teaching some of the others at Sunny Side to read… I don’t understand how anyone isn’t enamored with books. They’re pieces of every conceivable bit of knowledge and imagination and creativity in the universe! How are you not pogging?!”

Ienzo scrunched his nose even more, opening his eyes again to sleepily glare at Demyx. “My nose really isn’t that small, comparatively. And…I have no idea why I can smell so vividly. As far as I remember, neither of my parents had that issue.”

For Demyx? He knew it was entirely because, well… he had grown up with maybe four books in total in the carriage? One had been a recipe book, and one a small children's book that his parents had taught him to read on. He couldn’t even remember what the other two had been.

Demyx hadn’t gone to school. This was, technically, illegal. Public schools had been created and considered mandatory up until freshman year of high school, mostly because there were just too many jobs in Luminary that required a solid understanding of math and reading to leave it to chance what the parents would decide to teach or not.

But even if it was illegal to not send your kid to learn those basics, it also wasn’t actually enforced in any meaningful way. Most families followed it because they happened to live near those schools anyway, and it was a good way to prep their kids for their futures. For Demyx? His life had been on the road. He learned whatever the nearest adult felt like teaching him that day. He learned just enough reading to, in theory, muddle his way through a contract and sign his name.

He knew a lot of math though. He had learned it by watching his parents work on blueprints. Math felt like second nature to him, especially physics. Even if he didn’t always know the ‘proper’ words for the formulas he knew, he still knew how to solve them when he saw them. He knew what those equations meant.

Books? Paragraphs tended to blur together. And he didn’t bother sounding out words he didn’t know anymore. He just skipped them and hoped he’d get the context later. Which was bad, when it was every other word.

Worse, he read so slow and so hard, that by the time he understood what he was reading? He couldn’t really get caught up in what it was saying. He wasn’t swept up in fantasy worlds that he could barely imagine because he had been re-reading that paragraph explaining the flying towers four times. He was so frustrated that he couldn’t laugh at some clever wordplay because for the most part he was pissed that the sentence had made itself harder to understand on purpose for a joke. He had never made it through a story long enough to find out what it was actually about, giving up as it set up a scene.

Demyx could understand, yeah… but it felt weirdly mean-spirited to point this out to Ienzo, who was just gushing over something he loved and pouting a little that more people didn’t love it with him. It wasn’t a statement that suggested scorn or contempt for people who didn’t enjoy reading. It was just him wishing more people did. There wasn’t anything wrong with that.

So instead Demyx just laughed and said, “It is something to be pretty pog about,” before continuing on, “Maybe it’s an Empath thing? Maybe you have super-smell. Empath enhanced super-smell.”

Ienzo’s lips parted, before he paused. Eyes opening a little more as he considered that. “...olfactory sensors are part of the brain… And there’ve been studies that have suggested that scent is the sense that is most closely connected with memory, through the emotions connected with them. That…might be true, actually.”

His eyes narrowed a little, excited with the idea of a challenge. “That means I hypothetically could turn it off too.”

Demyx yawned, before reaching over to pinch Ienzo’s ear. “I’m going to tell your dad that you’re planning to experiment on yourself again. Let him experiment on you instead, nerd.”

Ienzo whined softly, before huffing. “Why shouldn’t I?! Of all people, I can get the most enthusiastic consent from myself.” Sighing, he frowned a little. “...maybe I’ll ask him about it when he’s more ‘Even’ again. Vexen tends to rein himself in a little more when it’s me, but…well, you’ve been in his lab before.”

Demyx laughed awkwardly, “That’s true. Yeah, I should have specified, do it with the sane version of your dad. I don’t think Vexen would hurt you on purpose… but I could see him seeing no issue with just taking away your sense of smell entirely, if that technically ‘fixes the problem’.”

Ienzo was quiet for a moment. “...it might. Food might taste odd, but it’s not like it doesn’t already.”

“Come oooon, is it really that bad that you’d rather not smell at all?” Demyx asked, “Think of all the smells you love! Like…” he squinted “Liiiiiike… me after you’ve nagged me into taking a shower?”

Ienzo flushed lightly before sighing. “It’s not about like and dislike, Demyx, I keep trying to tell you guys… It’s not that everything smells bad to me, it’s that it’s always so intense it gives me a headache. And that if there is something that smells bad, there’s no hiding it.”

“Alright, alright. Just be careful, I guess,” Demyx shrugged, “I guess you don’t need smell. The worst case scenario I can think of is smelling a fire before you see the smoke, but even then, like, you have all of us to count on for that. We won’t let you get caught up in a fire, bud. Even Lauriam’s mean mind fires.”

“...it’s crazy he did that,” Ienzo remarked, snuggling down a little more in Demyx’s bed, “Able to project every sensory aspect of a fire to all of us? And he almost had it perfect too…and I don’t think he was trying. Granted he was using more power than he’d normally be able to without hurting himself, but…I always thought we scaled pretty similarly. That was incredible.”

“It makes me wonder what Sora and eventually Riku and Kairi will be able to do, if they apply themselves.”

“Couldn’t guess. I still don’t entirely understand what Sora’s new construct even is,” Demyx admitted. “He tapped me on the arm with it as he was trying to explain it to me, and it was like I was awake, but really awake. Like, clear headed for a second. But I don’t really understand how that worked. I can’t even make my sitar unless the world I step into allows me, it’s wild to me how amazing some of the stuff you all do is.”

“I…believe it has something to do with stimulating the frontal lobe,” Ienzo murmured, closing his eyes again as he thought over the few questions he’d been able to catch Sora with. “Things like…instinct, the autonomic nerve system, trauma responses, bodily needs, they deal more with the area near the brainstem--they’re things that, even as Empaths, we don’t really have control over. But areas controlled more by the frontal lobe is like…higher, purposeful consciousness, if that makes sense? The things that we choose. I need to study his construct more to understand more of all that, though.”

Reaching out, Ienzo gently patted Demyx’s arm. “I believe you’re capable of more than what you’ve done, but even your discovery of being able to fully ‘drop’ yourself into someone else is an incredible leap. We’ve been given a new level of possibility… I don’t doubt you’ll soon come across something amazing again yourself, and then you’ll get the fun experience of having me go ‘nerd mode’ on you all over again.”

“Got it! Just discover some cool new Empath ability, and then I get all the Ienzo time a guy can ask for. Man, way to motivate me,” Demyx laughed, before yawning, pushing his face into the pillows some more, “...you know what we should do? We should go visit that game-shop Sora delivers for. You remember those games you and I used to make out of that boardgame set the supervisors gave us? We took those pieces and did so much cool stuff with it… but it’d be fun to see how board games are supposed to be played again. We could drag some of the others into it too.”

Ienzo smiled softly. Demyx didn’t really have to do anything for that. Ienzo liked spending time with him when they were hardly doing anything at all.

“That sounds fun,” Ienzo said quietly, “It sounds satisfying to learn everything a game manual has to offer, and then promptly ignore half of it because our rules make the game more fun.” Ienzo smiled a little more. “...do you remember Laugh Trivia? I’m certain we could find more flashcards like those, maybe even at the game shop. It’d be fun doing that with new jokes and not just ones we’ve already said a dozen times.”

“Oh man, Laugh Trivia! Heh, wasn’t that when Dilan started telling that ‘no fun allowed’ joke all the time? He’d hear us laughing in a corner and wander over to interrogate us, scolding us for breaking the ‘no laughter’ policy. Honestly, I think he just wanted to hear whatever joke we had told that got so much of a reaction that time,” Demyx laughed, before he lightly fussed with some thread on his pillowcase, “...We had some good moments.”

“Just jealous he’s not as funny,” Ienzo agreed with a hum before smiling softly. Something a little bittersweet. “...yeah. There’s a lot you can say about the ‘indomitable human spirit’ but…we created things in the spaces we had. Happiness.”

Ienzo opened his eyes a sliver before finding one of Demyx’s hands in the dark, gently wrapping his fingers around it. “...things weren’t good. But we had good moments. And no one can invalidate or take those away from us.” The smile grew sweeter, less bitter. Looking at Demyx with utter fondness. “...I never forget anything, and the memories we made together are precious to me. I’m happy to loan them out, but no one’s allowed to steal books from my library. And the one about us especially.”

Demyx’s hand lightly squeezed back… before a soft, “Snnnnzzzz” sound filled the air. “Snzzzzz…”

…then he peeked an eye open and smirked. “Okay, but could you imagine if I had fallen asleep through that? How much trouble would I be in right now? I’m betting at least an ear tug.”

“Asshole,” Ienzo snorted, giving Demyx’s hand a squeeze. “We should actually sleep and not just talk all night, though. I can practically feel the side-eye Zexion’s giving me.”

“Hiiiii, Zexion~” Demyx greeted, closing his eyes as he smiled, “Thanks for looking after our Ienzo. I’m a terrible influence, you have to keep me in check, chibo.”

He went quiet, like he was really going to sleep…

…before whispering, “Amaina visit you again since last time? You know she sings in my band now? She’s a backup vocalist. Girl has pipes. Big, imaginary pipes.”

“That’s so cool,” Ienzo whispered back, before both men would feel an…odd sort of sensation. Like someone affectionately nudging against your brain, while also glaring at you.

{ㅍ_ㅍ She’s been by.}

{ò_ó Go to sleep.}

“Bossy,” Demyx chuckled. But he didn’t say anything more after that.

And that was how Ienzo had ended up curled up half on Demyx’s chest, drooling into his shirt, as the Nobodies and Somebodies were woken up and called to a meeting.

For the most part, the group weren’t strictly morning people. Some of them got up with the sun, others got up when the noon heat made it too hard to stay in bed. Which might not have been a problem in the manor, the building still shockingly cool despite the sun coming up, something they hadn’t been able to enjoy in the tavern.

Still, as unusual as a morning meeting was, and as cozy as the temperature was, none of them were up to just ignoring a meeting being called. Regardless of who was calling it, it was rare for one to be called without good reason, as they all shuffled into the kitchen.

Demyx yawned, stretching his arms up before looking around the kitchen. “Should we try to make something? We have a real kitchen, guys, we could do some fun stuff in theory. Like… pancakes! Do we have batter?” he wondered, wandering over to the pantry storage closet.

“Actually, Demyx, I’m gonna need you to focus,” Dilan said, looking worn down as he leaned against the counter, “This is actually a pretty big deal.”

“But we can have pancakes after, right?” Sora piped up, looking enchanted by the idea.

“If you still want them, sure,” Luis murmured. Sipping some laced coffee.

Ienzo shuffled over to the coffee maker, hoping that Luis hadn’t spiked the pot again, though he could only put up a small pout as he was steered away from it, huffing as he just sat down. He was…fairly certain he’d read a pancake batter recipe somewhere…

Aqua had just been staring into nothing, even as the others started showing up, but she blinked and took a breath. “Make sure to have some food, regardless. You’ll need the strength.”

Waiting for the last of them to shuffle in, Aeleus tilted his head a bit, and Aqua took a deep breath.

“Ventus is alive.”

Everyone stared back at her.

“....like,” Riku tried, “in our hearts?”

Aqua shook her head sharply, her eyes starting to redden again. “The Head Secretary…pulled some sensory bullshit. Messed with our heads.” She took another careful breath. “Some noble family in the capital wanted an Empath child. So they took him.”

Her fists trembled in her lap. “But he’s alive. He was stolen.” She looked up at the group, the heartbroken fury matched in a few gazes. “And I’m going to get him back.”

Again, another silence. But this one for only half a beat before Demyx shouted, “Someone took Ventus!?”

Even’s eyes had widened, and there was actually something a little anxious in his expression as he said, “But, the supervisors assured us we could keep the baby. We did so much to negotiate for him, we…” before pain and frustration strained his face, looking away. Clearly too overwhelmed to express how much of a betrayal this was.

“That can’t be possible,” Kairi whispered, “When I was first being taught how to maintain the island, I was told you had to be one of the pillars to get direct access to it. It was stressed to me how important it was to not just let any Empath connect, I’ve always been diligent–”

“Sorry,” Luis murmured, staring at his coffee, “For being strong enough to be a pillar, I was the weak link here. He got in through me.”

“Wait, I don’t understand, I… I thought Empaths weren’t allowed to just exist out in Luminary?” Axel insisted, “I thought Tengan was the big exception to that, but isn’t that why people like Isa and Lauriam and Luis and Even were all dragged here!? You can’t be a free Empath in Luminary, so why would they–”

“There’s always different rules for the elites,” Isa murmured quietly, “Myself and Even and Ienzo were taken because we broke the rules. Or, Ienzo’s parents did. We lost our protections. But I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘demons’ were finding it easy to hide in elite families.”

“...wait, but…” Sora smiled, “Isn’t this a good thing? Ventus is alive! He’s okay! We can go see him!”

Aeleus didn’t really take measures to make himself look small, but it became quite clear that he didn’t try to make himself look big either, not with how his shoulders squared and his breath seemed to make his presence take up twice as much space. His eyes wide with shock, and deep with anger.

The supervisors were not trustworthy. They regularly lied and messed with the Empaths for fun and a cheap sense of superiority. But the deals they made for ‘rewards’? Had always been respected. And the ‘old guard’ had fought so hard for Aqua and Terra to keep their child.

That of all things, not requests for books or boardgames or booze, a child had been the thing they lied about…

Ienzo just stared at Aqua, then Luis, then nothing in astonishment. For once, his mind blank, just reeling…

But not for long.

“Sora, it’s the best thing,” Aqua said, her voice a little choked, “But I’m going to do more than see him.”

“Even that much is difficult to plan,” Ienzo said, tapping his chin as his mind whirred. “You can’t just walk into the castle. Which, this time of year, is where any major noble family, which I assume would be the only kind that would have the knowledge and resources to take Ventus, would be. You won’t get arrested immediately, but you’ll be followed and highly encouraged to go back to the lower districts of the capital if you don’t have business that invited you to the castle. Which, unless you work there, are a merchant selling to elites, are invited and escorted by an elite, are a priestess, or have committed a crime so severe the royal court has to deal with it, you’re not getting in.”

“Um…” Isa said, before frowning. Swallow, swallow, swallow… “There’s another way, if you’re thinking of the courts,” he whispered, “If you’re suing for something of a great enough value? Such as a title, or inheritance? That’s a way to get into the high courts almost immediately as well. The main reason a peasant ends up in the high court is a bastard child trying to stake their claim.”

He paused, before adding, “It’s low risk too. There’s no punishment for losing that fight, you’re just sent away.”

“But that’s just getting into the castle, if we went down some route like that,” Dilan pointed out, “I know this isn’t how we want to phrase this, but we’re talking about a kidnapping. We need a plan to pull him out of there, that has to include him maybe fighting against us. He doesn’t know he was kidnapped already. That’s going to be tough.”

“He might be the son of a noble right now, but he was an Empath bought and sold at his birth,” Even said after a moment, “Things are different for elites, but there’s hierarchies and injustices among their own rank and file as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if some resentment has grown, being the ‘commodity’ child.”

“Either way, we still have to do it,” Axel said, crossing his arms, “Go to the capital, grab Ventus, we can apologize for scaring the guy as we book it out of the country. He’ll understand someday. We can’t leave one of us behind.”

Ienzo gave Isa a surprised look, before nodding as he worked in that option to his plans as well. It could work…if they were willing to put on the performance of their life. Not for the case itself, but all the showmanship that would need to happen to get the claim recognized and then accepted enough to get them into the castle to get to the court. Pretty much any of them could claim an illegitimate status, but, well, as much as it was an easier way to get into the royal court, more obvious lies weren’t even entertained. They’d have to find something with enough doubt to work with…

(...he couldn’t ask Maya. He’d do everything he could for Ventus, but he wasn’t going to ask her to risk execution like that.)

Aqua looked down, her fists shaking again…before she grimaced. “...no.”

“No?” Aeleus asked softly.

“I’d fight every guard and snob in the castle for Ventus…but I’m not going to treat my son like an object,” Aqua said. Her voice rough, but firm. “We’ve all been treated worse than animals for years. Decades. Ventus was bought. None of us have ever been given the option to make choices for years, until now. And I’m not going to deny that to my son.”

“The nobles might be the only family he’s known, but he’ll have an option now.” Aqua took a thick, difficult breath. “...I just want to see him alive, and to give him that choice. But I’m not taking it away from him. He deserves better than what we were given.”

“...but, Aqua,” Axel said softly, “He might not come with us. He doesn’t know us. We can’t just…” He grit his teeth, looking away. “...dammit.”

“Well,” Demyx said, smiling uneasily, “We’re a charming group! Maybe he’ll want to get to know us? We’ll never find out unless we go!”

“Some of us will go,” Dilan pointed out, “We have a sick Empath down for the count right now, and considering everything that’s going on with our escape route out of the country, we can’t delay our rescue attempt for Lauriam to get better. Some of us have to stay here. Maybe even go as far as head to Dicea without us, set up the fort, so to speak.”

“Dilan and I already agreed we wanted to go personally,” Luis said, looking around, “And I know it’s not going to be immediately popular, but, I don’t think the teens should come–”

“What!? What do you mean!?” Sora demanded, straightening his thin shoulders, “We can handle it! We can help!”

“No, I agree,” Isa whispered, shifting uncomfortably even as he explained, “If we’re trying to legally find our way into the court, Sora, Riku, and Kairi won’t have any place there even if we were to lie and make up credentials. If Indentureds were still in practice, yes, we could say you were servants or assistants. But a serious court level lawyer wouldn’t bring teenagers to the court as assistants. You’d be assumed under-trained and look out of place.”

“I know, Axel,” Aqua said. Her voice edging on despair, of the thought of losing her son twice.

But breathing for a few moments, she nodded. “However we’re getting in, a smaller group will be easier to coordinate and infiltrate with. And if we run into trouble, not having all of us in the fire will be important.”

Aeleus gave Dilan a look before nodding. “I will stay, then.” Each of their physically strongest with each group.

Ienzo let out a dissatisfied little breath. “...most of what I know about the capital and elite machinations is almost twenty years out of date, and I know pitifully little about the intricacies of law if we’re going that route. I would be able to contribute with Empathetic perceptive manipulation, but I’ll leave that to your better judgment if that’s worth another person coming along.”

Aqua smiled a little, giving Isa a gentle glance. “Lucky for us, then, we happen to know a good lawyer.”

Isa looked away uncomfortably, though he nodded.

Even frowned, giving Isa a hard look… before he murmured to himself, “It’s not impossible might still be recognizable… and Even himself isn’t the most charismatic figure… Demyx!”

Demyx squeaked, “Yes!?”

“Stand straight. Imagine a stick has been shoved straight up your asshole,” Even demanded, coming up to him, “Hmmmm…”

“L-like this!?” Demyx asked, standing perfectly straight, starting to sweat, “Why?”

“Axel has ‘street thug’ radiating off of him. It’s in everything he does, how he holds himself, which words he stresses, how he holds his chin. A thousand things he can’t possibly unlearn in time,” Even explained.

“Uh, rude,” Axel said flatly.

“But you? Give you a haircut, something… smarmy. Slicked back, maybe, getting you wearing clothes slightly too nice for you,” Even said, looking Demyx over, “You could pass as a noble frat boy getting too far on his wealth and looks.”

“Uuuuuh, okay,” Demyx said, “...what?”

“Isa needs someone charismatic and loud to cover for him when things get a bit… barky,” Even explained, “You’re our extrovert. I saw you improv a thousand distractions for the supervisors in the factory. You can cover for his mental instability, if we can just teach you a few tricks along the way. Or…” Even huffed, “They can. I can’t make a trip to the capital and then race back to the border. It was already going to be hard enough for me to cross the border. My knees swell into damn bowling balls when the weather shifts even slightly. I will stay, I’d just slow you all down.”

Even despite the subject, Ienzo had to swallow a snicker. Aw, dang. He’d miss the mohawk…but it was a good plan. He had been thinking along the lines of an interpreter, but some ‘law school student’ too big for his britches making distractions might work out better. Almost everyone in the law system would’ve encountered someone who was only there because of money, it just made sense.

“Alright, so that’s Aqua, Dilan, Luis, Isa, and Demyx for sure going,” Ienzo noted. “That does work for a smaller group, and it’s almost splitting us in half if we want to think about safety in those terms. Smaller is also better for our budget. There are some workarounds for making cheaper clothes look the part, but we do still have to look the part to some extent.”

“I mean,” Maya sucked on a strawberry, leaning against the kitchen counter between Sora and Kairi, “It’s not that hard to pretend to be rich. There’s lot of clothes here, you all can just take some of it with you.”

“Gya!” Sora shouted, while Kairi just gave the woman a baffled look, though she politely took a strawberry from the bowl Maya offered her, “When did you get here?!”

“I live here,” Maya said, that her entire explanation as she sucked on another strawberry. “It’s morning, I was hungry. Anyway, I’m not going to pretend to be some expert of the court. But, Ienzo, you’re free now. I’ve been meaning to ask you about this anyway… you ever going to go claim your family’s land?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at the guy, “Your family committed ‘suicide’. They didn’t lose their title. And that’s a big inheritance you haven’t gone to claim yet…”

She paused, looking away for a bit, like she wasn’t sure she should suggest this… before shrugging. “New regime. Hell, you might even be able to argue they were murdered. If you wanted to go that far. Queen Kaede didn’t order it, she might be willing to hear you out.”

Ienzo blinked. “...what?”

Aqua raised her eyebrows, before making a small amused noise. “...no duh, huh. We don’t even need to make up some claim--we’ve already got a screwed over noble.”

Ienzo looked over to Aqua, uncomprehending. “What?”

“Hm,” Aeleus noted. “Might be involved enough to give you more time to settle things and get to know him more too.”

“What?” Ienzo repeated, sweating a bit now.

“Oh, wow,” Axel said, eyes widening, “Ienzo is still a noble? I don’t know why, I just assumed becoming an Indentured meant that title was automatically lost… it’s not?”

Isa frowned, thinking about it for a moment before shaking his head, saying softly, “Not with the way his parents died. Taking a noble family’s title away from them is a very serious act among elites. It’s less scandalous to kill them, than it is to strike their crests from the charts. The queen would have a lot to explain, if she refused… it might even be a case we could win…”

“Holy shit!” Demyx shouted, giving Ienzo a dazzled look. “Dude! You’re a lord!”

Ienzo was…sure he had heard some of the adults mentioning that his family’s lands and titles had been seized. That was the only way he could’ve ended up at Sunny Side, right? That…made sense, not that he was still…

Ienzo was jolted from his thoughts, and the very quiet stressed sound he was making, by a heavy hand on his shoulder. Aeleus giving him a worried look. He glanced over at Aqua, seeing… She wouldn’t make him. It would be easiest, but they could make up a case, or try another method into the castle, it wasn’t the only way. But one way or another, she was going to get to Ventus, and if they were pushed to the wall…

Taking a deep breath, Ienzo nodded. “Aqua, Dilan, Luis, Isa, Demyx, and me, then. I…suppose we should start drafting letters.”

There was a buzzing feeling of excitement in the room, Sora literally thrusting his hands into the air. They had a plan! They were going to do this!

They were bringing Ventus home!

Xaldin landed in Destiny Island, giving Namine a small nod as she disappeared before he looked around. “Zexion? My turn. Where are you?”

Trotting over, Zexion took his--mostly self-appointed--duty as ‘light watcher when no one else was around’ seriously, Lauriam’s light cradled in his hands as he came over to Xaldin.

ó_ò He hasn’t really spoken much today. We got some shock and…

ㅍ_ㅍ I’m not really sure what to call it. Maybe assured determination, when we told him the news about Ventus.

ó_ò But that’s been about it.

The chibo gently lifted the ball of light, offering it to Xaldin.

“Assured determination, huh?” Xaldin said, taking the light–which looked much smaller in his hands, than it had in the Chibo’s–before nodding, “Alright, thanks. I’m gonna go lay out in the sand with him, if you need me, little guy.”

Giving Zexion another nod, Xaldin headed over to the beach area, deck chairs and a little umbrella forming on the sand, along with a little glass table with a cup of water on it materialized. Xaldin sitting down in a bathing suit, sunscreen on his nose, and sunglasses on before he said, “Whoops, you need yours too,” putting sunglasses on the little light, balancing him on his belly. “Comfy?”

Zexion returned the nod before disappearing. Still around the island, but going to work more on some of his and Ienzo’s projects while he had the time. It was a very busy time to be them, currently.

{...ø…🎕?}

{⌐■-■b}

{A sense of soft amusement}

“No flowers?” Xaldin guessed, though he got the last two messages loud and clear, Xaldin shrugging as he settled in, “Sorry, Dandelion. You’re grounded to the island for now. Going to have to just enjoy the beach with me rather than frolicking gayly in your fields.”

Xaldin took a deep breath. “So. Heard about the whole Ventus thing? Ain't that a trip? You should see Luis right now, man’s beating himself up. Never seen a more sniffling drunk. I think he’s maybe being a tad too hard on himself, really.”

There was a small bit of flickering. No, that wasn’t right, but…well, if Xaldin was actually pulling himself together to see him? Then Lauriam wasn’t going to waste his energy to make a dumb joke more clear right at the beginning.

There were…a lot of other, more important things to talk about.

{★}

{...🂻…?}

{...🂻→★ø?}

“Star… Does the Star mean Ventus or Aqua? I know Aqua has that little pendant she and Terra made for the family,” Xaldin said, before trying to say more clearly, “Star means Ventus?”

There was a little pleased flare of the light.

{★★★}

“Okay, green star is Ventus,” Xaldin nodded, thinking about the message. “...is Luis not happy about Ventus?”

There was a flicker, before a pause. Though what happened next…was a memory. But fuzzy and hazed, time not flowing smoothly in it, and sometimes the whole image just had bits of distortion.

{Sora in the kitchen of the tavern / a broken mug on the ground / Sora sheepishly bowing, and while it couldn’t be heard, it was apparent, and maybe remembered, that Sora was saying ‘my bad!’}

“Ooooh, why is he apologizing for Ventus,” Xaldin realized, “I’d have thought someone had mentioned it already. It’s one of the big reasons we know Ventus is alive: Luis has been keeping it to himself since Ventus was taken that the Head Secretary was connected to the island the same moment Ventus ‘died’.”

“Honestly, he probably should have said something from the beginning, but I get his thought process. What were any of us going to do? Rebel against the supervisors for a baby that might still be dead? Watch Aqua drive herself crazy trying to get him back? When it was never going to happen?” Xaldin sighed, shaking his head, “I suppose he could have said something once we were all free, but again, he didn’t know for certain. We would have had no idea where to start.”

“...heh,” Xaldin chuckled, reflecting fondly on recent events, “Stumbled into a lucky break. Let off a lot of stress too, if you were wondering why I’m not acting all huffy at you.”

If Lauriam could sigh, he would. Who knew having your brain almost be obliterated would make communicating difficult? He had been told that Luis had known more about Ventus, and honestly? He had been pissed hearing about it. He had only been in the factory for about a year when Ventus…well, he supposed now, really was born. Lauriam had been slow to warm to the other Empaths, hesitant about getting close to them, but, well, you made fast friends in hellfire, and Lauriam had been excited with the rest of them when it had been time.

Feeling Aqua’s grief and horror…it had felt like he was losing another sibling all over again. Holding something back about that?

But Xaldin made good points, and it hadn’t really been Luis’ fault. Just…fucking Tengan, Tenganing it up.

But Lauriam had a feeling that Luis felt like it was Luis’ fault.

Now they knew, though, and it sounded like the others were making a plan to set things right.

…Lauriam wished he could help.

{...}

{...🍃?}

“How am I?” Xaldin asked, “Or, am I still Xaldin? Yeah. Considering what’s ahead of us? I actually thought it might be smart to keep myself a Nobody for right now. All I’m going to be there is muscle, I’d rather not let morals hold me back. If people have to die for Aqua to get to Ventus? Then I’m going to be the one that kills them.”

“After everything’s done, then I’ll be whole,” Xaldin said, “By the time we catch up to you all in Dicea? I’ll definitely be Dilan.”

{...}

{A sense of smugness}

There was a small flare, before, uh… Well? The light nudged Xaldin. Barely the slightest sense of pressure, but it was there.

{ò^ó}

{🍃!!!}

“Look at that. You can move,” Xaldin snickered, poking the little ball of light, “Still can’t communicate for shit though. What are you trying to shout at me about? Aren’t you resting?”

There was some flickering as Xaldin poked the light, and then an uncomfortably long stretch of nothing. Before…

{...a complicated feeling, that included remorse, and worry, and affection, and fear, and anger.}

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Xaldin mused, watching the waves roll in, “You’re gonna recover. I’m gonna recover. We can talk all this out when that’s happened. I’m not sure how well we can pull it off with you all feeble like this. Which is what you get for overreacting, honestly. You know you turned into a giant plant monster, right?”

Ugh. Yeah. Trying to talk through something like what had happened like this felt like a nightmare. It felt like--

{Fuck off.}

{Felt like I was exploding or something, it’s hard to think ab--?!?}

{!!!?!?}

Xaldin burst out laughing.

He had to cup his hand around the light, readjust the sunglasses to make sure he didn’t fall off his belly. But he chuckled as he said, “First words since everything would be telling me to fuck off. Don’t hurt yourself now, I don’t know how I’d explain it to the others if you became a little light plant monster.”

{🌪}

There was another stretch of silence, the light a little dimmer, but it gradually got its glow back as time continued. There was a small feeling of hesitance.

{...}

{...Zexion told me what happened. I don’t really remember what happened, just that things felt…bad.}

{I remember Sora stabbing me though.}

“Yeah, that was pretty impressive, I’m not gonna lie,” Xaldin recalled, “I didn’t see it myself, but I’ve seen the memory. You should check it out when you’re feeling more stable. Gotta give it to the kid, it was cool. Especially considering he stabbed you with a ‘feel better’ stick.”

“Hey,” Xaldin asked, petting the light slightly, “What does that feel like?”

{Like waking up from a bad dream. A normal one, if you remember what those are like.}

A dream where it didn’t matter you were an Empath, you were just as lost in it as anyone.

{...it hurt, like actually being stabbed. But…kind of in a good way. It felt like a relief.}

{Still kinda hurt, if I’m being honest. Dunno how that works when I don’t have a body.}

“Ah, I see,” Xaldin said, taking his hand back. “Well, it’s all over now. Now you just need to reform already. Honestly, the things you do for attention,” he teased.

{It comes too naturally, I guess.}

{Still happened when I was trying for the opposite.}

{...}

{...I hope it goes without saying, but I don’t actually wish you guys were all dead.}

“No, yeah, we know,” Xaldin said. “First day you were a ball of light? Zexion told us you were loooooonely~” he said, poking the little light ball. “And in case you didn’t notice? Every single one of your family now has designated ‘spend time with Lauriam’ time. How’s it been being a trapped audience for Demyx’s concerts?”

There was a jittery bit of flickering.

{I’m not lonely}

{...}

{...it’s just scary being like this. It doesn’t feel like I exist, sometimes. Like…I guess the ball of light I am right now will go out and I’ll just…}

{...}

{...he’s a better musician than Larxene, at least. Dunno I’d call it a concert for how low-key it is, though.}

“You’re not dying, Lauriam.” Xaldin said, “You’re just… well, I don’t actually know what this is? You stressed yourself out into a coma or something. Something like that. You’ll be fine, is my point.”

“What even happened, anyway?” Xaldin asked, “One second we were talking, the next, you had a full mental breakdown. Everyone was saying a lot about how you just needed a break from the island or from us to have yourself a cry or something. Is that what happened? Cause I gotta tell you, that’s more than a little anti-social, Dandelion. Murdering everyone to get some peace and quiet? Bit rude.”

Apparently his body was fine, but it didn’t feel that way in the moments where consciousness was a little more there for him. Lauriam felt like there was just an expanse of…nothingness. The only thing he could do was think, and most of the time he couldn’t even do that, so there was just…nothing.

It was scary. And when the others were around, it felt like something was actually real, and fuck did Lauriam want something to feel real right now.

{...}

{...I thought you didn’t want to get into this.}

“That was when we were playing the picture-book game.” Xaldin said, “This feels a little less ‘destined to fail’. Though, we can talk about something more fun, if you’re not up to it. You won’t guess in a thousand years, who complained to me about finding some jizz recently. Go on, guess. You won’t get it.”

{Ours or someone else’s?}

“Mine, specifically.”

{Aw fuck who found my body…}

{...Aeleus wouldn’t complain about it, I don’t think.}

{Axel?}

“Please, you think Axel would clean your butthole for you? Come on,” Xaldin scoffed.

{Oh no.}

{Didn’t think he would, just figure he’d be able to lift me up. I can’t remember how much I got my clothes on.}

{...}

{Oh no.}

“Heh. I’ll spare you any more imagining, it was Aqua. You actually got a good amount of clothes back on, before you ran off. It’s amazing how ingrained that is in us. I did the same thing when I thought the tavern was on fire. Can’t run out to save my life without getting some pants on,” Xaldin said, rolling his eyes, “Dignity over death. But yeah, Aqua found you and, since we were all busy fighting Plant Monster you, she decided to bathe you before everyone woke up. I got an earful about your hips more than anything, but yeah, she mentioned that you needed a lot of cleaning that you shouldn’t have needed. Something, something, condoms.”

{Nooooooo I really don’t need a safe sex talk from the only one of us that’s actually had a kid.}

{...}

{??? What happened to my hips?}

“Scratches. From the crates,” Xaldin explained, “...so, look. About the whole ‘needing you’ thing? …I take all that back. I was high off some good fuckery endorphins, was saying a lot of bullshit. Didn’t mean any of it. Was just feeling sappy.”

That’s what she had been most worried about?? Lauriam supposed he was grateful she noticed and likely sanitized them, he guessed, but…really? Lauriam had made it a point to himself to never go try and find Aqua and Terra if he noticed they were both gone--a lesson he wished he’d thought about more before looking for Axel and Isa with Ienzo--but, like…come on. Like they’d never gotten environmental damage either.

…guess they really were doing this, huh.

{...hey, Xaldin?}

{Quick thought exercise, if you’ll humor me.}

“Sure,” Xaldin said, adjusting his sunglasses up to the top of his head, “Shoot.”

{You’ve just been railed by someone you really like, he then says you should see other people, quickly followed by saying he’d be pissed if you saw other people, then tells you that he hates himself because he feels like he groomed you, and then says he loves you.}

{What the fuck do you say to that, Xaldin.}

“...” Xaldin leaned his head back, staring at the light through the umbrella, “...hmm… I dunno. By that point, just set the tavern on fire. Sounds like a real bad date, honestly. Lotta red flags.”

“........ugh,” Xaldin grumbled, rubbing his temple, “....okay, I’ll admit, that sounds bad. I could have… I don’t know. By this point, all I think I could have done was just not said anything at all. I don’t have all those emotions figured out any more than I made it sound trying to explain it… but also,” he frowned at the light, “You went from ‘annoyed’ to ‘Giant Arsonist Plant Monster’ pretty much on a dime, dandelion. Maybe I missed some hints, but it sure felt like that you only went ballistic when I said the ‘love you’ part.”

There was a small flare of frustration from the light.

{You realize how impossible that is for me, right? I like you; no I don’t, you just successfully groomed me. I don’t like you; phew, let’s stop this. You said it was shitty timing when it happened, but all that after fucking me? I already…}

{...}

A smaller sense of frustration, though this time it seemed to be self-directed.

{...wasn’t your fault for not getting hints you weren’t meant to figure out.}

“Yeah, well… bully for me. Glad I win the ‘that came outta nowhere’ argument.” Xaldin scoffed, “And yet, weirdly enough? Kinda feels like we’re arguing technical details. Yes, I was being overwhelming. You got overwhelmed. But that doesn’t tell me what the hell happened back there. We’ve had arguments before! Have I been missing a series of plant monsters?!”

{Haven’t had arguments like that…at all, really. And not while I’ve been me like…well, not this this, but with Marluxia as base essence.}

…do you want this to turn into another argument, Lauriam? Because it’s definitely going that way if you don’t tell him. Really, it’s less embarrassing than what you already did.

…sigh.

{...you said I should consider other options, right? See other people. I tried to imagine it.}

{And I felt like a fucking psychopath because all I could imagine was fucking murdering people if I let them get that close.}

{I already felt so…weird. Whenever you’d get all gentle with me. And then suddenly having to cope really quick with the murder stuff, and then you getting into something genuinely sweet and vulnerable…}

There was a small feeling of enlightenment.

{...I felt like I was on fire. And I just needed to think for a sec but then I was on the island with everyone and… Well, you saw.}

Xaldin sighed. “I see… Lauriam, you little weirdo. Why are you imagining murdering people? I mean… I know why,” Xaldin said, “But still: why? You’re not like that. What happened with your sister… that wasn’t your fault. You were right to do it.”

The light flickered slowly.

{It’s not about Strelitzia. I didn’t want to fuck my sister.}

{And I… I know it wasn’t my fault.}

{...intimacy just feels…like kill or be killed. Devour or be devoured. But I don’t…want it to be. So it feels strange and alarming.}

{...but it doesn’t feel that way with you. Normally, anyway.}

{Until you said you loved me.}

“...I mean, that sounds kinda hot,” Xaldin admitted, “Though, it does lose some of the sex-appeal when playing it out results in, again–and I cannot stress this enough–giant plant arsonist monsters. Gotta be honest, dandelion. Not into the giant plant monster.”

“Look, I know this isn’t comforting now, now that it’s all done,” Xaldin said, “But I wasn’t… I wasn’t trying to say I loved you. Not even because it’s not true. I do love you. How could I not? Regardless of us getting together, that ship’s sailed, I already love you. That didn’t seem like news to me… because so do all those freaks and losers that made up our factory family. I hate to break it to you, but you’re very loved already.”

“I was trying to say that…that I needed you, but, like, in a lovey, pathetic kinda way,” Xaldin said, tilting his head back a bit, “...okay, maybe that is a confession. I hadn’t meant it to be! I felt like I was trying to explain how all over the place my feelings were. Trying to explain why I needed to talk about it. I was all messed up over it… a little jealous, honestly. I wish my feelings manifested into some cool avatar. We could be chilling as little balls of light together. That’d be cozy.”

{Playing, sure. Not when it actually feels like a threat. And I’m not into necrophilia, you freak.}

{...you don’t feel like a threat. You feel safe.}

{All you guys feel safe, I know they love me, and I know I love them too, and that doesn’t…freak me out.}

{It’s just…anyone else.}

Lauriam listened to Xaldin try to explain his own feelings, and the ball of light buzzed a bit.

{You suck.}

{Shouldn’t wish that either. Don’t…feel so good. Nothing cozy about it.}

“You suck. You know how much everyone’s gonna spoil you when you wake up? Well, Sora’s going to spoil you, anyway. Your team includes Even, so, well, sorry about that.”

“So, I freaked you out by making you imagine being with other people,” Xaldin reasoned, “And then just when you had felt most murdery and exposed, I dropped the confession bomb. Which exploded like a fiery wall through a very soon to be glassless tavern.”

“Well,” Xaldin pet the ball of light, “You’re always interesting, dandelion. Can’t fault you that.”

{...oh. Right, you’re going on the plan thing.}

…it felt so much more complicated than that, but if you really wanted to distill it…Lauriam guessed so.

He wished he could laugh.

{Guess it was too much to hope to come out of the Torture Factory not insane, huh.}

“Weren’t we talking about that in the closet at one point? Yeah. Yeah, that likely wasn’t happening… Isa’s still growling and biting,” Xaldin pointed out, “Luis is drowning in alcohol, now that he has actual access to it. Honestly, I think we should prioritize doing Luis next. Maybe he could get it under control if he was whole… yeah. We’re all damaged, Lauriam. Who the hell could blame us?”

“........maybe,” Xaldin said, “Maybe we should consider ourselves a… situation pending, sort of thing. I was wrong to try to confess. It was stupid of us to fuck each other. Not while we’re still trying to figure out who we are, literally. And now with the separation… Honestly, trying to figure this out now feels really self-defeating. We can’t be whatever it is we were trying to be under these circumstances. It’s too damn hard.”

A lot of people would try, Lauriam would hazard a guess, but they’d all be wrong. They had done their best. And it was what they were still doing. Who could blame them, with everything they had to try their best at? Or against.

{The fucking kind of felt like the simplest part, honestly.}

{...but, yeah, okay. ‘It’s complicated, situation pending’.}

{...}

{...just let me know when you’re going to find Dilan, okay? Even if I still can’t help.}

{I want to be first in line when he wakes up to tell both of you, ‘not so easy, is it?’}

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll let ya know. Like I said, definitely getting it done once we grab Ventus. One last job. Then I retire.” Xaldin said, “Then I’ll do the hard part…which is having this damn conversation with you again. You better be less ‘ball of light’y by then.”

{I dunno, with ★ on a tear to find ★? 🏝 might be back before💮have the…chance…}

“Someone’s all tuckered out?” Xaldin guessed, patting the ball of light, before pushing his sunglasses back down, leaning back, “Look, just get some rest, dandelion. It’s a nice day in our mind beach. Let’s just enjoy it for a while. We can figure this out some other time.”

The ball of light dimmed a bit, but it didn’t really feel like a sad thing. Instead, it just felt kind of…cozy.

“Kokichi!” Kaito said, jabbing his finger in the air, chin up and one hand behind his back, uncharacteristically stern as he said, “Babe–is babe too casual?--beautiful! We have been talking around this for a few days now, and I have decided… no more! I simply must be blunt about this, Ouma! Ouma? Boss? Boss…” Kaito paused, brow furrowing, before he turned around. Continuing his pace back and forth as he continued, “I simply must insist, hu…husband! That you assist me in reaching out to former Head Secretary Tengan!”

He clapped his hands together, thinking… before continuing, “I am aware it will be uncomfortable! But I am much more responsible and stable than I was, near two years ago. Nay! Nay, I say, more well-adjusted than I was six months ago! I feel entirely certain I can confront this man and not turn into a pathetic, sobbing puddle of depression for another month! Quite the opposite! I will be… spunky! And totally fine! It’s gonna be great! Fun, even!”

Kaito paused… before he glanced at the fish tank, “Ori, Chie, you guys were supposed to stop me if I got rambly and unrealistic. What the hell, guys, that’s a terrible speech, where was my backup?”

The clams laid out peacefully on some nice, decorative stones near some bubbles, nestled in some fuzzy algae. Chilled out.

“Honestly, you two never take anything seriously. Larry? Larry, where’s Larry, he always–ah, there you are Larry,” Kaito said, squinting at a Platy fish–every platy fish that caught Kaito’s eyes was ‘Larry’--as he said, “What do you think? How do I word this to suggest that this isn’t going to be a monumentally stupid idea that’s going to leave me acting like a total downer for waaaay too long? Hmm? Come on, Larry, you get paid the big bucks for the way you spin stories, I need you to pull your weight here today. Karry? Karry, you’re our expert in international relations. I’m an international relation to ‘Kichi. What’s the move here, buddy?” Kaito asked the first Tiger Barb–who were all Karry– before waiting patiently, like he was actually hearing something.

…he frowned, “Karry, that sounds a bit stereotypical. We really need better for our international relations department. Expect this to reflect in our quarterly assessment at the end of the month.”

“Kai-chan?” Kokichi called, poking his head into the shrine before lighting up at the sight of his husband and quickly scuttling inside. “Have I been making you wait? Sorry, we got a little caught up in the workshop--I can’t wait for you to see Kimiko’s binder, it’s already looking incredible!”

With the next term of school right around the corner, Kokichi and Haneda had held a little workshop of sorts for the kids. It was half just making sure they had all their supplies ready, and half trying to stir up excitement by helping the kids customize all their supplies, and Kokichi thought they were quite successful on both fronts.

Coming closer to place a kiss on Kaito’s arm, Kokichi looked up at him adoringly. “So what did you wanna talk about?”

Kaito lit up when his husband walked in. Oh, yay, his ‘Kichi was here!

…oh, shit, Kokichi was here.

“Heck yeah, crafts going well then? I can’t wait to see the results!” Kaito grinned, leaning down to place a quick kiss against Kokichi’s forehead, before quickly shooting a glare at the fish tank. Darn it, guys! He was so unprepared now! He swore, one of these days he was gonna fire the whole tank!

Then he grinned back down at Kokichi, as he asked, “So, babe! Thanks for coming. Always an honor to have ya at the shrine. My beautiful shrine that I love and appreciate so, so, soooo much! Which you look lovely in! Have I mentioned you look amazing today? I love the–” Kaito looked down at Kokichi’s pants, both of which were tied at the knees to balloon the fabric up to his hips, though one leg cut off into shreds past the knee and the other fanned out to his ankle. Random parts of the pants seemingly sewn together by entirely differently, brightly gnarled fabrics, “...new pants! Very bright!”

Kokichi grinned and looked down at his pants, tottering from one leg to the other to show them off a little more. “Thank you~ I know Kai-chan thinks they’re an eyesore, and I love them so much for that.” He paused, before rolling his eyes. “The fact that they’re an eyesore, not that you don’t like them.”

Looking up at Kaito softly, Kokichi took him in for a moment before reassuring, “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I’m not gonna blow up at you, and if I need a second, I’ll let you know. But you’re not… You’re never gonna be ‘in trouble’ for telling me anything.”

“‘Kichi, babe! Who said I don’t like them!? I love anything that you pair with your mushroom crop-top! Definitely one of my faves!” Kaito said, only kind of joking. He did like that crop top, actually. Way too cold to go outside in it, but it was always fun to watch his husband run around in them in the castle!

Besides, he was growing very desensitized to Kokichi’s sense of fashion. Really, Dicea’s sense of fashion, though Kokichi often took it to the biggest extremes. Kaito could sometimes see the appeal! Sometimes! In a ‘well, that’s certainly something’ way!

“Nooo, I don’t think you’re going to be mad at me,” Kaito grinned, taking Kokichi’s hand and bringing it up for a kiss, kissing against his pinky knuckle, “And I’m never ‘in trouble’... unless you tell on me to Maki and Shuichi, then it’s all bets off. But no, I know babe. Noooo, I just… eeeeeng,” Kaito grimaced, straightening up to shrug awkwardly, “...sooooo about that ‘talking to Kazuo’ thing I’ve mentioned on and off for a bit… what if I was ready to be less… hypothetical about it?”

Kokichi snickered a bit, unable to resist shimmying his shoulders a little for the joy of making the puffy fabric rustle. It had been an incredible find, and Kokichi loved the challenge of finding bottoms that could stand up to the vibrant colors. And, of course, he loved any opportunity to pair polka dots and stripes together.

It was less from Kaito these days, but if he put together an outfit that made both Kaito and Denji cringe? Kokichi took it as a monumental success.

Smiling as Kaito kissed his pinky, Kokichi heard him out, and…eeugh. Kokichi’s face immediately settled into a grimace, though he just sighed, looking at Kaito worriedly. “...yeah? You ready?”

“I think so!” Kaito said brightly… before grimacing a bit, “I’m really at a point where I kind of need to be? It’s on my mind a lot lately. It’s actually to a point where this whole month all me and Miss Crystal ever talk about is Tengan, and I’m sort of sick of talking about him. It doesn’t feel good, I always leave those sessions just wanting to sleep all day, it doesn’t feel like I’m getting anywhere…” Kaito’s gaze went a little distant, nervously following the pattern of the fishes with the side of his eyes, letting their movement distract him from his unease for a bit, “...I know a month isn’t very long to get over something now that I’m talking to her about it, but I haven’t seen Tengan in almost two years. Like, personally, it feels like I’ve had alllll this time to get past him, and I’m still not even close. It’s frustrating.”

“Besides,” Kaito shrugged, “Even if you reach out, who knows when I’ll actually get to talk to him. The guy doesn’t even know me anymore. He’s living some… weird rebel life in Danganronpa still, maybe? It’ll probably be a while before he wants to sit down and talk with me. Might as well just start the process now. Right?”

Kokichi sighed, wrapping his arms around one of Kaito’s. He had been really relieved, honestly, when Dr. Mariah had recommended that they bring Miss Crystal into the fold--that she was someone they could bring into the fold. As much good work Kaito had been doing with her, he was right that there were important gaps that just…sucked. That he couldn’t talk to her about.

Remembering all the times he’d talked to Kaito and just wished that his husband had someone to talk to…it was good. And Kokichi definitely knew what it was like to talk something to death in therapy and still not really feel great about it.

As much as he didn’t want it to…this day was probably going to come. And the best thing Kokichi could do was to support his husband.

“...he was pretty eager to rifle through you before,” Kokichi grouched, before sighing. “...I feel like I made it clear that if you guys were ever gonna talk, and I mean actually talk, not just him using his Empathetic advantage, that’d it’d be on your schedule, not his. I just…I’m saying that so you don’t put all your expectations into not doing this for a while, and get caught off guard if it happens sooner, okay?”

Kokichi gave Kaito another worried look, before nodding. “But I’ll reach out to him. Would…” Kokichi’s eyebrows scrunched as he thought for a moment, lips pressing together. “...I wanna support you. But…I feel like I might just get in the way if I’m there. Saint Madison should be enough to ensure your safety, and she can ping me if she’s not, but…would you want me there?”

Kaito draped his arms around Kokichi’s shoulders and down his back, idly rubbing Kokichi’s back as he expressed his concerns. Kaito knew Kazuo had snuck his way into his mind once as the new version of himself. Admittedly, that wasn’t a… great sign, about the new Tengan.

But in some ways, Kaito almost found that reassuring.

His chances of speaking to Tengan were zero. That guy was gone in every important way imaginable. But speaking to a guy who might still have some of Tengan’s instincts… however he chose to tackle that? Maybe that was someone who had answers Kaito needed.

Though at Kokichi’s question, Kaito frowned, genuinely uncertain, “....um…” he swayed on his feet a bit, again finding himself looking at the movement of the fish as a way to soothe his racing mind, “...um. Yeah, I can do it by myself. I don’t know how it’s going to go… I’d be able to kick him out? In an emergency?”

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft, proud look. Kaito was right. It had been, well, a year and a half, really. And Kaito had done leaps and bounds of growth and consideration and healing. If he was ready to face someone who…wasn’t his abuser, but was the closest person they’d ever meet again? Kokichi was proud of that bravery.

“Yupp,” Kokichi assured. “Saint Madison should be able to kick him right out, no problem. And if something happens that we don’t expect, then she can contact me, and I’ll take care of things. Foolproof, no possible way Kai-chan is ever gonna be stuck with him plan.”

Kaito relaxed, nodding, “Then yeah, I can do this. It’ll be…weird! It’ll be weird. Maybe it’ll be fine?” Kaito said, before shaking his head, “No, it’ll be fine. I can pick the setting, right?” Kaito stressed, suddenly vividly imagining a scenario where he was gonna end up stuck in some mental projection of a study, “It’s usual ‘hanging out in my mind’ rules, where I can control the setting?”

Kaito took a deep breath, before nodding, “I can handle it. I… could do it today, if he was up to it. Might be better that way, so I’m not stuck psyching myself out about it… heh. ‘Psyching’ myself out. That’s fun.” Kaito grinned, taking Kokichi’s hands and squeezing them gently, “...thanks Kokichi.”

“Your mind, your rules,” Kokichi nodded, “Your setting. Just remember that if things start looking funky because he’s an Empath, and they should solidify back.” …and when they started, Kokichi would stabilize Kaito’s upper consciousness. Just to make sure. This was going to be a two-sided conversation, Kokichi was not going to let Kaito go into this on the backfoot.

“I love you, Kai-chan,” Kokichi smiled, squeezing Kaito’s hands back, before he took a breath.

{Kazuo? This is Kokichi Ouma, are you able to take a message right now?}

There was a brief, startled moment. An open connection that was vaguely echoing to Kokichi that Kazuo was speaking to someone else, but was requesting they give him a moment before he shuffled out of the room, stepping out onto a balcony.

{Kokichi Ouma? Yes, of course. How can I assist, Prince Ouma?}

{Ah, apologies for interrupting.}

{My husband, Kaito Momota, has decided he would like to speak with you. Not right this second, we can schedule a time, but he asked me to make this request of you.}

More sudden shuffling, like Kazuo was peeking his head in somewhere and urgently asking a few questions. A quick, hurried conversation–leaked out to show he wasn’t simply just not responding, but too vague to place who he was talking to or what about–before he shuffled back out to the balcony. {Of course. What time would be best for him?}

“It feels like he’s in a conversation right now, so not this second, but…what time do you wanna talk, Kai-chan?” Kokichi asked, looking up at Kaito.

Kaito fretted for a second, clearly uncertain… before he cleared his throat, straightening his shoulders and saying sternly, “Inform him we’ll speak in an hour, and I expect to speak at length.”

“....please.” Kaito said, sweat glistening at the corner of his temple, “To you, babe, don’t say please to him.”

“Thank you, hun,” Kokichi kissed Kaito’s arm.

{An hour would work best, and it’s likely to be an in-depth conversation. Does that time work for you?}

{I can make an hour work, yes. Can I assume I’m linking to him? I look forward to speaking with him, Prince Ouma.}

He was. But there was an undercurrent of ‘oh shit, okay, its suddenly happening’ before the line was disconnected.

“So… yeah?” Kaito asked. “An hour?”

{I’ll be there at the start if you need an easier way to hop over. Thank you for your consideration, Kazuo.}

(Was that a little petty? Maybe.)

Kokichi took a breath, blinking. “An hour. You still feeling okay?”

Kaito clapped his hands together, “Yep! Yep! I’ve got this! I totally have this! I am a Momota, consort to the damn Heir-Apparent of Dicea, of the Saihara household! …okay, no one else might recognize yet why that last bit is impressive, but our Shuichi’s gonna end up a weird wizard guy and that’s VERY impressive and people should and will show that respect!” Kaito said determinedly, pausing before adding in, “My bestie is Maki motherfucking Harukawa! I am not someone to fuck with!”

Kaito paused… before saying, “Oh, I should tell Shuichi and Maki I’m doing this. Right? Right. I’m gonna go do that real quick. Meet you back here in an hour, babe?”

“You’re Kaito Momota and you kick-ass!!” Kokichi cheered, hopping in emphasis, before he nodded sheepishly. “Oh, yeah, probably. See you in an hour.”

When he told Maki, she had asked if Kokichi was going to be keeping an eye on him, if he had an escape route, and then grilled him about the things he wouldn’t allow to happen. When Kaito eventually passed inspection, she told him that if Tengan tried anything, she’d kill him. She didn’t care if he remembered who he was or not.

Shuichi did roughly the same thing. Only at the end, he said he would send Maki to kill him, he didn’t care if he remembered who he was or not.

In some ways, it was just nice hearing his husband and his friend be so reliably themselves. Maki wasn’t going anywhere, fuck that, but he did leave the conversations feeling better about things in general.

He went and had a meal. Drank some water. Walked up and down the stairs for a bit. Stared at some of the latest paintings Kokichi had put up in their hall. Went to go check on Tim and see how his binder came out, hmm’d and hummed in appropriate awe, before heading back up to the shrine.

Kaito had expected to meet Kokichi in the regular waking world, but when he laid back on his lounging couch, just killing time until Kokichi showed up, he was surprised when what felt like a blink had him open his eyes at the waterfall that he and his family had visited once, leaning against the safety railing as he watched a massive, mountain sized Miyako giggle, running her hands under the waterfall and delighting on the pressure on her hands.

Aw, see? He knew he could convince his little baby to like playing with water. She just needed the right type of water! Waterfalls were fun. “Watch your leg, sweetbun! You don’t wanna flood the river! There’s a good girl!” Kaito shouted.

“Your dreams are so cool,” Kokichi giggled in awe, watching their daughter splash around in the waterfall fondly. “Having fun, Mi-Mi?! It’s splashy, just like bathtime with Dada!”

“Aw, hey babe,” Kaito greeted, looking back to giant Miya cheerfully… before suddenly balking, “Wait, is that actual Miya!? Miya! Miya, did you sneak into my head again?! Snoopy baby!”

Miyako poofed out. “Sneaky baby.” Kaito scolded, shaking his head, before looking to his husband, “Okay! Is my head clear of intruding babies? I’ve totally got this! I’ve been prepping all hour! I totally know what I’m going to say!”

Kokichi snickered a little. “The sneakiest. I was gonna make sure she’s not here when Kazuo shows up, but she did look like she was having fun, huh. I’ll play with her a bit while you’re talking so she doesn’t start craving Dad Time.”

“You’ve got this!” Kokichi cheered, before giving Kaito a soft look. “I’m glad you have a plan…but it’s okay if things stray. Conversations are fluid. But you’re in control, this is on your schedule, and it’s for your peace of mind. It’s not about what they want.”

“Yeah! Yep. Yes!” Kaito agreed, gripping his hands into fists and nodding determinedly, before looking around, “Okay, setting the scene, setting the scene… where would he… not… be intimidating…”

Kaito’s mind raced through a lot of scenarios– the war room? No. throne room? No. Bedroo–god no. Maybe somewhere silly like an arcade–no.– before settling on…

The Dicean castle staff kitchen materialized around them. There was a hustle and bustle of shadowy figures running around doing work. It was hot. It was a little uncomfortable. People were vaguely shouting stuff back at each other as they prepared the food. There were a lot of dishes to do.

Fuck around in the kitchens. Find out.

Kokichi looked around the kitchen with a small smile. Feeling proud all over again. “Ah, Chako-chan’s a good person to have in your corner here too,” he agreed with a nod, not seeing any specific member of the staff but the woman coming to mind anyway. “No funny business unless you wanna be sent right out of the kitchen.”

Kokichi pressed affectionately to Kaito. “Those puffy pastries she taught you about the other day were delicious. Thank you again, my talented Kai-chan.”

“Right? I really thought those were going to be a lot harder than they were.” Kaito said proudly, leaning down to give Kokichi a quick kiss.

There was a ping in Kokichi’s head. Just an intent requesting access. Following Kokichi’s pathway to Kaito’s mind before, without ceremony, there he stood.

Kazuo Tengan.

Kaito didn’t realize until that moment that, honestly, he had been expecting him to look… different. Substantially different. Tengan was dead, he had been told over and over again. Dead. Dead in the most intimate, obliterating way a person could die. The Head Secretary was no more.

Kaito had known he was asking for Kazuo. Deep down, he hadn’t really been expecting Tengan… but no. He looked just like Kaito remembered him. Same slicked back haircut. Same rough but well cut hair. The glasses. The stoop. The stern, slightly exasperated expression as he looked with some confusion around the kitchen.

…no, well. There were little differences. His hair was actually a little shorter. His mustache met his beard now, which was maybe a little longer. His time in Danganronpa had taken some of the tan out of his skin, he was rounder, less taut.

Still looked like Tengan, though, as Kazuo decided not to comment on the kitchen aesthetic, instead bowing respectfully to Kokichi and Kaito, “Good day. I must say, I had half thought you all had forgotten about me entirely. It was quite a pleasant surprise to be called upon, Prince Ouma, Prince Momota.”

Kaito made a soft, incredulous laugh. Forget about him? Really?

Kokichi gave Kazuo a polite nod back, staying by Kaito’s side, but not obviously touching him. He had a feeling it’d embarrass his husband more than being supportive right now.

“It’s been a while,” Kokichi agreed, “Thank you for agreeing to meet with Kaito.” He smiled thinly. “I would say ‘us’, but I’m just here to get things started. Though, I will be nearby if anyone needs anything. Is there anything I can do before letting you guys get to it?”

“Ah, no, not on my end. I’m sorry to say it’s really just… one of many people I still need to talk to. But I have been hoping to speak to you, Prince Momota, for quite some time now.” Kazuo said, “I am ready to begin however you’d like.”

Kaito, very briefly, considered calling this whole thing off. What a stupid idea this had been. Why had he wanted to do this? He was going to vomit.

“I’m good!” Kaito said brightly, giving Kokichi a smile, “Go ahead, Kokichi, I’m sure I’ll catch up soon.”

Kokichi nodded, before looking back up at Kaito with a soft, affectionate smile. Letting Kaito know that he loved and adored him, and he was so proud of his courage. He wasn’t alone in this supremely difficult endeavor, and their whole family was cheering him on.

“I’ll see you then, then. I love you.”

With a last nod to Kazuo, Kokichi disappeared.

Both Kaito and Kazuo watched the spot where Kokichi had disappeared for a moment, before Kazuo looked back to the prince. “So, I’m sure you have–oof.”

“Oh, yeah, you want to get out of their way. They’re working on portions for, like, hundreds, they’re not going to slow down for us.” Kaito explained, stepping back to the relative safety of the deepsink, gesturing the older man over as he said, “If we want them to leave us alone? Gotta keep busy over here.”

“Keep… busy?” Kazuo asked, warily walking around some of the moving shadows–who were very physical to the touch, he had found–to Kaito. About to ask ‘how so’, but by the time he had gotten over, Kaito had already passed him some rubber gloves and turned on the faucet.

Kazuo stared at the gloves, then the dishes, before saying uncertainly, “Your grace, is this really the best way to have a conversation–”

“You either work in the kitchen,” Kaito said, focusing on the rising water, grabbing a metal sponge, “Or you get out. Those are your choices, K…”

Kaito tried to say his name, and gave up. It felt like a lie, and a poorly said one. He just gestured to the sponges, before grabbing his first pot and dumping some soap in, starting to scrub.

After a moment, Kazuo joined him. Though, he touched the pots like he wasn’t entirely sure how to handle them. Staring at the food and sauce caked inside with mild disgust, before putting it under the water like perhaps that alone might clear it.

“You want it to be hotter than that, if you want the water to help,” Kaito said, reaching over to adjust the faucet temperature, before warning, “But that’s gonna be real hot for us too. Even with the gloves, it’ll feel hot to the touch. Be careful about splashback, it can burn.”

“I see…” the former head secretary looked around the kitchen before focusing on the pot in his hand, “...Prince Momota, you’re not working in the castle kitchens, are you?”

“I volunteer.” Kaito explained.

“Ah… I see.”

“I’m not weird for it. King Aiichi does the same thing.” Kaito said, scrubbing at the pots determinedly. “It keeps him down to earth.”

“Oh, I see. A down to earth monarch… does it work?” Kazuo asked, now trying to find a rhythm in brushing the pot in small, slow circles. Not making much headway, but at least trying to find a way that got the burnt layer at the bottom off.

“Uh…” Kaito bit his inner cheek, before admitting, “Not really. It’s hard to keep a monarch down to earth. He might do it for the same reason I do.”

“Oh? And why is that?” Kazuo asked.

“It feels good.” Kaito said, washing out the pot he was working on, before starting to scrub at it again, “You’ll see.”

Kazuo hummed a bit at that, still doing his best to try to play along.

But silence ticked by as the kitchen hustled and bustled around them. The air steaming hot from both the stoves and boiling pots around them, and the faucet water, boiling, that they had their hands stuck beneath as they cleaned the pots. Noisy and sweaty.

Kazuo thought perhaps he’d just stick it out until the pots were finished before insisting they start speaking again, but he noticed that the more they got through the pots, the more he would suddenly find at the bottom of the sink, floating up now that there was space. Realizing there might not be an end to them, Kazuo decided to speak up. “I’ve gone over this conversation in my head quite a few times. I’ve changed my opening lines a few times, but, in the moment, now that we’re here… I have to explain myself, that I cannot offer you my life as payment.”

“Yeah, ‘Kichi mentioned you saying something like that last time,” Kaito recalled, focusing on his scrubbing, “You’re doing some redemption work?”

“It felt like a bit of a quest when I first mentioned it to the heir-apparent,” Kazuo admitted, “Something with a clear ending point. I had grand dreams of assassinating the queen, in some way. Queen Junko, of course. I’ve heard from reliable sources that you’re likely more up to date on that situation than most.”

Kaito kept his mouth firmly shut. Scrubbing.

“Yes, so, I thought I’d make that my life mission. I’m an old man, older than Head Secretary Tengan told anyone, actually. But my body is sustained and made strong by persistent and well-developed pollen throughout my very genes, by this point. It is a benefit of a seedling, that we live longer, stronger, than our peers. Despite my appearance, I have many years ahead of me, to focus on an assassination attempt that could potentially get through all of the queen’s failsafes. I was ready to dedicate decades to it.”

“But… in little over a year…” Kazuo frowned, “It would seem I needn’t have bothered. Her bodies survived, but her surface consciousness? Shockingly, her consciousness is just… gone. All of her bodies sleeping husks. Her influence on the hive mind dimmed into echoes until gone entirely, the flora hive shattered to pieces. Some sort of magic more powerful than I’ve personally encountered the result of her demise, if only for now… though, I am working on that as well.”

Kazuo paused, before explaining, “She still only sleeps. She could, in theory, wake any moment. So, in the hopes of weakening her, if not outright destroying her? I am in search for all her sleeping forms. Wherever they are hidden.”

A long pause. Kaito focused on scrubbing.

“...but, her bodies are truly in hundreds of different places. Maybe thousands. That’s the sort of secret she’d never offer to anyone, not even her closest confidants. And of course, if I had ever known it, I don’t know it now…the best I can manage is looking for paths she’s taken, people’s she’s spoken too, who might have upon her request in over a thousand years taken a cut of hand and buried it in some plot somewhere, put a foot in some soil and let it grow into a full body, that knowledge and location lost to time. But following those moments through history at least narrows her locations down. And I have a lifetime to pursue it… if I only ever make a dent in her potential, it’d be worth the effort alone.”

A longer pause. Scrub, scrub, scrub.

“...Your Grace, I worry I am taking up all the opportunities to speak–”

“Are you still a pedo?” Kaito asked, scrubbing.

Kazuo’s hands stilled in the water… before he started scrubbing again. “I don’t know.” he said honestly. “I’d like to say no, but I’ve only met a handful of children since I’ve awoken, and never for long. I’ve also met many women and men and never found myself particularly interested in any of them either. I can say that the idea that I could be is very alarming to me. It wouldn’t be something I’d want to indulge, any more than any of my old… habits. Appeal to me.”

“What about me?” Kaito asked. Glaring at the water for a moment, before risking a side-eye at him. His expression hard and frustrated, as he asked, “Are you still attracted to me? I was definitely one of your ‘habits’. Do I seem tempting now?”

Kazuo sighed, staring at the pouring water for a moment… before looking up at Kaito. Staring at him, allowing him to really see him.

“...I can say you’re handsome.” Kazuo said, “But, no. I feel no sexual desire for you.”

“Are you sure?” Kaito snapped, and before he had a chance to think about it, he pulled out a butchers blade from the water. Steam rising from its white metal as he pointed it accusingly at Kazuo as he growled, “Because I want a real answer. Not whatever you want to be true, or what you think I want to hear. I’m not up to a conversation where I’m being told half-truths and made to guess at what you actually mean. You better speak very clearly to me.”

“.......” Kazuo looked at the blade, before bowing his head quietly, “Of course, your grace. Give me a moment, I will answer more fully.”

“...” Kaito looked away, wiping the knife off in the water, before setting it aside to dry. Grabbing the next crock.

“......I get a feeling of immense satisfaction, when I find another of the queen’s bodies and set it on fire,” Kazuo said, “I’d like to say it’s simply the thrill of justice, but there’s an arousal to it. I think I may be someone who’s aroused by power, or at least some definition of it. I feel powerful when I burn another of her bodies, I feel successful and invincible. It’s a good feeling. I can’t say that the person I exerted that power over changing to someone else would affect that feeling differently. I think that lust in me might be innate. Something I was born with.”

“What about the purple eye thing?” Kaito asked quietly. Understanding Kazuo’s explanation on that too much to really feel up to challenging it. “You still have that?”

“No, actually,” Kazuo frowned, “Someone else explained that fixation my past life had as well, and I can say without a doubt, I have no idea what that’s from. Whatever thrill my past-life had with exerting power over people with purple eyes specifically? That was learned. Some trait he developed independent of our nature. I can’t even fathom it now.”

“You have no idea why?” Kaito asked.

“None at all. It seemed to be a trait everyone who knew me knew I had, but no one could explain. If I had to guess? My guess is purple eyes may have reminded him of someone specifically. But I couldn’t begin to guess who. Just someone he enjoyed replaying out those fantasies on, over and over. You were, unfortunately, far from the only purple-eyed victim I have, and will have to, make amends for.”

“....” Kaito sighed, grabbing another pot and starting to work on it. “...I have no idea what to say to you.” He admitted.

“In truth, I have no idea what to say to you either.” Kazuo agreed, “I thought I had quite a few things planned out, but now? It would seem apologizing is all I could think of… and I haven’t even done that. Only explained that I cannot offer you the ultimate apology.” Kazuo paused, “...this isn’t going very well, is it.”

“It’s fine, I knew this conversation would be weird and hard when I asked to speak to you. You don’t even remember me. Like… I want to… I want to make you feel guilty. Ashamed.”

“I am both of those things.” Kazuo said.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t count! Because you don’t actually remember the things you’re supposed to be ashamed of! You don’t…” Kaito threw the sponge and pot into the water, before growling, he took off his glove and showed Tengan some of the light, faded scars on his arms, “Which one of these was your fault!? Can you tell me?”

Kazuo stared at the scars. They weren’t, Kaito was endlessly grateful for, jarringly obvious. But when your eyes were searching for them? There were quite a few, all papercut thin but short and frequent.

“...all of them?” Kazuo guessed.

“Dammit! Dammit!” Kaito shouted, reaching out to hit the faucet, and then in frustration, grabbing one of the larger pots and throwing it across the room, “FUCKING GOD DAMMIT!”

But before the pot could clatter against the kitchen wall, it disappeared, along with the shadows around them. Kaito glaring at the old, familiar walls of his family's temple’s harem prayer room. The walls dented and cracked with other, similar bursts of anger as Kaito stared at it, fuming. “...it’s this one.” He said, voice tight with frustration as he pointed to a longer scar on his right wrist’s side. Thin and light, but again, when pointed out? Obvious, as he explained, “There were three boxes in front of me, and I had to guess which one had a fucking… treat in it. And Byakuya knew which one. And I had to follow his body language to guess which one had the treat.” Kaito swallowed, grinding his teeth, “...the wrong one had a line of barbed wire in it. Byakuya seemed just as surprised to see it as I was. I got stuck in my wrist and he got pissed because I wouldn’t stop squirming when he was trying to take it out. He ended up just… yanking it. You had seemed surprised by that. Yanking it out made the long cut, and you didn’t usually leave marks that lasted. I don’t think you were expecting him to lose his temper like that.”

“...it didn’t matter anyway.” Kaito muttered, “No one ever asked about it.”

“...” Kazuo looked around the unfamiliar space. He had no idea where they were. But then, perhaps that was part of the problem… “You’re right. I can see how an apology from someone who doesn’t know how they’ve harmed you is… frustrating.”

“Fuck…” Kaito muttered, running his hands through his hair, “Dammit… this was a mistake…”

Kazuo looked over at the lounging chairs and cushions that littered the room, all in a big circle around a plush center carpeting. Going to take a seat, he said, “Well. Perhaps you should tell me more about it.”

“...huh?” Kaito asked tiredly, looking at him.

“I can’t apologize for things I do not know I did. In this life, or a past life. But, I am sorry about the wrist scar. That’s a terrible situation to put a child in. I can’t explain why he, or I, did it. But I am sorry we did. I’d take it back if I could.”

Kaito rubbed the side of his face, looking uncertain. Almost reluctantly, he sat down on the opposite side of the circle, “...you’re going to get off on it.”

“God, I hope not.” Kazuo said sincerely, “But I will warn you if I am. And we can correct my reaction. You know just as well as I do that, while not long lasting without reinforcement, short-term correction for desired results is very possible. You may as well make use of some of the lessons I apparently forced you to sit through.”

“...I’m not really someone who hurts people like that,” Kaito admitted. “It doesn’t make me feel good. I’ve tried.”

“That’s wonderful.” Kazuo said sincerely, “I’m glad for that. I would not want to be the reason you developed a taste for it either. Perhaps, while I know it’s a lot to ask, just trust me that my own sense of shame and self-hatred will keep me in check. I have no desire to take advantage of you.”

“......I don’t know if it’s even fair to make this your problem.” Kaito admitted. “You don’t remember. You didn’t really do it–”

“I have put some time into that thought, since I first woke up.” Kazuo said, “I have changed my mind on it a few times, and might again. But… right now? To not take any responsibility of what my mind, my body, did, before it was hard reset by a very angry man in a black cloak? To take my new start as some clean slate in the world itself? …that’s not fair to the world itself. I have forgotten, but no one else has.” Kazuo said, “My actions are not in a void. Reality is not my singular, biased perception. It is a thing we all share. And in your reality? You are looking at a man who did unspeakable crimes against you. Recently. My reset does not change that reality for you.”

“My reset does not bring people back to life,” Kazuo said softly, “It does not cure them of addictions I forced into their body. It does not reunite parents with their children. It does not free a kingdom I enslaved in both ways that were obvious and ways that weren’t. It does not undo all the harm that, in a past life, I very much did do… and I feel I would be closer to the man I was, then the man I wish to be, to suggest that it truly undoes the responsibility I have towards all of that.”

“An enraged templar of death and trade does not get to absolve me of all I owe the world,” Kazuo said softly, “All his involvement offers me is the clarity to recognize the sheer terrible, all-consuming debt I am in. I may never find true redemption. But I am not better than the Head Secretary Tengan of my past life, if I never bother pursuing it.”

“....that’s so cruel.” Kaito whispered.

“No worse than I deserve.” Kazuo said, “Now… I’m not sure where I am. Is this the area I used to do those lessons?”

Kaito sighed, shaking his head, as he explained, “So, there was this study, near my father’s war room…”

“Young master?”

“Young master, it’s time to wake up.”

Ienzo stirred groggily as he heard his bedroom door open, the figure coming through just a blur of motion in his not-quite-awake vision.

“Up, up, you have a full day ahead of you,” the voice called, rustling around the room, “Go wash your face and we can get you dressed, breakfast will be served within the half hour.”

Pushing himself up a little, Ienzo looked around. A room bursting with books, an alcoved window seat heavily cushioned and draped overhead with tapestries, a couple shelves hesitantly decorated with foreign knick-knacks…

“...I am not dreaming about this,” Ienzo decided, the imagery wiping to black before he opened his eyes for real.

A room still a little cluttered with spare furniture, but the trash and dust was pretty much gone. There wasn’t a whole lot else in it, but there was a sitar just to the side of the bed, visible in the moonlight of the open window. Ienzo listened to the heartbeat under his ear, grateful for it and the soft snores just above his head filling the silence.

(...maybe it was ungrateful, that he preferred this.)

Sighing softly, Ienzo closed his eyes again to go back to sleep. It didn’t occur to him to think about the arms around his waist in the dream.

In some ways, Sam felt like he was at the height of inspiration right now. Two flourishing bands and a music broadcast? He was spoiled for choice for whatever he wanted to work on musically; not that he really ever needed a reason to follow the logical conclusion of a cool chord or a riff or some neat lyrics. But! It felt more fulfilling to have a purpose for it.

Lightly working on a sort of bouncing baseline, Sam slid his lips along his harmonic flute, enjoying the simply progression and narrowing his eyes in excitement as he shifted through a minor third, the progression weirdly feeling light for actually moving down.

“Sam-u-el!” called Mr. Escoffier, stressing the ‘you’ in his Kimigashine accent, something he did alongside insisting calling ‘Samson’ by a proper Kimigashine name; something he seemed to thoroughly believe was the default and only acceptable interpretation of Common-themed names. “Your break ends in two minutes! You should be preparing to get back to work! Not wasting away company hours playing nonsense!”

“Gah!” Sam jumped, before sighing through a laugh. “Hey, ‘least I’m not playing past break time, right? Can’t say I’m not on time yet!”

Giving Morris a grin, Sam pocketed his harmonic flute, swinging his legs a bit from the pallets stacked at the back of the manor that he and Shane had claimed as their break area. Punching the air a bit, he claimed, “I’m all raring to go when the two minutes are up, sir, believe me.”

Mr. Escoffier adjusted his tiny, round glasses, peering at Sam from above them–he needed them to read, but otherwise not in general–with a small, frustrated frown, before sighing, “Your generation worries me, Samuel. You all have no drive, no ‘get-to-itevness’. Do you know how I earned my own vast fortunes?” He said, repeating a speech his employees—and most of the locals–knew by heart now, “It takes far more than just merely ‘inheriting’ it. You have to keep it! Build it! When I was a young man your age, running my father’s supermarkets back on the mainland, do you think I took ‘breaks’? No! They were a waste of time and I had a business to run! You don’t get to run the business if you take ‘breaks’, Samuel. Don’t you want to run your own business someday? You won’t get there like this…”

He paused, before opening up his pocket-watch. “Ah, and now you’re 30 seconds late. That’s another reason you’re not the one running this business, Samuel. They don’t let you run businesses if you are always late. Go on then,” Mr. Escoffier scoffed, before heading towards his office.

Sam just nodded easily, letting Morris get through his speech. Sometimes he thought the guy was just kind of lonely and wanted to talk. Sam didn’t really get the point of moving somewhere and just ignoring most of the people there, but he guessed it might feel different if you moved for work. Still, it wasn’t like Morris was showing up to the saloon on Fridays or ever went to community worship or popped into town during holidays, and Sam thought that was kind of isolating. He was there for work anyway, so he just let Morris get through his speeches, especially since it didn’t seem like he even noticed if Sam was listening or not.

“Aw shoot, really?” Sam glanced at his own watch--uhhhh, might be a few minutes behind, actually--before hopping down from the pallets. “Oh well, guess listening to your boss takes time. See ya later, sir.”

Heading back inside, he gave a wave to Claire at the front desk--he really couldn’t tell if her thousand-meter stare was actually her ignoring him or not--and headed to the utility closet to get his cleaning supplies again, a hum under his breath.

He really thought he was onto something there…

“I’M THINKING MIKU, MIKU, OOOH-EEE-OOOH

I’M THINKING MIKU, MIKU, OOOH-EEE-OOOH

I’M THINKING MIKU, MIKU, OOO-EEE-OOOH!

Miku, Miku, oooooh~”

UoU

U-U

O.O

OOO YOU MAY CLAP NOW Amaina said, staring at Zexion and Little Light Baby, whom she had cornered on Destiny Island to practice her new song on.

ㅍ_ㅍ

Zexion just stared at Amaina, holding Lauriam. The silence was thick and palpable.

{...}

{...👏?}

ㅍ_ㅍ She said ‘may’. That’s an option.

ㅍ_ㅍ Nice earworm, Amaina.

OoO It is a LOVING TRIBUTE to my SENPAI

OOO YOU WILL SING ALONG

O.O

OoO the whole world will sing along

OOO A ONE! A ONE-TWO-THREE–

“Oh, hey Amaina! Ienzo, Lauriam,” Demyx greeted, landing in the beach, “You got here early for band practice, huh?”

OoO I’m being very charitable with my time and hanging out with these losers

“Rude!” Demyx said cheerfully, settling on the sand, “Where’s your Empath? We are all meeting in my head this time, right?” Demyx had offered it because he kind of wanted to show off Destiny Island. He had told everyone else to leave him be!! He was hanging out with his bandmates!

O.O she’s coming she’s got work but she’s heading home now

{.......}

ㅍ_ㅍ Hello, Demyx.

ㅍ_ㅍ Amaina is making progress on the very interesting experiment to see if Miss Miku is able to manifest anything in supreme embarrassment while within Destiny Island.

ㅍںㅍ I’m looking forward to seeing the results.

Zexion watched Demyx and Amaina for a moment before trotting a little closer to Demyx, looking up at him and being sure that Lauriam was in full view in his hands.

o_o May we watch your practice? Lauriam seems moderately awake, so it might be beneficial for him to experience something more than just me reading for the next few hours.

{?}

“Oh! Um… yeah! I bet the others won’t mind, though, keep in mind, we’re practicing, so it might not sound great,” Demyx warned them, pulling his sitar from the water.

Amaina, in turn, ignored the haters, jumping up to the top of Demyx’s sitar and now dancing on top of it, humming her AMAZING new senpai song!!

After a moment of setting up, Miku landed next. Crashing into the sand–gravity in Empath spaces seemed to automatically work heavier for her. Like she was denser than the space around her–before spinning on her heel, looking around. “Oh! Oh, Demyx, this place is nice! The way you described it, I thought the whole island would be a mishmash of crashing aesthetics.”

“It is, but you have to go looking for the doors to our worlds for that. Otherwise, yeah, it’s all pretty coherent here.” Demyx grinned, looking around, before gesturing to Zexion and Lauriam. “These two are Zexion and Lauriam. Zexion is my friend Ienzo’s um… construct? We call him a chibo because he looks a bit like a big chibi,” Demyx explained, before pointing to the light, “And that’s Lauriam. He’s a section of this island, buuuut he’s not feeling super well. They’re gonna hang out with us today if you don’t have any strong objections.”

“What? No, course not, though, wooooah,” Miku said, squatting down in front of Zexion and Lauriam, “You’re not kidding. You alright there, Lauriam? I haven’t seen someone that destabilized in years.”

Zexion nodded, accepting that. It would be interesting to observe the musical process anyway, and it wasn’t like Lauriam could put up much of an objection, though Zexion had a feeling he was just happy to be around people. And…people livelier than him.

As Miku dropped in, though, Zexion gave her a small bow in greeting, dipping Lauriam in his hands to do the same.

ㅍ_ㅍ Nice to meet you, Miss Miku. Amaina sings fondly of you.

{...∅…}

{...↶?}

Zexion nodded a little before looking back up at Miku.

o_o You’ve seen something like this before? We’ve briefly talked with others who have as well, but it seems like a fairly rare occurrence.

There was a slight nudging feeling from a presence that felt like a sunny beach day, a request for access…and maybe a little help.

“Oh, sure,” Miku said, resting her elbows on her knees as she explained, “The friend who made Amaina for me used to fall into these after particularly bad seizures. For her they never lasted that long, maybe a day or two, but it was pretty frequent.”

Demyx ‘huh’d’ at that, though before he could think about it much he felt Sam ping him. Focusing on the island, letting himself draw some strength from it, he opened a tether and pulled Sam through it. “Hey! Welcome to Destiny Island! We’re a full party here, Sam, meet Zexion the Chibo and Lauriam the Tiny Ball of Light!”

{!!!}

ó_ò I see… My sympathies for your friend. That does make sense, however, for how this state has been explained to us.

Zexion looked down at the flickering ball of light and frowned softly, trying to be reassuring. ó^ò It might have been a few days, Lauriam, but we were expecting this. It’s not quite the same as a seizure.

{!...!}

Stumbling a few steps on the sand, as if he was really being pulled, Sam came to a stop, eyes widening as he looked around in amazement. “Oh, whoa!”

The way Demyx had described it had sounded pretty busy, but, wow there was…a lot going on here. And that was just ambient, not even getting into the introductions.

“Hey, man,” Sam greeted with a laugh, pulling Demyx into a side hug for a second and patting Amaina on the head, before walking over to Miku and the two new people. Nudging Miku’s shoulder affectionately, Sam gave the two…constructs? A wave. “Uh, hi! Nice to meetcha, I’m Sam! You guys here for the music vibes?”

…Zexion just stared at Sam for a moment.

ㅍ_ㅍ…yes.

“Like I said, they’re going to hang,” Demyx said, patting Sam companionably on the shoulder once the side-hug was done, before motioning around to the larger island around them, “And, you guys already know, but. If you see anyone else around just watching us? It’s just my family being nosy, don’t mind them. I’ve got the beach reserved for practice!”

OOO SENPAI

Miku ooph’d as Amaina jumped off Demyx’s sitar, crashing onto her back and resting on her shoulder as she peeked around to see her.

OoO Zexion is the new friend I was telling you about

O.O

OoO the grumpy one

“He doesn’t seem grumpy. You seem cool to me~” Miku grinned, reaching over to pat Zexion’s head, before standing up, “Alright, guys! Anybody have anything new they want to try out? I’ve been working on a song, but it’s not quuuuite ready yet. Anyone have anything closer to finished?”

“Not even a little bit,” Demyx admitted with a sheepish grin, “It’s been busy in my neck of the woods, sorry.”

“Hey, always nice to try stuff out with a test audience,” Sam laughed, giving Zexion and Lauriam a sunny look before he got up, focusing a bit to manifest his instruments.

o_O

Zexion seemed a bit bewildered at the head pat, but not upset by it. Miku thought he was…cool?

Tuning up his guitar--more of an ingrained habit than anything needed in the mindscape--Sam laughed sheepishly. “I was working on something during break today. I, uh…soooorta was playing around with some lyrics, but they’re a little silly, honestly. Okay, okay, but the harmonics are solid--listen to this!”

Excited to share the idea he’d been working on, Sam started to play. The dun-DUN-dun-DUN duh-DUN of the initial baseline feeling almost a little ominous, before the actual chords came in. It was a little simple, but pleasant, until the shift to the chorus came around and--

{...!!}

o_o Zexion shared a look with Lauriam’s flare, nodding a little. What was that?

Miku hummed along with the melody, before starting to oo’h out little nonsense sounds, trying to get a sense of the melody. Demyx, after a moment, asked, “Okay, so something like this? It’s a quiet melody, I feel like I probably shouldn’t do too much flourish, I bet the vocals can do most of the heavy work–”

OOO IT NEEDS A LOT OF DRUMS!

“Gah!” Demyx jumped, startled by Suddenly Shouting Amaina, before laughing sheepishly, “What? Nah, that’d be so jarring against how soft the melody is. Besides, we don’t have a drummer–”

Suddenly, a drum-set far too big for his stubby body sprung out from beneath Zexion, its seat stool bouncing him up as it grew from the sand, sticks clattering onto the drums as the group turned to stare at it in surprise.

O.O bet

Then she sprouted fairy wings and flew up, peering over the drum set at Zexion.

O.O

OoO yeah you strike me as a metronome type you can keep a beat

OOO ALRIGHT NOW TRY IT WITH DRUMS

Sam grinned sheepishly. “I mean, it’s just a base, right? We can spice it up however, mold it around. I was just kinda messing around, haha.”

Though drums weren’t a bad idea. Sam could play them, and often used his own samples while broadcasting. He’d genuinely been impressed when he and Sebastian had convinced Abigail to join their band, and after showing her the basics of his kit, she took off. Drums could really change a whole sound, and for messing around with Miku and Demyx, Sam had thought about dropping out of the bass sometimes, letting Demyx rock out on his full range, and moving to the drums…

…but it seemed like Amaina had a different idea.

@〰@

Zexion startled as drums popped up around him, and he held Lauriam protectively away from the Empathetic influence. Sure, drums were pretty benign, but a mindscape suddenly changing was alarming… As was, uh…

O_O

Zexion blinked unsurely at the drum set.

o_o I can keep time, I suppose, but we’ve never played an instrument purposefully before.

OoO You’re a chibi

OOO IT’S IN YOUR SOUL!!!

Demyx peeked over the set at Zexion, with Lauriam still nestled in his hands, looking at the little guy just looking totally confused in the odd space… before he burst out laughing. “Oh no! That’s so cute! I gotta show Ienzo this memory later, look at how cute and itty bitty you are compared to the drums!” Demyx laughed, literally wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes, “Awww!”

“Amaina, you can’t just stick an instrument in someone’s hands and expect them to play it,” Miku scolded lightly, “I know Chibis form in the same spot in our heads where music is formed, so there’s that innate talent for it, but it still requires a technical knowledge too. Besides, he’s not a Chibi anyway, so he doesn’t have that advantage either.”

QoQ B-BUT SENPAAAAAI

Q.Q he is thoooo

OOO HE HAS METRONOME SOUL

ㅍ_ㅍ I’m sure he’ll be delighted, Zexion drawled sarcastically, eyes glancing over to Sam’s encouraging look.

o_o Zexion gave Miku a highly interested look as she mentioned some more of the nature of Chibis, carefully holding Lauriam in one hand as he tapped his chin.

o๐o Chibis have an innate talent for music, since they’re formed from the same areas that relate to music? I wonder how much of that is every area, such as the parts of memory that are related to music, and muscle memory for playing it, and the engagement for music analysis, or just the simple pleasures of making interesting sounds…

o_o I wonder if it’s equally related to other forms of creativity as well…which makes it fascinating that apparently I am so close to a Chibi that Amaina recognizes me as such, when I’m far from the most artistically creative person of our bunch. And yet, other than the aides, I am the only distinct part of a consciousness that’s stuck around and shifted roles, albeit that being Ienzo’s choice. I believe Even may be right that more of our Nobodies have the potential to be Chibis, then, should the core person make that decision.

Sam smiled warily, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uhh…sorry, I don’t think I followed all of that?”

ㅍ_ㅍ You don’t need to.

“Don’t mind him, he’s our grumpy little genius,” Demyx laughed, “He was like this when he was our size too. It’s just way cuter when he looks like this.”

OoO gotta love the pretty privilege

“He used to be our size?” Miku asked, before realizing, “Oh, Nobodies! Right, that sort of… um, it can be kind of hard to translate things Amaina knows because she doesn’t think quite like the rest of us…” Miku tilted her head, having the decency to sound a little sheepish as she said, “Sadness and hotness filters? Big, sad, hot filters of such uwu sadness, all sad because baby Chibis made ugly by grotesque long limbs, sadness filters?”

At the stares, Miku shrugged. “Really trying to give you the sense of what it’s like trying to comprehend the things Amaina sees and knows. It’s nowhere near as straightforward as you’d imagine.

OoO I think I was being clear

“Alright, I think it’s safe to say Zexion isn’t about to spontaneously become a drummer on demand,” Demyx chuckled, “Do we have any actual lyrics for this yet?”

Sam’s eyes widened a little as Demyx explained, er, part of the situation. Oh, so he meant the…yeah. The masks his family wore while they were enslaved… So then Zexion was one of those masks, but…his own whole construct? Like Amaina, his own composition…

Sam glanced around the island for a moment. That…sounded more involved than just a mask. So…what happened to the others? Zexion just said he was the only one that stuck around. Sure, you couldn’t be too precious with every piece of art you made, but…scrapping ones that seemed so fully fleshed out? It seemed…

(sad. Sam only hoped the base essence the others got back would help them with new projects.)

Sighing a little at both Amaina and Demyx, Zexion looked down as Lauriam’s light started to blink and flicker. He was worried for a moment, before he caught on, his mouth parting in understanding before he nodded slowly, examining the drum set for a moment.

“Oh! Uh, well…” Sam laughed sheepishly. “I did come up with some, though like I said, they’re kinda silly. Uh…”

Going back to the initial bass line, Sam sang,

“Well here we are again, it’s always such a pleasure,

Remember when you said I won’t suffice?

Oh how we laughed and laughed, except I wasn’t laughing,

Under the circumstances I’ve been shockingly nice~”

The last word aligned with the key change, and Sam blinked in surprise as a steady boom-boom, chkk, boom-boom, chkk started coming from the drums, Zexion hitting the bass drum while Lauriam’s light softly hopped on a tightened snare that Zexion altered. Grinning brighter, Sam continued to the chorus,

“You want your freedom? Take it!

That’s what I’m counting on

I used to want you here

But now I hope you see you’re wrong~”

“Oooooh, what do we have here? This a breakup song?” Demyx grinned, absolutely delighted… before he gasped, looking at the drum set and shouting, “Yeah, Zexion, Lauriam! Get it! That sounds great, guys! Wait, okay, so, Sam, any strict notes on how I should play my part…”

As Demyx and Sam went over how Demyx could accompany the melody, Miku and Amaina watched the chibo and the ball of light practice on the drum set for a bit. Miku twitched, feeling Amaina’s big, red eyes boring into her… “Okay, the fact that he can play the drums does not mean I was wrong to scold you.”

QoQ You were so mean

“Not even a little bit, it was the lightest scolding possible.”

QOQ TELL ME I’M A GENIUS

“Not a chance,” Miku said, before recalling, “Wait, didn’t you say you were working on a song you wanted both of us to add sections to? Is this it?”

“Eheh~” Sam ducked his head with a sheepish grin. “It could be taken that way, huh?” As he and Demyx worked on filling out the harmony, he looked back over at Miku with a smile. “Oh, yeah. I mean, I feel like that part kinda works? Not married to it or anything, though! In case you don’t wanna sing it, I mean. I mess around with lyrics a lot, but none of my other stuff really works here, so I thought, madness, I’m in a band with other people, they prolly have tons of ideas! And, yanno, it’d be cool to collab on something like this.”

Zexion looked up at Amaina from his practice.

o_o Receiving praise and recognition is a healthful part of social relations.

ㅍ_ㅍ But so is taking responsibility for one’s actions. Don’t be a brat. It’s very possible to be both correct and having taken discouraged methods to get there.

o_o Also, I’m just following Lauriam’s beat. I would’ve played just straight quarter note beats otherwise.

Q.Q now even my fellow chibi scolds me

QPQ IM SO SMALL AND CUTE WHY MUST LIFE GIVE ME SUCH TORMENT??

OoO I’m gonna tell my bestie you all were doo-doo heads and he’s gonna pat my head

Q.Q So there

“She knows she’s a brat,” Miku told Zexion, rolling her eyes with him a bit, “Don’t let her fool you. She has a bit of an unusual perception of life because of how she is, but it’s not like she doesn’t understand the rest of us. She’s just 16 and thinks being a brat is an ‘aesthetic’.”

QOQ

O.O I have lyric ideas

“I actually think I have an idea too,” Demyx said, strumming on his sitar, having taken the time through the chaos to think about it, “I kind of went through a breakup recently too, in a way. I mean, breaking up with my Nobody, I guess. By her fusing back into me. Um… maybe less a breakup and maybe more just a melancholic idea of sort of missing her while sort of being her… y’know?”

“Relatable.” Miku said.

“Right??” Demyx laughed.

ㅍoㅍ=3

Zexion sighed a bit as he commiserated with Miku. Just wait until you’re 18. Everything changes then.

Not changes Amaina would experience, most likely. Since, you know, she hadn’t been the one in charge of Miku’s body all this time, and now was experiencing a total change of role while trying to support your best friend who was also yourself trying to navigate the world properly for the first time. 18 was a doozy.

Sam gave Demyx a soft, encouraging look. “Absolutely explore that in song, dude. I mean, uh…” he flushed a little, looking to the side, “I didn’t really mean this to be a break-up song anyway, so it can be however we mean it to be, yanno? I think it’s sweet to make a song for another side of yourself.”

“Wait, so what are your lyrics about then?” Demyx asked, still strumming the melody, “Unless you want to retain a musical air of mystery?”

Sam flushed a little more, airily chuckling. “Uh, it’s kinda lame, honestly… It’s, uh… Was thinking about my parents a bit when it came to me. Mostly just about the rhymes, though. A good song is just a good song, doesn’t have to mean more until it’s actually out there and people add their own meanings.”

Zexion blinked over the drum set. Even obfuscation didn’t really hide lies in the mindscape.

o_o Your parents don’t support you as a musician either?

Sam startled, looking at Zexion in surprised alarm.

“It’s not lame,” Miku argued, “The ‘adding in meaning’ part, not the ‘parents don’t support me’ part. That is lame…annnnd relatable, but honestly, whose parent is thrilled to hear their kid is about to the take the wild swings that being an artists needs.” She sighed, shrugging, “I know my folks have left me some strongly worded clues over the years that I’d be ‘more successful’ if I wasn’t trying to divide my time between work and music stuff.”

“But I mean… look, whatever you put out there? Whatever meaning it originally has? People are going to decide it’s something else entirely, you can’t actually stop that from happening,” Miku said, “So why pander towards something the audience is going to do anyway? I say make the song you want to make, as meaningful as you want it to be, and anyone who wants to whine that the ‘real’ meaning messes with their sandbox version of it can take our songs and use them as stand-ins to cry about it.”

“Yeaaaah, my folks weren’t thrilled either.” Demyx laughed–like that lack of support hadn’t indirectly led to him being abducted and enslaved for nearly ten years–before saying, “Okay, but now that I have that context in mind, I can see it! Absolutely, ‘I hope you see you’re wrong’, totally! That makes so much sense!”

It wasn’t really that his parents didn’t support his music. Sam was able to get his hands on all sorts of instruments, he practiced in the house, madness, he still lived with his mom! And Jodi supported that. Music was important expression, one of the creative throes that was considered sacred.

Just…

(All the times he was asked to be quiet, the way his mom talked around the kind of music Sam played that always felt like disappointment and disdain. Every time she scolded him for just ‘bumming around’, every conversation about ‘growing up and getting a more stable job’...)

(Sam knew how his mom felt sometimes. If she wanted to leave so badly, then…fine. ‘You want your freedom, take it’. He’d show everyone what his music was worth.)

(...or so he’d like, but Sam wasn’t about to abandon his brother for anything, even his own dreams.)

“Y-yeah!” Sam hyped up Miku’s philosophy, nodding enthusiastically. “Whatever this turns into is kinda out of our hands, but the original? Anything we want! Though, uh…” Sam chuckled sheepishly, “Still, I did want this to be a collab. Doesn’t have to go with that meaning or even lyrics if it’s not what we decide. Uh…you said you had an idea, Demyx?”

“Mhm! Yeah, alright, let me just…” Demyx hummed some more, before nodding, “Alright, give me the beat!”

As the music started up, Demyx let it pass by once before waiting for the repeat, then going– “Wait, hold on. Let me start on a flat note. Like this,” he said, strumming the melody a halftone lower, before matching it as he said, “She was a lot like you…” before he smirked, “Maybe not quite as… stoic.”

“Now little Nobody is in here too

One day they woke me up, so I could rock forever

It's such a shame the same will never happen to you~”

There was something both oddly sad and a little smug in that line. Like a part of him was bragging, and another part of him was genuinely sad it wouldn’t. The little smirk on his face, for anyone who had ever seen her? Would have looked, at least briefly, a lot like Larxene, as he continued on,

“You've got your long, full life left

That's what I'm counting on

I'll let you get right to it

Now I hope you see you’re wrong~”

Miku gave Demyx a curious look, trying to see how one verse fit with the other… before she brightened. “Oh, I get it! The second bit is from her perspective, right?”

Demyx startled, before giving her a long, confused look… before tilting his head. “Huh.”

OOO SENPAI I HAVE YOUR LYRICS

QoQ It’s about heartbreak and not being properly cherished

O.O Sing it properly and someday I will forgive you

“Uh huh,” Miku said, taking the piece of paper Amaina had shoved into her hands and reading over it, “....uuuh huuuuh.”

QOQ IT’S POETRY

Sam nodded, getting back into the groove…and he smiled as Demyx tried out his lyrics. His homage to his art.

Zexion, him and Lauriam back on the beat, looked up with widened eyes seeing that smirk. Lauriam’s glow softened, feeling…grief. But a more accepting kind, and somewhere within him he felt like he was smiling proudly.

While the two parts of the song flowed into each other pretty quickly, Sam gave it another round before calling to Miku, “Hey Miku, hit it!”

Miku sighed as she watched Amaina immediately start interpretive dancing, miming out the tragedy and sadness of her lyrics, crashing onto her little nubby knee and dramatically putting a hand to her forehead as sad, somber lights started thrumming from beneath the sand in a fun little beat as she sang, “Goodbye my only friend…” before squinting in mild offense as Amaina stood up straight, crossing her arms and haughtily looking away as Miku sang, “Oh, did you think I meant you?”

“That would be funny if it weren't so sad

Well you have been ignored, I don't need anyone cruel

When I forget you maybe I'll stop feeling so bad~”

Those were the only lyrics Amaina had given her, but Miku smirked down at her Chibi, who was still play-acting someone who was about to leave, a little bag tied to a little stick over her shoulders as she dramatically mimed out walking away. Knowing how Amaina could be, Miku made up on the spot, singing coyly at Amaina:

“Go solve some new disaster

That's what I'm counting on

You’re someone else's problem

Now I hope you see you’re wrong~”

QoQ

QOQ NOOOOOO sing it RIIIIIGHT!!

Miku ignored her, cheerfully going on.

“Now I hope you see you’re wrong

Now I hope you see you’re wrong~”

Sam snorted a little at the turn-around, smiling at the lyrics--’well you have been ignored, I don’t need anyone cruel’ was good--though as Miku got to the last chorus? His nose scrunched as he tried his best to hold in his laughter, easily catching the drift as Miku repeated the last words, tying the song up into a sustain.

But as soon as musical professionalism wasn’t needed?

“Ha-HA! That was awesome! It feels like we have a whole song going on!” Laughing brightly, he gave Amaina an encouraging look. “Aw, c’mon Amaina, you don’t want Miku to sing about you saving a city? That’s the kind of stuff ripe for bard ballads.”

O_O Zexion peered over the drums again.

O_O What now?

QoQ Senpai is so cruel when I’ve been nothing but sooooo sweet

Q.Q

OoO and I saved a whole city dammit!

OOO WORSHIP ME

“Uh huh.” Miku snorted, reaching over to pat Amaina’s head, who immediately nuzzled into her palm, hugging her hand.

“Now? We just fine-tune and practice,” Demyx shrugged, “Rehearsals can get kinda dull for anyone not doing the rehearsing. A lot of repetition and trying to make things just right. Sort of like how you and Ienzo get when you’re working on experiments.”

There was some twinkling from the ball of light, a sort of representation of a laugh.

{...💧🎵→ 👏🕮~?}

e_e Zexion gave Lauriam a dirty look.

ㅍ_ㅍ…I understand that, and, as I have been volunteered, I suppose I am rehearsing with you as well.

O_O I meant, what.

O_O Amaina, you saved a city?

ロ_ロ What the fuck did you mean by that, Sam??

Sam gave Zexion a sheepish grin. “Uhh…just what I said? Miku mentioned it before, and I figured…’solving a disaster’ sounds like that, right?”

ㅍ_ㅍ…and you never followed up on that?

Sam blinked before shrugging. “Nah? Look, we were talking about other stuff.”

OoO oh yeaaaaah that’s old news

O.O

ooO like two months ago or something i dunno

OOO ANCIENT HISTORY

“To be fair, I still don’t entirely understand what happened?” Miku admitted, catching Amaina out of the air almost on instinct when Amaina decided this was the moment she was going to plummet down to Miku, Amaina cheerfully starting to dance in Miku’s hands. “I know it did happen, for certain. But even for Amaina, the explanation sounds like a fever dream. The capital was cursed under a sleeping spell for a night? Like, it only lasted a few hours, thankfully, but apparently everyone was asleep and sharing the same dream. Amaina was one of the people within the dream working to help everyone wake up.”

OoO I’m a dream thing

O.O

OoO though it was weird not being able to hop out of a dream for once

QmQ claustrophobic

“Whoa…” Sam said, unnerved even from that, “The capital was cursed? Geez, what kind of witch or god did your folks piss off?”

Zexion’s eyes grew even larger, and Lauriam’s sigh was almost even audible. Popping off the drum seat, Zexion stood in front of Miku, his excitement and curiosity palpable.

O_O You were stuck in a collective with a city’s worth of people? To the point they couldn’t even control their bodies?

🟆_🟆 I would like to request that you share your memories of that experience with me.

OoO sure dope

Miku raised an eyebrow at Zexion. “Ummmmm no.”

OOO I MEAN NO HOW DARE YOU

O.O

OoO shhhhh don’t worry I got this I can play Senpai like a fiddle

Giving Zexion a reassuring–and somewhat patronizing–little wave, Amaina flew onto Miku’s shoulder and patted her cheek in a way that was equally a little patronizing, as she said, there there senpai… I WANNA SHOW THE COOL MEMORIES I WAS A HERO DON’T BE A BUZZKILL!!

“Ow,” Miku winced, plugging her ear, before she glared at Amaina, “I’m being considerate to the people you went on that adventure with, Amaina. You take everything without consideration when you’re jumping through minds, you just absorb and absorb, who knows what random bits and pieces of knowledge you have of everyone in that dream that Zexion could accidentally pick up on?”

“Ooooh? So I guess the little miss was being somewhat of a dirty little fibber when she said she wasn’t pulling things we didn’t want to share, huh?” Demyx realized, leaning on his sitar a bit.

O.O;;

OOO NOT EVERYONE CAN BE MEMORY SORTING LITTLE NERDS LIKE THE ULTIMATE LITTLE NERD

Q.Q it’s not my fault I’m too cute to be a memory structuring construct

OoO I am P O W E R

O.O

QoQ Don’t make me suppress my power it’s WHO I AM

Zexion stared at Miku, a little affronted. To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t thought that was an outrageous ask. Maybe it was a lot of memories to take at once, but an experience of a cataclysmic level psychic occurrence??? It was practically negligence to keep that to oneself! Even if it wasn’t likely to ever happen again, the fact that it occurred at all meant there were countless things to learn from it and--

Oh.

That…

A conflicted look came over Zexion’s face, as Miku explained the issue, Demyx calling Amaina out on it as well.

ó_ò That…is more of a moral dilemma…

ó_ò While I still believe proper study of such a phenomenon is important, data out in the field is more than just numbers and observations.

ó_ò It’s the lives of real people.

ó_ò And exploiting their lives and experiences without consent is harmful, no matter what good you can extrapolate from the data.

{???}

ᅙ_ᅙ Just because we were already enacting torture didn’t mean that doing more for our own purposes wasn’t also wrong. We know that, Lauriam.

-᷄ _-᷅ …you guys did a lot to make sure we didn’t grow up to be a monster.

Sam fretted a bit, feeling like he was out of his depth, before he went over and crouched by Zexion, putting a hand on the chibo’s back. “Hey, like… We all overhear personal stuff we don’t mean to. It isn’t always fair, sure, but it doesn’t make anyone a monster.”

e_e I’m aware, Zexion said a little tersely.

“Be nice to Sam, Zexion, he’s trying to be nice to you,” Demyx pouted, throwing an arm around Sam’s shoulder and side hugging him a bit, “Again, don’t mind him, he’s just testy sometimes. You’re right! Way worse things than being someone who hears the tea sometimes. Not like we’re gloating in it.”

O.O

OoO what if we had that overdramatic whiner come help us sort through it?

“You have to be more specific, Amaina, a lot of people get ‘overdramatic whiner’ status from you.” Miku sighed.

O.O Wisdoms one

“...?” Miku hummed.

O.O

OOO WISDOM BABY WISDOM LITTLE CURLY CUE CUTSEY TYRANT FOR DUNGEON PRISONER SUPER SCOLDY MAN THE GREAT SCOLDER OF WORLDS NICE SWEET SCARY EMPATH LIBRARY WEIRDO MAN WITH ALLLLLL THE FUN DOORS NO ONE WANTS ME TO PLAY WITH–

“Oh, Prince Kokichi,” Miku realized, “Um…sure. His memory-formating construct is supposed to be really good, right? I guess I don’t mind if we filter it through him.”

Zexion’s gaze was fixed on the hug Demyx was giving Sam. The little smile on the bleach-blond’s face before he laughed it off, saying something about being used to grumps, no hard feelings. The way Demyx’s hand laid so comfortably, so casually on Sam’s shoulder. Broad. Healthy. Posture squared and confident, not tilted and scrunched, and like it filled out Demyx’s hand perfectly.

Zexion looked away, expression passive.

Sam blinked, whistling a little at the torrent of titles. “Uh, wow… That’s kind of a lot. You guys know a prince?”

“I mean, a little, mostly through Amaina,” Miku admitted.

OvO He thinks I am cute and wonderful and only scolds me a little bit when Scary Sword Lady complains about me

“If we’re talking The Ouma, then yeah, I know him too. He’s been helping us out a lot. Nice guy. Crazy powerful Empath. It feels like what people talk about when they’re talking divinity stuff, having him in your head. Can be a bit overwhelming when he lets loose a little,” Demyx admitted. “But yeah, if there was anyone who could help them sort through things? Something he made would do it.”

Giving Sam a quick squeeze, Demyx backed off, picking up his sitar again. “Come on, guys, let’s give this song another round, yeah? We gotta try practicing doing it all at once! Miku, are you singing the whole thing?”

“Oh, maybe let’s try you guys doing accompaniment during your parts?” Miku suggested, “A neat little harmonizing thing?”

“Oooh, let’s try it, see how it sounds.” Demyx laughed, starting to strum.

“Wiiiiild,” Sam laughed, sounding impressed. “If you’re saying he’s a powerful Empath? That’s some crazy stuff. Hope he does the trick for ya then!”

Getting back up into playing position, Sam gave a strum before nodding, Zexion heading back to the drum kit as well. “Oh yeah, that’s gonna sound sick! Let’s do it!” Sam cheerfully agreed, counting them off before he started the bass line again, the musicians getting into the groove.

Tap-tap, click, tap-tap, click

Ienzo didn’t even realize he was keeping up a rhythm with his pen as he flatly hummed, a song looping in his head.

“You sound in a better mood than I thought you would be,” Isa after a while said softly, looking over some books on legalities that thankfully the library around them had a robust section of. “You seemed ill at ease with this when we began.”

Ienzo looked up with a soft, surprised, “Hm?”, his tapping and humming stopping, before he shrugged a little. “I haven’t really thought about these sorts of things in a long time, so it’s a bit weird to do, that’s all. But I think it’s fortunate that we have such a solid option to get into the castle--for that, I’m happy to sort through weirdness.”

“It’s still quite a bit to ask of you,” Isa whispered–he mostly whispered, these days. It seemed that reforming with his aide, while lessening the dog repressions, had also made generally talking a little harder on him. Before he had been able to speak clearly and loudly when he was calm, but now, whispering seemed to be the default– as he pointed out, “This is of an extremely personal matter for you. And we still haven’t decided if we wish to take the route of getting your parents’ deaths officially declared a murder.”

Ienzo sighed a little, looking down at one of the drafts they’d started. “Maya was right. Claiming my inheritance is something I should get around to. It’s foolish to ignore opportunities and privileges you have. If the claim is denied, then nothing really has changed, other than being known by the royal court, but it’s not as if the government has no idea who we are already. And if it’s validated, then…”

He trailed off for a moment, a tinge of uncertainty in his voice betraying just how much unease Ienzo still truly felt about the matter. “...then we’ll have more resources, and the space and power I’d be granted to allocate has the potential to help a lot of people.”

Swallowing, Ienzo shifted a little, actually allowing blood into the leg he was sitting on. “...I…think it would be wise to pursue the case to get my parents’ deaths declared a murder. As Maya said, Queen Kaede would be under scrutiny to outright deny my claim of inheritance, since all titles haven’t been stripped from my family name. That has the potential to make our trip to the capital little more than a formality to make it official. If we want to ensure that Aqua has the most time with Ventus to convince him to leave, and for us to make more substantial plans about how to safely leave, then…we need all the time we can get.”

“It’s a lot to ask of you,” Isa repeated. Jotting down some more notes for the letter. “But it’s a worthy goal. To think, Ventus was alive this whole time…”

Isa hesitated. Looking around, as if afraid of being overheard, before leaning over his books lower. Whispering incredibly softly even for him. “...I would never say it to her… but sometimes I can’t help but feel like this worked out for the better, for Ventus. Having children in the factory brings new life to it, everyone always seemed in better spirits with a child to look after; you did wonders for the old watch, they all speak and spoke of you with an immense amount of pride.”

“But that’s not good for the child in question,” Isa sighed, “Growing up in the factory…it’s a difficult thing, you went through. Perhaps our misfortune was Ventus’ luck. I hope sincerely he’s been well and thriving…”

Ienzo’s shoulders hunched a bit, his posture growing worse. Even as he nodded slightly to Isa. “...it wasn’t just her being able to have Ventus, Aqua and Terra getting to raise him, that we bargained for.” Maybe some of the older Empaths would raise an eyebrow at Ienzo saying ‘we’, but he had made his points as well. As the resident young child--Ienzo had only been 10; sure, Lauriam had been a kid too, but at least 15 was legal. Ienzo wouldn’t have even been able to sign a contract if he hadn’t just outright been enslaved--he’d felt like he had a responsibility to make convincing arguments from that perspective. “You can’t expect a baby to do the work we did, even one the supervisors would’ve considered a demon too. And it’s hardly a guarantee that a child of two Empaths will be one as well. We bargained for him to be kept out of our work, really for as long as we could argue…”

Ienzo scuffed his heel against the ground lightly. “...but even without the torture, the factory still wasn’t a great place to grow up. And I can admit that even if Ventus just spent all his time mentally aware on the island, that wouldn’t have been good for him either.”

A sigh, as Ienzo’s lips twisted. “...I hope he grew up okay as well. You might’ve even heard about it growing up, but…House Shard is a weapons family. That doesn’t automatically mean they’re inclined to violence, but it was hardly a secret that duels to the death weren’t uncommon, and further were encouraged for supremacy between House Shard and House Linn, not to mention within the Houses as well. If…I remember right, Ventus’ shouldn’t even be close to being the heir, so that might grant him some safety.”

Ienzo grimaced. “Unless he’s particularly ambitious.”

“Who knows who he is,” Isa whispered, warily turning the page, “I didn’t grow up feeling ‘elite’ until I realized exactly how far I had to fall when I fell, but…it’s not secret that elites don’t always come out the best sort of people. I’m hoping for the best, but Ventus might not be the kind of person who considers what happened to us wrong. The folks who had the most to lose from the Indentured Program being closed were the wealthiest among us… I used to rage about it, how no one else around me seemed to care or was bothered by a work program that functioned like a slavery program. How could Luminary decry the concept of slavery formerly, joining the rest of the world in its denouncement, and not recognize that our own system was functionally indistinguishable? People knew the terms of the indentured servitude rarely ever worked out for the people under contract. But when I brought that up? You’d have thought the elites believed Luminary was a utopia of bureaucracy, that the program did exactly what it claimed to do, that our administration was flawless and humane, and that we weren’t the savage boogiemen of the entire modern world.”

“The elites treat Luminary like it was no different from Kimigashine or Danganronpa or Noveselic. No different from Dicea, if the little information we get about that country is true. That we’re advanced and sophisticated and modern… meanwhile, the whole country knows it’s staring at famines decades before it happens and still can’t do anything about it, our infrastructure is a mess, our royal family have been scandal and disasters ever since their conception…” Isa huffed, scowling, “We’d have been better off under the rule of the oligarchs. During my more daring youth, I would even argue as much in my classrooms. You can imagine how well-liked I was by the wealthy and noble community. Well, you know first hand, what that sort of rebellion leads to.” Isa sighed. “...still never thought it’d happen to me, though.”

Ienzo nodded tiredly. He hadn’t really met a lot of elites that were, well, he gathered were more representative of the whole, but as much as his parents weren’t around much for active politicking, they did still have to pay attention to what the rest of their class was up to, and that meant Ienzo heard about other elites. The criticism of ‘short-sightedness’ and ‘ignorant power consolidating’ was something that he had heard a lot growing up.

“Who cares about injustice if it’s not happening to you?” Ienzo quietly grumbled, nestling himself into the corner of his chair, “Even more when it actively benefits you.”

Thinking about things he hadn’t bothered to remember for a long time, Ienzo’s gaze lowered. His parents had loved Luminary, it was their home. Ienzo had distinct memories of his father… (was it just sitting him down? Or…was he making up being in his father’s lap?) enthusiastically showing off tapestries, telling Ienzo all about the history of textile work in Luminary, or particular legends that were the subject of the piece, or the evolution of how shops advertised themselves. His mother spoke fondly of old folk tunes, the old Luminary language that was almost lost in their modern age, her laughing and bumbling through attempts at singing the old revolution songs as they might’ve sounded over a century ago.

They loved Luminary, and that’s why Ienzo knew it was pure narcissism and paranoia if anyone had thought they were spies. His parents had harshly criticized the nation, pulling direct comparisons to the systems the world over they saw on their travels, because they loved their home. There was so much better Luminary could do, they weren’t doomed to be the barbarians the world saw them as.

Ienzo snorted in amusement, giving Isa a small smile. “I bet you were a joy in classrooms, even aside from the opinions of your peers. Did you ever make someone cry?”

“Not in a way that I think they’d ever admit they were crying,” Isa snorted, before whispering with a small shrug, “I did get my ass kicked a few times, older than I’d really like to admit to. I’d do my debates and cutting wit in my university classes, and suddenly find myself in the after hours sparring people who decided if they couldn’t best me intellectually, well, perhaps they could prove themselves leaving me bleeding on the floor. I’d say none of them were good enough fighters to make it a real threat, because elites rarely are. Buuuut I was also a poor fighter.”

Isa chuckled, before admitting, “I’m likely still a poor fighter. It’s easy to feel powerful and effective in our Empath worlds, especially with someone like Aeleus training us. Because even mental projections of spars keeps the mind sharp,” Isa quoted, rolling his eyes a little, “But in truth if you give me a blade that’s almost the size of me in real life? I will almost always miss and feel exhausted carrying it before a minute has passed. All that to say: bad fighters kicked my ass for sassing them all the time.”

Ienzo snickered quietly, his shoulders bouncing a little. “Don’t let Aeleus catch you saying that, you know his answer will be more pushups, even if we never even find a real weapon like the Luna Diviner.” He shrugged a little, lips tilted up in mirth. “Light wounds heal, but the humiliation of ego you delivered has likely been far more long lasting.”

Ienzo glanced down for a moment, before an odd expression crossed his face. Likely something Isa would not have seen since Ienzo was quite young, and even then on more rare occasions. It was the look of a guilty pleasure.

While they were already talking quietly--Isa out of necessity and Ienzo just didn’t see the point in being much louder--Ienzo lowered his voice even more, that guilty grin persisting.

“...I made my first grade teacher cry.”

Isa glanced up. Orange eyes still glistening like gold, even in his true form. Briefly making him look more intense than he had been in nearly a year… before he smiled lightly. “Why am I not surprised? What did 6-year-old Ienzo do, the little debater?”

Ienzo laughed softly, rolling his eyes a little. “I know, how terribly me, right?”

“I despised school,” Ienzo started, grimly amused with himself, “I had been so excited for it, by how my parents described it, but when it was time for me to go? There was a sort of benchmark test at the beginning of enrollment, to see the base of knowledge each student was working from, and I did not test into the ranges appropriate for first grade. However, my parents didn’t want me to skip grades.”

Ienzo’s grin was just dripping with the dramatic irony. “They said they wanted me to be among peers, to learn and develop social skills.”

“I was so bored, and I had difficulties forming connections with my peers, so, naturally, my conclusion was to figure out a way to get me moved into classes that would challenge me on my own.”

Groaning a little, Ienzo huffed a guilty laugh. “...that poor woman. I sincerely hope she was paid extra for having to deal with me.” Ienzo looked up, sharing an exasperated look with Isa. “...I found out that she’d studied marine science in university, before switching to teaching, and had gotten far enough to get into a special focus on diatoms. I did research for about a month, and on a ‘show and tell’ day I presented all my findings, specifically in a manner that would prompt anyone who knew about the subject to interject or ask questions, before swiftly rebutting every point.”

Ienzo thunked his head against the back of the chair. “...and I ended it by listing the biggest research grants in the last eight years, comparing them to average primary educator salaries.”

There was a grim smile on Ienzo’s face. “I got asked not to come back to school for the rest of the year. We were debating having me skip some grades the next term.”

Isa winced. “Oh, cruel. You went for her salary. Truly the hubris of a boy who was not paying bills yet,” he said, before laughing lightly, “Though, it’s on her if she couldn’t take ribbing from a 6-year-old. They asked you not to return? Pathetic. That school wasn’t tough enough for you.”

Closing his eyes, Ienzo nodded sagely. “I’ve never paid a bill in my life. I could see the concept, but I truly had no idea how much damage that would do.”

Grinning a little, Ienzo opened his eyes and shrugged. “That was just the last straw, really, I’d been a little shit all year. I couldn’t understand what my parents meant, wanting me to make friends; instead all I saw was a mockery of education that was withholding anything challenging for the simple fact I was 6.”

Ienzo’s gaze dried into a quiet humor as he mused, “I find it interesting that I failed to make any friends until I was in a position where I truly couldn’t offer anyone anything.”

“To be fair, by the time other kids came around, you had gotten older.” Isa pointed out, “You were a sweet kid… I mean, perhaps a bit of a braggart, but that’s the plight of all gifted children. Most of them grow out of it.” Isa paused, before admitting, “In theory. But with you? Yes, I’d say so.”

“For the most part,” Ienzo laughed silently. “Grew up enough to realize it’s more fun learning things with people, rather than being the person that knows the most facts in the room.” He paused for a moment. “Though, I came across a phenomenon called ‘gifted kid burnout’? A few people I conditioned knew about it, but I only really found a description once we were out. I don’t think I quite hit that as it’s described, though it’s a fascinating subject.”

“Though,” he said a little sheepishly, “I meant Maki, by ‘not making any friends until’, and even that’s contestable considering Zexion, but I think my relationship with him is a social outlier. I would’ve been much more concerned for myself if the friend I explicitly made to be one didn’t like me.”

“That does sound like a level of mental illness that officially becomes ‘a problem’.” Isa agreed, “And tell me about this, I was, uh…”

Isa looked away, uncomfortable as he considered the best way to word it, before trying for, “Still quite indisposed with my own issues, when I was hearing the stories of your confrontation with Miss Harukawa. I do know you were in the same orphanage together. I’d say it’s an astounding coincidence, that you knew the person who’d most fight for us, but in retrospect it seems inevitable that our defender would be someone who was in our same position. It makes sense one of us would know her, if only by more chance than anyone else.”

Ienzo gave Isa a soft, understanding look before he nodded. “If the elites had the most to lose from the end of the program, then Indentureds had the most to gain. Simple scales. And while I wouldn’t have been able to guess at the time, in retrospect? The traits in the little girl I knew make perfect sense to evolve into the kind of person that’d stop at nothing to free us.”

“After I was picked up by the guards, I was sent to Sunny Side Orphanage, which, as you know, is the orphanage Maki grew up in,” Ienzo started, smiling faintly. “At the point I met her, she already had a strong sense of responsibility to the other kids there, and when I showed up,” Ienzo rolled his eyes a little, “you can imagine I wasn’t adjusting perfectly. Half the time Zexion was controlling our body, but since it was right at the start of that, he was still figuring things out and he mostly just tried to keep us out of trouble. And when it was me, I mostly just cried.”

Ienzo smiled in amusement. “I think we made a sort of combination between annoying her and being pitiable, considering we were a prime target for harassment. So she asked me one day what it’d take for me to stop crying.” Ienzo tilted his head, looking off into the distance. “I think a more true answer was something close to ‘nothing’, but at that moment, I was upset because one of the caretakers had taken a piece of jewelry I’d managed to bring from home.”

Ienzo smirked. “And, as the assassin to be, she got it back. And at that point I decided, well, now I will do anything for you.”

Looking back to Isa, Ienzo shrugged a bit. “We became friends after that, I think mostly because I just followed her around. I never explained my Empathy to her, mostly because I didn’t have any names for the concept, but I have several memories of using it to further her goals and keep her out of trouble, in the months we spent together. Then…”

Ienzo’s gaze went a little flat as he shrugged again. “We met Shuuichi, then were shuttled to the factory. Maki said that if anyone gave us trouble in it, to tell her and she’d sort them out. And I promised to see them again one day. Took about 15 years, but we both upheld those promises, I suppose.”

“Hmmm,” Isa hummed, reading through the book. Listening quietly, nodding every sentence or so…

“I really don’t know enough about her to say concretely one way or another,” Isa admitted, “But I can’t help but wonder if finding all your plans working out and consequences avoided for almost a year before one started what is unequivocally the most dangerous and challenging career track the Indentured’s were offered might have… affected her success?”

“People don’t admit how much success leads to more success,” Isa said, “Confidence, true confidence, is like bringing a crossbolt to a boxing match. It doesn’t just affect your ability or willingness to produce results: it affects how willing others are to allow you to get away with things, or help you. Confidence gives you the benefit of the doubt.”

“A young assassin who went into her track feeling like she couldn’t fail?” Isa said, glancing up at Ienzo, “...well. I guess we’ll never really know. But I’d assume it hadn’t hurt her chances. And we’re all quite fortunate that she made it.”

Ienzo blinked, surprise coloring his features as he looked over at Isa…before he looked down. A soft expression coming to him. “If I managed to help at all? I’m glad. There were so many things that had to happen exactly the way they did for things to turn out where we are now. Every choice by every individual, and even things by complete chance happening to people, is impactful, but…still. It’s a nice thought to believe that I’d contributed to the rolling stone of my own freedom before I even had a concept of what was to come.”

Quiet for a moment, Ienzo rolled his pen in his hand before giving Isa a tentative look. “...do…you think it’d be foolish to try and pursue a friendship with her again?”

“Not at all. I think it’d be wise, considering we plan to be neighbors,” Isa said, “I do hope Dicea proves to be a place we all can properly rest. Have time to make friends. I’m tentatively hopeful, but it’s a lot left to mystery before we get there.”

He swallowed, staring at the books around him warily before adding in softly, “And so much we must do before we can even begin to go. I do not regret our new chore. But I will admit, splitting our group in half? Both towards uncertain dangers…an already complicated situation was much simpler, a few days ago.”

Ienzo nodded slightly. He hoped so too. Maki had come to help him, but Ienzo wasn’t about to conflate responsibility with affection. They had been young children the last time they’d spent any real time together. Even forgoing their experiences, which was forgoing quite a lot, they’d grown up. Grown into different people. It didn’t mean that having a friendship was impossible between them now, but it did mean that they would have to reform one from basically the beginning. Not a task Ienzo found terrifying, but it was one that he hoped she would be willing to take on as well.

What was scarier was…

Ienzo sighed as he looked across their drafts. “You’re not wrong about that. We’re not going to be truly separated, but the physical distance isn’t not daunting.” Ienzo was quiet for a moment before he looked up at Isa, expression carefully neutral. “Are you disappointed Axel isn’t coming with our group?”

“I’m relieved,” Isa said immediately, before his eyes shadowed a little, “Sad, but relieved. Axel…”

“....Axel and I had this running joke, for a while, that both of us insisted it was the other person who wouldn’t stop gunning for a friendship between us.” Isa said, smiling lightly, “In truth, that joke doesn’t give our chemistry enough justice. Our literal first conversation, where he was threatening my foolish sister… is it terrible that we spent a lot of that tense conversation making each other laugh? He was so oddly charming, even in a moment where he was very clearly my enemy. As disrespectful as it was in the moment to my sister… I quite liked him.”

“But he did seek me out first.” Isa laughed softly, “Though in his defense, I believe it was pure coincidence. And he greeted me like he assumed it wasn’t a coincidence and I had followed him to that bar. Which, I suppose he didn’t see as a warning sign, if he really believed it. But no, after figuring out everything with my sister, we just happened to see each other at a bar not long after, and we started to talk, and I got to know him better and better…”

Isa frowned, “Then, out of nowhere, a warrant was put out for his arrest. Not hard to do, he was a gangster. But he was small-time, essentially invisible for how unimportant he was. Just someone else's hired muscle. So for his warrant to spring up overnight, and guards to arrest him before noon that same day? I only heard about it at all because one of his cohorts knew we were friends and gave me a heads up, perhaps hoping I could defend him. But his trial happened within days, before I could even pin down where exactly he was being kept, and by the time I had tracked him down, he was already being moved to the factories under an Indentured contract, rather than a dungeon. It was so quick, so bizarre, that I waited those months for his first round of conditioning to be finished so I could ask what happened… but the time limit came and went and he was never released.”

“I wanted to investigate it not just because it was all clearly a wild obstruction of even what we would call justice. The courts and guards do not move that fast unless someone is applying pressure to them, and I couldn’t understand back then why anyone would care about being certain Axel ended up in a factory,” Isa said, “But…I wanted to save him, specifically, too.”

“Axel’s a sweetheart, when it comes right down to it.” Isa admitted, “And I don’t believe I’m biased to say that. There’s a gentleness to him that life never allowed him to embrace. A gentleness he never got to experience for himself… for goodness sake, the man made his torture world a scene from an action-adventure childrens novel.” Isa snorted softly, shaking his head, “...I’d like a more gentle life for all of us. But for Axel? I don’t want him joining us to play-act being hired muscle again, still only useful for how brutal he can pretend to be. I want him somewhere safe. I want to finish the rescue attempt I started so long ago…I could die in the capital happy, knowing Axel was settled and safe somewhere. It’s all I’ve wanted for over a decade.”

It was always interesting hearing how differently Isa and Axel would tell the same stories. It was something that had intrigued Ienzo to no end when he was younger, convinced that one of them must be stretching the truth and it had almost felt like a game, getting each of their sides and comparing them. But for the most part, the truth was that they were just people with incredibly different perspectives and ways of telling stories. Both accounts could be true simultaneously. But even once Ienzo figured that out, it had never gotten any less entertaining to hear both sides.

Hearing that it was more an act of instant chemistry than Isa’s smooth talking? Ienzo huffed softly. “Your sister might argue, but you still got her out of trouble, so I think you’re in the clear.”

Ienzo’s mirth was short-lived, his mouth twisting a bit as Isa regaled his side of what the government discovering you were an Empath looked like. As Axel told the story? He and some of his fellows had just gotten unlucky, running into an arrest that actually cared about arresting them for once. His transfer from being conditioned to being a conditioner a total surprise.

From the outside in?

It was a set up. And from someone who was more familiar with the punitive system in Luminary, it was obvious to Isa. How could he not look into it? From all the evidence of something different going on, to, well…

It was Axel.

Ienzo smiled slightly. If Isa was biased, then Ienzo had very similar biases, but he was right. Axel had a playfulness and comradery and just…the type of kindness that never excluded people from those things as a rule. Had life been kinder, there were so many places Axel would have been able to thrive with those qualities, and he would’ve made the spaces and people around him better for it. Ienzo believed that Axel had done so with them, after all.

Though…

Giving Isa a look, certain phrasing pinging in his head, Ienzo sat up a little and gave Isa a concerned look. “...Isa…” he said slowly, “What we’re doing is dangerous, but…we’re not going into this planning to die.”

“I know,” Isa whispered… before swallowing. Swallowing. Swallowing… and then looking away uncomfortably. “...no one ever goes into anything really believing it will go wrong. We wouldn’t try if that was the case. But…”

Isa looked down, ashamed. He was a man who had learned the hard way, over and over, that he wasn’t invincible. And recognizing confidence was a short-cut to success didn’t make it any easier to fake it. The factory had beaten Isa. It had only been the others taking him along that he had survived it at all.

“...I mean to try my best,” was all Isa could muster up.

Ienzo’s expression softened sadly. In all reason, if they failed? The most likely outcome was just that they’d be sent away from the court, and they’d go to Dicea, Ventus refusing to leave the home he’d grown up in. It sucked, and hurt to think about, but it was no more dangerous than their lives already were.

However, there was a chance for things to go spectacularly wrong. People framing their attempts to talk to Ventus, or even the boy himself calling for help against a kidnapping, and their warrants for arrest going out. More attentive eyes on them reminding very important people just what they were, and a repeat of the factory happening all over again. Hellfire, a paranoid queen wanting to bury an unsavory past ordering executions.

Unlikely…but possible. Not things that were worth putting the energy into worrying about, really…

But thinking that it’d ‘never happen to them’?

Sighing softly, Ienzo got up and circled the small work table he and Isa were sitting at, plopping down on the floor by his brother’s legs. “...we’re all going to try our best. And if you can’t do it, then I’ll hope and believe in our success enough for the both of us, alright?”

Isa glanced down in surprise at Ienzo, before smiling tiredly. Reaching over to pet his head as he said, “What a strange child you still are. What are you doing down there?”

Ienzo tilted his head up into the pet, before blinking at Isa. “It’s weirder if I just stand next to you, isn’t it?”

“No. No, Ienzo, oh dear.” Isa laughed lightly, giving Ienzo a fond look. “See, this is the issue with them never giving us any real furniture. You know, I had a chance to get us real chairs once? Missed the quota by this much,” Isa said, sighing both a tad amused and a little sadly as he squeezed his thumb and index near each other, “Now I see the consequences of my failure.”

Isa hesitated for a second… before he said, “Why not just give me a hug? I won’t bite. Anymore.” He paused. “...I’m fairly certain.”

Ienzo gave Isa a slightly flat look, not quite pouting at him. It wasn’t that weird to sit by someone when you wanted to give more physical support along with affection, right? And given the arms on the chairs they were using, it would’ve been much stranger and much more awkward for Ienzo to move his chair around the table and sit next to Isa that way, and it did feel weirder to just stand there.

“Some of the quotas were such bullshit,” Ienzo muttered, before looking back up at Isa. “...do you want one? I wasn’t sure, so that’s why I didn’t go for it. And you were usually alright at not breaking skin with us even when you did bite.”

Isa smiled, again, that same tired, sad edge to it, as he said, “I’d have liked to have never bitten you all at all. I’d like more to feel confident I won’t bite still. It’s better now, I don’t want to be misunderstood. It’s a lot better. But…” his shoulders fell lightly, “I’ll admit, I had hoped the reactions would be gone completely. As ridiculous a choice as Demyx is, I am glad your father had the foresight to assign him to me. I can’t imagine what would happen if I got overwhelmed and started barking in the court.”

“...anyway, yes. I’d like a hug,” Isa admitted.

…yeah. As they’d talked about in Isa’s head, it would be great if once they were themselves again, things were just fixed! But that wasn’t true, and it was never going to be true.

But things were better, and that was still good.

A small, fond smile came to Ienzo as he softly huffed. “If anything will be true, it’ll certainly be a court session they’ll never forget. Of anyone to make a distraction seem natural, I think Demyx is the best choice.”

Getting back up, Ienzo hugged Isa, gently squeezing him. “We’ll be alright,” he softly assured.

Isa closed his eyes, patting Ienzo’s back before sighing lightly. Enjoying the comfort of the feeling… before he nodded. “Yes, we will be. Thank you, Ienzo.”

At the very least, you could never call the castle boring.

“Team Alto, we’ve received reports on Case Fermata, here’s your folder,” Secretary Lorelei Virtuso called, passing the dossier off to the lead of Team Alto, “Team Soprano, you might’ve already heard the latest ruckus, you’ll be backing up the Sanctum Guards today; Team Tenor, the temples have shut down another twelve brothels, you’ll be handling that paperwork today.”

At the sighs from that, Lorelei looked over her glasses and gave a sympathetic, yet stern nod. “I know, but at least you know the ropes by now. Team Bass, we’re on mail check again. I’ll grab the bins and meet you there.”

“Yes, Ma’am!!” those left in the room called, the secretaries dispersing to the day's duties.

Her parents said she had a good chance of being a Lady-in-Waiting. It felt like a hollow victory, sometimes, that being a pencil pusher felt more fulfilling. But it still was.

The Luminary Administration was a well-oiled machine that had been held together with the sheer force of one man who got into everyone’s head enough that he may as well have been the machine itself. And when ex-Head Secretary Tengan went missing with Prince Kaito’s wedding procession, the machine had nearly instantly burst into flames. Add in a coup and then a civil war and an upheaval of their hierarchy that truthfully wasn’t as radical as all the other elites clutching their pearls thought it was, but still was an upheaval, and it was a miracle they got anything done day to day.

And yet? The order Lorelei saw as she walked briskly down the hall, fetching the sorting bins for the day’s mail, was nearly as efficient as they all had to pretend it was. That veneer sparkling, as they all had to break apart the corruption and built-in inefficiencies that previous administrations had left.

It didn’t exactly make her popular at parties, such as the queen’s masquerade which had just happened, to say that it helped having fresh eyes ask questions.

“Lady Virtuso! Oh, I’ll trade you some bins for a coffee! Ma’am!”

Lorelei sighed and looked up. “Secretary Aingeal, I’ve told you before, you’re not an assistant, it’s not your job to get coffee for anyone.”

“Oh, I know, but I was by the maker anyway and it’s gonna be a busy day ahead!” Secretary Ace Aingeal said brightly, already taking all the bins Lorelei had under her left arm and, well, now there was a mug of coffee in her hand. “Mail-sorting again, huh? Ha, hope everyone has their letter openers ready, don’t want a repeat of last time. I’ll bring these right over, meet you there!”

Ace had already taken a few steps before remembering and chirping out an extra, “Ma’am!” before he was suddenly halfway down the hall, as ‘lickity-split’ as he’d promised in his interviews.

Well, maybe such opinions made her more popular in different crowds, Lorelei mused, sipping her second coffee of the day at 8AM.

While it was still very much ‘tentative exploring’, the Nobodies and Somebodies were slowly stretching their legs. Not sequestering themselves just to the area they’d chosen rooms in and places just for necessity, not just staying inside the manor entirely, even with the knowledge of more high class eyes on them potentially every time they left. There were a thousand things to do and just as many places to do them.

Still, that didn’t wholly explain why Lauriam was standing unsteadily in a random hallway in Maya’s manor, eyes nearly entirely empty, for as much as he was definitely awake.

Riku stepped up the staircase, holding a plate of food that he was going to squirrel away into his room. He had been hungry, so yeah. That was the thing to do today. A part of him was maybe even looking forward to it? Food tasted good. In theory, this would be a nice experience–

Riku paused, looking like a rabbit startled beside a bush as he stared at Lauriam. Who was, uh. Up. And walking around.

…good? Bad? Riku had no idea.

……..oh, he should do something. Like go get someone. Was it okay to leave Lauriam like this? He was standing. He didn’t look like he should be standing, but he sure was.

“Um,” Riku said, staring at Lauriam, “...I’m going to go get Sora. Okay?”

Lauriam stared emptily back at Riku, seeing him for quite a while before registering what having something in his sight was, and that it was a person, and what ‘person’ meant, and recognizing, oh, that’s Riku, and… It was like every process of thought was happening one by one at 1% of the speed. Lauriam had never really realized that even for the simplest things there even was a process, let alone with so many steps. Having to do it all consciously felt like a nightmare.

But Riku was just staring back at him in turn, even as silence fell between them. Lauriam’s eyes narrowing slightly, eventually his thoughts getting to the point of ‘Sora, get Sora, asking okay?’ before Lauriam gave Riku a difficult look. Asking unsurely, “Why?”

“Um,” Riku said, “because you were in a coma a second ago? You might still need to be… coma’ing. Sleeping, I mean. Or something.”

Riku shifted uncomfortably. What would actual Riku do now? Um… he didn’t know. Riku had kept Ansem and himself so starkly separated that Ansem really had no idea what Riku was like at all. He barely recognized the guy even staring into a mirror. When everyone had regressed to pure Nobody form after being taken out of the factory, it had literally been Ansem’s first time out in the world… at all.

He didn’t know how to process things outside of maniacal laughing and speeches about The Darkness. Dealing with a sick sort of friend–folks didn’t really hang out with the guy who literally had only been given a singular personality trait and literally no real desires–was well out of his wheelhouse of skills.

Usually the answer to most problems that wasn’t ‘do the conditioning’ was to sit and wait for something else to happen. That worked less often in the real world. Riku kept hoping it would though, as he said again a tad desperately, feeling like he needed some reassurance this was the right thing to do, “I’m going to go get Sora.”

Coma? Was that right? He had been sleeping, at least some of the time, but as difficult as it was to think through, Lauriam knew he had been awake off and on. Was he supposed to be sleeping still? He didn’t like the sound of that, it sounded lame. So…then why…was he here, though?

…where was here?

A hand to the side of his head, Lauriam squinted at Riku as he desperately tried to speed his brain up.

…Riku didn’t sound…good? ‘Good’ wasn’t right, but…

“...okay,” Lauriam said eventually, the slightest spark in his eyes looking over Riku like a puzzle, but like it was one far and beyond comprehension.

“Okay.” Riku nodded, before turning and hurrying off.

After a moment, there was a shout of “Lauriam!” as Sora and Riku came running back down the hall. Sora hurrying over to Lauriam’s side, immediately looking like he wanted to help steady him, but was holding back touching him just yet as he earnestly looked up at him. “Are you okay!? You’re awake! That’s amazing!”

Lauriam hadn’t moved. It would be nice to say he was just waiting for Sora and Riku since that’s what Riku said he was going to do, but the truth was moving just hadn’t occurred to Lauriam at all.

It probably wasn’t true, but maybe that saved enough power for Lauriam to be slightly faster as he gave Sora a mildly amused look. “...been awake?”

He squinted more. “...can’t think. Ridiculous.” A pause, as he dazedly looked over the teens. “...okay?”

“We’re okay! Are you okay?” Sora fretted a little, before grinning. “It’s so great to see you awake though! Oh, Riku, go get Aqua, and anyone else you see, but definitely Aqua,” Sora told him.

Riku nodded before running off again, as Sora looked back at Lauriam. “Are you hungry? We’ve been helping you eat, but it’s all been basically just soups. I’d be ravenous if I was you, we could go down to the kitchens? Though that’s kind of a long walk… oh! We’re not at the tavern anymore! Do you remember that? We told Light Ball you, but I don’t know how much of that you actually comprehend.”

Lauriam sighed softly, but just let Sora go on…and…uh…on…

It was visible--and maybe obvious to feel as well--how much Lauriam’s mind just went to static at the, honestly, normal amount of questions, but barrage in how they felt to Lauriam, trying to keep them all in mind. Lauriam knew that this wasn’t right, that he should just be able to think, but it was like being stuck in the center of a giant jelly, and suddenly all the sides became twice as thick.

Again, a silence fell, but it was soon broken by footsteps approaching, Aqua quickly taking in the situation Riku had told her about. “Aw kid,” she sighed, before taking Lauriam’s shoulders and directing him. She looked around for a moment before lightly kicking an ottoman in the hall, and when it didn’t shatter apart she nodded and steered Lauriam onto it. “Been a while but that static feeling definitely does feel the way carbonation tastes, huh.”

Giving Sora a light look, she asked, “Anything happen since Riku found me? I’m glad he’s up and talking, but this seems a little beyond that.”

“No, he mostly has just been quiet. Said he was having a hard time thinking,” Sora explained, relieved to see Aqua there. Riku was lingering behind her, but Sora just gave him a grateful nod before refocusing. Riku would just stand there until someone else prompted him anyway, it was fine. “I’m not sure how awake he actually is?”

“No kidding,” Aqua sighed. She gently squeezed Lauriam’s shoulder before addressing them all, figuring that even if things were having a hard time getting through, he’d likely appreciate being treated like he could still follow the conversation. “I’ve been talking with the cat a bit when they’ve been by, and Lauriam being in ‘ball of light’ mode? It’s like…if a candle could burn like a firecracker for a moment, but that melts down the wax and obliterates the wick, right? Lauriam’s working from a point of trying to gather all the wax together again. So until he’s a little more ‘here’, I think simple is best, okay?”

With that said, she looked back at Lauriam, prompting him with his name. Just waiting patiently until it looked like he acknowledged her, before she squeezed his shoulder again. “Are you hungry?”

Another few beats…before a light shrug. Lauriam squinting, before slowly saying, “...hard to tell.”

“Alright,” Aqua nodded, “We’ll start light, then. C’mon, kiddo.”

More just pulling him up than prompting, Aqua guided Lauriam down the hall, keeping an eye on his movements. A little confused, a little unsteady, but he was up, and being able to do that was a good sign.

Riku was still holding his plate of food as he followed Sora, Aqua, and Lauriam, sitting down as they made use of one of the sitting rooms. Riku blinked when he suddenly felt Sora call out {Hey, Lauriam is up! We’re here!} to the whole group. Ah, right, he probably should have done that, huh. Riku sometimes forgot that he could talk to the others that way too.

His food was still in his lap, untouched, when Dilan and Aeleus got there first, the two fastest, before Axel came in on their heels, Kairi soon after him, the others all just a bit farther and needing more time to get there.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Kairi said, sighing as she saw Lauriam blearily look at them, “Based on the things Alter Ego was saying to us, I was starting to worry this was taking too long.”

“Hey, dandelion,” Dilan frowned, kneeling on one knee next to the chair Aqua had put Lauriam down on, “I thought you were talking a little longer yesterday, but didn’t think you were up and running around ready. How you feeling?”

“His eyes are really unfocused,” Axel frowned, before sitting down on the ground, “I’m gonna check on what’s going inside.”

“Ah, yes, good idea,” Kairi said, though she remained standing. Her face just suddenly going distant as she headed in as well.

Aeleus let out a quiet, relieved hum, looking at Lauriam warmly. He wasn’t back to 100%, but the fact that he’d been able to get up and move around himself? It was a good sign. And likely one that meant the ambulatory and more physical side of healing would be a lot easier for him.

His family all congregating was a little…much. But Lauriam found it was a type of ‘much’ that he found comforting. It may be difficult to focus, but…well, at least they were there. And that was a good thing.

“...slow,” Lauriam grumbled after a moment, trying to focus on what Dilan was saying, “S’annoying…”

And with more people around, and a few checking in on Lauriam mentally, Aqua turned her attention, giving Riku a kind look. “We interrupted lunch, huh? You can eat, Riku, you’re all good. Thanks for looking over Lauriam, you did a good job.”

On Destiny Island, Zexion looked up and quickly waved over Axel and Namine when they dropped in, figuring that they’d already made it to Lauriam. It was good to know, he supposed, that…this was manifesting as Lauriam being awake in the physical world.

Lauriam was no longer just a ball of light. He still was, it was the most prominent thing about him still, but now he actually had his body again, as fading in and out as it was. It intrigued Zexion to no end, how the light was centered in Lauriam’s chest--like a heart--and…well, this did just look like the light was projecting his form. Was that the actual nature of their essences?

Glaring up at the sky from where he laid out in the sand, Lauriam looked past Axel and Namine as they approached. “...can’t focus. If you ask me more than one question at a time, I’m gonna lose it.”

“Okay,” Axel said, before pausing… glancing uncertainly at Namine, who was also looking at Lauriam’s fluctuating form in curious wonder, “...um…?”

“Are you in pain?” Namine asked.

“No,” Lauriam answered, his response far quicker than it was in the physical realm. “I feel…really disoriented. Every thought takes a million years to form, even things as basic as ‘recognition’.”

He frowned a little, before saying more softly, “...kind of, though. It’s not real pain, or even…something indicative of an injury. But I think I can still feel where Sora stabbed me. That feels clearer than a lot of things right now.”

ó.ò Clarity does seem to be one of the key features of Sora’s keyblade, but it’s noteworthy, if not concerning, that you can still feel it.

“I guess we don’t really know what Sora’s aide does long term,” Axel murmured quietly, talking to Namine so that Lauriam wouldn’t get overwhelmed, “It was supposed to help with the impulse to condition when we go to make someone whole, but that’s not even what was happening with Lauriam, and Sora’s never tested it otherwise.”

Namine quietly listened, staring at Lauriam… before asking clearly, “Would you like me to numb you?”

“No,” Lauriam said, quickly again, but his voice strained this time, something a little frantic in the plea. Pushing himself up, he looked over at the others, his expression not hazy like out in the physical realm, other than the way his form refused to stay solid, so the spark of desperation was clear to see.

“Everything else feels numb already. I kept trying to tell you guys before, when I was just, this?” Lauriam pointed to the light in his chest, looking a little disturbed just to see it, and even more by how it felt like he could just…reach into his body and scoop it out. “I couldn’t sense anything. Other than you guys sending intent directly to me? There was nothing.”

O_O

Zexion’s eyes widened in alarm. You couldn’t see Destiny Island?

“No,” Lauriam huffed, that same sense of unease about him.

“Oh, shit,” Axel whispered, “...man, you missed out on a lot of visual gags. No wonder you were so cool with us playing dress-up with you.”

The sunglasses thing had evolved. Light Ball Lauriam had been very fashionable lately.

Namine still considered all of this quietly. Looking at her own abilities, looking for something that might offer aid, or comfort. When she had asked Alter Ego if there were more advanced ways to heal a struggling body or psyche, the cat had looked at her a long time, before confessing, “Yes, but I’m not going to tell you.”

“Why not?” Namine had asked.

“Because I don’t think it’d ever occur to you to stop,” the cat had confessed, “Not like how you are.”

And Namine knew, at least somewhat, this was due to her somewhat pragmatic view of her own powers. She couldn’t fathom why she wouldn’t do something, if it would justify some sort of end. If Namine had the power of the Ouma? She’d re-write the world, and never once second-guess herself.

So, this time, she asked, “Would you like me to project the whole of the island to you through intent?”

Thankfully, Axel frowned at that, reaching out to put a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Lauriam made a scrunched expression at Axel. …did he want to know?

Honestly, probably not.

The unease and consternation dropped into worry at Namine’s offer, however, Lauriam giving the teen a concerned look. Though, with a breath he offered a small smile. “Ne, I really don’t think we need two of us frying our brains this week. I can see things now, even if thinking anything through takes a while. And even if I can’t stay like this all the time?” Lauriam briefly glanced down at himself, a spark of worry returning, but it was gone by the time he looked back up. “...that’s okay. Should probably live with the consequences of my own actions, after all.”

Namine nodded, before placing her hands together in front of her chest. “We have been worried about you. We want you well.”

“Yeah,” Axel agreed, giving Lauriam a frown, “We’re gonna give you a lot more shit about this later. But for now? We just want you to get better, man. You scared the crap out of us.”

Lauriam gave the siblings a small, fond smile, before looking away with a sigh. “I’m working on it. And so are all of you, I know, even if I can’t really recognize it all the time. After all this? I figure I should brace for a shitstorm,” he laughed softly.

Looking down, then back over towards Namine and Axel, his smile faded. “...I…really am sorry about all of that. I wish I could offer more of an explanation, but I don’t really know what happened either.”

“Don’t worry about it for now,” Axel said, waving it away dismissively, “Just rest. We can figure out what happened later, but, like… mostly just to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s not urgent now.”

“Axel, will you stay with him here for now?” Namine asked, “I’m gonna go back to see how he’s faring in the real world.”

“Sure.” Axel nodded, sitting with Lauriam.

Namine’s gaze focused.

Riku glanced over at her–he was observant, he tended to notice when people came in and out–but continued to eat.

Sora, though, tended to notice things Riku noticed. Glancing at his friend, seeing the way his eyes briefly focused on Kairi, Sora immediately turned to Kairi and said, “How is he?”

“Still unstable, but more present,” Kairi said, {sending} them what she had seen. “I think our rotation of spending time with him is working though. We should keep it up, even if he’s feeling better. How has he been here?”

Lauriam, somehow, looked even more out of it than he had been before, but with some coaxing was eating some food that Ienzo had brought up at the behest of Aqua.

“Really don’t think he’s up to multitasking anything,” Aqua said lightly, “But…that’s good, that he’s more present. It’s one thing to prepare for the long haul, but another to…well. It’s good to see some progress.”

Ienzo, mulling over the memory Kairi sent, immediately was thinking along the same lines as Zexion. “...you know, it would make a lot of sense, considering how mutable one’s form is, but it’s strange to think of the body as nearly entirely a construct, in the mental realm. I suppose we’ve always known that we aren’t literally walking around a physical space, with another kind of body, but it’s still odd to wrap one’s head around.”

“I suppose when one attributes their physical form as the first part of their identity for so long, that’s something that transfers over in the mental world,” Even said, placing his hand against his chin as he mused, “But that doesn’t necessarily make it accurate, or perhaps even the sole way such presentations default to. Perhaps there are people out there who, if we entered their mental landscapes, they’d present themselves as something else entirely? Perhaps not even as an effort, but just as a reflection of how their mind works?”

“I had a girl who was colors once,” Riku said, chewing on his food.

“...what?” Even said, looking back at Riku, who stared back idly, not aware of how important what he said was to the Empath studiers among him, “What do you mean?”

“She was colors. And scent,” Riku recalled, “...I think she was blind.”

“Why would you never mention that till now!?” Even gawked.

Riku’s brows furrowed. “...I don’t know?”

“Augh.” Even groaned, slapping his forehead, “Of course a rare phenomena like that would go to the one person among us with no sense of curiosity…”

Ienzo gawked at Riku as well before his mind revved, fingers tap, tap, tapping away. “Fascinating. Not having a conceptual language around visuals would certainly alter things in the mindscape, but the fact that her sense of feeling, the sense of form of one’s body, wasn’t the primary definition for her form still? Wait, but colors are absolutely a visual indication…”

Ienzo started to pace a little as he thought. “Lauriam growing brighter or dimmer, or even flashing absolutely was a reflection of his inner state, so…is the concept of value and color something innate to expression, regardless of whether you’ve ever experienced it visually? Color has long been known to have psychological effects, but if some of that comes from an innate sense of expression, and not simply associations within culture and nature…!”

“There they go,” Aqua hummed, nudging Lauriam into the rest of his meal.

“You’re losing the scope of what it means to be blind, son,” Even lightly scolded, adding in, “She could have just enough partial vision to recognize colors and nothing else, and that would perhaps take precedence in her concept of what things ‘are’ over physical sensation if she identifies things primarily through their basic color and their scent. Though, that does leave the curiosity of someone who is fully blind and how they might present themselves. Which would be truly fascinating to study, I wonder if we could find someone–”

“Remember you guys said you’d stop experimenting on unwilling or unaware people?” Luis said, sighing at the two scientists, “It was a whoooole conversation? Remember? No you can’t just ‘find’ a blind person.”

“Observation is not experimentation,” Even said simply.

“That’s just stalking,” Luis said.

“Not if I write things down. Then it’s science!” Even cackled.

Ienzo pouted, before sniffing a little. “The world is vast and varied. It’s far from a non-possibility to become acquainted with someone with a severe visual impairment and, with their consent, it could turn out to be a fruitful conversation for all parties involved. Plenty of studies are done with enthusiastic consent.”

Aeleus made a small sound before looking to Ienzo. “You said you were setting up a last meeting with your volunteers?”

“Potentially,” Ienzo nodded, “If it works out, I’d like to be able to check in with them how my transcription factor is working, but if nothing else I want to make sure I actually give it to them before we leave.”

“We’re still setting everything up, but yeah, better get on that, Ienzo,” Dilan said, still watching Lauriam, who seemed entirely phased out now, “Should we get him to bed? What do you guys think?”

“I say even if it’s just sitting and listening, if he can be around at least some of us it might help,” Luis said, “Does it really matter if he nods off? He can sleep around us as much as he can sleep alone.”

“I guess a lot of us have been using that common area next to the dining hall downstairs,” Dilan said, “Maybe we should set him up there? There’s usually someone going in and out.”

Before anyone could answer, Lauriam nodded slightly. Aqua gave him a slightly surprised look before laughing softly. “Well, that’s a pretty important vote for yes. Is a bit more exciting than laying in bed all day, even if Zexion’s been keeping you company when the rest of us aren’t. Let’s get a little more exciting, shall we?”

Lauriam’s little grunt at that sounded absolutely ecstatic.

Axel blinked into reality, standing up as he said, “Hey, I just wanted to come out to say real quick: we absolutely have to give Lauriam the mental images of hanging out with Light Ball Lauriam time. He apparently couldn’t see any of it! He missed the outfits!”

“What!? Nooo! What about the dance moves I’ve been showing him!?” Demyx gasped, eyes widening in betrayed horror. “I thought he liked them! Lauriam, you didn’t see my crazy cool dance moves?” Demyx asked, groaning.

Lauriam grumbled a bit before blinking a few times, getting his eyes to focus more. “I was in a void, Dem-Dem. Unless you were talking to me, or holding me, I had no idea what was happening.”

“Oh hey, some full sentences,” Aqua noted cheerfully. “Keep going, Demyx, you might be onto something.”

Demyx pouted, sniffing a bit… before he gripped his hands into fists determinedly, “Don’t worry, Lauriam! I’ll catch you up on all the dances you missed! When you’re ready to move around, you’re going to have a full set of moves to choose from when you listen to my super cool band!”

“See, a part of me wants to help you,” Dilan whispered to Lauriam, “But another part of me is having too much fun watching this, so... You’re on your own.”

“Help me from what?” Lauriam asked cooly and fully audibly, glancing over at Dilan with a hint of a smile on his face. “Demyx’s band is genuinely good, and every member seems like an accomplished musician. I suppose you haven’t heard them, so you wouldn’t know… That’s a shame.”

Taking a breath to focus himself more, Lauriam gave Demyx a painfully understanding look. “I understand, as an artist, if it’s all still too personal right now, but I think Dilan would truly have a great time if you showed him some of your band’s songs, Demyx. You have a real range too, so I think to get the full picture he should listen to everything.”

Demyx’s eyes lit up. “You’re right!”

“Oh, you little shit,” Dilan muttered, as Demyx headed over, grasping his arm and shaking him a bit. “Demyx, don’t get over-excited–”

“No, no, see, because you don’t listen to music that much, I know that if I can get you to like our songs, that means our band is on the right track!” Demyx said excitedly, entirely caught up as he explained, “So if we test our songs on you and convert you into a fan? Then I bet anyone would like our music! It’s something I should totally do!”

Dilan glared at Lauriam. Demyx tended to just play ambiently for the group, when he wanted to show off, but for the one on one critique concerts he liked sometimes, Dilan had mostly avoided them by just generally not being a music guy and Demyx never thinking of him first when he wanted to show something off. But now taking that as a challenge?

And, like, what was Dilan going to do? Say no? He was a sadist, not a monster.

“Like… mabe a song or two,” Dilan sighed, “But they have to be accompanied by some dance moves. Gotta make up for everything Lauriam missed out on.”

“Oh, not a problem. I’ll message Amaina, she’s always down to dance.” Demyx grinned enthusiastically.

…heheh.

What, Marluxia hadn’t been manipulative out of nowhere. But Demyx getting to show off some music was something he’d genuinely enjoy, and it wasn’t torture. Dilan would live, and maybe he actually would become a fan.

Letting himself drift a little, Lauriam hummed softly, brows pinching as he tried to sort some memories. “You…made a song for Larxene? Or did I just imagine that?”

At that, Demyx’s excitement dampened a little, mostly because he was feeling sheepish as he looked away, still smiling even as he shrugged. “A little. It’s a part of another song. It’s a little corny…I imagine her kind of wishing me well? It’s silly.”

“Ah, geez,” Luis murmured, “Nah, I think that’s sweet, lad.”

“I’m sure she does!” Sora said brightly, hopping on his feet, “I mean, you wish yourself well, right? So she does!”

“Maybe through layers and layers and layers of sarcasm and mocking,” Axel said dryly, “But, sure, I’m sure she does. She’s got a personal investment too, after all.”

Riku glanced at all of them, before looking down at his plate. It was empty now. He should… put it away? Put it away. Quietly, he got up, heading to the door.

“Where are you going, Riku?” Sora called.

“Oh, um, to put my dish away,” Riku said.

“I’ll come with you!” Sora said, hopping up and turning to the group, smiling brightly, “We’ll make some drinks and snacks for everyone, if we’re going to hang out together downstairs! Come on, Kairi!”

“Oh,” Kairi startled, before standing up, hurrying over, “Okay!”

Ienzo crossed his arms, thinking it through. “I think Sora’s correct. If the sentiment doesn’t feel ‘fake’ to you, then I believe it’s a safe assumption to make that she feels that way. It…” Ienzo suddenly trailed off, looking confused, before he blinked at Demyx. “Oh, was that the song that Zexion helped you all with?”

An even more confused look crossed Ienzo’s face as he tapped his chin silently. Thinking over those implications.

Watching the teens go Aeleus looked down at Ienzo. “With Lauriam growing more stable, it may be wise to consider making another of us whole before outside circumstances get more frantic.”

Looking up, Ienzo followed Aeleus’ glance to the doorway before he frowned softly. “...yeah.”

“Tch, little freak is never any fun. No wonder they’re called demons, with something this soulless.”

“Won’t argue with you there, but there’s still a little, hm, should we call it holy retribution?” A few snickers there, a moment shared between comrades. “We can have with this one. Just can’t go with the obvious, Pence.”

The child said nothing. They hadn’t been made to talk, and especially not to the supervisors. The advice all the constructs gave each other was just to be quiet and get through it. ‘It’ being whatever the supervisors wanted them for. Usually while every little thing great and small piqued their curiosity, they didn’t even bother trying to ask what it was this time. It never mattered.

“Be a good little demonling, would you? C’mon…”

The body was little more than a ragdoll as the supervisors lifted them like it was nothing, strapping them into--

“Ha, see! Something’s awake in there!”

Blue eyes widened in recognition as unyielding hands held his head down, and Ienzo could barely send out a panicked {DAD!} before metal clamped down and suddenly…they were alone. Unable to feel the others. No back up, no comfort, just Ienzo and…them.

Sped up breathing seemed all the more obvious as the muzzle clamped his jaw shut--there had been a “joke” about rabies at one point--and…despite all the advice, Ienzo started to struggle as they moved onto his arms and legs.

“What, now? Geez, I guess these really are holy…”

There was a muffled wheeze from the blow to his chest, the metal around his head not worth glancing fingers against for a slap. “Settle down! This is your own fault, try not to make it worse for yourself, alright? Tch, damn monster…”

No no no no sorry guys, he couldn’t do this!

There was a blink, and all of the body’s limbs were strapped down. Confused eyes looking in limited range, before coming to the realization of what was happening. Panic.

And another blink. The sound of sparks. Panic.

Another blink. A scream, as fiery pain jolted through the entire body. There was no place to hide from this. And yet, they couldn’t bear to be there.

Another blink. Another. Screams starting and stopping abruptly, over and over, eyes only focusing for a spark before running away again.

But there was nowhere to go.

“GGH AAH-!” Ienzo jolted up with an aborted scream, eyes wide with panic.

“AHHH!” Demyx screamed next to him, scrambling to sit up as he looked around wide-eyed, drool coating half his face as one eyelid lagged behind still half-asleep as he sputtered, “WHAt!? What?! Is there another fire!?”

Then Demyx winced as through his mind just rocketed the feeling, {!!} the energy signature clearly Even’s. A ping letting him know he was on his way. “W-wha?” Demyx said blearily, looking to Ienzo, “...bud, you good?”

They were out of the factory, nearly had been for a whole year. Ienzo hadn’t skated by without any punishments in the last few years, sometimes the quotas were just impossible, sometimes mistakes just happened, sometimes the supervisors just wanted to fuck with them, but he hadn’t really been conscious of them for…a while.

…but a part of him had been. Always. And now with all those parts folded back into the whole of him…

Ienzo panted, little half-finished warbly sounds on each breath. He knew he wasn’t in the factory, he knew he was in Maya’s manor, in Demyx’s bed, but even so…

Ienzo’s lips trembled before a broken sob left him, his arms curling up by his head as tears started to spill over.

“Oh, geez! Um!” Demyx frowned, looking over Ienzo for a moment, partly looking for injuries but mostly giving himself a second to process Sudden Crying Friend, before rubbing Ienzo’s back and placing a hand on his shoulder. “H-hey, come on! What are we crying about? We were just sleeping, sleeping is great! Oh, unless you had a nightma–”

The door pushed open, and whitening, wispy hair briefly made Demyx think of a poltergeist entering the room in its dark shadows, before a finger flicked up the lamp-light switch, filling the room with a warm, orange glow as Even looked around warily.

Demyx noticed the butcher-blade in Even’s hand and went, “The hell is going on!?”

“Must you shout?” Even asked, another glance around decreeing there was, in fact, no danger that his son had cried out about. Scowling as he moved further inside, before giving his boy in question a concerned look. Tossing the blade onto the bed covers, Even went to go sit down next to Ienzo, before with a sigh, pulling him into a hug, even as he tsked, “Really, just a nightmare? Had me convinced for a moment I’d be stabbing a supervisor. A bit of a disappointment, really.”

Aeleus wasn’t far behind Even, really just the varying distances of their rooms making the biggest difference in their timing. It didn’t matter if, logically, Ienzo was in trouble he wouldn’t just send out a pure feeling of fear--their boy was upset, so they came. Ready for trouble anyway, as Aeleus set something heavy-sounding down outside Demyx’s door before coming in properly. Giving Demyx a nod before half-kneeling, putting a hand on Ienzo’s back.

Who wasn’t much more coherent than he’d been a second ago, though hearing Even’s grouching, feeling his dad pull him into a hug? Ienzo immediately leaned into it, huddling in Even’s arms and Aeleus’ protection as he sobbed. Just full out crying, as he managed to stutter, “Ch-ch - sh-shock chair,” through a whimper.

Aeleus’ expression went grave as he started rubbing Ienzo’s back, making sure to put pressure into the small of it. As different from a shock lighting through your nerves as it could be.

Demyx winced. Ah, right. The Shock Chair.

Otherwise known as Larxene’s ‘Big Inspiration’. The chair had been equipped with a full metal head cage that had, unfortunately, been covered in those sigils they had used to etch into the walls, the items, sometimes their clothes, that would dampen or completely neutralize their Empath reach. Then, once you were alone? They turned on a machine that periodically sent shocks through your body and just left you there. The shocks not enough to kill you, but still full-body seizing pain that they could up the power to become maddening if they really wanted to.

It had been one of the first punishments Demyx had been given when he had first been developing Larxene. To say it had left an impression was an understatement. Larxene had always griped that at least hers was fun to watch.

Even, in turn, sighed, before patting Ienzo’s back in the hug. “Barbaric thing. Still grinds me that they even had something like that. Honestly, what two-braincell hack makes a full-body shocking machine. Entirely impractical, you could have achieved the same effect strapping a wire to a toe, but noooo, allll the theatrics of a massive headpiece. I bet the moron simply couldn’t engineer anything smaller. To be tortured by the instrument of a caveman pretending to be a scientist. Pathetic. You’d have been far more efficient, Ienzo, in that dumbass’s position.”

Ienzo blubbered a whimper. “It was so stupid…”

It didn’t make it any less scary, though. It didn’t make it hurt any less. The only thing it really accomplished was making sure no one bit through their tongue and choked to death while strapped in, but that also meant it was so much harder to scream. And with the chair…there was no just checking out during a punishment, even for Ienzo. No taking the fun out of it for the supervisors. If you were in the chair? You screamed.

The sob that ripped through Ienzo next was pathetic.

Seeing a shadow in the doorway, Aeleus glanced over and shook his head lightly, Aqua’s silhouette nodding once before disappearing.

Closer to Ienzo, Aeleus said softly, “It’s over. We’re gone, and so are the supervisors, and the chair’s been trashed. Your dream is over. You’re safe.”

Ienzo whimpered, before sniffling. “...I think I remember everything they covered for.”

“They?” Demyx asked, frowning… before he realized, “Oh! The Zexions?”

“Fascinating,” Even said, idly scratching the back of Ienzo’s head, “...also unfortunate. That’s actually the opposite result of what we were hoping for, long run. Are you sure?”

Ienzo nodded, letting out a shuddering breath as he fumbled through wiping his eyes. A somewhat useless gesture, since he was still crying. “...we were all p-pretty much made to be i-interchangable. That…that m-means sharing information. Perfectly.”

He sucked in a wet sounding sniffle. “...think I just delayed everything.”

Aeleus sighed softly. That, unfortunately, did sound a lot like Ienzo. Even for his own benefit, even for the sorts of experiences and knowledge that no one should have…his son really just couldn’t help himself. Ienzo wanted to know everything.

“Yeah, I was gonna say, I still don’t really remember much from Larxene at all. Not outside of the stuff I already remembered from design.” Demyx frowned. “Um… can you undo it?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions, Demyx,” Even scolded, leaning back when he noticed Ienzo trying to get at his eyes, pulling a handkerchief from the pocket of his full-set pajamas to pass to his son, “Consciously or not, Ienzo’s made some sort of transition to fully understand what happened. There’s nothing to do now but deal with the consequences of such a choice. Which seems to start with dirtying my handkerchief.”

There were no stupid questions.

Ienzo thought about it. Trying to find all the parts of his memory that had come from his constructs, all the grimmer parts of the factory. But even considering finding those books and…what? ‘Getting rid’ was so vague, it actually meant…locking them up somewhere in his psyche, or…destroying them?

Ienzo’s heart lurched, a dread far worse than anything in a nightmare coming over him at the thought of destroying a book. Books were information, they were stories, they were a distinct point of view and choices from a specific person, and those books were…him.

“...I don’t know how much of a person I’d be i-if I got rid of all my constructs’ memories,” Ienzo hushedly whispered, crying into Even’s handkerchief.

“Still you,” Aeleus believed, “But you made a choice. Choosing to not hide means you’ve chosen your battle, we knew this. And, again, it will not be one you will fight alone.”

“Of course, listen to your father,” Even said, the sharp features on his face softening slightly as he placed his palm on the side of Ienzo’s face. Ienzo was a young man now, but it was always going to be difficult for Even to not see the boy he had raised when he looked at him. Shy and clever and twice as capable of every mindless goon that had ever hurt him.

“But also listen to me, because you’d be remiss to dismiss wisdom from a genius,” Even said, frowning, “You are in a different place in your life, than every memory that has just been uncovered for you. You are not a boy trapped in a chair. You are not a prisoner in a factory. You are a respectful, respected upstanding scientist, with a grant donated by a noble family, several successful experiments in the works to help the world, on the way to forcing the world to recognize you as one of their most revered.”

Taking Ienzo’s face in his hands, Even said to him, “You are my son, and you are doing well. I am very proud of you, and what you have done, and what you will do. Old horrors cannot diminish the realities of now. You are doing well.”

…things were different, now.

The past could still be scary, but the future was different.

Even’s hands around his face were firm, but so, so different from cold, unyielding metal. In them, Ienzo could give a small nod. “...I never dismiss your ideas, testing them isn’t disregard.”

The small sound Ienzo recognized as Aeleus’ laughter made him feel warm, and strong. Able to do anything, and not bound. Taking a shaky breath, Ienzo gave his dads a small, slightly embarrassed, but mostly grateful smile. “...sorry for waking you up.”

Aeleus shook his head slightly. It was always better to be woken than for someone to suffer in silence.

“Not at all. If it wasn’t your intent reaching out, it was this one here’s squawking.”

“What!?” Demyx squawked, “Come on, I was screaming with him! That’s not all on me!”

“It was like hearing the mewling of a kitten. A kitten the size of a grown man, trying to impersonate a chicken,” Even said, “Successfully.”

“Okay, now you’re just being mean!”

“I am heartless,” Even smirked, before fondly wiping some of the eye-boogers from Ienzo’s eyes, letting him go to stand up, “And I’m going back to bed, if we feel we can get back to sleep, yes?”

“Sorry, Demyx,” Ienzo mumbled embarrassedly, ducking his head a little as Aeleus ruffled his hair and scrunching his face as Even wiped it. Truly the give and take of fatherhood. Endless support and protection, constant intrusions of your personal space.

There were far worse things out there.

“I…yeah. Yeah,” Ienzo let out a calmer breath, “...sorry.”

“Sleep well,” Aeleus bade as he got up, delicately plucking the butcher’s knife from the bed and handing it back to Even as he got up as well.

Demyx watched the older men go, the door clicking shut behind them. “....I just realized, they have no questions about the fact that you’re in my room, huh?” Demyx said, before grinning at Ienzo, “Ah well, I know a lot of the others are sharing rooms too, so I guess it’s not that noteworthy.”

“Hey, are you feeling any better?” Demyx asked, reaching over to place a hand on Ienzo’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly, “You woke up really freaked out.”

Wiping his eyes one more time, Ienzo glanced up at the door. Feeling a little…strange about that. Not that he really wanted his fathers to have any comments about the fact that he was in Demyx’s room (sharing a bed with him), but feeling more wary than relieved by the fact that they didn’t. “...I don’t think I’ve been that subtle about it, so it might not be a surprise that I’m here tonight.”

Not that Ienzo had put up much of a pretense at all for even trying to sleep on his own after that first night.

Letting out a breath, Ienzo looked over at Demyx at the shoulder squeeze, appreciating it. “I definitely am, I just…” He glanced down. “...definitely wasn’t pleasant. …I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“Eh, it’s alright!” Demyx grinned, flopping back onto the pillows and stretching out a bit, his arms stretching over his head before he placed them behind his head, looking up at the ceiling, “Thankfully we don’t really have to be up tomorrow for anything, so I can catch up on my sleep then. Man… remember how shit it was getting up at seven every morning? Or, well, they always told us it was seven, anyway.”

Musing over that a bit, Demyx shook his head, scratching lightly at his chest. “Factory-life sucked. The hours were rigged, the work was stressful, we didn’t have windows. I really feel like they could have let us have windows. I doubt that was even the supervisors’ choice, building design-wise, but I think if they could have chosen, they still would not have given us windows. Those guys were bastards,” Demyx muttered, looking away a bit, eyes unfocusing for a moment… before he looked back at Ienzo, grinning, “Ey, want to hug me? Come here, I am fully down for some hugging action right now, it’ll make us both feel better!”

Ienzo huffed softly. “I hated it then, actually seven or no, and I hate it now. I truly wish being a morning person wasn’t something innate.” As much as Ienzo disliked wasting time sleeping, he had to admit--when pressed--it was nice getting to sleep in now. Morning started whenever he decided it to be, whether it was 3AM or 5PM.

Maybe that was, perhaps, actually worse than just being forced to get up at 7 every day, but it felt so much better.

Even when they had been in more dire straits, everything was better, being outside the factory.

“Think it might’ve been a bit harder to lie about day cycles, or even what month it was if we had windows,” Ienzo grimly mused, before smiling softly as he shifted himself back into a laying down position, gently putting his arms around Demyx’s chest. “I still appreciate the offer, don’t get me wrong, but it does seem a little funny to say so when we basically wake up like this every morning anyway.”

Putting his head against Demyx’s shoulder, Ienzo gave him a squeeze in the hug. The smell of ‘person’, like always, was a little overwhelming…but it wasn’t bad. Especially since Demyx had showered.

“...it doesn’t always occur to me to mention it, but…I do like hugging you,” Ienzo said quietly, able to feel Demyx’s ribs expanding with every breath. “You don’t…need explicit permission every time if you want one.”

“Yeah?” Demyx asked, automatically putting his hand around Ienzo’s back, the motion practiced, despite– “You sure? I know we touch all the time, but you get a little flinch’y when it comes out of nowhere. And you know how I can get, I’ll just drape myself all over people if they let me. I don’t want you needing to avoid me.”

Ienzo smiled softly. “A warning isn’t the same as a request for permission. I can’t really help flinching, but I’m rarely upset when you touch me, barring, obviously, when you mean to upset. I think I’d piss myself off more avoiding you than the need itself.”

Sighing a little, Ienzo cuddled a little closer. “...I don’t feel alone when we’re together. And…particularly lately, that’s a big relief. I know it’s just something I should work on, if not just adjust to, but…I still prefer just being with you.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m going anywhere, so what’s the hurry of ‘working on it’?” Demyx asked, closing his eyes as he felt Ienzo’s body heat wash over him like a blanket, “It’ll be a long, long time still before it gets hard for us bros to share a bed together. No need to beat yourself up about it when this is working for now, right?”

Well, it was probably just good to work on for self-improvement, to not be so wholly dependent on someone else, even if that ship kind of sailed long ago, but…

“Status of ‘bed’ notwithstanding,” Ienzo snorted softly as he looked over the silhouette of Demyx’s face for one more moment before closing his eyes as well. “Both of us are long past any growth spurts now, at least, so at least we have an idea of the space needed.”

“Hah! You’re always so literal-minded,” Demyx laughed, adjusting slightly to get his pillow more squarely beneath his head, “Nah, I meant like if I ever get a partner someday. Or I guess if you ever get one! Watch, that’d be so like us, that you managed to get a live-in partner first? Ironic, but, like, in a way where you sort of go ‘yeah, that makes sense’.” He chuckled.

Oh.

…

Instead of the usual enlightenment, or mild embarrassment, this time as Demyx called him out on hyper literalness, Ienzo just felt…uncomfortable. Not quite scared, maybe…no, but disappointed didn’t really fit either. It just felt like tangled knots in his stomach.

Ienzo was quiet for…a bit.

“...have you ever fallen in love before, Demyx?”

“Nah,” Demyx said immediately, not even having to think about it, “I’ve had plenty of crushes, and maybe even 13-year-old me thought he was in love for a week. But none of it was really love. Just pure attraction, nothing more to it.” He paused, before adding in, “Probably for the best, right? It’d have been even worse, going to the factory and having a partner out here, who let’s be honest, wasn’t going to wait a decade. I wonder if that happened to any of the others? I’ve never thought about it before.”

“I feel like it would’ve come up by now if anyone had,” Ienzo mumbled, really thinking about that. Even the Empaths that were from before his time, he’d still never heard any stories passed down about partners on the outside. “That does seem like a relative statistical anomaly, doesn’t it. It does get skewed, considering those of us who had been brought in as children, but considering that wasn’t the case for the majority… It’d be interesting to catalog how many Empaths are single, actually…”

But before he could really get distracted with that, Ienzo took a small breath. “...what’s a crush like, then?”

“Oh! Um…?” Demyx frowned, “What’s a crush like? I’ve never thought about it before, uh…”

“I guess it’s like… you have a hard time looking away from a person? Or not thinking about them?” Demyx said, “But in kind of a superficial way? At least that’s what I assume, I have to imagine love is like all of the crush stuff, but, like, way more. Like, crushing on someone feels like you’re standing in sunlight, basking in it… but I guess love would be sticking around when night time comes too? Like, just wanting to be there the whole day cycle… I have thoroughly gotten lost in the metaphor, does any of that make sense?” Demyx laughed.

With the first answer, Ienzo just…wasn’t sure how that differentiated from a fixation. He supposed there could be some overlap, he’d read plenty about how ‘possession’ could be a part of love, both healthy and not, but he still felt like he was missing some important context.

…but Demyx’s metaphor? Basking in sunlight…but wanting to be there for night too.

“It’s poetic, either way,” Ienzo approved, rewarding Demyx with a small squeeze and a low hum. “I…think it makes sense. Though I might still be a little lost on specificity. Is it like…”

Pausing for a moment, Ienzo then sent {feelings of awe and admiration, a fondness that transcended just about everything, even when the subject of that fondness was gone}

“Ooooh, that feels good,” Demyx murmured, feeling that projection of affection warm him before it faded, leaving behind a little buzzing feeling, “Yeah, I’d say so… that was really specific though. Do you have a crush on someone? Is that why you’re asking me about it?”

“...I’m not sure,” Ienzo admitted. “Those were more of a general concept, though considering that I can define them, you’re right that I have felt that before. I never really thought about relationships at all, outside of recognizing the ones other people are in. But for myself, they seem a little…”

Ienzo paused, his eyebrows scrunching as he struggled to define the feeling. “...sad?”

“Sad?” Demyx asked, patting Ienzo’s back a bit, “Feeling a little lonely, bud?”

“I feel like we’ve been over that a lot,” Ienzo grumbled softly, even as he appreciated the pat. Sometimes it felt more than a ‘little’ lonely. Even if they were, in a manner, closer to him than they’d been in years, with every construct but Zexion within him now? Ienzo felt…adrift. Lonely.

And even aside from that…

Sighing a little, Ienzo peeked up at Demyx. “...can I just show you an unprocessed emotion? And maybe you can make more sense of it than I can?”

“Ummmmm yeah, sure,” Demyx said, closing his eyes, “Hit me.”

{It was all those warm feelings from before, but so much more than that.}

{It was a bond, an utter faith in someone, knowledge that you’ll never be alone, and that you’d do everything in your power until you destroyed yourself to help them even the slightest bit. And…a relief, and appreciation so deep it quaked your bones to know that they’d never ask that of you. That they’d stop you before you did.}

{It was desire. To protect, to uplift. To be there to see every sunny smile and a desire to be the cause of many of them. It was a feeling of victory, with every laugh or light sparking in green eyes that were the epitome of life, to you. It was desire, to hold hands for more than just guiding, to press close just to feel warm even when it was already too hot out, to nestle into small, offered spaces and know that they were just for you.}

{It was a sad, dawning fear, that one day they might not be just for you. That one day they might not be for you at all. That the yawning, cold loneliness will return, and without even a distant sun to warm you.}

{Ienzo would be happy watching the stars as the sun set, but he couldn’t live a life with the sun denied to him once again.}

“Oh,” Demyx said.

He had closed his eyes to really let himself bask in whatever Ienzo sent him, but he soon had to open them, just a bit taken aback by how much of it there was. It was a warm, almost burning feeling, but one that flowed easily: like it was natural, almost instinctive by this point.

There was desire. Jealousy. Fear.

“.....Ienzo, bud,” Demyx whispered, “I think you might just be in love with someone. I don’t know what else anyone could call that. I think that’s just love, dude.”

“Oh,” Ienzo whispered back. “Huh.”

“...that seems a bit inconvenient, then, huh,” Ienzo mused, still trying to wrap his head around that.

“Nah, I…” Demyx hesitated. He had been about to say ‘I think that’s great!’ before asking who it was, but…

……..um. Was that great?

Demyx felt weird to even ask that to himself. Of course it was great! He definitely was thrilled his main man Ienzo was out there getting crushes, falling in love! With who was a bit trickier. Maybe one of the people he was doing the experiments with? Maybe Mad Maya? It can’t be any of the others from the factory, no way, Demyx would have noticed by now. The Ouma?

None of that felt… entirely right.

And Demyx wasn’t sure what to think about any of the options.

“.....I mean, it’s cool that you like someone. Um,” Demyx frowned, “...who?”

“Is…it?” Ienzo asked, genuinely unsure. Sure, people talked a lot about how great love was, and so much of people’s lives they structured around fleeting crushes, the pursuit of finding a partner, actually finding that partner and developing a relationship, just…all that stuff.

But Demyx had had a good point before. They were people with a lot going on, not the least of which was unpacking years worth of pretty severe and horrific baggage, and trying to navigate a relationship through all of that sounded horrible. Or, at least it sounded that way to Demyx, since he’d explicitly said he wasn’t even thinking about dating.

And…that’s what you did when you loved someone, right?

Ienzo stared across Demyx’s chest as he answered, “You.”

“Oh.”

“...cool!” Demyx said, staring vaguely at nothing, “Awesome-sauce!”

“...”

“...sorry,” Ienzo softly apologized.

“No, what, whaaaaat, noooooo, what?” Demyx said, blinking, “....nooooo, what, there’s no need to apologize! That’s… super cool! It’s cool! Flattering. Super flattering. Surprisingly flattering!”

“...are you sure?”

Ienzo flushed a little before looking up at Demyx. “...am I sure that the feelings I shared with you are the ones I feel towards you? Yes. Am I sure that’s love? Considering I asked you, that’s a question for you.”

“...you’re not mad?” Ienzo asked hesitantly.

“Well, how am I supposed to know, I’m just guessing!” Demyx floundered a bit, before sighing, “Mad? No, I’m not mad, why would I be mad? I guess I just don’t know what to say. I really didn’t see this coming, I have… I don’t really know how I feel about it? That’s a lot to think about, suddenly, and I’m not the quick thinker between us.”

Ienzo nodded softly against Demyx’s shoulder. “You’re quick on your feet more than you give yourself credit for, but I wouldn’t expect you to know how you feel when I don’t really either. That’s why I asked you.”

Sighing a little, Ienzo picked his head up to actually face Demyx, looking at him with some concern. His eyes still swollen and face tear-streaked from earlier. “...I can say with certainty, at least, that…whatever those feelings may actually be classified as? I do care a lot about you. And in an actionable way, that’s all that really matters to me. Alright?”

“I mean, yeah, of course I care about you too! Ah geez, don’t look at me with your pouty-teary face man, not right now,” Demyx sighed, placing his hand on top of Ienzo’s head and pushing it back down onto his chest, “You know I can’t think straight when you do that. At least give me a chance, here.”

“But, yeah, ultimately, I think I just gotta think more about what that means for me, before I can say anything about it,” Demyx admitted, “You really caught me off guard. I don’t know if me telling you that you love me is even a confession. I don’t know, it’s confusing, it’s a lot, we should probably sleep. It might make more sense tomorrow.”

Ienzo huffed a little before letting himself be pushed back down, nuzzling right back into his chosen spot. He wasn’t trying to make this even more difficult, but he supposed it was poor timing, considering everything. Not the most standard progression to get a maybe-not-even-confession right after waking up in a panic from a nightmare.

“Okay,” he softly agreed, before pausing. Looking at his arm draped across Demyx’s middle for a second, before speaking up to clarify, “But it’s still okay for me to sleep with you?”

“Well, yeah, of course. Nothing’s different,” Demyx said, “Other than me just being more confused, I guess. But that’s not that different anyway. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Thanks,” Ienzo sighed in relief. “I don’t think I’d be able to sleep that well if you kicked me out.”

“...”

“...goodnight, Demyx. I’ll try not to wake you up if I wake up before you in the morning.”

Demyx patted Ienzo on the back, “Don’t worry about it, but thanks. Goodnight,”

…and then proceeded to stare at the ceiling. For a long time after.

…now this just wasn’t fair.

Doppio had felt a little bad, telling Arven that he had to miss out on walking to school with him the first day of the new term, and that wasn’t just an excuse for its own sake! Doppio really did have to get to Mid-Valley early to make sure everything was in order, even if he’d tried to prepare earlier. Just, it seemed like because of that, it’d be a nice surprise to meet Arven in class!

But now Doppio felt like the one surprised, as he stood shocked seeing Elthea chatting on a desk with Minnie and Nela. And it didn’t seem fair that she just looked up with a grin, waving to him.

“Heeeey, Doppio! You’re joining up on the ‘regular school life’ scheme now too? Ha, this class was already getting more exciting, but it’ll hardly be able to handle it now!”

Waving hesitantly back at her, and the other girls, Doppio nodded. “I, uh, yeah, I am. Um…I’m not doing all the same subjects, but my dads thought it’d be good for me to be in class for, uh, socializing stuff…”

“Tell us your whole life story, why don’t you?” Minnie laughed with a roll of her eyes before grinning brightly. “Either way, welcome to 10th grade! Maybe Arven will actually stay in class with you as a honeypot?”

Nela sighed a little before giving Doppio a kind look. “It’ll be nice to be classmates together, Doppio.”

“OY,” Trish growled behind Doppio, poking her finger into his lower back, “Step forward, copycat. You’re standing in front of my desk.”

“Oooooh,” Haruka giggled, leaning over her desk as she cooed, “Does the big, bad dancer have fresh meat to nibble on?”

“Shut the hell up, rabbit, I’m not a damn bully! He just needs to move!” Trish shouted at her, baring her teeth as Haruka squeaked, sinking into her chair a bit.

“Trish, that’s not how we make new students feel welcomed!” Nemona shouted, before beaming at Doppio, “Welcome! You’re going to do great here! It’s so exciting to finally get to spend some real time with you, Doppio!”

“I figured he’d show up after he got adopted.” Penny sighed, laying her head down on her own desk, “What parent is going to give up on the ultimate babysitting program?”

Doppio tensed before quickly shuffling forward getting out of Trish’s way. “Oh, uh, sorry! Did…you guys change desks?” He…thought? He remembered Arven sitting in the back corner, like, every time he visited, and that Trish mentioned similarly him being in the way of her desk, but…well, his memory still wasn’t that reliable.

Giving The Rabbit a bit of side-eye, Doppio grinned sheepishly at Nemona and Penny. “Thanks. I did take the placement tests already so I think I should be fine for most stuff? But it’ll uh…be interesting. And, um, I agreed to start going to school,” he explained to Penny, “I don’t need a babysitter? But since I don’t have a job anymore we agreed it’d probably be good for me to do something during the day.”

Other than, yanno. Therapy twice a week, and overly fretting about planning meals and going shopping for them waaaay too often just because Doppio was trying to fill time while Arven was at school or was at home, or chess club was happening. And the whole socializing thing.

“Right?” Elthea huffed an amused laugh, idly tucking a piece of Nela’s hair behind her ear, getting it out of her face. “You guys might complain a ton, but school’s still a privilege you know! For us alt-lifestyle badasses, being in a classroom at all like this is a novelty.”

“What’s a novelty?” Arven asked, yawning as he walked into the classroom, looking like he had just barely woken up from a nap somewhere in time… and that drowsiness being the only thing that stopped Arven as he stared at Doppio. Processing, processing, processing– “ACETO!?” He balked, realizing his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him and Trish hadn’t suddenly gotten way prettier. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh! Uh,” Doppio fretted for a moment before bobbing slightly, grinning at Arven. “Surprise! I’m going to school now!”

“Lucky you~,” Elthea laughed.

“You didn’t know?” Trish tsked, putting her feet up on her desk as she raised an eyebrow at Arven, “Boo. Lame boyfriend, 2 out of 10.”

Arven puffed his cheeks at Trish, shooting her a middle finger, before giving Doppio a pleased but sheepish grin. “I hope I wasn’t supposed to know by now, I’d feel bad if you had told me and I just wasn’t listening. That’s great, Aceto! You should sit next to me!” Arven said, pointing to the back most left-hand corner of the room, “I, uh, got moved. Something about me blatantly staring out the window the entire class.”

“I didn’t, I wanted to surprise you,” Doppio confirmed before smiling sheepishly, “It, uh… Kinda came together quickly, so that helped.”

As much as Doppio did want to sit next to Arven--and he felt validated, learning that they did change seats--he gave the desk a worried look. “Is that alright? If you guys are assigned places, then that means someone already sits there, right?”

“Fuck ‘em.” Minnie shrugged.

“More suggested than assigned,” Giovanni yawned, ambling into class looking no more surprised to see Doppio and Elthea there than he was just about anything. “So, yeah, fuck ‘em.”

“I’m taking a spot by Minnie and Nellie, so people can just deal. Figure there’d be some shuffling regardless of where we ended up,” Elthea assured. “So fuck ‘em.”

Doppio sighed. “...I’ll still apologize. Hopefully they just don’t feel strongly about it.”

“It’s just one of the rabbits,” Arven sighed, heading to his desk, tapping the top next to him, “Eiji. He comes to school so rarely anyway that his seat gets shuffled all the time to begin with. I bet he won’t even react to it. Also, fuck him.”

“So mean. You’d think people don’t like us or something.” Haruka huffed.

“You should way more than think it,” Penny said dryly.

Professor Saguaro walked into the classroom, heading to the desk at the front as he called, “Settle down, settle down. Come on, I know winter break didn’t wipe all your memories of how this works. Everyone take your seat and let’s get out your notebooks and pencils, make sure you brought the supplies you need!”

“PROFESSOR!” Nemona shouted, raising her hand, “We have new people!”

“Relax, we’ll do introductions, don’t worry,” Professor Saguaro said, “But for now, supply check. Who here forgot their notebooks and pencils? Alright, here we go–”

Arven watched as the professor took inventory, prepping what he’d need to pass out, before smiling over at Doppio, leaning over to whisper, “I’m glad you’re doing this. It means I get to see you more.”

Enlightened, Doppio nodded. If Arven was saying that someone came to school rarely? Then they were probably never there. Also, if they were a Rabbit? Fuck ‘em. Doppio might even feel bad for how dismissive everyone seemed, if not for the fact that the group had literally called him over to harass him and get in a fight spotting him across the street.

Taking the desk next to Arven as Professor Saguaro came in, Doppio eagerly got out a brand new notebook, along with his usual one, and a few already sharpened pencils, absolutely ready to take on his first day at school! Even, er, if he was really only going to be participating in the math and science parts of lessons, and getting tutoring for other subjects during free periods.

Doppio smiled warmly at Arven. “I am always curious about what you do in school, and I’m glad I get to see you more too. This feels like a good thing, right? Like…really moving forward. And it does make it a little easier to walk with you to and from school now.”

“What I do in school…?” Arven murmured, looking a little foggy-eyed, his eyes having dipped down from Doppio’s face to his lips as he talked, finding something weirdly… interesting, seeing his boyfriend in a classroom setting… before he suddenly stammered, “What I do in school? Uh oh.”

Penny, in the chair in front of Arven, snickered before peering back over her shoulder. “Guess someone has to shape up unless he wants to be outed as a total slacker to his boyfriend.”

“I-I don’t slack!”

“Uh huh… hey, where’s your pencil?”

Arven glanced down at his desk, where he had taken out his notebook which, well, he had thought he had left a pencil in between the pages… last fall… “Uh.”

Doppio blinked before tilting his head a little. “...one of the first things I ever knew about you was that you didn’t do your homework, and I was there when Kaito kept getting on your case about supplies. Just because you don’t really do schoolwork doesn’t mean the stories you tell me aren’t interesting.”

Without missing a beat, Doppio offered Arven one of his spare pencils. “You can use one of mine, if you want? I always have a bunch of pens ‘n stuff in my bag since I know I’ll leave them everywhere and forget about it.”

“Thanks, Aceto,” Arven whispered, taking the pencil and flushing a bit, looking back down at his notebook. Sure, being a shit student was okay to tell stories about. It was a little more embarrassing for Doppio to see it in person though.

Still… he was pretty excited to be in class with Doppio otherwise. Especially watching him dutifully take notes as the professor had everyone in class introduce themselves for the sake of the new people. Watching Doppio’s eyes focus, his mouth thinning into a concentrated little line as he looked up and then glanced down at his own writing, giving himself helpful little notes to differentiate people before–very bravely, Arven thought–introducing himself when he was called upon.

Then to see him go right back to taking notes when they started going over the syllabus? That same cool, collected expression?

It was… just. You know.

Wow.

This was bullshit. This was the dumbest thing in the world. Mike had already proven, multiple times, that there was basically nothing school could offer him. The HSPE back in Edahu was obliterated, and if Usott thought they were all backwards hicks out there, then the placement tests Mike took proved that he, definitively, wasn’t one of them.

And yet? Mike strode into 5th grade with death and vengeance in his eyes.

Dammit. He knew Medli was playing him. ‘If you think you know all the material, then it shouldn’t be a problem’ bullshit. He was there to socialize? So what if Ava agreed! If he wanted to be around ‘peers’ then he already had friends at this school!

…just the grade below, and even for bullshit socializing Mike’s pride wouldn’t let him repeat a grade. So. 5th grade was the compromise.

Ugh. This was gonna suck.

Glen sat down in the back with Hannah and Abel, glaring at his backpack that he had sat onto his lap, mostly to not look up at the other–and it seemed for the most part, younger–kids in the class, trying not to glare and failing. Stupid long-ass horse ride to school. Stupid placement exams. Stupid math and reading comprehension. What was he ever going to need to learn to read at a fifth grade level for…

Ugh. This was gonna suck.

Demyx had been quiet for days now. It was to the point where everyone had noticed.

He seemed to walk around in a daze, occasionally muttering to himself, very often singing. Whenever anyone asked him what was up, he seemed to chirp up and insist he had no idea what they were talking about, he felt great! Fine! Fantastic, maybe? Before immediately going back to dazedly walking around. Dragging his sitar around on his shoulder like a battle-ax, preparing for war.

There was a rumor that perhaps something had happened with his new whole form that was only just starting to show itself, the way it had for Ienzo recently. Was dazed, muttering, wandering Demyx some sign of Larxene’s influence? If so, it was a weird way for her to present herself. She had never been the quiet, muttering type herself.

That day, Demyx was laid out on the floor of the recreation common room. His feet up on one of the couches, his sitar on his stomach as he strummed it, murmuring lyrics to himself. Staring at the ceiling.

Lauriam was…better. Definitely. Getting better in small ways every day.

But it still didn’t mean he was okay.

He could generally get up, tend to his own needs, would even meet some of the others for breakfast, but more often than not? He just…would stare into space. Or nod off into sleep. Thoughts slow and trailing off, though full sentences were becoming more and more common.

It was a slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

And, like they’d proposed, most days he spent the day in the common room by the dining room. Sometimes still asleep, sure, sometimes haltingly chatting with others who were relaxing in the room, sometimes just dazed out.

And sometimes doing other things.

Lauriam’s eyes were focused as he slowly and with an overabundance of care folded paper flowers. Lotuses. Lauriam had never seen a lotus in real life, even the most opulent of gardens his sister had tended to not taking the plunge to try and nurture aquatic plants like that, but he knew how to make them out of paper. They were one of the easiest flowers to fold, actually, and, well…

That made for a good fit, in getting his fine coordination and focus back.

Eventually.

Lauriam frowned, disappointed, at the lopsided flower, before lightly throwing it like a frisbee, nailing Demyx in the face. At least there was that.

“Ow.” Demyx pouted, before taking it off his face and putting it with the others. He was getting a whole collection of face-attacking lotuses, as he immediately went back to strumming. “You’re a jerk. Go back to being in a coma.”

“Put me there yourself, coward,” Lauriam griped, before sighing. Stopping after one fold of his newest paper and looking at Demyx tiredly. “...are you going to talk to anyone, or just sulk until you stop thinking about it?”

“What’s there to think about?” Demyx asked, before saying, “I’m coming up with a new song. Do you want to hear it?”

“Please,” Lauriam scoffed--they may make jokes, but Demyx was far from airheaded--before nodding. “Sure. Is this for your band, or for yourself?”

“Just me,” Demyx said, staring at the ceiling as he strummed a little harder on his sitar, before saying, “It’s still early in its concept phase. Okay, so…”

Then he did a weird little… shimmy? Thing? On the floor? Like he was trying to sexily sway his hips, but was failing spectacularly because, well, he was laid out on the floor with his legs suspended onto couch cushions and a giant instrument weighing him down. But boy, he sure still tried to do it, as he sang out, “If you WANT me to be INTO YOU, desperately? Head over heeeels~? Then listen up. Cause here’s the deal~”

“DON’T NEED NO DIAMOND RING!” Demyx warbled, still doing his silly little floor shimmy but this time really threw his shoulders into it as he sang out, “Don’t need your FANCY TITLE! If you want my lovin’? It ain’t! That! Hard!” HARD STRUMMING, “YOU GOTTA TOUCH MY ARM IN PUBLIC! And occasionally tell me that I’m NOT! A GIANT PIECE OF SHIT!” then, briefly, Demyx shot his arm up, pointing to it before going back to strumming as he said, “Touch my arm in public BETWEEEEN the shoulders and WRIIIIST!”

Demyx paused, before insisting at the ceiling, “That’s the whole damn arm! It’s pretty hard to miss!”

Then Demyx stopped, blinked… before he peered over at Lauriam. “That’s all I’ve got for now. What do you think?”

Lauriam looked a little dazed, but the slightly incredulous look on his face, raised eyebrows included, were clear indicators that he hadn’t checked out. “...that’s pretty literal? Which I guess isn’t a bad thing. It’s…different from a lot of your stuff.”

Now, art didn’t have to be a direct reflection of its artist. People could create all sorts of things that they had never experienced, or even wanted to experience. But with how Demyx had been acting lately, and the fact that this song was his deflection?

Lauriam raised an eyebrow. “You rethinking your whole ‘I can’t imagine dating right now’ stance? Because I want to put out there, irregardless of artistic ideas, please have higher standards than someone holding hands with you and not directly insulting you.”

“Like WHAT!?” Demyx shouted, laying his sitar out on his side and splaying his arms wide as he said, “What else is there!? What the hell else is it I’m supposed to ask of a person!? Like, like… what the hell are standards!? That’s some weird thing other people talk about! With their, their, their CLEAR IDEAS of what they want out of relationships! And, and, their CERTAINTY of, of… compatibility! And stuff! And things!”

Demyx pouted. “...what if asking to hold hands in public is too much?”

Lauriam frowned, before setting his paper to the side. Crossing his arms over his chest as he sat back on the couch, stretching his legs out and crossing them too.

“Then you should dump them, because you deserve better than someone that’s embarrassed by you,” he said softly. “You don’t have to know what you want out of a relationship yet, but worrying over being too much? You’re exactly how much you are. If someone can’t handle that, then they’re not worth it. Never make yourself smaller to please someone else.”

Lauriam’s next look was more concerned. “...did someone ask you out?”

“Noooo, I’m not… that’s not it,” Demyx sighed, picking up one of the face attack lotuses and looking it over for a moment, before placing it on his forehead… and then picking up another and placing it on that one. Then the next, as he said, “...yeah. Don’t tell anyone though. I don’t want to embarrass him if I say no, it doesn’t need to be everyone’s business.”

Lauriam’s eyes widened in alarm--he didn’t actually expect that--before suddenly things clicked together, and his expression softened in dismay. Demyx wasn’t cruel, he was just kind of…thoughtless towards other people sometimes. But if it occurred to him to be concerned about the person who asked him out’s feelings?

“...I really didn’t think Ienzo would ever do it,” Lauriam mused after a moment, still looking worried, before he glanced back down to Demyx. “...are you okay?”

“You knew!?” Demyx sputtered, turning over to lay on his arms and stomach, the lotus origami falling off his forehead as he asked, “Did he tell you!? How could he have told you?! I had to tell HIM!”

Lauriam gave Demyx a slightly disparaging look before his face scrunched. The allure of the facepalm too great to resist as he groaned, “Oh my god, of course…”

“No, Ienzo didn’t tell me,” Lauriam sighed, rubbing his hand down his face. “It’s just been obvious the last few weeks.”

Looking a little hazy, Lauriam looked to the side. “You two have always been close. You know, I probably could’ve counted the number of times I heard Ienzo laugh on my hand before you showed up? And then you doubled that amount within a month. And, of course, let’s not forget that it was the power of your friendship that made you whole again…”

Briefly, there was something a little sad in Lauriam’s face, before he sighed again and looked back at Demyx. “But lately? Ienzo’s been following you around like a puppy, and sulking when you’re off doing other things. That’s not just someone insecure about their friendship, it was obvious he has a crush on you.”

“Well, if it was soooo obvious, I would have loved a heads up!” Demyx demanded, before throwing his face into the rug, groaning into the overly expensive fabric. So silky. So stained with old beers and salsas. “...ugh. What am I going to do, Lauriam? Well, not that you would know. I’m not letting myself get swooned and swept up into creepy old man sex. I have to be the swooner? And the… creepy old man? How old even is Ienzo!? Isn’t he still like 12 or something!?” Demyx shouted, having literally never met Ienzo at 12. “What, I have to figure out if he likes hand-holding?! Or kissing!? Or PDA? Or dates!? I gotta start bringing him flowers only to find out, no, he hates flowers for dates, he thinks it’s bad for the environment and a waste of money, and now I’m a stupid-idiot loser who brought him flowers on a date in public he didn’t want to go on anyway!?”

Demyx groaned, putting his arms over the back of his head, “...Laaaauuriaaaam… what if he won’t even want to hold my haaaaaaaaand?”

Lauriam shrugged. “We thought Ienzo would get over it, or that you would’ve said something about it. What, you’re asking us to meddle in your lovelife?” he asked skeptically.

Rolling his eyes a bit as Demyx pointed out his own relationship foibles--yeah, yeah, he wasn’t one to talk about a functioning relationship--Lauriam tilted his head back against the couch, squinting at the ceiling. “I…think he’s… Well, early twenties at least. If I’m really 28 and you’re really 27, I think he’s 23? That’s around the right math at least…”

Sighing, Lauriam lolled his head to look back at Demyx, uncrossing his legs to lightly nudge Demyx’s side with his foot. “Then decide if that’s a deal breaker? You don’t have to date him just because he asked. If Dilan can still talk to me after I tried to kill all of you, I think you two can work things out if you turn him down.”

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,” Demyx groaned, pushing his sitar up so that he could more easily scrunch of his legs into his chest and, still groaning, roll left, then right, then left again as he continued, “ooooooooooooooooooooooo! I can’t just turn him down! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-”

Demyx sadly, keeping up the ‘aaaaaaaa’, rolled around the rug some more. Now doing full 180’s, like a rolly-polly who hadn’t learned that it was easier to roll over its head yet. Demyx keeping this up for a moment before collapsing, flopping onto his back.

“...it’s not like I don’t like him,” Demyx said, “But what if… I say yes, and we start to date, and it’s not enough for me? Ienzo’s not the romantic type. His idea of confessing was pouring his feelings about me to me in intent, and then asking me what it meant. Can you picture him taking me on a date? Or buying me flowers? Or leaning in to kiss me just because he wants to and he thinks I’m beautiful and he just can’t help himself?”

Demyx sighed, closing his eyes. “...I don’t want to start dating him, and then find myself wanting to leave him because dating him feels the same as being his friend. Maybe he’d forgive me, but I’d feel like shit doing that. I just… need to figure out if I’m okay with the idea that if I date Ienzo? Then… I kind of give up what dating means. To me. Because I don’t think he’d like any of it.”

Sighing, Lauriam looked back at the ceiling as Demyx threw his tantrum. What a child. Lauriam would say that this meant he was a perfect match for Ienzo, age-wise, if not for the fact that Ienzo could easily pass for middle aged sometimes. Sigh. At least Larxene’s tantrums had been fu--

(...that wasn’t fair.)

…Lauriam cared about Demyx and Ienzo both. They were family, and it wasn’t like Lauriam wanted to encourage a rift between them.

A frustrated pout made its way onto Lauriam’s face. “...no.”

“No?” Demyx said, warily looking over at Lauriam from where he was sprawled on the floor, “No what? No, I shouldn’t try to decide if I’m cool with never being on the other side of a nice romantic moment again?”

Lauriam pouted more. “...yes? Or… You shouldn’t be cool with that. You shouldn’t give up things you want, or things that are important to you, to spare someone’s feelings like that. Don’t whittle yourself down to fit more comfortably in someone else’s hands.”

Huffing a little, Lauriam grimaced. “There’s a reason I didn’t think Ienzo would ever confess to you, and, actually? I still say I’m right! Because that’s not a confession! He’s never been great at even recognizing his own emotions, let alone knowing what to do with them--if he mind-vomited his feelings at you and you had to figure it out? Then he wasn’t planning on confessing to you at all. He probably didn’t even know there was anything to confess, let alone what might come of that.”

Gingerly pushing himself up more, Lauriam frowned seriously down at Demyx. “You two need to talk about if both of you even want to date. And then hold the hell off for a while until Ienzo actually learns what that means. It’s not fair to put even the very concept of a relationship on you--he needs to stop just observing and actually participate. Because if he’s just passive and you’re tearing yourself apart for a reaction, you two are going to make each other miserable.”

“Nooooo,” Demyx whimpered, turning over and resting his head on his arm, looking distressed, “....I mean, yeah, but noooo… I don’t want to make him miserable. I don’t want him to make me miserable. Which sucks! Because I think I do actually like him! Like that, I mean. Or, I could. But…”

Demyx sighed, closing his eyes. “...yeah. I don’t really want to try to teach someone else how to be in a relationship, when, honestly? I kind of wish someone would hold my hand through one. I’ve never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or anything. I had a few people I liked and I kissed a few people and I got a little handsy sometimes… You want to hear something really pathetic?” Demyx muttered, pillowing his head more squarely onto his bicep, “...I lost my virginity to Axel. And it was by living out one of… Larxene’s memories.”

“I was always too scared to try to start anything with the others. Being in the factory? Made me feel really immature and out of my depth. I really liked spending time with Ienzo because, honestly… he felt safe,” Demyx frowned, “And nothing else really did. It was nice, just kind of being a kid with someone, even if I wasn’t one anymore. I was so freaked out, and hanging out with Ienzo made me feel like back when I was young and everything was okay and I had nothing to be afraid of… but it’s not like I didn’t have urges. Fuck, I was desperate for touch a few times. And everytime the urge got bad enough? Out would come Larxene, just… doing what I was too scared to do. Not caring about the consequences.”

“I still haven’t slept with anyone as myself,” Demyx admitted, shifting uncomfortably, “I still go to brothels now that Larxene is gone trying to… still find the courage to do it. And I want that courage. I want it to not be scary when I think about laying down with somebody, being in a relationship like that. I want it… but it’s so overwhelming, thinking about really trying to start…”

“.....I think I get a little jealous of you and Dilan, sometimes,” Demyx admitted quietly, “He seems to just know exactly what he’s doing and exactly what he wants. It’s gotta be nice, to just have one of you know what’s going on.”

…were they really doing this? Ugh, getting back up was going to suck later…

Taking a breath, Lauriam slid himself off the couch, settling on the floor by Demyx and reaching over to pat his back.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” Lauriam agreed, hearing that Demyx’s first had been Axel, of all people, before his gaze softened, and the pats turned into a gentle backrub. He could understand seeking refuge in someone safe. Being scared with intimacy and relationships. Seeing that overwhelming wall of it all…

“If we’re separating our Nobodies like that? Marluxia’s never had sex,” Lauriam quietly admitted. “Dilan, Xaldin… I know you guys just assumed all this time that we were having sex whenever we found a closed door, but…we weren’t. We’ve barely even kissed. And…fuck, Demyx.”

Lauriam gave him a strained look. “I literally almost died because I got so freaked out just thinking about relationships. Yeah, Larxene could go out and take the town by storm, but it was that attitude that kept nearly getting you killed or arrested to the point we basically forced you to volunteer for The Ouma. She might be more courageous than you, but considering consequences isn’t a fatal flaw. If you’re scared…you’re not alone in that.”

“And Xaldin has no idea what to do, by the way,” Lauriam scoffed a bit, looking away. “He just doesn’t turn into a giant killer plant about it.”

“....” Demyx looked up, giving Lauriam a baffled look, “Xaldin and Marluxia weren’t fucking? But you guys were so blatant about it! What, you were just flirting that hard and then… what!? Living your lives!? Taking turns reading the ten books we had in rotation!? I was convinced you were fucking like rabbits!”

Lauriam scoffed, starting to blush as he looked away even more. “Basically. Flirting’s fun! But that was basically everything.” He flushed harder. “...we’ve had sex twice. Total. So I’ve had sex twice, total.”

“Was Axel just doing all the fucking for everybody!?” Demyx shouted, leaning onto his side and just giving Lauriam a baffled look, “I just thought I was being a prude and everyone else was having damn orgies when I wasn’t around, but now it kind of sounds like only a handful of us were getting any at all. Gooood, the factory SUCKED!”

“Like that’s a surprise,” Lauriam scoffed, though there was a hint of a smirk in it. “Aqua and Terra, confirmed to have had sex at least once. Unfortunately, Axel and Isa confirmed to have had sex at least once, and bafflingly by your words, Axel twice. Dilan, we just went over that. Otherwise, I’m convinced everyone else is a virgin, and I won’t hear any rebuttals.”

“I know Larxene slept with more people than just Axel, but I don’t actually know who,” Demyx admitted, “After playing out that first memory, I was too embarrassed to search out more. I kind of felt like I was intruding on something, taking advantage, you know? Me and Larxene were so different, it didn’t feel like anyone who slept with her had really consented to me being a part of it, as weird as that sounds.”

“So, great, a bunch of people super emotionally stunted, most of whom probably wouldn’t go on a real date again even if someone offered, and I’m sitting here needing to turn down the guy I like because he probably knows the absolute least about romance out of all of us. And, yes, I’d end up resenting it. I know I would. I know what I want dating to feel like, and I don’t want to feel like I need to pressure and teach and needle out of Ienzo every little scrap of romance that I’ve been craving for a damn decade,” Demyx huffed, rubbing at his eyelids, “...augh! This sucks! I wish this was easier! I hate having to turn him down! I love the guy! Of course I do! But… I want romance!”

“And that does sound incredibly weird, for the record,” Lauriam added, “I know you two are incredibly different, but she still came from you. She still is you. I’m not saying go nuts looking through her sexual conquests, because wow is that super strange to watch, but I’d still argue it isn’t voyeurism.”

Sighing, Lauriam rubbed Demyx’s back again. Yeah, that…sucked. He loved Ienzo, but the fact that, as Demyx pointed out, as a group of emotionally stunted people, they could all still recognize the issues Ienzo had? It was different, helping him navigate a conversation at the market, and having to micromanage an entire romantic relationship with…

Lauriam frowned curiously as he looked down at Demyx. “...you said that he gave you a bunch of his feelings through intent, right? Was…there anything romantic in there?”

“...well, yeah, of course,” Demyx said, flattening out a little to really lean into that back rubbing action. Scooting a little closer, because now that he was done having tantrum after tantrum, he was ready to be soothed as he pouted into his arms, “...I mean, it was a whole mess of a lot of things, but there was… Admiration stuck out, because I was a little surprised by it. A lot of affection. I think he’s a little jealous of something, though I can’t imagine what. There was a lot of trust, which, man, I hope turning him down isn’t going to ruin that. There was…this sort of vague feeling of desire? But it was desire for a bunch of things.”

Demyx closed his eyes. “It was like a desire to be supportive, and a desire to hold hands, and this feeling of pressing… but I don’t know, Lauriam. He didn’t know what any of those feelings were. And I don’t know how to interpret what he actually wants from all of that. I’ve always known he’s comfortable touching me when we’re alone, but what’s he going to feel like if we were in a crowd and I wanted to be affectionate with him? I just keep imagining him getting shy and resentful, and I’m going to be the jerk who keeps pushing for things he hates.”

“.......though, maybe I’m overthinking it,” Demyx admitted, “Ienzo was always up to things once I drew him into them, games and conversations and jokes… it just feels different, from a romantic angle. I don’t want to be the only person constantly drawing the other person in and testing the boundaries and seeing what works. If it’s romantic? I kind of want to feel in it with Ienzo, y’know? Not leading him and hoping he ends up okay with it.”

“............alright, I won’t have a tantrum this time, if you tell me I’m crazy,” Demyx sighed, “.......well, maybe a little tantrum, but I won’t roll around, I am enjoying the back rub.”

Lauriam’s gaze unfocused a little as he really tried to take all that in, for as accurate as it all was second-hand. Considering how Demyx interpreted it, how Ienzo might’ve interpreted it…

(Though he couldn’t help feeling a little exasperated by Demyx totally missing the jealousy angle.)

“...okay, playing the advocate for Ienzo?” Lauriam said after a moment, sighing softly, “I think I can see why he was confused. He cares a lot about us, and, as we’ve already been over, you two have been close for years. His feelings for you feeling different from the rest of us? Would be that way just for a strong friendship. And…”

Lauriam’s voice went a little unsure. “...considering what Zexion’s constructs said about how little time Ienzo spent…basically conscious? I’m not sure that…if he was the type to start wanting to explore sexuality and romance, he was even awake for the time that occurs to people. If he basically skipped the ‘freak out’ parts of puberty, then all the feelings that would still be around would be incredibly confusing to parse out without context.”

“That all said?” Lauriam softly poked a few fingers into Demyx’s shoulder muscles before continuing the back rub. “You’re not crazy to not want to be in a toxic, overtasking relationship, you dork. But I think you are overthinking it too. If Ienzo didn’t like something, you’d know about it, because he never shuts up. And if you two actually talked through this, and he wanted to be in a relationship too? He’d scour every resource that I probably would never have even heard of to learn everything he could about relationships.”

Lauriam gave Demyx a gently encouraging smirk. “Our nerd doesn’t like just learning for the sake of it. He likes using the things he learns.”

Demyx’s eyes widened. Oh yeaaaaaaah… “Oh, come on, he skipped puberty? Lucky. You know how I found out my balls dropped? I sat on them. Straight up didn’t notice they had started dangling until then. It was in the middle of hanging out with a bunch of older construction workers, I sat down too hard, squealed at a pitch only heard by dogs, and then got laughed at by a bunch of old dudes who knew exactly what happened the second I crossed my legs and fell over. Jerks.”

That wasn’t even taking into account the first time he had morning wood. That had been one of many puberty moments that clued his parents in that, yeah, maybe it was time to get their kid his own bed, let alone his own room.

“...you’re right. I mean, I’d need to talk to him about all this even if you weren’t right, I’m not going to just not explain why I’m turning him down and leaving him wondering,” Demyx sighed, “But, yeah. I need to talk this all out with him… though, talking to you first helped. I don’t know if you noticed, but I was kinda scrambling there, for a second. So… thanks, Lauriam.”

Lauriam cringed, his legs tensing just from the sympathy pain of hearing a story. As awful as that was, and probably humiliating to a kid, Lauriam still considered Demyx lucky he’d been on the tail end of the Hellfire Years by the time he ended up at the factory. It sucked going through even half of puberty there, shooting up nearly a damn foot while dealing with all that shit. Going through the entirety? Honestly Lauriam didn’t blame Ienzo for skipping out.

“Oh, really? I thought you’ve been more composed than I’ve ever seen you, the past few days,” Lauriam lightly drawled, before huffing with a small smile, patting Demyx’s back. “No problem, Demyx.”

He glanced down for a moment. “...I know we’re not as close as Larxene and Marluxia were…but I still care about you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Demyx said, the statement simple, expected. It had never occurred to him that Lauriam didn’t. “...wait!” he gasped, eyes wide, “If Marluxia was a virgin, that means Larxene and him weren’t fucking? I was sure! 100%! That was half the reason I decided not to look for more memories, I was certain it was going to be a ton of pink pubic hair! Who was she with?! You were the only decent choice!”

Lauriam gave Demyx a grimace, before huffing. “...well, that’s right, at least. And I definitely know it wasn’t because Marluxia and Xaldin were flirting and she would’ve ‘respected’ that. As far as I can parse?”

Lauriam shrugged. “They just had no attraction to each other. I guess I get it--who else would they gripe about a bad lay with than each other?”

“Heh~ yeah. Those two were pretty catty, from the handful of memories I have of Larxene.” Demyx chuckled, before relaxing. Just feeling Lauriam near him for a bit. “... it’s weird. I miss things I don’t remember. Has that happened to you yet, since you’ve been whole? Like there’s some shadow in your memories, and you can’t really say what was there, but you can see the outline, and seeing that silhouette just… makes your chest tighten?”

“...is that too specific?” Demyx whispered, “That’s just what it feels like.”

“Yeah,” Lauriam said immediately, slouching against the bottom of the couch a bit as his gaze lowered. It was like an echo of an ache. A discoloration of wallpaper where something was, and while you could trace the shape, you’d never really know what was actually there. But it had changed the wallpaper forever now, and you’d never be able to see it without the reminder that something was missing.

Lauriam went quiet for a bit, his attention drifting out…but eventually he said quietly, “Marluxia wasn’t happy that much. But he did still like some things. I think…they felt more special, from how much they stood out because of that.”

“Larxene was happy a ton,” Demyx said, wrapping his arm around Lauriam’s waist and pressing his face into his hip, “....I try to get close to how she felt about stuff. I’m happy too. But I’ll admit, I don’t know how to tap into the excitement she felt over creating things. It was like she didn’t have a self-conscious bone in her body. As much fun as I have performing, even I’m still tempered by that worry that the listener isn’t going to like it. She knew they wouldn’t. She didn’t care. She just wanted to show what she made.”

“I guess there’s just things to miss about our Nobodies.” Demyx said. “Being really close with you is one of them, I guess.”

“Pure expression,” Lauriam said knowingly, a fond, if slightly bittersweet smile on his face. “I know Marluxia hated about half the songs Larxene ever showed him, but he always loved seeing her perform. I think just because of how much fun she was having.”

Lauriam rested his hand on Demyx’s shoulder, looking amused at how Demyx squished himself beside him, but not commenting on it. Just enjoying the moment. “Guess so,” he agreed.

On the floor in the hallway that included the library doors, there was a slightly crumpled piece of paper, as if someone had gripped it too tightly at one point. Instead of a legal draft, however, in thin, neat handwriting, read:

The songbirds’ chirps go by way of the trees

The perpetual state of the unknown

Unheard

The foggy morning mists

Casting orange hues over dancing motes

Remain undisturbed

It’s called an insult

A secret trove left undiscovered

Beckoning eager hearts to set out on adventure

Reap the land of her rewards

Those are regarded for their bravery, championed

Shall I take the call, become a morning person?

Refuse to miss a single sunbeam

Claim that warmth as my own

To give up the owl’s hoots, in return

That dark blanket of hush

Each sound amplified for straining ears

Those plumes of eons, painted throughout them

And stretched beyond

Is that complacency?

Or simply a chosen path beyond allure

I cannot claim more that what’s already my own

A hand reached down to pick it up, and…

Demyx dropped onto the beach, before looking around and shouting, “Zexion!? Zexioooon! Hey, can I borrow you from Ienzo’s mind for a bit? Zexyyyyyy?”

There was a small, cartoonish ‘plip-plop’ing sound before Zexion trotted over from the treeline, looking up at Demyx.

Demyx had said he wasn’t mad, and Ienzo trusted that. But he obviously wasn’t okay, and really the only conclusion Ienzo had was that it was because of his feelings. But…well, Demyx said he needed to think about it, so trying to bring it up again, before he’d thought about it, wouldn’t help at all!

So…Ienzo had just tried to carry on as usual.

All that was to explain the slightly worried look on Zexion’s face as he came forward.

O_O I can be free. What’s up?

Demyx grinned, giving Zexion a wave, before kneeling down and pulling a piece of paper from his pocket–really just looking at it in the real world–and waving it at him as he said, “Hey, help me out, would you? I think one of ours wrote this, and I’m trying to figure out who to give it back to, since they clearly dropped it. But it’s not signed and I can’t figure out who it belongs to through context…beeeecause I can’t figure out the context.”

Passing it to Zexion, he said, “I thought maybe it’d help to hear it said aloud, all in one go?”

o๐o !

…

Zexion blinked at the paper.

It was pretty reasonable that Demyx wouldn’t recognize Ienzo’s handwriting; it wasn’t like they were doing much writing in the factory. In fact, half the reason their lab back in the tavern was covered in writing was just Zexion trying to get back in the habit of it, and have better handwriting than a 7-year-old.

Ienzo…perhaps wouldn’t appreciate Zexion reading the poem to Demyx. But maybe this was an opportunity in disguise.

Nodding to Demyx, Zexion explained, o_o It’s a poem, so please bear through metaphor, and my attempts to interpret the emphasis and cadence that were meant for it.

=๐=

Demyx listened patiently, nodding along, before biting his tongue as he tilted his head. “...maybe it’s about pulling all-nighters too much? Or, maybe arguing it’s not too much? Who do I know who pulls way too many all nighters… too many all nighters… oh!”

“Aqua,” he realized, looking incredibly proud of himself, “she goes out all night for her mystery things. Look at that, Aqua’s a poet! Who’d have guessed!”

ㅍ_ㅍ

ㅍ_ㅍ If you think so.

ㅍ_ㅍ Glad I could. Help.

“Thanks Zexion!” Demyx grinned, reaching over and lightly tapping his fist against the Chibo’s shoulder, “Can always count on you!”

Standing up with a stretch, Demyx looked down at the paper. “I’ll return it to her next. I wonder if Aqua would ever want to write some song lyrics with me? She’s got a talent for it! …hey, Zexion, how are… you? Doing?” Demyx asked, grinning sheepishly at the chibo, “I imagine you’re aware of the whole ‘confession’ thing the other day.”

o_o I am.

=_= I’m fine. Ienzo and I are simply respecting your request for time to process his feelings. Though, given more time to think about it myself, I’m remiss to call what happened a confession, for as surprising as the sharing of those feelings was.

o.o …I am a little worried about you, though. We still don’t have to talk about it, but you seem more shaken than concentrated pondering would be expected to be. Though I suppose the fault in that assumption is on me.

“Nah, you’re not wrong. I sort of put myself into a tizzy with all of that,” Demyx admitted, before grinning, “But I actually plan to talk to Ienzo about it soon! Honestly, I’d be more willing to talk to you about it if not for that. By this point, it sort of feels like I’d be trying to get around talking to Ienzo by talking to you first… though, that’s a point.”

“You’re a little different from a Nobody now, and kind of have always been different?” Demyx mused, “You’re, like… permanent. You just straight up live here full-time now. So this affects you too! Do… you feel the same way Ienzo does?”

While things tended to be exaggerated more often with Zexion in this form, the small drop of his shoulders in relief was subtle. Given what their initial conversation had been like, Zexion and Ienzo hadn’t thought they’d lose a friend over this, but it had still been difficult to see Demyx so out of sorts. That he was still willing to talk with Ienzo? That was relieving.

…but if there was a conversation Zexion needed to have with Demyx?

o_O It’s…complicated.

ㅍ_ㅍ I’ve talked with Amaina about it, and she’s told me a little about Chibi Kaito and Chibi Kokichi too. Apparently their situation is as simplified as it can be, considering that they were at least in part made by the same Empath, and the ‘model’, so to speak, of each of them are married as their full selves.

ᅙ_ᅙ But Amaina’s spoken about how she’s not even sure she’s able to fall in love outside of Miss Miku’s feelings, regardless of any desire for a relationship. And…I think that might be similar to my situation too.

☌_☌ I have been aware of Ienzo’s fondness for you, even if the conclusion of ‘love’ isn’t one I came to either. And while I’m not sure that my feelings for you are the exact same, I am fond of you as well. I think that might just be how it is, with me being a part of Ienzo, regardless of the will I have separately otherwise.

“I guess that makes sense,” Demyx said, running his hand through his mohawk with a sigh, “It kind of feels unfair to you, but it makes sense. I guess we all can’t help what we’re born into, but still… You know, I’m glad you have other Chibis to talk about it too. It’d suck if you were in this alone. The rest of us wouldn’t really know how to help with questions or any of that.”

ㅍ_ㅍ Not for lack of trying. I have to assume it’s at least similar to the processing Lauriam, Marluxia, Dilan, and Xaldin will do, though, again, that will likely be simplified when Xaldin returns to base essence. It’s a little easier to consider, I have to suppose, when the othered part of you can no longer talk back.

ㅍ_ㅍ I haven’t come to any conclusion about if it’ll be similar to what Aqua will go through with Terra. It feels significantly different for a part of your consciousness to be your spouse.

Demyx raised an eyebrow at that, squatting down again to get eye-level with Zexion. “You sound… Okay, look, I know I just said your stuff is probably not something I can really help with, but you sound kinda bitter. You good, little guy? Do you want to talk about it?”

ㅍ_ㅍ I’m not bitter, really. These are just some observations. We didn’t think any of this would be easy, but I think the matter of Nobodies and center egos is far more complicated than we even gave it credit for. Even with more ‘intentional’ cases like yours, and not how Ienzo messed his up.

ᅙ_ᅙ…

ᅙ_ᅙ…can I have a hug?

Demyx immediately shuffled forward and scooped Zexion into a hug. “Awww, geez. We all really didn’t think this through, when it came to you guys, huh? Just did a bunch of stuff and hoped it’d all work itself out,” Demyx sighed, holding Zexion tight, “It’s a lot to figure out, huh?”

Zexion hugged Demyx back. His arms couldn’t reach all the way around him, though that wasn’t something he noted as a change. He hadn’t been hugged that often when he was in control of the body.

=_= For the most part, I think it has worked out. But I think there’s far more to consider that’s ‘non-urgent’.

=^= …because only the Nobodies being conscious is urgent. It’s not merely an assumption that we poorly function trying to be full people, it’s observable, provable.

=_= But it doesn’t mean that we didn’t develop and grow too, and that we don’t have our own feelings. That we can’t miss each other, even if no one’s really gone.

ᅙ.ᅙ …it’s so quiet, Demyx. It’s…ironic. I know it bothers Ienzo too, but at least he can hide from it in the real world.

“Well, come on now, I’m the music guy! If you’re ever struggling with sound, you should just come hang out with me for a while,” Demyx laughed, patting Zexion on his back, before sighing, “Though, I get that’s not what you’re talking about. You used to have a lot of company, alllll the time, and now it’s just you. That’s tough. That’s something I actually know is tough.”

“Maybe we would have all been better off, with funky little chibos…” Demyx sighed, hugging Zexion tighter, before insisting, “Look, whatever happens between me and Ienzo? I’m not actually going anywhere, okay? You both are still, like, my favorite people! Nothing changes that. Okay?”

Sometimes just pure sound did help, so Zexion appreciated the offer…

(But Demyx wasn’t always on Destiny Island. It used to be, unless people were sleeping, if a Nobody was working? Then the main ego was on the island. If the main ego was using their body, then the Nobody was on the island. Not even just in Ienzo’s head, there used to be so much going on, all the time.)

(But then the Nobodies had to manage the bodies all the time, so there was no one left to hang out on the island. And the Somebodies that had returned…well, their Nobodies weren’t around anymore. And there was so much going on in life that just coming to the island to relax was much more rare than it used to be.)

(It was so quiet…)

Zexion nestled into the hug, not feeling alone with Demyx’s arms around him.

ó_ò Okay.

ó_ò …I know it’s not entirely fair to you, but…please be patient with Ienzo trying to explain himself. Sometimes we only figure things out by spiraling around it for a while. Feelings like this are confusing, it might take us a few tries to actually say what we mean.

“Yeah, I know,” Demyx said, leaning back to give Zexion a grin, “I think I’ve got my bud figured out by this point, I’ll be patient. I just needed a few days to figure myself out first. I didn’t wanna say the wrong thing either, y’know? But I’ll probably go seek him out after this, Aqua can wait for her poem. What’s the big guy up to?”

o_o He’s hiding on the third floor balcony on the right side of the main staircase, trying to avoid being called out, even if no one will, for not working on our transcription factor or our inheritance contest, and reading a poetry collection.

“Man, Ienzo’s reading poetry too? What a weird coincidence! It’s a poetry sort of day, huh?” Demyx laughed, detangling himself from Zexion’s little nubby arms and giving him a pat on the shoulder, “Alright, wish me luck! And remember. Nothing changes, alright? I’ll talk to you later!”

And Demyx opened his eyes on the outside, disappearing from the beach.

=_= …

Both of them would need the luck.

Ankles crossed and braced against the side of the chair, his book propped against his thighs as he curled around the bottom of the chair and against the opposite side, the small table to Ienzo’s right was both an armrest and a note-taking surface, though he wasn’t really taking notes right now.

He’d always admired the grace in description and metaphor in poetry. Interesting wordplay, zeugma, pleasing rhythms that skillfully matched the meaning of the work…it always felt clumsily wielded in his own hands, but Ienzo didn’t really mind. He just liked trying things out, and he supposed it was easy to feel that way when the only piece of poetry he’d ever shared with someone was in the form of a riddle to unlock a piece of his head.

Part of him wondered if any of the others actually internalized that Ienzo had written that, but other than his conversation about them with Demyx, and the general knowledge that his parents were dead, no one had really brought that up.

But, well. It did mean that Ienzo could write without feeling self-conscious. Especially as he played around with the metaphor of a day-cycle for love. He had noted to Demyx himself that it felt particularly poetically inspired.

Turning a page, Ienzo wrote in his neat, thin handwriting:

To compare thee to a summer’s day

To some would seem quite damning

Overwhelming heat in an inescapable way

Such words would be peak slamming

Ienzo peeked over at the couplet, before wrinkling his nose, making a small ‘x’ next to his writing. The cadence was nice, but it was taking too long to get to the point, and choosing ‘damning’ to rhyme with was a mistake. Bleg.

There was a knock on the door, but it was barely a courtesy knock before Demyx headed inside the study, heading out to the balcony, calling out, “Ienzo? You in here bud? Zexion told me where you were! Hey, are you–oh, there you are!” Demyx said brightly, peeking out to the balcony, seeing where Ienzo was sitting, “Is now a bad time?”

Ienzo jumped slightly, for a moment looking a little guilty before he registered the voice. Peeking up over his knees--a movement mostly neck, since he could not move his spine in this position--his eyes widened a little as…yeah. Demyx was coming to talk to him. Much…livelier than he’d been lately.

Glancing at the page he was on, Ienzo closed his book and put down his pen, setting both by his paper on the table. “Uh, no, I wasn’t doing anything important. Is everything alright? That seems a little urgent if you asked Zexion where I was.”

“I was talking to him anyway, to be honest. But! That doesn’t make this any less important!” Demyx exclaimed, heading over with a small trot, before sitting down with Ienzo, giving him a grin, “...okay! I want to talk about the thing! If, again, now isn’t a bad time?”

Ienzo blinked, before nodding, doing an awkward little wiggle to try and sit up more without hurting his back or just completely falling out of his chair. “Okay! Yeah, it’s still fine. Uh…”

Successfully up, Ienzo gave Demyx a slightly nervous look. “So you’ve thought it over? I’ve put more thought in myself, but, please, go ahead.”

“Oh, good! I mean, I definitely want to hear what your thoughts are, but, like… I feel like I gotta come into this being super clear, first. To be fair to you, in whatever you wanna tell me next,” Demyx said, shifting slightly uncomfortably, still smiling, but clearly with some regret, “...Ienzo, I can’t, uh… I can’t reciprocate your feelings, right now. Which feels like such a stuffy way to put it, sorry, that’s my bad, I just… I care about you a lot! A lot, a lot! But I can’t… be in a relationship like that with you. Right now.”

Ienzo let out a sigh of relief (just deciding to think about the sting in his chest later). “That’s good. I realized I might’ve come off like I was asking for a romantic relationship? I really wasn’t trying to ask that of you, but…I didn’t want to immediately clarify that once it occurred to me, because you asked for time to think? And it’s hard enough internalizing and processing without new information, especially ones with a call to action changing the shape of that processing.”

Nodding a little, Ienzo sat up more as he gave Demyx a shy, slightly regretful look. “You’ve already spoken at length about how you don’t want to pursue any sort of relationship beyond purely physical ones right now, and I’m inclined to agree with your reasoning. I’m genuinely sorry for…really even bringing it up at all. You matter a lot to me as well, I don’t want to do anything that’ll strain our relationship, and trying to pursue anything actionably on romantic feelings would.”

Ienzo glanced down, fussing with his fingers lightly. “...sorry.”

“Ah, geez,” Demyx sighed, “I mean, yeah, that is still kind of how I feel. Dating, and everything that comes with it? Feels like a lot to add to everything already… but, I feel like I gotta…”

…did he? Have to tell Ienzo why he had thought the two of them specifically wouldn’t have worked? That he didn’t really believe Ienzo would do all the theatrics and rituals and involved process of dating that Demyx liked to imagine when he imagined dating people? Ienzo had already given him an out. Did Demyx really have to follow that up with saying ‘Hey, I think you would suck at dating’ on top of that?

It just… sounded cruel.

“...I feel like I gotta apologize,” Demyx said, “I know it took me a few days to really say anything. I hope I didn’t have you worried.”

Ienzo looked up, a little surprised, before his shoulders bounced with a silent laugh. “You don’t have to apologize for that. Thinking takes time, I know that, and you established right from the start that’s what you needed to do. I was worried, but mostly because you’ve seemed kind of upset the last few days, not because I was waiting for your conclusion.”

Looking to the side, Ienzo smiled hesitantly. “Would’ve been a lot more nervous if I thought I’d offended you or…grossed you out or something.”

“What? No, nothing like that. In a way, I was trying to decide the last few days if I was going to say yes,” Demyx said, before he smiled tiredly, “A part of me wanted to… I do love you. I just… I couldn’t make it work in my head. I kept twisting it around this way and that way, how the two of us might be together… I just don’t think I’m up for trying to navigate it.”

“...I am still a little sad to say no though,” Demyx admitted, “Maybe one day I’ll really kick myself for this. Who knows.”

Ienzo’s eyes widened for a moment.

Oh.

…oh.

He could comprehend that. It was even a trope he’d thought was interesting, ‘Right People, Wrong Time’. Demyx liked him too. It just wasn’t going to work, they had too much going on to try pursuing a relationship.

(That…wasn’t Ienzo’s fault. Navigating a relationship took every person involved. That Demyx couldn’t even fathom a way for them to try it was… It made sense.)

Ienzo wasn’t sure why it was suddenly a lot harder to breathe.

He shrugged a little, offering a small smile. “Maybe. But I think we’d both regret trying and having it fail more.”

“Yeah,” Demyx smiled, before looking intently at Ienzo, “This doesn’t change anything, does it? I don’t want it to. Also, I promised Zexion it wouldn’t. It’s hard to disappoint his grouchy little face.”

Ienzo laughed softly. “I do want to do right by him, as much as I can. And I don’t want anything to change either. I like being your friend. It’d…hurt to lose that.”

That was true. As much as things felt…weird right now, Ienzo knew for sure that it was nothing compared to losing his friendship with Demyx. He’d tried to make that clear initially too.

“Exactly! Hey… hug?” Demyx grinned, opening up his arms, “So that tonight’s cuddling isn’t the first time we’ve touched in a few days? How have you been sleeping, by the way?”

Ienzo huffed an amused breath before wriggling out of his seat, coming over to hug Demyx. Scrunching his eyes hard to just will away the slight burning in them, even as the slight squeeze around Demyx’s chest was nothing but affectionate.

“Fine enough, I guess,” Ienzo lied. He’d slept maybe…9 hours over the past three days. And most of that had been him just too tired to function otherwise. “I still prefer the ease of it with you, so I am looking forward to coming by tonight. Enjoy actually having the bed to yourself?”

“Not really. I missed you,” Demyx confessed, “Plus, it gets weirdly cold in this manor at night, doesn’t it? Whatever keeps it cool in the afternoon keeps it freezing at night. I was shivering.”

Demyx glanced down at the papers Ienzo had put aside to hug him. Squeezing him tight, Demyx asked, “I did interrupt something, didn’t I? What were you working on?”

“We could get you another blanket,” Ienzo suggested, before smirking a little, “Though I’ll admit I do like the incentivization I bring in extra heat. Maybe I’ll take a look around to see if there are any broken walls, see what kind of insulation this place has…”

Sighing a little at the squeeze, Ienzo made a small sound before flushing a little. “Not really… I like experimenting with poetry, sometimes,” he admitted in a mumble, “I think most of it’s either overly pretentious or just nonsensical, though. The only poem I’ve ever shared wasn’t exactly by choice.”

“No way, Ienzo, you write poetry?” Demyx gasped, disentangling himself from Ienzo to automatically start reaching for the paper, “That’s awesome, I’d love to see it! You should tell Aqua!”

“W-wait!” Ienzo stammered, flushing more as he darted to take the paper first, random notes in his handwriting on the back. “I-I mean, it’s really bad, I… Why should I tell Aqua?”

“Oh! Sorry,” Demyx laughed, stepping back, before lighting up. “Oh, because she writes poetry too! I found one of her pieces today! Here, hold on,” Demyx pulled out the page, handing it to Ienzo as he said, “You guys could trade pointers, she’s really good! I bet she could help you out with that ‘pretentious’ feeling, showing you how to lean into it.”

Ienzo’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion--it wasn’t like he knew every hobby his family had, but he tended to have something of an idea and he hadn’t known Aqua even liked poetry--before all at once his face went white, eyes widening at the sheet of paper Demyx showed him.

“...where…did you find this?”

“On the floor of one of the hallways,” Demyx said, “Can’t remember exactly where. Maybe the library? Figured someone must have dropped it, was trying to figure out who to bring it to, figured out it must be Aqua’s with Zexion. That’s why I was talking to him actually.”

…Zexion.

Nerves flitted over Ienzo’s face as he looked down at the paper. “...Demyx, Aqua didn’t write this. I wrote this.” Not even being asked, but seeming like a matter of course, Ienzo turned around his scrapped couplet, holding it side by side with the finished poem. The handwriting identical.

“...you think it’s good?” Ienzo asked quietly.

“Oh, whaaaat?” Demyx gasped, looking between the papers. “No way! You write poems like that, Ienzo?! That was really good! Though…” Demyx pouted, “I thought you were working on the all-nighter stuff? Remember, sleeping is good for Zexion, which is good for you, that whole thing? Are you still really struggling with it?”

The pallor started to ease back into a mild flush. …Demyx thought it was good? It felt complete enough that Ienzo hadn’t wanted to scrap it, but he felt like he’d just started rambling part way through. And that it just kind of felt…haughty in its point of view, when Ienzo knew he really didn’t have the room to--

Ienzo blinked at Demyx. “...huh? I-I mean…sort of but…why bring that up?”

“Well, because it’s all about being a night owl and preferring to be a night owl, that getting more daylight might be best for some people, but then think about all the cool night stuff you’re losing out on… I don’t know, it’s a decent argument,” Demyx shrugged, “But isn’t only ever being awake at night just sort of lonelier, eventually? Daylight means more time with me!” Demyx grinned brightly… before laughing a bit, “Well, more time with me when I’m awake, anyway. I guess you could argue everyone else should stay up later too.”

Ienzo smiled softly. “...that is a good counterpoint.”

Looking down at his poem, Ienzo flushed more. “It’s…sort of like that. My own inclinations are definitely a point of view for the ‘author’, but, um…” Ienzo shifted between his feet a bit. “When we were talking before, and you used the metaphor of a crush being like standing in sunlight, but love being like wanting to be around during the night too? I…found that evocative. Inspirational, I guess.”

“Oooh… oh!” Demyx’s eyes widened… before he flushed a little, laughing. “Oh! This is my day/night metaphor? Oh, okay! I… that’s weirdly flattering? Wait, wait, okay,” Demyx peered over the writing–even already having been told what it said, the words still sort of faded in and out of comprehension as he read through it–before nudging Ienzo to sit down, “Break this down for me, I really want to know. This is really good, Ienzo! Hold on, read it aloud to me, Zexion already did but it’d be cool to hear how you read it, since he’s got that musical monotone thing affecting his inflections.”

Ienzo turned a deeper shade of pink though he nodded, sitting back down as looked over his poem. Shit…it must’ve fallen out of a book as he left the library. But, well, this wasn’t the worst outcome for someone finding it, he supposed.

“The songbirds’ chirps go by way of the trees, the perpetual state of the unknown, unheard,” Ienzo started, his blush growing deeper as he spoke. “...um, would you prefer that I explain things as I go along, or just…the whole thing at once?”

“As you go along! Tell me your process! It’s fun!” Demyx said, looking entirely settled in for the long-haul of this. Ienzo was making cool art stuff! Of course Demyx wanted to hear all about it!

Ienzo nodded again and took a breath. “Okay, well… Songbirds are diurnal, and it’s a common indicator of morning when you can hear them chirping. However, I evoked the thought exercise of ‘if a tree falls in the woods but no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?’ to indicate that the point of view isn’t around to hear the chirps, thus, from the beginning, setting the tone that they’re likely asleep during the morning.”

“Clever, clever, definitely puts you in a setting,” Demyx agreed.

“The foggy morning mists, casting orange hues over dancing motes, remain undisturbed,” Ienzo read, before mumbling, “This is mostly just imagery, though a confirmation that the subject is ‘morning’. I’ve, um, always thought one of the more visually distinctive parts of a sun ray is the reflections of light you can see on dust motes, and because they’re undisturbed, again, it’s saying that no one’s around.”

“Oooooh, yeah, now that you’ve pointed it out? Yeah, there’s like an early morning dust that hangs in the air when it's sunrise, isn’t there? I wonder why that is, I never notice it at sunset,” Demyx mused.

“It’s called an insult, a secret trove left undiscovered, beckoning eager hearts to set out on adventure, reap the land of her rewards, those are regarded for their bravery, championed.” Ienzo cleared his throat awkwardly. “...it’s a bit assumptive. It’s, um…it’s implied in rather disparaging language, that, um… You know how people often talk about how mornings are like ‘secret hours’, that there’s something special to waking up early and ‘making the most of the day’? This is compared with…um. Like adventure novels, where it’s not only assumed that a beckoned hero will take to the proper path, but encouraged that, of course they’ll do that, and pillage to their hearts’ content, even if the mood of the story is just that they’re looking for supplies, and that everything they find was put there with the intention of them finding it. But it’s phrased here like taking those things is…forceful, and invasive.”

“Oh, like the Final Fantasy series?” Demyx asked, “There’s always some random note about them searching peoples’ drawers in random houses. The books always treat it like it’s super normal, but it just kinda sounds like the heroes are just thieves everywhere they go.”

“Relating to the metaphor for love…it’s calling the question of wanting to be in someone’s presence as much as possible, to enjoy it, or if trying to maximize that time, and…further, if sunlight is not just a metaphor for the object of affection being around, but rather them in the best possible light, when they’re happy and open, that…maximizing that is an infringement on a presentation that no one can keep up forever. Um…”

“Yeah, exactly! It’s not love if you only ever want someone at their best,” Demyx nodded, “Exactly!”

“Shall I take the call, become a morning person? Refuse to miss a single sunbeam, claim that warmth as my own; to give up the owl’s hoots, in return, that dark blanket of hush, each sound amplified for straining ears, those plumes of eons, painted throughout them, and stretched beyond.” Ienzo took a breath. “The author is questioning if they should go along with that expected presentation of the pursuit of someone, before they talk about the things they experience in the night. The owl is a direct contrast to the songbirds before, and so is the mention of darkness, to light, and the hush… But unlike the sounds of the morning, which were unheard, now it’s quiet that’s sought out to be heard. The ‘plumes of eons’ are the different colors of the universe, which you can only see in the absence of bright light, which the author finds important, and notes that they’re features which people have appreciated throughout time, though they’re phenomena that will long outlast civilizations, let alone any single person.”

“Plumes of Eons… sounds like it’d be a cool band name.” Demyx laughed… before he looked away a little, smiling uneasily. ‘Expected presentation’. Yeah…

“Is that complacency? Or simply a chosen path beyond allure, I cannot claim more than what’s already my own.” Ienzo shrank into himself a little, looking embarrassed. “The author then questions if they’re simply championing appreciation for the night because they’re already a night person, or if it’s truly something they’ve chosen to find, um, love in, despite what greater opinion encourages. They, um…seem to land on the latter, though, unable, or unwilling, to partake in the invasiveness of experiencing every moment of daylight. They…um. Won’t demand that someone be happy or personable all the time. Whatever they see in front of them, however the object of their love is at the current moment…that’s what’s there. And they’ll find love in that.”

“Awww, that’s a sweet message, at the end,” Demyx smiled, looking at the poem with a new appreciation, “Man, and here I thought it was just talking about how annoying getting up early can be if you’re not a morning person… This is really deep! It’s cool! It’s…” Demyx tilted his head, “...about us?”

It was nice, hearing Demyx’s thoughts about how Ienzo had put the poem together. The things he immediately latched onto, the things that Ienzo actually had had to explain, and his understanding of that. It was…nicer sharing his work than Ienzo had thought, though…

Ienzo steamed as he looked at his knees, picking some lint off the end of his hoodie. “Sort…of. You did inspire it anyway, with your original metaphor. And our conversation definitely…put some things in mind. But I’m not exactly pursuing you in any capacity, am I,” he mumbled, every bit of embarrassment returning.

“Yeah,” Demyx laughed, rubbing the back of his arm a bit, looking away, “Of course not. You’re considerate, like that. I said no, so… that’s it!”

Ienzo nodded, looking the other way, gripping the paper of his poem a bit too tight, likely the same way it had gotten crumpled in the first place. “I…um. I never mean to share these with anyone, but I can…be mindful about not writing about you, or things related to you, if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Ienzo’s face burned. “I know I’d feel weird, at least, about someone writing love poems about me if I turned them down. O-or mutually decided not to, I mean, for us specifically.”

“I mean, yeah! Well, no, I think the poem is cool,” Demyx said, “And… I mean, if you want to keep writing about this, I don’t really mind. Songs–or poems, I guess–about love are timeless! All types of love. Heartbreak and all of that.”

Demyx paused. “...not that I’m suggesting you’re heartbroken.”

Another pause. “Are you?”

Ienzo didn’t look wholly convinced, before he just looked entirely embarrassed again. “It’d be a little ridiculous if I was. I didn’t even ask you out, and we both know it’s a bad idea to pursue romance like that right now. I just thought-vomited stuff I really probably should’ve kept to myself, and I mean…”

Looking at his lap, Ienzo scoffed softly, tone growing disparaging. “...yeah. I don’t know why I asked you to interpret what I feel, having no intentions behind it. It was unfair. We both have a ton of baggage, even if we’re helping to sort through it in other facets, that’s too much to wade through in a relationship. I wouldn’t even know what to do in a relationship either,” he muttered, voice growing drier and quieter. Bitter. “Probably would just…ruin everything. I barely even know what to do in a friendship. And people usually just say I’m being dumb when I try to explain what I try to do for…any relationship.”

“Hey, you’re not dumb,” Demyx frowned, giving Ienzo a startled look at that… before looking away, a flash of guilt running through his face, “I don’t think you’re dumb… just…”

“.......don’t you worry maybe we won’t be… compatible?” Demyx asked, feeling like a coward at the question. It wasn’t like he had properly explained himself yet. “Don’t you think you’d be happier with someone who’s quiet, and doesn’t like going out much, and doesn’t like a lot of empty gestures just done because someone’s dating? I can’t imagine you having fun at a Meridan Love Festival, or doing any of those cheesy couple dates, like trying the Pulley of Devotion–” a common, cheesy festival activity where one of the couple sits on a pulley swing, and how far the other part of the couple manages to pull them up indicates how long the two would be together, “--or walking through the kissing caves–” everywhere in Luminary had ‘The’ kissing caves. Folks who didn’t travel thought it was a unique tradition to their own areas, but Luminary always had caverns and caves that became the ‘kissing cave’ because teens would dare couples to head in and spend time together. Some caves had extra rumors of good luck, or daring chances to see ‘demons’ that were hiding inside, but for the most part it was just considered a dare because it meant you were feeling brave enough to go in there and, well, kiss– “Or, I don’t know! Go to concerts? Fancy dinners? Just… do couple stuff?”

Demyx trailed off, staring at his knees. “...I think you’d hate all of that. And I like that stuff. I know that stuff isn’t a whole relationship but… I still want to do it. At least for a while.”

Ienzo sighed, a little frustrated. He didn’t think he was dumb either! But…the others kept looking at him like he was missing the point, when Ienzo talked about things he wanted to do for people. Assuring him that he didn’t need to keep apologizing, and that he wasn’t in debt for the things the others had done for him, saying he was strange when he followed through on things that seemed natural to him.

He just…didn’t know what else to do to express how he felt about them. If trying to find opportunities for them to explore their hobbies more, or keeping an eye out to try and keep them out of trouble, or just…being physically close, open to talking, hellfire, making a cake! If none of that was ever right, then…Ienzo just didn’t know what else to do.

Ienzo looked back up at Demyx, listening as he listed off all sorts of date ideas…and saying that Ienzo would hate it? A mild hurt crossed over his face. “...why do you think I’d hate all of that?” Insecurity pulled at the corners of his mouth. “We’ve only been out a year, and those aren’t exactly things you do on your own; of course I haven’t done any yet.”

“I don’t know,” Demyx said, picking at the lint on his pants, “...you just don’t seem the type?”

Demyx floundered for more to say on it. But that really just summed it up. Ienzo didn’t strike him as the type to enjoy any of that. And Demyx didn’t want to give those experiences up, not when he could maybe still have them.

(And… it had occurred to him, that the older he got, the less likely he’d find someone else who wanted to have those experiences with him. All of those things he just mentioned was probably old news, for anyone else nearing their thirties. But he had missed his chance to do them, locked away in windowless rooms, filled with people who all never felt like they were entirely in step with him…)

(What if by the time he actually found someone, no one thought he was worth the effort of romance?)

“I just think it’d be easier if we dated people like ourselves,” Demyx said, feeling a flash of frustrated determination. He was not going to miss out. There was still time!

“...oh,” Ienzo said quietly, a hint of dismay on his face. So was it…not? ‘Right People, Wrong Time’? If…the problem was more about the fact that Ienzo was Ienzo…

Putting his poem down, Ienzo sat back and crossed his arms, half-glaring at the side table. “...pass. If I’m ever ready to date someone? I do not want to find someone like me. I’ve lived with other mes, dozens for the majority of my life. Zexion is important to me, but I’ve never felt anything even passingly resembling romantic affection for any of my constructs. And without meaning to be rude to people I’ve yet to know in the world, I really doubt I’d ever meet someone like me. Given the relatively hidden nature of most of my life’s experiences, they’d likely never give me the time of day either.”

Ienzo glared harder at the table. “...how weird do you think it’d be to do ‘couple stuff’ by yourself? Like just people thinking you’re off, or getting enough suspicion to get guards called?”

“Anyone would be lucky to get any time with you, Ienzo,” Demyx muttered, knowing how hollow that sounded considering, well… everything. Ienzo was a great guy! He was funny and smart and really cool and was even pretty, now that it occurred to Demyx to look at him considering that. But… Demyx, selfishly or not, didn’t just want a good guy. He wanted an experience. One that Ienzo just… couldn’t…

He gave Ienzo a bewildered look. “What? Um… I don’t know, I guess it depends? I mean, you probably wouldn’t want to follow a couple in a kissing cave even if you were with someone else, which is the only thing I can imagine gets guards called… What? Why?”

Sure. Maybe because he was so…unavailable that it was lucky to ever get his attention at all. Or maybe just for getting a novel experience with a weirdo.

As the idea started to solidify in Ienzo’s mind, determination started to match the frustration in his glare at the table. He sat up more, bringing up a leg onto the end of his chair. “Some of those things are likely Luminary specific, right? Festivals usually only transcend borders when they’re associated with religion, and things like caves are dependent on local geography. Dicea might have caves, but there’s no knowing that they have the same association culturally there.”

His expression softened slightly with consideration as he tilted his head. “...I suppose that going to a kissing cave and not kissing anyone really isn’t the intended experience, so that might just have to be a cave-diving experience…but things like concerts are absolutely doable on one’s own.”

“If I want to be able to experience those things at all, then we have a timer. And since I won’t arbitrarily ask someone to be a proxy partner, then…I’ll just have to do it myself,” Ienzo decided.

“What?” Demyx asked, floundering a bit now. “What are you talking about, Ienzo? Why would you even want to? Look, I’m not challenging you or something, there’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t want that stuff. I’m just saying I do! You don’t have to force yourself.”

The outright glare softened a bit, but Ienzo’s gaze was still frustrated as he turned back to Demyx. “Why do you keep saying that? Of course I won’t do things I don’t want to, no one’s forcing me anymore. But…” He let out a frustrated breath. “Do you really think I would’ve just stayed inside the last 16 years if I hadn’t been forced to? I hate when things are quiet, Demyx. It can be nice when I’m concentrating on something, but that’s not ‘quiet’ to me. I want to do things, experience the world.”

A small glimmer of hurt went through Ienzo’s face. “I love reading, and I think books are invaluable pieces of art and discovery…but what authors write always comes from somewhere. I have the opportunity to see and experience those things now, why would I waste that?”

“I don’t know! I just thought! … you can’t do those things on your own!” Demyx huffed, now looking a little put out, “If you’re going to do those things, you should invite someone! Like… me! You dingus!”

The stinging was back in Ienzo’s eyes. “I would’ve! But we decided not to date each other because it’s too complicated, and it’d be weird doing couple stuff with someone who rejected you! And I can absolutely do most things on my own!”

“W-well, well… fine! Don’t ask me on a date then! Go on dates by yourself! Have fun dating Ienzo!” Demyx pouted, crossing his arms and looking away, “I hope you have fun!”

Ienzo felt a drop of mortification in his stomach as he actually felt his eyes start to water. But he couldn’t even begin to consider taking a moment to calm down as he shot back, “I will! And I’ll catalog everything and describe my experiences to subjectively find the most fun date, and then do my best to more objectively consider what sorts of dates people would find more for every kind of experience they’d want and that’d be helpful f--”

There was a sound like book pages rapidly flipping, as Zexion, looking frustrated and exasperated as all get out, popped into view for a moment. Scoffing derisively before he ‘SMACK’ed Ienzo in the back with an oversized Lexicon.

Shoving him right into kissing Demyx’s cheek.

Zexion was already gone in the instant Ienzo reeled back, eyes wide with horror and mortification.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry,” he gasped out quickly.

With every word, Demyx’s disappointment grew. Because this was what he was talking about! These experiences weren’t experiments, they were romantic! He didn’t want to be the only person trying to bring that sort of fun into the mix, he didn’t want to be little more than some half-laughed at thought experiment– ”Oh!”

Demyx caught Ienzo, of course, but his face warmed as he realized that the thud into the side of his face was, well… Ienzo’s face. And Ienzo’s lips. And, like, oh, okay, yep, there was definitely a wetness there. Which was probably gross! Had the crash accidentally pressed Ienzo’s tongue to his cheek for a second? Was he drooling? Why was it so wet?

…..god damn it, he was flustered.

“I-it’s fine!” Demyx stammered, feeling way too hot under the collar considering how bizarre that series of events had just been, steadying Ienzo as he flustered, “A-are you alright? Did… did Zexion just hit you!?” Demyx paused, “How!?”

Ienzo was just fully covering his mouth now, not looking any more comforted by Demyx saying it was fine. Because it wasn’t fine! That was totally uncalled for! And still would be even if Demyx wanted to date him, dating someone wasn’t blanket consent!

But it wasn’t…something Ienzo had just done himself, because…

“...I-I don’t know,” Ienzo said in a small voice, the small quarter of his face that wasn’t hidden by his hair or his hands now a bright scarlet. The shock of everything loosening a few tears from his eyes. “It’s the expectation of a mind to ‘fill in the blank’ of sensation with a psychic projection, and even if I wasn’t looking at him, because he’s a part of me there’s no way my subconscious wouldn’t register him, but it really did feel like a hit? I’m so sorry.”

(There was a baffling part of him that was disappointed that he hadn’t been able to enjoy it, since he was reeling from being smacked with a giant book.)

“I-it’s fine, you didn’t do it on purpose… or, well, I guess a part of you did, but Zexion is sort of his own thing… wait, why did Zexion do that!?” Demyx sputtered, finally wiping at his cheek. Feeling a little bad as he did so. He wanted to get rid of the wet, but it was a shame to already feel that warmth seeping out. “What’s the big idea, Zexion? Maybe we should go in and yell at him instead of each other.”

Ienzo haltingly nodded. Too flustered to really think about it as he just directly pulled Demyx into his library, bypassing Destiny Island entirely.

(He could not handle talking to one of the others right now.)

“Zexion!” the, still red, now literally steaming version of Ienzo called into his library. “What the fuck?!”

The chibo stood on top of his library cart, glaring coldly at the two Somebodies.

“Zexion, not cool, bud! Super not cool!” Demyx shouted, crossing his arms and stomping his foot on the ground, “What would have happened if I had turned my head slightly!? We could have busted each other's teeth! And besides, we were having an important conversation!”

ᄀ3ᄀ =3 I’m sorry for invading your personal space.

ò^ó But you two are infuriating! You’re arguing about wanting to do date things and missing out on doing them because you’ve already said you’re not going to date each other.

òmó When you want to date each other!

Ienzo steamed even more. “If you were actually listening to our conversation, then you’d know that that’s not actually the case! Dating anyone would be too much right now, and conscious choice is an important part of ‘want’.”

Zexion glared at Ienzo, something almost cruel in his eyes, if not for the hurt mixed in with it.

ò_ó You know you’re only saying that because it made sense when Demyx said it initially, in a different context, and you don’t want to come off as naive and like you don’t comprehend the difficulties of managing a relationship. You’re trying to protect yourself from the pain of rejection and the ridicule of wanting something that has a genuinely good argument against it.

ò^ó But that doesn’t change the fact that you still want it.

ಠmಠ You’re so fucking insecure. You’re surrounded by people who genuinely love you, and yet? Boo hoo, no one could possibly like the freak. Get over yourself.

ಠ^ಠ And we’re allowed to enjoy things just because they’re nice. We don’t have to come up with justifications to like something, to try and turn it into a commodity we can offer someone else, just to prove we’re worth taking up that space.

ಢ‸ಢ Ienzo, we’re allowed to just be happy.

Demyx looked away guiltily at Ienzo’s explanation for why they couldn’t date. He wasn’t wrong, and Demyx half-way felt the same… but that hadn’t been why he said no, not really. He had just… had just…

Demyx’s head dipped a bit at Zexion’s tearful plea. Yeah… yeah…

“...I don’t not want to date you, Ienzo,” Demxy murmured beside him, “...it is a bad time. It’s a stupid time to start wanting to do this. I know it’s a stupid time. We have a big rescue mission coming up, and your nobility thing, and then moving to another country… it just feels inevitable that us dating will just be everything we were as friends. And if I wanted more, that’s just going to be me being stupid, because you don’t need to be going on stupid fun dates or doing stupid fun traditions to be in a relationship, and I feel like us being together during all of this will be me wanting those things, and everyone–you, the others, even me…–will just be rolling their eyes at me because I’m the idiot who wants that stuff out of a partner. Stuff I don’t need…”

“...but if you want those things too?” Demyx frowned, crossing his arms, sort of half-hugging himself, “...can’t you just ask me? To go with you? Or does it have to be me sounding like a desperate idiot because I’m insisting on that too? We’ve had a whole conversation about what I am and ain’t willing to do with you, and you’ve yet to actually ask me anything.”

Demyx glared at the floor, as he said, “Of course you don’t need an excuse to do something that will make you happy. But I don’t want to have to beg to be happy too. I don’t want a relationship like that.”

Ienzo felt like he was frozen at the accusations--truth--that Zexion bit at him. Embarrassed, to have his real motivations for agreeing with Demyx so quickly out on display, overwhelmed, hearing his insecurities ridiculed--expressed with frustration--just…unable to handle hearing his motivations for life torn apart.

…heartbroken, hearing that it wasn’t just the poor timing, but just that…Demyx didn’t think he’d be enough.

(He tried so hard, what would ever be enough? What did Ienzo have to do for someone to just…love him?)

Zexion growled, watching as parts of the library started to warp, flickering with images of a warmly lit manor filled with curiosities and no people. Hopping off the library cart, suddenly it was like looking in a tinted mirror. A fully-sized Zexion gripping Ienzo’s collar in frustration as he shook Ienzo a bit. “Stop getting in your head. Actually listen to him, Ienzo! Yeah!” he barked out with incredulous frustration, “Maybe making Demyx happy would become your new excuse to do anything fun! Maybe that’s a good reason not to do anything. But you don’t have to beg to be alive.”

The area moderately stabilized as Ienzo took a strained breath, not fighting his way out of Zexion’s grip. As it was, he could only barely manage an ashamed look Demyx’s way. “...I didn’t ask because you already said no. That’s…wrong to ask anyway, isn’t it?”

“I mean… yeah!” Demyx pouted, “Probably! I don’t know! Is it so bad that I wanted you to ask anyway!? You were ready to accept my no before I even said no! It’d have been nice if maybe you wanted me to say yes??”

(Inside of Demyx, Larxene cackled.)

(Was it right? No. Was it logical? No! DID SHE FUCKING CARE?)

(HAHAHAHAHA!!)

“You could have fought for me a little, man!” Demyx said, stomping his foot on the ground again. Just… gah!

(Ienzo had shown in the clearest way possible his feelings for Demyx, and Demyx had said, oh. Can I think about it?)

(Ienzo had been bracing for rejection since that moment.)

Ienzo glared fitfully into Zexion’s mirrored gaze, before looking over at Demyx. “...can I have a re-do?”

“...yeah?” Demyx grumbled, turning bright red, even as he almost defiantly looked back at Ienzo. Like he was daring him to mess the second attempt up, resting his hand on his hip and almost giving him a ‘come at me’ look. “Go for it.”

Taking a steadier breath, Ienzo matched the defiance with determination as he nodded once.

And disappeared from his mind.

On the balcony, Ienzo got up in a hurry, quickly bringing his paper and poetry book just inside the doors before taking off, heading for their money storage. He wasn’t about to waste a second.

Demyx blinked as Ienzo disappeared.

“…oh no,” he whispered, his shoulders suddenly falling, glancing over at Zexion with an open pout, “Did he change his mind?”

Zexion smirked before with a ‘POP!’ he turned back into his chibo form, landing on the ground with an exhausted sigh.

=o= =3 Wow that’s exhausting.

ᄀບᄀ He didn’t change his mind. You might want to find something to do for a bit, though. He’s gonna get tired running soon, so he’ll probably be back in…I don’t know. Maybe an hour.

“.......I made this way more confusing than it needed to be, didn’t I,” Demyx sighed, “It’s so shitty to tell someone like Ienzo, of all people, that I was hoping he wasn’t just going to accept a no. Ugh… he’s too nice of a guy for that. The good ones don’t chase you, they just let you go. Auuuugh.” Demyx groaned, rubbing his face. “....gah. The others are going to rib me over all of this so hard when they find out.”

ㅍ_ㅍ They’ll be right to do so.

ㅍ_ㅍ And it was also shitty to never even give him a chance. If Ienzo never properly asked you out? Then you decided all on your own that he wouldn’t be a good partner. He never had a chance to defend himself or even try to prove you wrong before you already decided so.

ò^ó You thought he’d never be romantic? While waiting to respect your boundaries, he literally couldn’t help but write a love poem about how excited or subdued, at your best or at your worst, he still loves you.

ㅍ_ㅍ If it wouldn’t be a complete violation of your personhood, I would’ve tugged Larxene right back out of you so she could yell at you the same way I did Ienzo.

ò^ó You suck, and if it doesn’t completely go shit up, you better hold Ienzo so tight tonight.

ó_ò We’ve barely slept in days.

“You suck.” Demyx pouted, before thinking about it. “...oh nooooo, I suck!? Okay, yeah, him writing a love poem about me after discovering he’s in love with me is… okay, yeah, that’s romantic,” Demyx admitted, still pouting, as he kicked the floor a bit, “...well, next time, I better not find it on the floor.” He huffed.

“...do you think he’d like a love song? Or is that too cheesy?” Demyx murmured, “I bet I could write him a love song. It’s not like I want him to be the only person doing cool, romantic stuff… though, if he’s going to a kissing cave for research, he better take me! And there better be kissing involved!” Demyx demanded. Stamping his foot again… before he looked down at it, just now noticing he was doing that. “When did that start? Weird. I’ve never done that before.”

ò_ó He didn’t mean to drop it. You were never meant to find it at all, because Ienzo doesn’t share his poetry, and if he did, he wanted to respect your boundaries and plea for space.

ó_ò I don’t really know, but this might give him the confidence to hope for better outcomes. But please don’t make us always have to guess if you really mean what you say. If you say ‘stop’, we’re always going to take it as a ‘stop’. That’s not something we want to leave to chance.

Zexion paused, considering a…love song…

o////o

o////o I think he’d like a love song you wrote, yes.

o////o And…please bear with us if kissing is involved with anything. There’ll be a learning curve.

Steaming a bit in his own fluster, Zexion could only off-handedly sigh.

o////o Take a wild guess where it came from.

“.......well, I guess there’s worse ways for Larxene to show off, then occasionally throwing a damn tantrum,” Demyx sighed, before looking around the library. Blushing a bit, as he wondered, “I wonder how he’s going to ask…?”

Admirably, Ienzo had made it nearly entirely out of the royal district before he hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. At least, he thought that was admirable, and really not an indication he needed to go on more runs. No witnesses to this. No one was going to tell his dad.

After eventually catching his breath, he kept walking into the middle-class market area, the determined gleam in his eyes never wavering. If Demyx wanted to be wooed? If he wanted to feel special and appreciated and cherished, and everything Ienzo felt for him? Then Ienzo would be the most romantic ever.

(Or he’d try to be.)

(He did have a clear example of what he, at least, thought was the peak of romance, and…with someone to actually direct those efforts towards? It was nerve-wracking, but some of that fluttering in his stomach actually felt uplifting this time, rather than coiling around his body in dread.)

(He could do this.)

(Demyx deserved his best.)

(Maybe love was wanting to be there for both the day and night, but there still should be sunny days in the mix.)

About an hour and a half later, trudging back through the servants tunnel on jelly legs, red-faced, panting, and sweaty from exertion, Ienzo came back home. Red and pink heart-shaped balloons in one fist, and a bakery box carefully held under the opposite arm.

Axel and Dilan were chatting in the kitchen, eating peanut butter out of the jar together, talking about the upcoming travel stuff… when both of them stared at Ienzo coming in. They’d have looked less surprised if a two-headed goat walked in, as after a moment Dilan said, “You uh…mug a messenger out there, Inzy?”

Ienzo made a wheezed, garbled sound that would not be poorly described as a distressed cow before he took another breath. “Don’t…steal from people…overtly.”

Leaned against the wall for a moment, he took another breath before asking, “Do you know where, *huff*, Demyx is?”

“Umm,” Axel said, glancing at the door, putting out a ping to Kairi, who put out a ping around the house, “He’s in the dining hall? Why?”

“Yeaaaaaah,” Dilan said, smirking a little as he really took in the heart-shaped… everything. “Whyyyyyy?”

“I finally got the readings of the blood samples I sent in for him ages ago--he’s got a terminal case of heart cancer and I’m trying to break the news gently,” Ienzo drawled, before straightening himself in another breath, looking to the door with another wave of determination. “Please get your cards and condolences ready.”

And with purpose, he headed to the dining hall.

“...that was sarcasm, right?” Axel asked Dilan, before fretting a little, “Right?!”

“Our little genius isn’t ‘detect and diagnose heart cancer’ levels of scientist, you doofus… also, is ‘heart cancer’ a thing?” Dilan droned, before shaking his head, grabbing Axel’s collar, hefting him up, “Come on, I want to see this.”

The two quickly followed Ienzo, Dilian snickering the whole way as the three headed to the dining hall.

Inside the dining hall, Demyx was sipping on some coffee, chatting with Luis and Lauriam. “Yeah, like I said, I know I’ve been acting weird, but I’m on the other side of it, it was no big deal… I was just overthinking stuff.”

“It was just a bit unexpected. Not really like you to get phased out, at least not in a long time,” Luis pointed out, “We were worried… well, some of us were worried.”

“Worried in our own ways,” Lauriam smirked softly, an even lotus coming to be in his hands. “Think most of us thought you’d sort it out eventually, though, obviously some of us thought to inter…” Lauriam blinked, trailing off not entirely just because of his mind fizzing out. He did lose his words, but mostly from an extremely tired-looking Ienzo bursting into the hall with…

“Demyx!” Ienzo called out, before taking a deep breath.

ᗒのᗕ “Roses are red, Empaths are free, I really like you, so please go out with me!”

Lauriam’s jaw dropped, a wildly enthused and incredulous look on his face as he leaned on the table, not wanting to miss a second of this.

Demyx’s eyes widened, taking in the balloons, the pastries in his arm, Ienzo’s red, sweaty face as he… yelled poetry at him…

WHEEEZE came from behind Ienzo, Dilan literally holding the wall as he clutched at his stomach, clearly trying to swallow a sudden burst of laughter and sounding more like a deflating hot-air balloon as he wheezed, “Oh my god, what was that? Roses are red? What the hell–OW!”

Demyx, leaping over the table, ran over and KICKED the other side of the dining hall door open, slamming it face-first into Dilan’s face, splattering the older man into the wall while Axel just took a step back, putting his hands up in surrender as Demyx took a second to GLARE into the hallway as the door slowly closed again… before he looked at Ienzo and beamed brightly. “Are you kidding!? Yes, I’d love to!”

Then he flinched, turning bright red as he looked away sheepishly, kicking the floor a little as he said, “...sorry, was that too fast? I swear, all the reasons I said no, the, uh, practical stuff, is still true! I just…” Demyx grinned sheepishly, still bright red. “...how can I say no to this? Did you get me pastries!?” Demyx asked, looking in interest, before laughing, “You’re so red. Did you run!?”

At the table, Luis whistled, a little impressed as he watched Demyx gush and fluster over Ienzo’s gifts. “Damn. Didn’t think the little one had it in him,” he whispered to Lauriam.

A snorting laugh came over Lauriam as Demyx kicked Dilan’s shit in, and he was almost pissed about it because he was this close to missing the surprised, awed look on Ienzo’s face. In all fairness, Lauriam had only ever seen Demyx move so quickly when he was running from trouble before. It was admittedly impressive.

“Cookies,” Ienzo corrected, handing over the balloons to Demyx before opening the flap of the bakery box. Inside were a collection of, again, heart-shaped cookies with some sort of red jam in the middle cut-out section. “Thought they’d hold up better? ‘Cause…yeah, I ran. Mostly.”

Starting to sag a little, Ienzo let the box close as he pulled a flyer out of his pocket. “I would’ve tried to bake something myself, but I thought it’d take too long and probably taste way worse, a-and I tried to think of date-things I could put together without making you wait all day…” Ienzo took a shaky breath, cutting off his own rambling as he showed off the flyer. “There’s a concert being put together on Wednesday? Do you want to go with me?”

“I even had insider knowledge and I didn’t think it’d happen,” Lauriam whispered back, before smiling as he glanced over to Ienzo and Demyx. “...glad it did, though. They look really happy, don’t they?”

“Our music lad’s looking like he’s walking on air. I’m a little surprised by that, actually. Did you peg him as the type of guy who swoons at little kitschy stuff like that?” Luis asked, watching as Demyx was practically bouncing on his toes. “...it’s cute, not gonna lie. They look like some kids prepping for a school dance.”

“Really? Yeah, I’d love to!” Demyx grinned, still hopping on his heels… before he laughed, picking up the box of cookies for Ienzo and grabbing the flyer, looking over it in interest, before saying, “Come on, come sit down, you’re swaying on your feet.”

“I’m fine, by the way!” Dilan grouched from the other side of the door, “Since no one asked!”

“Still not asking~” Demyx called back cheerfully, before laughing, “I can’t believe you asked me out via poem. That was so sweet!”

Lauriam nodded knowingly before his expression softened. It was cute. He was glad they’d managed to talk things out. “I don’t think either of them had ever been able to do that,” he whispered back to Luis, “So why not now?” If his little brothers were able to reclaim whimsical love, then he was happy for them.

With a weary noise, Ienzo let Demyx guide them back to the table, where he more or less collapsed, head thunking on the tabletop. Though, he did tilt his face to still be able to look at Demyx, smiling softly. “You liked it? I know that something being a cliche isn’t really a problem here, but I thought that might be pushing it.”

“It was great!” Demyx said. And he really was smiling ear from ear, like he couldn’t help himself. Just absolutely taken in by the whole display… before he laughed, leaning his chin against his palm as he reached out and brushed some of Ienzo’s sweat-covered bangs off his face. “...I’d understand if you were mad at me. I feel like I really gave you the run-around. I didn’t mean to be such a brat.”

“I do wish you’d just told me why you turned me down,” Ienzo mumbled, “It would’ve still hurt, but then at least I’d know. Maybe it just would’ve accelerated the argument regardless, but…still.”

His gaze dropping, Ienzo smiled shyly. “I’m glad I think I get the gist of what you were talking about, though. I think I’d just have to walk right back out and head to the desert if I’d still gotten it wrong.”

“Naaaah, don’t do that, I’d miss you.” Demyx laughed, grabbing one of the cookies and splitting it in half, nudging the other half to Ienzo before taking a bite. “I couldn’t help it. The point you brought up first was so damn reasonable and smart that admitting I just didn’t think you’d want to do traditional dating stuff felt like such a dick thing to say. I didn’t even really mean to bring it up when I did, I was just… kind of trying to remind myself why I had said no in the first place.”

“The thing is, I knew that, like, long-term, you and I would be a great couple,” Demyx admitted–man, this was a soft cookie. Nice–as he shrugged, “We, well… kind of already act like people who have been a couple for a long time. At least how I picture them. Just with less kissing. And other stuff. Being in a relationship just feels like what we already are.”

“I just… knew I didn’t want to automatically end up some old married couple, right at the start,” Demyx said, looking embarrassed, “Dating has always been something I’ve really looked forward to… I don’t want to skip it. I wasn’t sure you’d feel the same way… I kind of thought you only liked me because it’d be so easy to just fall into step with what we already were. I mean, as two people were already in a type of love anyway, why not just shift it over to matesprits and just call it a day, sort of thing… I don’t know, I was really hung up on that, for the last few days. I’m sorry I dragged it out like that.”

Ienzo accepted the half-cookie, munching on it happily. Mm…the cherry jam was a good choice. There were absolutely people who went through the trouble of passing strawberry jams through grinders or sieves to get rid of the seeds in the final product, but knowing for sure there wouldn’t be anyone adding cherry pits into jam? Safe, and delicious.

“I think I was literally just iterating on what you’d said before,” Ienzo snorted, before his eyes widened a little. The red in his face not fading, because exertion was replaced by a blush. Demyx thought they’d be good together long term…? But he didn’t…

Groaning, Ienzo pulled his arms over his head. “...told you before I didn’t mind you needing time to think. I just…” He sighed. “...if we hadn’t started talking about it, and if you hadn’t just asked who my feelings were about? I don’t think I would’ve ever told you. Because they felt…different! And it felt inevitable that something would change if I brought it up, so I just didn’t. I like being friends with you! And I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“Come oooooon, you were totally baiting me to ask,” Demyx smirked, reaching over to poke between Ienzo’s eyes, “You’re telling me you didn’t want to tell me at all? Ooooh, Demyx, how do you know if you’re in love, my big, handsome, awesome rockstar I’m cuddling with?” Demyx mimicked, fluttering his eyelashes at Ienzo, “You. That was you.”

Ienzo scrunched his face at the poke. “I’ve never sounded like that in my life,” he said flatly. “You were talking about future partners, of course I’d be curious. I’d never entertained the thought of having a partner with deep consideration, I wanted more information. Especially since, as the one to bring it up as, essentially, an inevitability, that meant that it was definitely something you’ve thought about, so you’d be a good person to ask.”

Ienzo paused for a moment. “...I don’t know what properly constitutes a rockstar, and if it necessitates a certain level of notoriety, but you nail it in vibes, and you are handsome, but you’re not that much taller than me.”

It was obviously a more personal conversation, but Lauriam found a need to chime in there, “He is, you’re tiny.”

Ienzo flipped Lauriam off, not even looking over, Lauriam just shrugging. He knew he was right. Ienzo came up to his nose on a good day.

Demyx grinned, sticking his tongue out at Ienzo and laughing lightly as Lauriam came to his defense. Sure, Demyx was a skinny little punk in comparison to literally any of the others… but Ienzo? He had an inch or so! Hah!

“So, are you two actually doing this, then?” Luis asked, “Do we have a… congratulations in order? Really wasn’t expecting so many of us to couple up after we all escaped the factory, if I’m honest. You all really sat on this until the least opportune time, huh?”

“Come on, Luis, do you have to tease? Ienzo couldn’t buy me cute balloons in the factory!” Demyx laughed, “You’ll understand someday, I’m sure. Your time will come, old man!”

“Hmmm,” Luis sipped his dirty coffee, seeming to think it over for a second… before he shrugged, “I was married, once. Might still be technically. If she hasn’t put in the paperwork after all this time. Probably has though. So I guess I’m divorced, actually.”

“Oh.” Demyx blinked, chewing on one of his cookies… before sputtering, “WHAT!?”

Lauriam gave Luis a dry look, but knew better than to turn the light of scrutiny onto himself. ‘It’s complicated’ wasn’t coupling up…but it wasn’t not something.

“I believe it’s easier to have hope in the thought of relationships rather than desperation, now,” Ienzo mused tiredly. “Also, I think my constructs would’ve found it difficult to pursue a relationship without me conscious.”

As Lauriam sputtered along with Demyx at the bombshell Luis dropped, Ienzo hummed consideringly. “...I’m not sure it’s considered a divorce, legally, if the marriage is annulled through assumption of death. Bonding ceremonies are done with the explicit assumption that each party will die at a different time, after all, for which their purpose is to ensure that souls are waiting for the others to join to start the trials.”

“Nah, nothing like that,” Luis said, shaking his head, apparently still considering his words, “...she knew I was going into the program. I told her. It was the end of the relationship. Honestly, I hope she did get the paperwork done. She can be a bit absent-minded about that sort of thing sometimes. I could see her putting it off for years until she forgot about it entirely.”

“I would have never guessed you were married before, Luis,” Demyx frowned, “How come you never brought it up before?”

“Like I said, the relationship was over before I ever got into the factory. For a while, just hurt too much to mention. Then, after a while, it just stopped feeling worth mentioning.” Luis said, before amending, “And it’s not like some folks don’t know, I have mentioned it to some of us. For instance, Demyx, Larxene knew.”

“What!?” Demyx startled, “Really!?”

“Oh, sure. She gave me a lot of ribbing over it, but she heard me out one day when I wanted to talk about it. Both Xaldin and Dilan know. I told Aeleus once, but we were drunk in my mind and that man can’t hold his liquor if it's real or not, so he might not remember… yep. A sweet lass named Anabelle. We were high school sweethearts, married at 19. She was some of the best moments of my life. She also liked the little cutesy gestures. All this is what made me think of her now,” Luis admitted, gesturing to all of Ienzo’s gifts.

Demyx frowned. “So what ended up happening? She just didn’t want to wait for you after you got in the program?”

“Nah, nothing like that. I just became a bad husband after a while,” Luis said, sipping his coffee, “Made too many mistakes. It just happens that way, sometimes. Sometimes the happy ending is ‘she got away’. That was me and Anabelle.”

Ienzo turned his head over in surprise, moving his bangs back to actually be able to see Luis. Huh…he guessed he was wrong, when he told Demyx that if any of them had relationships outside the factory before getting in, they would’ve heard about it by now. The technicalities of Luis telling some people, and that the relationship had ended before he went in didn’t feel like they were outside the sentiment of the statement.

…it sounded sad. But not in a, oh, we should find your potentially ex-wife now that we’re free, Luis! Or in a way that diminished what Luis called the best moments. Just…sad in a life way.

Lauriam squinted blearily as he sat back in his chair. “...was that why you phrased the whole ‘if I’d had a kid’ thing to Marluxia so weirdly? I don’t remember the exact words, but I remember him noting that you said it in an odd way.”

“Ah, just some bittersweet memories. Came close a few times. But, well… no one tells you how high a chance a miscarriage is until you’ve already had one. Then two…” Luis sighed, “She got so sick the second miscarriage, that I basically refused to try again. It ended up being a big fight between us, actually. She wanted to keep trying, and I just couldn’t face a future where she died trying to have my kid. Was the start of the end for us. I wouldn’t let her touch me unless we had a condom nearby, and she wanted to take the risk. Just one of those things that kills a relationship.”

(Sure.)

(One of the things.)

“That’s… really shitty, Luis, I’m sorry,” Demyx frowned, “I don’t think you’re wrong for putting your foot down about it, but at the same time, I can see it from her point of view too. That’s just a tough situation.”

“It was a long time ago, I’m a little sorry I brought it up,” Luis admitted, “What you two are doing is sweet. Don’t get bogged down by other people's sad love stories, nothing makes the rule.”

Ienzo winced a little in sympathy, before giving Luis a more concerned look. Aqua hadn’t actually miscarried, but…if Tengan connected through Luis, who had had a partner with a miscarriage, maybe… It still wasn’t Luis’ fault, regardless. But it did make that hurt a little more personally.

Lauriam nodded firmly, agreeing with Demyx about Luis’ boundaries, but mostly stayed quiet. Respectful silence could still be meaningful even when words were hard to form otherwise.

“You can still talk about your own experiences, though,” Ienzo assured. “I’m sorry that’s just the way things shook out.” There was a hefty pause, before Ienzo looked up and muttered, “And I’m not sure how long things would remain ‘sweet’, because I don’t think I can get up.”

“Overextended,” a deep, soft voice concluded, coming in from the other side of the dining room. Taking in the balloons and bakery box.

“Aw, really, we missed it?” Aqua smiled before she came over to Demyx and Ienzo, proudly and in congratulations putting a hand each on their shoulders. “Congrats, you two!”

Her smile grew brighter, which was warning sign number one, but the way her grip tightened started making Ienzo sweat again. “Now, I know we went over all of this years ago, and Demyx, brothel workers are regularly tested, but considering that apparently some people still don’t know,” Lauriam looked away, slouching down in his seat to try and disappear, “I think we’re due for a conversation together, hm?”

“Oh, no, it finally happened. Gods, I had hoped there’d be more time before this fool took up more of my boy’s attention,” Even sighed, peering over the various gifts with a critical eye, before he looked at Demyx, “Who bought who this?”

“Oh, uh, Ienzo got these for me,” Demyx quickly answered. Talking to Even suddenly feeling different now that he was dating his kid officially.

“Well, I can be thankful for some things,” Even grumbled, before reaching over to pat his son on the back. “Very good, excellent work. Though, uh…” He glanced at Aqua, taking a meaningful step back, “This seems like something our dear Aqua has under control. Good luck.” He headed back out the dining hall door, Luis quickly in tow.

“Wait, what are we discussing?” Demyx asked, looking a little bewildered… before starting to sweat at the mention of brothels, “What are we discussing???”

“He’s not a fool, Dad, you’re perfectly aware of Demyx’s strengths,” Ienzo grumbled defensively, feeling a very peculiar mix of utter fear and shy pride from Even’s back pat and Aeleus’ approving nod.

Trying to be silent, Lauriam made his way out of his chair and headed for the door.

It was a mistake.

“Oh, thank you, Laurie,” Aqua smiled, her eyes gleaming, “If you could bring Dilan along into this that would be helpful. I have spoken to him, but since it seems he really needs some reminders, it’ll be good to have him join in with the three of you.”

“Demyx, run,” Ienzo whispered. “Save yourself.”

Aeleus made a disapproving sound, leveling a heavy gaze on Demyx. “It would be cowardly to abandon your partner.”

“W-wah!? Wha!?” Demyx sputtered. What were they even talking about!?

Axel and Dilan hadn’t actually been that far off, the two nursing a bleeding nose in a bathroom in the hall nearby, Dilan wearing a little bandage on his nose to mostly just spread his nostrils to ease the cut on the inside that smacking into the wall had made. When Even stopped by and told them both Aqua needed to see them in the dining hall, the two had just shrugged and gone, joining the group.

“Awww, look at you two! You guys really did it!” Axel said cheerfully, “Can I have a cookie? Also, what’s up? We doing a strategy meeting?”

“Sit down,” Aqua cheerily demanded, now holding Demyx and Lauriam in place at the table since Ienzo really wasn’t going anywhere.

Lauriam gave Dilan a desperate look, the dawning horror of the doomed watching another fall to the same fate.

Dilan honestly couldn’t help a delighted snicker as he saw the open distress on the others’ faces, tickled by the cute expressions, though… “Why are they sweating bullets, Aqua?” he asked.

“I don’t know??” Demyx admitted, now just freaking out by the general vibe. Brothels, brothels… wait, were they discussing if Demyx should still go to brothels now that he was dating Ienzo? Okay, that’s worth a discussion, but definitely?? Not a group discussion???

“I’m gonna take a cookie,” Axel informed them, grabbing a cookie and biting in, “Ooooh, soft cookies! Nice pick, Ienzo. Better shape up, Demyx, he’s a keeper. Also, yeah, why are…” Axel noticed Aeleus adjust himself between the door and the table. Like he was standing guard. “........what did I just walk in on?”

“You know, considering everything, I’d really, sincerely hope you don’t need this, Axel, but refreshers are always helpful,” Aqua said in the same cheery tone, before she gave Aeleus a grateful nod. “Alright! So, first of all, congrats on everyone who’s in a relationship being in one, we’re all very happy that you’ve found affection and a partnership with someone else.”

“Back in the factory, we had limited resources of everything, so some habits were understandable. They’re simply what we had to do to get by,” Aqua said understandingly…before the steel was back in her eyes. Ienzo and Lauriam shrinking back from her zeal. “However. That’s not the situation we’re in anymore, and I know for a fact we made sure you know what safe sex looks like.”

Ienzo made another dying cow noise.

“Safe sex?” Axel frowned, before rolling his eyes, going to get up, “Oh, come on, I don’t need to stick around for–oof.”

“You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to be the only one sitting here with the damn 20-somethings hearing about this,” Dilan growled, grabbing Axel’s arms and tugging him back down into the chair… before he grinned charmingly at Aqua. “Aqua, come on now, that was… a moment of passion! There wasn’t any harm in it~”

“Harm in what?” Demyx blinked, glancing over at Ienzo, “Tell me I’m not the only one still a little lost here.”

Axel huffed, “Demyx, I’d hope you’re not lost. No one’s been having sex more than you’ve been lately, man.”

“...” Demyx squirmed uncomfortably.

Lauriam dragged a hand down his face. Idiot.

Aqua’s eyes sharpened. “Dilan. You’re the biggest reason I have to assume our makeshift health classes weren’t enough.” Confident now that Demyx and Lauriam weren’t about to run, Aqua stepped back to loom over the table. “There is harm in it, even if you and Lauriam got lucky this time. I was going to let it slide, but if that’s how you feel about it?”

Aqua smacked a hand down on the table. “Any open wound can become infected if not treated properly. If you bite, scratch, bend your partner over a crate, disinfection and dressing has to be part of the aftercare. And, for that matter, aftercare is not a maybe, sometimes thing. UTIs, STIs, and surface infections aren’t harmless! No matter how ‘passionate’ you are!”

“And for that matter!” she continued, “If you’re not going to go through the process of cleaning yourself out, for fucks sake use a condom! We can buy them now, and even if you don’t do that you can get them for free at any temple! And just use them anyway, even if you’ve been tested recently. The tests aren’t perfect, and even pre-cum can transfer illnesses!”

“Ah… right,” Dilan muttered, looking away a little tentatively, scratching the side of his ear, “...okay, I mean, I’d have probably thought to take a bath after, if you had given me a minute…”

“Woah, what!?” Demyx gasped, eyes widening as he realized, “Wait, we’re talking about… well,” he flushed, “You know.”

Axel raised an eyebrow, saying slowly. “Yeah. We–” he said, gesturing back and forth between himself and Demyx, “Know. Yes. We know. Right?”

Demyx blinked… before looking away.

He had played out that memory until Larxene had finished. He hadn’t stuck around to watch Axel. It had felt rude, and the post-orgasm clarity had really made the ‘rudeness’ dig into him. He had gotten out of that memory so fast that it might as well have burned his skin… after he had nutted to it.

Axel, in turn, just continued to look more and more baffled. Like it had suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t have the full picture here, for how flustered Demyx seemed.

“Tsk, Demyx is just acting cute because his boyfriend is sitting there now,” Dilan decided, patting Axel on the back reassuringly. “He knows, we know, everyone knows. Cool, talk over?”

“‘Probably’ just makes that worse, Dilan!” Aqua growled. “Did you even treat the bites on your shoulder at all?! You know, I was a little concerned making sure you all didn’t suffocate and that Lauriam didn’t bleed out to get to them! And I’m not your damn dad, I shouldn’t have to clean any of you up after sex in the first place!”

Ienzo gave Aeleus--his damn dad--a despairing look. Please never do that, his eyes plead.

Don’t make me, Aeleus’ placid gaze returned.

Lauriam looked humiliated to be the prime example of everything Aqua was ranting about, before he gave Demyx a nervous look. Not wanting to out him, but…

“Not until I’m convinced that you’re not about to give someone a hernia,” Aqua growled at Dilan. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her wallet--a type of coin purse that was good for not being as bulky, but had the trade of not being able to carry as many coins at a time--and pulled out a small square packet, holding it out demandingly to Dilan. “If you’ve got it allll figured out, do you remember the right way to put on a condom, Dilan?”

“What? Of course! What do you take me for?” Dilan scoffed, reaching for the packet, raising his chin defiantly as he immediately moved to tear the packet open… before looking down, frowning when it didn’t rip, “Hold on, give me a second. You just… Did they change the packaging since I’ve been in…”

He fussed with it for a moment, everyone staring at him as he tried the pinch and pull, then tearing at a different angle, before muttering ‘the actual shit’ as he realized one of the corners separated slightly, picking at it a few times before realizing he could peel the two sides apart… before triumphantly he took the condom out. “Easy.”

“You’ve put on condoms before, right?” Demyx asked.

“Demyx, don’t make me hit you up the side of the head. Of course I have,” Dilan scoffed.

(Well… Dilan had.)

“Then you just…” Dilan looked at the little rolled up rubber, “...you unfurl it? Then put it on. Easy.”

“Oh my god, you’ve never put on a condom,” Axel whispered.

They all watched in silence as Dilan struggled with the packaging. Ienzo even picked his head up to watch properly. Despite being part of ‘the talk’, his gaze growing drier and drier. They hadn’t even had condoms for demonstrations when he got his initial ‘Talk’. And yet…

Lauriam was staring into nothing. He had sex with this man. Twice.

Aqua raised an eyebrow, her expression cold and unapologetic. She held out two fingers together. “Go ahead,” she prompted.

Dilan gave her a wary look. This felt like a trap… before he pinched the middle of the rubber and, with the sort of confidence of a man who was really hoping confidence was going to make up for his clear lack of knowledge, he unrolled the condom into its full length… before he raised an eyebrow. That seemed too thin. How was that going to…

“Dilan, man, I am begging you to call it,” Axel whispered.

“Shut the hell up, I’ve got this,” Dilan whispered, before reaching forward and placing the opening around Aqua’s fingers, needing to stretch it to wrap around the tip of her fingers… before, brow furrowing, he grabbed both sides of the condom and started just… trying to shimmy it down.

“......the size you got was too small, clearly,” Dilan said, as the condom failed to smoothly, or even kind of, go over the joints of her fingers, “What are these, extra smalls? Who are you buying these for, Aqua?”

“Man, I wish I was a sadist. Then I think I’d be having less second-hand embarrassment,” Demyx said, literally cringing behind his arms as he watched this.

“It’s different putting it on fingers! There’s bumps!” Dilan insisted.

“Hm,” Aqua said cooly.

Even Aeleus was shaking his head by the door.

“I’m almost glad we didn’t have any condoms,” Lauriam muttered quietly, following Ienzo into the head-on-table club.

“Ah, but see, that’s the exact reaction we’re trying to avoid,” Aqua said as she plucked the manhandled condom off the tips of her fingers. “Because, as we went over, plenty of illnesses to catch. Or even just a bunch of pain if you don’t clean yourself out properly.”

Pulling out another packet, she rounded the table, holding it and two fingers out to Ienzo next. “Your turn.”

Ienzo gave her a despairing look before sighing. Looking at the packet for a moment before asking, “Lubricant?”

“Good kid,” Aqua praised, pulling out a small packet of lube and giving it to Ienzo as well.

Delicately finding the part of the package that pulled apart, Ienzo made another despairing sound as he opened the lube and spread it over Aqua’s fingers, before, after finding which way the condom rolled, lightly pinching the end before rolling it down Aqua’s fingers. Looking miserable the whole time.

Demyx had just cringed when Dilan was doing this.

….it was a much different sort of reddening and cringing, though, watching his newly minted boyfriend do it. Not necessarily embarrassment, but, uuuuuuuuh… yeah, he both hid his face behind his elbow while also absolutely watching over it.

Dilan squinted as he watched Ienzo. “.....I mean, I was going to try that one next. There’s different methods.”

“Please, Dilan, man, I’m begging you, just quietly take the L,” Axel whimpered, before he sighed, rubbing his face, “...okay, I think this might be a sign that we cannot assume that the older Nobodies are super caught up on their sex-ed. Actually, in retrospect? Makes a lot of sense! Terra, who taught you?”

“Good job, kiddo,” Aqua gently praised Ienzo, patting him on the back with her free hand, before smiling tightly. “Actually get some sleep tonight, okay?”

“Mhmm,” Ienzo groaned, looking displeased with the sensation of lube all over his hands now.

Pulling the condom off, Aqua gave Axel a mildly curious look. “You know, I don’t know if we just confirmed how little Dilan got, but I still have Aqua’s memories. Not that I’m particularly eager to get back on the dating scene, but I remember basically everything about Aqua and Terra dating.”

“Huh, interesting,” Axel said, before looking to Demyx, “What about Larxene, did she have your memories?”

“Um, I don’t really know?” Demyx admitted, “Maybe pieces of it? The same way I only had pieces of hers? I never thought to ask. Lauriam?”

“Marluxia thought he was me, by the end,” Lauriam said faintly, looking pretty out of sorts. “I have to assume that meant he remembered everything. From what I remember about him, there didn’t seem to be any noticeable memory gaps, so…I suppose so.”

Ienzo looked dismayed to ask, but he still had to. “...and the other way around?”

“Remember enough to know none of this was something that needed to come up,” Lauriam mumbled.

“Well, apparently it needed to come up for one of you,” Axel said, Dilan shooting him a frustrated look, before Axel called to Aeleus, “What about you? Know your sex-ed? Or any other memories?”

Aeleus looked at Axel levelly before saying, “I do not think I am a Nobody. So, yes.”

That turned a few heads.

“You think you have an aide?” Ienzo asked.

Lauriam frowned. “Or you’re a Nobody who doesn’t think they are.”

“It’s a possibility,” Aeleus accepted, “But I think I have an aide, yes.”

“Oh…then I suppose we’ll need to consider our approach more like Axel and Isa’s then. Uh…” Ienzo frowned a little. “No offense, but if you’ve been thinking this over, why haven’t you brought it up before? To volunteer.”

Aeleus took a breath. “I do not think any of you are ready.”

“Oh, ominous,” Axel said, sounding like it was supposed to be a joke, but too much of a wary wince in his face to sell it, “But I can believe it. We’re still not even entirely sure how we would have done mine if The Ouma hadn’t interfered. And Isa’s aide used to be a full on Nobody… It’s not one of those situations, is it? Your Nobody got too damaged and regressed into something simpler?”

Aeleus shook his head. “I have a feeling you may have to defeat me to deal with the aide, or whatever the truth of my situation is. But I don’t think you’re ready.” Looking at each of them, Aeleus broke down, “Demyx avoids confrontation at all costs, Lauriam only goes for lethal blows. Ienzo does not have the pure power, so he relies on mind games which don’t work in my world, and Axel relies on theatrics for similar distraction.”

Looking to Dilan and Aqua, he acknowledged, “You two are the closest, but you cannot help but toy with your opponents, Xaldin, and you are handicapping yourself with a style that isn’t your own, Terra.”

Lauriam crossed his arms and propped up his chin with a pout. “Does it have to be a one on one? Surely some combination of us could beat you.”

Aeleus’ expression was brutal, for the blunt, honestly unconvinced look on it.

“I mean, I can’t argue with mine. I think I spent a ton of time in Ienzo’s mind just throwing up water illusions to get them to stop attacking me while I ran,” Demyx admitted, shrugging.

“My flashy stuff really has never worked on you,” Axel admitted, frowning, “But if it’s about beating you in a fight… I’m not sure any of us could manage. That’s a hard one, you’re our strongest fighter.”

“I don’t think Dilan could do it if I was whole, either,” Dilan huffed, crossing his arms, “...but yeah, you’re right. The sadism thing isn’t something I can turn off, especially if my adrenaline is humming. If I thought I was winning? I’d start fucking around with you. I wouldn’t be able to help myself.”

“Maybe requesting more outside help for you is what it’s going to have to be,” Demyx mused, “I mean, statistically, we’re still mostly relying on outside help anyway. Not that Ienzo isn’t catching up! But it’s still on average the Ouma who’s been getting us on the other side of it. Actually, that’s a question. Maybe we should ask everyone what they’ll think they’ll need by this point? Now that we all understand this better?”

“Mine’s going to be easy once we decide to do it. I just want to hold off until the rescue, I don’t want to be useless if trouble starts,” Dilan argued, “I literally already know where Dilan’s holding up. It’s just fighting some statues after that.”

Ienzo had never once won a battle against Aeleus. Of course his father had always known that Ienzo’s strength was in illusions, so knowing that? Even if he had the ideal circumstances for altering Aeleus’ perceptions, the only thing Aeleus needed to do was notice anything suspicious, and then he could break out of it, or just ignore what he saw. And in a test of pure strength, Ienzo was always going to lose that fight.

Could he help someone else win? Maybe. But…

“Sure, sure,” Lauriam said dryly, his eyes just fully closed by this point, “It’ll go without a hitch, I’m positive.”

Aqua had been quiet. Looking down at her hands.

…handicapped with a style that wasn’t his, huh?

“...Ienzo, I’d like to volunteer, soon,” Terra said softly. Looking pained. “Aeleus is right, I barely get by fighting like this. We needed someone on the outside anyway, so it worked out, but I couldn’t do anything for Lauriam on the island, I…”

That wasn’t the point.

Terra squinted, expression full of grief. “...Ventus is never going to know his dad. But I don’t want to be the reason he never meets his mom either.”

The air was heavy with that.

“...Aqua’s going to be so happy, when she finds out,” Demyx said, smiling sadly, “I’m sure she’ll know as soon as she wakes up, but… she’s going to be waking up to her kid still being alive. That’s…”

“Two of your family members are going to be alive and well, Terra,” Axel filled in when Demyx trailed off, his words failing him, “You’ll be giving Aqua her life and her child back. That’s not a small thing.”

Dilan looked away, tense. They weren’t wrong, but… he couldn’t bring himself to say anything similar.

Terra would have been a good father.

Terra sighed deeply, looking up at the group tiredly. “...I know I’m not actually Terra. Aqua was the person who knew him best in the world, but even for them…her memories can’t truly replicate a real person. I’m a copy that was so genuinely hoped to be as much of the original as possible, but I’m not.”

He smiled grimly. “I still had to condition. If nothing else, that’s one of the biggest signs.”

The smile dropped. “Knowing about Ventus will mean the world to her. …but she has to accept that Terra’s gone.”

Ienzo looked up at Terra sadly, his eyes stinging a little, before he started, “...okay. Do you want to do it to--”

“Not tonight,” Terra cut off, giving Ienzo a dry look, “You’re exhausted, and you’ve already had enough of an emotional day. But…soon.”

“...Riku, Aqua… who are our other immediate worries?” Axel asked, “Dilan doesn’t want to go yet. Aeleus we can’t handle. We’d have to ask the others, but who else feels like an immediate concern? Kairi?”

“Oh, geez, if Aeleus is going to kick all of our asses, then a Namine who’s fighting us?” Demyx shivered, “We’re going to all end up with our minds scrambled. Who knows what a panicking Namine will do.”

“Namine was one of the first of us who was insisting we had to make everyone whole,” Dilan pointed out, “Maybe she’ll keep her cool during the process? There’s no real proof that we’ll always panic when it’s time to become whole. I sure as hell don’t plan to.”

“You ever hear the term ‘she doth protest too much’?” Axel asked Dilan dryly.

“I’ll be fine. I was planning to go whole ages ago. Things just came up,” Dilan insisted.

Ienzo sighed a bit. “I think we’re definitely going to need Prince Kokichi’s help with Namine. Even if not against panic, if there’s literally anything we need to affect in her mind? Only Sora would get close, and even then that’s doubtful. Add in the influences of her always being told she’s our protector, and the main power of the island…? She may entirely shut us down believing it’s for our own safety.”

Lauriam grimaced a bit before peeking sleepy green eyes open, just to look dryly at Dilan. “Sure. Just like how Marluxia was so ready to go that he absolutely didn’t try to kill Ienzo the second he touched on the memory connected to where I was. Smooth sailing.”

Dilan huffed… before smirking, giving Lauriam a wink. “Relax, dandelion. I can handle it~”

“Yep,” Axel said, “Just like you handled that condom.”

“Alright, I’m done with this little pow-wow, I have better things to do,” Dilan huffed, standing up, “We done with sex-ed?”

Aqua seemed to get some vigor back as she glared at Dilan. “If you and Lauriam manage to take anything away from this? Then yes. Go lick your wounds.”

Lauriam grunted, closing his eyes again.

Stepping away from the door, Aeleus looked between Ienzo and Lauriam.

Ienzo sighed. “...go help him get to his room, I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll take Ienzo to our room!” Demyx said cheerfully.

“Wow, gonna put the new knowledge to practice so soon?” Axel teased.

“What? No! We haven’t even had our first date yet, what kinda guy do you take me for?” Demyx huffed, offering Ienzo his arm, “Come on, bud, let’s take my awesome balloons and cookies upstairs!”

Aeleus gave Demyx an approving nod before nudging Lauriam gently, speaking quietly enough to him the others couldn’t hear, but it seemed to be conversation enough as he picked Lauriam up and headed for the stairs.

Ienzo looked at Demyx’s arm for a moment before looking at his hands, holding them up. “Bathroom first.”

Aqua snorted softly. “I think me too. Thanks for humoring me, kiddo.”

“You’re a monster, I respect it,” Ienzo said simply.

Demyx opened the door, the two carefully making their way in. Ienzo was hanging on his arm, which was usually not a big deal, but Demyx was also juggling his balloons and cookies. He let out a small ‘phew!’ when the door closed behind them and he could put the cookies down on a decorative table aligned to the wall.

“What a weird day,” Demyx mused, cheerfully bouncing the heart shaped balloons around the table, before going to go flop on the bed, “WHAT A WEIRD DAY!”

“Things certainly haven’t been boring lately, and today seems to have followed the trend,” Ienzo agreed, just as flopped on Demyx’s bed as the man himself. He’d mustered the energy to not have Demyx literally dragging upstairs, but the jelly feeling in his legs was still very much there. If he didn’t have to get up for…the rest of the evening? That’d be poggy.

Turning his head, Ienzo smiled softly as he regarded Demyx. Even with a mortifying sex talk, hearing Luis explain about his failed marriage, talking about who should go next in becoming whole…Demyx still just had this bright, excited energy to him that Ienzo couldn’t fully look away from.

“Think I like this weirdness more than others, though.”

“Right? Today was a good day!” Demyx laughed, before he silently air-guitared, strumming strings only in his mind as he said, “I’m so buzzing with inspiration. I gotta think about what songs I can make from all this. Roses are red, Empaths are free~ For sooooome reason, Ienzo still wants to go out with me~” Demyx laughed, before flopping his arms back out, smiling brightly at Ienzo. “....dude. Are we dating?”

Ienzo’s shoulders bounced with a fond, silent laugh. If Demyx actually did work that into a song, it would be very embarrassing, and very sweet. Though any song Demyx wrote with inspiration from all this would be overwhelmingly sweet, honestly. “I’m not sure if you have to have gone on a date to be considered dating, but strict definitions aside…”

Ienzo gave Demyx a shy but hopeful look. “I’d like to?”

“...” Demyx blushed red, looking up onto the ceiling, clearly pleased for a moment. Then he turned around, flipping onto his front, and reached out to poke Ienzo. “Ask me out again.”

Ienzo’s eyebrows raised, but he nodded gently as he looked to the ceiling as well, thinking for a moment. “Sometimes it feels some meetings are fate, but how they develop I simply can’t wait, how I feel is fond, I want to strengthen our bond, would you do me the honor of going on a date?”

Demyx’s eyes were literally dazzled, before he leaned forward and, without hesitation, kissed Ienzo on the cheek. “I would love to, thanks for asking~”

Demyx laughed, resting his head in his arms, as he said, “How smug does Zexion feel right about now?”

Ienzo lit up red, giving Demyx an amazed look as a wobbly, pleased smile grew on his face. A strange low humming sound in the back of his throat, similar to the sound he’d made when Even had discovered the library.

“I’m not sure it’s smugness,” Ienzo said once he collected himself enough to speak, “But he feels really happy. And he’s pretty relieved we’re not fighting.”

“Fighting? Noooo, we were having a difference of opinions,” Demyx huffed, “And, considering I got cookies and balloons and a kick-ass confession out of it? You know what, I’m gonna call it a fruitful and rewarding conversation. Even if I totally have a bruise from Zexion face-planting you into my face.” Demyx laughed… before startling. “Wait, do I have a bruise? I haven’t checked.”

“I think I’m inclined to agree there, even if I’m a little less pleased to get the dressing down I did,” Ienzo sighed a little. It had gotten him out of his head, so it was probably needed, but it still didn’t feel great for Zexion to call him out so brutally. Ienzo supposed he knew openness and exposure wouldn’t always be comfortable.

Turning on his side, Ienzo reached out to gently cup Demyx’s face, nudging it so he could check out his cheek. With a dire nod, he drawled, “I’m afraid it’s severe. Maybe a lifelong affliction. Now, my medical knowledge is far from absolute, but I believe I know a life-saving treatment if you’re willing to undergo it.”

Demyx gasped, before his eyes watered dramatically. “Say it isn’t so! Everyone knows I’m just getting by on my pretty looks! I’ll do anything, doc, what’s the treatment?”

“Untrue,” Ienzo rebutted, almost off-handedly, before continuing, “It’s an age-old procedure, tested by time. The…um…” As playfully confident as he’d started out, Ienzo started to falter a little, turning red again. “The miracle cure of ‘kiss it better’.”

And almost awkwardly quickly, Ienzo leaned forward to kiss Demyx’s cheek, much more softly than the ‘wound’ he’d inflicted before.

Demyx fucking giggled, wrapping his arms around Ienzo and obligingly leaning his face away to allow the healing kiss. His eyes shining when Ienzo pulled back, as Demyx asked, “Well? Am I all better now?”

“Mhmm,” Ienzo hummed in a strangled tone, bright red.

“So smart~ Such a scientist~” Demyx sang-songed, smirking cheerily as he wrapped his arms higher up Ienzo’s back, stretching beneath him a bit. “Do they give out awards for being smart? You should get an award~”

Then he tapped on his chest, chuckling as he said, “Your reward will be a good night's sleep tonight. Geez, bud, you really didn’t sleep without me, huh?”

“There are field recognition awards for excellence and important discoveries,” Ienzo mumbled before sighing, thunking his head on Demyx’s shoulder. “I slept some.”

He could feel the side-eye inside his head.

“I really did try,” Ienzo said quietly. “I really appreciate you willing to sleep with me, but if nothing else, the past few days have just highlighted that it’s impractical to hinge my entire ability to sleep on other people. But I just…can’t. And then it’s frustrating, so I try to read or get some work done since I’m awake anyway, so people will just say I’m getting too absorbed in my projects again.”

“Don’t complain about it too loud. Your dad will decide a few hours of heavy exercise will knock you right out for bed.” Demyx snorted, running his fingertips up and down Ienzo’s back. “And I don’t really mind. It’d maybe be a bigger deal if you and I were on different teams for the upcoming trips, but for now, we can just do some good ol’ enabling. Fixing your sleep can be a future Ienzo problem.”

Demyx sighed… before chuckling, squeezing Ienzo tight. “...this is the easy part. We were going to do this either way, today. Well, with maybe less cheek-kissing. A smidge less.”

Ienzo groaned, even as he relaxed against the trailing touches on his back. He loosely brought his arms around Demyx’s waist in turn. “I think he's already getting ideas for things to increase my stamina. As if running around the city is something a person should be able to do without breaking a sweat. At least I can count on him considering tomorrow a rest day.”

A future problem… After contesting his inheritance and his parents’ death certificates, making contact with Ventus and potentially kidnapping him, moving to a new country, getting the rest of his family their hearts back, and helping every single person with conditioning to nullify their symptoms. Never any lack of things to do.

Ienzo made a small noise as Demyx squeezed him, his ribs making a hollow, crackly sound. “I think I’d be a little mad if dating you meant I couldn’t spend the night. But the addition of cheek kisses is a welcome one.” Just to reinforce that, Ienzo picked his head up to kiss Demyx’s cheek once again, feeling a little braver this time.

“...I really don’t think I can get up to change.”

“Eh, let’s be stinky and sleep in our clothes today, who cares.” Demyx shrugged, closing his eyes. “Showers are tomorrow’s problem. What are they gonna do? Call the guards on us?”

“What a ridiculous way to get arrested again,” Ienzo huffed in amusement, snuggling his head back down onto Demyx’s shoulder. “Or for the first time for me, I suppose. Considering our group, it almost feels like I’m missing out on a rite of passage.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll have you running from the guards at some point. Ooooh, preferably after you get your title back! Then you can do a snooty noble thing and tell the guards, Hey! Do You Know Who I Am??” Demyx barked, before laughing… then he stopped, looking a little surprised as he realized, “Oh. I’m dating a lord.”

“.....that’s a very weird thought,” Demyx huffed, patting Ienzo on the back, “If it wasn’t you, I’d have some misgivings about that. Don’t think you can just boss me around because you’re a lord, Ienzo! I will be a brat again!”

“Ugh. If I ever do that and it’s not part of an act, I hope Zexion does whatever he did to interact with me physically and takes my head off,” Ienzo griped, before frowning a bit against Demyx’s shoulder.

It was his impulse to correct, no, he wasn’t, but…with everything he and Isa had been reading about, Ienzo’s title was somewhere in limbo, rather than actually denied to him. At least until it was properly decided in court. So…he wasn’t not a lord.

“It is weird,” he quietly agreed. “I haven’t really thought of myself as nobility, other than the fact of it in my roots, since I was a little kid. I don’t want to boss you around anyway, it’s too difficult for literally no reward.”

“Exactly,” Demyx agreed, smirking, “I cannot be tamed, Ienzo. I am an edgy and badass musician, a rolling stone! You can’t tell us what to do, we just turn around and make songs about it to screaming fans! I’d rather make love songs for you than call you The Man, man!”

Demyx laughed, but the laugh led into a yawn this time, nuzzling his face into Ienzo’s hair. “I’m pretty worn out too, by this point. Today was great, but, also, wow, was it a lot. Can you believe Luis was married? Talk about a bombshell out of nowhere! You think it was the drinking? Though, I dunno, he’s not exactly a mean drunk. I’d have a hard time imagining dumping someone because he gets sleepy and sentimental a lot.”

Ienzo smirked as well, turning his face into Demyx’s neck. “You’re like water, immutably mutable, unable to be contained. Civilizations may pride themselves on dams, may feel as though they’ve conquered nature changing the path of a river, but a heavy rainfall or a shift in ground springs quickly humbles thoughts of grandeur.”

He huffed a soft laugh before sighing, nodding slightly. “I don’t think speculation is particularly helpful, in terms of our relationship with Luis. He may be comfortable with some parts of the story, but I think there are more sore spots in it than he wants to let on. …might’ve been the drinking, though. You don’t have to be a dangerous drunk for it to be an aggravating habit. Might’ve been the gambling too.”

“I’m like water~” Demyx mused. This was by far not the first time that metaphor had been used on him, but wow, it was different when he was being compared to rivers and rainfalls and– “You really are poetic. How long have you been hiding this poetry thing, Ienzo? Is it new?”

“Not really, I’ve always liked poetry. I just haven’t had much access to more than just a handful of collections until recently. And…I guess not a lot of inspiration either, though I suppose there are arguments against that,” Ienzo hummed softly, smiling a little, pleased at being called poetic. “Surprisingly, it’s not a very popular type of book for people to have read, so it was pretty rare for me to get anything new in the factory.”

He snorted softly. “...my parents had a few collections of poetry in other languages? I think they always dismayed me more than other kinds of foreign books because it wouldn’t just be enough to get a rudimentary understanding of vocabulary to understand them. Understanding idioms and specific metaphors, and…really it’d take a deep understanding of the culture it came from to even get close to really being able to understand them.”

“Ah, so they were challenges then?” Demyx guessed, “You liked poems because they were puzzles?”

Ienzo blinked, before making an enlightened sound. “...I…suppose so. I have an appreciation for the artistry of them, but…I guess I did start reading poetry in the first place because I wanted to understand it. They weren’t just facts to learn, for as much as poetry can also change your understanding of the world. And you definitely can get lost in a world that a poem can create, but it’s so different from a novel, which can swathe you in layers and layers of an entire world, but a poem is like…a snapshot. One brief, impactful moment to show something the author felt needed to be remarked on.”

“There’s so much that can be intentional in a poem, which can be true for other forms of text and performance, but…I don’t know. It feels like a more representative part of poetry. So it takes more than just memorization or imagination to process.” Ienzo sounded an intrigued hum. “I never thought about it like that.”

“It makes perfect sense to me, for you. You would pick the hardest way to communicate through art, you little nerd,” Demyx chuckled. “For music, the instruments do a lot of the context, if the lyrics aren’t quite there. You know a song is sad if it’s going mmmm, mmhmhmmmmm,” he hummed, “Or happy if it's hmm-hmm-hmmmm-hmmm!! That sort of thing. The vibe tells the story, the lyrics just sometimes provide context.”

“Even when it’s the opposite, and it's a happy tune telling a sad song? Well, you know the happy tune was picked for a reason. The fact that it's happy adds more to the story being told,” Demyx mused, “Poetry like you do though? That’s a whole different ball-game. I’ve heard people say you can put any good poem to music and make it a song, but I don’t think that’s true. I think a really good poem actually loses something, when music detracts from its words. You know what I mean?”

Ienzo laughed softly, giving Demyx a small squeeze. “I was thinking it was about time for someone to call me esoteric again. But a counter--interpretive dance. Sometimes I think it’s just the most difficult game of charades there is.”

Humming quietly, Ienzo nodded. “The choice of tone, or vibe, is instrumental to the message of a song. I’ll admit I don’t know all that much about music theory, but just how a song might develop, and how that can reconfigure the piece as a whole? It’s such a clearly evocative form of art that can transcend words altogether.”

Shifting his legs a little to slot with Demyx’s, Ienzo hummed his understanding. “I do… Rhythm can be a vital component of a poem, and I’m sure there are many that could benefit with music…but sometimes the fact that it’s solely the spoken word is important. Or that feeling the music changes what the poem was meant to be initially…though I don’t think that has to be a bad thing.”

“Some music sounds like poetry to me, though, even if the artist hadn’t intended that,” Ienzo remarked.

“Oh, sure, nothing’s a hard rule.” Demyx agreed. “I listened to some great pieces that were basically just talking in rhythm, but accompanied with really heavy drum backsets? I guess that would be the first thing that crossed my mind, those types of songs, if we were talking about the more obvious overlaps between music and poetry. Hip-hop, it’s a genre that’s going places,” Demyx mused, “But I’m betting there’s a lot more overlap coming to mind for you. I think I just get too lost in the instrumentals to notice. Lyrics just alway sound like one more instrument to me.”

Demyx started to hum a bit, a wavering, experimenting little melody. He wanted to write a song for Ienzo. But he was just soooo sleepy and soooo toasty beneath Ienzo, it was hard for him to think of anything other than a melody. Dancing cheerily through his mind.

“That sounds really wonderful to listen to,” Ienzo murmured sleepily, “Sounds like something to search out, find more opportunities…hip-hop, hm? And as a composer yourself, it makes sense to hear vocals as another instrument in the ensemble… You get coherent, full pieces that way.”

Ienzo felt himself drifting a bit as Demyx hummed. The melody bright and fun and…

(For once, Ienzo truly lamented that he couldn’t sing.)

But he still quietly mumbled in time with Demyx’s song, “Melody that’s playing in my mind, notes I have to find, and hue not far behind, though it’s fine if we just let them be, if that would mean you can stay with me.”

“Oooh, I like that. Let me try~” Demyx whispered, rubbing Ienzo’s back as he sang, low and tired, “Melody that’s playing in my mind~ Notes I have to find, and hue not far behind~ Though it’s fiiiiine if we just let them beeeee~” Demyx smiled, “if that would mean you can stay with me~”

=p=

“....khhhh…” Ienzo breathed softly, fast asleep and mouth parted against Demyx’s shoulder. A space ready to be absolutely drooled on.

New Grand Panjandrum, Momota Castle, Legal Administration

To whom it may concern:

On behalf of the affairs of Lord Ienzo Seisear, of Noble House Seisear, an official claim of inheritance is submitted for the lands, title, and recognition associated with House Seisear. As the legal heir by bloodline, Lord Seisear wishes to claim his rightful inheritance after unlawful imprisonment within the Indentured Program, now defunct under the Queen’s Law.

…

In addition, this is a request for designary contention of the deaths of Lady Siofra Seisear and Lord Lehua Seisear.

…

Should court presence be requested, please give notification to this address.

…

Thank you for your consideration,

…

There was a lot more to the letter than that, all of the legal acknowledgements and considerations, the proper requests for what they were actually asking for…but what that was…

House Seisear? Lorelei hadn’t heard that name in…

Her eyes widened a bit as she read through the letter. An heir coming forward for a noble House that had been frozen and seized by the government--that was…a bit gossipy, depending on how much got out, but could be dealt with quietly.

…unlawful imprisonment of a noble, and the direct acknowledgement of murder? A formerly Indentured noble? That could be…

Lorelei got up. This needed to be some of the queen’s direct mail.

Court worked a little differently in Luminary, than it did in Dicea.

For one, it was extremely rare for anyone other than the royal advisors to actually present their case in person, at least initially, within the high courts, even if that case was for the high court specifically. Instead, representatives went through the various departments of the castle, taking the cases and decisions they represented to department heads who were meant to be more knowledgeable on the case itself. And if it couldn’t get handled within those departments, those departments picked a royal advisor, who were above all the departments, to present the case to and request that advisor–should and when it pleases them–to bring it to the High Table Court, where said advisors would finally present the case as best as they understood it and present it to the royal head–or the royal head’s Head Secretary, should they be indisposed–and the royal court would decide if they wanted to hear more about it or if they wanted to kick it back to the bottom of the ladder, someone below them having (at least in the court’s mind) not done their diligence by taking care of it themselves.

Because of this, cases at the court could take Luminary an excruciating amount of time, especially if the case was kicked back down and had to crawl its way back up to the top due to the advisor presenting its case not fighting hard enough for it or not entirely understanding why it had gotten to the royal courts in the first place. To get anything moving quickly, it was generally understood that you were hoping the department heads would take on the case themselves, and the royal head would never hear about it in the first place.

(While this was a cultural practice to try to quicken the bureaucracy into something functional, it was also how one ended up with a political system where the person in charge–the royal family–literally had no idea what was happening below them. Their meager attention slowing down the process to a non-functioning crawl. And that was even assuming the royal in question even really wanted to decide.)

(King Leon had really, really not cared.)

So, while most cases got caught in that sludge of hierarchy and bureaucracy, the royal administration team–especially its leaders–had more leniency to make judgment calls of what must go to the head royal directly. As the administration team that worked most directly with the Head Secretary and the Royal Family, they tended to have so much personal observation of both politics and the royal family as people that they had what was damn near an instinct for what the royals would actually want to see and what would be considered a waste of time, and the royal family ignored them at their own peril.

This was why when Lorelei walked into the courtroom while it was in session–a damn near executable offense for almost anyone else within the castle–the queen just glanced at her for a moment, before gesturing for her to stand by the far wall as she turned her attention back to the table of advisors. “And you’re certain, Lord Farquash, that there’s no credence to the sailors’ reports of an enemy force sinking their ship?”

“A giant, pink, jelly-fish like creature?” The lord scoffed, tossing the report on the table like it was insulting to even hold it, “The fact that it’s gotten as far as me three times now is a sign, I believe, that the sailors are hoping rumors and fairytales will cover up a shoddy work ethic. These ships are getting pieces ripped out of them by mismanaging the steering and hitting reefs. At my most generous, I’d say the sailors are mistaking coral coloring for an animal. Either way, I think the answer is stricter port time-limits. Sailors should be on the sea, allowing them too much port time is making them sloppy and endangering our ships.”

“I see… General Ahab?” the queen said, looking to her military naval advisor, “Considering we’re arguing if merchant ships should be held to the same at-sea standards as our military ships–”

“I’m not saying we militarize our merchants–!”

“Lord Farquash,” Kaede smiled, “Do not interrupt me. Your family name is already a hindrance on this court after that debacle with your son a few months ago. An entire factory of compelled ex-Indentured citizens, being run by the son of my naval merchant advisor? I was advised by more than a few people to have your whole family executed for the bad press alone, but I’ll be honest,” she smiled sweeter, “I was strongly considering just you. As an example…it was actually this court that advised me that it would seem too… tyrannical. You owe this court your respect.”

Lord Farquash shrunk, looking away. It was far too late to execute him over the matter, but he needed to keep his silence. His son was still very much imprisoned, and his life still was very much up for debate. It made Lord Farquash valuable, in that his family had suddenly been very open about their companies’ finances with the royal court, and very open about what they heard about rival companies’ finances. Kaede gained a lot of value from the man's presence, economically. In courts, though, he tended to be insufferable and needed putting down on occasion.

“...apologies, your grace,” the lord said.

“Mhm.” Queen Kaede smiled brightly, before looking to her general. “What would you advise about pressuring merchant ships to remain at sea longer through stricter port regulations?”

“I think…” the general sighed, shrugging, “As the lord said. Ships should be at sea. If the sailors are hitting reefs? Perhaps regulations like that would finally convince the bottom of the barrel among their sailors to quit, at the very least. Then you’d have nothing but your most dedicated sailors, who wouldn’t make such mistakes.”

“Queen Kaede,” Naegi frowned, giving the queen a raised hand even as he dared to stand up, “With no disrespect meant to the naval advisors, everything I hear from the sailors now is that they’re exhausted. They could be hallucinating this creature, longer working deployments will just exacerbate that problem.”

“Is this true, Lord Farquash? Are your sailors sleep deprived?”

“They can sleep just as well out at sea,” the lord grumbled.

“Ugh…” The queen groaned, rubbing her temple, closing her eyes. “...Head Secretary, pick a department at your discretion and have them do an investigation on the working conditions of the merchant ships. If it's hallucinations, I want to know. If it’s poor training being covered up by sea stories, I want to know. We’ll reconvene on this in a month. So says the queen, who is tired. Everyone go, we’re taking a recess for the day… except you,” Kaede said, pointing to Lorelei.

“Queen Kaede, I wanted to speak to you about something else with the ships,” Naegi said, as the other advisors got up and started shuffling away, “It’s the reason I’ve been talking to sailors, there’s been more and more reports of ex-Indentured citizens being rounded up to be forced to work on the ships. They’re calling the practice shanghaiing?”

“Later, Naegi, later,” Kaede sighed, “We’ll have some of our detectives look into it, but let's go through it later. There’s always some new Indentured roundup…”

She watched the advisor leave, before looking tiredly at her administrative lead. “I don’t suppose you barged in here in the middle of court with fantastic, wonderful news?”

Lorelei bowed before standing along the wall, having another session of the perfected art of ‘unintrusive attentiveness’. There was nothing in court that would be dangerous to hear, of course, but it always paid to be up to date on the latest issues, even when they weren’t her department. Considering the centralized nature of the administration team, it could very, very easily become her department.

And, sometimes, like today? Atua found joy in putting together a theme.

Lorelei gave the queen a humored smile. “My apologies, my queen, though if I’m not too bold in my interpretation, I have news that might ease some of the public opinion today’s matters may affect.”

Bowing once more, she delivered the legal letter. “We received notice on the behalf of Lord Seisear. I’ll let you read through it yourself,” rooms, even the royal courtroom, always had ears, and Lorelei wouldn’t presume everything Queen Kaede would want to get out about the letter, “but I found it quite intriguing.”

“If you mean my little public relations issue that, for reasons I of course cannot fathom, people keep abducting and unlawfully holding the group of people among them that are compelled to follow orders?” Kaede sighed, reaching over to take the letter and leaning back in her chair, “Nothing short of a miracle is going to solve that particular issue. My kingdom has gone from looking evil to our global trade relationships, to just…woefully incompetent.”

“Can’t round up Conditioned Civilians to hide them away, that just looks like the program is starting again,” Kaede muttered, starting to read the letter, “Can’t execute offenders to scare off the rest because all the elites are secretly taking advantage of it behind my back and are afraid of being executed. Or they at least know someone who is. So now my citizens don’t trust our regime because it looks like we just made a new, shittier version of the program. We could give a stipend to every Conditioned, allow the safety of wealth to act as a buffer, but every time we start seriously talking about it, you’d think by the way everyone reacts that I’m kicking random people out of their homes and just handing them over to people with conditioning; elites that don’t want to fund it start creating a panic within the impoverished districts… sorry, my mind was wondering. What am I looking at, give me a moment.”

Kaede read through the letter properly this time, really digesting it… before her eyes widened, sitting up straighter. “Oh! Oh, this is…”

She paused, leaning back, pressing the letter lightly against her lower lip as she stared into the air. “...A conditioned citizen getting a title. A position of nobility. That could send a message to the rank and file that, no, the point isn’t to make newly-freed Indentureds a free-for-all to any company or person willing to grab themselves some, that they’re not throwaways. But the elites can’t argue that it’s me dipping my toe into the start of new socialist programs that could potentially challenge their privileges, because he’s not getting his title because he was conditioned, no no no, he was… who was he, hold on.”

Kaede frowned, reading the letter again. “...I need to know more about this case. I was a girl when this happened, I have no practical memory of it. Lorelei, please have one of your people put together a comprehensive report on the history of this individual for me to read. Can I expect it tomorrow?”

It was the same issue of ‘rounding up’ ex-Indentureds, for well-meaning people to offer jobs. The new civilians themselves didn’t trust it, and to everyone else it looked like you were just being stupid about the coercion that they were doing in secret. There was no practical way to stop people from abusing the conditioning ex-Indentureds had, other than, of course, the conditioning no longer being a factor.

But, well. With all contracts being annulled at the same time, it became apparent very quickly that the promises of conditioning wearing off wasn’t quite as advertised. And with the explanation of it just needing time growing thinner as time went on, people were getting restless. Nervous. And it was incredibly difficult to know just exactly what was going on, because if someone with active conditioning came forward? Then it was back to problem one.

The case presented by Lord Seisear couldn’t solve all that…but for the morale caused by those issues?

“Certainly, my queen,” Lorelei answered, though she paused for a moment. “The report will be more thorough, of course, but if I may… House Virtuso thought rather highly of House Seisear in the past. If this claim is legitimate, it may be a boon for more than opinion.”

“So you know something about this on a more first-hand level?” the queen asked, giving the administrator a curious look. “It doesn’t shock me to hear a noble family contesting the deaths of the prior regime. Personally I always thought secret executions were both too cruel and counter-intuitive for their goal,” Kaede admitted, “Watching people around me get quietly executed for treasonous conduct certainly didn’t stop me. But the public and open execution of my brother absolutely terrified the elite class into being on their best behavior for years. It was a huge hurdle, getting people to work with me after such a public, shaming event. If King Leon himself hadn’t gone to such lengths to insist I was still independently a royal in good standing? My family member’s public execution would have likely black-listed me from any alliances at all. Much more effective than executions people could only whisper about…”

Kaede paused, before smiling brightly. “Not that I want my time as Queen to be defined by executions at all, of course~ One year in and I’ve managed to avoid them so far!”

Her decision to allow the former King to live in exile had needed to be proven as a government policy, rather than strictly favoritism, after all. Kaede had to do everything she could, to avoid her own uprising.

Lorelei nodded with a faint, slightly sad smile. “The late Lord and Lady Seisear were very active in academic circles. A friend of mine at university was part of a group that received a research grant from their estate that eventually led to the standard Tetanus vaccine we use today. Between that personal connection and the news from my House, it had been…shocking to hear of their deaths. If I remember correctly, they did have a young child, so at my most cynical, at least the person writing this letter did their homework.”

Shocking to hear about suicides, at least. There had been some speculation about it, Lorelei vaguely remembered, but it was good practice to not speculate too much on official death announcements, lest you find yourself with new deaths in the family as well.

At least for the duration of that regime.

Lorelei returned the queen’s smile. “On the contrary, your grace. Your words that this new age of Luminary will not be built on blood is still an uplifting message to many, other issues though we may have. Progress is measured in inches, and you are proving that our government is one that functions on reason, not impulse and retribution. As many problems as there are to address, we’ve come a long way, and the good your administration has done is not to be diminished.”

The secretary bowed her head. “In my opinion, of course.”

Kaede smiled lightly at the secretary, bowing her head back in gratitude.

She always had to take anything… well, anyone, said to her with a heavy grain of salt. Sincerity sounded just as sweet as ass-kissing, if the person talking to her had anything to gain and the ability to speak well. And Kaede had witnessed the confidence of too many doomed people to believe she was some human lie detector who could effortlessly tell the difference. Caution was always the rule of socializing.

But she did like to think it was true. If not the secretary’s admiration, then at least the truth of Kaede’s efforts. Kaede had wanted to rule for the power, of course, but that desire for power had been grown from a sincere sense of pride and self-worth that, if she had a chance at the throne? Then things truly would be better. That she could improve Luminary.

Byakuya had felt the same way, of course. It was what made him a worthy opponent, and sometimes what made Kaede miss him. Byakuya had been convinced that if they could just flush the country’s economy out as much as he possibly could, the overall good it would do the country's future would make up for the atrocities that convincing other, wealthier countries to adopt their indentured program would have created. What was selling a few thousand people, if it meant the health and prosperity of millions?

Kaede didn’t agree, and not just for moral reasons, though it had factored more than people might give her credit for. Those morals were actually why she had thought the program was doomed to fail in the long-term. Luminary could not survive in a global economy where every other country had damn good reasons to hate them. The short term economic influx they would have gotten from convincing one or two countries to buy their conditioned citizens would have eventually toppled when the world rejected what was, it’d eventually be called out on, a slavery program.

Once that happened? And it inevitably would, even cruelty in society had a breaking point, then Luminary would be the enemy of the world, the enemy of their own people, and still fucking broke and starving on top of all of that. Maybe not in their generation, or even the next. But inevitably, the kingdom would crumble under the weight of its own terrible reputation. Which she knew, because it had already happened once, and again. Their broken history littered with societal collapse every time Danganronpa’s latest social experiment on farming them failed.

Wherever Queen Junko actually was? Whatever had happened–which Kaede was certain her spies and networks would eventually fully understand–she hoped the queen was having a truly miserable experience.

Kaede did not know how history would remember her. But if her legacy was just improving Luminary’s global image, just a bit? Enough for more favorable trades, greater economic access for her people, more opportunity for her kingdom to buy or trade for the food they could not grow in the next seventy years? She didn’t care if people decided Luminary improved despite her involvement. She would have won.

(Did she wish she could have managed that, without betraying the family that had taken her in and lifted her up, when by all rights after what her brother did she should have been ostracized? Did she miss Byakuya and Kaito? Miss Shuichi and Maki? Miss her friends who were all now so far, far away, and all hated her, in their own ways?)

(...)

(He had earned his vacation, but Kaede hoped Rantaro would come home soon.)

“Thank you, Lady Lorelei.” Kaede smiled. “And well done on bringing this to my attention. Considering the accusations and tone of the letter, I imagine young Lord Seisear is going to be surprised by the fanfare he’s about to be greeted with,” Kaede smiled lightly at the letter, “I imagine he’ll be thrilled.”

Ienzo spit coffee all down his front, hacking as, even with that, he still managed to choke on some. Eyes wide and incredulous at the letter he just read through.

“Aw geez, kid!” Aqua gasped, getting up and grabbing a hand towel to…well, try to mitigate most of the mess. “Swallowing’s definitely something you need to do before speaking, ‘Zo.”

“Hn’gah,” Ienzo responded eloquently.

This wasn’t a dismissal. A notice that his case was going through the ‘lower courts’ ie various departments at their leisure. Which honestly would be astounding if he got anyway, but it’d been a long time! Ienzo wasn’t sure what the legal system looked like these days! Maybe it was more prompt! He really hadn’t been expecting anything for ages though, and was just trying to make a habit of checking the PO box they’d rented to avoid implicating Maya in anything they needed mail for. He thought this was just an automated acknowledgement, o-or something! Not…

Oh gods.

“Oh man, don’t tell me they’re trying to reject you already?” Axel frowned, while next to him Isa reached over, wordlessly requesting the letter.

Isa looked through it, his lips thinning a bit. “...on the contrary,” he whispered, “We’re being fast-tracked to the highest court in the land, and are being given a summons to appear in person at the castle. Which… I was expecting to take a considerable amount more time.” He whispered with a frown, “The tone suggests if it were not the winter, they’d be demanding we take a carriage out immediately.”

“Great!” Demyx shouted, grinning brightly… before noting Ienzo’s expression, “Great?? Right???”

Ienzo probably would’ve looked more comforted if the letter was a venomous snake. “...it…is, and we definitely shouldn’t look a gift horse in its mouth, but…that’s suspicious, right? Unless things have gotten way more streamlined in the past decade…” His eyebrows pinched a bit in distress. “But explicitly being told that the case has been fast-tracked, thus implying it’s bypassed the normal process… It’s not the most intensive case, sure, but even a more procedural handwave of acknowledging inheritance should just be more reason for it to get stuck in bureaucratic hell.”

Aqua gave Ienzo a worried look as she rubbed his back lightly. “...I’d say we could figure something out, but it’s a little late to back out now, kiddo.”

“Yeah,” Ienzo whispered.

“Issss it possible that the queen’s figuring, ey,” Luis mused, tilting his head, “Having an Empath lord that owes you a favor ain’t nothing to sneeze at? I imagine the queen has the same sigils and jewelry protecting her from Empath interference that the factory did… I mean, otherwise, there’d be a lot of pissed off Empaths who might want to take revenge in a real simple way, if they had the sort of reach me and Namine have–”

“Do you have a lot of reach?” Demyx asked.

“Well, maybe if I got off the drink for a day or so,” Luis admitted, shrugging, before continuing on, “But a stronger Empath is all I mean, they’re dangerous for all the reasons Tengan was dangerous to us. Could just drop in and mess with things. Perhaps the queen is looking to make a bridge, if they can’t force us to do anything anymore?”

Ienzo headed over to the sink to squeeze out his shirt. He’d probably change anyway, he knew he’d drive himself crazy smelling like coffee all day, but he’d like to not walk upstairs dripping wet. “Maybe…” he sighed. “And if it’s an official letter like this, then it’s not reaching out just to imprison me again.”

“...most likely,” he muttered. There probably weren’t a lot of people who could question the queen if she decided to throw him in a dungeon, but they would still know she’d done it. And that knowledge, and perhaps even private questions could be dangerous enough.

“Probably still is safer to just get out of the country than try to make nice with the queen, though,” he mumbled. “But I’ll at least try not to make more of an enemy out of her.”

“Yeah, sounds about right! Besides, I really can’t wait to explore another country! I know we’re leaving for serious reasons, but that’s super fun just by itself!” Sora said cheerfully, reaching for one of the bread rolls, before peering over at Riku, “It’s exciting, right Riku? Like the adventure stories we used to play out when we were kids!”

Riku smiled politely.

“It’s gonna be great!” Sora continued, undaunted, before laughing cheekily at Ienzo, “Should we call you Lord Ienzo now?”

Ienzo looked ill. “Please never do that.”

“Right, because it’s probably supposed to be something like, True Lord Seisear of the Noble House, Crested by…whatever your family crest is,” Lauriam sleepily teased, laughing softly at the sickened look on Ienzo’s face.

“Ienzo,” Aqua said softly, getting his attention. “Thank you. Especially if you’d rather not go through with this…it means the world to get this opportunity to contact Ventus.”

Sighing a little, that seemed to center Ienzo. “...well, of course. I wouldn’t waste an opportunity I had, to connect you two.”

“I think this is a bit of good luck, in fact,” Isa whispered, passing Ienzo his letter back, “I did not wish to harp on it too much when we were making plans, but court cases can take as often as a year, if not more, to reach the highest courts. In truth, I was expecting to use the cover of talking to various castle departments as our way in, appearing to be pushy in hopes of getting the case read sooner. An invitation, though?”

Isa paused, before pointing out, “Being invited will intrigue other noble families. We might have an even easier access to Ventus through this. We may get introduced, in the right circumstances.”

A tentatively hopeful look came over Aqua’s face. With one letter, what was looking like months, if not over a year of separation was pared down significantly. And if there was the potential for Ventus to come to them? Aqua had been prepared to scour the entirety of the capital if she had to, but if she could just…meet him, without getting the others in trouble?

As hopeful as Aqua was, a new bout of sick nerves came over Ienzo’s face as Isa pointed out the spectacle their case had the potential to become. It would intrigue the more social noble families, looking into another person to maybe make connections with, the more exclusive elites, looking to judge the kind of person that dared to breach classes…

…his parents’ old friends. Which Ienzo…did technically know. But really hadn’t spoken to outside of being shown off as a young child. But would definitely know of him…

Ienzo quickly turned green as he leaned over the sink again, another sort of panic pleading with him to not throw up.

Demyx laid a hand on Ienzo’s back. “You good, bud? You have that ‘I’m about to hurl’ look.”

{No I don’t I’m not going to throw up} a frightened, yet determined intent responded as Ienzo desperately tried to control his breathing over the sink.

Lauriam peeked over before giving Isa and Axel an uneasy look. “...that might be a problem if you guys need to flaunt it up in front of the royal court,” he whispered.

Isa looked grim as he whispered, “We have many problems when it comes to the courtroom appearances, yes.”

“You guys can handle this,” Axel insisted, “Demyx is gonna help the composure part–”

“Drink some water!” Demyx shouted from the sink, turning on the faucet and shouting, “Chug! Chug! Chug!”

“....what’s the worst that can happen?” Axel asked. Looking to Isa. The question not rhetorical.

“........” Isa tried to answer. But his face had turned grim and now he was swallowing a lot. Swallow, swallow, swallow.

Lauriam’s expression grew more concerned. “You said before it was low-stakes. That the worst was just being told to leave.”

Ienzo burbled under the faucet. In the background, Aqua came over to save Ienzo from, ‘take your hand off his back, Demyx, don’t drown him!’

Lauriam huffed. “The absurd worst? You try to bite someone, Demyx says something that’ll offend the whole court, Ienzo has a meltdown, Dilan and Aqua try to fight everyone there and Luis just tries to interject saying everyone should calm down. Even for the biggest snobs, that’s not straight to executions, right?”

Swallow. Swallow. Swallow.

“Maaaaybe try sending intent?” Axel encouraged him, watching Isa start to bare his teeth.

Isa took a frustrated breath, before nodding. {We’ll seem like easy pickings to manipulate and take advantage of, and we are, and we’ll end up in someone’s basement with all of our arms and legs chopped off–}

“Wooooah, okay, okay, there there, pup.” Luis sighed, standing up to go to Isa, wrapping his arms around him and pulling his head towards his chest to pet his head. Isa growled for a second, fighting… before he sighed, just leaning into it. Allowing himself to be comforted as Luis said, “That is a scary worst case scenario, yeah, but not going to happen. I know, I know, your ‘not invincible’ thing, but remember, you’re not in this alone this time. You’ve got a whole pack looking out. No chopped off limbs or dungeons.”

Lauriam nodded casually, like it was a matter of course. “You’ll have your whole team, and if something really goes wrong? Then the rest of us can come to the rescue. Hells, I think even Clara would be willing to help, considering her strong ‘Empaths shouldn’t be imprisoned’ feelings, along with whatever she keeps insinuating about her companion. And while there’d be more political tension, The Ouma hasn’t been subtle that he has no love for Queen Kaede, so he might be willing to pull a few strings too.”

He gave Isa a serious look. “We’re not in the dark this time, and we have better tools and allies. Whatever can go wrong, we at least have ways to make it miserable enough for people to question what they’re doing.”

Swallow. Swallow. Grrr…

“...right, of course,” Isa whispered, sighing as he straightened up, Luis patting him on his back before going to sit down, “...in truth, what will happen is we are made a brief, entertaining laughing stock, at the very worst, and then we leave for Dicea anyway. Even the old regime did not make a habit of executing citizens for anything less than murder or treason. Acting like buffoons or even insulting the crown won’t be enough.”

(Byakuya threatening to have Chad executed, without trial, in a public setting, had been a frightening scandal that had changed how the general public discussed and handled Kaito from that moment on. In many ways, Kaito had been much, much safer in his sleeping around, after that incident. In other ways, the number of people willing to befriend Kaito had rapidly gone down. General fear of Byakuya–which had shifted into its own type of respect in certain groups–rising exponentially.)

(King Leon’s execution of the peace treaty party had been among a long line of assassinating anyone of influence who said anything against the war. They had never stood a chance, when not even Luminary’s own elite had not been given a pass.)

(King Leon was not missed for a reason.)

(Byakuya and Kaede had both planned his assassination for good reason.)

“We will… be okay,” Isa whispered grimly.

Somehow even more drenched than he had been initially, Ienzo looked over with a nod. “We’re not there to win. We’re just going to try and stay as long as possible without untoward danger to contact Ventus. With that goal, I believe our chances of success are high.”

Ienzo gave the letter a nervous look. “...even if this response makes it seem likely there are those who’d like us to win the case.”

One again, Aqua started patting Ienzo down with the towel. “And you’re not alone in that either, kiddo. Whatever happens, we have each other, and we’re not a half bad crew at thinking on our feet.”

“We’re gonna be great!” Demyx cheered, half of his front now covered in water as well after Ienzo’s thrashing, “We’re gonna get Ventus, and the inheritance, and avenge the family name!!”

“Yeah!” Sora cheered from the table, before saying, “Well, you guys will. We’ll come rescue you if you end up armless and legless in a dungeon! Right Riku!?”

Riku nodded. “Mhm.”

Ienzo glanced between Riku and Aqua for a moment. “I know you’ve specifically asked, Aqua, and we do have an expedited timeline… I believe we’re in a good place for another of us to become whole, if…anyone’s ready.”

Aqua gave Riku a look as well. “I am.” …but Riku was her kid too. “But even if we were somehow ready to travel today, we still have time. Ri? How you feelin’, bud?”

Riku blinked, startled to be directly addressed. “I’m well,” he said.

“Oh! Are we doing Riku next?” Sora gasped, before looking to Riku, “Riku, do you want to become whole next?”

“Oh,” Riku said, frowning a bit. “...yes?” he asked, studying Sora’s expression to see if that was the correct answer. When Sora beamed happily at him, Riku nodded more certainly. “Yes. I’m sure Riku is ready to come back. Living outside the factory sounds like the sort of thing people with hearts enjoy.”

“Well, I mean, you’ve been enjoying it too, right?” Sora asked, looking briefly a little disappointed, “We’ve been having fun together?”

At that, Riku smiled lightly, nodding more certainly. “Yes. I had fun. I’ve done my very best to keep up… that isn’t why I’m going next, is it?” Riku frowned, “Did I mess up?”

“Nah, lad,” Luis said, sipping from his flask before sighing tiredly, “You’ve been doing great. It’s just all our turns eventually. No one can tell the difference.”

Riku relaxed, nodding. Good. He had done well.

Aqua nodded, coming over to pat Riku’s back. “You guys are on the safer team, and I figure it won’t even make much of a difference, but…call me sentimental? I think both Aqua and I would feel better knowing you guys are settled, if we’re going to be splitting up. We’re just going to need more help for Kairi, is why I mentioned you, kiddo.”

Glancing between them again, Ienzo offered a small smile. “If you’re okay with it then? Sora, should I assume you’d like to come?”

“Of course!” Sora said, pumping his fist, “I’ll stab you with so much coherency, Riku! And hopefully you won’t turn into a ball of light! But if you do, we’ve got you! More beach time with balls of light!”

Riku wasn’t sure how happy he’d be as a ball of light on the beach, but he still nodded anyway. “Okay,” he said, before looking up at Aqua, “Are you coming?”

Lauriam grimaced, holding back a shudder. “Maybe hold back on stabbings as a first resort.”

Aqua looked briefly surprised before giving Riku an encouraging grin. “You kidding? ‘Course I’ll be there for ya! Hopefully it won’t turn out that way, but I know you’ve been itching for a proper spar rematch as much as I have. Even for Riku’s sake, don’t think I’ll go easy on you, Ansem.”

Ienzo nodded a bit. “I’ll ask Even if he’d like to observe the process again, but that sounds like a plan. Would you like more time, or should we plan on it tonight, Riku?”

Briefly, Riku’s expression became more animated. Looking more excited. A battle was coming…

But then he remembered he was ‘Riku’ and he smothered that down, smiling politely as he nodded. “Okay. I can do it tonight. I hope you all defeat me in glorious battle and Riku returns whole… basking in the light of hope, but fueled by the raw emotions of the darkness, brimming with–”

“Slipping, Ansem!” Sora said cheerfully.

“I hope everything goes well,” Riku said plainly.

Everyone landed on the beach first.

It was tough, to jump as a group into one of their minds directly. It usually helped to start at the beach and then head for the part of the island that most connected. But Riku’s world tended to need a little help in getting into either way: Riku had started off a pretty strong Empath with a lot of potential, like Sora and Kairi. But instead of becoming raw, unfiltered power like Kairi’s became, and instead of being exceptional at finding creative uses for the power he did have, like Sora, Riku specialized in control of his abilities. Every inch of his mind mapped out and accounted for, every flex of his abilities intentional. For being a largely untrained Empath, Riku had all the potential to be a master at the craft, regardless of his power levels.

(When Riku had been told, create a persona that was entirely separate from yourself, strictly to act as a conditioner? Someone he would not have to be aware of, would not have to take accountability for? Someone to be who Was Not Him?)

(He had done that. Exactly. That.)

So, with such a well-defined lobby and security, getting into Riku’s mind tended to be done by following him through the door. Which, as everyone landed, Ansem waited for them. Hovering lightly, his feet never touching the ground. This was partly because, once upon a time, a young Riku had thought that’d be a cool touch to give his Nobody. But also, because flying was key to getting up to his door, as Ansem held his hand out towards the group,

“Prepare yourself, warriors of light.” He smirked, darkness already bubbling around them like a thick, inky liquid, circling them as the liquid started to rise from the ground, bringing them with it. “If this is the last battle of Ansem Xehenort, Master of Darkness? I have no intention of holding back.”

“Hah! Don’t worry, Ansem!” Sora called from the black sludge, waving at him, “We’re going to defeat you! And bring you back to light!!”

{Good luck.} Namine sent them all. For the same reason she had decided to hang back every time, she had hung back again. Too worried about losing her patience and overreaching. Pulling a ‘Xion’ again.

“We most certainly will not need luck. We are quite adept at this practice now,” Vexen said, the moon, which had been invisible in the daylight sky, now becoming more and more obvious… its heart-like shape causing Vexen to sigh. “I’m aware it’s just metaphor, but it’s quite heavy-handed, Riku’s door.”

“I’d be offended if you did,” Terra grinned, giving Ansem a confident look, casual in the sludge, “Show me whatcha got, kiddo--darkness is defined by light, after all.”

Ienzo didn’t think that was strictly scientifically true, but, well… “There’s not much reason for subtly, especially in our own spaces,” he shrugged at Vexen, “The more heavy-handed and dramatic something is, that indicates the more we’ve been able to define it. Even drawing from the real world is only a facsimile of how much we understand.”

He smiled softly. “And I’m certainly not turning down any luck that wants to come our way. Skill is the best luck, but fortune still exists.”

Terra smirked. “It favors the bold, and with our plucky group? I’d say we have a good shot.”

“Yeah!” Sora shouted, hopping in place… before staring earnestly up at the approaching heart-shaped moon, “We have to. Riku’s waiting for us. He’s been waiting all this time… we’re coming, Riku.”

The sludge took them through the moon’s crust, which wavered and rippled like water. Rather than landing, it seemed like the sludge suddenly reabsorbed with the darkness around them, the group left on solid footing, but every direction a thick, blinding darkness.

That said, it was as if each of their bodies had literally been infused with a bit of light. They glowed in the all consuming darkness of the space, able to see each other, and… well, not much else.

“I am suddenly reminded why I visited this world so rarely, even during my studying of it.” Vexen sighed, looking around. Riku’s mind was so well controlled and closed off that Vexen, even with Riku and Ansem’s permission, had never really figured out its defenses. He had spent some time wandering the darkness, unable to find anything to analyze other than the fact that, well, Ansem seemed to think in darkness metaphors, very literally. “Shocker, it’s still dark.”

“It reflects what you bring to it,” Sora said, twisting his wrist, his keyblade forming as he looked around warily, “You never bring anything to it, Vexen, so of course it always looks dark to you. Namine has a similar problem, when she tries to visit with me. You have to put a little bit of yourself into it, to get anywhere here… watch.”

Sora closed his eyes, reaching out. Glowing a little brighter as he whispered, “Riku…” before those little sparks of light came off of him, drifting forward… and when the light grew some distance away from him, suddenly…

A beach. Dark, still. A beach at night, with a full, white moon in the distance, hidden by a thick layer of clouds. Something growing from the ground in arches–trees, rocks, it was hard to tell–like a gateway between the shadowed sands and rough beach rocks, to the ocean, coming onto the bank in gentle waves.

“Ah, careful,” Vexen frowned, “What you’re referring to is his conditioning method. That can turn against us, especially considering why we’re here. His ‘reflections’ offer you what you desire, after all…”

And indeed, this seemed to still be true. As, standing knee deep in the water, stood Riku. Riku, not Ansem. Smiling warmly, staring back out at them. Lifting his arm, putting out his hand, as if gesturing to them to come closer.

“Riku…” Sora whispered, taking a step closer.

Riku’s smile turned into a grin. That’s right. Riku. Right here. Wasn’t that simple?

Ienzo wasn’t much of a fan of Ansem’s world either, though for slightly different reasons. It turned out that ‘darkness’, as Ansem defined it, had a distinct smell. So Ienzo was very aware that, without triggering the conditioning process, one wouldn’t actually be surrounded by nothing. It was very clearly something, and that something shifted around into different layers and shapes.

It could be a little overwhelming, by itself. Though considering the desires that appeared once conditioning started were made of the same thing…

Ienzo gave Sora a worried look, as he manifested an image of Riku and the beach, but didn’t interfere. If Ansem needed to lean into his impulse to condition, then this was something they needed to tr--

Terra grinned brightly.

“Alright, kid, LET’S PARTY!”

His sword manifesting in his hand, Terra leapt up, ready for the battle to begin.

(Aeleus was the biggest instigator for teaching them all to fight, but Terra had been very enthusiastic about making spars fun for the kids. …if you liked the type of fun that regularly got your ass kicked.)

“R-right!” Sora said, snapping out of it after hearing Terra’s shout. Getting into a sparring stance, as he shouted, “You’re not Riku! Where’s the real Riku!?”

The Riku smirked, tilting its head…. Before the water around it started to bubble. Morphing up and over him, the beach that Sora had manifested fading off and breaking apart, like paper-mache caught in a wind-storm, as a massive beast made of sludge formed out of the water and shreds. Ansem’s signature look for the creatures that manifested in his realm part of its design, a giant space in its chest, heart-shaped, as the giant loomed down at them.

This was where the fun part of Ansem’s mind came to play, as the gravitational pull of the entire world? Shifted towards the giant. Pulling everyone up into the air and heading directly for it, as it opened its massive arms to swing at them.

“I hate this place,” Vexen grumbled, as he pulled out a giant, spiked shield. Protecting himself from debris and boulders that were also spinning around the gravitational pull of the heartless.

“Use momentum to your advantage, Sora!” Terra reminded, already, jumping from piece to piece of debris, “If it keeps pulling us in, then that’s extra POW in our pockets!” Ready to take his own advice, Terra swung himself out, gathering bits of sand and hunks of rock onto his sword before letting the gravity suck him in towards the sludge monster, leaning into a brutal smack.

Happy to let the fighters fight, Ienzo summoned his Lexicon and idly dodged the bigger pieces of debris. “You did willingly come along, knowing exactly what Ansem’s world is like,” he reminded.

Now, Ansem leaning into conditioning could be helpful, and…maybe part of it really was just so simple as Sora and Terra fighting the monster. But Ansem was a true Nobody, and so far every one had been connected to a personal space or memory of their Somebody. So if there was more to this…

Apologizing to himself, Ienzo parted his lips and breathed in, trying to really tease apart the scent of the shape of nothing.

Ienzo breathed in, breathed in, breathed in…

And he could get a sense of fresh air. Somewhere just behind him. Fresh air in a clean, vast field of grass. The wind blowing in the subtle but relished scent of trees, gently covered in morning dew.

Calm. Peaceful. Inviting. Beckoning. Just behind you. Go closer to the folds of the darkness, and you will find what you are looking for.

Bleg.

Ienzo’s eyebrows scrunched a little, but he didn’t otherwise move. …other than closing his eyes. Putting up a few barriers around himself and just hoping that the world was focusing more on the direct threat Terra and Sora were posing to try so hard to get him.

And he focused on not the beckoning feeling, but the darkness around it. Seeping out his energy into that border, trying to see if there was anything there…

The gravity rules were fun, and, admittedly, Terra was letting himself go a little wild, but this was just stage one. Even as family, not just anyone could challenge the Master of Darkness himself. Just had to make something so tempting even Mr. Zen wouldn’t be able to help himself.

The darkness still tried to call to Ienzo. The pleasant smells wafting in and out, and then a little whisper call, Demyx calling from a distance, “Hey! I think I found something! Come on! Over here!”

Over here, over here, over here.

Sora grit his teeth, slashing at the massive heartless again, before sighing in relief when it started to shake violently, the heartless melting back into the darkness. But like Terra, he knew this was just the start, as the gravitational pull let the four fall back down, the darkness around them lifting up into smaller heartless. Lifting up and shaking, twisting, a small army around them, ready to attack–

“Oh, come now, Ansem!” Vexen shouted up into the darkness, scowling, “Must we go through this process? Here, this is what I would like to reflect in the darkness: a less massive waste of our collective time!”

“Oh?” Ansem called out, his voice reverberating through the dark space. A low, menacing chuckle following them. “Darkness cannot reflect darkness. Nothing is seen in the empty spaces between them. But even your heart has light to create shape and form, old man. You wish to go back in time? Very well.”

“I said stop wasting time, not go back–ah, fiddlesticks,” Vexen grumbled, darkness now bubbling at his feet as he started to sink, “Nevermind me! Actually, perhaps this is a good thing! Sinking tends to be literal in these worlds, so far! Perhaps I will find Riku further–blurgh!”

Vexen was cut off, the darkness coming over his head as he sank down completely. Ansem laughing in the darkness.

And in the moment that Vexen was swallowed, Ienzo, who was looking for an opening, did feel something. A moment of stillness in the otherwise rippling, waving darkness. Like there was a door, hidden in the inky black, not far off.

Nothing is seen in the empty spaces between them… Seen, but even in the dark, things still existed. So to observe without seeing…or…perhaps, create a light so bright that the reflection was outdon--

“Got something!” Ienzo called to the others, latching onto that stillness. And calling out before heading towards it, perhaps he’d learned since Isa’s turn.

And so had Terra, who had spent the better part of the half hour Ienzo and Isa had talked wandering uselessly in a forest. Seeing Ienzo start to take off, he grabbed Sora’s collar and sprinted after their scientist. “Oh not this time!”

“Gah!” Sora gasped, getting dragged along as the three all headed for a space in the darkness, ducking and dodging heartless as Ienzo found a door in the dark lining, pulling it open and--

“Ienzo?”

Ienzo blinked, taking in the bewildered and slightly concerned pre-teen in front of him. In a brightly lit library, Riku looked up from the book he was reading, and in Ienzo’s peripherals he could just catch Sora and Kairi walking around a bookcase, heading for the adventure novels. Through the cracked windows letting in a gentle breeze he could hear bright, excited laughter.

That was normal for Seisear Manor, though. It was a place always filled with sound, the absolute gaggle of children that inhabited it always finding something new and wonderful to discover. That was how it’d always been, in Ienzo’s 14 years of life.

So why did it feel like…

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, huh?” Ienzo smiled warmly at his little brother, feeling oddly like he hadn’t seen him in a long time. “What book’s caught your attention today?”

Riku frowned, before looking uncertainly at the book in his hands, then around the library. Echoing warily, “What book’s caught my…”

And then he gave Ienzo a worried look, as he whispered, “What caught your attention?”

And then the air seemed to shimmer, and Riku smiled brightly, proudly holding up a novel as he bragged, “Sora kept saying he read a 20 chapter novel, soooo, check it out.” Riku smirked, flicking it open. “Twenty-five chapters. He’s going to have to try harder than that to keep up with me, huh?” Riku bragged, clearly hoping for some praise.

…huh? What did he mean by that? Obviously Ienzo was…

Ienzo laughed softly, coming closer to check out the book Riku was displaying. “Definitely. 25 is really nothing to sneeze at; I’ll never cease to be amazed by the heights your rivalry pushes each other to. How are you finding it so far?”

He definitely wouldn’t complain if a sense of competition encouraged his siblings to read more. He knew it wasn’t a hobby for everyone, but Ienzo found books one of the most incredible things on the planet. Every time someone else could find enjoyment there, it was thrilling.

Looking around a little exaggeratedly, though genuinely checking back where Sora and Kairi had disappeared, Ienzo murmured to Riku, “If he tries to one-up you, I’ll start making a list of ever slightly longer books.”

Riku’s chest swelled, clearly pleased, before admitting, “I’ve only read a few chapters so far. It’s kind of tough. But I can do it!” he insisted proudly, before laughing at Ienzo’s secret little deal. “I’m holding you to that, big bro.”

There was a distant sound– ‘Pepper’, Ienzo remembered–of a girl laughing and saying they were going to start a game of tag. Riku’s eyes widened in eager surprise, before he gave Ienzo a wave--“I’m going to go join in! See you later, bro!”--before he ran off, calling out, “Hey guys, wait for me!”

And the scene played out, Ienzo safe, and in a warm, familiar place, surrounded by loved ones, and everything was fine, fine, fine–

Even frowned as he looked at his clipboard, asking the boy, “Riku, how have the headaches been going? Any more feelings of tension in your neck since the last exercise?”

Even was helping younger Empaths more safely use their powers, these days. After proving the existence of non-demonic magical beings and getting his grant from the royal family to research them, Even had used his position of power and influence to fast-track the integration of said beings into Luminary culture, as had always been his hope for the research he was conducting in secret for so long. Now with that goal fulfilled, he was lucky to get the chance to focus on Empaths specifically, especially ones with such promise as Riku for one on one sessions.

The older man was proud, of everything he had accomplished. Proud to have managed to find the Rikus in life, able to help.

“What the matter?” Even asked, frowning as Riku rubbed the side of his neck, looking around in confusion at the lab, “More tension than before? That shouldn’t be right… it should have improved. Tell me what the issue is, Riku, we’ll fix it.”

“Fix it…” Riku murmured, looking at Even, “...is that what’s happening? Are you trying to fix something?”

And then the air shimmered, and Riku grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, doc, it might have nothing to do with Empath stuff. I stayed up all night hanging out with Sora and Kairi. I’m kind of tired.”

Even sighed, “You really do need to get a full night's sleep, just in general, but especially before sessions. Hold on, let me… Ienzo! Ienzo, my boy, where are you? Would you assist me in doing a scan?”

“Give me a second, Dad!” Ienzo called from another part of the lab. Another voice giggling with Ienzo, the boy clearly had a ‘friend’ over.

Even huffed. Well, as annoying as it was to have Ienzo distracted during working hours, he at least seemed happy. Even couldn’t exactly regret that. Though, if it was that layabout Demyx again, he swore–

But it was fine, really. Even was happy. It was fine, fine, fine…

“Shit,” Terra swore, as the door Ienzo had gone through became a solid wall of nothingness. “Just because it worked once, kid thinks it’s just fine to run off in someone’s mind…”

He sighed, apologetically fixing the back of Sora’s shirt. “Well, they’ll be fine at least. If they can get out of Ansem’s dreams, they can just leave, and if not…” Terra shrugged after a moment. “Well, he won’t kill them.”

Looking back at the hoard of heartless they’d left behind, Terra gave Sora a tentative grin. “...think if I give you a boost you can get fancy with your keyblade like before?”

“Oh, you mean like how I got all… shadowy and beasty?” Sora asked, before realizing, “Or do you mean upgrading my keyblade to Riku’s mind specifically? Sure, I can try! But I don’t know what it will do if I can’t swing at Ansem himself,” Sora admitted, looking back at all the heartless heading towards them. “They’re just window dressing… Still, maybe a new keyblade will lure Ansem out? He likes cool new weapons… okay!”

Sora decided, grinning at Terra, “Boost me up!”

Terra nodded, giving the heartless a flat look. “Think we might’ve been able to convince him to come play, but with Vexen and Ienzo caught in his web, Ansem might be content enough messing with them to pay us much mind… Unless we make it irresistible.” He smirked a little.

Grinning at Sora’s enthusiasm, Terra--

(C’mon, Aqua. We’re gonna go get our boy back, but we’re not losing the others to the dark either. Wherever you are, even in your own shadow…you’d never abandon one of our kids. They need you right now, so please…)

--fist bumped Sora, a flow of energy like getting caught in warm rain pattering through him. The keyblade turning blue and white, form growing sharper.

Sora felt his feet lift off the ground. The energy from the new keyblade giving him lift, the way Ansem’s always did in this world. The boost of power conceptualizing in Sora’s mind everything he missed about Riku, and forming it into a point.

He flew forward in a burst, cutting down heartless as he thought: he missed having fun with his friend. Ansem was nice, but Riku had used to like to lead their games and imaginary stories. He had loved building up grand, dramatic narratives to wow Sora and Kairi with, and Sora missed the confident way his friend had been able to inspire fun between them.

He cut down another group in a massive spin, his lifted momentum lifting air around him, catching the heartless in a whirlpool, and he realized he missed the way Riku could be a jerk sometimes. Ansem, oddly enough, just sort of wasn’t. Ansem was eager to please in a way that was hard for Sora to feel inspired by. He sometimes felt like he was taking advantage of Ansem, who went along with anything he said, even if Sora was doing his best to make it fun for them. He missed the way Riku challenged him. Could make him angry sometimes, or surprised. He didn’t want a Riku who bowed and kow-towed to him all of the time, cringing any time Sora was upset, unsure what he had done wrong.

Sora had been trying his best to make do with Namine and Ansem, for the short period of time he was back. He had been trying to be kind. To not resent them for just… not being the two people he actually wanted to spend time with. It wasn’t fair to the Nobodies. They hadn’t chosen this.

But he missed Riku! He missed Kairi! And the blade sharpened and his speed increased as he took out that frustration more and more on the heartless, laying waste to the army with deadly, enthusiastic consistency, before shouting in the mist of their exploded dark essence, “ANSEM! COME FIGHT ME!”

And the desire for that fight was so sincere. More sincere than what Sora had been bringing to the fight before that moment. That the mere desire itself beckoned, as Ansem’s laugh suddenly reverberated through the world. The man himself growing from the darkness floor, crossing his arms and grinning down at Sora.

“As you desire,” he said. As out of his back grew a heartless shadow creature. Attached to him, like a parasite, as he grinned. “One last time.”

Sora leapt up, aiming to cut at the Nobody. His path was dogged though, as around them red balls of lights opened like eyeballs in the darkness, shooting red beams of heat at Sora that he had to dodge through to get to Ansem. Every step forward Sora got, Ansem added more obstacles in his way. The heartless attached to his back threw balls of energy that Sora had to dodge. Ansem randomly twisted and turned the gravitational pull to mess up Sora’s movements. The only thing that Ansem didn’t do was move much himself. Just hovering there, as he allowed the environment to fight the battle for him.

But as Sora got closer and closer, Ansem increasing the speed and randomness of all the projectiles he was throwing at Sora, he said, “Why do you fight me so hard, when in the end, this darkness was what you all desired?”

“We were made for you,” Ansem said, a massive, dark egg of energy flowing up and around him next as Sora got even closer, the darkness swirling around him like a protective ball, that same darkness seeming to spread wings, as he argued, “Was it not more peaceful in the void, while your Nobodies, dutiful and loyal, took on the burdens of your harsh reality? Is reality truly less harsh now, that you no longer need us?”

“We offer you perfect protection. Perfect comfort. Perfect escape,” Ansem said, as the dark tendrils of the egg knocked Sora off course, pushing him back again. “Your light will never tarnish, because we take all the cruelty from you. You will never suffer, because we can absorb every beating. Feel no regrets, as the darkness in your heart gives birth to new consciousness. Again, and again, and again. Destroyed and recreated, whenever it is too much…” Ansem whispered, “...is this not what you desired? Darkness?”

As he asked, the egg of darkness seemed to shoot out like spikes. Hitting Sora back a few times, who cried out at the impact. “If you stop fighting me, Riku can always remain at rest,” Ansem said. “If you stop fighting yourself, Roxas and Xion can return, and protect you once again. Is that not what you want? Did we not fulfill your needs?”

Terra looked on proudly for a moment as Sora took off, bursting with energy and…well, light. Every hope and frustration beaming out from his heart and taking Ansem’s gauntlet by storm.

That’s his boy.

This wasn’t Sora’s fight to have alone, though, and Terra quickly followed in the teen’s footsteps, focusing more on deflecting the arrow hell that Ansem was creating, since he didn’t have to clear a path. Covering Sora’s back to let him carve as straight a line forward.

Just had to deal with the super shield first.

“No matter how softly it burns, a flame will always go out without added fuel,” Terra retorted, batting the energy balls away almost like a rhythmic dance, “It’s not a fault with you, Ansem, you did good, kid. Our jobs are just done now. We gotta let them actually shine their lights on something, otherwise what good is it anyway?”

“Shit!” Terra cursed as he heard Sora cry out in pain. Reaching within himself again (Aqua, please) Terra lifted his sword and…it got maybe a little humid.

No go this time, bud. You’re on your own.

Terra’s specialty had never been in healing, with his Empathy…but he knew how. Just gotta…

With a little frustrated sound, Terra darted in front of Sora, deflecting, and just taking, a few more of the spike attacks as he growled, a cry building in his chest.

“RRRAAGH!”

And a few shiny particles in swirling sand glowed, healing up some of Sora’s wounds.

Sora gasped, the sound more of relief than anything, as the pain and tension in his chest and back eased up rapidly. Righting himself mid-air as he shouted, “Thanks, Terra!”

Ansem, in turn, glanced at Terra–only not his attention because Terra wasn’t the one with the blade that could truly take him down–as he said, “Is that truly how you feel? Is Aqua not happy, now, asleep and being cared for by the warmth of your all-encompassing darkness? She desired her husband… is it not crueler to take you away from her?”

“Ansem, that’s enough!” Sora shouted, clutching his keyblade, “Terra… died a long time ago. Aqua knows that. Terra knows that! That’s already hard enough, without calling them out on it! They’re our friends, they need our support, especially when the darkness seems more comforting!”

“Maybe we made a mistake,” Sora admitted, staring at the cacophony of swirling, blacky ink that Ansem stood in the center of. Ansem looking less in an egg, and more like he was in a cage, as Sora stared at him. “Roxas was unhappy. Xion died before her time, reformed against her will. I’ve been wanting to hold back, because of that, with you, and Namine. No one should be asked to let go before they’re ready… but Ansem, you’ll never be ready if you’re waiting for a moment where Riku won’t be coming back to hardship! To struggle! That’s just a part of it, and maybe it was wrong of us to deny that, and put it all on you!”

“Because you’re not darkness, Ansem,” Sora said, suddenly stilling. The Keyblade going limp in his hands as he realized, “You’re not all of our evil desires or cruelty manifested. None of you ever were. We gave you a purpose, a job, to protect us, and you all did it as much as you could. You never gave up, even when it was hard, or lonely, or made you feel awful… That’s not something a creature of darkness would do, Ansem.”

“Ansem,” Sora smiled, letting his keyblade dissolve, relaxing, “You’re not Riku’s darkness. You’re his light.”

The air shimmered.

When the light faded away, Ansem stood there. But he was different. Younger. Smaller. He looked a bit like Riku, though was still so clearly the person he had been designed to be. Just not tall and imposing. Muscled and all-powerful.

Just a teenager who looked a little overwhelmed, as he asked, “Am I?”

Terra snorted, the words not not hurting, but far from devastating. “Kiddo, Aqua’s gonna wake up to the best news we’ve heard in years. We really have to make good on that pancake breakfast you all were so excited about, to remind you how great waking up can be, even from a nice dream.”

He wasn’t actually Aqua’s husband. And by this point, he thought it’d be a relief for her to finally stop playing pretend. Look to the future, and try to let the injuries of the past heal. Even if it was one he’d only see as part of her.

Because…

Terra gave Sora a proud look, eyes dazzled in the light, before he gave the same look to Ansem.

“We’re protectors, kiddo,” he winked, before giving Ansem a warm, loving look. Putting a hand on Sora’s back, before extending his other arm to beckon Ansem in. “And if I know anything about you, and I do, then I know you did a damn good job.”

Ansem stared at the beckon for a moment, clearly hesitating… before he sniffled and nodded. Walking into the hug, just letting himself rest against the two of them for a moment.

He had wanted to give some grand show for his final moment. One last reminder that he had been good at this. Had done what he was supposed to. Riku might never want to meet him, but Ansem had always hoped he’d want to hear about him, after.

But, honestly? He was tired. He had wanted to be whole from the beginning. He had been the one to first bring it up to Namine, that they needed to do something about being the only ones around.

He was tired.

He wanted to rest next. It had been his turn for too long.

Pulling back gently from Sora and Terra, he looked at them with a tired smile. Watery eyes crinkling warmly. “Thanks,” and then, after a pause, “...bye.”

And like it had happened for so many of the others, when Riku opened his eyes, he immediately had to close them again, both in the real world and in his mind.

Living was exhausting work. It was going to take him a second to get back into it. Which he would. It was his turn now.

Ienzo woke up a little dazed, blinking heavily, before groaning, putting an arm over his head. “No fucking way…”

Aqua woke up with a pounding headache, glaring into the gaps of light around the curtains she’d found for her window. Her body ached, almost stinging, even if she knew any actual strain was all mental.

…ooph. That had been a lot.

…pancakes would be nice, though.

…

Okay, just gotta…get up! Any second now. Totally.

Sora was snoozing hard. Honestly, he had no real plans to get up that day. He had spent his night fighting heartless! Give him a break!

But people moved around him, getting up and shifting and murmuring. And after a while, a hand gently shook him, as Kairi whispered, “Sora, get up. Riku wants to know if you’re hungry.”

“Riku?” Sora whispered sleepily, closing his eyes after they had briefly fluttered open… before he gasped, sitting up, “Riku! What do you mean he’s cooking!? No one gets up the morning after they’re made whole!”

Kairi blinked at him in surprise, before shrugging. “He’s up.”

“I don’t actually understand how your conditioning process must have worked though, based on what I experienced,” Even argued, sitting at the servants table as Riku was busy in the kitchen, “There were no reinforcements, no sign of what the conditioning was for. How do you get general obedience out of what seemed like just a mildly pleasant daydream?”

“Dunno,” Riku shrugged, flipping another pancake, “Never saw it myself. I have no idea how my Nobody conditioned. I think that was the point, remember?”

“Tsk. Sass,” Even said disapprovingly, as Riku passed him some pancakes with a smirk and a wink, “How are you so improved so quickly? Everyone else is usually bedridden by this point.”

“Whaaaat can I say? I’m built different.” Riku shrugged, before grinning as Kairi and Sora came in. “Hey guys! Breakfast? Oof!”

Riku winced as Sora tackled him into a hug. Smiling warmly as he wrapped an arm around him. “Geez, you act like you missed me. Come on, there’s no way you’ve been whole that long without me anyway. I was always going to catch up.”

Sora gave a small, shuddering breath, just holding Riku tighter for a moment… before he pulled back, wiping his eyes as he said, “It’s just nice to see you. You look… yourself.”

“A whole year older! That’s wild, isn’t it?” Riku said, gesturing for his friends to sit down so he could make more food, “Can’t believe I was out that long. How on earth did all of our Nobodies take over?”

“I’m still working on that, actually,” Even admitted, “My current running theory is it has something to do with being away from the sigils that suppressed us for so long. One or two of us being full Nobody is just trauma, all of us who had Nobodies succumbing all at once? That’s the effect of something.”

“Does seem more than just coincidence, huh,” Aqua mused, smiling with humor even with the lines of exhaustion under her eyes as she gently guided a very blank-looking Lauriam to the table. “Not about to subject myself to that kind of mental math, but even if it was a 50-50, the chances of it hitting all of us are pretty ridiculous.”

Once Lauriam was seated, Aqua went over to affectionately ruffle Riku’s hair, laughing a bit as she saw what he was cooking. “Ha, I really earwormed you there. Mornin’, kiddo, it’s good to see you.”

She gave him a softer look. “How are you feeling?”

Riku grinned at Aqua, clearly happy to see her, as he said, “Good! I mean, tired, but good. I could have stayed in bed, but honestly, I heard we had access to a kitchen, so how could I resist? That said… we’re reeeaaaally staying at a manor, huh?” He said, looking around the servants quarters, “I went to bed in the factory, knowing I was leaving the next day, and woke up in the biggest home I’ve ever seen. To say it’s taking me a second to accept I’m not dreaming is an understatement… Ey, what’s up with Lauriam?”

Riku peered at Lauriam’s dazed expression. “Lauriam, are you good?”

Aqua nodded gently, happy to hear that--obviously Riku was feeling some form of okay if he was up and cooking, but that his regular ‘never sit still’ energy was back in gear? It was really, really nice to see.

Though, uh…

Aqua blinked, before huffing amusedly. “Oh, you really don’t remember anything from Ansem at all. A lot’s been going down, Riku. Sure there’s more to cover, but, yeah, ‘Enzy pulled some very lax strings with a sort-of childhood friend of his, the Lady of this manor, Maya, and we’re all staying here for the time being. Until you all start heading for Dicea, because the actual heir apparent invited us, though half of us are going to catch up, because we’re making a pit stop at the capital to get Ienzo his title back--he’s a lord, by the way--and to hopefully pick up Ventus.”

Looking exasperatedly amused by just how absurd that all was, Aqua finished up with, “And Laurie had a bit of a meltdown and nearly shut down his brain, so we’re on healer-duty for the time being.” She gave Lauriam a softer look. “He’s more present more often lately, but I guess this morning’s just a ‘ball of light’ morning.”

Riku stared at Aqua like she had a second head.

“... I’m going to assume that all of that will make more sense as we go,” Riku decided, “Sit down, I’m making more pancakes! There’s a lot of stove-top space, so check out this double-pancake flipping action. You all will have plenty to eat soon!” Riku said, turning back to the skillet and flipping, indeed, two pancakes at once… and then moving on to flip the rest of the pancakes one by one.

“Eyyyyy, I remember hearing that you used to cook as a kid! Didn’t think that particular skill would hold up after all this time, I have to admit,” Dilan said, heading inside, giving Riku a pleased look before heading over to pull him into a rough hug, “You made it! Welcome back!” before patting Riku on the back, going to sit with Lauriam. “Ooph, ball of light day?”

“It’s alright, I’m spending time with him as well,” Kairi said.

“No wonder he’s so spaced out then, he’s probably bored. Tell Namine to engage with him more. Actually, nevermind, let me eat and I’ll do it,” Dilan huffed, “Almost got all the kids back now, huh. You ready to be whole soon, Kairi?”

“Of course. I’ve been working as hard as anyone to start the process,” Kairi said, “Though, that said, I doubt I should be next. The island has to be maintained, after all, especially with Lauriam’s condition.”

“Fair way to approach it,” Aqua snickered, before indeed taking a seat, giving applause at the double-pancake flipping action.

“It’s a trenchant concern, though I hope it will ease some of your worries knowing that Luis and our other stronger members are more than capable of holding things together for the likely handful of hours reintegration will take,” Ienzo sleepily assured, shuffling into the kitchen. “Good morning, Riku, it’s nice to see you.”

Riku lit up. “Ienzo! Long year no see! Pancakes?”

He said this as he passed Sora, Kairi, and Aqua plates, intending to get Lauriam and Dilan theirs next. He had loved to do this sort of thing when he was little, and it turned out cooking was like riding a bike: once you started doing it again, it all just came back, pure muscle memory.

“Ienzo, Even, and Aqua really helped get you back, Riku,” Sora explained, “Terra helped in the fight and talking Ansem down, and Ienzo and Even… were distractions!”

“Cool!” Riku agreed, as Even huffed, “Did my Nobody need talking down? That’s weird. I always imbued him with the desire to go back to base essence whenever I re-made him. That way it wasn’t a big deal when I rebuilt him every year. I would have thought he’d have been eager, since that’s how I designed him. Though, he was one steady construct for two years, rather than just the one, since I was knocked out for the last year. I guess that could have affected things.”

Long year? …Ansem and Riku had always been incredibly separated… Oh. Ienzo felt a small dip of guilt in his stomach as he realized it was even longer than Riku knew. He smiled softly at Riku. “Pancakes sound great, thank you.”

Finding a seat, Ienzo rolled his eyes a little. “Barely distractions. It’s actually a little embarrassing how easily Ansem’s method got me, even knowing how it worked.” He gave a little nod to the teens. “It’s been a while since one of you guys or a stronger Empath fully altered my perception too. Considering all my projects, it was likely a needed humbling experience.”

Aqua blinked at Riku, and she wasn’t the only one. “...you rebuilt Ansem every year?”

From the tunnel, Aeleus quietly entered. Giving Riku a successful nod, as he brought the fresh bananas and kiwis over to the sink to wash, having made an early morning market trip to complement Riku’s breakfast plans.

Riku seemed surprised by the question. “Of course. Viz taught me that. She said it was cruel to leave the Nobody with too many torture memories, that you had to reset them every now and again or they started to get damaged and deteriorate in self-defense. Don’t you all do that?”

“That takes more skill and self-control than most of us have,” Even said, easily accepting some fruit when Aeleus started passing them around. “Making a Nobody just once is difficult, and it can be a long time before they start functioning as expected. Most of us only ever tackled it the once and then just hoped they’d remain stable.”

Demyx walked in with Luis, yawning before startling. “Oh! Riku’s doing stuff! He’s moving around! Woah! Guess you guys did it last night then, huh?”

“Hey Demyx, hey Luis. Long time no see! Sit down, I’m making pancakes,” Riku said, passing the next plates to Dilan and Lauriam. “Ansem didn’t do much, huh?”

“That poor lad was afraid to sneeze wrong in the real world,” Luis sighed, sitting down, “Hopefully he’s more at peace now, whole. It was hard not to worry about him. No offense, Riku, we were worried about you too. Ansem just seemed to be really struggling to cope.”

“Well, sure, if he was only around for… almost three years?” Sora gently corrected, watching Riku balk at that, “He had less time than anyone to adapt. It makes sense.”

Aeleus nodded, agreeing with Even. It was something good in practice…but the average power levels of their current group was something of an anomaly, at least in his lived experience in the factory. And their work schedules didn’t exactly include sick days or lulls where one of them could safely drop out for a few days to fully develop a new Nobody.

Perhaps they were just dealing with the consequences of not adhering to a wise woman’s advice.

Lauriam didn’t even blink as Riku set down the pancakes on their side of the table, but after a moment--and some mental nudging from Aqua--he seemed to be somewhat aware that there was something in front of him, and that thing was ‘food’, and he needed to eat it. It was still a slow process.

Ienzo’s smile widened a bit as Demyx came into the kitchen, the blond taking his whole attention for a moment, before he shrugged a little. “And he rarely fronted in your body too. Add in that we’ve been trying to keep a low profile for most of the year, so he was mostly taking cues from the rest of us on that?” A sarcastically amused look faded into Ienzo’s expression as his eyes went lidded. “We are far from a good group to learn how to be ‘normal’ from.”

“Hah! I think we do alright!” Demyx laughed, leaning over to kiss the top of Ienzo’s head before taking a seat next to him, “You look soooo tired.”

Riku’s eyebrow raised. “Oh. That finally happened, huh?”

“A lot has happened since the factory closed. You have a lot to catch up on,” Dilan said, glancing at Lauriam eating every now and again, checking on him.

“I see that… wait, what was that about Ventus?” Riku frowned, looking at Aqua, “Not… baby Ventus, right? Different Ventus?”

“Baby Ventus,” Sora confirmed, “He’s alive! And at the capital! They’re gonna go say Hi! And maybe kidnap him a little, but I think that plan is mostly on the backburner to saying hi.”

“Woah… man, I do have a lot to catch up on,” Riku said, passing Aeleus a plate, then Ienzo.

Flushing lightly, Ienzo gave Demyx a pleased little look at the kiss, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze once he sat down…before he gave Riku a startled look. What did he mean by ‘finally’?! The last time Riku had been awake, Ienzo hadn’t been!

Aqua gave Riku a hopeful look, for as casually as she’d given the news initially. “Long story short and not completely rage-inducing, there was some bullshit. A noble family in the capital raised him, and,” she gave Sora an amused look, “yeah, we’re going to say hi. All things willing, I hope he’ll want to leave and come to Dicea with us, but I’m not about to force him into anything.”

Thanking Riku, Ienzo started to dig into the pancakes--if he didn’t want to feel like shit, he had to eat--before making a considering sound. Just barely pausing to swallow before commenting, “Oh, and I figured out how to nullify conditioning.”

“Oh! Are we… nullifying conditioning now?” Riku asked, sounding somehow more surprised by this than he had been that Ventus was actually alive. “...are people going to let us? I’m still not entirely clear on how we’re all still free. I mean, the last thing I remember is everyone being told the factory was getting shut down and we were all expected to leave the next day. But, I mean…” Riku frowned, “...I guess I really didn’t believe them. I thought for sure we were just going to be moved somewhere else to continue conditioning.”

“Honestly, lad, I think we were all expecting that, for a while,” Luis said, glancing at the door and nodding as he saw Isa walk in, “Riku’s up and about, whole.”

“Oh, good,” Isa whispered, giving Riku a warm nod, “I imagine you’re already overwhelmed with people saying welcome back. I know I was when I returned.”

“No, it’s fine, it’s awesome to see everyone, even if it doesn’t feel like I’ve been gone that long from my end of it,” Riku admitted, “But, yeah, being free, and actually able to work on fixing conditioning in the open? That’s… surprising.”

“And the Queen wants to give Ienzo his lord title back!” Demyx said cheerfully.

“Well, she hasn’t rejected it, anyway,” Isa corrected.

“Wait, Ienzo’s a lord?” Riku asked.

Ienzo looked a little sheepish there. “We haven’t…really discussed how we’ll be rolling it out. I’m still working on the actual mechanism, and over the past year I’ve gotten two volunteers who I’ve been working with to find a solution for conditioning. I’m confident in this method, but I’ll be able to see for sure how it plays in actuality, and then…” He gave an unsure shrug.

…to be perfectly honest, Ienzo hadn’t really been thinking about asking permission to nullify conditioning. If his mechanism worked? All he, or any Empath really, needed was to connect to someone for seconds, place the mechanism in, and then leave. It seemed too dangerous to ask people right out, or start advertising that he knew how to undo conditioning.

Sighing a little, Ienzo looked to the side. “Title in legal limbo, more accurately. But my parents were nobility, so I was born meant to inherit a lordship, yes. The letter we got from the royal court seemed rather…enthusiastic about our case declaration.”

“Weird,” Riku said simply, though it was an apt way to describe it. The others all nodding along with the assessment.

There was a sudden hush as a new set of footsteps came in, and woe, Lady Maya be upon ye. Riku suddenly hushed up, giving the entirely brand new person a startled, deer in lamplights sort of look, the woman raising an eyebrow at him as she observed him cooking.

“...would you… like some pancakes? M’lady?” Riku tried after a moment.

“You know, sometimes I think I have you guys figured out, and then out of nowhere one of you will just start acting entirely different,” Maya mused, before shaking her head, “No thank you. I’m just coming down to grab more beer.”

“This early?” Luis, ever the hypocrite, asked in surprise.

“It’s still yesterday for us. Accidentally pulled an all-nighter.” Maya shrugged, grabbing a case of bottles, giving everyone a nod before heading off.

“.........who was that?” Riku asked, “Did I guess right? She’s the Lady of the house??”

Ienzo gave Maya a sleepy wave as she entered, but didn’t break the awkward hush that fell. And…it really wasn’t funny, there was a very serious reason behind why every now and then one of them would start acting totally different, but Ienzo had to push down a smile at Riku’s attempt to make sense of a woman who he hadn’t met in the slightest.

“Bingo,” Ienzo nodded, “Though she said unless someone official comes over and she has to do the song and dance to get them to not be a complete dick, she doesn’t care about us using her title. Obviously,” Ienzo lightly spun his fork around to indicate their whole family, and the way they’d tensed, “there’s no pressure to suddenly be friendly with her, but Maya’s a safe person to be around.”

Ienzo blinked, before suddenly giving Riku a serious look. “...and if she offers you booze or drugs, at least tell one of us before accepting.”

“Hoooold up, let’s not have that be the general rule, okay?” Aqua said, a little incredulous and amused by Ienzo stepping up like that, but not wanting to get too far ahead of things.

Lauriam stopped eating, just going still as he lightly glared into space, a mildly frustrated look on his face.

Riku blinked… before his eyes widened in curious wonder. “She’s going to offer me drugs?”

“Probably,” Sora admitted with a laugh. “But, Ienzo’s right. Maaaaybe don’t take her up on it… though, if Aqua feels like we… should do drugs?” Sora asked, looking curiously at Aqua.

“Don’t get your hopes up, I extremely doubt that’s what she’s saying,” Dilan snorted, before glancing at Lauriam, “What’s wrong with you? You look like you need to take a shit. Need help getting to the bathroom?”

Aqua chuffed, giving Sora an even look. “Nice try. I’m saying, try to think about it a little more than just telling one of us. Even if weed’s not as bad as its reputation, Lady Maya still has other stuff you probably shouldn’t even try out. Keep yourself safe.”

Ienzo tilted his head a little before nodding in consideration. “It’s also much more difficult to use Empathy effectively under the influence, so that’s another consideration I suppose.”

Lauriam grimaced a little, managing to shoot…at least the space near Dilan a glare, before he drew himself up. Concentrating incredibly hard as he made sure to actually look at Riku. “...welcome back,” he managed after a moment, looking a little too intense for the softer sentiment he meant.

“Oh!” Riku said, a little surprised that Lauriam was… well, just now tuning in, it seemed? “Thanks! Though, wow, whatever happened to you must have been rough.”

“I wasn’t that rough,” Dilan said, poking Lauriam as he asked, “Are you still hungry and just can’t eat, or are you full and need a better place to sit?”

Riku gave Dilan’s comment a confused look, before glancing at Sora, who just laughed awkwardly. “Things have been just going, going, going since we left the factory!”

“...almost died, almost killed everyone, you know how it is…” Lauriam mumbled, before swaying a bit in his seat, Aqua quickly steading his shoulder. Even still, he gave Dilan a flat look, muttering, “Give me a second, you’re needier than an orchid…”

Aeleus nodded. “It’s been a little over nine months, precisely. Things move much more quickly outside of the factory.”

“Keep talking shit and I’m gonna stop taking you to the bathroom. Darn it, Sora, I’m trying to threaten here, don’t immediately volunteer,” Dilan huffed as he saw Sora immediately open his mouth to say something.

“Nine months…” Riku sighed, “Nine months essentially asleep. That’s… phew. I’m glad you guys eventually woke me up. Can’t believe it took nine months.”

“You’ll see, it’s a lot harder to pressure each other into it then you’d think, even now that we can,” Luis sighed, “Ol’ Dilan over there is in firm denial that he’s trying to avoid it–”

“What? Who’s in denial! I’m getting to it later!”

“--and Namine’s terrified the island’s gonna fall apart without her. There’s always something and it’s hard to argue with any of it. It’s never just ‘nah, I’d rather not’, there’s always some decent argument to prolong it.”

“What about you, Luis?” Riku asked, “Are you Luis? I don’t actually know who’s still a Nobody and who’s still whole. Sora’s whole, Kairi’s a Nobody. Lauriam’s whole, uhhh… Isa’s still a Nobody?”

Isa shook his head, quietly saying, “Whole.”

“Oh, my bad.” Riku frowned. “You’ve just been so quiet, I assumed… anyway, um… Aqua’s…” he squinted at her, “...whole?”

Aqua gave Riku a soft smile. “Not yet, kiddo. Want to keep the guessing game going?”

Ienzo sighed softly. “Sora, Axel, Demyx, me, Isa, Lauriam, and now you are whole. I would say ‘again’, but it turns out some of us never actually made Nobodies in the first place, and we’re unsure of who remaining is in that situation. We’ve only actually been able to make progress on becoming whole over the past month or so, because an absurdly powerful Empath in Prince Kokichi Ouma has a very strong altruistic streak and decided to help us, along with aiding in introducing some of his connections among other Empaths who have been willing to share their knowledge.”

A nervous, slightly guilty look came over Ienzo’s face for a moment before he gave Riku a shy look. “...also, I’ve…rarely actually been Ienzo for the time you’ve known me, though I suppose that’s getting a little convoluted now that I’m getting clearer memories from my constructs, but, regardless… In certain senses, it’s nice to meet you personally.”

Riku squinted at Ienzo, trying to interpret what he just said… before he shrugged. “Alright. Nice to meet you, guy who’s helped raise me. Definitely nothing weird about that.”

“Do you consider us having raised you?” Demyx asked, a bit of syrup on his chin as he seemed genuinely surprised at that, “I mean, the older guys, sure, but us?”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “You are the older guys.”

Demyx looked, just, devastated.

Ienzo blinked at Riku, absent-mindedly patting Demyx’s back in consolation. “...I’m literally four years older than you.”

Even listing a little, Lauriam snickered quietly.

Again, Riku shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, old man.”

Sora giggled, as finally Riku turned off the stove, more pancakes ready and stacked for anyone who wanted them as he sat down. Laughing with Sora as his friend giggled some more, the two clearly entirely pleased with the looks on the others' faces. Probably specifically Demyx. Who had aged ten years in horror alone.

“I think Ienzo’s more like an older brother,” Kairi said, before smiling softly, “An old, old big brother.”

“They’re doing this just to hurt me,” Demyx whimpered.

Ienzo flushed lightly.

(It had been…embarrassing, how sincerely pleased he had been in the dream Ansem spun around him, to hear the dream Riku call him ‘big brother’. To know in that dream logic that he was not only ‘big bro’ to the Light of Heart trio, but to quite a lot of kids that, in reality, Ienzo barely knew, and pretty much just knew in the worst of circumstances.)

(It wasn’t like it was a surprise to him to know that that was something he wanted. But still embarrassing seeing so clearly how much it was apparently something he wanted.)

(...even for the kids he had been able to help raise, Ienzo didn’t think he’d been a particularly good brother.)

Leaning against Demyx’s shoulder, Ienzo patted his back some more and whispered back in his ear, “The fancy of youth is fleeting, like stray lambs out yonder bleating, ‘tis better to have the perspective true, I think you’re perfect just being you.”

Demyx lit up, blushing as he wrapped his arm around Ienzo’s waist, grinning cheerfully. Restored.

“Okay, but,” Dilan leaned in to whisper to Lauriam, “At least neither of us are that needy.”

Ienzo smiled softly, leaning into the touch. For off the top of his head, he was glad Demyx hadn’t taken it as Ienzo calling him old too.

“...think I’d set stuff on fire again if you ever tried,” Lauriam hummed in agreement, slowly getting some focus back as he got back to eating breakfast…though he sent Dilan a cool look. “Also. We’re not together.”

“Yet,” Dilan said automatically, reaching over to steal some of Lauriam’s pancakes, “I’m trusting Dilan to woo you at some point in the future.”

“Doubt it,” Lauriam mumbled, eating with a little more urgency now. Riku had made more, but Lauriam wasn’t trusting how long either his focus or appetite would last. …also it was fun to see how much he could eat before Dilan slowly stole everything.

Aqua gave them a dry look. “Really nailing the ‘we’re holding off on things’ plan, guys.”

“We are holding off,” Dilan said, smirking as Lauriam knocked his hand off the plate, trying to sneak his fork in under it now, “But, you know, there’s holding off and then there’s holding off. We don’t have to hold off, hold off, I think.”

“What the heck does that mean?” Demyx wondered.

“He wants to nail Lauriam again,” Axel said, rolling his eyes, “He’s clearly thinking with his dick. That’s a terrible idea, Dilan.”

“Lauriam freaked out because I said I cared. I can have sex and not say anything stupid this time,” Dilan said, trying for another piece.

“Lauriam can’t make any decisions for himself, sure, sure, let’s all talk about Lauriam as if he isn’t literally in front of us,” Lauriam grumbled, leaning to the side and eating more of his pancakes. “‘O’ee re- ou’ haus ‘i ain’s’o’en, o’ ‘aus ‘o she’ ‘o hel ‘i a ‘edo’il…”

Ienzo squinted, trying to piece that together.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi all looked at Luis, who blinked back at them… “Having an accent doesn’t mean I can understand every garbled word someone says,” he told them dryly.

“Oree…oes? Oreos? I think he’s asking for oreos,” Demyx guessed, before saying too loud and slowly, like Lauriam was deaf, “Do you want O-re-os, Lauriam?!”

“You’re fucking with him, right?” Axel asked.

Demyx snickered, “Yeah, duh.”

Lauriam swallowed and gave Demyx a cool look. “Have double stuffed on the mind, Dem-Dem?”

Ienzo’s expression twisted, now trying to make sense of that.

“Alllllright,” Aqua sighed, holding a hand up, “Looks like everyone’s energetic this morning. Let’s hold off until everyone’s done eating, at least?”

Dilan snickered, tapping his fist lightly against Lauriam’s. “Nice.”

“Well, some of us don’t have to ask for it, Lauriam,” Demyx said, lifting his chin.

“Mmmm, mid,” Dilan said, shaking his head at Demyx, who pouted, “Try again, come on. You can do it.”

Demyx scrunched his mouth, thinking. “...I get… more cookies than you can dream of?”

“You still have all those cookies Ienzo got you?” Sora asked, surprised.

“Oh, no, those were gone by our first date,” Demyx laughed, not wanting to admit those had been eaten up all by the very next day.

“We’ve so terribly failed you, Demyx. Where did we go wrong when it came to comebacks for you?” Dilan asked, shaking his head.

Lauriam rolled his eyes a little though he did tilt his fist into the tap. Though, his expression soon did go disparaging at Demyx’s attempts to snap back. Poor Ienzo…even if a quick glance across the table revealed that Ienzo looked no more enlightened about the banter than before.

In fact, Ienzo just nodded seriously. “I’d be a little concerned if there were still cookies. I don’t think they’d be dangerous after a week, but I don’t think they’d taste very good anymore.”

Lauriam sighed. “It all ended up in the Larxene part of his brain. Just as well, I guess, since unless you’re panicking, most of your spice ended up with Zexion, Ienzo.”

Ienzo just raised an eyebrow. “...that so?”

“Hey, if being whole means we get worse at insults, we can all live with that,” Axel said, running his hand through his ponytail a bit, tearing apart the ends that had clumped together in the night, “Speaking of, do we want to talk about who’s going next?”

“Already?” Sora asked, “Last night was kind of tiring, but I could go again! Who wants to be stabbed next?”

“You stabbed me!?” Riku gasped.

“Well, I tried. But it turned out Ansem just needed a hug… but I would have stabbed you, don’t worry! I was prepared! You should see the keyblade I made to stab you with, it’s awesome looking!” Sora said proudly.

Riku pouted, clearly conflicted. On one hand, don’t stab him?? On the other hand, yeah, he wanted to see the cool blade.

“Ansem was an interesting study, in that it proved the Nobodies really can just let go on their own without being forced to,” Even pointed out, “Not that that’s going to be me, mind you. I already know my self-preservation instincts will kick in. But Ansem seemed willing to fade back to base essence with just some reassurance. Might just be another sign you did well maintaining him, Riku.”

“Thanks,” Riku said, “I try.”

“Can we not talk about them like that? You like that?” Luis sighed, taking out his flask and pouting some liquor into his coffee, “These are our friends. We shouldn’t discuss them like they’re shears we have to clean every now and again.”

“I can say as one of the people still a Nobody, that is what we are,” Even said, “I can recognize my own existence as a tool, while still wanting to hold onto aspects of that existence. Denying either is a lie.”

Ienzo let out a slow breath, slumping onto the table. “You might be ready to go again, but I can’t tonight. And even if I was, I’d still caution against it. You might be feeling fine now, Riku, but I think at minimum it’s wise to have some time as a buffer, just in case. While the gap times have been more out of our control previously, I’d still think it’d be dangerous to have a handful of us out of sorts all at the same time.”

…Lauriam had enough awareness to feel thankful that Ienzo didn’t point out ‘because sometimes you made idiot dumb decisions just a few days into being awake and then went volcanic’. Though he did still wince a little as Sora talked about his stabby proclivities, shifting uncomfortably.

Aeleus had already made his case, for his number in line and his thoughts about his existence, even if not for all parties here now, so he simply bypassed that and turned to Sora. “Sora,” he called softly, “We should train with your keyblade. One’s weapon should always be an extension of yourself, and yours is literally. Knowing it inside and out is important.”

Aqua frowned a little, giving Luis a long look. “...I’d still like to go soon, but… Having some thoughts, Luis? Why ‘them’?”

Sora lit up, grasping his hands into fists as he nodded. “I can do that! I want to be the best at this! Then I can help all of us any time one of us loses it!”

“I really hope that’s not going to be such a common occurrence that you end up using it a lot,” Axel mused, “Like, preferably as little as possible.”

“We all spar often for fights we hope to never be in,” Kairi pointed out, “It’s just the same thing.”

“Fair, fair,” Axel agreed.

“Oh, I just mean… in general,” Luis said, taking a swig straight from his flask before putting it away, sipping at his coffee, “These are our friends, Nobody or Whole. I don’t want to dismiss Ansem as just some tool that needed dealing with. He was a good kid. Feels bad to hear him talked about like that.”

“Sorry,” Riku frowned, “It’s harder for me to think about him as a person. After I design them, I never meet them. I just always kept myself separated.”

“I think that was similar for a lot of us,” Demyx said. “I didn’t really hang out with Larxene, but I did share certain memories with her. And I say we didn’t hang out, but I guess we did communicate in our own way. Just, again, in trading memories. I know she could listen into the real world when she wasn’t busy. Sometimes she could…sooort of take over? I mean, I let her, but I could feel her pushing if she really wanted something,” Demyx recalled.

“Luis, it’s alright if you don’t think you’re a Nobody,” Axel said, picking up on the same vibe Aqua had, “Maybe you have an aide too. Though, I do think Luxord is way more flamboyant than Luis. You’re really in your element when you’re doing the gambling games, it’s hard to imagine Luis pulling off the same showmanship.”

Ienzo tilted his head over his arm to look at Demyx, visible eye gleaming in interest. “Really? That’s really interesting… I suppose it’s very obvious that all my constructs were in conversation with one another, but it was more like the opposite for me. Generally we had set, scheduled times for whomever was controlling my body, but it was far from uncommon that someone would request a tap out. That’s…very interesting, the range of egos our Nobodies have.”

It made absolute sense that Larxene would have desires, and ones so strong that she’d actually urge Demyx to let her front. On the other hand, it made sense that Riku never sensed any sort of request from Ansem, because…well, his constructs always had such little time to develop, and started with the intention of never having desires in the first place.

Fascinating.

Aqua frowned more, crossing her arms as she gave Luis a more puzzled, searching look. “...it makes sense for Luxord because he’s completely piss-ass drunk during his games. …which is you getting drunk in your world.”

There seemed to be some silent consideration to that idea, everyone looking at Luis, who frowned at his coffee… before muttering, “This needs to be stronger,” as he got out his flask and poured more into it.

“...could it be argued that the drinking constructs he’s developed in his world were a type of aide?” Even theorized aloud, cupping his chin, “...do you remember the torture sessions, then, Luis? Because I know it was possible to get blackout drunk from your constructs. Though I had dismissed some of that to a placebo effect, our minds getting tricked by the sensation of getting drunk as to reject the memory entirely. But if you literally made yourself an aide that gave you unreasonable, unrestrained confidence while also messing with your memories if you utilized it enough, and then simply designed it to look like alcohol… that’s clever. And also weirdly unnecessary. Why make it so elaborate, why not just make the Nobody we told you to design?”

“Why hide that you didn’t make a Nobody?” Axel asked. Because the expression Luis had on his face was that he had hidden it. The man looking vaguely guilty and uncomfortable as he sipped on his coffee some more. “The rest of us didn’t know we either hadn’t really made one, or they got destroyed, or, well, I thought the little I did was what we were all doing. But you’re strong enough to make one.”

“...” Luis looked tired. He glanced at the kids, before looking to the rest of them. “I don’t really want to talk about it,” he admitted. And then, as if trying to offer something to sate their curiosity, he said, “I was going through withdrawal when I first ended up in the factory. I was drunk the day they processed me. Let’s just say I was very motivated to get myself back in that state, when I realized I was never getting let out of the factory. The second someone explained to me what constructs were? I never tried to make a Nobody, I spent all my time perfecting the alcohol construct.”

“And then once I had it mastered… it’s too hard to make a Nobody when I’m like that,” Luis explained, “So I didn’t.”

“Ooooh,” Demyx said, nodding as if that was all he needed to hear, “You were too drunk to make a Nobody. Still, damn! That’s a hell of a choice to make! There’s no way you really forgot everything, it must have been a roll of the dice every time!”

Demyx paused, before laughing, “Hah! No pun intended.”

Ah. Alcoholism was his Nobody.

Aeleus sighed softly. “There is not much point to it now. But though our interpretations varied wildly, it was passed down as an imperative matter to make a Nobody. It was treated as though not making one was putting the group at risk.”

And…it was, to a point. Being so mentally connected, if someone was struggling, then that meant they all were struggling. And even outside of that, if someone buckled under the horrors of their job, then they would all be punished. By the supervisors, by seeing a friend lost to despair and madness…and sometimes death. According to the previous generations, making a Nobody was the only way to live in the factory.

But they were seeing the proof now that it wasn’t. It seemed that applying the label of ‘Nobody’ was just something to say to soothe each other’s worries.

Ienzo gave Demyx a slightly strained look, sighing, “Demyx…”

Aqua gave Luis a long, silent look, before saying softly. “...well, if you ever do want to talk about it, you know we’ll listen.” And, in that tone of voice, it was very clear that Aqua was really saying, ‘I love you, you prideful git, talk to me about it.’

Luis looked away.

It wasn’t pride. It was shame. Shame was much, much harder to talk about.

Dilan glanced back and forth between Aqua and Luis, before leaning back in his chair. “Ey, speaking of drinking? I’m taking the fun ones out tonight. We have the coin, we have some big-ass responsibilities coming up, I don’t want to spend every damn day stuck in this big, creepy place. We’re going out.”

“Who’s the ‘fun’ ones?” Even asked dryly.

“Oh, oh! Us!?” Sora said, waving his hand and pointing to himself, Riku, and Kairi.

“Hell no, you’re staying here playing with giant swords you all made ‘key’ shaped for some damn reason,” Dilan said, “Grown ups only.”

“We are grown up,” Riku huffed, sitting down from where he had been excitedly standing for a second too.

“Eyyyy, drinking time! I’m down!” Demyx shouted.

“Nope. Wrong again.” Dilan said. “Lauriam’s the only fun one from your group, and he can’t come, so you’re stuck at home too.”

“WHAT?! Man, whatever.” Demyx pouted, flopping his head against Ienzo.

Shame was the other side of pride’s coin. Especially when it prevented you from reaching out to anyone.

Lauriam shrugged a bit. Unbothered both by being called the only fun one, and the fact that he couldn’t come. “I think I would be a terrible drunk right now. You’d have to start the night already carrying me.”

Automatically patting Demyx’s head in his disgruntlement, Ienzo glanced between his dad and the teens. “...I thought if Sora was going to work on his weapon skill, you would be training them, though?”

“They can practice by themselves for a night. But only if Aeleus is fun,” Dilan grinned, looking over his shoulder at Aeleus, “That’s up to him though, if he’s fun or not. Can go either way with the big guy.”

Aeleus looked a bit pleased with Ienzo inadvertently calling him fun, before he gave Dilan an amused look. Axel and Isa hadn’t said anything yet, but the last time Dilan, Luis, and Aqua had gone out by themselves? The news about Ventus was great, admittedly, but they had come home exhausted physically and emotionally and covered in blood.

“We will train today,” he informed the teens, “But the cool down and absorption will be up to yourselves tonight.”

Ienzo tilted his head, whispering in Demyx’s ear, “We can find something more fun to do, if you want.”

“Tsk, hanging out with you is more fun anyway,” Demyx said, lightly tapping his forehead against Ienzo’s. “Me, you, and Lauriam are going to have our own hangout session! Lauriam, you better sleep today, because we’re keeping you up tonight!” Demyx said, pointing at the man in question.

“Like you could keep anyone up all night, Demyx,” Dilan snickered.

“Tsk! I do! All the time! T-tell them, Ienzo!” Demyx demanded of the guy he had, as of right now, done some radical hand-holding with.

Lauriam gave Demyx an amused look. Oh, he was invited to the lovebirds’ hangout, was he? (...he appreciated the invite. Even watching Demyx and Ienzo make eyes at each other all night sounded better than just sleeping for sixteen hours. And he knew that making eyes was about all they’d be doing.)

Ienzo gave Demyx a soft look, before nodding very seriously. “I have legitimate concerns about the complete destruction of my sleeping schedule. Zexion isn’t very happy with me.”

Even getting the joke, Aeleus still burned a stare into Demyx’s skull.

“Is it just me, or did the temperature go up?” Demyx whispered, subconsciously rubbing the back of his head.

“Whatever. I will come as well, but I refuse to be ‘fun’ for anyone,” Even huffed, “I will drink and observe and you all will leave me to my peace otherwise.”

“Sure,” Dilan smirked, before looking to Axel and Isa, “You guys coming or what?”

“Oh, are we ‘fun’?” Axel asked dryly, before looking at Isa, “What do you think?”

“Mmm… it might be nice to get out of the manor for a night,” Isa admitted quietly, “I’d like to go somewhere nice though. I don’t want to risk ourselves in some random tavern or bar, now that we’re coming and going from a place like this. We’ll get harassed if anyone recognizes us.”

“Somewhere nice huh… hey, you know where I’ve always wanted to go?” Axel said, looking to the others, “You know those water bars?”

“Woah,” Dilan said, genuinely startled, “That is expensive. Does this city even have something like that?”

“They do, that’s why I bring it up,” Axel said, “Sora delivered something to one of those places. I don’t know, those always sounded fun. Floating in a warm pool, having a drink… they’re not super deep, I’ve heard, you don’t need to know how to swim.”

Which was good, since probably zero of them actually did. Still, any water-based attraction in Luminary was considered pretty ritzy, and reserving a spot at a water-bar?

Aqua let out a whistle and raised her eyebrows at Axel’s suggestion, as if just the name wasn’t enough to perk Ienzo’s attention, giving the older Empaths a highly curious look. Though, it turned out just waiting gave him an answer. At least a basic one. “It’s a bar in a pool?” he asked, before squinting a little. “I thought being in water while inebriated was generally unadvised, though that could be part of the price tag along with the water use, I suppose.”

Aqua gave Ienzo a questioning look for a moment before snickering. “Oh kid, you’d hate it. Never been to one myself, admittedly, but I do know that stuff like that usually has the water treated to all get out.” She squinted her eyes in amusement. “Ienzo, have you ever smelled chlorine before?”

He tilted his head a little along the table. “...chlorine bleach?”

Demyx raised his hand. “I have. My family did construction near a pool once. It’s a pretty intense smell, yeah, they treat it with all sorts of stuff. They would not let me near it.”

“I think I’d want to learn to swim someday,” Sora mused, kicking his feet, “Maybe it’s like when we swim on the beach? But maybe not. Dream stuff is always a little different.”

“Again, I don’t think you swim in these things, I think you just lounge in them. Like big hot tubs, but not as hot, was the impression I always got,” Axel said, before explaining, “The bosses liked to hold meetings in those things as a way to flex with whoever they were negotiating with. I never went into the areas myself, but I’d receive orders outside of pool bars a lot. I dunno, the mystique of it all got to me, it seemed cool.”

“Eh, I’m less disappointed we’re missing out. We can hang out in a hot tub here, Lady Maya literally has one on the roof if we wanted to,” Demyx reminded them.

“It’s the whole… thing, of it,” Axel said, waving his hand around like he was trying to pack the idea into a ball, “It’s not just the bar, it’s not just the water, it’s the place.”

Ienzo grimaced, suddenly losing all enthusiasm. He’d put himself through a lot for science, but he thought he got the concept of a pool well enough. Not worth putting his nose through that kind of torture.

Aqua couldn’t help laughing at the look on his face. “Hey, if Aqua still remembers how to swim? Dicea’s supposed to be all green, they’ve probably got a nice lake or two. She’ll give you lessons, and I promise not just throwing you in and seeing if survival kicks in.” Looking mischievous, she gave Isa a grin. “Can I get a vouch?”

Aeleus gave Axel a small nod. “Atmosphere is its own element.”

Isa grimaced, “I recall a push did occur, when I was trying to dip my toes in,” before he smiled lightly, “But, I did learn to swim that day, so I suppose I can forgive it.”

“Aqua taught you how to swim, Isa?” Sora asked, surprised. “I thought you two knew each other through… I don’t know, lawyer stuff.”

“Nope. I think you’ll be surprised,” Isa smiled lightly, “Aqua and Terra were, in fact, me and my sister’s babysitters. Our parents were never quite the ‘nanny’ types, but they were fond of hiring some local teenagers to occupy our time when they wanted us out of their hair. Terra ended up being very reliable. He was around a lot, when I was growing up… and then, one day, Aqua started coming along. Which I don’t believe they ever paid you for,” Isa noted amusedly, glancing at Aqua.

“Not a copper,” Aqua rolled her eyes, before smiling fondly, “...but Terra made a case to your folks about ‘enriching activities’ and basically negotiated a raise, then split his pay with me. Sort of.”

Aqua snickered. “We made bets during training, and with his gig with you rugrats it turned to money. It just so happened I won enough to coincidentally get about half of what he made.”

“He threw the matches?” Lauriam raised his eyebrows in surprise and skepticism. Sure, Terra hadn’t been as brutal as Aeleus when it came to spars, or even games, but every time he had seen Terra and Aqua spar, it never looked like either of them were pulling punches. Neither gave the other enough slack to do so.

There was confident humor on Aqua’s face before it slowly faded. “...I guess I’ll never know for sure. But I don’t think so. Any time his pockets started getting a little full he always insisted on paying for our dates.”

“Aw, that’s sweet though!” Demyx insisted, leaning in and grinning wide as he asked, “What was your favorite date with him? I’m sure they were all great, but I bet there was one that stood out.”

Even was still musing at the odds that three Empaths would, again, have seemed to have met by pure coincidence. Same with the trio. Perhaps Empaths were born regionally in batches, close by each other? Were Empath-abilities genetic, or the result of being close to something? Perhaps it just wasn’t rare enough that such coincidences couldn’t keep occurring. That was interesting, if that was true, though Even wondered how so many people had escaped the factory's notice in that case. Genetic was probably the answer, but proximity to some sort of source piqued his interest. He’d think of it more later.

Aqua’s expression was soft, but there was some…difficulty there. Because Terra wasn’t Aqua, he was Terra. But he wasn’t even Terra, he was Aqua’s memories of Terra, which were comprehensive, but could never account for the full person Terra had been. He was made of Aqua’s memories…but he wasn’t Aqua as her full self, so…

She gave Demyx a smile. “I’ll give you story time now, but promise to ask Aqua again later, okay? And don’t tell her if I’m way off.”

Looking at the table, Aqua huffed fondly. “We were 18, at the time. I was working pretty much full time at the dojo, and I think it was starting to get to Terra a little that he wasn’t a master yet. It was just a normal day, and he came up to me and asked to run away.”

“I was more intrigued than anything, mostly just by how casually he said it,” Aqua remembered, a small smile on her lips. “And before you knew it, we rented a land-sail and headed out into the desert, no plan. Just picked a direction, and,” Aqua flicked her hand, accompanying the motion with a little ‘pschew!’ sound effect, “went.”

“We saw a lot of neat stuff, for not expecting anything more than sand,” she laughed, “A cascade of dunes that looked like they trailed up into the sky, a weirdly perfect circle of crown circle cacti, the strangest looking birds I’ve ever seen… We ended up at this crag that was obviously some sort of regular pit stop. The rock wall was covered in graffiti.”

Her smile softened, bittersweet. “Wonder if the stars are still there, or if they’ve been painted over. Has been a while.”