Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rosanna

So…Colleen was killed by a Minotaur.

Right?

That-that’s what people were saying, Nikita and Alex were there and they saw it happen.

They saw MatPat disappear.

-And that’s all we've got!

Disappearing could mean a lot of things, you know!

He could’ve gotten hurt or worse!

But then that chest had opened, and no one would talk about it anymore.

They were all busy trying to figure out what that little piece of paper meant, and I wanted to help too, but I was worried.

He’d already died once.

I really wouldn’t rather he died again.

He was like my brother from another mother…

There was a tapping from outside the window.

I looked.

Did you forget me?

I screamed!

It was my other friend: Safiya.

Her eyes had been poked out, and the gash in her stomach was bleeding and bleeding-

My eyes flew open.

I was curled up on the couch, nice dress soaked with sweat.

It was just…a nightmare…?

Sitting up, I re-adjusted my hat and coat.

That was horrible.

“I didn’t forget you…”, I whispered sadly-

Wait…

Where is everyone!?

The lounge was completely empty!

Not even Mortimer’s statue was here!

This was so creepy-!

…Who…was that…?

Standing over me!?

I fumbled around for something to hit them with, and ended up with my pointy-heeled pumps!

“Hey!”

Mx. Tall, dark shadow gave me a sideways glance.

“Don’t you dare think I’ll go down easy!!”

-And then I picked up a cushion from off the seat and threw it at them.

They tried to catch it, but fumbled it to the ground instead.

“That was a warning!”

I scooped up the other one, and threw it, too.

It bounced off their chest, because that was about as far as I could reach, and they almost fell over.

They were so tall-!

“That was my second warning!”

Finally, I stood up on the couch itself and poked my sharp whackers into their chest.

“Next time, I’m gonna use these-so back up!!”

They blinked.

Their hand snapped tight around my wrist.

I couldn’t-move it-

My hand was firmly stuck!

But I still had my other one-!

I jabbed it toward their heart-

A flicker of…something…in their eyes.

Fear?

Whatever it was, I felt my remaining arm snag.

I couldn’t get it-to come-forward-?

Vines.

They coiled up and down my sleeve, tightly wound, and sprouting from a sudden crack in the floor.

“Wh-huh-!?“

That was the quietest split I’d ever heard!

“Stop that!”

I wouldn’t have actually stabbed them!!

I just wanted them to give me a little space!

“Stop acting creepy!!”

-That’s what finally cracked that impassive expression.

“Are you trying to scare me!?”

That finished the job.

Emotionless to struck to regretful in the span of five clicks!

The harsh pressure on my arm released.

Wiggling my grateful fingertips, I sighed.

“Thank you”.

The steel trap over my wrist loosened, and I easily pulled my hand free.

“That feels much better”.

They rubbed their shoulder, a nervous gesture?

“…”

“Are you gonna tell me who you are now?”

Mm…think someone’s shy.

“I’ll go first! My name’s Rosanna Pansino-“

“Wait”.

“?”

Oh?

“…You’re just going to forgive me? Like nothing happened?”

“Yeah”.

“Why?”

“Um…”

A question I have never been asked.

“Well, you let me go when I told you how uncomfortable I was”.

“That’s all it took?”

“No. I saw that you were genuinely sorry”.

They mulled over what I had said.

“…You’re just as nice as I remember”.

“Huh?”

I don’t think I’ve ever met you before-I think I would remember if I did.

“-Right, different timeline”.

They shook their head as if to clear out the memories.

“Another what?”

“Sorry, I don’t have time to explain.

You’ll be waking up soon”.

“But I am awake?”

“No, you had a Nightmare”.

“And then I woke up”.

“-I’m afraid that’s not true”.

“What?”

I don’t really get this.

“I brought you out of the Dream World before the Ghost could kill you”.

“…What?”

Visions of the woman we had to leave in the 1970’s.

She’d been so limp.

So…unmoving.

“A…a ghost? Of Safiya!?”

“Yes. Most likely, you are still affected by her death. Maybe even affected by Survivor’s Guilt-“

“-How do you know that?”

“I’ve been doing this a lot of years”, they sigh.

“Doing…some kind of dream-hopping?”

“More or less”.

“So if I’m not there anymore, then where am I?”

“In the world between sleeping and waking.

It’s just standard procedure-that we came up with on the spot. A while ago”.

“We?”

“Me and my-“

*

Oop, they’ve realized somth-

“I totally forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I?”

“-Oh no!”

They blushed a deep-green and coughed.

“Envy Flora”.

“Ooh! Cool!!”

“R-Really?”

…

D’aww…

“Yeah!”

“I-I don’t know, I always thought it was weird”.

“Compared to what?”

“…Uh-“

I got the strangest feeling that they were trying not to laugh.

“Good point”.

...A white haze crowding in on me...

“Hey…if you can move through dreams…then would you mind doing something for me?”

“Like what?”

“It’s about MatPat-“

I had to speak faster, the white was thicker-

“Yes?”

I didn’t have time to wonder how they knew-

“He didn’t come out of the Minotaurs maze! I don’t know what happened to him and I’m super-worried-!!”

“I can find out”.

“Thank you, and-“

“And?”

“And I need to know if anyone ever found Safiyaafterweleftherbehindlastyearbecausetherewasnothingwecouldo-!!!”

I gulped in a breath of extra air.

I could barely see them now…

“Please-!!!!”

“…il…d…”

“ThANK YOU!!!” I shouted as loudly as humanly possible!!

As the white faded into gray, I could only hope that they had heard.

Chapter Text

Envy

She must’ve thought I couldn’t hear her.

She yelled loudly enough into my ears to make them ring.

Rosanna…

I saw her vanish before my very eyes.

I knew I wouldn’t be seeing her again.

The least I could do was make sure she got her wish…

Both of them.

…Now if I could just figure out what she meant by Minotaur’s Maze?

In the legends, it was an ever-shifting labyrinth patrolled by a man with the head of a bull.

(And that was about as far as I was willing to get into it, for all you kids in the room).

A magical place that would be leagues larger than here!

Yet in the Dream World, anything was possible.

I went over to the glass door, and stepped outside.

What had to be done next would cause too much of a commotion in there.

Raising my hand to my forehead, I lifted my pointer finger.

Fixed the former Jet Setter’s face in my mind.

Focused on her good intentions…

Where did she worry for him last?

Warmth spread out from my toes, and extended off into the night.

Okay…

Time to see where this trail would lead me.

It really was a maze.

-Although a bit more compact than I was expecting, I had to admit.

The iron gates were open when I approached.

She didn’t say whether or not it was still occupied…

-But it should be fine!

As long as there weren’t any vampire plants mixed in with the dense hedges, at any rate.

I shivered, remembering.

That was not a run-in I wanted to have ever again-

Oh no.

Did I ever mention how much I hate the dark?

Yeah, I couldn’t see an inch in front of me.

Why, oh why, didn’t anyone think to leave one of those handy lanterns lying around!?

I took one step.

I…tried to take one step-

T-too much, no I couldn’t!

I couldn’t go in there.

I’d have to be crazy!

But…she was counting on me.

I couldn’t just up and fail her now.

Heart swimming in my chest, I gathered up my courage.

Slid a foot over the invisible line.

Got a good look at the shadows awaiting me.

There was no way the moon’s light would even make a dent in that emptiness…!

-Don’t let yourself freeze.

I had to stop thinking like this!

Or I wouldn’t get anywhere at all.

Reluctantly, I was able to edge over my other foot.

Easy does it.

Snuffling from some unseen corner.

I could hear it every couple of minutes or so…

Never failed to make me jump.

I won’t lie.

I was scared.

Searching around here was the last thing I wanted to do.

And if that beast popped out of nowhere, I had no guarantee that I wouldn’t accidentally trap myself in vines instead.

At least I had an idea of where I needed to go-

There was a sharp, coppery tang in the air.

Most challenges left a body behind.

That I knew for certain.

If MatPat had been involved with one, I would find answers where the scent was at its strongest.

I felt my way around a corner (praying nothing took my hand off in the process), and was promptly grabbed.

“-!”

Without even thinking, I sent whomever it was flying into the hedges.

The loud pounding of my heartbeat in my ears drowned out all sounds.

Hurrying down the path, I added a few more knots to keep them busy.

I didn’t want to take any chances!!

Nearly crashing into the small clearing at the center, I drew in a shaking breath.

That…was terrifying.

Willing my pulse to calm itself, I looked over the remnants of what had happened.

Pieces of a miniature building were scattered to the right of one of the pedestals.

In contrast, there was something mournful about the put-together one standing alone.

Following the smell of heavy blood, I slipped between them.

My boots splashed in a pool of liquid.

I didn’t see a body, and there were no traces hanging around to tell me the name of the victim.

I expected that.

So.

I needed to clear my head.

Whatever had befallen MatPat, a trace would still be here.

If I could just find it-

Link with it-

Then I would be able to discover his final Fate.

Alive or otherwise.

Nerves prickling, I took a quick glance over my shoulder.

-To make sure nothing was watching me.

Then I closed my eyes.

Feeling for the Dream energy…

This time, I sought out memories of her friend.

The Detective.

What he’d looked like.

Keeping that fixed in position, I reached for another-

The familial love for him which Rosanna held.

And I was so near to catching it...

An odd sensation crept over me, and I couldn’t keep my grip.

The entire connection shattered through my fingers, and I snapped to.

Something.

Something was there…

I turned and was captured in full by the blazing-yellow glare of the roaring Minotaur.

My first thought was how!?

How did he sneak up on me!?

My next was swallowed up by panic as I hurriedly leaned back to avoid being gutted by his claws!!

Just missed me by centimeters—

With a flick of my wrist, I converged the wall-to-wall greenery on him.

Any,

All of it.

Hemmed in by the massive foliage, long tendrils snaking around his limbs and rendering him immobile.

He-he couldn’t be super-human, right?

Jaw snapping at me, hands tearing at the plant life-

Keeping a firm grasp on him was proving to be harder than I had thought.

I aimed to lift him up-

To throw him out of here!

A crisp ripping noise.

A sudden stab of pain in my side…

The horn rent free.

That…was my blood…

Chlorophyl.

Soaking the ivory.

Breaking branches and torn leaves.

Fracturing nature-

I was only able to fling him part-way.

He slammed into the ground, leaving cracks in the earth.

Also wiping out the pedestal with the completed structure in the process.

Touching the wound, I was alarmed at the amount of life gushing away…

Dizzy, I-

Pressing my fingers tightly over the hole, I backed up.

The minotaur twitched, a blur of wet fur and fury.

He wasn’t the least bit fazed.

Twigs dug into my spine, and I willed the hedge to open.

I had to get this injury taken care of before it finished me.

It wouldn’t.

Growling, I saw him lumber to his feet.

He was going to come at me…

But he didn’t?

Confusion swirled through my head.

There was a waving, pointed shape.

The Minotaur spun like clockwork, following them as they retreated.

Footfalls growing farther and farther from here.

What was happening?

Now they were running—

“…Sorry…about that…”

Something in their hand was glowing.

A…a wand?

“Haven’t booked it in such a long time”.

“…”

“I’ve gotten so out-of-shape, really it’s embarrassing!”

“You are…who?”

“Oh!”

The voice made me believe it belonged to an older man…

“Where are my manners?”

Rustling.

“My name is Merlin.

And who might you be?”

“Envy”.

“Ah. An elf, I take it?”

“Not…not exactly-“

“…Perhaps we should get out of here while we still can. That brute won’t stay occupied with digging a hole to Hell forever”.

“Sounds good. I just need…a couple…”

“A couple what-?”

The tall figure promptly swayed on the spot.

And…

“No! Don’t fall on me-

I’m shorter than you!!”

Chapter Text

Rosanna 

Hey…hey!

 Wake-up!”

“Hm…?”

The white haze dissolved.

I was curled up on the couch…

In real time.

I sat up and almost bumped heads with Alex.

“…What’s going on?

Did anything happen?”

“While you were snoring a little, Joey went off with Nikita to talk about something”.

“He did?”

“Yeah, I’m not happy about it either”.

“Where’s Bretman?”

Looking around, I didn’t see him either.

“Nikita’s his friend. Periodt”.

Well now, I felt a little upset by that!

“Whatever it is, shouldn’t he be discussing with us too?”

“Yes, but he won’t…”

“Why not?”

“Because we voted him in”.

“But Bretman did that too-“

“Yeah, but…”

“Nikita”.

I nodded sadly.

“Right. You’re right-“

“I’m right”.

“…So what do we do about it?”

“Wait for them to let us in, I guess”.

A really awkward silence fell.

“Alex…?”

“Yeah?”

I re-adjusted my coat and hat.

They’d gotten all soaked with sweat.

“Are you mad at me?”

“What?” he said, laughing.

“I think you’re mad at me”.

“You put me in the Minotaur challenge!”

“I asked you if you wanted to, and you said yes!”

“I didn’t actually mean it-“

“Then why did you say that!?”

“Because I felt like I was gonna go in anyway-

 Nikita gave me the stink eye!”

“But you’ve been helpful!”

“I failed at the arrows and I told Bretman not to listen to her when I was stuck in the Maze the first time around”.

“Why did you do that?”

“I thought she was wrong!”

“Wrong?”

“They had to solve riddles-“

He huffed and pasted a fake smile on his face.

“You know, I voted for you to go in”.

“Alex!!”

“I don’t even remember what you did”.

“I looked for that combo thingy when we were locked up in that cell, I painted those hieroglyphs, I carried those buckets of Holy Water because of you!”

“But that was hours ago”.

“-I wooed that Chinese Emperor so I could kill him for his key, I sorted out the tarot cards while we were trying to get Merlin’s spell book, I solved that last puzzle with everyone so Colleen could become King and defeat that nasty Knight!!”

“Still hours ago-“

“I went with MatPat and Colleen again to match items with the Gorgon’s statues in order to get that piece of medallion-which saved YOUR life!!!”

“-Okay, okay!”

Too late I realized I was shouting.

Whoops…

“I get it!”

He threw his hands in the air!

“You did a lot of stuff!!”

“Yes! I did”.

“-But it doesn’t look like you did”.

“Because you weren’t there for half of it!” I told him.

“Well you weren’t there for half of what I did, either!”

“That’s true!”

“So why are you yelling at me!?”

“Because you’re yelling at me!”

“Okay”.

His voice was suddenly lowered.

“Glad we have that straightened out”.

“Me too”.

The tension in the air felt like it was winding down…

“Because I really don’t think either of us are going to be here for much longer”.

 What? 

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean-“

He ran a pensive hand over his chin.

“Joey hates both of us”.

“He does not hate us-“

“We voted him.

He said you basically betrayed him-“

“I just thought-“

“I know what you thought.

 But to him-“

“I didn’t think he would die!”

“He said he was defending you”.

“Yeah”.

“And Nikita and Bretman don’t really have a reason to keep him from voting us in”.

“…”

Yeah…

My fingers clenched.

 “…You really think we’re in that much trouble?”

“If I had to make an educated guess as to who was dying next, I would bet on me and you”.

 My heart hurt.

 “All I wanted was to go on a fun mission with Joey…”

“All I wanted was to go to a fancy party with my girlfriend”.

 We looked at each other, both tearing up!

I was surprised!!

 “Alex! Are you crying-“

“You’re doing it too!” he squeaked.

“But I thought like-“

Like-

“You were evil and tough now”.

“I told you I was done with that!”

-And we were back to shouting.

What would you call that, anyway?

A truce?

“Well, we voted each other in, so-“

“If anything, you’ve gotten tougher!”

“I have to be!! MatPat’s gone-“

“-And friendship isn’t gonna save you anymore”.

...

 …That was what I’d been thinking…

 “Because everyone’s in it for themselves now”.

“Right”.

“Everyone’s out for revenge…”

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

“…What do we do?”

“I don’t-“

He laughed again.

There was still nothing funny.

“Make an alliance?

 I guess?”

“An alliance?”

“No one else is gonna cover our backs”.

He kept pacing, movin’ all over the place.

A scared animal.

“No one but us”.

…

…I didn’t want to admit it.

I didn’t even want to entertain it.

The idea that we were both doomed-

 But he had a point.

“Okay”.

“-For real?”

“Mm-hm…”

I stood up.

“It’s like you said:

If we don’t stick together, we’ll both be dead”.

My voice broke on the last word.

“I don’t want to die and leave MatPat alone…”

“I don’t want to die and leave my parents-“

“My sister was due for a baby!”

“Let’s do it”.

We shook hands, and it was done.

-Just in time for the earthquake to roll in.

“Wh-whoah!!”

“Okay, hang on to something-“

We wobbled like those big clown things that you smack with rubber mallets!

Fortunately, it didn’t last too long…

I rubbed my ears while Alex grimaced.

That ringing was painful…

I could almost hear someone talking.

Someone familiar…

You let me die.

“No I didn’t-“ I said.

Panicking.

“Rosanna?”

Alex.

Running footsteps.

“What the h* happened here!?”

Joey…

“You think this was our fault?”

“Could be the Collector”, Nikita speculated.

“Ew, I do not want to mess with her”.

“In that case, we’d better hurry”.

He held up the lamp.

“So I’m thinking there’s a genie in here-“

“Rub it and see”.

 You let me die.

 Please don’t show up now-

Chapter Text

Envy

Slowly.

Awareness returned to me…

I was…lying down-

“Wh…huh…?”

A fire in my side-

I couldn’t-?

“Ah! You’re up”.

“Who…”

My vision was fuzzed out.

“Mer…lin…?”

“Yes?”

“Where…where am I?”

I tried to sit up.

“Hold your horses, young one”.

A light grip on my shoulder.

“Don’t move just yet”.

Something was different.

For once, I was feeling the chill.

“That was a rather nasty puncture wound you received”.

“Can it…can it be cured?”

“Not immediately”.

“-I don’t have time to wait”.

“And I don’t want to see you become a corpse”.

“But Rosanna-She might-!”

“‘She might’ what? Die?”

How did he-!?

“You should have more faith in her”.

“But-!!”

“No more ‘buts’”.

His hand probed the injured area, and I fought back a scream.

“Let’s see…”

Fizzling from somewhere…

His wand, probably.

“-Ow!”

I felt it jab me.

“You are very not good at staying still”.

“What are you…doing!?”

“I’m starting the healing process.

Now stop wiggling already!”

-I didn’t think I was moving that much.

“Healing how-“

Whatever was coming out of that stick stung like crazy-!

I tensed up on instinct.

The grip on my shoulder moved to encompass my entire back.

“Relax…it’ll only work if you let it”.

Reluctantly, I tried.

That burning-!!

I clenched my jaw until my teeth started to ache.

“…May I ask why?”

“Why...what”.

“Why you were in the Minotaur’s Maze to begin with”.

I struggled to think.

“Rosanna-“

I had to-

“She was having a nightmare-it would’ve killed her…”

The urge to shift uncomfortably kept knocking at me.

“I took her into the Dream World and-“

“And what?”

“And-“

I couldn’t feel them anymore.

“And she wanted me to find out what happened to her friends-“

I winced.

“One of them was last seen in that place”.

“I see. So you went there to find…?”

“MatPat. At least, I was about to-how long until this is done!?”

It was as if a fiery claw were being stabbed into me over and over-!!

“Couple more minutes or so. If my memory is correct”.

Great…

“I was planning on saving it for whomever was lost to the Black Knight”.

No idea what he was talking about.

“But I ended up being shanked at his filthy gauntlets instead, the b*d!”

He irritably did something with his robes.

“Mussed me up a good deal-and you didn’t help matters either, when you yeeted me into the bushes!!”

“What”.

Is that even a word?

“‘You’re as strong as you look’. Which was my last thought before I ended up in the Proverbial Hornets’ Nest-“

My eyes widened.

The one who had grabbed me-

“That was you?”

“Yes, that was”.

“I-I thought someone was trying to attack me-Did I hurt you!?”

“The only thing you hurt was my Pride”.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure...how do you feel now?"

-Hey.

I could breathe without my ribs exploding in pain.

Hardly daring to believe it-

I felt for the wound.

No agony.

Although my vision was still off, I could finally sit up!

“Merlin, thank you”.

“Say nothing of it”.

He helped me up, and I saw some familiar grayish-black fabric spread out in the dirt.

“…”

That was why my arms had been cold!?

“You took my coat off!?”

“Unlike me, you actually have something under there”.

“But-“

“I simply didn’t want to risk infection”.

He shot me a smile.

“Don’t worry. You look fine”.

Fine?

I felt the blush stain my cheeks.

“I’m not embarrassed, it’s just -20 degrees out here”.

“Mm-hm~”

He winked at me!

“No doubt that’s what it is”.

I knelt to gather it up, grimacing at the chlorophyll stains-

I didn’t realize I had bled so much!

“Where are we?”

“By Excalibur”.

“Excalibur the sword?”

Glinting steel caught my eye.

Half-buried in the rock…

“Are there any others?”

“-How did we get here?”

Last I remembered of the Maze, I was light-headed and in pain-

Then…

Nothing.

“Well first, you nearly squished me alive-“

“What!?”

“When you fell on me. I was practically made a Merlin Pancake”.

“I-I don’t weigh-!”

“It was only due to luck, that you turned out to be a walking feather”.

I blushed harder-

“Thus, with my life spared at the minute possible second, I was able to carry you to safety before that ugly creature finished my request”.

“That’s…good”.

“It vaguely reminded me of those days when the ‘damsel in distress’ was still prevalent-“

“I am not-!”

-Really!?

“Hm?”

His grin was downright teasing!

“-Never mind. How much time have I spent unconscious?”

“Ah, yes. The impromptu Sleeping Beauty impression!

-Which was rather magnificent I might add”.

Wh-

Of all the-!

Was he trying to get me flustered!?

“Just…just answer the question!

-Please”.

“That is a peculiar shade of green”, he commented instead.

Stooooop-

“Is this revenge for me tying you up in the hedge!?”

“No”, he lied.

“You were out for an hour or two at the very least-“

“At the very least!?”

Oh God.

By now, she could be-

“We have to hurry back!”

“Hurry?”

I slung the soiled garment over my shoulder and stood, heart pounding in my chest.

“I think Rosanna’s in trouble-“

Or worse.

Dead.

Chapter Text

Rosanna

Saf’s words were ringing in my ears.

You let me die.

I’m sorry, but I have to go do this thing now-

You let me die!

Out of the corner of my eye, I could almost see her.

Walking alongside me as the six of us took the lamp to a place with better lighting.

Any other time, I would have loved to explain myself!

To explain why we ended up doing what we did.

But we had to move on and figure out its secret, or else we’d all turn to dust by sunrise.

So-

I shucked off my coat instead, the crinkling fabric a very good blocker of noise.

…It was harder than it looked.

I really sweat a lot.

“You guys! I think we’re running out of time”.

Bretman circled around the table, acting calm yet a little worried-

“We have to do the next one”.

Joey sighed, and I blinked back tears.

“We’ve just lost so many good people…”

The big, bony dinosaur was our centerpiece for whatever came after the giant, scary Minotaur.

-And slightly scarier Gorgon Medusa.

The Sorceress in the corner, Nikita to the left, Joey and Alex to the right of her friend.

Meanwhile, I was in-behind the long tail.

...

In hindsight, I coulda picked a better spot.

I coulda.

“Once we start this guys”, he said while picking up the note, “There’s no going back”.

“Ever”, Nikita punctuated.

“Are we ready?”

“Yes”.

“Absolutely”.

“Together”.

“Please be something good”, he begged the envelope.

Sliding it off to reveal another note, we got:

“Secrets lay inside the lamp.

Sing the song of Arabia to find the way”.

“What’s the lyrics?” Bretman asked, while Joey muttered “‘Sing a song of Arabia to find the way’?”

“Song of Arabia…?” Alex looked just as confused as I was.

“I mean, it’s a lamp. Don’t we rub it?”

-She had the right idea.

“Try-try rubbing it”.

I didn’t think anyone heard me, though.

“Probably rub it, and sing it”.

“Okay”.

“She said it’s fine”.

“But how do we sing it if we don’t know it?”

“I don’t know, maybe we have to look for the song”.

I stepped out from the Dino’s shadow so I could see better-

“Song…”

Where would we find a song…?

“You think?”

“Arabia?”

“Guys!” Bretman interrupted, “I think we have to rub the lamp. ‘Cause we have to be-“

“No, we have to sing the song!”

“We need to rub the lamp. It’s inside the lamp”, he insisted.

“Do it", Alex cut in.

“Alright…”

He took the lamp in one hand, and ran his fingers over it with the other.

“Okay try it”, I told him.

(…Was a bit late, oopsie-)

The sound of sparkles blew through the air!

I yelped and jumped on my tippy-toes!!

“Oh!”

“Oh my God, what is that-!?”

“S*, the piano! It’s a piano-“

Slightly eerie music!

Where was it coming from!?

Where was this piano!!?

We stood there and listened to it.

It was like we were arrested by its spell.

-For only a couple minutes, and then it ended.

“Do we have to play that song back or-?”

“Why don’t we just like, hum it together?”

“Let’s rub the lamp again, guys”.

“Yeah, let’s-“

“One more time”.

“Yeah. Nikita’s right!”

If we hum the tunes together as a group, it may, do something.

Bretman rubbed the lamp for Take Two:

“Duuu, dududu, duuu, dududu, duuuuu~”

I swayed to the music, matching note for note, rhythm for rhythm-

Gears clicked and swung into place…

And something opened!

“Ohhh!”

“Oh my God-!”

“AHHH-!!”

“-MyGodohmyGodohmyGod!”

It was a secret drawer!

“Oh my God, jinkies you guys!”

Alex reached inside and removed a pretty, little note in blue ink.

“You guys:

The Genie of the lamp has one of the Jeweled Keys, but getting it will require more trickery than all of Ali Baba’s thieves.

Place the lamp on the symbol of the djinn on the second floor to learn more”.

(A teardrop surrounded by a circle, balancing on a crescent, and floatin’ over some waves.

Got it).

His eyes widened.

“We got to go!”

“Second floor!?” Joey exclaimed incredulously.

“We haven’t been up there yet”.

“Oooohhhh-“

“Okay”.

“Second floor?”

“Second floor”.

“Okay, this way-“

“We got this”.

Bretman went for the lamp before we left.

He was the ‘Lamp-Keeper’, now…

I think.

We were climbing up these really shiny stairs, and I thought I saw Safiya!

Just ahead of us!

I wanted to call out for her, but the lights were being finicky and I couldn’t always catch sight.

“I think it’s this way”, Nikita stated.

Somehow she’d become the Leader.

“Yes”.

She gave me an empty-eyed glare when we all crowded into the corridor.

“It could be in any of these rooms, guys”, Alex told us.

“-This is the same symbol from downstairs”.

“Yes!”

I looked for her, but she’d disappeared somewhere.

Probably down the left-hand pathway.

“Place it”.

I was stuck in the back, so I couldn’t see what he was doing very well, but the click and the golden flash were unmistakable.

*Gaaasp!!*

“Whoah!!”

The whole cabinet rumbled out from the wall, revealing a pink, glowing entryway!

“No way!!”

Joey was crawlin’ in first.

“What do you see?”

*Gasssspp!!*

“-Joey!”

“Ohmigosh, you guys this is so cool!!”

“Is there any cute guys!?”

Everyone was just talking right over each other!

“Be careful!”

“Whoa…”

Nikita was next in line.

“Censor-“

Bretman after that…

Yusss, It’s like my size!

I got down on my hands and knees.

It looks like a little Hobbit house…

The minute I stuck my hand in, a cold and clammy one grabbed back.

“-Wha-!?”

I hopped out!

“Rosanna?

You coming?”

Oh.

What…?

...We were about to climb the stairs again.

Chapter Text

Envy

I was about to trek all the way back to the house, when Merlin caught my arm.

“Remember what I said about having faith?”

“…I do have faith-“

“Then leave it alone.

You promised her-“

“I did, but what good would getting those answers be if she isn’t alive to hear them?”

“Because I know where she’ll be, if, indeed, she isn’t”.

“And where is that? Heaven?”

“Hell”.

“What!?”

That can’t-

“Have you forgotten already about the Final Death Clause?”

“No-“

But I didn’t think it would mean innocent people consigned to-

“Nice”.

“How is that ‘nice’!?”

“Because knowing that will make it easier for us to break her out”.

“Out of Hell?”

“We certainly won’t be breaking her out of this place”.

I sucked in a breath to quell the horror surging through my veins.

“Okay”.

It didn’t help.

“Let’s return to the Maze, then”.

“You want to go in there again?

After last time!?”

“That’s where he was…”

I gently tried to tug my arm loose.

“I could feel it”.

“Yes, but you don’t have the necessary power to fight off that d*d cow”.

“What do you mean?”

“You went down rather fast, is what I’m saying-“

“That was a lucky hit”.

Ironically, the stronger my fear the more strength I gained.

However-

“Lucky hit?”

“-Those plants should have been enough to hold him”.

The blush had drained out of my face with the unwelcome revelation.

Now?

Not so much.

“Methinks you may have underestimated someone”.

“No, I would have gotten him out of there.

I just-“

“You were gored, and it all fell apart”.

“Yes. Exactly”.

“…You sure it wasn’t something else?”

“Like what?”

“Like your own terror sabotaging you”.

His gaze was looking right through me!

“Adrenaline might have lended you a temporary boost, and I know you fancy yourself a fighter.

But that’s all it was: 

A temporary boost.

No doubt you’d never seen it fail in the past because you’d never ran into a creature that could fr*ing destroy other monsters before”.

While I digested this, he added:

“Had I not wrestled my way out of there-“

(Guilt flamed through me).

“You likely would have seen your efforts ripped to shreds along with your own person”.

“So…”

What I’d thought was real-

Had just been flipped on its head.

“So I would’ve…died…”

“On the spot?

Yes, yes you would’ve”.

My stomach twisted.

“I guess…I owe you an even bigger thanks”.

“Oh it’s no problem, really”.

“-Wait”.

“Fire away…”

“If that Minotaur is so powerful, then why were you in the Maze?”

“Because I happened to have the Medallion which controls him”.

He whisked it out of nowhere:

A green circular seal hung on a string.

“He can’t touch me with a ten-foot pole!”

“Alright…”

That made sense.

“What if we re-entered together?”

“With all due respect, Envy, you don’t have the mental fortitude to handle existing in the dark whilst hauling off a Minotaur at the exact same time”.

“How did you-!?”

“Know?”

His eyes flicked to my almost-freed limb.

“…Nearly managed it.

Impressive”.

“That doesn’t answer my question”.

“Anyone could’ve seen it written all over your face”.

His index finger and his thumb were an inch apart from each other.

“You were this close to having a nervous breakdown”.

“…

Really…?”

It was all I could think of to say.

“Yes”.

Again with the bluntness.

“…What do you suggest we do instead?”

“I go in and find out what went on while you act as lookout”.

I couldn’t deny that a part of me was only too glad.

The rest...was oddly disappointed.

“Fine…”

“Awesome~”

Springing in front, I felt my arm jerk in its socket.

“Ow-“

“Apologies, elf!

Simply excited, is all”.

Standing tall, medallion in his grasp.

The wizard shot me a playful wink.

“I’ll be back in a blink!”

I nodded.

“See you soon”.

One final wave, and he vanished inside the gates.

The minutes ticked by…

The Minotaur’s roaring was abruptly quieted.

Guess he did it.

…I waited there for a while.

Hoping he’d succeeded where I hadn’t.

I heard nothing.

What was going on?

Did he run into unexpected complications?

-Another pained roar.

Then silence.

Hesitantly, I waited a little longer.

Still.

Nothing.

I had half a mind to go myself.

But he’s Merlin! I bet he doesn’t need any help.

…So then where was he?

“Found it!!”

I breathed a sigh of relief as he bounded through the opening in the hedges.

“What happened?

What did you find out!?”

“MatPat is alive and well, and waiting for his dear Rosanna to come home”.

-Hey.

The way he said that-

“She’ll be overjoyed to hear it!”

“Yeah…”

Something wasn’t right.

“Now we just have to track down Safiya”.

“Hmm…not an easy task”.

“I remember that she died in the 1970’s-“

“Oh thank heavens!”

He whipped out his wand.

“Just tell me when in that time period, and I’ll bring us to her in a snap”.

I pretended to think, hand surreptitiously summoning forth a dangling vine…

“Maybe…19…74…?”

“Is that so?”

“I think…”

“Excellent!”

White sparks sprayed from the tip as he prepared to cast his spell.

“Let’s do it-“

I thrust my fingers out and he was instantly hoisted into the air!

Struggling futilely against the creeping plant, I plucked the deadly weapon out of his grip.

“-Envy? What are you doing!?”

“You’re not him are you?

The real Merlin was banished to Hell a few hours ago”.

Chapter Text

Rosanna

How did I not realize it?

That I was in a hallucination…

It felt so real.

We climbed up the stairs, and Bretman put the lamp on the dresser.

The piece of furniture swung out to reveal the secret pink tunnel, and I got down on my hands and knees to crawl inside.

This time?

No creepy hand trying to grab me.

“Guys shh-!”

“Shhh!!”

As I came out the other end, I saw Joey and Nikita along with a man in blue who had his back to us.

He must’ve been the Genie we had to free.

“Hear something?”

“Sir?”

Turning, I felt a lil’ nervous.

He did not look happy.

“Do you come to torment me in my chains!?”

With an extra clink! for emphasis.

“No”.

“No-“

“No! We’re here to help”.

Manacles, one on each wrist, running to a metal fixture on the floor.

Hmm, what could we use to break those-

“Nononono, we don’t-“

“I just got here”.

“We’re lookin’ for a key-“

It was dangling around his neck, in plain sight for all to see.

“It is not enough that Scheherezade has enslaved me.

But now you want my most prized possession”.

-And although his wrists were chained, he had no problem lifting it from his chest.

“What if we could trade something?” Alex asked.

Somehow, we were standing right next to each other.

Did Fate endorse our alliance or something?

“Mm-“

“What will you trade?”

I reached up to him-

“Your freedom”, Nikita said.

“We can’t promise him that!” Joey protested-

“Huh?”

“So be it!”

His voice had a thread of desperation.

I felt bad for this Genie-

“Free me from these chains!!”

“How can we free you?”

“How can we free you?” Bretman echoed.

“You must find the Hammer of Suleiman.

In the Arabian exhibit”.

There was even a feverish look in his eyes.

“It is the only thing that will break my bonds”.

Clenched his fists angrily, causing the links to clink again.

“And I will give you the key.

And a wish for your sorrows to come”.

“We can get out of here with the wish!” Alex yelled excitedly.

“If that is what you choose”.

It was a good idea, but-

“For you to return, you must shatter the Ebony Horse.

Find the Hammer”.

“Okay”.

“The Hammer-“

“Arabia…”

Positioning both hands to his right, our left like a car salesman, we were gestured to walk through a different passageway this time.

“Will not wait forever”.

“We’ll be back”, I promised him…

“Don’t go anywhere”.

“Whoa-“

Engulfed in a cloud of purple smoke-

There we were.

“What is this!?”

“Oh My Gosh”.

“Where are we…”

“Oh!”

“Ooooh…!!

What the h*-“

People chattering from all directions, mystic smoke blowing in to create an otherworldly ambiance.

Colorful tents peddling all sorts of wares underneath a string of pearl-shaped lights.

I really believed that we’d stepped into an alternate dimension.

“Hold on, wait-

Whoa…”

Women in spangly outfits with veiled faces and gauzy scarfs wafting in the wind were beginning to surround us.

“Let me handle this, guys”, Alex kindly offered.

“Yeah…”

“I’ll talk to them”.

“Alright”.

“Cool…”

Ladies with these cute, like, dancing outfits who are dancing…

“Ladies!” I spoke up, trying my best to be a sociable Socialite-

“Hi”.

“Have you, seen a hammer…?”

“Hi, I’m-

I’m standing alone-“

I could dance too!

Win them over with my sweet moves.

…And I guess Alex was flirting, I can’t really blame him, they were all so beautiful!!

“Anywhere…?”

“I feel like they’re distracting us”, Joey declared.

“They’re so pretty”.

I felt like while that was definitely true, it would also be because they seemed to be herding us somewhere-

Towards a stage, maybe?

I could pick out a couple guys in the distance hefting a box of what seemed to be a few props.

“I like it, I like ‘em…”

“I’m Alex-“

“You’re not that cute”.

Nikita shot him down.

“-Wait, she’s telling us to follow her!”

I didn’t hear that at all, but I’m going to trust you anyway since you’re my frie-

friendship isn’t gonna save you anymore

…I swallowed a large lump.

“Should we trust her?” Bretman wondered as we continued to walk.

“Just listen to the pretty girls!” Alex chirped.

“Well you never listen to me ever!!” Nikita complained.

“I think I’m in love.

Are they putting a spell on me?”

Oops.

Case in point.

“Oh my God!”

“They choreographed it out”.

Hips were shakin’, body rolls were happenin’.

He couldn’t take his peepers off them!

“Ohmigosh, that’s so good!!”

“Yeahhh!”

“Yeahhh!!”

“Woooo-“

We’d made it to that stage, and on it were our three guides/most amazing performers ever-!!

Gray sequins, orange sequins, blue sequins…

I was dazzled with their vivid intensity!

“They’re really cute, but you know-“

“Yeah”.

“Oh my gosh, what is this?”

“Aaaahhhh-hah-hahah!!”

It was like Tana was here in spirit with her twerking!

“Uhh, wait I got a Genie-

If you were wonderin’…”

Go for it, Alex. Go for it!

“He does stuff-

He got magic stuff, he’s chained up right now but we’re workin’ on it-“

The woman in orange drew aside a sapphire curtain.

“I didn’t even see this-whoah!”

“Oh!”

“Oh!!”

“Sinbad!” someone bellowed.

“Uh-oh!”

A man in cream with a peachy hat was carrying a sword, and shoving along a poor lady in handcuffs!

“Uh-oh!

This is not cool-“

“The Tsar will have you executed for your betrayal!

Witch!!”

“I will gladly cut out his eyes for what he’s done to my family!”

Crunch! as she aimed a kick to his shin!!

“Whoa!”

“Do not speak such things about me!” He growled, holding the nasty blade of his sword up to her throat-

“HAAAHH!”

Flying out of nowhere, a man in white with a sword of his own chopped it on the other man’s neck!

She screamed as he tumbled to the ground.

It wasn’t until he bowed with arms open wide that we finally got it:

“Ohhh-“

“It’s a play!”

“A show”.

“It’s a play”.

“Oh”.

We all clapped.

“My love!” She greeted him with a laugh of relief, taking his hand and twirling on-stage.

“I thought you were dead!”

“I don’t trust him-“ Alex warned.

Dropping to one knee, the man smiled.

“Not even the Ghouls of the Night could stop me”.

And he kissed! Her!! Hand!!!

“Ooh-“

“With love only comes loss!”

The mean guy was still alive!?

“AHHHHH-“

She screamed again as her Prince was murdered with a sticky-sounding shhnk!

He ripped it out and the Hero flopped to the boards with a thump.

“Oh-“

My hands went to my mouth while everyone started spazzing, this was horrible!

“I’ve moved your execution forward, witch!”

And he charged-!!

“No!”

She collapsed to her knees, an arm raised to protect herself-

The curtains parted a second time, and it all stopped.

A new woman, in gold-and-red stripes, a satisfied smirk on her face.

I was immediately reminded of-

“Welcome to Arabia”, she called dramatically, her feather quill waving in the air as she spoke.

“Hello”, Alex said.

I waved.

“I am her Storyteller, Scheherazade”.

He gasped.

“And I wonder what yours will be:

A comedy?”

“Yeah”.

“A farce?”

“Yeah…”

“Or a Tragedy?”

Our story right now is probably a Tragedy, most of us have died once, and some of us…have already died twice.

“What brings you to our…mystical land?”

“We’re just-“

“We’re looking for a genie-“

“I mean a-“

Everyone’s voices piled on top of each other.

“-Hammer of Suleiman!” Alex managed to get out.

“Of course. Suleiman’s mighty Hammer”.

Her quill tucked neatly in at her side.

“It’s quite the request.

But first. One of you must come to the stage.

I have the perfect role for you-“

She pointed at me!

“Oh!?”

“Go!”

“Go, Rosanna, go-“

“You’ve got this”.

“Okay-“

She helped me up with a nice boost.

“This is a scene of betrayal”.

“Ooh…”

“You are Morgiana’s sweetest and truest confidante-

And you have stolen away with her into the moonlight despite the Tsar’s warnings”.

“I do not like her”, Nikita humphed.

“Begin!”

Throwing her arms around me, ‘Morgiana’ breathlessly belted:

“I think we are finally safe…”

(“-Wait, we saw what just happened!”)

“Ah-!”

(“The last time somebody loved her, he got killed!”

“They were acting then”).

“Where would you like to take me?”

“Mmm…”

How about home?

Home sounded nice…

“Let’s go to my house-It’s far, far away from here where the Tsar will never find us”.

“Ooohhh…”

“Good one, Ro!”

“Pour on that charm-!!”

-The man in orange re-appeared!

“His assassin!” She cried out in fear-

“He has found me!!”

Whimpering softly, she clutched my arm.

“Please! Stop him-“

"Not today, traitors!!"

His sword plunged forward, and entered her stomach!

She screeched in pain!!

"Oh-oh no-!!"

Safiya...Safiya...!!

“-And then a surprise twist!!” 

“What twist?”

“What?”

I sank to my knees, regret shattering my heart-

"No..."

“Time to feast!!”

I could hear movement from the audience, and shouts my horrified friends.

Growling from above me as I scooped her lifeless body up into my lap...

Everything was silent.

We were the only ones here.

Saf and I...

Those bloody eyeholes stared up at me accusingly.

"I'm so sorry..."

Tears flooded my eyes-

"I'm so, so sorry!!"

I began to sob uncontrollably.

The truth is...there really was a chance to save her.

We could've gotten her to the Pharmacy after Willie had her fish-hooked...

But we didn't.

We just let her bleed.

Why did we just let her bleed...

We could've all gotten out together-

The three of us!

MatPat, Saf, and I.

MRS to the end.

...

And now it's too late!!

From the way my breath was catching, I could instantly tell-

I'd said all that out loud.

Saf's glare softened.

Her hand feebly felt for my cheek...

She gaped, mouth gulping in crimson liquid.

Someone's sword poking out of her chest.

"NO!!"

I swatted the hand aside, terror bubbling in my chest!

"NONONO-"

"IT'S NOT HER!!"

I blinked, and gawped at the razor-sharp claws falling short of my skin.

The orange-spangled lady.

Another hallucination!?

The man in white dispatched her with a forceful thrust while a pair of arms wrapped around my waist from behind and lifted me clear!

"Alex!?"

"Hi, Ro!

So, we're allies now-"

Chapter Text

Envy

The false wizard looked wounded.

“What are you saying?

Rest assured, I am truly Merlin-“

“No, you can’t be”.

“You sound so sure”.

“I am”.

The proof may have been hard to spot, but I knew it was there.

“For one thing, it wouldn’t have taken him an hour to get in and out of the Maze”.

“Maybe the process by which I discovered that MatPat was alive could be blamed”.

“Maybe…but I’m wondering if you spent some of that time on something else”.

“And what would I have done?”

“Something to the Minotaur, obviously. 

-Don’t try to give me the excuse that he was coming after you.

It doesn’t take an hour to kill, either.

Not unless you are a sadistic human being”.

“You don’t believe Merlin was that cruel all along?”

“Not particularly”.

“Alright…”

He leaned back as much as one could when hung up by vines.

“What else is there that makes you suspect I am not who I claim to be?”

“Correct me if I am wrong-

But I have the feeling he would’ve had more faith in me”.

“In what circumstance?”

“In letting me enter the Maze as well”.

“Ah”.

For some reason, that made him relax?

“Seems someone is bitter”.

“Why does that matter?

You didn’t refute my first piece of evidence”.

“Ooh.

Cool under fire.

Quite a change”.

‘Cool under fire’…

Could not be less like me.

“Moving on from that-“

“Okay-”

“It was that last thing you said:

‘MatPat is alive and well, and waiting for his dear Rosanna to come home’?”

“What about it?”

“When did you ever speak so formally?”

“Hm”.

Tilting his head slightly, he contemplated.

“Touché”.

“So you admit it, then”.

“Yes, I suppose so”.

“If you are not Merlin then who are you?”

“Oh my”.

A dark gleam in his eyes.

I had a bad feeling…

“You’ve never seen a shadow before?”

“A what?”

“A Shadow”.

Slowly and clearly, as if I were a small child.

“They live on after you die-

Providing they don’t eat you alive, first”.

“What kind of creatures are they, these…’shadows’?”

“Depends”.

He shrugged.

“The nicer you are, the more demonic they are likely to be”.

“And you are of the latter?”

“Am I?”

That enigmatic grin was disconcerting.

Either he knew something I didn’t, or his funny bone had been struck.

“That’s what I’d like to know”.

“Gotten you that worried have I?”

“How ‘demonic’ would we be talking here?”

“Wouldn’t you be better off finding out for yourself?”

He nodded to the Maze.

“Go ahead. Take a peek at what I’ve been up to”.

His tranquil tone was raising all sorts of flags.

“You seem remarkably unbothered that you’ve been found out”.

“What’s the problem?

Can’t handle braving the gloominess on your own?”

I stared at him for a moment.

Trying to see if I was being played.

“Sure you won’t disappear on me?”

“Now why on earth would I do that?”

“Because I won’t be here to stop you from doing so”.

“I hereby swear to you that I will not”.

-What.

“You-“

“I do. I swear”.

Crinkling the vines with his efforts, ‘Merlin’ was eventually able to rend his hand free.

“Shall we shake on it?”

“-No”.

Responding to the rocketing of my heartbeat, they crept over his outstretched fingers.

Cinched, tight.

“-Heh”.

That smile never left…

“Suit yourself…but I still swear it”.

“Whatever you say”.

I brought him with me anyhow.

“Is this really necessary?”

Passed along from hedge to hedge like the ball from Hacky Sack.

“Yes”.

Just because he’d sworn up and down that he wasn’t dangerous didn’t mean that he wasn’t lying.

“You think I might hurt you-“

“Why are you surprised by that?”

“Because in case you forgot, I did save your life”.

“You must’ve had some sort of agenda in mind”.

“To gain your trust perhaps?”

“If you’re going to make me guess-“

“Then yes.

That was my aim the whole time”.

I knew it.

“You think you’re right”.

An accusatory edge.

“What else am I supposed to believe?”

“That maybe, just maybe I was genuinely terrified of your death”.

“You’re claiming to care about me”.

“A Final Death means being sent to Hell.

Whether you are deserving of it, or not”.

“Yes, I know, we already hashed that out-“

“Maybe I felt like you didn’t deserve it”.

He nudged me lightly with the tip of his shoe.

“I never did tell you my percentage of evil.

For all you know, I could be the sweetest little angel to grace this earth”.

“Or the most evil devil this world has ever seen”.

“Or that…”

The wizard scowled.

“-I just ate five leaves in a row”.

“What are you doing with your mouth open, then?”

“Trying to answer you!”

Spitting sounds.

“This is why I will never be a vegetarian!!”

I tried not to be too offended.

“Should be getting close”.

-The smell of blood almost knocked me over!

“What the…!?”

I turned the corner, and froze.

Splayed out on the ground in the wreckage of the pedestals was a drawn-and-quartered Minotaur.

I couldn’t-

I couldn’t look at him-

I started to shake.

I couldn’t keep all this horror in-

“Wh-what…what…did…you-!?”

“He had a hold of me, and I had to keep blasting him to get him to let me be”.

S-so matter-of-fact…

“It got quite splattery, I’m afraid…”

The sight of his organs all over the ground would haunt me forever.

“Y-you…you are sick!!”

“It couldn’t be helped”.

“Yes it could’ve!”

Anger bubbled up inside me.

“You had that medallion! You didn’t have to-“

“Which would have only taken care of him for the time being.

Not for an eternity or longer”.

“You could have told him to go off somewhere and never come back!!”

“Oh”.

He blinked!?

“I could have done that.

Yes”.

I had to clench my fist hard to keep from smacking him!

What kind of-!?

“How did that not occur to you!?”

“Well some of us don’t think that far ahead!”

“You’re Merlin! You’re supposed to think that far ahead!!”

“No, I’m not”.

He locked eyes with me.

“I’m his Shadow.

Remember?”

He’d called me bitter, once.

Now…that was all I was seeing.

Years’ worth of self-loathing and hatred hidden behind his carefree attitude and words.

“…”

I looked away.

“…This will only take a minute”.

“I’ll be here…because I have no choice…”

I extended a hand, palm out.

Once again, drew on Rosanna's love for her friend.

Her fear that she would never be able to see him again...

And attached that to his face in my mind.

Where are you?

The connection was instantaneous.

I felt it surge through my fingertips, and zap into being-

I yelped at the sparking recoil!

"Look at that!

You've done it already".

A white, swirling portal roared in the air.

To the right where a pedestal had once stood.

The one that had the unfinished sculpture.

Taking a cautious step forward, I could see two agents in brown and black leather lounging against a pair of trees.

They weren't anyone I recognized, and they seemed rather bored.

But they weren't alone.

There he was:

MatPat himself.

Talking feverishly to a woman who resembled Nikita.

He was fine.

Alive and well.

With a snap of my fingers, it disappeared.

"You were right".

"I know.

I was".

"So".

I turned.

"You told me you could bring us to Safiya?"

"Yes".

"And you won't try to trick or imprison me if I let you cast this spell?"

"What do you think?"

To be honest, I wasn't sure.

He'd been telling the truth about MatPat, after all...

Unless he was merely feeding me what I wanted to hear.

"...Think I'll do it myself".

"Figured you would..."

He shifted into a more comfortable position.

"But how are you going to do that, and keep me in your sights as well?"

I bit my lip.

How would I do that...?

"You could always set me free and take your chances-"

"Absolutely not!"

"Well then, we're both equally stuck".

"-Are we?"

I reached into his robes and withdrew his wand.

Chapter Text

Rosanna

“Come!

We have to hurry…”

The man in white ushered us along at a brisk pace, sword tip gleaming with black blood.

A reminder of the woman who wasn’t whom I’d thought…

I’d almost died.

“Scheherazade and her sisters won’t waste time making use of the ‘fresh meat’, you’ve brought”.

“How do we stop them?” Alex asked.

He could easily keep pace with him!

“We ambush them while they’re busy tormenting your friends”.

“That’s a lot of people-“

“Not to worry!”

Our new ally flashed a smile of ivory teeth over his shoulder.

“We have someone on the inside-someone who can help us beat the odds for sure!”

“Who?” we both asked at once.

“My girlfriend”.

The tent where they were being kept was a rainbow cascade of turquoise, purples, and blues.

Miss Evil Storyteller was inside, her back turned, attention completely devoted to gloating right in their faces.

She was mashing her long, silky feather all over Joey's poor eyes, his nose…even his cheeks too!

“—don’t belong in a museum…What’s your story, Pretty Boy?”

I could hear the flirt dripping off of her words.

Doesn’t she know that he’s gay?

What is she trying to do!?

“Listen, you probably have something that we want-“

Motioning for us to stay close by, the man snuck around the side of the canvas.

“We could just make an easy trade!”

My worry spiked at the fear in his voice…

Although it sounded as if we were on bad terms, I still didn’t want anything horrible to happen to him!

“So you could leave?”

“Yeah, so we could leave-“

“I think your story has a new, surprise, ending!!”

“Oh no”.

“Nope”.

This couldn’t be good…

“We kill you all, and ask for the Collector’s forgiveness!”

“Ohmigod-girl…”

I was right, I was right-

He slowed, peeked through a gap in the beautifully-sewn curtains, and charged!!

-Alex and I, hot on his heels!!!

“I like happy endings only -“ Nikita was blustering-

“What do you think?

Huh!?”

WHAM!!

“-Oough!”

The man in orange was body-checked to the ground!

Screams erupted from the dancers, and our friends!!

“Yeah! Get’em!!” Joey cheered as our guy threatened those monsters right out of the front door-slit!

While he kicked a fanged dancer in the belly, Alex and I booked it to the pole where the three of them were tied-up, and began the triple knot-wrangling in earnest!

“Oh, my God-“

One lady lunged for my neck, and I cringed.

“Aaah-!!”

WHUD!!

It was a woman I'd never seen before...

-The aforementioned girlfriend, maybe?

She’d landed a wicked hit to the small of the blue dancer’s spine.

Crumpling to the dust, I didn’t see her move again.

“Nice!” Alex whistled.

My fingers fumbled free 1/3, and then an “Oh mama!”, from the Playboy’s corner.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine now, thanks…”

“Ro…you came back for us”.

Joey seemed to be in disbelief!

“You guys are my friends!” I told him.

“I would always come back for you”.

“-And me too”, Alex added.

“I was here too-“

“Um, hello!

Is no one interested in freeing the Pretty Girl!?”

“Rest easy, fair maiden!

I’ve got it”.

CHOPP!!

One slash of his sword, and Nikita was freed!

“Thanks handsome”.

“Sorry, he’s hitched”, Alex chirped.

“Oh”.

Her smile fell.

“-Wait, who the heck are you?”

Joey was eyeing the man in white with terrified suspicion!

“Oh-“

She started herding us toward the entrance while he held the slit-thingy wide.

“Okay comeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!!!”

Sweat beads burbled along his brow.

“Oh let’s go, let’s go, let’s go-!!”

“Let’s go”.

“Come on, come on!”

Alex and I were in the lead.

“He just rescued you guys-“

“In there, inthereinthereinthere!!”

Shuttling us into another gorgeous tent, he kept his sharp blade in hand!

“Great”.

“What is going on!?”

“Okay-you!!”

Bretman’s “There’s stuff happenin’ up in this b*” was drowned out by Joey’s ‘on-guard’ voice!

But the man in white and his lady-friend only had eyes for each other.

“Ohhh-“

“Oh my God”.

They kissed!

They kissed!!

They kissed!!!

They. Kissed!!!!

“Oh, guys…”

“What the h*!?”

“Ooohhh…”

“That’s my s*”.

“Oh mah God”.

“Let me guess:

Forbidden Love”.

Think Nikita was right on the target.

“I’m Sinbad”.

Our man in white was him!

The name that had been briefly mentioned on-stage!!

“This is Fatima”.

He turned to the lady in black, both of them wearing matching expressions of happiness.

“Scheherazade has ruined my story and taken my true love from me”.

He placed a kiss onto her fingertips.

Was I fangirling too hard?

I was probably fangirling too hard.

Internally.

I think collectively the group trusts Sinbad because one, he saved us-we helped, but he did all the work for the most part, and two, we have a common enemy.

“We also are against Scheherazade”, Joey told him.

So we feel comfortable enough letting him know we need to find the Hammer, and an Ebony Horse.

“-The Ebony Horse is with her brother in his kabob tent”.

Annnnd...he was incredulous.

“Let’s go get it”, Joey said matter-of-factly.

“Aah-“

He cut him off.

“Mm-“

“Scheherazade has used the Ring of Ma’Ruf to bury the Hammer.

Only the spirits can help you”.

“Where do we find the spirit?”

“Yeah”.

Fatima whipped off the bright-red blanket to reveal a crystal ball and a note.

They were in front of the tips of our noses this entire time!

“Ohhhh!”

“Oh my Goodness-“

“Whoa…”

“Ooohhh-!!”

It’s my job to do the ‘oooh’s, people!

Mm-hm!

*Nods with affirmation!!!*

“The Future!!”

“Oh”.

“We don’t have much time…”

We all scrunched in around the base, heads almost touching we were so close together!

“You have to split up.

Okay?”

“Okay”.

Sinbad took over:

“I need one of you to come with me and distract the thieves”.

“Wait, you’re talking about the girls?”

“Oh yeah”.

“-I’ll take this bullet, guys”, Alex volunteered quickly.

“Sounds like a job for Alex”, Joey agreed.

“You and me?”

“Alex”.

“Alex-“

“Yeah, I think Alex has got that one”.

That was definitely the general consensus.

“I’m doing this for you, guys!”

He smiled determinedly.

“Let’s go, Sinbad!”

“Ro”.

Eh?

“Let’s stay here, let’s focus on this”.

“Joey-“

I felt a little nervous.

“We got this”.

I tried to keep up the appearance of hopeful Cinnamon Roll, anyway.

“Good luck Alex”, he called softly.

Nikita and Bretman filed out after them.

They, were heading off to the kabob tent.

“Good luck you guys”.

“You can do it”.

“-Alright listen!”

Ignoring the sounds of battle outside, we pored over the instructions as if our lives depended on it!

“We have to be quick, okay”.

“Okay, okay”.

“Ma’Ruf was murdered by Scheherazade and the world needs to know where and how he was killed-“

“Where and how”.

I made a mental note so I wouldn’t forget.

“So his story can remain”.

“Okay-where and how”.

“Ask the Crystal a 'yes-or-no' question and it will answer:

Two knocks for yes, and one for no”.

I knocked on the table once so I would remember that too.

“No”.

“After five questions, one of you must agree to have your name placed in the voting pile.

We need to know:

How was Ma’Ruf killed?

And Where was Ma’Ruf killed?”

“What do we do first?”

We were looking around now, looking for things-

“What about here-look!?”

I stooped to the floor and lifted up a section of carpet.

“There’s-There’s a knife!”

I-have-never done a séance, I am new to the whole ‘talking-with-spirits’ thing-

He hefted it from the rug, and I hopped up-and-down with excitement, my hands flapping in the air with anticipation!!

“Was Ma’Ruf killed by a knife?”

A solid thumping sound from inside the ball.

“That was one”.

“No”.

I moved to read the note again.

Nobody else did.

“Joey?”

Fatima was staring into my soul-

“Hellooo~?”

Nothing was happening…

“Hello, dear they can’t hear you anymore”.

Scheherazade came waltzing in, magic feather in tow.

I didn’t like the way she was grinning at me.

“No one can”.

Chapter Text

Envy

“-Why do you have that?”

“Why do you think?”

I held it warily between my forefinger and thumb.

As if it would smite me should I lose focus for even an instant.

“I don’t want you to use it on me”.

“I wouldn’t have-“

He irritatedly swung from the vines.

“Not in the way that you’re thinking of, at least”.

“Maybe so, but I’m still keeping this”.

“-Will I ever get it back?”

“That depends”.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Depends on what?”

“On whether you decide to eviscerate more living creatures”.

He sighed.

“…You don’t let up, do you?”

“I just don’t want you to betray me”.

“I won’t-“

“But I have no way of knowing that”.

“Look Mr. Paranoid, if I was going to shut you up in a flying castle somewhere I would have done it by now!”

The branches creaked with the strength of his annoyance.

Leaves floated to the ground in slow spirals…

“-Well regardless, I’ll be keeping it until further notice”.

Tucking the wand into a pocket, I flicked my hand down.

“-!?”

They lowered him gently to the ground.

“Well.

Can’t say I was expecting that…”

Brushing twigs out of the folds of his robe, the fake Merlin eyed me suspiciously.

“Thought I would be making an impromptu hole in the Maze”.

“I’m not like that”.

“So I gathered”.

-His hand sparked, and snapped around my wrist!

“!”

I tried to tug it free, but there was no give-

“New lesson of the day”.

He smiled, shadows leaking out from between his teeth.

“I don’t need a wand to harm you”.

Locked in this way, he tugged me closer.

“Wh-hey!”

I twisted my other arm around the one holding me captive, and yanked.

“Why don’t you just kick me down while you’re at it?”

His tone was amused.

“Would certainly be easier…”

“What did you do!!?”

“Used magic”, he said nonchalantly.

“Without your wand”.

“Mm-hm”.

“How-“

“Shadows don’t have to obey the Laws of Reality”.

“Laws of…”

It slowly dawned on me.

“Then…you could do…anything…”

“You see it now?”

“…”

Well this was distressing…

What the heck was I supposed to do!?

“Why can’t I get free!?”

“The charm will only be undone when I wish it”.

“And you don’t wish it”.

“Nope”.

If he noticed the hostility in my tone, he didn’t give any sign.

“Isn’t it great?

You get to keep an eye on me and I get to steal my wand back”.

“‘Great’ is not the word I would use”.

“-Which pocket did you hide it in?”

“Hey!”

His other hand was feeling over my waist!

“Watch it-“

“Aha!”

It glowed with power as he waved it in the air.

“None the worse for wear!”

“I only had it for like, ten minutes”.

“I know, but she’s my Baby”.

“…Okay”.

I’d heard of people doing this with cars, but seriously?

“I’ll bet you named her, too”.

“Yes, yes I did”.

He grinned up at me mischievously.

“I named her Little Orphan Annie”.

“…?”

“Because nobody loved her until I came!”

“…Can you take us to Safiya?”

“Why yes, yes I can”.

“Then let’s do it".

The sooner we could end this foolishness, the better.

Aiming his wand at the hedge, he drew an invisible circle in the atmosphere.

A light trail of gleaming smoke filled in the shape, pierced by neon rays every so often.

“You ready?”

“Yes”.

“Alright then…”

He leaped forward through the mist, dragging me along with him!

“Woo~”

Ow-

Ow, my wrist-!

It felt like he was trying to pull my hand off!

“Why are you-!?”

My boots hit dry dirt.

“Ahhh, Everlock.

How you’ve changed”.

He took in the bright sunshine and clouds.

“You were once full of night, I believe”.

“And people”.

My stomach turned.

Everyone…everyone was dead.

Most massacred by Killer clowns at the start, some killed in other horrendous ways later.

Sam and Maria had left while they were able, along with MatPat, Nikita, and presumably Joey-the last true inhabitants.

No one else lived here anymore.

“Lead the way, friend”.

He patted me gently on the back.

I tried to smile, but it fell flat.

This emptiness…

It was almost unreal.

We were un accosted by any signs of life as we went.

This was a ghost town if I’d ever seen one-

I opened the door to the arcade, and ushered the wizard through.

“Aren’t you thoughtful?” was his only comment.

Someone had padlocked the fridge.

I brought the flat of my reinforced heel down on the chain, and it shattered.

‘Merlin’ squeaked.

I shoved that door open as well.

Held it wide so it wouldn’t shut on him as he again went through ahead of me.

“…”

I didn’t miss the look of fear in his eyes.

“Nice quarters”.

I nodded in agreement.

My bias to green was showing.

“Where exactly did she die?”

“Back there”.

I pointed to the small landing at the far wall.

“Welp”, he said, seeming fine with me unintentionally sending him three feet into the couch.

“I suppose it’s your turn now”.

It was a bit difficult to focus on anything due to the living being attached to my side.

But I tried my best.

Rosanna’s intentions were located for the third time that night.

The grieving force behind them hit me smack in the chest, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t see-

My eyelids stung with tears I couldn’t afford to let out.

Not here.

Not when I had to keep my concentration intact for just a little longer…

Safiya.

I called her features to mind.

Where are you?

The connection was made.

-!!

What the-!?

My heart caved in.

What was this?

Flooding into me…

Something…something dark…

Darkness.

It covered me.

From head to toe-

Glass.

Other bodies around me.

But I couldn’t move to see them!

I was cramped in…I couldn’t…

Help.

Me.

Please!!

A sharp pain wrested me from whatever h* I had just entered.

My wrist.

The other Merlin…

He was squeezing my wrist.

“Are you back!?”

“…”

“Envy!!”

His sudden shout made me start.

“Wh-what”.

We stared at each other for a few seconds before he spoke:

“Did you see her?”

“I…did…”

“And was she alright?”

“No”.

“…I knew it”.

There was a fragility to his grip, even if I could already feel the bruises forming.

He was…scared? For me?

“Knew…what?”

“The Collector must have taken her soul”.