Chapter Text
A small, tense silence filled the library room of the trial as everyone slowly processed that they had been reunited. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion were still at the round table for the Tarot reading, with Xion holding her hands up to try and keep the ceiling full of swords from coming down faster. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all continued to watch the progress of the others over the monitor in Missouri, and they were all admittedly a little worried about how Lilia and Jen would act in regards to being thrown in quicksand mud. Agatha, Kairi, and Billy all looked at Lilia and Jen, with Billy pointedly giving a worried look. Of course, Lilia just gave him a look in response.
"Relax, baby," Lilia said. "We're cool."
"We are?" Jen asked in surprise as Lilia walked forward.
Kairi and Xion just let out a small sigh, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all also grateful that Lilia wasn't being hostile.
"Hey, things are lookin' up," Agatha urgently said before pointing up at the ceiling.
Xion grit her teeth and continued to use her powers to try and keep the ceiling up as best she could.
"Oh, my God!" Jen exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling in shock.
"Yeah, things are progressing badly," Kairi exclaimed as Lilia walked up to the table. "So, what are we supposed to do?"
"It's my task," Lilia assessed as she looked across the table. "My task is to see." She furrowed her eyebrows at the cards spread out at random and placed down crookedly. "Who massacred this spread?"
"He/She did!" Billy and Agatha exclaimed, pointing at each other.
"Billy tried his hand and failed, then Agatha just slammed cards down at random and claimed it was making things up," Xion said as she grit her teeth.
Lilia just frowned between Agatha and Billy, Jen chuckled, and the most evil witch glared at Xion for the "betrayal." Xion just shrugged her shoulders as she kept her energy surging, while Kairi looked up warily at the ceiling, and Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision continued to be worried. Whatever the case, Agatha sighed out in resignation and placed the rest of the cards on the table. Lilia stepped over and grasped the stack.
"Who's the querent?" Lilia asked, taking the stack as Billy walked around and looked at the ceiling warily.
"Uh, you mean the subject?" Billy asked, turning towards her. "Me." He smirked. "I guess I'm queer-ent."
"Oh, buddy, that was bad," Kairi said, shaking her head as Agatha gave a polite laugh.
"He must get his sense of humor from me," Vision commented as Roxas, Stephen, and Wanda all grimaced. *1*
Whatever the case, Billy sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the main chair, while Lilia took the sword out of the central chair. Agatha watched the whole interaction, while Jen, Kairi, and Xion all looked up at the ceiling warily again.
"The querent shuffles and cuts," Lilia explained as she stood in front of the chair.
"Lilia, we don't have time for this," Jen urgently said as Lilia placed the stack of cards down.
"Shuffles and cuts," Lilia repeated as Billy shuffled the deck and handed it back to her. "Now, please ask your question."
All of a sudden, an apple was in Jen's hand, which she rubbed around in her hands nervously. Agatha leaned over and asked how they were supposed to get out of the room, but Lilia pointed out that Billy was the one who was supposed to ask. Xion warily looked up at the ceiling again as she kept her energy surging, while Kairi was a little tempted to ask Jen for the apple. Although, when remembering the story with the Evil Queen, Kairi brushed it aside, knowing that this wasn't a smart choice, even though she was technically the wrong princess.
Of course, Kairi and Xion were quickly drawn to Agatha, Jen, and Lilia as they proceeded to argue. Lilia insisted that proper divination took care, and Billy needed to ask a question vital to his journey on Earth, Jen repeatedly exclaimed that they needed to hurry, and Agatha insisted they needed to find a way to escape. Kairi and Xion shared a look, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grimaced.
"... Am I William or am I Billy?" Billy eventually asked with an expression of pure curiosity and hopelessness on his face.
All of a sudden, there was a loud clink from the ceiling, and Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, Lilia, and Xion all looked up. Xion then furrowed her eyebrows and waved her hand, letting the golden energy vanish. Their suspicions were confirmed, because the ceiling and the swords had stopped descending towards them. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all huffed in relief, while Kairi and Xion looked at the only other teen in the group.
"I'd say we just found the million dollar question," Kairi quipped.
"It is a very good question," Lilia confirmed, looking at Billy as Jen kept her eyes warily on the ceiling.
"See?" Jen asked. "Lilia knows what she's doing."
"Okay, okay," Xion said. She and Kairi walked closer to the table and looked amongst the witches. "So, what's the next course of action?"
They all looked at Lilia as she gestured to the table, waving a hand to emphasize the various patterns along the surface.
"This is the 'Safe Passage' spread," she explained. She pointed to the one in the center. "The first card is you, the Traveler." She pointed at another one. "Next comes What's Missing, the reason for your quest."
'Tommy,' Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all simultaneously thought.
"Here is the Passage Behind, wounds suffered, lessons learned," Lilia continued, slowly pointing amongst other slots on the table. "This is the Path Ahead, a space for growth and discovery. Of course, you will face Obstacles preceding a potential Windfall. You must overcome all to reach your destination."
Kairi and Xion shared a small huff and shared a look. Lilia looked up, asking if there were any snide remarks, but Jen and Agatha both confirmed it sounded good to them.
"I'm not completely sure I get how this all works," Roxas admitted.
"I understand perfectly," Stephen declared.
"No, you don't," Wanda replied.
"... Yeah, no I don't," Stephen admitted.
Kairi and Xion then turned towards Lilia with Jen and Agatha again as she told Billy to hold his question in his mind, push everything else away, and focus on the question. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all admittedly intrigued since it meant that Billy might be able to focus on helping them find Tommy. With that, Lilia placed the deck down, slid it to the center of the table, and sat down as she told Billy to pick a card. Agatha, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all watched with the others as Billy took a card and handed it to Lilia. She took the card and read the meaning of the Magician, saying he had enormous potential and the ability to turn all his goals into reality.
Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Xion, and even Agatha all inwardly knew this had to do with the Chaos magic he got from Wanda, but inwardly pushed that down.
Lilia complimented that it was very fitting for Billy and placed the card in the center. Unfortunately, this caused another sword to fall from the ceiling and impale itself into the ground right behind Lilia's chair. She, Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all quickly turned towards the sword in surprise, showing that this was still the wrong choice.
"I don't mean to question your methods..." Agatha urgently started to say.
"Then don't," Lilia declared.
"Wait, is Billy even the right person that should be the... querent?" Kairi asked.
"Who else?" Lilia remarked. She looked at the only boy in the group. "Choose your next card. What's Missing?"
Agatha, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all watched as Billy took another card and handed it to Lilia. She looked over the card and read that it was reading the Sun, representing good fortune, joy, and reunion. Kairi and Xion shared a look, thinking once again with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision that this had to do with Tommy. Sadly, when Lilia placed the card in the right slot, another sword fell and hit the ground right between Billy and Kairi, getting the whole group to jump in surprise.
"How are we supposed to get it right when Tarot is completely subjective?" Agatha shouted in complaint.
Jen and Xion looked up at the ceiling warily, convinced that swords would fall no matter what they did.
Lilia requested the next card from Billy, referring to it as the Path Behind. Kairi and Xion watched as he took a card and handed it over, which Lilia placed down. Of course, then a sword fell from the ceiling and dropped right towards Lilia, which had Agatha shouting in surprise and rushing forward, tackling her out of the chair and saving her.
"I think that might be the first time Agatha's ever done a selfless action," Xion commented as Billy jumped to his feet to join the group in shock.
Billy, Jen, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all inwardly agreed, though surprise filled them when they saw Lilia frowning at Agatha on top of her.
"Agatha?" Lilia exclaimed in annoyance. "What are you doing?"
"Did you not see imminent impalement in your future?" Agatha exclaimed, gesturing to the chair with the sword sticking out of the seat.
Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all just continued to frown as Lilia proceeded to complain and push Agatha off of her, which surprised even the villainous witch. As Lilia stood up, Billy asked if she was okay, then she grabbed his chest and started pushing him across the room, surprising Billy who exclaimed that he thought they were cool. Kairi and Xion frowned in confusion and looked at Jen.
"She's been having a bunch of flashes, and I think it's something to do with her divination abilities," Jen informed them.
"Hey, wait..." Stephen slowly said, crossing his arms with a frown. "She's a divination witch, and timelines are important to that, including her own timeline. With divination, most likely, her mindset is being pulled all over the place."
"What does that mean?" Vision asked as he and Roxas looked at the sorcerer.
"She's experiencing events out of order," Wanda translated. "Most likely, her time period being okay with Billy happens for her later, and she's been replaced from earlier back in the day, right after the mud throw, when she was mad at him."
"How's that possible?" Roxas asked.
"There are two cases where that happens to a divination witch," Stephen said. He sighed and crossed his arms. "Either when they're about to get back their full powers..."
Roxas and Vision frowned over the way Stephen had trailed off, then looked at Wanda. She sighed out grimly.
"... Or they're close to their own death," Wanda finished.
Roxas and Vision both raised their eyebrows and grimaced in worry.
Kairi and Xion grimaced in similar worry as Lilia sternly called Billy "Teenager" and declared that they weren't cool. Jen commented that she was using the full name, before Billy started to stammer out a lot of various words and sentences. Agatha, Jen, Kairi, Lilia, and Xion all watched as he stammered out his words, including multiple attempts to explain, and eventually saying that he would have used his powers to save Alice at the time. Lilia assessed that he was reading her mind, and Billy told her he was only doing it because it was so loud, and said no offense.
Wanda grimaced, remembering how difficult it had been when she first got her powers to read minds.
"I remember you now," Lilia told Billy. "Your bar mitzvah."
Billy narrowed his eyes as he realized that Lilia had placed the sigil on him, while Jen walked over and told Lilia that she needed to focus, admitted that she was furious, but they had collectively moved on. *2*
Kairi and Xion joined Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision in confirming that Lilia's mental timeline was being thrown around by her powers, which only had them more worried about the possibility of her dying soon.
"The flow of time is an illusion, right?" Jen reminded Agatha as Kairi and Xion were drawn out of their thoughts. Lilia looked at her. "So trust me when I say you're not mad at the kid anymore."
Billy stood up from the column again, while Lilia furrowed her eyebrows and looked Jen up and down.
"What are you wearing?" she asked.
"Hey, hey, hey," Kairi said as she and Xion walked over. "This is a side effect of your powers, right? Just focus for a bit, and maybe you'll be able to get your full mindset back."
"And you'll be able to remember what we're doing," Xion emphasized. "We've gotta finish another trial to get out of here. Sound fair?"
"Yes... Yes," Lilia confirmed. She frowned at her outfit and looked up again. "This outfit is so demeaning, though."
"Hey," Jen said, snapping her fingers in front of Lilia's face. "Focus up, Calderu. We can be culturally offended later."
Kairi and Xion shared a look as Lilia looked around warily before stepping towards the table. She pointed between the table and Billy, assessing that she had been doing a reading for him. Walking to the chair and grabbing the sword in the seat, she asked what went wrong, but Billy admitted he didn't know because everything seemed on point. Billy grabbed the sword to help her, told her he was glad she was here, and she bitterly replied it was because they needed her. Lilia took the sword out and threw it to the floor as she said that that was just like a witch.
"Lilia, are you the one who cast the sigil on me?" Billy asked.
"... I saw what was going to happen to you that night," Lilia eventually said as Kairi and Xion shared a look. "I saw who you were and who you would become." Agatha looked at her with a hand on her hat. "I knew you'd need time."
There was a long moment of silence.
Roxas and Stephen both just huffed, while Wanda and Vision furrowed their eyebrows. Neither of them were completely sure how they felt about Lilia doing this considering it meant that they hadn't been able to see Billy or figure out how they had two versions of him.
All of a sudden, more swords started falling from the ceiling, which had Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, Lilia, and Xion all exclaiming in surprise and watching as they were impaled into the ground. The swords shook as they were all impaled to the ground once again, all of them having made impact.
"We didn't even put any cards down!" Jen exclaimed.
"Maybe no cards is as bad as the wrong one," Billy assessed nervously.
"We are on a time limit," Xion pointed out warily.
The ceiling creaked above them once again as it slowly resumed its descent towards them. Kairi and Xion looked up warily, and Xion raised her hands up to make golden energy appear again.
"What did I do wrong?" Lilia helplessly asked as she looked at the table.
Kairi huffed and looked at Lilia as Agatha and Jen warily looked at the ceiling again.
"Like I said... maybe Billy wasn't the person you were supposed to read for," Kairi suggested.
All of a sudden, Lilia's face went blank again as she turned around. As the ceiling continued to descend, Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Jen, and Xion all shared wary looks before Lilia suddenly turned back around with a clear look in her eyes.
"'My path winds out of time'," Lilia declared. She reached over, grabbed the cards on the table, and started to shuffle them as Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Jen, and Xion continued to watch warily. "I was reading for the wrong person. I am the Traveler."
With that, she pulled up the chair, adjusted the stack, and sat down. Kairi and Xion shared another look as Lilia started going to work.
First, she pulled out a Queen of Cups card and listed the description of what that meant before placing it in the center slot. To the entire group's relief, not a single sword fell from the ceiling, confirming that this was the right course of action. Sadly, the ceiling was still descending, which filled Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion with worry. Lilia ignored all of this, impressing Wanda and Stephen, as she placed down the next card, the Three of Pentacles, and explained what it meant before placing it down in a slot. She declared that she needed the group as a coven as a flag was then broken from the descending ceiling.
"This is getting tense," Kairi exclaimed as she and Jen shared a worried look.
Lilia continued, declaring that her Path Behind consisted of the Knight of Wands, giving the explanation involving Alice as she set it down. Of course, Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Jen, and Xion looked up warily as the descending ceiling blocked off the windows, and the sand in the hourglass reached the final one third.
"How the hell much time was actually in that thing?" Kairi exclaimed. *3*
Whatever the case, Lilia continued by declaring the Path Ahead consisted of the High Priestess, explaining that this was to mean Jen as she placed it down. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Jen, and Xion all looked up warily again as Lilia continued with the Obstacles, pulling out the Three of Swords, which represented Agatha. The swords in the ceiling all started to get close, which had the group crouching down to dodge as Lilia continued with the Windfall, but pulled out the Tower card upside down, explaining that this meant miraculous transformation. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Jen, and Xion all continued to crouch to dodge the swords, worrying Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all the more as Lilia reached the final one, the Destination.
Of course, Lilia paused as she realized something as she held the final card. Though, as the swords got even closer, Agatha shouted and snatched the card out of her hand before placing it in the final slot in the center. For once, Billy, Jen, Kairi, Xion, and even Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all grateful to Agatha, because the ceiling stopped descending. A tense moment of silence filled the room as they all looked up at the ceiling with Lilia, though Billy, Kairi, and Xion all looked at the final Tarot card.
While Billy was confused, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all narrowed over how the final card was of Death, and their minds all went to Rio.
Of course, relief then filled them all as the ceiling started to rise once again, the swords moving away from them as the danger was removed. Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, Lilia, and Xion all stood up, and while most of them breathed out, Lilia proceeded to give Agatha a look. Kairi and Xion let out a small huff, inwardly putting together that from the final card, Lilia must've put together Rio's real identity.
Moments later, a door across from Lilia then opened up in a large iron maiden at the wall, revealing a circular, stone stairway from within the Witches' Road again, illuminated with bright green light.
"Lilia, you did it," Jen said with a relieved smile. She looked at the Divination witch. "You saved us."
The smile vanished as she saw the urgent look on Lilia's face.
"You know the truth, don't you?" Xion asked.
"Rio..." Lilia slowly said as she looked between Jen and Billy. "She's Death."
"She's what?" Jen asked in surprise.
"Death," Xion confirmed. "The physical representation of Death in our world. And, well... She's a person."
"And the original Green Witch," Lilia emphasized as she looked at Agatha.
Billy looked at Agatha for an answer.
"Is it true?" he asked.
Agatha just shrugged her shoulders.
"What can I say?" she asked in indifference. "I like the bad boys."
"How did you know this?" Jen asked Xion in surprise.
"The Blip," Kairi explained, remembering the earlier explanation. "Everyone who died in the Blip was sent to Limbo, where Death proceeded to torture their souls over all five years."
"Our memories were all erased when we were brought back because the living aren't supposed to remember the afterlife," Xion emphasized. She grimaced. "But my memories of that time were restored when I first saw Rio back in Westview. And I think the part I hated the most was how she made me watch her masturbate to Thanos to thank him for all the bodies he sent to her."
Billy, Jen, and Lilia all grimaced over the whole idea, while Agatha frowned, feeling offended that Rio felt feelings for someone other than her. She brushed that down quickly.
All of a sudden, the sound of indiscriminate, menacing whispers echoed around the circular room, which had Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, Lilia, and Xion all looking up urgently as they remembered who had been chasing them for so long.
"The Seven," Jen assessed. "They're here."
"Quick," Lilia declared. "Everyone in the iron maiden."
"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here," Kairi agreed, grasping Billy and Xion's shoulders.
Agatha adjusted the collar of her robe for a moment before she turned and walked towards the iron maiden. Lilia moved with her, then grasped Agatha's shoulders, telling her to duck when a woman called her a coward. Agatha was understandably confused, but she rushed into the iron maiden and into the staircase. Billy was then given back his spell book, which had him smiling and thanking her. Kairi and Xion moved after the two, but Lilia grasped their shoulders to stop them.
"Do everything you can to help," Lilia told them. "Both Agatha and Billy."
"Billy, we'll do it with no hesitation," Xion promised.
"Agatha, we might hesitate," Kairi admitted.
Lilia just smiled in pride and patted them on their shoulders before ushering them through the iron maiden.
Of course, Jen tried to argue that she wasn't going without Lilia, but the divination witch pushed her through the doorway. Kairi and Xion looked back, and their eyes narrowed as Lilia told Jen sadly that she loved being a witch. The eyes of Jen, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all widened as Lilia proceeded to slam the doors of the iron maiden shut, sealing them off from the room.
Kairi and Xion rushed to Jen's side, and Billy and Agatha looked back in surprise. None of them noticed or cared that their clothes had all returned to normal, because Kairi and Xion joined Jen in repeatedly ramming their hands against the door of the iron maiden to try and get to Lilia on the other side. *4*
"No!" Jen shouted. "Lilia! Lilia!"
Kairi and Xion joined her in repeatedly calling Lilia's name, and Kairi even tried to kick the doors, but nothing happened.
"What the hell are these doors made out of?" Kairi complained.
"What happened?" Billy asked, rushing back down the stairs to join them. "Where is she?"
Jen, Kairi, and Xion all huffed and turned towards Billy.
"Inside," Jen started to explain. "She stayed behind to..."
There was a loud creek that garnered everyone's attention. Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all turned towards the doors of the iron maiden, and their eyes widened in pure worry as they saw that the doors had changed into the stone wall once again.
Kairi then gasped, closed her eyes to concentrate for a moment, then sighed out grimly.
"There were seven darknesses and one light in there," she slowly explained to Billy, Jen, and Xion. She looked up sadly. "The Salem Seven and Lilia. She did something that took out the darknesses. She stopped the Salem Seven. But whatever it was... also killed her."
Tears started to appear in Jen's eyes, while Billy looked down sadly, and Xion, Roxas, and Vision all shared a sad sigh. Wanda and Stephen shared a look, having gotten confirmation that Lilia's powers were going haywire with her timeline because she was close to death. This didn't mean that either of them were happy to be proven right, though.
However, Jen placed her hands on the surface of the stone wall and started to sob in denial. Xion placed a hand on her shoulder before stepping in to give her a side hug, knowing that she needed some kind of comfort. Billy looked down sadly, while Kairi huffed before looking up and furrowing her eyebrows.
"Where's Agatha?" Kairi asked.
"She... She continued up the stairs," Billy softly said, gesturing to the stairs in question.
"Well, then, I'm sorry, but pardon me," Kairi said as she moved up the stairs and brushed past Billy. "But with everything that woman's done, I'd rather not leave her alone for a minute."
Billy softly nodded his head before moving back down the stairs to join Jen in grieving Lilia. Xion nodded at Kairi before placing a hand on Billy's shoulder as well, trying to offer both him and Jen the comfort they needed through this loss.
Kairi inwardly apologized to Billy and Jen, but she then rushed up the stairs as quickly as she could, knowing that they needed to be safe in regards to Agatha, especially with Rio still out there somewhere. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all cleared their throats and also got serious again, watching through Kairi's feed as she continued up the stairs. The group all focused as they continued to watch as Kairi moved through the dark green light of the spiral staircase and eventually reached the top, coming out onto The Witches' Road again.
The staircase let out of the base of a large tree that was back in the main forest section of the road. The sky was a dark green in this area, as well, signifying some kind of daylight, even though none of them were still sure how time worked down here on The Road. Stepping onto the leaf-covered road once again, Kairi furrowed her eyes as she saw the numerous trees spread out as far as they eye could see, complete with hills in the distance, fog that was eclipsing some of the farther sights of the forest, and a forest ground surrounding the leaf pathway.
Of course, Kairi's attention was quickly drawn to Agatha as she moved along the road, almost in a daze. Kairi furrowed her eyebrows and crouched down behind a large tree branch, watching as Agatha moved further down the road. She was getting ready to summon her Keyblade in preparation, but then she and Agatha quickly noticed another figure.
Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision joined Kairi in narrowing their eyes as they saw Rio standing in the dirt in front of a couple of boulders. Barefoot, wearing the black and green pants with the top that revealed the sides of her stomach, Rio now wore a dark green and black crown on her head that had the resemblance of horns, which only emphasized the fact that she was literal Death. Kairi grit her teeth as Agatha and Rio just stared each other down for a moment.
"Is it weird I still think she's sexy?" Kairi muttered to the others.
"A little," Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all simultaneously replied.
Whatever the case, Kairi just made sure she was hidden behind the tree as she watched Agatha and Rio interact. Rio started by reprimanding Agatha for her coven shrinking, listing off Alice and Lilia. Rio remarked that it was nice that Lilia took the Salem Seven with her, which at least brought solace to the group that Lilia had died for a good cause. Of course, Rio still reprimanded Agatha for the bodies really piling up, just like Agatha had promised. Agatha asked if Rio doubted her, though Kairi was surprised to hear that there was no sincerity in her voice, which confirmed even she wasn't okay with all the deaths. Kairi was drawn out of this by Rio admitting that she did doubt Agatha, since she had thought there had been a trick, but there had been one.
"You were distracting me from him," Rio emphasized, which had Kairi narrow her eyes.
She grimaced with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision again as they all then remembered that Rio was after Billy.
Agatha then called Rio a big girl, saying she knew she would figure it out eventually. Rio declared Billy an abomination because he was disrupting the sacred balance, which had the group grimacing again. Rio then declared that she knew how Agatha felt about Billy, which she tried to brush off. Rio replied that she watched Agatha as much as Agatha watched others, then reprimanded her for walking with another woman's son on a road. However, Agatha then cut Rio off before she finished saying something about The Road, which had the group narrowing their eyebrows.
"She said a road that doesn't e..." Roxas said with his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at Stephen, Wanda, and Vision. "Doesn't exist?"
"Like we said earlier, The Witches' Road isn't real," Stephen reminded her. "It's part of a con that Agatha's been doing for centuries."
"Then where exactly are they?" Vision asked. He gestured to the screen. "And wherever they are, it seems that Agatha has an inkling."
Wanda then furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation. She took a moment to remember everything that she had done with her own Chaos magic, going all the way back to the Hex and the illusions that she had formed over the years. Her eyes then narrowed as she remembered that Billy had that same magic, and didn't appear to have the most control over it. Wanda had been in that same situation in her grief and desperation when she had formed the Hex around Westview in her grief. She furrowed her eyebrows. If Billy had heard all about The Witches' Road, he was so desperate to find Tommy, and his powers were just as wild as her own magic...
Wanda's eyes widened as she finished putting together the pieces.
"I... might have an idea about what's happening..." she slowly said. *5*
Kairi was drawn from Wanda's words to Rio telling Agatha that no one in history had "special treatment" like her. Of course, there was pure anguish in her voice as Agatha demanded to know if Rio really called what she did "special treatment." Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed their eyes as Agatha accused Rio of doing nothing but taking from her, which Rio rebutted by calling Agatha's move. Rio then asked why Agatha let others believe things about her, including "Nicky." Agatha was silent before she softly declared that the truth was too awful.
Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all inwardly wondered who "Nicky" was, but then their minds drifted back to what Billy had said about the ghost of someone called "Nicholas Scratch."
"My word..." Vision slowly said. "What if Nicholas Scratch... is her son?"
"And she lets people believe that she traded him for the Darkhold because the truth is too awful?" Stephen added.
"The truth is worse than trading your own child for a book of evil that corrupts the soul?" Roxas remarked.
The group shared another grimace at this before Kairi looked up at Agatha and Rio again.
Meanwhile, Xion continued to sit with Jen and Billy, all three of them taking a moment of silence at the base of the stairs to mourn Lilia with. While Jen and Billy sat next to each other with their backs to the walls, Xion sat on Jen's other side and had a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Lilia wanted to stay behind," Billy softly remembered. He looked at Jen. "She chose it. You're sure."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Jen softly confirmed with a nod of her head.
"If it's any comfort, she went out a hero," Xion said. "She stopped the Salem Seven and saved our lives."
"She did," Jen agreed. She softly nodded her head again. "It's... a bit of a comfort. But not that big of one."
Billy looked down sadly in agreement, while Xion kept a hand on Jen's shoulder.
"Rio," Billy then said.
"Death," Xion corrected him. She huffed and looked up. "Claims to not be good or evil, but definitely has her share of evil."
"Sounds like it," Jen agreed with a grimace. She sighed. "Green Witch with a capital G. She told us who she was in the very beginning."
Billy looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Green Craft is about the cycle of all living things," Jen informed the two teens as Xion looked at her. "Growth and decay in constant flow."
She sniffed and wiped her nose.
"It makes sense," Jen remarked.
"It doesn't make it any less messed up," Xion replied with a sigh.
"So... Agatha's ex is Death," Billy assessed.
"That also makes sense," Jen flatly replied. She looked at Xion. "And like you said, it doesn't make it any less messed up."
"No, it does not," Xion agreed with a sigh.
Billy then looked up.
"Where is Agatha?" he asked. "I... I get that Kairi is keeping an eye on her, but if Rio is around..."
He grimaced in worry before pushing himself up to his feet and started up the stairs. Xion watched him go before pushing herself to her feet, sighing, and offering Jen a hand.
"Come on," Xion said. "We should at least see this thing to the end. At least for Alice, Lilia, and even Sharon."
Jen looked up at Xion in contemplation before giving a small nod. She took Xion's hand, and the younger woman helped her up. Xion nodded at her before the two of them turned and started to follow Billy.
"You're pretty insightful for a teenager," Jen complimented.
"Actually, I'm technically a clone," Xion said. "I think physically I'm only about two years old."
Jen stopped and watched Xion continue up the stairs in surprise.
"... Puberty hit you like a sack of bricks," Jen eventually commented.
Whatever the case, she continued following Xion and Billy up the stairs, determined to make sure that she would get through this as smoothly as possible. *6*
Up on the even ground of The Witches' Road, Kairi continued to hide behind the tree as Agatha and Rio continued to interact, now sitting across from each other on a couple of boulders. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed their eyes as they heard Agatha declare that what Billy wanted from The Road was a violation. Agatha just sighed and said that wanting to find his brother was like wasting The Road's time. Rio replied that Tommy wasn't out there yet, which had the group all narrowing their eyes again. Agatha asked what Rio meant.
"Somehow, the copied soul of the son of the Scarlet Witch stole a second life," Rio explained. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision's eyes all narrowed at that part. "I can't let him do the same for the copied soul of his twin. I have to take him."
"What the hell does she mean 'the copied souls'?" Kairi muttered.
"I don't know," Stephen replied. "And there's very little that I don't know."
"So Death herself is confirming that there's somehow two of Tommy and Billy," Wanda assessed.
"And Death herself wants them," Vision said grimly.
Kairi then looked up again as Agatha assessed that Rio couldn't take Billy. She listened with the others that Agatha put together that if Billy died, he would just be reincarnated again, and Rio would lose him. Agatha continued to put together that Rio needed Billy to turn himself in, so that she would get both him and Tommy. Kairi huffed, though her eyes narrowed as Agatha said she could arrange it. Agatha continued by saying she could get Billy to the finish line of The Road and deliver him to Rio. Rio stood up and asked what Agatha wanted in exchange. Agatha stood up and requested from Rio that if she delivered Billy, she be let go.
"That bitch," Wanda growled out, which had Roxas leaning away in concern. "Kill her."
"I'll think about that," Kairi replied, keeping her eyes on the former couple.
Roxas and Stephen were surprised when Vision didn't even disagree with his wife, but they decided to shrug it off since they kind of understood.
Kairi continued to listen as Agatha emphasized what the deal was supposed to be with Rio. Agatha wanted Rio to stop making her life hell, to leave her alone, and when she died "a long, long, long, long, long time from now," she didn't have to see Rio's face. Rio looked down, but she had a look of acceptance in her eyes as she agreed with Agatha's deal. Kairi huffed as she and Agatha then watched Rio turn and walk further through the forest before taking out her knife. Kairi's eyes then narrowed as Rio proceeded to stab into a large tarp with the design of a forest. Rio cut through the tarp, opening up a hole large enough for her to fit through, then slipped inside, disappearing from view.
"What the hell was that?" Kairi muttered to the others.
Roxas and Vision were equally stumped, but Stephen furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Wanda. Wanda looked at him with a look in her eyes that had his frown deepen.
'You've put it together?' Stephen asked mentally.
'I understand Chaos magic better than anyone else in this room, maybe even the country,' Wanda mentally replied. 'That has to be the only explanation.'
Stephen and Wanda huffed as they looked at the monitor again.
Further back on a different part of The Witches' Road, Billy, Jen, and Xion all continued to walk down the leaf-covered pathway as they moved deeper down the Road, following the rules as they tried to find their next trial. All three of them looked around and tried to see if they could locate the others, and Xion especially kept an eye out for Kairi, wanting to be sure that her sister was okay, even though she was still annoyed at her. Of course, as he walked alongside Jen and Xion, Billy couldn't help but think of a question that had been on his mind for a while.
"I mean, how did they even meet?" Billy couldn't help but ask, still thinking of Agatha and Rio.
"Um, over corpses, I imagine," Jen remarked with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Death was willing to flick her bean over Thanos giving her half of all life in the whole galaxy," Xion added. "With all the people Agatha's killed, she must've been really grateful."
"You think that's proof that Agatha has feelings, or am I reading too much into it?" Billy asked.
"That was your takeaway?" Jen asked with an eyebrow raised.
"You're reading too much into it," Xion emphasized.
"I'm just trying to get a good analysis of her," Billy replied. He gestured to Xion. "Besides you, she's the best link I have to my past."
"I don't get what you're talking about, but at least you're grown up now," Jen replied to Billy.
"Look," Billy said sternly. He moved in front of Jen and frowned at her. "I had a moment of clarity that helped confirm a few things to me. Starting with that Agatha Harkness can never be anything more than a coven-less witch."
"To say the least," Xion agreed with a sigh.
"Ouch!" Agatha said sarcastically nearby.
Billy, Jen, and Xion all narrowed their eyes and looked behind Billy. As to be expected, Agatha was standing just a few feet away, and while she had a mock offended look on her face, she replaced it with a smirk.
"Time to finish The Road," she declared.
"Without you," Kairi then declared.
Billy, Jen, and Xion then looked to the side, and they blinked in surprise when they saw Kairi standing right next to them.
"How'd you do that?" Jen asked.
"Not important," Kairi said. She looked at Billy. "Agatha just agreed to sell you out to Rio. Death, she wants you because you and Tommy violate the natural order. So, Agatha agreed to get you to willingly give yourself to her in exchange for Death leaving her alone."
"Oh, come on," Agatha said with fake offense in her voice. "Who are you gonna believe, kid?"
"Kairi," Billy, Jen, and Xion all simultaneously said as they frowned at Agatha.
"... Yeah, saw that coming," Agatha admitted.
Kairi and Xion grit their teeth before summoning their Keyblades and glaring at Agatha. The witch frantically raised her hands and quickly gestured with them towards the two teens, all while Billy and Jen just frowned at her.
"Wait, wait, wait," Agatha quickly said. "I didn't mean it!"
"Yeah, you did," Xion replied.
"Yeah, you did," Kairi added.
"Okay, okay... Maybe I did," Agatha said. She huffed. "But. But, but, but, but..."
She pointed sternly at the group.
"You still need me to help you get through The Road," Agatha insisted.
"Yeah, why?" Billy asked as he and Jen glared at the witch.
"Because how else do you expect to find Tommy?" Agatha pointed out. "Or to figure out how the hell The Road actually appeared?"
"You mean you don't know yourself?" Jen asked, frowning in surprise.
Kairi and Xion frowned and shared a look.
"So she doesn't even know how The Road appeared, either," Roxas assessed.
"Like I said, it's part of her con," Stephen pointed out. "She tricks them into thinking she can open the door to The Road, pisses them off, then gets them to blast their magic at her, getting her to absorb their magic. She must've been as surprised as the rest of us when the door actually showed up."
"And it sounds like she's offering to help figure out how it appeared," Vision added.
"That..." Wanda slowly said. She sighed. "Okay, that's a decent reason to keep her alive. For now."
Kairi and Xion sighed out in resignation and shared a look with Billy. He also sighed out, while Jen just glared at Agatha the whole time. *7*
"All right..." Xion slowly said. "That's a good enough reason for keeping you alive."
"But we're not putting these away," Kairi declared as she held up her Keyblade.
"Hey, whatever makes you happy, girlie," Agatha commented.
With that, she chuckled, turned, and started to walk deeper down The Witches' Road once again. Kairi and Xion sighed out in resignation and kept their Keyblades in hand, shared an apprehensive look with Billy, and Jen just sighed out once again. None of the four of them were happy with it, but they started walking after Agatha deeper down The Road towards their goal. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision continued to watch their friends' progress over the monitors, all of them hoping for the best, and hoping that they might get some answers to their questions soon enough...