Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Earth 616

November, 2025

Missouri

Kairi and Xion Eclipse, Roxas Cooper, Stephen Strange, Wong, and Wanda and Vision Maximoff had long since accepted that their lives would never be normal. After all, given the fact that two of them used to be Nobodies, one was a Princess of Heart, two were sorcerers, one was the fabled Scarlet Witch, and one was a synthezoid who was only about ten years old physically, they had no choice but to accept that "normal" would never happen to them. Even when having a simple event such as a baby shower for Wanda and Vision's imminent twin sons was filled with the usual quota of "abnormal" thanks to the crazy situation they had fallen into with the Multiverse.

After the group's return from deeper within the Multiverse, the baby shower managed to pass by... relatively pleasantly. Naturally, many members of the team ended up having to leave so they could share notes and tips about what all they had experienced, so that they had more knowledge and were more careful of future threats. Stephen had been tempted to do the same, especially with his new ally, Clea, waiting for him (Roxas, Xion, and many others all smirked over the way Stephen smiled when he said her name), but he decided to stick around a bit longer.

At the moment, the Sorcerer was in a very un-Sorcerer position, alongside Wong, and the non magical help of Kairi, Roxas, and Xion. They were all helping Wanda and Vision settle down after the long day, while also packing up many of the gifts they had gotten.

Wanda ended up directing most of the group as they put away the bags, almost looking like she was directing air traffic as she stood there in a set of red sweats, trying not to get too tired just from standing while nearly full-term pregnant. Vision constantly moved to her side to offer her some comfort, while still joining Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wong, and Xion in putting away all the boxes and bags. Stephen rolled his eyes at some of the orders, but he still followed along. Roxas vocally admitted that he wasn't sure he belonged here, but he still joined Wong in carrying away some boxes.

During the evening, Wanda also exchanged pleasantries with Kairi and Xion, their longtime friendship helping fuel the feeling of companionship they had gained over the years. It was nice for them to share moments of friendship now that they were outside of work as Avengers, and the three of them really enjoyed each others' company.

Of course, at the same time, Wanda ended up explaining to Kairi and Xion some of the complications she had been experiencing with her pregnancy. Some details intrigued the two teens, while others were a little too graphic, and disgusted them a little bit.

"Making more people when you're a Somebody is probably the weirdest thing imaginable," Xion remarked. She shook her head. "I'm glad I won't be doing that for at least another ten years."

"Did Axel tell you that?" Kairi asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes," Xion confirmed.

Kairi and Wanda laughed at that.

"It's still disgusting, though," Xion commented. "You pee on a stick just to learn you're pregnant. You throw up all morning, then throughout the rest of the day. The baby, or babies, heat up inside you and make you really hot. They push against your bladder and make you pee all the time. And your feet swell up like balloons!"

"You don't need to remind her about what she's going through," Kairi reminded her (kind of) sister.

"But she's not wrong, either," Wanda admitted. She panted with one hand on her back and the other on her swollen, rounded stomach. "Especially about the feet. These things look like balloon animals."

She panted and lifted up a foot, and Kairi and Xion grimaced over how swollen Wanda's ankles looked. *1*

Whatever the case, the group continued packing up the boxes, some of them in the house, some in Wanda and Vision's bedroom, and some in the nursery right next door to their bedroom. Roxas didn't let his short height weigh him down, and frequently floated up into the air with his powers when he had to help store some boxes on higher shelves. Of course, Kairi and Xion weren't going to let themselves be outdone, and joined him in floating up to store some items. Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all laughed at the teenagers, while Wong just rolled his eyes since he was the only one who couldn't fly.

They took some time to rest and just calm down for a moment, though it did briefly get interrupted by a man coming through an orange portal in a red and black suit with katanas on his back and guns attached to his thighs. He asked if Roxas was the Roxas he was looking for, shouted "fuck" at the top of his lungs more than once, then disappeared back into the portal before vanishing. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all shared confused looks, but they shrugged it off before continuing their break, then eventually going back to work.

At the group's insistence, Wanda sat in an armchair and let the lower section raise up so she was reclining backwards, her hands resting on her distended stomach as she watched and directed them amongst their various duties. Vision frequently stopped by to kiss her before continuing his work, and Wanda not-so-subtly watched him walk away in appreciation every time.

Of course, as they did their work, Roxas and Xion also ended up near each other frequently, and every time, they ended up in slightly flirty situations. When Roxas lifted a box over his head, Xion stared at his stomach as the bottom of his shirt rose slightly. When Xion crouched down to slide something under a desk, Roxas stared at her bottom for a while before trying to save face. Both Roxas and Xion ended up holding hands as they pulled a curtain across part of a room, and then blatantly held onto each other in a small hug, content smiles on their faces.

Seeing them interact ended up reminding Stephen and Wong about the nature of young love, which reminded them that they weren't so young anymore. Wong inwardly wondered when the last time he checked his dating app was, while Stephen thought about Clea and inwardly tried to convince himself that he just saw her as a professional partner.

'A beautiful, gorgeous partner...' Stephen thought to himself before stubbornly shaking his head.

Kairi, meanwhile, had a different reaction to the moments where she saw Roxas and Xion together.

Seeing her sort-of-clone and Sora's Nobody together, happy in a relationship, just reminded Kairi that she was alone since Sora was still in Quadratum. It had been almost five months (their time) since Riku and Vanitas had initially disappeared with the power of waking to follow him, two months (their time) since the two had briefly returned to help deal with Maleficent and the Darkhold, and then only a week or so since they briefly returned once again to help the Guardians. Kairi was still bitter that she hadn't been able to join them with the power of waking, and was absolutely enraged that they had been back with a more proficient way of traveling the Multiverse and hadn't brought her with them. And it stung even more that the other Roxas, the one with a team that specialized in traveling the Multiverse, outright told her that she wasn't ready to face whatever was happening in Quadratum.

Rationally, a part of Kairi knew that this made sense considering how many times she had gone up against something that she wasn't ready for and lost (it was way too many, in Kairi's opinion), so she knew that she had to be smart. But a stubborn, irrational side of her was too angry over the fact that it had been months since their last breakthrough, and she was still no closer to finally reuniting with Sora.

So, seeing somebody that looked exactly like her, and someone that had been (kind of) made from Sora be happy together as a couple felt like an extra punch to the gut for Kairi.

Once again, Kairi knew that it was irrational. After everything that they had been through, all the hardships and the trauma they had endured, Roxas and Xion had more than earned their right to be people on their own. They deserved the chance to be happy together, and that included the normal Somebody traditions of dating and being in a relationship. Neither of them deserved the jealousy that Kairi felt towards their relationship, but she just couldn't help herself.

Seeing Roxas and Xion together just made her wish that it was her and Sora together, instead.

Namine could kind of relate to Kairi considering she was in a similar situation, what with Riku being gone in Quadratum, too. But it was still a different situation considering Riku had at least gone to Quadratum willingly, and he had made the effort to come back home more than once and show her that he was okay. Kairi wasn't granted that luxury, but she made sure not to show any form of bitterness because of it to Namine, knowing that her other sister needed her own form of comfort over the situation.

Kairi just couldn't stop herself from being jealous every time she saw Roxas and Xion together. Every hold of the hand, small hug, or quick kiss led to her feeling more and more jealous that she couldn't experience those same experiences with Sora. Of course, given the fact that she saw Xion as a sister, and she and Roxas had become really good friends to her, Kairi felt even more guilty for her actions and her feelings. But Kairi decided not to dwell on this too much, knowing that she would never let her feelings drive her too far because she cared about both Roxas and Xion too much.

Still, Kairi couldn't help but still feel a little bitter over the way that Roxas and Xion continued to just... be together and stay together in front of her.

Kairi inwardly sighed out and felt another wave of frustration and guilt for her feelings, knowing that they were unwarranted considering her friendship with both Roxas and Xion. Once again, she inwardly pushed down those feelings, once again following the idea of dealing with them at a later date.

At the same time, she also pushed down the lessons that Wanda had learned from her classes about being a therapist: that bottled down, pent-up feelings have a tendency to then explode at the worst possible moment. Kairi knew that she was good at controlling her emotions, so there was no problem with her getting pent-up or too worried like that.

(Kairi also pushed down the memory that Wanda had gone through that same exact situation, which had resulted in the creation of the Hex around Westview two years prior. She was trying (and failing) to focus on the positive). *2*

At the moment, though, Kairi made sure these thoughts weren't on her mind as the group finished putting up all the boxes and gifts from the other Avengers and their allies at the baby shower. Having gotten some drinks and pulled up plates of leftover dessert, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion were all gathered together throughout the living room, sitting in the various couches and chairs as they just rested for a moment. Roxas and Xion were together in an armchair, Kairi tried not to look at them in jealousy nearby, Stephen and Wong were spread out along a couch, and Wanda and Vision were together on another couch, with Vision holding onto Wanda as she sat with a plate of cake resting on her stomach.

"That is impressive," Xion commented with an eyebrow raised at Wanda.

"Secret benefit of being nine months pregnant: free table," Wanda quipped.

"I'm so glad that our sons are making your life easier," Vision quipped with a smile.

"That might change after they come out," Stephen replied.

"Oh, hush, Stephen," Wong replied. He smiled pleasantly. "Children are always a joy."

"I'm not sure you can say something like that genuinely when you don't even have kids yourself," Roxas replied with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, you can't, but that's not saying he's wrong," Vision replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

The group all shared a small chuckle at that, before they let out a collective, content sigh. Xion leaned into Roxas once again, while Vision joined Wanda in placing a hand on her swollen stomach, and Stephen and Wong just smiled for their friends while Kairi leaned back in her seat, once again trying not to feel too jealous about being around so much love and not being able to experience her own.

"I am very happy to be back in our own universe," Vision informed Wanda as she took another bite of cake.

"And I'm happy to have you back," Wanda replied through her bite.

"Yeah, I much rather prefer our usual chaos here while at home as opposed to the full-blown chaos we get in the Multiverse," Roxas added, with Xion nodding in agreement.

"I've only been through different universes with you guys once, and I agree with you there," Stephen admitted.

Wong inwardly grimaced, now wondering just how bad things could be in the Multiverse that the craziness of their own home was much more preferable.

"Here's to our usual chaos here at home," Xion remarked, lifting up her cup with a smirk.

"Here, here," Kairi said, giving her first genuine smile in an hour as she lifted her cup.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all chuckled and lifted their own cups to join in the salute before they all took a collective sip, agreeing with the sentiment of preferring their own universe once again.

Of course, it almost felt absolutely perfect for their lives that this was when a new problem arose.

As Wanda lowered the cup from her mouth, she then closed her mouth and grunted in pain as she pressed her hand to her head, grimacing slightly over the feeling of a great headache. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all quickly lowered their cups and looked at her as she kept her hand on her head, her headache continuing along with small grimaces and grunts.

"What's wrong?" Vision asked, immediately going into Dad Panic Mode. "Is it something to do with the boys?"

"No, it's not that," Wanda admitted. She grimaced and opened her eyes. "There's... something wrong in the magical world. Something wrong with a spell that I cast."

"A spell gone haywire?" Stephen asked, leaning forward in intrigue.

"That's never a good thing," Wong remarked with a worried shake of his head.

"No, it hasn't gone haywire," Wanda slowly said. She huffed and opened her eyes. "There's... interference. Someone is tampering with it and trying to take it down."

Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all set their drinks down and shared looks, leaning forward in curiosity.

"Can that be done?" Roxas asked, looking at some of the others before turning towards Wanda.

"It can," Stephen confirmed. He looked at Wanda. "With the right number of incantations and enchanted objects, unless you've added all sorts of defenses, any spell can be undone."

"Which spell is it?" Vision asked, moving the plate of cake slices from Wanda's rounded stomach.

"It's none of the protection spells," Wanda admitted. She sighed as she furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully. "It's... I think it's one of the older, more prolonged spells that I cast."

"What does that mean?" Wong asked.

"Give me a second," Wanda requested.

With that, she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all shared looks of concern as Wanda continued to concentrate, humming to herself as she did a mental check of her spells to see which ones were active and which ones were being tampered with. It took her a few moments, but soon enough, she was able to narrow down which spell was being interfered with.

And when she did, Wanda gasped as she opened her eyes. With that, she then waved a small hand, casting a spell that made a red glow appear around her stomach.

"Oh, shit," Wanda said.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all blinked in surprise, because none of them could remember the last time they had heard Wanda cuss. *3*

"What's wrong?" Vision asked, concern filling him again.

Worry appeared on Wanda's face as she looked at her husband.

"It's the spell I put on Agatha two years ago," she told him. She worriedly looked amongst Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong. "Someone is trying to free Agatha."

The eyes of all other occupants in the room widened as they felt worry fill them over Wanda's declaration.

"Oh, shit," Xion commented.

She still remembered how evil Agatha had been, between manipulating Wanda, threatening those versions of Tommy and Billy to get her to comply, putting Wanda's pain and grief in the residents to torture them "for fun," and had even been twisted enough to kill a dog just to mess with her. And that was before Agatha had tried to steal Wanda's power to kill her, something that she had apparently been doing for about 300 years, all the way back to when she had murdered her own mother and her coven to steal their power.

Even Bucky, who hated when people manipulated others with brainwashing considering what HYDRA had done to him, agreed that this wasn't the kind of woman that they wanted free and out of the "prison" that Wanda's spell had put her under.

"What's going on?" Roxas asked as he and the others stood up.

"Yeah, what could someone be doing to your spell that could have them think they can take it down?" Kairi asked. She gestured with her hands. "I mean, you're the Scarlet Witch. What makes anybody think they could take down one of your spells?"

"The magic that I can sense is involved isn't... as powerful as mine," Wanda admitted. She huffed. "But I can sense two individuals using magic at the same time against my spell. This is weakening the hold that I put on Agatha."

"Shit," Stephen commented.

"Stop cussing," Wanda said with a frown. She patted her swollen belly, which was still glowing red. "This sound-proof spell doesn't last for too long."

Stephen held up a hand apologetically while he and Wong shared a look.

"I don't get it," Roxas said with his eyebrows furrowed. "Your power is apparently greater than that of the Sorcerer Supreme. How could anybody be strong enough to take down one of your spells."

"Well, she was stronger than all of us combined when she had the Darkhold forced on her, but she isn't that strong anymore," Wong pointed out.

"Yeah, so she's probably a bit weaker now," Stephen added. He shrugged his shoulders. "Wong and I are probably strong enough combined to take her down."

"How about we test that out after I'm not pregnant?" Wanda sarcastically suggested with a roll of her eyes.

Vision placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her up with a small grunt.

"But that's not important," Wanda said. She huffed and looked amongst the group. "What's important is that there are two magic-wielders that are close enough to me in power that are running interference with the spell that I put on Agatha. And if they're lucky, then both of their magicks combined will be enough to get her to break free."

"That's not good," Stephen remarked with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, with what you guys said about her, even I don't want a lady like this running around free," Kairi agreed with a huff.

"Well, it won't be the worst thing in the world, right?" Xion pointed out. She gestured to Wanda. "You gave her a taste of her own medicine and stole all her powers from her, which made you into the Scarlet Witch in the first place."

"That's true," Wanda admitted. "But there's one spell that I never took from her, because I never wanted to be as bad as her: the power to drain the power and life from witches."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all narrowed their eyes at that.

"But... when Maleficent made you go after America..." Roxas slowly remembered.

"That was Maleficent forcing the powers on me with the Darkhold through the Id," Wanda reminded them. She shared a look with Vision. "I've already killed too many people accidentally. I purposefully left out that spell when I took Agatha's magic because I didn't want to kill anyone purposefully."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all tilted their heads to the side, understanding that sentiment.

"But then that means that Agatha still poses a threat," Vision assessed with his eyebrows furrowed. "She still has the spell that takes power and life from other witches."

"And while witches have garnered a pretty bad reputation over the centuries, there is no reason to believe that they deserve to die, especially like that," Wong declared.

"So once these two magic wielders get Agatha free of the spell..." Roxas slowly said.

"Then she'll be able to go throughout the world and steal the powers from other witches again," Stephen declared.

"And who knows how many innocent witches will die in the process?" Wanda added with worry in her voice.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all grimaced together in worry over the very idea. *4*

"So what do we do?" Roxas asked, looking amongst the rest of his allies.

"We've gotta get to Agatha and try to stop these two magicians before they can undo the spell," Stephen declared.

"Well... it's a little too late for that," Wanda admitted. She grimaced and looked at the others. "Whoever these magic users are, they're clearly experts with their craft. I can sense my spell breaking down on Agatha more by the second. My best estimate is that it'll be completely down within a couple of hours."

"Shit..." Wong sighed out.

Wanda frowned at him, and he gave her an apologetic look.

"In that case, what should we do?" Vision emphasized.

Kairi, Roxas, and Xion looked amongst the magicians and the synthezoid in similar curiosity.

"Well, we'll need to get to Agatha either before or immediately after the spell wears off," Stephen declared.

"And we must also investigate these other two magic wielders," Wong added with a frown. He looked at Wanda. "If the two of them combined are enough to take down a spell from the Scarlet Witch, then we'll need to learn more about them, especially if they're friend or foe."

"Looks like whatever the case, we're going back to Westview," Xion assessed.

Wanda and Vision then shared a look and inwardly grimaced, both of them hoping that enough time had passed that the people of Westview weren't angry anymore.

"I think we should be smart about this, though," Stephen said, gesturing with his hands. He looked at Wanda and gestured to her stomach. "I mean, obviously we shouldn't let you go headfirst into danger considering your state."

"That would be a very bad idea," Wanda agreed, placing her hands protectively on her swollen stomach in concern.

Vision put a hand on her belly and nodded in agreement.

"And sadly, we shouldn't go to Westview, either," Wong admitted as he looked at Stephen.

"What?" Kairi asked, frowning in surprise with Roxas and Xion. "Why not?"

"We saw what Agatha was like when going through Wanda's memories," Stephen informed them. "Agatha's powers only work when someone with magic attacks her."

"So no matter what spell you guys try to use on her..." Roxas slowly said, furrowing his eyebrows thoughtfully.

"She'd use it to steal our magic and kill us," Wong confirmed.

"Okay, that's tough," Xion remarked with her eyebrows furrowed. "How are you supposed to fight a magic wielder without magic of your own?"

"This feels like a philosophical question," Vision remarked. He raised an eyebrow. "Literally. It sounds like a philosophical question that I've encountered more than once."

"Well, it can be done," Stephen pointed out. "You all and V did a decent job against Maleficent numerous times during that problem. And if she hadn't had the Darkhold, you'd most likely have taken her down. Again."

"That's true," Roxas remarked with a nod of his head.

"So..." Kairi slowly said, looking between Kairi, Roxas, and Xion. "If you guys don't mind going to Westview in my stead..."

"Hey, you don't even have to ask," Xion promised with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah, after everything we've been through, I'm more than happy to help," Roxas emphasized.

Kairi nodded her head in agreement.

"But we've gotta try and keep this on the down-low," Stephen then pointed out. "We can't spook Agatha, or either of these magicians in case they attack. So, we need to be covert."

"So I can't go," Vision remarked with his eyebrows furrowed. "Given our history in Westview, even if I'm disguised, they'll most likely recognize me. Too many people in the town are familiar with my face, both with and without the disguise."

"And that means that you probably shouldn't go, either," Wong informed Roxas.

"What, why?" Roxas asked with a small frown.

Stephen pointedly reached over and grabbed one of the spikes that Roxas's hair made, and the young blonde sighed out as he pushed his hand away.

"Point taken," Roxas sighed out.

"Yeah, not even a good glamor spell will be enough for that, not with how often you've been seen on the news," Wong admitted, with Stephen and Wanda both nodding in confirmation.

Roxas sighed out. This whole "publicly known as a hero to the entire world" thing certainly had its ups and downs.

"So, that just leaves two options..." Xion slowly said.

"Us," Kairi confirmed, sharing a look with her (kind of) sister over the very idea.

Roxas immediately narrowed his eyes in worry with Vision, while Stephen and Wong looked at the two teen girls in concern, and Wanda just gave them a look.

"You don't have to do this," Wanda told them. She shrugged her shoulders. "This is my problem, after all. But... if you guys could go there in my stead, well... I would appreciate it."

"It's no problem, really," Xion promised her with a wave of her hand. "We can go there, do a little sleuthing, figure out what's going on, and apprehend Agatha. It's nothing we can't take care of."

"Plus, I didn't have any plans for this weekend, so I'm glad to just have something to do," Kairi added with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Is this still the best option, though?" Vision couldn't help but ask in concern.

"It might be," Wong confirmed, to Roxas's disappointment. "Given that their powers are vastly different to the magic of this world, that means there's less chance of Agatha stealing and draining their life forces in case something happens."

Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all breathed out a collective sigh of relief.

"But do either of you really think you would win if you had to fight Agatha, or either of these other magic users?" Stephen asked, looking at Kairi and Xion in concern. "Magic is very different from the powers you possess, and while that can be a good thing sometimes, it's still not something you should underestimate."

"Yeah, but we've got experience in fighting magic thanks to Maleficent," Kairi reminded Stephen. She gestured to Xion. "She and Roxas fought her head on when she had the Darkhold, and they survived. We can probably take on a powerless witch 2 years out from detoxing from that thing."

"And let's just hope that whoever these two magic users trying to take down the spell over her aren't evil," Xion added. She looked at the others and shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, it's really unlikely at this point, but where would we be without hope?"

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all nodded their heads in understanding.

With that, the group then took a little while to start getting things ready. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all changed out of their casual clothes and into something more battle ready if necessary (this consisted of Roxas changing into his usual outfit, Stephen waving a hand and replacing his shirt and jeans with his robes, Vision phasing his outfit from a sweater and pants to his teal and gold suit, and Wanda waving her hand and changing her sweats to a shirt, jacket, and jeans). Kairi and Xion also changed out of their dresses and boots into something more inconspicuous since they were at least trying to be covert. This consisted of simple shirts under hoodies (black with white designs for Xion, pink with black designs for Kairi), jeans, and sneakers.

Of course, they opted out of wearing baseball caps or sunglasses, feeling that those would just make them stand out all the more.

"Wearing a hat and sunglasses with these outfits isn't really gonna do much to hide our identities," Kairi pointed out.

"Yeah, we'd just look like ourselves but at a baseball game," Xion agreed.

Wanda shrugged her shoulders before putting the hats and sunglasses on a counter.

"Yes, I always questioned Captain Rogers and Ms. Romanoff's choices of only consisting of using those to hide their faces," Vision admitted. He raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, if I hadn't been sabotaging the facial recognition networks the government set up when you all were on the run, they would've found you in just a matter of weeks." *5*

Wanda smiled and leaned in to give Vision a grateful hug, and Vision smiled and reciprocated the hug.

Kairi smiled for the couple before Roxas and Xion shared a hug, making the redhead sigh and work to conceal her frustration.

All of a sudden, a portal opened nearby, and Wong stepped out, coming from the New York Sanctum with a small case in his arm. Stephen nodded at the other sorcerer before he opened the case, pulling out two tiny devices, which he handed to Kairi and Xion.

"We have modified some of the comlinks that Sam Wilson provided us with," Wong explained. "Not only can they work across greater distances than usual, they can also keep working even if they are disturbed by some form of magical interference."

"We also put small cameras into the sides," Stephen added as Kairi and Xion put the earpieces in. "They can connect to the laptop that Wong brought and show us what you're seeing. We figured that gear like this would especially come in handy on a reconnaissance mission if we were facing a particularly great magical beast. We send scouts in, they get the info about the monster, come back, and we figure out the best way to take it down."

"Oh, that's how you knew you needed me to cast a spell to imprison that Leviathan," Wanda commented with remembrance in her voice.

Stephen and Wong both nodded their heads, while Vision grimaced at the memory, and Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all frowned, wondering when exactly that had happened.

Whatever the case, the trio of Keyblade wielders brushed it off as Stephen then took out a couple of small pendants that he passed to Kairi and Xion. The two teens looked over the charms, seeing various patterns and designs engraved in them, including a couple of runes.

"And take these with you," Stephen told them. "They offer a small form of defense against magical attacks, including witchcraft."

"I helped make them," Wanda added, raising a hand. "They aren't much, but they'll still ensure that a spell won't be too impactful or damaging."

"Well, we'll take what we can get," Xion remarked with a shrug of her shoulders.

Kairi nodded in agreement as she, Xion, and even Roxas gave the sorcerers and the witch grateful looks.

The group then took a moment to all walk into the study, where Vision usually did his work for Stark Industries. Wong placed his laptop on the desk, and the rolling chair was replaced by a comfortable armchair for Wanda to sit in. She pulled up in front of the laptop, wanting to have a first-hand look at the situation since this was a problem involving one of her old villains. Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong all gathered behind the desk with her, though Wong made it clear that he might have to step out every once in a while due to his duties as Sorcerer Supreme (something that Stephen still felt like his friend was rubbing in his face with how often he brought it up). Kairi and Xion were on the opposite side of the desk, nodding at their friends to show they were ready.

"When you get to Westview, you'll need to go into the residential area," Wanda instructed to the two teens. "That might be the best place to find Agatha. With her having the personality of the 'nosy neighbor,' she should still be at the house she was living in during the Hex."

"Didn't that house originally belong to a guy named Ralph Bohner?" Roxas asked, frowning in remembrance.

Stephen smirked and gave a small chuckle, but he cleared his throat to get serious again.

"It did, yeah," Stephen confirmed, clearing his throat as he, Wanda, and Vision all looked at the blonde. "When I went there to check things out after we got rid of the Darkhold, I found Agatha still in the spell, and Ralph Bohner nowhere in sight. Afterwards, she more or less just moved into his house, and he hasn't been seen or heard from in about two years."

"I hope everything is all right for him," Vision said with a small grimace.

"Me, too," Wanda agreed with her own grimace.

After learning that Agatha had manipulated Ralph, Wanda already felt bad enough for having thrown him into that hay bale during the "Halloween party." She hoped that his experiences because of Agatha and what Wanda herself had done with the Hex hadn't been too horrible for Ralph.

"The best course of action is to find the lot that I had bought, since Agatha only lived about two doors down from us as Agnes," Vision emphasized to Kairi and Xion, pulling Wanda out of her thoughts.

"Well, I guess it shouldn't be too hard to find an empty lot," Kairi commented with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Why should we assume that it'll be empty?" Xion asked with a frown. "Two years, won't someone have built a house there by now?"

"Uh, no," Stepehen admitted. He grimaced. "I checked in on the place last year, when we were putting together that arranged deal with the military. The one when people were calling for Wanda to have some form of punishment, and we agreed to house arrest. Not only did people refuse to build something at that lot, but they also tagged what was there with graffiti."

Kairi, Roxas, Vision, Wong, and Xion all grimaced, while Wanda looked down and sighed, having expected this.

"Do I even want to know what they wrote?" Wanda softly asked.

"I erased the worst of it," Stephen reassured her. "But... it wasn't nice."

Wanda sighed out again, and Vision put a comforting hand on her back.

"Whatever the case..." Vision slowly said as he looked at Kairi and Xion again. "You find the empty lot, and you'll be able to find Agatha. She lived only a few doors down."

"Got it," Kairi said with a nod of her head. "Anything else we should know?"

"You should still be careful of Agatha and whoever these other two magic users are," Wanda said, sighing as she pulled herself out of her thoughts. "Though she might not have enough of her powers to perform the greater spells, there are still a few smaller scaled spells that witches can perform."

"Exactly," Stephen agreed. "And you better hope that these other magic wielders aren't other hostile witches. After all, with the different types, like Potion witches, Divination witches, Protection witches, and even Green Witches, you don't wanna risk fighting them."

"How many times of witches are there even?" Xion asked with an eyebrow raised.

"We'll explain it to you along the way," Wong promised, with Stephen and Wanda nodding in promise. *6*

"Would it matter at all if I said I'm not that comfortable about this anymore?" Roxas asked.

"No," Kairi, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all simultaneously told the blonde.

Roxas sighed out.

But whatever the case, the young blonde still stepped forward and hugged Xion, and she promised him that she would be okay. Kairi looked away again, trying not to let her jealousy show too much, but Wanda paused as she sensed the feelings within the redhead.

Of course, Wanda didn't get a chance to take Kairi aside and voice these feelings because Stephen waved a hand and made a bright orange portal appear with his Sling Ring, leading directly into the residential area of Westview, New Jersey. Kairi and Xion nodded at Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong, and the group all nodded back at them. With that, Kairi and Xion turned and walked through the portal together, exiting the house and entering Westview together as the portal slowly shimmered out of existence behind them. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all watched them go, then they all let out a collective sigh, all of them hoping for the best for their friends.

Now, they just had to watch and wait...

Chapter Text

Walking through the portal together, Kairi and Xion both felt a range of feelings coursing through them. Being sent here to Westview in Wanda's stead, all while she, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong watched through the comlinks, they both had varying ideas about how to think.

Kairi was admittedly happy to have the distraction from her jealousy towards seeing Xion and Roxas together. She still couldn't help the jealousy constantly popping up from seeing her (kind of) sister with her boyfriend, even knowing that it was unnatural. So, having a distraction in the form of fighting against an evil witch and two potentially dangerous magical forces was a good distraction for Kairi. Plus, Kairi was a little intrigued by the idea of fighting a witch, especially since she hadn't had her Keyblade at the time she and the others fought Maleficent. So, fighting Agatha was a little test that Kairi wanted to pass, since it could be another way for her to evolve as a Keyblade wielder again.

Plus, after fighting alongside Wanda more than once, Kairi was more than happy to do her friend a solid like this.

Xion, meanwhile, was a little curious about how this was going to go. She had been determined and promised Wanda that she would be fine, but she still remembered how that fight had happened in Westview the last time they faced Agatha. Xion remembered how she, Cloud, and Tifa had done well enough in fighting the evil witch before she used her Dark magic to restrain the three of them before throwing them off the roof, making Xion hit the ground so hard she saw Tweety Bird flying around her head. Though Xion had gotten better with her Keyblade and using golden energy to fight, as she had demonstrated when they fought Maleficent and then Lore, she still couldn't help but be a little worried, especially since there were two other magic users being involved.

Xion was sure that she and Kairi could handle whatever Agatha and these other magic users could throw at them, but a part of her still couldn't help but be worried, especially since the Dark witch had already shown that she had no problem breaking the rules to get her way.

These emotions continued to flow through Kairi and Xion as the two of them walked through the portal and into Westview. The cool, November air of New Jersey blew across the two teens and had them grimacing slightly. As Stephen's portal closed behind them, they both pulled their jackets a little tighter and looked around.

"It's a lot colder here than Missouri," Kairi commented.

"We're a bit closer to the North, and it tends to get colder there," Xion remarked, tilting her head to the side.

Whatever the case, the two teens looked around for a moment, taking stock of their surroundings. They had landed in between a house and its wooden fence, meaning that they had definitely landed in the residential area. Inwardly acknowledging that this was a smart move since it provided them with camouflage for the portal, Kairi and Xion stepped along the side of the house and looked around for a moment. This allowed them to see other houses, complete with their large yards, fences, and even shrubs spread out in different directions, going down a set of roads going left to right. The two teens huffed as they looked around, taking in the sights.

"All right," Xion said. She and Kairi shared a look. "Let's give the others a look, too."

Kairi nodded in agreement, and the two of them reached up to press buttons on their comlinks, turning them on while also activating the cameras.

"Testing, testing," Xion said. "Guys, can you read us?"

"Kairi's Seaside Azazels, how can we help you?" Kairi quipped with a smirk.

Xion smirked with the redhead, while the sound of chuckles came over the intercom.

"Yes, we can read you both," Wanda informed them.

"Loud and clear, yeah," Roxas added.

"And the picture is coming in perfectly," Vision praised.

"That's magic in the modern era for ya," Stephen declared with a bit of pride in his voice.

"And you've both landed in Westview with little difficulty?" Wong asked.

"Yeah, we're here," Xion confirmed, looking around for a moment. "The place seems to be doing pretty well."

"As well as it can for being in freaking Jersey," Kairi commented bitterly.

Xion then frowned and looked at Kairi, who paused and looked down in embarrassment.

"I've spent way too much time around V," Kairi remarked.

"And Cloud," Xion, Wanda, Vision, and Roxas all simultaneously replied. *1*

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion sighed out and looked around the neighborhood for a moment. Their eyes narrowed slightly in surprise as they saw residents spread out in the neighborhood, some of whom Xion recognized from the WandaVision broadcast.

"Hey," Xion said, smiling as she pointed at a yard where a blonde woman, a man with dark hair and a mustache, and a young girl who was clearly their daughters were all standing. "Dottie and Phil Jones."

"Actually, their real names are Sarah and Harold Proctor," Wanda informed them.

"Sarah Proctor," Kairi said with a frown. "Wait, isn't that the name of the wife from The Crucible?"

"No, it was Elizabeth Proctor," Stephen replied. "Her husband, John, was the one who had the affair with the crazy teenage girl who started all the claims of witchcraft."

"Something tells me that's part of the reason witches get such a bad rap," Roxas commented.

"It's possible," Kairi agreed.

Xion then pointed down the road to where a tan-skinned man was out for a morning jog.

"Vision's coworker, Norm?" she asked.

"Alibash Tandon," Vision corrected her. "I'm just glad that not all of them have felt the need to leave their homes after what happened."

"Me, too," Wanda agreed with relief in her voice.

"And look," Xion said, gesturing to an African American man trimming his hedges. "Herb's still working on those hedges."

"Well, his real name is John Collins," Wanda corrected her.

"But... you aren't wrong," Vision admitted.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all shared a small chuckle at that.

Of course, Kairi and Xion then turned to look in one direction, and their eyes narrowed. The smiles vanished from their faces, and the laughter stopped over the intercom as they all saw what the two teens had found over the camera.

Looking around, Kairi and Xion saw no one watching them, so they turned and walked out from the side of the house and crossed the street. Passing by a parked gray minivan, the two of them walked together across the street and stopped on the sidewalk on the opposite side. Standing on the sidewalk, the two of them sighed out as they looked into the still-empty lot that was most definitely the one Vision had bought for Wanda.

The lot was still abandoned after 2 years, which wasn't really a surprise after what Stephen had said. There were still some small patches of grass along the dirt of the field, along with the stone foundations set up for a house. But along those stone foundations were the graffiti that people had set up. Kairi and Xion remembered how Stephen admitted to cleaning off the worst, but it still stung slightly to see the words "Evil witch," and a drawing of Wanda's Scarlet Witch crown with a slash through it on the stone. The two teens sighed out and shared a look.

In Missouri, Roxas and Wong stayed silent as they saw the graffiti on the stone foundations, but they felt bad that Wanda had to see this. Stephen even shot the redhead an apologetic look, and Vision crouched down to place a comforting hand on her back. Wanda looked down and sighed, and a part of her wished that she could have been surprised by this. But she softly nodded her head, then looked up to give Vision a look, mentally assuring him that she was okay. Vision still looked at her in concern, but Wanda nodded in promise before they joined Roxas, Stephen, and Wong in looking at the monitor again.

"Sorry, Wanda," Xion said as she and Kairi grimaced together.

"It's fine," Wanda replied. She sighed. "Honestly, I would've been more surprised if they hadn't left something. And I'm just glad you cleaned off the worst, Stephen."

"Do we even wanna know what the worst of it said?" Roxas couldn't help but ask.

"No, you do not," Stephen admitted, and Wong grimaced in the background.

"Well, potential reasons for further therapy sessions aside..." Kairi slowly said. She looked around at the empty lot. "It looks like we've found the right house."

"Excellent," Vision praised. "From what I remember, Agatha posed as Agnes by staying in the house just two doors down from us."

"Which direction?" Xion asked.

Before Wanda could answer, the sound of a door opening echoed from down the road. Kairi and Xion looked down the road, and at the house in question. Moments later, their eyes widened, as did the eyes of Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong on the other side of the monitor.

The house the door opened from did belong to Agatha, and she rushed down in a state of shock. Of course, Agatha was completely naked, with only her long, dark hair flowing down her shoulders and onto her breasts to provide her with a modicum of modesty. They all watched as Agatha rushed down the sidewalk of her house barefoot, moving across the street to where John was trimming his hedges. John exclaimed in surprise and tried to tell Agatha about her case, but she didn't appear to care.

Agatha just proceeded to shout angrily, showing that she had succeeded in coming out of Wanda's spell. Kairi and Xion just watched and tried to look conspicuous as Agatha proceeded to angrily gesture towards the other residents in the neighborhood. Sarah grabbed her daughter and started to push her back inside, while Harold stared at the naked Agatha a little too long, so Sarah angrily grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Alibash was surprised by being called out by a naked woman, then turned and jogged away. Kairi and Xion then watched as John tried to talk to Agatha to calm her down, but she growled in irritation, especially over learning that she had been in Westview for 2 years. Agatha proceeded to turn around, then rushed into her house, still not caring as she showed her entire naked body to the residents watching.

In Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all breathed out in surprise, since none of them had expected that.

"... So that's what a vagina looks like?" Roxas eventually asked.

Stephen just smacked the young blonde in the chest. *2*

"Well... We found Agatha," Xion eventually said.

"Huh," Kairi said, furrowing her eyebrows. "You know, for a 400 year old witch, she's been staying in pretty great shape."

Xion just frowned and looked at Kairi, while the others all raised an eyebrow on the other end.

"... I might be a little bi," Kairi admitted.

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion walked together down the sidewalk, moving together towards the house that they had seen Agatha walk into. It took a few moments of walking, but soon enough, they had stopped in front of the house next to Agatha's, staring apprehensively at the house, both of them breathing in and out in preparation.

"All right," Kairi slowly said. "Ready to kick the pretty good ass of a pretty bad witch?"

"That was the weirdest thing I've ever heard you say," Xion commented. "But yeah, I think so."

"Hey," a voice said.

Kairi and Xion jumped in surprise and turned to look to the right. They were still a little surprised, but they calmed down as they watched John Collins walk towards them. Having set down his hedge clippers, John adjusted his gardening apron as he walked over to the two of them, keeping his eyes on Xion. His eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at the teen, and she inwardly grimaced, realizing that he recognized her.

"I recognize you," John told Xion, stepping in front of the two with his hands on his hips. "Granted, you were dressed like a goth and had a chain around your neck the last time we met, but I can still recognize you."

Xion grimaced, while Kairi raised an eyebrow over the "chain" part.

"Xion," John emphasized. He nodded at the two. "Relax, I won't say anything."

"Oh," Kairi said, calming down slightly. "Well, that's a bit of a relief."

"You're staring at Agnes... Sorry, Agatha's house pretty intently," John assessed.

"Uh, yeah," Xion confirmed. "She's, uh... kinda breaking free."

"Considering what just happened, I'd say she's completely broken free," John remarked. He gestured with a hand. "It's all right. Remember, she has no powers, so she won't be that dangerous."

"Yeah, but..." Kairi slowly said.

"Why don't you come in for a drink?" John suggested, nodding back at his house.

Kairi and Xion frowned for a moment and shared a look.

"I can sense no magic in the house," Wanda informed them.

"Yeah, the other two magic users don't appear to be anywhere near the house, and Agatha has no spells she can use," Stephen emphasized.

"And John is a nice man," Vision added. "He's got a wife and kids, and he's one of the more jovial residents of Westview."

Kairi and Xion shared another look, shrugged their shoulders, and nodded at John.

So, John turned and led the two teens into his house, where he sat them down at his kitchen counter, and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade that he poured out for them. Taking experimental sips, Kairi and Xion nodded together, enjoying the taste.

"Thanks, Mr. Collins," Kairi told him.

"It's no trouble," John told them. He huffed. "Honestly, after what happened a couple of years ago, I'm probably the only person in Westview who would still provide two Avengers hospitality, especially ones with such close ties to... you know."

"Ah, yeah," Xion agreed with a small nod of her head. "And how are you after what happened, Mr. Collins? Things weren't too bad for you?"

"Well, it was a bit of a shock, I'll admit," John admitted. He furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. "It felt like I was a prisoner in my own body, with instructions about what to do being given to me at random."

Xion softly nodded her head, remembering the feeling from her own brief experience seeing in the Hex after it had expanded.

"But it wasn't too bad," John admitted. "My wife and kids were visiting her family down in Florida when it happened, so none of them got caught up in the spell. That's where they are now, by the way. And I gotta be honest, I liked some of the outfits."

He gave a jovial smile, which had Kairi and Xion smirk together.

In Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all smirked in amusement, while Wanda and Vision both sighed out in relief, happy to hear that the Hex wasn't completely horrible for everyone within.

"The only thing that really made it unbearable..." John slowly said. He sighed out. "Was seeing and feeling Wanda's pain and anguish during the nights."

Kairi and Xion softly nodded their heads, as did the group watching on the other end.

"After everything that poor girl went through, I can't really get too mad at her," John admitted. He raised an eyebrow. "The rest of the town has a different opinion, though."

"Yeah, we saw the graffiti," Kairi admitted, nodding to the side.

"Yeah, her putting that spell on Agnes... sorry, Agatha, didn't really help," John admitted.

"But, I remember that day of the fight," Xion said with a frown. "Agatha admitted to using her powers on you guys. Wanda tried to make you guys comfortable after she realized what she was doing, but Agatha's the one who put her grief and despair in your heads to torture you all because she thought it was fun."

"Yeah, but not everyone thought that," John admitted. He scoffed. "Some irrational idiots decided that she was a scapegoat that Wanda made to make herself look good after what she did to the town. Even seeing Cloud Strife, his girlfriend, and you fighting her, people were still too stubborn to accept the truth, and were all too willing to keep putting the blame on Wanda."

He gestured to Xion as he spoke, and she, Kairi, along with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all sighed out together. Some people really were too stubborn...

"And when Wanda put Agatha back in the same spell we were all put under, they decided to show her even more mercy," John admitted. "She keeps living out roles like she's a character in weird TV shows. Lately, she's been pretending to be a detective in a true crime series."

Kairi and Xion raised their eyebrows and shared a surprised look, not knowing that Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong were all reacting the same way.

"So, people have been humoring her, pretending to be characters in her little shows to try and keep her comfortable," John added.

"Wait, so the whole town was forced to pretend to be TV characters, and they still condemn Wanda for it even though she's still guilty for what she did accidentally..." Xion slowly said with a frown. "... But they're more than happy to keep it going for Agatha, the witch who really brought their pain?"

"Yeah..." John slowly said with a sigh. "The stupidity of some of the people in this town will never cease to amaze even me."

Kairi and Xion, along with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all sighed out in agreement. *3*

"By the way..." John said, furrowing his eyebrows at the two teens. "I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I notice little things. And the way you were both quiet for so long after I invited you into my house was pretty weird. As is the little pauses you keep making."

Kairi and Xion shared a look before they shared a small sigh. Xion then reached into her ear, took out the comlink, and showed it to John.

"We came here in Wanda's stead to check on Agatha," she informed John. "But we still have these to talk to her, and there's a camera on them. She and Vision are on the other end, listening to and seeing what we're seeing."

John softly nodded his head, while on the other end, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong were a little worried about how he would react. However, John just surprised them all by looking calmly into the camera.

"Ms. Maximoff, Mr... Vision," John said, pausing for a moment. "I wish for no ill will to either of you for what happened two years ago. I do wish that things could have gone differently, but I'm happy that you had a chance to find each other again, especially after what that big, purple guy did. And I hope for the best for you both."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion were all impressed with John's maturity, and how willing he was to offer forgiveness to Wanda for what happened.

A smile then spread across his face.

"Although, if you don't mind me asking..." John slowly said. "Is there any chance you still have those outfits from when I was acting out in the different eras? I will pay any amount of money for them, within reason. If I have to take out a second mortgage, I might change my mind. Maybe."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all chuckled, inwardly deciding to forget about John's "maturity."

"We'll see what we can do about the clothes," Kairi laughed as Xion put the comlink back in her ear.

"Well, anyway," Xion said. She cleared her throat. "We're still here to more or less apprehend Agatha after breaking out of the spell. But we're also here to investigate."

"Investigate what?" John asked, a curious look on his face.

"Well, our friends were able to sense two other magic users here in town besides Agatha," Kairi explained. "They were the ones that were wearing down the spell that Wanda had placed on her."

"Ah," John assessed with a nod of his head. "So, you gotta see if they're friendly or not."

"As unlikely as they might be," Kairi remarked. "If they're trying to free a witch like Agatha, the jury isn't completely out."

"Do you think those other two magic users are anywhere near Agatha?" Xion asked, looking at the redhead.

All of a sudden, there was the sound of something crashing echoing through the neighborhood, which had the trio and the group listening in Missouri all jump in surprise. Kairi, Xion, and John all turned in the direction of the crash, their eyes narrowing as they looked at a window that was pointed right towards Agatha's house.

"I'd say they're close," Kairi quipped.

She and Xion shared a look before they jumped to their feet and hurried towards the window. John followed them, and the three of them pushed aside a curtain to look at the house from across the street. Their eyes narrowed when they saw that Agatha's front door was gone, having been caved in by someone.

"What the hell?" Kairi commented as she, John, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows.

"I think we just confirmed that whoever is involved with this isn't friendly," Roxas commented over the comlink.

"Let's go," Xion said, grasping Kairi's arm.

Kairi nodded in agreement, while John just continued to frown in confusion.

"Wait," Wanda then said, which stopped Kairi and Xion in their tracks.

Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong all looked at Wanda, watching as she frowned while looking at the screen. She breathed in and out, clearly in deep concentration.

"What is it?" Vision asked.

"Can you sense something?" Roxas asked.

"The spell might be gone from Agatha, but the magic is still near her, so I can sense it," Wanda admitted. She breathed in and out. "And it... it's stronger than I expected. A lot stronger and... a lot more dangerous."

Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong all shared looks, all of them now wondering if it was a good idea to send Kairi and Xion to Westview alone. Roxas gulped, feeling great worry for Xion now...

"So what do we do?" Kairi asked. "Do we move in or not?"

"I don't know," Xion admitted. John just looked at the two teens. "I mean, unless we can get a clear answer about this magic..."

She looked at the house again, then did a double take.

Kairi and John followed Xion's gaze, watching as a woman stepped out of the broken front door. This woman was of average height with skin that looked like it was both pale, but also a little dark. She had long, dark hair that flowed down her shoulders, and wore a flowy, dark green robe with a metal belt along her waist, and a tall hood that was currently down. The robe had open slits, showing her bare left shoulder and the skin of her stomach and side. As she walked, she twirled a tilted knife in her hand before securing it in her belt, allowing the others to see that she had pointed nails on her fingers. *4*

Kairi and John both furrowed their eyebrows at the woman, while Xion gasped. Seeing the woman's face, Xion closed her eyes and gripped her head as she felt a surge of memories returning to her.

In Missouri, Stephen and Wanda also grabbed their heads and grit their teeth as they felt a surge of pain coursing through their heads. Roxas, Vision, and Wong all tried to help the two of them as the surge of memories continued to course through them. After a moment, Stephen and Wanda both gasped as the pain stopped as the memories finished adjusting in their heads, and they panted for a moment.

Gasping, Stephen and Wanda then shared a look of panic before looking at the monitor again. The fear in their eyes unnerved Roxas, Vision, and Wong.

"Oh, no..." Stephen and Wanda simultaneously said with dread in their voices.

Xion gasped as she came out of her own surge of memories before looking at Kairi and John again. The two of them looked at Xion in concern before she looked at the woman through the window again.

"Oh, shit," Xion said.

As the trio watched, the woman stopped, then looked up with her eyebrows furrowed, no doubt sensing something. Xion gasped before hurrying forward and grabbing the curtains. She quickly pulled them closed before turning to look at Kairi and John again, both of whom looked confused.

"Do you think she saw us?" Xion asked.

"I did," a voice announced.

Kairi, Xion, and John all jumped and gasped, and they all quickly turned. This allowed them to see that the woman was now in John's house, standing right at the counter where the lemonade was still sitting. While Kairi tensed up, and John looked utterly confused, Xion just felt another course of fear surge through her at the sight of the woman.

Of course, the woman just smirked deviously as she looked amongst the group.

Roxas, Vision, and Wong's frowns all deepened, while Stephen and Wanda felt their own surge of fear.

"Well, well, well..." the woman slowly said. She stepped forward and laughed. "This is certainly quite the surprise."

She chuckled and looked at John, who was unnerved by her smile.

"Oh, don't worry," she told him. She flicked a finger under his chin. "I won't be seeing you for at least another thirty years. But I've already had my fun with a few members of your family."

John frowned in confusion, before the woman turned towards Kairi.

"And you..." she slowly said. She chuckled. "I remember how excited I was when Xehanort had shattered your heart. I had never had a Princess of Heart before. But... then your boyfriend went on a big quest to reverse time and restore you."

She pouted while Kairi just frowned.

"A noble sacrifice on his part, but one I still regret," the woman remarked.

Then the woman turned and looked at Xion.

"But, you..." the woman said, a big smile spreading across her face. She walked closer to Xion, getting the young girl to grimace. "I was not expecting to see you again today, Xion. It's been quite a while."

Xion just grit her teeth again, while Kairi and John shared a look. Watching through the monitor, Roxas, Vision, and Wong were equally confused, while Stephen and Wong still felt fear.

"Who the hell are you?" Kairi demanded with a frown.

The woman just smirked and turned to look at Kairi.

"You can call me Rio Vidal," she introduced herself. "I'm what's known as a green witch. Well..."

She took out her knife and rested it against her chin.

"Really, you could say that I'm the green witch," Rio declared, her voice becoming demonic at the end.

Kairi, Xion, and John all jumped in surprise, as did the group watching through the monitor. Rio just smirked again while twirling her knife.

"The little puppet and I here met some time back," Rio said while gesturing to Xion. She pointed her knife at Kairi's ear. "As did the sorcerer and the witch on the other side of that camera."

Kairi just frowned in surprise, and Roxas, Vision, and Wong all joined her.

"How the hell did that even happen?" Kairi asked before looking at Xion.

"Oh, the circumstances weren't... ideal," Rio remarked. She looked at Xion and smirked again. "But we had fun, didn't we, Xi-Xi?"

She ran a hand down Xion's cheek, which got the former puppet to flinch, but she found the strength to glare back at Rio. In Missouri, Vision had to grab Roxas's shoulder to calm him down.

"What do you want?" Xion asked, keeping the quiver out of her voice.

"Oh, I just helped my ex out with something," Rio explained. She smirked. "Since your witchy friend destroyed the Darkhold, and she's preggers, her focus on Agatha was a little... limited. Reached her through a little hallucination of your scarlet friend being dead, combined it with a ritual from an in-training familiar, and it helped Aggie break out of that little show."

Kairi and Xion, along with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all tensed up, getting confirmation over learning that Rio had been one of the people to break the spell over Agatha. But they were also inwardly surprised to hear her call Agatha an "ex," but they pushed that down.

"So you freed Agatha," Kairi assessed with a frown. "Why?"

"Oh, all in good time," Rio replied. She smiled and ran a hand down the side of Kairi's face, getting the redhead to tense up. "Something tells me you're about to get a front row seat to the chaos. And you're not gonna wanna miss it."

"Miss what?" Kairi asked.

Rio just smirked.

"The Salem Seven," she told her. She looked between Kairi and Xion. "Trust me. You're not gonna want to miss them."

She let out a cracked laugh that reminded Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion too much of Maleficent.

Then, everyone watched in surprise as Rio promptly vanished in a puff of smoke.

With Rio gone, Stephen, Wanda, and Xion all breathed out a large sigh of relief.

"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Kairi demanded as she and John both turned towards Xion.

"Yeah, you guys reacted the same way," Roxas added as he, Vision, and Wong looked at Stephen and Wanda.

"I've never seen you that afraid of anything before," Vision told Wanda.

"Me, neither," Wong agreed, looking at Stephen. "Not even when you fought Dormammu."

"I don't get it," Kairi added as she and John looked at Xion. "Who was that lady, and where did you meet her?"

Xion gulped and looked at the others. The gulp on its own was enough to surprise John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong.

"She said that her name is Rio," Xion slowly said. "It may be true, it may not be. But she has another identity. One that's... a lot more well-known."

John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong all furrowed their eyebrows in intrigue, while Stephen and Wanda both gulped.

"Her real name..." Xion slowly said. She gulped again. "... Is Death."

John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong's eyes all widened, while Stephen and Wanda both nodded in confirmation.

"And I'm not being metaphorical, or catty, or anything else like that," Xion slowly continued. She looked between John and Kairi. "Death is an actual, physical being. And that was her."

John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong all gasped together, and the grim looks on Stephen, Wanda, and Xion's faces confirmed to all of them that this was the truth.

"Oh, my God," John exclaimed, placing his hands on his cheeks. "Death was in my house!"

"Death is a person?" Roxas asked in shock.

"Death actually exists in the physical world?" Vision exclaimed.

"Death is a green witch?" Wong asked in similar shock.

"Death is a sexy woman?" Kairi then exclaimed.

Everyone frowned once again, and Xion and John both just looked at Kairi.

"... Like I said, I... think I'm a little bi," Kairi said, flushing in embarrassment. *5*

While everyone was still a little surprised, they brushed it off. John still appeared to be in shock, but Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all huffed as they thought for a moment.

If Death was one of the people to help free Agatha, and she was apparently Agatha's ex, then this whole thing has gotten a lot more complicated than they originally thought...

Chapter Text

Things were understandably silent within John's house for quite some time as the group all processed the fact that Death herself was involved in this situation, taking credit for helping break Agatha out of Wanda's spell, while also admitting to being Agatha's ex. John was more surprised by the part involving Death being an actual person, while Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion were more overwhelmed by everything they had learned in total. Everyone was silent for a moment as they fully started to process it all, but one pertinent piece of information stuck with them all.

"How... How did you know that this Rio lady is really Death?" Kairi asked Xion, pointedly looking at her in confusion.

"Yes, either of you answered that question, either," Wong emphasized as he, Roxas, and Vision looked at Stephen and Wanda together.

Stephen and Wanda grimaced and shared a look before looking at the others.

"It happened two years ago," Stephen informed them. "Or, really... seven years ago."

"Seven years?" Roxas asked with a frown.

"Wait..." Vision slowly said, frowning as he realized something. He looked at Stephen and Wanda. "The Blip?"

"The Blip," Wanda grimly confirmed.

"Thanos snapped his fingers and half of all life in the entire galaxy vanished, disintegrated into dust," Xion reminded Kairi and John as they looked at her. "From the perspectives of all of us who got Blipped, it was simple and clean. We just vanished from sight, then reappeared where we had originally been about five years later. At least, that's what it looked like from an outside perspective."

"That's not what happened?" John asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "My brother was Blipped, but he didn't just vanish and then return half a decade later?"

"It was... a bit more complicated than that," Xion softly admitted.

"How complicated?" Vision asked as he, Roxas, and Wong continued to look at Stephen and Wanda.

"Well, you all already know the whole thing about the afterlife," Stephen reminded them. "When we die, we go to the afterlife that we chose due to our beliefs, our religions, and the actions we did. If you're a good person, you go to the equivalent of Heaven, and if you're a bad person, you go to the equivalent of Hell."

"Yeah, we get that," Roxas admitted. "Valhalla and Hel, Asphodel and Elysium, the Wakandan realm of the ancestors, and the Egyptian afterlife that Marc and Steven told us about."

"We all have different levels of afterlife and existence after dying," Wong confirmed.

"Unfortunately, it was... a lot different for those of us who were Snapped," Wanda informed the group.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, furrowing her eyebrows with John at Xion.

"Mass quantities of the entire universe died with just a snap of the fingers," Xion reminded them. She huffed and shook her head. "And, apparently, because we all died an unnatural, and completely unique death at once, that meant that none of us went to Heaven or Hell. Instead, we were all stuck in limbo."

Even across two different states on different sides of the country, John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong all furrowed their eyebrows in shock.

"And being stuck in limbo..." Xion slowly said. She gulped. "We were the playthings of Death herself."

John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong's eyebrows all raised in shock.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Roxas demanded, worry and despair growing within his chest.

"Death, she claims to be neither good nor evil," Wanda informed them. She shrugged her shoulders. "She claims that she just tries to keep the natural order of things. But the mass quantity of life being presented to her all at once? She decided that she was going to use this to her advantage."

"The worst things that we hear about witches?" Stephen asked them. "Death herself encapsulates all of them. Down there in limbo... she did everything she wanted to everyone she saw around her."

Stephen looked down and shook his head with a sigh.

"And it doesn't help that time works differently between the different realms, either," Wanda admitted. She looked down and gulped. "She liked to play games and see how many she could torture, hurt, or manipulate all in one day. Some days passed over the course of weeks."

"It might've been five years up here, but down there in limbo...?" Stephen slowly said. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "You don't even wanna know how long we were stuck down there."

John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong were all shocked, and horror started to fill them at the idea of what their friends had gone through. It was made even worse when they realized that every single person in the entire universe who had been snapped went through this torture.

"Jesus Christ..." Kairi slowly said in shock. "But... Why does nobody who was Blipped remember it? To everyone who was Blipped, they just vanished, then reappeared in their original spot."

"That's because the living are never meant to remember the afterlife if they come back," Xion informed them. She huffed and shook her head. "That's another solace that came from Bruce Banner reversing what Thanos did. Not only did he bring us all back, but all our memories of limbo were also erased."

"Jesus," John said. He huffed and raised his eyebrows. "Now I feel really bad for my brother. And by friends. And my boss... Okay, maybe not him."

Kairi gave a small smirk, but she shook her head as she looked at Xion once again.

"So... instead of just disappearing and reappearing, really... you were tortured down in limbo for... what, decades?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Xion confirmed. She huffed. "Seeing Death outside of limbo must've returned my memories of my time down there."

"Us, too," Stephen added.

"Jesus," Kairi said. She let out a small gasp. "As if Thanos's plan wasn't insane enough... Not only did he murder trillions of people across the galaxy, but he also subjected them to torture at the hands of a sadistic witch."

"Yeah," Xion softly agreed. She shook her head. "And Death herself was really grateful to him."

Xion grimaced in disgust, which had John and Kairi raise their eyebrows in disgust.

"Let's just say, she used to use his name while having a lot of fun with her fingers," Stephen admitted. He grimaced. "And she made way too many of us watch."

Wanda grimaced at the memory, while John, Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Wong all exclaimed in disgust. *1*

"Okay," Roxas slowly said. He nodded his head. "So, on top of dealing with Agatha breaking free of the spell, her ex is Death herself, who helped break her out of the spell in the first place. The same Death who decided to torture half of all life in existence when Thanos snapped his fingers and got them all trapped in limbo."

"That appears to be what's going on, yeah," Wong said.

He huffed in surprise while Vision crouched down next to Wanda and gave her a big hug. Wanda closed her eyes, pushing down her returned memories of limbo as best she could, and Vision just sighed, hating that she and so many of their friends had really gone through so much torture.

"Okay," Roxas remarked. He nodded his head, then reached for a jacket. "Stephen, Wong, could one of you open a portal to Westview?"

Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all furrowed their eyebrows and turned to look at Roxas.

"Why?" Vision asked.

"'Cause I'm gonna go kill Death," Roxas declared.

Everyone, including Kairi and Xion on the other line, all frowned at the blonde's declaration.

"Uh..." Stephen slowly said. "I'm pretty sure it's impossible to kill Death."

"Well, I can try," Roxas replied.

"And you'll be dead before you can summon your Keyblades," Wong told Roxas. "Roxas, Death isn't just another villain that we can fight. She's not a terrorist, she's not a Heartless, and she's not even just another witch. She's... She's Death. Literal, actual Death. You can't just go up to her and face her like you do any other villain we've faced in the past."

"Yeah, she's way too powerful for you or anyone else that we know," Wanda emphasized.

"When's that ever stopped me?" Roxas asked, gesturing to the sides with a frown.

Inwardly, Kairi, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all knew that the blonde had a point about how he never let impossible odds stop him. Stephen remembered it from when Roxas had fought off Maleficent when she had the Darkhold, and Xion still remembered when he had tried to take on half the entire Organization, including Xemnas, by himself in an attempt to free Kingdom Hearts, and Riku had had to stop him. Xion inwardly grimaced, because as much as she loved Roxas, even she could admit that he was way too impulsive... a lot of the time.

"Roxas," Vision said, standing up to give the blonde a pointed look. "You can't just go there and try to fight Death herself just because you're mad at her."

"You really still think that alone is gonna stop me?" Roxas asked with a frown. "Don't you guys remember just how many we lost in the Blip? Wanda, Stephen, both of you were there."

Stephen and Wanda both just looked down.

"We lost too many people," Roxas reminded them. "Aqua. Ven. Jack. Mickey. Donald. Goofy. Axel. Naminé. Hayner. Pence. Olette. Aerith. Tifa. Yuffie. Cid." His voice became more intense as he continued listing off names. "Bucky. Hope and her parents. Clint's wife and kids. Quill. Groot. Drax. Mantis. Peter. T'Challa and Shuri. Sam. Even Nick freaking Fury!"

Kairi, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion were all silent together, knowing that the blonde just needed a moment to vent.

"So many people that we know and care about were tortured and hurt because of that bitch," Roxas reminded them. "I already hated Thanos with every fiber of my being for what he did, but sending all our friends, and half the freaking galaxy into limbo, and into Death's hands to face that, somehow makes me hate him even more. And I am not gonna let her get away with what she did to everybody. What she did to you guys."

He huffed and looked at the monitor.

"What he did to you..." Roxas said, making it clear that he was talking to Xion.

"That's a good boy," John commented, nodding his head in respect.

He hoped that when his kids were old enough for a relationship (which would be a long time from now, if he had anything to say about it), they found someone as loyal and devoted as Roxas was to Xion.

"And I love how much you want to avenge me and our friends," Xion told Roxas over the comlink. "But you need to be smart and actually think this through. We're not here to try and pick a fight with Death for what she did in limbo. We're just trying to apprehend Agatha."

"We can look into seeing if we need to take care of Death afterwards," Kairi emphasized.

"Something will probably have to be done, yeah," Wanda agreed. She huffed. "But not now."

"Definitely not now," Stephen agreed with a shake of his head.

"We'll think this through and figure out the best course of action," Xion emphasized to her boyfriend.

"Can you do that?" Xion asked over the intercom.

Roxas looked at his friends, then back at the monitor. He sighed out in disappointment, upset that he couldn't fight Death to get even with her for what she did to Xion (oh, and all his other friends), but he reluctantly admitted that the others had a point. *2*

"All right," Roxas sighed out. "I... I guess I can hold off releasing the dogs of war."

"... You've been watching too many movies," Vision commented.

Of course, the synthezoid then patted Roxas on the shoulder and sighed out. Though Vision was keeping a calm exterior, he was inwardly on Roxas's side of wanting to go to Westview and blast Death to pieces with his laser. But he bottled it up, sighed out, and focused on Wanda, knowing that she had to be going through the motions with her memories of limbo returning. So, Vision crouched down next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her once again, and Wanda leaned into him as best as the seat and her swollen midsection allowed her.

Wong even looked at Stephen in concern, but Stephen waved a hand and mouthed, 'Later' to his friend.

"Hang on," Kairi said with her eyebrows furrowed. "I just realized something else."

John and Xion furrowed their eyebrows, as did the rest of the group listening.

"Death also mentioned a group called the Salem Seven," Kairi said. She and Xion shared a look. "Who the hell are they?"

"That's... That's a question I can answer," Wanda answered. She cleared her throat. "After we apprehended Agatha, we did our research into her to see what else she had done besides stealing magic from witches. The first time she had done it, she killed her own mother and her original coven of sister witches. And, well... She spared their children. And those children, also witches, swore vengeance on Agatha. Having been reduced to a hive-minded coven, feral coven hell-bent on revenge. They've been after Agatha for centuries, chasing her across the country and trying to kill her many times."

"And now that she doesn't have her powers, she's a target for the Salem Seven," Stephen added. "That must've been why Death helped break her out of the spell."

"Death helped break Agatha out of the spell so she could sick the Salem Seven on her?" Roxas asked with surprise in his voice.

"Wow," Kairi said, raising her eyebrows. She and Xion shared a look. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and that must be in the literal sense with Death herself."

"I miss the days where my biggest worry was 'where are my children hiding their candy stashes'," John commented.

Kairi and Xion gave him an apologetic look, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong then all grimaced, now feeling bad for John again.

The sound of voices in the street then echoed into the house, which had Kairi, Xion, and John then frown, especially when they recognized some of the voices. The three of them moved over to the front window again, and pushed aside the curtains, allowing them to see outside the house.

This showed them Agatha on the sidewalk, walking away from her house in a white, striped shirt under a shawl, jeans, shoes, and a black fedora as she put on a pair of sunglasses. Kairi and Xion shook her head at the witch, before they saw that someone was following her quickly and trying to talk to her.

"Who's that?" John asked.

"Eh, it's probably some poor sap she dragged into her business," Kairi commented.

"Yeah, she probably plans to..." Xion slowly said.

Of course, Kairi and Xion's eyes then narrowed as they looked at the person following Agatha.

Looking at the screen together in Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all also narrowed their eyes on the person with Agatha on the monitor. Their eyebrows furrowed as they realized that he was just a kid, looking to be about 15 or 16.

Studying the boy, they could see that he was a little taller than Agatha, with short, black curly hair that stuck up all around his head, large ears, and a grove through his left eyebrow, most likely from a scar. He had the aesthetic of a goth kid, wearing a set of black jeans with rips in the knees and a silver chain in the side, a weathered gray sweater with a faint pentagram on the left side of the chest, an open blue hoodie, and black boots. There was black nail polish on his fingernails, and a couple of black earrings in his ears as he moved after Agatha and talked to her.

While Stephen and Wong's eyes narrowed in curiosity at the teen, Roxas and Vision's eyes widened, and Wanda gasped as she looked at the boy's face.

"Oh, my God..." Roxas said, frowning in shock.

"My word," Vision said, totally stupefied.

"That's..." Wanda slowly said.

"Billy," Kairi confirmed as she and Xion stared in shock.

John joined the two teens in watching as Billy moved about with Agatha down the road. None of them could hear their words, but they could see Billy frequently smiling at Agatha like he was really excited, before she stopped at the empty plot that used to be the Maximoff house. Billy then walked over to the parked gray minivan, and Agatha spit in the plot before following him. John, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all watched as Billy and Agatha climbed into the minivan together, then Billy started driving it down the road, leaving the neighborhood within seconds.

Once the van was gone, Kairi and Xion shared a look and gasped, not even needing telekinesis to know that the others in Missouri were equally shocked.

"What the shit!?" Kairi exclaimed in shock. *3*

In Missouri, Roxas and Vision both quickly explained the situation to Stephen and Wong, how they had seen a variant of Billy during their trip through the Multiverse, and fought alongside him against the evil clones that were trying to destroy the Nexus Between. And they also explained how the variant looked exactly like the teen who had been with Agatha, confirming that this most likely had to also be Billy. Stephen and Wong were both amazed, while Wanda just huffed as she continued to look at the monitor.

She hadn't even needed to hear from Roxas or Vision that this was somehow Billy. Wanda recognized him as soon as she saw him.

'A mother always knows...' Wanda thought to herself.

But, of course, this led to the obvious question.

"Is this the same Billy that's, well... in there?" Stephen asked.

He pointed at Wanda's distended stomach. Wanda placed a hand on her bump and hummed to concentrate for a moment. She let out a small gasp and looked up at the others.

"This is still them," Wanda promised Vision, Roxas, Stephen, and Wong. She placed her hand on the right side. "Billy is right here. But..."

She huffed as she looked at the monitor.

"Somehow, he was also here," Wanda emphasized.

"How is this possible?" Wong asked with a frown. He looked at the others. "Could this Billy be from another universe, like the one you all met?"

"I don't think so," Vision told them.

He lifted up a finger and tapped the front of the monitor. This caused a tab to appear in front of the camera footage from Kairi and Xion, showing the image of Billy. Appearing to be a driver's license, there was also a collection of information directly underneath the picture, along with a picture of him in a hospital bed.

"William Kaplan," Vision explained to the others. "15 years old, almost 16, born to Jeff and Rebecca Kaplan. Two years ago, the day of his bar mitzvah, he and his parents were in a car accident at the same time the Hex was being taken down. Doctors reported that he was legally dead for about a minute, then after recovering, he was suspiciously quiet. His schoolmates also noticed that he strangely became goth afterwards."

"William Kaplan..." Roxas said, furrowing his eyebrows in remembrance. He and Vision shared a look. "The Billy we met... He said that he and Tommy were originally created as kids, but then his soul was sent into the bodies of boys who died, William Kaplan and Thomas Shepherd."

"I can't find a Thomas Shepherd, yet," Vision admitted. He looked at Stephen, Wanda, and Wong. "But it appears that we've found William Kaplan. Also known as... Billy."

"But... that makes no sense," Wanda said. She placed a hand on her bump. "I can sense that this is Billy, our Billy. How could he also have taken the form of William Kaplan after the boy accidentally died?"

"That... That seems to be the question," Stephen remarked, crossing his arms with a shake of his head. He frowned at the monitor. "And along with that, if this is the same Billy, then how the hell could none of us sense him for two years?"

"That seems to be the next question," Roxas agreed with a huff.

With one hand on her bump, Wanda looked up and shared equally stumped looks with Roxas, Stephen, and Wong.

"I'll go to the Sanctum, and check with our sorcerers and see if they have an answer," Wong told them. "Or even get into contact with Shiny and his brother. Maybe the answer could lie within the deeper Multiverse."

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all nodded at the sorcerer. With that, Wong turned around and opened a portal with his Sling Ring, one that led to Kamar-Taj. Wong walked through the portal, then nodded back at all the others before the portal hissed out of existence behind him. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision then turned to look at the monitor together once again.

Roxas then furrowed his eyebrows in realization.

"Wait a second," he said. He gestured to Wanda. "We learned from the Billy that we met that his power can be just as powerful as yours sometimes. And he was with Agatha..."

"He helped take down the spell," Stephen assessed with his eyebrows furrowed. "For some reason, he went to Agatha to take down the spell, then Death finished it off."

"Okay..." Vision slowly said. "Well, we know that Death took down the spell so she could sick the Salem Seven on Agatha. But what would be Billy's reason for doing it?"

"And if this is the same Billy as ours, then why would he want to help Agatha, especially after what she did in the Hex?" Wanda added with her own frown.

"We'll get right on it," Kairi promised the group.

"We'll figure it out," Xion added.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all nodded their heads and voiced their thanks. The four of them then all shared nods of their heads before settling around the desk once again. Vision stayed by Wanda's side, and both of them held onto her stomach with their babies within, while Roxas and Stephen stood by their sides and continued to watch. They were all very confused, but they were also eager to learn more about whatever the heck was going on. They hoped that Kairi and Xion would be able to figure it out...

Some time passed, and John needed to leave his house to go grocery shopping. Of course, when he was leaving, he requested that Kairi and Xion leave.

"I'm a nice guy, and you seem like good girls, but... I just met you, and I'm not about to trust either of you alone in my house," John told them.

Kairi and Xion shared a look, but they had to admit that John had a point. *4*

So, the two of them tried to look inconspicuous as they stayed in the Residential area, not knowing where Agatha and Billy had gone or when they were going to get back. Although, in the process, they did get hungry and had to use Google Maps to find somewhere nearby they could eat, finding a falafel shop that was walking distance away. Neither Kairi or Xion had had falafel before, so they stopped at the shop, bought some lunch, and walked back to the Residential area. The two of them sat together on a bench and just waited for Agatha and Billy while eating the food.

"This is pretty decent," Kairi commented.

"Yeah," Xion agreed. She raised an eyebrow. "Now I see why everyone likes to experiment with their food. Sora and the Avengers tried shawarma after they saved New York, and then they tried all sorts of food from the Twilight Town Bistro. What should we try next?"

"Not Mexican food," Kairi told her. She huffed. "That gives me the runs."

"You both remember that we can hear every sentence you're saying, right?" Stephen asked.

"Sorry," Kairi said with a grimace.

"I'm not gonna judge," Wanda admitted. "I've been the same way with Mexican food since I got pregnant."

"Is it weird that now I want a burrito?" Roxas asked.

"Yes," Vision confirmed, and Kairi and Xion could hear the frown in his voice.

Kairi and Xion smirked, but then sighed out as they stared at Agatha's house, waiting for her and Billy to appear.

"Well, coming back to Westview has given us more questions than answers," Kairi remarked. "Billy somehow reappeared, and he and Death herself broke Agatha out of Wanda's spell. Death is doing it to sick the Salem Seven on her ex-girlfriend to kill her, but Billy... We don't know how there's another one of him, or why he would undo the spell."

"Yeah," Xion agreed with a huff. "That's... We've got some answers, but not all of them make sense. What the hell is even going on?"

"That's what you're there to figure out," Stephen reminded them.

"I'm sure with a bit of searching, you'll get the answers we need," Wanda added.

Kairi and Xion both voiced their thanks.

Of course, then the gray minivan that Kairi and Xion remembered was Billy's drove into the Residential area and parked in front of Agatha's house again. The two teens looked down and pretended to be preoccupied with their food as Agatha and Billy climbed out of the car before going into the house again. Some time passed before Agatha walked out, frowning and looking around while wearing a navy blue blazer trench coat and patching pants over a white shirt, with her brooch around her neck, and her hair tied up in a bun as she looked around.

Of course, then a wolf howled, and Agatha turned to look at it. Kairi and Xion's eyes narrowed, and they turned to look at the wolf as it stood in the middle of a road, staring right at Agatha. Kairi and Xion looked from the wolf to Agatha, seeing an expression of fear in her eyes before she turned and quickly went back into her house.

"... What the hell was that about?" Kairi asked.

"The Salem Seven," Wanda told them. "They're also shapeshifters. Their leader goes by Vertigo, and her underlings are Coyote, Crow, Fox, Owl, Rat, and Snake."

Kairi and Xion shared a look, then looked back into the road where they had seen the wolf. Of course, the wolf was gone, which sent a chill up the two teens' spines.

"Okay," Xion said. "It looks like the Salem Seven are starting to close in."

"I'm not sure whether we should just leave Agatha for them or not," Roxas commented.

"I don't blame you," Kairi agreed with a shake of her head.

Of course, moments later, a Black woman with buzzed down hair then appeared, practically out of nowhere. Wearing a pink blazer coat over a professional, matching dress, along with golden jewelry including a necklace, bracelets, and earrings, she marched up to Agatha's house with a resigned expression on her face, clasping her hands together as she walked through the open doorway.

"Who the hell was that?" Kairi asked.

"That was Jennifer Kale," Stephen explained. "She's a Potions witch who's been around for a while. Her powers were bound about a century ago, so she made a living by becoming a cosmetics mogul. She's not the best at it."

"I considered using some of her products after moving to America," Wanda admitted.

"Before I did a scan and saw most of it was snake oil," Vision added.

"Wow," Xion said with her eyebrows furrowed. "That's quite a history."

Then an older woman with curly, silver hair appeared in front of the house. Wearing a yellow coat with green and red patterned sleeves over a white and red shirt with black pants, the woman wore a couple of rings and a necklace with a tarot design on it as she also entered the house.

"Guys?" Xion asked over the comlink.

"Lilia Calderu," Stephen answered. "She's a 450 year old Sicilian Divination witch. Mostly makes a living by doing Tarot readings and fortune-telling."

Though everyone was intrigued, Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all widened at one pertinent detail.

"Four hundred and fif..." Kairi slowly said. "Do witches age?"

Wanda and Vision huffed and shared a look. Between his synthezoid nature, and her abilities as a witch, now both of them wondered if it was even possible for either of them to grow old.

Kairi and Xion were drawn out of their thoughts as they saw someone else appear at Agatha's house and walk inside. An Asian woman with black hair with orange highlights, she was dressed like a biker with a black leather jacket with orange accents and zippers, black pants, and matching boots. Kairi and Xion looked at the woman and nodded at her aesthetic as she entered the house.

"Stephen?" Kairi asked.

"Alice Wu-Gulliver," Stephen explained. "She's a Protection witch from a long line of Protection witches. Her mother was Lorna Wu, and their bloodline is cursed to be hunted by a demon bound to them."

"Well, that sucks," Roxas commented as he, Kairi, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all grimaced.

"Wait a second, Lorna Wu..." Wanda slowly said. "She had that song about the Witches' Road..."

"The Witches' what?" Xion asked with a frown.

Moments later, Agatha walked out of her house and walked to another nearby house, where Sharon Davis (who played Mrs. Hart in WandaVision), was tending to her garden wearing a floral blouse, tan pants, a green cover for gardening, and a hat with a blue and gold band around it. Kairi and Xion continued to try and look conspicuous as Agatha walked up to Sharon, called her Mrs. Hart, and the two women shared a pleasant conversation about the garden. Of course, the exasperation in Agatha's eyes made it clear that she was trying to move the conversation along as Sharon gushed in pride over her garden. Agatha invited Sharon into her house "for a party," and Sharon was excited since she hadn't been to a party since her husband died.

Wanda, Vision, and Xion all shared a small grimace, remembering Sharon's husband from WandaVision, and Wanda once again felt guilty for making the man choke on a strawberry.

Sharon then grabbed her purse, and joined Agatha in her house. *5*

"Wait a minute..." Stephen slowly said. "Oh, my God."

"A Protection witch, a Divination witch, a Potions witch, and a... replacement Green witch with Sharon," Wanda assessed. "She's using her old Witches' Road trick."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, what's the Witches' Road, and how's it a trick?" Roxas asked.

"We learned about it when we did our research into Agatha," Stephen explained. "A myth began about the Witches' Road all the way back into the 1750s. It's supposedly an ancient challenge that's presented to witches. If they walk the road and pass all the trials, they get a grand reward. What they desire the most is revealed to them at the end of The Road."

"Agatha is rumored to be one of the only survivors of The Road," Wanda added as Roxas and Vision looked at her. "The myth about The Road has been around for centuries, growing and expanding in nature. Songs have even been written about it, including Lorna Wu's ballad, probably the most famous interpretation about it."

"So, how's it a con?" Vision asked as he and Roxas furrowed their eyebrows.

"Because it doesn't exist," Stephen informed them.

"We contacted dozens of ghosts that were Agatha's old victims," Wanda informed them. "The way that it usually went is that she would gather together a coven, claiming that she knew of a way to get into The Road. They just had to sing the Ballad of the Witches' Road together, and the door to The Road would be opened to them. But every time, over about 270 years, that door never once appeared. Then Agatha would start insulting them, driving them into attacking her with their magic, allowing her to steal their powers and life forces."

"That's how we put it together," Stephen explained. "The Road doesn't exist, it's just the ultimate ploy that Agatha created to steal witches' powers."

"Promise them with everything that they want, it doesn't work, insult them, then they attack her, and she steals their powers and kills them," Roxas assessed.

"That is twisted," Vision remarked with a shake of his head. "How many witches has she killed with this trick?"

"At least one coven a year," Wanda admitted. "Four witches a year for about 270 years..."

"I'd rather not do the math," Vision remarked.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Xion all grimaced in agreement. *6*

"That bitch," Xion scoffed. She looked at Agatha's house as the sun proceeded to set, bathing the entire Residential area in the darkness of the evening. "She's being cornered by the Salem Seven again, so her solution is to murder another set of witches and steal their powers. Even one that's bound."

"Sharon has no magic, so I'm not completely sure what her plan is regarding her," Wanda pointed out.

"And I don't think I want to find out," Vision replied.

"I think now's our time to strike," Kairi declared.

Xion nodded in agreement, and they wrapped their falafel in the wrappers and slipped them in their pockets. The two girls pushed themselves to their feet, shared a nod of their heads, and turned to cross the street to Agatha's house.

Of course, the two of them then slowly stopped and frowned as they heard something echoing nearby. Looking around, Kairi and Xion were able to identify the strange noise of children speaking indistinctly, along with voices whispering. Xion's eyes narrowed as she recognized the sound from when Wanda would cast a spell, which had her looking around. Neither of them noticed as Billy appeared in Agatha's doorway with a rabbit in his arms. Of course, he joined Kairi and Xion in narrowing their eyes as they saw a robed figure standing in the middle of a nearby street.

Billy walked out of the house and stood on the sidewalk, staring at the robed figure in worry. Kairi and Xion huffed before looking around, noticing that John had returned, with his car pulled into the driveway. The trunk was open, and he had two paper bags of groceries in his arms. Of course, then he looked into the robe, saw the hooded figure, and frowned as he looked at Kairi and Xion.

"Are you seein' this?" John asked.

"Mr. Collins..." Xion slowly said. "Get in your house and lock the doors."

All of a sudden, six other robed figures appeared around the initial one, confirming that this was the Salem Seven. John exclaimed in surprise and dropped his paper bags.

"Good luck, girls!" John exclaimed, fear in his voice as he turned and ran to the front door of his house.

Amongst the seven robed figures, the center one let her hood slowly open up, revealing a dark face with black lines across them, which had Kairi and Xion grit their teeth. They quickly put together that this had to be Vertigo, the leader of the Salem Seven. Vertigo and the rest of the Seven glared down the road before they started to march forward.

Billy gasped in fear, adjusted the rabbit in his arms, and rushed back into the house. Kairi and Xion exclaimed in surprise before the two of them turned and rushed after Billy to enter the house.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grit their teeth and exclaimed in worry (though Wanda and Vision both pushed down the part that remembered the rabbit, Senor Scratchy).

Rushing into the house after Billy, Kairi and Xion huffed as they took in the slightly trashed home, seeing various bits of furniture still intact, including tables, couches, and a couple of counters. Billy was frantically at work, trying to close curtains as the Salem Seven slowly moved further down the road, closing in on the house.

"Who are you two?" Billy frantically exclaimed.

"Long story, Billy," Kairi replied.

"Wait," Billy said, frowning in surprise. "You know me as Billy?"

"That's another long story," Xion informed him. She huffed as she looked at the open doorway. "Do you have any ideas about what to do with the Seven?"

"Uh, no," Billy admitted. He moved over to a couch and grabbed the end. "I have no power, and they're scaring the crap out of me."

"They should," Kairi said. She moved to Billy's side and helped him start pushing the couch. "They're the surviving children of the first witches Agatha killed. They're a hive-minded, feral set of witches who want to kill her and anyone associated with her."

"Okay," Billy said, his voice going high-pitched in fear. "I'm only now minimally regretting seeking out Agatha for The Road."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows in intrigue. Billy came to get Agatha because he needed the Witches' Road?

Whatever the case, Kairi helped Billy lift up the couch, and Xion joined them in grabbing it. Their eyes narrowed in worry as the Salem Seven appeared in front of the yard and spread out further, so the three of them pushed the couch in so it was filling the open doorway. Billy worriedly looked in the window again, while Kairi and Xion summoned their Keyblades and made them into an X in front of the couch to try and keep it restrained. Billy then frantically closed the curtains again, then settled into an armchair and breathed in and out in relief.

Kairi and Xion shared a look before looking at Billy. He breathed out and looked up at the two.

"Well, uh... who are you two?" Billy asked.

"Kairi," Kairi introduced herself. She nodded at Xion. "That's my sister, Xion."

"Hi," Xion said, waving her free hand.

"How do you know me?" Billy asked them. "And moreover, how do you know me as Billy Maximoff?"

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all shared looks once again.

Before Kairi or Xion could come up with an answer, smoke then flowed through the closed chimney, entering the house as a voice whispered Agatha's name. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all narrowed their eyes at the sight, then shared worried looks.

All of a sudden, Vertigo burst through a window, shattering it and grabbing Billy's arm as she shouted, "Agatha!"

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Billy shouted, jumping to his feet in fear.

Wanda and Vision then leaned forward in terror, hating seeing their son, even a version of him, in danger.

Kairi quickly pointed her Keyblade at Vertigo and blasted Pearl magic. The orb of light magic shot through the air, going through the living room and hitting Vertigo in the face, throwing her back out of the house as Billy got away from her. Billy shouted in further terror as he rushed through the house, moving to a doorway to the basement as more of the Salem Seven crashed through windows. Vertigo had even recovered quickly and climbed back into the house, while Kairi and Xion huffed as they stood together.

The couch was also pushed forward, and the two teens quickly backed up together. All of a sudden, the couch practically exploded, bursting into pieces that were sent flying all around Kairi and Xion. The two of them exclaimed in surprise as more of the Salem Seven moved further in. The robed women all snarled, growled, and glared at Kairi and Xion as they slowly backed up together.

"... Would any of you calm down if you knew that we hate Agatha, too?" Kairi asked.

Vertigo and the other witches all just growled and snarled.

Xion huffed before waving her hand, letting golden energy appear. Forming into smaller sized orbs, Xion yelled out as she swung that hand, letting the bits of golden energy fly through the air and hit each member of the Salem Seven in the head. The robed witches all snarled and growled, but they shook their heads and glared at the two teens together. Kairi huffed and blasted Firaga, but one witch caught the orb, then waved her hand, making the fire dissipate into black smoke that vanished. Xion huffed as she waved another hand, making more golden energy appear, which she threw towards two other members of the Seven that struck them and threw them back.

Of course, the other members of the Salem Seven continued to move forward, glaring at the two teens in an angry, feral state. Kairi went for broke and rushed in. She swung her Keyblade, but one of the witches dodged it before another grabbed Kairi by the shoulder. Pulling her in, the witch cut Kairi's side with her claws, while two others started to crowd in. Kairi jumped up and kicked a witch before striking another with her Keyblade, but the sheer number of witches started to overwhelm her. Xion blasted Blizzaga to try to help, but one of the witches just caught the ice and melted it in a second. Two witches grabbed Kairi by her shoulders, lifted her up, and made her yell out as she was thrown down the hall, going over Xion's head as she crashed into the ground.

Xion exclaimed in surprise, while the Seven witches proceeded to shout and screech. The entire house shook, and Kairi and Xion could faintly hear Billy screaming Agatha's name. Backing up, Xion grabbed Kairi's hand and pulled her to her feet as the Seven continued to move closer and closer. Letting out a small gasp, Xion helped Kairi back up to the door to the basement, before yelling out and waving her hand, making a barrier of golden energy appear around them. *7*

The Salem Seven all snarled and growled before ramming their hands against the barrier, causing the golden energy to crack slightly. Gritting their teeth, Kairi and Xion shared a look before looking at the door to the basement.

"Might as well see what's going on," Kairi remarked.

"Let's just hope Agatha hasn't killed the others, yet," Xion added.

Whatever the case, the two of them moved through the door and started down a couple of stairs into the basement. Kairi tapped her Keyblade on the doorknob to lock it, and Xion made a wall of golden energy appear over the door to try and block it off. Kairi and Xion then huffed and rushed together down the wooden stairs together.

Once they were halfway down the stairs, Kairi and Xion's eyes narrowed, as did the eyes of Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision on the other side.

The basement was nothing spectacular, just a hexagon shaped room with stone walls and various assortments of that of a basement, including a staircase on the opposite side that led up to the exit hatch. There were shelves, laundry machines, and other forms of decorations that made up a basement, but the main attraction was on the floor in the center of the room.

Instead of seeing Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Sharon, they saw a large set of wooden, pentagon shaped doors with circular, metal hooks that were used for opening. There was a blue light peeking through the door, glowing brightly through each of the wooden planks.

Kairi and Xion huffed in surprise as disembodied voices from the Salem Seven screeched again. The two teens shared a look, then moved together down the rest of the stairs. Walking slowly together to the center of the room, Kairi and Xion dismissed their Keyblades, shared a look, then reached down to grab the door handles. Pulling them open, they were both surprised to see a stone, wooden staircase with dirt and dust along the steps. Being a spiral staircase, it led down, eclipsing their view of anything further down, but the bright blue light continued to glow.

"What the hell?" Xion softly asked.

"What is that?" Roxas asked over the comlink.

"It... looks like the entrance to The Witches' Road," Kairi remarked.

"But that's impossible," Stephen said. "The Road isn't real."

"Well, it appears that we've found evidence to argue with that claim," Vision assessed.

"The magic..." Wanda slowly said. She panted. "There's great power and magic there. It... It might be an actual Witches' Road."

"The others, they must have gone down there," Kairi assessed.

"Follow them," Wanda instructed. "Make sure they're okay."

"And try to figure out the truth about this Road," Stephen added.

Kairi and Xion huffed, shared a nod of their heads, and started down the spiral staircase together. All of a sudden, the sound of a crash echoed from the door above them, which had them jump. Looking at the stairs together, Kairi and Xion exclaimed in surprise as they saw Vertigo come down the stairs, glaring at them and screeching. Kairi and Xion shouted in surprise before they grabbed the doors and quickly pulled them shut as they continued down the stairs. Breathing in and out for a moment, the two of them moved down the spiral staircase, panted, then looked back up.

Their eyes widened when they saw that the doors had vanished, transforming into a concrete ceiling amongst the stairs, blue light, and strange, large roots along the walls. Kairi and Xion huffed before sharing a look.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," Kairi commented.

"Are you two okay?" Roxas asked with worry in his voice.

"Yeah," Xion said. She huffed and looked down. "Just... entering a strange Road with an evil witch and a makeshift coven on one side, and an evil coven of feral witches behind us, and our only way out vanished. What fun."

"I'm really sorry," Wanda told them apologetically.

"It's fine," Kairi said. She huffed as she looked down the stairs. "Let's go. We've gotta follow them, make sure Agatha doesn't kill those witches, and figure out what the hell's up with this Road."

"Yeah," Xion agreed with a nod of her head.

The two of them shared a look and nodded their heads together before they started down the spiral staircase. Back in Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision continued to watch through the monitor as Kairi and Xion continued down the staircase to officially enter The Witches' Road. None of them were completely sure what was going on, but they were all eager to find out the truth as they moved deeper and deeper into this strange place...

Chapter Text

Though they were still incredibly confused, Kairi and Xion continued marching down the circular, stone staircase together, moving deeper underground through this strange area. The giant, teal roots continued to glow with light blue light, providing them with the only light that allowed them to see. With the comlinks still on, and the cameras attached still sending images to Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision back in Missouri, Kairi and Xion soon reached the bottom of the stairs, where they shared a look before walking forward together.

The roots had separated and spread out, forming an exit from the staircase into a new area. Kairi and Xion walked together through the giant roots, passing by various bits of trees as they moved away from the tree, seeing that it was originating within a giant, rocky cave with the same teal-colored light. Of course, turning away from the cave allowed Kairi and Xion to see the rest of their surroundings, with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also giving small gasps of amazement.

They appeared to be deep in a forest, with trees spread out as far as the eye could see, mixed with a fog that made it hard to see too far in front of them. The sky was dark above them, with no sign of stars, but a faintly-seen moon through the clouds that was full and provided them with some evening light. There were small, blue lights spread out through the entire area providing some extra light as Kairi and Xion moved further away from the trees and the cave. Of course, along the ground, while there was the standard ground of a forest, there was also a large, long pathway covered in fallen blue leaves that spread out as far as they could see, forming a pathway that one could follow.

Along the path of leaves was six pairs of shoes, which Kairi and Xion put together had to belong to Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Sharon.

The two teens gave a small gasp as they looked around in amazement.

"Guys..." Kairi slowly said. "Where the hell are we?"

"I'd say... You're on The Witches' Road," Wanda assessed.

"But... that makes no sense," Stephen remarked, confused. "We did the research. We interviewed Agatha's victims. Wong and I even had scouts go all over the world and even got some witches to volunteer and sing the Ballad to try and summon The Road to test things out. Nothing happened. As far as we can tell, The Witches' Road shouldn't exist."

"Maybe we missed something?" Wanda suggested.

"Whatever you missed... that place is pretty beautiful," Roxas admitted.

"If the legends about this place aren't true, then I'd almost want to take a hike down there," Vision agreed.

"What legends?" Xion asked. "I mean... outside of having to do witchy trials, and if you pass them all, you get a reward at the end?"

"Well, the legends said that the Road is pretty dangerous," Wanda informed them. "You need to keep moving because you'll find danger pretty easily down there."

"Well, that sounds pleasant," Kairi sarcastically commented.

"And the legend said that you wouldn't just get a reward," Stephen said. "It says that you would get what you desire the most."

Kairi then furrowed her eyebrows in intrigue. If this Road was apparently real, then the legend and story about its reward also had to be real. Did that mean that if they walked this road and passed the trials, she could get to Sora?

"Whatever the case..." Xion slowly said. "What's the next course of action? We came down here to escape the Salem Seven, and now Agatha, Billy, and the others are all missing."

"You need to find them if we're going to figure out what's going on," Vision told them. "I think maybe the best solution is to walk The Road with them."

"But, while I use the title in my code name, we're not witches," Xion pointed out.

"Yeah, but neither is Sharon, and she's apparently down here with the rest of that coven," Kairi pointed out.

"Oh, my God, Sharon," Wanda said with worry in her voice. "She's 74 and has no magical abilities whatsoever. She should not be down there."

"Okay, then maybe that's what you two have to do," Roxas suggested. "Walk The Road after Agatha and them, pass the trials, figure out what the hell's going on, and try to protect the others. Does that work?"

"Makes sense," Xion assessed with a nod of her head.

"Sounds like something along our line of work as Avengers," Kairi agreed.

"Okay," Wanda said. "That works best."

Over the monitor, Kairi and Xion could hear Roxas, Stephen, and Vision voice their agreement.

"But only if the two of you are sure," Vision informed the two.

"We're in," Xion promised.

"Yeah, I've got no problem taking a couple of tests," Kairi added. She raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, since I've been skipping high school for the last year, this might be good for me."

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all shared a small chuckle at that.

"Well, first thing's first," Stephen slowly said. "One part of the legend of The Road, something that goes back to witchcraft as a whole, you need to be barefoot."

"It's true," Wanda confirmed.

Kairi and Xion raised an eyebrow and shared looks, but they shrugged their shoulders. So, they both crouched down and slipped their shoes and socks off, leaving them in the blue leaf road alongside Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Sharon's shoes, as well.  The two of them huffed, then Kairi winced and placed a hand on her side, which had been cut during the fight against the Salem Seven. Xion took a Potion out and threw it up into the air, and green light surrounded Kairi as the Item healed her. Kairi sighed out in relief and nodded in gratitude at her sister, then the two of them huffed and looked forward again. *1*

Breathing in and out in preparation, Kairi and Xion shared another nod of their heads before they started walking together down the pathway of blue leaves left for them. Moving down the pathway, they were a little pleased with the feeling of the leaves along their bare feet, walking together down the road provided to them. They made sure to go at a brisk enough pace that they could take in their surroundings, but they would also soon be able to catch up to Agatha and the others. The sound of the wind rustling around them filled them with a strange form of relief, but Kairi and Xion continued to stay tense, knowing from Stephen and Wanda's words that there was danger in this realm.

"How the hell could a place like this just be hidden from the magical world?" Kairi asked, looking around at their surroundings again.

"Okay, while you're right, can you go two sentences without saying 'hell'?" Xion asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

Kairi just waved a hand.

"Well, there are all sorts of hidden magical places throughout the world," Roxas pointed out. "I mean, we didn't know Ta Lo was a thing until we met Shang-Chi and Katy."

"We've reached out, but the residents there more or less gave us the finger," Stephen added.

Kairi and Xion smirked, wondering if that was because they didn't like Stephen.

Of course, they were soon drawn out of these thoughts when they heard Sharon shouting, meaning that they were getting close.

"You know what this is?" Sharon loudly declared to the rest of the makeshift coven in the distance. "This is a kidnapping, and I think it is high time we involve the local authorities."

"She does not sound happy," Xion said with a grimace.

"Would you be if you were dragged into a situation like this?" Kairi asked.

Wanda grimaced, now feeling guilty once again. She should have made sure to strengthen the spell over Agatha so that she wouldn't have been able to break out, and then Sharon wouldn't have gotten dragged into this.

"Okay, no cell service," Sharon frantically called.

"Well, that makes sense," Kairi remarked with a shrug of her shoulders.

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion moved a bit further down the pathway, following a turn that the road made and led through the trees of another pathway. They stopped themselves from moving forward too much because they could see the coven out in the distance, and they didn't want to get caught. Kairi and Xion watched as Billy tried to keep spirits up amongst Alice, Jen, and Lilia, before  Sharon moved towards Agatha and declared that she was part of the Westview Historical Society, and the most she expected was remnants of a failed public transport system. Jen bitterly replied to it, before Sharon agreed that she didn't belong on The Road, and Billy continued to try to remain optimistic.

Kairi and Xion raised their eyebrows and shared a look, now wondering just what this makeshift coven's chances really were here on The Witches' Road.

Of course, Lilia then drew them out of their thoughts by sharing that they were supposed to tame their fears down on The Road, and Alice emphasized that they did this through trials provided to them. Kairi and Xion nodded their heads, remembering Stephen and Wanda's instructions. The group all turned towards Agatha for answers about what to expect, but Agatha just gave a cryptic answer, while Billy once again tried to be optimistic. Alice, Lilia, and Jen all just looked at him, while Sharon tried not to panic too much.

However, Kairi and Xion were surprised when Lilia suddenly declared that someone had put a sigil on Billy.

"What does that mean?" Kairi asked the others over the comlink.

"A sigil means that his identity is hidden," Wanda said. "They must not have been able to hear his name."

"A sigil is a form of camouflage magic," Stephen emphasized. "It can be hidden to even the witch or sorcerer that put the sigil on them, and it means that when they try to hear his name, it just comes out silent. And it means that one can't track the subject with any kind of magic. That must be how he was hidden from us for the last two years."

"He must've gotten the sigil some time soon before or after William died," Wanda added.

"Oi, that's sad," Roxas commented.

"You are right," Vision grimaced in agreement.

Kairi and Xion also grimaced at the idea.

"Who do you think put that sigil on him?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know, and that worries me," Wanda admitted.

Kairi and Xion then looked at the coven again, and their eyes narrowed when they saw that Sharon was gone, leaving Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, and Alice alone. Of course, as they looked around, their eyes narrowed as they saw Sharon a short distance away, and could faintly hear her complaining and looking helpless about her circumstances. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all grimaced and felt sorrow for the poor woman, since she really didn't deserve being stuck down here in danger with no help but complete strangers. *2*

As Kairi and Xion watched, Sharon then sat down on the large base of a tree and placed her bag down. Of course, then the base of the tree then transformed into mud, which started to suck down her bag. Sharon grabbed her bag and tried to pull it out, but then she started to sink into the mud, and screamed. Kairi and Xion gasped and shared a worried look.

Coming up with an idea, Xion then waved a hand, and golden energy appeared over Sharon. Thankful that the energy still worked down in this strange realm, Xion waved her hand and let the energy form into a large hand. The hand moved under Xion's actions with her own hand, so Xion reached down and gently grasped Sharon, making her shout in surprise. Kairi tilted her head to the side, impressed with her sister as she pulled Sharon out of the mud, though her limbs had been covered and stained up to her elbows and knees. Sharon exclaimed in surprise before the hand lowered her gently to the ground, forming a soft surface for her to land on, and making her let out a deep sigh in relief.

Kairi and Xion smiled, happy that they were able to get Sharon out of danger.

Of course, then Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, and Alice appeared, and the two sisters moved behind a couple of trees to hide again, and the golden energy disappeared from under Sharon, making her land in the leaves.

"I don't know what just happened, witch people," Sharon admitted to the coven around her. "But I feel like I was just flying."

Kairi and Xion smirked and covered their mouths, not wanting to laugh and give themselves away.

Although, then the two of them, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision felt sorry for Sharon again when she cried that this was a really, really horrible party. With that, Agatha declared that rule one was to not step off The Road.

Kairi and Xion then frowned, shared a look, then looked down. Their eyebrows narrowed when they saw that they weren't standing on the pathway of blue leaves that they had been walking along, that the coven was still standing on.

"... That doesn't mean anything bad, right?" Xion asked.

All of a sudden, the trees that Kairi and Xion were standing on came to life, with the branches moving around the two of them and grabbing them. The two teens yelled out in surprise and reached up, trying to grab the branches to pull them off. The trees themselves practically growled and snarled, reminding Kairi of what happened to Snow White. Xion exclaimed in surprise and let golden energy appear in her hand, forming a large spike. Grunting, Xion swung the spike into one of the branches that had grabbed her, getting the tree to let out a small whine.

Kairi grit her teeth and closed her eyes, taking a moment to think back to some of her training with Natasha. Breathing out, Kairi then lowered her arms and pressed them to her sides. It took her a moment, but Kairi then dropped down, sliding between the branch arms and the base of the tree, ducking down and getting out of the tree's grasp. Though she was scraped by the tree, Kairi managed to roll on the ground to get away from the branches and back onto the path of blue leaves. Xion, meanwhile, used more golden energy to form blades, cutting through the arms of the tree holding her, and she exclaimed in surprise as she stepped forward, moving onto the path with Kairi.

The two teens huffed before Kairi jumped back to her feet to join Xion in standing once again. The two of them breathed in and out as they looked at the trees, glaring at the wooden structures that had just grabbed them.

"I already don't like this Road," Kairi commented.

"I take back what I said about this being a pleasant place for a hike," Vision said.

"Two times in three minutes that trees tried to kill someone," Roxas commented. He huffed. "Yeah, I don't think that's a good place."

"All the more reason to do the research about what's going on," Stephen replied.

"Yeah, yeah," Kairi commented with a sigh.

"So, what's our next move?" Xion asked.

Looking around, their eyes narrowed when they saw that Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Sharon were all gone. Kairi and Xion narrowed their eyes and slowly walked forward, looking around as best they could to see if they could locate the makeshift coven. Kairi sighed out, while Xion looked to the left.

"How could a group that dysfunctional and full of people who hate each other just vanish into thin air?" Kairi asked.

"You'd be surprised," Wanda replied.

Glancing to the side, Xion then did a double take. She huffed and grabbed Kairi's arm.

"Look," Xion said, pointing across the distance.

Kairi followed her gaze, and her eyes narrowed as she looked down The Road. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision's eyes all also narrowed as they took in the sight in front of them.

The pathway of blue leaves continued in front of them, leading down to a strange part in the trees, leading onto a large, wooden bridge. The forest had suddenly vanished after the part of the trees, leading to a flowing ocean underneath the wooden bridge. Of course, the wooden bridge led to a small island out in the distance, complete with a gigantic tree in the base, and wooden pathways and structures all around that were man-made, most likely for children and teens to be able to play across. There was also a small, stone area that included a small waterfall to flow into a small pool, and a wooden shack.

Kairi and Xion huffed as the two of them and Roxas all recognized the place.

"That's the Play Island from back home," Kairi assessed.

"So, what's it doing here?" Xion asked.

"Ladies..." Stephen slowly said. "I believe we've found your first trial."

Kairi and Xion shared a look, then they nodded their heads in agreement. The two of them turned and started down the pathway, moving across the blue leaves before they reached the wooden bridge. Gritting their teeth over how this would feel on their bare feet, Kairi and Xion started walking across the bridge together, moving down the path provided to them to reach the island. *3*

Reaching the end of the bridge, Kairi and Xion then walked onto the beach together, feeling their feet fall into the sandy shore. The two of them huffed and looked down, then they both blinked in surprise.

Though their appearances hadn't changed physically, they were both now wearing completely different clothes. Kairi was surprised to find herself wearing the white and purple tank top paired with a purple skirt and purple and white shoes that she wore when she was fourteen, complete with her hair now being styled to resemble how it looked when she was fourteen to pair with it. Xion just grimaced over the fact that she was back in the black coat of Organization XIII, complete with the gloves and the boots, which were a little uncomfortable to stand in sand with. Her hair was also styled similarly to when she was still in the Organization, even though it wasn't too different in this case.

Kairi and Xion huffed and shared a look. The two of them then looked back to see that the wooden bridge was gone, confirming that they were sealed off on the island.

"Well, this is a weird-ass blast from the past," Kairi commented.

"I still don't like how much you're cussing, but you're right," Xion agreed. She grimaced and adjusted the coat she was wearing. "Jeez, I didn't miss wearing this coat. It's so uncomfortable."

"So take it off," Stephen suggested over the comlink.

"The Organization didn't give us shirts," Roxas informed the sorcerer. "Just the pants, the coat, and the boots."

"So, yeah, I don't think it'll be that appropriate if I take this coat off," Xion added with an eyebrow raised.

Kairi couldn't help but smirk, while Stephen suddenly sounded embarrassed for his suggestion. Of course, Roxas, Wanda, and Vision chuckled, meaning that it had to be funny.

"Okay, so..." Kairi slowly said. She gestured with her arms around them. "What exactly is the trial here?"

"I don't know, but you might wanna hurry," Wanda told them. "If the legends about The Road are real, then you've gotta know that the trials are always timed. You'll need to work fast to finish whatever's down there, and then get out."

"So hurry," Vision emphasized.

"How do we tell how much time we have left?" Kairi asked.

Xion looked up, and her eyes narrowed when she saw that the sun was moving at an unnaturally fast pace, creeping along the sky as it rose higher.

"I think I've found the timer," Xion said, pointing up at the sun.

"Ah," Vision said as Kairi looked at the sun. "By my estimate, I'd say you have about thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes to do what?" Kairi asked.

The two teens looked around for a moment, and their eyebrows narrowed as they saw various structures around the island were easily recognizable. There were the tall pine trees with coconuts at the top, one of the trees with a large egg on the top, fish that were visible through the water, and the water from the flowing waterfall in the side of the mountain was actually glowing.

"The raft," Kairi remembered. She huffed and shared a look with Xion. "The raft that Sora, Riku, and I were putting together to sail away from the islands on. It must still be in the back half of the island. We must have to collect the last of the provisions that we needed."

"Well... I guess it's as good a trial as any," Xion remarked.

With that, the two girls started moving together throughout the island. Kairi grabbed a circular thermos that she remembered and filled it with water from the small waterfall, while Xion climbed in the trees and grabbed some coconuts and the giant bird egg (with a few strikes of the tree with her Keyblade). Kairi also grabbed the fish from the water, and then she found some mushrooms in a small cave. The two of them then moved together to the back half of the island, where they found the raft ready and waiting for them. Kairi and Xion let out a small huff together as they set all the provisions down at the base of the raft, then looked up, feeling a little proud of themselves.

"Now I feel a little bad for delegating all the work to Sora and Riku two years ago," Kairi admitted. "That was fun."

Xion laughed, and she felt a little bit of pride over the fact that they still had a lot of time before the sun would set.

Of course, then words appeared on the sail of the raft, which had the two of them narrowing their eyebrows.

"'The Road you took began with a spirit of adventure'," Kairi slowly read. "'Until it was interrupted by darkness, through you were forced to venture'." *4*

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all frowned in confusion with Kairi.

All of a sudden, the sun above them morphed into a massive orb of darkness, and the sky around it transformed to that of the evening. Kairi and Xion looked up and exclaimed in surprise as the massive orb of darkness continued to blow winds, causing a veritable storm around them. They huffed once again as streams of darkness proceeded to surge around the massive orb, forming a veritable vortex that made the group all the more nervous.

"What the hell is happening?" Kairi exclaimed.

"Looks like this test just turned into our greatest hits," Xion commented.

All of a sudden, Shadows started to appear around the two of them, so Kairi and Xion both summoned their Keyblades.

Given that Shadows were the weakest form of Heartless, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision weren't as worried for Kairi and Xion as they moved about along the beach and fought through the Heartless. Xion swung her Kingdom Key and took down one shadow before blasting another one with Firaga. Kairi then sidestepped as another Shadow tried lunging at her, then she swung through it with Destiny's Embrace. Xion grunted and shouted as she swung her Keyblade another couple of times, taking down Shadows that got close enough, before Kairi blasted Pearl magic, striking another Shadow and taking it down. Kairi swung through one more Shadow with her Keyblade, and Xion dodged another one before kicking it, then slashing through the Shadow to take it down.

With the Shadows gone, Kairi and Xion huffed and shared a look.

"What do we do next?" Xion asked as the winds continued to surge around them.

"After things went dark in the storm, I went to the Secret Place," Kairi said. She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess me being a Princess of Heart, I was drawn to the door that had the Keyhole."

"Come on," Xion said, nodding her head to the side.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all voiced their agreement, so Kairi and Xion turned and started making their way down the island together. Shadows appeared and tried to fight them, but Kairi and Xion slashed through them with their Keyblades and took them down easily. Winds continued to surge all around them as they moved up the wooden walkway, along the base of the tree, and found an ornate set of double doors in front of the entrance to the Secret Place. To this day, Kairi still didn't know why the doors had appeared, but she and Xion went through the doors, closed them behind them, and moved together through the darkened corridor to the Secret Place, only having to crouch slightly given that they were a bit taller after two years.

Soon enough, they reached the Secret Place, and while Kairi, Roxas, and Xion were all familiar with it, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all a little surprised by all the scribblings and designs scraped into the walls that Kairi had helped make when she was a kid.

Kairi gave a small smile at the one wall of drawings of herself and Sora, especially with the additions they made of them sharing the Paupu Fruit.

"So, what's the next course of action?" Xion asked.

"Well... not much happened to me during that first adventure," Kairi admitted. "I was here, then the door opened, my heart disappeared into Sora's, then the next thing I knew, I was waking up in front of the Keyhole at Hollow Bastion."

"So what do we do?" Xion asked.

All of a sudden, the door burst open, and winds flew out, striking Kairi and Xion and making them grunt. Of course, instead of being thrown back through the Secret Place, this time, they were dragged forward. Kairi and Xion yelled out as they were dragged together through the door, which then slammed shut right behind them.

Yelling out, Kairi and Xion then grunted as they hit the ground roughly. Gritting their teeth in irritation, the two of them looked up, then their eyes widened in surprise.

Having been dragged through the Keyhole, Kairi and Xion now found themselves in the massive station in Hollow Bastion where the Keyhole had initially been placed. They were standing on the giant, circular platform with consoles around it in front of the giant mechanical Keyhole shaped like the Heartless logo, complete with the gigantic copper pipes around it and a staircase and set of rubble in front of it. There were even the gigantic burn marks from a massive blast in the floor, though no one still knew what exactly had caused that blast.

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion then slowly stood up together and huffed as they looked around, taking in their surroundings.

"This is where Sora learned that my heart was inside his," Kairi remembered. "It's where he used the Keyblade of Darkness to release his heart and mine."

"Wait..." Roxas slowly said. "Does this mean that's where I was born?"

"I think technically," Xion admitted.

Roxas raised an eyebrow and huffed in surprise, while Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all shared looks. Their friends were weird, even by their standards...

"So what do we have to do here?" Xion asked.

All of a sudden, words appeared in front of the massive Keyhole design, which had the two teens look up.

"'Your journey reached a new apex here, in the land you once called home'," Kairi read. "'But before you could break out and spread your wings, first you had to fight a dark threat across this dome'."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows together. But after a moment, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion's eyes all then widened in remembrance.

All of a sudden, someone grunted, and Kairi and Xion both got out of the way as there was a shockwave of energy on the ground. Landing together, the two of them huffed as they looked up, and their eyes narrowed as they recognized their foe.

Of course, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision's eyes all narrowed as they saw 15 year old Riku standing in front of Kairi and Xion, wearing his purple and black suit with the white hangings around his waist, while holding the Keyblade of Darkness in his hand. He stepped into his battle stance, and Roxas huffed as he realized that they were right.

"Riku?" Vision asked.

"Ansem," Kairi corrected him. "When he possessed Riku."

"Great," Xion sighed. "So, we've gotta fight old enemies while on this Road, too?"

"Looks like it," Kairi remarked.

"Open your heart, princess," Ansem declared in his mixed voice as he continued standing in his battle stance.

Slowly standing up together, Kairi and Xion shared a look and nodded their heads together. With that, they both summoned their Keyblades and stepped into their battle stances as they frowned at Ansem together. Ansem just kept his arm raised as he held the Keyblade of Darkness up. *5*

Ansem let out an arrogant laugh as he spun in a circle and slashed the Keyblade. Xion moved in and performed a combo attack with her own Keyblade, while Kairi blasted the man with Firaga. Of course, then Ansem swung his Keyblade, knocking aside Xion, before lunging towards Kairi with another slash. However, Kairi blocked it with a barrier, then retaliated with a blast. Ansem stepped back and tried to attack again, but Kairi blocked with another barrier, then retaliated with a combo attack, knocking the apparition of her possessed friend aside. Xion helped by making pillars of light appear that flew through the air, striking Ansem and knocking him back a bit more, but he retaliated by spinning and swinging his Keyblade again, which struck Kairi and knocked her back.

"Come," Ansem taunted, gesturing to himself with his free hand.

Of course, neither Kairi or Xion took his bait, so he tried lunging forward with his Keyblade again. Kairi dodged the first strike, then Xion blocked as he lunged at her, before retaliating with a strike of her Keyblade. Xion followed that up with a full combo attack, then got out of the way as Ansem let out another laugh, spinning and slashing again. Ansem then swung his Keyblade twice again, but Kairi got out of the way of the first strike, while Xion was knocked aside by the lunge and slash. Kairi then rushed in and performed another combo attack against Ansem, then got out of the way of another Keyblade slash while Xion cast Curaga on herself. Kairi then started her Finish attack, Seven Wishes, and proceeded to slide around and strike Ansem seven times, making him grunt and exclaim as he was knocked aside.

Of course, as he stepped back, Ansem lifted up the Keyblade and taunted them, so Kairi blasted him with Firaga. Xion attacked with pillars of light again, but Ansem dodged it with another spin and slash of his Keyblade. Ansem then swung his Keyblade twice more and lunged forward, but both Kairi and Xion dodged the attack. Kairi then moved forward and performed a full combo attack, then got out of the way when Ansem spun and swung his Keyblade again. Xion then lunged forward as an orb of light to dodge as Ansem spun and swung his Keyblade again, then she retaliated by waving her hand and making golden energy strike the apparition, knocking him back with another grunt. Ansem blocked with his Keyblade again and taunted, but Kairi rose up into the air and flew down, letting orbs of light rain down on Ansem and damaging him a bit more.

Kairi landed next to Xion again as Ansem then held his arm out to the side.

"Now witness true power," Ansem declared as blue, white, and black energy grew in his free hand.

There was a small surge of energy around him as he gathered darkness to attack with, and Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all grimaced as they remembered what came next, while Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all raised their eyebrows.

Ansem then shouted as he swung his Keyblade, sending a slashing wave of white energy flying towards Kairi and Xion, which they both dodged. Ansem then stepped back, then shouted "Here it comes!" as he swung his Keyblade at the ground, sending waves of energy flying across the ground. Turning towards Xion, Ansem shouted as he sent another wave of white energy at her, then tried lunging and striking at Kairi. Of course, Kairi blocked with a barrier, then retaliated with a blast of her Keyblade, pushing Ansem back again. Xion then rushed in and performed another combo attack with her Keyblade, then threw her light-encased Keyblade, knocking aside Ansem as more damage was done. Following this, Ansem proceeded to repeatedly slash his Keyblade and send white energy flying before trying to lunge forward to attack.

Ansem then shouted "Here it comes!" again as he swung his Keyblade at the ground and sent shockwaves out again, which had Kairi and Xion both dodging together once again. In retaliation, Xion then rushed in and started attacking with Sonic Blade, repeatedly striking Ansem and making him yell out as she knocked him around. Ansem then jumped up and blasted at the ground, causing energy to then start raining down to try and attack both Kairi and Xion. Both teens blocked with barriers, then Kairi threw her Keyblade at Ansem, striking him before teleporting next to him and following it up with a combo attack. Ansem snarled once again before Kairi and Xion both rushed in and performed combo attacks from opposite sides, doing a great amount of damage and knocking him around.

Kairi and Xion watched as Ansem then jumped backwards as the energy faded from his free hand, so he shouted once again and lowered it, letting the energy return as his increase in power returned. The two teens then rolled their eyes, then got out of the way together as Ansem swung the Keyblade, sending the energy flying, before Kairi retaliated with a blast of Pearl magic. Ansem then lunged forward and struck Kairi with his Keyblade, before swinging at the ground while shouting "Here it comes!" again, striking Xion with the white energy. Kairi quickly got out of the way and healed with Curaga again as Ansem spun and swung his Keyblade again. Xion then rose up and used Ragnarok, blasting projectiles out of her Keyblade that knocked aside Ansem and made him yell out once again.

Jumping backwards to dodge once again, Ansem then jumped up and blasted the ground, causing more energy to rain down and try to attack both Kairi and Xion. Both teens got out of the way, before Xion waved her hand and made a net appear with golden energy that appeared over Ansem and restrained him to the ground. He yelled out in surprise, so Kairi and Xion both rushed forward and bombarded him with combo attacks from their Keyblades. They managed to do a decent amount of damage before he shouted and spun, swinging his Keyblade once again. Kairi and Xion both got out of the way as the Keyblade slashed through the net and freed him, before he immediately followed it up with a swing of his Keyblade, sending the energy flying that Kairi and Xion both worked to dodge.

"I'd be embarrassed if I were you," Kairi taunted with a laugh. "Even when you were in Riku the first time, you got your ass kicked by a fourteen year old boy and his cousin with a gun and a machete. Now you're getting your ass kicked by two sixteen year old girls."

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all raised an eyebrow, wondering why Kairi had so much bravado and arrogance lately. *6*

Seconds later, Kairi then regretted her taunts when Ansem rose up, the surroundings became darker, and he was covered in energy as he gripped his Keyblade with both hands. Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all grimaced as they remembered what was about to happen. With that, Kairi and Xion both rose up and started gliding out of the way as Ansem used Dark Aura, teleporting and flying through the air while jabbing with his Keyblade repeatedly. Of course, in the process, he did end up striking Kairi and Xion at least once and making them fall to the ground. Ansem then teleported to the center of the platform and jabbed at the ground, causing energy to rain down once again, and Xion rolled out of the way of energy before it could strike her, and Kairi jumped out of the way of another surge of energy.

Sharing a huff, Xion then cast Curaga, and Kairi moved close enough so that the spell also worked on her. Of course, Ansem shouted "Here it comes!" again and swung his Keyblade, so the two teens got out of the way as the energy flew towards them again. Kairi then threw her Keyblade, then teleported to Ansem and followed it up with another combo attack. However, Ansem swung through the last strike with his Keyblade, then sent energy flying before lunging forward, knocking Kairi aside. Xion then retaliated for her (kind of) sister and sent pillars of light flying, striking Ansem and doing more damage. Ansem then snarled and sent the energy flying towards Xion, but Kairi blasted him in the back with Pearl magic before getting out of the way before he could attack again.

With the energy still around his hand, Ansem then rose up and gripped his Keyblade with both hands again as he was covered in energy. Preparing for Dark Aura once again, Kairi and Xion both rolled across the ground repeatedly as he teleported around the area and flew forward, repeatedly jabbing with his Keyblade repeatedly. The two teens continued to dodge before Ansem appeared in the center of the area and jabbed at the ground, causing the energy to rain across the entire platform once again, but Kairi and Xion managed to block with barriers together, preventing them from doing damage.

With Dark Aura having failed again, Ansem snarled and started spamming his waves of white energy and lunges with his Keyblade again and again. Kairi dodged a wave of white energy, while Xion blocked a lunge with a barrier, then retaliated with a blast of her Keyblade that knocked Ansem back. Kairi then threw her Keyblade and teleported into a combo attack again, while Xion attacked with more surging pillars of light, all of which knocked Ansem around a bit more and made him snarl. Ansem jumped back once again and sent another wave of energy flying, but Kairi rolled on the ground to dodge, before lunging forward to attack with Seven Wishes again, sliding around and striking him seven times, doing quite a bit of damage to him.

Yelling out once again, Ansem let the energy gather around him as he rose up and gripped his Keyblade with both hands as he prepared to attack with Dark Aura again. Glaring, Xion waved a hand, letting golden energy form into a spike in front of her, then she swung her hand. The spike flew through the air and went right through Ansem's stomach, making him yell out as the energy faded from around him, and he dropped to his feet again. The golden spike vanished, so Kairi swung her Keyblade again, hitting the apparition in the head and knocking him back. Ansem snarled and let energy appear around his hands and his Keyblade, and shouted as he swung it repeatedly, sending waves of energy flying towards both Kairi and Xion. So, both teens then rushed forward and raised their Keyblades, forming them into an X that caught Ansem's Keyblade.

Ansem growled and snarled in anger as Kairi and Xion just frowned back at him. The two (kind of) sisters then shared a nod of their heads and pushed their Keyblades up, making his own Keyblade rise up. With a strong push, Kairi and Xion forced Ansem to raise his Keyblade even more, meaning that his arms were forced up. With that, the two of them rushed forward together, slashing through Ansem with each of their Keyblades and coming out on the opposite end. Kairi and Xion both huffed together as they finished the slashes, ending the fight. *7*

Sharing a huff, Kairi and Xion frowned and looked back at Ansem as what appeared to be electricity burst out of his chest from the strikes.

"My powers have... failed me..." Ansem weakly said in his mixed voice.

The two of them then watched as Ansem dropped to his knees as the Keyblade vanished from his hand. Blue light surged around him, and Ansem then disappeared from sight, making Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all huff.

"That guy was a dick," Kairi commented.

"I still think you're cussing too much, but you're not wrong," Xion admitted as they shared a look.

"So... was that it?" Vision asked.

"That was a decent blast from the past, but is there anything else?" Roxas asked.

All of a sudden, words appeared in front of the Keyhole again, which garnered Kairi and Xion's attention.

"'Your first trial has ended in success'," Kairi read of the words. "'Seal the Keyhole to depart, otherwise you might make a mess'."

All of a sudden, the room started to shake, causing pipes to break and pieces of the walls and ceiling to start breaking off, which had Kairi and Xion exclaim in surprise as they looked around. A massive piece of ceiling even dropped down and smashed one of the machines nearby, which had them exclaim in surprise.

"Guys, get the hell out of there!" Stephen exclaimed.

"Now!" Wanda emphasized.

Kairi and Xion exclaimed in surprise before they moved together to the Keyhole as more of the roof and walls started to break off. Even with the ground shaking underneath their feet, Kairi and Xion rushed up to the top of the stairs, lifted their Keyblades again, and pointed them at the giant, Heartless insignia shaped Keyhole together. Stars then gathered at the ends of their Keyblades and gathered together into the blades. With that, beams shot out of the Kingdom Key and Destiny's Embrace and into the massive Keyhole. Though the room continued to shake around them, light then gathered from the Keyhole and quickly enveloped the two of them, blinding them for a moment.

Moments later, Kairi and Xion felt like they were falling, almost like they were dropping down a massive waterslide. Their vision returned as they were dragged through the massive loop, realizing that they were back on The Witches' Road. Still falling, Kairi and Xion shouted together and shared a look, realizing that they were back in their hoodies and jeans as they were dragged through the loop of the strange area. Moments later, both Kairi and Xion then yelled out as the slide became angular and threw them high into the air, making them shout before they dropped together towards the ground.

One would have thought that the pile of blue leaves would provide them with a soft landing. And one would be wrong.

Kairi and Xion both grunted as they hit the ground on the main pathway of the Witches' Road, groaning from the impact of the landing. Slowly pushing themselves up, Kairi and Xion both groaned as they pushed themselves up onto their hands and knees, the two of them huffed before they shared a look.

"... I didn't like that," Xion said.

"Neither did I," Kairi agreed.

The two of them groaned and pushed themselves up to their feet. Sharing a huff, they turned and looked around, seeing that they were back in the main forest of The Witches' Road, confirming that they had escaped their trial.

"Are you both all right?" Vision asked, concern in his voice.

"A little shaken up, but yeah," Kairi admitted, rolling her right shoulder with a wince.

"I wonder if that's what a waterslide feels like," Xion commented. She huffed and shook her head. "I would have preferred it with water."

"I'd take you to one after this if it wasn't Fall," Roxas informed her.

"Yeah, I think they've already entered their off season," Stephen added.

"You're back on The Road," Wanda reminded them. "You've gotta find Agatha, Billy, and the others."

"Where do you think they are?" Xion asked.

The sound of repeated yells then echoed nearby, which had Kairi and Xion both perk up and turn towards them.

"... I think I found them," Kairi commented.

Sharing a look, Kairi and Xion then took a few steps forward, looking across the forest landscape and seeing that in the distance, there was a grove in the land that also resembled a water slide, and the only difference was that there was actually water along the bottom. Looking along that grove, their eyes narrowed when they saw that Jen, Lilia, Sharon, Billy, Agatha, and Alice had all fallen along the grove in the dirt, having landed amongst the water. Kairi and Xion then furrowed their eyebrows and tilted their heads to the side in thought.

"They must've just gone through their own trial," Kairi assessed.

"I wonder what that trial was," Wanda admitted.

"It must've been interesting if they're all wet," Xion commented.

They watched as Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, and Alice all pushed themselves up, with Agatha's hair ruffled up since it had fallen out of the bun. Agatha and Jen (understandably) snapped at each other again, while Kairi and Xion narrowed their eyes over the fact that Sharon was still on the ground. Billy crouched down next to Sharon, then looked up with a distraught expression on his face.

"Sharon's dead," Billy announced with despair.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all gasped and felt a wave of despair course through all of them. Wanda once again felt another surge of guilt over her previous actions against Sharon, while everyone felt bad that a woman who wasn't even a witch, and never even asked for this got dragged onto The Road and died in the makeshift coven's first trial. Kairi and Xion felt guilt course through them because they were so distracted in their own trial that they hadn't been able to help protect Sharon, while Alice, Jen, and Lilia all joined Billy in looking down at Sharon's body in despair.

Billy at least showed Sharon respect by closing her eyes. *8*

"... Who's Sharon?" Agatha asked bluntly, frowning in confusion.

Alice, Billy, Jen, and Lilia all joined Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion in frowning at Agatha. This woman will not change...

Chapter Text

Witnessing the makeshift coven of Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, and Alice, and seeing how much they didn't get along with each other, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all inwardly happy that despite Agatha being the de facto leader, everyone else still had a sense of decency. Alice joined Billy in helping bury Sharon in the dirt, while Jen and Lilia remained silent out of respect, and Agatha just looked at the dead woman with her head in her hand, appearing to be bored. Kairi and Xion joined Wanda in rolling their eyes over how the villainous witch was still so callous with an innocent life that she had brought to be killed, but they brushed it off as they watched Billy and Alice dig in the dirt to bury Sharon.

Kairi and Xion felt more sorrow over the fact that they hadn't been there to help Sharon through whatever it had been that killed her, while Wanda felt another surge of guilt over her past misdeeds to the woman, and Roxas, Stephen, and Vision all joined Alice, Billy, Jen, and Lilia in being depressed that an innocent woman had died.

During the process, Alice ended up sharing that her own mother had died on tour in a hotel fire, and she was here because her mother told her that The Road would save her. Stephen and Wanda shared a look, remembering the promise that The Witches' Road would grant a desirable reward to the witches who passed the trials, which had them still feeling a little cautious and worried for the rest of this coven. Agatha then proceeded to pretend to care about Sharon before suggesting that they leave, even though the body wasn't even buried, yet. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all joined Jen and Lilia in rolling their eyes, while Alice helped Billy dig up more of the ground.

When she saw that no one was following her, Agatha returned and asked what the problem was, and Lilia reminded her that Sharon is dead, but Agatha still tried to move them along. She proceeded to call Sharon a "bad draft pick," said that it made sense The Road killed her, and it meant more power for the rest of them.

"We should've just left this bitch to the Salem Seven," Kairi softly commented with a shake of her head.

"I'm starting to agree," Roxas said as Xion nodded her head.

Jen stood as she insulted Agatha's "staggering callousness," before pointing out that they had an incomplete coven now. Agatha tried to talk her way out of this problem by saying they needed a whole coven to access The Road, but it was "anybody's game" after that. Jen and Lilia were once again insulted by Agatha's callous nature, and they proceeded to argue about what the Ballad meant. This included Lilia pointing out that Alice's mother recorded the most popular version of the Ballad, but Alice just removed her jacket and asked Agatha how many witches left the road with her last time. Agatha was silent before holding up one single finger, which unnerved Alice, Billy, Jen, and Lilia slightly.

"She's really pulling out all the stops to scare them," Wanda remarked.

"She's trying to get them desperate and angry enough to want to attack her, so then she can take all their powers," Stephen added.

"Why is she so evil?" Vision asked with a sigh. "Is all of this leftover from the Darkhold?"

"When did she even take that?" Xion asked with her eyebrows furrowed. "Maybe knowing when she snatched it might give us some insight. We saw what a year and a half with that thing did to Maleficent, so maybe knowing how long Agatha had it might help."

"I'm not really sure how long she had it," Stephen admitted. "That thing was missing for centuries. SHIELD even briefly had it."

Kairi frowned in surprise before she and Xion looked at the coven again.

They watched as the group proceeded to argue about their last trial. Jen boasted that they survived the last trial because of her, Alice pointed out that Sharon died, and Jen argued that Alice hadn't been around when Sharon needed protecting. Lilia then said that Sharon had drunk two glasses of the poisoned wine, but she had only gotten one glass of the antidote. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all happy when Billy finished burying Sharon and placed flowers on top of her makeshift grave, though their eyes all narrowed at the "poisoned wine" part. Billy then stood up and walked over to Agatha, Alice, Jen, and Lilia, declaring that it was all of their faults since they hadn't been looking out for each other like a real coven.

Alice, Jen, and Lilia all looked down grimly and agreed, while Agatha made a joke, which had everyone groaning.

"You're right; we should've left her to the Salem Seven," Xion told Kairi.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all sighed out in agreement over the comlink.

To their surprise, after some argument, the group then came to the conclusion to summon a backup Green Witch, which had Kairi and Xion sharing a worried look.

"Wait..." Roxas slowly said. "From what we saw earlier, wouldn't the closest Green Witch be..."

"Rio," Kairi remembered, her eyes widening as she and Xion shared a look.

"Death," Xion corrected her.

Whatever the case, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all grimaced as they turned and watched as the makeshift coven gathered together on the leafy walkway of The Road, grasping their hands together after getting the right spell from Billy's little black book. Lilia, Alice, Agatha, Billy, and Jen all stood together in a line as Agatha read from the book, standing over a design of a human shape made in the leaves. Lilia said her part, followed by Agatha, then Jen, and Alice. The five of them then stood together as Agatha finished reading the book, waving her arm to cast the spell and making a breeze blow.

Though they were worried about Rio showing up, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all a little amused by the coven's requests for a Green Witch. Lilia had been professional and requested that the Witch would be strong and a professional in her craft, while Agatha asked that she be smart, not annoying, and not political, Jen requested that she be pleasant looking, and Alice asked if she could bring some Advil. *1*

Billy eagerly asked how long they needed to wait, and as Lilia explained things to him, an arm burst out of Sharon's grave, which had the whole coven, along with Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion, all jumping in surprise.

The coven all screamed in shock as the dirt-covered body continued climbing out of the grave, waving their arms as they slowly climbed onto the ground. Billy worriedly asked if they had turned Sharon into a zombie, while the figure's body contorted and bones cracked as they slowly pushed themselves up. Alice panickily asked what spell they cast, and Lilia asked why the print was so small. Billy asked if this was Sharon, before the figure finished contorting, and lifted up their head.

This time, Agatha unknowingly joined Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion in being worried as the figure raised their head to look at the coven. Though she was covered in dirt, and she was now wearing a tight green and black body suit that left her forearms bare, fingerless gloves, a green coat with a large fake spider over her heart, and the sides of the suit were open to reveal the pale skin of her stomach, sides, and back, it was very clearly Rio Vidal. Rio remarked that she heard that the coven was having a party, said that she was in the neighborhood, and smiled as she held up a hand, making a flower appear that she offered to Agatha.

Though they had seen this coming, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all felt tense over Rio's reappearance. And for once, they were on Agatha's side as she tried to lunge at Rio, no doubt knowing the truth about the woman's identity as Death.

Of course, Alice, Billy, Jen, and Lilia all restrained Agatha and reminded her that they needed a Green Witch, so Agatha huffed and turned to walk away before Billy followed her. Alone, Rio introduced herself to the coven, who uneasily greeted her. Alice asked if she was a Green Witch, and Rio used her demonic voice to call herself "the" Green Witch again. Alice and Jen laughed uneasily, while Lilia looked a little worried. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all inwardly wondered if being a Divination witch meant that Lilia could sense the truth about Rio as she chuckled. Rio pointed out that they were supposed to walk The Road while gesturing after Agatha and Billy, and Alice and Jen confirmed this. So, Rio whistled and walked around to take in the sights, calling them cool as she walked after Agatha and Billy. Alice, Jen, and Lilia were all surprised, but they followed after the Green Witch.

Sharing a huff, Kairi and Xion then moved out of their hiding place and onto the leaf-covered ground, the latest version of The Witches' Road. The two of them shook their heads before sharing a look.

"I know they raised a spell to call her here, but..." Xion slowly said. She shook her head and looked down The Road. "What the hell does she want here?"

"Well, we saw it back up in Westview," Kairi reminded her. "She's trying to take down Agatha with the Salem Seven."

"Yeah, but they've clearly got a weird relationship with each other," Xion added. "She arrived and immediately tried to offer her a flower."

"Maybe it didn't end on the best of terms, but they still care for one another?" Vision suggested.

"Yeah, it was the same between me and Christine," Stephen added. "It took me a bit, but I've finally moved on."

"Good for you, but..." Roxas slowly said. "What could Death herself want with Agatha here on The Witches' Road?"

"That's another to add to the long line of mysteries we need to figure out," Wanda remarked.

"I'm having deja vu to the last time I came to Westview," Xion commented.

"That bad, huh?" Kairi asked with an eyebrow raised. *2*

Xion opened her mouth to respond and turned towards Kairi, then she jumped and exclaimed in surprise.

Kairi turned and jumped, and in Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all exclaimed in surprise with the duo.

Standing right between Kairi and Xion was Rio, who once again had a twisted smile on her face as she looked right at Xion.

"Well, well, well..." Rio said. She lifted up a hand towards Xion's face, and the ravenette couldn't help but flinch, which brought Roxas great despair. "I didn't expect to see either of you down here, or to see you survive so long. Since you're not witches, I figured that The Road would've killed you by now, just like that Mrs. Hart woman."

"Her name was Sharon," Kairi said, frowning at Rio.

"Eh, tomato, to-mah-to," Rio replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Kairi grit her teeth, while Xion steeled herself and looked Rio in the eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Xion asked.

"What else?" Rio replied with another shrug of her shoulders. "My ex and her coven asked for another Green Witch to complete their little band. Now, I'm gonna help them finish their world tour here on The Road."

"That was a weird analogy," Xion slowly said. She frowned and shook her head with as much courage as she could muster. "But this morning, you were more than ready to throw Agatha to the Salem Seven. Now you're gonna help her and the rest of that coven walk The Road? I don't believe it."

"Neither do I," Kairi agreed.

Rio just chuckled as she looked amongst the two teens, confusing them and the others, while Stephen, Wanda, and Xion were all nervous to hear that very laugh again.

"You're so adorable," Rio told them. She smirked. "You really think that you've got me all figured out. Well... let me tell you this."

Rio turned towards Xion once again. She lifted her hand, then reached forward and pressed one finger against Xion's cheek. Xion then grit her teeth and started to frantically breathe in and out, wincing and grunting as she felt pain. Kairi's eyes widened as she saw Xion's cheek suddenly turn ashen and gray under Rio's touch, almost like what happened when Agatha drained powers and life out of other witches. The bones were visible on Xion's face as she gasped and winced in further pain from Rio's spell. Of course, as Kairi tried to move forward to help, Rio just turned her head and pulled out her tilted knife with her other hand, pointing it at Kairi in warning, getting the redhead to raise her hands in surrender.

In Missouri, Stephen and Wanda felt a great surge of sorrow and sympathy, remembering just how badly that spell had hurt after Rio had used it against them when they were in limbo. Roxas, meanwhile, felt the greatest surge of rage he had ever felt coursing through him, and he frowned in anger as he tried to move to the monitor, half-thinking that he could lunge into the computer and tackle Rio himself. Of course, Vision wrapped his arms around Roxas and held him, partially to stop him from doing anything drastic, and partially to try and give him a comforting hug. Roxas just grunted and shouted in further rage as he tried to push out of Vision's arms, while Stephen and Wanda grimaced once again.

Xion continued to wince over the pain in her cheek from Rio's touch, all while Rio just let out another sadistic laugh as she turned towards the ravenette. Kairi glared at the back of the woman's head, and inwardly wondered what the right precaution was when fighting Death herself.

(She was also inwardly surprised once again over the fact that Death was a woman).

"Don't you like this little reminder of our days back in limbo?" Rio remarked to Xion. She tutted softly before tilting her head to the side. "Well, maybe you should just stay out of my business. Don't you think?"

She chuckled as she removed her finger from Xion's cheek. Xion gasped in relief as the pain faded, and her cheek soon returned to normal. Kairi, Roxas, and Vision all breathed out in relief, while Stephen and Wanda once again felt sympathy since they knew what that pain felt like.

"What... what is your business?" Xion panted out as she and Kairi continued to glare at Rio.

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out," Rio declared. She tilted her head to the side. "After all, you wouldn't want anything to happen to either of you, right? Or any of those other ladies walking this Road. Or even... the son of your little witch friend?"

Kairi and Xion huffed, while Wanda and Vision both frowned over the threat that Rio had just placed over Billy.

"So... how about you just stay out of it, and let me do my work?" Rio suggested. She tilted her head as a dangerous look appeared in her eyes. "Otherwise, I might just finish the job that should have happened when you made your boyfriend kill you."

Roxas and Xion both grit their teeth as they remembered their history once again. Rio then raised an eyebrow to look at Kairi.

"And I might finish the job that should have happened when Xehanort shattered your heart, before your boyfriend sacrificed himself to restore it," Rio added to Kairi.

Kairi grit her teeth and frowned at the woman.

Rio just smiled dangerously once again as she looked between Kairi and Xion.

"Sounds fun, right, ladies?" Rio asked.

Kairi and Xion both just huffed and glared at Rio as she let out another wicked laugh.

With that, Rio then transformed into a pile of flowers, which proceeded to fall right to the ground, landing amongst the leaves as the witch in question disappeared from view.

"... How the hell is she a Green Witch?" Kairi asked.

"Green Witches are witches that more or less practice the nature of the Earth," Stephen explained. "Nature itself, the ground, the landscape, and, well... life and death."

"Which is probably how Rio... or Death, is 'the' Green Witch," Wanda assessed. "Death is a natural order of things, so she's not inherently good or evil. Completely."

"I'd say what you guys went through down in limbo could discount that claim," Roxas remarked.

"He is not wrong," Kairi commented.

Xion sighed out in agreement before she turned to the side. She then frowned and slowly turned to look in that direction.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all frowned with her, while Kairi turned to look at her (sort of) sister before following her gaze.

While Kairi was surprised with Stephen, Wanda, and Vision, Roxas's eyebrows narrowed in recognition with Xion.

In front of them, instead of the path that Rio had disappeared down with Agatha, Billy, Alice, Jen, and Lilia, things had warped and shifted once again to transform into another bridge. This one was a massive, stone bridge that appeared to be the entrance to a gigantic castle, though the castle was partially eclipsed by the long, massive stone wall in front of it. There was a night sky above the bridge, complete with dozens upon dozens of stars and a large moon that provided some light to the evening, showing that along the bridge, the ground was cracked from all the stone, and there were many statues planted along the surface.

"What the heck is this place?" Kairi asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Beast's Castle," Roxas answered. "We were there a lot for the Organization."

Kairi then furrowed her eyebrows before looking at Xion in realization.

"The last trial was for you," Xion told her. She softly shook her head. "This one is for me." *3*

Xion looked down and breathed in and out for a moment. Then she raised her head and frowned in determination before she started marching down the pathway. Kairi huffed before she followed her (kind of) sister across the leafy ground, moving with her across the desert floor and onto the bridge.

Walking across the bridge, things changed for Kairi and Xion once again. Looking back, Kairi watched as their way out changed into a closed gate that led into a forest completely different from the Witches' Road. Of course, their outfits had also changed, with Kairi now wearing her old school uniform of a white shirt with a blue and white tie, a skirt that matched the tie, blue socks that went up to her knees, and the large black shoes, while her hair was longer once again. Xion, meanwhile, was wearing her Organization XIII cloak once again, with the hood over her head to cover her face.

"Why are you guys there?" Wanda asked.

"And why are Kairi's shoes so huge?" Stephen asked. "Seriously, why did you, Sora, and Riku wear such huge shoes all the time?"

"Thank you..." Vision softly said with a sigh.

"This is the night the Organization sent me after Riku because he was the imposter," Xion informed them. She softly shook her head. "Like I said, this is my trial."

To emphasize this point, the purple words from before then appeared in front of Xion, high and large as they floated in the air. Kairi then walked up to stand next to her (sort of) sister, and they looked at the words together.

"'Experiencing a great loss here started a new era of your journey'," Xion read. "'Now you shall see if you have the same results while fighting in a hurry'."

Kairi glanced up into the night sky, watching as the moon moved at an unnaturally fast pace, confirming that it was most likely the timer for this trial.

"'The same results'..." Roxas slowly said. "Don't tell me..."

"Yep," Xion confirmed with a nod of her head.

Not appearing to be surprised in the slightest, Xion slowly turned around and looked down the bridge again. Kairi turned with her once again, and she huffed in surprise.

Standing down the bridge just a short distance away was Riku, wearing a blindfold and wearing an Organization XIII cloak. With much longer hair, he held the sword Soul Eater in his hand as he stood in a battle stance, keeping his face pointed right at Xion to emphasize where his attention was. Kairi huffed, while Xion frowned at her former enemy.

"Two Riku fights in a row," Kairi commented. "The last person to do that was Roxas."

"And I won both times," Roxas added.

"We can do that again," Kairi declared.

"No," Xion said. She held out an arm to stop Kairi, while frowning right at Riku. "I can do this on my own."

Kairi raised her eyebrows in surprise, but she nodded her head and slowly stepped back, knowing that she needed to trust Xion knew what she was doing. In Missouri, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also raised their eyebrows in surprise, while Roxas smiled and felt pride. They all watched as Xion slowly stepped forward and held her hand out, summoning her Keyblade to her hand. With that, she slowly stepped into her battle stance and stared Riku down once again.

Riku immediately rushed forward and swung his sword, but Xion cast a barrier around herself, blocking his attack. She followed this up with a blast from her Keyblade, then rushed in and performed a combo attack, knocking him aside. Riku recovered and tried to lunge forward again, but Xion rolled out of the way of the attack, before retaliating with a blast of Blizzaga, striking Riku and making him grunt again. Riku tried rushing forward again, but Xion blocked it with another barrier. However, as she raised her Keyblade to blast in retaliation, Riku swung his sword twice and knocked her aside. Of course, Xion recovered in the air and swung forward to retaliate with a couple of strikes with her Keyblade before she landed, then rolled out of the way of another lunge.

Riku then jumped up and let energy gather in his sword. Xion got out of the way as he jabbed at the ground, sending lightning flying where she had just been standing. Kairi and Roxas were both surprised with Riku's form of attacks, since it was different from what both of them had experienced. Whatever the case, Riku lunged at Xion once again, but she waved her hand to make golden energy appear that Riku instead struck. With that, Xion then waved her hand again and let the golden energy transform into many projectiles, which she shot right at Riku and knocked aside as they repeatedly hit him. Riku grunted as he landed, then he tried swinging his sword to attack again, but Xion dodged. However, Riku followed this up with another lunge and a swing of his sword, which knocked aside Xion, but she recovered with a simple Curaga.

Landing on his feet, Riku then grunted as he swung his sword, with Xion dodged, before energy suddenly slashed around him. With that, Riku swung his sword again, and many projectiles of Dark Firaga flew through the air towards Xion. Kairi and Xion were worried, but Xion waved a hand and let golden energy appear above her. Her energy caught the many projectiles of Dark Firaga and proceeded to absorb and transform them. Smirking, Xion waved her hand, and let the projectiles be completely absorbed into golden energy. With that, she pointed her hand at Riku, and the projectiles flew right back towards him, blowing up as they struck him and doing great damage.

Though this was an apparition of Riku, a friend and trusted ally, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all smirked in pride over Xion's method of fight. *4*

Whatever the case, Riku grunted and lunged forward again, but Xion blocked with her Keyblade, retaliated with a slash, then rushed in with a full combo attack. Xion then got out of the way as Riku lunged towards her again, then he followed it up with a slash and tried to blast Dark Firaga again. Xion blocked these orbs of Dark Firaga with another barrier, then let numerous pillars of light fly across the bridge, striking Riku and doing more damage. Sadly, Riku lunged forward again, striking with his sword and knocking Xion aside again. She rolled backwards on the ground as she landed, then jumped back to her feet before retaliating with another blast of Blizzaga. Not caring in the slightest, Riku then moved forward and tried to swing his sword twice again, but Xion blocked it before retaliating with Stun Impact, letting the pink energy surround her and strike Riku.

While Riku pulled back and prepared to lunge again, Xion used Curaga to heal once again, before getting out of the way of the apparition's attack. Xion dodged another lunged attack from Riku with his sword, then let him swing the sword twice in an attempt to attack again. Xion then rushed in and retaliated with another combo attack, before getting out of the way as he tried swinging his sword again. Jumping up, Xion then grunted as she made numerous pillars of light appear that flew across the bridge, repeatedly striking Riku and doing even more damage to him. Riku didn't let this phase him too much, and just stabbed the ground, sending another surge of energy out that struck Xion just as she came out of her ranged attack, but didn't damage her too badly.

Landing on the ground again, Xion then watched as Riku gathered energy before blasting the orbs of Dark Firaga once again. Xion blocked these with a barrier, then retaliated with a blast from her Keyblade, knocking aside Riku once again. Rushing forward, Xion performed another combo attack against Riku, then got out of the way as he swung his sword twice to try and attack again. Riku then tried lunging forward to attack again, but Xion got out of the way before she retaliated with Blizzaga, then followed it up by rushing in with another combo attack. Given that Riku was so much taller than her, she even jumped up and performed an aerial combo, doing even more damage and knocking him around a bit further. Landing on her feet again, Xion then got out of the way as Riku tried lunging at her again, then dodged again as he blasted orbs of Dark Firaga at her again.

Gripping her Keyblade once more, Xion then rushed in at the same time Riku tried to lunge at her. Xion then yelled out as she swung her Keyblade against Riku's sword, the two blades hitting each other so hard that they sent out a massive shockwave that shook the bridge. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all surprised, while Xion yelled out as she glared back at Riku from between their weapons. With that, she pushed up, making Riku hit himself in the face with his own sword, before she started Ars Arcanum. Kairi huffed as she remembered the big attack of Sora's, while Xion repeatedly swung and slashed her Keyblade at Riku, knocking him around with the many, many strikes. Eventually, though, she performed the final, devastating blow, swinging her Keyblade against Riku so hard that he was thrown to the ground, with his sword clattering against the ground as he was defeated.

Landing on her feet again, Xion huffed as she looked up at Kairi, and the two of them shared a nod of their heads.

Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all impressed, and Roxas once again felt pride towards his girlfriend.

Of course, Riku's body then disappeared from view, and the doors to enter the castle courtyard then popped open, which garnered Kairi and Xion's attention. Just like before in Hollow Bastion, the bridge proceeded to shake, with the ground breaking apart, along with many of the statues that proceeded to drop off the side and towards the pit below.

"Let's run like hell," Kairi said.

"Yeah," Xion agreed.

The two of them huffed as they ran forward together, just barely stopping as more and more pieces of the bridge fell off into the pit below. Both teens yelled out as they lunged together through the large, open doorway, disappearing into the darkness within.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all worried for Kairi and Xion before the image became clear once again, now revealing a clearing.

Rushing out into the grassy field together, Kairi and Xion both frowned in surprise, but they managed to quickly recognize their location. With a large, grassy ground shaped almost like a pentagon, they could see a pathway leading into a forest in front of them, and a bricked wall behind them with a closed gate in front of a yard that led to a giant, two story mansion that looked like it had been abandoned many years ago. Of course, while their surroundings had changed, their outfits hadn't, with Kairi still in her school uniform, while Xion was still in the Organization XIII cloak, though now her hood was down to reveal her face.

Huffing, Kairi and Xion shared a look as they looked around to take in their surroundings.

"What, uh... what are we doing here?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, we've got way too much history there, and not all of it good," Roxas added.

Before anyone could question this any further, the purple words appeared above Kairi and Xion, which drew their attention once again.

"'Your journey ended on this world, on a day that was bright and clear'," Xion read. "'But not before confrontations with people that you hold the most dear'."

Kairi and Xion both frowned before the words faded from view.

Of course, their attention was soon drawn in front of them as there was a wave of fire.

Both teens exclaimed in surprise as they saw a tall figure in front of them wearing a black Organization XIII cloak, with wild, spiky red hair that flowed back, large chakrams in his hands, and a big frown on his face. Though Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all recognized him, the reverse teardrop tattoos underneath his eyes made it clear that his identity was different.

"Axel," Kairi assessed.

"This is the fight I had with Axel when he took me back to the Organization for Xemnas's programming," Xion added. *5*

Axel just yelled out as he swung the chakrams in his hands, then frowned at Kairi and Xion as he held his arms out to the sides.

"I don't suppose you'll be able to talk this one down?" Vision asked.

"It's Axel, we've never been able to talk him down from something," Roxas pointed out. "Not even after he became Lea."

"Yeah," Xion agreed. She grimaced and softly shook her head. "Looks like we'll have to take care of him with a fight, too."

"I'm okay with it," Kairi admitted with her eyebrows furrowed. "I made peace with Lea, but a little part of me has still always wanted revenge against Axel."

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion shared a look before nodding their heads together. With that, they summoned their Keyblades and stood in their battle stances together. Axel twirled his chakrams in his hands, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all inwardly hoped for the best for this fight.

Axel then grunted as he lunged forward covered in fire, and Kairi and Xion both narrowly managed to dodge as he landed and released lots of fire. Of course, then he lunged towards Xion while covered in flame, and she got out of the way before throwing her Keyblade in retaliation, striking him and knocking him aside. Kairi then blasted Pearl magic, then followed it up with Blizzaga. Xion moved in and started a combo attack on the ground, launched herself into the air, then finished the combo with aerial strikes against Axel. Axel grunted repeatedly before swinging his chakrams, knocking aside Xion, so Kairi threw her Keyblade to attack, then teleported up to Axel and followed it up with a combo attack. Axel swung his chakrams again, but Kairi dodged it again before casting Blizzaza, blasting him in the face with a massive shard of ice that knocked him aside.

Axel then moved across the field covered in fire, yelling as he left behind trails of flames in an attempt to attack. Kairi and Xion both dodged, though Kairi got struck when Axel slammed into the ground and released a shockwave of fire. Axel then moved behind Xion and threw his chakrams, but she cast a barrier for protection, then retaliated with a blast from her Keyblade. Xion then rushed in and performed another long combo attack on the ground before jumping up and following it up with an aerial combo, including numerous wicked finishers where she swung her Keyblade repeatedly and did a lot of damage. Of course, then Axel rushed across the landscape once again, leaving behind another trail of fire, and Xion just barely got out of the way of the flames. Kairi then dodged as he threw his flame-covered chakrams, then retaliated with another blast of Pearl.

Landing on the ground, Xion then ran in an arc around Axel as he landed on the ground and released a fire shockwave, then got out of the way as he tried lunging at her covered in flames. Xion retaliated by throwing her Keyblade and striking Axel, then Kairi rushed in and performed a combo attack with her Keyblade. Axel shouted and lunged at Kairi, but she got out of the way before performing Seven Wishes, lunging around and striking with her Keyblade seven times, knocking aside Axel. Axel then jumped back, then yelled out as he rammed into the ground again, releasing another massive shockwave of fire that both Kairi and Xion both had to dodge with barriers. Axel then lunged across the field covered in fire, then threw his flame-covered chakrams at Xion, which she blocked with a barrier before moving in and performing another combo attack.

Having gained enough energy, Xion then attacked with Stun Impact, surrounding herself with a pink blast of energy that struck Axel and actually stunned him for a moment. Both Kairi and Xion didn't hesitate to attack together with larger moves, consisting of their shotlocks. Xion let numerous orbs of golden energy appear that she flung towards Axel with swings of her Keyblade, while Kairi rose up into the air, then flew down and let more orbs of light rain down to strike Axel and do even more damage. Axel grunted from the dozens of orbs of light and golden energy striking him, doing a large amount of damage to the pyrokinetic. *6*

Of course, Axel soon recovered, and let a wave of fire cover him as he pointed his chakrams at both Kairi and Xion, complete with dark energy surrounding him to emphasize that he had become invulnerable.

"Don't make me mad," Axel taunted.

With that, Axel rushed forward and started throwing his fire-covered chakrams, showing that they had thorns around them now to make them more dangerous. Kairi and Xion both had to work a bit to dodge as Axel kept throwing his chakrams and let them fly towards the two, before he grunted and rammed his weapons into the ground. With that, pillars of fire started bursting up from the ground, and Kairi and Xion had to then dodge the massive flames, mixed with numerous thorns from Axel's energy. Luckily, after a moment, the flames and the energy faded from around Axel, meaning that he was safe to attack again.

Kairi immediately rushed in and performed another combo attack, knocking aside Axel before she dodged another throw from his chakrams. Axel then rushed to Xion covered in fire and struck her, knocking her aside before he threw his fire-covered chakrams. Xion dodged the chakrams and healed herself with Curaga, while Kairi blasted Blizzaga at Axel once again. Axel recovered and rushed forward to try and attack both girls with his chakrams, but Kairi dodged while Xion protected herself with a barrier, then retaliated with another blast from her Keyblade. Axel then yelled as he rammed his weapons into the ground, releasing two shockwaves of fire that Xion just barely managed to dodge, while Kairi got struck and had to use Curaga.

Axel then lunged towards Xion, but then she got out of the way before throwing her Keyblade at him in retaliation. Kairi and Xion both then rushed forward together, and they both performed aerial combos against Axel and did quite a bit of damage against him, but the prokinetic then turned and lunged to the side, leaving behind another trail of fire that damaged both girls. Landing on the ground, Kairi and Xion then watched as Axel swung his chakrams at them, but Kairi blocked with her Keyblade before rushing in and performing another combo attack with her Keyblade. Kairi managed to knock Axel aside, and Xion followed it up with a blast of Thundaga, making lightning crash down on the apparition of her friend. Sadly, Axel then retaliated by rushing forward covered in fire, knocking both Kairi and Xion aside with grunts.

Landing on the ground, Xion threw up a Hi-Potion for Kairi before she rushed in and performed another combo attack against Axel. Axel then turned and rushed towards her, leaving behind an arc of fire before throwing his fire-encased chakrams, both of which missed. Xion then jumped out of the way as Axel rammed into the ground and released another shockwave of fire, so Kairi retaliated with a blast of Blizzaga. Axel then lunged towards Kairi while covered in fire, and she dodged his attack before also dodging as he threw his chakrams at her. Xion then rushed in and performed another combo attack against Axel, before following it up with another blast of Blizzaga. Sadly, Axel then released another shockwave of fire that knocked both teens aside before rushing forward covered in flames again. Of course, Xion then jumped in and performed a long aerial combo attack in retaliation while Kairi cast Curaga again.

Kairi rushed forward to help as Xion landed on the ground, then immediately had to dodge as Axel released another couple of shockwaves of fire. Kairi rushed in and performed another long combo attack against Axel, then followed it up with Seven Wishes once again. Axel was damaged a lot by the attack, then he rushed forward a couple of times while covered in fire again. Xion helped her by blasting Axel with Blizzaga once again, then as Axel lunged forward, Kairi got out of the way and threw her Keyblade in retaliation, striking him and ending the fight.

Kairi and Xion then huffed as they landed next to each other and nodded their heads with smirks. Of course, then Axel landed in front of both of them again, the frown still on his face.

"Oh, wait..." Xion said, frowning in remembrance. "He's not done yet."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all frowned for a moment before Axel leaned forward and held his arms out. His chakrams were covered in fire, and flames flew out.

All of a sudden, a massive wave of fire appeared around the three of them, forming a large enough arena that had a circular ground, and was still large enough for them to move through. Kairi, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all exclaimed in surprise, while Roxas and Xion both grimaced in remembrance. Kairi and Xion then turned towards Axel again as the flames continued to surge around them, and he lifted up his head to smirk. The two teens huffed and shook their heads before stepping back into their battle stances.

"Burn, baby!" Axel shouted, holding his chakrams out and letting fire fly out of them.

The fire flew into the ground, transforming it from the normal grassy ground into what appeared to be molten magma. Roxas grimaced at the memory of how hot it had left his feet, while Kairi and Xion both grimaced as they felt burning pain course through them. Whatever the case, the two of them rushed forward through the fiery ground as Axel backed up, then tried to attack with his chakrams again. Kairi performed a combo attack before Axel disappeared into the flames. Axel then lunged out, but Xion dodged before throwing her Keyblade in retaliation. With Axel in the air, Xion then lunged at Axel, and she struck at him a couple of times along the fire before she rammed him into the ground with her Keyblade. Axel groaned before light was released, and as he stood up, the ground returned to normal. *7*

Kairi sighed in relief as Xion landed next to her, and she cast Curaga on both of them. The two of them then rushed forward together, and Kairi blasted Pearl before following it up with a combo attack against Axel, and Xion blasted Blizzaga twice, doing a good deal of damage against the pyrokinetic. Axel then rushed behind Xion and threw his flame-covered chakrams, but she got out of the way. Though, then Axel slashed with his chakrams normally, and she grunted as she was knocked aside. Kairi retaliated for her (kind of) sister by throwing her Keyblade, then teleporting in with a combo attack. Though, Kairi then got out of the way as Axel threw his chakrams again, so Xion attacked by throwing her Keyblade repeatedly with Strike Raid.

"Really gotta learn Blizzard Raid from the others..." Xion muttered to herself.

Axel then yelled out as he gestured with his charkams, making fire fly into the ground and transform it into burning magma once again. Xion was burned, so she quickly threw a Hi-Potion up for herself, so Kairi rushed in and attacked with a combo attack before following it up with Blizzaga. Axel yelled out as he kept swinging and throwing his chakrams, and Kairi dodged while Xion retaliated with a combo attack. Axel then retreated into the fire, then lunged out and slammed into the ground to release a shockwave of fire. Kairi dodged it, then threw her Keyblade in retaliation, knocking him into the air. Kairi then followed it up by lunging up at Axel, striking him with her Keyblade a couple of times along the fire before she rammed him into the ground hard. Axel groaned before light was released, and as he stood up, the ground once again returned to normal.

With Axel stunned for a moment from the big attack, Kairi and Xion both rushed in and performed wicked, strong combo attacks from either side that did lots of damage and knocked the pyrokinetic around. Axel groaned from the repeated attacks, especially when Xion blasted him with Blizzaza. Of course, he then retreated into the fire again before lunging out, leaving behind another trail of flames that both Kairi and Xion just barely managed to dodge. Kairi threw her Keyblade again and followed it up with another combo attack before getting out of the way as Axel threw his fire-encased chakrams once again. Axel then rushed forward while covered in fire, and both Kairi and Xion got out of the way before they both tried retaliating with Blizzaga, both of which struck him and knocked him back a bit.

Axel then yelled out as he retreated into the flames once again, then jumped out, releasing another shockwave of fire that Kairi dodged. Xion retaliated by rushing forward and performing another long combo attack, then she jumped up and followed it up with an aerial combo attack. Kairi blasted the pyrokinetic with Blizzaga once again, before Axel lunged forward and left behind a trail of fire, knocking aside both teens. Xion recovered in the air, and while Kairi cast Curaga once again, Xion retaliated with another blast of Blizzaga, knocking Axel back a bit.

Having been damaged quite a bit by this point, Axel then started to move very fast in a form of desperation. He jumped into the fire, then jumped back out and slammed into the ground while releasing a shockwave of fire, which knocked aside both Kairi and Xion. Axel then rushed in and left behind a trail of fire, which Xion barely managed to dodge, before he moved to Kairi and threw his chakrams again, which she managed to dodge with a barrier. Kairi retaliated with a blast from her Keyblade, then rushed forward and performed a combo attack, knocking aside her former kidnapper and doing quite a bit of damage. Xion then helped by making pillars of light fly forward that struck Axel and did a bit more damage to him. Axel's desperation then returned as he repeatedly rushed into the fire and jumped out before throwing his chakrams, which both Kairi and Xion had to work to dodge for a moment.

Axel then rushed out once again, and Kairi leaped out of the way before throwing her Keyblade in retaliation. Xion then jumped towards him and performed a long aerial combo attack, and Kairi followed it up with a blast of Blizzaga. Xion also blasted Blizzaga, before getting out of the way as Axel was covered in flames and energy once again. Axel proceeded to throw his fire-encased chakrams with thorns, but both Kairi and Xion managed to dodge each of his attacks. Sadly, Axel then rammed his chakrams into the ground and made numerous pillars of fire with thorns burst up out of the ground, knocking aside both Kairi and Xion. The teens both landed on the ground, while Axel shouted as he pointed his chakrams to the side, sending fire into the ground that once again transformed it into magma.

Though they were burning, Kairi and Xion both moved forward together once again to dodge as he lunged forward covered in fire once again. The magma continued to burn as Kairi and Xion ran together across the battlefield, with Kairi blasting Axel with Pearl magic before he could get close enough. Xion then rushed in and performed another combo attack, while Kairi threw her Keyblade and teleported into another combo attack. As Kairi and Xion felt themselves getting more and more damaged from the fire, Axel yelled out and jumped up before slamming into the ground to release another shockwave of fire. Xion then threw her Keyblade to knock him into the air, and once it returned to her hand, she and Kairi both blasted Blizzaza at Axel. The two gigantic shards of ice struck Axel and did enough combined damage to finish him off and end the fight.

Landing together on the ground as it transformed back into grass, Kairi and Xion huffed as the rest of the fire started to dissipate. The two of them watched as Axel panted in and out, leaning forward with his chakrams in hand. His eyes then rolled into the back of his head, and he groaned as he fell backwards. Of course, he transformed into purple light and vanished before he hit the ground as the apparition disappeared.

"Is that enough vengeance for you?" Xion asked with a huff.

"Yeah, I think so," Kairi panted out as they dismissed their Keyblades.

"You really went through all that when he took you down?" Roxas asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah," Xion admitted. She frowned. "Halfway through the fight, my head changed so I looked exactly like Sora."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all frowned, since that sounded pretty strange.

"Well, I'm glad you're back to normal now," Roxas said. "I'd rather be kissing you than Sora."

"Such a charmer," Xion commented with a smirk.

Though Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all smirked at the banter, Kairi looked to the side and let out another jealous sigh. *8*

All of a sudden, the ground started to shake once again, which had Kairi and Xion sharing a look, realizing that their trial was over. Behind them, the mansion started to crumble, and the pillars fell and shattered over the entrance, so the two of them looked at the entrance to the woods, putting together where they had to go.

"Come on," Kairi said.

"Yep," Xion said, nodding her head in agreement.

With that, Kairi and Xion both rushed forward as the ground continued to shake around them. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all breathed in, feeling tense as the two teens ran to the entrance of the woods. Trees fell and rammed into the ground, and Kairi and Xion dodged them while also jumping over the other falling trees. The two of them huffed as they dodged another couple of trees before lunging forward, going right into the entrance of the woods and feeling magic shift that changed their landscapes, and flipped around their vision.

Yelling out, Kairi and Xion both dropped down from the top of a tree and landed right in another road made of a pile of leaves, these ones being a bluish purple color. Both teens grunted as they landed within the leaves, feeling momentarily that they were once again barefoot and wearing their hoodies and jeans. Kairi and Xion both groaned and slowly pushed themselves up, finding themselves back on The Witches' Road, complete with the various trees, the moon high and above in the night sky, the fog covering some of their surroundings, and very little signs of life as far as they could see.

"Looks like you've finished your latest trial," Stephen assessed.

"I'm still not liking them," Kairi admitted with a groan.

"It'd be a surprise if you did," Vision replied.

"Whatever the case, you're back on The Road," Wanda said. "Can you see Agatha or Billy anywhere?"

"Give us a sec to recover," Xion requested. She groaned and pushed herself up. "We just did a hell of a lot of fighting, and we've gotta recover for a moment."

Xion sighed out before taking out a tiny Tent and throwing it up into the air. The Tent vanished, and Kairi and Xion both sighed out in relief as they felt themselves be healed from all the damage they had taken during the fight against Axel. The two teens then grasped each others' hands and helped each other to their feet before slowly looking around.

Their eyebrows narrowed as they heard frantic shouting from nearby.

Kairi and Xion shared a confused look, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all just furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. The two of them then moved down the path, following the noise as best they could before they were able to narrow it down to a specific location. Hiding behind another set of trees, Kairi and Xion peeked around a corner further down The Road, and their eyes widened in surprise.

In Missouri, Wanda jumped out of her seat as best as her pregnant stomach allowed her, joining Vision in staring in shock at Billy, laying across the top of a massive tree stump in the distance, with his sweater lifted to reveal a large shard of glass in his stomach.

Kairi and Xion joined Roxas and Stephen in huffing in surprise as they watched Agatha, Alice, Lilia, and Jen working frantically to help Billy, while Rio just stood to the side, not appearing to care. Lilia removed the glass from Billy's side, and Alice pressed a rag against Billy's stomach to apply pressure. Lilia started to say that Billy was young and strong, so Agatha told her to stop, then looked at Rio pleadingly and said, "Don't." Rio just kept standing to the side while Agatha asked Jen what they were supposed to do. Jen then said that she needed water and moonlight, so Alice grabbed a large piece of tree bark and filled it with water from a nearby creek and handed it to Jen.

Glancing up, Xion then got an idea and waved her hands, letting golden energy push aside some of the branches above the coven, allowing moonlight to stream down on them. Agatha, Alice, Lilia, and Jen were all surprised, but Jen decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth as she chanted in Latin for a spell. Once Jen was done, she poured the water on Billy's side and made him wince. Of course, after a moment, the water had spilled over Billy's wound, closing it up. Jen then wiped the rag along his stomach, cleaning off the blood, and revealing that the wound was completely gone. *9*

Agatha breathed in relief, Alice was impressed, and Lilia praised Jen for her abilities. Agatha just looked at Rio, who tilted her head to the side before looking away.

"Thank you," Wanda said, breathing out in relief as she sat back down.

"Yes, thank you," Vision said, sounding similarly relieved.

"Yeah, no problem," Xion said with her own sigh.

"If witches are that good, I'm starting to consider becoming one, myself," Kairi admitted.

"Yeah, that's what we need," Stephen said with a sigh.

Kairi and Roxas both chuckled together.

Of course, then Kairi and Xion looked amongst the coven once again. While Agatha, Alice, Jen, and Lilia started to lift Billy to take him somewhere to be comfortable, Rio had turned to look at Kairi and Xion, giving the two of them a literal Death glare. With the rest of the coven not looking at her, Rio had even transformed the lower half of her face into that of a skeleton, making Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all jump in surprise. Rio let out a small growl before letting her face transform back into normal before following the rest of the coven.

The group all huffed before they started putting the pieces together.

Rio didn't want them to interfere in her business, she stood to the side and did nothing as Billy was injured, and she was angry at Xion for spreading the trees across so Jen could get the moonlight she needed. This meant that she wanted Billy to die.

Worry filled Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion as they put together why Rio was here.

She didn't just want Agatha.

She also wanted Billy.

Chapter Text

Things were tense for a while as Kairi and Xion reluctantly kept their distance from the coven, feeling more and more concern for them given the fact that they were so close to Rio, aka Death herself. Agatha proceeded to watch over Billy as he rested, no doubt still feeling some shock from the glass that had stabbed him in the side, while the others had built a fire to rest for some time while he recovered. Alice, Jen, and Lilia all sat around the fire with Rio, all while Kairi and Xion continued to watch from deeper in the woods, hiding behind another couple of trees for camouflage.

Of course, Kairi and Xion continued to keep a wary eye on Rio as she stayed with the rest of the coven, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all equally tense, even though they were on the other side of the country.

"Okay..." Wanda slowly said. "I already don't like how Agatha keeps showing so much care and worry over Billy, but I like the fact that Death herself wants him even more worrying."

"I don't blame you," Vision agreed with his wife. "Even though he's probably some kind of clone or... something... he's still our son, and I don't want Death anywhere near him, either."

"Why would Death even want him in the first place?" Roxas asked. "I mean, Agatha I get since that's her ex, but what reason would she have for wanting Billy?"

"Well, think about it," Stephen pointed out. "William Kaplan died the day that the Hex came down, and then he was brought back by Billy, a living soul that was created with magic. I hate to say it, but his existence alone probably violates the natural order of things that Death is bound by. He was literally created with magic, then he continued not only his life and the life of William through taking control of his body after death, whether it was intentional or not. That means Death's probably got a problem with him."

"Great..." Kairi sighed out as she watched Rio continue to sit with Alice, Jen, and Lilia. "Not only is Death a bitter ex-girlfriend, but she's also against people living in unnatural ways."

"Now I'm glad she's not after me and Roxas," Xion admitted. She paused. "... Or is she?"

"Right now, she seems to only want to intimidate you into leaving her alone," Vision pointed out.

"Which we're obviously not gonna do," Kairi replied. "Outside of Agatha, these gals seem nice, and I don't want anything to happen to them."

"And nothing is going to happen to Billy," Wanda declared sternly.

"It won't, I promise," Xion told her. She sighed and looked up again. "But I guess now we've gotta figure out how exactly Death plans on taking Billy."

"Yeah, that seems to be the new question," Kairi agreed with a huff.

Using the binoculars that Roxas had gotten from Sam, Xion was able to check over Agatha as she watched over the sleeping Billy in worry, and everyone was surprised that she showed so much care to the kid.

Of course, then she and Kairi listened as the rest of the coven proceeded to talk. Jen admitted that she never identified as just a witch, since she's an 11th generation root worker and midwife. Lilia was impressed, while Alice asked how her powers had been bound. Jen admitted to having been invited to a convention in Boston, but it had been a trap, and she still didn't know how her tormentor had actually bound her powers. Alice then admitted that when her mom died, she stopped believing everything she had been taught since she was angry. She added that she refused to believe The Road wasn't real so she could stay angry, and Lilia pointed out that now she knew it was real and it was for her, and now it made Alice sad.

"Sad is better than angry," Lilia informed her.

Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all gave small smiles of agreement, while Kairi and Roxas just looked down and sighed. *1*

The group's attention was drawn back to the coven as Lilia declared the worst part of being a witch was all the rumors and fear-mongering. Alice and Jen laughed as Lilia listed off the rumors, like that they talk to goats and have an extra nipple. Wanda smirked in understanding, before Rio then declared that she had extra nipples and asked the others if they wanted to see. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all just frowned, while Alice, Jen, and Lilia laughed.

"Death is weird," Kairi commented.

"Tell me you're not just realizing that," Roxas requested.

Looking up, Xion then lifted the binoculars again and looked deeper in the woods, watching as Billy woke up and proceeded to speak to Agatha for a moment. Xion wasn't able to make out their words, but given Agatha's history, Xion wasn't sure she liked the way the witch and Billy gave each other small smiles. Though, then Billy asked something that had Agatha stand before turning to walk away, leaving him alone for a moment. She then returned to where the rest of the coven was gathered around the fire, discussing battle scars.

Lilia impressed everyone by showing a wound on her neck that was a vampire bite, right before she knocked out its other tooth. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all raised their eyebrows, impressed, while Jen and Alice laughed. Lilia then had another moment where she trailed off, which had Jen and Alice laugh again. Agatha returned to the group and informed them that Billy was mouthy, which Alice called a good sign. Agatha then sat down next to Rio as Jen asked what kind of battle scars she had. Rio chuckled as Agatha showed her left elbow, saying it was from a knitting needle, saying it was courtesy of a group called the Daughters of Liberty, and it was why the group had never heard of them.

"Another group of her victims?" Kairi softly asked.

"Yeah, but in this case, I might have to admit that Agatha was in the right," Stephen admitted.

The sorcerer grimaced, while Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all frowned in surprise.

Rio then declared that she had a scar, which garnered the group's attention. Agatha looked to the side, while Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all joined Alice, Jen, and Lilia in frowning in curiosity. Rio then explained that a long time ago, she loved someone. She then admitted that she had to do something that she didn't want to do, even though it was her job. Rio continued that doing this hurt the person that she loved, so she is Rio's scar.

While Alice, Jen, and Lilia were all silent, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all took great notice over how silent Agatha was being during all of this, so they were able to put together the context clues.

Agatha had to have been the person that Rio had hurt.

Kairi and Xion huffed and shared a look.

"What the hell could Death have done that hurt Agatha?" Kairi asked. She raised an eyebrow as Agatha walked further away from the coven and deeper into the woods. "And to hurt her to this level?"

"I don't know," Stephen said. They could practically hear his eyebrow raise. "She almost looks like she actually cares about something."

"Wait," Wanda said thoughtfully. "In the research I did into Agatha, I learned that there are lots of rumors and sayings about her and what she's done."

"Like what?" Xion asked.

"Well... one is that she traded her own son for the Darkhold," Wanda informed them.

Kairi and Xion frowned in surprise with the others, while Roxas, Stephen, and Vision all turned towards Wanda in shock.

"My word..." Vision slowly said.

"Like I said, it's basically speculation at this point," Wanda reminded them. "But... if it isn't, then what if Death did something else, but it still involved Agatha's son?"

Kairi and Xion then furrowed their eyebrows thoughtfully.

"Is it... common for males to get magic from witches?" Kairi asked.

"It's uncommon, but it's not completely impossible," Stephen admitted.

"Well, what if..." Xion slowly said. "What if during their relationship... Agatha outlived her son?"

"And then Death fulfilled her job and took him," Kairi assessed.

"That would... definitely cause some bitterness in a relationship," Stephen eventually commented.

Of course, he still joined Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Vision, and Xion in all grimacing at the very idea that Death had had to take Agatha's son. With them being lovers, that made it all the more worse, especially if it was true...

"This theory is worse than the rumor of her giving up her child for the Darkhold," Vision remarked.

"It's still just a theory," Roxas pointed out.

"Doesn't mean it's a good one," Wanda added.

Kairi and Xion huffed in agreement before they turned to look at the coven again.

Their eyes narrowed in surprise when they saw that the campfire was gone, with the woods having shifted to change things around them once again. Now, there was just another pathway made up of blue leaves moving through the forest that led deeper into the distance. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all blinked in surprise, while Kairi and Xion looked around, seeing no signs of Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, or Rio in sight. The two teens huffed as they took a few steps forward, moving down the pathway made up of blue leaves as they tried to make sense of their surroundings.

"Everything about this place is designed to confuse us, isn't it?" Kairi asked.

"Pretty much," Wanda confirmed. "The Road must be directing you towards your next trial."

"Is it too late to join Agatha's coven?" Xion asked. "It'd probably mean that we wouldn't constantly be getting dragged all over the place and drawn away from them."

"We probably should have done that in the first place," Kairi sighed. "We probably could have saved Sharon in the process."

"We'll dwell on that later," Stephen told them. "Now, you should just go to your next trial."

"The faster you get it done, the faster you can find the coven again," Vision emphasized. "The faster you can find Billy, Agatha, and Death again."

"He's right," Xion said as she shared a look with Kairi.

"Let's go," Kairi agreed, nodding to the side.

With that, Kairi and Xion turned and started walking along the new pathway provided to them. Walking along the blue leaves barefoot, the two of them looked around, hoping they could find Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Rio before Rio could do anything. They were both disappointed that there was nothing they could see, so they reluctantly continued along the pathway. Kairi and Xion shared a small sigh over the fact that they had to deal with another trial on top of their current worries and fears, all while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision continued to watch over the comlinks.

Eventually, they turned a corner in the forest, and Kairi and Xion's eyes widened in surprise. Roxas narrowed his eyes in recognition, while Stephen, Wanda, and Vision's eyes narrowed in confusion.

The pathway from in the forest led into a massive room, one that looked to be inside the Castle That Never Was. There was a blue walkway that led over a bottomless pit to a floating platform in the center of the room, leading into the Hall of Empty Melodies. There were designs in one of the walls, perches that Kairi remembered briefly seeing Xigbar use, and the upper walkway that she and Riku had fought Shadows in. There was even a massive, tilted glass ceiling that allowed them to see the night sky, though the moon had transformed into the heart-shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts.

Kairi and Xion furrowed their eyebrows with Roxas in recognition, while Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all still confused.

"The Hall of Empty Melodies," Xion said. She softly shook her head. "A lot of stuff happened to us here. I'm not sure whether this is your trial or mine."

"Might be mine," Kairi admitted. "I've seen more action here than you."

"That, you have," Roxas confirmed.

"I'm not that surprised that you guys are familiar with this place," Stephen admitted. "Your bad guys tend to choose some weird-ass places to live."

"Well, you're not wrong, but so do some of your bad guys," Kairi pointed out.

"She's right," Wanda confirmed, with Vision voicing his agreement. *2*

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion shared a look, nodded their heads, and walked together down the path provided to them. Within moments, the leaves had been transformed into the metal walkway, but instead of the cold metal floor, their clothes had changed as they entered their latest trial.

Looking down as they entered the Hall of Empty Melodies, Kairi and Xion looked down and frowned slightly as they took in their new appearances. Xion was once again wearing the Organization XIII cloak (and she inwardly groaned over her lack of clothing diversity in the past, even though she hadn't had much of a choice in the matter), while Kairi was in the outfit that she wore when she was last here. With her hair longer and spikier again, she once again wore her pink strapless minidress with three zippers, her white halter top underneath with a black hood, three bracelets on her left wrist, the black belt with an attached notebook shaped bag, and her lilac sneakers with black laces.

Walking across the metal walkway, Kairi and Xion looked back for a moment to see that The Witches' Road had disappeared, so they walked together onto the floating blue platform. Looking down, they were also able to see as the walkway suddenly vanished, leaving them both standing on the platform alone.

"Okay..." Xion slowly said. "What's the trial supposed to be this time?"

"I have no idea," Kairi admitted.

Before Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, or Vision could deposit a theory, the usual set of purple words then appeared in front of Kairi and Xion, which garnered their attention.

"'One of you is holding in a secret, something that makes you feel sad and blue'," Kairi read. "'So now, you shall fight until the words are revealed, both long and true'." *3*

Kairi and Xion frowned and shared a look, which was echoed alongside Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision. Inwardly, Kairi cursed, having a feeling that she knew what needed to happen.

She needed to share her feelings of jealousy.

Kairi bit her cheek, hoping that she could find another way out of this as the words vanished.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vision asked.

"I don't know," Xion admitted. She looked at the redhead. "Kairi?"

Deciding to play dumb, Kairi just helplessly shrugged her shoulders.

"You've got me," she lied.

All of a sudden, Shadows started to appear around Kairi and Xion, and both of them huffed and looked around. They watched as the Shadows continued popping up, spreading out all across the floating platform and completely surrounding the two teens.

Sharing a huff, Kairi and Xion both summoned their Keyblades and stood in their battle stances.

"The instructions said that the fighting will stop if one of you reveals your secret," Wanda pointed out, going into the "therapist" mindset she had developed.

"I'm not completely ready to trust that claim, yet," Kairi declared.

Xion furrowed her eyebrows before the Shadows rushed forward.

Kairi had flashbacks to her last visit to the Keyblade Graveyard and the two armies of Heartless she and the other Guardians had been forced to fight. She and Xion moved forward and started to attack with combo attacks, moving through the waves of Shadows and fighting off the numerous Heartless. Kairi cast Thundaga to make lightning crash and take out lots of Shadows, and Xion joined her by casting Thundaga while also making pillars of light fly forward to attack. Shadows were taken out left and right as the Thundaga and pillars of light flew through the air, but they also kept appearing more and more by the second, so Kairi and Xion kept attacking together.

Kairi threw her Keyblade at a Shadow and teleported into a combo attack, before using Seven Wishes to lunge around and strike with her Keyblade. Xion cast Magnega to lift up dozens of Shadows before blasting Thundaza, then moving in to perform another combo attack against another couple of Shadows. Kairi landed on the ground and dodged a lunging Shadow before performing another combo attack, then blasting Blizzaga, taking out a few Shadows with the massive shard of ice. Xion huffed before rushing in to perform another long combo attack, before building up enough energy to rush around with Sonic Blade, repeatedly lunging and striking with her Keyblade, either throwing aside Shadows or taking them down.

Sharing a huff, Kairi and Xion ended up back to back as they looked around and watched as more Shadows started popping up.

"This is getting tense," Xion said.

"Like Wanda said, the fighting will stop when one of you reveals your secret," Vision declared.

"Don't you think this is kind of drastic therapy?" Kairi quipped, trying to get out of speaking the truth.

"Maybe, but he's not wrong," Stephen said. "What's the secret?"

"I don't have one," Xion said with a huff.

"Neither do I," Kairi lied.

All of a sudden, the amount of Shadows around them increased exponentially. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all widened as they saw Shadows even start to appear through portals of darkness on the walls.

The Shadows rushed in to attack, but Kairi and Xion cast Thundaga once again, taking out numerous Heartless. Xion rushed in and performed another combo attack, while Kairi cast Blizzaza, taking out dozens of Shadows with the gigantic shard of ice. Kairi then slid forward on the trail of ice left behind, then jumping forward with Flowmotion and striking with her Keyblade, taking down three Shadows with a single strike. Xion, meanwhile, rushed in, ducked underneath three lunging Shadows, and made pillars of light fly forward before protecting herself with a barrier of golden energy. Xion then followed that up by shattering the barrier and sending the shards in to strike the numerous Shadows, while Kairi used another combo attack to take down another couple of Shadows.

Gritting their teeth together, Kairi and Xion moved forward to keep attacking however they could. Kairi ended up getting struck in the back by a Shadow, but she managed to recover and took it out with a blast of Firaga, before jumping up and dodging another couple of lunging Heartless. Xion performed another long combo attack against the Shadows, taking out numerous ones at once, before following it up with Stun Impact and taking down more of the Heartless. Shadows kept lunging at them, but Kairi and Xion worked to dodge their attacks. After dodging for long enough, Kairi cast Thundaga once again to take down numerous Shadows, while Xion used another combo attack, this time using some of Sora's most devastating Finishers like Ripple Drive and Zantetsuken.

Sharing another huff, Kairi and Xion landed next to each other again and cautiously looked around. While the two of them breathed in and out, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed their eyes as they realized something.

"Kairi, more and more Heartless popped up after you spoke," Stephen said.

"Especially when you said that you didn't have a secret," Roxas added.

"Are you hiding something, Kairi?" Wanda asked.

"No!" Kairi shouted, lying badly.

As she and Xion looked around, more and more Heartless started to appear, with the portals for the Shadows appearing all along the walls, and even the upper walkway, and the perches that Xigbar had used.

"Yes, you are!" Vision declared.

"Oh, my God!" Xion exclaimed. She looked at Kairi. "More Heartless show up every time you lie about having a secret!"

Kairi flushed in embarrassment as she realized she had been found out.

Of course, then the Heartless rushed in to attack, and she and Xion had no choice but to resume fighting.

More Shadows lunged forward, and Kairi was inwardly happy that none of them had formed Demon Towers or a Demon Tide. But the sheer number of Shadows still made them pretty dangerous as they kept lunging and rushing forward to try and attack. Kairi and Xion both had to work to dodge with barriers as the Shadows kept rushing at them, before Kairi retaliated with a blast from her Keyblade. Xion then rushed in and performed combo attacks with her own Keyblade, before following it up with a blast of Thundaga. Kairi dodged another couple of lunging Shadows before rushing in and performing another combo attack before blasting Pearl magic. Xion attacked with more pillars of light before getting out of the way of another couple of Shadows lunging at her.

Shadows kept charging and lunging forward, so Kairi and Xion were forced to up their offensive and defensive acts against the immense number of Heartless. Xion waved her hands and made massive hands made of golden energy appear that she used to crush dozens of Shadows at once, but more just appeared and kept charging forward. Kairi threw her Keyblade again and teleported into another combo attack before blasting Flower Shoot at two other Heartless. Shadows all piled together and tried to lunge at the two girls in waves, so they cast more and more barriers around themselves to block. After a moment, Kairi then rose up to use Heart of a Princess to fly down and make dozens of orbs of light fly down and explode to attack, while Xion yelled out as she used Ars Arcanum to move throughout the platform, repeatedly swinging and slashing her Keyblade to take out Shadows left and right.

After a moment, Kairi and Xion ended up next to each other and watched apprehensively as hundreds of Shadows proceeded to surround them. Worry filled Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision on the other end as the Shadows outnumbered Kairi and Xion almost endlessly.

"Kairi, just tell the damn truth!" Roxas shouted.

"I can't!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Why not?" Stephen asked.

"I just can't!" Kairi exclaimed as more and more Shadows crowded forward.

"Why?" Xion exclaimed as the Heartless got closer. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be as bad as facing this many Shadows!"

"It... It involves you!" Kairi admitted as she pointed her Keyblade at the Shadows.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all frowned in confusion, and Xion turned towards Kairi.

"What is it?" Xion asked as the Shadows kept creeping forward. "What, did you drop my toothbrush somewhere bad? Because I can get over that very easil..."

"I'm jealous!" Kairi admitted, quickly turning around to look at Xion again.

Xion frowned in surprise, and while they were also surprised, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were able to notice that the Shadows had stopped moving towards the two of them.

"W-What?" Xion asked. "Why?"

"I'm jealous..." Kairi slowly said. She groaned and dismissed her Keyblade. "Of you and Roxas."

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's frowns all deepened in further confusion.

"And not because of anything like that," Kairi admitted. She huffed in frustration. "Because after everything that happened, after everything that we've been through, you and Roxas got to have a happy ending, and the two of you get to just... be there for each other and be a couple. But after everything I went through... I lost the man I love because he sacrificed himself to save me. I... I know it's irrational, but it's not fair! You and Roxas were never even meant to exist in the first place, and you get to be happy together. But Sora and I don't get to? It's really not fair!"

Kairi inwardly hated how childish she sounded as she finally got this off her chest. *4*

Of course, as her senses came back to her, she started to feel great guilt, especially when seeing the hurt in Xion's eyes. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all pointedly kept silent.

"I-I didn't mean..." Kairi began to stutter out.

All of a sudden, Xion lifted up her hand and smacked Kairi in the face, throwing her head to the side. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all surprised, and Kairi gasped and grasped her cheek before looking at Xion. The ravenette was frowning, showing betrayal shining in her eyes.

"I have already felt self-conscious about my former status of being both a Nobody and a Puppet," Xion told Kairi. She refused to let her voice quiver. "I've been struggling with that for months, reminding myself that no matter what happened, I'm a full person now. I've still needed lots of reassurance from my friends to help me get over those insecurities, and I thought you were there to help me, supporting me as a friend, and even as a sister. But this whole time, you've also believed the idea that we were never supposed to exist in the first place?"

Kairi shook her head with her mouth open, trying desperately to think of something good she could say.

"Do you have any idea how much that hurts coming from someone who promised to be a sister to me?" Xion asked, frowning at the redhead.

"Xion, I..." Kairi slowly said.

She let out a small huff as she tried to think of something good.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grimaced, knowing that this wasn't good. A part of Roxas was angry at Kairi, mostly for upsetting Xion, but he pushed that down over his worry for his girlfriend.

Of course, Wanda then narrowed her eyes as she realized something.

"Um, guys?" Wanda asked. "Where are you?"

Roxas, Stephen, and Vision all joined her in furrowing their eyebrows as they looked at the screen.

Kairi and Xion narrowed their eyebrows before looking around. Their eyes widened in surprise, but recognition filled them and Roxas as they took in their surroundings.

They were in a massive landscape of what appeared to be nothing. There were endless seas of white and gray as far as the eye could see, almost resembling pulsating black holes (or, white holes). There was nothing as far as anyone in the group could see as they looked around, with Kairi and Xion a little concerned. Xion forgot about her animosity towards Kairi as they looked around, trying to see if there was anything they could locate or identify about their surroundings. Of course, it was still a familiar landscape to both Roxas and Xion thanks to past memories.

"This is the World of Nothing," Xion said. "The final place during the siege against Xemnas. Where Sora, Riku, and Vanitas finished him off."

"That was a hell of a fight," Roxas added. "I think I even briefly popped in."

"Well... what's supposed to happen here?" Kairi asked. She gestured to the sides. "I wasn't exactly here."

Kairi and Xion shared a look before the purple words appeared above them. They both looked up in curiosity again.

"'Your words have brought greater emotional pain than that of seven suns'," Kairi read. Everyone raised an eyebrow at that. "So, now, you shall endure the same struggle endured by your loved ones'."

Kairi and Xion frowned together before the words vanished, then someone appeared in front of them.

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Xemnas, wearing the usual cloak of the Organization, but now white with all sorts of black designs along the surface, including many strange spikes and weird patterns.

Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all let out small huffs of surprise, since this was the first time they had ever seen Xemnas, and they were right about the comparisons to Terra.

Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all huffed over what they had to do now.

"Oh, that's just not fair," Kairi commented. *5*

Whatever the case, Xemnas still floated up and held his arms out to the sides in preparation to fight. Kairi and Xion shared a huff and summoned their Keyblades, stepping into their battle stances once again.

"Anger and hate are supreme..." Xemnas taunted darkly.

With that, Xemnas slid forward before vanishing from view, then reappearing a short distance in front of the two teens. Xemnas then yelled as he waved his hands, and large orbs of electricity flew out that grew bigger in size. Kairi and Xion both huffed and moved forward, dodging the orbs through their own means (Kairi's slides forward, while Xion transformed into a smaller orb of light and lunged forward), moving in an arc as Xemnas made more of the orbs appear. Soon enough, though, they got close enough to Xemnas, and Kairi cast a barrier around herself for protection as more orbs appeared. Xion attacked with pillars of light flying forward, while Kairi blasted Flower Shoot before moving forward with a combo attack. Xemnas grunted from the attacks, but he floated backwards and shot thorns out of his hands to attack.

Kairi used Glide to follow Xemnas through the air, while Xion dodged the thorns with Reversal as she lunged after him. The two teens attacked together again, with Xion using a ground based combo while Kairi performed an aerial one, before they both got out of the way as Xemnas threw the electric orbs once again. Both Kairi and Xion huffed as they got out of the way of the attacks, before Xemnas then appeared in front of Kairi, grabbed her with thorns, and lifted her up with a yell.

"We shall go together..." Xemnas declared as he threw Kairi into the air.

Just as Kairi recovered, Xemnas lunged up and struck her with an Ethereal Blade from his hand, and Xion lunged up to help her begin dodging. Kairi and Xion both repeatedly started dodging as Xemnas kept teleporting around and blasting thorns at them, but both Kairi and Xion managed to get out of the way of his attacks thanks to Reversal. Through the thorns, Xemnas tried swinging in and either kicking or swinging his Ethereal Blades, but Xion retaliated by throwing orbs of golden energy at him. Kairi helped by blasting Firaga in Xemnas's face before they both dropped to the ground. Landing on their feet, Kairi and Xion both dodged as Xemnas reappeared and swung his Ethereal Blades, before Kairi blasted him with Pearl magic and knocked him aside.

Xemnas floated backwards and blasted thorns out of his hands, but both Kairi and Xion dodged it. Xion made more pillars of light fly through the air to attack, while Kairi threw her Keyblade and teleported into another combo attack, both of which damaged Xemnas as he was pushed back a bit. Of course, Xemnas then disappeared, tricked them with two copies of himself, then threw the orbs of electricity again, which both teens dodged again. Xemnas then teleported to Xion and grunted as he spun vertically, spinning his Ethereal Blades and knocking her aside with a grunt. Kairi moved over to Xion's side and cast Curaga on the both of them before blasting Firaga and Blizzaga at Xemnas, who grunted from the attacks. Of course, he brushed it off and threw the electrical spheres again, and Kairi and Xion both dodged them again.

Of course, when Xemnas blasted thorns at them again, Kairi and Xion were both able to use Reversal to jump through them towards Xemnas. Close enough, Kairi performed an aerial combo and followed it up with Seven Wishes, while Xion rushed in and performed a long combo attack before following it up with Blizzaga. Xemnas grunted from the attacks before blasting thorns again, knocking both teens aside before teleporting across the arena. He proceeded to wave his hands and throw more electric spheres, but Kairi and Xion both managed to dodge the gigantic orbs as they made their way to the apparition of their tormentor. Kairi and Xion dodged all of Xemnas's spheres before he blasted more thorns before disappearing. He reappeared by spinning vertically and swinging his Ethereal Blades again, but both teens managed to dodge it this time.

Kairi and Xion watched cautiously as Xemnas disappeared through another couple of teleports, though they both had to dodge as he blasted thorns at them again. Then Xemnas teleported and got close enough, spinning horizontally with thorns over his feet, but both teens managed to dodge him. Xion then blocked with a barrier as thorns were blasted at her, while Kairi threw her Keyblade and teleported into another combo attack, then followed it up with a blast of Pearl magic. Xion then grunted as she waved her hand, sending orbs of golden energy flying towards Xemnas and striking him. Of course, Xemnas just disappeared in another teleport, reappeared, and waved his arms, throwing more spheres of electricity towards the two teens.

Dodging more electric orbs, Kairi and Xion glided through the air towards where Xemnas was blasting thorns and throwing the electric orbs, and Xion dodged with a barrier made out of golden energy. Once the electric orbs were gone, Xion let the barrier shatter, so the shards of golden energy struck Xemnas and did a bit of damage. Kairi then moved in and performed another combo attack, then followed it up with Firaza, blasting him right in the face with the massive orb of fire. Xion got out of the way to dodge as Xemnas threw more orbs of electricity, while Kairi jumped up and blasted Flower Shoot once again before landing next to Xemnas. Surprisingly, Xemnas then waved his hand, pointed it at Kairi, and thorns flew out and quickly surrounded the redhead.

"Can you spare... a heart?" Xemnas darkly taunted.

Kairi then grunted as her arms and legs were forced out into a spread eagle position as she was lifted up into the air surrounded by energy. The energy flew out of Xemnas's hands and into Kairi, which made her grit her teeth as she was slowly damaged. Xion huffed and rushed forward before jumping up to try and help. Xemnas just ignored her and swung a leg, kicking Xion and sending her flying. Xion huffed as she managed to recover as she landed on her feet, then looked up to see Kairi still stuck in Xemnas's grasp. Even with their animosity, Xion huffed and stepped back into her battle stance in preparation.

"Kairi!" Xion called.

With that, Xion rushed forward as a copy of Xemnas flew forward to try and stop her. Of course, Xion made pillars of light fly forward and struck the copy of Xemnas, pushing it back and allowing her to move forward even more. The copy of Xemnas managed to recover and threw electric spheres towards Xion, but she dodged as an orb of light. Xion then rushed in and performed a combo attack against the copy, then looked up at the real Xemnas above her still damaging Kairi. Waving her hands, Xion formed spikes out of golden energy, then yelled out as she pointed her hands at Xemnas. The orbs of golden energy flew up and went right through Xemnas's torso, making him yell out as great pain filled him. *6*

The energy faded from Xemnas's hands and from around Kairi, allowing her to drop through the air. Of course, even with the lingering pain, Kairi twirled in the air to recover from the damage, then landed next to Xion. They both looked up at Xemnas with a huff, before Xion cast Curaga on them both. Xemnas then slowly floated down, still feeling great pain, so Xion and Kairi both attacked together. Xion waved her hands, throwing spikes of golden energy again, while Kairi floated up with Heart of a Princess again and flew down, letting orbs of light fly down and strike Xemnas. The two attacks combined enough to do a lot of damage to Xemnas, and Kairi landed next to Xion and shared a nod of the head with the ravenette.

Of course, then two Xemnases appeared in front of them, and laser bolts started flying out of their hands. Kairi and Xion both blocked with barriers, keeping them up as dozens and dozens of laser bolts flew at them. Xemnas then proceeded to teleport around, leaving behind trails of laser bolts that flew at the two teens, before then flying in circles and surrounding them with bolts that flew in to attack. Kairi and Xion both made more and more barriers appear around themselves as Xemnas kept making more laser bolts appear, and they all flew at them. After a few moments, Xemnas then teleported across the landscape, then blasted thorns at Kairi and Xion again, and they both dodged the thorns together before rushing forward to attack once again.

Kairi threw her Keyblade and teleported into an aerial combo attack while Xion made pillars of light fly towards Xemnas to attack. Xemnas grunted from the attacks before teleporting across the arena, then grunting and yelling as he threw electric spheres once again. Kairi rolled on the ground to dodge the spheres, while Xion jumped up and glided around the landscape. Both Kairi and Xion moved towards Xemnas once again, and they got close enough to perform aerial combos against their former tormentor once again. Xemnas grunted from the numerous attacks once again before he used his thorns to restrain Xion, taunt her, then throw her up into the air once again. Of course, just as Xemnas lunged up to attack with his Ethereal Blades again, Xion made a barrier of golden energy appear around herself, which she let shatter and damage the Organization leader.

Kairi then jumped up as Xemnas worked on teleporting around to attack with both thorns and spinning kicks again. Xion dodged the thorns with Reversal, and Kairi retaliated for her with more aerial combo attacks, which did a bit of damage to Xemnas. Of course, after a moment, Xemnas then jumped up and spun while swinging his Ethereal Blades, and both Kairi and Xion caught his weapons with their Keyblades. The three of them all floated in the air with their weapons restrained, before Kairi pushed her Keyblade up, pointed it at Xemnas, and blasted Flower Shoot once again. Xemnas was thrown back, and Xion helped by blasting pillars of light at Xemnas, knocking him aside once again. Kairi and Xion then backflipped together before dropping down, falling down the air before landing on their feet again.

As Kairi and Xion stood together, Xemnas then floated above them and held his arms out before bringing his hands together, letting an electric orb appear in front of himself. Xemnas taunted them before raising his arms, and the area around them all proceeded to turn black. Kairi and Xion looked up in surprise as Xemnas then waved his arms, making hundreds of laser bolts appear in the darkness.

"Get ready!" Xion warned Kairi.

With blue energy around himself, Xemnas waved his arms before pointing his hands at Kairi and Xion. With that, laser bolts started flying towards Kairi and Xion, and the two of them proceeded to move about, spinning or slashing their Keyblades to intercept all of the bolts flying at them. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all watched as tension filled them all as Kairi and Xion kept moving about, cartwheeling and moving quickly as they spun or slashed their Keyblades. They both moved quickly as they dodged or intercepted all of the laser bolts flying at them, both of them succeeding at stopping the bolts from striking them.

"Sora, Riku, and V really did this!?" Kairi shouted as they kept dodging and intercepting the bolts.

"Yeah, that was an experience!" Xion shouted back as they kept moving.

The two of them kept moving around the center of the area, dodging and intercepting more and more laser bolts as their surroundings got brighter by the second. After a few moments, everything went completely white, nearly blinding them for a moment.

When the light faded, Kairi and Xion found each other on their hands and knees, breathing in and out as a wave of exhaustion had fallen over them.

Of course, Xemnas then reappeared in front of them and tried to swing his Ethereal Blades. Xion exclaimed in surprise and grabbed Kairi's shoulder, pulling her backwards to dodge the attack. The two of them fell backwards and landed on the ground as Xemnas pointed his Ethereal Blades at them with a dangerous frown on his face.

Xemnas then roared and lifted an arm to swing an Ethereal Blade, but Xion lifted her arm and caught it with golden energy. This got Xemnas to look up with a frown, so Xion yelled out and waved an arm, making him stab himself in the side with his burning blade. Kairi and Xion huffed before jumping to their feet, and Kairi blasted him with a beam of light, pushing Xemnas back a bit more. Xion then waved her hands and made spikes of golden energy fly down, impaling Xemnas through both of his feet. Xemnas roared in pain before Kairi and Xion nodded their heads and both rushed forward. As he struggled in his restraints, Xemnas looked up just as Kairi and Xion both lunged through him together, slashing their Keyblades and doing a lot of damage to their former tormenter, doing a lot of damage and ending the fight. *7*

Still in his place, Xemnas proceeded to gesture with his hands as great pain coursed through him. Lines and thorns flew out of Xemnas's body as Kairi and Xion stood to the side and watched. Both teens felt a bit of satisfaction course through them as they watched as the lines and thorns continued to fly out of his body. Xemnas slowly lifted up his arms with his eyes wide and his jaw dropped before the lines and thorns completely covered his body. Moments later, the lines and the thorns all vanished, and Xemnas was gone with them.

Kairi and Xion both huffed before they shared a look.

"Man, that guy was an asshole," Kairi complained. "And why does he keep popping up even though he's been dead for a while?"

"Magic keeps bringing back our worst enemies," Xion remarked.

All of a sudden, light completely surrounded them, and Kairi and Xion both exclaimed in surprise as they were blinded for a moment.

Moments later, Kairi and Xion both yelled out in surprise as they dropped out of the trunk of a large tree, both of them rolling onto the leaf-covered ground of The Witches' Road once again. Back in their hoodies and jeans but without their shoes, they both grunted and groaned as their heads bumped on the ground, briefly bouncing and hitting rocks as they got on The Road. Groaning in pain once again, Kairi and Xion groaned before pushing themselves up and looking around, finding the familiar sights of the darkened forest around them.

"You're back on The Road," Stephen assessed.

"Are you both all right?" Vision asked with concern in his voice.

Roxas and Wanda both voiced these same concerns as Kairi groaned and pushed herself up.

"I hit my elbow on a rock, but I'm all right," Kairi admitted. She offered a hand to Xion. "Are you good?"

Xion just frowned and smacked aside Kairi's hand, getting her eyebrows to raise in surprise. Huffing, Xion pressed her hands to the ground and pushed herself to her feet before frowning at Kairi, not caring about the scrape on her cheek from rolling on the ground.

"You really think that fighting for our lives against Xemnas back there will be enough to take back what you said?" Xion asked. She frowned and shook her head. "You still made it clear that you agree that Roxas and I were never meant to exist in the first place."

"I-I didn't mean it like..." Kairi slowly said.

"But you still said it," Xion said, still frowning at the redhead. "And apologizing like that isn't going to take it back."

Kairi sighed out and looked down sadly, knowing that the ravenette had a point. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all furrowed their eyebrows, but they could understand where Xion was coming from, especially Roxas and Vision.

"So... where do we go from here?" Kairi softly asked.

"... I don't know," Xion admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

All of a sudden, the sound of pattering feet in the distance rang out, which had Kairi and Xion frowning. Looking around, they watched as a fox crawled out of a dirt hole nearby, and a crow landed on a tree branch. A snake also slithered out of another dirt hole, and a rat even crawled up out of nowhere.

"Guys..." Stephen slowly said, worry returning to his voice. "The Salem Seven."

Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all widened in remembrance.

The fox then crawled around before moving behind a tree. All of a sudden, human arms stuck out from behind the tree and wrapped around it while whispering Agatha's name.

"When the coven performed the ritual to bring Death onto The Road, the Salem Seven must have tagged along," Wanda assessed. "That, or she brought them to take out the coven alongside her."

"Shit," Kairi swore.

Slowly backing up together, Kairi and Xion watched anxiously as the crow flew to the side and transformed into another human. Two members of the Salem Seven even slowly stood through nearby fog, filling them with even more anxiety.

"Truce so we can run for our lives?" Xion asked, worriedly looking at the gathering Salem Seven.

"Truce so we can run for our lives," Kairi confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Run!" Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all shouted.

Sharing a huff, Kairi and Xion turned and started running down The Road behind them, moving quickly to try and get as far away from the Salem Seven as possible. The rest of the Seven finished appearing in the field behind them, with Vertigo moving over to check the ground for something to track down Agatha with. She soon found a gem that smelled like Agatha, and looked up as she caught the woman's scent. Further down the road, Kairi and Xion both exclaimed in worry as they kept running, not wanting to get caught by the feral, psychotic witches...

Chapter Text

Anxiety coursed through everyone was Kairi and Xion continued running down The Witches' Road to work on getting as far away as possible from the Salem Seven, all of them knowing the dangers the feral, hive-minded coven were capable of after what had happened back in Agatha's house. While Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all cursed since they were all forced to only watch on the monitor, Kairi and Xion both huffed and panted as they ran down the Road provided to them, working to get away from the Salem Seven as the insane witches growled and snarled in preparation behind them.

Roxas and Xion were both still inwardly angry at Kairi over what the redhead had revealed during the previous trial, but they decided to push that down for the moment. Things were too dangerous and volatile at the moment for them to be angry at each other given the threat of the Seven.

Eventually, though, Kairi and Xion turned a corner and rushed out into another section of the road, where they ended up coming face to face with the makeshift coven. Kairi and Xion huffed in surprise as Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Rio all turned towards them, and the coven all frowned in surprise. Rio glared at the two teens behind everyone's backs, Billy gasped and felt a wave of relief course through him, while Agatha's eyes narrowed at the sight of Xion.

"Hey..." Agatha slowly said before pointing at Xion. "You! You were there in Westview when that hot blonde wouldn't stop gawking at me."

"That is not what happened, and you know it," Xion said with a sigh.

"Who are you two?" Jen asked, looking between Kairi and Xion in surprise.

"Wait, you're... Avengers?" Alice asked, frowning as she recognized the two teens.

"Yeah," Billy said with a nod of his head. "They helped me back in the house while you guys were opening the door to The Road. They're not necessarily witches, but they're still here."

"That is not good," Lilia said. She looked at the two teens. "If neither of you are witches, then you'll most likely face some very bad trials of your own down here."

"Been there, done that," Kairi said. "Three times."

"And now we've got a bit of a problem," Xion added. She nodded back at the path behind them. "The Salem Seven are here. We saw them appearing as their animal forms before shapeshifting back into humans... If they're still human."

"They're certainly human," Rio remarked. She tilted her head and looked at Xion in a reprimanding fashion. "Unlike what you used to be."

"Oh, shut up, Death," Xion said, frowning and waving a hand at Rio.

Kairi frowned and nodded in agreement with her (sort of) sister, while Rio just glared back, and Alice, Billy, Jen, and Lilia all frowned in confusion over the words just spoken. Agatha just looked at Xion and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Lilia then looked up as a screech suddenly echoed through the forest.

"The Seven," she urgently announced. She looked at Alice, Billy, and Jen. "They're getting closer."

"I think that's a clear sign that we need to get the hell out of here," Alice declared.

"If it helps, we'll try to hold them off," Xion said.

"Give you all enough time to get as far away from here as possible," Kairi added.

"Thanks," Jen said as she and Billy nodded gratefully at the two teens.

"I'm surprised you're helping me after what happened," Agatha admitted.

"Oh, after you tried to kill me?" Xion asked, tilting her head to the side and frowning at Agatha.

"Yeah, we couldn't give two shits what happens to you, bitch," Kairi added with a shake of her head.

Agatha just frowned, while Billy felt uncomfortable, and Alice, Jen, and Lilia all smirked, deciding that they liked these girls.

"But you're all innocent," Kairi added, looking amongst Billy, Jen, Alice, and Lilia. She frowned as her gaze landed on Rio. "Except you."

Rio just tilted her head in challenge, while Alice, Jen, and Lilia all chuckled again. Agatha even tilted her head to the side in agreement.

Kairi and Xion then summoned their Keyblades and nodded at the group of witches.

"You guys run," Kairi instructed. "We'll hold these bitches off."

"You are both now officially my favorite Avengers," Jen declared.

"I appreciate it!" Alice called as she, Billy, and Agatha all turned to start running.

"Please be smart!" Lilia called back.

She joined the rest of the coven in turning to start running, and Rio took up the rear. Rio proceeded to glare at Kairi and Xion, both of whom glared back. In Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also glared back at Rio before she turned to follow Agatha, Billy, Lilia, Jen, and Alice deeper down The Road.

Now standing alone, Kairi and Xion huffed as they turned to look down the path they had come from, watching anxiously as they waited for whatever members of the Salem Seven chasing them to appear. *1*

"They're nice," Xion remarked.

"Well, yeah, they got along with each other pretty well," Stephen added.

"Except for Agatha, but I'm not sure anyone can get along with her," Roxas remarked.

"You are not wrong," Kairi agreed.

"I'm still not a fan over how much Billy seems to be latching onto her, though," Wanda said with a frown.

"We'll figure that out later," Vision promised. "Just... You know, on top of everything else."

Roxas and Stephen nodded in agreement with Wanda and Vision, while Kairi and Xion turned to look down the section of The Road they had initially come down once again.

"Agatha Harkness..." a voice echoed from down The Road.

Kairi and Xion gripped their Keyblades in preparation and stared together down The Road, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all tensed up together.

All of a sudden, a figure in a black robe started crab-walking in fast motion out from behind a tree, and Vertigo snarled as she glared at the two teens.

Kairi and Xion grit their teeth in surprise, but then looked around as they heard the sound of animals nearby.

A coyote was on the ground near Xion, and the snake from earlier was near Kairi. The two teens then watched as the animals morphed into two witches in robes, standing up and snarling at them.

"Oh, shit," Roxas said as he, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision watched.

Wanda and Vision were too worried for their friends to reprimand Roxas for his words.

Gripping their Keyblades, Kairi and Xion watched as Coyote and Snake jumped to their feet and lunged towards them. Kairi got out of the way, while Xion blocked with a barrier, knocking aside a surprised Coyote, who just screeched angrily. Snake snarled and waved her hands, making various branches and rocks rise into the air, before she pointed her hand at Kairi. Kairi blocked with a barrier as the rocks and branches flew at her, but as the barrier vanished, Snake screeched and charged forward, tackling Kairi to the ground. Xion yelled out and waved her hand, sending an orb of golden energy at Snake, but then Coyote rushed towards Xion and tackled her to the ground, as well. Vertigo just watched as the orb hit Snake and knocked her off of Kairi, while Xion exclaimed in surprise and kept her Keyblade raised over Coyote as the feral witch grappled with her.

Kairi, meanwhile, huffed as she started to push herself up. However, Coyote then reached up and grabbed her cheek, snarling in anger. Kairi grit her teeth before grabbing Coyote's hand, turning it, then ramming a fist against the bottom of Coyote's elbow, making her screech in pain. Kairi then followed it up with a knife hand to Coyote's throat, then jumped up and kicked the feral witch in the face. Coyote screeched in pain as she dropped to the ground, before Kairi turned towards where Xion was still grappling with Snake. Kairi helped her (kind of) sister by blasting Snake with Flower Shoot, knocking her aside and getting her off of Xion. Xion huffed as she climbed to her feet, then grunted as she swung her Keyblade, hitting Snake in the head and knocking her back.

Coyote and Snake both screeched in pain, but then they lifted their heads up to glare at Kairi and Xion. Of course, then the two witches transformed back into the animals they were named after, then started moving across the forest floor to try and follow the coven.

"Oh, no, you don't," Xion declared.

With that, she waved her hand and made golden energy appear over both Coyote and Snake, trapping them in large nets that held them down. The two witches proceeded to transform back into humans, and they both snarled angrily as they glared up at Xion, who grit her teeth and let her concentration stay on the nets restraining them.

Kairi laughed at the witches' misfortune before she looked up. Her eyes quickly narrowed in worry as Vertigo proceeded to glare at her before lifting up her hand.

Vertigo then shouted as she thrust her hand forward, casting a spell that sent a wave of energy that struck into both Kairi and Xion. Both teens dropped their Keyblades and yelled out as they were sent flying, spiraling across the forest of The Road and crashing through the bodies of a couple of trees before landing on a pretty rough ground. Kairi and Xion groaned in pain before they quickly rolled together onto a leaf-covered pathway once again, knowing that they pointedly needed to stay on The Road to make sure their surroundings didn't try to kill them.

Sharing a huff, Kairi and Xion groaned and pushed themselves to their feet before looking around, seeing that Vertigo, Snake, and Coyote were all gone.

"For a bunch of feral witches..." Kairi slowly said. She groaned and rolled her left shoulder. "They sure can kick ass."

"You're telling me," Xion agreed. She looked around. "And, unfortunately, we lost both the Salem Seven, and Agatha and the others."

"Well, you at least managed to hold them off for a few moments," Vision pointed out optimistically. "That's quite the accomplishment."

"It's something," Roxas added.

"Hey, look to the right again," Stephen requested. "I think I saw something."

Kairi and Xion turned their heads to the right, then they frowned and looked up as they noticed something. The two of them then promptly joined Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision in raising their eyebrows in surprise.

High up in the air, they were able to see six figures flying through the air further away from them, riding on long objects as they flew in front of the massive, red moon that The Road provided them. Even from this distance on the ground, the group could quickly put together that this had to be Agatha, Billy, Jen, Lilia, Alice, and Rio, and they were most likely flying on makeshift broomsticks that they had crafted.

Despite the situation, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all chuckled together at the sight.

"They're really embracing the stereotype," Kairi commented.

"Like Phoebe on that episode of Charmed," Roxas added.

"You've seen Charmed?" Wanda asked in surprise.

"No, V told me about it," Roxas said. "He apparently watched it a lot when he was younger."

"That's a surprise," Stephen said.

"He said he started watching it when he was seven for the magic," Roxas informed them. "Then he apparently stayed for the women constantly wearing crop tops."

"That's not a surprise," Kairi admitted, with Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all nodding in agreement. *2*

Looking around, Kairi and Xion's eyes then narrowed in surprise when they saw that The Witches' Road had morphed and changed once again, providing them with another route to a trial. The two of them looked around, seeing that the leafy pathway had appeared in front of them again, this time leading to an area with a shining light so bright that they couldn't see the actual area. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all huffed as they realized that they were going to have to complete yet another trial if it meant they were going to have to find the coven again.

"Okay, let's make sure this is our last trial before we finally reunite with the coven," Kairi declared. She looked at Xion. "We keep getting pulled all over the place and pushed further away from them, when Alice, Billy, Jen, and Lilia are all in danger of Agatha and Death. We've gotta get to them and stick with them."

"I agree," Xion agreed with a nod of her head. She frowned. "I just hope you're nicer to a coven of sisters than the sister you chose."

Kairi grimaced, while Roxas nodded over his girlfriend defending herself, and Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all pointedly stayed silent.

Whatever the case, Kairi and Xion turned and walked through the forest of The Witches' Road together, moving across the leaf-covered grounds and to the entrance of their latest trial. Neither teen was sure what they were going to experience, but they still walked together through the trees and the uneven landscape to this pathway with the bright light. Once they got close enough, Kairi and Xion raised their arms to protect their eyes before they slowly walked towards the entrance together, walking across the landscape and entering the latest trial.

After a few moments, the lights faded, and Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all widened in surprise.

Kairi and Xion were currently standing in what appeared to be a desert landscape with a hard, sandy ground, and a sun high in the air providing them with the bright light of noon. Of course, around them were massive walls of a labyrinth that were as tall as the eye could see, almost allowing them to miss the massive pillars of rock and rock plateaus that rose high into the air. There were large pieces of these walls shattered on the ground broken, while powered down Keyblades were stabbed into the ground in some corners, almost serving as tombstones.

Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all huffed in recognition, while Stephen, Wanda, and Vision just looked confused (again).

"What is this place?" Stephen asked.

"It's... where we fought Xehanort and his other Darknesses," Kairi answered. "The Skein of Severance. We had that whole brawl and war with lots of our old foes."

"It's where Terra, Xion, and I returned," Roxas added.

"Wow," Wanda said. "There are... definitely better places to wake up in."

"We know from experience," Vision agreed with a nod of his head.

Kairi and Xion then shared a huff before looking at each other, taking in their new appearances again. Xion was disappointed to once again be wearing the Organization XIII cloak, while Kairi's hair hadn't changed, but she was back in her pink and black dress with black ruffles on one side of the skirt, plaid on the other side, and her thick belted black boots. The two of them shared a look before looking around again.

"What exactly is the trial supposed to be here?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, it... It looks like we're in the Twist of Isolation," Xion emphasized. "Where the others fought Dark Vanitas and Terranort, and... Well, where we all fought with Saïx."

"So what happens now?" Kairi asked.

All of a sudden, purple words appeared in front of Kairi and Xion once again, which quickly garnered their attention. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes on the latest declaration of a trial.

"'Words shared during your previous trial brought you great pain and despair'," Xion read. "'Now, you shall brawl until the feelings have left you both feeling calm and fair'."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows as they put together what this was supposed to mean.

"The... The Road apparently wants the both of you to fight," Vision assessed.

"That's a new one," Stephen said. "I wonder if Agatha and the others are going through something similar."

"Given Agatha, I'd be surprised if it didn't," Wanda admitted.

"But... But, I don't get it," Kairi said with a frown. "The whole point of The Road is that we're supposed to work together to pass all these trials. What's a fight to the death going to solve?"

"It's not a fight to the death," Roxas told her. "You read the instructions. A fight until you're both feeling 'calm and fair'. I guess you're supposed to fight until you're not angry at each other, anymore."

"Oh," Kairi said, now feeling embarrassed. She looked down and shook her head. "I am getting seriously too hardcore with this stuff."

She closed her eyes and shook her head again before looking at Xion.

"But that doesn't mean anything," Kairi said. "We're not gonna fight. Right, Xion?"

Of course, Kairi raised her eyebrows as Xion proceeded to turn around and frown at the redhead. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all a little surprised, but they could still understand why Xion had reached this point. Kairi was still surprised as Xion stepped back and summoned her Keyblade to her hands, stepping into her battle stance.

"Uh, Xion?" Kairi anxiously asked.

"The instructions were right," Xion said. "Maybe beating the shit out of each other for a little bit will make it so I'm not angry at you anymore."

Kairi grimaced, knowing that a little part of her should have seen this coming. Whatever the case, she summoned her Keyblade to her hands and stepped into her own battle stance, staring back at Xion in preparation to fight.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all still surprised by the circumstances, though. *3*

Xion immediately pointed her Keyblade into the air and made pillars of light fly forward, which Kairi dodged with a simple roll forward. Kairi followed it up by blasting Firaga, but Xion slashed through it with her Keyblade before rushing in and trying to perform a combo attack. Kairi got out of the way before throwing her Keyblade and teleporting into her own combo attack, knocking Xion aside and pissing off Roxas. Xion jumped backwards out of the way, then pointed her Keyblade up to make more pillars of light fly forward, which Kairi dodged with another roll to the side. Kairi huffed before pushing herself back up to her feet, then blasting Aeroga, causing a tornado to appear that picked Xion up and threw her aside.

Of course, Xion managed to recover, then turned in the air and lunged towards Kairi. Kairi cast a barrier around herself to dodge Xion's attack, then retaliated with a blast from her Keyblade, knocking her aside. Of course, Xion then waved her hands and made shackles of golden energy appear, wrapping around Kairi's wrists and pulling them backwards. Kairi yelled out in surprise while Xion rushed in and performed a full combo attack before ending it with Firaga, knocking Kairi aside with the blast of flames as the shackles vanished. Kairi rolled backward to follow the momentum of the blast, making sure that falling didn't do too much damage, then retaliated by pushing herself up and blasting Pearl magic, though Xion got out of the way before the orb of light could hit her.

Kairi gripped her Keyblade with both hands and charged forward as Xion recovered, then made more pillars of light fly forward. Kairi got out of the way of some of the pillars before another couple of pillars flew at her and struck, knocking her aside with a grunt. Of course, Kairi recovered quickly and threw her Keyblade at Xion before teleporting into another combo attack, knocking Xion aside once again. Xion grunted from the attacks, then cast a barrier just as Kairi used Seven Wishes to lunge around and strike seven times. The barrier absorbed each of the attacks before Xion then rushed in and performed a combo attack of her own in retaliation, knocking aside Kairi. Kairi landed on her feet before blasting Blizzaga, but Xion got out of the way before Kairi then struck her with Flower Shoot.

Gritting her teeth, Xion waved her hands and made spikes out of golden energy that floated in the air for a moment. Xion then waved her hand, and the spikes flew through the air right towards Kairi. Kairi grit her teeth and made a barrier appear around herself, then she quickly made sure the barriers reappeared when the spikes turned and flew towards her again. One spike broke through the barrier and cut Kairi's cheek, making her yell out before she dropped the barriers. Kairi quickly jumped backwards and dodged as the spikes kept turning and flying towards her, then she swung her Keyblade, knocking aside a couple of spikes before they could damage her.

As Xion started to gather more golden energy to attack, Kairi threw her Keyblade into another combo attack, stopping the energy from gathering and instead pushing Xion back. The ravenette huffed before pointing her Keyblade into the air, casting Thundaga and forcing lightning to crash down and attack. Kairi grit her teeth from the electric surge, before Xion then rushed in and performed another combo attack to push her aside. Kairi was knocked back, but she retaliated with Pearl magic, blasting Xion across the landscape again, and once again pissing off Roxas. Kairi and Xion both just cast Curaga on each other before they charged at each other once again.

The two teens then caught their Keyblades in the air and proceeded to frown at each other across their weapons. Kairi grit her teeth and felt apologetic, while Xion just glared as her anger kept coursing through her. Xion grunted as she pulled her Keyblade back, then Kairi raised her own to defend. The two of them proceeded to have a veritable duel with their Keyblades, with the Kingdom Key and Destiny's Embrace clanging against each other as they kept trying to attack. Xion swung at Kairi's legs, but she intercepted it, then Xion intercepted Kairi's overhead strike, and then Kairi intercepted the side swipe that was aimed at her chest. The two of them grunted before pushing their Keyblades against each other, forcing them both to jump backwards and move across the large battlefield.

Landing on her feet, Xion then grunted as she pointed her Keyblade at Kairi, sending a beam of light firing out that quickly went through the air. Kairi swung upwards, knocking the beam aside, before blasting Pearl magic that went through the air and struck Xion in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Kairi then gripped her Keyblade with both hands and charged forward. Once she got close enough, she jumped up and raised her Keyblade over her head, but Xion threw an orb of golden energy that struck Kairi in the chest and knocked her to the ground right next to her.

Feeling both exhaustion and pain coursing through them, Kairi and Xion huffed before sharing a look.

"Are... Is everything square now?" Kairi asked.

Xion just huffed before punching Kairi in the chest, knocking her to the ground with a grunt. Kairi groaned in pain, and Xion looked at her before nodding her head.

"Yeah..." Xion slowly said. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, we're square now." *4*

With that, she groaned and pushed herself to her feet before reaching down and offered a hand to Kairi. Kairi huffed before taking Xion's hand, and the ravenette pulled her up to her feet. The two of them huffed before they looked at each other, and Kairi gave her an apologetic look.

"I... I never did mean it like that," Kairi told Xion. She sighed out guiltily. "I just miss Sora so much, and... Seeing you guys being together and being happy... It just makes me sad that he and I haven't gotten the same chance to be as happy together. We've just kept getting more bullshit handed to us by our crazy lives that seem determined to keep us separated."

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all silent and softly nodded their heads, since they could all admittedly understand her viewpoint. Roxas and Xion had felt something similar during that final day when they had been forced to fight, while Stephen felt like he had been in a similar situation with Christine before he finally moved on, Vision felt like he had been in a similar situation when the Sokovia Accords kept him and Wanda apart years ago, and Wanda had felt she had been in a similar situation from all the times she had been separated from Vision (and the Darkhold addled Id's memories of being pulled away from Tommy and Billy).

"I guess I can understand that," Xion admitted.

"I'm not proud of how I feel," Kairi added. She sighed. "I know that's not fair to you or Roxas to feel this way."

Xion just sighed out in agreement.

All of a sudden, the purple words appeared in front of them once again, which had Kairi and Xion narrow their eyes as they turned towards them. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all furrowed their eyebrows with the teens as they looked at the latest set of words.

"'Your combat has made things square, and brought your feelings to their best'," Xion read. "'But now, you shall face your next enemy and complete your final test'."

Kairi and Xion frowned and shared a look as the words vanished from view.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah, I don't like the sound of 'final test'," Roxas said. "Are you guys gonna have to fight Xemnas again?"

"I don't think so," Xion said. "We didn't really get too much of a chance to do a full fight against Xemnas. It ended after we got back the sigil."

"Then what's gonna happen?" Wanda asked.

"Well..." Kairi said, frowning in remembrance. "Wasn't there someone else that we ended up fighting here?"

Kairi, Roxas, and Xion's eyes all widened in remembrance.

A loud yell then echoed from nearby, and Kairi and Xion both lunged out of the way as something crashed into the ground where they had just been standing.

Turning in surprise, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes as they saw Saïx standing across the battlefield. With his purple Berserk energy around him, his eyes completely yellow, a claymore in one hand, and four claymores glowing with purple light around him, all of them ready to attack. Saïx just glared at the two teens as they huffed and looked back at him.

"I didn't miss this guy," Roxas admitted.

"I don't think anyone would," Vision replied. "I still remember the trouble he caused Vanitas as he tried to solve your problem."

"Well... looks like we've just gotta fight him, now," Kairi assessed.

"Yeah... I'm not sure how I feel about this considering how comfortable we've gotten with Isa nowadays," Xion admitted.

"He has been a big help over the years," Stephen agreed.

"Yeah, but Saïx is a lot different from Isa," Kairi reminded Xion. She looked at her. "Remember, this is the guy who insulted you and frequently called you a mistake during your time in the Organization."

Roxas and Xion both frowned together in anger before they turned towards Saïx again. Nodding in agreement, Xion then held out her hands and summoned her Keyblade once again. Kairi nodded back before stepping into her own battle stance as she summoned her own Keyblade. Kairi and Xion nodded at each other before they turned towards Saïx, both of them ready to fight him once again. *5*

Saix then jumped up into the air and roared as he started throwing the claymores that were around him. One slammed into the ground, but Kairi dodged the shockwave of energy while Xion blasted Firaga three times at the villainous apparition. Saix dropped to the ground again, and Kairi and Xion both moved in to perform combo attacks before Saix waved his arms, sending claymores flying towards the two teens. Xion got out of the way while a claymore knocked aside Kairi, but she recovered and threw her Keyblade in retaliation. Xion shot beams of light into the air that came down to attack Saix, but he floated forward and repeatedly rammed the claymores against the ground, sending out shockwaves of energy to attack. Xion was knocked aside and cast Curaga on herself while Kairi blasted Pearl magic after the apparition.

Of course, Saix just continued surging forward over the ground and striking with his claymores, so Kairi and Xion both had to get out of the way of the various shockwaves. Xion blasted more beams of light that rained down onto Saix, and as he landed on his feet, Kairi then rushed in and performed a combo attack through the surging claymores. Saix then floated to the ground and panted in and out, clearly exhausted as the claymores vanished due to his Berserk energy having run out. With one claymore in his hand, Saix gripped his head in exhaustion, allowing Kairi and Xion to rush forward together. Both girls proceeded to perform combo attacks against Saix, doing a lot of damage and building up a lot of energy. Kairi then used the gathered energy to perform Seven Wishes and slide around to attack, while Xion blasted Firaza at Saix.

Of course, after a moment, Saix then got his second wind as he floated up, shouted, and let thorns surround him as he entered the first level of his Berserk mode, complete with energy surging around himself and his claymore. Kairi and Xion frowned at him as he jumped up before throwing the claymore. Xion waved a hand and caught the claymore with her golden energy, before yelling out and throwing it back at him. Saix yelled out as the claymore struck him and knocked him out of the sky, then Kairi followed it up by flying up and performing Heart of a Princess, flying down and making many orbs of light rain down and do a lot of damage to the apparition. As Saix recovered, he then flew over the ground while swinging the claymore and causing shockwaves again, but Kairi got out of the way while Xion blocked with a barrier, then retaliated with a slash of her Keyblade that knocked him into the air.

Following up on her attack, Xion jumped up and performed an aerial combo attack, knocking Saix around before following it up with Thundaga, then Firaga, doing more damage and sending him flying. Kairi then threw her Keyblade and teleported into her own aerial combo attack, knocking Saix aside even more. Of course, this whole time, Saix had been building up energy to enter his second level of Berserk mode, which made the energy around him turn blue. Kairi and Xion were both knocked aside from the release of energy, but they managed to recover in the air, and Kairi retaliated with a blast of Firaga. They landed on the ground at the same time as Saix, and the apparition roared as he let four claymore copies appear around him once again, getting ready to attack.

Kairi and Xion decided to go for ranged attacks for a moment, with Xion blasting Firaga and Thundaga, while Kairi cast Waterga and Aeroga. These attacks did damage to Saix, but given his endurance in Berserk Mode, he wasn't visibly knocked aside by the attacks. Instead, Saix rushed in and shouted at the top of his lungs as he swung his various claymores, knocking aside Kairi, and Xion just barely managed to dodge one being swung at her head. Saix then jumped up and threw a claymore at the ground, and the shockwave knocked Xion aside while Kairi cast Curaga on herself. Kairi and Xion both then got out of the way as Saix swung his claymores repeatedly, swinging them in their directions and slamming them against the ground repeatedly to release shockwaves.

Luckily, once again, doing all these attacks rapidly depleted Saix of his Berserk energy, meaning that the claymores vanished, and he stood in place in exhaustion. Kairi and Xion didn't hesitate to attack, with Xion making more pillars of light rain down on him before she blasted Thundaza. Kairi also cast Waterza before rushing in and performing a full combo attack and following it up with Seven Wishes. Xion then rushed in and performed a ground based combo attack, then jumped up to perform an aerial combo. After getting knocked around for long enough by the attacks, Saix's Berserk energy subconsciously recharged for him, and after a moment, he yelled out as he jumped back up. Kairi and Xion grit their teeth as he shouted, was surrounded by thorns, and he glowed as he reached the first level of Berserk again.

Saix then yelled out as he launched himself down, and Xion got out of the way of his attack. Kairi, meanwhile, blocked with a barrier before blasting Pearl magic and then Flower Shoot. She then followed this up with another combo attack, knocking aside Saix before getting out of the way as he started swinging his claymore again. Saix then shouted as he charged forward and swung his claymore again, but both Kairi and Xion got out of the way of the strikes. Xion then moved in and performed another combo attack, building up enough energy to perform Sonic Blade, allowing her to repeatedly slide around and strike the apparition of her old tormentor. Saix shouted from each of the attacks before Kairi followed it up with another blast of Pearl magic. Of course, Kairi and Xion both got out of the way as Saix built up enough Berserk energy to make more claymores appear around him again.

Saix shouted at the top of his lungs as he repeatedly jumped up and threw his energy-encased claymores once again, which Kairi and Xion both worked to dodge. After a few moments of throwing the claymores, Saix then dropped to the ground and proceeded to rush in, swinging all of his claymores wildly and making both Kairi and Xion work to dodge. They weren't always successful, as Kairi got knocked aside by one of the claymores, and Xion was struck with a shockwave of blue energy on the ground, doing a bit of damage to both girls. Of course, after a few moments, Saix had done enough attacks to deplete himself of his Berserk energy, and he groaned in exhaustion as he came to a stop while his claymores vanished from view again.

Standing next to Kairi, Xion then cast Curaga on the both of them to heal from their latest surge of attacks, before they both rushed forward to attack together. Kairi threw her Keyblade and teleported into another combo attack, while Xion made pillars of light fly into Saix before she also rushed in to perform another combo attack. The two of them rushed in and performed combo attacks against the apparition of their friend, before Xion then performed Ars Arcanum, repeatedly swinging and slashing her Keyblade and knocking Saix around to do a lot of damage against him. Once again, Kairi was a little weirded out to see someone else doing one of the attacks Sora had been doing for years, but she brushed it aside as Saix yelled as he gained Berserk energy once again. *6*

Kairi and Xion both got out of the way of the surging energy as Saix entered the first level of Berserk once again, letting the energy surround him. Xion then waved her hands, making spikes of golden energy appear again, which she flung towards Saix. Sadly, the apparition of their friend just swung his claymore and shattered the spikes, making the golden energy fade into yellow smoke.

"I did not know that was possible," Xion admitted to her and Kairi's surprise.

Whatever the case, Saix then rushed forward and swung his claymore wickedly, so Kairi and Xion both worked to dodge it. Xion grunted as she was knocked aside, while Kairi blasted Firaga and Thundaga at the apparition. Xion recovered and shot pillars up into the air that rained down to attack Saix as he continued rushing around the battlefield, swinging his claymore and releasing shockwaves again. Kairi got knocked aside by a claymore strike, but she retaliated by rushing in and performing an aerial combo. Xion then lunged forward as an orb of light and performed her own combo attack, knocking Saix up into the air again. Kairi and Xion both jumped up and performed aerial combo attacks, and Xion followed it up with a blast of Blizzaga, before the apparition shouted as he reached level two of Berserk.

Kairi and Xion both used Air Slide to get out of the way just as the energy exploded. Saix then shouted as he lunged towards the two while swinging his claymores, which knocked aside Kairi again while Xion blocked with a barrier. Kairi landed on the ground and blasted Thundaga before healing herself with Curaga, while Xion waved her hand and restrained some of the claymores with golden energy. Xion huffed and then rushed in, jumping across the restrained claymores before swinging at Saix's head, knocking it aside and making him yell out. Xion then landed on the ground, and got out of the way just as Saix swung the claymore in his hand at her. Saix shouted and swung his claymores, shattering the golden energy surrounding them as he let the weapons fly around to attack.

Luckily, Kairi and Xion were able to use barriers to block, and Kairi retaliated with a blast of her Keyblade while Xion did a strong slash. Of course, with Berserk granting Saix a stronger durability, he was able to shrug off the attacks before rushing in and swinging his claymores again. Xion used her memories of Sora's previous times facing this by jumping up and gliding around to dodge the attacks, while Kairi repeatedly rolled along the ground to get out of the way. Of course, then Saix decided to add more to his attacks by floating up and throwing his claymores, which all struck the ground across the arena and released burning energy that Kairi and Xion both just barely dodged. Saix then followed this up by rushing in and slamming his claymores into the ground, releasing many shockwaves of purple energy that Kairi and Xion continued to have to work to dodge.

Saix then yelled out as he repeatedly jumped up and started throwing all six of his extra claymores at once. Kairi just barely managed to block with a barrier, before Saix caught the claymores again and threw them towards Xion. Xion grunted as the claymores struck her and knocked her to the ground, stunning her for a moment. Kairi cast Curaga on Xion before she cast another barrier to block as the six claymores were thrown at her again. Kairi then threw her Keyblade and teleported into another aerial combo attack, knocking aside Saix once again. Xion then recovered and made pillars of light fly up once again that repeatedly struck Saix, before she cast Blizzaza, knocking the apparition aside even more. Kairi landed on the ground with Saix, and his many other claymores vanished as he ran out of Berserk energy and was left defenseless.

With that, Kairi and Xion rushed in once again and repeatedly attacked together. Kairi performed a combo attack and followed it up with Firaga, while Xion made numerous spikes out of golden energy that she used to attack Saix before performing her own combo attack. Xion was even covered in light as she jumped up and performed some particularly strong strikes before Saix recovered. Saix proceeded to slide to the side and yell out as he floated up into the air, letting his Berserk energy recharge enough to push him to level one. The apparition proceeded to shout at the top of his lungs again as he slid forward and swung his claymore, releasing shockwaves of energy again that had Kairi and Xion both dodge out of the way again. Xion tried to cast Waterga in an attempt to stop him, but while it damaged him, it wasn't able to knock him aside too much, so he kept sliding around to attack.

Kairi and Xion dodged each of Saix's attacks before the apparition slowly rose up as he gained enough Berserk energy to enter level two, and his numerous claymores appeared around him again. Saix then shouted at the top of his lungs again and started to rush forward, swinging all of his claymores and letting the purple energy surge out that Kairi and Xion barely managed to dodge. Kairi managed to cast barriers around herself to dodge as the numerous claymores were swung at her, while Xion jumped and leaped out of the way. Eventually, though, Saix jumped up and threw all six of his claymores at the ground, and they exploded with energy, knocking aside Xion while Kairi jumped up and blasted Pearl magic once again. Saix floated up into the air and started throwing all his claymores at once again, but Kairi blocked with a barrier, while Xion dodged and got out of the way.

Saix then shouted at the top of his lungs again and lunged at Xion with all of his claymores again. Of course, Xion cast a golden barrier around herself, and once Saix struck them, the barrier shattered and released shards of golden energy that knocked aside Saix, damaging him while making the claymores disappear. Saix grunted as he landed on the ground, before Xion swung her hand, making spikes of golden energy fly at the apparition and do even more damage. Kairi then floated up and used Heart of a Princess again, making orbs of light rain down and do even more damage to Saix, making him yell out. As Kairi finished her attack, Xion then rushed in and performed a full combo before finishing it with Zantetsuken, lunging right through Saix with the final strike and ending the fight. *7*

Kairi and Xion both huffed as they landed next to each other, then turned to look at Saix once again. The claymores all vanished, and a massive surge of darkness shot out of him and up into the sky. Saix then grunted as he dropped to the ground before he proceeded to fade away, with lines and dark thorns rising up into the air and enveloping his body completely. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all watched as Saix vanished from sight, disappearing within moments as he finished fading.

"If you don't mind me saying..." Stephen slowly said. "It's still a little strange that fighting enemies like this has made you guys so used to killing people."

"Well, being a sorcerer had the same effect on you," Roxas pointed out.

Stephen said nothing, but he let out a small sound of agreement.

"Does that really count as death when they just faded back into darkness?" Kairi asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"I believe that's a philosophical question we can worry about at a later date," Vision remarked. "Right now, we need to focus on the bigger picture."

"He's right," Xion agreed with a nod of her head. "We finished the test, and now we've gotta get back onto The Road."

"Back to Agatha and Billy," Wanda emphasized. "I already didn't trust Death around them, and I don't like the Salem Seven being down there with them, either."

"How do we get out of here, then?" Kairi asked.

Xion shrugged her shoulders before the sound of something rumbling echoed nearby. Kairi and Xion shared a look before turning towards the sound, watching as one of the entranceways to one of the paths to the maze creaked open, revealing a pathway that led onto The Witches' Road once again.

"Found the exit," Roxas quipped.

Kairi and Xion huffed and shared a nod of their heads before they turned and walked together across the arena. The two of them moved through the small entranceway and entered The Witches' Road again, moving into the forest landscape once again.

Back in their hoodies and jeans while barefoot, Kairi and Xion shared a huff and looked at each other as they looked around, seeing that the area of The Road was a little different now. Some kind of sun appeared to be up, with a light green light covering the area as they looked to be near some kind of swamp. The pathway that they had come from transformed into another large tree, and there appeared to be large puddles of mud nearby. The trees were still large, and the ground outside of the leaf-covered pathway of the road were still covered in branches and twigs.

The two of them shared a small huff as they looked around, trying to see if they could locate the makeshift coven again.

"Where do you suppose they are?" Vision asked.

"If they finished their last trial, they had to have popped up somewhere around this area," Stephen pointed out.

"So where are they?" Roxas emphasized.

"I'm feeling like I should've gone again," Wanda admitted with a sigh. "I'd probably be able to sense the magic with the combination of all the different kinds of witchcraft."

"Well, you're here, so we'll just have to make do," Roxas told her.

"It'd be a lot easier if they were wearing their shoes," Kairi commented with a sigh. "Those are heavier, and we'd have a better chance of seeing shoe prints."

"That probably would've broken some kind of rule about The Road, though," Xion pointed out.

Kairi and Xion both just shrugged their shoulders.

All of a sudden, the sound of Agatha repeatedly telling someone to stop echoed down The Road, reaching their ears quickly. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes over the noise.

"What the hell could be making her yell that desperately?" Stephen asked.

"Nothing good," Wanda said. "I'm thinking either the Salem Seven caught up to them, or Death decided to strike."

"Shit," Kairi swore.

She and Xion shared a look before they turned and started jogging together down the leaf-covered pathway of The Witches' Road. The two of them kept running as Agatha's demands for help suddenly transformed to screams for help. Anxiety coursed through Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion as the sound stopped, then was replaced by the sound of magical surging mixed with Billy yelling, "No!" All this was followed by the sound of two other screams and yells, which only worried the group even more.

Eventually, though, Kairi and Xion turned a corner and reached a new section of The Road, where they found a surprising sight.

Billy was standing alone, facing away from them with blue energy surging underneath his hands, while the massive puddles of mud quacked and quivered, the liquid rippling to emphasize that people had been thrown in. More blue light continued to surge around Billy, especially around his head, which filled the group with even more confusion.

"Billy!" Xion shouted.

"What happened?" Kairi added.

Things were quiet and weirdly tense as Billy breathed in and out, no doubt processing whatever he had just done with his magic. The blue light continued to surge underneath his palms and over his head, reminding everyone looking at him of Wanda's Chaos magic. Slowly but surely, Billy then turned to look at the two teens.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all widened in surprise.

Billy was standing in front of them, slowly still breathing in and out in shock as magic swirled within his hands and his head. Of course, on his forehead, he had a dark blue crown tucked underneath his curly hair, which looked exactly like the crown that Wanda wore in her Scarlet Witch outfit. Billy just continued to breathe in and out in a state of shock as he looked at Kairi and Xion, who looked back at him in surprise.

Kairi, Roas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion certainly hadn't expected this... *8*

Chapter Text

Things were tense as Kairi and Xion continued to stand in front of Billy as the blue magic continued to surge underneath his hands and over his head, making the crown even more obvious as he just stood there, clearly tense. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all silent but silently held their breaths, not sure what Billy was going to do given the intensity that was in his eyes. Of course, they were all also curious about where Agatha, Alice, Jen, Lilia, and Rio were (especially Rio given her true identity), though Kairi was able to sense the light within at least two individuals who were submerged in the nearby mud.

A little part of Xion was surprised as they looked at Billy, since they hadn't expected him to have a crown just like Wanda's. After all, the one that she had met with Roxas, Kairi, Vision, and the others had worn a headband instead of a crown, and he was still a really capable fighter and sorcerer.

Whatever the case, after a moment, Billy sighed out and let the magic fade from underneath his hands. With that, the blue light surged around his head, and the crown also disappeared, returning his hair to normal. Kairi and Xion both silently breathed out in relief, since it meant that Billy was most likely not about to attack them, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all tilted their heads to the side, wondering how he was able to do that so easily. They brushed it off, remembering how he had been the one to undo Wanda's spell and release Agatha from the illusion.

Sharing a look, Kairi and Xion walked together to Billy, giving him calm looks and trying not to raise their arms like they were afraid of him.

"Billy," Xion said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm fine," Billy panted out. He huffed. "Just... a little pissed. Agatha, Jen, and Lilia all kind of... disillusioned me from the idea of being a witch. Jen declared that we were all only down here for power, Lilia impassively said that Death was for all of us, and Agatha..."

"What did she do?" Kairi asked, already rolling her eyes.

"... She killed Alice," Billy admitted with a gulp.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all quickly narrowed their eyes at that.

"... Start from the beginning," Kairi requested.

"We... we were in our latest trial," Billy explained through his pants. "We had to Ouija, and we ended up with the ghost of Agatha's mother. Agatha's mother possessed her, she went nuts, and Alice tried to save her. But when she blasted her magic at Agatha... Agatha absorbed her powers and her life. I managed to get her to stop by contacting another spirit, someone named Nicholas Scratch, but... It was too late. She died in front of us."

While the group inwardly wondered who Nicholas Scratch was (and Stephen, Wanda, and Vision frowned suspiciously as they remembered the rabbit named Senor Scratchy again), they felt sorrow and sympathy for the fact that Alice had died while trying to save Agatha, and Agatha just turned it around on her.

"She insisted it was an accident, but..." Billy slowly said.

"After what you've seen, you don't know if you trust that bitch, anymore?" Kairi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"... Yeah, pretty much," Billy admitted with a sigh. He huffed. "I insisted that I wasn't going to be so callous as a witch, and Agatha just taunted me... So, I controlled Jen and Lilia and made her throw her into the mud. Then I freaked out and... accidentally threw Jen and Lilia in mud after her."

Roxas, Stephen, and Vision all looked at Wanda, and Kairi and Xion looked down for a moment as they remembered the witch's mental abilities. Billy definitely took after his mother...

"They're..." Billy weakly said. He looked over his shoulder at the mud. "They're dead, aren't they?"

"I don't think so," Kairi said. "I'm not just a Keyblade wielder; I'm also a Princess of Light. I can sense light when it's close enough, and when it's snuffed out in death. And I can still sense Jen and Lilia. They're alive, and they don't appear to be in a panic. They must've found a way to escape."

"Oh, thank God," Billy said, sighing out in relief.

Xion then grimaced, remembering how much it must have hurt Kairi to sense all those deaths when Thanos first snapped his fingers and so many people just disappeared from existence.

"Okay, I..." Billy shakily said. He huffed as he looked at Kairi and Xion. "You've been following us on The Road, and you were there to help me when the first Salem Seven showed up. And... And you know who I am."

"Kind of," Xion said. "We know that you were born William Kaplan. But then, well... You became Billy Maximoff."

"That's... That's right," Billy said, looking between the two teens in amazement. "How do you know so much?"

"We've got some magical help," Xion admitted.

Stephen and Wanda smirked in pride, while Roxas rolled his eyes, and Vision smiled and patted his wife's shoulder.

"Look, if we're gonna answer your questions, then you're gonna have to give us the same courtesy," Kairi said. "We wanna know how you got involved in witchcraft and, well... became Billy."

"Right, right," Billy said with a nod of his head. He gestured with his hands. "That only seems fair."

With that, Kairi and Xion moved to pull up some large tree branches with Billy, and the three of them all sat down together. Now wishing that they knew enough magic to make a comfy chair appear out of nowhere (like they had seen Wanda do dozens of times), Kairi and Xion sighed out as they settled on the branches together and looked at Billy. *1*

"What do you wanna know first?" Billy asked as Kairi and Xion looked at him (and Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all leaned forward in intrigue).

"When did this all start, I guess?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, when did you first notice things were... different?" Xion asked.

"It was... about two years ago," Billy admitted. "The day of my bar mitzvah. I don't remember everything, but... My parents told me that we had to leave early because of the weird Westview Anomaly that the news passed off as a failed Avengers training exercise."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all softly hummed as they remembered the explanation that had been given to the news, though Wanda still felt another twinge of guilt.

"I was driving home with my parents when the Anomaly started going down," Billy continued. He frowned. "Wanda and Vision's voices even came over the radio."

Wanda and Vision frowned and shared a look at that.

"While we were driving, we ended up passing by a lot of other cars hurrying down the road," Billy continued. "My mom and dad were so busy talking that she got distracted and swerved off the road. We crashed into a tree, and well... I guess I died."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all grimaced again, and a part of Wanda had to push down the part of her that was starting to blame herself for his death. (At least, she really hoped that it wasn't actually her fault).

"Then... I woke up with the faintest memory of Tommy," Billy continued. "Hell... his name was the first thing I said. That must've been when I became Billy."

Kairi and Xion joined the others in quickly putting together that this most likely fit their theory that somehow Billy's soul entered William, combining enough to ensure that they both survived. Though, this ended up bringing a new question to their minds, one that they were embarrassed for not thinking about until now.

If Billy was alive again, then where was Tommy?

Of course, it was still especially confusing since Wanda was sitting in her chair pregnant with both boys. So they were even more confused about how there were copies of them, as well.

"And then... I was suddenly able to read minds," Billy continued. He huffed and shook his head. "It's been... a really confusing two years thanks to that."

Kairi and Xion grimaced in understanding with the others.

"Eventually, I started looking into things online," Billy then explained. "I still don't completely remember my own life, let alone my life as Billy. So, I started looking into the Westview Anomaly online, finding all sorts of videos and declarations about the truth. Then, I took my boyfriend, Eddie, and we met a man I found on Reddit who claimed to have lived in Westview during the Anomaly. His name was Ralph Bohner."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes in surprise, since none of them had expected that.

"Fake Pietro?" Roxas asked, and Wanda and Vision nodded in confirmation.

"He told us all about what happened with Wanda and Vision in the Anomaly," Billy continued explaining to Kairi and Xion. "He told us about the sitcom fantasies, and the way so many people were under her control. But he admitted that things were a lot worse for him thanks to Agatha Harkness. He told us about how he had been forced to help manipulate Wanda, he had been forced to give up his house... and he had even been forced to poison a dog."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all grimaced, now feeling sympathy for Ralph once again, while also briefly remembering Sparky.

"During the explanation, Bohner also told us about Tommy and Billy," Billy informed them. "He described them as a little speedster and his mind-reading brother. I quickly put together through all of it that it had to mean I was Billy. I guess I... I just found a way to survive."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all softly nodded their heads, but they were still unsure about what this meant considering there was another Tommy and Billy in Wanda's stomach.

"But when I realized that, I realized something else..." Billy admitted. He softly shook his head. "I had no real, plausible way of actually getting to Wanda and Vision for answers."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked with a frown.

"Yeah, couldn't you have just made a suggestion to your parents for a trip to Missouri?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, you try explaining that to my parents," Billy said with a small, bitter frown. "'Hey, mom, dad, I started reading minds two years ago, and I think I'm the reincarnated son of two Avengers'. That conversation would only end with me in a padded room with a straightjacket."

Kairi and Xion joined the others in grimacing in understanding.

"And I couldn't really convince them to just take a vacation out there for the hell of it, 'cause..." Billy slowly said. He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, there's nothing in Missouri."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, and Xion all raised an eyebrow, while Wanda and Vision just shared a look. Though they had lived in Missouri for two years now... well, they agreed with Billy.

"So, I didn't have a feasible way of actually getting my parents to be willing to take a trip out to Missouri," Billy admitted. "I mean, my dad lets me drive my car even though I'm not 16 yet, but that's pretty much the limit on him being 'cool'. He only trusts me to drive at least to the next town over, so I'm not sure he'd be okay with a road trip across the freaking country."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all softly nodded their heads. This did explain why he hadn't tried to contact Wanda and Vision... *2*

"So, what did you do?" Kairi asked.

"I began to look into something else," Billy said. "I remembered what Ralph said about Wanda, Vision, and their kids. They're alive and in Missouri, and I'm here somehow as William Kaplan. But if I'm here, and they're in Missouri... Then where's Tommy?"

Kairi and Xion shared another look as the two of them, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all once again shared this thought.

"So, I looked for the best possible route in finding Tommy," Billy informed them. "Agatha Harkness."

"Yeah... I'm not sure that was the best idea," Xion informed the young magician.

"I know, I know," Billy admitted. He sighed out. "I've been intrigued in witches and witchcraft for a while now, but... I did my research into Agatha. I saw the travesties she's committed, and all the horrors she had done over the centuries since the Salem Witch trials. She was even on the Titanic."

Kairi and Xion joined the others in raising an eyebrow at that.

"But there were two things that I knew about her that I needed," Billy informed them. "That she was there in the Anomaly, so she knew me and Tommy, and she knew how to get on The Witches' Road."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes as they put things together.

"... That's why you came here on The Witches' Road," Kairi assessed. "If you pass all the trials, then you get what your heart desires."

"You're using it to try and find Tommy," Xion added.

"Yes," Billy confirmed with a quick nod of his head. He looked at the two teens and showed desperation in his eyes. "It's dangerous, the trials have been deadly, and there's still a hell of a lot of things down here that I don't understand... But if it helps me find him, then I'll face it without hesitation."

Kairi and Xion both huffed, a little impressed with the boy in front of them.

"You don't even remember him, and you still don't even completely remember who you are, but you're still willing to brave all this for Tommy," Xion praised.

"Of course, I will," Billy confirmed with a nod of his head. "He's my brother."

Roxas and Stephen nodded their heads since they understood this completely, and Wanda and Vision practically swelled in pride, even if this was somehow their Billy and not their Billy at the same time.

"That's admirable," Kairi said with a nod of her head.

"Yeah, but the means to find him haven't been easy," Billy admitted with a sigh. "I found Agatha when she was going all 'badass, disgraced detective' on me. I used a spell I found to help break her out of it, then she agreed to help me. But now I can see that she's had her own plans for the Road. She just wanted to get her powers back."

"Yeah... she's pretty selfish," Xion informed Billy.

"Clearly," Billy agreed with a sigh. "She didn't even care when we accidentally got Sharon killed. She mocked the woman and pretended to be possessed by Sharon when we did the Ouija, and she insisted that she didn't mean to kill Alice, but she still said that killing others is something I was gonna have to get used to as a witch."

"Her definition of what it means to be a witch is warped," Wanda remarked with a frown.

"Her definition of what it means to be a witch is very warped," Xion repeated for Billy.

Billy then frowned and looked around in confusion, which had the others all wondering if he heard Wanda. Whatever the case, he sighed out and looked at the two girls, no doubt agreeing with them.

"You are not wrong there," Billy agreed.

"Then why have you been latching on to her so closely?" Kairi couldn't help but ask. "I mean, you've seen that she's evil, and you saw her literally admit to endless murder more than once. Why are you staying by her so closely?"

"Because she's been the best route I had at getting the answers I'm after," Billy told them. "Like I said, she was the only one I was able to find to actually know me from when I was Billy in the Anomaly. She's the best connection I have to magic, the best connection to the Billy part of my past, and my best possible chance at finding Tommy right now. I guess through all of that, I kind of latched onto her and connected to her. Though, even I'm wondering if that was the right choice after everything I've seen down here."

Kairi and Xion joined Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision in all nodding in understanding. That did make sense, as well. *3*

"That's how I found out I'm Billy, how I found Agatha, and... how I got here on The Road," Billy informed Kairi and Xion. He looked between them. "Now, tell me... How do you know me as Billy?"

"Well... I know you as Billy," Xion said, holding up a hand to get his attention. "I ended up in the Anomaly in Westview, as well. We called it the Hex because of a quippy friend of ours. And, well... I met you and Tommy."

Billy quickly narrowed his eyes on Xion, and if the boy wasn't gay, Roxas would've felt jealousy over the way he looked at her. Kairi just looked between the two since she hadn't been there.

"Some allies and I ended up investigating the Hex as it was over the entire town," Xion explained. "Of course, the idiot in charge of SWORD kept antagonizing Wanda, tried to kill her multiple times, tried to shoot you and Tommy, and was willing to try and destroy the town for his obsession with power. The Hex ended up expanding, and I ended up in the Hex, as well. I got changed into a goth magician's assistant and wore a bunch of black and a chain around my neck."

Billy then furrowed his eyebrows, but he couldn't say much considering what he had seen some other goths wear.

"Wanda and Vision are friends of ours, and I helped you guys out there in the Hex," Xion informed them. "Wanda had unintentionally started the whole thing out of her grief over losing Vision to Thanos. Things eventually got better, but the whole thing of the Hex was her going through the five stages of grief, while imagining a sitcom life for the both of them, including having kids. That's how you and Tommy ended up getting made. Though you aged rapidly in the Hex, you were still living souls that got created with their love and her magic. It was pretty beautiful."

Kairi smiled at the idea, Stephen said nothing as he remembered the harsh words he had tried to use to talk down the Id, Wanda and Vision blushed over Xion's words, and Roxas just smiled. Billy looked down, closed his eyes, and sighed out.

"What about Agatha?" Billy asked. "How did she get involved?"

"Well, the Hex was one of the greatest beacons of magical energy that anyone had seen before," Xion explained. "Many were afraid to approach it, but Agatha saw it as a beacon of power for her to take. She infiltrated the Hex, manipulated Wanda to try and figure out the answers she wanted, and when all that failed, she went the nuclear route. She kidnapped you and Tommy to get Wanda to comply with her demands. They took a trip through Wanda's memories, forced her to relive the trauma of her past, before they figured out how Wanda had formed the Hex. She realized that Wanda was the fabled Scarlet Witch, and she decided that she was gonna steal her powers."

"Yeah, she decided that the powers were wasted on Wanda because she wasn't using them at their fullest potential," Kairi said, remembering what she had heard.

"So she was gonna absorb Wanda's powers and kill her, too?" Billy asked, frowning in surprise.

"Yep," Xion confirmed. "And she threatened to kill you and Tommy to bait her into attacking. She choked you guys with purple lassos of magic."

Billy narrowed his eyes at that. A deep, anger-filled frown appeared on his face, and he breathed in and out before closing his hands into fists. He glared at the ground as blue magic appeared around his hands.

"That bitch," Billy growled out angrily.

Kairi and Xion tensed up, and Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all felt worried for them. They had all seen what Wanda had accidentally done with her magic in anger, and none of them were interested in seeing what Billy would do with that same kind of magic.

"Billy, Billy, Billy," Kairi quickly said, getting his attention. "Maybe, uh... Cool it with the magic for a bit?"

Billy paused, then closed his eyes and breathed in and out. Slowly but surely, the anger faded from his face, and the magic slowly faded from his hands, which had Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all sighing out in relief.

"Sorry," Billy told them with an apologetic look.

"You're fine," Xion promised, with Kairi nodding her head.

Kairi and Xion then spent the next few minutes answering more of Billy's questions as best they could, trying to fill in any gaps that he wanted answered involving his lost memories as both William Kaplan and Billy Maximoff. Wanda and Vision intervened occasionally with answers of what they remembered from inside the Hex, which helped the young teen, even though he didn't know the two of them were involved.

"I think the biggest shock is trying to handle two identities at once," Billy admitted. "I mean, I can't tell what parts of me are still William and what parts of me are Billy. Have you ever dealt with a dual identity like that before?"

Kairi and Xion both just raised an eyebrow at their memories, with Kairi remembering the struggles of having Naminé in her heart, while Xion remembered when she was absorbing Sora's memories and forming them into her own.

"I've, uh... got a bit of an idea," Kairi admitted.

"Me, too," Xion added. "In more ways than one."

The group was silent for a moment before the sound of someone groaning rang out nearby. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all turned towards the noise, and their eyes narrowed when they saw Agatha slowly but surely climbing out of the mud puddle, gripping branches as best she could to use as leverage to get out.

"She's still alive?" Xion complained with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I still sense that Lilia and Jen are alive, just out of our reach," Kairi reminded them. "It stands to reason that Agatha would survive drowning in a mud puddle, too."

"Joy..." Billy sighed out.

"Should we finish her off?" Kairi asked, looking between her allies.

"No," Billy told them. There was a reluctant expression on his face. "Though you might both be used to murder since you're Avengers, I'd rather that no one else died today."

"That makes sense," Xion admitted with a nod of her head.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all softly nodded in agreement, and Vision couldn't help but feel pride for Billy, inwardly swearing that he got that from him.

Whatever the case, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all pushed themselves to their feet and wiped the dirt off of their jeans. Kairi and Xion turned and watched as Agatha continued pulling herself out of the mud, groaning and spitting a couple of times to get some of the mud off of her face. Kairi and Xion felt no shame in not helping Agatha as she continued to struggle to get out of the mud puddle. Climbing onto The Road and getting leaves stuck to her with the mud, she groaned as she stood up and wiped her face before trying to pull her blazer off.

Given her past actions, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all felt a twinge of satisfaction over the way she groaned, yelped, and shouted in discomfort.

Kairi and Xion then turned to look at Billy, furrowing their eyebrows as they saw him fiddling with a little tile piece that looked like it had tiny writing on it. Kairi and Xion furrowed their eyebrows at the piece of tile, while Billy looked at it intently, his hood still over his head because of the breeze.

"That tile," Stephen said with his eyebrows narrowed. "That's a form of magic that's used for camouflage wards."

"That must be what put the sigil over him," Wanda added.

"And those are made... with Divination magic," Stephen added.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes as they came to the same conclusion.

'Lilia...' they all simultaneously thought. *4*

The group then watched as Billy crushed the tile in his hand, then opened his fingers, letting the pieces drop to the ground. Wanda then let out a soft gasp as she sensed Billy all the way in Westview, and was very surprised to sense that the boy was almost completely identical to the Billy that was currently in her pregnant stomach. She narrowed her eyes, wondering just what this meant.

Kairi and Xion then looked away from Billy, and frowned as they saw Agatha approaching them. Having wiped some of the mud off of her, she had a look on her face that was hard to read as she approached them. Billy was just still staring at the ground as he removed the hood from his head, while Kairi and Xion continued to cautiously look at Agatha.

"... That was quite a debut," Agatha remarked, pointedly looking between Kairi and Xion at Billy. "'A sigil, what's that? Power is what I'm missing'. Hardly."

"Power doesn't interest me," Billy replied, still not looking at Agatha.

"Keep telling yourself that," Agatha remarked.

"Not everyone is like you," Xion pointed out.

"Yeah, not everyone is as obsessed with power," Kairi added. She shook her head. "Some of us actually try to do things for the good of others instead of being selfish."

"Where's the fun in that?" Agatha asked with a wave of her hands.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all sighed out together over how Agatha still hadn't changed.

"When did you figure it out?" Billy asked Agatha, obviously referring to his identity.

"I had a feeling when we first met," Agatha admitted. "Even with the sigil in the way, you and your mother have the same tell."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows, while Billy turned around in curiosity.

"Which is?" he asked.

"Very inconvenient for you," Agatha answered.

Roxas, Stephen, and Vision all looked from Billy on the screen to Wanda sitting with them. The three men all shared a look behind her back, and they nodded their heads in understanding.

"Hey," Wanda said, frowning since she had just heard their thoughts.

"I wasn't 'sure' sure until you..." Agatha slowly said.

She gestured with her hands, imitated an explosion, and pretended to scream. Wanda frowned in offense, while Kairi and Xion raised an eyebrow, and Billy just turned around to look at the mud puddles again.

"It's nice to see you again... Billy," Agatha evenly said.

Kairi and Xion looked from Agatha to Billy once again as he let out an uneven breath. The two teens looked at him in concern before he turned around and looked at Agatha again.

"Billy," Billy repeated. "William." Agatha smiled, and no one could tell if it was real or fake. "You can hear me now."

"Every witch with a beating heart can hear you now," Agatha declared.

Wanda nodded in agreement.

"Ah," Agatha then said. She looked down and appeared to be disappointed, but the group once again couldn't tell if this was true or not. "Lilia and Jen."

"They're still alive," Kairi told her with a frown. "I can sense the light in peoples' hearts, and while they're a little far, their light hasn't dimmed out, yet. They're still alive, just... a little far from us."

"Ah... That's nice," Agatha said with an indifferent look on her face. "Well, hey, at least this means you didn't kill two people."

"No," Xion remarked with a shake of her head as Billy just looked at them. "Instead, he's stuck with two non-witches, and an evil witch with enough blood on her hands to fill an ocean."

"Okay," Agatha said with a fake laugh. "Just for the record, I didn't miss you, Xi-girl."

"Xion," Xion corrected her with a frown. "And the feeling's mutual."

"Right..." Agatha said, still giving a fake laugh. She looked at Billy. "Billy, these are a couple of old enemies of mine. Just for the record, the black haired girl was there when I had my powers taken from me, and they're both a little bitter. I wouldn't trust anything they say."

"Really?" Billy asked as he frowned at Agatha. "So, you didn't choke the past forms of me and Tommy and threaten to kill us to get Wanda to listen to you?"

Agatha said nothing. She just continued to smile, but Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all inwardly smirked when they saw a flash of embarrassment appear in her eyes.

"Well..." Agatha slowly said. She chuckled and gestured to the sides. "I mean, what really is the right definition of 'truth' nowadays?"

Billy unknowingly joined Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion in rolling their eyes and groaning over Agatha's blasé reaction to her past misdeeds.

"But, hey, life goes on," Agatha said. She gestured to Billy. "And yours, anyway, too. I mean, you think threatening children is the worst thing I've done? I mean, I've killed..."

She paused and actually tried to count the number of people she's killed on her fingers. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows in disgust as Agatha proceeded to just make a ridiculous face and gesture with her hands.

"My share," Agatha eventually said with a chuckle that disgusted even Billy. "But you don't see it holding me back."

"... What the fuck is wrong with you?" Kairi asked with a glare. *5*

"Oh, a hell of a lot," Agatha admitted with another chuckle.

"I'm not like you," Billy declared with a frown.

"Where have I heard that before?" Agatha asked with a small smirk.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Xion all just glared at her again, while Wanda frowned, remembering how she had said those very words.

"But tell me," Agatha said. She clasped her hands together and rubbed them as she walked forward, a dark and twisted look on her face. "I just gotta know." Kairi and Xion moved in front of Billy to try and protect him as Agatha eagerly pointed a finger at his chest. "Where did you come by this fresh body you're wearing?"

Billy just said nothing since he still didn't completely understand, while Kairi and Xion just continued to glare at Agatha.

"Okay, you don't wanna tell me," Agatha assessed with a wave of her hands. "That's fine. But..." She gave Billy a meaningful look. "Don't you dare feel guilty about your talent."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows. This was probably the most inspirational, and least selfish thing they had ever heard Agatha say to someone else.

"You survived... like witches have been doing for centuries," Agatha told Billy. "You saw an opportunity, an empty vessel, and you moved in. So you broke the rules. Big deal. That's what kept you alive." She gestured to Billy. "That's what makes you special."

Billy joined Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion in looking at Agatha.

"That's what makes you a witch," Agatha told Billy.

"There was some stuff in that speech that I agreed with, and some that I didn't," Kairi admitted.

"I'd say it was about 50/50, or so," Xion added.

Billy softly nodded his head in agreement, and in Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also softly nodded in agreement.

"Now," Agatha declared. She walked past Billy, Kairi, and Xion, and started to walk down the path provided to them. "If we're gonna make it to the end..."

"'We'?" Billy asked.

He, Kairi, and Xion turned to frown at Agatha together, and the witch turned back to look at them.

"But I don't need you anymore," Billy told her with a frown. Agatha looked at him. "I don't know if I ever did. And honestly, I think the two girls I just met are better company. Especially since one of them remembers my past as Billy and I don't."

"Thank you, Billy," Kairi told him as they all frowned at Agatha.

"And honestly, a little part of me is up for a rematch now that you've got no powers," Xion admitted as she also frowned at Agatha.

Agatha really thought she had the nerve to look betrayed as Billy, Kairi, and Xion all walked up to her with dangerous looks on their faces.

However, as Billy waved his hand, there was the sound of energy warbling, which had him looking down in confusion. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all looked at Billy's hand as he kept waving it, trying to get the magic to come back. Stephen and Wanda both grimaced in understanding, remembering how difficult it had initially been for them to make their magic appear. Agatha proceeded to laugh at the sight, while Billy sighed in resignation, and Kairi and Xion turned to look at the witch.

Kairi decided to do Billy a favor and swung a fist, punching Agatha right in the cheek and making her exclaim as she took a step back. While Agatha gripped her cheek, Billy joined Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion in smiling.

"Thank you, Kairi," Billy told her.

"No problem, Billy," Kairi said. She frowned and looked at the others. "Hey, real quick, how do you get Billy from William? Wouldn't it be Will or Willy?"

She paused as she realized what she just said.

"Actually, never mind," Kairi said. "I see why you wouldn't want to be called 'Willy'."

Billy and Xion both smirked in amusement before they were drawn to Agatha groaning again. They watched as she rubbed her cheek and turned towards the trio.

"Well, you might not be a witch, but you've got a hell of a right hook," Agatha remarked to Kairi.

"Thank you," Kairi said. She looked at Billy. "Now, we're gonna help you finish The Road."

"Yeah, we endured four trials of our own," Xion informed him. "We can help you through whatever else you come across down here."

"Oh, sure," Agatha said, frowning at Billy as he, Kairi, and Xion started to walk away. "Finish the Road with all that power you can't control without throwing a temper tantrum, alongside two girls who aren't even witches."

"I'll figure it out!" Billy snapped, turning back towards Agatha.

"We're not witches, but we've survived this long," Kairi told him.

"And we can make it to the end," Xion emphasized.

Agatha just hummed and leaned forward slightly, gesturing to the group suspiciously.

"I don't give a flying shit what either of you want at the end," Agatha told Kairi and Xion. She pointed at Billy. "But you... What does Billy Maximoff want at the end of The Road?" She marched forward with the frown still on her face. "Big Magick is already in the bag."

She stepped forward and walked around Billy inquisitively, repeatedly patting her chin in thought as Kairi and Xion once again tried to shield off the young teen from her.

"Is it... 'find Mama'?" Agatha asked, walking around Billy mockingly. "No. She chose a town full of strangers over her own flesh and wires."

Kairi and Xion both frowned at Agatha, and Wanda and Vision both glared as Agatha continued walking around Billy. Billy himself tried to keep his face away from Agatha, while also keeping his face even as best he could.

"What about Robo-Papa?" Agatha asked. She shook her head. "Lord knows where he is, or in how many pieces." *6*

"Kairi, punch her again," Wanda requested.

"I almost agree," Vision admitted.

"So, who is left?" Agatha asked, clicking her tongue as she moved in front of Billy again.

She walked around Billy, Kairi, and Xion together before slowly coming to a stop in front of the boy again.

"Oh!" Agatha mockingly said. "Right." She gestured with her hands in a grand manner. "There's two of you. You're after Toby."

"Tommy," Billy corrected her.

"That's what I said," Agatha said, looking embarrassed.

"He literally just said the name three minutes ago," Kairi told her with a frown. "How absent-minded are you?"

"It still makes sense, though," Xion said as she turned to look at Billy. "You're here, but where exactly is he supposed to be?"

"Exactly," Billy agreed with a huff. "He's out there somewhere. I can sense him. I just... can't find him."

Kairi and Xion nodded their heads in understanding, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda and Vision all wondered just where Tommy was.

"Gosh, you really are a Maximoff," Agatha commented. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all watched as she frowned at the boy. "Otherwise, none of this would be nearly as dramatic."

"Shut up," Xion said as she and Kairi frowned at Agatha.

"He's my brother," Billy then declared. He took a step closer to Agatha in warning, which only got her to smirk again. "If you really wanna finish this together, just know that I do not trust you. At all. Ever."

"No one ever trusts her, Billy," Xion informed him.

"She's too much of a bitch," Kairi emphasized.

Agatha just gave a big smile before lifting her mud-solidified hair and lifting it up to her face. Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all rolled their eyes as Agatha playfully waved her hair in front of her face, pretending it was a mustache, before dropping it as she looked at the trio.

"The two kiddies are a little dramatic," Agatha replied. The smile vanished from her face. "But I got it. You're both bitches, too, but I got it."

She nodded to the side.

"Let's go find the next trial," Agatha told them. "Last one there is a nice person."

With that, she flung her mud-covered hair over her shoulder, turned, and started walking down the leaf-covered Road once again. Once she got far enough away from the group, she looked back over her shoulder before she continued walking. Kairi and Xion sighed, while Billy softly shook his head.

"I'm not that nice," Billy softly said.

Whatever the case, Billy turned and shared a nod of the head with Kairi and Xion, showing that he at least trusted them, which filled the two teens with some joy. With that, the three of them turned together and reluctantly started walking after Agatha, knowing that they were (unfortunately) going to have to stick together to finish the remaining trials. Of course, given the sheer curiosity they felt over the weirdness of what was going on around them, Kairi and Xion were equally ready to help Billy through the rest of the trials, and ready to figure out what was going on down here.

At the same time, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all continued to inwardly hope for the best for their friends, while wondering what all was going on with The Road, and where Tommy is...

Chapter Text

Things remained understandably tense as Billy, Kairi, and Xion walked with Agatha down the path provided to them by The Witches' Road, all three of them moving between the many trees across the leaf-covered ground with fog in the distance. The fog made it so that they could only see things in the semicircle they were in as they progressed further down the path. The smoke cleared as Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion continued to walk down the path, allowing more to be seen around them by the second. With Billy still didn't understand his magic, and Agatha had no powers available to her, Kairi and Xion both stayed ready for any kind of attack or fight, knowing that there was still great danger between the trouble on the Road, the Salem Seven, and Rio was still out there.

In Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda continued to stay tense as they watched Billy, Kairi, and Xion walk with Agatha along The Witches' Road. Though they were apprehensive and still confused about the concept of the Road being in place as a whole, they were more than ready to trust Kairi and Xion in reaching the end and helping Billy complete all the trials. Wanda and Vision were especially ready if this meant that they'd be able to figure out where Tommy was, too, even if this whole situation still confused them since Wanda currently had Tommy and Billy in her stomach. Roxas and Stephen just continued to hope for the best and push down their desire to find a way to rush to the Road to help in some manner.

Still walking down the Road, Kairi and Xion stayed ready to summon their Keyblades at a moment's notice in case danger appeared, which was a possibility considering all the threats around them. Billy and Agatha also stayed silent, but there was still a tense air amongst the group considering Agatha's history, and Billy, Kairi, and Xion's history with her. Billy had removed his jacket and tied it around his waist, Agatha was still stained with mud, while Kairi and Xion brushed aside their hair so it was out of their face as they continued walking.

Kairi was also silent as she continued to feel guilt over her previous, recent anger shown towards Xion that had to be revealed during their previous two trials. Xion kept glancing at her sister, but she just avoided eye contact, which Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda all obviously noticed through their headsets.

Soon enough, though, Agatha decided to break the silence.

"You'll get a nosebleed trying that hard to read my mind," she commented to Billy.

Kairi and Xion looked up with a frown, while Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda all also just furrowed their eyebrows. Billy, of course, just sighed out and looked up, pointedly keeping his gaze away from Agatha.

"I'm not," he replied.

"Oh," Agatha said, her tone of voice making it clear she didn't believe him. "Okay." There was a moment of silence where Billy looked down again. "You can just ask me your questions. Aloud."

"Okay, then, where's Rio?" Billy bluntly asked.

"Yeah, we haven't seen your crazy ex in way too long," Kairi agreed, looking warily around the swamp.

"Not that question," Agatha declared, which had Kairi and Xion rolling their eyes. "Any other queries for your old babysitter?" Billy was just silent again. "It's the whole reason you bought a ticket to ride, isn't it?"

She tilted her head to the side as she looked at Billy.

"I'm your mom's ex-best friend," Agatha declared with a slight bit of arrogance.

"You were never her friend, let alone a best friend," Xion replied with a frown. "The only things you did to Wanda were trick her, manipulate her emotionally, mess with her head by making a guy pretend he was her dead brother, and then try to kill her by stealing her powers. Oh, and in the process, you tried to kill me and my friends and threw me off a roof."

"You really need to let things go," Agatha commented with a groan.

Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda all huffed at the memory of Westview from two years prior, while Kairi just sighed out as she once again learned of Agatha's past misdeeds. Agatha just rolled her eyes, while Wanda and Vision once again felt grateful to Xion for being there during the situation in Westview.

"I have nothing to ask you, Agatha," Billy sternly told the witch. "I'll get what I want at the end of The Road." He turned to look at Agatha. "And she's not my mom. I have a mom."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, and Xion all just frowned and looked at Billy at that.

Of course, while Wanda and Vision were both a little hurt, they could understand where Billy was coming from. He didn't have his memories of Westview, so all he knew was that he had his powers and that his soul had been mixed with the soul of Billy, Wanda and Vision's son (somehow, and somehow with a copy of Billy's soul). So, he still had his memories of William, meaning that the family of William Kaplan was still the one he considered his family. Wanda and Vision both understood his mindset, and while it stung slightly, they respected his choice since it was what he wanted.

But they both inwardly hoped that Billy would still be able to trust them. Both Wanda and Vision knew it was selfish, but they didn't want any version of their kids to not want to trust them. *1*

"Ooh!" Agatha gushed playfully, like a teen girl hearing gossip.

The tense silence returned as Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion continued down the pathway provided by The Witches' Road. Smoke and fog continued to clear with each step they took as they progressed further down the pathway. The four of them looked out to see whatever danger could approach as Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda continued to watch through the headsets in worry.

After a moment, Billy decided to ask a question that he did have.

"Kairi, Xion..." he slowly said. "What are Wanda Maximoff and Vision like?"

Kairi and Xion looked at him in surprise, while Agatha looked up in curiosity. Roxas and Stephen frowned in surprise since they hadn't expected that, while Wanda and Vision gave a small smile, happy to hear that Billy wanted to know more about them.

"They're both really good people," Xion said with a smile. "They have a total of three main priorities in life: their love for each other, their families, and their dedication to help people as Avengers."

"And only rarely have those priorities caused a conflict with them," Kairi added. She chuckled. "Weirdly enough, she actually didn't trust him at first because he was made by Ultron, but she came around. We were all there when Tony, Bruce, and V combined JARVIS into the Vibranium body to make him, though. And while it was a romantic meeting in retrospect for him and Wanda, it's also a little weird in retrospect to think that we all saw him naked."

While Agatha laughed in amusement, grimaces were shared amongst Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, and Xion, while Vision just blushed at the memory, and Stephen raised an eyebrow since he had never heard that part of the story.

"They have their ups and downs, like any other couple, but they're good friends," Xion emphasized. She smirked. "Vision's head is connected to the internet, so he's more or less a walking thesaurus. It can be helpful and only mildly annoying. But he's always quick to help when he's needed. And he had been more than willing to sacrifice his own life in an attempt to stop Thanos all those years ago. He meant it literally when he said that he's on the side of life."

Billy softly nodded his head.

"He's also a little obsessed with Shakespeare and Harry Potter," Kairi added.

This got the group to share a couple of smirks.

"Wanda, she's fun in her own way," Xion added with a smile. "She loves sitcoms, which is part of what influenced the Hex, but she's also pretty good at karaoke, and loves gossip. Family is what's most important to her after she lost so much of her family when she was younger, so she's willing to go to any limit to protect the family she has, whether it's found or biological."

Billy nodded in understanding, while Agatha inwardly felt a small surge of respect.

"But they're both also flawed people," Kairi added. "Vision, ever since he was first created, has questioned if his new purpose in life is truly better, especially since he was originally made for Ultron. Then he was taken apart and formed into a weapon called CATARACT by a douche bag in the government and was forced to try and kill Wanda. Vision... He's still figuring stuff out after all of that, but he's doing better."

Billy nodded again.

"Wanda... she has things a little more rough," Xion admitted. "Her powers were always too strong for her to have a form of control, and it's led to a hell of a lot of people over the years to assume she's dangerous and too irredeemable. She even got thrown in prison and was forced to wear a shock collar that zapped the crap out of her every time she used her powers."

Billy grimaced, Wanda sighed at the memory, Vision once again looked ready to murder the person who had used that collar, and Agatha inwardly grimaced in sympathy, knowing that other witches were similarly prosecuted just for being witches.

"She's struggled a lot with trying to figure out how to use her powers," Xion emphasized, giving Billy a pointed look. "If anyone understands what you're going through, it's her. She's worked hard to try and determine whether she's good or bad, but she does everything she can to try and be good. She's a good person, and she'd be more than willing to help if you need it."

Billy looked down in contemplation, while Wanda and Vision were grateful to Kairi and Xion for speaking in their favor.

"Well, here's hoping she's still trying to do good even with the Darkhold," Agatha commented. She raised an eyebrow. "She stole it from me, and with a girl that powerful with magic, I'd hate to see what it'd force her to do."

"Actually, she was good," Xion said as she looked at Agatha. "After we learned it corrupted the soul, we threw the Darkhold into a black hole."

Agatha raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"And that destroyed it?" she asked.

"No," Xion admitted. "An old enemy of ours snatched it, studied it for about a year and a half her time, it corrupted her and made her even more evil, and she attacked us and tried to kill us all, and almost destroyed the entire universe."

Agatha and Billy raised their eyebrows in surprise, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grimaced at the memory of Maleficent and her actions from earlier this year.

"Well, despite everything, I'm... happy to hear she's alive," Agatha informed them, which no one believed. "I got a little confused about the whole thing for a bit."

"Why?" Kairi asked as she, Billy, and Xion looked at her.

"When I was getting out of the illusion Wanda put me under, Rio manipulated things to help me break out," Agatha informed them. "In the process, she went into the detective persona I had and forged a case. There, I ended up finding a dead woman who had died from blunt force trauma with dirt from Europe under her fingernails. I never saw the face of the lady, but in the illusion, her red hair and forensics said she looked to be in her late 20s."

"Hey," Wanda said with a frown.

"That's the part that gets a reaction from you?" Stephen asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I prefer it when people get my age right," Wanda replied, still frowning.

"You are aware it's impossible for people to get my age right, correct?" Vision asked his wife.

"Same with me," Roxas agreed with an eyebrow raised.

Kairi frowned and smacked the headset she was wearing, knowing this wasn't important.

"Made it hard for me to tell if she was alive or dead," Agatha emphasized. "Especially when Rio kept saying that she was gone." She shrugged her shoulders. "Granted, I can barely tell who all I know is alive or dead, so who am I to say?"

Billy, Kairi, and Xion all just frowned at Agatha before sighing and looking in front of them again. *2*

All four of them stopped as they looked down the pathway, and in Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda's eyes all narrowed.

"... That's different," Billy commented.

"You're tellin' me," Kairi agreed.

Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion, along with Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda, looked down the pathway in front of them, seeing that it formed a road that included many twists and turns as it went up a large mountain. This mountain led up to a massive castle with large walls, cylinder shaped areas with spires that pointed high up into the air, and a massive addition in the center that rose even higher into the air, far larger and thicker than any of the other cylinder shaped structures with a spire on top. There were lanterns and other lights all along the sides of the building, allowing a bit of light to be seen shining from many different areas of the castle. The dark clouds covering the dark green sky were clear right above the castle, giving it an ominous look.

Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Xion, and Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda all sighed as they realized this was their next destination.

"The Road is a fickle mistress," Agatha remarked.

"More vague insight," Billy sarcastically commented as Agatha brushed some of her hair with her hands. "Thank you."

"He's being very pessimistic," Roxas commented.

"I kinda get it," Stephen admitted.

"In my experience, I..." Agatha started to say.

"In your experience?" Billy asked as he, Kairi, and Xion all looked at her. "I honestly believed your experience would be the key to our success here."

"We're alive," Agatha reminded him with a frown. "Success."

"And how many times did you try to kill everyone else in your coven along the way?" Kairi suggested with a frown.

"That's not important," Agatha said at the same time Billy said, "A few times."

Agatha just frowned, but Billy, Kairi, and Xion all just looked at her unapologetically.

"Now I wonder if you've ever been on The Road at all," Billy told Agatha.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all furrowed their eyebrows slightly, remembering how the whole concept of The Witches' Road was part of a long con Agatha had been using for centuries. But they brushed it aside as Billy turned and started marching up the pathway towards the castle. Kairi and Xion followed after him, and Agatha stared at the group in offense before she started following them.

Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wanda all watched through the monitor as Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all walked together through the pathway The Road provided them, moving up small ridges, over a creek, and across all sorts of leaf-covered ground. The quartet moved up the pathway, going up the hill towards the castle. Soon enough, they reached the top of the hill and walked over a small bridge with the phases of the moon on it over a tiny stream with large rocks sticking out. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion walked together to the wooden double doors that served as the castle entrance, complete with torches on each side.

The four of them reached the double doors, then moved together to open them. Kairi reluctantly moved next to Agatha as Xion moved to Billy's side as they pushed open the doors, and they were suddenly surrounded in darkness.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all continued to frown before things cleared up, revealing that the group was now inside a large, circular library. There were closed gates at different sides of the room, metal grates over windows, a checker patterned floor, a circular table in the center of the room, a few bookshelves, and a couple of areas covered by curtains. There were torches in other areas of the room to offer light, and the roof was high and vaulted above them as the quartet looked around. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion found themselves right next to the circular table as they looked around.

Of course,  the new landscape also led to a change in their clothes. Agatha and Billy were both now wearing robes, though they were clearly different. Agatha was wearing a black and purple robe with a circular, pointed hat, though her skin had been dyed and covered green, making it clear that she was to represent the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz, complete with a fake, longer nose. Of course, Billy was wearing black and blue robes, complete with various straps, a circular collar around his neck, and a secure wrap on the back of his head with horns sticking up, making it clear he was supposed to represent Maleficent.

While Agatha and Billy looked around together, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wanda, and Xion all grimaced at Billy's costume, all of them once again being reminded of their previous bad experiences with Maleficent.

"Classic," Billy praised, turning towards them to show dark makeup and filled in eyebrows on his face.

Agatha just continued to wave her hands dramatically to emphasize her role as the Wicked Witch.

"Oh!" she gleefully said. "She's based on me, you know."

"I believe it," Xion commented with an eyebrow raised.

Agatha just gushed in pride while Billy moved over to a statue, looked at his reflection in the shield, and adjusted the hat slightly.

"Well, you seem pleased with your look," Agatha observed.

"Well, if the cheekbones fit..." Billy slowly said.

"Yeah, well, it's giving flashbacks," Xion said. "Maleficent is the witch we mentioned who tried to kill us and destroy the whole galaxy."

Agatha and Billy both frowned and looked at the two Keyblade wielders in surprise.

"You know and fought freaking Maleficent?" Agatha asked incredulously.

"We know Donald, Goofy, and Mickey," Kairi reminded them. "Villains in Disney movies are basically our Rogues Gallery."

"Whoa..." Billy slowly said in amazement.

Agatha then laughed.

"The wardrobe department's been interesting with you two, though," Agatha remarked, gesturing to Kairi and Xion.

The two teens frowned before Kairi then looked at Xion and raised her eyebrows. Xion frowned and looked down, and her own eyes widened.

Xion's outfit had changed to put her in a different dress than anything she had ever worn before. There was a white undershirt with large, puffy sleeves that covered half her upper arms underneath the large, blue and white patterned dress that went down to her knees. She also had on a long set of light blue socks, red slippers that glowed and looked like they were made of rubies, and a brown basket in the crook of her arm that she raised an eyebrow at. Xion's hair was also longer, forming two braids that went down over her shoulders and onto her chest, tied with small blue ribbons.

The group all narrowed their eyes at how Xion's outfit had changed.

"Oh, dear," Vision said over the intercom. "It seems that since you're not a witch, your outfit reflected that for this specific trial."

"So instead of making you into a famous, fictional witch..." Roxas slowly said.

"You got made into Dorothy, Xi-girl," Agatha commented.

Xion huffed and looked up again, before narrowing her eyes on Kairi.

"The wardrobe's also been interesting to you, sister," Xion said.

Kairi looked down and let out a small gasp.

Kairi's own outfit had also been changed, shifting from her clothes into an elegant bright pink ballgown with a white collar around her neck. The pink was in different shades at her torso, on her sleeves, and on the flowing lower half of the dress, while a white flowy section was visible just underneath the dress's hem. Kairi's hair was also longer, having formed into more elegant waves that covered her forehead and flowed down her back, while a golden crown was perched in the center of her hair above her face. She could feel that she was wearing heels underneath her outfit, which had her grit her teeth over how they pinched.

"Oh, my God," Billy exclaimed. "You're Sleeping Beauty."

"Aurora," Kairi corrected. She looked down and raised an eyebrow. "You know, I think I'm okay with this. I was the only Princess of Heart who never got a fancy dress."

Agatha and Billy raised an eyebrow, while Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wanda, and Xion all smirked in amusement. *3*

"Well, wardrobe aside..." Agatha said. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all turned and watched as she placed a hand on the circular table, which had slots on the surface for cards. "Do you think this is important?"

Billy walked over to the table as he, Kairi, and Xion all read the inscription on the side. In Missouri, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also narrowed their eyes at the words on the surface.

"'Your path winds out of time'," Billy read. He pointed at the table. "It's Tarot. I know this, kind of."

"We have to do a Tarot reading?" Kairi asked.

"It might be more complex than that," Stephen pointed out.

Whatever the case, Billy took a stack of Tarot cards and started looking at them.

All of a sudden, the sound of creaking gears echoed nearby, and Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all turned towards a desk. They all watched as an hourglass proceeded to rotate, moving about so that the sand was in the top half and slowly started to fall down into the lower half, making it clear that this was their time limit.

"Crap," Xion said. She huffed and looked amongst the group. "Any idea what we're supposed to do?"

"This is a trial specifically for witches, so... Me and Agatha, I guess," Billy slowly said. He looked at her and gestured with the cards. "I'll read for you, I guess."

Agatha turned towards Billy and gestured with a hand.

"No time like the present," she declared.

"How good are you with those cards?" Kairi asked.

"I guess we'll see," Billy declared.

While Agatha and Billy pulled up chairs to the table, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all grimaced. Agatha rested one hand on her chin and the other on the back of the chair as Billy kept looking at the cards.

"He's gonna get you guys all killed," Roxas commented.

"Hopefully not," Vision replied.

Of course, Billy just pulled out a card showing an image of a horse pulling a chariot and showed it to Agatha.

"The horse-drawn carri..." Billy started to say.

"The Chariot," Agatha corrected him. She pointed at the card. "It's literally written on the card."

Kairi and Xion grimaced again while Billy turned the card to look at it. Stephen and Wanda both inwardly hoped that though he was a rookie, Billy would be able to make the right choices with Tarot. *4*

"Right," Billy said. He cleared his throat. "So, obviously, you're leaving somewhere behind, and you have these sphinxes with you, and they represent your..." He looked at the card a couple of times. "Your... mysteriousness."

"Oh, you have a real gift," Agatha sarcastically said.

"Hey, he's trying," Xion said in Billy's defense.

"Okay, this card hasn't really come up much for me," he admitted. "So..."

He placed the card face up in one of the slots on the table.

All of a sudden, there was a metal clang, and a long sword fell from the ceiling and impaled itself into the ground behind Agatha's chair. She, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all turned to look at the sword as it shook on the ground before coming to a stop.

"... Where did that come from?" Wanda asked, her voice small.

Slowly, Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion raised their heads to look up at the ceiling. There, they saw numerous, ornate wooden patterns in the ceiling, but secured within the wood were over a hundred ornate swords, all of them pointed down and not appearing to be held down by anything. Between this and how the first sword had fallen just by Billy's action, it was clear that these swords were part of their test.

They had a time limit, but if they made one wrong move, then a sword would fall.

"Shit," Stephen swore, speaking the word that was on everyone's mind.

"That is very, very not good," Kairi commented with a shake of her head.

"... I'll try another one," Billy eventually said, trying to ignore his nervousness.

Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all huffed and looked at him before he took out another card, which he held upside down.

"Seven of Swords," Billy mumbled out, clearly still nervous.

"At least you're on theme," Agatha commented, looking up at the ceiling.

"I'll see what I can do with a barrier if something happens," Xion said. She looked up. "But with magic, I don't know what all can be done."

"I know this one," Billy then excitedly declared, pointing at the card. "It's about deception and betrayal."

"Oh, two of Agatha's primary actions," Roxas commented, with Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all humming in agreement.

"Check. Check," Agatha shamelessly confirmed with her own hum.

Billy furrowed his eyebrows as Kairi and Xion looked at Agatha.

"Except it's reversed," Billy pointed out. "So that means the opposite." Agatha gave a small nod, which had Billy scoff. "You're being truthful? Well, that can't be right."

"Sure you didn't just accidentally pull it out upside down?" Xion asked.

"Magic doesn't work like that," Billy said, unknowingly echoing the sentiments of Wanda and Stephen.

With that, he placed the latest card into a slot, and another sword fell out of the air and right into the ground near Billy's chair, which had him, Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all looking at it. The group all grimaced and grit their teeth in worry before Agatha stood up, declaring it was her turn.

Kairi and Xion watched with Billy, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision as Agatha took the cards and explained that it was a con like any other. Kairi and Xion raised an eyebrow as Agatha said there was no magick or skill to it, which Billy tried to deny. He argued that it was about intuition, knowing which card to pull, interpretation, and divining their meaning. Kairi and Xion assessed that Agatha was just making things up as they went along, all while looking warily at the ceiling. This was confirmed when Agatha took a card out at random and placed it into a slot.

No one was surprised when another sword fell from the ceiling and was impaled into the ground nearby.

Of course, Agatha just growled and proceeded to start taking out more cards. Worry filled Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wanda, and Xion as Agatha just let out a wicked laugh as she placed cards into their slots at random. Soon enough, though, she placed the wrong card into the center slot, and a sword fell right over Billy's seat. Xion shouted and pushed him out of the chair just in time, so the sword stabbed into the wooden surface of the seat rather than through the young magician. Wanda and Vision were once again filled with great respect for Xion as she stood up with a huff.

Xion then huffed and grasped Billy's hand to help him up as he sarcastically told Agatha that her turn was going great. Agatha then declared that this was a numbers game, and if they kept at it, eventually they'd get the right cards in the right spots, or the ceiling would run out of swords. *5*

"There's like over a hundred freaking swords up there," Kairi exclaimed, gesturing up to the ceiling. "Eventually, one or two of them are gonna kill us!"

"And I'm not sure how much math you did back in Salem, but that will take forever," Billy added as they all just frowned right at Agatha.

"Oh, we still have some time," Agatha said, gesturing towards the hourglass, which was a third of the way empty.

"We're gonna die," Xion sighed out in resignation.

All of a sudden, the circular section around the table started to rotate, which had Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all look at it with their eyebrows furrowed. The sound of gears turning had them all frowning in suspicion before they all looked up. The eyes of the quartet, along with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all widened when they saw that the ceiling full of swords was slowly starting to push down towards them, the blades sharp enough to impale them all.

Kairi and Xion summoned their Keyblades and shot beams out at the ceiling. Barriers appeared, but the swords clearly had some kind of magical energy within them, because they shattered the barriers completely with just the simplest touch, almost like popping a balloon with a pin. Xion then grunted and waved her hands, making golden energy appear high above them. The ceiling caught it, and slowed down slightly, but it only continued to push down towards them. Xion grit her teeth as she kept the energy intact, which was keeping the ceiling from falling at it's original rate, but it was still moving at a dangerous enough speed towards them.

"Correction," Kairi said. "We're gonna die horribly."

"I wish Lilia was here," Billy said with a small huff.

"Divination witch," Wanda assessed. "Yeah, this is most likely her trial."

While Agatha was silent, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion, all inwardly agreed with Billy's sentiment.

All of a sudden, a nearby bookshelf opened up, and two figures stumbled into the room and fell to the ground. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion turned towards the shelf, and while their eyebrows narrowed slightly at the appearance of a cave on the other side of the library, they were surprised to realize that the two figures were Lilia and Jen. Of course, their outfits had also changed to represent pop culture witches, with Lilia wearing a bright pink dress and crown reminiscent of the good witch from Wizard of Oz, while Jen was in a black robe with silver hair falling from her head, and numerous warts and marks on her face, reminiscent of the Evil Queen's disguise from Snow White.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion joined Billy in being filled with relief over having Lilia and Jen back with them, though they all also inwardly grimaced over how Jen had been disguised.

"You're alive," Billy said as Lilia and Jen pushed themselves up onto their knees and looked at the group.

The group watched as Lilia and Jen pushed themselves to their feet before a loud creak garnered all of their attention. While Xion continued to work at making sure the ceiling didn't fall any more. Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Lilia all watched as the book shelf slowly rotated backwards and closed, sealing them off from the cave and ensuring they wouldn't be able to leave. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all a little relieved to see that they were going to have help now through Jen and Lilia, but they also inwardly grimaced, knowing that they might not be so willing to help after how Billy had flung them into mud.

Kairi and XIon just shared a grimace and hoped that things would work out okay, even if that was becoming more unlikely by the minute...

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...

Chapter Text

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision continued to watch warily through the monitor as Kairi and Xion continued with Agatha, Billy, and Jen down The Witches' Road, all of them still wondering just what all was going on, and how Rio was involved with things through her role as Death.

The group itself, meanwhile, walked in tense silence as Agatha led the way. Obviously, given that no one trusted her, Kairi and Xion kept their Keyblades drawn in preparation, while Billy was ready to use his Chaos magic (even though he still didn't completely understand it), and Jen stayed ready to do something to fight. The four of them walked with the most evil witch in their group down the leaf-covered road, all of them staying ready for any kind of attack or danger The Road might provide, especially with the potential danger of Rio given she was Death.

While Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all continued to stay ready for combat, Agatha decided to break the tension.

"One trial left until the big score," she declared with a stereotypical witch's cackle.

"Earth magick with no Green Witch," Billy pointed out stoically. "We're back to square one."

"That's the last trial?" Kairi asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"That's why it's supposed to be a potion's witch, a protection witch, a divination witch, and a green witch," Jen confirmed. "There's always a trial for each one of them."

"Here I thought it was just for magic diversity," Xion commented. She huffed. "Yeah, we might be in trouble."

"Oh, there's plenty of overlap between Earth and Potions, right, Jenny Kale?" Agatha asked, brushing her mud-drenched hair before looking back at Jen.

"Some," Jen replied as she just frowned back.

"Not enough to pass a trial," Wanda said over the intercom, which had Kairi and Xion sharing a look.

"Please," Agatha remarked to Jen. "Your last name is a vegetable. Worst kind. It's like swallowing a doily."

"I like kale," Xion commented, to try to be nice. *1*

Jen just shrugged her shoulders, while Billy and Kairi looked between her and Agatha.

"I have to be honest," Agatha slowly said. They walked around another large tree as Billy and Kairi just frowned. "I'm surprised you survived this long, Kale. My money was on Lilia."

"Are you always such a bitch?" Kairi asked with a frown as Billy, Jen, and Xion shared a look.

"Pretty much," Agatha admitted with a shrug of her shoulders as she continued down the path. She sighed excitedly. "What fresh horrors await us! It's the big finish, after all." She kept gesturing with her hands. "Get ready for fireworks! Get ready for spectacle! Get ready for..."

All of a sudden, Agatha proceeded to trip over something, which made her fall right to the ground and start groaning. Billy and Jen raised their eyebrows, though Kairi and Xion felt no shame in joining Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and even Vision in chuckling at the evil witch's misfortune.

Of course, as Agatha pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, her eyes widened in shock. Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion followed her gaze, and their eyes all narrowed. They had returned to the first place they appeared on The Road, where they had all removed their shoes. Agatha, Alice, Billy, Jen, Lilia, and Sharon's shoes were all spread out along the leaf-covered path, and Kairi and Xion's own shoes were placed right in front of them. Kairi and Xion huffed in surprise with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision, while Billy and Jen looked at the ground in shock.

"Our shoes," Jen said softly.

"We're back where we started," Billy assessed. "The Witches' Road is a circle."

"And this is the finish line?" Jen asked in surprise as Kairi and Billy looked around in surprise.

"No..." Xion slowly said, looking around in confusion. "No, there's gotta be something else."

Whatever the case, Agatha tried flexing her fingers to use magic, but nothing happened.

"That's it?" she complained. She slowly stood up and turned around, showing great annoyance on her face. "That's it!?"

"W-Well, maybe we passed the trial," Billy suggested, gesturing backwards.

"Even if we did, where's the exit?" Kairi pointed out, looking around and seeing nothing that looked like a way off the Road.

"Exactly," Agatha agreed, gritting her teeth in irritation. "How exactly do we get off?"

"Well, maybe we..." Billy started to stammer out.

"If you don't know, then keep quiet!" Agatha snapped, pointing at Billy's face.

"Shut up!" Xion snapped as she and Kairi frowned at the evil witch.

"Yeah, he's trying!" Kairi added.

Jen just huffed as she watched the whole shouting match, now inwardly regretting coming here in the first place.

Of course, while Billy frowned in offense, and Agatha turned around and started to exclaim in desperation, Jen then walked over and crouched down. Kairi and Xion looked at her, saw the despair on her face, and understood completely when seeing Alice,  Lilia, and Sharon's shoes within the leaves. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all joined Kairi and Xion in letting out a solemn sigh over the three lives lost on The Road.

"We keep going," Agatha then suggested.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kairi asked, frowning at Agatha with Billy, Jen, and Xion.

"We go again," Agatha said like it was the simplest thing in the world. "It'll work the second time."

"There is absolutely zero chance I'm going to endure that experience again," Jen sternly declared.

"Yeah, we barely survived our trials, and you guys barely survived even with Alice and Lilia," Xion remarked as Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision grimaced at the reminder.

"We definitely won't survive a second time, even with the Salem Seven gone," Kairi added.

"Fine!" Agatha shouted, looking back at the group angrily. "Stay here!"

With that, she turned and started to walk down the pathway once again, while Billy looked down at their shoes. Kairi and Xion followed his gaze to their shoes, and Agatha looked back and sarcastically asked Billy if he was gonna have the shoes bronzed. Kairi and Xion both just flipped the evil witch the bird as they looked at their shoes again.

"We took them off out of respect for The Road," Billy declared. "Screw The Road."

"Yeah, fuck The Road!" Kairi agreed.

The group all huffed as Billy walked over to his own shoes. Agatha, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all then watched as he grabbed one of his shoes and slipped it on. Of course, everything then promptly went black.

"What the hell?" Roxas asked, frowning in surprise.

"That... was strange," Vision remarked.

Wanda and Stephen shared a look, finding this to be confirmation that Billy had to be responsible for this.

Complete darkness filled Kairi and Xion's visions before there was the sound of slots opening up, and they felt their bodies being pushed along the surface of something. Both teens thrashed slightly, finding that they were in body bags, and reached up. Swinging their arms, partially in shock, Kairi and Xion managed to push open the zippers of the body bag, push them aside, and start pushing themselves up. They both gasped and huffed in surprise as they took a moment to look around and take in their surroundings.

They were a little surprised to find themselves in a large, hexagon shaped room with a gigantic collection of purple grow lights in the ceiling forming two massive circles above them. The walls were made up of hundreds of metal slots, two of which were open for Kairi and Xion, while there was a staircase in one wall that led up to a sealed door. The entire interior of the hexagon shaped room with the stairs reminded Kairi and Xion of Agatha's cellar, but they brushed it aside as they looked around.

Agatha, Billy, and Jen were also in the room, at their own three slots. Billy stood next to his slot, and Agatha and Jen were in their own, sitting up in the body bags that they had managed to climb out of. All five of them were wearing tan hospital gowns that patients usually wore, which was strangely fitting considering they had all woken up in body bags.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all sighed out in relief that their friends were okay, but curiosity filled them once again over the situation.

"Where are we?" Jen asked.

"Nowhere pleasant, by the looks of things," Kairi commented.

"Uh..." Agatha slowly said. She gestured to the stairs. "Oh. My basement. Give or take."

"Like I said, nowhere pleasant," Kairi replied, with Xion nodding in agreement.

While Billy was surprised and confused, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all climbed out of their body bags and the slots before moving forward. Kairi and Xion stood at the bottom of the stairs while Jen moved up them, confirming that the door wouldn't open. She sighed out as she came down and rejoined the group.

"It's sealed," Jen confirmed. She, Billy, Kairi, and Xion looked around before she gestured to the grow lights on the ceiling. "These are grow lights."

"Yeah, I remember these from when I tried to cheat and get a Girl's Scout badge as a kid," Kairi added, which made Wanda smirk since she had tried doing that, too. "Are... Are we supposed to grow something?"

"Green Witch trial, Earth magick, remember?" Xion pointed out with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well, that explains how we're supposed to do it in a place with no soil or water," Agatha bitterly replied. She sighed. "It certainly has the irritating sting of a Witches' Road trial."

With that, she started to ruffle around inside her body bag before pulling out a bag, which contained her broach with the design on it. Agatha remarked that they had their personal items, so Billy and Jen rushed to their own body bags. Kairi and Xion shrugged their shoulders since they didn't have anything, while Agatha stood up and attached her broach to the front of her shirt. Jen checked out her bag and took out a small vial that she opened and poured the contents into her hand, while Billy found his leather spell book. Of course, disappointment filled him when he saw the pages were all filled with black marks along the surface, and he threw the book down as he declared it was worthless.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, Chaos magic doesn't really need a spell to be said," Xion said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Actually, some spells do, I just whisper them to myself," Wanda corrected her.

"I usually just think them," Stephen added.

Kairi and Xion raised an eyebrow and shared a look of surprise. *2*

All of a sudden, the slots with the body bags slid shut, which had Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion all looking at the walls in surprise. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision narrowed their eyes as the slots slammed shut, and while Agatha made a comment, the others ignored her. One of the grow lights suddenly went out, which got Agatha, Billy, Jen, Kairi, and Xion to all look up.

"And now we have our countdown," Agatha remarked.

Another grow light went out, which caused the group to become tense.

"That is not a good timer," Kairi commented as Jen crossed her arms and leaned against a wall.

"It's going down too fast," Xion agreed with a shake of her head.

"You seem relaxed," Agatha sarcastically told Jen. "Usually at this point, you're either complaining loudly or freaking out loudly."

"I'm thinking," Jen replied.

"Oh. About what?" Agatha asked with fake interest.

"How to save your ass," Jen replied with a frown.

"Pardon?" Agatha asked in fake surprise.

Kairi and Xion furrowed their eyebrows in surprise as Jen walked over and shrugged her shoulders.

"I couldn't save Lilia," Jen said with a bit of guilt in her eyes. "I didn't even try to save Alice." She looked at Billy, Kairi, Xion, then back at Agatha. "I'll be damned if I let you two idiots and two Avengers die."

"Wow. Such purpose," Agatha sarcastically replied.

"Shut up," Xion complained.

"We appreciate it, Jen," Kairi told her with gratitude in her voice. She looked up. "We just gotta put our heads together and figure out what we're supposed to do."

She grimaced as another light went out.

"Well, how are you gonna do that without any magick?" Agatha taunted Jen.

"She saved my life," Billy reminded her. "She saved you from poisoning. All while bound."

Jen looked at Billy, grateful for the praise, as he, Kairi, and Xion all turned towards her.

"Maybe you don't need it," he suggested.

"Yeah, you're pretty badass even without magic," Kairi agreed with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I appreciate the praise," Jen said. Another light went off. "But if that's true, then that means I've wasted the last century of my life."

Roxas, Vision, and Wanda were all once again surprised by how old witches could be without visibly aging.

"That doctor in Boston didn't take anything from me," Jen admitted. Agatha suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I gave it up."

Kairi and Xion looked to the side, and their eyes narrowed when they saw the way Agatha was visibly avoiding eye contact. On the other side of the monitor, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also narrowed their eyebrows in suspicion, while Billy and Jen both noticed quickly.

"Agatha?" Jen asked, getting the villainous witch to look over.

"Nothing," Agatha poorly lied with a clear of her throat.

Kairi and Xion shared a look, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all sighed out, putting the pieces together.

"What did you do this time?" Kairi asked, partially complaining.

"Nothing, nothing," Agatha said, poorly lying again. She looked at Jen. "I just never knew you ever passed through there. That's all."

She gave a helpless wave of her hand, and Jen scoffed as she put the pieces together.

"Are you the one who bound me?" Jen angrily demanded.

"I don't know!" Agatha said, giving an awkward smile as she looked around the room.

"Yeah, you bound her," Xion assessed, with Billy closing his eyes and sighing in annoyance.

"You nonstop psychopath!" Jen shouted, angrily marching up to Agatha, who thought she had the right to scoff in offense.

"All of this, and you're the one who bound her?" Billy demanded, frowning at the witch with the others.

"You kept me like this for 100 years?" Jen shouted, gesturing to herself in despair.

"I didn't know it was you!" Agatha said, trying to defend herself and failing. Jen turned around and covered her face with her hands in grief again, and Xion moved over to try and offer her some sympathy. "It was the 1920s. I did the odd spell for bank notes. I don't know. The patriarchy really shelled out to shush a lady. It was bind or burn!"

"That defense is shit," Kairi commented with a shake of her head.

"One hundred years!" Jen angrily shouted, turning back towards Agatha.

"This is so awkward," Agatha commented indifferently.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all groaned again.

"You want me to kill her now?" Xion asked.

She held up a hand and let golden energy form the same of a sharpened knife.

All of a sudden, Jen marched right up to Agatha and yanked out a long strand of her hair. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all watched in surprise as Agatha proceeded to repeatedly complain as Jen used that hair to wrap up her wrists against each other. Billy assessed that it was the unbinding ritual, which Stephen and Wanda confirmed for Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Xion. A few more lights went out in the ceiling as Jen declared she denied Agatha's power over her. Agatha sarcastically cheered her on as Jen continued with the ritual, which had Kairi and Xion sharing looks.

"It's really that easy?" Kairi muttered as Jen repeated, "You hold nothing."

"I wouldn't say 'easy'," Stephen pointed out. "You know how difficult it is to find the person who bound your powers? We've had to fend off Mordo a lot in his own mission of stealing magic."

Wanda grimaced audibly.

Whatever the case, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all continued to watch as Jen kept repeating, "You hold nothing," to Agatha and her bound wrists. Another couple of lights went off, all while Agatha just watched impassively, and pure emotion and tears appeared on Jen's face. Billy, Kairi, and Xion shared another couple of looks. Eventually, Jen finished repeating her claim, cut the hair around Agatha's wrists, and there was a small gust of wind before she fell to the ground. Kairi and Xion huffed and rushed forward to try and help, looking down at her in worry.

Of course, as Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all watched, Jen pushed herself up onto her knees, then raised her hands to look at them. Amazement and joy appeared on her face as pink/purple energy suddenly started glowing over her palms. She looked up at the other members of the group, then placed her hands to her chest as she closed her eyes and sobbed in joy.

Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all shared small smiles, having flashbacks to when Vanitas had finally gotten his life force back after eleven years. They completely understood as Jen kept her hands at her chest and continued to breathe in and out, sobbing happily as she finally regained a part of herself she had lost long ago. *3*

Billy, Kairi, and Xion all shared small smiles for Jen, while Agatha just shot them an indifferent look.

Of course, then there was a whoosh of wind, and when the group looked back at Jen, they were surprised to see that she was gone.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed their eyes in surprise as Billy, Kairi, and Xion walked to the center of the room in surprise.

"What happened?" Billy asked. "Where did she go? She was just here."

"Did you do something?" Xion asked, frowning at Agatha.

Agatha just adjusted her top and gave them a look.

"For once, this wasn't me," she replied to Billy, Kairi, and Xion. "The Road gave her what she was missing. And now she's gone."

"I... guess that makes sense," Kairi commented.

All of a sudden, another light went out above them, which reminded them of their time limit.

"This can end right here, right now," Agatha declared, marching up to Billy and giving him a serious look. "I came here for power. You have power." Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed theri eyes and shook their heads in disgust with Billy, Kairi, and Xion. "Juice me up."

"So you get what you're missing and I'm left here to rot?" Billy countered. "Kairi and Xion already told me that you tried to do the same thing to Wanda Maximoff. And given what it sounds like Chaos magic is capable of, I'm not gonna give it right to you." Another light went off. "Or worse. You take all my power and kill me like you tried to do with Wanda."

Another couple of lights went out, and Stephen, Wanda, and Vision were all inwardly happy that Billy had wised up.

"I wouldn't," Agatha said, obviously lying.

"Liar!" Billy snapped.

"I won't," Agatha tried again.

"Liar," Billy bluntly replied.

"You're just making me want to drive this into your temple," Xion remarked, lifting up her knife made of golden energy again.

Kairi then looked up as two more grow lights went out at once. She let out a small grimace as she remembered their time limit.

"What even is the trial here?" Roxas commented, looking between Stephen, Wanda, and Vision.

"I don't think we've even got a clear answer," Stephen admitted. "Like Agatha said, how are they supposed to grow something in a room like that?"

Wanda and Vision grimaced at the idea.

"Sit down," Agatha then suggested.

"Why?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, what are you trying now?" Kairi asked as she and Xion glared at her.

Another couple of lights went out, which had the group look to the side.

"We're gonna find your brother," Agatha softly told Billy.

Despite the situation, Billy, Kairi, Xion, and Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed their eyes in intrigue.

Billy was confused, but Agatha slowly sat down cross legged on the floor and reminded Billy that it's what he wanted.

"Is that a good idea?" Vision asked, looking between Stephen and Wanda.

"There's nothing wrong with resurrection spells, but I don't think that's what they're doing," Stephen said.

"Then what are they gonna do?" Roxas asked.

"Simple," Wanda said. "If they concentrate enough, then they should be able to find the copied soul of Tommy."

She placed a hand on her distended stomach, happy that though these were somehow copies of her sons, they were going to be reunited soon enough.

Kairi and Xion just watched apprehensively, especially when Agatha pointed out that Tommy wasn't in a body. Billy just stared at her as she explained that this had gotten Rio in "such a tizzy," since she knows Billy could do it for him. At Billy's question, Agatha emphasized that Billy could give his brother another chance at life.

"Is that a good idea?" Roxas asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well... if it's like what happened with this Billy, then it means that the soul of this kid will survive, and the body of another dead teenager will keep living," Stephen admitted. He shrugged his shoulders. "It's a little crude, but that means we'd be saving two lives at once."

"I can't help but feel it's a little... crude, though," Vision admitted. Wanda looked at him. "I mean, I won't complain if it means the boys get to live. But, placing a new soul into a dead body doesn't feel right."

"Well... It's more or less just another form of organ donation," Stephen remarked with a shrug of his shoulders.

Roxas then tilted his head to the side. Placing a soul into a new body is more or less what happened to him, Namine, and Xion. Though, there was a big difference in these two considering the bodies they were placed in had no consciousness in them. So, he could admittedly understand both Stephen and Vision's mindsets. He didn't think much about the idea of using another body to give someone another chance at life. But, yeah... placing them into bodies that already had souls and lives in them felt a little... weird, to say the least.

These thoughts were in Xion's mind, remembering how she and the others had only managed to survive thanks to their souls (through their hearts) into new bodies to save them. With that, like Roxas, Xion could understand Stephen's mindset of doing it, but she also understood Vision's idea of there being some uncertainty over replacing the original soul in a body. She just grit her teeth, not completely sure how she felt about it. *4*

Kairi just watched as Billy, at Agatha's prodding, slowly sat down in front of her. The two of them sat cross legged as Kairi and Xion watched. Though there was clear distrust on Billy's face, he followed Agatha's instructions and closed his eyes. Kairi and Xion shared a look as the two witches proceeded to begin what appeared to be some kind of seance.

Through the monitor, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision watched with Kairi and Xion as Agatha told Billy to remember his last moments with Tommy, which he admitted he couldn't remember. Wanda and Vision shared a look as they remembered putting the boys to bed, while Agatha reminded Billy he had been 10 and in Westview. Kairi and Xion were both unaware that Hex Vision's last words to the boys were echoing in Billy's head, followed by Wanda's own last words to them. His eyes still closed, Billy remembered that he had been about to fall asleep, emphasizing that he and Tommy had been breathing at the same time, and Tommy wasn't snoring, but was breathing loud enough to hear.

Billy emphasized that it was nice because it was the feeling when your body knows when it's safe, and Wanda and Vision once again found comfort that the boys had felt safe before she took down the Hex.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, and Xion all just focused on watching as Agatha told Billy to breathe with Tommy, which he started doing. Billy started breathing in that same pace, then explained that the sound of Tommy stopped because everything else did. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyebrows as they realized he had to be feeling when the Hex had come down. Agatha confirmed this as Wanda's last conversation with Hex Vision echoed in Billy's head. Agatha told Billy to keep breathing, telling him that even if he couldn't hear his brother, he didn't need to open his eyes to know where he was.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all continued to watch as Agatha kept telling Billy to breathe, for himself and Tommy. Kairi and Xion shared a look and felt great goosebumps as Agatha emphasized that it couldn't stay with Billy. At Agatha's insistence, Billy kept his eyes closed as she continued. Of course, then she grabbed the sides of his head, and sparks flew from the ceiling as some of the lights that were already off practically exploded. Kairi and Xion were ready to summon their Keyblades in surprise as the lights kept flashing. The two teens just continued huffing as Agatha continued, reminding Billy that he couldn't keep Tommy, asked where he goes, and told him to find a place.

Kairi and Xion just shared another huff and felt bad for Billy over the helplessness in his voice as he tried to answer her questions.

"Go easy on him, lady!" Xion exclaimed.

"Yeah, this isn't the way to go about... something like this!" Kairi emphasized.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all huffed, but they kept quiet since... Well, none of them had experience with something like this before.

Billy then started to helplessly answer questions based on what he felt. He explained that Tommy was alone and afraid, which had them all grimacing. He helplessly added that he couldn't find a place, and Agatha replied that "about 120 bodies empty out every minute." Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all rolled their eyes at the witch's indifference, but they brushed it aside as Billy started talking again. Their eyes narrowed as Billy declared that there was a boy pushed underwater as a prank, but as other boys held him under, he started to drown.

"What the f... Why are teenagers so cruel?" Kairi exclaimed, sharing a look with Xion.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grimaced in agreement, hating that there was really a teenage boy who was drowning because of a cruel prank. It was made worse when Billy exclaimed that the boy had no one to love him because he was gone. He then desperately asked if he was killing this boy so Tommy could live.

Wanda then gasped and placed a hand on her heart, which had the others all looking at her. She panted in and out before looking up at Vision.

"I..." Wanda slowly said. "I felt it. I can't tell where this boy is, but... I sensed him accepting Tommy."

"Jesus," Stephen said, narrowing his eyebrows in surprise.

"... Welcome to the club, Tommy," Roxas said, shrugging his shoulders since he was used to this.

Vision then huffed and looked at Wanda. Now, on top of having their baby versions of Tommy and Billy, they were also about to have teenage versions of them in the same world.

They were an unusual couple, so they supposed that it made sense that their children had little quirks of their own, too...

All of a sudden, Billy screamed as his head was thrown back, and Kairi and Xion quickly turned towards him in worry. The floor suddenly cracked, revealing a little bit of dirt, and Billy promptly vanished from view.

Kairi and Xion gasped in surprise and looked around, trying to see if there was a way they could find Billy. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all also narrowed their eyes in confusion, while Agatha stayed on the floor and just looked down. The two teens with the witch just huffed.

"I guess..." Kairi slowly said. She shrugged her shoulders. "Like Jen, he got what he wanted from The Road. So, he... He's gone."

She and Xion huffed again before looking at Agatha, and their eyes narrowed when they saw that her own eyes were still closed. With many lights in the room now off, it was easier to focus on Agatha as she continued to sit.

"No, Billy," she softly said. She sighed out, showing an expression of sadness on her face that none of the group watching had ever seen before. "Sometimes... Boys die."

Kairi and Xion continued to look at Agatha as another light then went off. There was an expression of sorrow on her face that had even Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision feeling bad for her before she took the broach off of her shirt. To their surprise, she then opened it up, and Kairi and Xion's eyes widened.

There was a small lock of hair, along with the piece of what looked to be the top of a flower. Agatha even took the lock of hair out and ran it down her nose and mouth, showing pure grief and sorrow on her face.

Kairi and Xion then shared a look before looking at Agatha.

"Nicholas Scratch, Nicky..." Kairi slowly said. "He was your son... Wasn't he?"

Agatha was just silent as she looked at the lock of hair.

"The one good thing I've ever done in this world," she admitted. She continued to look at the hair, which had obviously come from her son. "He was made from scratch. My Nicky."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all gasped in surprise. And based on the sorrow and despair on her face, it was clear that another part of the legend had been wrong.

"You didn't trade him for the Darkhold," Xion assessed. "He... He just died."

"Yeah," Agatha confirmed. She sighed. "I had him long after I even had the Darkhold. Rio and I were an item, I wanted us to have a baby, but she reminded me that it was impossible. But I was determined, and I used my magic. Like I said... I made him from scratch."

Kairi and Xion gave a small gasp again. They were a little surprised that Death had a baby with a witch, but they decided to brush it aside for now. *5*

"But... because of this, his body wouldn't last," Agatha admitted. She sighed. "One night, while he and I were sleeping, Rio... She took him."

Kairi and Xion both just sighed as they now understood Rio's claims earlier of having a scar with a woman. This certainly explained that part.

Wanda and Vision closed their eyes and were surprised that they actually felt sympathy and sorrow for Agatha now.

"Makes me jealous of Wanda, really," Agatha bitterly commented with a shrug of her shoulders. "Her kids get to survive even though they were also made from scratch."

"Well, to be fair... That was a different magic than the Darkhold," Xion said. "And that book was shit."

Agatha sighed out, but a little part of her had to agree with Xion.

Of course, then Agatha looked into the locket again, and her eyes narrowed slightly on the seed of a flower pressed within. Kairi and Xion watched as she slowly took the seed out of her broach. All three of their eyes narrowed as Agatha raised the seed up, and they watched as another light went out, showing that they were getting dangerously low on time.

"Out of death, life..." Agatha softly said.

She huffed and looked around, first at the seed in her fingers, then at the large crack in the floor revealing dirt, then up at Kairi and Xion.

"What do you guys want from The Road?" Agatha asked.

"What?" Kairi asked as she and Xion frowned.

"I'm gonna need both of your help to solve this puzzle and we can get out of The Road," Agatha told them. "But to do that, I need to know what you want from The Road. It only works when you have a goal, so it can grant that goal. Within reason, I guess."

Kairi and Xion shared a look, then shrugged their shoulders. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Xion all just watched before they came to their conclusions.

"The man I love is in a different dimension, and I have no way of seeing him or knowing if he's okay," Kairi said. "I'd like to see him again. Even if it's just for a few seconds, I want to see him again."

Agatha nodded before she and Kairi looked at Xion. Xion looked embarrassed for being put on the spot, so she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know!" Xion helplessly said. "I-I'm getting kind of hungry. I guess I want a sandwich."

Stephen and Wanda raised an eyebrow in surprise that that was all Xion could come up with.

"... Good enough," Agatha said.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all frowned slightly, but they brushed it off as another grow light turned off, leaving only two left.

With that, Agatha pressed the seed into her eye, covering it with the water of her tears. Once it was wet enough, she laid down on the ground in front of the large crack and placed the seed inside the dirt. Kairi and Xion then watched as she covered the seed with more dirt, covering it completely. One of the lights then flickered, and Agatha insisted that she needed more time as one of them went out, leaving only one left. With time running out, she looked desperately up at Kairi and Xion.

"We need to make this grow faster, and we can only get that with water," Agatha told them. "So, I'm gonna need one of you to..."

Xion didn't even let her finish before she raised a foot and kicked her in the stomach. Agatha grunted from the impact and clutched her stomach.

"You did not hesitate," Agatha commented.

"Well, dead kid or not, you were still a bitch to my friends and I," Xion said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all tilted their heads to the side in agreement. *6*

Whatever the case, Agatha let the tears fall down her cheeks, then dropped them into the dirt, hoping that this would be enough. She, Kairi, and Xion all watched tensely as nothing proceeded to happen in the dirt. Agatha looked down hopelessly, while Kairi and Xion grit their teeth in worry with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision.

All of a sudden, there was a flash of green, and Kairi and Xion's eyes widened as they watched as something bloomed from the dirt almost immediately. Green leaves and a green stem flew up quickly, followed by a flower head made up of dozens of yellow little petals. Agatha looked up, and her eyes widened as she watched with Kairi and Xion as the flower bloomed, amazement filling them all. As they continued to watch, the yellow flower head retreated into itself, then transformed into the top of a white allium bulb. A smile spread across Agatha's face, and she, Kairi, and Xion exclaimed excitedly at the sight of it.

Xion then gave a small smile and looked at Agatha.

"You and Nicky used to pick those, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Agatha confirmed. She cried happily at the sight of the flower. "All the time."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all surprised that the smiles they shared for Agatha were genuine.

And, luckily, they had made the flower grow before the last grow light went out, so as Agatha stood up to join Kairi and Xion, all the other lights started to switch back on. Kairi and Xion looked up as Agatha attached her broach back to the front of her shirt.

Of course, then the room started to shake, and dirt started to rain down from the ceiling between the grow lights. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all exclaimed in surprise, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all leaned forward in worry.

"Get the hell out of there!" Wanda exclaimed.

"Come on!" Xion exclaimed as she grabbed Agatha's shoulder.

With that, Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all rushed across the room to the staircase that led out. Just in time, because as they rushed up the stairs, rocks and waves of dirt fell into the room behind them, covering the ground completely. More and more rocks fell from the ceiling as Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all rushed up the stairs and rammed their hands against the top of the doors. Of course, realizing that this was useless, Xion then stepped back, waved a hand, and sent a surge of golden energy flying up. The basement doors crashed open, and Agatha thanked her before they hurried up the stairs again.

Of course, as Kairi joined Agatha and Xion in rushing up the stairs to exit, she gasped as everything suddenly went dark around her, which had Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowing their eyes in confusion again.

Kairi wasn't sure where she was. She just frowned and looked side to side, seeing nothing but complete darkness around her. She huffed, inwardly wondering if this was some kind of lingering test from The Witches' Road. Though, as she looked down, her eyes narrowed when she saw that she was once again wearing the hoodie, jeans, and sneakers that she had initially entered Westview wearing, but this didn't fill her with any form of assurance or provide any answer. Kairi just huffed before she turned around, trying to see if she could notice anything familiar.

Of course, Kairi's eyes then widened when she saw Sora standing just a few feet away.

Kairi was amazed that while it was obviously Sora, he looked a little more... mature. His spiky brown hair was pushed about in different ways than before, and he once again wore a different outfit. This one consisted of a black jacket with pads on the chest and gray, buttoned sleeves on the forearms. He had on a red hoodie underneath that was buttoned, and a white shirt underneath that helped frame his crown necklace. He once again wore a set of shorts, those these ones were black and long and reached to just above his ankles as he stood barefoot in front of Kairi.

Kairi huffed and a part of her wondered if this Sora was actually her Sora as he stood in front of her, surrounded in a small halo of light.

"K-Kairi?" Sora asked. "Is that you?"

"That depends," Kairi said with a sigh.

"On what?" Sora asked, frowning in confusion.

"On whether I'm tripping or not," Kairi said.

"... Did you drink some of V's tea?" Sora asked. "Because he got the recipe from his mom. And according to him, it has vodka in it."

Kairi's eyes widened in realization.

"We asked why she would give him the recipe for the tea if there was vodka in it," Sora added. He tilted his head to the side. "He said that he never said she gave him the recipe, he just said he had the recipe."

Kairi let out a small laugh of relief, recognizing the story from Vanitas himself, meaning this was her Sora.

"Oh, my God..." Kairi slowly said, happy tears growing in her eyes. "It's really you. Sora!"

A smile spread across Sora's face as Kairi immediately started to run towards him.

Of course, then she rammed into something that appeared to be glass and grunted.

Kairi and Sora both raised their eyebrows in surprise, and Sora stepped forward. The two of them tried to grab each other's hands, but through the darkness, there was an invisible wall between them, having the appearance as if it was made of glass. Kairi and Sora shared a gasp as realization set in.

"You're still stuck in Quadratum," Kairi assessed. "And since we're literally different dimensions apart..."

"We can see each other, but we can't be with each other," Sora finished.

"... Fuck!" Kairi shouted in despair.

Sora leaned backwards in surprise.

"... Yep, it's you," he declared with a nod of his head.

Kairi raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked in challenge.

Sora suddenly flushed in embarrassment and started to stammer out an explanation, but Kairi just smirked.

All of a sudden, the light behind Sora started to grow brighter, appearing to spread further towards him. Kairi and Sora both looked behind him as the light started to grow bigger, and they quickly realized what was happening.

"Oh, I should've wished for a longer time with you," Kairi complained.

She huffed and pressed her hands against the wall as she looked at Sora.

"We're fighting to reach you in Quadratum," Kairi told him. "Riku and V have already gone ahead, and the rest of us are getting more familiar with travel between other dimensions. We're gonna find you!"

"Okay," Sora said as the light grew stronger and slowly started to envelop him. "Okay, I trust you. And Kairi..."

As the light grew larger by the second, Sora gulped and looked her in the eye.

"Kairi..." Sora said, and Kairi was touched by the nervousness in his eyes. "About what you said at the tree..."

Kairi flushed in embarrassment, but smiled, sure that she knew what was coming.

"Well..." Sora started to say. He smiled nervously. "I lo..."

Sora gasped as he suddenly jumped up in his bed, and breathed in and out for a moment. He narrowed his eyes and looked around, then groaned as he realized that he was still in the bedroom that Strelitzia had helped set him up in. Closing his eyes and laying back down in the bed, Sora groaned and looked up at the ceiling as daylight streamed into the room through the open window.

He had been so close! He should have spoken faster.

"Sora?" a voice asked. He looked over to the door and saw Strelitzia standing within. "Is everything okay? I heard you shout?"

"Yeah," Sora confirmed. He breathed in and out before looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah, I just..."

A small smile spread across his face as he placed a hand on his heart.

"I just saw someone very important to me," Sora said.

Sora wasn't completely sure if that had been real or not, but he was nonetheless happy that he had gotten a chance to see Kairi again... *7*

Chapter Text

Kairi wasn't completely sure what had happened in that area of darkness where she had seen Sora, but a little part of her was convinced that The Road had granted her wish. At least, specifically the wish that she had of wanting to see him again "for any period of time." Kairi inwardly now wished that she had asked for a longer reunion, because that had been way too little time. She was happy that she had finally gotten a chance to see him again, albeit briefly, but she was still annoyed when she was brought back to reality. Kairi pushed that annoyance down as best she could as she took in her surroundings again.

Kairi blinked and was surprised to find herself with Agatha and Xion again, all three of them standing in the open doorway of the cellar doors to the witch's basement. All three of them were back in their normal clothes, and their eyes narrowed in surprise as they saw that everything was dark around them, there were clouds high in the air, strong winds blew, and green lightning flashed intermittently above them. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all slowly stepped out of the cellar doors and started moving across the yard, all of them looking around in utter confusion.

"What the hell?" Xion asked as they looked around.

"I don't remember there being a storm on the radar," Kairi commented.

"There wasn't," Vision confirmed.

Roxas, Stephen, and Wanda all grimaced with him as they looked at the monitor.

"Remember, Death is the original Green Witch, so her powers have to do with the Earth," Stephen reminded them. "And, well... Being a primordial entity, she's incredibly powerful."

"Powerful enough to manipulate wind?" Roxas asked.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Wanda admitted.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision shared another grimace before looking at the monitor again.

To confirm Stephen's point, the sound of a familiar voice letting out a loud, evil cackle echoed through the sky. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all turned through the wind and looked up at the roof of the witch's house. Their eyes all narrowed as they saw Rio sitting on one of the upper spokes of a house with a window. Rio continued to cackle loudly and evilly as she looked down at the group, gesturing with her hands as more green lightning flashed above her. Kairi and Xion grit their teeth and summoned their Keyblades, inwardly wondering how they were supposed to fight Death, while Agatha just stared Rio down.

"Congratulations, my love!" Rio shouted. She let out another loud cackle as more lightning flashed above her. "I'm sorry I didn't have a ribbon for you to run through."

"I've heard of crazy exes, but this is ridiculous," Kairi commented as Rio fiddled with a flower in her hands.

"I don't suppose Death has any weaknesses?" Xion asked, partially to Agatha and partially to the others over the intercom.

"You're asking if Death has weaknesses," Stephen reminded her. "The answer should be obvious."

"Well, she always hated when people stepped on her flowers, but that's not gonna help," Agatha added.

With that, she then waved her hands, but there was the sound of something fizzling once again, emphasizing that her powers still hadn't returned. Kairi and Xion grit their teeth and turned towards Rio again.

"Where is it?" Agatha demanded. She waved her hands again, once again making nothing happen, which only had Rio chuckle again. "I want my prize!"

"So do I," Rio darkly replied.

With a flash of lightning, the bottom half of Rio's face changed into a skeleton's, which had Kairi and Xion jump slightly.

"I got you the kid out, as agreed!" Agatha shouted, which angered Wanda and Vision.

"And he's now where?" Rio countered. "He was supposed to surrender himself. That means you're coming with me."

Kairi and Xion were tempted to just let Rio take Agatha, but they decided that that was too cruel.

"I'm thinking death by a thousand cuts!" Rio excitedly declared.

She waved her hand, and Agatha turned just in time to see the windows of her house shatter. Luckily for her, Xion moved to her side and cast a barrier around the both of them, causing the hundreds of glass shards to just impact the barrier before dropping to the ground. Agatha was amazed that Xion had helped her, while Rio roared in annoyance, and Kairi cast Thundaga, causing her own lightning to crash down and strike Rio where she sat. She huffed as she watched Rio get thrown back on the roof, while Xion sighed out and let the barrier fade from around herself and Agatha.

Down the street, John was standing in front of his house, and he grimaced when he saw the clouds and lightning surging around Agatha's house, hoping that Kairi and Xion were okay. In the street, Harold Proctor stood with Alibash Tandon, and Alibash asked if the Hex was happening again. Harold bluntly replied that he didn't know. *1*

In the backyard, Agatha, Kairi, and Xion looked up as Rio quickly recovered and started laughing again.

"Puny attacks like that won't be enough to hurt me, dear!" Rio boasted through her evil laughs. "Just ask your 'sister'."

She laughed again while Xion grimaced, and Agatha noticed the moon through the clouds and identified it as the "fire phase."

While Kairi and Xion looked up at Rio and wondered what attack they should try next, Agatha moved over and grabbed a leather sack of salt, which she started to pour out onto the ground while chanting in Latin. Kairi and Xion were confused before Rio translated it to, "Expel this evil," with a frown on her face. Rio was offended for being called "evil," and declared herself the natural order of all things.

"That doesn't mean you're not evil, bitch!" Kairi shouted.

Xion agreed, then yelled out as she made golden energy appear in spikes around Rio. Xion then waved her hand, and the spikes flew towards her, impaling Rio in several different places across the chest and stomach. Rio grunted and shouted from each spike impaling her, before a final one went right into her head. Kairi and Xion huffed with Roxas and Vision, but Stephen and Wanda just shook their heads, knowing this wouldn't do much.

To confirm this point, Rio just chuckled and waved her hand, making all the spikes disappear into dust, showing that they had no effect on her body whatsoever.

"That tickled," Rio laughed. "Nice to see you've grown with those powers, Xi-Xi."

Xion grit her teeth at the nickname before Rio proceeded to blow at them. A gust of wind flew out, and while it only blew away the salt circle of protection Agatha had made herself, it was stronger with Kairi and Xion, flinging the two of them backwards through the air and into the ground hard. The two of them grunted while Rio shouted at Agatha, calling her a coward. Agatha then remembered the advice from Lilia ("When she calls you a coward, hit the deck."), and proceeded to drop to the ground as her kitchen sink flew through her wall, just barely missing her as it was flung across the yard.

Looking up, Kairi and Xion frowned in surprise as the sink landed loudly on the ground.

"Wow, we literally have everything and the kitchen sink," Kairi commented.

Agatha slowly managed to push herself up, Rio demanded to know why Agatha didn't want her, then Rio made a vine fly out of the ground and strike Agatha, hitting her ex in the Achilles tendon and making her fall to the ground. Kairi and Xion jumped to their feet and raised their Keyblades again. Xion cast Curaga on Agatha, and while the witch breathed out in relief over the magic healing her, Kairi watched as Rio floated down to the ground and landed in front of them. Xion stood as a form of defense while Kairi rushed forward with her Keyblade raised.

Of course, Rio just waved her hand and made the dirt react to Kairi. Dirt rose up and wrapped around Kairi's ankles, pulling her down. Kairi shouted as she was subsequently dragged into the ground all the way up to her stomach, leaving only her chest, shoulders, and head visible. Kairi shouted in surprise while Xion huffed as she and Agatha looked up.

"Sit down, flower girl," Rio taunted darkly as she walked around the half-buried Kairi. "The adults are talking."

"Bitch!" Kairi snapped.

Xion huffed and pointed her Keyblade up, making pillars of light fly forward in an attempt to attack. Sadly, Rio just waved a hand and transformed the pillars into long stemmed flowers that all fell to the ground.

"Wow, that Earth magick is powerful," Xion commented.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grimaced in agreement.

Rio then waved her hands, and vines shot out of nowhere, grabbing both Agatha and Xion. A larger one wrapped around Xion's waist and pulled her against a tree, while two smaller ones wrapped around Agatha's wrists and ankles and pulled her towards a grate. Agatha was pinned against the grate, while Kairi and Xion were stuck in their own prisons, struggling to get free. It wasn't easy considering the dirt was practically hugging Kairi, making it difficult for her to summon her Keyblade again, and Xion's hands were restrained behind her back. She had already made another knife out of golden energy, but cutting through the vines was difficult.

"If you keep your mouths shut, I might consider sparing the both of you," Rio declared, not even looking at Kairi and Xion as she walked towards Agatha. She smirked and drew her knife as she got closer to her struggling ex.

All of a sudden, the lights of Agatha's house flashed, and one of the porchlights suddenly exploded in a surge of sparks. Those explosions spread along the smaller lights on the backyard fence, which had Rio looking around in confusion, confirming that this wasn't her. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion were joined by Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision in all frowning in confusion for a moment.

All of a sudden, something crashed into Rio and sent her flying to the side. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all looked to the left, and their eyes widened in surprise.

Floating in the air near a telephone pole with power cables attached was Billy. The blue Chaos magic had returned to his hands as he slowly floated towards them, wearing a full battle suit that consisted of the light blue crown on his forehead like Wanda's, and a long, blue leather suit with pads on the knees, buttons along his legs and stomach, long sleeves that attached to fingerless gloves, and boots. There was also a long red scarf/hood that wrapped around his shoulders and covered the back of his head. Agatha was amazed, while Kairi and Xion gasped in surprise, seeing hints of both Wanda and Vision's suits in Billy's outfit. *2*

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all huffed in surprise, and pride bloomed within Wanda and Vision's chests at the sight of Billy ready to protect his friends, both of them recognizing elements from their own suits in his outfit.

Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all watched as Billy floated down and landed near them, then removed the hood from his head. Looking around, he waved his hands, and his magic surged, making the vine restraining Xion disappear, and pulling Kairi out of the dirt. The two teens huffed and nodded gratefully at Billy, while Agatha smiled.

"You look good," Agatha complimented.

"You don't," Billy said with snark, smirking over the bruises Agatha had gained, and the dirt still covering her clothes. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all smirked before a serious expression appeared on Billy's face. "Don't take it all."

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion's eyes all widened.

"Wait, no, Billy..." Kairi started to say.

But Billy pointed his hands at Agatha and grunted as he sent tendrils of blue magic flying out and into Agatha's chest. Agatha gasped, closed her eyes, and concentrated as the magic continued flying into her. Anxiety coursed through the group in worry as Billy continued to shoot the tendrils into Agatha, which got them to slowly start turning purple as they kept flying into her, and Agatha gasped as power returned to her, allowing her to get her neck and her wrists free from the vines restraining her. Kairi and Xion huffed and summoned their Keyblades again.

Not wanting to hurt Billy, but also wanting to save him, they tried stopping the surge of magic. Kairi tried swinging Destiny's Embrace at the surge of magic, but the magic just caught her Keyblade, then shot it backwards, sending Kairi flying back across the yard with a yell. Xion tried blasting a beam into the magic to stop it, but the magic just absorbed it and shot it back at Xion, hitting her in the face and making her close her eyes, grab her cheek, and shout in pain.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all grimaced in worry, and Stephen and Wanda then started to wonder if they could open a portal to Westview quick enough.

The group's worry heightened as Billy panted, feeling himself grow weaker as he fell to his knees as more of his magic flew into Agatha. Purple magic surged in her palms, and she closed her eyes in excitement as she proceeded to float up into the air. She let out a loud cackle once again, which had Kairi and Xion grimacing and quickly casting Curaga on themselves to try and heal faster. As the magic finished healing them, Kairi and Xion turned around, and their eyes widened once again.

Billy was on his knees, and his cheeks appeared to be getting thinner, which reminded Xion too much of what had been happening when Agatha was stealing her power. To emphasize her returned power, Agatha was now wearing the blue robes that she had on during the battle of Westview, devoid of the blackened fingers that showed the Darkhold's corruption. She held out her arms in a grand manner as purple tendrils of magic continued flying out of Billy's hands and into her, surging as the magic reached levels of power as it settled into her body.

"It feels so good," Agatha declared.

Kairi and Xion grit their teeth, while Stephen took out his sling ring, and Wanda and Vision glared, both of them now ready to snap Agatha's neck with their bare hands.

To everyone's immense relief, Agatha then waved her hands, sending a small orb of magic flying into Billy. This caused the magic to stop flying out of him, and he panted weakly on his knees, showing that he was still alive, though just incredibly weakened from giving up some of his powers. Kairi and Xion both rushed to his side and took out Potions since their magic was still recharging. Billy continued panting as Kairi and Xion threw the Potions up for Billy, and green light surged around him as the Potions combined to heal him, slowly returning his cheeks to normal.

Agatha breathed out as she looked at Billy, and Kairi, and Xion looked up at her, thankful that she had actually stopped. Roxas and Stephen joined Wanda and Vision in letting out deep sighs of relief.

"Looks like you four are finally on the same page," Rio remarked.

While Billy continued to be healed by the Potions, Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all glared over at the villainous Green Witch as she strolled back into the yard.

"So I'll let you decide," Rio declared. She gestured to Kairi and Xion. "You're both pissing me off, but I might be merciful." She then gestured to Agatha and Billy. "But one of you stays with me. The other walks free."

Instead of answering, Agatha just smirked darkly and waved her hands, letting her purple magic grow underneath her palm.

Rio then waved a hand, and Billy and Kairi were both sent flying back, both of them crashing through the glass roof of a greenhouse and falling within. Xion looked back in surprise, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all exclaimed in worry. Of course, Xion quickly recovered and turned towards Rio before standing in her battle stance with her Keyblade.

Though she was happy to finally be standing up to her former tormentor, Xion still found the company for this fight to be someone that she had not expected. *3*

Whatever the case, Rio waved her hands and sent green energy flying towards both Agatha and Xion. Agatha made an X over her chest to cast a protection spell, while Xion blocked with a barrier. Rio sent another wave of magic flying towards her, but Xion transformed into an orb of light and lunged forward, changing back to normal to rush in and perform a combo attack with her Keyblade, knocking aside Rio with grunts of surprise. Rio then waved her hands and made more vines appear that tried to grab Xion, but Agatha waved her hands, making purple energy disintegrate the vines before she blasted some of the energy at Rio, pushing her back. Xion followed that up with a blast of Firaga, and while Rio raised her arms to form an X of protection, the fire still exploded and enveloped her for a moment.

While the fight raged out in the yard, inside the greenhouse, Billy and Kairi groaned as they started to push themselves up through the many shards of broken glass, leaving Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all relieved the two of them were still okay (enough). With small cuts on them from the glass, and their faces covered in dirt and bits of blood, Billy and Kairi pushed themselves up and quickly took notice of the noise of Agatha and Xion fighting Rio. Rio complimented that power looked good on Agatha, Agatha declared that everything looked good on her, and Xion asked if they could stop flirting while trying to kill each other.

Through their wounded states, Billy and Kairi stepped out of the greenhouse and watched part of the face. Xion jumped back to dodge as Agatha sent tendrils of purple magic flying, but Rio absorbed them while spinning backwards to dodge. Rio then waved her hands, sending a wave of wind into Agatha that knocked her to the ground, which had her smirking. Xion then rushed in and performed Ars Arcanum, repeatedly swinging and striking with her Keyblade and knocking Rio around quite a bit. Once Xion finished attacking, Rio then caught the Keyblade and proceeded to glare right into Xion's eyes. Xion gulped, as did Stephen and Wanda watching, but she cleared her throat and glared right back, finding the strength to face her former tormentor with little difficulty.

Of course, Billy and Kairi quickly helped. Kairi shot Pearl magic into Rio's side, getting her to shout and release Xion's Keyblade, then Billy waved his hands, flinging Rio backwards and sending her crashing through the back door of Agatha's house.

With Rio out of the way, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all huffed and turned to start running towards where Agatha was on the ground. The three of them crouched down around Agatha, all of them surprised by the genuine worry they felt towards her as they took her hands and helped her up. There was blood staining her lips from the attack, and she looked down in resignation.

"This is futile," Agatha admitted. She looked up at the others. "You know it. We can't fight Death."

"I hate to say it, but she's right," Stephen said. "She's not a god, goddess, or anything as strong as one. She's a primordial entity, incapable of dying."

"Shit," Xion said.

She and Kairi looked back at the house in worry before they looked at Agatha and Billy again.

"It should be me," Agatha told the trio, surprising them all, alongside Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision. Billy tried shaking his head in denial, but Agatha looked determined. "It should be me." She reached up and placed a hand on Billy's chin. "You're not bad."

Agatha and Billy shared small smiles.

"Neither are you," Billy told her. "... Not entirely, at least."

"Yeah, we've gotta agree with him, there," Kairi admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I still hate you," Xion replied.

"Good," Agatha said, smiling at Xion. "I still hate you, too."

Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all surprised by the genuine chuckles they shared at this.

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash, and the sound of winds whooshing, and they were able to faintly see Rio standing up within the darkness inside Agatha's house. Kairi and Xion started to stand up with their Keyblades in hand, but Billy grabbed their shoulders and moved in front of them.

"I'll go with you!" Billy declared to Rio, surprising Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion. "That's my choice. Take me."

"He must get that from me," Vision assessed, recognizing that Billy was doing the best he could to save a life, even if it was an evil one, something that he had done numerous times.

"Yeah, well, I'd usually be proud of him for that..." Wanda started to say as Rio started walking towards the group again. "But I'm not sure I approve of him doing it for Agatha, even if she isn't all bad."

Of course, then Agatha stood up and moved in front of Billy, Kairi, and Xion.

"Take him," she told Rio, surprising everybody. She gestured to a shocked Billy. "You heard him. The boy. As promised." Rio just chuckled and gave a small shake of her head. "It's over."

She looked at the group, allowing her to see the betrayal in Billy's eyes, and the glares on Kairi and Xion's faces.

"You bitch," Kairi declared.

"I'm gonna kill her," Wanda growled. "Stephen, open the portal."

Whatever the case, while Kairi and Xion stood in their battle stances with their Keyblades, and Billy stood behind them in shock, Agatha proceeded to walk along the yard, telling Rio to put it back, and suggested she planted a few azaleas. Billy tried calling to Agatha in shock, but she just threw his words back at him by calling herself a "coven-less witch," laughed darkly, then turned to walk away. Rio turned towards the trio again, and Kairi and Xion glared at her with their Keyblades drawn while Billy looked at Agatha broken with betrayal.

In Missouri, Stephen was worried, but he slipped his Sling Ring back on. Vision helped Wanda up, and the two of them started to prepare themselves for battle despite Wanda's pregnant state, and Roxas huffed as he continued watching the monitors. His eyes narrowed when he saw Agatha freeze.

None of them were aware that Billy had mentally reached Agatha and asked if this was how Nicky had died.

After a moment of silence that felt like hours but only lasted seconds, where Kairi and Xion continued to glare at Rio in preparation to keep fighting, Agatha then turned around. She marched right towards Rio, who turned around in surprise. Billy, Kairi, and Xion's eyes all widened in surprise when Agatha grabbed the sides of Rio's face, pulled her in, and gave her a big kiss.

Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all stopped and looked at the screen in surprise, since none of them had expected this.

"... That's hot," Stephen admitted.

Roxas kept his eyes on the screen, but smacked Stephen in the chest.

As the group all watched in shock, black lines spread from Rio's lips and across Agatha's face, going further as black magic also surged around them. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all huffed, and Billy sensed that Agatha was growing weaker at an exponential rate, signifying that she was dying.

She was sacrificing herself for Billy. *4*

Billy, Kairi, Xion, along with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all continued to watch as Agatha and Rio both continued to kiss, with clear passion in the action since they most likely still felt great love towards each other. However, the black magic continued to surge around them, signifying Agatha's dying state.

Eventually, though, Agatha and Rio stopped kissing, and Rio looked down as Agatha slowly floated up into the air. Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all watched as Agatha continued to float, surrounded in green light and the surging black magic as she rose with a defeated expression on her face. The group all continued watching as Agatha spread her arms out as she started to descend towards the ground backwards. Her robes and her hair flowed in the wind, but she closed her eyes in acceptance as the whole group and a despondent Rio all watched her float down onto the ground and land amongst the leaves and twigs scattered about, dying before she made impact.

Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion were all still shocked, while Rio adjusted her cloak with a blank, resigned look on her face.

In front of them all, Agatha's body proceeded to age rapidly as time finally caught up with her. Her cheeks became sunken as her skin turned gray as it lost all life and blood. Her body also started to transform, no doubt as a result of Earth Magick as she was changed into moss and grass, from which flowers started to bloom all over her. Agatha's body was even reduced to a skeleton that vanished into the ground as more flowers took its place, blooming right where she had been laying moments prior. The clouds parted to allow sunlight to gleam down onto the large collection of flowers in the ground that used to be Agatha, showing the beauty in death.

More sunlight spread across the sky as the clouds disappeared, revealing that it was morning again. Billy, Kairi, and Xion all huffed as they looked at the yard of flowers that used to be Agatha, none of them sure how to feel. The three of them just stood with Rio in a mournful silence, before Billy noticed Agatha's broach amongst the grass that had regrown with the daylight. While Kairi and Xion kept their eyes warily on Rio, Billy stepped over and picked up the broach to look at it.

Rio then turned towards the group, showing that her face had changed so that everything below her eyes was a skeleton, while the skin of her forehead was as white as one. There was a blank look in her eyes as she looked at the trio, though Billy, Kairi and Xion all still felt tense.

"You may go," Rio told them mentally. "But I'd advise that you all stay out of my way. Especially you, Xion."

Xion nodded her head in understanding as she, Billy, and Kairi all started to back away from Rio. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all breathed out a sigh of relief over how Rio didn't try to follow them. Instead, she just turned and looked down at the flowers that used to be Agatha again, allowing Billy, Kairi, and Xion to all turn and start leaving the yard. The three of them looked back at the flowers that used to be Agatha as they moved towards the front of the house, while Rio walked to the other side of the yard and disappeared from sight.

Covered in dirt and scratches, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all felt as if they were in a daze as they walked into the driveway of Agatha's house and into the neighborhood. Various residents all looked warily at the trio, though John showed worry to Kairi and Xion while also appearing to be happy that they were okay. Wanda then grimaced in sympathy as John, Alibash, Harold, and a couple of other residents walked over in intrigue, which got Billy to reach up, grab the hood of his scarf, and pull it up to cover the back and the top of his head. John was the only one to offer the teens a look of worry and sympathy (which had Kairi and Xion nodding at him gratefully) as they walked through the neighborhood towards where Billy's car was parked.

Wanda was once again reminded of how the people of Westview had looked at her after she had taken down the Hex, which had Vision grasping her hand in reassurance as he helped her sit back down. Roxas and Stephen grimaced in sympathy for their friends as the people in the residential area kept looking at the group warily. *5*

The people continued to watch as Billy led Kairi and Xion to the minivan he had been given, which he unlocked and allowed the two Keyblade wielders to climb inside. Kairi sighed as she got in the front passenger's seat, while Xion got in the seat behind her sister. Billy got in the driver's seat and started driving, and the crowd of residents all got out of the way. John continued to be the only one to give the teens worried looks as they drove down the road and quickly left the residential area.

Billy sighed out and leaned back in his seat, and Kairi and Xion did the same. All three of them drove in a companionable silence, none of them wanting to think about what they had just endured between The Road and Rio.

Of course, all four of them continued to drive in silence as Billy guided them out of the residential area, out of Westview entirely, and to his parents' house in Eastview. Kairi and Xion were a little surprised by how close the two towns were, and how there didn't appear to be much of a difference to them, but they brushed it off for a moment as they soon pulled up outside of Billy's house. The three of them continued to pant before there was a small surge of blue light over Billy, converting his outfit from the battle suit and back into a set of normal clothes, consisting of his sweater, his black pants and boots, and a red hoodie to match the scarf/hood he had on.

"Are you all right?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, that... that was really heavy back in Westview," Xion added.

"I'm fine, but..." Billy slowly said. He sighed out and looked between the two. "I'm gonna get myself cleaned up, then we can talk a bit more about what happened in my room. So we don't freak out my parents, I'll give you a sign for when the coast is clear."

"All right," Kairi said at the same time Xion agreed, "Okay."

Billy nodded back at them before he climbed out of the minivan, then moved up the sidewalk towards the entrance of his house. With Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all still watching through the monitor, Kairi and Xion watched as he disappeared into the house through the back door. The group all sighed out for a moment as the events of the last few hours continued to catch up to them.

"... What the hell is he gonna tell his parents?" Stephen eventually asked.

"I have no idea," Kairi admitted. She grimaced. "Of course, with the craziness of this world, he might have an easier time explaining things than Sora, Riku, and I did explaining things to our parents after we finally got back home."

"That was unpleasant, yeah," Roxas agreed, remembering that with Xion after seeing it through Sora at the time.

"It certainly won't be easy, especially with his parents still not knowing about his ability to read minds," Wanda added. She grimaced. "I can understand how hard that must feel."

"I still wonder if we hold any real claim to him," Vision admitted with curiosity in his voice. "Like Death said, a copied version of our son's soul is inside their son's body. How... How will that work?"

"How about we get into that craziness later?" Xion suggested with an eyebrow raised.

Kairi and Xion just sighed out with the others as they watched and waited.

Eventually, Billy's face stuck out from the curtain of a second story window, and he nodded down at the car, his hair damp and his face cleaned up after having a shower. Kairi and Xion nodded back before they climbed out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the front door together.

"You know, if he wasn't gay, I'd question your intentions of sneaking into his room," Wanda quipped.

The two teens smirked before they looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Once they were sure no one could see them, Kairi and Xion both jumped up into the air, using Doubleflight to land on one of the upper awnings, before they moved over to open a hallway window quickly and quietly. Kairi and Xion moved briskly but stealthily as they entered the house, closed the window behind them and moved down the hall towards an open door to what was most likely Billy's room.

Entering the room, surprise filled Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion as they saw the way it had been decorated, no doubt having been intensely changed over the years. Across the walls and shelves were all sorts of items and posters that showed part of Billy's obsession with witches and being a goth. There were posters for lots of horror movies of different types and eras like Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Craft, Poltergeist II, Saw III, Carrie, and even Jennifer's Body, posters for Lorna Wu's The Ballad of the Witches' Road live event, and even various decorations and figurines relating to the characters from Wizard of Oz, Maleficent, and other various trinkets that had to do with witchcraft. There was also a Trans Lives Matter poster, which the group understood completely given that Billy was gay.

"Wow," Kairi said as she and Xion continued to look around.

"I know, I know," Billy said.

The two teens turned and watched as he finished putting on a shirt after his shower, showing that the cuts on his faces had stopped bleeding and were slowly healing.

"I told you, I'm really into witchcraft," Billy said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting you to be this much of a goth," Xion commented.

"Really?" Billy commented.

He lifted up his hands, showing the rings and nail polish, and gestured to his earrings.

"He's actually better than I was before HYDRA," Wanda commented. She shrugged her shoulders. "Pietro and I didn't have a house, but I still managed to be pretty goth."

Kairi and Xion smirked before they turned towards Billy.

Their eyebrows furrowed as they saw him standing next to a shelf that had little statues of the characters of Wizard of Oz on them, standing on the yellow brick road, along with the Wicked Witch next to them. Billy took the statue of the Wicked Witch and stared at it. Xion narrowed her eyes over how the statue did look a bit like Agatha. Of course, then he placed the statue down and crouched slightly to look at a small fake tree with various, different colored lights on the top. Kairi looked over, and her eyes narrowed with Xion's as they realized that the tree looked just like something from on The Road.

Roxas and Vision's eyes also narrowed, and Stephen and Wanda both gasped and shared a look as they realized that they were right.

Billy, however, was still putting the pieces together. He moved away from the shelf and walked over to a collection of fake, hanging leaves, and Kairi and Xion narrowed their eyes as they realized that the purple, yellow, and blue leaves were the same color as the path on The Road. They all also remembered what Lilia had said about Billy, saying he was The Magician, and had the potential to turn all of his goals into reality. Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Xion all then remembered the Hex, remembered that Billy had the same powers as Wanda, and their eyes widened as they put the pieces together.

"Wait," Billy softly said in slow realization as he stepped away from the leaves.

He stumbled down to sit in his bed as he, Kairi, and Xion continued to look around. On a wall was a picture of a beachy landscape, the same place the coven had had their first trial. Billy stood up as Kairi and Xion moved further through the room to examine things, including a Ouija board in a windowsill, and a couple of tiny brass shoes on a shelf. The realization hit Billy and left him in total shock, while Kairi and Xion both shared a huff.

"... It was me," Billy softly said.

"You made The Road with your magic," Kairi assessed. "You willed it into existence, from the pathway, to all the trees, to even all the trials, all from what you imagined and everything you wanted it to be."

"... You really are just like Wanda," Xion eventually commented. *6*

Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all huffed in agreement, while Stephen and Wanda shared another look.

All of a sudden, a disembodied voice started to laugh behind Billy, Kairi, and Xion, which had all of them furrowing their eyebrows. The three of them slowly turned around to face the voice and were shocked to see someone in front of them.

"Boo!" Agatha declared.

Billy, Kairi, and Xion all yelled in surprise, while Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all leaned forward and shook their heads, blinking rapidly in shock.

None of them had certainly expected this...

Chapter Text

Inside Billy's bedroom in the second story of the Kaplan house, he, Kairi, and Xion all stood together in shock as they stared at the center of the room. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all watched through the monitor in total shock as they registered through the various movie and band posters, quickly taking notice of Agatha in the center of the room. Of course, given that she was dead, this made it all the more shocking to them all.

Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all looked at Agatha, surprise taking over all of them as they realized that she was a ghost. With her death, it appeared that time had finally caught up to her, because her hair was long, white, and silver, flowing down past her shoulders as she floated in the air. Due to her ghostly nature, she was see-through, and parts of her body were hard to make out. But they were able to determine that she was now wearing a long set of purple and white robes that covered her entire body, along with tendrils of fabric hanging down from her arms, and her hands were bare, showing the pale, white skin that was also on her face.

"What the hell?" Roxas asked in surprise. He looked at Stephen, Wanda, and Vision. "Is that possible?"

"Remember, there are numerous different places that we can go to after death, with different forms of the afterlife," Stephen reminded him. "But, while their souls are sorted their without little trouble, if an individual chooses to, then they won't go with Death to the afterlife they choose."

"That's how ghosts are formed," Wanda added. She raised an eyebrow. "Of course, some choose not to pass on because they're too afraid to pass on. The others... Well... They're much more malicious."

"I do not enjoy the way lives can pass on after death," Vision commented with a small shake of his head.

Roxas grimaced in agreement as he, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision turned back towards the monitor again.

Kairi and Xion ignored this banter between their friends as the two of them and Billy looked at Agatha in further shock. Though she was ghostly, the witch just continued to smile at them, raising a hand to wave at them.

"... I saw you die," Billy exclaimed, pointing at Agatha in shock.

"In a heroic act of sacrifice that made me question my sexuality again," Kairi admitted.

Xion didn't even look at Kairi as she smacked her sister in the chest as they kept their eyes on Agatha.

"Yeah," she confirmed. She raised her arms again. "And now, I'm a ghost. Can you dig it?" She cackled as she turned slightly, showing off her new ghostly form. "I mean, look at this! Check it out!"

"Where are your feet?" Kairi asked with a frown as she, Billy, and Xion stepped forward a bit. She held up a hand. "Actually, never mind. I don't want to know."

"I saw... you die," Billy repeated.

"By the way, to correct what the redhead said, I did not sacrifice myself for you," Agatha declared, floating in front of Billy and pointing in his face. "I took a calculated risk."

"You made out with your ex who is literal Death," Xion pointed out as Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all raised an eyebrow. "How 'calculated' was that risk?"

"Eh, that's besides the point," Agatha replied, lifting her arms to look at them. "Still figuring out the rules here, but..."

She swung her arms, which passed harmlessly through Billy, Kairi, and Xion's heads.

"See?" Agatha asked. "So disappointing."

"Wait, Agatha," Billy said, getting her attention again. "The Road."

Kairi and Xion looked at him again, and Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all narrowed their eyes, all of them remembering the revelation they had right before Agatha's ghostly form appeared.

"What about it?" Agatha asked.

"Did I make The Road?" Billy asked.

The smile faded from Agatha's face.

"Unlike your mother..." she started to say, which got Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion to all narrow their eyes. "Sorry... Wanda... You actually did something interesting with your power."

"Earlier this year, she used her magic to help stop an indestructible alien force," Billy reminded her with a look of offense in his eyes. Wanda was touched that Billy was defending her in some manner. "And you're making fun of me." He looked at Agatha. "This is just one of your tricks."

"The Ballad was the trick," Agatha told them. "It was just a con to lure other gullible witches. The song doesn't mean anything. It never did."

"She's right," Kairi confirmed. She and Xion looked at Billy. "We have friends who do their own magic. They did research into the Ballad, and even interviewed lots of her old victims. They all confirmed that she made them sing the song, The Road never appeared, she pissed 'em off to get them to attack her, and she absorbed all their magic."

"About three centuries, and it was all an elaborate, long con," Xion confirmed.

Billy huffed in surprise and looked between the two.

"Are these friends who do magic the ones you've been talking to with those headsets?" Billy asked, pointing at Kairi's ear.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all jumped slightly over being called out, but they quickly brushed it aside.

"They're... kind of obvious," Billy pointed out, looking between Kairi and Xion, while Agatha nodded in confirmation. *1*

"Well... yeah," Xion confirmed. She shrugged her shoulders. "Obviously we weren't gonna come into something like this without some kind of help."

Billy softly nodded, while Agatha narrowed her eyes in suspicion, already putting together who this "help" was. But she decided to quickly change the subject to get away from that can of worms (partially to figure out a way to escape).

"The Road wasn't real until you made it real, kid," Agatha said, garnering Billy, Kairi, and Xion's attention again.

Kairi and Xion looked at Billy as he looked down in shock.

"So you're saying that all of that, everything that we went through..." he slowly said. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all nodded in confirmation, and Billy turned around in total shock. "Oh, my God! If I made The Road, like, if I literally made The Road, then that means that I..."

Horror appeared on his face as Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all looked at him. Wanda and Vision were immediately overcome with worry, while understanding appeared in Wanda's eyes, not even needing her powers to know what was going through Billy's mind.

"... Means that I killed them," Billy finished with pure guilt and despair on his face. "Are they ghosts, too?"

Agatha softly shook her head, and Billy stumbled into his chair and looked down in pure despair. Kairi and Xion both hurried to his sides again, knowing that he needed support.

"I... I'm a murderer," Billy said in despair. "Alice."

"Well, I killed Alice," Agatha pointed out unhelpfully.

"Shut up," Kairi said with a frown.

"Lilia, in the tower..." Billy started to stammer out.

"That was her choice," Agatha said.

"Yeah, she saved us from the Salem Seven," Xion added.

"Mrs. Davis!" Billy exclaimed in despair.

"Who?" Agatha asked, frowning in genuine confusion.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all frowned at her lack of care for Sharon again.

"She didn't even belong on The Road, and she's dead because of me," Billy said with despair in his voice.

"Hey, we already went over that the blame wasn't entirely on one person," Kairi reminded him, hoping it helped. "She drank twice as much of the poison wine, you guys were panicking and trying to figure things out, and her hair was never added to the cure. That's not all on one person."

She knew this wouldn't help, but some kind of attempt was better than nothing.

"But she never would have needed the cure if I hadn't made The Road," Billy said. He looked up to show more despair in his eyes, which only made Wanda and Vision feel worse. "I... I... I killed them." He shuddered in horror. "My mind killed them."

"Don't give yourself too much credit," Agatha said.

"Oh, my God," Kairi said, standing up and turning towards the ghost with a frown. "Why are you such a fucking bitch all the time?"

"Hey, I'm not sure that I warrant this kind of foul language aimed at me," Agatha commented. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all raised an eyebrow at her, while Billy's lip quivered in despair again. "Besides, kid, if you actually do the math on it, you saved a life."

Billy frowned in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

Kairi and Xion perked up, then looked at Billy in realization.

"Jen," Kairi remembered. "She got what she wanted on The Road, and... Then she was just gone."

"I wonder where she is..." Xion said in a leading manner.

"Way ahead of you," Stephen confirmed. "While you guys were doing the Green Witch trial, I checked Westview. There was a surge of magic just outside the town, a flying spell. It flew away from the town. She's safe, she's got her magic back, and... Well, like a lot of people, I imagine she never wants to go back to Westview."

Kairi and Xion sighed in relief, and Billy looked at them pleadingly.

"Our contact confirms she's alive," Kairi confirmed as she pointed at her ear. "She's alive, she's got her magic back, and if she's smart, she's leaving New Jersey and never coming back."

Billy sighed in slight relief, though this wasn't enough to completely calm him down. Xion then raised an eyebrow at Kairi for her New Jersey hatred once again, but she brushed it aside.

"I was gonna kill them all in my basement on day one," Agatha admitted in a callous manner.

"You guys were only in the pocket dimension for The Road for about twelve hours," Wanda pointed out.

"Wait, then how the hell are we still awake?" Roxas commented.

Kairi and Xion shrugged this off as they watched Billy look at Agatha again.

"If you wanna be a witch, get used to this feeling," Agatha added to Billy.

"You're the only witch that does shit like this on a regular basis," Kairi replied with a frown. "Yeah, Wanda's got blood on her hands, but the only innocent blood was unintentional when she didn't know how to control her powers."

"Yeah," Xion added. "There's more to witchcraft than the ruthless murder that you keep preaching about."

"Good," Billy said as he glared at Agatha. "Because I will never get used to this."

"We'll see," Agatha softly replied with a smirk. "After all... Like you said, Wanda's got blood on her hands. And I'm sure you two girls do, too. And how much of it was innocent or guilty?"

Everyone was silent at this. Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all looked down for a moment, knowing that while all of them made sure to only fight and kill bad guys, they had never kept track, and a twinge of guilt filled them over having never thought about keeping track before now. Stephen just looked down and thought about all the lives he had taken as a sorcerer, starting all the way back to that fight in the Sanctum. Vision closed his eyes as he thought about the lives he had taken, and Wanda closed her eyes, since she had made an effort to keep track of the lives she took out of guilt. Too much of it had been innocent, whether she was brainwashed or not, and that horrified her.

Everyone was drawn from these thoughts as Billy suddenly jumped to his feet with a determined expression on his face.

"Kairi, Xion, come on," he requested while glaring at Agatha.

"Uh... where are we going?" Kairi asked.

"We're getting rid of her," Billy declared.

Agatha, Kairi, and Xion's eyes widened in surprise, but both teens were admittedly okay with this.

They waited for a moment for Billy to change into a new outfit consisting of a striped shirt, a denim jacket, black pants, and his boots. Once he had changed, Kairi and Xion joined Billy in leaving the house behind his parents' backs, then climbed into the minivan with him. They quickly pulled away, started driving through the residential area of Eastview, and went back the way they had come before, driving through Eastview and beginning their trek back to Westview. Billy frowned in determination, while Kairi and Xion nodded to encourage him.

"Uh... Seriously, why are we all still awake?" Roxas asked, frowning and looking at the others.

"Oh, I gave us all a boost with magic so we could keep watching what was happening," Stephen informed them. He gestured to Vision. "Even he needed it."

"Is that healthy?" Wanda asked, driving her hands to her pregnant stomach.

"Yes, that didn't seem like the best choice," Vision added.

"All right," Stephen said with a shrug of his shoulders. He gestured with his hands. "I'll take down the spell for a bit."

"Wait, then shouldn't we all..." Roxas started to say.

Unfortunately, Stephen was too fast with the spell, taking it off of all four of them and making them all immediately pass out. Roxas and Stephen fell onto the floor with thuds, while Vision slumped against the desk, and Wanda slumped back in her seat, her hands still on her distended abdomen. All four of them immediately started to snore as a restful sleep came over them. *2*

Kairi and Xion heard this interaction over the intercom, and both of them smirked in amusement, though they hoped that passing out hadn't damaged the others too much.

Luckily, it only took about another hour or so for the group to return to Westview. Billy, Kairi, and Xion watched the many sights and views of Westview pass by them again, soon returning to the residential district. Of course, despite it being the middle of the day, the doors were all closed and the curtains drawn, with most of the people most likely terrified over the second incident in the town in only 2 years. Billy, Kairi, and Xion tried to ignore this as the car pulled up in front of Agatha's house, which now had a wooden board placed over the front door, no doubt to try and keep people out.

Climbing out of the car, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all turned and started walking to the side of the house, knowing they needed to go into the backyard to enter without looking even more suspicious.

Looking to the side, Kairi and Xion were able to see John through one of the windows at the front of his house, and he looked relieved to see that they were okay. The two teens shot him thumbs-ups as they walked with Billy around the house into the backyard.

They all grimaced slightly as they saw the large field of flowers that was where Agatha had died, but they brushed it aside as they went through the back door to enter the house again. Billy, Kairi, and Xion gave the flowers a wide berth as they walked into the house through the shattered remains of the back door, then started down the stairs into the basement. Kairi and Xion felt a little happy that things were different from when they had last come down these stairs, running for their lives from the Salem Seven, but they brushed it to the side as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Billy, Kairi, and Xion's attention was quickly drawn to the sight of the doors to The Witches' Road in the center of the floor. The pentagon shaped wooden doors appeared menacingly with a bright blue light glowing between the various planks of wood, the color of which matched Billy's Chaos magic. Kairi and Xion raised an eyebrow, wondering how they hadn't noticed that similarity before, but they brushed it aside as they looked at the wooden doors with their taller friend.

"Billy," Agatha then declared.

Billy, Kairi, and Xion all jumped in surprise and looked to the side, their eyes widening when they saw the ghost witch laying across the surface of the two washing machines.

"Stop doing that," Kairi complained, with Xion shaking her head in agreement.

"Back to the scene of the crime?" Agatha just taunted the group.

Billy just glared at her before he started walking across the cellar. Going along the various shelves to examine the items within the crates and items, Kairi and Xion furrowed their eyebrows in curiosity. Agatha asked what they were doing, and while Kairi and Xion wanted to ask the same question, Billy just ignored them all as he took an item from one shelf, then went over to another shelf to check the contents. Kairi and Xion were even more confused, and now they wished that the others weren't asleep as Agatha said Billy had something of hers, most likely meaning her locket. Billy turned around, then he jumped when he saw Agatha was right in front of him, which had Kairi and Xion blink in surprise. Agatha requested her locket back, but Billy ignored her as he walked to the doors.

Kairi and Xion were intrigued as they watched him use chalk to draw a pentagram across the surface of the wooden doors before grabbing a crate of candles, placing it down, and taking them out. Sharing a look, Kairi and Xion followed his example and took the candles out of the box. Billy nodded in gratitude as they placed the candles along the surface of the wooden doors, pointedly adding lots of candles at the corners of the doors. All of them ignored Agatha as she kept making comments, then Kairi and Xion stepped back as Billy sat in the center of the pentagram and closed his eyes to concentrate. Xion had flashbacks to Wanda when the Id used her to Dreamwalk as the candles were all lit on their own through Billy's powers. *3*

Agatha realized what he was doing, while Kairi and Xion were still confused. All of a sudden, a little black book shot out of a desk, flew through Agatha's chest, and right into Billy's hand. Kairi and Xion recognized it as the book he was taking notes for spells in, and when he opened it up, he was relieved to see that all the pages and writings were back to normal. Having opened the book on the right page, Billy reached into his pocket and pulled out Agatha's locket. Though the ghost witch looked afraid, she quickly tried to brush it off, which had Kairi and Xion narrow their eyes in suspicion.

"Ah, yes," Agatha declared as she moved in front of Billy. "Finally!" She held out a hand. "Okay. Just hand it over."

"The item belonging to the deceased," Xion said, remembering one spell she had heard Stephen and Wanda talking about. She looked up at Agatha. "He's sending your ghost to the afterlife."

Kairi chuckled as Billy proceeded to start reading the Latin incantation.

Panic appeared in Agatha's face as she recognized the spell, even as Billy stood up and proceeded to repeat it. Kairi and Xion were a little surprised that some witch spells required repeating the incantation, but they brushed it aside.

"What are you doing?" Agatha asked with worry.

"Didn't you hear Xion?" Billy replied with a frown. "I'm banishing you."

"No," Agatha said desperately.

"Uh, see ya, not gonna miss ya," Kairi said, waving a hand at the witch. "Much."

Xion also waved a hand as Billy repeated the incantation.

"No!" Agatha repeated, even more desperate.

"You don't get another chance," Billy replied sternly. "Time to go toward the light or into Rio's toxic embrace, or wherever you deserve to spend eternity. I really don't care anymore."

Even Kairi and Xion were surprised by the bitterness in Billy's voice, but they quickly put together that this was partially influenced by his guilt over creating The Road in the first place. This was emphasized when he started repeating the Latin incantation again.

"You can't do this," Agatha sternly insisted as Kairi and Xion looked at her. "You think you can just send me into the afterlife with an incantation and a personal item?"

"Yeah, Wanda and Stephen Strange both confirmed that that's how it's done," Xion replied.

"Confirmation from Wanda and a world-famous sorcerer," Billy added, still looking bitterly at Agatha. "Good enough for me."

He started speaking the incantation again, and Kairi and Xion both just crossed their arms and looked at Agatha as she started cackling again, clearly putting up an act. This was clear when the smile vanished from her face and was replaced with worry again.

"Five seconds ago, you were all bent out of shape about killing witches!" Agatha argued through Billy's chanting.

"You're already dead!" Billy shouted back.

"And dead kid or not, you're still a bitch, and we're tired of you," Kairi admitted, with Xion nodding her head.

With that, Billy restarted his chant again. This got Agatha to start flickering again, which only made more desperation appear in her eyes as Billy kept chanting. Kairi and Xion both sighed out in relief knowing that Agatha was going to be gone, but the ghost witch just begged Billy to stop. While Billy kept chanting, Kairi and Xion watched as Agatha tried waving her hand to get the locket out of his hand, which continued to fail considering her ghost nature. She shouted and demanded her locket back as Kairi and Xion looked at her.

"Why are you still here?" Billy shouted back to the ghost witch. "Why don't you just die?"

"Because I can't face him!" Agatha shouted in despair.

Kairi and Xion's eyes narrowed as Agatha proceeded to swing her hand, successfully knocking the locket out of Billy's hand and making it fall to the ground. The candles all suddenly went out as the spell was interrupted while the locket fell to the ground. Agatha just gasped as she looked at the locket, and though his eyes shined with tears, Billy narrowed his eyes as he, Kairi, and Xion all looked at her.

"Nicholas," Billy assessed.

"Nicky," Kairi added. She looked at Agatha. "You're... You're afraid to see him in the afterlife."

Agatha just looked at Billy, Kairi, and Xion, then gasped as she walked around them to where her locket had landed. The trio all watched as she crouched down, concentrated for a long moment, then grasped the locket. They all watched as she slowly reached up and secured the locket to the neckline of her robe again.

Billy wiped away his tears as he, Kairi, and Xion all turned towards Agatha again.

"I'm sure he would forgive you for... whatever you did," Billy said.

"See..." Agatha slowly said. "It's when you say things like that..." She slowly stood up and turned to look at Billy, her eyes showing sorrow and grief. "That you remind me of him."

"What did you do?" Xion asked. She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just... You admitted that you killed witches with him. You even had him help you lure them into the false sense of security so you could steal their powers from them. What could you have done that would make you so ashamed to see him after that?"

Agatha just sighed out and closed her eyes.

"He came up with The Ballad of the Witches' Road," she admitted. "My six year old son sang it while we were walking together. He used to sing it in bars to rile up attention. He had a lot of fun with it, and I got to get the powers from other witches. Then after he died..." She let out a deep sigh. "I sang the song out of grief, but then a couple of witches heard about it and thought The Road was real. So... that's where I came up with the con. My son was against me killing witches and stealing his powers... Then after he died, I used a song he came up with as a ploy to steal the powers from hundreds of other witches over the centuries."

Billy, Kairi, and Xion all huffed in surprise, as did Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision as they woke back up and heard the whole confession.

"You see why I can't face him now?" Agatha asked with a helpless shrug of her shoulders.

Though she just admitted to using an elaborate, convoluted, and pretty dark ploy to murder hundreds of witches, the guilt and despair in her eyes had Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all feeling sympathy for her. It didn't excuse all of her actions, but it still made her a bit more sympathetic than before. *4*

"... You picked it up," Billy observed as he looked at the locket.

Agatha smiled and gestured to the locket on her collar.

"Well, I'm a quick study," she boasted.

Kairi and Xion gave small smirks.

"Maybe being a ghost suits you," Billy remarked. "Spirit as my guide?"

"That's an interesting guide," Xion commented, with Kairi nodding in agreement.

"We could make a good team," Agatha agreed, smirking and pointing at the boy. "You and me."

"Coven two?" Billy suggested, not completely devoted.

"I do tend to..." Agatha slowly said with her hands on her hips. "... kill my Coven members."

"A lot of them," Xion agreed with an eyebrow raised.

"So do I," Billy pointed out.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all looked at Billy in sympathy again.

As Agatha, Kairi, and Xion watched, Billy then stepped into the center of the wooden doors for The Witches' Road, closed his eyes, and held his hands out to the side, letting blue Chaos magic glow. Kairi and Xion furrowed their eyebrows as they watched Billy concentrate, and the entire basement shook around them. Agatha joined Kairi and Xion in looking around as items fell from shelves, and sparks popped from the ceiling. As Billy continued to concentrate, the blue light between the wooden blanks of the doors glowed even brighter, and he grunted as he suddenly stopped the spell.

Billy panted as Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all looked at the ground. They were surprised to see that the doors for The Witches' Road had transformed into stone again, but the pentagram design stayed within the pentagon on the floor. As they watched the lights fade, they also watched as three names burned into the center of the pentagram. Everyone's hearts melted slightly as they saw Sharon Davis, Alice Wu-Gulliver, and Lilia Calderu.

Billy looked at the trio, and Kairi and Xion nodded at him, while Agatha smiled in pride over how Billy was already showing to be better than her. Roxas and Stephen nodded in respect, while Wanda and Vision beamed in pride, though they both inwardly wondered if they were allowed to feel this way.

They brushed it aside as Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all moved to Billy's side.

"One door closes..." Agatha slowly said.

"And another opens," Billy finished.

With that, he looked at the stairs that led to the cellar doors, and nodded at them. Agatha, Kairi, and Xion all watched as the doors opened up from Billy's magic, allowing the daylight to stream within the basement. With that, Agatha, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all shared looks.

"Let's go find Tommy," Agatha declared.

"We can help... a bit," Xion said.

"But first... we've gotta talk to our allies," Kairi said, pointing at her headset.

"Oh, uh... I'm not sure..." Agatha started to say.

"No, I'm okay with it," Billy said. He shrugged his shoulders as he looked between Kairi and Xion. "I don't really know where to begin, so whatever kind of help we can get, I'd appreciate it."

"All right," Kairi said.

With that, Billy, Kairi, and Xion all turned and started walking up the cellar stairs again. Agatha grimaced in worry before she reluctantly followed them.

The group then gathered in the backyard, and Kairi and Xion requested that they wait. Billy nodded and promised they would, while Agatha just looked more nervous. Kairi and Xion then moved into the front yard of the house together, where they reached up and contacted the others. Kairi and Xion talked with Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision about the next course of action, and they all agreed on what to do. They were able to hear Roxas and Vision start cleaning things up in the office, and Stephen and Wanda replied that they were almost done.

"All right," Xion said with a nod of her head. "We'll see you soon."

"Hey, Mr. Collins," Kairi said, frowning in surprise.

Xion looked up and watched with Kairi as John proceeded to walk towards them, letting out a small huff of relief.

"I'm glad you girls are okay," John said with a gesture of his hands. "Now, if you don't mind me askin', what the hell happened this morning?"

"Death," Kairi said, deciding that that was enough of an answer.

"Death," Xion added.

John just sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Death, I guess," he remarked. He sighed. "Is everythin' all right, though? Those creepy ladies are gone?"

"Yeah, we took care of them," Kairi added. She sighed. "But things got rough. A couple of people died."

John looked down in a mourning manner, and Xion closed her eyes in a similar way.

"But the town as a whole was saved from terror this time," Kairi pointed out optimistically. She gestured up into the sky. "All we had this time was just a bunch of flashing lights. That's a bit better, right?"

"It is," John confirmed. He nodded at the two. "At least there wasn't too much damage. Other than Agnes's house."

"Yeah..." Xion agreed, turning with her hands on her hips. She shook her head and looked at John. "But, uh... we're gonna get going pretty soon. We gotta get back to our friends."

"All right," John said. He nodded and smiled at the girls. "Well, thanks for keeping me updated and stopping me from freaking out as much as I would've."

"Thanks for going along with our bullshit," Kairi said with a small chuckle.

"And thanks for your hospitality, Mr. Collins," Xion added. "You're a good man, and we'll talk to Wanda and Vision about getting you those outfits from different eras."

"Oh, thank you," John said. He giggled. "I'm looking forward to using those next disco night at the club!"

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all chuckled over how jovial and giddy the man was.

All of a sudden, his phone started ringing, and John took it out in surprise.

"Oh, it's my wife," John said. He answered and raised it to his ear. "Hey, baby. Oh, you heard from the Proctors. Yeah, yeah... somethin' did happen again. No, no, no, it's all right! It was just a bunch of flashing lights. We don't need to move!"

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all shared a small chuckle/grimace as John turned and started walking back towards his house, quickly trying to calm down his wife. *5*

Kairi and Xion shared a look before shrugging their shoulders.

"All right, we're ready," Stephen replied.

"Okay," Kairi said.

She and Xion shared a nod of their heads before they turned and moved around Agatha's house and back into the backyard.

Moments later, they were back in front of Billy and Agatha. Billy nodded in greeting at the two of them again, while Agatha clasped her hands together and looked nervous.

"So, uh... who do you know that can help us find Tommy?" Billy asked. He gestured to Kairi's ear. "Is it the person on the other end of those?"

"Yeah, more or less," Kairi confirmed. She and Xion shared a look. "But there's something you need to know."

"We came here to Westview at a request," Xion explained as she and Kairi looked at Agatha and Billy again. "We were hanging out with our friends, when one of them realized that the spell over Agatha was being undone."

"Really?" Billy asked, frowning in surprise. "Well, who would be able to sense that kind of magic being undone? It'd have to be the person who..."

His eyes widened in realization, and Agatha grimaced.

"... The person who cast the spell," Billy finished.

"Wanda," Xion confirmed, with Kairi nodding in agreement.

Billy huffed as he looked at the headsets that the two teens were wearing.

"... Wanda's been seeing me the whole time?" he asked.

"Her and Vision," Kairi added. "And Stephen Strange."

"And my boyfriend, Roxas," Xion added.

"Roxas!?" Billy exclaimed. "He's my Avengers crush!"

Roxas frowned in surprise, and Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all laughed at the look on his face.

"... And he just heard me say that," Billy said, closing his eyes in embarrassment. *6*

"Right..." Xion said.

Agatha and Kairi covered their mouths to try and suppress their giggles. Both of them failed miserably.

"Well, anyway..." Kairi said through her laughs. She cleared her throat. "They've been watching, seeing everything going on, and offering us advice."

"Wanda would've been here to see things herself, but..." Xion slowly said. She huffed. "She was a little... incapable."

"What, why?" Billy asked, frowning in confusion.

Kairi and Xion just smiled.

"She could just tell her yourself," Kairi said.

Billy was still confused.

All of a sudden, orange sparks formed into existence behind Kairi and Xion, surprising Agatha and Billy. They watched as the sparks grew larger before eventually forming a large circle, leading right into a room that appeared to be an office. Billy was surprised, but Agatha huffed.

"That's a portal from the sorcerers," Agatha explained. "It can take us anywhere in the world."

"And this one will lead us right to Wanda and Vision," Kairi added.

"And they both really want to meet you," Xion added. She nodded to the portal. "Are you interested?"

Billy breathed in and out for a moment. Though he was still wary about actually accepting Wanda and Vision as his parents considering his own family, and he was still figuring out the whole William/Billy thing... He could admit to having some kind of desire to actually see them, especially since it might give him better answers about himself. And they could be his best bet at finding Tommy. And, well... Given everything he had heard about both members of the couple, he figured that they probably knew better than most about what he was going through, especially with his powers, and he wanted that kind of support.

"Okay," Billy said with a nod of his head. He looked between Kairi and Xion. "Okay. I'm in."

Kairi and Xion nodded at Billy, before Agatha cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Well, that sounds fun," Agatha awkwardly said. "But, you know what? I think I'll stay out of this little family reunion. After all, the nanny usually leaves when the parents come home? So, I think I'll go find a nice gentleman's club to haunt until you get back, kid..."

All of a sudden, an orange whip of energy flew out of the portal and wrapped around Agatha's waist. She gasped in surprise while Billy, Kairi, and Xion all looked at the portal, seeing Stephen standing on the other side.

"Yeah, it was optional for the kid," Stephen informed Wanda. "For you, it's an order."

Agatha gulped in fear before Stephen yanked on the whip. She shouted as she was dragged through the air, past Billy, Kairi, and Xion, and into the portal to the office. Stephen huffed as he used his magic to direct her, then sighed out as he looked at the trio of teens on the other side of the portal.

"I wanna learn that next!" Billy excitedly said, pointing at Stephen's whip of orange energy.

"Sorry, different magic, kid," Stephen told them. He nodded to the side. "Now, come on. Come meet your... kind of parents."

With that, he stepped to the side and disappeared further into the office. Kairi chuckled and followed the sorcerer.

Xion then frowned, reached up and turned off her comlink, then grasped Billy's arm to stop him. Billy looked at her in curiosity.

"I gotta ask..." Xion slowly said. "Why do you have a crush on Roxas? Is it Roxas and Ventus because they look alike?"

"No, just Roxas," Billy softly said. He smiled. "I've got a boyfriend, but Roxas just has this kind of 'bad boy' thing I like. I mean, you understand, right?"

Xion raised an eyebrow, but then she tilted her head to the side and nodded in understanding.

Billy chuckled before he looked at the portal, then breathed in and out for a moment. With a serious expression on his face, he steeled himself and stepped inside to follow Kairi and Stephen. Xion huffed and followed him, a little happy to be finished with their business in Westview...

Chapter Text

Within the expansive realm of the Nexus Between, the massive airship belonging to Crawford floated as the last remaining transducer was activated. Darkness was sent out of the transducer and bled into the very fabric of the Nexus Between, causing everything to go haywire. Damage was done to the fabric of the massive realm between dimensions, which caused cracks to appear within the surface of those dimensions. Through those cracks, two orbs of energy were suddenly released from a universe known as Earth-199999, and proceeded to drop through the Nexus. With the darkness still surging, the cracks continued to open up, with one leading to the universe known as Earth-KH616. The two spheres fell into the crack, entering the universe just before the transducer was shut off.

Unknowingly, with time working differently between different realms, the orbs fell into the universe at a different time period than was considered "the present." Instead, they appeared on Earth in the year 2023, and one slipped into the body of a young boy who had just died in a car crash.

He quickly gasped awake and sat up.

"Tommy!" Billy shouted.

Everyone that had passed through Stephen Strange's portal to the house in Missouri all felt their own range of emotions, knowing that they were about to come face to face with Roxas, Wanda, and Vision again. Agatha might've been a ghost, but she was absolutely terrified over having to be reunited with them. Of course, Stephen's magical whip that he had used to drag her within meant that she had no choice in the matter. Kairi and Xion were a little happy to finally be done with the craziness with The Road and happy to be reunited with the others, with Xion especially happy to reunite with Roxas. Billy, meanwhile, felt the largest range of emotions consisting of excitement, eagerness, and worry about meeting Wanda and Vision face to face.

Worry was the primary emotion on Billy's face as he followed Kairi through the portal. He gulped down that worry as he walked with Kairi and Xion, before the portal slowly faded out of existence behind them.

A strangely tense silence filled the entire office as everyone slowly took in each other and processed the situation.

Kairi and Xion moved over to the desk where the others were gathered. Kairi sighed out and leaned against the wall, while Xion hugged Roxas in greeting. Stephen let the magical whip vanish and released Agatha, who looked like a deer in the headlights. Billy looked down, then breathed in and out for a moment before looking up at the desk, seeing the two main occupants behind it.

Wanda sat in the armchair behind the desk, resting her arms across the surface, while Vision stood next to her. Both of them looked at Billy with the same expression of curiosity and intrigue that he shot them, while Agatha pointedly tried to ignore Wanda's gaze. Of course, Stephen just kept an eye on the ghost to keep her from moving anywhere, ensuring that she couldn't escape.

Things remained strangely tense and silent as Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all continued to be gathered together throughout the office, none of them knowing who should speak first.

"... This is why I hate family reunions," Roxas eventually commented with a quip. "They're always so awkward."

Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all frowned at the blonde.

"Oh, come on, you know he's right," Kairi replied with an eyebrow raised.

The trio of adults sighed out before Billy cleared his throat, deciding to break the tension himself. He blushed awkwardly as he saw Roxas, but stayed serious as he looked at Wanda and Vision.

"It... It's very nice to meet you both," he said diplomatically. "I've... heard a lot."

"We've heard a lot, too," Wanda said. She tilted her head to the side. "And I must say, I'm very impressed with your powers. You still might not completely understand them, but you've clearly got some skills that should be flourished and grown."

Billy softly nodded, finding that he enjoyed the praise even though he still felt guilty for Alice, Lilia, and Sharon's deaths.

"We should, uh... get to the elephant in the room, though," Vision pointed out. "You... You're living thanks to the soul of our son."

"Yeah..." Billy softly said. He slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. "I, uh... I guess we should talk about that."

Agatha, Kairi, Stephen, Roxas, and Xion all shared a small huff at that, before Billy then frowned.

"Hey, where did you get the name 'Billy' from, by the way?" Billy asked.

"Oh, that came from my love for William Shakespeare," Vision admitted. "I named you William, but we chose Billy as a nickname."

"Oh, I love Shakespeare," Billy admitted with his eyebrows raised. "I memorized all his sonnets."

"Oh," Vision said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Those lips that Love's own hand did make..."

"Breath'd forth the sound that said 'I hate'," Billy finished.

The two of them shared a small chuckle, which had Wanda smiling, Stephen giving a small shake of his head, and Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all raising an eyebrow. *1*

Of course, then Billy cleared his throat and looked between Wanda and Vision seriously again.

"I, uh..." he slowly said. "I accept that you want to help, but... I don't think I can accept you as my parents." He shook his head. "I already have a family."

"We understand," Vision said diplomatically. "We're not trying to steal you from that family. But... You are still connected to us, in a way."

"Yeah, but that begs the question of how it's possible," Stephen pointed out. Everyone looked at him. "After all, Death said it herself that your soul was copied."

"She did?" Billy asked in surprise.

"She did," Agatha confirmed.

"She did," Kairi emphasized with a nod of her head. "Both your soul and Tommy's soul were copied. There's literally two of you guys."

Billy frowned and looked amongst the group.

"How is that possible?" he asked.

All of a sudden, another portal opened up, and Wong stepped through. People's eyes narrowed in surprise when Shiny Heart followed him through the portal, and Agatha and Billy both looked at him in appreciation, especially because of his hair.

"We might have an answer," Wong informed them. He looked at Shiny. "Shiny."

"Yep," Shiny agreed.

With that, Shiny took out a scanner, walked up to Billy, and waved the device at him. Everyone was confused for a moment, but considering their past with him, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all decided to trust Shiny. Agatha and Billy still looked really confused as the device was waved over him, though he still brushed his hair to try and look nice for Shiny.

A few moments later, the device beeped, and Shiny raised it to look at the results.

"Looks like you were right, Wong," Shiny declared. He looked at Billy. "Your body is from this universe. But your soul is from a different dimension."

Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all narrowed their eyes in surprise.

"Wait... What?" Roxas asked, stepping forward in confusion.

"Surprisingly, this actually isn't the first time I've seen this happen," Shiny admitted. He sighed out. "And I think I know what caused it."

"Hang on," Agatha said, finally saying something. "What the heck do you mean a different dimension? That's really possible?"

"You read the Darkhold," Stephen reminded her. "And you knew of the Dreamwalking spell, right?"

"Well, yeah," Agatha confirmed. She shrugged her shoulders. "But I always kind of thought it was hogwash. Plus, it never felt that important to me. Why would I want to possess versions of me from other realms when I'm already perfect enough?"

Despite the situation, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all shared a small sigh, since this sounded exactly like Agatha.

"Well, anyway..." Shiny slowly said. "Like I said, different dimensions exist, and travel between them is possible through different ways. Some aren't the most stable, but there have been cases where souls have fallen through the Nexus Between, going from one universe to another."

"But how did that happen here?" Vision asked.

"You should know the answer to that," Shiny pointed out, turning towards Vision. "After all..." He looked at Kairi, Roxas, and Xion. "You were all there."

Kairi, Roxas, Vision, and Xion all looked confused for a moment, but then their eyes widened.

"The transducers," Kairi said. She and Xion shared a look. "We took down the first three, but that last one still went off. It was activated for a minute."

"And like Other Me said, anything was possible through that," Roxas remembered. He looked at Billy. "I guess... The soul of Billy fell from another universe and into ours?"

"Specifically the universe known as Earth-199999," Shiny said as he looked at his scanner. He raised an eyebrow. "Huh. That's the universe of the MCU."

Shiny then grimaced, not wanting to think about the implications of souls leaving that universe and entering this universe.

"But wait," Wanda said, frowning in confusion. "That situation with the Nexus happened just the other day. And from the looks of things, the soul of Billy entered his body two years ago. How is that possible?"

"Well... time doesn't completely matter between the universes, either," Shiny replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He looked at Billy. "I guess your soul, and the other soul that must've been Tommy, landed here, you woke up in William Kaplan, and now... Well, there's literally two of you guys here."

"Holy crap," Billy said, looking down in shock.

"You said he came from Earth-199999," Stephen added. "Is that any different from this Earth?"

"The only difference is these guys and their friends aren't around," Shiny said, gesturing to Kairi, Roxas, and Xion. "Otherwise, everything is pretty much the same."

There was a small sigh of relief that was spread amongst the group, before Vision narrowed his eyes.

"That means there isn't a Vanitas on that Earth," Vision said. "And the only reason Wanda and I are still here is because of him."

"Yeah..." Shiny slowly said. He grimaced and shook his head. "You don't wanna know."

Wanda and Vision shared a look and grimaced, while the rest of the room shared another small huff. *2*

"What..." Billy slowly said, clearly overwhelmed. "Does that mean that... What?"

"It's very confusing," Shiny admitted with a sigh. "Your body is from here, but your soul is from a different dimension. And there's no way to separate the two without killing you both, which I'm pretty sure no one wants."

Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wong, Xion and especially Billy, Wanda, and Vision all shook their heads in agreement at that.

"So, you're gonna have to stay like this for a while," Shiny admitted. He gave the boy a look. "But know that you've got a pretty good support system here, whether your soul is from this dimension or not. They're more than happy to offer you help and aid if you need it."

Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all nodded their heads in confirmation, and while Billy felt a grateful stirring in his heart, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Shiny's face.

"Is one of your eyes metallic?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, I got shot," Shiny said with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. He checked his watch. "And I need to go before my girlfriend blows up her latest rocket prototype."

With that, he stepped back and nodded at Wong before hopping through the portal again.

"But don't worry," Shiny added. "You might have a soul from a different dimension, but you're still more or less stabilized. No possible damage to you or this universe."

With that, the portal then vanished, leaving the group alone again.

Another silence fell amongst Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Xion as they slowly processed this.

"... I always kind of felt that I didn't always belong here," Billy commented. He raised an eyebrow. "I never would have figured it would've been so literal."

"Hey," Wanda said, giving him a stern look. "You might have a soul from a different universe, but that doesn't mean you don't belong. Home isn't based off of one single location, and you can make any place your home. You've still got a home here whether it's with us, or your parents in Eastview. You're still safe in this universe."

"That's a promise," Vision confirmed with a nod of his head.

Billy looked between them and softly nodded his head. He then looked down and continued to contemplate things.

Agatha then cleared her throat, which got the attention of the group again. While Billy remained contemplative, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all looked at the ghost, who gave an awkward chuckle and wave.

"Well... This has been nice," Agatha slowly said. "But I'm not sure I really need to be here."

"Yeah, you do," Stephen replied.

"Yeah, you do," Xion agreed, with Kairi and Roxas nodding in agreement.

Agatha grimaced and slowly walked up to stand in front of the desk and look at Wanda and Vision. While Vision gave her a small frown, Wanda gave her a diplomatic look. Kairi, Roxas, Wong, and Xion all kept their faces blank, while Stephen stayed prepared to take his magical whip back out.

"Well, hey..." Agatha said with an awkward chuckle. "It's good to see the two of you, both alive at that. And I gotta say, I really like what you've done with your hair..."

"Shut up," Wanda bluntly said.

Agatha awkwardly closed her mouth, quickly complying.

"I won't say that I'm happy to see you," Wanda told her. She raised an eyebrow. "That'd be playing us both for fools considering what happened the last time we met. The manipulation, the psychosis, how you used my trauma against me, and how you attacked my family before trying to kill me. Because of that, a little part of me is tempted to just let Stephen snatch that locket and send you to the afterlife."

Agatha gulped, while Stephen looked ready to do exactly that.

"But..." Wanda slowly said. "I also know what you're going through. I've seen firsthand what the Darkhold could do. The witch who got it used it to make me her puppet. She tortured me and forced me into serving her."

Agatha and Billy both grimaced at that, while Vision placed a hand on Wanda's shoulder in reassurance, and Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, and Xion all grit their teeth at the memory of the Id.

"You willingly took the Darkhold... But I personally saw what I could've been turned into if I had willingly read the Darkhold," Wanda informed Agatha. She nodded her head. "I can't completely blame you for that."

Agatha was a little amazed by the civility in Wanda's voice at that.

"I'm not saying I completely forgive you," Wanda told her. She sighed. "But after what happened to your son..."

Agatha closed her eyes and sighed out as she looked down, and Wanda looked at her in sympathy.

"I can see that you want to be good," Wanda added. She nodded her head. "You've already shown that by helping Billy, getting him through The Road, and even saving him from Rio. You might've had your own reasons, but you still saved him."

Agatha slowly looked up and looked at Wanda.

"I don't forgive you for what you did..." Wanda slowly said. She nodded at Agatha. "But you've at least shown you deserve another chance."

Agatha looked at her and let out a small sigh.

"I appreciate it," she admitted. "But... Right now, I just wanna help find Tommy. It's the least I can do to help after everything that's happened."

"Yeah," Billy said. He cleared his throat and stepped forward again. "Finding him is the main priority."

"I agree," Wanda said, nodding her head with Vision.

"Hey, with a bunch of us in on it, it should be easy," Stephen remarked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"And I'll try not to say too much mean stuff," Agatha promised. She smirked. "But I reserve the right to be a catty bitch."

"I think I'm okay with that," Wanda admitted.

"Yes, I believe I am, too," Vision admitted with a sigh.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, and Xion all shared small chuckles at that. *3*

"Well, anyway..." Billy slowly said. He cleared his throat. "Just because I have a soul from another dimension that's... your son, doesn't mean I'm that ready to accept you guys as parents."

"Hey, real quick, you think that makes you a bit stronger?" Kairi asked. She shared a look with Roxas and Xion. "Because... since you made The Road, that means you must've been responsible for the rewards. I actually got what I wanted... partially."

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked as he, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all looked at her.

"Mentally, I... I got to see Sora," Kairi admitted. "It wasn't for long, but... I actually got to talk to him. And it made me happy."

The group all shared a small smile at that.

"Hey, wait..." Xion said, furrowing her eyebrows. "If you got your reward, then that means I must've gotten mine, too. But how would I..."

She patted her jacket pockets, and raised her eyebrows in surprise. Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all watched as she reached into her pocket, then pulled out a sandwich wrapped in paper. Their eyes all widened in surprise, and Xion chuckled as she looked at the sandwich with both hands.

"We really went through all of that, and my reward is a freaking sandwich," Xion commented with a huff.

Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all shared small huffs of surprise. Xion then shrugged her shoulders, moved some of the paper back, then took a bite out of the sandwich. She tilted her head to the side.

"Not bad," Xion admitted. She shrugged her shoulders. "Could use a little less mustard, though."

Small chuckles spread across the group, but Billy cleared his throat again and looked at Wanda and Vision.

"My point still stands, though," Billy declared. "Whatever happens with Tommy, and... These other dimensions... I still know that I have parents here in this dimension. So... I'm not gonna just accept you guys as parents like that."

He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point.

"As previously stated, we completely understand," Vision promised with a wave of his hand.

"In fact, it... might make things a bit easier in the long run," Wanda admitted.

"What do you mean?" Billy asked as he and Agatha frowned in confusion.

"Well... you remember how we mentioned that there were copies of yours and Tommy's souls?" Wanda asked, now looking awkward.

"Yeah?" Agatha asked as she and Billy still looked confused.

Wanda and Vision then shared a look, and Vision took her hand. Wanda let out a small grunt as Vision helped her stand up, revealing her distended pregnant stomach to Agatha and Billy. She panted slightly as she stood up for the first time in hours, rebalancing herself as Agatha and Billy looked at her in surprise.

"Well... Our Billy and Tommy are... in here," Wanda awkwardly said, placing a hand on her stomach. She frowned and placed her hand on the right side of her belly. "In fact... Our version of you is right here."

Billy just huffed in surprise, while Agatha started to cackle.

"Well, someone's been a naughty little witch," she declared.

Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all sighed out and looked at Agatha, who raised her eyebrows at the attention.

"... Too soon?" Agatha asked.

"Yeah," Kairi confirmed. "Stick to the bitchy comments to hide the pain for now."

"Wait, what?" Xion asked, looking at Kairi. "How do you know about that?"

"Because that's more or less what I've been doing for a while," Kairi admitted. She sighed. "Why do you think I've been cussing so much? I took a page out of V's book. Cuss a hell of a lot to push down the pain of what you're going through."

Roxas and Xion looked at her in sympathy, and Xion moved over to give her a hug, having forgiven her for her negative words back during their third trial on The Road.

Wanda and Vision then cleared their throats and started moving around the desk to stand in front of Billy again. Billy stepped backwards to give them space, but he still stayed close enough instead of running as they stopped in front of him. Now directly face to face with them, Billy stared at Wanda and Vision, seeing the desire to help and show support in their faces.

"Like I said, it'll probably make it easier for whenever or wherever you decide to go," Wanda slowly said. "But know that we're still here to help, especially in finding Tommy."

"The souls of you and Tommy might be from a different dimension, but that doesn't mean we care about you any less," Vision emphasized. "Wherever he is, we'll find him."

"Okay," Billy said, nodding in gratitude. "Okay."

"But... Know that we're not just here to help you with Tommy," Wanda said. She gave him a look. "I know better than anyone what you're going through after what happened with The Road. It took me forever to figure out how to master my abilities, and even after so long of practice, I still wonder sometimes if I'm doing the right thing. After everything, all I want to do is to do the right thing, and even after making all sorts of mistakes, especially ones where people have died, I still do the best I can do with my abilities to try and do the right thing."

"And that's really the best we can do no matter what," Vision emphasized.

"We're still here to help you with anything," Wanda added. She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, if you want, I could even restore your memories of your time in the Hex. From what Shiny said, it sounds like everything was pretty much the same here, so I can at least grant you better memories of your childhood and Tommy."

Billy looked down in contemplation, but then he softly shook his head and looked up.

"That does sound exciting..." Billy slowly said. "But I think I'll wait and leave that for after we find Tommy. He and I can bond over the memories being returned."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Vision replied as Agatha, Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Wong, and Xion all nodded their heads in understanding.

"But my point still stands," Wanda said, giving Billy a promising look. "We've both been through a lot, and we understand better than anyone what you're going through with your guilt for your actions. Whether or not you accept us as parents, we're still here for you."

Billy just took a moment to look between Wanda and Vision.

After a moment of silence, Billy then rushed in and wrapped an arm around each of them, pulling both Wanda and Vision in for a very grateful hug. Wanda and Vision were a little surprised, but they were also happy as they raised their arms to return Billy's hug.

"Thank you," Billy told them with gratitude in his voice.

Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wong, Xion, and even Agatha all shared small smiles over the hug shared between the trio, happy that some kind of family reunion was happening. *4*

All of a sudden, Wanda opened her eyes, sighed out, and pulled away from the hug, getting Billy and Vision to look at her.

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way..." Wanda slowly said. She looked up at Vision. "We need to go to the hospital."

"What, why?" Vision asked as he and Billy frowned in confusion.

"My water just broke," Wanda declared as she looked at Billy.

Agatha, Billy, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wong, Vision, and Xion's eyes widened, and they all looked at Wanda. Their eyes all quickly narrowed as they saw a wet stain at the front of Wanda's dress at her legs, and the way she just started to breathe heavily emphasized that she was entering labor.

"Oh, my word!" Vision exclaimed. He suddenly started floating as panic appeared in his eyes. "You're not due for another four weeks!"

"Twins usually come a lot earlier, Vision," Wanda reminded him through a heavy pant.

"Holy crap!" Billy exclaimed.

"I think this is our cue to leave, Stephen," Wong then urgently said, turning towards his friend.

"Yeah, I need to get back to Clea," Stephen quickly said.

"Hey!" Kairi exclaimed with a frown.

Of course, Wong quickly opened a portal, and he and Stephen rushed through, closing it behind them and escaping before anyone else could do anything to stop them.

"Well, they're helpful," Agatha sarcastically commented.

"Okay," Vision said as he floated back to the ground. "Don't worry. I've got the bag ready."

"Let's go," Xion said, gesturing to the door. "Let's make sure you don't give birth on your living room floor again."

"Well, that's at least better than me giving birth in a forest," Agatha commented with an eyebrow raised.

"Come on!" Kairi exclaimed. "We gotta go!"

Wanda breathed heavily and nodded in agreement before she looked at a still-surprised Billy.

"We can... We can send you back to Westview before..." she started to say.

"Oh, hell, no," Billy declared with a shake of his head. "I'm gonna see this one through, too. Plus... Seeing some form of Tommy will be nice."

Wanda smiled, then closed her eyes and let out an exclamation of pain.

"Come on!" Vision urgently said.

"Code lavender, people!" Roxas agreed.

The group all hurried through the house to get what they needed done. Vision phased through the floors and grabbed the hospital bag that he quickly carried back down the stairs, while Billy texted his parents and apologized to his parents because he wouldn't be home for a little while again, while Kairi, Roxas, and Xion texted their friends and let them know what was going on. Wanda breathed in and out heavily as Vision and Xion helped her walk out of the house and towards the car, while Billy, Kairi, and Roxas hurried with the group.

As Agatha followed them, she laughed as she thought that her afterlife was already turning out to be much more fun than her life...

Hayden Panettiere as Kairi Eclipse/Azalea

Alyson Stoner as Xion Eclipse/Golden Witch

Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness

Joe Locke as William Kaplan/Billy Maximoff

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

Paul Bettany as Vision

Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange

Jesse McCartney as Roxas Cooper/Twilight Prince

Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale

Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu

Ali Ahn as Alice Wu-Gulliver

David Payton as John Collins

With Benedict Wong as Wong

Featuring Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis

And Aubrey Plaza as Rio Vidal/Lady Death

Kairi and Xion Walk The Witches' Road

Hours later, at the hospital in Missouri, well within the maternity ward, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all slowly walked out of a door, leaving the room that Billy, Wanda, and Vision (alongside Agatha's invisible ghost) were all in. The doctors had quickly gone to work to help Wanda start getting ready to give birth, and had even started to begin the process of labor. The doctors agreed to keep Billy and Vision in the room, but the trio of Keyblade wielders were asked to leave, which they understood completely. Of course, before they left, one of the blankets ended up shifting, and Kairi, Roxas, and Xion were all given a clear view of Wanda crowning.

All three of them were still efficiently shocked as they stood together in front of the closed doors of the hallway that led back to the various hospital rooms. Given that Kairi had never seen the Family Life videos during high school, and Roxas and Xion were both created through Nobodies and Replicas, this was the first time that any of the three of them had seen something like that.

"In the same day, I saw a vagina for the first time, and was then horrified by another one," Roxas declared. He shook his head. "This has been a very weird day."

"Imagine how we feel with that whole situation with The Road," Kairi replied. She huffed and shook her own head. "I need a damn nap after all of that."

"I don't blame you," Xion replied with a small wave of her hand.

With that, Kairi moved back to the waiting room, sat down in a chair, and huffed as she closed her eyes.

Roxas and Xion huffed as they moved back into the waiting room, finding more than a few of their friends gathered about. Clint, Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nate, and Kate were all gathered in their own chairs talking excitedly about what was about to happen, while Sam and Bucky stood near a coffee machine chatting, Bruce sat in two chairs at once and maintained a video call with his son Skaar (which was still a surprise enough of its own), Carol sat in a chair and informed a very excited Kamala (who they were able to hear her very excited declarations), Hope, Scott, and Cassie were at their own collection of chairs waiting, and a portal opened to allow America, Stephen, and Wong to enter.

Obviously, people were taking pictures and filming videos of the many superheroes in the waiting room out of amazement, but the group paid this no mind.

"I called Peter and Harley," Stephen announced as he approached some of the others. "They'll be on their way soon enough with Pepper and Morgan. Morgan's still in a class, Harley needs to take off his latest suit prototype, and Peter's dealing with some thugs who are Kingpin loyalists."

"Yeah, Harley's just having some difficulty getting the thrusters off," Cassie confirmed as she gestured with her phone, having just been talking to her boyfriend.

"And we sent messages to some of the others in Wakanda," Clint added as he gestured with his phone. His eyes landed on Kairi, Roxas, and Xion quickly. "Hey. How's she doing?"

"Well, she's crowning," Roxas admitted. He and Xion grimaced. "We saw it."

Clint, Laura, Cooper, Kate, Sam, Bucky, Bruce, Carol, Hope, Scott, Cassie, Stephen, and Wong all grimaced in sympathy at that.

"But yeah, she's getting close," Xion added. She gestured backwards. "Sounds like she's already a few centimeters dilated. So... She should be getting close."

"Good, good," Sam slowly said. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Also, there's a ghost in there with them, too?"

"Yeah, that was a whole situation," Roxas said with a wave of his hand.

"I accepted that our lives will never be normal a long time ago," Scott remarked, with Hope, Carol, and Bucky nodding their heads in agreement.

"I kind of wish Tony, Steve, and Nat were here to see this, though," Bruce admitted with a sigh.

"Well, hey," Sam said with an optimistic tone in his voice. "We're all still here, and we can celebrate for them. And this is definitely a reason for celebratin'."

While Kairi had fallen asleep quickly, Roxas, Xion, Clint, Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nate, Kate, Bruce, Carol, Bucky, Hope, Scott, Cassie, America, Stephen, and Wong all nodded their heads as they agreed with Sam. Things might be a little crazy, but they could all agree that this was cause for celebration.

All of a sudden, Sam's phone went off, which had him pause and pull it out. He groaned in annoyance.

"Damn it!" Sam complained, garnering attention. "I'm getting pulled into a mission as Captain America. Something's going on in Oaxaca, Mexico."

"Can't you pass it off to the military?" Carol asked.

"If only it was that easy," Sam remarked. He sighed and looked around. "Looks like I've gotta go back to work."

"Been there," Hope commented, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Done that," Clint agreed.

"I don't suppose anyone wants to join me?" Sam asked, gesturing with his hands while giving a small chuckle.

Though he was kidding, Roxas shrugged his shoulders before stepping forward.

"Yeah, I'm in," he said. "I've been sitting back and watching all the action for a bit. I could use some action, myself."

Xion watched her boyfriend before shrugging her shoulders and stepping up next to him.

"I'll join, too," she said as she stood next to Roxas. "After dealing with threats from another dimension and a bunch of crazy-ass magic, I'd rather deal with some standard villains for a bit." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a keychain. "Plus, Kairi and I got these from completing The Road, and I'm curious to see what it does."

Though Sam had only been joking about wanting people to tag along, he chuckled and pointed at the two gratefully.

"Hey, that's my boy and his girl," Sam declared.

"You're an idiot," Bucky chuckled.

"And you've got 90s hair," Sam replied, turning towards him with an eyebrow raised. "We're even."

Roxas, Xion, Clint, Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nate, Kate, Bruce, Carol, Hope, Scott, Cassie, America, Stephen, and Wong all laughed together, especially when Bucky frowned and adjusted his center part.

"All right, sadly, I've gotta get shipped out immediately," Sam said. He looked at Roxas and Xion. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah, sure," Roxas confirmed with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Let's go," Xion agreed with a nod of her head.

With that, Sam, Roxas, and Xion all said their goodbyes to Clint, Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nate, Kate, Bruce, Carol, Hope, Scott, Cassie, America, Stephen, and Wong, asked them to give their best to Wanda and Vision, and left a note for Kairi to explain things to her. The three of them then moved to the front doors of the hospital and started marching down the sidewalk into the parking lot together, all of them inwardly preparing themselves for what they'd be facing.

"What kind of threat are we facing?" Roxas asked.

"Sounds like something involving a guy callin' himself Sidewinder," Sam commented.

"Well, like I said, after dealing with multiversal threats and a bunch of crazy magic, I'm ready for some standard bad guys," Xion said.

"When do you guys think we'll have to deal with another multiversal villain?" Roxas asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know, but I really hope it's a long time from now," Sam declared.

Roxas and Xion grimaced in agreement as the two of them walked with Sam across the parking lot, all of them still preparing themselves for the threat they'd be facing soon enough. *5*

Unknown Location

The figure wasn't sure where he was, but he gasped awake as he felt a sense of consciousness returning to him. Breathing in and out for a moment, he was able to quickly take in his surroundings and slowly processed them. He appeared to be in some kind of laboratory, and was laying shirtless across the surface of a large examination table. Wearing nothing but gray pants and his boots, the man breathed in and out as he looked down, taking in his well-muscled torso, while his long hair flowed rapidly each time he moved his head. His eyebrows furrowed as he started to recognize himself, but he realized that he looked a little different.

"We have restored you," a voice declared.

The man looked to the side, and he frowned in surprise when he saw a trio of men in front of him. All three of them appeared to be Black, but their faces were completely identical down to the last detail, even though there were some obvious differences in their appearances.

One was bald with a clean shaven face, wearing a metal suit over his entire body that had blue lights surging out of the chest, and a metal cover over the back of his head covering his scalp. The other was dressed like an Egyptian pharaoh, carrying a large staff in his hand while parts of the armor left some of his chest and arms bare, and gold lines were painted on his face. The third one wore a purple and green robe with gold armor over his front, golden gloves, and a purple rectangular hat over his face that had blue skin, yellow eyes, and a goatee.

The man just huffed as he looked at the trio.

"Who the hell are you three?" he demanded.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," the man in the purple robes greeted with a brittle voice. "I am known as Immortus."

"I am the Scarlet Centurion," the man in the power suit declared.

"And I am Rama-Tut," the pharaoh added. "We are the Council of Kang."

"Never heard of you," the man bluntly declared.

"That was the idea," Immortus informed him darkly. "We were to remain hidden and gather our forces in the shadows. That way we could enact our plan of enslaving the Multiverse."

"Yeah?" the man asked with an eyebrow raised. "And how's that turning out for you?"

"Our anonymity has been compromised," Rama-Tut informed him. "Thanks to one that you have met."

"A boy by the name of Vanitas Jordan," the Scarlet Centurion emphasized.

The man immediately sat up and narrowed his eyes at the trio of men.

"You recognize the name," Immortus observed.

"Yeah," the man confirmed. "That whiny little brat helped destroy me. Twice."

"That is why we are asking for your assistance," the Scarlet Centurion told him. "You help us conquer the Multiverse, and we shall help you destroy him."

"And as a bonus, we can also destroy anyone else who you desire," Rama-Tut added. "Especially those other two... Cloud Strife and Zack Fair."

"What do you say... Sephiroth?" Immortus asked.

Sitting up a bit more sternly in his seat, Sephiroth just furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation, before he smiled and nodded at them.

"Excellent," Immortus said. "And to thank you..."

He gestured to the side, and Sephiroth followed his hand. A smile spread across his face when he saw an outfit that was familiar to him, along with a fresh new Masamune sword to replace the one that had been destroyed so long ago. Sephiroth let out a small, happy chuckle as he finally found gear that was familiar to him.

"If it helps, I have also developed an idea for something else that could work in our favor," the Scarlet Centurion informed the other members of the Council of Kang.

While Sephiroth turned towards his gear, Immortus and Rama-Tut turned with the Scarlet Centurion towards a monitor. The Scarlet Centurion went to work, pressing buttons and clinking the right parts to eventually bring up a design that he had developed. Immortus and Rama-Tut narrowed their eyes in intrigue.

"I call it... a Sulfuran," the Scarlet Centurion informed them.

Immortus and Rama-Tut just gave small chuckles of excitement. Between this, Sephiroth, and Gray, their plans were all coming together... *6*