Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Queen Conserve was in her room, pacing back and forth. This wasn’t good. Wasn’t good at all. The four neighboring kingdoms to hers kept pushing the boundaries. Whether it was petty theft, to blurring the line between hers and their territory, to even murders of her people. All of it kept getting worse and worse, and didn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. It came to the point that her people, their happiness and lives, were in danger. She needed to do something about it. 

     She had no soldiers, only guards. The kingdoms in this area didn’t boast of armies stretching for miles, but few trained and skilled warriors. It was because they didn’t need more. Magic was the way they sustained their kingdoms. Hers was the weakest. What could she do then? How was she supposed to combat four kingdoms who were leagues more powerful than her?

     Her eyes scanned some old newspapers as she walked past them. She sighed and put her fingers on her temple, massaging the area. Wait a second. She stepped back to take a second look at the papers, picking one out from the rest. The headline was ‘The Adventurous Duo: Dragon Befrienders.’ She sat at her desk and read through the article below it. It told of an inkling and an octoling who were known in their town for many different feats. Hm.

     The rest of her morning was spent figuring out what the two’s addresses were. Apparently, they lived together. Less work for her. She got up from her desk and rang the bell that was near her door. A maid came into the room moments later.

     “Get me an envelope and wax.” She ordered. The maid nodded and left back down the hallway. Queen Conserve went back to her desk, grabbing a paper and setting it in front of her. She dipped a pen in ink and took to writing. 

     When the maid came back with the desired materials, the queen thanked and dismissed her. She put the letter in the envelope and stamped it. She then changed into simpler, less royal clothing and left her castle, heading to a mail service building. She dropped the letter off and told them to send it as quickly as possible. Then, she headed back to her castle.

–

     A flaming bird circled overhead the queen of the neighboring kingdom. It was shielded from view by the sun. If anyone saw it, they wouldn’t think they saw it. Though it now had the task of possibly getting spotted. It needed that letter. Swooping down, it waited until nobody was nearby the building and the workers were distracted. It flew inside through an open window and grabbed a letter that was hanging out of one of the boxes, then left through the same window it came in through.

     Soaring back into the heights of the sky, it looked around for its owner, whom it spotted sitting down beneath the shade of an oak tree. It flew until it was overhead, then dived down, landing on a branch near him. He looked up, his tentacles that matched her flames shining in the sunlight.

     “Alylly. Did you get it?” The phoenix nodded, dropping the letter into his hands.

     “ Are you sure you want to do this? ” Her voice, a whisper-like one, rang in his ears. He nodded as he took the letter out and flipped it around, jotting something down on the back before sealing it up again.

     “Get it to them by this evening. Get them here as quickly as possibly. I usually tolerate their antics, but they’re pushing my boundaries now as well.” He stood and put up his notebook he had been writing in waiting for Alylly, “Do whatever you have to. Understood?”

     “ Understood .” Alylly took the letter in her beak once more before flying off to her next destination. Whatever she had to do. Well…

Chapter Text

     A light purple tentacled inkling was sitting at a kitchen table doodling when there was a knock at her front door. She hopped up and went over to it, noticing many envelopes in the box they had installed to the envelope slot. She took them out and carried them over to the kitchen table, putting them all there. No way was she sorting through this alone. Good thing she lived with her lovely and amazingly helpful partner.

     “Disco! We have mail! Come downstairs!” Ace called from the kitchen. Pounding footsteps were heard moments later as Disco bounded down the stairs. He peeked his head into the open doorway to the kitchen, seeing Ace with some letters on the table. He fully stepped into the room, walking up behind his friend. She acknowledged him and scooted over so Disco could help sift through the mail.

     A certain envelope caught Disco’s eye almost immediately. Fancy paper with blue swirls made it stand out, and the royal seal stamped neatly on the front definitely piqued his interest. He reached for it and pulled it closer, carefully breaking the seal with his finger.

     “What’s that?” Ace turned her head towards him, he shrugged and pulled the paper from inside the envelope, lifting it up to read it aloud.

     “It says ‘Dear Ace and Disco, if you two would be willing, please come meet me at Tohu Tavern in the capital . I am asking for your help. I will be waiting there for the next week, but after that I will leave if you haven’t shown. My hair is blue, long, and I tend to wear simple but pristine clothing. Best regards, H. H? Nothin else?” Disco’s expression contorted into one of confusion.

     “You’re the one reading it, not me. I guess we’re heading to Munarshire tomorrow afternoon.” Ace said nonchalantly, “We have nothing better to do. After dinner we’ll go ahead and pack.”

     Disco gave his agreement, and they made some food and sat down at the table for dinner. Their conversations consisted of theories for what this mystery person wanted from them. After pouring out their imaginations for what it could be, the two headed upstairs to bed, going to their respective rooms. They each got their stuff together before tucking themselves into bed and passing out.

—-----

     The smell of smoke was what woke Disco up. At first he didn’t process exactly what was going on, but once it clicked in his brain that smoke = fire, he shot out of bed and raced to get clothes on. He threw the curtains to his window open, seeing houses all around his ablaze. Panic rose in him as he rushed to grab some essentials from his room. 

     A knock, and then his room door opening was what had his attention next. Ace stumbled into the room with a worried expression, her body visibly relaxing when she saw Disco was safe.

     “Come on! Let’s get out of here while our house isn’t on fire!” She yelled. Disco did as asked, and the two of them booked it from their house towards the lake that separated them from Munarshire. Their trip there had surely come sooner than expected, seeing that the sun wasn’t even up. Though their surroundings looked bright as day from the flames that were raging behind them.

     Disco hacked as he and Ace stepped out from the smoke. Looking back, he surveyed the surroundings. To the right of their town, a large part of the forest was either burnt or in the process of burning. The fire from there must’ve caught one of the houses. 

     He felt a push from his back as Ace ushered him to hurry to the lakeside so they could get out of there. He stepped into one of the docked boats, and Ace hopped in right after, the both of them grabbing an oar. Before they pushed off, Ace unlatched her pouch and pulled out a coin. She kissed it lightly and clutched it to her chest. While she was doing this, Disco made sure everything on the boat was prepared for them to cross.

     Putting the coin back in her pouch, Ace pushed off the shore. They were safe.

     Tears dotted the corners of her eyes as the realization of what had just happened set in. The moonlight glistened off of them, and her friend gave her a solemn look before facing forward to row. Ace, on the other hand, turned around and scoured the storage box for any rations that they could take. The both of them took one final glance towards their hometown before the swishing of lake water was all that filled their ears.

     The coughs from Disco became less and less frequent before they completely disappeared, the cool vapor from the water soothing his lungs. He bit his lip.

     “I hope more people got out… we left almost immediately.” He vocalized his thoughts to Ace. Looking out on the water, he estimated they’d cross it in about an hour or two.

     “Don’t make me regret it more than I already do..” She grumbled. Their conversation dwindled to silence once more, the two simply reflecting while listening to the calming white noise of the lake and rowing of the paddle. It was only broken with a yawn coming from Disco.

     “Want me to take over?” Ace asked and tapped him on the shoulder. He loosened his grip on the oars, and she pushed him to swap positions, him now in the back and her with the oars, “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive if you don’t wake yourself.”

     He shot her a thanks and curled up on the back bench of the boat, shifting to attempt to get comfortable on the hard wooden planks. Ace started rowing again once they got situated. She let a couple tears fall from her eyes when she heard Disco’s breathing pattern change, notifying her he was asleep. They were safe, they weren’t hurt, but there was an extreme pang of guilt that they left behind people that they cared about without a second glance.

Chapter Text

     The sun was rising just above the horizon when they ended up on the other side of the lake. Ace let out a relieved sigh as the boat bumped against the small fishing dock, letting her muscles finally relax after the constant strain. She hopped out and tied the boat before going and shaking her friend awake.

     “Mrrmergurrm…” Disco grumbled as he was rocked back and forth. He blinked his eyes open and looked at the octoling hovering above him.

     “We’re here, and it’s morning. Get your ass up and out of this boat.” She grabbed his forearms and pulled, swaying the boat as he helped with his legs. Luckily, they didn’t fall. Collecting their belongings, they left the boat behind and walked along the docks, surveying the new land covered in buildings and cobblestone paths.

     “Where did the letter say to meet again?” Disco glanced over Ace’s shoulder, trying to scan the letter, but the lines blurred as they walked.

     “Tohu Tavern. There aren’t many customers there, so don’t worry about us getting bothered too much.” Ace reassured, “Let's pick up the pace.”

     The trek there took around 30 minutes, and on the way Disco asked for clarification in directions. They turned down the street they were told and came across a building with a sign labeled ‘Tohu’s - Tavern and Entertainment’. Ace shared a glance with Disco before pushing her way into the tavern. His nose scrunched up as the place reeked with alcohol(a smell he really didn’t like) and smoke(a smell he surprisingly liked when it wasn’t threatening his life). They were right about there not being many customers, though. There were maybe 20 people sitting at tables. 

     As they looked around, they realized they didn’t actually know exactly who they were looking for. Disco scanned one side of the tavern, not seeing anyone who met the description of the letter. He was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. Whipping around, Ace pointed at a person who had blue tentacles. That was something. 

     “Ma’am?” Ace called as they walked up to the lady, “Was this letter..” She held it out, “from you?”

     The lady looked at the letter and nodded, giving a warm smile to the two. She took it gently between her fingers and stood up, gesturing to them to follow her. They listened.

     “What’s your name, ma’am?” Ace inquired.

     “Headphones. Here we are.” Headphones said, leading them into a room. When they stepped inside they were filled with wonder, as the room was filled with many different animals of all shapes and sizes. Headphones stepped to the side, “They will choose you.”

     There were mammals, reptiles, birds, and some aquatic creatures littering the area that nobody would think could fit inside the tavern. A large black panther slunk out from under brambles and went up to Disco, sniffing his hand. Disco just smiled kindly and crouched down, meeting eyes with the big cat.

     “Ah, this is Hivemind. He’s not much of a people person I will say.” Headphones informed the boy, and he giggled and tilted his head.

     “Huh! Weird for a not-people-person to pick a people-person.” Disco chirped, holding his hand above Hivemind’s head. Hive butted his head against the hand and a purr resonated through the room. Disco’s expression was one of wonder as he looked into the panther’s eyes. They were like the vast expanse of space, speckled with stars. When Disco stood up, Hive did the cat thing against his legs, moving to stand at his side, “I wonder what you’ll get! I got my pretty kitty!”

     Ace rolled her eyes, but grinned. That’s when she felt a sudden weight on her shoulder. It wasn’t a hand, just a weight . She turned her head to see a python uncoiling itself from a branch. A very big python. Must’ve been 3 or 4 meters at least! It rested its head and looked intently at her. 

     “And that’s Fierce. He is as the name implies. Watch out for the fangs.” Headphones warned light-heartedly. As if it was on cue, Fierce made a half-yawn, the sharp teeth glistening on the top of his mouth. Ace sucked in a breath through her teeth.

     “Noted.” Ace said, lifting her arm and allowing Fierce to wrap around it. She gave his head a little scratch. Disco grinned in Ace’s direction before turning to Headphones again.

     “So… why did you bring us here? Other than to get these animals.” Headphones nodded her head, leading the two back out of the room and into the main tavern area. She picked a table in a secluded area and sat down. Disco and Ace followed her lead.

     “Yes, that. Well, you two are adept fighters, workers, and you compliment and work extremely well with each other. I have a problem. You see, there’s four tyrants that have been growing excessively dangerous to the prosperity and wellbeing of my kingdom and people. I called you here to ask for your help.” Ace perked and raised an eyebrow.

     “Wait-wait-wait. Wait. Wait. Your kingdom?” Headphones nodded.

     “You may know me by the name Queen Conserve, but please, just Headphones.”

     Ace gave a short gasp and immediately gave a small bow, Disco doing the same looking just as bewildered. Headphones chuckled.

     “No need for formalities, nobody in this tavern knows who I am. You’d give me away,” S he shot them a wink. Ace was still baffled.

     “Y-yes your Maje-Headphones!” She got out, processing the fact that they were in the presence of royalty . She looked to Disco as Fierce settled more comfortably on her arm. Disco had been surprised for a moment, but recovered and nodded at Headphones’ request. His answer was quick.

     “Of course we’ll help! Right, Ace?” Ace nodded.

     “Yeah, we’ll help.” She affirmed. Headphones smiled warmly at them.

     “I figured as much. I have one more thing for you, and then I’ll give you a place to start.” She said, reaching into a bag. An arm brace was presented and given to Ace, who inspected it before putting it on.

     “What’s thii-woooooaahhhhh”  She interrupted herself as a spirit-like figure appeared next to her. 

     “ Hello. My name is Justice. I am here to answer any questions to the best of my abilities. ” It said in a robotic voice. The two weren’t given any time to be confused as Headphones continued.

     “Now for where you should start. Head to the Tijia Kingdom. King Correspondence is who you should go after first. If I were you, I’d get as much information about his strengths and weaknesses. Before you set out, if you need food, I’ll pay for some.” She finished. Ace was busy sticking her finger through Justice. 100% ghost thing. 

     “Hmmm, yeah food is a good idea.” She said, only half-paying attention, focused more on the glowing creature. 

     “Food please, yes. All we have right now is some slightly stale bread.” Disco grumbled. He pushed Ace out of her chair, taking her out of Justice and her thoughts. He then scooted out himself and helped Ace, who had hit the floor with her shoulder and was now lightly kicking Disc in annoyance, off the ground. She dusted herself off and followed Headphones once more, hearing the chime of the door as they stepped back out onto the street.

Chapter Text

     “So… where exactly are we going?” Ace asked, eyes looking around the streets, admiring the beautiful architectural designs of the houses and road.

     “There’s a small bakery here. It sells amazing meat pies, but if you don’t like that they also have sandwiches and soups.” Headphones answered, stopping at a corner entrance and walking in. Another blue-tentacled inkling was wiping down tables, and perked up when the door opened. She turned towards us, a wide smile on her face.

     “Phones! Welcome! Who’re these two?” She said bubbly, putting the rag away and coming over to them.

     “They’re working as my agents now. Where should we sit?”  Bobble took them over to a booth and Disc scooted to the edge, Ace on the outside. Headphones sat across from the two. Bobble got out a notepad to take their orders, but there was something Disco noticed. There wasn’t anybody else in here with them.

     “How come we’re alone here?” Bobble’s attention turned towards him, and she shrugged.

     “We’re technically closed, but Headphones here is a really good friend of mine. What would you like?” Okay, that did make more sense.

     “Oh uhm, I’ll take a chicken and egg meat pie.” She jotted it down and turned to Ace.

     “Beef one for me please! Do you serve smoothies, by chance?” She asked, fingers drumming on the table. Bobble nodded, “I’ll have a strawberry-banana one then.”

     “Alrighty! I’ll have it ready in a moment.” Bobble walked off, probably towards the kitchen.

     Ace slumped her weight onto her hand, looking around at the decor of the quaint bakery, waiting patiently for their food to arrive. Disco was busying himself by drawing shapes on his arms with his finger. Then Ace’s face scrunched, and she looked at Headphones.

     “Why.. exactly did you choose us ? We’re just a couple ‘a nobodies trying to keep our lives together.” Disco looked up and processed the question for a second before nodding. Headphones rolled her eyes and gave a playful smile, raising an eyebrow.

     “Oh, I’m not sure. It’s not as if you are the only two in the kingdom who have pulled off befriending a dragonet, and not dying when you face its mother. Not to mention I’ve heard from your town that you are one of the best pairs they’ve seen. Other than that, I just had this feeling it had to be you two.” Disco made his mouth into an ‘o’ shape and nodded. He understood that. Most of the time he trusted his instincts when they spoke up; it had gotten him this far.

     They fell into more smalltalk as they waited for their food. Ace’s smoothie came in and Disco wanted a taste. Handing it to him, Ace grabbed a coin from her pocket and looked at it for a moment before putting it back. 

     “Mmmmm! This is great! Quite fruity too. Like you.” Disco winked and laughed as Ace let out an audible sigh, shaking her head. She gave him a playful shove and he sent one right back, setting the smoothie back in front of her. They bickered back and forth until Bobble came back and set the meat pies in front of them. “Damn, this looks delish!”

     Ace nodded in agreement. It felt like her pupils dilated just looking at it. Bobble held out a pair of forks that seemed to have materialized in her hands. 

     “Well, dig in!” Disco didn’t have to be told twice as he cut off a piece and shoved it into his mouth. Once he did though, he flinched and his eyes watered, starting to open his mouth and blow.

     “Owh that’s hawt-” He said in the ‘mouth is full voice’. Ace erupted into laughter and got nudged in the side by Disco’s elbow. There was also a new weight on his lap as he got through the burn of his mistake and swallowed the bite. He looked down and saw Hive’s head on his lap, pleading eyes looking up at him. He looked to Headphones.

     “Can he have this?”

     “Yep. He’s just as human as you are, believe it or not. Both him and Fierce.” Disco grinned, ecstatic now that he knew he didn’t have to worry about giving food to the panther. He’s terribly weak to puppy eyes and just has a soft spot for all animals. Every animal in his presence would become spoiled sooner or later. He cut another piece off of the pie and grabbed it between his fingers, putting it in front of Hive’s face, who licked it up. The panther-tongue was a weird feeling, ticklish sort of. After Hive was satisfied, he continued to rest his face and closed his eyes, purring. 

     “I love him.” Disco said with such glee you’d think he’d just had his greatest wish come true. That comment reminded Ace that she had a noodle wrapped around her leg, which appeared to be sleeping, or at least not paying attention to what was happening. 

     Learning from Disco’s mistake, Ace took a harsh breath to her piece of food before she shoved it in her mouth. 

     “Mmmm yup-” She swallowed before continuing her sentence. “Very delish. So, King Correspondence, you said? Isn’t he like, really good at strategizing or whatever?” An idea crossed her mind, but Headphones answered before she could speak it.

     “Yes, he is. Where did you hear that?”

     “Stuff gets said around the-” She cut off as the memories of what happened just yesterday came flooding back to her. Everything rang through each of her sentences. The smoke stung her nose and the ash she could taste in the back of her throat, piling into her lungs. Her eyes stung from the fumes, and she could vividly picture the sight and sound of the blazing flames. They danced teasingly through the town, voices laughing, knowing the destruction they were causing. Bobble heard her silence.

     “Are you okay? You didn’t finish your sentence..” She said worriedly. Ace rose her head, not realizing it had drooped, and cleared her throat. Fierce was now closer to her, curling up her waist and tenderly climbing her torso. Disco had also become anxious as he knew what Ace was talking about, but the cat at his legs purred, the vibrations calming him. He was starting to think Hive was some sort of therapy cat that could read his mind.

     “Oh, sorry. Memories, you could say. Heh. But um, yes, word got passed around the village about those bastard kings. We’ve heard rumors, but don’t exactly know where to start asking more questions. Any ideas?” Ace finished.

     “I’d start by figuring out where his kingdom is. Not too many people know who have made it out. Though the ones that have have said that it’s nearly impossible to navigate. I can’t help you much other than that,” She stood from the booth and shimmied out, “I must leave now; I wish you luck.”

     The chime from the door was heard and Bobble let them be as well, going back to cleaning the other tables. Both Ace and Disco took a few moments to process all the information before either spoke.

     “Split up or stick together? It’s only just after noon now, so hopefully people will be around for lunch.” Disco said as he finished up his meal. Ace swallowed the bite she had in her mouth and gathered her things, getting up from the booth to allow Disco out.

     “We’ll split up. ‘Cover more ground that way.” She said and took a large sip of her smoothie. Her gaze wandered to the shop’s ceiling-high windows. They gave a large perspective of the streets. Disco grabbed his stuff and they went out the door. Fierce positioned himself on Ace’s shoulder, and she noted that despite being so large, he was actually quite light-weight. It was like magic. 

     Once outside, they decided who would go where and established a place to meet up. They judged they’d both be back around 4:30 or so. They then went their separate ways.

Chapter Text

     By the time Ace and Disco had finished their rounds, it ended up being closer to 5:30. Their meeting place, a small and unpopulated market, had plenty of booths around that Ace browsed while waiting for Disco. Once they were together, they found a table to sit down at.

     “I heard a few things. The main one was that the kingdom is built weirdly. It’s full of mazes and towers and corridors, with the castle in the middle of it all. There’s so many libraries, and in some, the books are written in languages that have been lost for ages. The person I talked to who said the most said that he had barely gotten into the kingdom before he was horribly lost. The whole thing is just… a giant mind game.” Disco recapped. He looked intently at Ace for her to speak.

     “I heard the places he struggles with are being surprised and thinking outside the box. He has everything documented, to a t, so we’re going to have to be really out there. We’ll have to beat him at his own game. I think… I think if we just do stuff without rhyme or reason that’s how we can get him , but the maze thing…” She trailed, thinking about a solution. Her hand absentmindedly tapped on the table. Then a possible idea came to mind, “How do you think he does trades?”

     “What?” 

     “Well, the traders might need to get in somehow, or there’s guards stationed at the kingdom walls. There’s obviously some people who know the route. Mind games…. Mind games, mind games, mind games, mind games…” A mental note in Ace’s head told her she probably sounded insane, and to Disco that was sort of the case, “There must be some hints on the ground or walls or something. And- wait, has no one ever thought to map it out?”

     Ace locked eyes with Disco after she finished, and he pondered the question as well. He opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by another voice.

     “It can’t be. The layout of the kingdom changes at random, so a pathway that was there one day won’t be there the next.” The now apparent sound of footsteps faded as the person came to a stop at their table. They had light blue tentacles contrasting with fiery orange eyes. Hive stood and moved between Disco and the newcomer, a low growl coming from him. Disco’s hand went to his sheath and Ace grabbed her knife.

     “Who are you?” Disco questioned accusingly. The boy put his hands up.

     “I mean no harm, my apologies for threatening you. My name is Ryam. You’re talking about the Tijia kingdom and King Correspondence. I have some… information that could be of use for you if you let me help.” He explained.

     Disco’s hand left the handle of his sword, but he glanced at Ace for conformation. A glare was present on her face, directed at Ryam.

     “How will we know what your saying is true? For all we know, you could be some spy trying to gather information for the king.” She says strongly, pulling a knife out and spinning it on her finger. Her intent wasn’t to harm if it wasn’t necessary, but intimidation was a decent defense for the time being. The inkling sighed and sat down across from the both of them.

     “Well… you won’t. But would you rather have no information at all?” 

     Ace scoffed, “ Wrong information and no information can both get us killed,” Her eyes were narrowed, looking at his fiery eyes. The thought of fire made her hesitate, and she dropped her gaze. Ryam saw and his expression turned to something of a sympathetic one.

     “Ace… we have to try. Sure, there’s a.. Two thirds chance of something going wrong. 

     But don’t you always say ‘Would you rather try and fail or not try at all’?” Disco chimed in. Ryam glanced between the two, and eventually Ace sighed and waved her hand for him to continue. “Well then if we agree…” He checked one more time with Ace, who nodded, “Give us what you have,” Disco affirmed. Ryam started to speak.

     “Well, I’ve been inside the walls plenty of times. I’m one of the main traders here in the five kingdoms, so I’m quite familiar with all of them. Though I said that the routes can’t be mapped, there is a trick I’ve learned. There are a max of 12 routes open on any given day, and they’re always in the same places. There could only be 1, or all 12 of them could be present. Routes that are open could be in any of the 12 spots. The only sure way of getting into the castle would be to patrol the border until you find them, unless you have someone inside the castle helping you, which I doubt you do.” He finished. 

     There was silence for a minute as Disco and Ace processed all the information. To Disc, this person seemed like a walking encyclopedia with just how much he knew, and could explain. 

     “How big is the kingdom?” Ace asked.

     “It’ll take more than a day to travel the walls on foot.”

     Disco tuned the two out as he thought. How could they find the entrance in a timely manner, and get all of them through it before the day was out? Did it change when the clock struck midnight, or was there a transition period? If the former was the case, there seemed to be no possible way for them to reliably find an entrance without it taking at least a few days. His gaze trailed to his familiar’s, smiling as he looked into the starry expanse. Then, a lightbulb went off in his head, and his expression turned mischievous. Hive seemed a bit worried for what he thought of.

     Ryam talked way too much for Ace to keep up, “Well, since you clearly know so much, have you noticed any patterns, or is it completely random?” She asked

     Uncertainty flashed in his eyes as he hesitated before reluctantly nodding his head.

     “As far as I can tell, it’s random.” Ace nodded, going back to thinking. That’s when Disco started giggling; his eyes lit up. 

     “I could zoom on Hive to find the path!” He said giddily. The panther made a noise of surprise and stood up, nudging Disco harshly. Disco quickly reassured him, “I’m light, promise! Anyways, yeah! Hive walks fast, so I have a feeling he can run faster and longer than we all can even with me on his back. It would give us enough time to go find the entrance, and then come back for you two!” He glanced at Hive again, who seemed to shrug.

     “Well.. it’ll probably only be you two. I can be there in the early morning, but I head to head out to make some deliveries, so I won’t be long.” Ryam butted in. Ace still looked unsure of him, which was fair seeing as he just appeared out of nowhere after eavesdropping on them.

     “We’ll be fine by ourselves. Anything else we should know?”

     “The only other thing is dealing with his major allies, his accomplices. I’ve heard they each have their own strengths, and you’ll most likely have to deal with each of them before getting close to King Correspondence.” Ace nodded, jingling her Kunai knives. Fierce slithered down her shoulders and over to warm cobbles that had been warmed throughout the day, basking in the heat. 

     “If you have more, give us it once we’re outside the walls. For now, we need a place to hunker down. It’s been one hell of a day.” She responded and got up from her chair.

     They went through the quick rundown of the tiny plan they had before Ryam and the two parted ways. Ace did take notice that Ryam pulled out a notebook out of his satchel and jotted something down as he left. Odd. Disco clicked his tongue as he stood, and in a moment, Hive was at his side. His chest bubbled with happiness at the action. The two went off to find somewhere to sleep, not really having a plan on where to go. 

     They wandered the streets as it got darker and darker, until they found themselves completely lost in the almost pitch black street. The only light came from the street lamps around. Luckily, they ran into a friendly and familiar face.

     “Hey! You two! How’s it going?” Bobble trotted up to them.

     “Good, we’ve found a ton of info. I didn’t know you’d be so far from your shop.” Ace said. Bobble winked.

     “I have my ways of travel. What’re you up to now? It’s almost nine.” 

     “Uhm. Being lost trying to find a place to sleep. That’s what.” Disco chimed. Giggling, Bobble pointed down a nearby street.

     “Down there, four doors from the lamp post. Really cheap, but extremely high quality. The owner is a sweet old lady, and she has the best quesadillas around!” She said. Ace thanked her and they said their goodbyes before following the directions. 

     The two chatted until they got to the place and pushed open the door. Sure enough, behind the desk there sat an older woman. She looked up and greeted them.

     “We’re traveling through and we need a place to stay. We heard here was a good place.” Ace explained. The woman nodded and asked for a name, which Ace gave. Then she was handed a room key.

     “Would you two like dinner?” The woman asked. Disco, who was staring into space and halfway being held up by Hivemind, snapped to attention at the mention.

     “Food?” He chirped. Ace chuckled.

     “Yes, food.” The lady scribbled something on a piece of paper before getting up from her seat and walking over to some tables, “So are you two friends, siblings, a couple?” She made idle conversation. Disco responded quickly.

     “Well- we’re uhm.. Partners. Platonic ones though. It’s Queerplatonic- if you.. know what that means. Basically we’re- best friends but more intimate.” He fumbled over his words for a moment, but then grinned. They sat their stuff at the table and waited for their food.

     “Tomorrow I need to get my knives sharpened,” Ace commented. A few minutes later a man with side swept, green hair placed their plates in front of them. The steamy food wafted up at them and they took no time digging in. All the food here smelt wonderful. Ace blew on a piece of food and took a bite, “Damn, they really know how to cook here.”

     Disco took his first bite moments after and had a similar reaction. He relished the taste of each bite. Now that they’ve been eating stuff like that, the food from their home seemed lower-class. It probably was. Disco snuck a bite to Hive.

     “So we finish eating and head straight to bed?” He asked. Ace nodded and swallowed before speaking.

     “Yeah. We’re going to have to get up early anyways. If we want any help from, Ryam.. that is.” They finished their food and went upstairs, finding their room and putting their stuff away. There was a queen bed and a medium sized couch in the room.

     “Want me to take the couch or do you wanna cuddle?” The look in Disco’s eye gave Ace the answer, but she asked anyway. Her thoughts were confirmed when Disco just gave her a look that said ‘isn’t it obvious?’. 

     They both got cleaned up and changed, and eventually were both curled into bed. There was a sudden heavy weight on the bed when Hive jumped up and placed himself between the two. He made a barely audible growl, directed at Ace.

     “I think he claimed you.” She poked at the cat, who just grunted. Disco chuckled at her, “I had him first, mister!” Fierce slithered up and lay softly on Ace’s chest, flicking his tongue as his beady eyes looked up at her. She patted him.

     Despite the protest from Ace, Hive plopped his side onto the bed and put a paw on Disco’s shoulder, who erupted with laughter. He rolled himself over to face the ceiling and poked the panther.

     “Okay Hive-y. One night. I need my Ace cuddles!” His playful gaze stared into the starry glare. Disco turned his eyes towards the ceiling and put his hands behind his head, sighing in relaxation. His eyes closed, “How’s your snek doin?”

     Ace scratched the top of Fierces head, “Getting used to me. Not very active, are ya?” she pointed a finger at his nose. The snake coiled himself around her wrist in response. Ace’s eyes fluttered as she stared at the ceiling. Then the sound of Hive purring sounded throughout the room. After some time, everyone was asleep.

Chapter Text

-Disco POV-

     I was awoken by vigorous shaking. I groaned and groggily opened my eyes, blinking a few times and squinting to shake the blurriness from my vision. Rolling onto my side, Ace was standing over the edge of the bed. I grumbled, “What time is ittttt….”

     “Five, but we have to go if we want any help.” I whined at her reasoning, but pushed myself up to a sitting position, shaking my head side to side. A weight was suddenly on the bed, and my panther rubbed against my side.

     “Yeah, yeah, mornin’ Hive. Morning Fierce.” The snake who was wrapped around Ace’s shoulders moved his head towards me and flicked his tongue while Hive just pressed his head against my back, pushing me closer and closer to the edge of the bed. I groaned but stood up before I completely fell off, starting to strip down to change into my different gear. I heard Ace chuckle.

     “Wooowwww, let’s not get explicit here~” She joked. I responded with a half-hearted laugh and rolled my eyes, grabbing my pants and shirt. I really wasn’t awake enough.

     “It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before.” I pulled on the rest of my clothing, before finishing with my arm-braces. I grabbed my two short swords from the side of the bed and sheathed them both.

     Ace was already ready way before I had been, and she strapped her belt on and swung her bag over her shoulders. Fierce, who had wandered from her, was called and at her side in an instant. 

     “I’ll go on ahead, meet me at town square, mkay?”  She said. I nodded and stretched my arms.

     "Gotcha. Sure you’ll be able to handle yourself?”

     “I’m older than you.”

     “Yeah, by less than 3 months!”

     “Still older”

     I scoffed at her and glared my hardest glare. She met my gaze. Then, we broke into laughter. I shooed her out the door before getting the rest of my stuff together.

-Ace POV-

     Before I left, I put a few silver pieces on the front desk for the lady since she wasn’t there. Bobble was right, the inn really had great service. Now it was time to go find a weapons shop, the whole reason I left early. My knives were in dire need of being sharpened.

     After many many directions, I arrived at a shop in town square. Pulling my knives out, I set them on the counter.

     “Could you sharpen these for me?” I asked the stereotypically burly man, delicately running my fingers along my knives. 

     “6 bronze. It’ll take a few.” The coins were already in my hand, so I set them down before stepping to the side to admire the other swords, daggers, and other weapons on display.

     My eyes traced the curve of each blade, but they stopped on one. It was a claymore, a large sword, and was smithed gorgeously. My fingers lifted up to touch the handle; the leather was fresh and smooth. The blade had a beautiful glossy finish. I turned back to the shopkeeper.

     “How much?” I said. Looking up from his work, he glanced up and down at me before chuckling. 

     “That’s a big sword for a little girl, don’t ya think?”

     “How. Much. And give me the sheath too.” I glared at him. He wiped down one of the knives and sighed.

     “5 gold for the sword and another for the sheath.” 

     I took the payment out of my coin pouch and handed it over. He gestured for me to grab the sword, and I did with ease. Setting down one of the knives, he disappeared into another room before coming out with the sheath and handing it to me. How I wanted to bash his head in with the sword for his haughty tone, but I didn’t. Instead, I clipped the sheath to my back and put it away.

     “How much longer on the knives?” I asked, staring intently.

-? POV-

     Waiting outside my kingdom, I stared into the distance and looked out over the hilly landscape between mine and the Issaugo Kingdom. Currently I was concealed by trees that surrounded me, so it would be unlikely for someone to notice me unless they were a few meters away. I was still in my royal garments at this point; there was no need to go undercover quite yet. There was a sound of something swooping down, but I didn’t flinch.

     “ Captain. They are about to head out. Should you get changed? ” Alylly’s whisper-like voice rang in my ears. She landed on a branch above me, and I looked up at her. Even though her form was completely cloaked in flames that licked the bark she stood on, nothing caught.

     “I suppose I should. Thank you, Aly.” I said calmly. She bowed her head and I reached my hand out, barely grazing her feathers below the flames. She was warm. Not burning like you would think, just a comforting warmth that radiated off of her. It soothed me.

     I pulled my hand away and turned to get my disguise out, dismissing Alylly. As I grabbed the clothing out of my bag, I looked out into the distance. My eyes lingered on the mountains that separated me from the other three kingdoms.

-3RD-

     Ace grinned widely as she trotted up to Disco who was leaning on the wall near the exit of the city. She twirled the knife that her finger was looped in, but Disco was focused on something else. His eyes widened when he saw the sword on her back. The biscuit that he was chewing on was lowered from his face

     “Why”

     “I can explain”

     “Do you”

     “Disco please”

     “Need”

     “Disc-”

     “That” Disco stared at the sword as Ace tried to keep a straight face, her cheeks puffed and face reddened. Her eyes squeezed shut and she turned her head to the side, clasping her hand over her mouth. After suppressing the giggle fit, she looked sheepishly at her friend.

     “In my defense, it was extremely well crafted! And who knows when it may come in handy?” She quipped, batting her eyelashes in a lousy attempt of innocence. 

     Disco sighed and rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the wall and dusting his pants off. He clicked his tongue and Hive, who had been eating his own biscuit, stood, rushing to his side. Oh, he didn’t know how the panther knew that was what that meant so quickly, but he sure did love it.

     “Well, C’mon. We don’t wanna miss Ryam.”

Chapter Text

     The two came to a small clearing after a while of walking until they saw the kingdom walls in the near distance. No clear entrance was in sight. Footsteps were heard and both raised their guards before they recognized the panting person running up to them as Ryam. 

     “Hello huff , you two!” As he skidded to a stop, his posture straightened. Disco waved with a dopey smile, his hand getting smacked down by Ace who glared at Ryam. Disco pouted, but the smile returned soon after.

     “So… I go, find it, come back, and we go in? What am I even looking for?” Disco tilted his head, looking back at the castle walls and scanning them. Nothing but brick that was at least 15 meters high. 

     “Essentially. Maybe go… clockwise? That sounds lucky. You’re looking for a round, decorated window in the side of the wall. Not the ones that look like they have hallways inside. The library one. The hallways will get you lost and killed by one of the king’s accomplices.” Ryam responded.

     Disco gave a short nod, noticing the unsure look Ace was giving. He smiled and saluted her as a comedic reassurance. When he looked back at Ryam, the trader was giving him a look he couldn’t quite decipher. Hive rubbed against his leg, and he swung it over the panther's body, resting comfortably on the soft fur. Disco did notice he was larger than his normal size, guessing it was just familiar shit. He took a hold of Hive’s scruff. 

     “See ya in a bit!” He waved, and then Hive took off, “WOoooaa-”

     Ace chuckled at his reaction before crouching down, letting her snake on the ground. When she stood, she and Ryam had a bit of a stare-off. 

     “So…. what shall I do while my partner in crime is off finding this window entrance?” Ace asked, crossing her arms. Ryam shrugged and shifted a bag that was on his shoulders.

     “I have a trading business I must attend to, but I’ll find you guys when you come out. If you do.” He said, abruptly turning around and walking in the opposite direction of the maze. 

     She huffed at the very unhelpful response, keeping a glare on his back until he was out of sight. Once he was, her eyes wandered around the clearing until they landed back on her snake. Fierce had slithered across the grass and up a nearby tree. Ace grinned at him.

     “Find me an apple, will ya?” Ace chuckled briefly to herself, “From the forbidden tree.”

     After some time of standing around, Ace swung her arms up to grip the handle of her shiny new claymore, pulling it out of the sheath. She began to get the feel of it: the curved leather wrapping and how it was heavy yet swung around weightlessly in her grasp. Each swing she took felt impossibly smooth, and the sword had barely any resistance to sudden changes in direction. It was impressive craftsmanship indeed.

     More minutes passed, and she figured she could brandish her throwing skills. The claymore was put back in its sheath while the freshly sharpened knives were drawn with a satisfying shing! Seeing as the area was surrounded by trees, there were plenty of targets to practice on. 

     The blades stuck deep into the wood with each precise throw, leaving short gashes in their paths. On some throws, Ace sliced through whole branches and sticks cleanly. By the time her attention was brought back to the sun’s position, it had moved significantly. 

     “Wonder where Disco is.” She muttered to herself, though the head of Fierce dropped down from a nearby tree at the sound of her voice.

—

     Disco was slightly surprised when he ran into the window described to him barely two hours before he had set out. Something in the back of his mind told him it couldn’t have simply been luck, but he shrugged it off and ordered Hive to head back to Ace. This time, they took a faster route than the first go around. It cut the time spent searching almost in half, and the two of them landed behind her as she was running her hands along her knives. Disco whistled to catch her attention. She jumped a bit, and ended up nipping the edge of her finger on the blade.

     “Ow- Couldn’t have given me a bit more warning? Sharp object in my hand here.”

     “Your fault for not hearing the big panther running up behind you.”

     “Disco, he’s sorta built for stealth .” 

     “Okay, okay, you’re right, sorry. But, I found iiiit! From the quickest route it takes a little over an hour. You may want to hop on,” He paused, looking down at his panther, “if Hive can carry you, that is.”

     The panther took no time to lay down to allow Ace an easier way atop him, the sudden change in altitude causing Disco to grunt on landing. Somewhat of a glare was shot back at the rider, which earned a chuckle and a wink. Disco held his hand out to pull Ace onto Hive’s back; although, Hive seemed iffy to let Fierce ride as well. Disco flicked him lightly in the ear.

     “He has to come too, Hivey, or else it’ll take all day to get into this damn castle.” He scolded. Hive made a short growl of protest, but relented to Fierce slithering on his back, “Weird. Ace, I advise you to hold on. He is one fast cat.”

     As Hive stood, she gripped onto Disco’s waist and planted her chin on his shoulder. Fierce adorned himself as a belt across her, and started to burrow lightly into Hive’s fur.

     “Ay! You can’t dig into that, mister!” She said. It almost looked as if Fierce pouted. As close to a pout that a snake can manage, that is. She rolled her eyes before repositioning them to look forwards. And then Hive took off. Ace was glad she had gripped onto Disc beforehand because holy shit he was fast. She readjusted herself. The wind flung Disco’s tentacles into her face and mouth, so she tried and failed to spit it away before giving up and dealing.

     Hive made sharp turns, paws digging into the ground each step he took. After a bit, he began to slow down.

     “Are we close?” Ace tilted her head to the side so Disco could see her. He made a short nod, but seemed to be examining something. 

     “That doesn’t look very random… They look like they are moving. Actively.” He muttered under his breath, the words muddling from the wind. Eventually, Hive slowed to a stop in front of the window, and Disco thought that would be it before they got off. That was until the panther lurched forward and crashed through the window, the two partners shielding themselves from the resulting flying glass, “Hivemind! The hell?!?”

     ‘ I got us in ’

     Disco stiffened. His eyes widened, and he looked around frantically, as well as at Ace, before looking back at his familiar who was staring right back at him.

     ‘ It was me’

     The voice spoke again, and Disco blinked as he stared into the uncanny knowing starry eyes of his familiar.

     ‘ I’m going insane.’

     ‘Nope. It’s a specific ability of mine. Telepathy. You’re talking to Hivemind, your panther.’

     He didn’t have time to be as bewildered as he was since Ace tapped him on the shoulder.

     “You zoned out. Everything all right? Can we get off now?” Disco looked back at her. While he wanted to explain what had happened, he felt like it would sound crazy.

     “Oh. Yeah.” Ace looked unsure of his answer, but let it go. The two slid off Hive’s back, and he shrunk a foot or so back to his normal size. They were now standing in the middle of a large library, and there was a door a few meters in front of them.  

     “Well… let’s get going I guess? Oh, and Ryam said he would come back and meet us after some ‘trading business’ or whatever. Don’t get me wrong he’s been helpful, but he seems shady as fuck and I don’t believe hi-” She approached the door, but halted when Hive perked his head up to look at the glass doors. Disco seemed to have the same reaction, grabbing Ace’s shoulder harshly. He spoke in a hushed voice.

     “Someone’s coming.”

Chapter Text

     Having scuttled into a corner, the four of them were crouched behind the bookshelves and pottery. Through where he could see, Disco spotted a girl with long orange tentacles skid around the corner of the hallway, messing up a carpet in the process. She was panting frantically. Hivemind made a small growl.

     “Shh, shhhh,” Disco hushed, gently stroking the cat’s head, “She could be an enemy and we don’t really want her knowing we’re here.”

     In response, Hive quit his noises and backed up, but he stayed in a pounce position. The girl rapped at the door to the room, looking over her shoulder every few seconds. The door refused to budge, however, and soon the sound of clanking metal could be heard. Armed men came around another hidden corner. There must be a ton of passageways in this place. 

     The possible-guard looking people approached the girl, and she whipped around shuffling and hiding her hands behind her back. A spear from one of the guards pinned her to the wall.

     “P- please! I didn’t do anything! I- I’m supposed to be here!” Her voice, broken with small sobs from the tears that were now running down her face, came through the door of the room. The spears tore her gray parka as she cowered before the guards.

     Against his better judgment, Disco stood. He just couldn’t let himself sit back and watch what was happening. Ace obviously tried to tug him down.

     “Disco?”

     ‘ What the hell are you doing?’

     ‘Trust me’

     He snuck around the side wall of the room to the door before suddenly pouncing as a spear was pointed at the girl's neck. He leapt, grabbed the spear, and rolled quickly, standing back on his feet and pivoting to where the spear was instead pointed at the guards. Eyes narrowed into a glare; he sneered at them.

     “Fuck off unless you want to have a spear through your head.” He warned, pointing the spear towards the head of the closest guard and unsheathing one of his own swords to wave at the other. The closest one stumbled back and looked towards his friend, who was moving to disarm the new threat. Disco swung his sword out of the way of the spear quickly, moving forwards and jabbing the one he had snatched from the other guard under their plating and sticking it into the wall. 

     The other guard tried to react, but was stopped abruptly when a sharp knife flung through the air under Disco’s arm and sliced the handle of their spear clean in half. The guards shared a look before the second unstuck their friend and dragged them while almost running down the hallway

     When Disco turned around, the other three had joined him(Ace’s knife had returned to her via enchantment, so there was no need to grab it), and the girl was brushing herself off. 

     “I… Thank you.” She said, giving him a nod. Ace stepped to the side of him though; her eyes narrowed. 

     “And who are you?” She questioned. The girl straightened her beret.

     “My name is Forge. Those guards are new recruits and thought it was a wonderful idea to chase me. They really must learn who’s in charge here.” At the response, the spear in Disco’s hand was pointed right back at her. Was all that really genuine or just an act? Hive and Fierce both turned their attention to her as well, fangs out and growling.

     “You’re important here?”

     “Ah- erm, yes. But! I’m not going to harm you.” Forge finished picking up the dropped items and blew a hair out of her face. The group all had similar peeved and unbelieving expressions, “I’m an associate of King Correspondence,” Disco pulled at his collar a little and stood straighter, spear kept pointing to make her watch her words, “and I have gotten intel that you four are on a quest to defeat him?”

     Disco and Ace shared a look with each other before turning their attention back to Forge. She gave them a look that asked a silent question whether or not she could continue. Disco lowered the spear, but kept a tight grip on it.

     “Well… me, him, and a couple other associates have, well, discussed that if anybody comes in here to defeat us for any reason, they can choose to challenge us peacefully in strategy instead of fighting. If they win, we will give them what they wish, but if they lose… The punishment is something the King has not revealed.” She explained concisely, flipping through the pages of a book that was in her left hand.

     Ace held up a hand in a stop motion and Forge complied, closing the book.

     ‘ Clearly- ’

     ‘We should accept’ Disco interupted. Hive went from snarling at Forge to locking surprised eyes with Disco in a matter of moments.

     ‘Are you crazy? The members of the Tijia League are known as the best strategists around. We wouldn’t have a chance’ Disco sighed and frowned, eyes raising to look at Forge who was watching the four intently.

     ‘While that may be true, I’d rather avoid a fight if we have the option.’

     ‘But if we lose… they’d kill us. You realize that?’

     ‘We’ll just have to win, then.’

     His gaze went between his familiar and friend, who seemed to be thinking as well. He took a breath and stood up straight.

     “We’ll do it.” Forge smiled at the answer, but Ace opened her mouth to protest. Disco cut her off, “I don’t want it to come to violence if we can avoid it. I know we’ll inevitably have to fight, but for now we have the choice. Cmon, Ace?” He looked at her with pleading eyes. Ace bit her lip, but eventually sighed and looked at Forge.

     “What are we doing?” A wide grin came to Disco’s face at her response. Forge nodded.

     “You will be going up against King Correspondence and his three closest friends, one of them being myself. The first you’ll verse in an escape room created by my commander. The second is a game of battleship against the best skipper I know. The third will be against me, a simple test of who can process and use information faster. And the final challenge will be a game of chess against the King himself.” She finished. Disco thought of a question to ask, but Ace beat him to it.

     “Are we doing them all together?”

     “No. That would be very unfair, don’t you think? You both will take turns, each facing two. Converse with yourselves who will be going against who, and then meet your first opponent in the entrance of the escape room down this hall, third door on the left.” She gave a short nod before leaving in the opposite direction. 

     Ace turned her head and watched her closely until she was out of view. Fierce nudged her, and she looked back forwards.

     “So?” She asked Disco, who had his hand resting on his cheek.

     “I’ll take on the battleship and chess challenge. Are you good with the other two?” 

     “Well I suck gills at chess, so I’m glad you volunteered… but I am pretty logical with finding patterns ‘n shit,” She grinned to herself in a moment of self-appreciation before Disco regained her attention with a throat clear. “Sorry, sorry. Yeah, I can do the room and logic race thing,” A thought ran across her mind. “What if it’s a tie? Like, we both win and lose a game. Two for the King and two for us?” 

     Disco hummed and pondered the question before shrugging.

     “I guess we’ll have to find out. Maybe I can watch you do the room, at least. Or do one of my games simultaneously.” It was Ace’s turn to shrug. They turned down the hallway that Forge left through previously. Ace readjusted the claymore on her back.

     “Let’s get going.” Ace ordered. Disco nodded, and they started walking.

Chapter Text

     Well, after being ditched by Forge and completely forgetting the embarrassingly simple instructions they’d been given, the two wandered until they got to a room they thought looked important. It was like a black box with two double doors on either side leading into the room as well as another door on the right inside. Ace looked around the room and put a finger up.

     “This… looks right?” She said. Disco just made an exaggerated shrug with his hands and opened his mouth to speak when,

     “It is,” The two had their weapons drawn and flipped around seconds after the new voice presented itself. They came face to face with a girl who was wearing the same beret as Forge, but adorned a white sailor suit instead of the jacket the other was wearing. She raised her hands from her sides calmly. “No need for weapons. I apologize for frightening you. You can call me White, and I will be going against one of you in this escape room. Oh, and for your assurances, I have not seen this room at all before.” 

     Disco and Ace shared a look, and Disc felt Hive rub against him. They lowered their weapons. Disco pushed his friend forwards slightly.

     “Ace is going. Where will I be?” He inquired. White pointed toward the right door they had seen when they entered. 

     “You’ll be able to spectate from there. Before you go, I’ll tell you the rules. Clues will only be used in the rooms they are found in. They don’t carry over. You may use weapons and powers where you see fit. If you are completely stuck, you’re allowed to call your friend for a single hint. Familiars are allowed too.” She explained. Ace and Disco were thinking the same thing, and they looked equally confused. The rules were… extremely lenient. Disco, however, was the only one who got any sort of clarification.

     ‘She’s confident she’ll win, but she wants Ace to have a chance.’

     ‘Alright… I don’t like it, but I hope I can give a good hint.’

     Disco gave his friend a quick hug and a thumbs up before heading into his room. Ace, now alone with White and her familiar, took a deep breath and walked over to the second set of double doors. She pointed at it and looked towards White.

     “Do I just… go in now?” At the other set of doors, White holds up a hand. A timer on the wall appears counting down from five. When it hit zero, a click came from the doors, and Ace swung them open.

     The first room resembled a science lab. There was no obvious exit, yet. Fierce dismounted from her arm, helping her look around. She swished liquids in tubes. Each were different colors and had numbers on their labels. Two had 0.5 written, one had a 1, one a 1.5, and one a 2. Her first reaction was to put the two 0.5 five ones together. It turned green. 

     A hiss from Fierce made her turn around. With the end of his tail, he pointed to a safe with a combination lock. And of course, it was colors. Ace looked at the rest. Well presumably 0.5 plus 0.5 made one instead of the regular 1. More mixing of liquids ensued, and eventually Ace had the combination. She relayed it to Fierce.

     “Green, orange, purple, and then pink” She ran over when the safe popped open. There were multiple items inside. A key, several pieces of paper, an apple, a weird octagon shape, and a flashlight. Ace sighed as she looked at them with confusion.

     “We better figure out what to do with these.”

—

     Watching from the box he was put in, Disco was getting worried already. White was fast- alarmingly fast - at this. Although, Ace kept pretty close behind her as she found and figured out where multiple other shapes went. Disco was constantly studying the room, preparing for the possibility of being asked for a hint. He hoped he wouldn’t get asked in the first room, but he had to be ready nonetheless.

     Every second that went by, his heart rate rose, but he had a kitty that was purring loudly beside him to keep him from freaking out. His hand gripped Hive’s fur as White pushed a trapdoor open to the second room while Ace was figuring out the last puzzle to do the same. Soon enough, they were both in the next room.

     This one was mainly white with different patterns on each wall, a forest, beach, mountain, and desert. There were only two other things in the room. A door with a padlock, and this complex puzzle box looking thing. White immediately went to the puzzle box while Ace looked around. 

     For a moment, Disco took his attention off of the participants to examine his surroundings. On his left there was another countdown. It said four.

     'It’s what room they're on. On the first one it said 5.’

     Hivemind relayed to him. Disco simply nodded, not being completely used to talking like that just yet. He sighed and slumped in the chair, eyes back on the screen. As his hand lightly petted the panther next to him, he told himself to just trust Ace. She’d be okay.

—

     As Ace looked around the room, she noticed that the sun on the beach wall looked, well, off. It was too high up for her to reach it herself, so she called for Fierce. He slithered back up her and onto her arm.

     “Go up there and push the sun for me, will you?” Ace said, extending her arm up. Fierce extended himself to the sun, and with his nose he pushed the sun. It went in the wall before popping back out like a drawer. Fierce collected what was inside before he came back down, and Ace grabbed the 3D shape pieces.

     “C’mon. Let’s go do that puzzle box. White’s probably already figured out what to do with these things.” She set the pieces to the side and headed over to the box. It was fairly large, so it would take a while to finish. She set out to poking, pulling, and pushing anything she could.

—

     Disco was understandably on the edge of his seat. The two contestants had started on decently the same track, but White was gradually getting farther and farther ahead. Hive was by his side still, but he only paid attention to the panther when a paw was set on his leg.

     'It’s alright. She has this. You believe in her, right?’

     Disco sighed and gave the panther a loving smile.

     ‘Yeah, I do. You’re right. Thank you.’

     Eventually, Ace did get the puzzle box open. Five minutes behind White. The puzzle box had a card inside with the seasons on it. Ace understood fairly quickly that Summer=beach, Fall=desert, Mountains=winter, and Spring=forest. She clicked that into the padlock, and the door was opened. The number on Disco’s left went down to three.

     The next room looked like a forest in a box. There were vines, bushes, and trees absolutely everywhere. Were there even any clues?

     Ace mouthed something from inside the room, which Disco lipread as ‘Let’s get looking’. Shortly after, Ace pulled on a vine, and a trapdoor opened. Fierce slithered inside, followed by Ace. Once the two were out of view(along with White, who had found it before), the screen panned to the next room. The room counter was still at three.

     That was until ten minutes later, White emerged from the entrance, and the counter split. A three and a two. Disco felt panic well up in him, but Hive almost immediately shoved his leg and rested his head on his lap. He looked down at Hive with a worried expression. Minutes, minutes, and more minutes passed. Ace wasn’t showing up.

     It was twenty minutes later before she emerged, and Disco was even more worried. White was so far in this room's puzzle. The room had two platforms either side of a chasm that only had a chandelier over it that lit up the room. The light, however, did not reach wherever the bottom of the gap lay. Disco decided to just assume whatever was down there was not good. He put his head in his hands, not really wanting to see just how far behind Ace was getting.

—

     “How do we even..” Ace trailed off as she looked around. There were things on the floor, and holes in the wall that probably had something that slotted in them, but Ace had a feeling she didn’t have time to find them. She started feeling the walls for anything she could use when she felt a nudge. She turned, and Fierce had his head raised, nose pointed at Ace’s hand.

     She was slightly confused, but figured nothing could really go wrong if she gave him a rub. Then, when skin and scales met, a pulse of strength and energy radiated through Ace. She looked at her hands.

     “Woahhh… What did you do to me?” If snakes could smirk, Fierce was doing it. He pointed to the ceiling with his nose. Ace followed his point with her gaze, and then got the memo. The ceiling was very high. She crouched and jumped. BOOMPF! She went flying, close to 12 feet in the air, “Wahhhooohhhh..!!” She yelled when she started falling. She flailed a little, unsure of how to land, but it almost felt natural, her feet landing surprisingly softly on the hard ground. She giggled, “Wow! This feels great!”

     Her eyes narrowed, but she had a smirk plastered across her face as her attention turned to the chandelier. There was a hiss of triumph from Fierce, and he slithered back up her body, holding on tightly. With one deep breath, she jumped. Not even a second later, she had a grasp on the bottom of the chandelier. She refrained from looking down and started to swing. One, two, three, four, and five back and forth. Once at a precise angle, she let go.

     With the boosted strength, she obviously went farther than normal, and with a tuck and roll, she landed cleanly on the other side. Fierce helped her with the door and they were through. Ace allowed herself to pause and grin at her familiar.

     “Thanks, Fierce.” She got a happy hiss in response. 

-

     Disco mouthed a ‘woah’, not quite believing his eyes as he saw his best friend fling herself across the room in a minute flat. Now the room countdown was at one, two, but this time Ace had the one. White was still doing the puzzle Ace had completely skipped; her side showed that you were supposed to find stepping stone looking things to slot into the holes in the wall. The good thing was Ace was ahead, by a lot.

     Ace instantly started looking around the room she was in, but there was.. Nothing. Literally nothing. It was a completely white box with a door, padlock, and the light above her. Hive made a happy cat noise and nudged Disco’s arm.

     ‘I have it! She’ll need to ask for a hint, but I have it when she does.’

     Disco looked at him and crossed his fingers.

     ‘Let’s hope she does it soon, then.’

     They saw her mouth ‘what the fff..’ from the room, looking around utterly confused. Her brows furrowed, and she moved to go feel the walls, but Fierce pushed her. When he had her attention, he made a question mark with it body. It seemed Ace understood if her grin was any tell. She started looking around the room, mouthing words.

     And suddenly her voice came through.

     “...hint now please?” Was all Disco heard, but it was enough. He grinned and voiced what Hive had told him.

     “Hit the light!” He yelled, hoping it would carry through. It seemed like it did because Ace looked like a lightbulb just went off in her head. She yelled a ‘thanks!’, scrunching herself up and jumping to the ceiling. With a tap, the light shattered.

     Out from it fell a single key, which she snatched up after landing. Disco rolled his eyes. Of course the final ‘puzzle’ was just a key. Fierce hopped on her again and they ran to the door. After some jiggling, the padlock fell and the door opened. 

     A door opened on Disco’s end, too, and he went through. It was a hallway, and it led right to where Ace was. Ace sighed a breath of relief when she saw Disco sprinting at her, and she let him topple her into a hug. She honestly thought they’d fall over, but when she felt a furry barrier preventing them, she laughed at the panther. Disco also started laughing from relief.

     “You did it! You did it! You did iiitttttt!”

Chapter Text

     The two just held each other, laughing from the joy for a few minutes before Ace pushed her friend off her. She scratched her snake's head.

     “Fierce really came in clutch there, didn’t’cha?” Said snake gave a hiss of approval at his owner’s praise. They came back out of their own little four person world when they heard a ‘hup’, and White came out of the room. She looked surprised seeing them at first, but soon held a softer look. 

     “Well then. Good job! I’m impressed,” She said, walking over to them. Ace smiled sheepishly as she continued, “but it isn’t over yet as you know. You still have three more of us to take on. Blue will retrieve you in a moment,” White waved goodbye and left the room. 

     Ace and Disco took a seat on some chairs that were in the room. Having a staring contest with his familiar, Disco was shaking with anticipation and nervousness. His cat laid his head on his lap, the starry eyes slowly closing and reopening in a slow blink. That made Disco smile, and he returned the gesture.

     “Ready to take on Blue?” Ace said, breaking the silence. Disco shrugged.

     “Maybe. ’m not sure. She was good, probably woulda won if ya hadn’a pulled that stunt. I hope the rules for Battleship will give me a nick of a chance.” He huffed, his frown back on his face, and stared blankly at the floor, gripping the edge of his seat. Ace cleared the anxious look from her face and nudged him, holding her hand up to his face and making him look at her.

     “You know your accent really shines through when you’re nervous,” Ace stated before pulling him into a hug. Her own chest was racked with similar feelings as Disco, but she kept her actions calm in hopes that he wouldn’t freak out too much. Hive approached Disco with a loud purr rumbling in his chest. The cat laid across his feet and curled his tail around an ankle. 

     Disco sighed, but looked down lovingly at the panther, gently petting his head. 

     “Okay. We can do this. We can win. It’ll be just fine.” Disco reassured the group, though the words were directed mainly to himself. He stood up and scrunched and unscrunched his fists, shaking his hands out. Hive stood to allow Ace to give him a proper hug. She smiled and squeezed him tight.

     “You got this.” She whispered to him, moving her hand to his and squeezing it before pulling away. He sighed, but gave a short nod.

     “I know I do.” He agreed. 

     Then a yelp came from outside the room. The two jerked to attention, but after seeing Hive trot back inside, a surprised look on his face and gesturing to the door, they relaxed. Yet another beret-wearing person walked in after, seeming a little startled. He had the same attire as White, but in a navy blue color. He waved awkwardly at them.

     “Didn’t mean to startle you. Wasn’t expecting a panther to be outside the door,” He said, a smile twitching onto his face, “I’m Blue. You can follow me to the next game.” Disco relaxed slightly seeing as Blue wasn’t acting nearly as serious as White or Forge, and he nodded.

     “Is Ace coming too?”

     “Yes. She has a room like you did to watch in.” Ace seemed satisfied with the answer and trailed behind the two, partially trying to study the corridors and which ones they turned down. Quickly though, she lost track. The place really was maze-like. 

     When they got to the room, it looked much less ominous than the blackness of the previous one. It had a few couches, and on a coffee table between two of them there was a battleship set. The room felt cozy, with a fireplace crackling and the smell of woodsmoke filling their nostrils. Disco was enjoying the scent, but Ace was trying to push down the images of the flames on their town. 

     Disco noticed her discomfort and nudged her arm, giving her a playful grin.

     “Having to play games to leave with our lives. Funny, huh? I guess it doesn’t seem as frightening as fighting, even though the risk of dying is still there.” He said, giving Ace a quick side hug before sitting on one of the couches. She rolled her eyes in response.

     Blue ushered Ace and Fierce to another doorway. In it was a small yet comfortable looking room with another table, and the countertop was mostly a screen with some wooden boards lining it. The screen was divided in half and looked like a simplified version of the board game. 

     “The board out there relays information to this digital board. It shows the game as it’s happening. I assume you can guess that this is to prevent cheating?” Blue asked with a raised eyebrow. Ace nodded, slightly giggling when Fierce slithered in and spooked Blue. He left and locked the door, though it was unlockable from the inside, too. 

     Ace sat down in the chair provided, so she was oriented with the board boundary facing her. It showed two names. BLUE-SAILOR and PLAYER 2. The second was soon changed to DISCO. Fierce curled up on her shoulders and rested his head on hers. There was also a speaker in the corner where Ace assumed she could hear the two through.

     “Hello?” She tried. No response. One way, huh?

—

     “We’ll place our ships and then I’ll tell you the rules,” Blue said. Disco nodded and did so. Most of his ships were positioned on the top right corner of the board, but two ships were scattered elsewhere. 

     “Ready,” He chimed. Blue moved another ship before speaking.

     “So, no looking on the other side of the board, for obvious reasons. No changing where your ships are. You must say whether the other player hits a ship or not. And for you, you get to ask one question about the position of my ships while not asking about the coordinates or grid,” Blue finished. 

     Disco zoned out as he took the information in, starting to think about a question he could ask that would give him a head start as to figuring out where Blue’s ships were. Hive was staring at him intently, but he wasn’t speaking to him. It felt like something or someone was muddling the connection. He guessed it wasn't too far fetched, and was just some magic block. Anyways, they hadn’t actually used the familiar powers yet all that much. They’ve only just discovered them.

     It took a second for Disco’s brain to get back on track and think of a question. In the other room, Ace was tapping her fingers melodically onto the wood of the table. She was analyzing the board as she listened to their conversation. While most of Disco’s ships were clustered, Blue’s were mostly spread out with two pairs of ships touching. She looked up when Disco’s voice came through the speaker again.

     “How many of your ships are touching each other?”

     There was a pause where Blue looked down at his ships.

     “Four,” 

     After the answer, Disco frowned to himself, wondering if that was a good question to ask. At the moment, it didn’t give him any information. Well, there wasn’t any going back now.

     “Okay. I’m ready to start,” He said. Blue gestured to him to go first. There wasn’t anything he could do other than guess at the moment, “F5”

     “Miss,” And so it was on.

     While Blue was thinking of where to go, Disco was thinking of his answer. That meant only one of his ships was alone, and the other four ships were in a cluster or two. Either all four ships were touching each other, or they were in two groups of two. He had a slight gut feeling that Blue wouldn’t have all four touching each other. If there were two clusters… the minimum number of hits in a cluster would be five, which he noted he wouldn’t know if it was a cluster or the five ship. He snapped to attention when Blue spoke again.

     “C6”

     “Miss,” Disco paused, but then spoke again. “Can I ask a question?”

     Blue thought for a moment.

     “Depending on what it is, I might not answer, but yes,”

     “Do we have to tell the other when a ship is sunk?” 

     Another pause from Blue.

     “Yes. That seems fair,” At his answer, Disco let a smile twitch onto his face. Now he would know if it was a five ship or a cluster. He guessed again, closer to the top of the board this time.

     “B10”

     “Miss,” 

     He marked it, but watched closely at the sailor’s body language. He could tell Blue was trying to keep his expression stoic, but the way his eyes darted told Disco he got close. From Disco, to the board, to the side, and back to the board in a split second. 

     Ace hoped Disco realized he almost hit one of Blue’s, off by only one space. Blue called his next shot.

     “I9” He said. Disco responded with a very slightly strained,

     “Miss,”

     If Blue was as strategic as they thought, then Ace figured he must’ve picked up on that. There was more silence that seemingly made the air constrict around Disco’s throat. He tried to calm himself. There was no reason to panic, yet he found himself doing it anyway.

     “Erm.. B8” Disco tried. Blue responded with a stifled,

     “Hit,”

     Disco’s slight relief and happiness could almost be felt by Ace, and could literally be felt by Hive, but Hive could also feel the rising anxiety mixed in. Disco questioned where he should go next. He hit one of Blue’s ships, yes, but he had no idea whether it was a cluster or not or which way the ship(s) were facing. 

     “J9”

     “Miss,”

     Disco felt relief wash over him that Blue guessed the wrong way, but tried his best to keep a poker face. Now where should he go? 

     “B7”

     “Miss,”

     Disco cursed to himself. Although, now he noticed that there was a hit and open space in the middle of his two X’s. If it wasn’t a two ship, he’d be wasting another turn, but if it was, as Disco could infer, knowing Battleship pretty well and also looking at his own board, Blue would probably have the two ship by itself to make it harder to find. Which if that were true, he would’ve gotten the hardest ship out of the way right off the bat.

     Ace, on the other hand, was hoping Disco wouldn’t continue his pursuit on the ship, and instead get more information. Blue seemed to have a similar idea to her, spreading out his next shot.

     “F3”

     “Miss,” Disco pauses for a half second before following his pattern, “C2”

     “Miss. E10”

     “Miss,”

     Both of them were getting so close to each other; Ace had a feeling someone would get a hit soon.

     “E3” Disco said.

     “Hit…” Happiness again spiked in Disco’s chest. 

     “I5” That made him falter again.

     “Hit.” While Disco was a bit anxious from the hit, he reassured himself. Yes, Blue did have a hit, but Disco was still doing good for having a lower skill level. He just hoped that Blue didn’t keep up a streak. Disco hummed and figured he should try to get this ship to see if this or the one up top was a two ship(or neither). He still didn’t know where the last cluster was, but he could worry about that later. 

     “D3.”

     “Hit,”

     Alright, no sink. Disco’s eyes went back to where he first got a hit, wondering if he should go for it.

     “I6” Disco flinched internally.

     “Hit,”

     Disco was still in the lead, though not by much with two consecutive hits and a standalone one. Although, Blue was close to sinking a ship. Now Disco knew the two hits weren’t one ship, so they might be a cluster. The theory gets tipped though because… 

     “B9”

     “Ergh- Hit and sink,” Disco’s joy shows again, but, “I7”

     “Hit and sink..” Disco said, a little somber. There was a quiet sound of triumph from Blue. 

     “D6”

     “Another hit,”

     ‘Well’, Ace thought, ‘that went well.’

     Disco was trying to stay calm. He was less stressed then he was before now that he knew the one on the left was a cluster. He decided to assume that they were connected where it turned horizontally. 

     “G1”

     “Hit,”

     Well shit. Disco bit his lip. Blue had found his two ship now. 

     ‘It’s fine. It’s fine. Just keep going.’ He attempted to calm himself and possibly get a response. Sadly he did not, but Hive pressed against his legs, feeling the panic though he couldn’t hear the words. Disco smiled and patted his head. 

     “D5”

     Now, Disco could tell as he refocused himself, Blue was also trying his best to keep his cool.

     “Hit,”

     The game was going surprisingly well, but they were nowhere close to done. It was just beginning. Ace rested her head in her hand as she took her eyes away from the screen to watch Fierce slither around the room. 

     At least the tension put their minds off the fact that they were playing with their lives, ones they could so easily lose.

Chapter Text

     “A10”

     Ace pressed her lips into a line. She really felt helpless, but also realized that was the point. Being so used to helping Disco, it was a challenge to sit still and watch. She wondered if this was how Disc felt when he was trapped in the box. 

     “Hit,” Disco responded to Blue with a slight flinch, “D4” Well, at least he got a sink in return.

     “B3”

     “Miss,”

     There hasn’t been a miss in a while, so Ace was glad to see that it was in Disco’s favor. The end of Fierce’s tail coiled around her ankle, and she could feel him relax under the table. She sighed and glanced down at him, giving a small smile before going back to the board.

     Disco, on the other hand, had his hands tightly nestled in Hive’s fur, moreso tugging than petting him as he got lost in his thoughts. Hive grunted a bit when he pulled too hard, but never moved away. Disc’s mind ran to the fact that not finding the last cluster first could definitely come back to bite him. He can only hope it won’t.

     “C3,” He said after a while.

     “Hit,” Blue winced, but Disco noticed it seemed a bit fake. He also noted that it did not sink, so this ship was the four or five ship. Also, now the other cluster would have the ship that wasn’t in this one paired with a three ship.

     “D9.”

     Disco’s mouth flatlined as he sucked in a breath through his nostrils.

     “Hit.”

     It was fine, it was fine. He was well in the lead, and was about to get either Blue’s four ship or his five ship. It was going really well. Except for the nagging fact that he hadn’t found Blue’s last cluster. Or, even if there was another cluster. Actually, what if what he was going for was a three ship with a- wait, no, that fact had already been confirmed. The chosen rules said Blue would’ve told him if he sunk it. He just thought about that not too long ago, but the ‘what if's' ran through his head. He would fail. Fail Headphones. Fail Hive. Fail Ace . He couldn’t- He couldn’t-

     He felt a spark of pain in his ankle and looked down. Hive was staring into his eyes, and his claws had just barely broken the skin on Disco’s ankle. Oh..

     “You alright?”

     Disco’s head shot up to look at Blue, who was looking at Disco with a slightly concerned look.

     “Yeah. yeah, ‘m fine. Uh.. F3.”

     “Hit..”

     Disco tried to focus less on his thoughts and more on Blue, noticing that Blue was biting his inner lip slightly.

     “B…5”

     “Hit.”

     Shiiitt…. Okay okay… where should he go. Wait, Blue didn’t say sink, so this was his five ship. Up or down… would Blue make the cross right in the middle of the five ship?

     “G3”

     “Hit and sink.”

     Blue didn’t say that like he was worried. Why? Ace stared at the board as she thought about that for a moment. Ohhh... Disco might’ve sunk three of Blue’s ships, but Blue knew where all of Disco’s were. Now all he had to do was take them out one by one, and if Disco didn’t find the last two quickly… then it was game over. And with Blue’s strategic thinking, he probably had the positions of the ships already mapped in his head.

     “F1”

     “Hit and Sink.. I6”

     “Miss. C9”

     “Hit- G10”

     “Miss. E9”

     “Hit and sink.. J1” The strain in Disco’s voice was evident.

     “Miss. B8.” Oh thank the stars.

     “Miss.”

     Disco was about to say another random guess when a distorted… sound in his head jolted him mentally. He froze, and the sound came again. This time with more clarity, but still muddled. Then, it was clear. Loud and clear.

     'H5! IT’S H5! Through 9!’

     Hive’s voice clearly shouted in his head, making Disco just barely flinch. 

     “H5.”

     A breath from Blue.

     “Hit..” A pause, as if he was contemplating something, “A9”

     “Hit. H6

     “Hit. A8”

     “Hit. H7” Their responses were becoming faster. Ace was staring at the board in slight bewilderment. Disco finding the cluster and saying his moves with that much confidence was jarring. How did he figure it out that quickly?

     “Hit. A7”

     “Hit. H8”

     “Hit and sink. A6”

     “Hit and sink. H9”

     “Hit. B7”

     “Hit..” Oh damn it… up or down again?!? Really??

     ‘UP!’

     The voice was extremely loud in his head again to the point where it hurt, but it sure as hell got the message to go through, which Disco was not complaining about.

     “G9”

     “Hit.. B6”

     “Hit..!” Disco said, staring as he only had one peg left until he was toast, but. Blue did too, and it was Disco’s turn. Oh he was so glad Blue let him go first. He started giggling slightly, hands shaking with excitement as his tension melted into triumph, “F9!”

     Blue sighed, “Hit and sink. You win.” The sailor looked a bit dejected as he stared at the board, and as Disco calmed from his joy of winning, he frowned looking at the boy. Even when Ace rushed out from her spectating room, with a smile on her face and running to hug Disco, he held his hand up to stop her, ignoring the confused look that it caused.

     Making his way onto the other side of the coffee table, he rested a hand on Blue’s shoulder. The skipper looked up at him with a smile, but there was no spirit in it. Disco stared for a moment as guilt crept up within him. Sure… he won, but it wasn’t fair. Not to Blue. He had cheated, though technically unwillingly, it was true. If he told Blue… that probably wouldn’t end well for him, so instead he chose comfort.

     “Hey, you did really great! That was a close game, and you had the strategy side down so well figuring out how all of my ships were positioned. I really just got lucky. I’m impressed! Forge? The one in the gray coat right? Yeah, she told me that you were the best skipper she knows, and I can definitely say the same now. I’d be scared if I was actually facing you out at sea,” Disco gave a big grin. Blue’s smile lit up into a genuine one from the comments, and he held out his hand to Disco for him to shake. Disco took it, but instead of shaking, pulled Blue up off the couch into a side hug, “It was fun. I mean it.”

     The smile and eyes of the sailor-clad boy sparkling with happiness that he saw when he pulled away made Disco’s thoughts falter. This was really… an enemy?

Chapter Text

     Since the game was done, Blue kindly led them to the next room. Oh, and Ace did get that hug as well as giving some praise and approval for the reassuring words to Blue. It wasn’t necessary, but Disco needed some assurance of his own, Ace could tell, especially after being put under that much stress. They held each other’s hand tightly as they were led through the corridors, still a bit uneasy from the large castle hallways that seemed endless, but with Blue in the lead it didn’t seem as bad.

     As they continued, the empty brick walls slowly morphed into decorated, neater looking ones. Tapestries hung from poles with golden ends, hard tile-like floors turned into sleek wooden ones that had rugs with marvelous patterns weaved into them. Blue stopped in front of a singular wooden door, but Ace and Disco were a bit too distracted looking at their surroundings that they didn’t notice at first until they almost tripped over a blockade that stopped them in their tracks. A black and furred blockade that gave a small glare of annoyance to the pair.

     There was a hiss from Fierce and a baring of fangs from both sides, the snake clearly miffed from the action.

     “Hey, woah, chill Fierce. We weren’t paying attention. He was helping,” Ace said quickly, scratching the top of her familiar’s head in an attempt to soothe. She glanced at Disco with a slightly confused look. While she didn’t speak, Disco knew what she was ‘saying’, or ‘asking’ in this case. He shrugged, but looked down at Hive, who had moved out of the way so they could actually stop next to Blue. He seemed to be struggling a bit with opening the door.

     Patiently waiting as the door didn’t seem to budge, Ace bit the inside of her lip and fiddled for one of her knives. The sound of it unsheathing made Blue whip around, but she held her hands up and demonstrated herself spinning it on the handle’s loop. Hive’s ears were helicoptering around, but they pinpointed something coming from inside the room, and soon the others heard it too. It sounded like… arguing - or raised voices at least. Blue stopped messing with the the handle, hands hesitating before he turned to face the two.

     “Uhm.. sorry for this. That.. might take a while, so if you want we can sit down. There’s a small library across the hall here,” He pointed to a door a bit farther down the hallway and started walking. 

     The two followed in silence, neither sure what to say. They went inside, and Ace wandered to browse the books. Blue took a seat on one of the few desks in the room and notified them he was going to do a bit of ‘work’, whatever that meant, which left Disco to sit on a couch and stare at the potted plant on the coffee table in front of him. His thoughts ran a bit, mainly processing everything going on. 

     This whole place, this castle, seemed weird, off - it sure wasn’t what he had expected. He prepared to fight, but instead was met with the proposal of a peaceful settling through games of all things. Sure White and Forge were a bit uptight, compared to Ace and him at least, but they weren’t rude or condescending, and White was a really good sport. Blue was even less serious than those two even. Not to say he wasn’t at all, but it was enough of a significance that Disco was sure he felt more relaxed now with Blue than if he had been with one of the two girls.

     Disco was pulled out of his thoughts when there was a dip in the couch, and his hand was being nudged at by Hive. He smiled and looked at his familiar, rubbing the top of the panther’s head, but after not long his smile faltered as he thought about something else. There was hesitation as he didn’t exactly know how to initiate contact with Hivemind, but..

     ‘ Hey, Hive? You there? ’

     Hive’s purring stopped and the sparkling eyes looked at him intently.

     ‘I’m here. Are you alright?’

     ‘ Oh good it worked. Yeah, I was… wondering. How come there seems to be animosity between you and Fierce? ’

     He didn’t respond immediately, and instead made himself comfortable by laying down on the couch, resting his head in Disco’s hand.

     ‘You noticed that, huh? Well, to put it short, me and him have had some… disagreements in our past. He’s not exactly my favorite person, nor am I his.’

     Disco nodded and ran his fingers through the fur behind the rounded ears, humming a note of understanding. The answer really brought up more questions than it did satisfy the red-tentacled inkling, but he didn’t press. The tone in Hive’s… head-voice thing, showed that the topic was not a comfortable one. 

     Ace was flipping through random books with covers that seemed interesting, from butterflies to astrology, there were so many cool topics! Fierce had uncoiled himself not long after she dove into the books and was climbing on the shelves nearby. She looked at him, noticing that he seemed to be staring intently at whatever was around the corner. Peeking around it, she saw Hivemind and Disco sitting on the couch together, the latter petting the former idly. Her lips turned up seeing the two looking content, and she went back behind the bookshelf.

     She lifted her eyes back up to Fierce for a moment. To be honest, she found it a bit… puzzling to how Disco had gotten his familiar to warm up to him so fast. Sure, Fierce pulled the stunt in the escape room, and is usually wrapped around her, but the way Hive acted… in seeming accordance to how Disco was feeling, it was different. Fierce didn’t really communicate with her much; he was just… there. But, it wasn’t really that abnormal when she thought about it. This was Disco she was talking about. Her partner had a natural affinity with animals of all kinds, and even took to people faster than she did. 

     So, she pulled her mind away from that and onto Ryam. Something felt wrong about him. Even though all the advice given to them has been sound up to this point, his appearance was all around weird. Eavesdropping on them in the market, so easily giving them the exact advice they needed, and being so willing to help them? Suspicious central over here. 

     It was much weirder that she felt more comfortable around Blue than him even though the sailor boy was quite literally an enemy that they just fought against. For some reason, even though there was a hint that she and Disco could die if they lost, there was no actual worry she felt, yet.

     “Hey, guys! We’re all waiting around here, why not do something together? Like… a game or something? A casual one.” Disco called. Ace wandered back over to him, shrugging her shoulders as she held a couple books in her hands, and Fierce curled around her once more. She found her seat on the armrest next to where Disco was sitting, moving her pointer finger to rub under Disco’s chin. He scoffed, but did nothing to stop it. Blue glanced at them, but looked back to his notebook after barely a second, “Talking to you too, Blue.”

     The inkling hesitated, but ended up closing the book and leaving the desk to sit in a chair on the other side of the coffee table.

     “What were you thinking of playing?” Blue asked, slightly tilting his head. 

     Disco just shrugged and leaned back, staring at the ceiling as he rested his finger on his lips, pressing them together. 

     “Maybe… Would You Rather?” He said after a while.

     A few nods of agreements were exchanged, and they started up a friendly game, to where even Blue seemed to loosen up as they played.

Chapter Text

     Relaxing was easy when paired with laughter and fun, and that meant Disco, Ace, Hive, Fierce, and even Blue were enjoying their time. But, good times must come to an end, and that was true here too. 

     The door to the room opened, making Ace stop in the middle of what she was saying to look at it, everyone else’s eyes following. Forge cleared her throat and adjusted the top of her coat as she walked in the room, closing the door behind her. The look on her face was one of disappointment… and guilt? She didn’t say anything, nobody did, at least not until Fierce nudged Ace’s arm as he slithered up it.

     “So,” Ace started, a frown settling onto her face. “It’s… time for the next game then?” 

     A nod was Forge’s response, one that made Disco’s smile drop also as he glanced at Blue. Did they really have to continue already? He was enjoying his time with the sailor boy, and while there was a bit of initial surprise at the fact, he noted that there was no good reason he had to dislike Blue. Even so, he didn’t think he’d be this sad about parting.

     Ace gave Fierce a rub on his head before standing, and Disco went to follow, but Forge shook her head.

     “I-” She started before shaking her head and starting over. “My apologies, but the king has decided that you two will be doing the last challenges alone,” Her eyes dropped to the floor, a conflicted look on her face before she looked back up with her mouth a flat line and pivoted, gesturing for Ace to follow. Disco started to protest, but he let himself simply fall back into the seat as Ace shook her head, a mix of anxious and frustrated thoughts circling in his head. 

     His hand was curled into a fist as he watched Ace leave the room. Even the reassuring look on his partner’s face didn’t do much to ease his nerves. The door closed and his eyes screwed shut, nails starting to dig into his arms as his mind raced with thoughts of whether or not she’d be okay. Of worries about how he couldn’t protect her… of how-

     There was a hand on his shoulder, and two large paws putting pressure on his lap as he looked up, staring Hivemind square in the eyes. Blue’s hand left his shoulder to separate his nails from his arm, making sure he hadn’t broken skin. Disco gave a halfhearted smile to both of them. Blue let his hand drop when he was satisfied there was no blood drawn, and then he offered, a bit awkwardly.

     “Do you… want a rematch?”

—

     At random intervals Ace kept glancing back at where they came from as she followed closely behind Forge. Whether she told herself it was because she was trying to memorize the layout of the castle as best she could or not, she knew that the real reason was she wanted to go back to Disco. His mind could easily spiral itself into panic if he worried too much, and she very well knew the extent of his separation anxiety. 

     But, she kept walking. The quicker she finished the game- preferably the quicker she won the game - the quicker she could reunite with her partner. Down the seemingly never ending halls of the place, Forge soon stopped at a set of glass doors that lead outside. Oh. Ace noted that this was the first time she’s even seen anywhere that could access the outside since they came into the castle. They went through, and Ace was met with the sight of a beautiful courtyard.

     Peonies, Orchids, Chrysanthemums, Lilies, and many other flowers were lined neatly in rows on the four corners. Vines clung and snaked up the stone walls, yet they didn’t seem to crack the stone. In the center there was a fountain. It wasn’t extravagant by any means, but it was dazzling in its own way. A pillar of white and gray with smaller parts jutting out the sides. Perfectly clear water flowed off the marble outcroppings, each designed to have it trickling down like a staircase. 

     However, marveling at the beauty of the garden clearly wasn’t why she was brought here. She walked up to stand side by side Forge just past the fountain, seeing what she assumed would be the next ‘game’. The glass doors opposite the ones they entered.. Exitted? Had part of it shattered and the shards strewn onto the pathway. Other random items were scattered about, and she could see a table with a broken leg just inside.

     Forge seemed to sigh as she looked at it.

     “Normally I would prefer not to mess up my garden for something like this, but I’ll settle if you promise not to disturb the flowers?”

     Ace nodded. Forge was the gardener then, huh? She internally applauded the work. It wouldn’t be Ace’s first guess on the hobbies of the girl, but it wasn’t like she knew her.

     “I won’t,” She affirmed and then looked at Fierce, booping him on the nose. “That means you too. I’ll let you roam, but don’t you even think about getting into those flowers.” Fierce flicked his tongue out at the finger and seemed to nod his head before slithering off of Ace and starting to explore the edge of the fountain. “So… what are the rules this time around?”

     “Yes, yes. Right. So, this is a… ‘murder mystery’-esque game. There is a clipboard for each of us resting on the fountain there,” Forge pointed to where they lay. “They have the exact same set of information. Background knowledge on the posed case as well as space to write notes. What we’re trying to do is put together how many people were involved, how the person was killed, and if it was planned or not. There’s no additional written information anywhere except on the clipboard. You have to use the scene, clipboard, and any of your own knowledge to figure it out. Understand?”

     Ace nodded as she took in the information, scanning the surroundings quickly and also glancing at Fierce to make sure he had listened to the rule of ‘no touch the flowers’, which he had. Okay. Get the background, and then search for evidence. Simple enough.

     “Yep. When do we start?” She didn’t even have a chance to look up at Forge before a clipboard and pen were thrown in her direction, but luckily she had quick enough reflexes to catch everything and situate it somewhat comfortably in her arms.

     “Now.”

     The adrenaline that randomly spiked as soon as Forge spoke was welcomed yet unwelcomed at the same time. Good because it made her brain work in hyperdrive; bad because it made her brain work in hyperdrive, which was not always a good thing. Ace instantly scuttled off into the inside, stepping carefully and quickly between the glass shards. She almost motioned for Fierce to come in and start looking around, but then she remembered that he was still outside. Well, that was something she should’ve thought of. 

     Forge watched as Ace scurried off, but she took her time in picking up her clipboard and reading it over. She frowned to herself, staring at the information she had, which was actually significantly less than what Ace was given. It was enough that the solving of the false mystery wouldn’t pose too much of a challenge, but neither of those things were the cause for her expression. Guilt still circled in her chest as she worried about the octoling’s friend. Ace herself seemed to fare well enough alone, but the other one… just remembering the response to staying behind made her wonder if she should’ve urged more on the argument of keeping them together. At least, somewhat together.

     But, she trusted her leader. If he had pressed the matter so much, there was clearly a reason for it. She shook the thoughts away and finished reading the information, starting to look around as well. Through the glass doors she watched Ace search around the table, and then to her right the sound of scales on stone caught her attention. She looked at the golden-bronze-scaled snake.

     “I think you should go to your owner. She could use some help,”

     The snake locked eyes with her for a moment and flicked its tongue out before making its way over to the doors. In her mind, the two- or, the four- didn’t need any more testing. From what she’s observed, they are good thinkers, even if not in the same way as her team’s specialty. They’ve proven that even when they're down in skill, they’ll find ways to make up for it. That and Forge knew Ace didn’t have a chance in this game if she really tried, and… they had to win. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she just knew. Maybe she could go a little bit against her orders.

     After forty five minutes, Ace was sure she had gone over every detail in the area marked out. Now she just had to put them together in a way that she could deduce the answers needed. She walked out into the garden to think, noting how Forge was also out examining some of the pieces near the glass door. The sun was also low enough in the sky to where it was starting to get dark, and Ace could see the faint orange and yellow colors of a sunset above one of the walls. Tapping the pen to her mouth, she strolled around the fountain, looking to her shoulder at Fierce, who had decided to come help her partway through. 

     First is how many people were involved. That was easy, there were the witnesses that were talked about in the background information on the clipboard, the person who was murdered, and then the queen that had left her crown behind at the scene. Or… did her being there at one point count as being involved? Ace put down 6 people to be safe. It’d probably be a better thing to guess higher than the number of people rather than lower. 

     As for how the person was killed… hm. She clicked her tongue a few times and took a seat on the edge of the fountain as she scanned her written notes. There was a poison bottle included in the scene, but it was completely sealed and full. It had to be just a red herring to try and throw her off. Especially since there was also fake blood scattered around everywhere inside. But…. what was the weapon used? There was no trace of a sword, knife, or gun anywhere. Ace sighed and clutched the pencil as she looked at Forge again, feeling a bit of relief when Forge jotted another thing down. Hopefully the fact that she was still writing meant Ace was in the lead.

     Forge continued writing, what was completely utter nonsense at this point, onto the small paper. If she was actually being truthful, she already had all of the answers figured out, and had had them since twenty minutes ago. They weren’t written down though, instead circling in her head. That’s where they would stay. She glanced outside, barely being able to see Ace from where she stood. It took a bite of her dignity to just let herself lose like this, but it was necessary. 

     Ace contemplated over her answers at least five times before she went to tell Forge she was finished. Well, she assumed that was what she was supposed to do. She wasn’t exactly given instructions when it came to ending the game. 6 people were involved, the weapon was one of the shards of glass(there had been one far larger and bloodier than the rest when she looked over them again), and that it wasn’t planned. The scene was bloody and messy, so clearly the fight was uncontrolled and unprepared. 

     She bit the inside of her lip as she clipped the pen onto the top of the clipboard. These had to be right. Anyways, she had a feeling Disco was going to start worrying way too much if she didn’t finish up soon, and that was if he wasn’t already. She took a deep breath. She trusts in herself, right? Yeah. Nothing to be worried about. Fierce slithered onto the clipboard and turned his head to look at her, almost tilting it in question. She gave a small laugh and scratched the underside of his chin, actually picking her feet up to go to Forge.

     “I have the answers. What now?” Ace asked. Forge looked up from her seat inside, pressing her clipboard underneath her arm and to her side. 

     “Come with me, over this way,” Forge stood and gestured for Ace to follow, taking them past the initial marked out area and turned a couple of times before coming to a more open room. There was a folder set on a table in the room, “Open it. See if you were right,”

     Ace went over, but she hesitated and looked back.

     “What about you? Do you not check yours?”

     Forge’s shoulders raised and she hesitated, eyes glancing away. It took a moment, but she adjusted herself and spoke.

     “I… I did not finish,”

     The information came as a definite surprise to Ace, making her eyebrows scrunch in confusion. That really didn’t seem right. There was no way that she could’ve… She shook it off and turned back to the folder, carefully opening it. There was a paper inside with three things written.

6. Glass Shard. Unplanned.

Chapter Text

     The rematch was enough of a distraction that Disco’s mind kept mostly off the fact of Ace not being with him. It was pretty quick, and Blue got a bit of revenge on him by completely sweeping the game. He didn’t even have a chance. Without the block between Hive and him and Disco progressively getting better at finding the link in their minds and initiating contact, he had told Hive not to help him one bit, and he took it one step further and made Hivemind sit beside him to where he couldn’t see Blue’s side of the board.

     There wouldn’t be any cheating this time, only fair and square. Even if that means getting utterly destroyed fair and square. It was worth it, anyways, to see the joy that lit up Blue’s features. Disco couldn’t help but laugh slightly from the triumphant look on Blue’s face and the little fist pump to himself. 

     Hive notified Disco that he heard someone in the hallway, and when the room door opened Disco’s attention was immediately on it, checking to see if it was Ace. When it wasn’t, his expression gave way to disappointment, and his shoulders sagged. He did try to give a halfhearted smile back to White who came in, though, if only to be polite. After a small wave, her attention fully turned to Blue.

     “Blue? Captain needs us for something,” She said with a little ‘come here’ gesture to him. He looked towards Disco for a moment before nodding and going to put up the game, but Disc put his hand to block Blue’s.

     “I got it. Go do whatever you need to,” He waved Blue away as he gathered up the ships and pegs to put them in their respective spots. Blue stood, but looked back a few times as he made his way to White. He tapped on White’s shoulder, telling her to pause, when they reached the door.

     “Forge won’t hurt her,” It was a promise that was said as barely more than a whisper, but while it was quiet, it was confident. Disco replied with nothing more than a nod and a trying smile, ears turned downwards. He appreciated the attempt; he really did. Just… there wasn’t much that worked when it came to calming the endless terrible scenarios that racked his brain. The door closed, and not long after the sailors’ footsteps dwindled to nothing.

     Hivemind pushed himself up from lying down to sitting and stretched his neck before shaking his head rapidly. He was mid-yawn when he felt a hand on his paw and Disco’s head against his shoulder. The inkling was shaking slightly and breathing heavily, and at those signs Hive instantly leaned into him and purred, worriedly looking at him.

     ‘ Hey, hey. Look at me.’

     It was hesitant, but Disco listened, raising his head to lock eyes with his familiar. Any semblance of a smile on his face was gone. His breath was labored and shaky.

     “I-” He cut himself off as his voice cracked. Fists scrunched and legs fidgeting with the coffee table, he stared blankly at the tidied battleship set.

     ‘I’m sor-’

     ‘Quiet. Don’t be sorry for being afraid. Your best friend is in a place where she could find herself in danger, and you’re worried about her. That’s perfectly normal.’

     Disco sighed and Hive followed his eyes downcast to his feet.

     ‘I know. I know. Just… I feel bad being so utterly lost without her. When Headphones picked us, she praised us for being strong and working so well together, but I… Ace is strong on her own. She’s always been my place to run to. Me, though? When I’m alone, what am I except for a lost stray dog on the street?’

     Hive nudged the hand that rested on his paw, narrowing his eyes slightly.

     'Are you alone?’

     Disco looked back at him and raised an eyebrow in question, but he realized that was sort of the point and shook his head, lips turning up into a slight smile.

     ‘I don’t think I could do this if I really was.’

     He laughed slightly as Hive kicked one of his legs with a paw, rolling his eyes as he took a deep breath and a lengthy sigh. He looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and let himself relax against the back of the couch he sat on. There was a pause before Disco said anything again.

     ‘Hive?’

     ‘Yes?’

     ‘Why did you-’

     Their conversation was cut short as suddenly the room went from dusk to noon in a matter of seconds. Dull colors brightened, and shined surfaces shimmered yellow and orange hues on them. The sound of flames caused Disco’s adrenaline to spike as he sat up stiffly. Hive growled as they looked around the room. 

     Their eyes found the source of the light quickly as what seemed like pure flames flew until they hovered atop the chair where Blue had been. As they stared, the flames took a more distinct form; one of a bird, whose wings were folded neatly at its sides. Disco blinked rapidly as his mouth hung open from awe. He had a feeling he should be scared, but instead all he could feel was wonder from staring at the flaming bird. It was pretty obvious that it was looking right at them.

     A whisper-like laugh sounded throughout the room. Maybe. Disco couldn’t tell if the sound was present in his head like Hive’s voice or if it was actually coming from inside the room. Maybe it was both.

     “ Hello there.”

     ‘Holy shit that’s a Phoenix’

     Another laugh, and the bird lowered its head to the two. Disco just nodded to Hive’s comment and waved awkwardly.

     “ Yes, yes, Hello. That is what I am. However my name is Alylly.”

     “I- uh. I’m Disco. Hi,” He looked and pointed at Hive before looking back with dilated pupils at Alylly. The fact that it had picked up on their telepathic link did not exactly occur to the two. “That’s Hive.”

     Hive nodded, looking just as perplexed as Disco. Alylly slightly bowed before opening its wings again and flying onto the coffee table. Disco tensed as it came closer, lifting his legs to place them on the couch and away from the flames.

     “Don’t worry; my fire won’t hurt you. I’m not supposed to harm you anyways. Captain said to come check on you, and to inform you that your friend won the last game. I have instructions on where you need to go next, too.”

     There was a quick sigh of relief as Disco heard the news, a grin making its way back onto his face. Hive shoved him lightly with his shoulder, and he rolled his eyes. He did pause, though, as he processed Alylly saying ‘Captain’. First they heard the title from White and now Alylly. He tilted his head in question.

     “Soo… is this ‘Captain’ the same person as King Correspondence? Or are they someone else?”

     “ One in the same. I’m his familiar.”

     Disco lifted his finger and perked up.

     “Oh, so like the same way Hive is my familiar?”

     Alylly nodded.

     “ In a way, yes. Hive is a bit-'' The glare that Hivemind bore into Alylly made her cut herself off, and she continued before Disco could ask. “Nevermind. You want to see your friend, yes?”

     If Disco had any further questions they had been wiped away at that mention. He practically shot off the couch and bounced on the tips of his toes, nodding frantically. Hive felt himself slightly smile as Disco’s happiness radiated to him, and he hopped off the couch as well, shaking his back leg slightly as it had gone numb from sitting on it. Alylly gestured for them to follow with their wings and took flight again, heading to the other side of the room which turned out to have a second exit.

     Disco and Hive rushed to keep up with Alylly- or well, Disco did. Hive was barely jogging while Disco, being on his little two legs, could only go so fast. It didn’t take long for Hive to get fed up and tell Disc to get on his back, and the inkling didn’t hesitate to listen to his familiar, swinging his legs over once more. They sped down hallways and took sharp turns to keep up with the fast-flying Phoenix.

     The halls gradually widened until they opened up into a large foyer with two staircases either side of where they came in as well as an archway straight ahead. Alylly stopped abruptly in the air and turned to face the two again.

     “They’re just through that archway. I wish you and her luck, Disco. You’re the first people to come close to completing my owner’s tests. It may seem counterproductive to say this, but I do hope you win,” Alylly swooped down to hover in front of Disco’s face, “You should believe in yourself. You’re stronger than you realize.”

     And with a quick flap of Alylly’s wings, they were alone again. Disco’s mind instantly ran to think about what Alylly had said, but Hive started forwards, and the sound of something made it vanish from his thoughts instantly.

     Ace’s voice.

Chapter Text

     This was the second time Ace was startled by Hivemind bounding up behind her, and then she barely had time to react before she was bear-hugged and had the life almost squeezed out of her. She smiled though as she looked down and wriggled her right arm out from the hold to pet at the inkling’s tentacles of whom had his face shoved into her chest. Planting a kiss to the top of the silky tentacles triggered a little giggle from Disco, who tilted his head slightly to allow Ace to see his eyes looking up at her. He squeezed her just a bit tighter. 

     “Oohh-kayy hun,” She wheezed, “I need to breathe,”

     She wriggled as best she could to coerce him to loosen his grip, looking up at Forge with pleading eyes, who had been slightly startled from Disco’s sudden entrance but now had a slight smile on her face.

     “Nooyuddnnnt,” Disco mumbled, voice muffled from his position. Ace sighed and rolled her eyes at him, though her smile was ever present. His hold was, thankfully, loosened as Hive grabbed his pant leg and tugged him away. “Nooooooo…!”

     He pouted as he was forced to stand up straight to not face plant, but it didn’t last long as he shook his head out and beamed at his partner.

     “You wonnnn!!” He exclaimed, holding his hands up in front of his chest and shaking them rapidly. 

     “Mhm!” Ace nodded and ruffled his tentacles. Fierce slithered onto her arm as she pulled it back and flicked his tongue out at Disco. “Didn’t worry too much about me, did you?” A nervous laugh from Disc.  

     Forge cleared her throat, and the group looked at her. She gestured for them to come as she started walking through the much more open rooms. Instead of the endless hallways that they’d been through previously, these had couches, tables, bookshelves, and doors to other rooms as well. One that Ace saw was what looked to be a dining room.

     “Soo… where are we going-” Disco was cut off by himself as he yawned, finishing and blinking rapidly before continuing, “-now? Is it time for my last game?” 

     Forge shook her head.

     “No, no. It would be unfair if you did it now. You two- or, four have had a long day, it’s late, and I’m sure you’re exhausted if that yawn tells anything. Of course, we won’t force you if you’re uncomfortable, but,” Forge paused and stopped in front of two doors side by side, gesturing to them. “We have rooms for you to stay the night in.”

     Ace mouthed an ‘o’. Stay in the castle? It was true that it was late. When she and Forge were finishing up their game the sun had almost completely gone down. Pairing that with the fact that they woke up at… five, It had definitely been a day. She was sure that once her adrenaline and focus had calmed down, her fatigue would probably set in. But… was she comfortable staying in a place that was supposed to be hostile? The confusing part was that she felt inclined to say yes.

     She looked at Disco who was just staring at her intently, as well as Hivemind doing the same.

     “I’m okay with it if you are,” He said, looking down to his hand which was resting behind Hive’s ear and scratching there. Forge stood patiently, not urging them to go either way. She was telling the truth when she said she wasn’t going to force them.

     “Y.. yeah, sure. That’s fine. There’s locks on the doors?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Forge. A nod. “Okay. Well… me and Disc really only need one room so…”

     Forge smiled slightly and nodded once more.

     “I figured. One room is for your familiars. The other is for you two.”

     There was a noise of protest from Hive, and Fierce lifted his head with a sour look and slight hiss, but Ace grinned wide.

     “Hah! No getting in the way of my cuddles this time, Hivemind!” She stared with a mockingly triumphant look and narrowed eyes at the panther, who just growled shortly and looked away. 

      Forge opened the room doors and told which one was for who, and after a bit of force and a lot of convincing, Fierce and Hive were shoved in their room together. They probably could lock a door by themselves, right? 

      Ace and Disco were giggling like preteen girls at a sleepover as they closed their room door and locked it shut, the octoling almost immediately scooping up Disco and twirling him in her arms before planting him on the cushy bed. He laughed and stuck his tongue out, which earned him a bop on the nose with the palm of Ace’s hand.

       “Soooo… oh hey look they gave us clothes to sleep in. How nice. Oh, we… we left some stuff at that inn didn’t we?” Ace said as she looked towards the open closet door, seeing the few clothes hanging inside. She pressed her mouth into a line as she stared at Disco, watching him start to giggle again and nod his head. Ace rolled her eyes and strolled to the closet, grabbing the soft fabric of one of the tops. “Well, great. Hopefully they kept it, but if not, oh well. I’m going to get changed in the bathroom. You get ready too, and then we can cuddle?”

     “Souunnds like a plan,” Disco nodded and pushed himself off the bed, promptly getting a pair of pants thrown at him. He caught it and draped it around his arm, sticking his tongue out at Ace who just elbowed his side lightly before disappearing into the bathroom. He sighed and just stood there for a moment, the slightest smile on his lips as he trailed his eyes to the bathroom door and let them linger for a moment.

      He didn’t idle for long though and soon threw his gear off, slipping into the silky pants he was given and shucking his shirt off onto the pile he made. There wasn’t much need to make it nice since he was going to put it right back on in the morning. He toppled onto the bed, shimmying until he was situated comfortably under the sheets and staring at the ceiling. 

     He rolled onto his side and stared at the empty wall he faced. This all… it was real. He was going to be facing the king of this castle in the morning, and presumably if he lost… The king would kill him and Ace. How good was he at chess? Sure he enjoyed playing, but was it enough to face off against essentially the smartest man in the word? He doubted it. However, Alylly’s words circled in his mind. Believe in himself. He scoffed internally; wished he could say it was that easy.

     There were a million things that could go wrong- that he could do wrong- and it scared him. On top of that, this was just the first kingdom. They really were just getting started. What if-

     “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it,”

     He was pulled out of his thoughts as the covers were thrown off and there was another weight on the bed. He didn’t fight the arm that twisted him around to face Ace, who was holding the covers up with her other hand to get in alongside him and looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He smiled sheepishly before opting to stare fondly up at her as she situated herself.

     The sheets were pulled snuggly back over them, and Disco was pulled into the firm arms of his partner. He curled his arms and legs inward as he nuzzled his face into her neck, turning his head slightly to the side so he could look up at her. She had one arm wrapped around him, and the other came up to rub the underside of his ear lovingly. 

     “It’s going to be alright, got it? No need to worry about a thing. Especially right now. All you need to worry about is feeling safe and comfy in my arms, okay?” She murmured and kissed the top of his head, looking down at him with lidded eyes. He nodded and gave into the comfiness, letting himself purr at the pleasant feeling of his ear being pet mixed with the overall content of his position. 

     Ace just watched and continued to coo occasionally as the hand that wasn’t pulling Disco close rubbed his ear and played with his tentacles. This was nice. If only for the night, they had a break to wind down and relax. Who knew how often they’d get that after tonight. Three more kingdoms to go, and ones that would definitely be more hostile than this one made it unlikely. 

     She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the top of his head, feeling it tilt slightly. When she opened them again, he was looking with innocent eyes up at her, making her smile. 

     “I love you,” Ace said simply, crisscrossing both her arms on his back and squeezing tight. Tired eyes squinted happily in return, doing their best to not close.

     “I love you too,” Disco mumbled back, shifting in her arms a bit to better cuddle into her chest before letting his eyes flutter shut, giving into the relaxation.

     Ace pressed one more kiss to his head before following his lead, relaxing her arms and head against the mattress and pillow. The pillow was surprisingly soft, and she silently thanked Forge for the rooms, and even if she didn’t provide them, for leading them there. 

     Disco had almost completely drifted into unconsciousness when there was a fuzz in his mind, and a few seconds later a quiet voice came through.

     ‘Goodnight.’

     ‘G’night..’

Chapter Text

     Disco awoke to the feeling of gentle fingers absentmindedly running through his tentacles and the sound of a tune, Nasty Majesty- one he was very familiar with - being hummed quietly from above him. He yawned; the melody stopped as he tilted his head back against the chest he was lying on, meeting eyes with a smiling Ace. 

     “Rise and shine gumdrop~” Ace said in a sing-song manner. Her words were responded to with a grunt and Disco rolling over away from her to plant his face in the pillow. He took a long breath before huffing and continuing to roll his way away from her.

     THUD! Ace just sighed as she looked at the edge of the bed Disco had gone over, taking the covers most of the way with him. There was silence for a bit as she waited for the grumbling she had come to know to start, and after that Disco finally dragged himself up off the floor. He stared at her with a blank expression for a minute as he just stood, slightly swaying as he held the covers idly in one hand before chucking them back onto the bed.

     “Forge came in about 10 minutes ago. She said the king was ready when you are, and also that White was waiting in a room a bit a ways from the hall we’re in to lead you,” Ace recapped as she readjusted herself on the bed to sit up more against the headboard. 

     Disco nodded, moseying over to the pile of his clothes to put his shirt on and change his pants. He considered putting on the rest of his gear, but… they weren’t exactly fighting. His eyes scanned his swords laying against the side table and he contemplated. Ace watched him for a minute before following his gaze.

     “No need to take something you won’t need,” Ace said simply. He looked up at her, hesitation in his eyes.

     “I just…” He started, “It’s… is the kindness really real ? Or is this just another mind game? It- it feels weird that I feel like I should trust them. They’re enemies… They’re who we’re fighting against! It doesn’t make logical sense, but…” He had begun pacing slightly without realizing, only stopping when Ace whistled to him. She sighed before standing up off the bed and walking up to him, taking one of her Kunai knives off of the table and dangling it from her finger.

     “Yeah, It’s weird, but I think it’s genuine. They’ve had every opportunity to kill us. While we were sleeping is obviously one, but they also had weapons during our challenges. Blue and White had a dagger each strapped to them, though it was hidden under their clothing. And Forge had her gun still in its holster during our challenge. They do have some guards, we’ve seen. If they did want us dead, they’d have done it already,” She explained, grabbing Disco’s arm and turning him slightly towards the door. “They aren’t friends by any means, but we have the protection of them wanting something from us. I don’t know what that something is, but…” She shook her head. “You should get going. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner this weird kindness will be over with. Love you and good luck.”

      “Yeah… love you too,” Disco still took a bit to move from his spot towards the door, eyes lingering for a while on his partner’s. With a nod from her though, he was out the door and out of sight.

     Ace stood staring at the door for a bit longer after Disco had left, but she turned away and went to her bag, grabbing a shimmering gold coin out of it. The front side, or at least what she assumed to be the front side, had the outline of a crested lizard on it. Its mouth was open like it was hissing at the onlooker. The other side had the view of desert cliffs etched into it. 

      She squeezed her palm shut as she held her hand close to her chest and took a deep breath. Her eyes trailed to the door once more. She worried about Disco, of course she did, but she trusted that he would be okay. And, he had Hive, didn’t he? Maybe… maybe she could be a bit productive while Disco was gone rather than just sitting on the bed. In theory, she had the ability to roam the castle. Maybe there was another library she could check out, or… or possibly Forge could give her some info about the other kings?

-

      Disco was trailing behind White, back to following people around this castle that was essentially a maze. Although, now the rooms(that were actual rooms) they were walking through seemed more orderly. Maybe the maze-like structure of the castle only applied to the outside of it, as a way to deter intruders, but here could be the heart of the castle. It would make sense.

     His anxiety rose as they walked; he really would be alone for this one. He was told to leave Hive behind in the familiars’ room, and at first when White told him, he worried that they knew he cheated last game and were going to punish him for it. Yet nothing else was said. Why did he have to fight alone? He wasn’t good at alone. With no one to keep him grounded, and no one to calm his mind, it was so easy to overthink. So easy to spiral into panic. 

      A hand was waved in front of his face, and he jumped slightly at the quick motion. They were stopped in front of a door. When had he stopped?

     “Are you alright?” White asked, a slight tilt to her head. She gestured to the door that was more decorated than others he’d seen. Well… this was it. He nodded.

      “Fine. Just, a bit…”

     “Nervous? Yeah, I understand. Captain can be intimidating sometimes, but really he’s not all that bad,” She said. Disco met her eyes, and he realized her expression looked so… soft. This was different from the White that they met during the escape room; he could just tell. Same person, yes, but she… He nodded once more, a small smile coming to his face. White continued. “I… I can’t promise you that he’ll be nice, and I can’t promise you that you’ll win. But… we won’t kill you if you lose.” Her voice got much softer. “We don’t agree with the other kingdoms when it comes to violence.”

      After she said that, she gave Disco a small salute and walked away. He returned it even though her back was turned and knocked on the door. There were miniscule sounds of shuffling before a ‘come in’ was heard. Disco took a deep breath before grabbing the handle and pushing the door open. Immediately he was hit with a very strong scent of lemongrass, or lemonade, or lemon-something else. It was extremely citrus-y.

     The room was beautiful to say the least. A desk was in the very back center of the room with bookshelves behind it and papers and other books all over it. Decorative clutter lined any free shelf space and there were rugs and curtains that had patterns Disco swore he’d never seen before. The lights were dim but warm, and they left little shadows other than under furniture. Nobody could be seen at first, but as Disco stepped farther in and closed the door behind him, he caught the movement of something to the left. 

      Captain. Commander. King . For all of those descriptions, Disco definitely had not imagined the person who was standing over a chess table, setting up the board, to look anything like he did. In his mind, Disco had hyped him up to be an intimidating and imposing figure, and while that was true, the proper yet relaxed posture, less than fancy clothing, and warm colors made him seem… mellow. A coat flowing loosely off of his sides and the beret on his head- … It had a phoenix feather. Something clicked in Disco’s mind. He thought back to seeing the other three. They all had feathers on them, but the others didn’t keep them in obvious places. Must be some sort of symbol.

      “You can come sit. No need to stand there,” The king said, turning his head back suddenly to look at Disco, making him jump as he froze for a second. He nodded, though, and stiffly walked over to the table. He attempted to calm himself, consciously steadying his breathing, but his weariness of the person now standing right next to him was keeping him tense and making his adrenaline rise. His eyes followed as the king set up all the pieces before taking a seat himself.

      “So..” Disco said, slightly cringing when his voice cracked, “King.. King Correspondence, yeah?”

      The small laugh that came from the man in front of him made him want to shrink in his seat. Had he already said something wrong? Instead of expected yelling or harsh words though, there was a hand held out to him.

      “Call me Army. You’re a guest, not a subject, so there’s no need to address me as King,” Disco looked up as Army spoke with his mouth partially open, meeting his eyes as he took his hand. There was a quick handshake before Disco tugged his hand away to set it on his lap, his expression strained into his best poker face. Maybe he had thought the weird kindness would come to an end when they faced the King, but no. It was still there. No threats, no malicious comments or looks, no nothing. Somehow that was more threatening than anything Army could’ve said.

      “Okay.. Army. I’m ready to hear the rules,” More like ready to get this over with, Disco thought as he shuffled in his seat and raised one leg to cross it over the other. He looked down at the table, taking notice of the fact that Army gave him the white pieces. Keeping the theme of subtly saying he’s the weaker one, huh? Well, not exactly like that wasn’t true. 

      Disco’s shoulders fell slightly as he stared down at the board while his mind was slowly nagging at him. Words flashed through his head. Dumb. Weak. Dispensable. He knew he’d fail; hell, Army knew he’d fail. This whole quest was a waste. Why did Headphones ever pick him? Ace would’ve been fine on her own-

      Fingers were snapping in front of his face, and he jumped as he looked up to see Army with… concern? On his face.

      “You.. Do you need me to repeat the rules?” When the question was asked, shame spread through Disco’s chest. He really said he was ready and then completely zoned out? “It’s not a problem if so,”

      “Y-yeah.. Sorry, sorry,” Disco muttered. The hand that was snapping was pulled back to Army’s side as he instead folded his hands on his lap.

      “Alright. So, regular chess rules for the pieces apply. This is not timed, so don’t feel like you have to rush making your moves. Fair warning to you, though,” Disco met Army’s eyes as his voice turned serious. Disco noted his eyes almost looked like fire. Army continued once he was sure he had Disco’s attention. “If I get your king, you will lose your progress from your other three games, and therefore fail the entire challenge.” Disco’s breath hitched at that. What the hell?!? The- He- “Good luck,”

      Disco dug his nails into his leg subconsciously as he pushed his first pawn forwards, trying to focus his thoughts on making moves and deciding what opening he was going to go for rather than the panic that the warning Army gave caused. It wasn’t working very well, and Disco was sure his poker face was completely broken.

      The first few moves of the game went by too fast for Disco to process clearly; he was simply trying his hardest to keep focus. It was bad enough that he had somehow gotten himself in a King’s gambit opening, one that he had no clue how to play in. Of course. Of course he’d do this. Fuck it up like he always did. Why does Ace stay with him? Why had Hive picked him? He wished he got an answer to that question before Alylly showed up. 

       Army moved his bishop, and looked across the table at the inkling who took a good ten seconds to realize a move had been made. The orange octoling tapped his fingers on the table as he observed the inkling across from him, and he couldn’t deny that he was starting to feel guilty. Disco was very obviously freaking out. Army’s hand raised off of the table slightly as he noticed a small amount of blood near Disco’s fingertips, but he forced himself to put it back down.

      What would he do if Disco did fail? He wouldn’t kill any of them. If this were any of the other three kings, the two would’ve swiftly been either killed or brainwashed. Army might not be the sweetest person in the land, but he wasn’t heartless. The worst he’d do would be sending them away chained back to Munarshire to show the queen her ‘heroes’ had failed. That’s if Disco failed though, and Army was hoping he wouldn’t. He’d seen Ace and Fierce’s teamwork, the companionship of Disco and Hive(Army hadn’t been surprised when Disco cheated, but he had been pleasantly when Disco chose to comfort Blue), and the synergy and loyalty between Disco and Ace. They had potential. Army wasn’t going to lie to himself and say he didn’t want to see the other… three kings fall as much as Queen Conserve did.

      Disco felt the sting of pain in his fingertips as the consistent scratching at them with his nails drew blood. He didn’t bother using his focus to stop it, though. He needed to win this. Needed to. For Hive and Fierce’s sake. For his kingdom’s sake. For Ace’s sake.

      Move.

      After move.

      After move.

      Army had him cornered. In three moves it would be forced mate, and there was nothing Disco could see that he could do about it. He was going to fail. There was no way out of it.

      You worthless piece of shit.

      You should’ve told Headphones how weak you were. At least then you wouldn’t die with the shame of being a disappointment.

      Why did you think you could do this?

      Disco’s lip trembled as he fought tears, forcing himself to study every inch of the board. There was no rush, no time limit. He could sit here all day and night to find the one move that could save him. There wasn’t one though. He was going to lose. If he lost- If he lost- he couldn’t lose.

      If he lost..

      You’re just some wannabe

      If he lost-

      ‘You could never be a boy … they’re strong! And you definitely aren’t’

      The back of his mind wondered when the scent of the room changed to lavender. 

      Good for nothing !

      If he-

      ‘You’re no daughter or son of mine!’

      His breathing was gradually slowing back down from the new aroma, and his eyes darted back to the board, staring at the black pieces surrounding his king and the little defenses it had.

      If-

      His king. The pieces surrounding his king . Didn’t- Disco’s train of thought had completely come to a halt. A tear fell down his cheek, but no more fell as the slightly shaking and fidgeting inkling stilled, eyes wide. The rules. Army had said… Army said- 

      Disco took a deep breath as he straightened himself as best he could in his chair. Since he was looking down, there was no way to notice the slightest grin on Army’s face. Disco set his hands face up on the table, looking up and locking crimson and orange eyes.

      “I forfeit.”

Chapter Text

     Tip Tap. BOOM! Tip tap tip tap. Ace sighed as she tapped her fingers on the plush padding of the alcove she was seated on, leaning against the window and staring out the glass though not being able to see much between the harsh flow of the raindrops. She internally groaned at the thought of traveling out in that storm. She wasn’t sure exactly when they were leaving, but if Disco won his game, she assumed very soon. Her ears swiveled slightly as she listened for Forge’s footsteps, awaiting the inkling’s return with presumably notes over the other kingdoms. 

     It didn’t take that much more waiting until the sound of combat boots mixed in with the rain and thunder. Ace took the weight of her body off her left arm and turned her body in alignment with her legs, now facing to see Forge walking into the room. The inkling was staring down at an open book in her right hand, four or so others stacked and balanced on her left. She looked up and closed the book when she saw Ace, speeding up slightly to sit next to the octoling on the window seat. Forge set the books in Ace’s lap, tapping the cover of the top one. ‘Aloha’ was written neatly on it in cursive letters.

     “Aloha, the ‘Party King’, is who you should go for next. He’s the closest, and we have what you need to have a chance at beating him.” She said, pulling her hand away to fold them in her lap. Ace looked up at her and tilted her head.

     “That name sure doesn’t sound threatening.” She commented before looking back to the book and pulling it out from the rest, setting them to the side. She flipped through the first couple of pages, noticing the sheer extensivity of information written. It would take at least a full day if she was going to read all of it. 

     “In the sense that he’ll kill you? He’s not very threatening, doesn’t try to be. It’s not like he needs to be. Here, let me-” Forge reached over to flip a few pages, settling on a page that had a sketched… alicorn? In the top right corner. “He has all he needs with his familiar.” She pointed to the sketch.

     Ace looked at her again, eyebrows raised, thumb brushing over the picture, “He has a familiar? Also, this is a lot of information. Way more than I expected.” She said, saving the page with her left thumb and flipping through the others to demonstrate each completely filled out page.

     “He does, and of course. We’re known for our strategy and knowledge, after all. Army wrote those four, however.” Forge nodded, a small and proud smile settling on her face. She pressed on the seat with her hands. “Here, to save you a headache, I’ll brief you on the important things. You can look through the rest when you’re on your own.” She stood and held her left arm out in the direction of the hall. “Walk and talk?”

     Ace nodded, relieved at the prospect of having at least a summary to start with rather than being dropped basically an entire tome with no instruction. She joined Forge after collecting the books in her arms, trying to shift them to where she could comfortably hold them without risk of dropping. The pressure against her side from the books made her frown. When leaving to go find Forge, she hadn’t thought to get Fierce from the other room. It felt odd, now, to not feel him climbing her, the touch of the books making it obvious.

     “Yeah, sounds good.” The two started walking towards the hall. Forge was about to speak, but Ace cut her off. “Hey, uhm, do you think we could go by the rooms again? I want to grab Fierce.” 

     Forge nodded, unbothered from being interrupted, “We can, yes. That direction is towards mine and Army’s offices are anyways, and I was going to let you wait in mine.” When they turned into the hallway, the sound of rain slowly died away until it was almost inaudible. “For your question about the familiar, all four kings have one-”

     “Why haven’t I seen Army’s? I know this place is big, but..” Ace jumped in. Forge chuckled, rubbing her thumb and finger together and whistling.

     “She prefers to… observe, but she’s always closer than you think.” In a moment, an orange light filled the room from behind them, and Ace quickly looked over her shoulder to see a fiery bird fly in, circling them for a moment before landing on Forge’s wrist. Awe shone in Ace’s eyes as she stared at the Phoenix which bowed her head in the octoling’s direction. “This is Alylly.” 

     “ Hello there, Ace.” A whispery voice met Ace’s ears, clearly coming from Alylly even though no mouth visibly moved. Ace just stared, feet frozen to the ground and mouth slightly opened. Her hand came up to wave.

     “Hi.”

     Laughter filled the room as Alylly flew back into the air, disappearing back down the hallway in a matter of seconds. Ace could clearly see Forge again, who was smirking and shaking her head. Forge put her hand on Ace’s back and pushed her forwards to break her out of her trance, causing her to stumble a bit before stabilizing herself.

     “I have never fully understood that bird…” Forge chuckled. “As I was saying, all four have familiars. Aloha’s is an Alicorn which he uses the magic of to hold a spell over the entire kingdom…” Forge quieted as she frowned, eyes narrowing and looking off to the side with a sigh. “He… believes the best way to rule is to brainwash everyone who comes into the kingdom into a forever celebration. I’ve only been there once with Army, and it was abhorrent. Smiles too wide, people collapsed from being forced to dance nonstop, and nobody is responsive except when laughing to each other about seemingly nothing. It’s unsettling at best, and horrifying at worst.”

     Ace looked at her with wide eyes as Forge explained, twiddling her thumbs together. “So… how do you expect us to beat that?”

     Forge looked back at her and held her arm up, rolling her sleeves to reveal a small wire bracelet with a single charm on it. 

     “This is a charmed bracelet, one of White’s specialties. This kind in particular protects from the mind control curse. As long as you keep it on, the spell can’t affect you. We have extras for you.” Forge explained, rolling back up her sleeve. She then stopped walking and gestured to the door that was now to their left. Ace took a minute to recognize it as the one their familiars were being kept in.

     She opened the door, and flinched backwards as Fierce lunged for her, curling around her body and crawling up to her torso before whipping his head to face Hive with a sharp hiss, fangs bared. Hive responded by getting in a pounce stance and growling himself. Wait- Hive??

     “For one, cut it out, you two!” Ace scolded loud enough to hear over the growling and hissing. The two familiars slowly calmed, Fierce moving his head to rest on Ace’s back, facing purposefully away from Hive. Ace sighed and addressed Hivemind. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with Disco??” She asked, glancing between the panther and Forge. Hive only huffed with a glare deadset on where Fierce coiled around Ace. Forge sighed.

     “He… was not allowed in for the challenge.”

     “WHAT?” The shout was laced with anger, Ace glaring immediately at Forge, Fierce and Hive completely forgotten. Forge raised her hands as Ace approached forwards, the alarms in her head going off. She stopped barely short of Forge’s hands. “You left Disco alone!? Without even letting me know?? And don’t give me shit and say that Army’s there. He doesn’t fucking count! You say you want us to be comfortable in this place and then you force my partner to do an extremely stress inducing task by himself when you’ve seen first hand how freaked out he gets simply being away from me??”

     Forge opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t get any chance because Ace grabbed her shirt collar harshly. Hive had backed up, staying in the safety of the room to dodge the wrath of the fuming octoling.

     “Don’t even start! You’d better let Hive go there fucking now before I go find it and bust the fucking door down because my best fucking friend is probably on the brink of a panic attack because you decided it would be a great idea to- fucking-! UGH!” The yelling continued, words laced with venom.

     “Ace, please-” Forge tried.

     Shing!

     A Kunai knife was pulled from a sheath hidden just barely underneath Ace’s shirt, the weapon she only just considered to put on her person just in case. Ace put the knife up to Forge’s chest. Friendly or not, they were still technically enemies. If Forge wanted to play with her patience, Ace would make sure to remind her of that fact.

     “Tell me where he is!” 

     A whistle filled the air and moments later the familiar bright fire flew in from behind Forge, wings spreading to full length once in front of the orange inkling to force Ace to back away lest she get burned. Forge took a deep breath as Allyly folded her wings, perching on Forge’s shoulder. Closing her eyes for a minute as she recomposed herself, Forge put her hands up once more.

     “Ace, calm down. I know you’re angry–and you’re absolutely right– but can you please let me speak before pulling a knife on me?” Forge said, throwing an accusatory look at Ace. Ace, shocked back to rationality, put the knife away as she looked down in partial shame. Her glare stayed, the anger not fully snuffed out. “Look. I’m not your enemy. I know you think that, but I don’t want to be, okay?”

     Ace didn’t give much response other than shrugging. Forge sighed against and gestured Ace to follow.

     “I’ll explain on the way to my room. Hive? You come with us too. I have something there that can help calm your friend if what you say is true.” The panther peeked his head out of the door at the sound of his name, though shortly growled at Forge before following. As they walked, Alylly left Forge’s shoulder to simply hover near her. “I didn’t want Disco alone for the challenge, either. Even before seeing you two in the room, I had watched your prior games, and trust me, I saw. Army, however, wanted him to do it alone for the reason that he would most likely have to face being alone many times between the other kingdoms. I argued with him. Do you remember yesterday right before our game when Blue took you to that room?” Forge looked at Ace, waiting patiently for an answer.

     Ace didn’t give it immediately, choosing still to be stubborn and indicate that the flooring and patterned rugs were more interesting than the conversation. There was a nudge at her leg though, and she acknowledged Hivemind staring at her intently. She sighed as she thought back to yesterday.

     “Yeah, yeah, obviously. There were books, and we played a game while we waited for…” Ace’s voice trailed off as the realization slowly hit her. Forge smiled knowingly. “The yelling from the room. That was you and Army.. You’re telling the truth?”

     Forge nodded, holding a hand up for them to stop as she opened a door they just narrowly didn’t pass. Once all five of them had shuffled inside(Alylly somehow appeared on a chair backing without going through the door), Forge walked to shelves on one side of the room that were filled with an assortment of live and dried plants. She sifted through them before grabbing a few dried flowers and leaves, moving over to the desk in the back right corner and what looked to be an incense burner on it. She put a few of the leaves in around the edges of the burner, meticulously placing each one and humming as she did so.

     “So… what are you doing?” Ace asked, standing awkwardly in the center of the room. Forge looked back at her with a grin.

     “The four of us, me, White, Blue, and Army, each have our own hobbies. Mine is plants. Growing them, yes, but also utilizing them. I’m a decent apothecary if I may say.” Forge said, a tinge of pride in her voice. “You can sit, you know.”

     Ace nodded at the statement, though with a quick scan of the room noticed that the only two chairs were the one behind the desk and the one Alylly was currently perched on. She pressed her lips into a line before opting just to take a seat on the floor, Hivemind following suit and laying his head between his paws. His tail moved barely to curl around Ace, but was stopped quickly by a hiss from Fierce whose body tensed around Ace, who then got his nose bopped and told to cut it out.

     When Forge joined them, laughing slightly at their choice of seat, the room smelled strongly of lavender. Ace inhaled the scent, and almost immediately she felt calm. Fierce and Hive must’ve felt it too, because Fierce untensed and Hive breathed in deeply before closing his eyes.

     “I knew Lavender was a calming scent, but this feels… exaggerated?” Ace commented.

     “Enhanced. A little bit of magic can go a long way if you do it right. Now, as to what we were discussing. I don’t agree with Army’s choice. He is correct in saying that Disco will have to be alone eventually, but throwing him into it unnecessarily wasn’t… well, necessary. I hope Army realizes that during this challenge.” Forge said, an apologetic edge to her voice as she looked at Ace, who slowly nodded.

     “Yeah, yeah. I get it. You’d better give him a telling off if he realizes you were right.” Ace half-joked. Forge smiled and chuckled.

     “Trust me, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to tell Army I was right. I promise you, I’ll  do as much as I can to help the two of you. They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and you four and us have the same adversaries. Now, while we wait, would you like to learn something about…” Forge reached over to the bottom shelf of the bookshelf, taking out the first book and reading the cover. “Herbal remedies?”

     Ace smiled, a genuine laugh spilling out, “Yeah, sounds great.”