Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nox glared at the poor excuse of a spell book in front of him.

There was… so little written here.  No spell descriptions, no instructions, just jumbled nonsense on a page. 

He huffed as he reread the incantation required for the next scene.  This was ridiculous, he wasn’t even sure he had the right spell!  There was nothing identifiable on the page to help him! Despite the massive role magic played in this book, the system of magic was not well explained.

Which normally would not be a problem, except for the fact that Nox had to figure out how to do these rather dangerous spells perfectly.  

Because he had to perform this magic on Chase.  He could not mess this up.

Nox pinched the bridge of his nose. He should’ve expected this. Every book Chase picked came with some fresh absurdity. But mind control? Really? This one had him enchanting Chase into attacking the king, getting him thrown in jail, nearly executed.

Sure, the heroine breaks out of the mind control and proves her innocence, but regardless!  Mind control!

He shoved the book aside with more force than necessary. Fine. No use staring at nonsense. Time to get the scene moving.

Without bothering to hide the incriminating pages, he stalked out of his character’s bedroom. His villain wouldn’t get caught until the final act anyway.

And, of course, chaos greeted him the moment he entered the next room.

Chase and Prunella were nose-to-nose in heated debate while Deacon sat cross-legged on the marble floor, his eyes glazed with long suffering boredom.

“You’re insane if you think breathing fire is better than flying!” Chase declared, oblivious to Nox’s arrival.

“Lady Lovalorn doesn’t need to fly,” Prunella shot back, “She needs fire to defeat Sir Bad Cat. Fire is his greatest weakness!”

“But if she could fly, she wouldn’t need to defeat him! She could swoop down and catch him before he even starts trouble!”

“That would be boring!”

“Excuse you-”

“Buddy!” Deacon blurted the moment he noticed Nox, relief flooding his face, “Finally.”

“Buddy!” Chase echoed, bounding over and linking arms with Nox, “Tell Prunella flying is better than fire!”

“I’m not getting dragged into… whatever this is,” Nox muttered, wriggling free.

“Must be nice having a choice,” Deacon grumbled.

“Sorry I took so long,” Nox said, brushing himself off, “The magic here is a complete mess.”

“Why do you guys always get to do the magic?” Prunella folded her arms. “I want a turn.”

“Take that up with them,” Nox gestured at Chase and Deacon, “They pick the books.”

“Yeah, no,” Chase shook his head frantically, “You’d just take over the world.”

Prunella’s pout deepened, “I’m the hero. I get to do what I want.”

“As delightful as that sounds,” Nox sighed, already reviewing the spell in his head, “it's time for me to mind control Chase into attacking the King."

"Cool," Prunella breathed.

"You're actually going to cast the spell?" Deacon frowned.

"Why do you sound surprised? Aren't you the one who read the book? Of course I cast the spell."

"I figured you guys could just… fake it?" Deacon shrugged, looking lost.

"Over half the book is about the heroine breaking through the spell, genius," Nox snapped, "There is no way for the story to progress if we don't do this correctly."

"For the record, I'm fine with this," Chase interjected, tapping his temple smugly, "My mind is a steel trap. Nothing goes in or out without my permission. Buddy's magic spells have no chance against my superior intellect."

Deacon and Nox stared at him.

"A steel trap?" Deacon repeated, confused.

"…Whatever. What he said," Nox sighed, "It's not a big deal anyways, it should just make Chase act aggressively until he breaks out of it."

“Fine,” Deacon muttered. “But I don’t like it.”

“Duly noted.”

Nox turned to Chase. At Chase’s enthusiastic nod, he began the rhythmic chant.

Silence fell when he finished. Chase blinked, scratched the back of his neck, then gave a nervous laugh.

“I don’t feel any different.”

"It will kick in in a few minutes," Nox said, "Go find the king."

"Alright, see you guys later!" Chase began to walk down the hall.

"Other way," Nox sighed.

"Righto!" Chase spun on his heel, giving Nox a silly grin as he disappeared around the corner.

"This is not going to go well," Deacon sighed.

"Not with that attitude," Prunella grinned.

By the time Nox's next scene came up, he could tell something was wrong.

Deacon showed up, out of breath and disheveled, "I can't find Chase or Prunella. They didn't show up for their scenes."

Nox scowled, "You lost him? You're supposed to be babysitting him while he fights the spell!"

"I tried!" Deacon protested, "He never showed up in the first place! I don't even think he made it to the king!"

Nox sighed, "Leave it to him to-"

Out of absolutely nowhere, a bright blur slammed into Nox, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“BUDDY!”

Nox let out a strangled yelp as he was nearly lifted off the ground in a bone-crushing hug. A mop of golden curls buried itself in his shoulder. “Ohhh, Buddy! It's you! I’m so happy to see you! You’re here, you’re real, you’re wonderful!”

"Wha- get off!" Nox struggled against the tight embrace, "What are you doing? Let me go, you little idiot!"

"I am your little idiot!" Chase agreed gleefully. His eyes found Deacon and he gasped, "Deacon!"

Suddenly Nox could breathe again as Chase's hug swapped to Deacon at full force.

"You guys are getting along!" he gushed, "I'm so proud of you! Oh, I could just cry! I love you guys so much!"

"Chase, what are you doing?" Deacon wheezed, his eyes bugging a bit as he was squeezed, "Air, Chase, I need air!"

"Is he drunk? Did you get drunk?" Nox demanded.

Chase giggled as he released Deacon, "You're so silly, Buddy! I can't drink yet, I'm only eighteen!"

"Chase," Deacon hissed, eyes widening, "Don't say-"

“It’s fine, Dorkin!” Chase laughed, cupping Nox’s face with both hands and squishing his cheeks. “It’s just Buddy! He doesn’t even work for Ex Libris, I know it! Right? Right?”

Nox shoved his hands away with a scowl, "What are you talking about? What is wrong with you?"

Chase giggled again, his eyes shining with excitement, "Nothing is wrong, silly! I feel amazing!"

"Why didn't you show up to your scenes?" Deacon asked, "And-"

Deacon was cut off by Chase's dramatic gasp, "Oh my stars! My scene! I forgot! Oh, thank you for reminding me! I'll see you guys later!"

Chase blew them a kiss before skipping away, singing at the top of his lungs.

Deacon and Nox sat in stunned silence as the echoes of his voice faded away.

"I thought the spell made him angry," Deacon said slowly.

"It was supposed to," Nox replied, "Maybe it just enhances regular emotions?"

"I don't know, that was… weird. He hasn't been that clingy since we were toddlers."

"Perhaps I cast the wrong spell?" Nox muttered, frowning at the floor, "Some sort of insanity charm instead of rage? The book was horrendously written—nothing was labeled properly."

"You're telling me this now?" Deacon demanded.

"I thought I had the right one! The incantation had fragments of Latin in it, and I’m certain it said something about rage."

Deacon blinked, "You speak Latin?"

"Of course I speak Latin," Nox preened smugly, "You'd be surprised how often it-"

"There you are!" a voice interrupted behind them.

Nox spun around. Chase was storming toward them, fury carved into every line of his face. But- wait, he’d gone the other way, "How-"

"Shut up!" Chase snapped, "I don't want to hear a word from you!"

Nox fell back a step.

Chase had never looked at him like that. Not even during their worst fights.

Deacon’s brows knit together. "What’s wrong, Chase? Did something happen with the king?"

"Did something happen with the king?" Chase mimicked mockingly, "You sound stupid Dorkin, obviously I haven't seen the king yet."

"H-hey, it was an honest question!" Deacon protested, hurt flickering in his tone. "You literally just left to go find him."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Chase growled. "I’ve been wandering all over this stupid castle looking for him!" His finger stabbed toward Nox like a knife.

"Me? What did I do?!" Nox demanded, reeling. "It’s only been a few minutes-"

"You messed up the spell," he hissed angrily, "I can feel it. Something is wrong with me!"

"Chase, you're supposed to feel angry," Deacon tried to placate him, "I get that this might be whiplash from how happy you just were, but-"

"No! Something is wrong!" Chase yanked the key from under his shirt and shoved it in Deacon's face, "Does this look right to you?"

Nox’s stomach lurched. His pulse stuttered as he stared at the gleaming metal in horror.

Silver’s key wasn’t silver anymore.

It was red. A deep, rich red that looked so incredibly wrong.

"Yeah, you get it now? Ready to be serious for once in your life?" Chase brandished the key over to Nox's pale face, "You messed up that spell. You did something to me and you're going to tell me right now!"

"I- I don't know! I've never heard of in-book magic affecting keys," Nox breathed.

"Not good enough! What are you even good for if you can't fix your own mistakes?" Chase spat, crowding into Nox's space, "We don't need some stupid, useless mall goth dragging us down!"

Nox flushed, his temper flaring, "What's got you so certain that I'm the one who messed this up? I'm not the idiot that messes up every single book he comes into because he can't to read!"

Chase's flushed nearly as red as his key, his eyes flashing in fury. Suddenly, he lunged, slamming Nox to the ground with shocking force.

"Chase!" Deacon yelped, rushing forward. He hooked his arms under Chase’s shoulders and yanked, dragging him off Nox. "What are you doing?"

Chase thrashed with wild eyes. But with both of them pushing back, they managed to pin him, breathless and seething against the marble floor.

"You need to calm down!" Deacon barked, his own voice unsteady. He shot Nox a sharp look. "And you too, Buddy! There is obviously something wrong, and we don’t need you throwing fuel on this!"

Nox glared at him, but gave a small nod.

"You're defending him? Since when?" Chase glared at both of them, "This is his fault that I feel like this-"

"We don’t know that," Deacon snapped. "And even if it was, it’s not like he meant to. Just stop! Breathe!"

Chase went rigid, then slumped back with a furious huff. "Fine. Let me up."

Cautiously, they released him. Chase climbed to his feet, dusting himself off with stiff, jerky motions, eyes still blazing.

"Let's just rewind, okay?" Deacon held his hands out placatingly, "Let's start from when we last saw you. You just left to see the king after giving us those hugs. Did something happen to make you so upset after you left?"

"Hugs? What are you on about? I haven't seen you since Buddy messed up his spell!"

What? But you were just-"

A door opened and closed behind them, startling all of them as they whirled to face the sound.

Striding briskly towards them was-

Chase?

Nox's gaze snapped between the Chase standing next to them and the one that was approaching.

Nox’s eyes darted between the Chase at his side and the Chase approaching. Same face. Same curls.

"Oh, I get it now," the Chase next to them muttered, "That makes sense."

Deacon’s jaw dropped. “There’s… there’s two of you!”

The newcomer didn’t waste time. His tone was clipped, commanding, “Something went wrong with Buddy’s spell. We need his spell book to reverse it and get this plot back on track.”

The Chase at Nox’s side let out a humorless laugh. “Listen to yourself. Barking orders like some general. You think what we need right now is a bossy tyrant?”

Chase's gaze snapped to his doppelganger, steady and searing, “Better than wallowing and lashing out.”

"Am I hallucinating? Am I having a stroke?" Deacon clutched his head, "Buddy, did you spell me instead of Chase?"

"N-No, I'm seeing this too," Nox stuttered, "I don't know what's going on."

"Let me clear things up," the second Chase smiled, a calculating, almost cold smile that looked bizarre on Chase's face, "The spell split Chase into his emotions. I'm not sure how many of us there are, but I already met Despair. He wasn't too keen on joining me, though."

"There's one with our despair and you left him?" The first Chase snapped.

"He was slowing me down," the second replied calmly, "I knew he'd be okay, the best way to help him is to help all of us, and that's by reversing this spell."

“Don’t dress it up like some noble choice! You abandoned the one who’s hurting most and you dare consider yourself useful?”

Deacon shoved himself between them, hands out. “Wait, hang on! What do you mean Chase split into his emotions? Who are you?"

"As far as I can tell, I'm Chase's ambition, stress, and focus. I've been calling myself his Drive, if that helps. And I'm sure you can guess, the one with you would be his rage."

"Don't speak for me," Rage spat, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"You're wasting time," Drive huffed impatiently, ignoring Rage's responding growl, "Now that everything's cleared up, can we get Buddy's spell book? We aren't getting narratonin if we aren't following the plot."

"How are you thinking about narratonin right now? We have bigger problems!" Nox demanded, pointing at the deep purple key hanging from Drive's neck, "Both you and Silver are split! There is no way you guys can leave this book like this, not with the risk of Silver fracturing if you all don't go at the exact same time! And even if you did that, there's no guarantee that it would work-"

“I’m not leaving the book,” Drive interrupted flatly. “I never leave books early. That’s why the spell has to be reversed.”

“I can’t listen to this,” Rage exploded, advancing until he grabbed Drive by the collar and shook him. “You don’t get to call the shots after abandoning Despair, the one who is probably in the most pain out of all of us. You want to play commander while others suffer? You’re pathetic!”

“This isn’t productive,” Drive said evenly, though his jaw tightened. “Even if it was the wrong call, we can’t afford to dwell on it. Everything will be back to normal soon.”

Rage shoved him away, "Pathetic. Fine, play being a hero and go get the silly book, I'm going to do the things that actually help and go find Despair. Dorkin! You're with me, we'll meet back here after," he stormed off, the door slamming against the wall as he disappeared down the hall.

Deacon hesitated, "Right, I- right. I think I'll go with him. We'll meet up as soon as we get the book and… Despair. We'll deal with the happy one later."

Nox nodded, "I don't think the spell book will be of much help… but we'll give it a try. Good luck with, er, with Rage."

"Thanks," Deacon dragged a hand down his face tiredly, "I hope his protective instinct overrules all the insults. Chase can be really mean when he wants to."

"He doesn't want to," Drive frowned, "All of our self control is with me, so he can't help it. He has no way to calm down, and no way to control his words or his actions. Please try not to take it personally."

Deacon nodded with a tired sigh, "I'll keep that in mind."

"DEACON HURRY UP!" Chase's voice echoed from down the hall.

Deacon winced. He turned towards the door, sending Nox one last desperate look before disappearing.

Silence settled. Nox turned to Drive, studying him.

It was… so strange. He was physically identical to Chase. Same golden hair. Same face. But the way he carried himself, all stiff, sharp, and calculating, it was all wrong.

“Let’s go,” Drive said briskly. “Where’s your book?”

Nox reread the spell scribbled into the barren book.

A few Latin words peppered the nonsense incantation, words that Nox now recognized as indications of what the spell truly did.

Words like rage, joy, emotion, four, and split.

But it wasn't even close to coherent. It held no answers and no counter spell.

"I tried to warn you," Nox sighed, "The best I can get from this is that it split you into four fragments."

Drive pulled the book from Nox's hands, skimming the illegible words urgently. After a moment, he pushed it away and ran his hands through his hair, "Fine. You were right. I should have listened instead of wasting time."

"It was worth a try, I wouldn't call it a waste," Nox said uneasily.

"Course it was," Drive sighed, picking at his nails with a restless energy, "I'm always wasting time."

Nox raised an eyebrow. “We’re not exactly on a deadline here. Odds are we have to wait out the book and it kicks you back.”

"No, no. There has to be a better way. We can't waste hours in a book that won't give me narratonin!" Drive grunted, biting his thumbnail as he began to pace in the room.

"Since when do you care so much about narratonin? You're little wish can wait to leave the book until it's safe for both you and Silver," Nox glared.

"It's not a little wish!" Drive snapped, "I need this, and I need this soon. And even though I'm trying so hard, I'm running out of time!"

Nox frowned, considering him cautiously. A beat of silence passed between them as Chase continued to pace and chew his nails with a frantic sort of urgency.

"Y'know, I misjudged you when we first met," Nox forced his tone to stay casual, "I was certain that your wish was something selfish, like becoming a famous pop star."

Drive froze for the briefest heartbeat, then kept moving.

"I was wrong though, wasn't I? It didn't take much to realize it was more complicated than that."

"I'm going to be a pop star," Drive said, his voice icy and certain, "But it won't be through a wish. It will be because I worked hard for it and made it happen myself."

"So what could possibly be important enough to do all this? What's your wish you need so quickly?"

Drive laughed, dry and mirthless, "You're clever. You know I'm stripped of the emotions that would keep my mouth shut. Why do you care?"

Nox winced, staring at his hands.

Why did he care?

"This feels… important. If I don’t understand this, I’ll never understand Chase.”

Drive studied him sharply for a long moment before nodding, "Fine, I'll bite, but you first. A question for a question."

Nox hesitated, then nodded firmly.

"Are you working with Ex Libris?" Drive stared him down.

Nox winced, catching his breath before it could get too heavy. Slowly, he shook his head.

"Thought so," Drive looked pleased, "That's the real reason I'm okay with telling you this. Every part of Chase trusts you."

"You shouldn't," Nox sighed, "Rage doesn't."

"Of course he does, why do you think he pushed you away?" Drive's smile faltered, "It's risky for all of us to love someone. So he's afraid."

Nox tried to clear the sudden dryness from his throat, glancing away, "I believe it's your turn to answer my question."

Drive’s eyes hardened, determined, “Someone we love is dying. If we lose her, Chase will never be okay again.”

Nox’s chest clenched. He couldn’t look at Chase’s face, at Drive’s steady, burning gaze.

Drive pressed on, voice steady but brittle. “I don’t feel the grief Rage and Despair carry, but I understand the stakes. This has to work. Chase hasn’t been able to face reality since her diagnosis. He's desperate, I'm desperate to see this through. I don't know what exactly would happen if we failed, and I don't intend to find out."

Nox stared at the ground, shame blossoming in his chest, "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you while you're in this state, when you aren't able to fully consider-"

"It's fine," Drive waved him off, "A question for a question. It was a fair deal."

"But you already knew. The first Chase, the happy one said so. A-Ask me another question, it's only fair."

"We suspected," Drive considered him, "Alright. When the time finally comes, will you trust Chase enough to let him use Violet for the wish?"

Nox's breath caught and stuttered as he closed his eyes, "That's a heavy question."

"So was yours."

Nox sighed, squeezing his eyes shut, "It's complicated, it's- it's so complicated. But I think so. Yes."

Drive’s shoulders eased. For the first time, something like relief softened his expression. “…Thank you.”

Nox couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat.

Drive stood and extended a hand. “Come on. We need the others if we’re going to fix this.”

Nox hesitated only a moment before taking it.

Chapter Text

Deacon trudged behind Rage as he, well, as he raged on and on about how irresponsible and annoying Drive was, about how he hoped Drive and Buddy were driving each other crazy, about how absolutely, undeniably unfair all of this was.

Deacon just nodded along while thanking his lucky stars the fire wasn't directed at him.

Until it very suddenly was.

“So,” Rage drawled, slowing just enough to catch his eye, a cruel smile curving his mouth, “How’s college prep?”

Deacon cleared his throat awkwardly, "I've been a bit busy."

“Summer’s almost over,” he sing-songed, his tone more taunt than tease.

"Maybe I'll take a gap year," Deacon sighed.

"That's a hard sell to good ol' Aunt Beth and Uncle Dale," Rage's eyes darkened with something sharper than his usual anger as he said their names, "But that's good, Chase would appreciate that. You owe him anyways."

"Owe?" Deacon stared at him, shocked, "Listen, I want to save Aunt Myra too, but that doesn't mean I owe you-"

“You owe him.” Rage’s voice hardened, cutting like steel. “Don’t pretend you don’t.”

“What are you talking abou-”

“Maybe it’s easy for you to forget. Not me.” Rage’s eyes burned holes straight through Deacon's soul, “I haven’t forgotten how you betrayed him.”

Deacon froze, “I would never-”

"You left. You left when Chase needed you the most!"

The words struck like a slap. Deacon’s protest faltered.

"Yeah, you get it now," Rage’s voice dropped, bitter satisfaction under the fury, "Dad dies, and where’s Deacon? Oh, that's right. Packing boxes and driving off, starting a brand-new life. Do you realized how bad he shattered after that?"

"That's not fair," Deacon's voice trembled, "I wanted to stay. I wasn't an adult yet, I couldn't-"

"You didn't try hard enough."

"I tried," Deacon insisted, his eyes burning, "I argued with my parents every night. You know that, you were there for some of it!"

"Not enough," Rage snapped, "Who cares that you argued with them? You abandoned him. You left him with no one while you went off and made a lovely new life for yourself."

"That's not true!" Deacon's voice cracked as tears spilled down his cheeks, "How can you say that? I hated being so far away!"

Rage turned away, his face flushed and fuming. For a moment, there was nothing excepts Deacon's crying to fill the silence.

"I hate this," he finally admitted, "I can't stand the things that I'm saying."

"So why say them," Deacon demanded as he wiped his tears away.

“It’s all I can do,” Rage’s fists curled tight, “All the old wounds, all the things Chase never dealt with… it's all shoved on me. They’re loud. Too loud.”

"Chase never said any of this, though. He never even hinted that he resented me for… for leaving."

“Of course he didn’t.” Rage raked a hand through his hair. “He pushes me down. Always has. I’m not welcome, and I get it. I've been buried as far as he can manage, just stewing in all the thoughts he doesn't like. But I’m not buried anymore. And now I can’t stop. I’m ruining everything for him.”

"Chase, you aren't-"

"No, don't you get it!" Rage exploded, throwing his hands in the air, "I'm not Chase! I'm the worst parts of him shoved into the spotlight. I don't want this! I'm trying to hold back the only thing that I am and it's not working!"

Deacon pursed his lips, trying to think of a response. After a moment of ringing silence, he put an awkward hand on Rage's shoulder, "Thank you for trying. I'm sorry this is so hard for you."

Rage swatted his hand away, twisting his face into a scowl, "Don't give me stupid little platitudes, I'll puke."

"I'm serious," Deacon wrung his hands uncomfortably, "Chase shouldn't bottle you up so much, it's not healthy for anyone. I'll try to help him work on it when this is all over."

"What, like therapy," Rage snorted, "You know I can't afford it, and your parents won't pay for it either. That'd be a harder sell than you taking a gap year."

Deacon sighed, "Yeah, I know. I'll have to figure something out."

Rage pursed his lips, but shrugged his acceptance and pushed ahead. They walked in silence for a few moments.

"Do you really blame me for leaving?" Deacon couldn't help but ask, shame curdling in his gut.

Rage hesitated, jaw set and tense, but eventually shook his head, "No, I blame your parents. Sometimes I blame Dad for dying and leaving us, and then I blame myself for thinking like that. If you left for college now, though? Yeah, I’d blame you. Especially if this doesn’t work out.”

"I wouldn't," Deacon insisted, "I won't leave you alone."

"Good. You better not be lying," Rage huffed, "Now keep up, there's no way we aren't close. I bet Despair is hiding in the shadows being useless."

Deacon winced, "That's pretty harsh, didn't you say he has the most pain out of all of you?"

"This sucks for all of us, Dorkin. We can't just sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. Drive managed to get that one thing right."

“Just… go easy on him,” Deacon said softly. “If Chase buries his sadness like he does with you, it’s going to be rough.”

Rage barked out a bitter, humorless laugh but didn’t respond.

They searched corridor after corridor, Rage’s irritation rising with each dead end—until they found him.

Slumped against the wall in a dark corner, knees drawn to his chest, eyes somehow both puffy and hollowed out. His dull blue key was grasped tightly in his hand. Despair didn’t even lift his head at first. His voice was a ragged whisper, almost lost in the quiet.

“You weren’t supposed to find me.”

Deacon faltered. Rage did not.

“There you are,” Rage said flatly, no relief in his tone, only the edge of accusation, “Hiding.”

Despair flinched, but didn't raise his head, "I'm not hiding, I'm just… staying out of the way."

"I'm sure Drive told you that would work, but he's not the boss anymore," Rage huffed, "Now get up, we're meeting with the others to get this sorted out."

"No!" Despair whipped his head up, shaking it almost frantically, "No, I don't want to. I want to stay here."

"Why?" Deacon asked, "Don't you want to get this over with?"

"I can't," Despair breathed, horror twisting his expression, "It's bad enough you're here. I can't let him… I can't let anyone see me like this."

"You look fine. You just look a little tired-"

"Don't lie to him," Rage snapped, crouching in front of him. When Despair tried to turn away, Rage grabbed his chin and forced him to meet his eyes, "You look like reheated death. If you were any paler I'd be getting a shovel. You’ve been crying this whole time, haven’t you?”

"Rage, don't grab him," Deacon insisted.

Rage held Despair’s eyes a moment longer, then released him with a hiss of frustration. Despair’s gaze fell back to the floor.

"I'm fine," he said flatly.

"Liar," Rage's hand twitched as he glared, "If you’re gonna fall apart, at least do it where someone can drag you back together.”

“No, please,” Despair begged as he clutched weakly at Rage’s hands, “They’ll never look at Chase the same. I’ll ruin everything for him-”

"I know," Rage snapped, silencing Despair in an instant, "No one is happy about this, but we don't have choices right now. So get up. You're coming with us if I have to drag you."

"Rage, knock it off. We aren't going to drag him anywhere," Deacon scolded.

"Shut up, Dorkin. We didn't come all this way just to go back empty handed."

Despair stared at them, "You… you guys came out here just for me?"

Deacon nodded quickly, “Of course we did.”

Rage rolled his eyes skyward, muttering, “Don’t make it sound so sappy.”

"We need you," Deacon pressed, "You're just as important as the other parts of Chase. No one will judge you, I promise."

Something flickered in Despair’s expression. Pain, or maybe doubt, but also the faintest thread of relief.

"Fine," he slowly stood up, swaying for a fraction of a second before he took a deep, steadying breath, "If I have to. If… If you need me to."

Nox could barely keep up with Drive's fast pace.

One would think that he, being much taller, would have no problem matching his speed. One would be wrong. Drive was walking fast.

The sound of a carefree laugh stopped him mid-step. Nox caught up just as Drive muttered, “That’s probably the fragment with our joy. Good. At least this trip isn’t a total waste.”

Joy skipped around the corner of a nearby corridor. His face lit up brighter than the sun when he noticed Nox.

"Buddy! I missed you so much! And who's-" he blinked when he realized who was with him. His confusion barely lasted barely a second before he broke into a silly grin and winked at his doppelganger, "Woah, that's me! Looking good, handsome."

Drive sighed.

Nox's eyes flicked down to what Joy carried by his hip, "I see you found Prunella."

"Yeah!" Joy swung her around so he held her in front of him Lion King style, "We've been having so much fun together!"

“He won’t put me down,” Prunella said flatly. Her eyes slid to Drive. “Why are there two of him?”

"Oh, Buddy," Joy gasped, "Did you clone me? Just to hang out? That's so sweet! But all you had to do was ask! …Wait. Is that cheating? Does it count if it’s me?”

"Wha- cheating?" Nox sputtered, mind stuttering to a halt.

"I'm not a clone," Drive plucked Prunella neatly out of his hands and set her down, "We are fragments of Chase's emotions. I'm Chase's drive. There are two others, Rage and Despair. You seem to have the majority of his positive emotions, so we will call you Joy."

"Woah, that's so cool!" Joy zipped around him, examining him from every angle, "This is so awesome! I've never been able to see the back of Silver's outfits!"

"It is not awesome, and we need to fix it," Drive began to idly pick at his nails, "So if you're ready to stop prancing around, that would be great."

Joy laughed, spinning on his heel so dramatically that Prunella had to duck out of the way, “I do prance, don’t I? It’s a gift."

"It's distracting."

"Wow, that's so rude," Joy pouted before latching onto Nox's arm, "Buddy! Tell him he's being a grumpy grump! He needs to lighten up and have some fun! Like- ooh! Imagine the pranks we could pull with four of us!"

"Hang on-" Nox started.

"We are not here for pranks," Drive snapped, "This isn't a game, we aren't here to have fun. We need to figure this out so we can finish this book and move on!"

"Ugh, you're such a party-pooper," Joy stuck out his tongue, "Everyone says so. Hey, Buddy! Do you want to come outside with me? The trees in this book are humongous! Perfect for climbing! It'll be so much fun!"

Nox frowned, "You went outside? Your scene with the king is in the throne room?"

"Oh, oops! I forgot," Joy shrugged sheepishly.

Drive's eye twitched, "You forgot your own scene?"

"I got distracted," Joy grinned, ruffling Nox's hair and dancing away from the resulting shove, "Did you guys know this castle has a moat! I bet if we looked, we could find sharks! And alligators!"

"That's what I was trying to do when you grabbed me," Prunella grumbled.

Drive ran a hand through his hair and took several deep breaths that didn't seem to calm him down.

“It’s fine,” Nox soothed, patting his shoulder. “The book will cover for missed scenes.”

“Not if we keep- ugh. Never mind. At least walk while you chatter,” Drive grumbled, stalking ahead.

“I don’t get why we have to fix this anyways,” Joy said breezily, weaving between them. “I’m having a blast.” He swooped down, scooping Prunella like a football once again.

“I can walk on my own."

“That’s the thing, Joy,” Nox sighed, prying her out of his arms and setting her on her feet again, "You're the only one who's enjoying this. Rage kept saying something was wrong with him, and I can't imagine what Despair is going through right now. It wouldn't be fair to leave them like that."

Joy pursed his lips and folded his arms. He considered him carefully, “…Fine. But only because you said it in your serious Buddy voice.”

Nox and Drive released twin sighs of relief.

“But you’re lying, right?” Joy leaned in, his pout transforming into wide puppy eyes, “About nobody else enjoying this? You like hanging out with me, don’t you?”

Nox swallowed, "I- yes. Of course I do."

Joy dropped his pout, his grin returning full force. He slung an arm around Nox’s shoulders and leaned close, “Hey, Buds. Remember how I called the other me handsome?”

Nox frowned, “Uh… yes?”

“You’re handsomer,” Joy giggled and planted a kiss on his cheek, “The handsomest one here.”

Nox’s face went scarlet as he sputtered incoherently.

“Ugh, cooties,” Prunella declared, wrinkling her nose and putting a solid three feet between them.

For once, Drive’s look back wasn’t annoyed. His brow lifted, the faintest trace of approval flickering across his face.

“Get off, little idiot,” Nox muttered, shoving his arm as he tried in vain to hide his blush.

Joy skipped ahead with a delighted laugh. He lunged to scoop Prunella again, but this time she dodged deftly out of reach.

“Can you believe this, Buddy? Four of me! It’s like a buy-two-get-two-free-sale, except everyone else is all serious and broody and the other one’s, well, me! The exciting one!”

"I should have realized something was off with him," Prunella sighed, "Chase can talk a lot, but this guy hasn't stopped since he stole me from the moat."

“Correction,” Joy sing-songed, “I paused for a breath earlier. Very responsible of me, right?”

Nox huffed a small chuckle, “Oh, yes. Absolutely heroic.”

“See? He gets it!” Joy beamed. “You’ve been stuck with gloomy me this whole time, huh? That means you deserve a medal. Or a cake. What’s your favorite cake, Buddy?”

"Uh, chocolate?"

"Oh, duh!" Joy clapped his hands excitedly, "How could I forget, you love chocolate! You always steal my King bars! I'll make you a chocolate cake, the biggest, bestest chocolate cake you’ve ever seen, with extra sprinkles!"

"Thanks, I might take you up on that," Nox replied, feeling the tension drain away.

"And hey! I'll even let the other mes have some! Maybe that will cheer them up!" Joy tapped Drive's shoulder, "Hey, grumpy, do you want to go make cake?"

"No, knock it off," Drive snapped, pushing his hand away and returning it to bite his nails, "I'm trying to make a plan."

Joy retreated behind Nox and made a show of hiding, "I told you, he's grumpy! He needs cake."

"I vote we make cake," Prunella tugged on Nox's sleeve.

"We'll have to wait for another time," Nox sighed.

They finally arrived to their destination.

Joy rushed forward, bursting into the room before anyone else, "Yes! I win! You guys are rotten eggs!"

"Hey! You didn't say it was a race!" Prunella protested.

"It was a secret race," Joy laughed, "You have to think 10 steps ahead to win!"

"That's cheating!"

Drive glanced around, furrowing his brow, "It looks like we beat the others. We'll have to wait for them."

"They better hurry, I can't wait to meet the other Chases!" Joy grabbed Nox's hands and drug him deeper into the room, "Oh, this is so exciting, don’t you think? Meeting new friends, planning bold adventures. I could just explode!”

"If he explodes, I'm going home," Prunella eyed him suspiciously.

Drive snapped his head towards a corridor. Footsteps echoed faintly, barely audible. Drive mumbled something to himself as he began to pace restlessly.

"Are you biting your nails?" Rage snapped as he approached, "You know how hard Chase worked to kick that habit!"

Drive blinked in shock, as if he hadn't noticed what he had been doing for well over an hour. He hid his hands behind his back, "I didn't mean to-"

"We can't become a pop star if we can't maintain a manicure, you idiot," Rage stormed up to Drive, snatching his hand and glowering at the ruined nails, "You better pray that doesn't stay when this all gets fixed."

"I'll stop," Drive took his hands back, clenching them tightly behind him, "I see you found Despair. I apologize for leaving you behind."

"I-It's fine," Despair was half turned away and trying to blend in with the wall.

"Deacon! I missed you!" Joy bowled him over with a hug, causing Deacon to stumble back, "We were having so much fun, and you weren't even there! Now we can have the best time ever!"

"Great, now we have a yappy chihuahua to deal with," Rage sighed.

"There's so many handsome faces here," Joy danced over to Despair and hooked their arms together, "Nice to meet you, Chase. My name's Chase. Over there is Chase talking to Chase."

"Please let me go," Despair whimpered softly.

Joy obliged easily, moving towards Rage.

"Touch me and I set you on fire," Rage warned.

Joy pouted, folding his arms petulantly, "Jeez, you'd think different mes would want hugs. Looks like you aren't the only grumpy grump, eh Drive?"

"My brain hurts," Prunella groaned.

"This is… a lot of Chase," Deacon agreed uneasily, "It's hard to keep everyone straight."

"That's because we aren't straight," Joy cackled at his own joke.

Drive ignored him, tugging a purple key from under his shirt, “We can use these to identify ourselves.”

Rage and Despair mirrored the action, their red and blue keys glinting in the light.

Joy gasped, grabbing his own bright yellow key, "Cool! I didn't notice Silver changed too. Do you think she's split into emotions? That would be wild!"

"We are not going to test that theory," Drive snapped, "Which brings us to the current problem. There is no counter spell. That means we-"

"Oh, shocker," Rage interrupted, "You're genius plan didn't work. Not as smart as you thought, are you?"

"It was worth looking for," Drive glared at him, "As I was saying, this means we have two options: we can wait for the book end and kick us out, or we can try to break the spell."

"How?" Despair asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," Drive admitted. He glanced at Nox, "I'm hoping that the book will adapt to the spell. The original plot is about how the heroine breaks through the other spell, right? Maybe if we keep up with the plot, it'll break this one too."

Nox considered, "It's worth a shot. We'll have to go on the quest to find the magical relic anyway. Because of how poorly the magic is explained, it's going to be adaptable."

"Hey, Buddy," Joy tugged on his sleeve, "How do you always know so much about the books we get in? You know more than Dorkin most of the time, and he's actually read it!"

Nox frowned, "Lets not get into that right now. If we're going to go on the quest, we need to get going. We are running extremely late, and the book can only delay so much."

"Do we all have to go?" Despair didn't meet his eyes, "I'd rather stay here."

"Don't be so useless," Rage snapped, "Obviously we need everyone there when we get the relic. You'll live."

Despair shrunk in on himself, his eyes shining as he turned away.

"That wasn't nice," Joy frowned at Rage.

“I’m sorry, Despair,” Nox said gently, careful not to sound pitying. “We don’t know how the relic works yet. We’ll need you there.”

Despair nodded, still avoiding his eyes.

"Now that it's settled," Drive clapped his hands, "We should grab the necessary supplies and begin our journey as soon as possible."

"It's not that long, the most we'll need is snacks and water," Nox replied.

"Wait, you're coming with us?" Deacon asked, "I don't remember your character being apart of the quest."

"Oh, so you want to deal with them alone?" Nox raised a brow.

Deacon paled, "No, you're right. You should come. Please."

“That’s what I thought,” Nox smirked. “My role doesn’t matter until the end. It’ll be fine.”

"Oh my stars, I'm so excited!" Joy cried as he snatched Nox into a tight embrace, "This is going to be the best adventure ever!"