“Igor,” Dr. Alde called out. “Igor, I know it’s you. Come out.”

Sheepishly, Ignis stepped out from the dark storage unit, fixing the cap on his head and adjusting the gloves on his hands and smoothing out his pants and cape and straightening the glasses on the bridge of his nose and making sure his belt-

“Igor.” Dr. Alde called out again. Ignis quickly walked up to Dr. Alde, face covered in dread. “I have not seen you in a while. It doesn’t look like you’ve been eating well… you’ve gotten so thin…”

Ignis’ face turned red as Dr. Alde studied him. “En- Dr. Alde, I’m…”

Dr. Alde looked up at Ignis, causing the young man to turn away. The magician couldn’t stand to look into those eyes, the ones that once held such an intense and burning passion… one missing, the other now tired and bearing heavy eyebags. Ignis’ lip quivered as he suddenly bowed his head, hat falling to the floor.

“Dr. Alde, I'm so sorry,” Ignis blurted out. “I’m… so, so sorry… I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most, and I know you hate magic and it seems like I suddenly left you behind to go study magic, but I just-”

Dr. Alde had bent down to pick up Ignis’ cap, lightly dusting it off before setting it on Ignis’ head. Ignis lifted his head up, still bowed over to look square at Dr. Alde, as the former master adjusted the cap on his former student’s head until it was just right.

Tears began forming in Ignis’ eyes as he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Dr. Alde. I still don’t know how to cure you…”

“Dear child, when did I ask for that?” Dr. Alde cocked his head to the side. His voice was soft. Gentle. He always was, when speaking with Ignis. The doctor became solemn as he stepped closer to Ignis, running his gloved hand up and down Ignis’ back. “I never needed a cure, I just wanted you to stay by my side.”

Ignis stepped forward, allowing himself to bury his face in the crook of Dr. Alde’s neck. “I’m… sorry. But I still want to try…” he whispered, voice frail and threatening to break at any moment. “I want to help other people, too. Not just you and me…”

Nodding, Dr. Alde patted his back gently. “I understand. Be sure to take care of yourself, though. I didn’t raise you to shirk meals. And haven’t I told you again and again to call me Enzo?”

Chuckling to himself, Ignis straightened up, quickly wiping his tears dry. “Says you,” he retorted. “You only drink coffee for breakfast and lunch, and spend so long in the lab you forget to eat dinner.”

“I’ve gotten better!” Dr. Alde insisted lightheartedly, casting a glance at Frankie, who was now admiring Kintsugi’s muscles and scars. Delphina was talking to Ginger, who was admiring her long tail. And Armel and Savant were busy studying Syzygy’s mechanical umbrella. Dr. Alde smiled. “I have someone who insists on cooking for me each day. Ah… I can’t seem to refuse, either. It’s rather delicious, after all.”

Ignis flashed him a knowing smile. “How’d you come to take him in?”

Dr. Alde lowered his voice to a whisper. “He was one of Victor’s experiments. I guess his parents brought him in when he died. Victor managed to bring him back to life, but his parents were disgusted by his new appearance, so they didn’t want him. Victor didn’t want him either, so he kicked him out. I found him a few years ago—kind of like how I found you—and since then, Frankie has been staying with me.”

“I see…” Ignis cast a glance at Frankie again. Now, Kintsugi was admiring Frankie’s stitches. “I’m glad to see you’re being taken care of at least.”

“And you as well?” Dr. Alde motioned to Kintsugi. “Or is he just for… how should I say… appearances? I know how independent and headstrong you are.”

Ignis’ face turned red as he let out a soft groan. “Ginger—ah, that young girl over there—insisted on him coming with us.”

“Do you care for her a lot?” The corner of Dr. Alde’s eye crinkled. “Even after only seeing her for a second, she already reminds me of a certain young assistant I used to have, too. He was a real troublemaker sometimes, but so full of passion and curiosity. Not to mention that strong desire to help.”

“Ah… haha… I wonder who that troublemaker could be…”

“I’m sure he’s grown into a fine young man.” Dr. Alde smiled warmly. “I came over because I wanted to invite you to come back home… but it seems you’ve started creating a space of your own. A shame, too, seeing as I’ve left your bedroom untouched all these years.”

Ignis looked away, nodding. “Those two… they have curses of their own as well. I’d like to keep trying to find a way to help them.”

“I understand. But you won’t find a cure for that here. These lilies can only heal physical sicknesses, and curses are afflictions upon the soul. They can’t even heal scars, either, so I suggest you look elsewhere. Perhaps with the gods?”

“The gods…” Ignis echoed, before laughing. “What a monumental task. Although some of the gods are easy to find, like Dives, most of them are rather fickle about handing out blessings or help.”

“It could be worth a shot. After all, visiting Dives is merely a short trip to the Diamonds Kingdom.” Dr. Alde pointed out. “Although he’s a fickle one, it would seem like your new friend over there might’ve already been blessed by him.”

Ignis’ eyes swept over Kintsugi’s body again, eyeing his golden scars. “You think that’s the work of Dives?”

“It’s very likely.”

“I see…” Kintsugi noticed Ignis staring at him, flashing a toothy grin and a wave. Ignis waved back, before turning to Dr. Alde again. “You must have come here for the same reason we did. Perhaps we all did.”

“The Queen’s decree.”

“Indeed.”

Dr. Alde rubbed a gloved finger on his chin. “It certainly doesn’t bode well for the future… I’m sure the Queen will face major backlash for this, but she’s powerful. Perhaps she believes she can fight back against the people… or perhaps a fight is exactly what she’s looking for.”

“The Queen is a very scary and contentious lady. She hasn’t been seen in public, but her Royal Guard alone are enough to terrify-”

“On and on and on about that woman!” came a voice cutting through the darkness, echoing in the space. It was youthful, but dripped with vitriol. The darkness in the atrium grew even darker, the lights of the lilies dimming until they were completely swallowed in shadow, until only black remained. “She isn’t even the rightful ruler. Surely you all realized that, or are you perhaps too self absorbed to even notice the comings and goings of the royal family? Or maybe you’re all too hateful of royals to even care?”

Suddenly, everyone felt the ground beneath them disappear. A strong, slow heartbeat echoed through the dark. Any sound made was immediately drowned out by the strong and steady rhythm. No apologies after bumping into another person was heard. No questions asked to the mysterious voice, and no demands.

The darkness quickly relented, revealing they had all been transported to a large, open ballroom—somewhere still within the walls of the Stars Kingdom—with shadows dripping from the walls and the ceiling and chandelier. Everyone could see each other again, and—up a large, spiraling staircase, resting upon the railing of the balcony—the person who had brought them all there in the first place.