Derby wondered if she made the right decision as she watched Brie, the dark lord was shocked and almost tripped as she stepped backwards. Brie said earlier that a kiss would break that spell that made so many at the convention into thralls. So Derby somehow managed to trick everyone into a huddle and gave them quick pecks on the top of their heads. Brie got a cheek kiss due to the height difference.

Was Brie just kidding about kisses breaking the spell? Did Derby not do it right?

"Ack! Wha?! Derby of Hope?" Brie recoiled, not angrily, just out of shock.

"That's...what you said works, didn't you?" Derby asked.

"Huh?" Brie asked, blinking a bunch before she remembered. "Oh! That's right!"

All around them, the three colors of the hazy thrall spell dissipated, floating up like smoke as Derby's tactic actually worked. The purplish hue still remained, though.

"Heh, good one," The Masked Dark Lord said, tapping their head. "Doesn't work quite so well with the—wait, what?"

Just as they spoke, the purple hue faded as well. All of the former thralls murmured in confusion, some getting angry immediately.

"That's not...possible?"

CC sprinted away, and the Masked Dark Lord followed as the angrier former thralls pointed at the duo, some remembering who cast the spell on them.

"Colby had the right idea," Derby said. "Sometimes you have to flip the board."

"Ohohoho, quite brilliant!" Brie said, her voice sounding just slightly more disheveled than usual, her laugh a little more forced as she rubbed the cheek Derby kissed. "I...wouldn't have guessed you would..." She coughed.

Derby couldn't believe it, either, and it would probably keep her up all night thinking about it even if it was just a friendly kiss.

"But, er, we should probably get out of here," Brie said, noticing that the thralls she'd cast a spell on remembered her as well and were steadily advancing, most not looking too pleased.

Thanks to a last minute distraction from Aunt Emme involving a banana peel and a video of someone trying to skateboard around an office building she found that morning that she thought was hilarious (it wasn't, really), the three managed to escape into the convention center without further incident.

"I'm tempted to say we should go home now," Derby said. Something about that win powered her up, though, defeating that anxious side of her. "But I think we should see a few more things without having to worry about CC and that masked person."

"Whatever you want to do is fine!" Brie said.

"Yeah, I've barely seen anything yet!" Emme said.

"Thanks for the help back there, too," Derby said. "I'm glad you faked being under their spell, I don't think they would've believed me if you didn't chime in."

"Heh, I'm pretty reliable, aren't I?" Emme said.

"Very! I am impressed with all your assistance so far," Brie said.

"Yeah, sometimes Aunt Emme is like the dad of the family," Derby said. "And sometimes..."

"Derbs, if we're staying we gotta check out the cosplay contest zone, there are always gorgeous babes there!" Emme said.

"...she's like that," Derby said.

Still, Emme helped save the day, and Derby couldn't deny that she wanted to see the cosplayers too. There were a lot of pretty folks dressed up, but Derby didn't think any looked as good as Brie. Still, one costume caught her eye.

"Ohhhh my gosh," Derby said. "Excuse me, can I get a picture?"

A girl wearing a costume made to look like a fountain smiled as she waddled over.

"What...is this?" Brie asked.

"It's the fountain from Terminal Breakers! As a fountain enthusiast and an anime enthusiast, it's one of my favorite works of art from any medium," Derby said. "Your costume is freaking super cool!"

After getting the picture and asking the cosplayer for permission for one more thing, Derby tapped on her phone.

"What are you up to?" Brie asked. "You wear an air of deviousness, Derby of Hope."

"Oh, I'm just texting a modder something," Derby said.

"Right, body modifications, a staple of any technologically advanced world," Brie said.

"Y-yeah, sure, but in this case I mean my game. I wanted a modder to add that fountain to mine so I could have it in my in game room! But they screwed it up." Derby said the words out loud as she typed them. "See? This is what the fountain is supposed to look like!"

"Hopefully they get the message," Emme said. "And hopefully I see someone dressed up like my mods, heh."

Luckily Derby didn't have to explain that one to Brie, as someone jogged up to them.

"Oh gosh, there you are!" Derby said as Sage approached, panting as they rested on their knees. "You're...really sweaty."

"Yeah, haha," Sage said. "I ran over here from home."

"Really? Why?" Derby asked.

"I was running late, then I missed my bus, so I figured why not hoof it?"

"You know I could've gotten you a ride," Derby said, shuddering to think about even walking all that way. "Well, asked Aunt Emme to give you a ride."

"It's a good workout!" Sage said.

Brie squinted.

"What's up?" Sage asked.

"Oh, nothing..." Brie said.

"So this is the famous Brie, huh?" Sage laughed.

"Oh, right! You haven't met Brie yet!" Derby said. "Brie, this is Sage, they're my best friend. Sage, this is Brie!"

"Charmed," Brie said as she offered her hand to Sage. The two shook hands, and Derby didn't sense any of the strange, tense energy between them.

"Good to see you looking so chipper, Derby!" Sage laughed. "I guess you're not as worried about Brie anymore?"

"You were worried about me?" Brie asked.

"Well..." Derby said. "It's a big life change having someone over even just for a weekend. I mean! Not that I don't want you at my house, or that I want you to go after this weekend...change is just a lot for me."

"When we were kids, Derby cried when they changed the kind of pizza brand for hot lunch," Sage laughed.

"Well the new kind was so much worse, and pizza days were the best lunches!" Derby said.

"Anyways, if you're staying at the Ofohp place, just make sure you take good care of Derbs," Sage said, patting Derby's back. "I take care of her too, but I don't mind someone else in the mix."

Brie's oddly stoic expression broke. "Of course! I treat Derby of Hope like the princess that she is!"

"Ha, calling her a princess is a great way to take care of her, she loves stuff like that," Sage said.

Derby blushed, hiding her face in her hands. "Sage, don't tell her that..."

"Also, skip it if it's a board game night," Sage said. "Derby's sister Colby gets so pissed every time."

"That's true," Emme said. "One time she threw a chair at me!"

"That was when she was like seven," Derby said. "She's not quite as violent now."

"Ahhhh, I've thrown many a chair during games of board," Brie said. "I wanted to throw things during that large-ified board game earlier." She grinned slightly at Sage.

"Oh, did you all try that?" Sage asked. "I'd get in on it, but I'm pretty beat."

"Understandable!" Derby said.

"Yes..." Brie said. "Quite understandable."

"Hm?" Derby finally noticed that Brie was acting a bit odd. She didn't say anything though, and hoped it was just jitters from meeting a new person.

Eventually, Brie went back to her more confident, boisterous ways as the group enjoyed the rest of their time at the convention. Emme got to see ladies in cosplay, Derby got to meet a few more of her favorite voice actors, Sage won a giant plushie at a raffle, and Brie got to learn more about the new realm she'd found herself in.

Derby didn't even notice the time until she got a phone call.

"Oh, it's Mom," Derby said. "Hello?"

"Derby, I forgot to make your peanut butter jellies, do you want me to drive them over?" Dani asked. "Or, wait, make Emme come back and get them if you want them."

"That's OK, actually!" Derby said. "We're going to head home soon."

"Aw, was it a bummer?" Dani asked. "I'm sorry, Derbs."

"No, it was great!" Derby said. She looked at Brie, Sage, and Emme and smiled. "We had a really good time."

Derby didn't realize how beat she was either, falling asleep on the car ride home. She woke up resting on Brie's shoulder.

"Oop! Sorry..." Derby said.

Brie patted her head. "Nothing to be sorry for, Derby of Hope. My shoulder is always welcome for napping."

As Derby got back home, she looked up at the orange sky of sunset and thought about how different her life had become in just a few days. She had no idea how long this would last, but if it was something longer than a weekend, a few weeks, a few months...she didn't think it'd be too bad.

At the convention center, under that same orange sky, the girl dressed as a mummy watched as many of the guests headed home. She stared at the picture on her phone of Brie de Meaux. The girl grimaced at the sight. When she was certain no eyes were on her, she opened a shadowy gateway, returning to her master's realm.

Pave Du Nord removed the glamour of her mummy costume as soon as she was home, her long robes feeling less constricting. The Early Realm, a place where sunny days were rare, welcomed her with the shadow of a massive dark castle. She found the blanket of the dark comforting compared to the warmth of the realm she visited, Atria. In addition to her clothes, the phone in her hand transformed into her crystal ball, the image of Brie still on it. The mage returned to her master's throne room.

"Your highness," Pave said, kneeling. "The powerful and wise Magie de Madawaska, the Darkest of Dark Lords, the Darkliest and Dark Lordiest!"

Magie was cast in darkness too. Pave couldn't be entirely sure she was there by sight alone, but she sensed her master's presence.

"Speak, mage," Magie said.

"I have located Brie de Meaux," Pave said, holding the crystal ball up. "The dark lords CC and the masked one attempted to bring her and collect the bounty, but failed."

Pale moonlight cast down on the throne, only shining on one of the arm rests. Magie's hand fell, gripping tightly to the expensive material.

"Of course they did," Magie said, her low, rumbling voice sending shivers down Pave's spine. The mage was glad she was simply on reconnaissance work, and not instructed to bring Brie de Meaux to Magie. "CC is foolish and incapable of accomplishing even the simplest tasks. She'll be integrated with that world in little time, but it will soften her even more. And even if they've mastered the thrall spell, the Masked Dark Lord is corrupted by their kindness. It's a wonder they even made the attempt."

"Indeed, my dark lord," Pave said.

"What did you learn about Brie de Meaux?" Magie asked.

"She has befriended a family in Atria," Pave said. 

"Atria," Magie scoffed. "A land so dull and boring that our researchers have barely bothered studying it."

"Indeed, my dark lord," Pave tapped the crystal ball, which zoomed closer to show Derby. "She is particularly close to one girl, but I have not ascertained what Brie sees in her."

"Explain," Magie said, finally letting go of the throne, turning her hand around, observing her painted nails.

"The girl seems particularly..." Pave said.

"Spit it out," Magie said. "I am prepared if she's a strong warrior."

"...quite the opposite, really," Pave said. "The girl...Brie calls her 'Derby of Hope,' seems...quite normal. I am not sure where she earned the title."

"Looks can be deceiving, as you are well aware with your glamours," Magie said. "Do not underestimate Brie or any ally with her."

"Right, my wise master," Pave said. "I've prepared a report with the more minor details for you to review as well." Another tap on the crystal ball, and sheets began to print out of the bottom of it with everything Pave had observed. Five pages fell to the ground like leaves. "I...will pick those up of course."

"Of course," Magie said.

Pave looked a bit pathetic as she set her crystal ball down, tried and failed to stop it from rolling away, crawling on the ground to collect the papers and put them in order. "What do you propose we do next, my lord?"

Magie leaned forward, allowing Pave to finally see her face once more. A grin crossed her lips, a dangerous one. "It is time we stop letting Brie de Meaux parade around in Atria, and teach her what a mistake she made disrespecting me. You said before that the village she's fled to is in a desert, correct?"

"Yes, it's a smaller city with desert around it," Pave said.

"It's simple, then," Magie said. "We lure her out there, and bring her by force."

The shadows around began to wave and rumble. Pave recognized it as one of Magie's specialties.

"Elka, a beautiful substance," Magie said. Slimy, globby creatures began to shape, wandering forward. In spite of their slimy appearance and waddling gait, they radiated power and menace. "Shadows that can take any form, strengthened by rage, sadness, the hunger for raw power. You've told me they don't last long in Atria, but that won't matter."

Pave had seen Magie send her Elka minions to conquer before. She picked her crystal ball up before one of the blobby creatures could take it, laughing nervously, not wanting to cross them.

When the room was filled with Elka soldiers, Magie rose to her feet. "Brie may be mighty, but she isn't prepared for a full onslaught from me."