"Why the hell is this house so big, anyway?" Jada grumbled. "He’s only one person, fer chrissakes."

"Perhaps when we meet him again we can ask him," Kiera said, "but right now, I believe we have a more important matter to think about."

"Eh?" the two girls had reached the end of the corridor, and were facing three doors.

"What’ll it be?  Door number one, two, or three?" a tinny voice asked, and the girls turned, wondering who could be spouting such bad poetry.

"Down here!"

Jada blinked and took a step back, to find a small furry creature sitting on the floor before her.

"Who are you?" Kiera asked.

"What are you?" Jada made a face. The creature looked to be almost a complete ball of fluff, except for its head, which boasted long whiskers, a catlike nose, and small beady eyes, shadowed by locks of its thick white fur.  Jada knelt on the floor to get a closer look, and noticed little paws poking out of the fluff.  She reached to pet it, and it moved away, unraveling a long, fluffy tail as it did so.

"Weird," Jada said.

"My name is Fuu," it said, with as much dignity as a ball of fluff could have.

"Foo?" Jada blinked.

The creature opened its mouth, revealing a set of extremely sharp teeth. "No.  Fuu."

Jada stood. "Um.. nice name."

"Is this your home?" Kiera asked.

"Yes," Fuu replied, raising himself up on his tiny hindpaws and looking at Kiera.

"Are you Etienne’s pet?" Jada said, closing one eye.  Fuu made a little growling noise in his throat.

"No!" he said vehemently. "I sincerely doubt he even knows I’m here."

"Oh," Jada rubbed her head. "Well, anyway… what’s behind those doors?"

Fuu smiled, showing off his dagger-like teeth. "Why don’t you open one and find out?"

Jada nibbled her lip, glancing at Kiera.

"Okay, okay," Fuu relaxed, lowering himself back down the floor. "One door leads further into his house, and the other two lead to certain doom."

"Certain doom?" Jada squeaked. "How will we know which door leads to certain doom!?"

"By avoiding the doors that have a sign that says "certain doom" on them," Fuu answered, waving his long tail in the general direction of the doors.

"Huh?"

"He’s right," Kiera said, frowning at the first and third doors, which both had a sign attached to them  that read "This door leads to certain doom."

"Oh," Jada said, smiling. "Well, that makes things easy, doesn’t it?"

"Not necessarily," Fuu said, curling into a ball. "I could have switched the signs around."

"Why would you do that?!" Jada gave the little ball of fluff a Look.

"I was bored," he answered.

"Well, could you switch them back?" Jada asked, nervously watching Kiera as her friend approached the doors.

"I don’t want to," Fuu said.

"Why you little!" Jada growled and raised her boot.  Fuu let out a little eeping noise and quickly scrambled onto Jada, jumping onto her shoulder. "Get offa me, you furry little freak!"

"I’m right next to your neck, you know," Fuu said. "You should be nice to me, or else I’ll be forced to bite you."
He opened his mouth.

"Okay, fine, relax," Jada said. "No biting."

Kiera paused.

"You said you could have switched the signs, correct?" she asked, walking over to Fuu, who had made himself quite comfortable on Jada’s shoulder (much to the girl’s dismay).

"Yeah… so?"

"So what’s to say that you’re not lying?" Kiera said, looking back at the doors.

"Nothing," Fuu smiled toothily.

"Hmm," Kiera put her hand on the knob of the second door.

"Kiera!" Jada cried, but it was too late.  The door was open.  Jada held her breath.  Nothing happened.

"Ah, you guys got lucky," Fuu grumbled.  Kiera smiled.

"Let us continue," she said, entering.

"Are you going to get off my shoulder now?" Jada said to Fuu, as she started for the door.

"No, I’ve decided I rather like the view from up here… I think I’ll stay for a while."

"Joy."

 Etienne undid the latch to Kaitlyn’s door and walked into her room.

"It looks like you  have some friends, Kaitlyn," he said, as he strode over to where she was curled up on the bed.  Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around herself and shook, not answering.  Slowly, Etienne raised his arm and reached out to her, touching her soft green waves.  She shivered.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.  Etienne quickly took his hand away, as if he had been burned by her words.

"I…" he started, then closed his mouth as he heard her start to cry softly.  He clenched his fists and turned away, lowering his head.

"Why…why me?" she asked again, her voice hoarse from her tears.  Etienne raised his head, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I… I already told you," he managed.

"Oh…"

Etienne glanced over his shoulder, looking at Kaitlyn’s reddened, tearstained cheeks, her watery, half closed eyes, and her now unkempt hair.  He felt a stab at his heart, and he unclenched his fists.

"Kaitlyn…" he said, starting to move closer.  She trembled and shrank back.  Etienne sighed and turned away again, whispering as he started to leave again. "I’m sorry… but I can't let you go.  Not yet."

"So, um, are there any monsters or other creepy things living here besides Etienne?" Jada asked Fuu, as they and Kiera traisped through Etienne’s unneccessarily large home.

"Maybe," Fuu answered, wrapping his long tail around his fluffy little body. "Maybe not."

He smiled toothily. "You never know."

"Are you ever going to give us a straight answer?" Jada asked, irritated.

"Depends," Fuu said, yawning.  Jada sighed and was about to say something else, when the little group came to a spiraling stairway.

"Why can’t bad guys ever have a normal stairway?" Jada complained, frowing at the twisting set of stairs. "Why does it have to be twisted?"

"I think you just answered your own question," Kiera said, smiling a little and starting to climb.  Jada rolled her eyes.

"You suffer from a sever case of not funny," she said, trotting after her friend.  They trekked in silence for a moment, until at last Jada said, "See.. the reason why I don’t like these things is ‘cause I have the nagging feeling that I’m going to miss a step and fall off.. and go splat all over the ground."

"Perhaps you could lessen the chances of that happening if you paid more attention to what you were doing and stopped talking all the time," Fuu said.

"You shut up," Jada answered. "One shrug and you go flying, furball."

"Kiera, she’s threatening me…" Fuu whined.

Kiera sighed, shaking her head.

"Honestly, Jada," she said.

"Whaaat?  He started it!"

"Did not."

"Did too," Jada said.

"Did not."

"Would you both please be quiet?" Kiera said. "It’s very difficult to concentrate with your bickering."

"Yes, mother," Jada said sarcastically, glaring at Fuu out of the corner of her eye.

"Did, too," she whispered.

"Did not." Fuu purred softly, snuggling against Jada’s neck.  She giggled.

"Stop it, that tickles!"

"I know," he purred.

Jada giggled again, covering her mouth.

"I’m gonna get you for this, you furry little freak."

"I’d like to see that."

"Ahem," Kiera paused, glaring at the two with her cold red eyes. "We’re here."

"Huh?" Jada looked up, seeing that the staircase had ended and that they were standing at the beginning of another corridor. "Oh.  So we are."

She squinted her eyes at the corridor, frowning.

"How many damned hallways does this stupid place have?"

Kiera shrugged.

"Hopefully this is the last one before the place where Sailor Mana is being held," she said, her shoes clicking against the ground as she walked.

"This really bites," Jada grumbled, trudging after her friend. "I could be at home watching TV right now, you know.  But nooo, instead, I’m in some negative universe, walking down some dumbass corridor in some psycho’s overly enormous house, with a sharp toothed furball sitting on my shoulder, and in a damned skimpy little outfit to boot!"

"Is she always like this?" Fuu asked Kiera, sitting up on his hind paws.

"Yes," Kiera answered. "One becomes accustomed to it after a time."

Fuu crossed his eyes. "Humans.  I don’t get’em.  ‘Specially not that Etienne fellow."

"He’s a human?" Jada blinked. "I thought he was some kinda negaperson or whatever…"

"We-ell… I heard that he’s really a human… that just somehow ended up here… no one’s really sure why he can use his powers if he’s a human, though.." Fuu said, his tail twitching. "Anyhow, he's really weird."

"Indeed," Kiera said, just as Jada grunted, "No kidding."

"He’s always mumbling about Kaitlyn something-or-other," Fuu went on. "I think he needs to get out more."

"Kaitlyn?" Jada echoed. "Is that Sailor Mana’s name?"

"Beats me," Fuu said. "But if it is, I’d say he’s pretty obsessed with her."

"Hrm," Kiera said, as the little group came to another door. "Silence, please."

Fuu and Jada blinked, looking at Kiera, but they did as asked.  A faint sobbing came from behind the door, soft at first, but slowly gaining momentum and escalating into a wail before falling back down into a sniffle.

"I believe that we have uncovered our targeted subject." Kiera said.

"No way," Jada shook her head. "It can’t be that easy.. that’s like.. against the rules or something… I mean, we haven’t even fought any monsters or anything.."

"It could be a trap," Fuu suggested.

"I do not believe that loitering outside the door will accomplish much of anything," Kiera said, listening as she turned the knob and the door clicked open. "therefore, I suggest we continue on."

She walked slowly into the room, her eyes narrowed.

"Be on your guard," she said, as Jada (with Fuu in tow) entered behind her.  Jada stepped off the threshold, stopping when she heard the door creaking behind her. Jada jumped back as the door swung shut, locking itself with a firm click.

"Ohh, I hate it when doors do that," she moaned, as light flooded the room.  Kiera clenched her fists, as Fuu dug his little nails into Jada’s skin, emitting a squealing sort of screech as he did so.

Jada made a pained noise and grabbed Fuu, clutching his fluffy body. "You furry little freak!"

"Ah, so there's my mouse," Etienne said, as he appeared before the three, smiling a little.  Fuu squealed louder, squirming in Jada’s hands.  Etienne frowned. "Would one of you be kind enough to shut him up?"

Jada squeezed him. "Shut the hell up!"

"He’s gonna kill me!" Fuu wailed, squeaking and sniffling, his tail trembling.

"I’M gonna kill you if you don’t be quiet!"

Fuu stopped his lamentations, allowing himself to become limp in Jada’s hands.  She placed him on her shoulder and petted him a little, than looked back at Etienne. "You wanna fight us?"

"No," he said. "I’m not going to fight you.  I’m going to exit dramatically and leave behind a seemingly deadly but actually easily defeated monster instead."

"Oh," Jada blinked. "All right, then."

Etienne smiled and slowly started to disappear, chuckling a little. "Have fun…"

"That wasn’t all that dramatic," Fuu huffed, clinging to Jada’s neck, as a shimmering creature rose up from the marble floors.

"Amazing!" Kiera said, staring at their watery adversary.  "It’s completely fashioned from water!"

"Your powers of observation amaze me," the creature said, forming itself into a vaguely human shape.  Its pupilless eyes glittered as it raised its sparkling arms and then lowered them quickly, sending a blast of water from its transparent hands.  The force of this assault slammed the three into the nearest wall.

"Owww… that’s gonna smart for a while," Jada groaned, slumping against the marble.  Fuu was clutching her neck for dear life, water dripping from his soggy fur.

"Hmph," Kiera said, brushing a lock of thick wet hair from out of her pale face and standing. "You will not destroy me so easily."

"Yeaahh… go get’em, Shade…" Jada said  from her position on the floor, her head lolling about from side to side.

"Dark Force!" Kiera closed her bloodred eyes and clenched one of her hands into a fist.  She raised her fist and held it out, opening her hand as the world around her darkened.

Small dark spheres of energy filled the air, glimmering as they surrounded the creature.  The energy gathered, forming a great ball as it slammed into the creature, causing their enemy to splatter all over the walls.

"I ain’t… cleaning that up…" Jada mumbled, as she struggled to regain some of her strength.

"Nice work, girls," Etienne said, clapping slowly as he appeared in front of them.  He stopped, looking at Jada.

"Well.. nice work to Shade, anyway," he said, smirking a little.

"You want.. some of this?" Jada coughed, standing, as Fuu continued to cling to her neck. "Bring it on.. little man.."

Kiera sighed a little. "Can we please end this now?  We don’t really have the entire millenium, you know."

"Totally," Jada said. "How long have we been going through this damned mansion of yours, anyway?"

Etienne shrugged a little. "A few pages."

"Might I inquire as to why it is so spacious?" Kiera asked.  Etienne held out his palm and a small, slender book appeared.

"It’s in the supervillain’s handbook," he said, opening it. "See, right here, it says… ‘All supervillains must have oversized lairs, in order to confuse the heroes when they come seeking the villain’s ultimate destruction.’ "

"We’re not seeking your ultimate destruction," Jada said, trying to remove Fuu from her neck. "We just want to find Sailor Mana."

"It’s all a matter of interpretation." Etienne shrugged.

"Yes, well.. interpret this!" Jada raised her hand, preparing to attack.  Etienne yawned and teleported behind her, removing Fuu from  her neck and pinching a bit of her skin between his thumb and forefinger.  She closed her eyes as she fell, returning to her slumping position against the wall.

"Not much of a challenge," Etienne said, holding Fuu by his tail.

"Eeeek!" Fuu squealed and thrashed, screeching. "Please don’t kill me!"

Etienne dropped him. "Pathetic."

Fuu twitched.

"That was entirely unneccessary," Kiera frowned.

"You’re next," Etienne sneered as he started towards her.  Kiera gritted her teeth, balling her hands into fists.  The jewel on her tiara glittered.

"Do you honestly think you can beat me?" Etienne said, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps not…" Kiera said. "But I'll certainly try."

Etienne leaned in close, his eyes narrowing. "You’re in over your head, little girl."

Kiera stood her ground, struggling to keep her features emotionless.

"You’re the one who’s in over your head!" Jada’s voice yelled, and Etienne felt a sharp pain shoot up his back.

He fell to his knees and turned his head, to see Jada standing before him. "How did you..?"

Jada pointed to Fuu, who jumped onto Etienne’s head, smiling toothily. "You’d be surprised as to how quickly a human wakes up when there is a pile of fluff on their face."

 Etienne groaned.

Jada dug her heel into his back, scowling. "Now, where is she?"

"I’ll never.. tell you.." Etienne coughed.

Jada pushed her foot down harder. "You wanna rephrase that?"

"Urgh.." Etienne squeezed his eyes shut. "I won’t.. I won’t let you take her away from me…"

"Take her away from you?" Jada echoed, raising an eyebrow.

Etienne nodded.

Jada rolled her eyes.

"Psh, whatever… just tell us where she is!"

Etienne opened his eyes, and suddenly his body began to shimmer, and then disappear, causing Fuu to fall to the floor with a soft thump.

Fuu squirmed on the ground as Jada stepped back, surprised.

Kiera whirled, an expression of alarm crossing her features.

"Get back here, you little coward!" Jada yelled, raising her fist.

"Come and get me," Etienne said, as a door appeared on the other end of the room.  The girls looked at each other, and then back at the door.

"Are you ready?" Kiera asked her friend.

"Let’s go!" Jada said, rushing forward and grabbing hold of the doorknob.

"Yaaiiee!" Fuu cried, digging his claws into Jada’s shoulder.

"Be careful," Kiera said, as Jada threw open the door and strode in.

"Hah!  I am Jada the Almighty!  I fear NOTHING!" Jada laughed, her voice echoing off Etienne’s marble walls.

Kiera frowned, slowly walking in behind her friend. "Please, Jada.  This is a serious situation."

"Feh.  He's not even here, man," Jada said, tossing her long white hair. "Come out so we can beat your skinny butt down, Mister High and Mighty Negaverse!" she yelled into the darkness. "Bring it on!"

"Jada!" Kiera whispered fiercely.

"Ha.. so the little Senshi girl wants a fight..?" Etienne appeared, dropping down and landing gracefully before the two girls.

"Well, then… let's fight!" he raised his hand and sent a blast of his dark energy at them, moving his hands so that it widened to engulf them both.

"Aiee!" Fuu screeched, digging his claws into the already screaming Jada’s neck.  Kiera cried out and fell, landing gasping on her knees.  Jada followed suit, lying crumpled on the floor.

"Unh.. hey.. how’d he get so strong, Kiera…" Jada muttered, her eyes fluttering and closing.

Etienne sneered and kicked Kiera in the stomach, causing her to cry out and slip, so that she lay flat on the ground.

"Easy," he said, as he encased the three troublemakers in a ball of dark power.

Jada stirred, her eyes filling with terror as she stared at the darkness before her.  She could faintly see Etienne, a smug smirk on his cold face, standing near her, but her vision was clouded by a screen of black.  She stood and tried to move forward, but found her movement impeded by some invisible force.  She pushed forward again, realizing she was trapped.

"You bastard!" she yelled, pounding on the forcefield’s walls. "Let us out of here, dammit!  This wasn’t in the script!"

"Hah!  You forget, my dear, I am evil, I do not have to follow any silly script," Etienne said, tossing  his hair.

"You little jerk!" Jada ranted, pounding on the field.

"Lucent Beam!" she yelled.

But her effort was futile, as the field simply absorbed the energy.

"Hah!" Etienne chuckled. "The more energy you feed it, the stronger it gets!  So, attack all you want, Senshi brat... it won’t do you any good!" he turned, chuckling and disappearing in a typical bad person fashion.

"Okay, now, this is the part where the bad guy leaves us to die, giving us a perfect chance to find a way to escape," Jada nodded, trying to revive Kiera.

"Um, oh..." Kiera blinked, slowly rising. "What has happened?" she blinked looking around. "Hmm.  It seems our enemy has placed inside a magical forcefield.  This could present a problem."

Fuu sniffed the field, poking at it with his claws.

"Hmm.. he’s not acting like it, but he must be fairly drained right about now," Fuu said. "It takes quite a bit of energy to make this field, and a lot to keep it up, too."

"So does that mean that if we wait long enough, he’ll run out of energy and the forcefield will disappear?" Jada asked hopefully, leaning forward.

"Well, I imagine he’ll be back to finish the job before that happens," Fuu said.

"Oh.  Yes.  That’s logical, I suppose," Jada said, rubbing her chin. "But how are we going to get out of here?"

"If only we had some kind of weapon sharp enough to cut through his energy…" Kiera murmured.  She raised her head, frowning and standing.

"Kiera?" Jada asked, blinking at her friend.

"Mmm…" Kiera muttered, holding out her hand, which began to glow a dark, shimmering black-blue.

"Shadow… Sword… Summon…" she whispered, and the glowing black silhouette of a scimitar-like sword appeared, forming in her hand.  Its blade was black, long and curved, with a dark blue stone set into its silvery hilt.

"W-oo-ow," Jada said, her eyes widening.

"You try it," Kiera said.

Jada concentrated, holding out her hand as well.

"Lumina… Sword… SUMMON!" a white light enveloped Jada’s hand, as a long sword with a shining white blade and a golden hilt formed in front of her.

"Dude.  Cool," she said, clutching the cool metal of the ornate hilt.

"Let us try them out," Kiera said, swinging the sword at the barrier.  A tear in the barrier’s invisible fabric formed, in unison with the smug look on Kiera’s face.

"Excellent."

Kaitlyn shivered as she lay, curled up in a ball on the bed, her tears drying on her cheeks.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" she whimpered, slowly sitting up and brushing the tears from her face.

"Okay.  Kaitlyn.  Get a hold of yourself," she said shakily, standing and looking into the mirror. "Okay.. there must.. there must be some way out of here." She said to her reflection, sighing at she looked at her puffy cheeks, bloodshot eyes and mussed hair.  She glanced at the vanity and noticed a brush lying next to the mirror.

"Well.. brushing my hair always calms me down.." she muttered, as she began to run the brush through her tangled locks.  She drew in a deep breath, trying to relax as the brush’s fine teeth combed through her hair, until the tangles had all but disappeared.

"Your hair is so beautiful," a familiar voice said.  Startled, Kaitlyn whirled around, the brush slipping from her fingers and clattering to the floor.

"Oh…"

"I’m sorry," Etienne said, and Kaitlyn was surprised to hear real regret in his dark, soft voice. "Did I startle you?"

"Well.. well, I’d say that’s a yes." Kaitlyn answered, her voice tremulous as she watched him move slowly towards her.

"It is, though," he said, running his fingers through it.  Kaitlyn trembled, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Does my touch really repulse you that much?" he whispered, withdrawing his hand.

"No," she mumbled. "It’s just that when someone’s kidnapped you and probably plans to kill you, you get to be sort of skittish around them."

"Kaitlyn," he said, closing his eyes. "Kaitlyn, I…"

"Yes?" she looked up at him, still shaking.

"Hah!  Stop right there, evildoer!" a voice yelled from the doorway, and Kaitlyn jerked her head towards the sound.  A tall, white-haired girl wearing a fuku and carrying a sword stood in the doorway, flanked by a small furry creature and a smaller, black-haired girl in a fuku, who also wielded a similar weapon.  Etienne’s expression darkened.

"How did you get out of the forcefield?"

"With these," Jada answered, slashing the sword at the air. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Kaitlyn.  We are here to rescue you," Kiera said, brandishing her weapon. "Please move away from the psychopath."

Etienne grabbed Kaitlyn’s hand, his eyes narrowing.

"She’s not going anywhere."

"Says who?  You?" Jada said menacingly, stepping forward. "You’re outnumbered, buddy."

"Hmph.  I’ll simply teleport away from here."

"No way," Jada said. "I’ve been chasing you around this damned mansion of yours for almost a whole chapter now, and frankly, my feet are killing me.  No way are you gonna get away now!" she jumped and slashed at him with the sword, the blade cutting his free arm.

"Urk!" Etienne let go of Kaitlyn, kneeling to the floor as blood spilled from the wound and pain sliced through him.

"Hah!  Not bad, if I do say so myself," Jada smirked, examining her sword.

"Damn it," Etienne muttered.  Kaitlyn looked at Etienne, her eyes widening at the sight of thick red blood.

"Etienne..." she said, kneeling next to him.

"Jada," Kiera said, frowning. "Look at his blood.  Clearly, he is not native to this place."

"Dude, it’s red…" Jada said, staring as Kaitlyn fretted, looking for something to bandage up the wound.

"Really," Kaitlyn said, "…that wasn’t necessary."

"Not necessary?!" Jada said, snapping out of it. "The guy was gonna kill you!"

"No... no, I don’t want to kill her," Etienne mumbled. "I don’t want to."

Kaitlyn frowned, ripping off a piece of her sleeve and tying up Etienne’s wound with it, pressing it against his skin and closing her eyes.

"Oh, no, you are NOT," Jada turned to Kiera. "She  is NOT doing that.  Tell me she’s not healing him."

"She is. And quite well, too," Kiera mused.

"Damn it!  I told you not to tell me that!"

"Sailor Mana," Kiera said. "Enlighten us—why do you heal this man, who has kidnapped you and apparently does not have kind intentions for your future?"

Kaitlyn sniffled, rubbing her eyes.

"I don’t… I don’t know.." she looked at him,  his face creased with pain. "There’s just.. something about him.. and.. and he’s only human, you know."

"Hey, girl, I think gullible’s written on the ceiling up there.. he’s the BAD GUY.  B-A-D G-U—"

"Jada.  Please," Kiera frowned.

"Well, if you want to know what I think about all of this—" Fuu started.

"We don’t!" Kiera and Jada said together, causing the little fluffball to shrink back.

Etienne smiled at her.

"Kaitlyn… Kaitlyn, I’m sorry…" he reached out to touch her cheek.

"Oh, come on, it was only a little scratch on the arm, it can’t hurt that much," Jada said, ruffled.

"The slice was actually pretty deep," Kaitlyn said. "That sword must have a sharp blade.."

"Hmph.  Well.  He was asking for it," Jada muttered. "Locking us in that damned forcefield and kicking poor Kiera in the stomach.  Creep."

Etienne drew in a deep breath, as if he was reluctant to voice what he was about to say.

"I… I apologize," he managed, staring down at his hands. "I've never killed anyone, but I'm afraid that if I got any more angry, I might have.  Then I wouldn't really be much of a human at all."

He stood, cradling his arm. "I'm weak.  I plan and I scheme and I work, and yet when it comes right down to it I can't do anything at all."

The others stood there as he spoke, Jada looking back and forth from Etienne’s face to those of her friends’.

"What the hell is he talking about?" she whispered to Kiera.

"I believe he is having an epiphany," she replied.

"Right now?  Isn’t it a bit early for that?"

"Well, I imagine it was either this or have us continue to chase him and spend every waking moment protecting our leader, so be grateful."

"You have a point."

"…and now," he continued, pausing here to chuckle disdainfully, "and now I find myself… I find myself falling for what is supposed to be the enemy.  Three years of my life, wasted. I can’t believe how stupid I was."

Kaitlyn reddened.

"Oh, great.  What is this, people, Love Connection?" Jada rolled her eyes. "Listen, Etienne, man.  Obviously you want to do that whole turn your life around gig.  I suggest first getting the hell out of this place and you know, maybe finding a nice apartment somewhere.. maybe get a cat or two, dark sullen guys like you like cats, don’t they?" she stopped, noticing that all present were giving her Funny Looks.

"Um, well, anyway, whatever you do, just get out  of here, all the bad vibes in this place can’t be good for your personality," she cocked her head at him. "They’re not so good for your complexion, either, you could use some sun."

Etienne blinked.

"You would.. you would all forgive me for attacking you?" he turned to Kaitlyn. "And you would forgive me for what I've done to you?"

Jada slapped him on the back.

"Yeah, sure, why the hell not?" she said cheerfully, as his eyes widened with pain and he cradled his arm tighter.

"Ooops.  Heh.  Sorry," Jada said sheepishly.

"Jada’s powers of eloquence strike again," Kiera murmured.

Kaitlyn looked at him and  nodded. "We would… or at least, I would."

"Oh," Etienne stopped, closing his eyes, pondering the matter.

Jada patted his back, lightly. "Remember, admitting you have a problem is the first step!"

Kiera frowned. "Jada, he’s a villain, not an alcoholic."

"Hey, I’m just trying to be positive," Jada stuck her tongue out.

"But," Etienne said suddenly, "…if I left here, this place… where would I go?  How would I live?"

"Uh.  Gee.  Hadn’t thought of that," Jada said, rubbing her chin.  "Welll…. Kiera’s parents are rolling in the dough.. you could just like.. stay at her mansion or something."

Kiera’s eyes widened. "Jada, I do not think…"

"Hey, I hate to interrupt this heartwarming episode here, but are you guys done yet?" Umi’s voice echoed through the minds of all present.

"Umi?" Kaitlyn blinked. "Umi, where are you?"

"In your  apartment… long distance telepathy is fun, isn’t it?"

"My apartment?"

"Yeah.. we need to be getting to Vinton soon, too... don't see why we have to go there, though... damn thing's not even on any map," Umi grumbled. "Oh, and they got your morally challenged little friend a place, too.  They told me to tell you that they’re very pleased with your progress and yadda yadda yadda.  So you guys can just like, ditch this old mansion and we can get back to the real world… and I suggest you do it pretty fast, ‘cause apparently someone saw or heard or whatever that you guys are in the Negaverse, so they’re probably getting ready to come after you and lynch you or something equally nasty like that…"

"Uh.  Damn," Jada said.

"Let’s get out of here," Kaitlyn said, helping Etienne up. "Can you lead us out?"

He smiled a little. "Yes. Let's go."