*Plum*

"I am a bad girl. A very bad girl," a girl's voice echoed in the darkness.

I shivered. She sounded like me. "W-who is talking?"

"A bad girl. One who is lonely and afraid. Someone who killed her mommy.

If this was a mirror, then was the girl who was talking me?

"I didn't kill Mommy!" I yelled.

"That's what I tell myself, but is that the truth?" the other me asked as she surfaced from the darkness. She was curled up on the shadowy floor, head face downcast.

"I-it is."

She laughed bitterly. "You don't sound so sure."

I bit my lip. She was right. Sometimes I did blame myself for what happened. If Mommy didn't have to protect me, she might've survived.

"Admit the truth and you'll be free," Plukuro said, smiling slightly.

I smiled back at her. "Is it the truth, though?"

Her smile became replaced by a glare. "You still refuse to accept it? Are you willing to live a lie?!"

I shook my head. "No. If anything, I think you're the part of me living under a lie. Taking the blame for something I had no power to prevent."

Plukuro gritted her teeth. "If you won't atone for your sins then I'll make you!" A blast of water erupted from her mouth, sending me flying into one of the waterfalls. The darkness of the fall gasped my arms, legs, and torso.

"Ugh! Let me go!" I yelled.

The other me held out her hand and summoned a short pink staff with a broken heart on top. My angel tool was the same, but the heart was whole.

"Sink into the abyss of despair," she said, her eyes blank.

I screamed as I was pulled under the black waters. No, I couldn't lose like this! I'd promised Rosa and Con that I was going to return. I didn't want them to see a gloomy and angry version of me.

"I will not! A magical girl never gives up," I said, glaring back at her.

Plukuro smirked. "You must have seen enough shows to know that half the time the magical girl gives into despair."

I yelped as the darkness's hold on me tightened.

"No one will save you. Not our brothers, nor our sisters. Nor Collin. Not even Papa or anyone else."

"Then I'll save myself!" I yelled, pushing the dark water away from me.

"Huh?!"

I smirked. "Angel Tool Equip! Lizie!"

"Got it!" a voice came from my angel tool just before a sphere of pink light flew out.

"What?! How can you use Lizie here?"

I smiled. "You should know. Our bond is strong!"

She looked down. "But, I am you too."

"It's because you are Plu that I must stop you. I won't let you give into despair." Lizie's voice echoed from the pink sphere now as it hit me in the chest. Warmth spread throughout my body as the staff in my hand turned into pink light too. The energy around my arms formed the shape of ballroom gloves. More energy concentrated around my forehead and main body, forming a tiara and a pink tutu. 

Plukuro lowered her head. "Lizie." She smiled and spread her hands. "Fine. But I won't surrender. Show me what you can do! Overcome deep despair, Plu! You have to, if you're to face what's to come!"

What's to come? Did she mean the possibility of losing family and friends Cio mentioned? I didn't want to lose anyone, though. Not again. That's why I wanted to become stronger. A lot stronger.

Black waves of darkness in the shape of claws formed behind Plukuro and lurched at me.

Pinkish-brown wings emerged from my back. I maneuvered myself around the claws of darkness, blasting any that came close with beams of light from the tiara on my head or by unleashing waves of pink shimmering energy on them.

Plukuro snickered as I drew closer. "That form suits an angel more than one on the side of darkness."

I landed in front of her. "I'm not on the side of darkness. Like Rosa, I'm trying to find a peaceful resolution to this war. A way for Abyssia to survive without having to destroy Zionia."

She shook her head. "Rosa still prefers Zionia in the conflict. If there's no way for both sides to win, she'll choose her home. But what about us who are caught in-between?"

"I-I'm not sure," I said.

Plukuro smiled as she took a step back. Darkness rose from the floor, converging around her to form a sphere of darkness. "Now is the time to be decisive. Once Margaret is dealt with, the war will still continue. Thinking its the end is folly. Papa won't give up until Abyssia's future is assured. Until then, we shall seek to conquer the light to give ourselves life!"

I gritted my teeth as dark energy rushed out of the sphere, pushing me back. In the center stood a black boar. She rushed toward me at incredible speed, ramming me into the waterfall.

"Ugh!" I said, wincing. My hands clasped her by the tusks. Glistening pink light spread out from them.

Plukuro yelped as the light consumed half of her body. The tusks suddenly snapped, turning into wisps of light and shadow. She reverted back to her true form.

"Well done, Plu," my shadow said as a smile dotted her face. Her entire body and the dark world around us dissolved just like the tusks had.

*Mason*

My smile vanished as I entered a dark space. Where was I?

"Lonely, lonely. Displaced in time and space."

"W-who's saying that?" I asked, looking around.

"Lonely, lonely. Without a set home or time."

I shivered. "I asked something! Answer!"

"Ahh, finally, somebody who might understand me."

I gasped as a hand of darkness formed around me. I jumped as high as I could and transformed my nails into claws. The dark hand tore easily, but it also reformed just as fast.

"Grr!" I said, curling my hands into fists.

"Say, don't you ever wonder why you're needed here?" my other self asked.

"Huh?" I said, punching the shadows away.

"You haven't even considered the idea?"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure what you're talking about in the first place."

"I mean, why is there any need for you to participate in this conflict if your adult self currently resides in Xeleria's 'present'?"

"Big me? Hmm, well, I still need to grow up to become him! If I wanna be as big and strong as him, I need to work at it! The more I train now, the stronger adult me will be!"

My shadow snickered. "Is that what you really think? If you ask me, he acts all laid back and has the appearance of a bum."

A bum? What was that again?

He shook his head. "Seems what you've studied sunk to the subconscious and below."

I crossed my arms and turned away. "I'm not a good student, okay?!"

"You will be, once you've sunken to depths of our shared mind."

I growled and slammed the ground with both paws. "Fulger Tigiris Maxima!" The remnants of the hand were blown away.

"Ugh!" the other me said, digging his heels into the darkness. "Come on! I'm just trying to save us from becoming that loser!"

"I am not a loser! Nor will I ever be!" I yelled, dashing at him. Electricity crawled around me as I transformed into a tiger cub the size of a large house cat.

"So you say, but if you ever meet your future self, you'll know I speak the truth."

"And how are you sure you're not the one who becomes him, huh?"

His eyes widened as I closed in. "Be torn asunder, shadow!"

The other me flashed behind me. I leaped into the air and unleashed a discharge of electricity in multiple direction, creating craters in the darkness.

"So these are the results of our training with Daisaru," he said, grinning. He held his hands up. "But let's see how much you retained!"

I jumped back. Was he going to do that Xianian spell that Cio and Daisaru tried teaching me?

"Diàndòng fēnshēn!" he chanted. A giant projection of me covered in armor appeared behind my shadow.

I took a deep breath and whispered the same spell.

"Tear him to ribbons!" Maskuro yelled.

The spirit swung a weapon resembling a mix between a spear and a sword at me.

I held my left arm up, blocking it with a golden energy shield emanating from my body.

"Huh?"

I smiled as I pushed back against it. "You really take me for an idiot, huh?" I jumped back, taking advantage of the gap. That sword-spear was heavy. Luckily, my shield was sturdy. I snickered. Cio did say to focus on one region instead of trying to manifest the avatar all at once. This guy was just too much of a dunderhead to listen!

My shadow crossed his arms as I dashed at him. "Be gone!"

"I won't lose to you!" she said, stopping my claws with his bare hands. "Slash him!" The giant guardian raised his polearm-sword and swung it down at us.

"Eh! You're going to get hit too!" I yelled, trying to free myself.

He laughed. "Indeed. If I go down, so will you!"

"That's insane!" I yelled, trying to free my claws. Wait! My armor! I quickly covered my body in glowing yellow spirit armor just as the blade swung down. I yelped as it sliced my hands off. It was the only part I couldn't cover as my shadow had been clinging to them.

"I'll do whatever it takes to win!" my shadow said, stabbing me with his claws.

D-darn it! He got me!

He smirked. "You've lost, Mason!"

I concentrated the prana around his claws.

"H-hey! Let go!" he yelled as he tried to yank them free.

"An eye for an eye, a hand for a hand!" I yelled before biting his right arm.

"You're nuts or something?"

I spat out darkness and smiled. "Anything to win, right?" I knee kicked him in the gut several times as my hands regenerated and blasted him with a beam of electricity from my mouth.

"Ugh! H-how could I have lost?" my shadow said as he started to vanish.

I smirked. "Because I'm superior, duh!"

He laughed. "Conceited much, aren't you? But I am amazing!" He grinned just before he and the dark world vanished completely.

It was fun fighting me. Hmm, maybe I needed to hunt down my future self and challenge me to match! Hopefully, I hadn't grown rusty like my shadow claimed.

*Kaguya*

"So this is the inside of my mind. It looks more bleak than I'd expected," I said, surveying the dark waterfall all around me. Was this what the grown ups meant by a 'stream of thought'?

Laughter vibrated in the air. "Bleak you say? Just like your future!"

I glared at the shadows. How did she dare to call my future bleak? She was my shadow, not future me! "Show yourself, black rabbit!

"Hello!" A smiling black rabbit popped up in front of her me.

I yelped and jumped back.

The shadow me laughed. "Don't be such a scaredy bunny!"

My hands curled into fists. Too bad my time magic was likely useless against her. On the plus side, neither could she use it against me.

The other Kaguya copied me. We exchanged a series of rapid blows. Each strike caused the dark water around us to ripple from the shockwaves. Each attack I did was reflected perfectly by her. I truly was fighting against my mirror image.

We both panted as we landed on opposite halves of the 'ring'.

"You're pretty good, me," I said, smiling slightly.

"Right back at ya, Kaguya," the other me said.

We both charged at one another, knocking the other back.

"Seems we're tied," she said, swinging her head back and smiling at the everlasting darkness above.

I smiled. "Seems like it." But if Mas were here, he would laugh at me for giving up. I pushed myself up. "But I'm not giving up just yet!"

My shadow sighed. "You really wish to continue? We've match blow after blow. I can't beat you and you can't beat me."

I smiled. "So you want to give up? Fine, you can do that!"

Kuroya clapped her hands, causing the darkness around us to bend and swirl. I yelped as tendrils of darkness skid past me, slashing at my arms and legs.

I snapped my fingers, causing the darkness to halt. The shadows focused into one and lurched at my shadow. The other me dodged and vanished into the darkness of the shadowy walls.

Where would she emerge from this time? I gasped and hit the ground and the ceiling.

"H-how did you know I would come from above?" Kuroya asked, wincing as the darkness impaled her right arm.

"I didn't. I just thought of the best possible spots you might appear from. It's why I shot at both. As to how I figured they were the most likely, well you are me."

My shadow snickered as her body started to disappear. "Well, seems you've won this round. But we'll see about next time."

I smiled back. "I look forward to it."

The darkness vanished and I emerged from the mirror. My siblings emerged from their own as well.

"Mas!" I yelled, running over to him. I stopped. "Wait, are you really the Mas I know and love?"

He grinned and flashed me a V-sign.

Cio sighed. "I can see why Dad said it would be a hard fight."

Birdie nodded. "I almost lost mine."

"I might've if not for Con," Selena said.

Plu gasped. "Con-Con entered your dream, Sel-Sel?

"Yeah. I was as surprised as you were." Sel smiled. "Seemed he knew his mommy was in danger." She sighed. "I really am pathetic, making my kids worry for me."

"Seems you have to continue your training," Daisaru said, grinning. "A thousand more laps around the island!"

Sel nodded and ran off.

"Wait for me!" Sey yelled, running after them.

"Sel sure is energetic today," Cio said, smiling.

"Sey too!" Plu said, giggling.

Birdie laughed. "Reminds me a bit of the old Sel."

"Yeah," Papa said, smiling slightly before turning around.

Mama followed after him. Papa seemed sad. Was something bothering him? Or was it the memories of his now long gone past in Zionia? Maybe Papa would've been better off if future me had taken those memories. Then he could've focused on what had to be done to save Abyssia.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**