Gelatin walked around the woods, a small smile on his face. Coiny and Pin were right behind him, talking to each other. He could feel his face starting to hurt.

He had to get away, before he cracked.

        Glancing around, there was no clear exit. He didn't want to break in front of them, but there was nowhere to go. Sighing under his breath, he tried to think of a distraction.

        He thought back to the diner, and his specialty drinks. But that only made the feeling grow worse. That's when he overheard Pin and Coiny's conversation.

        "It was pretty funny, you have to admit!" Pin giggled. Coiny chuckled, responding back. "Well, believe me, it's a lot more common then you think."

           A confused expression crossed Gelatin's face. What were they talking about? "You think? Do you think I'll get a song?" Pin asked, as Gelatin blinked in realization.

That was it.

That was going to be his distraction.

          Gelatin turned to face them, smiling. "Probably!" He answered Pin, shrugging. "Everyone gets a song at some point during a journey like this!"

   He put his hands on his sides. "After all, characters in musicals sing about random things all the time! Heck, even I have a song!" Pin smiled at him, clasping her hands together.

          Coiny gave him a questioning look. "Oh! When do you get to sing it?" Gelatin smiled, pointing his finger up. "Now!" He turned back around, skipping slightly.

           Confused, Coiny stood there for a moment, as music surrounded the area. Then, he sighed, following Pin and Gelatin.

"This'll all make sense when I am older."

"Someday, I will see that this makes sense!"

Coiny rose an eyebrow, as Pin gently bopped along to the song.

"One day, when I'm old and wise..."

"I'll think back and realize, that these were all completely normal events!"

Gelatin gasped, shivering at the sudden wind chill.

He quickly turned around, hiding the look of fear on his face.

"I'll have all the answers when I'm older!"

He smiled forcefully, masking his fear.

"Like why we're in this dark enchanted woods..."

He skipped along.

"I know in a couple years, these will seem like childish fears!"

"So I know this isn't bad, it's good!"

Coiny gave him a questioning look, before jolting.

An icicle fell out of the sky, stabbing the ground.

Gelatin didn't seem phased.

"Excuse me."

He skipped around it.

"Growing up, means adapting!"

He twirled, arms in the air.

"Puzzling at the world and your place!"

Coiny froze, as he noticed a shadow looming in a tree. "Guys?" He said, nervously.

"When I'm more mature, I'll feel totally secure!!"

Gelatin stopped, his smile falling slightly.

"Being watched by something...with a creepy, creepy face..."

He turned around, face paling.

Pin quickly grabbed his hand.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"

The three ran away, as something swooped down, hand reaching for Gelatin.

Coiny elbowed the flying figure in the face, as they let out an 'ouch.'

Flying up, the creature was gone.

Gelatin was shaking.

Pin attempted to comfort him, when he softly began singing again.

"See...that will all make sense when I am older..."

He nervously smiled.

"So there's no need to be terrified, or tense."

"I'll just dream about a time, when I'm in my age of prime."

He seemed to be back to normal again.

"Cause when you're older, absolutely everything makes sense!"

He sighed.

"This is fine."

He suddenly collapsed on the ground.

      Pin gasped, quickly kneeling down. "Gelatin!" She quickly felt his pulse. Sighing in relief, she lifted him up. "Let's head back to camp for now..."

        Coiny nodded, glancing down at him. "Do you think...he was acting kinda odd?" Pin shrugged. "I mean...he seemed oddly cheerful, if that's what you meant."

         Shaking his head, Coiny walked with her. "He seemed distracted...and worried." Pin stared at him in confusion. "Really?" She asked. "I didn't catch that..."

         Coiny looked up at the canopy of trees. "Ever since we told him that..." His eyes widened, as his head snapped back to face Pin. She had the same look of realization on her face.

          "You don't think...he...?" Pin shook her head. "No. No way." She nervously laughed. "She barely left the mansion, how would they...?"

           Gulping quietly, Coiny didn't say another word as they both walked back to camp.

           Leafy gently glided her fingers over the embellishments of the icy walls. The smooth texture was oddly comforting. "How long have you been here?"

Toilet turned to face her, sheepishly looking down. "Well...I can't remember..." He admit, continuing to glide along the icy floors. "I know it's been a while since anyone's gone outside, if that helps."

A hush fell on the two. Neither of them knew what to say. For a moment, at least. "So X does this often?" She asked. "Does what?" Leafy felt the cold energy of her magic swirl around in anger.

"Kidnap innocent people?" Toilet fell silent again. "...Mistah X only wants what's best for us..." He quietly mumbled. Leafy sighed. "Sure he does."

Her words dripped with venom. It didn't go unnoticed. "None of us want to be here!" Toilet suddenly rose his voice. Leafy stopped dead in her tracks.

"None of us wanted to leave our families!" He turned around. "I know you know that!" Leafy stared at Toilet with a stoic expression.

His cheery persona had seemingly melted away. She must have pushed him to his limit. "But what can we do?" He asked, voice hollow and solemn.

"X is already trying to handle two problems at once," he started, continuing down the hallway, "the least we can do...is cooperate."

Leafy rose an eyebrow. "Two problems?" She thought to herself. Following Toilet, she made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Finally, they reached the training room. Leafy looked around curiously, only had ever seeing it from the ledge X had taken her to.

Other than a few pillars, it was barren. Although, maybe that was the idea. Leafy knew from experience that elemental magic required an open space to practice in.

However, it didn't seem like anyone was practicing. Instead, a small crowd had gathered around. Toilet began to walk over to them, and she followed.

Two distinct voices could be heard. "But...how?" An unfamiliar voice asked. "I'm not sure either." Leafy heard Knife say. The other person might have been Fan, then.

                "Before I knew it, I was sparking flames from my hands." The crowd started to dissipate. Leafy was able to see the two. Knife was standing next to a paper folding fan.

               They both seemed happy to see each other. Fan's smile wavered slightly, as he nervously glanced to the side. "I'm sorry." He suddenly said, catching Knife off guard.

               Rolling his eyes slightly, Knife chuckled. "What are you apologizing for?" He said, shrugging. "Last time I checked, you aren't the Yellow Demon."

                 Fan flinched, quickly shushing him. "Don't call him that!" He frantically whispered. Leafy stifled a laugh. She still couldn't get over how fitting the nickname was.

                 Suddenly, the room fell eerily quiet. It took Leafy a moment to realize everyone was staring at someone behind her. Turning around, her amused face fell into one of annoyance.

                  X was standing in the middle of the room, back facing the crowd. She tsked. Before she could turn away, she noticed an odd detail.

X was standing in front of someone.

                    Curious, Leafy paused for a moment. What was going on? Then, as if on cue, X rose his voice. "That was the one, and only rule, Donut!"

                    Icicles shot up from the floor one by one, encircling the person in front of him. "You are restricted to your room for a week!" He said, as Donut spoke up.

                  "Don't you understand how much I missed him?!" He angrily spat. "He was literally right under my feet!" X clenched his fist.

                  "You had the privilege and responsibility of accompanying me in my battle with the parasites, and you broke the rule!" He said, as Leafy stepped closer.

X was fighting the parasites?

That explained why she never saw him.

Well, besides the fact that she avoided him most of the time.

            The two fell quiet. Then, Donut spoke up once more. "Parasite or not, I'm going to see Gelatin again!" X flicked his wrist. A hole opened up in the icy ceiling.

             Rumbling loudly, the floor where Donut was trapped broke off. "Not if I have anything to say about it." The makeshift prison cell rose into the ceiling, and the hole closed again.

             Sighing, X fired his ice magic at the hole in the floor. When he turned around, Leafy noticed the tired look on his face. However, it quickly changed when he saw her.

             Smiling brightly, he acted like no one saw what he had just done. "Ah! Leafy!~" He cheered. "Mind helping a fellow ice user out?" For a moment, she was stunned.

               Then, she shook her head, clenching it slightly. She glared at him. "What the hell was that all about?!" X stared at her blankly. Innocence was plastered on his face.

                "Huh?" He asked, tilting his head. Leafy felt disgusted. "Why are you acting like you didn't have a fight just now?" She asked, eye twitching slightly.

                 "Not to mention...you couldn't let Donut see his friend for just five minutes?!" X stopped firing ice at the floor, fully turning around to face her.

                 His cheery expression faded, and was replaced with a empty look. Closing his eyes, he sighed slightly. "Can we not talk about this right now?"

               Leafy felt her hands ice over as a cold blizzard of anger raged inside her chest. "No." She said, voice low. A yelp quickly caught her attention.

                With a slight glance, Leafy pulled a sheet of thick ice from the wall. It stuck out like an awning, hovering over the others. Then, she felt a piece of hail hit her head.

She was right.

Her anger had made it start hailing.

               Now that the others had a place to hide from her storm, she turned her attention back to X. "You and I..." She started walking towards him, "we are going to have a friendly talk."

              Closing her eyes, Leafy could feel the icy blizzard hitting her in the face. "You seem to forget that they all have families." She said. "Families that love and miss them."

               Opening her eyes, she released the pressure of the built up magic inside her. Instead of her typical, pretty snow curls, the ice shot out of her hands in a zigzag pattern.

              They fired into the air, dissipating instantly. "Of course...not that you would understand." She scoffed. "You've never had a true family, have you?"

The blizzard grew stronger. Large cracks started to form in the ice around X. A twisted look of sadness and anger crossed his face as ice swirled around him.

He was beginning to lose his cool.

"That is enough, Leafy!" He cried out, clenching his fists. Leafy shook her head. "How can I make you understand?! Why don't you think any of us can use our powers safely?!"

X closed his eyes, clenching his head. "STOP IT!" He screamed. Ice clung to her hands as she glared X down. "EVERYONE IS SAFE WITH ME!"

Leafy tsked. "I could protect myself just fine..." She spat. An icicle formed in her hand. "In fact...why don't I show you?" X stared at her.

"If you won't listen to reason, I guess I have to force you to."

———————————————————

(A/n): Finally! Oh my gosh this took forever!

I'm so sorry.

I'm still not too happy with the ending line, but I tried my hardest.

This is actually just being finished at 1:40 am at the moment, so you might not see this right away, because I'm planning to post it in the morning-

Thankfully, with this out of the way, future chapters should be a lot smoother to write-