Adagio woke with a quiet groan, blinking blearily as she sat up.

"Mornin', Dagi! Or like, afternoon!"

She almost rubbed her eyes before remembering her lack of fingers. "S'nata," she mumbled, "how long was I out?" When she'd managed to get her bearings, her eyes shot open. They were now lying on a bed in a building she didn't know, and from the general far-eastern aesthetic of the place, possibly on the other side of the world. She could only repeat her question. "How long was I out?!"

"Just a couple hours."

"We were sent to another country in a couple of hours?!" Another thought occurred. "They deported us?!"

"No," answered Aria, "they just built a traditional, Japanese-style house in the middle of the park with help from a construction crew employed by the rich family of one of our new brain-slaves." This earned her a hard stare, but she just flicked a fin. "Not being sarcastic, that's really what happened. Lemon was right, you need to relax more." Looked like the spa treatment didn't work all that well.

Considering that her heart-rate was only starting to return to normal levels, Adagio felt a little cornered. She had been a little stressed these last so many weeks, but staying alert was a good thing, dammit! Changing the subject would be admitting defeat, so she instead opted for a subtle compromise. "I'll relax when we're safely in control and Sunset Shimmer is locked in a cage!"

This won no objections, so she got up, finding herself to still be wearing the kimono and that her hair was now neatly tied up in a manner that made it look much, much smaller. She could still feel the same weight of it, however, bound tightly with a pair of chopsticks. She paced out of the little bedroom across a floor of tan rectangles, out to what she guessed to be a living room, and over to what she interpreted to be a door; a big, wooden-frame rectangle thing full of paper squares. Sonata nudged it open for her, allowing her to step out onto the... porch, thing, to see the lush grass of the city park... and most of her waiting army of servants, all of whom greeted her in unison.

"Good afternoon, Master!"

Looking over them, Adagio quickly spotted the one she wanted to talk to. "Lemon Zest!" Her tone must have been perfect, because Lemon immediately stepped forward with an "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" look on her face. Adagio nodded to the house behind her. "Explain."

"Well, me and Rick -third from the left- got to talking during your nap, how a lady like you really needed a snazzy palace. I told him it'd have to be Japan-flavored because'a the thing you've got goin' and one of our new pals has family that runs a construction company, so-

"Alright," sighed Adagio, having confirmed Aria's story, "then... I suppose we live here now? In the middle of the park? Is that legal?"

"Kinda. Royal Pin over there has family in-"

"Forget I asked. I suppose we should go get our-"

"Already sent a few to bring everything here," said Aria, "figured moving would be hard enough even if all three of us had our hands, so..."

After scanning the scene for a long, silent moment, Adagio sounded almost disbelieving. "...You two directed things while I was asleep, and now we have a new (if old-fashioned) house as opposed to our dingy apartment, from which some of our slaves are currently bringing our belongings? And nothing has gone wrong?" Raising Aria and Sonata to where she could look both in the eyes, Adagio started to smile with what might have been pride. "Not bad, not bad at all."

Grinning smugly, Aria opened her mouth to comment, but Sonata was faster. "Aww, it was mostly just Lemon!" Her smile was wiped away when Aria headbutted her. Hard. "Ow! What?!"

"You idiot," Aria snarl-whispered, "she'll never trust us to lead at this rate!"

"Ekhem," came the voice of their host, who could still hear everything they were saying. The two turned to her, Aria with consternation clear in her scaly face, but Adagio's amused grin helped to defuse her anxiety. "Whether it was all your doing or not, we didn't wake up trapped, lost, or in a cell again, and I would call that a job well-done." She bestowed forehead kisses accordingly, though Aria's adorable squirming told her she should probably start waiting until there were no witnesses before doing that in the future. Then, she turned to Lemon with a grin. "And let's not forget our dearest servant..."

Lemon blinked twice. "Huh?" Her heart nearly leapt to her throat as the snake-woman stepped closer, but rather than a kiss, she was rewarded with Aria and Sonata being wrapped around her in a hug. Even if her arms were pinned to her sides by massive serpents, it was a surprisingly soft, snuggly hug!

"Thank you," said Adagio, "for all your help."

They stayed that way for about a minute, Lemon glancing over her shoulder at the rest of the (slightly jealous-looking) minions, but that wasn't what made her blush. "Adagio?"

"Yes, Lemon Zest?"

"Uhm," she giggled, "one of your eels is touching my butt."

Aria and Sonata both immediately pulled back so quickly that Adagio nearly lost balance as they cried "NOT IT!!"

"I know it was you, Sonata," said Aria with a flushed face, "I don't even like girls!!"

"Oh, like you're not bicurious," Sonata barked back, "I've seen you eyeing us up after showers!"

"Because you two refuse to put towels on!!"

"Pfft, likely stor-"

"Alright, alright," giggled Adagio, "whoever did it, please don't fondle people during hugs. Might send the wrong message, you know?" Two blushing snake-arms were not arguments, so she moved things along. "Now, we have a new base of operations underway and a small workforce, but it may not be enough to stop our old enemies when they arrive."

Sonata glanced around nervously. "Th-they're coming already?!"

"Now? Doubtful, but it's only a matter of time until they learn of us one way or another. Until then, we should prepare." She looked at the crowd of servants while using Sonata to indicate a few. "You, go to the nearest applicable store and bring back tea. You two, procure tablewear and means with which to brew tea. You three, wait until they get back, then walk around the park inviting people back here for tea." She grinned in her usual wicked way. "I'll greet them personally..."

The six she'd ordered replied in unison. "At once, Master!"

As the group spread out (bar the three who were ordered to wait), Aria raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna get more servants? I thought that's what you were buggin' out about before?"

"I was not 'bugging out,'" she replied irritably, "I was considering our options, and now I have a plan f-" She stopped at a sudden twinge in her belly, which she knew the others felt too. That alone made her blush. "Uhh... Servants," she said while addressing the remaining mind-slaves, "I require a lone, female assistant."

Lemon raised a hand. "I could-"

"No," Adagio shot back immediately, "you just take a break for now!" It has to be someone I don't have to look in the eye after...

Lemon shrugged and put her headphones back on with a little grin. "'Kay!"

The others were even more receptive to their order, but much less understanding.

"I'll go with you, Master!"

"No, I'll go!"

"Let me help!"

"I live to serve you!"

Feeling another twinge, Adagio grimaced, but to her horror, Sonata spoke first.

"Master needs a potty break, so you-" she pointed at one of the girls with her snout, "-come with us!"

For a split second, time froze in Adagio's head. She had no words, no thoughtful analysis, or even annoyance at Sonata, just stood there in silent dread of the mockery and laughter she was about to be assailed with. To her surprise, however, the only spoken sentiment was one of glee by the girl exclaiming to have been chosen as the 'lavatory assistant' while the others looked at her in envy. Lemon wasn't saying anything or looking at her, but the headphones might have blocked her hearing entirely.

Noting that their new magic really must have had some effect on their victims' heads, Adagio took the girl Sonata volunteered and went in search of the rest room.

Fortunately, the traditional decor did not extend to the entire house. Just the same, Adagio shuffled out of the bathroom with her head down even as the other girl remained bright and peppy.

"So," pondered Aria aloud, "was that any better?" Adagio's solid crimson face said it wasn't, but might as well ask, right?

"The shame will never leave me," she muttered, "not for as long as I live."

Sonata frowned. "Is it really that bad for you?"

"Yes," seethed Adagio through clenched teeth as she looked up, "not being able to take care of all three of us anymore was humiliating enough, barely being able to take care of myself is unbearable!" She was in no mood to explain this, but the (adorably) confused looks she was getting said she had to. "Before the Battle, I could get us anything we needed virtually at the drop of a hat under my own power alone, and as the one in command, our collective well-being was my responsibility." She sighed, her irritated expression fading to a remorseful grimace. "Lately, I've practically been yours, and I can't call it anything but a miserable failure on my part."

There was a pause as Aria and Sonata shared a glance. The former let out an indignant scoff. "Like we ever needed you to take care of us?" Adagio blinked at her in surprise, but at least her blush was starting to fade. More circulation for the rest of them. "I mean, we were doing fine even without our old powers, you were the only one that stayed up all night, skipped meals, and got cuts all over your hands and face."

"I was trying to restore our-" Adagio growled back, but stopped short. Anger remained clear in her expression, but her question came in a weak whisper. "...When did I have cuts on my face?"

"Just yesterday," answered Sonata, "when you came out to see the book. Did you go to sleep at your desk again?"

"Collapse on her desk again," corrected Aria, an eyebrow raised.

Adagio shrunk back a little. "I was-"

Not caring that she was arguably in a worse position than ever to be making Adagio angry, Aria cut her off. "You were obsessing so hard that it was driving you nuts. I once walked in to find you just pushing the pieces of the gems around with a fingertip and giggling like a loon, and if you'd just took a break more than a cumulative few hours a day, you might have actually had your marbles together well enough to figure out what to do." Despite the almost tearful look on Adagio's face, it was hard to say from whom exactly the little tug in their chest came.

"I'm sorr-" Adagio was cut off again when Sonata licked her face, drawing a startled, surprised little yelp. She blinked twice while looking back at the smiling serpent.

"Don't worry about it, Dagi! 'Cuz like, even if we never figure out the gems, we'll always have each other, right?"

"Ugh," groaned Aria, "that's gotta be the cheesiest thing you've ever said."

Craning her neck closer to Aria, Sonata smirked. "But it's true, right?"

Aria looked away in the vain effort of hiding a blush, which drew a little giggle from Adagio as Sonata inched closer.

"Riiiiiight?"

If Aria had arms, she'd have crossed them. "Anyway," she said while looking back at Adagio, "my point is, we don't really need you to do the leader thing. Just keep it together and we'll all do fine, y'know?" Sonata supported the statement with a nod and a hopeful smile.

The warm, friendly looks she was getting made Adagio want to nuzzle them again, but for the sake of the moment, she restrained herself to smiling back. "Alright. I, suppose I could stand to step back a little. Just long enough to see if the house burns down or something." The trio giggled together. "For now," she turned to the girl that had helped them in the bathroom, warming up her hypno-magic again, "you, forget everything you saw and heard in the last several minutes."

The girl's eyes flickered red before she nodded numbly, drawing a smirk of satisfaction from the snake-woman. Noticing the odd looks she was getting from her arms, she raised a defensive eyebrow.

"What? I have to preserve our dignity somehow." She might have been willing to let someone else tend to her needs if it were strictly necessary, but there was no reason they had to remember any of it. "Next," she said with a growing smirk while pacing back to Lemon and the remaining servants, "we need to build our forces as much as possible while maintaining a low profile, and I think I know just how to do it..."

Author's Notes:

Just two, maybe three and a half chapters left. The 'and a half' is a non-canon Bad End I'm iffy about actually taking the time to write, but it's an idea that occurred to me during the early phases of this thing.

And then we can get to the really interesting thing!