EDIT: Added a new, better intro, complete with a new, more fitting song.

Well my dear readers, this story has finally reached the 100 like mark. Quite honestly, I'm surprised it did. Not unhappy, mind you, but still surprised. But onto why this Author's Note is up here instead of at the bottom...

I'd like to do a special Intermission Chapter after this one in recognition of how far this story has come. But as a special present to all of you, I'm going to let you all decide what the contents of that chapter will be. I have only a few rules.

1) It cannot be set in the far-flung future of the chapter. In other words, it can't be a year or more in the future.

2) It cannot be a crossover chapter. I've already sworn off doing crossovers for this story until at least two arcs after this new chapter.

3) It cannot be a chapter that derails the plot.

I will allow Q&A chapters and just about anything else, as long as it doesn't break any of those rules stated above. Post your ideas on chapters and such below in the comments. Now, onto the namesake of this chapter, yes?

Enjoy, my dear readers.

-Timeless Celestial

Lucette walked out of the tavern and yawned as she stretched a bit, popping her back. “Mmm, God, that felt good…” she muttered. She then blinked as she heard the sound of feathers ruffling, looking to her side to find Ayis and Yukari just by the doors. Lucette blinked again. “Were you guys just… Watching us? The whole time? Since we started drinking and fell asleep?”

“Yep,” Ayis answered, nodding. “I think that was the first time I’ve seen the Squirt drunk. It was pretty funny, actually.”

“It’s embarrassing, that’s what it was,” Nyilla commented from her shoulder, a surly expression plastered on her face.

“Oh come on,” Yukari said with a small chuckle. “I think it was enjoyable to see the little lady let loose a bit.”

“If by let loose you mean literally strip down to her panties,” Lucette replied, sighing and shaking her head. “Much as my drunk self found it funny, now it’s just...weird, especially since she seemed so innocent before.” Lucette shuddered. “Yeah, don’t wanna think about those implications. Seriously, girl is like a 5 year old when small, then a fully grown woman when only 4”6. Too weird.” She shook her head. “Anyways, back to my point, why were you watching us?”

“Because it was interesting?” Yukari offered.

“…Why do I get the feeling you only ever do things for shits and giggles?” Lucette wondered aloud. Yukari simply giggled.

“Probably because she does,” Nyilla said flatly.

“Ah, whatever, it’s fine,” Ayis said, waving a hand dismissively. “I got to see a side of my babe that I don’t see often.”

“What, you mean a giggling fool?” Lucette asked. “Oh, I mean that in a good way, of course, kid’s got a good head on her shoulders.”

“Well, I guess so,” Ayis answered. “I just mean that I actually don’t get to see her drunk very often, if at all.”

“It’s true,” Yukari added. “Even I’ve rarely seen Alexandria drunk.”

“Huh…” Lucette said simply, putting a hand to her chin. She eventually shrugged. “Well, guess that just means I’m one of the people she can loosen up around. That, or the tournament just did that anyways.”

“Well, yeah,” Ayis agreed, rolling her hand around. “That was only the second time she’s died, and she only recently got her immortality, so this was probably her first chance to really let loose.”

“Huh,” Lucette said again. And again, she shrugged. “Well, I’ve got to get to my job again, so I’m gonna have to ask you guys to leave for now.” She extended a gauntleted hand and smiled warmly at the two. “It was nice meeting you two. Maybe we can have a few rounds of drinks ourselves in the future.” Yukari took the hand and shook it, returning the smile.

“That sounds wonderful,” she said. “I’ll definitely consider the offer.” She then let go, Ayis shaking it next.

“Yeah, that might be cool,” the Fallen Angel concurred. “Maybe I’ll be able to fight in a tournament or something next time too.”

“Maybe, or maybe I’ll just invite you and Alex over for a sparring match. Been way too long since I’ve done any fighting, ya know?” Lucette replied, grinning from ear to ear. Ayis’ face lit up a bit.

“Yeah, that’d work too,” she said with barely held enthusiasm. Nyilla just rolled her eyes.

“Oh! And if you ever need a gun, feel free to ask. I’m not afraid to hand ‘em out to friends,” Lucette continued, patting her own gun. “Trust me, the things pack a punch.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yukari said with a small smile as a Gap opened. “Alright, Ayis, I think it’s time we head back. Best not keep everyone waiting too long.” Ayis just nodded as she turned to the Gap and walked towards it. Before she went through, she paused to turn and wave to Lucette.

Lucette smiled and gave a two-fingered salute in kind. With that, Ayis jumped through the Gap, and Yukari gave one last courteous smile to Lucette before following Ayis, the Gap closing behind the tall, enigmatic woman.

Lucette sighed and lowered her arm, glancing down the hallway that lead to her chambers. "..." She groaned, bringing a gauntleted hand to her forehead. "This is gonna suck..." With a sigh, she began her walk to her chambers to make up with Ventus.

Not long after, she reached the room and paused by the door, hand outstretched to knock. She eventually shook her head and steeled herself, rapping her knuckles upon the purpleheart wood door. There was no response for a short little while, but then, Ventus' voice answered, "Come in," in a reserved tone. Lucette frowned and sighed again, before pushing the door open. She closed it behind her, then looked around her spacious room for her partner. She didn't see her at the four poster bed, nor near the walk-in closet or bathroom. Lucette took a few steps forward.

"V? Where are you?" she called.

"...Over here," came Ventus' despondent reply. Lucette followed the sound of the voice to the balcony, seeing the little Ghost floating near the Black Iron railings. The woman pushed the doors open gently and walked up next to her partner. Silence ensued for a while, the only sound left being that of the ever raging storm. Finally, Ventus spoke. "...L, am I... Am I still useful?"

Lucette's head snapped to her. "What do you mean, V? Of course you're still useful! But you're not some tool, you know that, right?"

Ventus slowly nodded. "Yeah, I know, but... As a Ghost, my entire meaning for existing is to help my Guardian, and..." Ventus trailed off, unable to finish her sentence as she looked away. Lucette frowned deeply, then sighed as she looked out upon her kingdom from above.

"...Look, V, I'm sorry for what I said, it was uncalled for. I just... I just..." Lucette stopped herself, trying to think of what to say, then sighed deeply and continued. "...I just didn't want you to know that stuff about me, not until I was ready. I know that the stuff that's happened at The City back in the Sol System was pretty bad, but..." Lucette clenched her fists tightly. "...They didn't have to go through what I did for half a year. They didn't see the same shit I did. Not even the Hive or Fallen or Vex would've done what those bastards in CAR did. Hell, I doubt even the Cabal would've done that shit." Lucette looked to Ventus to find her staring right at her. "The place you came from, the place you knew before we came here... It's nowhere close to the hell I was in back in my home."

"But you still should've told me!" Ventus argued, floating a little closer as her optic somehow expressed anger and pain. "Even if it hurt you a lot, even if it meant things wouldn't be the same, you still should have told me! That's what partners do, right?! They're supposed to trust each other!" Lucette simply stared at Ventus as she slowly broke down, letting herself descend a fair bit. "...Am I just not close enough for you to trust anymore...?" Ventus asked in a shaky tone, optic lowering to the concrete as rain pounded down on the two of them. Lucette's frown deepened as she looked at her Ghost.

Her partner.

Finally, with a sigh, she gently grabbed the small robot and lifted her to her own face. "...It's not your fault, V," she began soflty, the Ghost slowly looking up at her. "...I...I've just never really been the same since I came back from CAR. I only ever talked to my brother or my friend Suzy. And even then, I never told them about what happened." Lucette let out a self-derisive snort. "Hell, I even managed to avoid telling the entire story to the Doomies!" Lucette slowly brought her face closer to the little Ghost. "...But, from now on, I'll start being more forthcoming. Starting with you." Lucette managed a kind smile. "That sound good?"

Ventus made a sound not unlike a sniffle, though how she was able to do so was unknown. Then, she bobbed - her version of a nod - in agreement. "Yeah... I'd like that. A lot."

Lucette's smile grew. "Alright, from now on, ask me anything, and I'll do my best to answer it, okay?"

Once more, Ventus bobbed, then gave her Guardian a hopeful look. "Can we uh... Can you tell me more about your Earth now, then?"

Lucette nodded. "You got it."

And thus, the duo spent the rest of the night revisiting the past.

After Lucette had talked to the other world leaders and set up a trade agreement with Ember (Mostly for more gems, but also coal and many high-end metals), as well as given out the consolation prizes, they had all left for their home countries, leaving Lucette to her own devices for the rest of the day.

Thus, Lucette stood in the Castle Training Room, watching from afar as her daughter, Suki, practiced her marksmanship skills. She was using two airsoft versions of Remington M95 derringers, shooting at paper targets in the shooting range area of the Training Room. The idea of airsoft guns had been something Lucette suggested rather quickly, explaining that it could help support the gun trade in general, and it had c aught on like wildfire in the Storm Kingdom, the city of Black Mountain especially.

Lucette smiled as she saw her daughter swiftly reload her guns after each shot was fired, though, as expected, she still had a long way to go before she reached her mother's level.

This much was evident by how Suki would occasionally hit just beyond the bullseye, and Lucette was taking note of it in her mind. After a short span of time, Lucette walked over and stood behind Suki. As Suki took aim once more, Lucette spoke up. "Remember, muffin top, minimum movements. Don't pause to wipe the sweat from your head, or bend your knees. Just do the most necessary actions."

"Yes mommy!" Suki replied dutifully, following her mother's instructions. She raised her guns up for another few shots.

"Face flat, sweetie," Lucette instructed. Suki nodded, adjusting her head. Then, she squeezed the triggers, firing four rounds at the targets across the range, hitting one on both ends of it's shoulders, piercing the paper easily. Lucette smiled and lightly ruffled Suki's furry head. "Good job, muffin top." Suki beamed and nuzzled into her touch, purring a little. Lucette's smile only grew as she continued to ruffle the young one's cute head. Eventually, she removed her hand. "Alright, time for melee weapons." Suki nodded with a beaming smile, rushing over to a weapon rack where she grabbed an oak shotel and Firangi before rushing back over to her mother and getting in a ready stance.

Lucette chuckled at this. "You really do love those swords, huh muffin top?"

Suki nodded enthusiastically. "Ya huh! I really like the curvy one, it's silly!" she informed, lifting the shotel up a bit and spinning it a little. She gave the Firangi a test swing. "And this one's just cool!"

Lucette sighed and shook her head with a smile before looking back up to her daughter. "You need to choose your weapons based on your fighting style too, sweetie, don't forget that, okay?" Suki nodded once more.

"Okay mommy! I got it!" she replied. Lucette smiled, before getting into her own stance.

"Alright muffin top, show me what you got!" Lucette urged, making a 'bring it on' gesture. Suki then gained a grin not unlike her mother's in it's ferocity, then dashed in, and once she reached her mother, she twirled around and lashed out with her shotel, aiming to catch her mother's leg and sweep it out from under her.

Lucette stopped the attack by lightly kicking the offending weapon away, sending it flying out of Suki's hand and across the range. Suki, undeterred, made to slice upwards with her Firangi, but Lucette simply grabbed it with her hand, then yanked it out of her daughter's grasp. Suki was determined however, and pounced onto her mother, ineffectively punching her chest as she fell backwards.

Lucette laughed at this and let herself fall, wrapping her daughter in her arms as she did. Suki cried out in alarm, and then Lucette gained her signature grin. Suki's eyes widened, recognizing the look in her mommy's eyes. "W-Wait-!" she tried to shout, but it was too late, for Lucette had begun to mercilessly tickle her daughter, the young Siamese cat squealing and flailing as she was tickled, laughing and giggling as her mother tickled her. "N-No-hohoho-! Mommy sto-o-o-o-op-! Hee hee hee hee- Ha ha ha ha ha!" She flailed more. "I-I-I-heehee-hahaha-! I give! I give!" After a good ten minutes Lucette stopped tickling her daughter, smiling warmly down at her with her glowing golden eyes.

She then lightly poked Suki's nose. "You went too flashy, sweetie, and you were too predictable. You need to be faster, too," Lucette told her daughter. "Or else you get more tickles~." She raised her hands again, wriggling her fingers. Suki pushed them away and slowly recaught her breath as she pouted.

"That's...not fair! You're too good, mommy!" Suki argued.

Lucette let out a short laugh before responding. "Muffin top, if you wanna train, you have to have the best teacher." She pointed to herself with a thumb and smirked. "And who's the best teacher here?"

Suki kept her pout and looked away, but conceded with, "You..." She then turned back to her mother. "But can't you go a little easier?"

Lucette kept her smirk. "Suki, that was easy," Lucette explained. She booped her nose again. "And I'm not lowering the difficulty, because otherwise you won't learn and adapt."

Suki sighed before losing her pout. "Fine..." she perked up. "Can I have some Storm Candy now? Pleeease?" She pleaded, giving her mother puppy dog eyes. Lucette rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you little rascal," she conceded, ruffling her furry head again. Suki purred and nuzzled up against her mother's hand.

"Thanks mommy," she chirped.

The Awoken smiled. "Anytime, muffin top."

Three hours later, Lucette was in the War Room with Tempest, Grubber, and the Nyxian Master of the Darkstriders, or, in other words, the head honcho of the Darkstriders. What made him special was his unique bloodline, being part of the Warrior-Noble House of Skilvfig, or, "Stormcloud." This House held the hereditary ability to spew black fog, and it was his particular mastery of this ability that granted him his position, among other things. His House was based in the city of Black Mountain, and as such held quite a bit of sway with its court.

Lucette was looking over a map of the known world with a critical eye as her advisor explained the progress on the spy network and it's missions.

"We've managed to successfully get a team on the ground in The Undiscovered West, and while we have been receiving consistent reports, there hasn't been any sign of the Kingdom of the Centaurs and Gargoyles, or the Thestrals," Tempest began, pointing to the landmass to the west of Equestria. She then pointed to a series of islands off the coast of the Bug Bear Territories. "The Minotian Isles have been successfully infiltrated, and Team Walker, Team Toland, and Team Yor Kaathe have sent in their first set of reports." She nodded to the Nyxian Master, who produced a small stack of papers and handed them to Lucette.

Lucette looked them over, eyes narrowing as she flipped through them. "Hmm, good, good, seems those charms we got from the Equestrian blackmarket worked well..." She placed the papers to the side and looked back to Tempest. "Anything else?"

Tempest nodded, pointing to the easternmost of the eastern continents, of which there were three. "The Saddle Arabians refused the invitation to the Festival, but after news spread from the participant countries to the rest of the world, they became interested in us. They've invited us over to their capital."

"Oooh, I heard they have the best sour candies!" Grubber interrupted. Everyone present shot him a look, and he shrunk back. "Oh, uh, eheh, sorry..."

"Anyways..." Lucette said, looking over the vast deserts of Saddle Arabia. She stared at the area on the map for a few seconds in contemplation before continuing, "...Send the Aspect Master of the Betwixt and a team of her choosing. She will be our delegate to the Saddle Arabians."

Tempest saluted, and the meeting continued, filled with dozens more reports and the like. An hour later, a messenger came in with a letter. After taking it from him and reading it over after he excused himself, Tempest spoke up. "What does it say, My Queen?"

Lucette lowered the scroll from her face, a grim look on her pretty visage. "...I've been invited to the next meeting of the International Council..."

"Dammit!!!" cursed Minotian Emperor Steel Axe, slamming a fist onto an ornate table and breaking it in half. His three Champions stood at the door to his chambers in the capital city of the Minotian Isles, Minos. "That damned harlot! She rigged that entire tournament, she had to!" He reared his fist back once more, "Grrrah!" and slammed it into the nearest wall, cracks spider webbing through the white terracotta wall. His Champions remained silent as their monarch continued to rage across his chambers, the sounds of his anger-fueled destruction echoing throughout the room.

By the end of his near thirty minute rampage, his four-poster bed was in pieces, his lounging couch was cut in half by his signature greataxe, a number of the stained glass windows across the room had been shattered, the stuffed head of a Cirein had been tossed across the room and currently had it's maw filled with most of the wall it had impacted, and Iron Will was sweating up a storm while his mother and father simply watched on, the father having taken to reclining against the door frame, and the mother once more partaking of her favorite drink; Sack Milk.

Steel Axe stomped over to his balcony, reaching the railing and gazing hatefully out at the watery horizon with his burning emerald eyes. He ground his teeth as he continued to glare.

"Mark my words, you upstart, freakish bitch..." he growled out. "I'll find out ALL of your secrets... And when I do..." He gripped the railings tightly with his muscled hands. "...I'll use them to bring that pretty castle of yours down on your head!"