Hello everyone out there!

Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OCs to me, there might be references to this world, music etc and spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far.

A huge thank you to the awesomeness that is Curlyfr13s for eliminating spelling and grammar mistakes!

Even so, have a fun time reading!

Chapter 32 Waiting for the summit

The aftermath of the war was chaotic, but Titus did his best to prevent another catastrophe. Leaving Ignatius as the Senior dungeon capturer and general at the scene to have him deal with the rebuilding of the city and the alliance, the new Magi of Reim ordered the majority of the soldiers to return to the motherland. Those who doubted the boy at first were more than surprised with how efficient Titus wrapped his business up, ordering people around and manipulating like a master of the subject. After an heartbreaking scene he, Marga and Sphintus parted with Aladdin who stayed behind a bit longer, while Lenka said her good-bye to Alibaba, Mor, Yunan – which turned into a glaring contest again – and the remaining Ren family members, Kouha and Kouen – more glaring from Miran – before they boarded the ship, three days after the defeat of the Medium.

Of course they had to take a ship back to Reim.

Lenka was not the only one seasick, and she was very happy about that. Shun Ra, a girl born and raised on the flat, seemingly endless plains of Kou had never set a foot on a boat before, not to mention a battleship like the one they were traveling to Reim with. Another person that was very happy about that was Sphintus Carmen. The life magician had a colorful assortment of potions and several spells to test on them, all within a reasonable field of expertise, of course. Miran told her later that the teen had yelled "For science!" at one point, but she had been busy hanging over the railing at that occasion.

Muu was not thrilled with her volunteering as guinea pig but when Miran shared the story how Lenka would rather jump into dungeons than board a ship the man all but threatened Sphintus to hurry up and find a cure. To say the Magnostadt student was miffed was understatement, but Lenka and Shun Ra were free from sea-sickness not even an hour later, the process maybe sped up due to Muu standing in a corner of Sphintus' cabin and workplace and glaring at the magician. Titus laughed hard when he listened to his friend's angry rants about Reim's insolent fanalis dungeon capturer, but scolded Muu the same evening.

"It was really strange when he told me 'And to think you were such an adorable child'," he complained to Lenka about his meeting with the Magi afterwards. The three dungeon capturers Muu, Nerva and Lenka had their own cabins for themselves, as well as Titus as the Magi who shared with Marga, and Sphintus as his doctor. Since she was sharing hers with her household and Shun Ra wanted to go to sleep early - being seasick was tiring after all - the blonde was forced to relocate for couple time.

Lenka pressed her hand on her mouth to muffle her giggles. The look on his face was priceless!

"This is no laughing matter."

"S-sorry," she hiccuped and leaned against him.

"I just imagined your reaction when he said that..."

Muu nodded, trying not to cringe at the memory.

"It was like talking to Lady Scheherazade again."

"Remember, he has inherited her memories," Lenka hummed and wrapped a strand of his hair around one finger, "and is now busy figuring out who exactly he is. I think the personality 'Titus' is really overworked and confused, that's why he will sometimes act like Lady Scheherazade, because he knows what she did in a similar situation. It's a good thing Sphintus and Marga came with us, they know the 'old' Titus, and he will act like himself around them. In a few days he will be fine again for sure."

"So when he reprimanded me," he said, lips twitching upwards into a grin.

"He did what his mother would have done," Lenka finished the sentence and started laughing again, Muu joining her this time then pulled her onto his lap. She leaned back, occasionally giggling, and laced her fingers with his before looking up and raising a brow at his wide grin. He shook his head and squeezed her fingers in return. His smile gradually changed into a faraway expression so Lenka turned her head and kissed his cheek.

"Whatever you are thinking right now, out with it. I don't like seeing you sad. It doesn't suit you."

"I'm happy we survived the war, but the death toll... so many could have been saved if Titus hadn't decided to abandon the plan."

"It's human to not want to die. How would you feel, if you had been raised in an empty room and were to suddenly start living actively, seeing all the things you had only heard about, finding friends who care about you and accept you without prejudice, a place to live, and then confronted with a time limit?

I would have tried to grasp every straw if I were in his shoes as well."

Muu sighed and hugged her closer.

"I know. I just... I wish I could have done more."

Lenka turned as much as she could to scowl at him.

"You did everything you could, Muu. I'm sure of that. You wouldn't be you if you hadn't given your best to protect Reim and its people. Don't let it drag you down."

She leaned against him again while he was thinking about her words. Minutes passed in which she simply listened to the waves outside, basking in the warmth of her... could she call him boyfriend?

Yes, idiot, Foras face palmed at her conqueror's stupidity. Lenka blushed and was about to answer when Muu buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Thank you."

She hummed her agreement then squeaked when he nipped affectionately at her skin. One of his hands left hers and traveled upwards to cup her face before kissing her. They didn't get any further as suddenly the door opened and Titus glared in.

"Nothing happens on this ship. Nothing. Have I made myself clear?"

The two adults blushed under the Magi's stern glare and nodded, utterly mortified, before Lenka climbed from Muu
s lap to sit at the other end of the bed. Titus nodded approvingly at her action.

"Good. Sleep well, Muu, Lenka. And by sleep I mean sleep, nothing else."

The door slammed shut and Lenka tried to smother herself in the pillow Muu handed her.

Two days passed and Titus was Titus again, as far as Lenka knew. Thank Solomon for Marga, who had told her friend slash older brother figure slash caretaker slash everything she was working for in life that he sounded like a granny when he asked her not to run around so much. Horror-stricken the blond had looked at Sphintus, who only shrugged and replied "It's true, almost like my own grandmother," around his pipe.

Due to therapeutic exposure to the fanalis' corps on the same boat - who were slowly getting stir-crazy from being confined to the narrowness of the ship and thus were perhaps even louder than usual - Reim's new Magi was soon cured of behaving like an elderly person. Much to the three dungeon capturers' relief, because getting used to Titus as their Magi would be less painful as if he were not to behave like Scheherazade. They all had more or less forgiven the boy for betraying Reim, and he appreciated the trust they had in him.

Miran had set out to befriend Titus, Marga and Sphintus, dragging Shun Ra with him. The girl from Kou almost got in a fight with Sphintus, as they were both rather head-strong teenagers, but were forced to settle their differences when Titus attempted to prove his maturity and reconcile them. Then Lenka dropped by to get stories of Aladdin out of the magician, and Sphintus, happy that there was someone willing to listen to his rants about the younger child and their adventures, wouldn't stop talking for hours; Shun Ra then decided that she could have had it worse, especially after she met Nerva. Her dungeon capturer was at least nice, if somewhat crazy.

Even so she was more than a tad nervous when they finally arrived in Remano, the party separated and Lenka led her newest household member to the house she owned. The citizens smiled and waved at them like they were important persons, no one seemed to be offended because she clearly didn't look like she belonged here. Belatedly Shun Ra realized that yes, Lenka was indeed an important person, and yes, she had spent days on the same ship as Reim's most powerful and perhaps influential people! She almost ran into the blonde when they stopped at a white building close to a busy market square.

"It's a little dusty at the moment, but we can take care of that easily. There is a third room upstairs we can prepare for you," she told Shun Ra and closed the door behind them. Miran sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"I don't think you have a djinn that can help us?"

"Unless you want to burn the house to the ground, freeze it in crystal, suck it into a black hole, fry it with lightning or have the amoeba in the dust grow and mutate into nightmarish monsters, no," replied Lenka then walked into the kitchen to search for a duster, Miran following her. Shun Ra remained where she was, on the doormat, and simply looked around. It was a nice house, she admitted, different from the ones she knew from her childhood, completely foreign in their architecture. Homesickness caused her stomach to churn and her eyes to tingle so she rubbed them to stop the tears from falling.

"Are you alright?"

She turned her head and looked at Miran who stared at her questioningly, but not unfriendly. The boy puzzled and annoyed her to no end. Sometimes he would act older than he was, and nothing could escape his attention, then he was a child again, asking strange questions and playing games.

"I've got dust in my eye," she answered with a shrug. Miran nodded, then grinned and nearly shoved the feather duster he was holding in her face, and ew, dirty feathers in her mouth!

"Then this is yours, Shura. Good luck."

"You brat! Wait until I get you!"

"You will never catch me!"

Lenka smiled and started cleaning the cooking place while her household ran through the house, screaming, laughing and sneezing, and hoped they would stay this childish for a while longer.

Titus let them settle in for four days then called his dungeon capturers for a meeting in the palace of the Sacerdos Maximus, formerly the palace of the Sacerdos Maxima. It had been renamed when he had been introduced to the citizens of Remano as Scheherazade's son and successor as the Magi. The public funeral service would be held in a few more days, and he was glad beyond measure that Marga and Sphintus were here with him; alone he wouldn't have been able to cope with the sudden pressure from the emperor, senate and other officials.

Muu picked Lenka up after breakfast to walk with her to the building where they surprisingly met Ignatius; apparently he had been summoned per teleportation circle to attend the meeting.

Titus led them to Scheherazade's office which would have looked like it did when the old Magi was alive, but the stacks of unfinished work growing from the table and the floor turned it into a secretary's nightmare. Ignoring the towers of paperwork Titus walked through the room to a group of seats next to a balcony from where Lenka could see the rooftops of the city. The boy carefully sat down and smirked triumphantly when his heavy purple robes didn't crinkle, then connoted his dungeon capturers to sit as well.

"Now that we are all here we can discuss the outcome of the Magnostadt war. As you know, we are far from our intended goals, but we have made minor achievements."

Ignatius nodded.

"The rebuilding of Magnostadt with the Alliance proceeds smoothly. Due to the enormous changes of the surrounding landscape after the battle the transportation of resources depends mostly..."

Thanks to Mount Kouen, Orobas snickered and she had to hide her grin at the commentary.

Did they name it yet?

Probably something very uncreative. It will be still Mount Kouen in Eligos' mind, forever and ever after.

Lenka shook her head at her djinn's fangirlish behaviour then continued to listen to the report on the situation. At some point Titus sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know whether or not to be impressed with Sinbad's scheming."

"Try being pissed off," Lenka suggested and the new Magi inclined his head with a mischievous grin.

"Or to be better than him."

"Lucky Titus, having all those memories will pay off in the future. So many plans that could work, so much blackmail on people..."

"A shame we didn't get Magnostadt," he agreed cheekily.

"You would have made a great governor with that mindset."

Lenka blinked in confusion at Titus then her eyes widened and she jumped from her chair in shock.

"You would have given me Magnostadt?!"

"I don't see why either," Nerva sneered, receiving a scolding glance from Ignatius and a Death Glare from Muu, but Titus nodded, still looking slightly upset because Scheherazade's plan hadn't worked out.

"If Reim had managed to get ahold of Magnostadt we would have been almost unassailable. My mother had planned to make you governor because you told her you had a relative there, plus the fact that your body and Rukh are special. The magicians would be very interested in that. Given that both Kou and the Alliance wanted to conquer the country as well for the power of the magic devices we could have put them to a hold through trade, since you are acquaintances with the Ren family."

"And the stupid king wouldn't have dared attacking Reim because I could ask Kouen for a temporary treaty with them," Lenka concluded then made a face.

"Plus you would have had tied me to Reim until death this way. Not to mention that you would have tried to help me recreate the technology of my world, resulting in more money for Reim. And Kouen would have tried to marry one of his siblings to me. Again. I've told him no, and not to sell his siblings as if they were objects," she hastily calmed Muu who looked as if he seriously considered how to maim the first price of Kou if they were to meet again.

"Lady Scheherazade thought is was worth a try. Sadly it didn't work."

Titus managed to look apologetic under Ignatius' glance, forcing Lenka to reach over and pat his head.

"There, there. No need to think of a future that certainly won't happen now."

He beamed at her then looked at the men in the room.

"What do you think we should do now? You are my seniors in this field after all."

"The meeting the Magi requested is in two months," Ignatius said.

"I will oversee the soldiers left on the eastern continent until they have safely departed to the motherland. The teleportation circle is set to bring me to Magnostadt as soon as this meeting is finished."

Titus nodded in agreement and handed Ignatius a letter he had picked up from one of the paper towers.

"Give this one to the Carmen clan, Sphintus' family. I requested their aid in taking care of my health, in case something is wrong and hasn't been noticed yet."

"As you wish, Lord Titus."

"Nerva, could you gauge the reactions of the other noble families to me as Magi and... just do what you did for Scheherazade."

"As you wish, Lord Titus."

He's got them whipped already, Eligos snickered and Lenka raised her brow at the djinn.

You can't say that now, Eligos. It will take a few more months for everything to run smoothly again.

But you can't deny he's doing his very best right now, said Foras. The blonde sent her spirits a feeling of agreement with their words then spoke up.

"I don't know what I can do for you, Titus, but I'm willing to help you and Reim as much as possible."

Muu smiled at her and looked at his Magi.

"The fanalis corps will stand loyal to you, as do I."

Titus smiled back at them.

"Thank you. Muu, Lenka, I want you two to travel to Balbadd and negotiate with Ren Kouen again. If we manage to get a ceasefire treaty with them as well Reim will be safe from all sides."

"Why do you want to sent the two of them? One would be sufficient," Nerva asked and Lenka rolled her eyes.

"Muu will be going because he can do the talking better than I can, and I will go to stop him from maiming Kouen for whatever he said and did to aggravate him in the past, for proclaiming war on Reim and stuff. And to bait him with knowledge, since he wouldn't attack when I still haven't told him about about pancakes, the wonders of the internet and why we have night and day."

"Ah..."

Clearly he didn't know about pancakes. Titus on the other hand sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I will have to talk to the emperor about this, but estimate to leave in about three weeks time for Balbadd."

"As you wish, Lord Titus."

"Don't worry, we can do this," Lenka replied with a smile.

"As for the summit, I'm sure Yunan will appear shortly before to borrow you for a great and intimidating entrance, probably seconds before a world war breaks out between the Alliance of the Seven Seas and Kou."

"How reassuring," Ignatius said dryly.

"And then we will have to make them agree to Aladdin's plans to save the world without killing either Sinbad or Kouen for being stubborn idiots."

"Suddenly I wish I listened to mother," murmured Titus, causing her to reach out and pat his hair again.

"We will be there with you, Titus."

"If they try to threaten you they will have to get through the fanalis corps first," Muu promised, and an excited smile appeared on Titus' face when he imagined what could happen to them.

"But what if they have somehow managed to come past you?"

"They won't, because I will protect you with my life."

"But if you run out of magoi?"

"I will fill him up again, because I will know how to use Ronové's draining until then," reassured Lenka.

"And no one can do a thing against the power of the ring of gender-bender, not even a Magi. They will be too busy sorting out how to walk in a straight line to attacking you. Trust me, I did a trial run with Judar, and he was not happy."

… he was rather disturbed, muttered Gusion.

And what then happened was disturbing.

"I think I will be safe then."

Not mentally, little one. Not mentally.

Would it, hypothetically, work on Titus? His Rukh are female, but his body is male, would it still change? asked Eligos. Lenka scowled at her.

You do nothing to Titus, understood?

Eligos would never! Besides, it's Foras who gender-benders people into insanity!

No one does anything not beneficial to Titus? Orias offered.

"But what if they make you take off the djinn metal vessels in order to attend the summit?" Titus asked suddenly.

"I will simply smuggle my earring in and don't tell anyone it is a vessel," Lenka shrugged then tilted her head to the side when the men stared at her with wide eyes.

"Aw, come on, it's a good idea! I can still do the take-over if nothing else works. No one wants to fight a real djinn who can absorb your energy in the matter of seconds, and the Magi are safe either way."

"Somehow I am very glad you are on our side, Miss Lenka. A master of six metal vessels is a force not many want to oppose."

Muu grinned at his relative then at the woman next to him.

"They won't know what hit them."

… and the madness is spreading. And I won't do a thing against that.

Why so? asked Ronové and the other djinn grinned wide, causing him to flinch back and hide in a corner.

Because it's amusing.

Welcome to my reality, Orias greeted from behind the couch.

You will never leave again.

Chapter 32, people! Rather short this time due to writer's block and real life, but the next one will be longer. The latest chapters of Magi... whoa. The final battle against Sinbad-David and Arba-Hakuei will be awesome for sure. I bet Alibaba, Kougyoku and co. have to break into some strange facilities with super-monsters and experiments to get their djinn weapons back. Or maybe fight through Al-Thamen, controlled by the depraved duo (or quartet if you count the other souls) before the world goes down in flames. With the power of the zombie soldiers of Kou!

What do you think will happen? I'd love to hear about your conspiracy theories :D

Anyway, before I start fangirling, a huge thank you and virtual brownies and chocolate easter eggs to you fabulous persons who favorited Second Chance or follows it, and to the Reviewers!

Maester Ta: No, the last chapter Lenka read before being transported through the dimensions was chapter 260 (see the first chapter for details). So she doesn't know about Sinbad's connection, nor the war on the Kanan plains. She hasn't read The Adventures of Sinbad either. But I know, and I will use this to my advantage, mwahahaha!... ehe.

jankitty13: Basically the same as in the manga, but with more of angry sulking and muttering. And then he dragged Hakuryuu into the dungeon, hoping he could kill something there. But Judar will be back for the summit and general mischief.

Kankri: You are back! Thank you very much!

Guest: I love the word awesome :D Thank you!

I will be back for more...

Yours,

TheMultipleMeExperience