Zarya saw this coming. She knew this was a bad idea when Arkayna mentioned... HER.
Yet why didn't she object?
How did this all started again? Oh, right.
They had to get her spell book back. They had to. No way were they going to let Dreadbane destroy Drake City with meteors.
So Arkayna thought of the unthinkable; They were going to infiltrate his Evil Lair and get the spell book back.
With... Help.
Her former so-called Friends.
It wasn't easy; They had to, persuade Kitty to help them sneak in. Lucky for them, she agreed to help. (With a little help from The Royal Family's Treasury.)
Long-Story-Short; Lot of Drama on the way. A lot of sneaking, things were going great, and then, thanks to some people, they got caught. They managed to beat up a bunch of Skeletons before they finally found the spell book. And just as she was about to take back what was rightfully hers, Dirty Double-Crossing Childhood "Friends".
Turns out Kitty still hated the Mysticons, so much that she thought she could sell them out to Dreadbane for more gold.
With the Mysticons restrained by the Spectral Hand, Dreadbane took their spell-books. With all the pieces of the Codex in his possession, Dreadbane activated the archway.
Dark Energy emerged from the portal, along with a black and white humanoid winged being radiating with pure evil.
"Necrafa." Arkayna muttered in complete disbelief. Every else, except the Spectral Hand, shared her expression of shock and horror.
Dreadbane succeeded in bringing back The Lich Queen.
The Dark Energy stopped flowing and Necrafa began falling on the ground, unconscious. Dreadbane rushed in to catch his Queen. When she still didn't stir, he became worried. Oh Necrafa. Please don't tell me I killed you trying to free you!
Still carrying her in his arms, Dreadbane reached out to touch her head. At that moment, Necrafa woke up, grabbed his wrist, and, with great strenght, flipped him over and slammed him on the ground, causing the Mysticons and the Sky Pirates to cringe.
"You, still haven't lost your touch, My Queen." Dreadbane commented, even as she was strangling him.
Necrafa stopped her attempts in obliterating him when she heard his voice. She let go of him, allowing him to get back on his feet. She was imprisoned for a thousand years, but she never forgot that voice.
"Dreadbane?" She almost didn't recognize him. All that flesh, replaced with bones. Yet, she can still feel the dark aura of her most loyal ally who fought along side her thousand years ago. The two reached out to take each other by the hands (Skeletons playing romantic music please), "You... It, suits you."
"You're still as dark as ever, My Love." Dreadbane smiled. So long has he waited to hold her cold, gloved hands.
The two undead beings stared into each other's eyes, mesmerized in their own twisted little world. Their heads were getting closer to each other. And closer. And CLOSER...!
"BLEGHHHHH!"
This was worst than the Love's Breathe incident with Arkayna and Malvaron! Piper looked up only to find everyone else in the room staring at her. Even Dreadbane and Necrafa, who were both giving her annoyed glares.
"Necrafa... Hey..." Piper greeted sheepishly.
Well... That moment's over. Necrafa flew towards Piper, giving an unamused look of judgment, creeping the Mysticon out.
"Another Striker. Piper cringed at the sound of the Queen's echoing, hollow voice. What's worst was that she was she was touching Dreadbane's skeleton jaw while, ugh... baby-talking! "Oh my poor General. You had to endure another Generation of meddling Mysticons in my thousand year absence. But don't you worry. I'll dispose of them IMMEDIATELY."
The Mysticons glared at the newly-freed Queen (while at the same time disgusted by her show of, gah... affections.). No way are they going to go down that EASILLY! Besides; How powerful can one undead Queen of Skeletons be? Minus, what they just witnessed earlier.
"But first; I want see their true pathetic faces." Necrafa removed Piper's belt buckle, reverting her back into her elf form, "An Elf. You have that spark in your eyes. It disgusts me."
While Piper held back tears, the Sky Pirates were caught by surprise by the revelation. One of the Mysticons was one of Zarya's Friends?
Necrafa moved on to Emerald and pulled off her belt buckle as well, reverting her back to her Original Form, "A Dwarf. Smart, but reckless."
Emerald growled. Kasey couldn't believe the Royal Griffin Wrangler was Mysticon Knight. This worries him.
Arkayna wiggled to break free from the Skeletons' hold, but it was too late, as Necrafa got her belt buckle, reverting her back to her Original Form.
"The Princess?" Dreadbane spoke in disbelief before scoffing, "It's a shame you couldn't save your Dear Parents."
Arkayna gritted her teeth at the General while Kitty looked on with surprise. Zarya's Friends are the Mysticons? Then... That means... Ranger...
Necrafa looked the last Mysticon in the eye before pulling off her belt buckle. The Sky Pirates gasped in surprise when they saw her true identity;
"Z-Star?" Kitty gaped in complete shock. Her childhood Best Friend was a Mysticon?
"You two know each other?" Necrafa inquired, somehow interested.
Zarya scoffs before Kitty could reply, "Why would I ever hang out with a dirty, double-crossing Sky Pirate?"
Something inside Kitty felt like cracking. All these times, her Childhood Friend was a Mysticon. All these times, she was helping Zarya, only to betray her to Dreadbane.
Necrafa chuckled in amusement at the revelation, "Ah broken bonds. That's what this Realm needs now. Along with hate, wrath, sadness, and all forms of Darkness. Combined to create a new World. A World which we shall rule supreme! LONG LIVE THE SPECTRAL HAND!"
"LONG LIVE THE SPECTRAL HAND!" Her Followers roared.
The Mysticons struggled to break free. They just can't let it end like this! Zarya, on the other hand, didn't budge. It was a mistake for her to trust her Old Friends before, she shouldn't have trusted them the second time. She couldn't even bear to look Kitty in the eye.
"I have to thank you for aiding in my release and delivering the Ones who would bring downfall to my plans." Necrafa approached Kitty, much to her discomfort, "There were always be a place for the Sky Pirates in The Dark New Realm."
Kitty turned her gaze from the Queen to the belt buckles she was levitating on the palm of her hand. She then turned to Zarya, but she still wasn't too keen on making eye contact with her. She turned to her brother and fellow Pirates, all giving her the same expression. Well... It's official;
"Yeah. You're wack Lady." Kitty lashed her whip, grabbing the belt buckles in the process, surprising the Queen and her Followers.
Meanwhile, the rest of her crew jumped on the Skeletons holding the Mysticons, causing them to loosen their hold and releasing the girls in the process.
"Yeah. I know; I'm a Blubberhead." Kitty tossed Zarya the belt buckles which she swiftly caught.
As an enraged Necrafa commanded her army to attack the Mysticons and Traitors, Zarya was caught by surprise by Kitty's sudden change of Heart. She gave her a smile of understanding, which she returned as well.
Lucky for them, the others were able to fight off the Skeletons even without their powers. Kasey had to stop fighting in order to gawk at Emerald's mad sword-fighting skills. (Of course, he was still able to beat some Skeletons at the same time.)
Finally, Zarya threw the belt buckles to their respectful owners while she put hers on. In a flash of light, The Mysticons were back to kick Skeleton butts.
The Sky Pirates cheered for the actual first time as the heroes continued in taking down every Skeleton that came their way.
Suddenly, Tazma manipulated the shadows in order to tie the Mysticons up before bowing to Necrafa, "They're all yours, My Queen."
"Joke's on you!" Emerald managed to reach into her pocket and activated her Mech Armor, allowing her to break free from her binds before setting her Teammates free.
Once free, the three other Mysticons directed their attacks at Necrafa, only to be deflected by Dreadbane's sword. Dreadbane attempted to charge at the Mysticons, but stopped when Necrafa placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I admire your devotion, Baron. But the Mysticons are mine." She couldn't wait to tear those Little Girls apart. It'll be like the Good Old Dark Days. She patted Dreadbane on the cheekbone before flying towards the Mysticons, "Go obliterate their little Friends."
"Okay. First of all;" Arkayna stopped to show a look of dramatic disgust. Her Friends joined in too. They didn't think Dreadbane was THAT devoted to The Queen.
"Also; We're not scared of you, Lich!" Emerald charged at Necrafa. The Lich Queen swiftly dodged her punches with a look of boredom in her face. She even yawned as she blocked a punch with a red force-field.
Another punch came. This time, she stopped it with just a hand before grabbing the wrist and flew in mid-air. To everyone's shock and surprise, Emerald's Mech began to rust at an incredibly fast rate, until it crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Okay. Now I'm scared." Emerald screamed as Necrafa threw her aside, causing her to fall. Luckily, someone was there to catch her on time.
"Hey." Kasey greeted, before looking guilty, "Sorry I betrayed you to Bags of Bones."
"Just so you know; I don't forgive you just for your looks." Emerald remarked back before noticing a bunch of Skeletons charging at them.
"Back off you Bony Scalawag!" Kasey barked as he took down the Skeletons, "She's mine!"
Emerald awed at the gesture, before realizing her Friends needed help with a certain Lich Queen.
Piper threw all of her hoops at Necrafa, but the Queen managed to catch two with her hands, and the third one she stopped telekineticly. Piper didn't have time to react as all three rings were flung back at her, knocking her to the wall.
Zarya shot multiple arrows at the same time, but the Queen managed to send them to other targets, the Sky Pirates. Luckily for Zarya, they were able to evade all of the arrows. (Well...except one. But he's okay. Just, a little bit smoked.)
Arkayna charged at the Queen, attempting to slam her down with her staff, but Necrafa stopped her by grabbing the staff. Arkayna managed to break free before attacking again, but this time, Necrafa stopped her with a spear from one of her Skeleton Soldiers. The two clashed weapons, Necrafa gaining the upper hand before knocking the Dragonmage to the ground.
Emerald charged at Necrafa with her sword, but before she could even lay a single slash on her, Necrafa's hand glowed as she levitated some rocks, commanding them to take the form of a living, giant cobra, which she used to tie the Mysticons with. Except one...
"I love it when she does that." Dreadbane sighed blissfully as he admired his Queen's Power while, at the same time, punching a Sky Pirate that was planning to attack from behind.
"I'm starting to see why you were so desperate to free her." Arkayna remarked as the Cobra hissed at her.
"Why?! Why would you say that?!" Piper cried at her remark.
Necrafa commanded her cobra to squeeze the life out of the Mysticons, unaware that Zarya was inches away from the Spell books.
"Wait. Wait!" Piper called out but the cobra kept squeezing, "Just so you know; Dreadbane made googly-eyes with ANOTHER GIRL!"
"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!" Emerald remarked with disgust.
"HOW DID YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THAT?!" Dreadbane roared, only to realize that Necrafa was nearby, "Er... I mean... What are you talking about?"
Curse those Love's Breathes! If Necrafa ever found out, he'll never see the shadows of a Dark New Day!
Necrafa didn't react much. She just made her cobra tighten its grip on the Mysticons. But then...
"You and I are going to have a lot of discussing to do." The Lich Queen glared at the Baron, much to his dismay.
"Well... That didn't work out." Piper was almost out of breathe.
"Wait. My Queen. You're missing the Ranger." Tazma called out.
"WHAT?!" Necrafa cried with rage.
"Hey Lichie!"
Everyone turned to the source; Zarya had all 4 Spell-books in her arms. She raised her arm, her blue Wolf bracer adorning it, at Necrafa.
"Time to get this Party really started! ITS TIME TO HOWL!" Zarya raised her arm towards the ceiling.
From the bracer emerged a large Wolf made completely out of blue energy. It charged at the ceiling, causing large rocks to fall on the Queen. Dreadbane rushed in to protect his Queen, and the two were buried under the pile of rocks.
With its Mistress buried, the Cobra reverted back into a pile of rocks, freeing the other 3 Mysticons in the process.
"Stop them!" Tazma commanded.
Unfortunately for the Spectral Hand, the other 3 Mysticons summoned their own Symbols of Power in order to subdue them while they and the Sky Pirates made their getaway. By the time Dreadbane broke him and Necrafa out of the rubble, the heroes had already escaped by ship.
Dreadbane cursed the Mysticons. He looked down, only to find Necrafa clutching his chest and burying her armored face on to it, laughing hysterically.
"Oh no." He muttered in dismay.
The loss is making her lose her mind. It was bad enough she was sealed away in a Dark Realm for a thousand of years. And now that she was set free, she lost to a new Generation of Mysticons.
As she continued to laugh, Dreadbane carried her in his arms, "Let's, settle you down on your Throne, shall we...!"
Dreadbane was caught by surprise when Necrafa suddenly grabbed him by the head, and placed a kiss on his skeletal lips.
Moments later, Necrafa pulled away before jumping off of Dreadbane's arms, leaving her lover to gape at what just happened, "Thank you, my Dear Baron, for giving me The Greatest Gift of all! Finally! A Challenge! A chance to finally eliminate those meddling Mysticons once and for all. LONG LIVE THE SPECTRAL HAND!"
"LONG LIVE THE SPECTRAL HAND!" Her Followers cheered as well, "LONG LIVE NECRAFA!"
The Mysticons stared mindlessly at the edge of the ship as it sailed through the skies. Necrafa was back. And she almost took them out in one swoop. They have to get stronger. And something tells them they're gonna need more than the 4 pieces of the Codex to get there.
She shouldn't have helped that Skeleton. Kitty wanted to talk to Zarya, apologize to her for betraying her twice, but the way they were solemnly staring at the horizon made her decide that she should give her some space.
"You know the Day I became a Mysticon, was the saddest Day of my Life."
Kitty stopped. Was Zarya talking to her?
"If the Disk was going to make me a Mysticon, it could've at least made me one on the Day Captain Khaos..." Zarya stopped, not wanting to remember any further.
Kitty joined Zarya's side and sighed solemnly, "Well... We were just, Kids. Maybe we weren't ready. We couldn't even save our Families."
A wave of sadness washed over the entire ship, unlike the Drama before. Guess a lot of stupid things said were gonna be taken back.
After a few moments of silence, Kitty finally spoke, "Ever since that Day, I always thought there was never gonna be any Good in this World. That you have to be bad just to take out the Bad. I didn't realize that being Bad would take away the real Treasures in your World."
Zarya smiled a bit, "Guess you guys have to lay low until Necrafa forgets to turn you guys into Bones."
"Hey." Kitty shot back, "This is our Mess. And you guys aren't fixing it without us. So either you guys let us in, or we're gonna have to tell the whole Realm about Mysticon Ranger's little Plushy Friend that she still carries around. Like now."
"Dang, Kitty." Zarya deadpanned. The other three Mysticons nodded in agreement behind her.
They may have all 4 Spell-books, but they're gonna need all the help they can get in order to save the Realm from Necrafa's evil hands.