Last time found our heroes infiltrating Parzon, ring in Lord Xenu's back yard. Sneaking into Xenu's fortress, they broke into the secret lab where the Raztonians were torturing the Female Titan, extracting her DNA to make new Titans. Released from her shackles and placed under psychic control, Annie Leonhart was dragged along for the ride as our heroes made their way upstairs. Meanwhile, Sofia was in dire straits as she learned that her blood would be used to purify Parzon. But she wouldn't have any of that as Sofia realized an important truth and gained a new power from The Amulet of Avalor.
But at Castle Oblicion, Columbina unleashed her most vile act yet as she sent a Dark Spear against Enchancia. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 10: The Fate of a World
"This is insane!" exclaimed Cal as our heroes and allies made their way through the seemingly endless fortress, "this place is like a maze and we're the rats!"
"Just cool it, man," said Saul.
"We've been wandering up and down this place for hours, man!" snapped Cal, "we're lost!"
"We're not lost," insisted Aunt Tilly, "Clover's leading us to Sofia."
"We've been following a rabbit," said Cal, "Am I the only one who thinks that's totally insane!?"
"Just cool it!" said Max, "that's an order!"
"I'm still in charge, Max," said Andrew, "I give the orders," he then glared at Saul, "Cool it! That's an order!"
"But he does have a point," said Mikasa, "we're just going around in circles."
"How do you know?" asked Dan.
"Because I've been marking the walls," said Mikasa as he indicated a small mark on the walls that resembled The Wings of Freedom, "we are going in circles." This caused Tess and the rest of our heroes to groan in frustration.
"I thought you knew where Sofia was, Clover!" exclaimed Ed, to which Clover crossed his arms irately and glared up at Ed, as if saying that he does know where Sofia is.
"Let's just take a break and catch our breaths," suggested Roland, "losing our heads won't save Sofia."
"Am I the only one who thinks we've been too lucky?" asked Tess, "we've been running around the fortress for a while, but so far we've run into no one except for those Raztonian scientists in the lab."
"This place should be crawling with guards," said Dan.
"Either we are unnaturally lucky," said Aunt Tilly, "which I've no problem with, or something really big is going on."
"We won't know anything if we keep going around in circles," said Malcolm.
"Hey, am I the only one who's seen those on the walls?" Sabrina as she pointed at a sign written in Parzonian with a few arrows pointing up and down the corridor. She then pointed at it again, zapping it with her magic and translating it into English.
"'Stairwell A-12 that way,'" said James, "'Armory E-39 that way.'"
"Well, that's something," said a relieved Aiden.
"It's definitely something," said Andrew, "I think I'll pay a visit to this Armory E-39, and a couple more while I'm at it. The fortress is so bit, I'm gonna need a lot more explosives to bring it down, after we rescue Sofia that is."
"Sounds like a plan to me," said Malcolm.
Yet on their way to the armory, Miranda paused as she passed a window and went back for a second look, "Uh…Roland?" Miranda asked in a nervous tone as she looked out, "everyone? I think you should see this."
"What is it, mom?" asked James, then paled in shock as he looked out the window, "Holy Flying Horse Shit!"
Tess and the others looked out and were equally shocked to see massive troop formations around the fortress, as well as hundreds of tanks in various models, dozens of Battle Tripods and scores of Titans between five and ten meters tall.
"No wonder we haven't run into any guards," said Ed, "Lord Xenu's got the place surrounded."
"And there's more coming!" said Al after transmuting part of the wall into a pair of binoculars and looking out the window, "a lot more. They're setting up artillery pieces out there!"
"We'll never get through all of that," said Krysta, "Lord Xenu has us trapped."
"He can hunt us down at his leisure," said Connie.
"Not if we hunt him first," said Andrew, "slightly new plan, people! There'll be a Team C, whose mission is to find, capture or kill Lord Xenu."
"But what about the hordes outside?" asked Kaylee, "even if we can find Sofia, catch or kill Lord Xenu and find an exit, how are we going to get past them?!"
"We make Lord Xenu make them let us go, duh!" said Saul, "if we catch him, we make him let us go in exchange for his life. And if we end up killing him, we show his head to all those soldiers outside and they'll let us go."
"There's no guarantee of any of that," said Jill, "for all we know, the armed forces of Parzon are conditioned to fight to the death, regardless of Lord Xenu's living status."
"Then we'll have to find out way out," said Leon.
"Against all of that?!" exclaimed James, "there's got to be at least three infantry divisions and a full armored division outside by now, with more on the way."
"Not to mention a heck of a lot of Titans," said Jean.
"We may not have a choice," said Max, "without the portal generator, we have no quick way back to Enchancia."
"Couldn't we use Lord Xenu's portal generator?" asked James.
"Not an option," said Malcolm, "it's in another location, the commandos who defected told us so."
"Then fight our way out it is," said Max as he cracked his knuckles.
"Even you can't take out all those soldiers and battle machines," said Andrew, "just because you're indestructible, doesn't mean you don't get tired."
"And the rest of us aren't indestructible," said Jill, "it'll take an army to match that army outside."
"I could do it," said Eren, "as a Titan, I could do it. I'd rather not, fight and kill all those humans, but if I have to choose, I'd still fight."
"You wouldn't last long either," said Sasha.
"By now Parzon must know of the Titan's weak point," said Armin, "and even if they don't, all that firepower would wear out your regeneration power."
"And completely overcast," said Aiden, "Titan's get their energy from sunlight. These new Titans may be able to function without the sun, but who knows how long you'd last before you ran out of steam?"
"I'm sorry, Eren," said Mikasa, "but one human with Titan Power can't break that army."
At that Eren sighed with frustration, then smiled as an idea dawned on him, "you're right, Mikasa; one human with Titan Power can't do it," he then looked at Reiner, Bertold and Annie, "but maybe four can."
"Huh?" asked Reiner.
"Oh, no. No!" said Bertold, "no way!"
"It makes sense, though," said Annie, "With our combined strength and abilities, we can tear through that army like crap through a goose."
"You want to fight as Titans?" asked Connie, "NO!"
"We're not letting you three traitors out of our sight!" said Jean.
"Do you have any other suggestions?" asked Annie, "besides a suicidal charge against that?!" she then pointed at the still assembling Parzon force outside.
"Uh…no," said Jean, "but I'm sure we can come up with something else besides letting you three rampage."
"As if we'd help you like that," said Bertold, "besides," he then glared at Katina, "the psycho freak still has us under her whammy. We try to transform, our heads will explode."
"Not if she takes it off," said Eren. He then looked at Katina with a pleading expression, "you can take it off, can you?"
"Of course I can take it off," said Katina, "but do I want to? That's another question entirely."
"But it may be our best chance of success," said Jill, "we're going to need a way out of here and we won't get very far against that horde."
"And even if we can somehow sneak past it without fighting," said Miranda, "what's stopping Parzon's armies from chasing after us and invading Enchancia?"
"You're right, Miranda," said Roland, "we've got to end this here and now. As much as I wish to avoid any more killing, better to have the final battle here and now than a long war with countless civilian deaths."
"Assuming we'll fight for you like that," said Bertold stubbornly.
"Well, I want to fight," said Reiner.
"As do I," said Annie, "I want to make them pay for what they did to me." She then looked at Bertold, "don't you want to make them pay for what they did to me?"
"Well…yes," said Bertold in a slightly flustered manner, "but still, we don't even have a way downstairs and outside."
Just then Mikasa shattered the window with her elbow and cleaned out the fragments of broken glass, "Now you do."
"Well…we still can't fight with her psycho whammy on us," said Bertold as he glared at Katina.
"Take it off, Katina," said Andrew.
"Is that an order?" asked Katina, "I'll do it if it's an official order. But mark my words, Andrew Carpenter; when we get back home I'll file a formal complaint against you!"
"I'm asking you as my friend," said Andrew.
"As am I," said Miranda, "please, will you?"
At that Katina sighed, "alright, I'll do it," She then walked over to Reiner, "but I just want to go on record that I think this is a very, very bad idea." She then touched Reiner's forehead, then walked over to touch Bertold and Annie, "there, it's done, and God help us all."
"Just be find Sofia," said Eren as he climbed onto the window sill. He then jumped out the window, using his 3DMG to repel down the fortress wall. He was soon followed by Reiner and Bertold carrying Annie. They reached the ground and spread out several meters apart while facing the enemy formations; Annie was to Eren's left, Reiner to the right and Bertold several meters apart.
"I don't care what powers they've got," said Jill, "four teenagers against an army? It's suicide!"
"Yeah, suicide for the Parzonians!" said Jean.
"Just watch, Ms. Sparrow," said Mikasa, "and you'll see what true Titan Power can do."
By now lead elements of the Parzon forces had seen Eren, Annie, Reiner and Bertold and were rushing towards them. These soldiers were armed with automatic rifles and wearing bullet-proof armor.
Looking at Annie, Reiner and Bertold in turn, Eren received nods of affirmation. Then, with a look of grim determination, Eren bit his hand, as did the other three.
A quartet of lightning bolts shot down from the sky, striking Eren, Annie, Reiner and Bertold, followed by four bursts of steam. When the steam cleared, there stood The Rogue Titan, flanked by The Female Titan, The Armored Titan and The Colossal Titan.
The appearance of the four Titans left our heroes in the tower and the enemy forces outside in a state of stunned silence. But then one of the Parzon soldiers manning a cannon fired his weapon. The shell screamed across towards and hit the Colossal Titan in the midsection, yet what little damage it inflicted was instantly healed as the gargantuan, skinless creature glared contemptuously back at the Parzon forces.
Several more cannons fired, yet all the shells either fell short or hit the base of the fortress, shaking up our heroes inside a bit.
"They keep that up, I won't have to blow up the tower from the inside," said Andrew.
"They're just standing there," said Aiden as he and the others looked out, "Eren and the others. Why don't they fight?"
But then The Rogue Titan caught one of the enemy shells and crushed it with his bare hands. Letting lose an earsplitting roar of defiance, The Rogue Titan charged towards the Parzon forces, followed by The Female Titan and Armored Titan, while the Colossal Titan followed them at a slower pace, yet managed to keep up with this due to his enormous stride.
"Look at that! Gracious!" said a horrified Miranda as she and the rest of our equally horrified heroes watched the four sentient Titans tear through the Parzon forces; crushing soldiers, smashing and kicking Land Cruisers and Battle Tripods, while ignoring the small arms and cannon shells fired by the terrified yet still disciplined Parzonians. As for the enemy Titans, they were either torn apart, kicked and punched by The Rogue, Armored and Female Titans, while the Colossal Titan simply stepped on anything in his way.
"They've got this," said Mikasa, "and we've got to find Sofia."
"And find Lord Xenu," said Tess, "but Sofia most of all."
With that they hurried through the corridor towards and reached the armory.
"Small arms, ammunition, explosives and more explosives," said Andrew as he examined the contents of the room, picking up several sticks of dynamite and loaded them into his backpack, "perfect."
"Want some help?" asked Jean as Andrew filled his backpack, then picked up two more boxes of dynamite.
"I could definitely use more hands and backs," said Andrew as he handed the box to Jean, then handed boxes to Connie, Sasha, Krysta, Ymir and Armin, "just leave the actual placing of the bombs to me."
"Whatever you say, boss," said Connie as he and the others followed Andrew out of the armory.
"I think Clover's on to something!" said James as he saw said bunny urgently pointing up.
"I think I get it," said Tess, "no wonder Clover's been leading us in circles; Sofia's right above us! Come on!" With that they hurried out the armory and towards the nearest stairwell.
"I don't care how big that thing is!" shouted Lord Xenu to a soldier, "I want that Titan and the others destroyed!"
"But…my lord!" said the hapless soldier, "the four Titans are slaughtering the troops! Not even our Land Cruisers and Battle Tripods can hurt them!"
"And of course, they're taller than your own Titans," said Davis Blackwood.
"Didn't you say you had some experimental weapons for your war machines?" asked Zotarius.
"I did indeed," said Lord Xenu. He then spoke to the soldier, "I want as many Battle Tripods outfitted with heat rays and gas launchers as possible! And tell those ingrates in R&D to prepare anything else they've got lying about that could be useful! Now," he then looked at Davis Blackwood and Zotarius, "where is that insect woman?"
"Probably hunting the intruders," said Davis Blackwood, "which is what we should be doing."
"I will deal with the intruders in due course!" snapped Lord Xenu, "but not until I have Sofia back!"
Just then a guard ran up to Lord Xenu and saluted, "my Lord! Sofia has been sighted three levels up!"
"Outstanding!" said Lord Xenu, "I have her now! Position all available guards and soldiers further up the fortress. I want Sofia herded onto the roof, where I will be waiting!" with that he hurried for the nearest stairwell.
"The man's insane!" said Zotarius.
"You're figuring this out now?" asked Davis Blackwood as he turned to walk away.
"Where are you going?" asked Zotarius.
"To pack my things and prepare my escape," said Davis Blackwood, "things have gone from bad to worse. I for one have no intention of being here when the hammer drops, and you'd do the same if you had any sense about you!" With that he walked away, leaving a confused Zotarius to ponder things.
Just as our heroes were about to reach a stairwell, Halenio'ketalc appeared around the corner, "YOU! KEYBLADE BASTARDS!" screeched the Raztonian Sorceress. She then vibrated violently as her body changed into an elephant-sized praying mantis that had extra claws and gem-like protrusions along its thorax, while its wings hummed with energy.
The creature then rushed at our heroes, slashing with its claws and shooting bolts of dark magic from its gems, forcing our heroes to dodge as best they could in the corridor.
"This thing's crazy!" said Aiden as he summoned his Keyblade, "but I've got it!"
"No, you keep going!" said Roland as he drew his sword, while Hugo and Aunt Tilly drew theirs, "we'll handle this abomination!"
"Mind if I help?!" asked Mikasa as she drew her blades.
"Hey, save some for the rest of us!" said Jill as she drew her saber
"I want to help too!" said James as he drew his sword.
"No, James!" said Roland, "you and your mother keep going!"
"Find and get Sofia out of here!" said Hugo.
"But…" said both James and Miranda.
"JUST GO!" said Roland as he ducked a claw slash from Halenio'ketalc, then dodged a dark magic blast.
"Come on!" said Tess as she pulled Aiden away, while Miranda pulled on James as well. With that they, Ed, Al, Sabrina and the remaining Ramblers hurried on.
"FINE!" said Halenio'ketalc, "I'LL DEAL WITH YOU INFIDEL HUMANS FIRST!" she then rushed at and delivered a massive claw slash at Roland that knocked him down, his armor deeply scratched and leaking Storm Light.
"You know," said Hugo as he helped Roland up, while Halenio'ketalc slashed and damaged Aunt Tilly's armor, "maybe fighting this thing ourselves wasn't the best idea, your majesty."
"I'm partial to agree," said Roland.
"You had no right to do that, Tess!" snapped Aiden as our heroes hurried up the stairs, still following Clover as he was drawn further towards Sofia.
"Do what?" asked Tess.
"You know damn well what!" said Aiden, "stop me from fighting that Raztonian filth!"
"And get yourself killed in the process?" asked Malcolm, "I think not!"
"I had every right to fight that thing!" said Aiden, "It was my right to fight and kill it! I had the right to avenge Janelle!"
"Killing one Raztonian won't bring her back," said Tess.
"I know," said Aiden, "it's not enough, it'll never be enough, not so long as a single Raztonian draws breath!"
"So you're planning genocide?!" demanded Malcolm, "wipe out an entire species just to satisfy your dead girlfriend?"
"She was to be my wife!" snapped Aiden, "and yes, I'll kill every last one of those life-stealing parasites! I have to so Janelle can rest in peace!"
Just then Tess slapped Aiden across the face, startling everyone, "don't you dare!" she shouted, "don't you go down that path, not after everything we've been through!"
"What?" asked a confused Aiden as he felt where Tess slapped him, "what path?"
"The same path I helped pull Sofia from," said Tess, "the path of hate, anger and darkness. Sofia almost lost herself to the same darkness that's infecting your heart."
"At the rate you're going," said Malcolm, "you'll end up a Heartless, and it'll be one doozy of a Heartless, and one doozy of a Nobody too, and we've got enough enemies as it is.
"Just think about it, Aiden; Roxas is Sora's Nobody and he's just as strong as we are. Imagine the evil unleashed by your Nobody, that's assuming he turns evil, but that's not important right now."
"What is important is that we won't let you lose yourself," said Tess, "I get it, you're hurting, well, so am I. Riku and Sora are still missing and could be dead for all I know, and who knows what horrors Kairi's facing back in The Realms of Light?"
"I…I'm sorry," said Aiden, "I…I wasn't thinking and…"
"That's the problem with children," said Davis Blackwood as he emerged from the shadows, "they never think when they should."
"You!" exclaimed Al.
"How long have you been there listening?" asked Ed.
"Long enough to be utterly disgusted," said Davis Blackwood, "now, if you'll excuse me, I've a lot of packing to do."
"You're not going anywhere except back to Central for trial!" said Al defiantly, "you've a lot to answer for back home!"
"I'm done with The State and all those small-minded State Alchemists!" said Davis Blackwood, "so stay out of my way, Copper Alchemist, you and your little brother!"
At that Ed looked ready to commit bloody murder, "THAT DOES IT! I'M SICK OF EVERYONE CALLING ME SMALL!" he then looked at Aiden, "You want to hurt something?" he then pointed at Davis Blackwood, "hurt this jackass!"
"You know what? I think I will," said Aiden as he summoned his Keyblade, "Tess, you and the others go on ahead. Me and The Brothers Elric have a fugitive to capture."
"Mind if I help?" asked Saul as he cracked his knuckles, "I haven't had much to do this mission."
"Same here," said Cal as he cracked his knuckles, then shook out his arms so they stretched a bit and wobbled about, before returning to normal.
"The more the merrier," said Ed as he clapped his hands, then touched his Auto Mail arm, transmuting part of it into a blade.
"Get going, Tess!" said Aiden, "We'll keep this jerk busy while you save Sofia."
"Okay, but we're still not done talking!" said Tess. She then looked at Malcolm, James and the others, "let's go!" with that they ran off down the corridor.
"You're not going to stop them?" asked Al to Davis Blackwood.
"I'm done with Lord Xenu," said Davis Blackwood, "I'm done with a lot of things, especially with you, Coper Alchemist!"
"Well, we're not done with you," said Ed, "so time to face justice!"
"You'll never take me alive, Smeg Heads!" shouted Davis Blackwood as he ripped off his coat and shirt, revealing his Auto Mail implants. He then touched part of his Auto Mail arm, revealing hidden Transmutation circles that changed his metal arm into a Mini Gun. He then promptly began spraying the corridor with bullets.
Fortunately, Ed transmuted part of the floor into a metal barricade in time, behind which he, Al, Cal, Saul and Aiden took cover.
"You just had to make him mad, brother," said Al.
"Just how big is this freaking tower?" asked Leon as our heroes followed Clover further up the fortress.
"Big enough to oversee an entire nation of slaves," said James, "I just hope we don't run into anymore of Lord Xenu's minions."
"I AM NO MINION!" said Zotarius's disembodied voice, "I SERVE NO MASTER BUT MYSELF!"
"Oh great, this creep," sighed Malcolm, "what next? Ballet dancing trolls?"
"I'll just settle for kicking this jackass in the family jewels," said Kaylee as she cracked her knuckles.
"We don't have time for that," said Tess, "we've got to find Sofia!"
"You'll make time for me!" said Zotarius. With an overly dramatic flash and crash, he appeared in front of our heroes, "Tremble with terror, moronic mortals! Zotarius is here!"
"You think if we ignore him, he'll go away?" asked Malcolm to Tess and the others.
"Unlikely, but we can try," said Max.
"You dare to mock me?!" exclaimed an outraged Zotarius, "I, Zotarius the Despoiler! Summoner of a thousand demons! Shatterer of…"
"You're not impressing anyone, you bag of wind!" said James, "so just leave us alone!"
"Bag of wind?!" exclaimed Zotarius, "BAG OF WIND!? I'll show you a bag of wind!" He then began moving his hands in complicated gestures as a storm cloud that flashed with green lightning, appeared over his head, "I'll give you a hurricane right up your…!"
"Whatever," said Sabrina as she pointed her finger at Zotarius, zapping his hands and encasing them in solid steel. With a yelp of surprise, Zotarius was pulled down by the incredible weight of his hands.
"Now that's what I call heavy metal," said Sabrina.
"You…you impetuous half-bred!" shouted Zotarius as he tried to lift his hands, "I'll…" that's as far as he got before he was struck by two bolts of lightning from his summoned storm cloud.
"Now that's what I call a shocking experience," laughed Sabrina, while Tess and the others laughed as well.
"I can't believe this guy is as dangerous as you said he was," said Malcolm, "'Zotarius the Despoiler?' Give me a break!"
"That's right," said Zotarius as he stood up, that is stood up as best he could while his hands were weighted down, "disrespect me. But you'll see just how dangerous I truly am!
"Ancient Spirits of Evil
Transform this pathetic human form
Into ZOTARIUS: THE DESPOILER"
With a flash of dark magic, Zotarius morphed into a 7ft tall, heavily muscular, purple-skinned humanoid that thrummed with energy
The creature then rushed at Sabrina faster than the human eye could see and grabbed her by the throat, cutting off her air and lifting her up off the floor.
"Get away from her!" shouted Malcolm as he summoned his Keyblade and threw it at Zotarius, striking the creature on the head but doing little if any damage. Instead, Zotarius glared at Malcolm as he continued to strangle Sabrina. From Zotarius's eyes shot bolts of dark magic that Malcolm barely managed to block with his Keyblade.
"Okay, that does it!" said Leon irately. He then rushed at Zotarius faster than the eye could see and delivered hundreds of punches and kicks with the space of a few seconds. Zotarius was further assaulted by Katina and Kaylee, whom hit the creature with a telekinetic and electrical combination blast.
Malcolm then charged his Keyblade with magic and threw it again at Zotarius, hitting the creature on the head. All this caused Zotarius to fall down and release Sabrina, whom was caught by James and Tess, coughing for much needed air.
"You're going to be okay, Sabrina," said James in an assuring tone, "you're going to be okay."
"The same can't be said for this jackass," said Leon as he grabbed and dragged over Zotarius, whom had reverted to his human form and looked barely conscious.
"So what do we do with him?" asked Malcolm.
"I say we drag him back to our world and lock him up," said Kaylee, "we've got a place deep underground for keeping dangerous things from harming innocent civilians."
"Or we could just kill him and be done with it," said James as he drew his sword, then sheathed it again, "no, that'd be just plain wrong."
"He should stand trial for his crimes," said Miranda.
"He's already guilty," said Sabrina in a raspy tone as she got back up, rubbing her bruised neck, "I'm sure The Witches Council back home would love to punish him themselves, especially for that time he blew up a planet on a whim."
At that Zotarius zapped Leon in the face, knocking him down. "Thank you for reminding me, Sabrina!" said Zotarius as he straightened himself up, then summoned his spell book, "I was getting bored with this world anyway!" he then opened the book to a desired page and began chanting in a foul language our heroes didn't understand, nor did they want to.
"Stop him!" shouted Malcolm as a sphere of dark magic charged up in Zotarius's free hand, "Don't let him complete the spell!"
"TOO LATE, FOOLISH MORTALS!" exclaimed Zotarius manically as he held the dark sphere high over his head, "Today, Enchancia dies!" he then tossed the sphere towards our heroes, then zapped himself off the world.
"I got it!" shouted Katina as she telekinetically caught the dark sphere, then cried out in pain and exertion as she nearly fell to the floor and almost dropping the sphere.
"What? Is it too heavy?" asked Kaylee as she helped Katina stand up.
"No, I tripped over my shoelaces!" said Katina in a strained tone as she struggled to lift the sphere back up, "of course it's too freaking heavy!"
"It's heavy with dark magic," said Malcolm, "that spell is growing stronger by itself, growing heavier and heavier, stronger and stronger until…"
"Until it's strong enough to blow up a planet?" asked Leon.
"Not gonna happen!" said Max as he cracked his knuckles, "I'll keep that thing off the floor!"
"No! Don't touch it!" said Malcolm, "any contact with solid matter will make things worse. We've got to keep it suspended in the air until I figure out how to counter the spell!"
"Easier said than done!" said Kaylee as she held Katina's shoulders steady, "I don't know how much longer she can keep that thing up!"
"Wait…wait…this must be it," said Sabrina, "this must be what Alegra sensed, what Columbina planned to use against Enchancia, why the world has no future, what I need to change."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but for once, I agree with Alegra," said Tess, "if Columbina planned this, then we've got to stop it."
"No, you go on ahead!" insisted Sabrina, "go save Sofia. I'll stay and help stop the spell!"
"We'll stop it, together," said Malcolm, to which Kaylee and Leon nodded in agreement.
"And we'll stop Lord Xenu," said James, to which Max and Miranda nodded in agreement.
"Well…if you're sure…" said Tess hesitantly.
"JUST GO ALREADY!" shouted Katina as she fought to keep her balance.
"You heard her, let's go!" said Max. With that he, Miranda, James and Tess hurried up the next stairwell.
"I hope someone's got a plan on stopping this thing," said Leon as he looked at the dark sphere, which was now pulsing with vile energies, "because I've got nothing."
By the time Sofia realized she had been backed into a corner, it was too late. After a seemingly endless dash upstairs, dodging and stunning so many guards and soldiers she had lost count, Sofia emerged from a stairwell onto the roof of the fortress; a circular platform roughly 40 meters in diameter with various chimney stacks scattered about.
"You like the view?" asked Lord Xenu as he and a quartet of armored bodyguards walked out from one of the chimney stacks. Sofia turned to run back downstairs, but four more of Lord Xenu's guards appeared at the top of the stairs. Sofia then aimed her hands at the guards, intending to shoot stun blasts at them.
"I don't think so!" said Lord Xenu as he aimed and fired his Anti-Magic rifle at Sofia, sending a blast of dark red energy that hit her on the right shoulder. She cried out in agony as the blast sent neutralizing energies through her body and she fell to the cold surface of the roof.
"You've lead us on a merry chase, Sofia," said Lord Xenu as he loaded another round into the rifle, while the guards dragged Sofia over to him, "a four-year odyssey that left so much death and destruction in our wakes. All of which could have been avoided if you had just been a bit more open-minded."
"The same could be said for you, Lord Xenu," said Sofia in a strained tone as she glared up at her nemesis. "There has to be another way to save Parzon."
At that Lord Xenu slapped Sofia across the face, "How many times must I tell you, Sofia!? There are only two ways to save Parzon; either you have a Parzon child or your blood is sacrificed to cleanse the land. My scientists have…"
"Your scientists only tell you what you want to hear!" said Sofia, "they're too scared of you to tell you anything else."
"Enough!" snapped Lord Xenu as he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Sofia, "now, you're going to…"
Just then Max bust through the guards at the stairwell, followed by Miranda, James and Tess.
"Oh, please," said Lord Xenu as he aimed and shot Max right between the eyes, dropping him like a stone.
"OH MY GOD!" exclaimed Miranda as more guards ran onto the roof and aimed their weapons at her, James and Tess.
"I am so tired of these interruptions!" exclaimed Lord Xenu, "you know what? The hell with it! I don't need to save Parzon, I'll just have the rest of the world after I conquer Enchancia!"
"You're crazy!" said Sofia, "your country and people are dying and you're just going to abandon them!?"
"I'm sure my scientists can find some technical thing about new breeding stock once we enslave the world," said Lord Xenu, "And we can always move to another land once the old one is used up."
"You are mad, Xenu!" said Miranda, "there's a better way to save Parzon and you're just going to throw it away?"
"We've found a way to cure your people of the pollutants," said James, "and we'll share the cure, just stop this!"
"Just open your eyes and accept reality!" said Tess, "your armies are being demolished! Just look!"
"I see nothing of concern," said Lord Xenu as he glanced out towards the Parzon forced below, which were still being massacred by the four sentient Titans.
"Now, if you'll all excuse me," said Lord Xenu as he aimed his Anti-Magic rifle at Sofia again, "I'm going to shoot the little bitch. I'm not entirely sure what another blast will do to you, but boy is it going to hurt. Any last words?"
"Uh…" said Sofia as she looked at her death in the face. But then she smiled as new hope rose up, "yeah; look behind you!"
"Are you kidding me?!" snapped Lord Xenu, "how dumb do you think I am!?"
"Dumb enough to shoot a man who can't die!" said Max.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Lord Xenu as he turned around to see Max, whom had a rapidly healing bruise between his eyes and a look of utter contempt on his face. "YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!?"
"Here's a hint!" said Max as he grabbed the Anti-Magic rifle, snapped it in half, then used the barrel to tie up Lord Xenu's hands.
"Take them out!" shouted James as he drew his sword and attacked one of the guards, while Tess summoned her Keyblade. She and James both disabled a guard apiece, while Max knocked out the rest.
"SOFIA!" exclaimed Miranda as she rushed to and cradled her daughter in her arms.
"I'm alright, mom," said Sofia weakly, "I'm alright. I just want to go home."
"We will, Sofia," said Miranda, "we will. But first, James, look after your sister for a moment, will you?"
"Uh…sure, mom," said James as he walked over to and helped Sofia stand up, "what…"
"What am I going to do?" asked Miranda grimly as she walked back to and picked up her rifle, "I'm going to end this once and for all."
"Mom…wait," said Sofia weakly.
"No, Sofia, no more waiting," said Miranda as she checked to see if a round was in the chamber of her rifle. She then stepped closer to Lord Xenu, "this has been a long time coming."
"So, you're going to kill me, Miranda?" asked Lord Xenu, "as if a woman of your kindness and compassion has what it takes to commit bloody murder."
"I have every reason to commit murder!" said Miranda wrathfully, "you abducted and assaulted my children! You brought pain and destruction on my kingdom! You planned further pain and destruction to the whole world! There's no denying it; you have to die!" She then aimed her rifle at Lord Xenu's heart. The vile man flinched, but then glared defiantly back at Miranda.
"Don't do it, mom!" said James.
"No, do it, your grace," said Max sternly, "finish it! We let the bastard live, he'll only cause more trouble."
"But…" said James as he tried to come up with a good reason, "but…"
"Oh, do argue about my life," said Lord Xenu, "it'll give my men time to get up here."
Just then came the sound of pounding feet running up the stairs.
"See? You're all going to die!" exclaimed Lord Xenu.
But instead of more guards pouring out from the stairs, up dashed Andrew, looking as if he had just run a marathon.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Lord Xenu as Andrew skidded to a halt beside Sofia and James, gasping for breath and falling over.
"Yeah, what happened?" asked Max.
"Just…just give…me…a…second…" panted Andrew as he fought to regain control over his breath and pounding pulse.
"Did you just run up the whole fortress?" asked James.
"Something…like that…" panted Andrew, "but that's…not important…right now. What's important is…we won." He then pointed at Lord Xenu, "and this psycho lost."
"NO!" shouted Lord Xenu, "lunatics loose, I've won! Any moment now you'll be overrun by my men! And if not by my guards, then by The Black Triskellion!"
"I don't think so," said Andrew as he stood up, only to sit back down again as he gasped in pain and rubbed his sore legs, "I really need to exercise more."
"So, what happened downstairs?" asked James.
"A lot," said Andrew, "Starting with Roland, Matilda, Dan, Mikasa and Jill, they killed that Raztonian sorceress."
"Halenio'ketalc?" Tess, "how?"
"It wasn't easy," said Andrew, "I found out after Armin and the others helped me plant the dynamite. Oh, before I forget," he then looked at Lord Xenu, "I've rigged your tower for demolition. As soon as I'm ready to, I'll blow the dome. Anyway," he then looked at Tess and the others, "by the time I got back to Jill and the others, the bug was dead and they were all hurt pretty bad, and I mean bad, there was blood everywhere."
"My god, Roland?" asked Miranda.
"They're all going to make it," said Andrew, "Armin and the others helped Matilda with the First Aid. But the real hero was Mikasa. The bug was moving too fast for them to stop her and they all kept getting cut, even though their armor. And don't get me started on how badly they were hurt by the bug's dark magic attacks.
"But then Mikasa had the brilliant idea to use the grappling wires of her 3DMG to impale the creature in just the right spots to slow it down. Roland, Dan, Matilda and Jill then rushed it and cut it to pieces, but not before it let out this horrible death shriek."
"I didn't hear a shriek," said Sofia.
"Me neither," said Tess, while Max and Miranda shook their heads.
"Well, I heard it," said Andrew, "we thought it was a scream for help, but it was some other kind of warning, or something. Whatever it was, there aren't any more Raztonians in the fortress; they're all gone."
"Where'd they go?" asked Tess.
"Back to their world? I don't know," said Andrew, "anyway, I checked on Jill and the others. Roland, Dan and Matilda were protected from the worst of it by their armor, but Jill…Jill…she…"
"She's not…?" asked Max, afraid to fully ask the question.
"Not yet, but she may," said Andrew, "She was cut all over and lost way too much blood. I'm amazed she was still awake when I found her."
"The emergency medicine Aaron gave us?" asked Max. He then looked at Tess, "we never told you; Aaron couldn't come with us, some kind of personal emergency back home."
"Jill still can make it, barely," said Andrew, "wish I could say the same for Cal and Saul."
"They're…? They…?" asked Max.
"They bought the farm," said Andrew gravely, "but not before helping Aiden, Ed and Al take down that bastard, Davis Blackwood. That cyborg creep was hosing the area with bullets. Cal then rushed at Davis Blackwood, the bullets bouncing off him like rubber. But then the bastard used Alchemy on Cal, turning him into stone."
"Oh my god!" exclaimed Miranda, while Sofia and the others looked equally shocked.
"That's what I said," said Andrew, "and I said the same thing when I heard he turned Saul into vapor. They're both gone."
"And without viable DNA samples, we can't resurrect them from the moment of their deaths," said Max, "we'll have to use earlier DNA samples. They'll forget everything that's happened to them since."
"Davis Blackwood won't forget," said Andrew with grim satisfaction, "Ed, Al and Aiden managed to overpower the bastard with their Alchemy, melting his metal parts and beating the tar out of his organic half. He's still alive, but boy does he wish it otherwise."
"I hope they take what's left of him back to The State to be hung," said Tess. "But, what about Malcolm, Sabrina and the others?"
"They're alright," said Andrew, "Exhausted but alright. Katina nearly blew her mind out keeping Zotarius's doomsday spell from dropping. Sabrina then had the fantastic idea of combining Leon's speed with Kaylee's electromagnetic field."
"What would that do?" asked James.
"I think I get it," said Max, "If Leon carried a lot of metal with him and ran in a circle through Kaylee's electromagnetic field, it'd amplify that magnetic field and create a vacuum."
"The perfect conditions for suspending antimatter," said Andrew, "or in this case, a doomsday spell. Malcolm then summoned these vacuum suits for him and Sabrina and together they figured out how to cancel the spell. And that's it in a nutshell. Everyone's on their way up here at their own paces. I just happened to get up here first." He then groaned in pain and rubbed his legs, "and boy am I going to be sore for the next few days."
"There, you see?!" asked James of Lord Xenu, "you have lost!"
"I still have my armies!" said Lord Xenu.
"What armies?" asked Mikasa as she walked onto the roof, her jacket and shirt torn and bloodstained in places, while her arms and part of her torso were covered in bandages, with a bandaged cut below her right eye. "If I know Eren, he and the other three should be finishing up by now."
Tess and the others looked out towards the Parzon forces, or what was left of them. The four sentient Titans had broken the nerve of the armed forces arrayed against them. Most of those still alive were running for their lives, while those still fighting were in a panicked and disorganized state. All the enemy Titans had been destroyed, while the Parzon war machines had been smashed into scrap metal.
"Hey, you guys!" said a limping Aiden as Malcolm and Sabrina helped him onto the roof, "oh, you've saved Sofia and caught the bad guy."
"Guess it's over, then," said Malcolm.
"Not yet," said Sofia, "not just yet," she then walked over to Lord Xenu, "you still refuse to accept another way? Well, how about this?" she then looked at Sabrina, "I know you've been through a lot, but can you cast one more spell?" She then looked up at the pollutant-choked skies.
"I think I've got one last trick up my finger," said Sabrina as she looked up at the skies. She then shook out her hand, then aimed her finger up at the polluted clouds. A burst of magic shot from her finger and hit the clouds, dissipating them into harmless air or into normal water vapor, revealing blue skies. The cleansing spread outward like a shockwave, clearing the air over Parzon and revealing pure sunlight for the first time in a long, long time.
"Now do you accept that there's another way?" asked Sofia, "and if you still won't, then the people of Parzon will."
"We have the cure for your peoples' sickness," said Miranda, "and in time, with Enchancia's help, we will clean Parzon's soil and waters."
"A new day has dawned for Parzon," said Sofia, "while your star, Lord Xenu, has fallen forever."
Just then a Dark Corridor opened, and from it emerged Darklight, followed by The Lord of Illusions.
"OH CRAP!" exclaimed Aiden, Tess and Malcolm.
"Are we interrupting anything?" asked The Lord of Illusions, "We can always come back later if this is a bad time."
"Yeah…it's a bad time," said a slightly unsure Aiden, "we're not in any fit position to entertain company."
"Tess, who are these people?" asked Miranda cautiously.
"The last people you want to be around," said Tess, "that's Lady Darklight, the Princess of Dark."
"And you're Sora's friends," said Darklight as she smiled viciously, "I'll deal with you later. But first," she looked at Sofia, "we've got a lot to talk about, you and I." She then walked towards Sofia.
"You stay away from her, you psycho!" snapped Malcolm as he summoned his Keyblade and rushed at Darklight. The vile Princess of Dark merely shrugged and grabbed Malcolm's arm and twisted it with a loud snap, then tossed Malcolm to the floor.
"Ugh! Nasty!" said Malcolm as he saw a piece of bone breaking through his forearm, then cried out in agony as he finally felt the pain of the compound fracture.
"I hope that wasn't your fighting arm," said Darklight, "I want a fair fight when the time comes." She then walked up to Sofia, "as for you, you're the one Columbina was so interested not too long ago, the girl whose heart cracked. But then your heart healed itself. I want to know why; why did your heart heal, whereas mine has a gaping maw like The Grand Canyon? Why does your light still shine while I walk in darkness?"
"Don't tell this bitch anything, Sofia!" said Aiden as he summoned his Keyblade.
"Be quiet!" shouted Darklight as she summoned her Black Keyblade and aimed it at Aiden, hitting him with a paralyzing spell that knocked him to the floor, completely unable to move.
"Great, now there's only one left still able to fight," said Darklight. She then glared at Tess, "you stay right where you are so I can fight you when I'm ready!" she then looked at Sofia while aiming her dark Keyblade at her, "now, you will tell me how you healed your heart."
"I didn't," said Sofia, "Amber, my sister, she did it for me."
"Did she now?" asked Darklight in an intrigued manner, "your sister must be a powerful sorceress indeed to heal a cracked heart and purge it of darkness."
"She's studying to be an astronomer," said Sofia, "Amber has no magic other than the basics we learned at school. Well, maybe she does. Yeah, she really does; Amber has the most powerful magic there is, more powerful than any darkness."
"And what magic?!" snapped Darklight, "tell me!"
"Love," said Sofia as she smiled confidently at Darklight, "love is a magic that can overcome any evil, even yours."
"I see," said Darklight. She then lowered her black Keyblade, "well, that's a relief off of my shoulders. I doubt your sister can purge my darkness, and there is no one who loves me, so I have nothing to fear." She then turned around and started to walk away, then paused, "on the other hand, there's no reason why I should let any potential Princess of Heart live." She then turned around and raised her black Keyblade, "I'm going to extinguish your light, Sofia and Enchancia," she then looked at Sabrina, "yours too, witch!" she then looked back at Sofia, "and when I'm done, I'm going to find your sister, Amber, and extinguish her light too."
"The hell you will!" said an outraged Tess as she summoned her Keyblade, "you want to fight another Keyblade Wielder?! Then fight me, damn you!"
"Okay," said Darklight as she smiled insidiously, "I will!" with that she rushed at Tess and delivered a furious combination of attacks that Tess was barely able to block.
But then Darklight delivered a dark magic blast that knocked Tess down and her Keyblade out of her hands. Tess tried to grab her Keyblade again, but Darklight kicked it away.
"And here I hoped for a real challenge," said a disappointed Darklight as she placed her boot on Tess's neck and began to slowly step down, depriving Tess of air, "what a waste of time and…"
That's as far as she got before Max ran up and, growling with fury, punched her right in the face, knocking her clear off the roof.
"She was really starting to piss me off," said Max as he helped a coughing for air Tess back up, "seriously, where do you kids keep finding these creeps?"
"You'd be surprised," said The Lord of Illusions. He then pulled out a pocket watch, "now if you'll excuse me…"
"You're not going anywhere, Leslie!" snapped Max, "don't think The BPRD doesn't know about you! You're wanted on half a dozen affiliated parallel worlds! When we drag you back home and throw you in front of Patricia Walker, boy is she gonna…" that's as far as he got before he grunted in pain, then shouted in pain as the black Keyblade erupted from his chest.
"That…hurt!" shouted Darklight as she stood behind Max with her black Keyblade buried up to the hilt in his back. She then kicked him down, forcing the Black Keyblade off of Max, whom gasped in agony and fell to the floor, then didn't move.
"Well, well, well," said The Lord of Illusions as he stared down contemptuously at Max, "The so called Indestructible Man finally meets his match!"
Just then came an earsplitting report from Andrew's .475 pistol, followed by the spattering sound of The Lord of Illusions's head exploding.
"DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" shouted Andrew as he aimed his pistol at Darklight.
"That was just another of his doppelgangers," said Darklight as she looked at Andrew, "I'm way beyond your level."
"Maybe," said Andrew, "then again, I'm feeling kinda reckless. Maybe I am a defective clone. Whatever the reason, I'm not letting you hurt anyone else. So…" he then frowned and looked up, "what the hell is that?!"
"Seriously?!" snapped Darklight, "you really think I'm gonna fall for something stupid like that!?"
"I'm serious," said Andrew as he pointed up towards the sun, "what is that?!"
Tess and the others looked up to see a dark spot growing on the sun.
"Sunspots?" asked Aiden.
"Seen from a planet? I don't think so," said Andrew, "no, this is something else."
"It is something else," said Sabrina in a terrified tone, "something bad, something really bad."
…Radiant Garden…
"All done!" said Tidus as he tightened the last screw on The Interocitor.
"Alright, plug it in and we'll see what we've got," said Hayner.
"Not just yet," said Ansem as he held the Intensifier Disk in one hand and the instruction manual in the other, "there's still a few features I need to look up first."
"We'll figure it out as we go along," said Selphie after she plugged the power cable into the wall socket. She then grabbed the Intensifier Disk from Ansem and inserted it into the machine.
Pence then turned the disk 18° to the left. The triangular screen shimmered and went foggy for a few seconds before clearing, revealing Aiden, Tess and Malcolm atop the fortress roof.
"They're alive," said a relieved Kairi, "thank goodness." She then frowned as she saw the looks of worry on her friend's faces, "but something wrong, something's very wrong."
"Half a moment, I'll see what I can do," said Ansem as he made a few adjustments to a control board on the Interocitor. He then turned the Intensifier Disk another 18° to the left. The image shimmered and then refocused on outer space above the world of Enchancia, revealing the Heartless Armada guiding the Dark Spear towards the world.
"Oh no, it's happening!" said a horrified Kairi.
…Castle Oblivion…
"It's happening!" said a viciously gleeful Columbina as she and the other villains watched the oncoming Dark Spear on their Interocitor. The Heartless armada accelerated the Dark Spear towards the world, aiming the gargantuan Heartless for the royal palace of Enchancia.
"Behold!" exclaimed Columbina as the Dark Spear entered the world's upper atmosphere, "Enchancia's doom!"
…Parzon…
"What is that thing?!" shouted Malcolom.
"That…" said another doppelganger of The Lord of Illusions as he appeared next to our heroes, "is Columbina's Dark Spear. It's basically an amalgamation of Heartless, condensed together to form a Keyhole-cracking doomsday bomb." He then looked at Darklight, "and your replacement."
"That?!" snapped Darklight as the Dark Spear as it began to heat up in the atmosphere, producing an insidious red glow, "That is supposed to replace me!? I THINK NOT!"
Surrounding herself with an aura of dark power, Darklight took off and shot towards the Dark Spear.
"She can fly," said Aiden as Tess helped him up, "she can fly, gods help us all."
But then to everyone's astonishment, in Parzon, on Radiant Garden and Castle Oblivion, Darklight flew up to the Dark Spear and hit it with her black Keyblade. The gargantuan Heartless cracked and shattered into hundreds of thousands of Heartless, most of which were destroyed by the force of Darklight's attack, while the rest burned up in the atmosphere as gravity pulled them down.
"What the hell?" asked an astonished Malcolm.
…Radiant Garden…
"What the hell?" asked Kairi as she and the others watched on their Interocitor.
…Castle Oblivion…
"WHAT THE HELL!?" bellowed Columbina as she and the other villains watched on their interocitor.
"Looks like someone's gonna take off their mask soon," said a smugly smiling Regina.
…Parzon…
"Well…I certainly didn't see that coming," said The Lord of Illusions as Darklight flew back towards the fortress.
"Neither did I," said Tess.
Darklight landed back on the roof, "Come on, Leslie," she said irately, "we're leaving."
"We are?" asked the trickster. He then saw the wrathful look on Darklight's face, "oh, of course we are, how foolish of me."
"Why?" Tess asked as she looked at Darklight, "why did you do that?"
"Don't get me wrong," said Darklight, "my vendetta against you and all of The Realms of Light still burns in me. When the time is right, I will destroy you all. I just don't want Columbina thinking she can replace me, that's all." She then looked at Sabrina and Sofia, "enjoy this brief respite, for as soon as I've straightened things out with Columbina and cracked the other Keyholes, I'll be back for you!" With that she summoned a Dark Corridor, "come on, Leslie!"
"Right behind you," said The Lord of Illusions as Darklight walked through the Dark Corridor. He then looked at Tess, "okay, if you and your friends ever want to stop Darklight, you've either got to find someone from her old life who loves her, or get really, really strong."
"We figured as much," said Tess as she stood with Aiden and Malcolm, "but why tell us this?"
"Just who's side are you on?" asked Malcolm, "seriously, what's your problem?"
"I am and always will be on my own side," said The Lord of Illusions, "whether you trust me or not is your prerogative, but you'd better act fast. It's only a matter of time before Columbina goes completely sideways and launches an all-out attack on the entire Realms of Light."
"But who can we find who loves Darklight?" asked Tess.
"We don't even know who she really is," said Aiden.
"Oh, you know her, alright," said The Lord of Illusions, "you met her on Banoi with her little sister."
"Oh Banoi?" asked Tess, "wait," she began breathing hard in horror, "wait…you mean?"
"Bethany Greenhill," said The Lord of Illusions, "but before you go ballistic on me, you should know that I had nothing to do with it. One of my doppelgangers murdered Bethany's sister right in front of her and it cracked her heart. So if you want to blame someone, blame that doppelganger. Then again, that particular doppelganger is dead, killed by Darklight."
"Kate's dead?" asked Tess.
"Yes," said The Lord of Illusions, "so if you ever hope to defeat Darklight, you'd better find someone of Bethany's acquaintance who can heal her heart."
"LESLIE!?" shouted Darklight from inside the Dark Corridor.
"I'm coming already!" said The Lord of Illusions. He then looked at our heroes, "good luck, you'll need it." With that he walked through the Dark Corridor, which closed up after him.
"Well, that was an interesting distraction," said Lord Xenu, "but I really must be going."
"The only place you're going is to Enchancia to stand trial for your crimes," said James.
"Give him an extra year in solitary for not installing elevators," said Andrew as he sat down again, rubbing his sore legs.
"There are elevators," said Lord Xenu, "how do you think I managed to get up here first?"
"You mean I ran all the way up here and could have taken the elevator?!" snapped Andrew as he pulled himself to his feet, "I ought to shoot you on general principal!"
"He will be punished in due course," said Sofia, "after you give the surrender order to Parzon."
"Never!" snapped Lord Xenu, "Parzon will never surrender to the likes of Enchancia. You can offer as many alleged cures and hands of friendship you want. But so long as one loyal son or daughter of Parzon lives, we will plot, scheme and conspire Enchancia's downfall. You may have won the battle, but the final victory of the war shall be…"
That's as far as he got before he and everyone else on the roof stumbled about as the whole fortress shook violently for a second.
"Now what?" asked Max as he stood up, the gaping hole in his chest fully healed, "did you set off your bombs while we're still here, Andrew?!"
"Oh good, you're not dead," said Andrew, only to be shaken about with the others as the fortress shook again, "does that sound like I set the charges off?!"
"It's not a bomb," said Mikasa as the tower kept shaking. She then looked over the edge of the roof, "it's Annie!"
Tess and the others rushed to the edge to see The Female Titan climbing the fortress, her fingers and toes crystallized to allow her better grip and leverage on the stone walls.
"I can't see Eren or the others!" said Malcolm as he looked out towards the battlefield, "something must have happened!"
"Is it that obvious?" asked Aiden.
Just then the Female Titan crested the edge of the roof, forcing our heroes to back away. Holding on with one arm, The Female Titan reached out and grabbed Lord Xenu.
"NO! Let go of me!" shouted Lord Xenu as The Female Titan pulled him up to her face. She glared at him with eyes brimming with hate and rage.
"Annie! Stop!" shouted Mikasa, "Don't do it!"
"Do what?" asked James, "she's not going to…eat him…is she?"
"No, but she will take her revenge," said Tess.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" said Max. He then rushed at The Female Titan. Still holding Lord Xenu, The Female Titan brushed Max off the roof, then lifted Lord Xenu up again.
"You can't do this!" shouted Lord Xenu as he fruitlessly struggled to break free, "I own you! You will obey me! OBEY ME!"
"ANNIE! NO!" shouted Mikasa as the Female Titan brought her thumb up above Lord Xenu's head. With one last glare of contempt, The Female Titan brought her thumb down while tightening her grip, crushing Lord Xenu into a bloody pulp.
The Female Titan then let go of the roof edge, falling to the ground while ripping open the back of her neck. The creature dissolved into steam before it hit the ground.
"Is she…is she dead?" asked Miranda after the shock of what just happened wore off for our heroes.
"I don't think so," said Mikasa, "she wouldn't have done that if she didn't have an escape plan. Come on, she may still be down there somewhere."
"Can we find that elevator of Lord Xenu's?" asked Andrew miserably, "if I have to take one more flight of stairs, I'll probably kill myself."
It took a while but our heroes found the elevators, stopping along the way to collect the rest of our heroes. Within fifteen minutes, everyone was on the ground floor and had walked out the exit.
The found Max, alive and well, helping an exhausted Eren towards the fortress.
"EREN!" exclaimed Mikasa as she and Armin rushed to help their friend.
"I'm alright," said Eren, "I'm just mad, that's all."
"Apparently we've been had, again," said Max, "while everyone was distracted by the display in the sky, Reiner and Bertold turned on Eren."
"Bertold ripped me out of my Titan body," said Eren, "while Reiner ran back to the fortress."
"I knew letting them transform was a bad idea!" said Katina.
"You can pay the 'I told you so' game later," said Andrew, "we know what Annie did, but what did Reiner do?"
"He robbed us, that's what he did!" said Ed, "I had the Titan serum, but now it's gone!"
"So's the control device!" said Al, "he must have taken them while we were still pulling ourselves together."
"And he left a goodbye letter," said Aiden after he checked his pockets, finding a scrap of parchment, "'By the time you read this, Annie, Bertold and I will be long gone, so don't try to follow us. A new friend made us an offer too good to refuse, so we're taking it. Goodbye.'"
"Well, this sucks!" said Connie, "We came all this way to find and bring back Annie, and she's gone, along with Reiner and Bertold!"
"What are we going to tell Commander Smith when we get back home?" asked a distraught Krystal, while Sasha looked equally distressed.
"We tell him and everyone else that we failed the mission," said Jean, "plain and simple."
"No, we didn't fail the mission," said Eren with righteous determination, "not all of it; we saved Sofia and Enchancia, and figured out several new ways to fight The Titans. We may have lost Annie and the others, but we've gained new weapons. We're going to take those weapons back to our world and use them. We will drive The Titans back beyond The Walls, and from there we'll begin to take back our world once and for all!"
"That's the spirit!" said Alegra as she and Salem appeared next to Sabrina, "'never say die, that's what I always say!'"
"And if you don't, there's a million and one other sayings you can steal from other people," said Salem.
"You bitch," said Tess to Alegra.
"I've been called worse," said Alegra, "But we can play the insult game later. It's only a matter of time before Darklight and Columbina make up and resume their assault on The Realms of Light," she then looked at Ed, Al, The Ramblers and Survey Corps, "you all have done extraordinarily and have suffered so much, but I must ask more. Andrew, you and your fellow Meta Humans need to go back to your world to rest and restore, while also coordinating with the alternate BPRD worlds. You're all going to be needed in the coming struggle."
She then pulled out an orange crystal, "this will help you reach new worlds with Meta Humans. Use it to gather an army of BPRD alternates."
"Ed and Al, hidden somewhere on your world is an item older than the oldest text on Alchemy, an item of incredible power that is the key to Columbina's plans for The Sampo. After you've returned to your world and reunited with your friends and loved ones, you must find it. Destroy it if you can or keep it safe if not."
She then pulled out a spiral notebook filled with lose papers and sticky notes, then handed it to Ed and Al, "this is all I've found on The Sampo and the item Columbina needs; use the information well.
"Eren, it's only a matter of time before Columbina gets her hands on the Titan serum and makes her own Titans, so you and your friends need to go back to your world for reinforcements."
She then summoned a knapsack full of books and diagrams and handed it to Eren, "this is what you'll need to bring electricity to your world, as well as some schematics on an electricity weapon. And if those idiots in charge of the government and religion try to stop the flow of progress," she then handed Eren a small blue crystal, "use this and help will come."
She then looked at Sofia, "you too have done extraordinarily. I am fully convinced that you are a full Princess of Heart now. With Merida of DunBroch, Violet Baudelaire, Chihiro, Rapunzel, Anna and Lillian, you are the seventh and final Princess of the set."
"Well, gee, thanks," said a slightly unsure and uncomfortable Sofa, "so, what now?"
"Now you prepare and wait," said Alegra, "when the time is right, you and the other six Princesses will rise up and stand firm against the darkness."
"Will you give an honest explanation for once!?" snapped Tess.
"I thought I was being honest," said Alegra, "as for you, Tess Thatcher, you and your friends have one last mission to accomplish before returning to The Realms of Light. Wait, I meant two. You need to find Riku and Sora and bring them home."
"Oh, well, that's different," said Tess, "okay, we'll do that." At that Aiden and Malcolm nodded in agreement.
"Okay then," said Alegra, "if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" asked Salem.
"Mmmm…no, I don't think so," said Alegra in a thoughtful manner, "I covered everything; BPRD, Alchemists, Survey Corps, Sofia, Keyblade Wielders…yes that's it."
"I knew you'd forget," said Salem smugly, "the big, shocking thing that you asked me to remind you about, remember now?"
"Oh, right!" exclaimed Alegra, "the big thing."
"Then you found it?" asked Sabrina in an anxious tone, "you know who Columbina is?"
"Yes," said Alegra gravely, "and I wish I hadn't. I'm sorry, Sabrina, but I've found irrefutable proof; Columbina is your sister from another timeline."
"YOUR SISTER!?" exclaimed Aiden, Tess and Malcolm.
"Yeah," said a depressed Sabrina, "my evil twin sister; Katrina."
…Castle Oblivion…
"Katrina Spellman?" asked Regina as she and the other villains stood in front of Columbina.
"Yes," said Columbina as she reached up and took off her mask, which vanished in a haze of illusions. Columbina's whole body shimmered as a glamour wore off, revealing an older version of Sabrina, wearing simple black, but with eyes cold and unloving.
"I am Katrina Spellman, and I swear to you all here and now, that I will annihilate all traces of my sister from the face of existence, and bring darkness to The Realms of Light, forever!"
The End of Chapter 10.
It's not over yet, fellow readers and writers, so stay tuned!