The village looked idyllic from above. Had one not known the residents were basically enslaved, one might think it looked like a tiny little paradise carved out of the ground. When night fell, Glitter Sue allowed everyone to go home to the various huts and houses in the unearthed village. She herself stayed on her lawn chair, keeping Mimi, O'Chunks, and Goombella nearby.

"I kept you because I've seen you're good at fighting," said Glitter Sue.

"Wait, when did you see Goombella fight?" asked Mimi.

"When Dique tried cutting in the chow line," replied Glitter Sue. "Remember? Her headbonk is the stuff of legends."

"Oh, right," said Mimi. "Tee-hee. That was fun."

"So, I have a feeling that now that the sun's gone down, some of my enemies are gonna want to rumble with me," said Glitter Sue. "So, um, maybe you could deal with that?"

"Sure!" Mimi chirped.

"Yeh can count on me," said O'Chunks, flexing.

"I'm in," said Goombella. "I'll bonk anyone who tries to mess up this village."

"Great," said Glitter Sue.

Meanwhile, Count Bleck, Dimentio, Nastasia, and Tippi were watching from the ridge. "All right," said Count Bleck, "there's four of them and four of us... but I don't think it's an even match. We're going to have to exhaust Glitter Sue without hurting any of our friends."

"I can distract O'Chunks," said Dimentio. "He's the strongest and I'm the fastest. I'll lead him away."

"Let me take Goombella," said Tippi. "I don't know if I can handle any of the others, but I'm sure I can distract Goombella."

"Good," said Nastasia. "That gives me a chance to work with Mimi."

"Which leaves Glitter Sue for Count Bleck," said Count Bleck. "Perfect. Remember: draw them apart. They're strongest when they're together."

Count Bleck put his hand out. Nastasia reached out and put her hand on top of his. Dimentio added his hand in, and Tippi landed on top of all three of them. "Let's go!" said Count Bleck, and they all threw their hands (and entire bodies, in one case) up triumphantly.

"Glitter Sue!" Count Bleck boomed as he and his small team jumped into the pit. "We're here to put a stop to this!"

Glitter Sue sat up and lifted up her glasses. "Oh, is that so?" she turned to the others. "Okay, I knew this was coming eventually. Didn't think it would be at night, but you know, whatever. It's good."

Mimi jumped up and cracked her neck, beginning her transformation into Spider Mimi. "Mimimimimimimimi! I'll knock 'em all out for you!"

Glitter Sue pointed to Mimi. "I love how you do that, by the way," she said. "I don't think I ever said that out loud but I love how you do that."

"Thanks!"

Dimentio floated up to O'Chunks. "Does a mighty warrior like yourself think he can take down the likes of me, the Master of Dimensions?"

"Master of dimensions, eh? Well, whatever dimension we're in I'll break yeh in half like a carrot!"

O'Chunks swung his fist. Dimentio deftly dodged. O'Chunks swung again. Dimentio dodged the other way.

"Hold still an' let me chunk yeh!"

"But if I hold still, will it really be a proper chunking?"

A few feet over, Mimi was throwing rubees at Nastasia, who was darting left and right to dodge them as she ran up to Mimi. "Mimi, this is your superior talking! If you don't stop this foolishness at once, you are grounded! Do you hear me?"

"You can't ground me!" Mimi crowed. "I don't work for you anymore! I work for Glitter Sue and she would never ground me! And she lets me stay up past bedtime!"

As soon as Nastasia got close to Mimi, she threw her legs out and slid straight into her, knocking aside three of her spider legs at once.

"Ouch!" Mimi plopped a rubee down, just barely missing Nastasia.

Meanwhile, Tippi was darting around Goombella's head like a fly, confusing her and spinning her around in a circle. The one time Goombella tried to headbonk Tippi, she had been so turned around that she missed by a mile and bonked her head right on the ground.

Glitter Sue stood up on her lawn chair and stepped off. "Don't think I don't see what you're doing," she said, cradling her wand's star in her left hand while holding the rod with her right. She twirled it slowly. "So, you've got your minions ready to distract my assistants... you think you can take me in a fight. You thought wrong. Do you even know who I am? Who I was?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

Glitter Sue held her wand straight out to her side, and quickly traced a circle around her the length of her arm, leaving a glowing trail. "I am the guardian of this village. I was created by the ancient ones and gifted this very wand, so that I may harness the power of the sun. My whole life, I gave to protect these people."

"So what happened?" asked Count Bleck. "Why was your village abandoned?"

"That doesn't matter," said Glitter Sue. "I am the guardian. My sole purpose in life is and has always been to protect this village, and you are not the first to attempt to stop me. I have always risen to meet the challenge. Do you truly believe you are the strongest foe to face me?"

Count Bleck looked at her, his face stoic. He did not respond.

"Do you want to see what I am capable of?"

"Yes," he said. "I do."

Glitter Sue pointed her wand at the ground in front of her. There was a spark of light, and she was catapulted into the air, landing neatly on the edge of the pit. She threw hear arms out and cheered, "Ta da!" before she turned around and gestured for Count Bleck to follow.

"Go with her," said Nastasia as she dodged two of Mimi's rubees. "We'll hold down the fort here!"

"Hey, where are you going?" Goombella stopped fighting Tippi and turned around.

"I'll be back shortly," said Glitter Sue. "Take a break if you want. Or not. You know, whatever."

O'Chunks, who was still throwing punches at a dodging Dimentio, stopped.

"Well, I'm sure a noble warrior such as yourself doesn't need a break," said Dimentio. "But I am exhausted like a boyfriend at the last store of a mall-wide shopping expedition. Please, could you see your way clear into allowing me a moment to catch my breath before we continue?"

Panting, O'Chunks nodded. "O'course... wouldn't be a fair fight otherwise." He sat down and continued trying to draw in as much air as possible.

Up in the desert, a distance from Tent City, Glitter Sue was walking with her back to Count Bleck. Count Bleck saw his chance, and immediately tried to grab her in a teleportation warp. However, at the last second, the sand directly beneath Glitter Sue shot straight up in the air, and was teleported instead. She landed neatly on the ground the instant afterwards.

Glitter Sue turned around, smirking. She held her arms out as the sand beneath her and all around her began to rise in a large pillar, lifting her up. "I control the sands."

She pointed her wand and began to spin it around in small, quick circles. The air around it began to move quickly, until it had created a small tornado, which she set free. It turned upright and stood behind her. "I control the winds."

Then Glitter Sue held her wand high above her head. A very thin, concentrated beam of light shot straight out of it and hit Count Bleck's top hat directly in the center. A small stream of smoke emitted from the spot before the light burned a tiny hole straight through. "I control the sunlight."

Glitter Sue pointed her wand in a direction behind her and a little to the left. Count Bleck turned to look. At first, nothing was happening. Then he saw a small blob appear in the distance, approaching them fast. When it got close to them, Count Bleck recognized it as a blob of water, held together by sheer glitter power and hovering in the air above the sand. Glitter Sue dropped her wand, and the water fell and splashed directly on Count Bleck. Count Bleck did not flinch; he stood with his back straight, dripping all over, looking Glitter Sue in the eye as she spoke: "I control the water, what little there is.

"I control the desert, Count Bleck. The desert itself is my friend and my tool, which I use to protect what is mine. Do you want to go up against the entire desert?"

"If that is what it takes to stop you," said Count Bleck, "then that is what I will do."

"Have it your way." Glitter Sue flicked her wand and sent the tornado straight to Count Bleck.

Count Bleck tried to dodge, but the miniature twister was far faster than he had anticipated, and could reach him from a large distance. It sucked him in and spun him around a few times before spitting him out to crash into the sand pillar Glitter Sue was standing on. She jumped off it, and the moment her feet left the ground the pillar collapsed, covering Count Bleck completely.

Glitter Sue then held her wand up, and the sand surrounding Count Bleck seemed to tighten and harden around him. She had shaped the sand into a giant fist which was squeezing him tightly and lifting him in the air. "Well? Aren't you going to do something?" asked Glitter Sue. The way she cocked her head upon asking, and the tone of voice she used, made it sound more like a question asked out of genuine curiosity and not a suspicious battle inquiry.

"As a matter of fact..." Count Bleck grinned slyly. "Count Bleck is!" At that moment, he was able to flip out of danger and re-appear directly behind his attacker. Without him to hold, the fist collapsed in on itself. Count Bleck threw a ball of dark energy straight at Glitter Sue. She spun around as soon as he did, and at the last second threw up another sand shield. The sand exploded when the magic hit it, sending sand flying in every direction, including both of their eyes.

Count Bleck had one eye protected by his monocle, so he still had half his vision as he hunched over and desperately tried to blink out the invading particles. Because of this, he could see Glitter Sue tap her nose with the star, and all of the sand immediately fell from her face. She then glared at Count Bleck and threw a dazzling bright glitter ball in his direction.

Count Bleck dodged as quickly as he could. Then, using the speed he already built up, he charged full force at Glitter Sue. He rammed right into her, knocking her down. From his standing position, it seemed to him that he had caused noticeable damage.

Glitter Sue threw the wand up and immediately the sand below Count Bleck rocketed straight up, much like her pillar had been, but far, far higher. As soon as he was high in the air, it collapsed, leaving him floating. No doubt that attack usually worked much better on enemies who couldn't float, but she seemed like she hadn't thought of that. Count Bleck carefully let himself down.

Glitter Sue was slowly swirling her wand around above her head, creating another tornado. This one was larger than the previous one. Count Bleck then realized she had known he wouldn't fall- she merely needed some extra time to create this monstrosity.

The tornado was big, and it sucked in everything around it. As soon as Glitter Sue set it free it sucked in Count Bleck and spun him around more times than he could count in under ten seconds. When he was so dizzy he thought his head would fall off, it spat him out with all the force he had collected and he was thrown hard into the ground.

Glitter Sue was standing over him on a sand pedestal as she brought up two large sand fists. "It's over, your lordship," she said. "If you agree to give up this silly crusade, I'll allow your game to continue. If you have an ace up your sleeve, now is the time to play it."

Count Bleck, still trying to see straight after his tornado spin, looked up at the nine heads of Glitter Sue currently swimming above him.

"No ace, eh? Then do you yield?"

"No," said Count Bleck. "Even if we stop this fight I will never stop trying to free those you've enslaved."

Glitter Sue sighed. "Well, then... that's a shame. Not that it matters, but I really do like you, Count Bleck. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"It doesn't, though."

"Yes. It does." She brought her wand down with all the speed possible, sending the fists to crush Count Bleck's body.

As they came down to Count Bleck, however, they slowed. By the time they reached him, they were barely moving at all, and simply fell apart, covering him with harmless sand.

"Cute," said Glitter Sue. She tapped her wand a few times. "It's run out of sunshine."

"Then I was right," said Count Bleck. "It relies on the power of the sun to make its magic."

"Oh, you figured that out? You're so smart!" Glitter Sue beamed at him. "Yes, it relies on the power of the sun, which I could not harness hidden away like I was. And I've used up far more magic than I meant to. I guess I just got a little carried away. I haven't fought like that since Lai- well, since forever."

Count Bleck sat up, finally regaining his balance. "What say you now?"

Glitter Sue smirked as she looked back up at Count Bleck. "Oh, what's that? I'm sorry, did you think this is over?"