The base rumbled and shook every other minute or so. The alarms' loud buzzer was turned off, but the red light still flashed off and on. Many members that were still inside the base were switching their gazes back and forth from all walls and ceilings. Maiden, who finally came out of the room, ran down the halls and looked for anyone. She saw Kawkee, who was currently carrying a large container far bigger than himself, barely making his way down. The purplish human continued running and stopped just before him. "Kawkee, what is going on?" she asked, trying to keep her calm.
The alien managed to turn completely around, although his head, face, and most of his body was obscured by the massive container. "A demon showed up and is attacking the base. Everyone who could fight is out there now, but they may need more help." To emphasize this they watched a few members rush through the halls towards what Maiden could only assume was the exit. "I must hurry and finish making more of my fluoromethyl-hexafluoroiso-" Even with her eyes bandaged, the alien could see the amount of confusion on her face. He sighed in defeat, "More of my Memory Gas."
He soon scuttled off to do his task. Maiden had a smile and posture filled with determination, just before she ran to catch up with the others. "Don't worry friends, I will-" The girl stopped almost dead in her tracks as her body refused to keep running. Her insides were hurting and she could hardly breathe. Sounds of strange gurgling and other odd sounds escaped her slightly open mouth and its attempts to breathe in air. What she breathed in was air, but what she breathed out was not. It got caught in her lungs, rendering any previous ability to breathe null. She coughed and spat, the substance that clogged her throat came shooting out. To her horror, a black sphere with consistency of sludge laid on the floor in the direction she spat. By her feet small droplets of the same material were there, and increasing in numbers. An aching arm managed to touch Maiden's face, and lifting it more to eye level showed that the same black slime was leaking from under her blindfold. "…N-No…" she managed to say, coughing out the sludge every syllable. "N-Not now…not here…" Using any effort she could, her body walked down the hall to the closest empty, unused room or a bathroom.
A few minutes earlier, the situation looked a lot worse than what it sounded from inside the base. "Liliac!" Pink shouted in distress. The cheetah made a mad dash straight towards her surrogate sister.
The demon's gaze only slightly adverted to see her, "…" His left foot lit up as he lightly stomped. The ground resonated beneath his foot and started to glow the same color. Just before Pink reached him, a wall of earth formed, not only stopping the attack but also giving great harm to the cheetah. The wall was dropped, the cheetah stunned, the demon pleased. He playfully flicked her forehead, causing her to fall to the ground. Liliac made a light gasp of her remaining breath on accident. "P-Pink…" Seeing her sister beaten gave a newfound strength in the human. She swung slightly, delivering a swift kick to the demon's face. The initial unexpected attack caused his grip to loosen, just enough for Liliac to get away. She immediately went to her knees upon landing away, holding her neck. "You are more resourceful than I imagined human."
Richter came with her staff, which Liliac took again and stood. She pointed her staff to their opponent, "Twin Masters! Why are you here?!"
"I am not Twin Masters" the demon commented, a slight amount of anger in his voice. "I am Duo Elements. A demon born from the power of Twin Masters, infusing two of this world's most deadly natural forces; the sheer might that trembles in the ground, and the potent electrical wrath that comes from the sky. And I am here to ensure that harmony does not arise in Hidden Kingdom." He raised his arms up, his body once more lighting up. As if to emphasize his power, the ground rumbled slightly and the dark clouds above resonated with a loud thunderous boom.
Misty wasn't one to stand around, and she stood enough. Without command or notice she began rushing closer. It was too obvious, even if someone had their back turned. Duo faced the blue-eyed girl head on as she readied a punch. Misty's punch connected, but the demon did not more; he didn't even flinch, he just took the punch straight to his chest. This surprised everyone, but it surprised the attacking girl the most. She threw another punch, and still no reaction. She unleased an onslaught of punches and kicks, but the demon never moved. Her one kick was grabbed before her body was tossed. Misty landed on her feet, "Okay wise guy, let's see you handle this!" Her blue eyes sparked just before releasing a blue lightning bolt from each. Both eyeball blasts hit Duo dead center, causing a black cloud of smoke and debris to form. The girl stood proud, "You see?! This is what happens when you mess with M-" Yellow lightning bolts broke through the smoke and cleared it in and instant. Too late to react, Misty was struck by the demon's attack and sent flying backwards. She fell on her back and laid there, a spare twitch every so often due to the electricity.
"Misty!" Her brother cried out in surprise. Part of him knew her cockiness would have made her lose, but he didn't entirely expect it! As his face was filled with shock and worry, the one on his head was expressing anger. Without a single command, the long fabric arms of Red Ray's Yaksha sprung him forward. The unexpected movement caused the boy to hold onto his companion, as her arms melded together and expanded to form a massive hammer. She swung it down with a spin for more force. The hammer attack hit Duo, a gleeful smile forming on Yaksha's face as they landed on the ground. However, once at the lower vantage point, it was shown that Duo had stopped the hammer attack with only one hand. The same hand then squeezed and grabbed the fabric. With a single tug Yaksha was ripped off of the young human's head. Duo then began rolling and compressing the creature with both hands, before making her into a perfect sphere. He merely tossed her aside, the pink elastic creature unable to reform from her forced shape.
"This is rather amusing" Duo commented. "You have such a wide range of beings; humans, animals, and various others. And yet, not a single individual can defeat me."
The feats the demon was showing were very impressive, Liliac hated to admit. So far he's nearly killed her in one swoop, took down the fastest being on their team with a strike even faster, and took down the twins whose skills looked like absolutely nothing. Despite this, the gray haired leader refused to be intimidated. "Those that claim victory before final bell do not ever hear it." If she wasn't the one who said it, she'd be the one groaning. That sounded like a cheap message you get with those special meals at those cuisine stands; the thin message within those weird cookies that no one ever really eats. The others who heard it didn't seem too fond of it.
Duo, however, chuckled in response. "Bring me your best warriors, bring me your fiercest beasts; one by one, they will all fall." Those words definitely caused some pause in the leader's actions. Was he truly this powerful? If he was, then what did that mean about Twin Masters? What did that mean, about High Roller? What else did they have on their side? Each non-verbal question she gave herself only made the situation feel worse and worse. Despair began to flare up inside of her heart, and each doubt and negative thought was just adding fuel to fire.
As the leader sat and contemplated on their situation, others took action. Richter was a bit hesitant after seeing their cheetah teammates taken out, but now he was angry. "Oi! You think yer so smug there Skullface?! Well get ready to experience a real earthquake!" The groundhog jumped up and tucked his tail in to form the signature drill his species could do. With a speedy spin he bore into the ground he once stood over. Cracks began to form on the surface of where he was speeding towards. Duo's left foot lit up slightly, as did the ground and the demon raised his left hand. The cracks intensified on one spot before the surface burst open. Richter was tossed out by a pillar of solid earth, launching him high into the air. With a snap of his right hand, the demon caused a cloud to burst and strike lightning onto the airborne animal. The groundhog was forced down onto the ground and into a newly made crater. The demon turned to once more face the others. "One. By. One."
Liliac's breathing began to quicken slightly; trying to compensate her growing fear. The world around her began to slow down, darken, to where eventually she felt completely alone in a standstill void of darkness. What do they do? How can they beat him? Could they even beat him? These questions rung in her head, over and over again with each second that passed, and never seemed to stop. The flames that were her doubt were now a raging wildfire that was burning this feeling permanently into her own brain. But, a single spark amongst the flames cleared a tiny opening. This opening she heard something, and something that was soon drowning out the raging fire of doubt. What she heard was a voice, the voice of the commander she spoke to not too long ago. 'Liliac, being a leader means that a decision needs to be made despite the circumstance. There will be factors and problems that arise from any decision you make, but you must have faith in them; otherwise they will never work.' If her doubt and fear were a wildfire, this new voice and thought was a small cloud. Slowly, this cloud grew larger and expanded overtop of the flames. The smoke and heat did nothing to shrink it. Once it grew enough, new feelings washed over the flames and replaced the negative emotions with positive ones. Liliac's breathing returned to normal, the world brightened back up and time seemed to move back at its normal pace. After a few calming breathes, the human girl twirled her staff in her hands, grabbed hold, and got into a readied stance.
What she did just then looked had two different viewpoints. To her team, it showed that Liliac was in a calmer state of mind, and ready to take on their enemy. To the two demons; the one fighting and the one currently unable to fight, they saw a bright purple aura form around the human girl. One demon felt calmer and somewhat prouder of what was just accomplished, the other demon only grew more annoyed and enraged. Keeping these emotions hidden was what Duo successfully managed to do, as he seemed to get in a similar pose. "It appears that you are ready to fight a battle you know you're going to lose. Let us see how long you will truly last." The other teammates of hers, such as Misty and Red Ray, saw this newfound strength and slowly got back up. Even Pink, who was seemingly completely knocked out from before, watched her surrogate sister's actions.
"Maya, Sea Salt; NOW!" The command was something the demon did not expect. He only caught a glimpse before he was attacked. From above, a blue eagle soared straight down while carrying a small kitten. This kitten let loose these lit firecrackers that burst the moment they hit the ground or the demon. Red mist surrounded Duo, and the colored gas actually burned his sight. The eagle dropped the young prince with those hiding behind the rock before taking back to the air. Before the dust cloud settled Liliac rushed in. Extending the blades of her staff, she began to swipe and slash the cloud. The first initial swipe of her staff caused the debris cloud to disperse, showing no one there. "H-Huh?" She paused, only to quickly turn and cover herself. A massive earth pillar shot out of the ground that knocked her back. It retreated into the ground as Duo's hand raised from the ground. Liliac quickly recovered from this. Changing tactics, she began to twirl her staff. In a quick swinging motion, three smaller blades shot out of her staff and straight at the demon. Duo, in response, raised his yellow hand as electricity sparked around it. He swung vertically just before the blades hit. The newly charged metal was expelled and sent right back at the girl. The first blade was blocked, the second became embedded within her staff, and the third nearly sliced her head; but luckily she ducked, so it just sliced some of her ponytail. "Eep!" She muttered as this happened.
"Really?" Duo commented. "I praise you for giving me an honorable fight and you use dirty hit and run tactics instead? And I thought you prided yourself on a fair fight."
"How's this for fair?!" It was Duo's turn to not have time to react, as he was knocked aside by a large lollipop shaped weapon. With a toothed smile the zombie girl's blade spun and she swung down. Using his right arm to block, sparks formed between the whirling blade and his skin. Oddette gave him a solid glare, "You just tried to cut my friend in half! Allow me to return the favor!"
More force was put into her attack, causing the blade to inch closer and closer to his face. His left hand placed a lone finger onto the ground. It glowed green, but the glow quickly spread. Oddette looked down, to only be greeted by a rushing pillar. The impact not just sent her flying, but it also sent her in pieces. Her body rained down all over the place, except for her head, which Duo caught. He looked to her, "What was that now about "returning the favor", hmm?" The zombie girl said nothing. "That's right, shut that pretty face of yours." He tossed her away as he looked on to the ones standing. "Is there no being that can give me a true fight?" His arms were suddenly tied and pulled back. Turning, he saw Scale Gray with his dual use weapon. "Oh please." Electricity sparked along Duo's surface and traveled through the lines connected to the weapon. However, the sparks stopped at the spear tip, never to the pole.
Scale Gray raised his weapon with a prideful smile. "This weapon is made from wood of the black rubber tree of the eastern shore. It is more durable yet flexible than any metal in Hidden Kingdom, and more importantly, it doesn't conduct electricity!" He tugged his weapon back to throw Duo off his feet.
"I see you are smart enough to use a tool that gives you a slight advantage" the demon smiled, "But what was your goal?"
"Simple; to distract you from her." The demon turned to only get a massive punch to the face by a thick entwined vine. Chlora stood a few feet away, doing the same motion as the vine was. The vine retracted as did the girl. "Nice job planty." The boy gave her a thumbs up, however the moment was short lived. A green hand grabbed his ankle, before pulling him into the ground. It stopped where his head was barely above the surface. Before Chlora could react, she saw her view rising. Before long, her entire body was placed in a solid rock.
Duo emerged from the ground, "This has gone on long enough. It is time to be serious."
"We couldn't agree more!" The heroes, both fallen and active, looked to see who had arrived. A large group of members showed up on shore, almost everyone, save for a few members. The little ones, such as Long John and Pin, stayed hidden with the other little ones with Kettle and Pigeon Queen standing guard. Members like Niobe and Jadeclaw were in that ground too; too afraid to do anything.
While the massive amount of reinforcement gave most hope, Misty frowned. "Wait a second…Ook, Prick, Skeleton Key, that lizard guy? What is this?! And why is Thorn in that group, what can he even do?! What are we doing; scraping the bottom of the roster barrel?!"
A lot of them either became angry, discouraged, annoyed; or all three. Ook did not; he only got confused, while Thorn merely smiled. "Misty…" Her brother spoke in a grunted tone as he tried to free his Yaksha from her confined prison. "I think you shouldn't say that to the people who are trying to save you!"
"Ook! Get the glowy guy!" At the single command the Gorilla pounded his chest in anger. The dumb animal used his fists to launch himself into the air to smash their enemy. Duo merely took one step forward to avoid the oncoming hit. Ook crashed into the ground, creating a skid mark for a good twelve feet before flopping to the ground unconscious. The porcupine prince sweatdropped, "Okay, that was a thing. Attack!" Everyone in the group fanned out. Bloodstone flew in closer with DJ and Maya closeby, each one preparing to attack their own way.
"Pestilent winged ones; your annoyance stops now!" The sky darkened the moment Duo raised his hands. As he dropped them, a large lightning bolt came down and struck all three of the flying members. They crashed into the ground and left their own craters. The demon proceeded to punch the ground, knocking back a smaller group with a pillar of earth, only for the pillar to fall over on a knocked about member; this one being the deer Skully. His movements and actions were different than earlier. Liliac noticed this, while confused at first, came to the frightening conclusion; Duo was only playing with them earlier, he was getting serious.
"Don't get close; anyone with projectiles attack!" The general scorpion commanded to the smaller group. In response three members took action. The arachnid took a brief moment to look at the paused Liliac. 'Come on girl, you got to stay focused.' Cornelius spat ink, Escara spat slime, and Prick launched quills. The demon began to rapidly spin, coating himself with his own chaotic energy, causing a miniature green and yellow tornado to form. The three projectile attacks hit, but did not make contact; merely swallowed in by the draft. The three attacks were launched back out; Escara hit with ink, Prick hit with slime, and Cornelius barely avoiding the needle spray thanks to his form's boneless nature. The demon stopped his rotation, only to be hit in the back by a large stinger. The projectile burst on impact, the user of said projectile being the old scorpion. He fired a barrage through his tail, causing the demon to fall on his knees. This gave the advantage to others who recovered. Misty began firing her own electricity as Prick fired more of his quills. Duo's body glowed just before a wall formed on each side of the attacking force. The earth closed together like a box. The three did not let up on these attacks.
All the while, Gunpowder finally finished loading his cannon. He plugged his ears and closed his eyes, just before his weapon fired. The cannonball made short work of the defenses made, and as soon as the wall broke the three stopped attacking. The debris cloud settled, the demon had once again vanished. "Hey!" Prick questioned, "Where did he go?!"
Cyber positioned himself on the field, "SCANNING FOR TARGET." While his optics went to work, unfortunately no clear identifier could be located. The place was now quiet; deathly quiet, which made the next sound practically echo. It was a clang, not just any typical clang, a metallic clang followed by odd creaking sounds. The conscious heroes all shared a shocked look. Cyber's eyes, along with his head, slowly looked down at the green hand holding his own power core. Duo forced his hand out, still clutching the core, and exposing the empty hole in the robot. Cyber managed to raise a hand, "T-T-TARGET LO…Ca...ted…" His entire form slumped from the loss of power. While Cyber was merely a robot, and not an actual living being, a lot of members questioned is the demon had just killed him.
"Cyber!" A few members cried out, both near and far. This action the demon performed caused several of them to leap and rush in. Even some members from the children group rushed in. Raya hopped angrily towards him while Jade followed suit breathing a bit of fire. As the onslaught closed in, the demon raised both hands together. The energy around the two slowly began to build up more and more, to the point where his own limbs were shaking to barely contain it. Duo opened his hands, a shockwave exploding between his palms that not just enveloped him, but knocked back everyone else. The blast was so widespread it caused the water's surface became heavily disturbed. Black smoke surrounded the radius, a few coughs were heard to signify that a few were still conscious. Liliac was one of the few that did. Her eyes couldn't contain anymore fear than what she had. All of her team, all of her members, all of her friends; defeated. The smoke wasn't very clear, but she saw the seeming lifeless bodies of her comrades laid out in some way. She couldn't see much else; neither the horizon nor the sky, but saw something she did not want to. Duo was slowly approaching her, both sides glowing fiercely. Liliac began to back away slowly, scuffing against the ground in an attempt to escape. Duo raised both of his arms and aimed his hands at the human girl. She didn't know how or what to do; or what she could even do. The demon stopped abruptly. This confused Liliac, that was, until she saw his face. The face of the demon started to turn gray; stone gray. Liliac only glanced behind her, seeing the shimmering green scales of their snake-like friend. The naga reapplied her blindfold quickly as the stone completely covered the demon.
"Are…are you okay?" The way Shari breathed it gave the impression she rushed here; and thankfully in the nick of time. Liliac nodded to her, slowly standing back up. Shari sighed with a deep breath, "Thank goodneth that'th ith over…"
It wasn't the time to relax. It wasn't the time to count your blessings. The time that would have been available for was tossed aside like garbage. The moment Liliac had stood, there was a glow behind her. Facing the stone demon, her eyes as well as the hidden eyes of Shari widened in shock. Cracks were forming on the body of the demon, leaking out energy of yellow and green. The statue-like demon began to shake, and soon the ground. Cracks were now forming as fast as water flows downstream. "Look o-"
Another explosion, this one with much more debris, once again forced everything around the epicenter to rocket outwards. The human girl found herself on the ground once more from the blast. The only difference was she was more in focus and more aware of her surroundings. The debris cloud faded away, and showed Liliac the aftermath of the demon's attack. Shari now laid about a foot in the ground. The naga must have taken the attack for her. She was then stepped further into the dirt, Duo stomping on her, as his path towards his goal was only temporarily blocked. "How many?" the demon asked. "How many beings will fall to protect you?" He let out a chuckle. "It's odd. My father sent me out here to destroy the one causing the disturbance in his claimed world, but here it was nothing but a little gnat." He made an upward motion, causing a stone wall to rise up. It cut off not just one escape route for the human, but all of her escape routes. The human kept looking at every angle, trying to find something to help her escape. Her hair was tugged, forcing her attention to fall on the chaos demon before her. "Ridding this world of you is as simple as squashing a bug. You should have let me destroy you and you alone. Now, I will have to not only destroy you, but all others who have stepped up." Despite the coursing pain, Liliac's eyes forced themselves open to see the ones he mentioned. Pink, Misty, Red Ray, Raya, Scale, Maya; all of them stood up for her. They stood up for her, and lost. They were unable to defeat this threat. They were too powerless. They were too unskilled. They were…no... It wasn't them; it was her. She was too powerless. She was too unskilled. She was too…afraid. The fear of losing her life today kept her from acting. But that's not what a leader does.
"…you're right."
Duo looked to the human, "What was that?"
"You're right…" she looked to him. "Defeating me would be as easy. I am unfocused, untrained, and heck, I sure am not a leader. I'm not a leader that these guys wants…but…" their eyes locked, "I am the leader these guys need." Duo was almost frozen in the gaze this human had. Uncertainty, misdirection, even fear; at that moment none of it was in her eyes. Being held up by the hair certainly was painful, but it helped her with her next move. "And some bugs aren't so easy to squish!" Using her binding as a swing hold, she delivered a strong kick to the demon's face. Duo was sent back, ripping some of her hair out as well as the band holding it. Liliac stood still, the hair falling all around her. The others around her, still conscious or just becoming conscious, watched this feat. The roles had reversed almost entirely. Duo was now on the ground, slowly backing away, while Liliac was slowly approaching him. The reason was of fear, but fear of something not everyone could see. The gray haired human walked on, "I am Liliac; daughter of Lin Chung, leader of First Squad, and Rosefinch of the Big Green Air Force! My father never backed down from fighting your father. So, I won't back down from fighting you! Not now, not ever!"
At last upon those words being spoken, Liliac felt something rush through her. It wasn't confidence, nor was it pride; it felt, different. Duo visibly and audibly gasped, as did the others watching, for the human began to glow purple. Liliac looked to herself with a surge of mixed emotions; surprise, confusion, slight fear, and slight joy. A beam of this energy erupted from both of her hands, that hit Duo Elements dead center. The half and half demon screamed in absolute pain; his body fading and sparking in and out just from mere exposure. The beams only lasted for seconds, and when they subsided, both beings fell to their knees. Duo panted, struggling to stand, and attempting to do something. His vision began getting blurry, and his mind was a blur. "W…What…how did I…get…here…?"
"Better question" he turned, seeing Misty, "Is how you'll be getting home?!" An uppercut sent the demon flying up. Oddette, fully recovered and reassembled, winked to him before throwing her weapon and him into the ground. Just as he made contact, Chlora blasted him back out with the aid of vines. Upon landing, His head was attacked by Raya, who slammed her little paws and huge ears into his face. "Duo Duo! Meanie Meanie!" As quick as she was to jump on, she also was quick to jump off. The rebound caused the demon to stumble, only to get blasted by Jade's fire. One by one the heroes rose up, their leader's new confidence and speech fueling theirs, and attacked the Duo in their own way. Each one managed to place a hit somewhere. The demon was visibly taking a toll as he was starting to struggle to even stand. Ook was ready to grab and throw.
"W-Wait!" Liliac coughed, "W-We need…"
"Got it!" They saw Kawkee scrambling out and rushing towards them carrying a small capsule the size of a standard ball. With a nervous throw, he tossed it. As the ball sailed through the air, a blur rushed by. At first it merely looked like Pink Spec, but at the same time it was not just her. YX was riding on her back. Duo, too exhausted to barely stand, couldn't dodge what came next. The cheetah spun and threw the spider demon off, said demon's claws glowing this weird red and blue energy, but as he passed Liliac, they both turned purple. Duo's eyes widened for one last time, as he was delivered and uppercut flurry of attacks from the claws of the demon. The final claw strike also burst the capsule, covering the yellow and green threat with the final piece of their initial plan. The demon screamed out before his entire form split and dissipated into the sky. The dark clouds dissipated along with the demon, the earth seemed to return to normal, and everything was at a calming state. Everyone, including the ones insides, let out a collective sigh. YX fell down to the ground, barely keeping himself upright. Liliac barely managed to make her way over there to him, "Are…are you, okay?"
The demon had regained his earlier, peaceful appearance. His multiple eyes seemed in a daze, but one managed to glance up. This human, who he had shunned and attacked before, the human which he believed never would take her father's footsteps, just took a massive leap in his direction. The energy he felt from her prior was a spark, but now it was a fire; a fire that wouldn't be going out any time soon. He managed to give a smile, "I am…thanks to you…"
The next hour or so was arguably the most painful. Members that were injured were carried to the sick bay of the base, mostly by members who only suffered slight injuries. Shari and Pigeon Queen performed most of the healing work, and Kawkee did what he could, though he mostly worked on repairing Cyber. YX ensured that his injuries were not major, but the naga healer convinced him otherwise, but regardless the demon was talking to the old commander. Alongside them were Brave One and Liliac. "It sounds just like harmonic energy" the commander spoke. "It was a power that Lin Chung was granted by his old master, a power that can completely counter the chaotic energy owned by Twin Masters."
"What, does this mean?" Liliac asked.
"I am not sure. But the encounter with Duo Elements must have triggered something, which, unfortunately, means that he is created from chaotic energy." The monkey pondered for the next step. They were doing good so far, collecting members from across all kingdoms; but it wasn't enough. "Perhaps we sh-"
"Excuse me…Commander." The monkey looked in the direction of Liliac. "I…I have been thinking." She was rather distant and discreet of her thoughts. The commander simply stayed silent, as did YX, and let her speak out. "The reason we lost today wasn't because we were weak. It was because our enemies were too strong. And if one member of their force could overpower all of us…" That thought didn't just linger with them, it spread throughout the whole sick bay. For some reason the gray-haired human's voice carried throughout the area. Every member in the room could hear her speak. "We have some good allies and some very good friends, but getting one member at a time isn't working. I'm sorry, but we're a bunch of kids, and kids don't have a place in a war. We're inexperienced with our abilities, have too many emotions, and our cooperation is not the best either. We cannot fight an army with kids. What we need is an army to fight an army." She stood taller. "My father once told me stories of how he and First Squad went out to the animal kingdoms, fought their troops, and came back with them as an ally rather than an enemy. If we are going to stand any chance at taking Hidden Kingdom back to the ways of old, then we need to start doing this again."
For that entire moment, the commander felt like he could see. He didn't just see the girl he met with an ambition, but right now, he saw a young Lin Chung; the young Lin Chung that when he first joined had the same motives and optimism as the being before her. The red monkey nodded, "Your words are very true Liliac, and I am sure many in this room would have to agree. However, after today, I do believe that everyone deserves a nice rest. The threat has been adverted for now, and you all fought well. Take today as a sign; a sign that you all are not just the offspring of heroes, but rather, true new heroes."
The atmosphere of the room seemed to almost brighten at that moment. Some dread still lingered in the air, but a lot of the heroes were feeling more confident; some maybe too confident, with the bickering war between Misty and Prick. Liliac made a light giggle to this but stopped as she was approached by Pigeon Queen. "My dear, could you please check on Maiden for me? She wasn't feeling well when this all happened and I have my wings tied here."
The gray haired human was surprised on this. "Sure." She ran out of the sick bay and towards where Maiden's room was. She had no idea that Maiden was sick. She only assumed she was hanging back during the battle much like some of the others. "I hope she's alright." Liliac stopped abruptly in the hall. The atmosphere was now filled with a new feeling; it wasn't dread and it wasn't hope, and Liliac couldn't describe it properly at the moment, but whatever it was felt unnerving. This atmosphere was only part of what made this feeling. On the floor was a black wad of some slimy substance. The human gently poked it with her weapon. It stuck to the end, but slowly slid off. It wasn't Asphalt's body tar at all, the viscosity was off. Shortly in front of it was another black glob, then another, then a few on the walls, and then one leaking from the edges of a hatch. Slowly, Liliac stepped towards the hatch door, while avoiding the strange black substance scattered around. The door lightly creaked but it was masked by the sound of running water. Peering in, she saw Maiden hunched over the bathroom sink. She was coughing and gagging, in large fits that didn't sound too unhealthy. But what was worse for Liliac was that the same black substance was being forced out of her purple skinned friend. Every cough gave a sickening splat in the sink as the substance was flushed down. After one fit, Maiden finally stood upright. It was hard to see, but from the mirror perspective she saw the black gunk was on her face. It was dripping off in small bits. But they were not positioned from her mouth, they were up more on her face. Liliac's eyes widened, as she realized that it was coming from her eyes. An old story from her father suddenly pierced into her mind like a hot knife through butter. Purple skin, black gunk, it couldn't be. Her fears were unfortunately confirmed, when she saw Maiden untie her blindfold. Underneath of it on her face, were two large black eyes, gaping in an almost endless void of black; and the black slime was coming out of there too! "Y-You're…Y-You're a Leech?!" Her voice spoke high enough to break past the running water. Maiden turned quickly, her expression one of surprise, as she face the human peering into the room.
"So. You failed." High Roller was once again staring at the twin wisps taking a smaller form of Twin Masters.
"I have not failed" he replied with a stern tone.
"You sent one of your underlings to perform a mission; a mission that they failed, whereas that implies that the one who ordered said mission has failed as well. I do believe I have enough past experience to criticize."
"But you learned quickly, and on the contrary. My pawn did not fail. His mission wasn't to eliminate the source of the harmonic energy ripple, it was to find the source of it. He was beaten by something, memory was wiped, and forced back. This means that there is some form of resistance out in Hidden Kingdom. We must discover what that resistance is."
Even the word "resistance" would normally throw High Roller into a small tantrum. However, who he was now was not the immature brat of a being he was in the past. His eye lit up as his smile formed into a cheshire grin. "This will be very, VERY fun…"