As Karen lifted her arm, she was suddenly knocked to the side by a large, purple . . . fuzzy object in motion. Bast pinned the livid woman to the ground and growled, whiskers flexing menacingly.
"Surprise."
Her entrance was followed by that of a pink Zebra, who cackled joyfully.
"Honey, you just got served by a fabulous feline."
Elkay took on her dragon form and rose defiantly.
"Ha! You fell for my ruse. Bast, Mo'nique, your timing was perfect."
Mo'nique's ear flopped to the side as she tilted her head with confusion.
"But Elkay, we never planned-"
"SHHH."
Meanwhile, Karen struggled to squirm free under Bast's paw.
"I'll kill you! And he'll kill you, if he finds you! You think you have friends, but it's all a lie. There is no friendship- only alliances- and right now, you don't have many powerful players on your side."
Elkay rolled her eyes.
"We GET it. You're BAD. No need to hammer it in. Such lazy writing . . ."
"It's YOUR fault."
Elkay shrugged.
"Yeah, I've been kind of half-assing it recently. I hope we're approaching a soft reboot in the series. I have too many characters to keep track of, at the moment. It's rather embarrassing how this is all playing out, what with me forgetting crucial plot elements and whatnot . . ."
Suddenly, Bast erupted into a pillar of blood.
". . . such as Karen's ability to murder people instantly. RUN!"
Elkay zipped towards Owen, nabbing his cage in her mouth. Claire followed the panicked dragon, narrowly avoiding a beam of deadly magic cast by her sister. They had moved past confronting her, it seemed.
As Claire dashed down the twisting corridors, the image of Bast's figure dissolving into a red mass echoed in her mind like a skipping record. She had not yet embraced the horror of what she had witnessed less than a minute ago, but her logical self knew that it was going to haunt her dreams for many nights to come. Furthermore, she was beginning to imagine the same thing happening to her other friends, her family . . . everyone. If Karen had her way, more and more people would be executed without warning, not to mention the catastrophic effects of whatever she had planned for the world as a whole.
"Wew, dat di'in go ath thmoothly ath I wath hofing thor!" Elkay mumbled through a mouthful of jerboa-cage.
"Ah! You're slobbering all over me!" Owen squeaked.
Elkay spat him out. The cage shattered, and he changed into a human again.
"Oh, so when I do it, it's gross, but when Claire does it, suddenly you're hot for- AH!"
Elkay yelped as she nearly tumbled over a ledge that led to the building's exterior, which was still surrounded by a hurricane.
"We ready to fly?" she asked.
Before they could reply, Mo'nique came barrelling down the hallway and knocked them over, falling into the turbulent mayhem herself. Elkay watched her drop with a flat expression.
". . . How did she even get up here in the first place? . . . Nevermind. I'd better go save her."
She dove down, spreading her wings slightly. Claire and Owen followed. As they plummeted into the chaos, Claire peered over her shoulder nervously.
"Karen isn't following us."
"Because she knows we're coming back."
". . . Are we?"
Owen gave her a sympathetic look. They stopped with a gentle flutter as Elkay caught up with the screaming Zebra, carrying her to safety.
"I'm gonna drop her off at the beach. You guys have fun, okay!"
"Elkay, the beach is being sucked up by a hurricane," Claire pointed out.
The dragon batted her eyes.
". . . Oh, right. Well, I'll bring her back to Asterpara, then. I'll notify Zebil's Dad about Bast's death."
"Do you even remember his name?" Claire groaned.
". . . No. But I'll work around it," Elkay chirped.
Before she could protest, the dragon dove through a newly-formed portal. Claire rolled her eyes and turned to Owen.
"Let's get out of here."
"And go where?"
"To . . . to find the others. Check up on them. See how they're doing. Then we'll go to Asterpara and-"
Claire was knocked out of the sky by a large chunk of debris, but she soon found herself clamped in a pair of talons. She looked up, unsure of what to expect, and saw that her saviour was no threat, nor an unfamiliar creature, as was often the case.
"Zara? What are you doing here?"
"I came back to help you defeat Karen. I know I don't have much to offer, but I'm doing my best . . ."
"Zara, you did wonderfully, but I don't want you to risk getting hurt on my behalf," Claire replied sternly.
Zara made a gentle squawking sound.
"But that's the thing . . . You two are up here risking your lives for literally everyone in the world, and all I can do is sit alone and cry. I just did something horrible, and regardless of whether or not it was my fault, I'm making the decision to rise up alongside you and take control of my life. This is my decision. I'm going to avenge Vic."
"But Zara, your children . . ."
"They won't be safe if Karen wins. I'll defend their right to exist, along with everybody else's."
Claire smiled.
"Zara, that's very brave of you."
"It's the right thing to do. You may be Queen, Claire, but every good leader needs an assistant, and I'm ready to assist you."
Claire gave her a warm hug.
"You've done more for me than you'll ever know. All of you. I wouldn't even BE here if it weren't for my friends."
Zara beamed.
"Oh, speaking of your friends, Vivian and Sarah are willing to fight as well. Lowery, too, as long as he doesn't have to kill Karen personally. There are many people on your side, in fact. I was going to bring Vivian up here, actually, but she's helping Penumbra deliver her eggs."
Claire gasped.
"WHAT?!"
"She has very bad timing," Zara huffed, "But she's fine. So will you lead us into battle, Claire?"
After a pause, she nodded.
"If this is to be our last fight, I want it to be our best effort. Gather up everyone who is willing and able to stand up for what's right. Today, we defend our right to exist."
"SILLINESS AND ALL!"
Claire jumped as Elkay appeared behind her. The dragon grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry. You were taking a long time to follow me, so I decided to check up on you . . . anyway, into battle . . . and whatnot . . ."
Owen shook his head.
"We are SO screwed."
