Rising Force

Summary: The Conjuror's Board has called in Cedric and Sofia to inform them about an evil version of themselves, who are not only wreaking havoc across other dimensions, but who have also destroyed several of their counterparts. They must team up with their other alternate counterparts to take down the evil duo before they become the next victims on the list. (Collab with Mr. Shortman92)

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. The Abstruce Realm and its inhabitants (especially Ceddy, Fia, and Little Berry/Nana), Nana, and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X. The Absentia Realm (including AR Cedric and Sofia, as well as Fayette), the Malverus Realm (including Raverian and Sophitia), and the Veretis Realm (including Red and Ced), AND this idea all belong to Mr. Shortman92. [Phew! Lol]

A/N: You want some action? Because it's about to get very action-y in here. Lol! All the realms will finally collide in this chapter… Let's see how things work out. 😉

Chapter 3: Splitting End

Everyone glanced up as Cedric, Sofia, Ced, and Red entered, Cedric slamming the door to the Dimension Door behind him, quickly sealing it back into the Galactica Spellbook, and magically transporting it to a secure area of his bookshelf.

Fia raised an eyebrow at the royal sorcerer, her hands on her hips. "Everything okay?"

"W-We may have a problem," he began before CeCe cut him off.

"I'll say." The other sorcerer walked around Ced, a hand to his chin as he observed the far more muscular man out of curiosity. "Hmm, very little clothing to speak of, rather long hair…" He experimentally picked up a lock, humming at how nice it looked, for someone who spent a lot of time training and fighting. "I'm assuming no educational background to speak of—" He yelped and dropped Ced's hair when the other man smirked and aimed his sword at him, just barely a half inch from his nose. "N-Now, now, then! Let's not be hasty…"

"You're pretty brave, insulting someone who has sharp weapons," Ced chuckled before sheathing his sword. Hearing the other man sigh in relief, he smirked. "And what are you? A prince? A fanciful duke?"

"He's a sorcerer!" Sofie answered helpfully (or so she thought), grinning as she latched onto her fiancé's arm. "And soon to be my husband!"

"Yeah, having no evil or hardships in your realm can afford you experiences like that," Fia pointed out, rolling her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't like her counterpart, but sometimes her excessive positivity and almost overbearing goodness could get on her nerves.

"Can we just stop a minute?" Red asked, rubbing her forehead. "I know Sofia said we had counterparts, but I've already forgotten whatever nicknames you people go by, and I'm confused."

Sofia pointed out each person, though she seemed a little frantic as she did so. "Those two are CeCe and Sofie from the Absentia Realm. These two are Ceddy and Fia from the Abstruce Realm. And Cedric and I are from here, the Ever Realm. Oh, and…" She turned toward the others, gesturing toward the newcomers. "Guys, these two are Ced and Red from the Veretis Realm."

"Ced and Red, eh?" Ceddy asked, laughing softly. "That's actually quite adorable." Seeing the worried look on Sofia's face, he sighed gently. "But never mind that. Sofia, you were saying?"

She nodded, appreciative of Ceddy's impeccable knack of getting them back on track. "Right… Our evil forms from the Malverus Realm? I'm pretty sure they made it to Ced's and Red's world. We heard something loud that sounded like a monster, so we didn't exactly wait around to find out what it was, but considering the circumstances…"

"We must be prepared," Cedric finished. "It's quite obvious that they'll likely go after the most powerful forms of themselves, and at least three realms have such powers… Perhaps not so much in the Veretis Realm, but from what you've told us, I gather it's not magic they're after."

"Maybe we can use that to our advantage," Fia suggested, tapping her chin, eyeing her non-magical counterpart and her husband in interest. "You two are physically strong—trained for battle and all, right?"

"Of course," Red admitted proudly, smiling as she placed a hand on her hip. "I'm the general of our army, and Ced used to be a knight and even trained me. We have the best skills possible to protect our land."

"As long as they can get close to our evil counterparts," Cedric began, following along with Fia's line of thinking, "they may possibly be able to inflict enough damage to subdue and disarm them. We don't necessarily know what sort of powers or weapons they have, so we'll have to determine how to handle that when we come across them."

"Well, why not ambush them then?" Sofie asked patiently with a bright smile. "I used to do that to my little brother Corban all the time. He'd be waiting for me to come play with him, and I'd jump out and scare him before tickling him. Ooh!" She grinned.

Fia glared at her counterpart. "You're not going to tickle them!"

Sofie's face fell. "Aww…"

"But I do like your idea of an 'ambush,'" Fia continued, causing the other girl to grin proudly. She smirked. "I think I have an idea…"

While the counterparts were preparing for the impending entrance of Raverian and Sophitia, Cedric and Sofia decided to leave all the children with Calista, Angel, and Wormwood (after a rather interesting yet rapid explanation as to what was going on, only to be met with a simple, 'Okay,' from Calista; apparently this scenario was rather unsurprising to them, so they didn't ask any questions).

"They didn't even ask why, huh?" Fia asked Sofia, who snickered and shook her head as they were all hurrying outside. "I guess they're used to random terrible things happening by now."

"You have no idea…"

They made their way into the mountains so that they could be far enough away from the kingdom population whenever the evil duo did decide to arrive. If anything were to happen to her people, family, or friends, Sofia would never forgive herself.

"So, what's your plan, exactly?" CeCe asked Fia.

"Simple." She gestured toward Ced and Red. "Mr. and Mrs. Muscles here will be our secret weapons, so to speak." She glanced at the couple. "You two will hide while we keep them busy. If possible, we'll lure them toward you guys, and you physically restrain them long enough for us to work our magic."

"How do we know they're strong enough to handle those two though?" the Absentian sorcerer wondered. He yelped when he felt a rough pair of hands sling his arms behind him, fingers pressing into his wrists as a free hand made its way around his neck, a pair of long fingernails grazing his skin, making him gulp.

Red grinned as she released the stunned sorcerer, who quickly rushed back to his fiancée, hiding behind her and rubbing his neck in alarm. "Any more questions?"

"I think I'm going to have bruises…" CeCe smiled appreciatively as Sofie took his hands, gently kissing them where Red's fingerprints were still somewhat visible. "Thanks, Sofie…"

They didn't really have time to contemplate anything further as they heard a loud roar echo throughout Enchancia, the likes of which they'd never heard before.

"I-Is that them?" Sofie asked, clinging to CeCe's arm as she looked around, trying to see where the horrid sounds were coming from.

"It must be," Cedric responded. He glanced toward Red and Ced, who stood at attention. "Find a place to hide. We'll lead them to you, and you can handle the physical aspects." He watched the duo nod and hurry off, just as the roaring grew even louder. He turned just as a powerful gust of magic swept over them, knocking him into Sofia, who gasped while they fell. He found himself nose-to-nose with his partner, who blushed at their current situation. "S-Sofia, I…"

She smiled, leaning up to brush her lips over his. "At least you had something…soft…when you fell, right?"

His cheeks flushed at the princess's teasing, and he was about to respond when he heard a familiar voice chiding them.

"Save it for later, lovebirds," Fia insisted, though part of her was sort of proud of their progress. They hadn't had the war to deal with, but they'd both experienced a great deal of devastation and even death, so for them to finally come around to this point in their relationship? She was a bit relieved.

Cedric stood and swiftly pulled Sofia to her feet just as their wicked counterparts arrived.

"Whoa," Sofie murmured as she saw Raverian and Sophitia swoop down into their pathway, the motors on their bikes rumbling and growing duller in their roars. "What are those?"

"Evil devices from their realm, no doubt," CeCe surmised as he patted her arm. "No match for our magic, I'm sure!"

"Is that so?" Raverian challenged, having overheard his more innocent counterpart. "You idiots live in primitive worlds with nothing but nature and stone walls of a castle." He pointed toward Sofie before smirking at CeCe. "And your little girlfriend there is slower than a jammed cassette player."

CeCe's mouth dropped, even though he clearly didn't make the connection to the more "modern" reference. "You take that back, you badly-dressed brute!"

Sophitia grinned at all their counterparts gathered together, her foot steady on the gas as she and Raverian hovered midair. "Well, well, well… Looks like, no matter what realm, 'we' always find our way to each other. But you know what?" She fisted her hands over the handlebars, her grin melting into a sneer. "Kind of need all the power we can get, so… Your time's up!" She cast a quick glance toward Raverian, who nodded, and they revved their engines, preparing to attack as dark magic flowed from their hands into the machines, and the wheels on their still hovering bikes morphed into spinning blades, causing the others to gasp.

"Run!" Sofia called, turning and taking her own advice as she and Cedric, along with the other pairs from the Abstruce and Absentia Realms, took off toward where they'd last seen Red and Ced. "Hurry, you guys!"

Raverian and Sophitia cackled darkly as they sped toward their counterparts, knocking a few branches off the trees as they did. Dark magic pulsated around them, like an extension of their own lifeforces.

Meanwhile, the others took a sharp right, diving into the thick trees, just barely escaping the razor-sharp wheels of steel that followed them through the brush. There was no time to celebrate, however, as their evil counterparts soon caught back up with them and were gaining fast. Trying a different tactic, they split into two groups; the girls leading Sophitia one way, while the guys led Raverian another.

Members of each group took turns firing magical blasts at their pursuers in order to slow them down a bit. Upon hearing a strange sound, similar to an animal's cry, the groups quickly reunited, leading the Malverus duo down a narrow path through the trees in the direction of the sound. After finally exiting into a bigger open area, everyone ducked as Ced and Red emerged from the dark foliage at the end of the path, jumping up and grabbing their evil counterparts by their throats, lifting them right off their bikes and slamming them to the ground with a painful sounding 'thud.' The bikes lost control, crashing into a tree.

"We caught you, you scoundrels!" Ced declared with a celebratory smirk, watching as Raverian groaned and attempted to sit up. He turned toward the other partners. "Quickly! Destroy their demon steeds!"

"On it!" Sofie announced happily as she withdrew her wand, tapping it against CeCe's, as they each mumbled a spell that obliterated the awful bikes and their terrible noise.

"Oh, you'll pay for that!" Sophitia growled as she shoved Red away, knocking the non-magical girl onto her back, before snatching Raverian up by the arm. "They die now. I'm done waiting!"

Ced moved over to his wife, checking to make sure she was all right, before glaring up at the Malverus duo. "You're outnumbered here. Turn yourselves in and face the consequences."

"Sorry," Raverian quipped, grabbing Sophitia's hand and whirling her around, standing back to back with her as he smirked at Ced. "We play by our rules, not yours." He reached behind him to grab the girl's other hand, holding both tightly. He closed his eyes, feeling a strong surge bubbling up from deep within him. When he opened his eyes, he grinned maniacally as a blast of dark magic erupted, sending the others flying across the way, knocking them into trees and each other.

"Give up!" Sophitia laughed, turning to glare at them over Raverian's shoulder. "You're no match for us! Especially with all this extra power we have, courtesy of those other pathetic souls we destroyed."

Red and Ced were the first to stir, their brute strength a formidable protection against the strange magic and hard hit. Next were Ceddy and Fia, followed by Cedric and Sofia, and last to rise were CeCe and Sofie (both seeming a bit disoriented).

"This ends now," Fia declared, nearly echoing her double's words from earlier, except obviously in a much different manner. "We take them down. If they die, they die." She held one hand up, summoning her battle spear, the blade catching the sunlight as her eyes narrowed.

Ceddy held out his own hand, producing a sword, a bit of his magic fusing with the weapon.

"Right!" Sofie held up her own hand, and then she blushed, slowly lowering it to her side. "I, um… I haven't gotten that far in my training yet…"

Fia actually smiled and chuckled, gently punching the villager on her shoulder, shaking her head as she mumbled a soft, 'Ouch.' "I'll train with you one of these days."

Sofie's eyes lit up, a smile forming on her lips. "R-Really, Fia?"

"Guys, this is sweet, but time and place," Sofia told them, withdrawing her wand as Cedric and CeCe did the same. "CeCe and Sofie, you guys come with Cedric and me. We're going to circle them and hit them from all sides with everything we've got." She looked toward the other four. "You guys… Try to get close, and do what you do best."

Ceddy chuckled, his powers surging through his veins. "Oh, don't worry, Sofia… We will."

Raverian smirked. "Aww, it looks like you have a plan. That already makes you better than the others, but don't celebrate just yet, for you'll all be joining them very soon."

The first four ran forward, throwing blasts of magic at Raverian and Sophitia as they began circling them, forcing them to stay in their back-to-back position. The continued rapid-fire blasts were hard to avoid, and some did manage to land. Sofia realized something as she broke the chain on one of Sophitia's amulets, causing it to fall to the ground, lost under a sea of fallen leaves. As soon as the chain had broken, Sophitia's energy seemed to diminish a bit. It wasn't too obvious, but she definitely had a little more trouble dodging the next blast. And she also took notice that despite the duo each wearing two of the Amulets of Avalor, and two Enchantlets, they hadn't once used said items. 'They're clearly weaker without them though.' Sofia suddenly remembered what she'd seen in the crystal ball. 'So that's what they were doing. It was a binding ritual.'

Ceddy and Fia rushed forward, their weapons drawn as they fought against their own counterparts.

Raverian and Sophitia each withdrew two copies of Cedric's family wand, producing a beam of light from the tip of each one, which they used as swords. They were just fast enough to guard against Ceddy's sword and Fia's spear.

"'Delinquent' isn't quite your color," Ceddy chastised Raverian before grunting as the younger man scoffed, sending a jolt of electricity through his wands that knocked Ceddy off his feet.

"Oh, and two hair colors is your identifying feature?" the more modern 'Cedric' laughed. "Please. Two-tone is so 80s." While he was distracted, Ced landed a hard punch to the side of his face, momentarily stunning him as he stumbled to the ground, dropping his weapons.

"The battlefield is a place for fighting, not childish insults. Now, stand up so I can show you how a true warrior fights."

"Fine," Raverian spat as he pulled himself to his feet. He attempted to throw a punch of his own, but Ced caught his wrist in his hand, and squeezed until he heard a satisfying crack, destroying the man's wrist as well as the Enchantlet he wore there. "My wrist! You're going to pay for that, you Neanderthal!"

Ced didn't utter another word as he swiftly slammed his head against the younger man's, causing him a wave of dizziness. As he stumbled backwards, Ced managed to grab hold of both amulets, ripping them from Raverian's neck and tossing them into the trees.

"Did you get into a fight with a pair of hedge clippers?" Fia quipped sarcastically as she indicated her counterpart's shaved sides of her head, and she ducked when Sophitia snarled and nearly cut off her head with her wands. "Temper, temper!"

"It's edgy!" Sophitia insisted, swinging at Fia again.

"It's stupid," the princess snipped back as she dodged the attack, kicking the other girl in the stomach and knocking her down to the ground.

Sophitia growled angrily, throwing her wands aside. She snarled, moving to stand up, only to be knocked down by a much more powerful force than Fia. Quickly moving into a sitting position, she looked up and noticed Red hovering over her, an unapologetic smile on her face as she folded her arms. "I'm gonna kill all of you!"

"No one is stopping you," Red taunted, yawning as she deliberately placed a foot on the other girl's leg, making her think twice about trying to stand. When Sophitia attempted to squirm out from under her, she pressed her foot down a bit more firmly, a smirk on her face as her younger counterpart stared at her in fear of what she may do next. "You know, 'spoiled little rich girl' doesn't work for a Sofia, even for the princesses among us. And evil isn't a natural characteristic. So, the way I see it… It's best to get rid of the bad apple."

Sophitia was about to respond when she glanced down, happening to notice something she'd missed before. This Sofia was…pregnant. An unpleasant grin spread over her face, and she reached down to place her hand on the warrior's stomach. "How about I get rid of this apple instead…?"

Red narrowed her eyes, reaching down to the wicked girl's wrist, and snapping it to where everyone heard the bones crack. But louder than that was the painful scream the girl emitted. She stood, dragging Sophitia to her feet by her hair, throwing her against a startled Raverian, who had just managed to get back on his feet. "Don't you ever threaten my child again…"

With the good counterparts surrounding the evil duo, and most of their stolen power gone, it looked like this was the end… Sophitia was injured and now bleeding from her leg, where a little bit of bone could be seen protruding from the skin. And Raverian, while not as badly injured, could see that they were definitely outnumbered. Neither of them was in fighting condition anymore. He could barely defend himself, let alone defend his severely injured partner.

But wait… He didn't actually care, did he? Sure, she was a pretty girl, and she'd learned all the dark magic arts from him, and she'd been by his side for these last few years… But that didn't mean he cared about her. Raverian didn't care about anyone.

"Give us one reason to spare you," Fia demanded as she pointed her battle spear at the pair. "You threatened Red with killing her child. You killed all those other counterparts, some of them children. You put us all in harm's way. You've destroyed so much. Why shouldn't we settle the score and destroy you?"

Raverian thought about everything she said. In a surprising twist of fate, he was horrified when he realized just how far he'd gone to achieve his quest for power. "…There's…no good retaliation to that," he finally spoke, frowning heavily as he looked toward the broken girl beside him, a strange look of…regret…in her eyes, perhaps the same expression that he was almost certain was in his eyes at that moment. He'd forgotten how young Sophitia really was when he'd corrupted her… He'd never given her a chance to live and experience all the good things the world had to offer. Maybe because he…didn't know what 'good' even was… But they'd both been running for so long, and he could see it in her eyes: she was tired. So was he.

"I…love you, Raverian," Sophitia whispered, shaking a bit, the fear of potentially dying herself weighing upon her now. Good or not, her counterparts seemed extremely angry with them, and for good reason. But she couldn't accept her fate and die without…telling him that.

"…Cedric," he corrected, smirking as she blinked at him. "Like them, my…real name is Cedric…"

Despite her pain and her nervousness, she smiled sadly. "I'm Sofia."

"I know…"

Then, they waited… They waited to realize their fate.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Beaten Path