Marie knew it was time. Her eyes shimmered brightly with magic, her stance powerful and hostile. Her eyes were filled to the brim with fury, giving off a scalding glare filled with pure anger. Marie let out a rage-filled scream, and then, walls upon walls of gasterblasters appeared around her. "AARON AND OKAMI, MOVE, NOW!" Percy screamed, her eyes flashing brightly. A wall of gasterblasters appeared behind her as well, but she didn't have as many. Her copy ability through her SOUL trait of PERSEVERANCE was limited, but she did what she could with it. Aaron and Okami did so, but Okami had a look of pure awe and shock in her eye. Marie's hair was flowing from the magic aura around her, pulsing blue and yellow. Indigo and Darien looked panicked, to say the least. Darien looked the most calm, his expression one of angered shock. Indigo had a look of pure surprise. Marie jumped up above the 'blasters, and with a massive blast, all of them fired at Darien and Indigo. Both of them scrambled to dodge, but got hit quite a few times. The 'blasters ceased and disappeared, and Marie summoned a barrage of spears. "Good on you, punk! Weaken them before your final move!" Undyne shouted, her voice filled with fire and enthusiasm. The spears shot forward. Indigo managed to dodge some, but they ended up getting a spear to the stomach. They let out a cry of pain, falling to the ground. They grasped at the spear, and with a yelp of pain, they pulled it out with a powerful tug. Black matter pulsed out of the wound and onto the rest of them, coating the wound in black. Darien managed to dodge, but definitely not without getting scraped. Marie decided that it was time to tap into her true power, as the ethereal voice said. She was angry, this was true, but she didn't want to kill what could be SAVED. She knew that feeling. The feeling of being trapped against her will. Doing things that she didn't want to do. Feeling like she was no longer in control. Now that she experienced it first hand, she could tell right away. She could sense the substance. It controlled her. And she refused to allow it to control others. She was still in the air somehow, almost floating. She was staring into Darien's eyes, looking into his SOUL. He flinched, looking defensive. Then, PATIENCE strings erupted out of the ground. Indigo and Darien both jumped out of the way, but the strings were quick and long. They wrapped around the villains, trapping and binding them in one place. Neither Indigo nor Darien could get free. Both of them were struggling hard, but neither could get free. Marie was stronger now, stronger than the both of them.
She landed on the ground, and on her feet. Gracefully and gently, she strode forward, walking towards the two. Her gaze, now soft and filled with kindness, flitting back and forth, looking into the villains' eyes. She could see fear in Indigo's, and anger mixed with fear in Darien's. She stopped in front of them, standing straight. Her stance was filled with power, like a leader about to command her battalion. "Wh...what are you doing?" Indigo asked, their voice shaking. They and Darien were both at her mercy, totally stuck and unable to fight back. Marie could've ended them at any moment. But she didn't. And that confused both of the prisoners. Then, the world turned black and white, and Indigo and Darien's SOULS appeared in front of their chests, as well as their LOVE. Darien. LV 24. His SOUL was a dark gold, much darker than that of the golden yellow of JUSTICE. Marie remembered what the possessed Lola said to her, that Indigo and Darien both had inverted traits. She came to the conclusion that Darien's was of INJUSTICE, rather than JUSTICE. She looked at Indigo's SOUL and stats. Indigo. LV 34. Marie remembered looking at their SOUL, and remembered that dark blue. It was much darker than any INTEGRITY SOUL would be, almost black in color. She came to the conclusion that their SOUL was of DISHONESTY, as it made sense to her, due to it being the most similar to INTEGRITY, but at the same time, it wasn't. It also explained how much they lied, trying to lie their way into Percy's home and such. The world reverted back to be filled with color. "It is time, child of light." The ethereal voice spoke, and Marie felt power rush into her.
The wind blew around Marie, causing her dress to flow. Her eyes began to shimmer. Darien and Indigo both tensed up, afraid of what Marie was going to do. But then, Marie's eyes turned completely a glowing white. Her entire body was beginning to shimmer. Light flickered at her feet, beginning to pulse around her. And then, wings, fully feathered and snow white Angel wings, appeared on her back. Her entire being shone white. Neither Indigo nor Darien looked away. Both of them were frozen in pure terror and awe, unable to look away. Marie was floating in the air, her body completely engulfed by the pure and powerful white light. She was but a silhouette of white, her outline barely visible. Her body shape, hair, and outlines of her eyes were visible, but other than that, she was featureless. The squad looked on in pure awe. Percy felt her heart thump against her chest, her SOUL pounding with love. This was Marie. She was the Angel. She was to SAVE the world. Percy looked on, her wide purple eyes shimmering with the light being cast upon herself and others. She raised her hands, of which glimmered with light, and then, she brought them down, aiming at Indigo and Darien. Light rained upon them in a solid beam, and both of them let out cries of...was it pain? No, it was surprise. The black on Darien began to slowly break away. Then, Indigo's body turned completely black for a moment, before a black substance jumped off of them, revealing their normal self, except for their hair and SOUL being a lighter blue than before. A deep blue like the sea. The black substance was immediately vaporized. Then, with a flash of light, the black on Darien flew off of him, before being obliterated by the light as well. Darien looked like a normal boy, at around Marie's age. His hair was a golden yellow, shimmering like the sun itself. He was wearing the same clothes as before, a vest with a sweater underneath, pants, and boots. But they were now given color. His vest was a dark black, his sweater was a slightly dark gold, his pants were a dark brown, and his boots were black and gray. Then, the beam faded. Marie floated down, ending up levitating just above the ground. Her hair was flowing in the wind. Percy felt her heart pick up in pace. She was sure her face was consumed with a mild red, blushing to no end. Marie tilted her head a little, as if she was looking at Percy. Then, everything disappeared for a brief moment. But in that brief moment, Percy saw something. She saw something absolutely amazing and fearful and hopeful. She saw herself, and Marie. And Marcus, Justin, Misty, Aaron, a figure made of rock, of which she guessed was Pebbles, Okami, Indigo, Darien, and a few other people. But the other people looked alike Marie, to where their details weren't visible. One person was a girl, looking very young. But she was older than Justin. She was right next to Marie. Her hair was in pigtails. She was half pink and red in color. Another person was half green and light blue, a woman. There were a few other obscured and colored people, and everyone had angel wings, to top it off. Percy blinked, and her vision was back to normal. From everyone else's confused and awed expressions, she guessed that they saw the same thing. Then, the glow began to fade, and slowly but surely, details formed on Marie's body. She was now wearing a different dress, more battle oriented and with a shorter skirt, with brown combat boots on her feet. She had a scarf on her neck, similar to the one she wore, but it was longer. The ends of it were flowing behind her. And with a small flash of light, an insignia formed on her chest of the dress. It was white, and it looked similar to the Delta Rune, the insignia for the monsters and royal family of such. But it was different. The circle in between the wings was a heart instead. And the triangles that were usually below were hearts and upside down hearts in kind. The wings looked more angelic than before.
Marie landed on her feet, and stumbled a little. Percy caught her. "I got you!" Percy said, helping Marie stand. She couldn't help but notice that she was a bit taller now. Marie opened her eyes, and they were lighter than before. "Percy...I did it. I SAVED them." Marie whispered, a smile forming on her face. Percy smiled back. "You did." Then, Marie swept Percy into a huge hug, lifting her off the ground. "WE DID IT, PERCY!" Marie shouted, a huge smile on her face. Percy couldn't help but smile as well. "Yeah...WE DID IT!" After a moment more, Marie set Percy down. Then, her other friends rushed to her. She was immediately tackle-hugged by Aaron, but she didn't fall over. "MARIE, YOU WERE AMAZING!" He shouted, hugging her tight. Next thing she knew, Marie was being hugged by Justin, Marcus, Misty, Pebbles (somehow), Percy, and Aaron, all at once. "Guys, easy!" Marie yelped, a huge smile still on her face. She was let go. "Marie, there was this weird vision! I saw everyone! With Angel wings!" Percy explained, and Marie smiled. "I know! I saw it too! Did everyone else see it?" Marie asked. "Uh, YEAH!" Aaron responded. "I think I might know what it means." "I think it means that we need to work more as a team. We're obviously meant to SAVE the world together." Pebbles interjected. "And I might as well start looking the part." Pebbles began to tremble. Marie took a small step back. "Pebbles, what are you-" And with a flash of magic, Pebbles' SOUL, an upside down white heart, appeared above them. Then, their body began to shift. It shifted until it achieved a human-like form, and yet, they were still entirely made of rock. They were short and stout, this was true. They had every feature a normal human teen would have, but still remained androgynous. No feature was too feminine or too masculine. A perfect blend of both. They opened their rocky eyes, to reveal a glimmer of white light on pupils. Marie couldn't keep the delighted smile off of her face. "Well? How do I look?" Pebbles asked, a sly smile appearing on their face. Marie couldn't stop herself from rushing to Pebbles and flinging her arms around them. "You look amazing, Pebbles!" Marie exclaimed, unable to properly express all the joy she felt in words. Marie let go, and Misty and Aaron immediately rushed at Pebbles. "YOU LOOK AWESOME!" Aaron shouted, unable to keep his excitement in. His flames danced with joy. "Aaron's right!" Misty said, a large grin beaming on her face. Marcus, Percy, and Justin were all smiling. Up until now, Justin couldn't find words for all the emotions he felt. He felt joy, excitement, and even shock. His smiling face somehow said it all, his orange eyes beaming with a look of pure joy. Pebbles understood, and gave him a little nod. "You look stunning!" Percy replied, grinning to no end. "Like Percy said. You look absolutely amazing, Pebbles!" Marcus said, a look of encouragement on his face. Joy danced in his eyes. Then, as footsteps were heard, Marie turned and looked to see Indigo, Darien, and Okami standing before her. Marie faced them, staring into their eyes. And all three of them bowed, low to the ground. "Angel. I, as well as these two, humbly request to speak with you." Okami said, her voice shaking. Marie felt panic rise in her. "No! Please, rise! I don't want to be treated as someone above you. I want to be treated as a person as well. Please face me as such." Marie's voice was shaking, filled with fear and shock. Okami, Darien, and Indigo did as such. "Erm...sorry, Angel." Darien apologized. His voice was now clear, and not deep and dark. His voice was lighter now. His eyes were a bright gold. Marie smiled a little. "Please. Call me Marie." Indigo stepped forward. "Marie...I would like to say..." They looked nervous. "Thank you." And with that, they rushed forward and hugged Marie. Marie gasped, not expecting the sudden gesture, but it was welcome. She hugged them back. "Thank you so much." Their voice was shaking, and so were they. They let go, and so did Marie. Tears were spilling from their indigo eyes, shimmering bright with joy and awe. They had a smile on their face. "We were trapped in that stuff for so long. We were forced to do things we didn't want to do. We were trapped, just like you. I'm terribly sorry for what we did to you. To your friends. I truly hope you can forgive us." "I already did, Indigo." Marie said, her eyes filled with kindness. She had a kind smile on her face. Indigo's smile widened into a joy filled grin. Darien stepped forward, and then, he immediately hugged Marie. Marie hugged him back. "I can't thank you enough!" Darien said, smiling brightly. His golden eyes were shimmering with joy, glimmering with tears. "I'm so sorry...I didn't...like Indigo said." Marie nodded, understanding. Okami stepped forward this time. "Angel-" Okami cut herself off. "Erm...Marie? My name is Okami. I was given these wolf-like powers to help and aid you in your quest to SAVE this world, given by that mysterious voice that aided you and your friends." Okami spoke, her voice strong. "And I would like to ask you of something. Something important." Marie nodded to show that she was listening. Her blue eyes glimmered with curiosity. "I would like to ask you...may I join your team? I am destined to play a part in you SAVING the world. I wish to help you and your team the best I can." Marie smiled in response. "You helped Percy and everyone find me. You played a massive part in SAVING me. How could I not invite you, after you helped us so much?" Marie replied. Okami's eye filled up with happiness. She did a huge smile. "I...really? I...THANK YOU!" Okami hugged Marie, and she hugged back in response. "And, Indigo and Darien? If it's not too much trouble...would you both mind joining us? We could always use new people over here. I know that you didn't do this on your own, so, maybe you could tell us who did this?" Indigo and Darien both looked at each other, sharing a surprised glance, then looked back at Marie. "Even...even after all that..." Darien trailed off, and he got misty-eyed again. "Y-Yeah! We will! We're happy to join!" Darien added, a smile forming once more on his bright face. Indigo nodded, smiling as well. "Well, welcome to the team!" Percy said, her purple eyes brimming with mild amusement and joy. Today was a victory for the Angel and her team. For three new members were joining, the current threat finally over. But this story has just begun. A new act shall unfold, with new twists and turns, new threats and new allies.
A/N
ACT 1 DONE!
Hey guys!
I'm gonna take a small break in writing now that Act 1 is over!
I really hope you guys liked this chapter, and I hope you're enjoying HopeTale!