Chapter 41

The Princess and the King

As he strode through the castle, the sounds of battle dimmed behind him. He did not expect the Elven soldiers to win, even with the aid of both Astos's forces and the Heartless. But that was their role, their holy purpose, in service to his greater cause. They would die so that Malekith could triumph, that the universe could be returned to the way it was meant to be. Whole. Pure.

Eventually, he found his way to his destination. Several Aesir stood before him, prepared to guard the way into the room. They drew their weapons and raised their shields, but it meant nothing. Malekith hurled a black hole grenade and watched the guards scream as their bodies were crushed into a singularity.

With them out of the way, he strode into the room they were protecting. It was a simple room, by the standards of the Asgardian palace. A staircase leading down to an elevated pool of water in the center of the room, a table on which some drinks and an absurd amount of cheese were laid out, and a bench on which lay the host of the Aether. A host that caused Malekith to pause in shock.

A Terran girl-child. One with long silver hair, clad in a pink dress and red leggings. The Aether, one of the most powerful artifacts in all of creation, his birthright, had been reduced to a child's plaything. He could sense the residual energy from the relic within the cheese near her. This was what it was being used for?! Curdled milk?! This outrage, this insult, it was barely conceivable.

The girl appeared to be asleep at the moment, though she awoke with a jolt the instant Malekith focused his ire on her. Clearly the Aether within her still responded to his call. He assumed it likewise held fury at it's being used for such inane pursuits as dairy products.

The girl leaped off of a bed as he approached, backing away. She looked afraid, though not as much as she should be. She crouched, her hands forming fists, and she stopped moving, standing her ground.

"You have something of mine, child."

"Well, if you are going to do what I think you will, then you do not deserve it!" She said.

"Do not speak to me of worthiness. I deserve it far more than one of such low birth as yourself."

"Birth has nothing to do with it. You're a monster." The girl said.

Her appearance then changed, her pink dress replaced with a strange new outfit, consisting of a frilly skirt and coat, decorated with candy shaped patterns. She raised a strange trumpet like device to her mouth, clearly preparing for some sort of attack.

Malekith was caught off guard when it did come however. He had been expecting a plasma blast, or some sort of primative blow gun. He did not expect bubbles. So shocked was he that he allowed the bubbles to approach him, where they then exploded.

Malekith was hurled back, the sheer shock of the bizarre attack form causing him to land hard on the ground. He wasn't finished however and gripped the door frame he had landed next to, pulling himself to his feet.

The child was clearly more than she seemed, as he saw her use the trumpet again, this time pressing one of the valves. A series of ice shards and snowballs emerged from the tip, to which Malekith gestured, and a wisp of darkness arose, intercepting the attack.

The girl was winding up for a third attack, when the snow cleared. But he was finished with this farce. Whatever ridiculous magic that lay within her was not worth his time. Instead, Malekith held out his hand, extending his will to the Aether buried within her. The girl jerked and collapsed to her side, clutching her chest.

"Foolish child, the Aether is mine. It has always been mine. You are a creature of low birth, born to the mongrel races, unworthy of such power." He said. "And now, I intend to claim what is my right!"

The child jerked and writhed as she was lifted into the air. Her eyes began to blacken and her mouth glowed. Malekith almost grinned as he felt the Aether respond to his calls. Then, he suddenly felt a strange presence behind him.

On instinct, he ducked, as three fireballs streaked over his head to impact against the opposite wall. He turned only to see a red heeled shoe kick him in the face, sending him stumbling back into the archway.

When he regained his senses, he saw a pink haired girl in similarly colored dress leaning over the host of the Aether. The Princess. She had somehow defeated or evaded the spirit he had sent after her.

"Nagisa! Are you okay?"

"I'm… alright." She said, struggle to stand to her feet, and failing.

"Get back, I've got this." The pink-haired girl said.

Nagisa looked like she was going to object, before she winced in pain again. She nodded and backed away to a corner of the room while her would be protector turned towards him. By lowly Terran standards, she might have been considered attractive, were it not marred by the massive claw mark scar on the left side of her face.

"Stand aside girl, you know not in which you meddle." Malekith warned.

"I think I do." The girl's expression betrayed a brief moment of fear before hardening into a shaky resolve. She held out her hands and there was a dance of flower petals and a Keyblade formed in her grip. "You're Malekith. I know what you plan to do with the Aether, and I won't let you take it."

"You think to stop me? I have faced far worse that the likes of an adolescent."

"I'm stronger than I look! Don't underestimate me!" Though she dropped into a fighting stance with these words, she sounded like she was the one who needed convincing, not him. However Malekith mildly reconsidered his assessment of her. Though young, her scar indicated she had seen combat before. And her stance was clearly that of one who had been trained.

"I take it you are Madoka Kaname then." He said to the freak. He could sense her heart, awash in that ugly radiance. A true aberration.

"How do you know who I am?" She asked, her resolute stance breaking slightly.

"There is more going on than you realize, girl." Malekith said, as he drew his sword. "Not that you'll survive to see it. They need your Heart, not your Soul."

"Who's 'they'?" Madoka asked.

"Again, it is irrelevant. I will have what is mine, and you will stand aside or suffer for your insolence."

"I won't let you hurt her." Madoka said.

"So be it."

Madoka's blade transformed, becoming a thing made of woven blue strands topped with gemstones forming the teeth of the weapon. She dashed forwards, meeting blade to blade. He stumbled back. The girl was surprisingly strong, but not enough. He regained his poise and then kicked her in the side, knocking her off balance. Malekith then slashed again, nicking her shoulder.

Despite these wounds, she wasn't dissuaded, instead resuming her assault, trading blows with him. While he found the girl to be unusually fast, almost irritatingly so, it was clear that he vastly outstripped her in combat experience and skill. Her attacks, though quick, were predictable, allowing Malekith to seize the advantage, blocking her attacks. When they next locked blades, Malekith struck with his fist, punching the girl in the face. She staggered back, gripping her nose, and swinging wildly in a vain attempt to keep Malekith at bay.

Instead, Malekith struck her a light blow across the chest. She regained her senses and blocked his second high swing, though Malekith took advantage of this opening to kick her legs out from under her. Madoka fell to the ground where Malekith attempted to impale her.

Madoka instead rolled to the side, attempting to sweep her leg into Malekith, who easily jumped over the kick. Madoka then glowed with a pink aura as she pushed off the ground, flipping up away from Malekith's swing.

When she landed, she attempted to cast a spell, but Malekith was faster. He held out his hand, letting the dark energy surge through him. "Dark!"

A burst of shadowy tendrils emerged from his hand to lance out towards Madoka. She held out her Keyblade, barely managing to intercept the attack, though it served it's purpose. When the dark magic was dispersed, Malekith had already dashed forwards.

Though she had speed, Madoka was unable to exercise it, pinned down in a clash of blades, unable to do anything but slowly backpedal as Malekith advanced, barely managing to keep up with the more skilled Malekith's strikes.

He feinted high, and when she went to block, he struck a blow across her leg. She pushed back on her good leg, and then attempted a counterswing, only to overcommit. He knocked the Keyblade aside with his sword and then slugged her in the gut. As Madoka doubled over in pain, he smacked her in the face with his sword arm.

When she staggered away, she almost fell as she placed too much weight on her injured leg. Malekith pressed his advantage, driving her back, into the corner of a room. As their blades locked again, he kicked her in the chest, knocking her against the wall of the room.

Though cornered, instead of attempting to defend, she pushed herself off the wall, moving forwards in an attempt to stab, only for Malekith to sidestep, and grab her arm. He pulled her forwards as he stepped around her and then slashed her across the back.

Madoka screamed in pain as she staggered forwards, only for Malekith to hold out his hand again. "Darkra!"

A ball of dark energy was blasted out from his hand, slamming into Madoka and sending her flying across the room, slamming into the set of stairs.

"You are outmatched, Princess. Accept your fate like the rest of them. This World was never meant to be."

Instead of being intimidated or demoralized like he thought, Madoka instead pushed herself up despite her wounds.

"Well it's here now. We can only move forwards, not back!" The girl then blinked in confusion, as if she was unsure of what she had just said. It didn't last long and instead she reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out some sort of device that looked vaguely like a communicator. She activated it and shouted. "D-Link! Sayaka!"

There was a flash of light, and Madoka's dress became blue. Then her wounds began to glow blue as well, the flesh knitting together, slowly healing.

Madoka then transformed her Keyblade back into it's flowery form and pointed it at Malekith. "Water!"

A jet of water surged out of her Keyblade, slamming into Malekith and blasting him against the wall. When his vision cleared, he barely managed to duck as Madoka streaked towards him.

While he dodged, Madoka hit the wall feet first, and then came off of it spinning like a drill. He wasn't fast enough to dodge this swing, and she clipped him on the side, sending him spiraling to the ground. When he looked up, he barely managed to roll aside as Madoka shot a wave of freezing cold at him.

However, that dodge was not enough. As Malekith attempted to stand, he slipped. The ice spell had frozen the water she had created with her previous spell, coating the floor in slick ice.

He was left completely vulnerable as Madoka dashed forwards, wreathed an a pink and blue aura to slam her Keyblade into Malekith, sending him flying into a wall with enough force to crack it.

Malekith's head spun as he looked up at Madoka standing over him, Keyblade pointed directly at him.

Then, Malekith heard the sound of heavy footsteps.

Madoka turned, and swung her Keyblade but it was too late. A towering monster stalked towards her, and grabbed Crystal Clarity mid swing, and knocked the weapon out of Madoka's hand. Before she could re-summon it, the hulking brute grabbed her by the arms, pinning them to her side while lifting her up into the air to be level with it's eyes, as it growled at her.

Madoka attempted to kick at the creature but it was like hitting a steel wall, nothing worked. The monster merely glared at her and squeezed harder, causing her to grunt in pain.

She turned towards Malekith, who was picking himself of the ground.

"You were more impressive than I gave you credit for, Princess, though it means nothing in the end. You are unworthy of power. For me, however, power is my birthright."

Malekith then nodded to the giant monster. The creature grunted and then tossed Madoka into the air, and as she fell, the last thing she saw was the creatures fist rising up to meet her face.

That fight scene was fun to write.

~Dragonexx