Chapter 39

"You think this is your story..."

Kyoko dashed to the side as a series of fireballs came streaking down towards her. She narrowly avoided the flames, however the force of the blast knocked her away, sending her flying into the side of a building.

Kyoko forced herself to her feet only to hear a cry of "Quara!"

She was forced to run again as a massive boulder was launched towards her, slamming into the building behind her and leaving a massive hole in it's wake. The building shook from the impact, and then portions of it began to collapse.

As she ran, she formed several illusions of herself, each splitting off from her. Then she charged towards Astos, each version of herself thrusting with their spears. However, the Dark Elf barely reacted to the attack and Kyoko felt a strange resistance, like magnets of the same polarity. A blow that should have ended in impalement was instead reduced to barely a nick as a strange red aura appeared around him.

"The fuck?"

"You're going to have to try harder than that. And basic illusions? I'm not impressed." That Dark Elf laughed. He then kicked the correct Kyoko in the chest, sending her staggering back while dispersing the duplicates. She braced her foot and thrust again, only to clash weapons with the Dark Elf's staff. They traded swings, moving about the street as Kyoko attempted to press an advantage. However, every time it seemed like she would slip past his guard, that red aura flared up, protecting him.

Astos then locked weapons with her but before she could attempt to break free or dismiss her weapon the Dark Elf twisted, pulling Kyoko's spear into a lock with both combatants having their backs to each other. Then with a heave, he hurled her over his back, sending her flying down the street. She tried to land on her feet, but she hit a bit of rubble and slipped to her back. As she attempted to rise, the Dark Elf pointed his staff at her and shouted. "Thunder!"

Kyoko cried out as the lightning struck and spasmed, falling to the ground as all her muscles seized up.

"A pity. I had expected more out of the Princesses servants."

"Servant?" Kyoko first snarled at those words, and then grinned as she forced herself to her feet. "I ain't nobodies servant! Let me show ya'! Blizzard Edge!"

She dashed towards the elf, leaping into the air and plunging her spear down. However Astos dodged the attack, her spear striking the ground and coating it in ice. Astos gracefully floated away, landing on top of a nearby streetlight."

"Oh you poor child. You think this is your story." The Dark Elf said with a grin. "However, you are merely a footnote, while the real movers and shakers get their due. The Devil split the Goddess in twain and ferried one half from Heaven to Earth. And there was nothing you could do. The Seeker will have Kingdom Hearts and the Goddess shall be delivered into the Messenger's hands, and from there, darkness shall blanket the universe."

"What the hell are ya' talkin' about?" Kyoko snarled.

"And so I rest my case." Astos said with a grin as he spread out his arms dramatically. Kyoko then heard a mechanical whirring sound, and looked up to see the Fortress Crab moving into position. The cannons on it's back then fired, unleashing a salvo of missiles that streaked straight towards Kyoko.

Fuck.

She shot up, and dashed away as the missiles closed in on her, turning as she did and shouting "Fire!"

Streaks of flame shot out of her hands, striking the missiles and detonating them in mid-air. She breathed a sigh of relief, that was short lived when one of the missiles continued to fly through the cloud of smoke.

Kyoko barely dove out of the way as it exploded, the shockwave still sending her flying to land painfully on the rubble strewn ground. As she looked up, she saw a Shadow Elf attempt to bring down an axe on her.

Kyoko held out her spear, blocking the blow and then kicked the Elf in the leg, sending it sprawling to the ground, where she then rolled over and impaled the creature with her spear. It dispersed into wisps of darkness.

As she rose, she barely had time to react as more Heartless leaped towards her. Thankfully, Sayaka dashed towards her, and as she did so, her cape expanded outwards, forming a shell around the two of them and going rigid. She heard an impact as the Heartless' attacks bounced off. She then clasped her hands together and as the cape returned to it's normal status, she raised her hands into the air.

"Water!" The spell created an explosion of water knocking the attacking Shadow Elves back, destroying some, while Sayaka picked off the rest by hurling swords at them.

She then turned to Kyoko and held out her hands, from which a blue-white light emerged. "Cure!"

Immediately Kyoko felt better as her injuries healed, bleeding wounds knitting back together. She took Sayaka's hand as she offered it.

"Thanks."

"No problem, we-" Sayaka was cut off as Astos cast Fira sending a series of fireballs streaking towards the girls. Both dodged out of the way, as the fireballs exploded where they had been, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke. Both girls took advantage of the diversion to duck behind a large chunk of rubble.

"Fuck! I can't hurt him for some reason!" Kyoko said.

"You too?"

"Yeah, whenever I'm about to land a hit, this weird aura surrounds him, and makes the hit really soft."

"The same thing happened when Mami and I attempted to attack the Fortress Crab. Our attacks barely did anything. Tried some spells and they weren't working either."

"Come out, come out!" Astos taunted. "Or are the Magical Girls scared of the big bad Elf?"

There was a shudder as a fireball impacted against their cover.

"Fuck this smug prick! If I could hit him, it wouldn't be so fuckin' annoyin'!"

"Well, maybe we can-"

"Alright, I'm getting bored. Let's move things along. Zero Gravity!"

The ground beneath them suddenly flashed purple. Then there was a pulse and both Kyoko and Sayaka tumbled off into the air, unable to control their flight.

"What the hell?" Kyoko scrambled for purchase but could find none, leaving her completely exposed and unable to move under her own power. She turned her gaze towards where the Elf was now approaching them.

"And now, the fun begins." Astos pointed two fingers at them, like a gun, and then a dark aura surrounded his fingertips. "Bang."

A bolt of darkness lanced out from his fingertips to strike Kyoko in the thigh. She cried out in pain as Astos laughed. He then shot Sayaka in the shoulder, eliciting a similar reaction. He then opened fire, pelting them with bolts of darkness, that sent them careening through the air, laughing all the while he tormented them.

"I really am disappointed. For all they told me about the lot of you, I expected more. Ah well." Astos mocked as he landed a shot to Kyoko's cheek. "Perhaps if you beg for mercy I might let you go!"

She hissed in pain, but grit her teeth. She wasn't going to give this smug fuckwad the satisfaction.

He was about to fire again, when the girls heard a welcome shout of "Blizzardshot!"

A light blue bullet streaked towarda Astos, there was an explosion of snow and the Dark Elf was suddenly surrounded by massive shards of ice.

They looked up to see Mami in a nearby tower, musket aimed at the dark elf.

Within the ice, there was a sudden red glow, followed by an explosion, blasting away the ice. Astos then shouted "Firaga!" launching a blazing fireball towards Mami. She leaped out of the tower just in time, a ribbon extending outwards for her to swing off of while the entire building behind her exploded.

Astos wasn't done yet. He shouted, "Blizzara!" letting lose a barrage of icicles towards Mami, who spun in mid-air weaving through the projectiles with all the grace of a dancer, returning fire with her muskets at the same time.

Astos raised his arms in defense, as the aura appeared, reducing the impact of the shots. He then turned and gestured towards himself while shouting "Aero!"

A whirlwind formed, engulfing Mami, spinning her about before she was launched out towards Astos, who was forming a fireball in his hand.

However, just in time, Mami extended a ribbon from her hand, pulling her closer to the ground and dodging the fireball. She rolled towards Astos and came up with a kick, which was unfortunately caught in the Dark Elves grip.

"Impressive, but not enough." He then spun and hurled Mami, sending her flying into a streetlight, denting the metal as she struck.

At that moment, whatever spell Astos had cast on Kyoko and Sayaka ended, and both of them dropped to the ground, and not a moment too soon. The two of them then dashed towards Astos, forcing him to turn from Mami and engage them.

Even two against one, he still held the advantage, keeping up with both of their attacks, and where his guard faltered, the aura surrounding him picked up the slack, softening blows into mere scratches and nicks.

Eventually, he leaped away, and then held his staff up in the air. "Saber!"

His staff glowed and he then leaped back into the fray, attacking with renewed strength. Kyoko attempted to block his blow with a chain shield, only for the strike to shatter it. Then, before she could attempt to form another one, Astos struck her in the face with his staff, knocking her away.

Kyoko hit the ground hard again, and as she rose, felt around her mouth with her tongue, grimaced, and then spat out a tooth. Hopefully Sayaka could fix that, but it didn't matter right now. This Lord of the Rings reject was growing more and more frustrating by the second.

Kyoko was more skilled that he was. She could tell that. There were gaps in his defenses, but because of whatever force was protecting him, when he made a mistake, it didn't mean much of anything. Which was a shame because for a moment she had been enjoying this fight. But she couldn't take the time for something like that anymore.

She looked back at the battle to see Sayaka's Water spell be almost effortlessly deflected by Astos, who then responded with a jet of fire, forcing Sayaka to shield herself behind her cape, leaving her pinned.

Thankfully, ribbons suddenly emerged, binding Astos, indicating that Mami had recovered. Kyoko was about to take advantage of the situation, only for Astos to clench his fists. Flame surrounded him, burning through the ribbons and bursting outwards from him. Both Mami and Sayaka retreated, though Kyoko kept advancing. The moment the flames cleared, she dashed forwards, striking a blow to his arm, though again, the aura protected him, reducing what should have been an incapacitating injury to merely a scratch.

Astos countered with his staff, knocking Kyoko's spear away, and then he stepped forwards, hands outstretched into a claw as he grabbed Kyoko's torso.

"Hey, watch the hands!" Kyoko said, but it quickly became clear that perving wasn't his intent when his hands glowed with a strange red energy.

"Drain!"

Since gaining her powers, Kyoko had noted that they came with increased physical endurance. In addition to being faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, she could do all of these things for extended periods of time with our working up a sweat.

Now however, out of the blue, Kyoko felt more exhausted than she ever had been in recent times. Like she had run 100 laps in gym class, or was on the verge of starving to death.

"W-wha..." Kyoko staggered back, only for Astos to grin and hold out his hand. There was a burst of energy and Kyoko was sent flying back.

As she forced herself back to her feet, leaning on her spear and breathing heavily, she heard Astos laugh.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Kyoko demanded, in between gulps for air. Astos made no reply, and when she looked back up, she saw him point his staff at her, a blast of darkness surging out directly towards her.

Madoka immediately leaped up as one of the Flans belched a volley of bubbles at her. She grabbed onto one of the rafters and pulled herself up just in time to avoid the slime as it slammed into a wall. From there, she aimed her bow, launching arrows of pink flame. They sank into one of the monsters and then exploded, splattering slime and ooze across the room.

She then leaped to another rafter as another Flan shot bubbles at her.

"Hey, where ya' goin' beautiful? The parties down here. Wouldn't want to disappoint your guests, now would you?" Cuchulain taunted. He then extended a tentacle towards Madoka, who leaped to another rafter, shooting a Fire arrow at the limb the same time."Yeoowch! Such a spicy girl! I like it! Can't wait to get my tentacles all up in that!"

Madoka shuddered, but forced the unpleasant imagery out of her mind as she dodged another swipe of Cuchulain's tentacles, countering by smacking them away with her bow and then leaping back, shooting the tentacles as they approached.

"C'mon babe, don't play hard to get! We both know you want this as much as I do! Or do you think you're to good for me? Huh?" As Madoka dodged a swipe from one tentacle, another pair of them grabbed onto the rafter and with a heave, broke it, sending Madoka tumbling towards the ground. Mid-air, a tentacle caught her, wrapping around her leg. Madoka screamed as the slimy appendage pulled her towards the Esper.

"Gotcha' c'mere sweetie!" Cuchulain chuckled. However, there was flash of light, and the Esper screamed in pain. Odin had fired a blast from Gungnir, causing Cuchulain to release Madoka. She dropped to the ground as Odin charged forwards, plunging his spear into the side of Cuchulain.

"Your battle is with me, creature!" Odin said.

"Nice of you to finally take notice." Cuchulain said. He lashed out with his tentacles, forcing Odin to back away, but not before he severed one of them. The limb writhed on the ground briefly before quickly dissolving into a pile of sludge.

"Who put you up to this, bottom feeder? Why are you really here?" Odin demanded.

"Bottom feeder, I'm hurt, truly." The Esper said as he attempted to bring another tentacle crashing down on Odin, who dodged. "But it seems that I'm the one with the advantage here!"

"Don't beat around the bush. Manifestation or not, you wouldn't pick this fight unless you believed you had someone to hide behind afterwards. So who sent you?" Odin asked as swung his spear, severing another one of Cuchulain's tentacles.

"Owowowowowow!" The esper recoiled in pain before retaliating with a belch of poisonous gas, which Odin guarded against with a barrier. "Even if someone did, I'm not really in a divulgatory mood! Bio!"

A foul greenish sludge shot out of one of Cuchulain's mouths straight towards Odin. The king held out his spear, and the attack was intercepted by the barrier that emerged from Gungnir.

As Madoka watched in awe, she saw a blur of movement, and instinctively rolled away as Sif intercepted an attack from a Flan. She slashed with her sword, though as the blade passed through, the severed parts merely reattached.

"Watch yourself, Madoka!" Sif warned. She then narrowly dodged as a goopy tendril attempted to smash her.

"R-right." Madoka dodged another spray of sludge and retaliated with a Thunder spell, blasting the Flan apart.

She then nearly slipped on a piece of slime, and looked down to see multiple chunks of slime sltihering across the ground, they gathered into a pile, and in short order, the Flan that Madoka had exploded reformed itself. Then the one she had shot with Thunder began to reform as well.

Sif growled in frustration. "It seems our attacks are ineffective on these things. I am unsure of what to do."

"How about this?" An idea formed as she watched the slime flow. She transformed her weapon back into it's Key form, and then pointed it at one of the Flans, just as it was extending a tendril towards Sif.

"Blizzard!" The spell unleashed a wave of cold that froze the tendril solid. The Flan recoiled in pain as it's limb suddenly became rigid. Sif immediately took advantage, smashing her sword into the appendage, shattering it.

The monster backed away, and Madoka knew she had found a weakness. It attempted to unleash a barrage of bubbles, only for Madoka to channel Flowmotion, leaping up into the air to dodge the attack. Mid-ascent, she unleashed another wave of cold, freezing the entire Flan solid, before hitting the ceiling and then coming streaking back down, shattering the Flan into chucks of ice that lay still.

"Nicely done! You make for a fine warrior woman!" Sif cheered.

Madoka blushed at the complement, but then placed it out of her mind as another Flan surged towards her. It to was likewise frozen, and then shattered.

Then, Madoka heard an inhuman roar.

"No no no! This isn't how it's supposed to go! You're ruining everything!" Cuchulain cried.

It extended a tentacle towards the ceiling where it stuck itself, surprisingly managing to pull it's entire bulk into the air away from Odin. It then swung itself towards Madoka and Sif, coming crashing down upon them with all it's bulk.

They dove out of the way as a surge of slime and filth splattered outwards.

"This party was supposed to be perfect, but everyone keeps ruining it! If you're not going to play like your supposed to then just go down! Poison!" Cuchulain belched another cloud of toxic gas, forcing Madoka to leap away, and then unleash an Aero spell, dispersing the poison.

"No no no! That's not fair! Why can't you Espers all play along?"

"Maybe because it's not a good game to play!" Madoka said. It was a weak one-liner, but it was all she could think of in the heat of battle.

"I heard Asgard was the place to party! And yet, my guests are determined to be buzzkills! Well, nobodies going anywhere!" Cuchulain spouted, spraying slime as he ranted. "This is my party and were going to do it my way! You're all going to stay here until they're done setting up, and then the party can spread everywhere!"

Then realization hit Madoka like a truck. "You're a distraction."

"W-what?" If a Lovecraftian monster could look flabbergasted, then Cuchulain certainly fit the bill.

"You're here to distract us so that the Elves can get to Nagisa and the Aether!" Madoka said.

"N-no! Where would you ever get an idea like that!"

"Go girl! We shall hold him off!" Odin commanded.

"Oh no you don't! I didn't come all this way and set all this up just to be led along by some ungrateful bitch who things she's worth more than she is! You think your so clever, but... here's a reality check!" As Madoka ran towards the door, Cuchulain vomited out a load of slime onto it, sealing it shut. "You're partying whether you like it or not, my sweet!"

Madoka attempted to blast down the door with Fire, clean away the slime with Water and even slamming it with a rock from Quake, but the slime wouldn't budge. She was about to give up and focus on the esper when another idea suddenly hit her. She pulled out her Gummiphone. She quickly activated the Esper app, and immediately, her phone began to crackle with electricity. That lighting arced across her body to her Keyblade, and from there forming into a magic circle as she spoke the chant. ""I call you, Esper of Storms and Knowledge, by the circle, and by my will! Ramuh, the Elder Justiciar, come forth at my command!"

"What?" Cuchulain exclaimed. "Ramuh! You weren't invited! You're boring! Party pooper! Buzzkill! The king of buzzkills has crashed my party!"

At his direction, several Flans immediately leaped towards Ramuh, who blasted them away with a burst of wind from his staff. They splashed down near Cuchulain, before reforming.

"Cuchulain the Impure. What are you doing in Odin's realm?"

"It would seem he is to be a distraction while our enemies strike at their true objective, Nagisa." Sif explained.

"He is most certainly a figure I never expected to be involved in this." Ramuh said to Odin.

"Indeed. Grime has a way of turing up in the most unexpected places, it would seem." Odin replied as he blasted apart a Flan with Gungnir. "The question is who sent him? He's not associated with the Dark Elves so there must be something greater at play."

"Regardless, that is a question for another day." Ramuh turned towards the slime-sealed door and aimed his staff. A powerful lightning bolt blasted the entire thing down, clearing the way back into the rest of the castle. "Go now!"

Madoka nodded.

"Hey, you can't-" Cuchulain was cut off as Ramuh blasted him with lightning. The sounds of battle faded away as Madoka rushed out of the room, heading towards Nagisa, and the probable conflict with the Dark Elf king that it would be waiting for her.

As always, thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!

~Dragonexx