Chapter 28

Girom's laugh was just as shrill as his sisters. "It's so much fun! So much fun to kill women!"

Sol sighed, annoyed. "Yes, yes. So you've said before. Which one of you is going next?"

"Why, eager to die?" Girom cackled.

Sol looked exasperated. "No, I'm not interested in spending the night on this glacier. Since you two psychopaths can't seem to make a decision, I will. Get out here, Girom. I want to rearrange your stupid face." She strode out onto the ice with Babbo.

Girom scampered onto the field, giggling madly. "Let's go! This time I'll kill you!"

"Really?" Sol gave him a nasty grin. "Can't say I'm inclined to be that nice to you."

"Huh?!"

"Fifth match! Chess Piece – Bishop – Girom vs. MAR – Captain – Solara! Begin!" Pozun started the match.

Sol launched at him with Hammer ARM activated. Girom stumbled back and quickly turned on his ice claw. The two entered an all-out brawl. Sol easily deflected Girom's swings, taking cuts and scratches to prevent worse damage. Girom swung more wildly as he got frustrated.

Sol ducked a wild swing and snapped out her leg. A snap echoed across the ice as Girom stumbled back with a pained grunt. "Wh-what the hell?!" he wheezed.

Sol was balanced on one leg with a broad grin on her face. She shook her foot. "What's a matter, three-eyes? Forgot I'm wearing steel-shod boots?" When Girom snarled, she just laughed.

"Bitch! Iced Earth!"

"You know, jumping around with a broken rib probably isn't a great idea." She used Bubble Launcher to cancel out Girom's attack. "Just saying." She smirked at his evident rage. "Question: What made you think killing your teammates was a good idea?"

"Huh? Teammates? They weren't my teammates! They were tools! And when a tool is broken, you just throw it away!"

"While I'm certainly not surprised by that answer and pity you for it… that wasn't what I asked you."

"Pity me?! You're the pitiful one, Solara!" He activated a ring ARM. "Nature ARM – Crevice!"

The ground under Sol and Babbo split wide open. The two dropped into the hole and it slammed shut.

Solara's teammates were shocked. "Sol!" Alviss was horrified. No! I just got her back! You can't take her away from me already! His hand moved towards his Thirteen Totem Pole as he saw red.

Girom gloated. "MAR's captain is dead! The War Games are over!"

Pozun had gone pale. "Th-the w-winner is - !"

BOOM!

Something erupted from underneath the ice. When the dust cleared… no one really knew what they were looking at. A large, semi-transparent, orange… something that was jiggling with Sol standing in it.

"What?!" Girom screeched.

Sol tilted her head. "Version five – Cushion Jelly. It'll absorb any attack, no matter how heavy."

"You- you-! I HATE YOU!" he screamed. "Guardian ARM – Egola!" A massive golem made of ice appeared. "Egola has the power of a glacier! On this field, he can go to over 100%! Not even your Gargoyle can beat it!"

Sol started laughing. Gargoyle appeared and locked claws with Egola. "I've never told anyone besides Snow what the basis of Gargoyles power is, have I?"

"Eh?"

"Of course, the only person besides Snow, who would understand just how… truly dangerous it is," Sol chuckled, "is Pozun." The short purple lizardman turned pale as the other just looked confused.

Sol's magic climbed higher and higher. "Gargoyle is" there was a deep groaning sound along with splintering cracking from Egola's arms, "a representation," her pupils retracted to pinpricks, "of my berserker rage."

The thunderous sound of ice shattering cracked through the air as Gargoyle ripped the arms off Egola. Girom shrieked in horrified surprised. Gargoyle released his ring and fired the beam. Egola shattered, followed by the ring ARM he had come from.

Girom was shaking in terror. He looked up at the shape of Solara through the dust kicked up by pieces of Egola slamming into the ground. "H-hey, um… look, Solara, I-I'm sorry, okay? I-I'll never do it again." The dust cleared… and Solara wasn't there.

"If you're really sorry," Girom froze as Solara's voice spoke darkly in his ear, "then take your punishment." She grabbed his head and wrenched.

CRACK!

Girom dropped limply to the ground. Sol crouched down next to him and rolled him onto his back. His terrified eyes stared at her. She smiled blandly. "I told you I'm not nice enough to kill you. That broken neck leaves you paralyzed from the neck down. Enjoy." She stood up and stepped over his prone form. "Pozun, this little snot can't fight anymore. You mind?" Pozun hesitated. "You can come check if you'd like."

Pozun frowned. "No, he would have gotten up if he could have. Winner – Solara!"

As Sol reached her team members, a piercing shriek erupted from the last Chess Piece. The team watched as the crazy drill-head rushed over to her prone sibling.

"Um… why'd it take her so long to react?" Jack was really confused.

Sol's expression was a bizarre fusion of annoyed and amused. "I suspect she's gotten the first part of her punishment." The others looked at her. "They may have considered their teammates to only be tools, but what they forgot, or maybe ignored, is that they weren't their tools to throw away." She glanced up at the moon. "Phantom probably ordered that she be restricted."

"Solara! You filthy slut! You'd better come out for the sixth battle! I'll get my revenge for Girom!" Rapunzel screeched.

"I already fought twice. Too bad."

"That's true. That means it's my turn." Dorothy grinned. "You hear that, old hag?! You're gonna fight Dorothy!"

"'Old hag'… 'old hag'… You really want me mad, don't you…? Well, you've got it – Witch!"

"But before we fight…" Dorothy hummed as she swapped one of her ring ARMs.

"Hey! She changed ARMs!" Jack was surprised.

Alviss nodded. "Must be a very high-level ARM. She's not taking Rapunzel lightly. Since she is one of the 13 Knights… of the Zodiac."

"Final match of the fourth battle! Chess Piece – Knight – Rapunzel vs. MAR – Dorothy! Begin!"

Rapunzel smirked. "First… something light." She activated a ring ARM. "Ice spike!"

Spikes of ice started erupting from the ground. Dorothy simply jumped out of the way. "Now really…" she snipped with an annoyed smirk, "old hag. Are you making fun of me? You couldn't even beat Jack with an attack like that!"

"Hey!" Jack sulked. Sol bit her lip to keep from snickering at the backhanded compliment.

Rapunzel wore a serene expression, which just looked really out of place. "It seems you're not only ugly… but stupid, too. I guess I'll have to explain." Dorothy just sighed as Rapunzel cackled. "Look around you!" Dorothy was surprised to realize she was surrounded by ice spikes. "Spike Sandwich!" The ground surged up on both sides of Dorothy, slamming together with a crash. Rapunzel grinned. "You see? Ugly and stupid. While I am brilliant… and beautiful!"

Sol covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, but her shoulders shook. Alviss dropped his head into his hand. Jack and Nanashi looked at each other, then looked away, choking on their own laughter.

Dorothy was fine. Her broom was braced between the two walls, preventing them from closing. "I have to admit… you surprised me, old hag!" She swept her broom out, unleashing a whirlwind that shattered the ice walls and blew the debris away. "Broom of Zephyrus!"

"Hey! That's… that's the broom Dorothy flies through the air on!" Jack yelped.

Alviss glanced at him. "Did you think a witch would use just any broom? Now watch…!"

Rapunzel was excited. "Oh-ho… you… are a wind wielder!" she snickered. "An ugly sow who wields wind! I wonder which is stronger… wind or ice?!" She sent a wave of ice spikes surging towards Dorothy.

With a wave of her broom, Dorothy created another whirlwind, shattering the ice before it reached her. "The answer… your ice will never hit me. Pity, isn't it? " She flicked her broom and a blade of wind shot past Rapunzel's face, nicking her cheekbone.

"My… my face…" Rapunzel reached up to swipe at the small amount of blood leaking from the tiny cut. "You've injured my face… my beautiful face…!" She lost it, screeching at the top of her lungs, making everyone else wince at the sound. "You've done it now, sow!" She activated a ring ARM. "Now I've really – blown my top!" Her hair unwound from its drill shape and began whipping around wildly. "Nature ARM Hair Master!"

Rapunzel's hair divided into eight thick sections and drilled into the ice around her. Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "You think you're safe behind your hair? My wind will cut right through it!" She lifted her Broom of Zephyrus and –

WHD

The hair erupted from underneath the ice and stabbed through Dorothy's left side. "Yeek!" She spat up a wad of blood. This… is frozen hair! It drilled through the ice… to hit me!

Sol snarled. Alviss startled her by pulling her arms out of their crossed position and taking her hand, to keep her from repeating what had happened during Snow's fight with Hook. Nanashi went white. Jack stumbled over his own tongue. "Sh-she… She's hurt!"

Rapunzel laughed. "A wind wielder has one weakness! She is like the eye of tornado! Right around her is a space… of windless calm! And with that wound, you can't call up any more wind – can you – ugly sow?!" Rapunzel retracted her hair from beneath the ice. "Hair Master!" She sent her hair to lash directly at Dorothy.

Unable to move with any ease, she was an easy target. The hair left numerous cuts, scratches, and what would surely be ugly bruises. "Stop! She's already lost!" Nanashi couldn't just watch.

Rapunzel snickered. "Sorry, but I'm just like my brother. I love killing women!" She pulled back her hair as she told her story. "Once upon a time, there lived a family of four. Father, mother, sister, and little brother. One day, the father died of an illness. The mother changed. She denied her children food. She struck them every day with a whip. A deep wound grew in the children's hearts… until one day… they killed their sleeping mother with an axe."

Rapunzel started laughing hysterically. "Doesn't that story just break your heart?! Well, it fills me with warm memories! I'll kill the witch and advance to the next battle. Then, Solara – you'll get yours!"

"Spare me the sob story." Dorothy was completely stone faced. "You're not the only one with a hard life. Even if you don't want to do it… There are those who must be killed!" She spat out another wad of blood. "This is kind of… risky… but there's no choice. Guess I'll use this one!" She activated the ring ARM that she had put on before the fight. "Come on out! Guardian ARM – Crazy Quilt!"

What appeared looked like an old, beat up Raggedy Ann doll with blonde hair. It had a single large button for the right eye and two small, mismatched buttons were the left eye should be. Its mouth had been replaced by a zipper. It was floating in the air and the hem of its patchwork dress was swirling around a bizarre spike that had replaced its legs.

The mouth unzipped. "I'm back! I'm back! Crazy Quilt, all made of scrapes! Do I get to do something crazy?!" Its strangely scratchy robotic voice was immediately annoying. "How long's it been since I've been out?! Days?! Months?! Years! Years! Shut away in that little box!"

Sol blinked. "Can I break it?" Jack snickered at her emotionless question.

Dorothy grimaced. "Will you keep it down?! You're making my wounds feel worse! Your prey…" she pointed at Rapunzel, "is right over there!"

The strange doll was fascinated by the psychopathic Knight. "Oooh! She's really something! All garish and bright! You'd never see a sheep-herder like that!"

"Can you take her down?" Dorothy asked.

The doll crossed its arms and turned its head away like a petulant child. "I don't wanna! After all that time in the box – I wanna do what I wanna do! I can pick flowers! Play with kids! Move rocks around!" Crazy Quilt finally looked straight at Dorothy, "Eep?!" and noticed the bloody hole in her side. "Dorothy! You're hurt! Who did this to you?! Wait! It was her, wasn't it?!"

Sol grimaced. "If it doesn't do something useful soon, I'm gonna dismantle its voice box." Lucian had pinned his ears trying to muffle the sound.

"Doesn't look very strong…" Jack mused.

Alviss squeezed Sol's hand, distracting her from the unpleasant sound. Jack's right. But it's the ARM Dorothy chose for this battle. It's got to have something!

The doll shot towards Rapunzel. "You're bad! Bad! Hurting my friend! Now I'm crazy mad!"

"Shut up, ragdoll! Hair Master!" Rapunzel lashed at Crazy Quilt with her hair, but the doll was too fast.

Crazy Quilt giggled. "So you're crazy too?! Well, too bad! Cuz I'm still crazier than you!" The patchwork doll zipped around Rapunzel's head in a random pattern.

"?!" Rapunzel wasn't fast enough to track its movements. "What?! What's this doll-guardian up to?!"

Suddenly, Crazy Quilt stopped directly in front of Rapunzel's startled face. Dorothy grinned. "Crazy Quilt… Sing!"

"Oh, I look in the well and I see a rat… but I can't save him, oh drat, drat, drat! The rat, he doesn't have wings… and I can't go in the water or I'll soak my quilty quilt quilt!"

Rapunzel slapped her hands over her ears. "Wh… what?! This singing… it's scrambling my brain!"

Rapunzel wasn't the only one having a problem. Sol clapped her hands over her ears, snarling. "Sol!" Alviss caught her arm as she sang to her knees. "Hypersonic waves! Sound waves that can stun their victims!"

"'Stun' my ass. If it doesn't stop soon, I'm gonna lose it!" Sol growled.

"I can understand why. Even from here that sound hurts! Rapunzel must be going out of her mind!" Nanashi and Jack had covered their ears too.

"Solara's sensitive to high pitched sounds! The witch could have warned us what that ARM was going to do!" Babbo gripped.

Rapunzel was struggling just to string two thoughts together. I… can't lose… I've… g… got to… get revenge for Girom! You just watch, Girom! Watch your big sister fight for you! Girom… my sweet little Girom… my one and only blood relation…

VSH

Blood sprayed in a fountain as the blade of wind cut deep into Rapunzel's chest, from the right shoulder to the left hip. Rapunzel coughed up blood as she fell back. In an instant… she pulled back the Guardian… and switched to wind! Girom… I couldn't do it…

"Dorothy vs. Rapunzel! Winner – Dorothy!"

Nanashi was bouncing all over the place, while Alviss helped Sol stand back up. She was holding her head but smiling. Jack blinked. "What's Dorothy doing?"

Dorothy walked over to the prone Rapunzel. "Being a Knight, you should know… and you are going to answer me… Do you know a woman named 'Diana'?"

Rapunzel's face was blank with shock. "H… how… how do you know the Queen's name?!"

"…as I feared. The dots have connected. I must return one more the land of the witches."

In the manga, Ginta loses his temper when Girom kills Aqua. I always thought this was… not necessarily stupid, but... no, yeah it was stupid. Getting upset, okay fine. Losing it to the extent that Ginta does… what? That made no sense to me. Maybe that's just me.

Solara is now fused back together and has memories from her time of living with the Chess Pieces. One might think they gave her the vindictive streak that she just unleashed on Girom, but in truth, Sol already had it. She is a berserker. Even when she isn't raging, she's still dark. Time with the Chess Pieces may have exacerbated it though. In a weird way, she feels vaguely bad that she took Lunestra away, and she told Nanashi not to help Aqua, despite the fact that Lunestra and Aqua were friends… of a kind. Her decision to "punish" Girom was based partially in that and partially in the fact that both Solara and Lunestra hated the three-eyed brat.