Reality is cruel. That's why we have fantasy. And often times, fantasy alters our perception of reality. That's why we believe good always wins. Everyone has their own perception of reality, and such is reflected in fiction. There are as many realities as there are people. But try to destroy reality… and reality will destroy you.

Chapter 15: You Are Our Humble Guest

Etheria

The Egg Phoenix had punctured Bright Moon's barrier, mounting its metallic talons on a tower of the castle. "Citizens of Bright Moon, your day of reckoning has arrived!" Eggman blasted a beam from the phoenix's mouth, striking a group of buildings as they were warped to a Pocket Dimension. "Once I control the unstoppable secret of your planet, the universe will tremble before me! Those who do not surrender will wallow in misery within 'Egg Space'! So, make your choice, Bright Moon! Surrender or be banished to the dimension you spawned from!"

Three teenagers were racing across a bridge leading from the castle to the central pillar: one was a blonde, ponytailed girl with a red soldier's uniform; another was a purple-clothed princess with pink, glittery hair; the third was a dark-skinned boy with a white, sleeveless shirt with an exposed belly, and a bow-and-arrow. "These robots don't look like Horde creations!" yelled Adora, the ponytailed girl.

"Whatever that bird robot is, it looks really powerful!" Princess Glimmer said. "I'll need as much energy from the Moonstone as I can get."

"Were there some remnants of the Horde after all?!" cried Bow, the archer boy. "What if they're sending a million tiny microbots into our brains to control us?!"

"Calm down, Bow!" Adora yelled. "Everything will be fine once we get to the Moonstone!"

The trio entered the central pillar and raced up a flight of stairs. They exited to the top—immediately blinded by the bright light of the Sunstone. "AAAAAH!" screamed Glimmer. "Where's that light coming from?!"

"Y'know, this planet feels too pale for my tastes." said a seductive voice belonging to a silhouette against the light. "I decided to light it up some. Get a tan, why don't ya?"

"I'll have you know I'm quite proud of my tan!" Bow shouted.

"Hm?" Varcrutis dimmed the light back to normal. "Oh, so you do. That's weird, is it some sort of moon tan?"

"Who the heck are you?!" Adora yelled.

"I'm just a humble visitor wanting to liven things up. I decided to make your Moonstone into a Sunstone! Like it?!" Var flicked her finger up like a light switch, repeatedly switching the light on and off.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Bow yelled. "Just what are you doing here?!"

"I'm here for two things: I want this Lightswitch Stone and I want She-Ra. We're just destroying your town for funsies, yeah."

"That is NOT something you do for FUNSIES!" Bow declared passionately, grabbing his signature weapon and pulling back an arrow.

Var swiftly yanked Bow over, smacked his bow away, and quickly bent and tied him into a bow shape. "Your parents spared no expense naming you~" she remarked, twirling Bow on her finger as he flung toward Adora. As she worked to untie him, Glimmer grit her teeth and began to rapidly warp around Var, shooting Sparkle Beams at the demon. Var grunted from the attacks, trying to catch her bearings on the foe—until she brushed her hand like a fan and stirred the air, scattering Glimmer's sparkles in a whirlwind.

"Whoa-whoa-whoooooaaaaa!" As Glimmer reformed, appearing as a stretched, distorted form, she crashed on the ground, feeling sick to her bent stomach.

Overcome with fury, Adora rose to full height. "Alright. You want She-Ra?! You GOT She-Ra! For the honor of GRAYSKULL!" The heroine whipped out a large sword and raised it skyward. In a flash of light, Adora grew taller, donned in white attire, and golden hair shining with hope.

"I feel a sudden surge of energy!" The Egg Phoenix flapped over and hovered near the platform. "She-Ra, the honored hero of Etheria. Can that little sword really match the two of us?"

"Save your energy, Eggy! This girl is nothing compared to ME!" Varcrutis swiped her claws at She-Ra, the heroine blocking with her blade. Adora leapt away and slashed rainbow beams, but Var seemed to whip out paintbrushes and colored the rainbows dark. She danced her way to She-Ra and dyed her hair black.

"What the-?!" As Adora questioned the effect, her powers seemed to die down as well. "Huh?! What did you do to my-"

Var kicked Adora off her feet and stomped her face. "And that's how you crush a hero!"

"You…you defeated She-Ra that quickly?! But my intel states she's fought hundreds of…"

"Hundreds, shmundreds, there's no hero in the universe that can top me!"

"Ho ho ho…then hiring you was truly the right choice. With you by my side, conquering the rest of Etheria will be a walk in the park!"

"Nnngh…ugh…" Hearing grunting, Varcrutis looked down as Adora pushed herself up. "I won't… lose to you…" Her black hair flickered with blonde.

"Spare yourself the trouble, sweetie." Var kicked her in the jaw as Adora fell back. "With me around, there is no victory! That's the reality of it! That is YOUR reality!" She raised her foot and stomped the Sword of Protection, shattering it.

"VAR! What have you done?! We need that sword to use the weapon!"

"Will you relax, I can repair it just as easily. For now, it's best to keep She-Ra out of commission. With this, I have achieved victory! I won, just as I did on that day! I am-!"

"You didn't win, Var."

Flinching, Var whipped around. Dimentia stood, her white hood covering all but her somber frown. "Well, you're taking the direct approach today. Hm, what's this…" She looked around. "…Where are the other Phoenios? They planning a surprise attack?"

"…" Dimentia raised both hands and snapped her fingers. At that instant, a tomato and an egg splorped out of space… and smashed against her own head. "In this universe… we get hit by the tomato and egg."

"…" Var truly didn't know how to react. She… really didn't know. "…Is this some new fashion trend?"

"There are no other Phoenios, Var. No Phoenios are going to stop you. Including myself."

"Good, then go away. I have a planet to conquer."

"I pity you, Varcrutis. You were given a great privilege… the ability to explore and observe any universe of your choosing. But instead, you choose to hurt them. You enforce your own sick reality over them. But you know what, Var? This reality isn't yours to abuse. In this universe, when an evil adult harasses kids… the kids fight BACK!"

"YAAAAAAHHH!" A scream rang from above: Var faced up, gasping as Rex and Pyra were falling from above, ready to splice her in half with a giant, flaming sword! Though surprised by their sudden appearance, Var bent reality to turn Pyra blue, her sword spurting water as it merely splashed over Var with no damage. She grabbed both friends by the neck and violently slammed them to the ground.

"Was that supposed to be a sneak attack?" Eggman chortled. "I expected the little Space Phoenix to return, but I didn't expect such mediocre help!"

"Ha ha ha! Just what was THAT about?!" Varcrutis cackled. "Did you seriously let a mortal get hurt on YOUR behalf?! So obsessed with upholding the law and you've gone and broken it! You really don't care anymore, do you?! Hah, you're no different from me! You're no-"

"-YAAAAAH!"

A flaming sword shattered reality and sliced Varcrutis down the front. As her body seared with the scalding flames of Pyra's sword, the fragments of Var's superficial reality flew past her eyes, glittering and vanishing as the duo's expressions brimmed with power and pride.

Var stumbled backward, coughing as she angrily brushed the soot off. "You…you brats… How…"

"We know how your powers work." Rex stated. "You distort reality in your own image, try to force us to give in to your designs, but the reality you bend isn't permanent! It isn't real! You bend reality to make it seem like we lose! Because it feels real, that's how you make people submit! But we… REJECT THAT REALITY!"

"Reject that reality?" Adora repeated, staring at her broken sword. "It isn't real? …It isn't REAL!" The heroine grabbed the severed hilt, throwing it skyward as it grew back and shattered the false reality.

"I KNEW this wasn't humanly possible!" Bow remarked at his tied form. "Just because my name is Bow, just because I use a bow, I am not a bow! I REJECT THIS FORM!" He shattered and sprouted up to full height.

"I am the future queen of Bright Moon!" Glimmer declared, shattering back to her normal proportions. "I won't lose to you!"

"No!" Var shouted. "Th-that…that's not how it works. No no no no no no! My reality is the law! I'm the master of reality! You're nothing to my powers! I'll break you all!"

"Go ahead and break us." Nia stated, using waterbending to heal Team Adora's injuries. "I'll fix everyone right up. Want us to wash that off?"

Before a response could be delivered, She-Ra whipped her sword like a bat and blasted Var off the pillar, crashing against the shore across the lake. Scratch and Grounder were buried under a wave of sand. "Ursula, Song Road!" Nia ordered.

"Right!" (Play "Xenoblade Medley" from Smash Ultimate!)

Boss fight: Varcrutis Depraritas

Rex, Pyra, Nia, and Adora surfed the Song Road to the shore. Var growled and, from her distance, snapped the road like scissors, but even after splashing in the lake, Nia brushed them to the shore with her bending. Rex and Pyra charged first, slashing fire waves at Varcrutis, who smacked the flames away and ran toward the couple. She looked up at the moons and smacked them away, bringing darkness and cold to the world. It seemed to hinder them as Rex started shivering, but he kept proud and true and relied on Pyra for warmth. The Blade flicked fire sparks around Var that burst quickly, surrounding the orca in smoke.

"Cough, cough!" She quickly ran out of the smoke and made it become a heavy oil, but was bashed in the head by She-Ra's sword. The princess rapidly slashed her sacred blade, struggling to muster power despite the apparent lack of moons. Var countered her with a flurry of scratches, swinging her arms around the sword to cut her face. With each blow, Adora's sword sparked with magic, and when the dark sky shattered and revealed the moons, a burst of power blew Var into the woods, knocking down a line of trees. She kicked up and dashed to slash Adora's stomach, and when Rex tried to attack, she dodged and slashed his cheek, then leapt to grab and slam both faces into each other. Quick on recovery, Rex grabbed Adora and lifted to swing her into Var sword-first, sending her across the beach. It was only then Var realized Nia was projecting an aura field over the group to heal them.

Var "popped" the aura like a bubble, but Nia rushed her, drawing a scimitar with a watery design as she slashed deadly waves at Varcrutis. "You know I'm a whale, right?!" Var remarked, easily splashing the waves out of the air. "I don't mind getting a little wet!" She jabbed her claws at Nia in attempt to stab her, but the Gormotti was a swift and fluent dodger. Var then noticed Ursula singing a carefree song, helping Nia move gracefully in evasion. Var decided to dance as well, grabbing hold of Nia and blowing into her cat ear, blowing her up like a balloon. "Let's see ya dance after I pop ya—HUUUOOO!" Var's eyes suddenly swelled up, her vision becoming stretched and blurry. "HEY! What the hell is this?! What did you…"

"I wasn't just splashing you just now!" Nia remarked. "I increased the reproduction rate of your cells. Ya should get a checkup on that."

"Let's go, Beary!" Ursula danced onto her companion as the polar bear charged at Var with a flurry of claw swipes, grabbing and throwing her to Adora, who batted her away. Var splashed in the lake, but deflated her eyes and swam back with breakneck speed. She dove and shot 50 feet out of the water, aiming to headbutt Rex like a bullet.

"KOS-MOS!" Rex swapped Pyra out for KOS-MOS, who blocked Var's attack with a Light Shield. Adora was quick to slam Var to the ground after the fact, then Rex began pelting her with light bullets from KOS-MOS's blaster. Var stretched her arm and grabbed KOS-MOS's visor, pulling a curtain down to block her vision. Adora quickly slashed the arm, Var pulling back as she began pulling moons down to throw at the princess. Adora blocked, but was unprepared as Var grabbed the castle itself and smashed it over all of them. Adora pushed the castle up with her own strength, smashing it like glass as the real castle returned. She spun at Var with a Hurricane Spin while Nia slashed her from behind. Varcrutis jumped away from the two, poking a hole in herself to let out any unwanted cells.

KOS-MOS unloaded Light Bullets onto Var. She ran to them, but was intercepted by Adora, the heroine jabbing her with the sword before kicking back. Var saw Ursula dancing in the air and making Music Notes, and Leic was dancing with her as well. "Aluben showed me this one! It's called the Skeleton Dance! 'Course, it works better if you're a skeleton."

Ursula cast the notes down at Var, some hitting while she grabbed two of them by the tails. She stretched and whirled them as bludgeons as she bashed Nia and Adora's heads. Nia tried to heal, but Var grabbed and slammed her into the sand—Adora stabbed at her, Var grabbing the sword and pushing back. She squeezed the sword and cracked it, but Adora was still determined to push her. The sword crackled with blue static, and its cracks disappeared. "It should be breaking! Why doesn't it break?! If I could puncture the Noah, this cheap sword should…"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but we went through a lot of trouble to rebuild this thing." Adora said. "I won't let the likes of you break it!" With a pulse of strength, she shoved Var away, but KOS-MOS was ready to catch her and release a Light Explosion. Adora used her own powers to heal Nia herself.

Dimentia was sitting patiently on the Moonstone's pillar, watching the bout. "That firebender girl isn't even using her powered-up form. I think we may be overpowered, Plex."

"But what do you plan to do about that one?" Plex indicated the Egg Phoenix. Tora and Poppi had appeared after the battle started, the robot Blade shoving the Phoenix away with her drill. Bow had been shooting Sticky Arrows at the robot's wings while Glimmer was warping around it to shoot Sparkle Beams from unsuspecting spots. "That machine feels powered with your chi!"

"I guess Eggman managed to steal one of my feathers. And since he's a native of this universe, he's not technically hindered by the same rule."

"Excuse me, ma'am!" Bow yelled to Dimentia. "I assume you're a good guy, so could you possibly help us?"

"Don't mind me!" Dimentia raised hands. "I'm just a retired principal. But if you win, I'll let you try my bow." She presented said weapon.

Bow gazed at it with brightened, emotional eyes. "I'll try my hardest!"

Poppi launched rockets at the Phoenix, but it warped away. "Behind you!" Glimmer yelled, but the mecha-bird swatted Poppi with its wing. Glimmer warped to catch Poppi and return her to the pillar, but Eggman was quick to warp himself and smash them under its talons. The Phoenix lifted the two and flew to slam them against the castle.

"I was told a Space Phoenix's feathers are beyond compare! Even one gives me the power to breach dimensions! You snot-nosed hooligans are going to be smothered between-"

"Poppi! Activate QTπ Mode!" Tora commanded.

Poppi transformed into a more mature form and used enhanced strength to push the Phoenix off, while Glimmer had warped to the pillar. Poppi unloaded a storm of missiles onto the mech, but Eggman warped to her side to deal a ram attack. Poppi dodged, then Glimmer warped onto the Phoenix's eyes to block his vision. "Get off my windshield, you dirty fly!" Eggman struggled to shake her off, but Glimmer only did so just as Poppi was charging to push the Phoenix with great momentum, smashing it against the shore. Eggman swat her away and flapped to recovery. He looked to Var's battle as Rex had switched back to Pyra, trying to surround her with smoke while Adora stopped her from escaping. "Do you need a little help, Varcrutis? Seems like you're outnumbered."

"Worry about your own battle, Egghead! I can handle my own just fine!"

"If you insist. They won't have any fighting spirit after I banish their Moonstone to Egg Space!"

"I am Seeeea Hawk! I am, I am! If you're looking for adventure, then I am your man!"

The sound of an accordion rang from the distance. Eggman turned with confusion as some sort of hi-tech vessel was flying their way. "If you want to ride on the waves of deepest blue, to perilous winds, then I got you. Some say I'm a HERO! Some say I'm a MAN—AAAAHH!" The vessel's captain cried when Eggman launched a beam, the ship barely dodging.

"Sea Hawk?!" Bow exclaimed.

"He's using the abandoned Horde ship we found?" Glimmer asked.

"So, another nuisance has come to join the party?" Eggman asked.

"I am no nuisance, villain!" Sea Hawk proclaimed. "Let me demonstrate the power of the Dragon's Daughter XI! A little fire blaster will scorch those feathers~" He pushed a button beside a flame icon. The ship's jet boosters dramatically ignited, exploding as the vessel caught fire. "Whoops. Meant to get those fixed. MAYDAY! WHOOOOAA!" The captain struggled to maintain control as the burning ship spun downward.

"How incompetent can you be? Now then, back to warping the castle." Eggman set the Phoenix's sights on the castle again, but as Sea Hawk pressed all manner of buttons to save himself, the ship tilted and launched upward. "GEEEEEEHHH!" The keel punctured the chest of the Egg Phoenix. "NOOO! What have you done?! Get out! Get out of my robot!" Eggman frantically warped the bird around, but Sea Hawk merely came with him each time, the fires spreading to the Phoenix. The others could only watch as they warped from one side of the sky to the other repeatedly.

"Uhhh…see, it did work out." Dimentia said confusedly.

Var crossed her arms to defend from She-Ra's next flurry, the Sword of Protection close to cutting her skin. "THAT'S IT!" Without warning, Varcrutis clasped Adora's head in both hands. "I'm through playing around! IT'S TIME TO MAKE YOU RED PASTE!" And she squeezed with such force that Adora's head splattered. A fountain of blood came spewing out. "HA HA HA HA! This is the reality you live in, brats! In the grand scheme, all you are is-"

"I REFUSE!" Adora broke from the imitation of her own corpse and SLAMMED the sword powerfully onto Var's head.

"NOW, REX!" Pyra yelled. She and Nia, on either of Rex's sides, held hands with him, their swords in-between. "NEXUS FORCE!" They SMASHED the blades down onto Var, followed by a swing from Pyra's, a strike from Nia's, and one final cross strike that blew Var to the sky.

"AAAAGH!" She regained herself and remained airborne. "FINE! You want to see real power, fools?! Let's see how you like it when I-"

The Egg Phoenix suddenly warped out from her side—Varcrutis was rammed by the crashed Dragon's Daughter, forced into the burning ship as she hit Sea Hawk, and they were further shoved into Eggman's cockpit, bonking him as well. The Phoenix became a body of flames instead of space, the pink wings becoming embers. "NO! MY BEAUTIFUL WINGS!" They were like a flaming fan as they were descending directly toward the woods.

"Hold tightly, my beautiful Fishwoman!" Sea Hawk hugged Var fearfully.

"NO!" Var struggled to shove him off. "NOT LIKE THIS! I won't go down like-!" (End song.)

The Phoenix violently crashed through the trees and along the ground, pieces flying off before they came to a sudden stop. Sea Hawk was propelled into the air, his head having gone through his accordion, which played one last, despairing jingle before he crashed headfirst into the robot's upturned opening.

A bunch of other operatives had hurried to the battle site and ran to observe the wreckage. Among these people was a muscular, purple-skinned Etherian woman. Dimentia warped over and rejoined Leic, going to see the results with the others. …It seemed Sea Hawk's legs were sticking out of the robot.

"Sigh…alright. It seems there's no other way out of this." Sea Hawk could be heard saying. "Johnny? Alberto? Do your thing."

And with that, the Egg Phoenix exploded. Sea Hawk went rocketing to the sky, his expression cool and charming as he became like a shooting star.

Amongst the smoking wreckage of the machine, Eggman and Varcrutis were fallen. Their expressions were clear with exhaust. "…Ugh…" The Daemonis helped herself up, coughing soot. "You… How dare you humiliate me like this…" Var glared at them with seething rage. "I am a Blood Knight, you worms! The Devil of Distortion is my father! I'm higher than ALL OF YOU!"

"No, you are not." Dimentia stated firmly. "Neither you, nor the Phoenios. You are not higher than anyone. The universe you hail from is no better or worse than any other universe. You are as equal to these mortals as they are to you. But if you had bothered to read the rules, you would know that visitors from another universe have their Power Levels tweaked to befit the world they're in. This way, the Multiverse helps maintain balance and peace. It's not your place to hurt these people, Varcrutis. And these operatives only represent a small fraction of the universe's power. And you are not wanted here."

Var's pupils shrank with anger. "I'm not wanted here, am I?" She closed her eyes and smiled. "Do you think I haven't heard those same words, over, and over, and over, and over, and OVER AGAIN?!" She flew up and PUNCHED Dimentia in the jaw. "And what makes you Phoenios so special?! Why do you get to go around and tell everyone WE'RE the bad guys?! You're no different than we are!" She punched Dimentia left and right, the woman merely standing and taking it. "Going around to wherever you want, looking for Invieres and making friends with all the benevolent gods, all for your self-benefit! Why should YOU be the only one who makes FRIENDS, Dimentia?!"

Dimentia grabbed her arm, holding it in place. From under her hood, she glared at Var with cold eyes. "Dimentia?" the purple-skinned woman whispered.

"You made that choice, Varcrutis." Dimentia stated. "You chose to attack my daughter, and Cheren, and Maddy, Melody, Aurora, and April. You chose to hurt them. This is your last chance, Var. You are going to look these children in the eyes and say… 'I'm sorry for my rudeness.'"

Varcrutis clenched her orca teeth. "I… will never say that. I am sorry… for NOTHING. I am above you wretched mortals. I could make you all my slaves if the gods would allow me! All of you are WORMS!" She yanked her arm away. She pointed at Rex, Adora, Bow, Ursula, and Leic, "You, and you, and you, and you, and you, and y-" Then at Eggman.

She stopped herself. It seemed the scientist had recovered from the crash. "…" He merely stared at her with a disapproving look. "So, that's how it is, eh? Hmm…" He shook his head with disappointment. "Var… You're fired."

". . . . . . ." Her arm dropped. Her expression was rather frozen. "…Fired? Did…did I not just get you a phoenix feather… like I promised?"

"And what a lot of good it did." He remarked sarcastically. "Besides… I'm the one who caught the phoenix."

"…" It almost seemed like she wasn't sure how to react. "Nobody… fires me. I decide… who gets fired. And I do not get fired." She slowly ascended to the sky. "And this planet… has no more… USE FOR ME."

There was an incredible surge in power: Varcrutis was growing to a tremendous size, her body morphing into a terrifying orca demon. As she rose beyond the atmosphere, the sky was completely eclipsed: Varcrutis had become the size of a planet.

"Oh… my…" Bow was internally, terrifically panicking.

"Now, do you see? All of you… miserable insects… and your inferior forms. I am higher than the universe… I am the master of reality… I…I…I… can't… move…"

She had become frozen, slowly orbiting. The denizens were questioning this phenomena. "IIIIIiiiiiiii… dooooon't… Whaaaat iiiis… Whaaat did yooouuu… dooooo… tooooo… meeeee…?"

"I'm sure the rules mention somewhere that when you undergo a dramatic size increase, your body and brain become impaired." Dimentia said. "I kind of did that once. Heh, I must've sounded pretty goofy. In her own universe, Var has no trouble with this, but I guess that rule takes precedence for her, too."

"So… what do we do?" Bow asked.

"She'll shrink down in a few moments. …But until then, want a shot with my bow?" She presented the weapon to him.

"Ab-so-lutely…" Bow cried, fondling the elegant weapon.

"Just aim right up and take your best shot." She crouched down and pointed up. Bow pulled the arrow back and aimed at the massive target.

"Dimentia," Plex replied, "that boy couldn't possibly muster enough strength to-"

The arrow flew like a comet. It struck Varcrutis's tremendous body… and warped her in an instant. "…Perhaps I spoke too soon."

"So… where has she gone?" Rex asked.

"To her talk." Dimentia answered.

…

Var had compressed back to normal from the warping and splashed into an ocean under a dark sky. "Bleh!" She resurfaced, catching her breath and reorganizing her mind. "Impossible… I should've been able to…"

"Why, hello, Varcrutis."

An echoing voice spoke from above. Var looked up… There was a great whale with large fins, red lines across his blue and white body. "…Wait… you're Kyogre. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Dimentia asked me to come. I was rather curious when she claimed she needed my help to catch a Daemonis… until she mentioned you. Then, it all became clear to me. …You hurt my granddaughter."

"Who? …Oh, yeah." Var vaguely recalled the Melody girl from the Noah. "Heh, you're lucky because I coulda done a lot worse."

"Now, Var, I know that young ladies like yourself love to play around. Why, I remember when I was a young fish. But as you grow older, there are some things you have to understand. First, know that you are our humble guest, and as such-"

Var whipped her leg up, the blow to the jaw bending Kyogre's head upward. There was a remarkable dent. "…Heh heh heh. Okay, I'll give you that one." He laughed it off earnestly and faced down. "However, you must learn to respect those that were kind enough to welcome you. What you did was-"

Var grabbed his back fin and solidified the sea, violently bashing him around before throwing him away. "…Now, Var…" He flipped himself upright, "I get that this is your pastime, but you really should not interrupt a grown-up when he's talking. As a grandfather, I feel very-"

Var twisted his body like a sponge and squeezed every ounce of blue from his system. He then tied him into a knot before discarding him. "…All right." In an instant, he puffed back to normal. "If this is the only way to get through to you… so be it." And his eyes flashed red with malice. (Play "Simba vs. Scar" from Lion King!)

In a split second, the sea around Var dramatically sank 10,000 meters downward, sucking her down like a vacuum. The water around the sides erected icicle spikes to puncture the Daemonis from any possible angle. Assuming her hybrid form, Varcrutis flew up the pit and endured the stabs—she had even grabbed and taken a thousand icicles with her to stab them into Kyogre. The Sea King melted the ice, but Var followed with a stomp to his teeth, blasting him miles away. She flew after and aimed to scratch his eye, but the eye flashed, and Var's hand immediately swelled up like a balloon. The moment of surprise allowed Kyogre to bat Var away with his tail, and he created a mountainous iceberg to absorb her impact.

"Hey, you ripped off the cat girl's technique!" Var yelled.

"I took inspiration from it. Funny thing, Varcrutis, although we gods created the elements, the mortals invented most of the techniques for the arts. Viridi and Hexxus learned to become Logias, even. The mortals are excellent teachers for us gods."

"So, what if they're the teachers? It still doesn't change that your power is superior to theirs."

"There are things we gods can do that mortals cannot, yes. But mortals carry this universe all the same. We exist to serve them. Even when branding the second universe, we acted under the instruction of the trolls, and after that, we followed the KND's instruction in creating the New Planets."

He willed the iceberg to compress and collapse onto Var, but she burst free with her own strength. She balled the iceberg up herself and kicked it brutally against Kyogre, and as it flew away, she grabbed his tail, flew after, and continued bashing him against it. But upon one bash, Kyogre willed the iceball to explode into searing hot steam, making it as hot and un-breathable as smoke in order to choke her. Kyogre tail-whacked her away again, willing the steam to go with her, and he bent Water Whips up to keep batting them around no matter how far. However, Var had escaped at some point, bending reality to make it seem like she was still in the steam ball. She shot up from beneath Kyogre to impale his stomach with her claws.

"And why are you lecturing me about mortals?! I did my research, buddy boy, and I KNOW that you killed a mortal who was threatening your kingdom!"

"Yes, Varcrutis. That man threatened my daughter and her friends. My excuse was that I did not wish for Eva to burden herself with the guilt of killing someone, should the situation resort to that. She and Melody alike are very sensitive girls, emotional, overburdened, but struggling desperately to stay kind and true. Davy Jones was a man already bound for death, so there were no qualms about 'slaying' him, but fellow humans are different. Still, that did not excuse my sin. So, I asked Groudon to throw me in his volcano and submitted myself to a million lashes from his Lava Whips."

"Man, you must be really kinky!"

"I've made too many mistakes in my lifetime, Varcrutis. No god is perfect, but one can eventually drown their self in their own regret." And so, it began to rain extremely heavily. The droplets were gray with gloom, their weight immense as they forced both Kyogre and Var into the ocean. The Rain of Regrets continued to push them down to the seafloor. The color drained from their beings as a feeling of depression weighed on their resolve. "But what place does a mere outsider have in criticizing us? Especially one that believes they can take whatever they please. My mistakes are menial to your crimes."

"That's the difference between us, Kingas: I don't feel regrets!" Varcrutis stuck a thumb in her mouth and blew, puffing herself with color and willing the droplets to become dust bunnies.

"What did you call me?"

"KINGAS!" She conjured a giant, limbless Eggman and made it bounce and smash Kyogre beneath its rump. "KINGAS! KINGAS! KINGAS! KINGAS!"

Kyogre used Water Slices to dice the Eggman up, then grabbed and slammed the pieces into Var. Kyogre took an enormous breath, sucking every ounce of the sea like a black hole. Varcrutis swam against the current, surviving until all the sea was gone down the king's throat. He flew above and spat the water onto Var as an endless gush of extreme power and force. "MMMM, I love me a good drink!" Var gurgled, drinking as much of the water as she could. The rest of the water spread off to refill the ocean, and by the time Kyogre was emptied, the sea was only half as full as before.

Kyogre watched the sea calmly, awaiting the next attack. Seeing the large silhouette beneath the surface, Varcrutis exploded above and rammed Kyogre with the weight of her full orca form. Kyogre flipped in the sky and became upright. The cold, frowning stare of the whale met the mad, malicious smirk of the orca. "Hey, remind me, Kingas: if a god has children, doesn't that mean they can be killed?"

"Indeed, it does, Varcrutis. For a long time, I've felt my end coming. My age reaching its limits. But I will not be felled by a disrespectful brat like yourself. If I am to be felled by anyone, it will be by mortal hands. So long as I can do my part to bolster their hope… then it gives me hope in TURN!"

There was a terrific surge of power as Kyogre transformed: his skin becoming a deeper shade of blue, his red lines disappearing, replaced by bubbles of golden chi that coursed through his being, he was Primal Kyogre. With more graceful and focused motion, he flew to the orca, and they rammed with a collision that spread the sea like an ever-rising crater. They determinedly shoved each other to prove the superior weight and power, but as the ocean waves had looped above and were about to descend, Kyogre willed some gushes to shoot down. Those gushes turned gold from Kyogre's chi, striking Var with purifying light.

Varcrutis willed Kyogre's gold channels to turn silver like cement, clogging his flow of chi. She sank her teeth into his upper lip, puncturing the armor painfully. She tried to twist the lip, but Kyogre bit into her lower lip and injured her just the same. The whales wrestled, lip against lip, but as Kyogre's determination grew, the cement chi paths shattered and became gold again. Kyogre performed a full rotation and twisted Var's lips completely, the sudden sensation causing tears to erupt. Kyogre spun free and dove into the sea, inhaling the half-full ocean once again. The whale king flew in a circle, Var turning to face him—he crashed and made contact with her lips once more.

Kyogre spat the golden water into her being, making sure she ingested every last drop. Var smirked and welcomed the luscious drink… but her eyes and blood vessels began to swell. The orca bloated up like a puffer-fish. She struggled to shake the king off, and even shooting water out the blowhole was pointless as Kyogre willed it to clog right up. "BAAAAHH!" Varcrutis willed her mouth to stretch wider and CHOMPED Kyogre's face, spewing the water directly back into him. "If your mortals are so great, why don't you let them finish me off yourself?!"

"I had only wished to speak with you, but you wished for violence. Besides, the mortals had already beaten you, and if the fight had prolonged, there was no way you could have won. You were never meant to win, Varcrutis. Like The Thirteen, you are an Original that has overestimated your position. You were fated to lose in this universe, just as you did on the Noah."

"NO! I WON!" Varcrutis chomped the king, his head riddled with deep bites. "I would have won that battle! I would've crushed your planets! We're above your ability to handle. You are beneath me! And I won't let some lesser whale sully my reputation, LET ALONE YOUR LITTLE KIDDIES!" And one final chomp completely diced the king into pieces, some of which flowed down her throat. (End song.)

"Huff…fuff…fuff…HA HA HA ha ha ha! That was nothing! Absolutely nothing!" The universe fizzed like static. "I tasted gods WAY better than that! That didn't…" The horizon blinked into black, "even…" and then the ground around her. Varcrutis was completely surrounded in darkness.

"Heh heh heh heh…ha ha ha ha ha…HA HA HA ha ha…!"

A bunch of red, eerie Kyogres formed around Varcrutis. The sound of his deep voice haunted the soul. "Oh, Var… how long are you going to stay trapped in this twisted reality of yours?"

"What, are you suddenly the Nightmare King or something?"

"Benders of one element can utilize techniques of another with enough thinking. The chi of fearbenders is able to distort and twist the mind… and so can water." In reality, Varcrutis was being bound in place in the strong grip of Kyogre's water, willing it to flow into her tearducts. Her orca form had retracted to her human one. "When you ingested my water just now, I willed some of it to wash your brain and distort your already-twisted perception. Really, you mustn't drink a god's spit, it's simply unsanitary. Now, if you would be a good girl and pay attention, I can teach you clearly what you did wrong."

"My twisted perception?! My reality is wrong?! Don't make me laugh! You're the ones who can't accept there are universes stronger than yours!"

"Why should that matter in the least? We are not the ones who invaded YOUR home. We have no business in other universes. The gods and KND need only worry about this one, just as you should worry only for yours. When will you let go of this arrogant misconception that you own and are responsible for all the omniverse?"

"If it's anyone's fault, it's the Phoenios!" Varcrutis yelled, coming out of the nightmare vision as she could feel the water forced into her ducts. "They're the ones trying to reap from the universes and get the better of us! Just like Dimentia! So, we have to do the same!"

"Then it seems both of you need to understand where you belong. However, at least the Phoenios can present their selves as better guests for the most part. They seem to possess a decent respect for the mortals and understand the pain they feel. Did you know, Var? As the God of Water, I am the one who enabled mortals to sweat and cry. I gave them the blood that pumps them. And every single tear that hits the ground, every ounce of emotion dropped… I am there. When those tears evaporate into the air, I am there to collect them."

"Man, you really are kinky!" Var smirked, the water continuing to flow into her eyes. "Personally, I'm much more into…into… w-wait a minute… this ain't normal water! Th-This… Is this…?!" She began to panic with realization.

"Yes, Var. This water is composed of the tears those children have dropped over the years. Accept these tears… and know the hardships they endured." A vision of Cheren appeared in her mind, crying on his bed following the death of his father. "Understand all the work they contribute to keep the cosmos alive." Melody was crying as Tsu tried to comfort her. "Understand what they accomplished." Deku and Eri embraced in a loving hug. "A disrespectful heathen like you could never understand these feelings."

Varcrutis suddenly found herself in Moonbase, the atmosphere an eerie blood-red. "You see, Var, your status does not exist here." The Kids Next Door were all facing her, eyes brimming red with malice. "You are not a Blood Knight… You have no reputation… You have no power…" Varcrutis shirked before their cold, deathly stares as Kyogre's imposing, monstrous form loomed over the darkness. His voice vibrated her eardrums with every rasped syllable. "All you are… is a bad guest. You have shown nothing but disrespect to these mortals who were kind enough to welcome you."

"And I don't give a DAMN!" Var began running around and splatting the heads off Maddy, Melody, Sheila, Anthony, Chimney, Kodama… "Saying that I'm denying reality?! I'm trapped in my own?! And what about THEM?! They're the ones who don't know jack about the omniverse! Maybe I just want to open their EYES!"

"This universe never needed to know the greater omniverse. There are many who do not need it. Their concern exists in this universe, and this universe alone. An outsider like yourself, following a meaningless philosophy, should not trouble them. You do not trouble them."

"Yeah, so just get out of here, freak." Maddy stated, but Var smacked her head off again.

"We have more important things to worry about." Melody followed.

"Who in blazes is this fish, anyway?" Sheila asked heartlessly.

"I'll tell you who I am! I almost destroyed you! I breached the Noah! I coulda destroyed all your planets!"

"No, Varcrutis. You had found a weak point in the First Byway, which was already close to releasing its seal, but beyond that, there was nothing you could have done. The 'damage' you had done to the Noah was merely your reality-bending, but it would have mended itself in time. You could not have hurt the planets due to the spell from the Fairy's Tail. Had the fight been prolonged, Cheren would have won, or his friends would've mustered the strength to keep fighting and thus broken your reality, or perhaps other operatives would have caught wind and come to crush you instead, such as Anthony, Zach, or any number of them. No matter which reality transpired, none of them were yours. You were fated to lose, Var."

"SHUT UP!" Var smacked Cheren's head off. "I won, you hear me?! I would have won if not for the Phoenios! Your mortals were nothing! I won, I won, I won, I won!"

"No power you could muster," Cheren grew his head back and spoke, "compares to the power of our friendship and teamwork. If you don't like that, go back to your own universe and screw up your own reality. We don't want you in ours. Now, get out."

"YEH, get out!" Sheila punched Var backward.

"Get lost, freak!" Maddy pushed next.

"Coming all this way just to hurt my friend?!" Mocha kicked her.

"GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" As Var suffered a flurry of shoves and kicks, she found herself backing toward a door of light labeled 'EXIT.' Var clutched the frame of the door, holding tightly as the storm of thousands of kids pounded mercilessly, determined to banish her from the universe. The kids faded and morphed into gushes of water, Kyogre controlling them. (Play "Loneliness" from Xenoblade 2.)

"Accept the reality that you're in, Var. Accept that this universe does not want you. Accept your true role in this-"

"Stop it."

Var had spoken lowly. She was still bound under Kyogre's power, the tears being shoved into her eyes. "I…I give up. I'll leave. I'll never come back. So, please… stop doing this to me. Just let me go back home… have mercy…"

". . . . . . ." Kyogre bowed his head. In an instant, all of the tears were slurped out of her being. "I'm sorry…" The whale king turned and calmly floated away.

"…" Var remained in place, exhausted from the pain… or so it seemed. In an instant, the illusion shattered—Var flew up and dug her claws into Kyogre's back, the king grunting from the sudden pain. "AS IF I WOULD EVER DO THAT! I don't care if I'm not wanted! I go wherever I want! I HURT whoever I want! And what about the Phoenios, huh?! When are ya gonna give THEM this treatment?! When are THEY gonna be treated like the monsters?! When are they gonna just shut their asses up and let us make friends, too?!"

"Urgh…Varcrutis…"

"I don't care about your mortals OR their stupid friendship! I'll show you what good it does for them! I'LL SHOW YOU!" And so, she ripped open a rift and jumped inside. Kyogre merely sighed with pity.

KND Moonbase

Cheren had returned to his office with a soda in hand. "HUH?!" He was terribly startled when a rift exploded open and Varcrutis landed in. "YOU AGAIN?!"

"HERE'S WHAT I THINK OF YOUR FRIENDSHIP!" She viciously slashed her claws at the hero, but Cheren's Haki kicked in and worked to dodge it. His movement was like wind, for Var's attacks came predictably in his eyes. "All you brats better accept the reality that I'm better than you! Accept my reality! You will KNEEL before me! You will PERISH!"

As she dove down for a headbutt, Cheren whipped up the Mirror Shield—the sacred shield shattered into a million shards as Cheren seemed to bleed and fall back from the impact.

"Ha…ha ha…HA HA… SEE?! I won! Where's your friendship now?! Who wants to be friends with you?!" Reality sizzled like static. "The Daemonis can make friends too, ya know!" Sizzle. "We deserve it as much as anyone else, maybe even more! So, just-" another sizzle, "accept my reality! Just accept…" sizzle, "accept…"

In an instant, Cheren was standing again, his Mirror Shield in perfect, flawless condition. Var's forehead was swollen from the impact to the unbreakable, holy mirror. "Accept… my… reality… accept… me…"

She fell on her back and was out. Her mind had suffered enough, both physically and mentally. Cheren could feel no illusion, no will to fight… She merely lay. The boy released a sigh and stared down at her.

"If that's all you wanted… then you should've asked."

Dimentia and Leic floated near the Moonbase, watching through the window. "…She's down." Plex confirmed. "Shall we… retrieve her then?"

"…Let them take care of her for now." Dimentia replied. "She won't hurt them… not even if she wanted to."