Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me. Credit for inspiration of the Church of the Divine Zero goes to my friend Spidey Viewer.
…
"So, this is the Flower of Heaven," Ariel, or rather, someone who looked quite a lot like her cooed, examining the sparkling flower shaped jewel. "Hard to believe something like this is really capable of destroying all the love in the world."
She grinned maliciously, which looked wrong on Ariel's face. "Maybe I should hang on to this after we're done. Might be fun to try…"
"Give me that," Floragel snapped, snatching the jewel box from the fake Ariel's hands and snapping it shut as they walked down the hallways of the Ozu family home. "We are only going to use it to destroy a single love, and then the Ozus can have it back. It's too dangerous to be in anyone else's hands."
"And yet we are taking it," the imposter pointed out.
"We are borrowing it," Floragel insisted. "And we'll give it right back once we're done. This wouldn't be necessary in the first place if Ariel would just listen to reason."
The faker nodded, a serious look on her face. "Yes, how dare Ariel not listen to her rapist and a long-lost uncle who has had zero interest in being a part of her life before now and break up with her loving girlfriend on the very slim chance it will stop some vague prophecy of doom from happening. How completely and utterly unreasonable of her!"
"It wasn't rape!" Floragel protested.
"Yes, which is exactly what everyone else who has ever used drugs, alcohol, or love potions to take advantage of somebody else's lowered inhibitions said," the false Ariel jeered. "You know, if you really wanted her so badly, you could've just gone to any brothel maintained by my cousins, they happily take requests. Hell, I'd do you if you asked nicely."
"Don't even joke about that," Floragel snarled. "I want the real Ariel, not someone wearing her face."
The imposter rolled her eyes. "Oh, honey, you really shouldn't keep obsessing over her, it ain't gonna happen. I'm pretty much the only chance you're ever going to have of scoring with her again." She folded her arms under her breasts and pushed them up, rubbing them against Floragel's side. "Are you suuuuuure you don't want some of this?"
"No," Floragel snapped, shoving the fake away so hard she bumped into a suit of armor, nearly knocking it over, causing her to yelp and frantically try to keep it from hitting the ground. "There is only one woman for me. The real Ariel. And once the red string binding her to Nushi is severed, I will have another chance with her."
"You really think so?" The fake said skeptically, putting the armor's head on backwards and catching up to her employer. "I seem to recall the boss making it clear that, in no uncertain terms, are you ever to go anywhere near Ariel again once this business is settled. I don't know about you, but I'd think twice about going against the orders of a God who's been fighting monsters beyond comprehension more or less by himself for the last few centuries."
"Don't you worry about me," Floragel said dismissively. "I'll find a way to get what I want."
The fake shrugged, not really caring that much. "Whatever. No skin off my nose. Just so long as I get paid, that's all I really care about."
"Don't worry, you'll get what's coming to you-" Floragel promised as they exited the house, and yelped as suddenly laser fire rained down on them, explosions blossoming on the front lawn. "What the-"
The Imperiarch swooped overhead, dropping Goro, Mibojin, Shin, and Antares, all transformed, before the magical duo. "Floragel! Hand over the Flower of Heaven and surrender at once, or we will take you in by force!" Goro shouted.
"Please say no, I'm itching for an excuse to make you pay for what you did to Ariel," Shin growled.
"I have encountered many like you in my life. I have killed all of them. You shall be no different," Mibojin said calmly.
Floragel's jaw dropped in amazement. "What… How the… How did you know I was after the Flower of Heaven?!"
The three Bugrangers froze. "Uhhhh…"
"Shit, how do we know she was after the Flower of Heaven? We can't let them know we're still in contact with Ariel!" Goro thought anxiously.
"Okay, Goro, don't say anything because you'll screw it up," Ariel instructed.
"Hey!"
"Shin, tell her-"
"The Ozu family aren't fools," Antares said abruptly. "Since you and Cerberus made it clear that your intentions were to try and stop the prophecy, and the prophecy made it clear that Ariel and Nushi's love would cause disaster, it was simple to deduce that you would try to find a way to eliminate that love. Naturally, the Flower of Heaven, with its power to destroy love, would be too tempting an artifact for you to pass up, so they asked us to check on the Ozu family house while they prepared to invade the Vaults of Tartarus to make sure the jewel was safe. And lo and behold, here you are, caught red-handed!"
"Nice save," Goro murmured to Antares over a private line.
"I was merely following my lady's instructions," he murmured back. "Lying has always been easier for members of the Ascendancy than the Hive."
Gritting her teeth, Floragel grabbed the fake Ariel, held her close, and one of her vines shifted and sharpened as it pointed at her eye. "Wait, what are you doing, this wasn't part of the deal-"
"Play along," she muttered. Loudly, she cried, "I suppose I should've known the Ozus couldn't be outmaneuvered so easily. They're the premier magical family in the world for a reason. And that family will be one member shorter if you don't back off and let us pass!"
"What?! I mean, uh, guys, please, do what she says!" The imposter cried, crying crocodile tears. "She'll do it, honest! She's completely unhinged! She'd rather see me dead then with anyone other than herself! It's kind of pathetic, really-"
"Hey!" Floragel hissed.
"Just calling it like I see it," the fake Ariel shot back.
Shin scoffed. "Please, you think we'd fall for that? That's obviously a Doppelgänger!"
Floragel's jaw dropped again. "What?! How could you possibly know that?!"
The three Bugrangers froze. "Uhhhh…"
They glanced at Antares, who folded his arms and shook his head. This time they were on their own.
"The real Ariel would never plead for her life," Mibojin said abruptly. "She would rather lose an eye rather than be used as a hostage against her friends."
"Also, the real Ariel would never help you, no matter how much you threatened her," Goro said quickly. "She loves her family more than just about anything in the world except for maybe Nushi, and would rather let herself get tortured or maimed then help steal anything that belongs to her beloved grandmother."
"Not to mention she probably despises you about as much as she loves her family, and the woman you're holding doesn't seem to be reacting with nearly as much disgust as the real Ariel would to being held by you," Shin added.
"So, since it's clearly impossible for that to be Ariel, and since the Flower of Heaven would no doubt be protected by magical defenses keyed to the Ozu family bloodline and magic, that has to be some kind of shapeshifter, and Ariel told us about Doppelgängers at one point, and how they're able to become completely undetectable duplicates of their target, right down to the unique magical signature, which is the only way you could possibly be able to bypass the Ozu security system," Mibojin concluded.
"Nice improv," Ariel said in approval.
The Doppelgänger blinked, then started slow clapping, impressed. "Wow, you guys are pretty smart. So, since there is no longer any need for this farce," she said, wriggling her way out of the stunned Floragel's grasp. "Allow me to introduce myself!" Taking a bow, she said, "You may call me Fuku the Doppelgänger! I am incredibly gender fluid, but I prefer to use whatever pronouns are attached to the person I'm impersonating."
"Then revert to your true form, and we'll call you whatever you like," Antares grunted.
Fuku tutted and shook her head. "Oh, that's a big no-no. Doppelgängers never show their true forms to anyone, it's our biggest taboo. And personally, I rather like this body, it has some nice assets," she crooned, fondling her breasts with one hand while stroking her tails with another.
"This is so wrong," Goro muttered.
"Actually, I'm kind of into it," Ariel commented. "Kind of like looking into a mirror. My reflection does that sometimes too."
"Ariel, please don't tempt me with the thought of more than one of you," Nushi moaned.
"Why are you trying to stop us?" Floragel snapped, irritated by her partner's antics. "We're trying to save the world and prevent your teammate from suffering a terrible fate! As heroes and friends of hers, you should be helping me!"
"Yeah, no, we're not helping anyone who did to Ariel what you did," Shin said dismissively.
"And even if you hadn't violated her, we would still refuse," Goro spoke up. "While you may have valid concerns, the fact that you're resorting to such drastic and horrific measures means we can't let you follow through with your plans."
"If it is indeed destiny that Nushi and Ariel cause a disaster, then we will do our best to help them and the world get through it, without resorting to such abominable means as you and your master," Mibojin stated.
"My mistress knows quite a thing or two about fate. By trying to stop this disaster, you are undoubtedly hastening its arrival. I thought that you Magitopians accepted this," Antares pointed out. "The fact that you haven't makes me wonder whether you're really committed to saving the world, or if you're just doing this because you can't get over the fact that Ariel will never be yours."
"Nice one," Shin congratulated him.
"My personal feelings have nothing to do with this!" Floragel yelled.
"Yeah, that's a total lie," Fuku chimed in, earning her a venomous glare from the fallen Saint.
"We will use the Flower of Heaven to stop the prophecy, and there's nothing you can do about it," Floragel declared, pulling out her MagiPhone NX. "Uuza-"
A gun shot rang out and the phone shattered, causing Floragel to cry out as some of the fragments embedded themselves in her hand and face. "What?!" She shrieked.
Goro's gun, still smoking, was pointed at her. "Sorry, but you're not getting away that easily."
"There's no way you're getting out of here without that spell phone!" Shin declared.
"There's no way she's getting out of here without that spell phone, is she?" He privately asked Ariel.
"Given that she needed that phone to teleport us to the underworld, probably not," Ariel replied. "Without that phone, she shouldn't be able to get back to Infershia! Well done, Goro!"
"You think that'll stop me? Fuku can take us back to Infershia!" Floragel declared.
"No I can't," the Doppelgänger told her.
"… What do you mean, you can't?!" Floragel demanded.
"I'm a Doppelgänger! Just because I'm good at looking like Ariel doesn't mean I can use any of her spells!" Fuku told her. "All of my magic is tied up in shapeshifting, I don't know how to teleport!"
"… No matter," Floragel declared, regaining her composure. "My master is keeping an eye on me, and will open a portal to return us to his domain any second now!"
…
Cerberus stared, all nine eyes wide open and all three jaws dropped, as Ariel juggled several dozen large, sharp, heavy objects while riding a unicycle on top of a circus ball on top of a tight rope while Zobils on the ground fired their acid spit at her and High Zobils on balconies threw more and more items for her to juggle. "How are you doing that without magic?!"
"Pure skill!" She bragged.
One of his heads, out of the corner of one eye, noticed something happening in the crystal ball focused on Floragel on the surface world. The head turned to focus on it…
"And now, I'll do it blindfolded, with everything on fire!"
Cerberus immediately focused all of his eyes on Ariel. Floragel could handle herself for a little while, right?
…
"Any second now!" Floragel repeated, growing increasingly nervous. "Any… Second… Now…"
Nothing happened.
"I don't think he's coming," Fuku observed.
Floragel swore very loudly.
"So, is surrender still an option?" Fuku asked hopefully.
"NO! I will not submit!" Floragel shouted, eyes turning green, her vines and leaves rustling. "I am Floragel, Mistress of the Blooming Flower Element! All plants are mine to control… And guess where you're standing right now!"
Shin glanced down. "The Ozus front lawn?"
"There's nothing here but some grass and a tastefully arranged flower garden," Antares observed.
"Which is more than enough for me!" Floragel cried, chanting a spell.
The ground shook, and suddenly all the grass rapidly grew out of control, every blade becoming as tall as the house itself.
"So… Is giving the neighbor's kid more to mow on the weekends the extent of your power, or-" Shin began, only for one of the flowers, transmuted into a giant plant monster with huge fangs, to lunge out of the grass jungle and try to swallow him up.
A yellow blur shot past, and suddenly the plant monster was ripped to shreds. "I believe she's capable of that, as well," Mibojin commented, plant goo dripping from her blades.
"Right. Naturally," Shin groaned, drawing his ax as more plant monsters lunged out of the grass towards them.
"This is why I hate gardening!" Goro cried as he started rapid firing shots into the gaping maws of the mutated flowers, causing their heads to explode.
"I find it a relaxing hobby, usually, but not like this," Mibojin commented, expertly dodging numerous vines before combining her blades into a Shuriken and throwing it in a circle around her, cutting down every plant within range, as well as chopping down most of the grass.
Unfortunately, it grew back seconds later, even taller. "Well that hardly seems fair."
"Weeds," Antares growled, grabbing one monster plant after another by the stem and ripping it out of the ground. "I hate weeds."
"Wait, I got this!" Shin declared, crouching down before launching into the air, rising above the miniature grassland to try and get line of sight on Floragel so the others could head for her…
Only for numerous vines to suddenly shoot out of the grass below, wrapping around his limbs and pulling him taut. "Okay, I don't got this," he confessed as the vines started pulling, attempting to tear him apart.
"I believe I might," Antares announced, charging power into his tail and driving the stinger into the ground.
"What's that supposed to-" Goro started when suddenly the monster plants began shrieking and writhing, brown traveling up their stems. "Do?"
"The plants," Mibojin murmured, noting that the overly tall grass was also turning brown and drying out. "They're… Dying?"
"I am capable of producing hundreds of poisons," Antares bragged. "A little supercharged herbicide is well within my capability."
As the magically grown plants dried out and withered away, a wailing Shin fell out of the sky as the vines holding him up abruptly disintegrated. He landed on his face right next to Antares, who made no attempt to catch him. "Dick move," he muttered, voice muffled by the ground.
"You'll be fine," the Scorpioni said dismissively.
Mibojin frowned as all of the grass and flowers crumbled apart and were blown away in the wind. "Ariel, I don't think your grandmother is going to be happy with what we did to her lawn."
"Yeaaaaah she really won't be," Ariel said apologetically.
"Well, at least now we can get to Floragel-" Goro began, only to groan as the last of the grass vanished to reveal there were now two Floragels. "Oh, right, the Doppelgänger."
"Oh, so I don't have a concussion, good to know," a dazed Shin mumbled in relief as he staggered to his feet.
"How are we supposed to know which one is the real one?" Goro wondered.
"Whichever one has the Flower of Heaven should be our top priority-" Mibojin started, only for both Floragels to hold up a hand reveal they were holding an identical jewelry box. "Ah. Of course. The Doppelgänger replicated that as well."
"That's right!" One of the Floragels sneered. "One of us is really Floragel-"
"And the other is Fuku!" The other bragged. "One of us has the Flower of Heaven…"
"And the other has a fake!" The first one said. "How will you ever determine which is which?"
"Aria. What do the sensors say?" Antares asked the rabbit concubine.
"I'm getting identical energy readings from both of them," Aria reported. "If Mistress Aranea were here she could probably find a way to divine which one was real, but she isn't, so…"
"Pythia?"
"Sssorry, I don't sssee anything," the Oracle apologized.
"We're over complicating this," Shin pointed out. "Let's just beat up both of them. Doesn't matter which one is real and which one is fake, so long as we get back the Flower of Heaven."
"And once we start the battle, it will very quickly become evident which one is actually Floragel," Mibojin agreed. "Because the Doppelgänger can't replicate her spells."
"You're right, we could fight you," one of the Floragels agreed.
"Or we could make our escape while you're fighting our minions!" The second cried.
"What minions?" Antares asked.
Rather abruptly, a group of Zobils and High Zobils with black skin and vaguely canine masks appeared.
"Oh, those minions."
"Where did they come from? I thought Floragel couldn't teleport anything in or out of Infershia without her phone," the confused Goro pointed out.
"Oh, she probably had them waiting just out of view so they could rush in when she called for them, that's how they usually do it," Shin explained.
"Take care of them! We leave this in your hands!" One of the Floragel shouted at the undead before she and her twin rushed off in separate directions.
"Ugh, typical. You realize you've just set them up for failure! That was a blatant defeat trigger!" Shin yelled as the goons charged at them.
"Aria, do you have a lock on them?" Antares asked, charging forwards and thrusting his chest out, bowling over the Zobils in his path. None of the ones he hit got back up.
"I do, we're tracking both of them now," Aria reported.
"They're both heading in separate directions," Rose noted.
"Should we take the shot?" Krysta asked.
"Nooo, we're in a pooopulated area, tooo many poootential civilian casualties," Gooop pointed out.
"Where could they be going?" Shin wondered as he threw his ax so hard it buried itself in the chest of a Zobil. He raced over, grabbed his weapon by the handle, and swung it around, the poor monster still stuck on the end serving as a bludgeon to clobber its fellows.
"To Infershia?" Mibojin speculated, seemingly teleporting all over the battlefield in puffs of yellow smoke which blinded and confused the undead, allowing her to eviscerate them with her blades.
"How? Sphinx closed the road to Infershia, and we're going to be teleporting in," Nushi pointed out. "And I can't imagine any magician would help teleport her down there, considering they'd risk pissing off Magiel or Sphinx."
"Wait… I'm getting sssomething!" Pythia cried. "I sssee Floragel – or posssibly the doppelgänger pretending to be her, I can't tell – in… A telephone ssstore?"
"A telephone store?" Goro wondered as he did a completely necessary combat roll across the ground, firing six shots which impacted the mouths of six Zobils just as they were about to fire acid spit, causing the globules to explode in their heads and melt their faces off. "Why would she go there?"
"To obtain a new magical phone, perhaps?" Antares suggested, thrusting his tail into a High Zobil so hard it punctured it as well as the goon behind it. "So she can cast the teleportation spell Goro interrupted?"
"But that doesn't makes sense," Ariel protested. "For obvious reasons, most commercial cell phone stores don't stock MagiPhones, and the few places which would sell them would turn Floragel away on sight!"
"Could she force her way into one?" Mibojin inquired, throwing her Shuriken in a straight line ahead of her, vanishing in a puff of smoke, and reappearing just in time to catch it after it tore through half a dozen monsters.
Ariel burst into laughter. "I'd like to see her try! Magical shopkeepers are no joke. Think of the shopkeeper from Link's Awakening or the Kecleon in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Only an idiot would try to rob them!"
"It doesssn't particularly look like a magical ssstore to me," Pythia murmured doubtfully.
"Wait, hang on!" Nushi exclaimed. "Ariel, didn't you tell me the other day that Hiden Intelligence came out with a new app for their RisePhones which can cast spells?"
"Oh yeah! I remember that!" Ariel called. "I was super excited, because it's a new way to bring magic to ordinary people! Granted, if you don't have any magical potential it can only cast the most basic spells, but it's better than nothing!"
"Wait, Hiden's dabbling in magic now?" Shin asked in surprise, leaping into the air and slamming his ax in the ground so hard it collapsed, taking several Zobils with it. "I thought they specialized in androids and related technologies!"
"Yeah, but ever since the Church of the Divine Zero was formally recognized and Zea acknowledged as a legitimate deity, several HumaGear have started developing abilities similar to magic, so President Aruto opened a magical research branch to capitalized on this and develop new kinds of Magitek to further bridge the divide between human and AI. The alchemists put up a fuss since that's supposed to be their thing, so he hired them for the division, reasoning that their creation of homonculi isn't too different from his production of androids," Ariel explained.
"… That's like the second major corporation that's also a world religion," a disturbed Goro noted as he took out the kneecaps of a High Zobil, then charged forwards and fired point-blank shot into the commander's gut. "Is this going to be a trend? Is Kougami going to create some sort of religion revolving around cake next? Will CARAT promote the Kirameigers as avatars of aspects of Crystalian divinity, considering the royal family is akin to Gods in their culture? Is Kuroto Dan going to take over Genm again and make everyone there worship him?"
"If Kougami forms a religion based around cake, I am joining it," Mibojin said flatly, bisecting a few Zobils with a single swipe from her blades. "Speaking of which, Shin, you still have not given me the promised cake."
"You'll get it later!" Shin snapped, ripping off a High Zobil's head and taking much of its spine with it.
"HQ-12, we need to know the locations of every store in the vicinity that might sell a RisePhone," Antares commanded, gripping a High Zobil's head in his pincer and ignoring its futile attempts to stab him with its staff.
"Found zem," the gynoid replied at once. "And by comparing zem wiz ze projected routes of bozh fugitives, I 'ave isolated ze ones zey are most likely to come across in their flight. Sending you ze projections now."
All of their HUDs lit up as maps of the city appeared in their vision, blinking cell phone indicators flashing on it, with a pair of icons resembling Floragel's head heading towards them.
"Thank you, HQ-12," Goro said gratefully, putting a bullet in the head of the last Zobil. "Okay, team, we're going to need to split up to try and catch either of them before they can get a cell phone. Shin and Mibojin on one team, Antares, you're with me."
"I do not take orders from you," the Scorpioni bristled.
"Do as he says," Aranea commanded.
"As you wish, milady," Antares immediately complied.
Mibojin nodded. "Understood. Come, Shin."
She jumped into the air, and began bounding across rooftops.
"Hey, hopping is my thing!" Shin complained, quickly following suit.
Goro holstered his gun and headed towards the street. "Come on, Antares!"
"Very well," the warrior said reluctantly. "Oh, and Rose? Could you please take care of all… This?" He said, gesturing vaguely at the rotting, shattered, corpse-strewn mess that had been the Ozus front lawn. "I believe Ariel's grandmother would appreciate it if we restored the lawn to its original condition, if not better."
"You're right, she would," Ariel agreed.
Rose sighed. "All right, I'm coming down."
"Great!" Ariel chirped. "And speaking of coming down…"
"Don't worry, Ariel…"
…
In a deep, dark cavern far beneath the surface of the world, an army unlike any other had been assembled. Zobils and High Zobils were standing side-by-side with creatures resembling Golem Soldiers, but white and gold in coloration, with cherubic faces and small wings. Hades Beasts, Hades Beastmen, and a variety of mythical beasts done up in white and gold intermingled freely. Silva, Scorpia, and their heroic son Silva Jr. were lined up beside the commanders of the legions of the underworld. Wise Goddess Sphinx loomed over all but the largest naturally giant Hades Beasts along with MagiLegend, Travelion, an enlarged MagiMother and Mandora Man, and Wolkaiser.
Once upon a time, these two armies would've been bitter enemies. A few years ago, thanks to the valiant efforts of the Ozu family, peace had been forged between the two realms, and now they were united by a common cause: to cast down the Forgotten God and free Ariel Ozu, the Heavenly Saint Stargel, a Messiah of magic foretold to shine bigger and brighter than all the stars in the heavens.
Before them, across a river of fire, stood a massive gate similar to the Hades Gate of Infershia, but with three massive statues of snarling canine heads over the top instead of Hades Beast Gargoyle, flanked by a pair of adamantine columns, a Hydra with 50 black, gaping jaws standing before the gate, surrounded by a small army of black skinned Zobils, High Zobils, and darker, twisted versions of more familiar Hades Beasts and Hades Beastmen.
A transformed Nushi and Aranea stood at the front of the united armies of heaven and hell, gazing impassively at the opposition across the burning river.
"… I'll be there soon," Nushi finished softly.