The Bowhole didn't last too long to get conquered, even to the point that we took out the boss Gadrongo in only one hit with the Hypernova Sword, which I'd given to Noelle to give her a small power trip. And she had gotten toughened up from us slaying some vicious Liquid Metal Slimes. And why were they vicious and attacking us?
"I'd like a thank you for getting those Metal buggers angry at us at some point," Stella said, me looking at her in confusion.
"How are you making them angered?" I asked her.
"Ever since I've gotten the first of daddy's Zenus's parts, I've gotten some of my old strength back that I used to have back in the heyday. But I'm a good girl now, promises," Stella smiled at me. We had already acquired the Wyrmlight Bow, which Serena smiled and nodded.
"It seems my work here is done," she said, me stopping her.
"Wait. Why not stick with us for now?" I asked, her smiling and shaking her head.
"Apologies, but I need to conserve my strength. If I'm to save Corvus from his madness, I need to train myself in his own powers when he was a regular Celestrian," Serena said with a sigh.
"Well, if that's what you want," Pavo said, her nodding at me.
"I'll see you at a later date..." she said before then vanishing into thin air.
"Time to make the bridge again! Let's hurry before Barbaros gets wise enough to attack Upover," Carly said, me nodding as I cast Evac and then Zoom to get us to Wormwood Creek. We then went due west to the remains of the bridge, me then holding the bow loading an arrow into it, flinging the arrow across the chasm to make a big bridge of light the coated the chasm!
"Sweet! This is our ticket to saving the world! Let's get going!" Firkle smiled as we then crossed the bridge... or, most of us did. When Noelle tried to do so, she gasped at how she couldn't do it, resulting in me needing to go in and save her from falling, me rushing down and grabbing her before flying us to the other side, her looking to be scared shitless afterwards.
"I saw m-my life flash before my eyes..." she gawked as she started to hyperventilate.
"Easy, Noelle... in and out... in and out," I said, her then breathing calmly from my method, her sighing in relief afterwards.
"I guess that this bridge of light can't be crossed by monsters. If my theory is right..." Stella asked as she touched the bridge, and we saw that her hand went right through. "Yep. It sensed that I'm a monster because of me being the monstrous side of Stellestria. That stinks," Stella frowned.
"Well, now we know that I can't cross holy things. Stupid," Noelle said after regaining her dignity, us then going forward... before I felt some kind of darkness.
"Hold it," I said, shushing the others as I then looked at them. "Wait here," I said, me then using the Vanish technique to fly forward undetected... and when I did? I saw that there was a trap awaiting us. Barbaros and Hootingham Gore were waiting by the road and looked to be doing incantations to power up the former with even more dark magics!
"HOOHOOHOHOOO! Just one more scant hour, and yoo'll be pumped and primed too destroy Upover and their accursed Greygnarl for all eternity!" the lieutenant chortled with excitement as I then flew back to the others.
"What'd you see?" Veronica asked.
"An ambush. Barbaros and the birdman that attacked us on the way here? They're right along the road, prepping the big guy up to demolish Upover and Greygnarl, via dark incantation magic," I said, them being surprised at that, but none of them daring to speak a peep.
"W-What do we do now? How much longer, guv?" Sara asked in concern.
"The owl, Hootingham Gore, said that it'd take only one more hour. So we need to talk strategy. You guys backtrack to Wormwood Creek and I'll fly alone to Upover. I'm going to need to prep up the big dragon while you guys take the Fyggs to safety," I said, them gawking at that.
"What?! You're leaving me behind for this fight?" Crux asked in a hushed manner, but still upset.
"Think strategy, Crux. Hootingham Gore is said to have been the most cunning of all the lieutenants of the Gittish Empire. We need to outsmart him. If we only send one of us, there's less chance of a catastrophe, should they fail. Besides, Drake and you are the only ones to know the Zoom spell among our group," Pavo said, me nodding at that.
"Dammit... so what happens now?" Crux asked.
"You guys will take the Fyggs to Apus Major and then take them to the Realm of the Almighty. We're going to need some serious help to defeat the Gittish Empire, and since Almighty Zenus is out of commission, we need Celestria's help, and the only way to get her revived is by completing the Celestrian's prophecy," I explained, them nodding.
"Got it! We're gonna get going! But what about that big dragon? He attacked us once, he could do so again!" Dillon said with seriousness.
"I'll get their attention away from you doing that. It should also buy some time," I said, them nodding.
"Be careful and stay cautious, Drake. Dragons are assholes and never play fair," Firkle said, me nodding as I handed them the 7 magical fruits before then casting the illusionary spell on 7 hunks of iron ore to complete the trick. My allies then rushed back to the creek while I then ended the Vanish spell and proceeded to fly my way forward, me then slashing the Hypernova Sword against Barbaros's nose, which made the dark dragon hiss in anger as he then got off the ground and started to fly.
"YOU DARE TO ISSUE A SNEAK ATTACK AGAINST THE DRAGON OF DEATH?! YOU WILL PERISH, CELESTRIAN SCUM!" he shouted in fury as I then had to get evasive. Barbaros proceeded to try and slash at me, so I cast Acceleratle to get my speed up while Hootingham Gore jumped up and flew onto Barbaros's back.
"Yoo whoo dare too strike the most worthy ally of the Gittish Empire! You will perish!" Hootingham Gore shouted in anger as I then smiled. They were unaware of the Starflight Express zooming upwards into the sky, the group already having cleared the danger zone.
"And you will perish for killing all of those innocents for no reason other than sick pleasure, Hootingham Bore!" I shouted, him shrieking in annoyance as Barbaros then sent a powerful blast of dark magic at me, which I then slashed through with the Hypernova Sword, cleaving the blast in half for it to disappear into nothingness!
"You are quite the annoying little insect! And where are your puny mortal friends at?! Why attack us on your lonesome?!" Barbaros asked in anger, his voice toned down as we had gotten a bit closer to Upover.
"My friends are not your concern. You want these, right?" I smiled as I showed off the 7 fake Fyggs that I'd had on my person, Hootingham Gore gasping at that.
"IMPOSSIBLE! Aquila has the Fyggs!... Unless..." he said before I smirked.
"Did you really think I'd see nothing fishy about that? I simply gave him fakes that were forged with magic on some Mistifying Mixtures! So. You going to take them? Or are you going to waste even more time?" I asked, Barbaros growling and snorting at me.
"I sense treachery in the air, Gore! I think he's playing us as fools!" Barbaros growled.
"Still, where could the real Fyggs be at?" the owl asked, me smirking at them.
"Whoops!" I smiled as I dumped the fake Fyggs out of the bag and into the lava beneath us, Hootingham Gore immediately falling for it and jumping off of Barbaros to go to the fakes, causing the dragon to follow suit. And now that the idiots were, indeed, played for fools, I then flew the rest of the way to Upover. And just in time, too, as a couple of Bad Karmours were trying to take a little girl hostage!
"Let my daughter go this instant, you vile monsters!" the mother shouted, me frowning as I fell behind the Karmours and landed with barely a sound.
"This little woman may do well as one of our wives in the near future. Know our names and fear it! The Gittish Empire has retur-GAGH!" he was about the finish... before I slashed my sword through his body vertical-ways before doing the exact same for the one on the right! The little girl then rushed to her mother with tears in both of their eyes.
"My word! The Celestrians from on high! You've come at the right time!" said the mayor, me nodding.
"Sorry, but time is short. Upover and Greygnarl are in grave danger from the Gittish Empire's giant pet. Barbaros is back and he's revived as he was back in the older days!" I said, the village gasping at that.
"Then take this to the summit and get it to ol' Greygnarl! He needs it to get in top form!" the brewery guy said as he gave me a big drum of Drunken Dragon. I then hefted it with both hands and then started to cheat and fly my way up to the summit. And when I got there, I then shouted.
"OI! GREYGNARL! YOU'VE GOT A TOWN TO DEFEND!" I shouted, a duo of eyes brimming red emerged from the cave in the back of the summit as I landed with the Drunken Dragon, him growling at me as I got down. And he did, indeed, look VERY old.
"I smell the scent of the Gittish Empire on you! You dare to defile my home again?!" he asked, me frowning.
"NO, I AM NOT WITH THOSE MURDEROUS MONSTERS!" I shouted in anger, him growling as he then sniffed it out. The drunken dragon. "I've come to warn you and get you prepped for the biggest battle of your life! Barbaros has been revived, along with the Gittish Empire. And I need you in pique condition to protect this place!" I said, him sniffing me all over with his nose and him then snorting in response.
"I smell that there is truth behind all of your words. Give me that Drunken Dragon and then, go behind me and get the armor worn by my old partner. I will be able to fly with ease if you ride on my back along with the Drunken Dragon," he said, me nodding as I then went behind him and got the armor, me then placing all of them over my clothes, mashing all of my current attire with the heroic armor to make me UBER tough. I then found one more thing. The thing that would save my life, so long as I hid it inside of my armor. The Gittish Seal. I then emerged from the cave and saw that Greygnarl was roaring, getting himself pumped after having guzzled down the specialized booze.
"Mount me, and we will take the fight to my foul nemesis!" he said, me then doing just that, making sure my wings were outstretched wide. "OOGH! I CAN FEEL IT! THE POWER RETURNING!" Greygnarl shouted before finally letting loose. "RRRRAAAAAAWWWWRRGGGHHHHH! ! ! !" he roared in fury as he leaped from the ground and soared into the air, me then pointing to the dark clouds that were forming to the south of Upover.
"South! Barbaros is there!" I shouted, him growling as he then sent a powerful blast out from his mouth through the clouds, managing to make a visible mark on the dark dragon as he emerged from the dark clouds in anger.
"YOU! You tricked me! Those fruits were fake as well! You are going to be really fun to kill, you little Celestrian gnat!" Barbaros shouted at me in anger as he flew around me and Greygnarl as I then held one other item on me. The Wyrmlight Bow. I then aimed it carefully and shot an arrow from it, me smirking at how the arrow managed to slash through Barbaros's wing, making him roar in anger as he slammed into a western mountain.
"GET HIM!" I shouted, Greygnarl then roaring and rushing forward, letting loose tons of firepower as I also let loose at least 5 more arrows of light at the monstrous dragon, me feeling it. He was getting weaker with every hit we used against him!
"You... Will... DIE!" Barbaros shouted in anger as he then let out a big blast of dark magic. AKA, the one he aimed at Upover! And it was as big as the mountain itself!
"Celestrian! Use your sword on that dark energy! I'll finish my nemesis off!" he shouted, me nodding, but not before casting Fullheal on the big lug. I then flew off towards the dark magic, me then getting in between it and Upover before then focusing all of my power into the ultimate sword technique, which I had gotten with ease by maxing out sword strengths. "GIGAGASH!" I shouted in fury, slashing a huge gash of pure energy at the dark magic, through the Hypernova Sword! And as I expected, the result was glorious! The dark magic exploded long before it reached Upover! And when I looked out at the distance, I saw that Greygnarl was finishing off Barbaros by chomping his teeth on the big dragon's neck and RIPPING IT RIGHT OFF!
"VICTORY SCREECH! ! ! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO! ! !" I shouted like an absolute Spongebob Nerd as Greygnarl then looked to be panting as I then rushed over to him, seeing that he looked to be hurting.
"Rgh... good job, kid... that... was the greatest fight... these old bones have had... in ages..." Greygnarl said as I then saw what was happening. He had a large slash across his chest. I then cast Fullheal on him again, Greygnarl smiling at me as I saw the wound heal slightly, but not the whole way. "Don't worry. I'll be okay. I just need to rest for a bit, young chap," he said, me nodding as I cast Zoom on us, getting us back to the summit... and when I did? I realized that Hootingham Gore was already one step ahead of me. He had the whole town held captive by his monsters! I then heard his voice shout out loud.
"CELESTRIAN SCUM! IF YOO DOO NOT ARRIVE IN THIS ACCURSED TOWN IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES, ALL OF UPOVER WILL BE KILLED! THEY WILL ALL BE SPARED, BUT ONLY IF YOO SURRENDER YOURSELF TOO BE PRISONER TOO THE GITTISH EMPIRE!" he shouted out of his lungs, me frowning at him.
"I'm going to assume you don't have enough strength left, huh?" I asked the old coot, him smirking.
"Only enough to protect the citizens... they can be protected from anything, but then I need a long rest," he said, me then rushing down from the top of the mountain, arriving in less than even one minute. I then landed directly behind Hootingham Gore and held him in a headlock, as he was in a bad position with none of his cronies near him!
"GACK! Get off of me!" he shouted as I held my sword to his neck and frowned at him.
"Tell your soldiers to back off. Leave this town alone from here on out, and I will spare your life. If you command even one of your troops to slay a single citizen, old or young, this blade goes through your stomach. And then I could finally find out if owls taste like chicken," I said, him shivering at that notion.
"Doo as he says! Retreat, retreat I say!" Hootingham Gore shouted, the armies then rushing off and me then smiling at him.
"Good. Now that we understand each other, I am yours to do with as you please," I said, intentionally doing one thing. I used Vanish, but ONLY on my wings. Hootingham Gore then simply had two Bad Karmours grab me under my arms and I simply frowned and broke out. "I am perfectly content following you willingly. No need to be so rough on the merchandise," I said, the short owl man frowning as we then simply walked off and away from the town, him leading me to a dark circle that was placed where you could find Lava Lumps. He then pushed me into it along with him and his army of Bad Karmours, us then being enveloped in darkness before I then saw... I was going to need a hell of a lot of luck from this point on.
"Welcome to your new home, scum! The Goretress! You will stay here for the rest of your days, being tortured and beaten before then being placed in the special Celestrian quarters. Your fate is now in the hands of Goreham Hogg... I almost feel sorry for you. ALMOST! HOOHOOHOO!" he chortled before then pushing me forward and through the electric barrier, which I guess was meant to only affect people who were inside the place as opposed to the exterior. I was then grabbed on the arms by some Infernal Armours and led around the compounds before then finding myself in front of the big pig himself. It was just a good thing that Vanish's effect lasted forever until you got into a fight. And I didn't need to fight. Yet. I just had to hope the others were doing good on their end in the Almighty's Realm.
Meanwhile, in the Observatory...
"Wait... wot are YOU doin' 'ere?!" Stella asked in absolute shock and anger when she saw the sight of Aquila talking to Apus Major, the two of which were stunned at the presence of Stella and the others.
"I should be asking the same question to you. What are you lot doing here? And you, Crux, how dare you bring a monster to this heavenly realm!" Aquila said in anger, Noelle getting upset.
"Why shouldn't I be allowed to see this place, again? I'm NOT an evil monster and I'm SICK of people telling me that I'm not supposed to be seeing this stuff! I believe in the Almighty just as much as any mortal, so why am I not allowed to assist while you attack us, team up with the Gittish Empire, and try to steal the Fyggs?!" Noelle asked in anger, Apus Major being shocked when he heard these words come from the female monster.
"Aquila. Are these words the truth?... Did you mean to betray the Celestrians and the Almighty?" Apus Major asked, the bald-headed Celestrian sighing.
"I was doing something... different. I planned to fool the Gittish Empire into thinking I'm allied with them, so I would be able to bring the Fyggs here instead of to their king," Aquila said as he then opened his knapsack... before gawking at how the bag was filled with glasses of Mistifying Mixtures! "Wha?!" Aquila asked in shock as Keira then smirked widely.
"Wow, you're even easier to trick than that Hootingham Gore guy! Drake managed to distract him long enough to allow us to fly here in the Starflight Express so we could give you the REAL Fyggs!" Keira smirked as Crux then revealed the Fyggs in question.
"Hmph. It appears that the duper has been duped..." Aquila frowned at the lot of them.
"Are your words the truth, though, Aquila? You were hoping to give me the Fyggs and fool the Gittish Empire into a fake alliance?" Apus Major asked.
"I could see it. He was being truthful. Trust me, I'm an Armanental... ugh! I can tell when people are lying or being truthful," Keira pouted at how she screwed up the word again.
"So what do we do now?" Sara asked in concern.
"For now, we need to get the Fyggs to the Almighty to complete the prophecy. That is above all other things right now. As for you, Aquila, you will join us. I need to know your true alliance," Apus Major said, Aquila sighing and hanging his head in shame.
"Then let's flappin' get going! Drake's buying us a lot of time 'ere an' I don't want him to get sacrificed on my watch!" Stella said with seriousness.
"Who is this Drake?... What happened that you aren't telling me?" Aquila asked.
"Drake's my big brother, wingy boi. He and I were combined into Crux and Marionette respectively. We were only recently turned into our own selves thanks to a girl who had the powers of your former master," Firkle smirked like a smartass, Aquila gasping at that.
"M-My former master?... You know something about what happened to Master Corvus?!" he asked in shock.
"Yes, we do. And will we tell it to you? Absolutely not. Not until you apologize for slapping Noelle across the face," Pavo frowned with her arms folded.
"Fine... I apologize, miss Noelle..." Aquila said with a frown.
"I know it isn't sincere, but I don't care. I want to be known as a kind monster, and that is how I wish to be treated. As an equal, not a minority," Noelle said as the group then proceeded to the Starflight Express.
"So what do you know about Corvus? What has befell him since his disappearance 300 years ago?" Apus Major asked as they boarded the Starflight.
"He fell down to Wormwood Creek during the epic clash of Barbaros and Greygnarl, him having fallen into the Protectorate and needing to be raised back to health from the mayor's daughter at the time, Serena Doffish. She ended up falling for him as she tended his wounds... and then, the Gittish Empire came in and tried to attack the village and kidnap Serena. Corvus managed to stop them, but they came back at a later date and kidnapped Serena, using her as bait to get Corvus captured... before they then lied and told Corvus that she sold him out and, when he wasn't around, they killed her in cold blood... he's been under the ruins of the Gittish Empire this whole time, filling with hatred and evil intent... until he attacked the Observatory that fateful day," Carly explained, Aquila gawking at that.
"Corvus... he was the cause of the darkness that penetrated the Observatory?! Why would he dare to do such a thing?" the bald Celestrian asked in surprise as they finally arrived in the Realm of the Almighty and they proceeded to walk along the clouds and the rainbow roads towards the mansion where Zenus resided.
"He's been beaten, tortured, and stripped of almost all dignity, before being left in complete isolation for hundreds of years. As Serena said, he's become too far gone to be rescued from his rage. He's become an anti-Celestrian," Veronica said grimly, Apus Major looking very troubled.
"This is very bad... the Celestrians were birthed from the Almighty on high... could it be that Celestrians can be corruptable?... Could it be that the Almighty on high is able to be corrupted?" Apus Major asked, Stella then speaking one more thing.
"About that... I should know more about the Almighty than anyone, since he's my daddy," Stella said, Aquila looking at her in a distrusting fashion.
"But you're a fairy," he frowned.
"Now, yes. But I am also the other half of the Almighty's daughter. When we were merged as one, we were known as Stellestria," Stella said, Apus Major gawking at that. "Ahuh. And I'm sure you'd know that name, since Stellestria was the founder of the House of Gitt. I was the foulness of the duo, so I got the short stick and 'ad to git banished from this place, stuck as the stewardess of the Starflight Express and only recently being upgraded to Skipper nearly 10 years ago," Stella said with a frown.
"Is that the truth, though?" Apus Major asked, Stella groaning as she then forced her darker side out, which spooked the angelic people as they finally entered the residency.
"See why I don't show this side? I don't like this side anymore. I want to help these blokes, mainly because of something that happened... something that even daddy couldn't predict," Stella sighed as they then finally reached the throne room, where they all saw that the throne was vacant and that it was trashed and filled with some dark magics.
"By the Almighty... what has happened to the Almighty?!" Aquila asked in shock.
"The darkness from the Protectorate made by Corvus was aimed directly at the Almighty. The blast was too strong for him to withstand... but he had a failsafe set up, where he would separate his body into 12 different entities and hide them in sealed grottos in the Protectorate, as seen on these maps," Keira explained as she showed the maps off, as well as the locations of where the first two were, those being the west of Stornway and the western oasis of the Djust Desert.
"Then... was the prophecy all a ruse?" Apus Major asked in distress.
"No, the prophecy wasn't a ruse. Corvus just manipulated fate in his darkened state to make it how he wanted it to go. He also was the one to resurrect the Gittish Empire as well as Barbaros, all just last night," Stella explained as they then reached the location they needed to. The shrine that had 7 indentations placed on a big tree with wings on it. "When the Fyggs are brought to the Realm of the Almighty, the prophecy will be fulfilled and the duty of the Celestrians will be complete... but the duty that the Celestrians were given... do any of you blokes know why Zenus made the Celestrians in the first place?" Stella asked the group, Firkle and Carly knowing to keep their hands down.
"No... do you know?" Marionette asked.
"Ya daft?... Oh... sorry," Stella said, Marionette being confused.
"What? I'm not daft. I'm Marionette. Daft sounds like a stupid name for a girl," the doll said, the girls in the group smacking their faces at that.
"Ugh... even when you've turned mortal, ya still got zero brain cells. Just put the Fyggs in the indentations so we can fulfill the prophecy. Though, fair warning, be prepared for the biggest flappin' shock of yer life," Stella warned, the group then placing the Fyggs in the holes... and shortly after, they were absorbed by the monument and, before the group knew it, they and the Starflight Express were suddenly warped back to the Observatory and at the feet of Yggdrasil.
"This can't be right... why aren't we ascending to the heavens?" Aquila asked.
"It is because... your duties are not yet finished yet..." said a very calm, serene voice. One that Firkle and Carly immediately recognized as being a voice that sounded like Elora from Spyro 2.
"Sissy... yer finally up," Stella said as the giant tree glowed brightly before it then turned into a very beautiful and serene woman, the form of which made Noelle immediately kneel to her.
"I... I sense nothing but purity within you... and if Stella says so... you're the goddess Celestria..." Noelle said with valor in her voice, the goddess smiling calmly.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm... but there is a more pressing matter that is more important than the Fyggs..." Celestria said as she showed the group the world of the Protectorate. Specifically, the area to the north of the northeastern continent. "You must travel to the Protectorate one more time. You need to defeat the Gittish Empire as well as the foulness that has corrupted poor Corvus... if left to their own devices, the mortals will be in grave danger... I cannot tell you how much I care for the mortals... I want them to be safe... do this, and I can make the prophecy fulfilled... and all the Celestrians will be able to travel to the afterlife... unless any of you wish to continue to serve the mortals..." Celestria said, Crux immediately nodding.
"Count me in," Crux smiled.
"Me as well," Aquila said dutifully. And Crux then looked at Pavo and she simply frowned and shook her head.
"Not on your life," Pavo frowned.
"Apologies, Pavo, but remember, you are no longer a true Celestrian. You'll be stuck among the mortals regardless of your choice," Celestria said, Pavo looking at her and then getting annoyed. "You don't need to assist the mortals if you don't want to. You could just live life like the mortals do."
"Fine. I will do as I please," Pavo frowned.
"Pavo, show some respect! You're speaking to a goddess!" Veronica said with annoyance.
"You must travel soon. I sense that Drake has been sent to the Goretress, where the Gittish Empire sends prisoners to be tortured... you need to go there and find out how to stop the monstrous forces from doing anything to anymore of their prisoners," Celestria said, the group all nodding at that.
"Got it. Here's how we do it! I'll take us back to the Protectorate effective immediately! I'll let a few of you blokes off at the boat so you can sail to the northern continent. We may need a two-pronged attack of air and sea to get into that prison! And after that, we git in there and fight the good fight!" Stella smiled widely.
"Right!" the group said with seriousness as they then dispersed. It was time for a rescue mission. They had to rescue Drake above all else.