Disclaimer: Oooh donuts!

Thanks to:

Lmann: Believe it Lmann! He wouldn't be evil without well being evil!

Beastfire: I'll get Ichi to heal ya, Ivy!

Astral Firefly: Sorry, Hari! Better luck next time! Oh and FYI Violet, Otogi's running for Peru now.

Twister91: O.O (runs for dear life) don't kill the authoress!

The One To Rule Them All: O.o geez is there anyone who doesn't wanna hurt him for taking them? Thankies and yes, she's in. Somewhere.

The others sat in gloomy silence as they heard Skeleton King's footsteps die away with their friends. They looked at each other, not quite sure what to say, then sighed sadly.
"Lemme at him!" cried Caitlyn suddenly, yanking at the chains binding her to the wall. "Just wait til I get my hands on him! I'll-"
"You'll what?" scoffed Onyx, "scream at him whilst he uses Ryou and Otogi as shields or hostages?" His words fell on deaf ears as Cait began to rant about all the things she'd do to Skeleton King when she got free.
Ichigo winced at some of the more graphic threats,
"You don't think he'll really hurt them, do you Onyx?" she asked, sounding very scared. Onyx wished he could move his arms just so he could slap his forehead in disbelief at Ichigo's words,
"Yes, Ichi, I do think and know he would hurt them! He's evil so it's..." he trailed off when he heard sniffling and, when he looked at Ichigo, he saw tears trailing down her face. He felt guilt fill his chest like someone had just poured it in and his face softened, "hey, c'mon. We'll save them, don't cry"
Ichigo sniffed and nodded and wiped her eyes on her tail,
"You're right" she said softly, her voice still a little wobbly but getting stronger, "but first we must get out of here"
As if some deity had answered Ichigo's words, the wall opposite them exploded, showering them with dust and causing them to cough. When the dust settled, they saw quite a sight! Amanda, with a crate of Irn-Bru under one arm, was casually slinging a bazooka over one shoulder and her muses were beaming at the captive team.
"Krystal!" cried Onyx happily, as she ran in and broke him free of his bonds. Once he was free he kissed her deeply and helped free the others.
"Thanks Amanda!" cried Caitlyn, giving her fellow Earthling a hug, and then she froze. "Say... isn't that... my bazooka?" she growled and Amanda sweat dropped and hid it behind her.
"Hey, you left it at my house!" she cried defensively, before screaming and running around the Citadel with Caitlyn in hot pursuit, yelling in Scottish.
"Anyway..." said Jet, turning and smiling at her friends, "let's go!"
Everyone cheered and they moved out.
Ryou whined loudly against the gag in his mouth as he was chained to a strange looking laser,
"What is this?" he demanded when he managed to slip it off. Mandarin kept on working, ignoring him, until he finally finished pressing buttons. His twisted grin immediately shut up Ryou who shivered slightly at that smile.
"This is your end" he purred, petting the machine, "both of yours!" he added, giving Otogi a fleeting glance. "It's quite ingenious, for you see; it runs on life energy"
Ryou felt his blood run cold,
"L-life energy? But..."
"Yes, you'll have to die for it to work, but you can feel happier knowing you helped the universe's true ruler gain the control he deserves!" Mandarin laughed madly, as Ryou felt a shiver run through him.
The others crashed through the Citadel, destroying anything evil that got in their way. Eventually they ploughed into the room where Malachite was being held and crashed in.
"What the..." he looked up at them as they fell in in a pile. "Hi guys" he said, sadly, looking down. Next moment he was being choked in a tight hug from his mother, who was delivering a mixture of 'how happy she was to see him safe' and 'when they got home she'd kill him for falling for Skeleton King's lie'
"Lie?" he repeated, when he got free and could breathe normally again, "But Zaki..."
"Is meditating" finished Antauri, much to everyone's surprise. "She is meditating so as to let her body heal more efficiently" he smiled proudly, "just like I taught her!"
Everyone was silent for a second then they all grabbed him, shaking him in all directions,
"Why didn't you tell us?" they cried en masse.
Spirals has formed in Antauri's eyes and he stumbled dizzily for a second,
"I-I thought it was... obvious" he wobbled and fell over. Everyone sighed then turned to Malachite,
"Ready to help us beat Skeleton King again?" asked Onyx, Malachite grinned.
"Oh yeah!"
Skeleton King walked into the lab where Mandarin was working and smirked at the captive albinos. They glared I return and he laughed,
"Do you realise you look as frightening as bunnies when you do that?" he asked, causing them to growl. "No matter, it won't bother you soon. In fact, nothing will bother you soon."
Otogi and Ryou gulped as they saw meters on the laser light up and start to rise, the laser started to vibrate and they felt themselves being drained.
"No..." gasped Otogi, pulling weakly against his bonds,
"Yes..." hissed Skeleton King in delight then he roared in dismay as a combined blast came from nowhere and hit the laser. It juddered before stopping. "What is this?" he cried, spinning around and facing the entire monkey team.
They glared at him,
"We won't let you do this!" cried Caitlyn,
"Oh no, you won't let me! I'll destroy you then you won't have a say!" and with that the battle began.
Formless creatures poured out of everywhere to aid their master in battling the monkey team, and it seemed very evenly-matched.
"Mandarin! Fix the laser!" ordered Skeleton King and Mandarin hopped to work, fingers nimbly running over any damages.
"The laser is ready!" he cried in record time, hitting the button and starting again. Suddenly a black blur shot over the panel where Ryou and Otogi was attached and took them with it, freeing them.
"no!" howled Mandarin in anger, following the blur with hatred in his eyes until it stopped and everyone gasped.
"Zaki!" cried Malachite happily, looking up at her. She beamed down at him,
"That's right!" she called, placing Ryou and Otogi down and swooping in. She kicked Skeleton King hard in the face and the battle resumed.
Mandarin watched frantically from the sidelines as the formless and Skeleton King were beaten, bruised and blown up by bazookas.
He turned to the panel to stop watching and noticed something, he smirked.
"My lord! The laser has enough to charge to destroy Shugazoom!" he cried gleefully. Skeleton King turned to him, panting and this news brought a renewed smirk to his face.
"Excellent, Mandarin. Fire it now! Then no one will stop me!" he crowed as Mandarin hit the launch button.
Everyone felt the energy from the laser push them back and they gawked.
"If that beam hits Shugazoom, it'll be obliterated!" cried Gibson.
"No!" screamed Ichigo, then time slowed down. Everyone watched as Ichigo flew towards the laser and out into the air. She flew into the space between the hole in the ceiling for the laser to go through and spread her limbs, like a shield.
"Ichigo!" cried Antauri,
"Mum, move!" cried Zakuro, eyes wide in horror.
"Please Ichi, move!" cried Onyx as he understood what she was doing.
"No" she replied calmly, everyone fell silent at it and she smiled at them. "Be good, including you Onyx" then her heart gem atop her forehead glowed and the beam hit her.
The force was so great, the sound waves forced the hole wider but Ichigo used her gem to absorb the laser beam's energy.
Zakuro finally understood what she was going to do,
"Everyone! Grab hold of me! NOW!" she grabbed as many as she could and they grabbed the person beside them. The next moment they looked, they were in Shugazoom Park.
"What..." Krystal started but a flash in the sky caught her attention. She looked up and saw a small speck glowing brighter and brighter, "oh no... Ichigo..."
They all watched as the Citadel exploded into a million pieces and some gaped at the amazing sight. Others fell to their knees, realising a friend was lost, and some bowed their heads in respect.
"M-Mum..." whispered Zakuro, starting to shake badly. She thought she was going to faint but she felt a pair of strong arms hold her and, when she looked up, she saw Malachite looking down at her. She gazed back and kissed him before burying her face into his fur and crying.
They all started to sob and Onyx looked away, fists clenched to stop himself from crying. It was when he turned his head he saw some fall down and land on the soft grass, he went over to it and what he saw made tears fall. He bent down and picked it up. He gazed down at the heart gem and little wings of Ichigo in his hands and started to sob.
"No..." he whispered, but he knew it was true.
"Now what?" asked Topaz in a hollow voice.
"We rebuild" said Otogi simply, "Ichi gave her life so we could live and we shouldn't waste that"
Everyone nodded and slowly things progressed.

And lo, I end! This is, unfortunately, the end of my writing for quite some time. What with A levels and a job to handle, I'm afraid I can't find time to write chapters so this is goodbye for a year and half! You can still see my OCs in Twister91's stories, and The One To Rule Them All's if she wants to, and I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing. It's been great writing for SRMTHG section and everyone has shown great support for my stories. I hope to write again once all my schooling is out of the way and hopefully write better than now! To all those thinking about writing, I suggest going for it! It's definitely a worthwhile experience.