Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
Given the exhausting events of the day, when it was proposed that the Ozu family reunion be pushed back until tomorrow, nobody disagreed. Given the lateness of the hour, Urara and Hikaru were more than happy to invite everyone to spend the night – 'everyone' including not just their immediate family, but the Bugrangers, Arachrangers, Victoriders, and everyone else who had rallied to their side that day, declaring that they were now honorary members of the family and welcome back anytime.
(Philia had been elated that meant she got to have a sleepover with Fuuka, and, after some prompting, apologized to Shin for being inconsiderate of his feelings, much to his relief.)
Great Cicadoid had wanted to come, but Apista had ordered him back to Hive City immediately so they could deprogram him of all the Soviet propaganda he had absorbed during his decades slumbering beneath Russia, much to his disappointment and everyone else's relief.
Cerberus had formally apologized to everyone for his actions and bent the knee to Sphinx, swearing fealty to his sister and acknowledging her as the true ruler of Infershia and handing over rulership of Tartarus to her. She then immediately gave it back to him, declaring that he would rule it in in her name, but made it clear that while she accepted his apology and appreciated he was taking responsibility for his mistakes, he was far from forgiven, and would be in the doghouse for quite some time.
(Rather literally, she was going to force him to sleep in a doghouse until they built him a new castle, which everyone agreed was fair.)
He would not have to resume his vigil over the pit all alone, thankfully. While Magiel herself had tested Ariel seal and declared it so strong that not even she could break it, just to be safe, she, the strongest Heavenly Saints, the rest of the Ozu family, and powerful magicians from all over the world cast spells to reinforce it just to be safe, with Apista generously donating a plethora of Hive technology and security to make the seal even stronger. A standing army composed of volunteers from Magitopia, Infershia, the Hive, and Aranea's new Hades Beast Spider minions were to stand guard and maintain the seal, because as they all knew, as far as things like this were concerned, you could never be too careful.
Nera burst into tears when she got to see the surface for the first time, was enraptured by the sky and the beauty of Magitopia, and swore that she would serve Aranea forever as thanks for this wonderful gift, and that she would never return to Infershia again.
(Cerberus had seemed disappointed by that for some reason.)
Nushi had made a full recovery thanks to Aranea's healing silk, much to Ariel's relief, though she was still pretty exhausted from her stint as Dark Red Ladybug, which nobody could fault her for. Ariel was pretty wiped herself on account of all the magic she'd burned through as Supreme White Butterfly, and the two of them might've gone straight to bed if they hadn't felt obligated to attend the victory celebration, and even then they only managed to last long enough to watch Mibojin single-handedly devour a cake at least half as big as she was before begging off for the evening and heading to Ariel's childhood bedroom to get some sleep.
(Nobody questioned the fact that they would be sharing the same bed. Hikaru and Urara knew better than to even joke about it, especially after everything their daughter had gone through.)
And yet, despite their advanced state of exhaustion, the two of them found themselves waking up in the middle of the night, and, sharing an impulse, they returned to the cove where Ariel had been abducted what felt like a lifetime ago, feeling there was something important they needed to take care of.
Nushi brought her sword down on a watermelon painted to look like the Earth, splitting it in two and causing watermelon juice and seeds to splatter everywhere. "There. I've done it," she said gravely, struggling not to burst into laughter. "I've broken the world. For you, my love!"
She kissed Ariel, who managed a straight face for only a millisecond before bursting into laughter, with Nushi not far behind. "How dreadful," she said, trying and failing to sound serious. "Our love has destroyed the world! What have we done, my love? How could we possibly have let our emotions get the better of us like this? So many dead, all because of us!"
Nushi picked up one half of the watermelon and took a bite out of it. "Tasty, though. 10 out of 10, would break the world again."
Ariel kissed her again, relishing the taste of watermelon on her lips. "Oh, totally. You're eating what's left of America, by the way."
"Really?" Nushi asked in feigned surprise. "Funny, I thought it would taste a lot fattier. And fried."
They both giggled in hysterics, and then Ariel picked up the other half of the watermelon and started eating it as well.
The two of them sat there in companionable silence as they ate the massive fruit, while the stars and the moon wheeled in the skies above them. (Rather literally, this was Magitopia after all.)
"Do you think that did the trick?" Nushi asked when they'd finally finished their midnight snack, face and pajamas covered in watermelon juice, lying contentedly on the beach and gazing up at the stars. "Do you think that fulfilled the prophecy?"
Ariel shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess."
"I guess so," Nushi agreed.
She glanced over at her lover, her white fur shimmering in the moonlight, her beautiful red hair glistening with stardust. The soft light of the night sky seemed to embrace her, enveloping her in its serene radiance, caressing her with transcendental love and adoration. Nushi couldn't blame it. She worshiped Ariel with equal fervor every time she looked at her.
The Magitopians and Aranea both had a lot to say about fate and prophecy, a lot of which went over Nushi's head, some of it she wasn't entirely comfortable with. But she knew without a fact that when she looked into Ariel's eyes, she saw her ironclad destiny looking back at her. This woman was her future, and she didn't need an all-knowing magical book or a gifted Oracle to tell her that.
"Destiny isn't the universe pushing you into a predetermined place and forcing you to make a single choice with no alternative, you know," Ariel said, as if reading her mind, which she totally was. "It's everything that is or was or ever will be guiding your path, shaping your growth, so that when the time comes the decision you make isn't the only one you could make not because there are no alternatives… But because it's the only one you would make, no matter how many times it were offered to you, because that's who you are. Who you're supposed to be. Because to do otherwise would be to betray yourself."
She glanced over to Nushi, smiling at her gently. "We could easily have broken up at any point after learning about the prophecy, and we didn't. I didn't, of course, because I've grown up on too many stories to believe we could weasel out of it that easily, but you didn't either. Even though you considered it once or twice. And why is that?"
"Because I want you," Nushi replied instantly. "Because you're the one I would choose, over and over again. Because when I look at you, I see the future. I see the world we will create, a world of wonder and hope and love beyond measure. Because, despite the risk, despite this prophecy… I can't imagine a life that doesn't have you in it."
Ariel giggled, and the stars seemed to twinkle that much brighter for it. "Neither can I! Which is why you need to hurry up and become immortal already, so we can be together forever for real!" She smirked. "But don't worry if you can't, I'll just figure out a way to do it for you! Can't be that hard, right?"
Nushi didn't respond. Ariel frowned. "Lovebug?"
"Sorry, it's just… Today is the first time I really realized… You're a God, Ariel," Nushi said slowly.
Ariel gave her a puzzled look. "Yes? Well, sort of an Angel/demigod sort of thing with potential for growth in the future, but pretty much, yeah. You already knew that."
"Well yes, I knew it, but today is the first time I really realized it," Nushi emphasized. "Seeing you in your Supreme form, the kind of magic you were able to toss around, how you were able to make reality band to your will so casually…"
"I was only capable of doing that much because of the power boost from my transformation," Ariel pointed out. "I'm nowhere near strong enough to do that kind of thing on my own."
"Yet," Nushi countered.
"Yet," Ariel conceded. "When I'm older, I'll be able to do that kind of thing all the time. Even more than that, really. What you saw today was sort of a sneak peek of my full potential."
"It was pretty humbling," Nushi said softly.
"Hey, don't dismiss your own efforts!" Ariel was quick to assert. "I'm already capable of doing this kind of stuff because I was born magic. But you? You started out as a baseline human, and have become as strong as you are now through constant self-improvement, which I have to say, might be even more impressive! And don't forget, the stuff you could do as Dark Red Ladybug was nothing to sneeze at, either! Especially since it's apparently just a fraction of what you'll really be capable of once you truly master your Super form without corruption. You may become stronger than all of us put together!"
Nushi made a face, glancing at Coccinella, who still had traces of purple and black in her body, glowing sigils barely visible beneath her semitransparent parts. "We need a way to get rid of the dark magic inside Coccinella, first. Not sure how we'll manage that. Magiel didn't have a clue, and neither does anyone in the Hive. This sort of combination, of Infershian dark magic and alien super science, it's unprecedented. Nobody knows how to fix it."
"We'll figure something out," Ariel assured her. "The two of us, together. After all, like the prophecy says, when the messiahs of magic and science collaborate, miracles will occur, right?"
Nushi smiled at that. "Right."
"Nushi, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened," Coccinella told her partner. "Remember, I wanted this too. We chose this, together. And we would choose it again, to save the ones we love."
"Oh, lovebug," Lepidoptera gushed, wings fluttering.
"The only choice we would make, because that's who we are," Nushi murmured. "Was this destiny, too?"
Ariel shrugged. "Maybe. And given how things worked out for the better, I'm not complaining."
Nushi shook her head. "No. Neither am I."
"Are you… Afraid of that power? Of what you became?" Ariel asked.
Nushi considered this for a moment. "… No. That person I became… She's me. Not my dark side or some separate personality, just… Me. Stripped of my heart and feelings, but still me. To fear her is to fear myself. I, she, we're… In that state, we are a weapon. A tool. A powerful, dangerous one perhaps, but then again, aren't they all? And while in that form I'm incapable of… Of loving you, or any of the others, I also know that while I wouldn't go out of the way to save you unless it fulfilled whatever need drove me to transform in the first place, I also wouldn't go out of my way to hurt you either."
"Which is very good to know," Ariel pointed out. "Lots of dark and berserk forms aren't that… Well, nice isn't the right word here. Discerning? Indifferent?"
"The downside is that if any of you were to ever become a perceived threat to my mission in that state, I wouldn't hesitate to cut you down," Nushi continued, brow creased in worry. "Ariel… Please. You must promise me that if, when I become Dark Red Ladybug again, you'll stay out of my way. You won't interfere. Because if I should be responsible for hurting you, I…"
"I'm a big girl, lovebug," Ariel said gently, laying her hand over Nushi's and sending shivers of delight down her spine. "I can handle myself. My abduction and brainwashing today notwithstanding."
"Ariel-" Nushi pressed.
"I won't interfere because I'll be helping you," Ariel continued. "Because anything that would force you to use that form can't possibly be bad, because you're you, and I trust your heart more than just about anyone I know." She smiled. "Which means you wouldn't hurt me, because I'll be helping to fulfill your mission! Pretty simple, right?"
Nushi stared for a moment, shocked, then burst into laughter. "You do have a way of simplifying things, my love. Very well. So long as you don't mind working alongside a version of myself that can't return your feelings from time to time, I'd be more than happy to have you at my side."
"You will never be rid of me, Nushi," Ariel said with such conviction it was practically a law of physics, and Nushi realized that this, too, was destiny. "Never, ever."
"Which is why I will become immortal, so that I may never leave your side," Nushi promised. "You and Aranea both have grand magical destinies which will take you to godhood and beyond. It's already a part of you, a birthright granted by the universe itself. But I…"
She clenched her fist and put it over her heart. "I… Will transcend humanity by my own hands, using the power of science. And I will leave behind a path so that others may follow, if they choose to. To create a glorious future, a new world for everyone. And we'll do it together, you, me…"
"And Aranea?" Ariel teased.
"But of course!" Nushi said without the slightest hesitation. "She's already made a such a generous offer, it would be rude to refuse."
"We don't have to, if you don't want to," Ariel pointed out, suddenly serious. "What she's offering us, the power, the responsibility, it's… A lot. Even if it is destiny, like she thinks it is, it's… A little scary, you know?"
"Do you love her?" Nushi asked abruptly.
"I'm getting there," Ariel admitted.
"I think I am too," Nushi confessed. "Enough to become what she's asking of us? Well…"
She shrugged, unbothered. "I don't think we're in any rush to make up our minds. The two of you are going to live a very long time, and so will I, once I've furthered my own evolution."
Ariel nodded. "We have plenty of time to decide. And until then…"
"Until then…" Nushi murmured back.
Ariel cuddled up next to her. "Until then, we have each other. And that's enough."
"That's enough," Nushi agreed.
And together, they gazed at the stars, and the infinite promise they offered.
And, from the shadows, Aranea gazed at the couple.
"You could join them, you know," Arachne said quietly from her wrist. "They would be more than happy to welcome you."
"I know," Aranea said, making no attempt to step into the moonlight. "But after everything they've been through today, the two of them deserve this moment to themselves, to reaffirm their love. They had an unbreakable bond long before I entered the picture, after all, and while I hope that one day our own bond will be that strong… Well. I'm not going to force it. It will happen at its own pace. Trying to rush things won't benefit anyone. We have time."
"Perhaps," Arachne conceded. "Are you going to tell them that that little stunt with the watermelon didn't accomplish anything? That the prophecy has not yet been fulfilled?"
"Tomorrow," Aranea resolved. "They need to know, but not this second. Let them be happy. They've more than earned it."
"And what about you?" Arachne asked. "What do you think you've earned? Don't you think you deserve a little happiness too?"
"But I am happy," Aranea assured her, taking out and admiring the piece of the Loom. "I'm in love, and have completed the first stage in fulfilling my destiny. What more could I possibly want?"
"What more indeed," Arachne murmured, regarding her partner in concern as Aranea turned away from the bauble, once again wistfully staring at the lovers as they glowed beautifully beneath the pale moonlight.
Maura couldn't see anything. It was far too dark for that.
She couldn't move. The chains binding her had no give whatsoever, and her current lead body was so heavy she wasn't sure she'd be able to move it very well anyway.
She could hear, though. Massive, horrible things shambled and slithered in the darkness around her, creatures so immense they dwarfed mountains, and she knew the only reason they did not utterly destroy her was because she was so small, so insignificant, so utterly beneath their notice they neither knew nor cared that she was there.
She wasn't particularly concerned, though. She didn't intend to be there for much longer.
Maura smirked. Ariel may have thought she'd closed up every avenue for escape, but she couldn't possibly have accounted for every contingency.
She bit one of her teeth, the hollow bicuspid cracking and wobbling in her gum. She prodded it with her tongue, gradually worrying it free from its setting, then spat it out through a gap in the chains, the tooth clinking as it hit the ground and broke, exposing the tiny seed hidden within.
The seed glowed a faint green and sunk into the earth. Maura stared at it, waiting patiently.
Several minutes later – far longer than it should have taken, but then again, this was a place without light, and probably very poor soil – Floragel burst out of the ground, gasping for breath.
The fallen Saint patted herself down, checking to make sure that her original body had been fully restored, then cackled triumphantly. "Yes! It worked!"
Something in the darkness moaned.
Floragel tensed, then more quietly whispered, "Yes! It worked!" She frowned. "Except…"
She pressed a hand to her chest. It felt… Hollow.
She glanced back at the immobile lead form found in magical chains and cursed, realizing her soul was still trapped inside. Her attempt to escape from that metal carcass had failed…
Or had it?
Now that she thought about it, this might actually work to her advantage. Those chains were unbreakable, meaning nothing would be able to harm her true body so long as it was bound in them, meaning it would serve as a perfect phylactery. If her current regenerated body died, her consciousness would simply return to Maura's husk and she could try again.
That meant she could explore the abyss to her leisure, unafraid of death, since no matter what happened, she could just start over. She could take as much time and as many risks as she needed to find a way out. She'd need to find a way to get her original body out of the pit eventually, of course – she really didn't want to have to wind up all the way back here every time she died– but this was certainly a start, and far more of a chance than she had expected.
She quickly grew several more seeds containing her DNA and stuffed them into Maura's mouth to keep them safe, then released bioluminescent pollen from the blossom on her head, allowing her to see what was around her a little better.
She heard something grunt off in the distance. She tensed, mentally lowering the brightness of the pollen, and relaxed after several minutes passed and nothing happened.
"Okay, just because I have a potentially infinite number of do-overs doesn't mean I can't be too careful-"
A dark figure stepped into the light.
Floragel recoiled, then blinked in confusion when she realized it was a Hades Beast Fungus, although its coloration was more sinister than she remembered, purplish black, and there were worms – no, centipedes – wriggling through its skin. "A Fungus?" She murmured. "Down here? A regional variant? But… No, that doesn't make sense. You must've found your way down here somehow…"
Her eyes lit up. "And if you found a way down… Then maybe there's a way back up!" She pointed at the monster. "You! Take me to whatever passage you used to get here from Infershia! And…" She paused, glancing over her shoulder at the bound form of Maura. "Carry that statue over there with you while you're at it, it's too important to leave down here."
The Fungus stared at her. Floragel frowned. "Did you hear me? I said-"
The Fungus sprayed spores in her face.
Floragel gagged, choking on the spores, and to her astonishment, the Fungus chuckled. "Now why would I do that… After all the effort I went to to get down here in the first place?"
Floragel stared at the monster in astonishment. Did it just talk?! That was impossible! Hades Beasts didn't have the intelligence to speak! "What the… What are you?!"
The Beast grinned at her. "Oh? Could it be? Have you never heard of Queen Parasitica, the future ruler of your world?"
Floragel stared at her blankly. Something was wrong, she didn't feel right, it was like something was clogging her lungs, crawling through her skin. "Who?"
The Fungus's eye twitched. "Parasitica? Leader of the Swarm? Nemesis of the Bugrangers?"
"Oh! You're… Ariel's enemy!" Floragel realized.
Her head was swimming. She felt like she was wilting, her body rotting away from within. What was this? What was happening to her?
"I am everyone's enemy, little one," Parasitica leered. "I'm very cross at you, you know. I was going to launch an attack today, only to learn that you had kidnapped one of my enemies and they were too busy trying to save her to deal with me. What's worse, I was actually forced to briefly team up with them! Although, I suppose it wasn't all bad… After all, it provided me with just the opportunity I'd been waiting for!"
Several hours earlier…
"You know," Parasitica called from atop a nearby building, where she had parked Pure Weevil and her Funghouls to stay out of the way. "If you just let me spread a little fungus, I could probably call in a Fungigas or two to help. Or hell, just let me infect a few of these beasts, I'd have them under my control in no time!"
"NO DEAL!" Everyone yelled at her.
Pure Weevil shrugged. "Your loss."
The despot yelped as a new monster suddenly materialized next to her skyscraper, a Hades Beast Fungus. She narrowed her eyes, intrigued. "Well now… That gives me an idea…" She muttered.
She grabbed one of the Funghouls and threw it at the giant beast. The Funghoul splattered upon impact with the giant Fungus, then sank into its skin, causing a small patch of cosmic fungus to form. The Hades Beast paused, scratched the slowly spreading patch, and continued on its way.
"Mom, what are you doing?" A confused Vespi asked. "We promised we weren't going to do anything bad!"
"No, I promised not to doublecross anyone, steal the love destroying MacGuffin infect anyone or try to spread my influence on Earth, or prevent them from rescuing Ariel," Parasitica pointed out. "I have no intention of betraying the Bugrangers – this time – and a giant fungus monster doesn't really count as a person. There is simply something I want to try, and this may be the opportunity I've been waiting for."
She knew that the dark power she was looking for, the evil force the Great Divine Insects feared, was hidden deep beneath the Earth, and from what she'd managed to glean from the Bugrangers when they thought she wasn't listening, there might be a connection between the underworld of Infershia and the evil force. The surface world was currently being invaded by monsters from Infershia, so if she managed to infect one and find a way to send it back, she might be able to get closer to what she sought.
She had intended to parasitize the Fungus and have it jump into one of the portals to the underworld the next time a new monster came through, in hopes that it would be able to make it back without some sort of horrible teleportation accident, and she would see what happened from there. She had not expected Ariel to achieve her Super form and transport all the monsters back to Infershia, and while that was a bit of a frustrating setback – she'd lost so many planets! – After she'd recovered from the feedback of losing so many worlds and her Fungal Beast getting incinerated by the sun, she immediately had the infected Fungus expel the corruption in the form of a regular sized Fungus so as not to leave any trace of her tampering and had her new puppet jump into the chasm before Ariel could seal it, sensing the object of her search was at the bottom.
And now here she was, and not only was she closer to a power that could defeat the Bugrangers than she had ever thought possible, she had another, most unexpected prize as well.
"My corruption is already overtaking you," she told Floragel smugly, relishing at the terror in her face as the fallen Saint desperately tried to tear off the cosmic fungus growing all over her body, but it was all for naught, for the rot had already set into her core, and there was no removing it now. "And once it is complete, and you are completely and utterly mine… I will know everything you know about magic…
"And about this fascinating door I've discovered not too far from here…"