Hey, everyone! It's been ten months of adventures, but we've finally reached a major milestone; Twenty chapters of Earth-Ni Protectors! To celebrate this momentous occasion, delve right into this exciting chapter, which features a reunion you've been waiting to see for over a year!


"MAROON AND THE EARTH-NI PROTECTORS!"

BOOK THREE: RESURGENCE

CHAPTER THREE: RAID THE CAVE AGAIN


What are the forces of evil, without an evil lair? After all, every good villain needs a place to plan their schemes, whether it's a foreboding castle, a high-tech undersea lair, or a colossal space station with a planet-destroying laser. But if one can't afford those upscale locales, a cheap and easy place for a base is a dark, ominous cave.

After finding his half of the Butterfly wand, the now-reformed evildoer Ludo Avarius used such a cave as his lair. Once he left, it became nothing more than a hangout spot for rebellious monster teens. Furthermore, after the Cleaving, it fell into a state of abandonment, until the rise of Cobalt Watch.

Ludo's former lair became the hideout of the Watch's American division, and was hastily remodeled to fit the militia's needs. While they once had a formidable fighting force for conquering the cleaved city, things went south when the Earth-Ni Protectors foiled their attack on the mall...

"Bad news, sir! Paladin's legion was defeated!"

"Defeated? By who?"

"The Earth-Ni Protectors!"

Word had just gotten out of Paladin's defeat at the base, and that meant trouble for the terrible terrorists. The troopers that attacked the mall were the majority of the division's forces; Only a meager number of men remained.

"You mean those freaks in Halloween costumes?" One of the other soldiers rhetorically asked. "I think we can handle them."

"The Protectors are why people here actually like deviants. To them, we're the bad guys!" A neurotic watchman replied.

"Most of our troops were captured; What we need is backup. More men, more guns, dare I say, even the Dragonfly."

"That won't be necessary." Boomed a deep, reverberating voice. Standing proud at the mouth of the cave was a figure clad in high-tech armor, which was colored a rich cobalt blue. His head was completely concealed by a metallic helmet, with aggressive-looking lenses that glowed bright in the darkness. His imposing attire was topped with a billowy indigo cape, which furthered his imperial appearance. This was no ordinary enemy; It was Commander Cobalt himself, the leader and founder of Cobalt Watch.

"C-Commander!" All the troopers in the room took a knee, and bowed to their superior. Since the Cleaving, Oberon Capers built a mythical reputation as humanity's bold and courageous savior from the Deviants. What's more, he spent a year alone in the wilds of Mewni, and lived to tell the tale.

"At ease, soldiers." Oberon spoke, and his subordinates followed. The armored commander stepped deeper into the conquered cave, and he was followed by his personal twenty-man legion. "Today, we have suffered a great defeat." He continued, unnerving the remaining troopers.

"Commander, it was-" One of them protested, when the commander cut him off.

"But that does not define us. This is the epicenter of the Cleaving, and the people here have lost their way. Because of the so-called "Earth-Ni Protectors," they fail to see the true heroes in this world. We've fought hard against deviant hordes all across the world, and this is our biggest battle yet; But we are noble watchmen, with the power, the valor, and the courage to win this war between worlds!"

"LONG LIVE COMMANDER COBALT! LONG LIVE COBALT WATCH!" The troopers all erupted in applause at Oberon's rousing speech, and cheers for Cobalt Watch kept echoing through the cavernous lair. The Paladin may have been defeated, but a far deadlier foe had taken her place...


Speaking of Paladin, what became of her after the battle at the mall? Currently, she was handcuffed to a chair in the Echo Creek police station's dimly lit interrogation room; She was held here all evening, and hadn't given a single word of intel on the Watch. So, the police called in a certain masked Protector to give them some help...

"Spit it out, Prudence. The sooner you tell us where the Watch's base is, the sooner we can be done." Maroon spoke in his deep, digitally altered voice, while menacingly pacing back and forth.

"The cops already asked, but I wouldn't crack. You won't get a word out of me." Even without her armor, Prudence Goode's mental fortitude was truly tough to break. Already annoyed by the fiendish fundamentalist, Austin activated one of his wrist-mounted blades, and pointed it towards her face.

"Talk. Now."

"Oh, drop the act, kid. We both know you're too much of a Boy Scout to go through with it." Paladin mockingly retorted. She had a point; Austin had a rule against killing, and he intended to keep it; No matter how infuriating his enemies may be.

"I actually liked you when you worked alone, back before all this "Earth-Ni" nonsense. Now, this town is a den of sin. Demons, monsters and pagans living among us; I missed the days when it was just Pokémon and heavy metal."

"I protect everyone. No exceptions."

"Not everyone's worth protecting, boy." At this point, Austin got up, and headed towards the door; He'd had more than enough of the mad crusader's vitriolic retorts.

"I'd like to speak to the good cop, now." Prudence smugly scoffed. Just as Maroon was about to leave, he turned his head back, and gave the villainess his closing remarks.

"I was the good cop." Once Austin closed the door, a sinister snicker unnerved the captive crusader. A pair of glowing green eyes illuminated the dark, and out of the shadows stepped Eclipsa's occultist apprentice, the one and only Janna Ordonia.

"The witch..." Prudence muttered, as dark magic emanated through Janna's Kali sticks.

"Hello to you too, crazy lady. You hurt my hot demon boyfriend, and that's not cool. So now, it's payback time..."


The other Protectors were gathered in the station's lobby, and could hear the Paladin's terrified screams from all the way across the building. Whatever Janna was doing to that vile villain, it wasn't pretty.

"Wow, I almost feel sorry for her." Marco unnervingly remarked.

"What's that lady's deal, anyways?" Kelly wondered. As the newest Protector, she had a lot of questions about the team, especially the "who's who" regarding their many enemies.

"Well, she led a gang of demon hunters to try and kill my entire race, so she's pretty horrible." Tom replied.

"Before that, she was part of some angry internet group. A Billion Aunts, or something." Star nonchalantly added. Eventually, the screaming stopped, and the room went eerily quiet. A couple minutes passed, then Janna quietly sauntered into the lobby.

"Geez, what did you do to her? Marco apprehensively asked.

"Read her mind. Oh, and some other stuff, too. The less you know, the better." Janna retorted, making her lovestruck boyfriend grin. Even without dark magic powers, Tom found Janna rather terrifying, and he loved it.

Kelly peered down the hall, and caught a glimpse of Paladin; She was curled up in a ball on the floor, her breaths shaky and her eyes wide open. "We're lucky she's on our side." The Woolett commented.

"So, where's the base?" Star inquired.

"Some creepy old monster cave. Hold on, lemme pull it up." Janna held her Kali sticks in front of her, and closed her eyes.

"I summon the All-Seeing Eye, to tear a hole into the sky. Reveal to me that which is hidden, reveal to me what is forbidden."

Lo and behold, the All-Seeing Eye spell manifested in the air, and showed the location of the Cobalt Watch stronghold; A place that looked strangely familiar to Star, until the memories came flooding back.

"Hey, I know that place! That was Ludo's old lair!"

"Still know where it is?" Austin questioned. Truth be told, Star didn't know where the cave went, after the Cleaving scrambled Mewni's geography. Luckily, Marco had the answer.

"I do. I've seen it from above while dragon-cycling."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's kick some bad guy butt!" Kelly exclaimed.


Under the cover of nightfall, the Protectors headed to the cavern of Cobalt Watch. To avoid attracting attention, their mode of transport was a nondescript car driven by a plainclothes policeman. Austin sat in the co-pilot's seat; In the passenger row, Marco was squished between Star and Kelly, which was quite the compromising position. In the way back, Tom and Janna hung out in their secluded seating, as they awaited the coming mission...

"So, Kelly. You must be nervous about your first mission." Austin uttered.

"I'm really not."

"I fought the Watch on my first mission; They're dangerous, but-"

"I've battled way worse than goons with guns, dude. I got this."

"Oh, right, sorry. But if you have any questions about this job, feel free to ask."

"I do have a question; What's their leader like?" Kelly asked, causing her new friend to freeze in place. The truth about the Watch's leader was something Austin wished he never knew, yet it changed his life for the better.

"He's a hateful man clad in high-tech armor. Calls himself Commander Cobalt."

"He tried to kill Star, and start a war between Earth and Mewni." Marco added.

"Also, he kidnapped me and forced me to teach him how to brainwash people." Janna curtly admitted. These tidbits of info horrified Kelly; The Commander was certainly a reprehensible fellow, and that was putting it lightly.

"And worst of all..." Star solemnly sighed. "He's Au-"

"-An extremely dangerous person. Be cautious when fighting him, and don't believe a word he says." Austin interrupted. Truth be told, the true identity of his father was a closely guarded secret. He hadn't told Sabrina when they were dating, and Tom only knew who Oberon was because of Janna.

"Got it. Don't worry, Commander Clunkhead won't know what hit him." Kelly confidently boasted. Austin sighed, and turned his head towards Star, who gave him a knowing look. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to face his father again...


Eventually, the vehicle stopped outside an abandoned cornfield, full of withered husks and wilted stalks. This was as far as they could be taken without attracting the attention of the Watch.

"Thanks for the ride." Marco acknowledged.

"No problem, Martial Boy. Good luck to all of you, especially the new girl."

"I have a name, ma'am! It's Wooly War-" The car then took off, causing Kelly to breathe in the dust and cough. As their ride drove away, the six teen heroes prepared to take on their foes.

"Star, scout out the area. See if you can find the base." Austin ordered. Star activated her wing-pack, and swiftly yet silently floated up in the air. From her high vantage point, she could see Ludo's former lair, which had changed drastically since the Watch's invasion. What used to be just a hollowed-out tree was now surrounded by tents, makeshift guard towers, and various vans and motorcycles parked around the area. What's more, the whole area was blocked off with a barbed wire fence.

"There are guards outside, and there's no cover; If we just charge in, we'll get gunned down." Star informed, as she descended back to the ground.

"We need a distraction. Any ideas?" Tom queried. The six heroes stopped to think, when Marco had a sudden epiphany.

"Well, there's someone we know who'd make an excellent decoy..."


At the entrance of the cavernous fortress, a pair of armed guards kept their heads on a swivel, to spot any would-be intruders. Now that everyone knew of their resurgence, the Watch was expecting retaliation for the attack on the mall. Oh, were they in for a surprise...

"What's that in the sky?" One of the guards wondered, as he pointed to three small, unidentified entities floating around in the air. As they got closer, the guards began to worry.

"Are those drones?"

"Worse..."

Lo and behold, the fort was invaded by who but Princess Lilacia Pony Head, and two of her sisters. The three floating unicorn heads snapped pictures and videos of the troopers, while harassing them with plenty of taunts.

"Pony Heads! We gotta kill them on sight!" The two guards fired their assault rifles at the trio, but they easily dodged the bullets with their swift flight maneuvers. A man in a guard tower pulled out a rocket launcher, and locked onto his target.

"Say goodnight, Horsehead." Before the trooper could pull the trigger, he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and gasped when he saw the mewman heroine Lady Butterfly, who promptly punched him off the tower.

While the guards were distracted by the ponies' diversion, the other Protectors all leapt out from the shadows, and used their various powers and skills to take down the rest of the troopers. Marco used his karate moves, Maroon used his crime-fighting gadgets, and Janna even created a "Tarantula Tornado," which is just as horrifying as it sounds. Once the bad guys were all incapacitated, Star tied them together with a bola arrow.

"Thanks for helping us on such short notice." Star thanked her floating friends.

"No problem, B-Fly! It's the least I could do since y'all came on my show." Pony Head retorted. Austin, Janna and Marco all shuddered; That experience was one they desperately wanted to forget.

"Anyway, good luck beating up those Corn-Cob Watch jerks!" PH and her sisters then flew off into the night sky, but not before one last parting word. "Also, welcome back, Kelly!" Now that the ponies were gone, it was time to raid the cave again...


In the main chamber of the Cobalt Watch base, a dozen guards were going about their regular routines. Some were fixing their weapons, others were sparring with stun-batons, and a few were even drinking shots of liquor as they shared war stories. However, the troopers' grace period came to an end, when three strange arrows suddenly plunged into the earthen floor. The specialized arrowheads then detonated into bright flashes of light, temporarily blinding the troopers.

As the disoriented henchmen stumbled around, the six superheroes charged into the cave guns blazing. While the watchmen wielded weapons like guns, grenades and electrified batons, they were no match for foes with demonic powers, dark magic, high-tech weapons, or years of combat experience. After a curb-stomp of a battle, Kelly struck the last trooper down with her prized ancestral sword, then grinned in satisfaction.

"That's what you get when you mess with the Kellster." Kelly playfully bragged.

"You're doing good, rookie, but the fight's not over yet." Austin retorted, and gestured to three winding hallways at the end of the room. "We need to split up. Tom and Kelly, head down the left hallway. Marco and Janna, take the right. Star, you're with me." The other heroes agreeably acknowledged their leader's commands, then divided up to conquer Cobalt Watch...


The two monster members of the Earth-Ni Protectors hurried down the west hallway, until they reached its end point; The fortress's armory. Here, all the regiment's weapons were stored; Their guns, knives, bullets, batons, the works. Also present was a crudely assembled target range, with hole-riddled targets shaped like people and various monster species. However, the troopers inside had some fresh new targets to shoot; Kelly and Tom.

"Shoot the intruders!" The watchmen fired their rifles and pistols towards the pair of heroes, but Tom summoned a pillar of solid earth from the ground, which he and Kelly took cover behind.

"This is perfect!" Tom excitedly explained, bewildering his Woolett ally.

"We're being shot at!"

"And there's no one around but us. I can finally LET LOOSE!" The Violet Devil's eyes turned blood red, and he tightly clenched his fists. Mere moments later, the ground in the center crumbled, and a huge geyser of demonic flame erupted like a volcano, knocking some of the troopers away. He then made an igneous rock pillar where Kelly stood, launching her into the air. The Wooly Warrior let out a war cry, and raised her sword to take down her evil enemies.

While Tom terrorized some troopers with his pyrokinetic powers, Kelly was locked in intense melee combat with six watchmen at once. They wielded various close range weapons, from the standard stun-baton to combat hatchets and curved khukri blades. Six opponents was overwhelming for even a master sword-wielder like Kelly, so she pulled a smaller second sword out of her hair, to make things more even. But dual-wielding wasn't enough for her to win this fight; She needed an extra edge.

"Tom!" Kelly cried out, alerting her three-eyed teammate. "Light me up!"

"You got it!" Tom held out his hand and launched a searing-hot plume of fire, and Kelly crossed her swords together in an "X" position. The demon prince's flames lit the blades ablaze, and Kelly swung the fiery weapons around wildly, slicing through her opponents' weapons like they were butter.

"Face my fiery wrath, evildoers!" Kelly shouted, as she lunged towards the baddies with her burning swords. Not wanting to be burned or dismembered, the weak-willed watchmen surrendered to the hairy-headed heroine. Tom then summoned a dark metal cage from the fiery depths below, trapped the troopers inside, and sent them back to the Underworld to face their judgement...


Meanwhile in the barracks' bunks, a group of troopers were armoring up to face the fortress's invaders.

"We're under attack! Be on high alert, everyone! You never know when-"

"GOTH MOTHS!"

All of a sudden, a flurrying flock of black, fanged moths with skull-patterned wings swarmed the bunks and attacked the watchmen with their painful bites. As soon as they disappeared, Janna charged into the room, with Marco following close behind.

Marco tripped one of the troopers with a sweeping kick, then disarmed another goon with a quick chop to the wrist. He took the watchman down with a series of swift jabs to his pressure points, but was nearly struck by another one's electrified baton. So, Martial Boy equipped out his sleek custom sword, and dueled it out against the lout.

On the other hand, Janna quickly took down a trio of troopers by rapid-firing green energy blasts from the Kali sticks that channeled her magical powers. Once her foes were down, she watched Marco defeat the baton-wielding watchman. But unbeknownst to Marco, a knife-wielding soldier was about to stab him in the back! Janna couldn't let her friend die at that masked menace's hands, so she quickly cast one of her favorite spells.

"BABY MARCO WITH WHEELS FOR HANDS!"

Both Marco and his would-be stabber froze in place, as a baby version of Marco with wheeled hands appeared out of thin air. The motorized tyke zipped towards the trooper, and dug into his ankle with the fangs he inexplicably possessed. The watchman cried out in pain, and screamed as the little ankle-biter dragged him out of the room to do who-knows-what.

"That's how it's done, Diaz." Janna playfully remarked, as she proudly placed her hands on her hips.

"You know that spell creeps me out."

"That's why it's my favorite." The macabre mage retorted. While Marco valued his odd but endearing friendship with Janna, he couldn't help but feel unnerved by her spooky spells...


While the other two groups were fighting hordes of watchmen, Maroon and Lady Butterfly quickly headed down the central hallway, but suddenly stopped in their tracks when they saw what lied ahead.

Standing alone in a room full of large monitors, high-tech computers, and engineering equipment was a caped figure clad in cutting-edge armor. As he silently observed videos taken at the various cleaved regions of Earth-Ni, the two heroes were frozen in place, unsure how to act. Although his armor looked different, they both knew who this man was; Oberon Capers, the dreaded Commander Cobalt.

Star took a deep breath, and drew her bow to attack. But before she could, Cobalt quickly turned around, and fired a bolt of blue energy from a blaster mounted on his wrist. Austin quickly tackled his mewman friend to the ground, and they both narrowly avoided the commander's attack. The heroes quickly got up, and prepared to face down their sinister armored foe.

Oberon's next move was one that surprised both Protectors; He placed his index finger on the side of his helmet, causing its faceplate to split vertically and fold back. Now, his true face was revealed. He looked worse for the wear; His hair grew long, as did his beard. An intense scowl befell his face, which was marred by a grisly scar scrawled across his right cheek. The callous commander's lips suddenly moved, as he spoke to his son for the first time in over a year...

"Austin...my son..."

Although his helmet concealed his face, Austin was terrified. The last experience with his father was a climactic duel aboard the bridge of the Dauntless, a fight he lost in a most gruesome way. After that, hoped he'd never have to face Oberon again, but that was wishful thinking; Commander Cobalt had returned stronger than ever, meaning Maroon would have to face his deadliest demon...

"You've come a long way since I last saw you, boy. But your true calling isn't with those pitiful deviants. Your destiny lies with me."

The crimson vigilante wanted to retaliate, but couldn't muster the strength. His hands were trembling, his breaths were ragged and shallow, and his heart raced as he broke out into a cold sweat. Beneath his imposing mask of metal, Austin felt like a scared child at heart, one who feared his hateful and abusive father.

Star, however, had no such apprehension. She quickly placed an arrow with a rainbow fist-shaped head in her bow, and fired it right towards Oberon's head; But to her abject horror, he caught the projectile with his armored gauntlet, and snapped it like a twig.

"BUTTERFLY!" Cobalt shouted, as he fired a flurry of wrist-blasts at the golden-haired heroine. Using her lightweight wing-pack, Star avoided the attacks with swift aerial dodges.

"That's Lady Butterfly to you!" Star launched three arrows at once, but Oberon snapped his fingers, and a sixteen-inch metal blade tipped with blue plasma jutted from his gauntlet. He used said blade to slice through her arrows with ease. The commander then activated the built-in jet thrusters located in the back and boots of his suit, and flew towards his mewman foe with murderous intent.

"It was you who caused the dimensions to merge! The blood of countless innocents is on your hands!" Oberon swung his blades towards Star, but she continued to duck, dip and dodge to avoid being cut to pieces. The armored commander was about to land a fatal slash on the girl, when his helmet was hit by a blast of red energy. The villain turned his head, and saw the smoking wrist-blaster of his vigilante son.

"That's my tech." Austin snarled, with vitriolic venom in his voice. With the new helmet, billowing cape, and modified utility bracelets, he could tell his father's new armor imitated his suit's likeness, and not in a good way.

"And it's quite impressive. You're wasting your potential with those Earth-Ni menaces!" Oberon shouted, and fired another shot towards Star. This time, it hit her wing-pack, causing it to malfunction. Star yelped in pain, as she plummeted to the ground.

"STAR!" The teen engineer cried out. Infuriated, he fired up his rocket boots and lunged towards Cobalt with his wrist-blades drawn. The Red Protector swung both blades at his foe, who blocked them with his similar weapons. At long last, the rematch between father and son had finally begun.

"You have the potential to save humanity, but you waste it fighting for deviant scum!" Oberon scathingly remarked, as he blocked his son's rapid, unending strikes.

"You're the scum!" Maroon tried to strike Cobalt's jetpack with his wrist-blades, but the armored commander kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. As he crashed into a nearby wall, the villain stood tall over his battered son.

"Come to your senses, son! Reject your pathetic team, and join us to bring peace and stability to the Earth!"

"I am NOT your SON!" Austin snapped in a strained tone. Enraged by the outburst, Oberon coldly raised his wrist-blaster towards Austin, and stared him down.

"You'll learn to respect me..." Before Oberon could punish his insolent child, his chest was struck by an electrified arrow, which stunned him and disabled his suit's weaponry. Propelled by her sparking, damaged wing-pack, Star tackled Oberon into the base's control panel, and began whaling on him with her bow, which was collapsed into a melee bo-staff function.

"You monster! How could you do that to your own son?" Star shouted, as she continued hitting the callous commander. He tried to fight back, but without his gadgets, Star was the superior physical fighter. Using her enhanced Johansen strength, she drove the staff into Cobalt's chest plate, in an attempt to deactivate his armor. In these conditions, Oberon was surely done for. So, the villain quickly reached for his last resort; A large red button on the edge of the control panel.

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. EXPLOSION EMINENT IN THREE MINUTES."

Both heroes recoiled in horror when they heard the automated warning. Star rushed towards Austin, who had just gotten up from the fight with his father.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" The former princess exclaimed. The pair of heroes hurried out of the Commander's domain, while Oberon plucked the electric arrow out of his armor. The Commander wasn't finished with his enemies just yet...


Back in the cavern's central hall, all hell had broken loose. Hordes of troopers hurriedly fled for their lives, without even stopping to attack Tom and Kelly.

"The hell's happening?" Tom wondered, when Janna and Marco sprinted out of the eastern hallway.

"This place is rigged to blow!" Janna shouted, as Marco worriedly looked around the room.

"Where's Star?" As soon as Marco posed the question, Star and Austin sprinted out of the central hallway to escape their explosive fate, and the others quickly joined them. The six superheroes ran as fast as they could towards the exit; Five of them managed to reach the entrance hallway, but by the time Kelly got there, a rocket struck the gate, causing it to cave in. Now, the Wooly Warrior was trapped inside a cavern rigged to blow!

Kelly looked to the other end of the room, to see the fiend who fired the rocket; It was Commander Cobalt, whose armor was up and running once more. She grabbed her oversized sword, and pointed it at the armored supervillain, while staring him down with a determined look.

"You must be Commander Cobalt. Well let me warn you that I'm your worst nightmare." The Woolett boasted.

"I survived my worst nightmare." The commander coldly retorted. He fired a flurry of energy blasts towards the costumed heroine, but she deflected the bolts with her trusty blade. She then leapt towards the villain with her sword raised, but he crossed his arms together and blocked the strike with his wrist-blades. Kelly used all her strength to try and break his stance, but Commander Cobalt was a formidable foe. He then used his energized blades like a guillotine, to cut right through the warrior's ancestral sword!

"My sword!" Kelly cried in horror. That family heirloom had been passed down from generation to generation, and Cobalt destroyed it like it was nothing. She'd underestimated the Watch's leader; Truly a dire mistake.

Now, her blood was boiling. Kelly pulled a smaller shortsword out from her hair, and swung it towards Oberon's head; However, he blocked her strike with ease, and went straight for the jugular. While she barely dodged the near-lethal attack, the blade was so close she could see its glow, and hear its buzzing; A grim reminder of her fate before the Cleaving.

Now, she was truly starting to falter in the fight. She tried bringing her sword down upon Cobalt's shoulder, but he jetted out of the way, and fired a wrist-mounted whipcord that wrapped itself around the weapon. He used the cord to yank the blade out of Kelly's hands, leaving her unarmed. Still, she wasn't going down easy; She ran towards Cobalt and tried to fight him hand-to-hand.

She started off with a powerful jumping kick, one which staggered the caped commander. She then tried to hit him with a jab to the neck, but only hurt her hand on his durable armor. The warrior reeled in pain, then tried to attack again; But it was too late. Oberon slashed her across the midsection with his wrist-blade, causing her to cry out in pain. The injured girl fell to the ground hard, and groaned in agony.

"How insolent." Oberon snarled. "You don't belong in this world, creature. You're nothing, and that's all you'll ever be." Just as he readied his wrist-blaster to finish Kelly off, Tom and Star broke through the rubble, and saw him looming over their injured friend. Overwhelmed with fiery anger, Tom hit the commander with an infernal plume of flames, which knocked him clear across the room. While he was down, Star, Marco and Austin rushed to pick up their downed friend, and quickly carried her to safety.

While the Earth-Ni Protectors fled, Oberon slowly rose to his feet, and noticed he was now alone in his crumbling cavern lair. The warlord grit his teeth, and pushed a shelf of supplies aside, revealing a secret tunnel. He then swiftly sprinted through the underpass to make his daring getaway...


After escaping the dreaded Cobalt cave, the Protectors were situated in the nearby cornfield. The Watch's lair had just burst into a loud and fiery explosion, consuming the militia's stockpile of weapons and supplies. However, Austin could see a blue streak dart across the night sky; His father had escaped the blast, and surely some of his minions did as well. What's more, he injured their newest recruit with extreme prejudice. Overall, it was a Pyrrhic victory; Both sides had lost...


There's nothing more nerve-wracking than the feeling of uncertainty, especially when it comes to the fate of a loved one. And now, uncertainty was plentiful in the hearts of the Protectors. After the battle at the cave, they immediately rushed Kelly to the hospital, so her wound would be treated before it became fatal. Her injury brought back a couple of particularly painful experiences; Her former wounding from the Solarian sword, and Austin's grisly near-death experience at the claws of Seth.

Eventually, a nurse entered the waiting room, to break the news of Kelly's fate to her worried teammates.

"Is Kelly alright?" Star anxiously asked.

"Your friend's doing good. The gash wasn't fatal, and she's healing from it remarkably well." The nurse replied, relieving the heroes. Due to their combat-oriented culture, Wooletts have a higher pain tolerance than humans or mewmans, and can also heal from injuries faster. With the exception of Tom, she's the most durable member of the team.

"Alright, let's go see her. She could probably use some company." Austin added.


Hospitals were an unusual place for Kelly. In Woolandia, they weren't a common occurrence; Since they were resistant to most forms of physical harm, Woolett hospital visits were usually relegated to deadly diseases and life-threatening injuries. But this was her second time in an infirmary, and for an eerily similar reason as her first; History was repeating itself.

The Woolett teen glumly lied in her stiff bed, and clutched her stinging torso. The energized blade cauterized most of the wound, and it was stitched and bandaged by the nurses; Still, it hurt like hell.

"Kelly!" Star squealed and rushed to her hospitalized pal. The other four teens came in after her, and gathered around the Woolett's bed. "We're so glad you're okay."

"Yeah..."

"What's wrong?" Marco wondered.

"I couldn't stop Cobalt, and he got away! Meteora, Mina, now him! Just another addition to my losing streak." Kelly sighed, as she began to tear up. Star patted her bushy hair in an effort to comfort her, while Marco lightly placed his hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay to mess up, Kelly. We've all done it sometime." Janna retorted.

"What about all the innocent people depending on us! Depending on me! If Cobalt Watch beats us, what chance does everyone else have?"

"It's been a long night. You should come home, and get some rest." Austin extended his hand to Kelly, and helped her out of the bed. The six superheroes then left the dreary room, to recuperate from their turbulent mission...


In the dead of the night, Commander Cobalt discreetly scoured the starry Earth-Ni skies. Now that his cavern base had blown up, there was nowhere for the Watch to hide. However, he hadn't cut his losses yet; He was looking for any remaining watchmen, and his search paid off when he saw a group of familiar uniformed men wandering through the forest.

In the dark, foreboding woods, fifteen escaped troopers were wandering around aimlessly. They kept their heads on a swivel, and used the flashlight attachments of their rifles to look out for enemies or dangerous wildlife. Suddenly, a loud noise caught the platoon's attention.

"Something's moving back there! Ready your weapons!" The men all aimed their guns where they heard the noise, and braced for their worst; They were expecting an aggressive Mewnian predator, but out of the bush came something even deadlier; Fortunately, it was on their side.

"Commander!" The troopers all saluted their fearless leader, who stomped closer to the group.

"Where are the rest of you? I see only fifteen men." Oberon spoke, his deep, filtered voice sending shivers down the troopers' spines.

"Some got captured, others...are no more. We're all that's left of the regiment."

"Commander, these are dire times! We must call in the Dragonfly."

"The Dragonfly is a last resort! Our base may be gone, but we still have our fighting spirit; The Protectors may have won the battle, but we will win the war..."


And won the war they did. In the ruins of what was once Echo Creek, a helmetless Austin was paralyzed in abject horror. Countless high-tech warships like the Dauntless careened through the night sky, as hordes of troopers terrorized innocent civilians. But most terrible of all, Austin saw the lifeless bodies of his beloved teammates; Star, Marco, Janna and even Tom were dead as doornails, with precise burn wounds right where their hearts were.

"W-who did this?" Austin cried, as he struggled to fight back tears. All of a sudden, he felt a cold, metallic hand place itself on his shoulder, causing him to tense up and freeze.

"You did." Standing behind him was his armored father, who seemed satisfied by the ensuing carnage and destruction. Austin wanted to retaliate against him, but some invisible force prevented him from even trying.

"This is our legacy, son. You're not a phony hero for the deviant masses; You're the chosen heir to Cobalt Watch."

Austin looked down, and gasped when he saw what he was wearing; His combat suit was a more militarized version, one that was blue, black and silver; The colors of Cobalt Watch. A black helmet with glaring blue eyes formed around his head, trapping him in the cold iron mask.

"Now fulfill your destiny. Execute this wretched creature, and bring a swift end to the Earth-Ni Protectors!" Oberon commanded. Austin looked down, and saw Kelly, who was sprawled out on the ground, horribly wounded. The usually brave and over-confident Woolett was pleading for mercy, which tugged at the young man's heart strings. He'd never strike down an helpless innocent, much less one of his own teammates.

Yet his right arm involuntarily aimed itself towards Kelly's heart. He tried with all his might to fight whatever higher powers were controlling him, but resistance was futile. As Oberon egged him on, his heart raced, and a lump swelled in his throat. He snapped his fingers, activating the weapon; What happened next was an intense flash of light, followed by a blood-curdling cry.


Austin gasped in shock, as he woke up feeling sick to his stomach. Much to his relief, that horrifying scenario was only a nightmare, and nothing more.

"I'm not his son. I'll never be his son." The shaken boy mumbled to himself, and lied back down. He closed his eyes to rest once more, but as the hours passed, all he did was toss in turn in his bed. After that chilling dream, it was going to be a sleepless night...


Austin wasn't the only Protector afflicted by nightmares. In the spare room on the Capers household's first floor, Kelly had trouble sleeping as well. Every time she drifted off, she could feel traumatic memories from her recent defeat. The scathing words of Commander Cobalt echoed in her mind; "You're nothing." and "You don't belong here" were especially prevalent. In her latest dream, she was struck by a Solarian sword yet again, and perished from the wound.

The Woolett woke up in a cold sweat, and reached down to feel her torso. Even beneath the bandages, she could still feel the stinging heat of Cobalt's blade on her body. She looked around the room, and noticed light peeking out from the window; After the hellish and harrowing night, daybreak had finally arrived.

Still, she felt shameful because of her loss at the cave; Her third defeat in a major battle to protect Mewni. (Or in this case, Earth-Ni.)

"I'm not cut out for this." The girl hopelessly sighed. After yesterday's mission went awry, she wanted to resign from the Protectors...but how would her friends feel? Kelly noticed a pen and paper lying on the dresser, and an idea formed in her head. So, with a heavy heart, she wrote a resignation letter as her last goodbye.

"Dear friends,

I screwed up. HARD. What happened last night proved I can't be part of this team, so I'm sorry to say...I'm leaving. I know it sounds selfish, and that Earth-Ni is in trouble, but that's WHY I chose to do this. Every time I tried to help you guys, I ended up failing. If Eclipsa didn't take down Meteora, everyone would've stayed dead. If Star didn't destroy magic, all the monsters, including me, would have been killed.

You're all better off without me, anyways. I should've stayed back home, so that's where I'm going; The place I belong. I wish you guys the best of luck in stopping Cobalt Watch, and protecting Earth-Ni. Save the world for me.

- Love, Kelly"

The disheartened Woolett teared up as she wrote the heartfelt goodbye letter, and set it on the bedroom dresser. She then slipped off her hero ring, and placed it on top of the note. With goodbyes out of the way, Kelly silently slipped out of the Capers household, and set off on a one-way trip to her home dimension...


Well, things certainly took a dark turn. Cobalt Watch is still thriving in Earth-Ni, Oberon is still out there, and Kelly is fleeing back to her own dimension. How will that turn out? Find out in the next chapter: Same Earth-Ni time, same Earth-Ni channel!