Brandy's Bizarre Adventure

by Von Reivanon

Brandy the Bandit lives happily with her king Oticat, her best friend Dan the Knight, and the rest of her fellow troops. But when the dark machinations of an evil King and an evil Clan start to tumble into motion, her life is thrown into chaos. Rated T for intense action, peril, heavy themes, and slightly suggestive content. And yes, there are lots and lots of JoJokes.

14. Chapter 13

"The village…", Brandy said in shock. "Of… Spacekrakenx?"

The Builder looked at her a little funny, then nodded. "Yep. That's what I said."

"Wait, Spacekrakenx?", Dan asked. "Isn't that-"

They looked at each other in shock. There was no way it could have been a coincidence. Spacekrakenx wasn't a common enough name for it to be likely that it was just a shared name between both the leader of this village and Oticat's best friend.

"Wait wait wait wait.", said Dan. "I remember overhearing something. When everyone moved in."

"Yeah, me too.", said Brandy. "About how he sold his castle to buy a mountain and then sold his mountain to buy a village."

"And that means…", Dan said, speaking faster and faster with excitement. "That this is this village!"

He grabbed Brandy around the waist and lifted her up onto his shoulder. "Brandy, we're safe! We can just stay here all we want!"

He looked down at the Builder, who was staring up at him with a look of mild annoyance and confusion. "Yeah, we're actually Oticat's troops. You know, friend of Spacekrakenx's".

The Builder blinked, then shook his head. "Oticat, eh?", he grunted. "Never heard of him."

"Never… heard of him?", Brandy asked, taking a step back. "But he's Space's best friend."

"Eh…", the Builder said. "Yeah, still never heard of him."

"Hm.", Dan said. "Well then, could you let us in anyway? We're hungry, and thirsty, and need a place to stay."

"Oh, of course.", the Builder nodded. "You're our reinforcements, after all."

He looked down his large nose. "Aren't you?"

"Oh, yep.", Brandy said, and nodded. "We most certainly are."

"Right…", the Builder said, and stared intently at the two. He had never before seen Troops like this. He would say that she was an Archer, although her equipment and style were completely different. She seemed to radiate with some sort of mystical power that he had never before seen, vibrating blue and silver. He didn't know it was her Dash- he had never before heard of such a thing.

He looked up at Dan, towering high above. Here was a force to be reckoned with. He looked to be even larger than a Pekka, almost at the height of a Barbarian King. His massive muscles and thick armor certainly looked formidable, even if he had a slightly nervous look upon his face.

"What sort of Troops are you?", the Builder asked. "I've never seen anything like you before."

"Uh…", Brandy said, thinking fast. She got an idea, and blurted out the first thing to come to her mind. "We're sort of… experimental troops. You know, new."

"Okay.", the Builder grunted. "But what are you? What are you called?"

"I'm a Bandit.", Brandy said. "Brandy the Bandit."

She gestured upwards to Dan, a small spark snapping from one raised hand to his shoulder. "And this is Dan the Mega Knight, my husband."

If the Builder noticed Dan's usage of the Star, he seemed not to react. He merely raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, my name's George. George the Builder."

"Nice to meet you, George.", Brandy said, and extended her hand. George looked at it cautiously, before extending his own and shaking it. "Nice to meet you."

George broke off the handshake, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Yeah, Clan Castle's at the center of the village. Right next to the Town Hall, can't miss it."

"Right, Town Hall.", Brandy said. "And of course I know what a Town Hall looks like… heh."

Dan gave her a bit of a look, before scooping her up back onto his shoulder. He began to walk, moving aside the trees that were in his way.

George took out his schedule, and sighed. "Let's see…"

His eyes ran down, the despair of a non-stop worker slowly sifting in. "Upgrade Anne and Jev's Archer Tower, upgrade Jed's Wizard Tower, upgrade the third bomb…"

He rolled up the scroll again. "And then I can take my break. Sometime next week."

He walked towards the tower, not noticing that a pair of eyes quietly watched him from the bushes beyond.

Song: Welcome to the World

Dan pushed aside the treeline, and his eyes widened. He saw what lay beyond, a sprawling village of Town Hall 10. Walls lined with magma crisscrossed the entire clearing, dividing the village into many different sections. X-Bows gleamed a glowing crimson, the sparkling light of Teslas reflecting off the chrome. Cannons swiveled back and forth, their oddly round shape concealing their deadly potential. Wizards sat legs folded on top of their crystal turrets, studying up on advanced spellcasting and strategies. Archers stood in groups atop gleaming Archer Towers of metal, engaged in light conversation. Air Sweepers hung at the ready, the small weather indicators atop blinking blue for clear skies. Mortars slightly shook, the explosive charges within them ready for anything. The twin pair of Inferno Towers at the center of the whole village blinked a menacing red, the lava streams falling off them sizzling the air with their heat. A pair of Bomb Towers slightly further apart each held a Bomber, both busy polishing their supply of Bombs.

While Dan was busy looking at the defenses, Brandy's eyes were taking in everything else. Lines of Gold Mines were being tended by Villagers, pulling up rich stacks of Gold from below the ground. Groups of Elixir Collectors were next to the Gold paradise, their complicated tubing and stacks of glass struggling to pump Elixir from underground. Several Builders were climbing all over them, hitting them occasionally with a hammer. Brandy realized in slight embarrassment that it had been her and Dan's fault the Collectors weren't working the way they should.

Once Brandy stopped looking over there though, and looked to the storages over the walls, her heart jumped. She could see the huge Gold Storages shining bright, millions of Gold stored within. Her fingers tingled, and her forehead burned with the overpowering urge to steal.

You can do that later, she reminded herself. When nobody's looking. Something tells me that these people aren't exactly alright with having all their Gold taken.

She moved her eyes to the Barracks and Army Camps nearby, swarming with all matters of Troops. Brandy noticed that these did not seem like normal Troops- no, these were blinged out.

Golems mulled around, the purple of their shoulder spikes shining like Gems. Pekkas stood at the ready, their double swords crackling with sheer power. Bowlers sat in a huge line, taking drinks of Dark Elixir and polishing their spiked boulders. A few Wall Breakers ran around like mad, struggling to carry their massive barrels of loaded powder. A single Archer sat on a rock, combing through her hair with a spare arrow.

And nearby the assembled army, standing tall over the entire Village, were two magnificent figures. Brandy gasped out loud when she saw them, dragging Dan's attention from whatever he had been looking at.

"What?", he asked. "Brandy, what is it-"

Then he saw as well, and his eyes widened. There, in the center of the army, were the Village's two Heroes. A massive Barbarian King, and a towering Archer Queen.

The Barbarian King, bizarrely, seemed to be a Skeleton. He was only bones, yet he was talking and moving around just as if he were alive. He was certainly not a Giant Skeleton either- no, his proportions and weapons said otherwise.

The Archer Queen seemed more normal- in fact, she was entirely normal. Her purple hair cascaded across her green cloak, even as she laughed at something the Skeleton King had said.

She crossed weapons and arms with the King, then turned to the army.

"Alright, fools!", she yelled, and gave her massive crossbow a pump. All the Troops looked up as she did so. "We only need one more star to get our bonus today. And once we do, we can finally, finally, upgrade our third X-Bow!"

She gestured to the third X-Bow, which sat at the corner of the village. It was still black, having not yet achieved the level of the other two.

"That's right!", the Barbarian King roared, thrusting his Tombstone-like sword into the air. "This next battle will be hard. Some of you may die. But…"

He took off his arm, and laid it against his chest in a bow. "That is a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

The army looked at each other nervously, not really trusting those words. A few Bowlers looked in opposite directions, and the Archer looked up in sudden fear.

"Kidding!", the Barbarian King roared, and slapped his arm back on. "I'm only kidding."

He looked over the army, several of which were now chuckling nervously. "We're gonna crush those guys. They're rushed to high heaven."

He was about to say something else, when he felt someone tug at his sandal. He turned around, and saw a Villager looking up at him with wide eyes. He sighed.

"What is it, Helga?", he asked, and Helga looked to the edge of the village.

"Our Clan Castle Troops, sire.", she squeaked. "They're here."

The Barbarian King looked where she was pointing, and saw Dan and Brandy standing at the treeline. His eyebrow rose in surprise, then fell off and to the ground. A Goblin ran up and threw it to him, which he stuck back on.

He jutted out his sword to the two, who suddenly looked guilty. "Well, what are you waiting for?", he boomed. "Go bring them to me."

Brandy leaned forward, and squinted against the midday sun. "It looks like he's noticed us.", she said. "Is that good?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't be.", Dan muttered. "Bit odd that he's dressed like that, though."

"Wha-", Brandy said, taking another look at the Skeleton King. "You mean that's just a costume?"

Dan thought for a moment, trying to put his words together. "Well, no.", he finally said. "But yes. It's uh, kind of a…"

Brandy stared at him, even as he failed to get the words out. "They can just look like that sometimes.", he said. "I guess that's what I'm trying to say."

"Huh…", Brandy said. "Well, I think we better go talk to him."

She pointed down, and Dan followed her movement to where Helga had been quietly waiting. "It appears we have been summoned."

"Yes.", Dan said, and began to walk forward. Helga startled, and moved out of the way. "So we have."

The Barbarian King watched them approach, his mind swirling with questions. They certainly did not seem to be any kind of Troop that he had ever seen. The girl looked like a Villager, only a hood and a mask decorated her face. The man seemed almost like a Pekka, only with two spiked maces instead of swords. Strange forms of energy seemed to vibrate off of each one of them, silver from her and gold from him.

"Ahoy there!", the Barbarian King shouted, and raised his sword into the air. "What are you?"

Dan raised his own weapon, a spark of Star flashing from one to the other. "We're your reinforcements!"

"Or at least that's what we've been told.", Brandy said. "So we're going with that we are."

"Ah, good.", said the Archer Queen, right as the King had been about to say something else.
"We've been expecting you."

Brandy looked up, and felt suddenly strange. Dang, she thought. I wish I had hair like that.

The Archer Queen smiled, and extended a hand. Dan shook it with vigor.

"Welcome to our village, friends.", she said. "I'm Sophie, and this is Herb."

"Pleasure to meet you!", Herb shouted, and thrust his sword into the air once again. "You look tough."

"We are.", Dan said. "I like to think so, anyway."
"Yes, yes, that's very nice.", Herb said. "But-"

"But what are you?", Sophie interjected. "You don't seem to be any sort of Troops I've ever seen."

She took a deep look, and both Dan and Brandy felt slightly strange under her scrutinizing gaze.

"I'm Dan. A Mega Knight.", Dan said. "And this is Brandy the Bandit- my wife."

Brandy felt herself blush. She had been introduced as his wife many times before, but hearing it suddenly now felt very romantic.

"A… Mega Knight?", Herb asked, and scratched his head. "Huh. Never heard of one of those before. Or Bandits."

"Yeah, we're new.", Brandy said with a gesture that seemed important, but was in fact meaningless. "You know, experimental."

"I see.", grunted Herb. "Well, how about that."

"We're about to go to a battle pretty soon.", said Sophie. "We just have to wait for our scouts to return from the west. So far they've either found easy targets or rich villages, but neither both. We're waiting for both."

"Yes…", Dan said, taking another quick glance at the magnificent Town Hall. "I actually have a bit of a question."

"Sure.", Sophie said kindly. "Ask away."

"This looks to be a Town Hall 10.", Dan said. "But SpaceKrakenX only bought this place about a week or so ago. How did he get all this in such a short time?"

"He didn't.", said Sophie. "Plain and simple."

"This Village existed before he came.", said Herb. "But our old Chief hadn't been seen for months, and we were pretty short on Gold."

"So we took his offer, and became 50 million Gold richer.", Sophie finished. "And pretty much all that's changed around here is the name and a small tax."

50…, Brandy thought in shock. 50 million Gold? I could buy anything I wanted with that. Oticat could max out everyone with that much.

But her thoughts were interrupted as Sophie pointed towards where the Clan Castle stood in all its magnificence, right at the center of the village. "Now go, make yourself at home. We've got probably around an hour and a half before the battle starts, so you can go take a nap or-"

Upon hearing the word "nap", both Dan and Brandy's minds kicked into a bit of a higher gear. It wasn't that much of a change, considering how exhausted they both were, but it was quite large considering the circumstances.

"A nap…", Brandy said. "That sounds nice."
"Yeah.", Dan said. "We haven't had a good sleep since…"

He thought for a moment, and his brow darkened. "Since… before we set out on this quest."

Sophie clapped her hands, gaining the two's attention back. "Now, off you go. Chop chop."

She leaned forward, hands on her hips. "Don't make me tell you again."

Dan felt the overpowering urge to salute, although he managed not to act on it. "Okay, okay, we will.", he said. "Sheesh."

Dan stepped over a wall, towards where the Clan Castle sat at the center of the village. Like all Clan Castles at level 6, it was a smooth black and and gray, adorned round with golden shields. The doors had golden stripes, and the roof was closed tight. Light glowed from within, both from the treasury and the Reinforcements quarters.

"Is that it?", Dan asked, as he arrived at its doors. "To be honest, it seems pretty small."

"Yeah…", Brandy said, and slid down his torso. She grabbed the doorknob, and swung the door open. "That's probably not the whole thing, though. Maybe there's some underground-"
Dan stuck his head in through the door, and Brandy's words died in her throat. She realized what the thing about Clan Castles, and indeed all buildings in the villages, actually was.

"Or.", she said, madly taking as many looks around as she could. "It's larger on the inside."

"Amazing…", Dan said, as he stooped to avoid the top of the door. Crawling almost on his hands and knees, he took a look at the interior.

A massive chandelier hung from the top of the roof, which seemed to be almost a hundred feet overhead. The walls were lined with a rich red carpet, in order to add to the theme of Town Hall 10. A large dining table sat in the center of the room, although it was sparse with food or utensils. That seemed to be the main thing, upon closer inspection- most of the Clan Castle was actually quite barren.

"Hello?", Brandy cried out, cupping her hands around her mouth to better direct the sound. "Anyone here?"

But there was no answer.

"Come on Brandy, we should go to our rooms.", Dan said. "We only have like an hour till we need to wake up anyway."

"Right, right.", Brandy said, and laid down on Dan's shoulder. "Just tell me when we get there."

"I'm telling you.", Dan said, and Brandy looked up.

"What?", she asked in confusion.

Dan gestured to the door in front of them. "That was fast."

"Yeah.", said Dan, and nodded. "I guess that even though this place is bigger on the inside, it still isn't all that big."

He threw open the door, to reveal a glittering room beyond. The walls and floor were lined with Gold, Gems randomly jutting out of most surfaces. Two tall, chilled glasses of Elixir sat on a corner table, and a row of massive beds were all aligned against one wall.

"Woaaaaah….", Brandy breathed, her eyes trying to take in all the riches. "Dan. You thinking what I'n thinking?"

"Are you thinking holy frick holy frick a bed I just want to climb in there and fall asleep immediately?", Dan muttered. "Because that's what I'm thinking."

Brandy took a few seconds to read his surface thoughts, and could see that that was indeed true. He wanted nothing more than to sleep at this point. He had been awake and active for probably the last 30 hours.

"Uh, yeah.", Brandy said, not wanting to admit that she had been thinking of something else entirely, one that involved the roof. "So maybe we should- woah!"

Her sudden change in voice came from being abruptly grabbed and moved behind Dan, who toppled onto the bed. The bed's springs creaked from the weight, but they had been specifically engineered to hold Golems. Dan wasn't heavy enough to break it.

Dan tossed Brandy up into the air, who landed in her usual position with a flourish. But there was no one around to see it, due to the fact that Dan had already fallen fast asleep.

But Brandy, nevertheless, was happy. She wrapped herself around his arm, then felt her eyelids flutter close. "Goodnight honey," she said to Dan, then felt herself lose consciousness.

The air of peace over the Village of SpaceKrakenX was indeed a wonderful thing. Although far away, in the center of the Clashcrush mountains, the mood was altogether different. For Dragonlord Rakastamos was in one of his moods.

He sat against the back wall of the cave, staring into a massive, jagged sheet of glass that served as a Mirror. His huge scars were on full display, cutting deeper than most Troops could even reach. He stared deep into his reflection with a burning hatred, underpainted with tones of sorrow.

"Send in only scouts.", he rumbled, and a nearby Troop jumped up to attention. "We cannot afford to lose anyone else."

"Uh, yes!", the Troop shouted, and ran off to do exactly that. "Yes sir!"

Then it stopped, remembering a piece of vital information. It slowly turned around, and nervously squeaked out its message.

"Er, someone's in the area already, sire.", it said. "And I do think he will be rather difficult to recall."

Rakastamos began to turn around, and the Troop took a step back in utter horror. "Oh? And who, pray tell, would that be?"

"Bonoome!", the Troop screamed, then collected itself. "Bonoome, my lord."

Rakastamos thought for a moment, then waved a dismissive, gargantuan hand. "Oh, leave him be. There's no point in trying to control one such as him anyway."

"Yes, sir.", said the Troop, and ran away in relief that he had managed to keep his life not only once, but actually multiple times throughout the entire encounter. Rakastamos had a single group of Troops that he held in high esteem. Everyone and everything else, to him, deserved nothing but to die.

As Rakastamos stared again into the Dark Mirror, he noticed a small Baby Dragon flap its way into the cave. It seemed to just be a level 1, judging from the small patterns on its wings. There was a good chance it had been born in the birthing chambers, closer to the entrance of the cave.

Rakastamos turned around, and smiled his friendliest smile. "Hello, little one.", he said. "What brings you to my chambers?"

The Baby Dragon almost barked on instinct, but managed to right himself. Concentrating so hard his eyes crossed, he tried so very hard to carefully maneuver his mouth into the correct positions for speech.

"Come on.", Rakastamos said encouragingly. "I believe in you. You can do it."

The Baby Dragon yawned, thereby resetting his mouth. He smacked his jaws back together, and said a single word.

"Message.", he said, then blinked in surprise. His confidence boosted by Rakastamos's kind expression and hopeful eyes, the Baby Dragon managed to at last articulate his thoughts.

"I have a message for you, Father Rakastamos.", he said, then proudly looked up.

"Good, good.", Rakastamos crooned with a slow clap. "And what, little one, is your message?"

"There are some humans here.", said the Baby Dragon. "I think they want to see you."

Rakastamos's eyes turned from pleasant and almost grandfatherly to suddenly vengeful and murderous. Fire built at the back of his throat, and his muscles bulged.

"Thank you for telling me.", he said. "I have to go… take care of business."

He slowly exited his private sector of the cave, fire trailing outwards from behind him.

"Go get em, Father Rakastamos!", the Baby Dragon shouted in Dragon. He didn't know the words for such a message yet in anything else.

A small coalition of fighters slowly crept into the entrance of Rakastamos's cave. They had managed to figure out his position using complex math and a pack of hunting Minions, and had assembled the perfect team in order to take him down. There was Tray, a Knight that wielded the Star. There was Trisha, a Musketeer with a gun modified to fire 20 rounds per second. There was Greg, a Bowler with a ball that dripped special Dragon-killing toxins. There was Cam, a Wizard that could control his fire at will. And lastly there was Sophia, a level 45 Archer Queen.

"Alright, everyone.", Sophia whispered. "We've got only one shot to take this guy down. But if we do, we'll be heroes."

"What do you mean if we do?", Trisha whispered back. "You mean when we do. When."

"Right.", Sophia said. "When…"

The group kept on inching forward, looking for any sign of movement in the cave. So far they had seen nothing- all of Rakshadanore's Forgotten were already on duty. The only guards in his cave were Skeletons and Robots, both of which were currently recharging.

Sophia took another step, pulling ahead of the group. They were all smaller than her.

"Remember the plan.", she breathed. "Stick to it. We all attack in a very particular order. If it's anything other than that, this might not work."

"Right.", said Cam, winding a twinge of flame around his finger. "I hope we can-"

Then he stopped, and looked up. For there, in the back of the cave, emerged a single pair of massive glowing eyes.

Dragonlord Rakastamos stepped forward into the low light, slightly illuminating parts of his enormous body. Elixir could be seen dripping off his spiked scales, his jagged teeth reflecting the firelight off the walls.

"Good morning.", he said. "I hear that someone wants to see me."

For a moment, the hunting team just stood there. Their lives and the fate of the world depended on this battle, and they all knew it. But with a quick nod from Sophia, they knew it was time to put their plan into action.

"Overdrive Burst!", shouted Tray, and put his hands together, summoning a burst of Star shaped like an orb that flew forward at high speed.

Trisha yelled, and swung her gun around to her hip. She slammed down on the trigger as fast as she could, sending a storm of musket balls straight at Rakshadanore's face.

Greg grunted, and threw his ball. The Dragon-killing toxins dripped off the huge boulder mid-flight, splattering onto and beginning to eat the ground below.

Cam took a deep breath, and shot out a line of flame from either hand that streaked towards Rakshadanore's face, intending to gouge out his eyes.

Sophia gave a defiant shout, and yanked the trigger on her crossbow. Immediately 4 large bolts shot out, streaking through the air for a direct hit.

But upon seeing this massive barrage of pure firepower coming straight for him, Rakshadanore did what no one there expected. He merely closed his eyes, and sighed.

Song: Fierce Fight

Almost quicker than anyone's eyes could follow, Rakastamos's massive hand flashed through the dark air. All the projectiles- the Star, the bullets, the boulder, the fire, and even the Queen bolts were either destroyed against his scales or deflected to another portion of the cave. Rocks crumbled upon impact, and most of the cave shook, but Rakastamos himself had been dealt no damage.

"Honestly…", he muttered, and began a slow walk forward. "Did you really think you'd get this far?"

"Don't listen to him!", Sophia and Tray shouted simultaneously, and fired again. "He's evil!"

Rakastamos's eyes widened in an expression of hurt, even as he deflected the attacks with but a single claw. "Evil? No, I'm not evil. I'm just…"

Then his eyes narrowed, as he began to pick up speed. "Doing what needs to be done."

"Trisha!", Greg bellowed, as he gathered another ball in between his hands. He waited a minute for the magical poison to accumulate, then turned to his friend. "Aim for his eyes!"

"Got it!", Trisha yelled, and ran further up a rocky ledge. She dropped down to one knee, taking careful aim at the Dragonlord's eye.

But if Rakastamos noticed her plan, he seemed not to care. He just kept on advancing slowly forward, deflecting a net of flame from Cam. "I don't know how you got past my Forgotten."

Sophia took a quick look at Tray, who nodded. He shot a wave of gentle Star at Sophia's Queenbow, which lit up gold with the boost.

"But I do suppose that it hardly even matters…", Rakastamos rumbled. "For all that amounted to was giving me something to do. I was getting a little bored just waiting around in my cavern, after all…"

Sophia yelled, and shot a quick burst of bolts. Surrounded by the Star, they sang as they flew through the air- only to shatter harmlessly on Rakastamos's scales in a blaze of light.

"Honestly!", Rakastamos shouted, and let his jaw fall open. The back of his throat glowed a deep orange and red, as he prepared to fire. "Did you ever just take a moment to think about-"

A sharp pain suddenly erupted from his eye, which automatically closed from the irritance.

Rakastamos whipped his head around, to see Trisha standing defiantly upon the rock, machine gun still tightly clutched. Smoke rose from its oversized barrel.

"Oh, you're an annoyance.", Rakastamos mumbled. "I'll have to get rid of you…"

Sophia ran forward, knowing she had only one chance at striking Rakastamos's tender underbelly. "Trisha, look out!", she screamed.

But even though Trisha heard her warning well in advance, and had even started to run a little before then, it was still too late. She could not move as fast as the fist of the Dragonlord.

Rakastamos's clenched draconic fist came slamming down onto the rock with the force of a hundred Rockets, right where the Musketeer had been. There was a sound like a shattering mountain as the rock hit blew apart in all directions. Its edges were stained with the bright pink Elixir of what had once been Trisha the Musketeer.

"Trish!", Tray screamed. He stopped firing his Star for a moment, just staring at the point where she had fallen. His eyes snapped open, reflecting in loss. "Triiiiiiiish!"

"It doesn't matter!", Sophia shouted, though her eyes were pained as well. "Kill Rakastamos!"

Tray shouted in rage, and clasped his hands together. Though his tears flowed freely, they did not stop his power. "Final…"

Cam ran up onto a rock, and wreathed his hands in flame. "Take this, Dragon!", he shouted. "My special-"

Rakastamos lifted his fist from where it had hit the rock, and raised a single eyebrow. As soon as he saw the flame begin to leave Cam's hands, he took a deep breath in.

The fire shot towards him, but was swiftly absorbed into Rakastamos's gaping maw. Cam kept pushing, determined not to give up, but it was a fruitless endeavor. Within moments, his fire had been sucked into the mouth of the Dragonlord.

"I… can't hold him!", Cam shouted. "Greg, help me-"

But faster than anyone could have reacted, faster than should have even been possible for a monster of such size, Rakastamos was upon him. A single bite from his behemoth jaws slammed down on the hapless Wizard, destroying him in a single instant.

Rakastamos didn't even bother to swallow- Cam was too small to provide any nutrition. Instead he just looked up, droplets of Elixir hanging from his massive teeth, and started off towards the main attacking group.

"Cam!", Greg bellowed. He took a step back in shock, staring at the spot where the Wizard had fallen. He could still see the bits of flame that hovered around the deathzone.

"For one moment!", Rakastamos roared, having suddenly appeared above him. "Could you not shout out the names of your friends whenever they die! They're not coming back!"

Greg grabbed his boulder, and aimed upwards in anger. He threw the ball as hard as he could, the virulent anti-Dragon Poisons flying off it as it soared.

Rakastamos saw the poisons on it, his mind instantly recognizing what they were. Just before the boulder reached him, he jerked his titanic head aside, leaving the rock to fly past and crash into the ceiling. But he had forgotten one thing- a bit of the toxin had flown off, landing on Rakastamos's scales.

"Justice…", Tray spat, from between clenched teeth. The Star shook around him, rocks lifting up from off the ground. A crackling ball of energy hissed and popped between his hands, more Star feeding into it every second.

Sophie jumped up onto a rock in order to get a better shot. "Greg!", she yelled. "Fall back! It's too dangerous up there!"

Rakastamos roared in pain and anger, as the poison bit into his skin. He turned all the way around, slashing at his back with his obsidian claws. Crimson scales shed off and shattered, but most of the toxin still remained.

Greg stumbled off the rock, as it collapsed from the force of Rakastamos's pain. "Hang on, I'm coming!", he yelled. "I think we got him-"

Rakastamos gave one especially loud roar, and slashed deep into his back. A huge chunk of muscle came flying out from the rip, along with the last of the toxin. Greg leaped to avoid a chunk of falling rock, sprinting as fast he could towards his friends- but then Rakastamos's flailing tail came flying towards him at speeds too high to dodge.

As soon as it touched the Bowler, he was torn to shreds by the sheer size and velocity. Rakastamos roared in anger, and slammed his blood-stained claws back down onto the dirt. Sophia looked on in horror, at the spilled Elixir of three of her closest friends- all cut down in less than a minute.

"You…", Rakastamos spat. "You're pretty annoying."

"Tray…", Sophia said, and held out a hand. "Hold it."

Tray struggled to contain the vast amount of Star held within his grasp. It jumped and shook like a rabid animal, trying desperately to escape.

Rakastamos took another step forward, and narrowed his eyes. "Those first two were easy, but that toxin? Oh, that hurt. A lot."

"Tray?", Sophia whispered, and aimed her crossbow directly at Rakastaomos's nose.

"What?", Tray managed to squeak out, his face red both from rage and exertion. "What?"

Rakastamos took a single step closer, and raised his hand to smite them both off the face of the world.

Sophie took a jump back, making sure to get out of the way. "Now!"

Tray understood. He could finally let his energy go. "Overdrive!"

He released the built up energy, as a massive beam of golden light that headed straight for Rakastamos's neck. But even as it did so, the mighty Dragonlord was ready.

With a powerful swipe, Rakastamos's palm hit the energy blast straight on. All it took was a slight dip and a push, and Tray's Final Justice Overdrive was reflected back towards him and out a cave window. It would go on to smash into the side of a mountain, causing a rockslide all the way into the river.

"No…", Tray gasped out, and fell to his knees. "No."

He leapt up and drew his sword, coating it in golden Star as he jumped right at Rakastamos.

But fast as Lightning, Rakastamos's fist crashed into him, sending Tray flying against the wall as mere droplets of Elixir. "Stop it, boy. You look ridiculous."

He didn't even check to see if he had killed Tray or not- to him, the Knight was no longer a threat anyway. He just placed his hand on a rocky ridge, peering over to look for Sophia.

There she lay, at the bottom of a ditch, her ankle broken and her bow destroyed. She had been blown backwards by the force of Tray's final attack, and the rocks dislodged had dealt her sudden damage.

"Well.", Rakastamos said, as he took in the pathetic sight. "Now that your annoying cohorts are gone, is there anything that you would like to talk to me about?"

Sophia looked up in horror, at the pure primal force she now knew Rakastamos to be. She and her group had set out immediately when they had heard the news of his awakening. She had expected him to be powerful, but not anywhere on this level. Even the full force of Tray's Star had been smacked aside like an irritating bug. The anti-Dragon toxin had been the only thing to hurt him.

"You…", she gasped out, still not quite beliving her eyes. "You're no ordinary Dragon."

Dragonlord Rakastamos sniffed, as if insulted. His tremendous body moved overhead, blotting out the bit of light that came from the holes in the ceiling of the cave.

"Of course not.", he said. "I'm a Dragonlord."

Sophia looked around for anything that might possibly help her escape, but there was nothing. Her bow lay shattered upon the ground. Her ankle had been snapped, leaving her unable to run. Her cloak was torn in most places- hold on a minute. Her Royal Cloak.

Sophia's mind raced with this new revelation. If she activated her Royal Cloak, the invisibility would give her some time to run away. Her broken ankle could potentially be healed from the health boost, thus helping her even more.

"Now I heard you wanted to talk to me about something.", Rakastamos said, and looked down at Sophia. "Is that true, or did you just come here to kill me."

"I did!", Sophia said, trying to distract Rakastamos as long as possible while she plotted out the best route of escape. "I actually have some very important questions."

"Oh?", Rakastamos purred, and leaned his head down to address her. "And what might those be… human?"

Swallowing her intense fear, Sophia stared right up at the Dragonlord's face. Ignoring his Elixir-stained teeth and bloodred scales, she managed to crack a small grin.

"Bye.", she said, and pulled her Royal Cloak across her face. There was a sonic boom and a flash of magical sparkles, and Sophia disappeared. Her ankle knit somewhat back together from the healing boost- not quite enough to walk upon, but at least the pain was gone.

"What?", Rakastamos bellowed, his eyes widening in shock. "Where the-"

He noticed a team of Archers all appear around the spot she had disappeared, pulling back their bowstrings to fight. But Rakastamos did not care about them- he needed that Archer Queen for something very important.

"Where did you go?", he roared, and swung his fist in a grand circle. It pulverized the line of hapless Archers in a second, splattering their Elixir all along the wall. "Show yourself!"

Sophia ducked to avoid a flying rock, and kept crawling. She looked up and saw the exit- only about 100 feet away. If she avoided his gaze long enough to escape, she could tell everyone she knew just how powerful Rakastamos now was. She had to keep going.

But as she heard Rakastamo's head snap to attention somewhere behind her, she knew there was now no hope.

"There you are!", he bellowed, and rushed forward with unnatural speed. "Trying to hide, were you?"

Sophia screamed in terror, seeing the nightmarish figure of Dragonlord Rakastamos bearing down on her. Willing herself to go faster, she half-ran, half-crawled upon the blasted rock.

"I'll never let you catch me, you-", she yelled, but the last word or so was cut off by a sudden gargantuan, scaly hand grabbing her by the waist. "Mmph!"

Dragonlord Rakastamos slowly turned her over in his hand, finally staring right into her face.

"Congratulations, human.", he said. "You've managed to earn yourself a place…"

He stood up, and began a long walk towards the back of the cave, the trapped Sophia in tow. "As one of my little helpers."

"Dan… Dan…"

The voice came alone, yet echoed as though it was part of an entire army. Dan sat up in his mind, though his body lay completely still.

"Who's there?", he asked, looking around for any sign of anyone. "Jonathan? Is that you again?"

As Dan beheld the blackness of the empty void, he saw the powerful form of Jonathan float into view. "Yes, Daniel. It is I."

"Why?", Dan asked. "I mean, why are you talking to me?"

Jonathan took a single, reality-bending step, and knelt down by Dan's side. Although Dan stood 18 feet tall, Jonathan still towered over him.

"Because, Daniel, you have what is very rarely seen these days. Potential. True, real, potential."

"Potential?", Dan asked. "What do you mean?"

Jonathan gave a warm smile. "Within you, Daniel, is a true raging heart, and a mighty warrior's spirit. You've progressed in the Star faster in a month than most could do in their entire lifetimes. You evolved from a Knight to a Mega Knight in a matter of weeks, not months or years. Doing such things requires not only skill and determination, but also vast amounts of raw, untapped strength."

"You're saying that I have some sort of… unrealized might.", Dan said. "Right?"

Jonathan nodded. "Indeed. See, if you just-"

Without warning, he tapped Dan's chest. There was a flash of white light, and Dan saw himself.

He was looking down at his own body, from somewhere that didn't make sense. His entire frame swelled with sheer, unmatched strength, radiating outwards in droves. Silver waves boiled in the air around him, amounts of Star crackling off of him that he would normally struggle to summon.

"Amazing…", Dan breathed. With those words, he suddenly found himself back in his own body, staring at Jonathan once again.

"See what I told you, Daniel?", Jonathan asked, and stood up. "Potential."

Dan looked at his hands, still able to see the silver light rising up off him. "How?", he asked, then looked up. "How do I attain such power?"

Jonathan smiled. "That will come later. For now…"

He extended his finger, and a thin bolt of Star shot out right into Dan's forehead. "It's time to wake up."

Dan shot awake, his eyes flashing open. He bolted upright, not thinking about doing so. When he saw that Brandy had been suddenly flung across the room by his sitting up, he regretted doing it so recklessly.

Brandy sat up, and rubbed her head where she had hit the wall of the room. She pulled her hair out of her face, trying to smooth down her hood. "Ow! Dan, what was that for?"

"Sorry, Brandy.", Dan said, and rolled out of the bed. He stuck out his arms to either side, attracting the dozens of pieces of armor that had been left around the room. "I just really needed to wake up for some reason."

"For some reason…", Brandy mumbled, as she rose to her feet. She placed two hands on her lower back and bent backwards in a deep stretch. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The last piece of armor snapped on to Dan's arm, and he blinked. "Uh…"

Brandy stared at him. "Did you just throw me across the room and get ready for no reason?"

Dan shook his head. "No, there was definitely a reason."

He scratched his chin, rustling the soft, warm bristles of his beard. "I just can't seem to remember it right now."

Both Brandy and Dan stared at each other for a few more seconds, before a loud knock at the door interrupted their thoughts.

Brandy's eyes flew to the door, a half-second before she did. "I'll get it.", she said.

She threw open the heavy wooden door with a grunt of effort, to see a heavily breathing, seemingly worried Barbarian. As soon as he saw her, he snapped to attention.

"You two!", he shouted. "Archer Queen Sophie needs you to report to the Town Hall, immediately!"

"What?", Dan asked, standing up to attention. Perhaps this is why he had so suddenly woken up.

"Why?", Brandy asked, completing the question. She didn't know why, but she Dashed up to Dan's shoulder anyway.

"She suspects we may soon be under attack.", the Barbarian said. "That is, of course, where you two come in."

Dan and Brandy looked at each other. Attack?, Brandy thought. We weren't expecting that.

No…, thought Dan back, and scratched his cheek. But it could be fun.

Fun?, Brandy thought. I mean, I guess so. You know, it might be.

Oh, think of it, thought Dan. We can finally fight in a standardized battle again. We'll know exactly what we're fighting, there's no worry about actual death, it'll be fun.

Yeah, you're right, Brandy thought. Sounds good and after all our enemies are destroyed, we can come back and-

Dan reached out with a single finger and delicately caressed Brandy's chin. Destroy something else?

Brandy had been about to say "Figure out our plans for the next few days". But that works just as well, she thought. You know I love it when you say stuff like that.

She leaned in and kissed him, the logical end to their silent conversation. The Barbarian, however, had not seen any of it. To him, it merely seemed as though the odd Clan Castle Troops had taken half a minute to take in his announcement, then kissed each other out of the blue. Strange, indeed.

"Well.", he said. "Anytime you two lovebirds are ready, report to the Town Hall. You know, the big building."

He waited for a bit, until Dan and Brandy broke off their kiss.

"It's just to the right of here.", he said. "Can't very well miss it."

Then he closed the door and walked off, making sure not to look behind him.

As Brandy watched the door close, she nodded. "Yeah… we should go."

Dan didn't nod, because Brandy was still on his shoulder. "Yes. We need to go do stuff."

"I'm stuff.", Brandy said with a sly smile.

Dan rubbed her back with one huge finger. "I know. But I'm serious."

"So am I.", Brandy said. "Stuff really needs to get done."

Dan started walking, and pushed the door open. "Oh, come on. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about-"

"In fact, I think it's been since the day before yesterday since you've done stuff.", Brandy said, thinking back. "You should do stuff more often."

Dan just rolled his eyes as they went out the door, and Brandy laughed so hard she snorted.

The center of the Village was silent, yet tense. It was now early afternoon, and all the Troops of the army had decided to take a quick nap before attacking. The Builders were all busy, hammering away at various structures. The Villagers quietly tended to themselves- watering their plants, jumping over walls, clapping at trees for unknown, ancestral reasons, etc. Only the Heroes stood alert, quietly watching the edges of the Village for any sign of foes.

"See anything, Herb?", Sophia asked, taking another sip of Dark Elixir. Normally such luxuries couldn't be afforded, but the village had been getting more Dark Elixir than usual lately.

"Not yet.", Herb grunted, taking a look through his binoculars. "Tell you when I do."

"Okay, tell me when you do-", Sophia began, then realized that Herb had already answered her. She sniffed, and took her own pair of binoculars from her belt.

She carefully scanned the horizon with eagle's eyes, trying to look for any and all suspicious movement. But there was none for now- just the various woodland creatures going about their day, and the trees keeping watchful eyes over all of it.

"Hey.", Brandy said, and gave a little wave. "Need us yet?"

Herb almost yelped and whipped around, but he didn't. Instead he just raised his mug of Dark Elixir to his lips and took a deep sip. "Yep. We're likely gonna need you pretty soon."

"Because we're getting attacked?", Dan asked. "That's it, isn't it?"

"Because we're getting attacked.", Herb said. Whether he said it to acknowledge Dan's words or despite them was unknown.

"Now, now.", Sophia said, with a calming wave of her hand. "We're not getting attacked yet, or even for certain."

"Eh.", Herb said, and looked upwards towards the sky. "We're getting attacked for certain. I can feel it in my bones."

Sophia looked up as well, and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Or those might just be the battle clouds that seem to be forming overhead."

Both Herb and Sophia laughed for a moment, before realizing just what that sentence meant.

"Battle… battle clouds?", Dan asked. "Does that mean that-"
Sophia stood up, grabbing her bow by her side. "Yep. We gotta move."

A single bolt of lightning flashed on the far horizon. Dan and Brandy stiffened, as the flash illuminated shapes in the trees. It had grown dark unexpectedly, even though the sun had been shining just a few minutes ago.

"Woah.", Brandy said. "Why did it suddenly get so dark?"

Sophia shifted in her stance, edging ever closer to the edge of the village. "That's just a side effect of the battle clouds. Nothing to worry about."

Herb swung his sword around, pushing his jaw further into his skull. "Just a routine battle, this one. Nothing to worry about at all…"

Dan looked back at the army of Troops still in the Army Camps, just sort of lounging around. A few of the Bowlers had slowly gotten up, heading in the general direction of the Town Hall, although there was no real hurry.

"Hey, why aren't they helping?", he asked, pointing back at them. "Shouldn't they be getting ready to defend?"

Sophia took her attention away from the enemy treeline long enough to shoot Dan a look of total confusion. "Excuse me, what?"

Dan gestured to the army, then back to Sophia. "I mean, they're just sitting there. They should help us."

Herb looked to Sophia, who looked back at him in confusion. They knew each other well enough that they could have a conversation without even using words- or even telepathy.

Excuse me, but are these not our Clan Castle Troops?, Herb's eyes seemed to say.

I think so, yes., Sophia shrugged back. And yet-

They seem to have a total lack of knowledge of how things work around here, Herb said with a grunt. The man does, anyway.

Hmmm, Sophia said with a twitch of her eye. We'll have to investigate things further.

She turned to the treeline again, and pointed her crossbow at Brandy and Dan, who had no idea what she and Herb had been talking about. "See me after the battle.", she said with harsh eyes. "If you're still alive by then."

"Still alive?", Brandy thought with a pulse of alarm, but Dan just cracked his massive knuckles.

"Don't worry, madam.", he said with a confident grin. "We'll have them cleared out in no time."

He cast his gaze over his shoulder, looking at the sleeping and gradually retreating army of Troops. "Even if they're no help."

"That's what we like to hear!", Herb shouted. "We also like to hear our opponents getting destroyed, so if you wouldn't mind…"

He gestured forwards, at a still empty field. The enemy, for whatever reason, had not yet decided to charge.

"Uh, sir?", Brandy said, and pointed. "There aren't any opponents to destroy yet."

Herb's eyebrow fell off in surprise. He stuck it back on again at an awkward angle, then took a closer look at the treeline.

"Oh, so there isn't!", he said with an awkward laugh. "Sorry about that, trying to see as a Skeleton is hard sometimes."

"So why don't you take it off?", Brandy said. "Change back to a Barbarian King, I mean."

Herb gasped, then covered his chest with his detached arm. "Why, never! Little girl, it's clear that you don't realize just how important style is to a Barbarian King such as myse-"

"Hey!", Sophia shouted, attracting the attention of all three of them. "Stop talking and let's move!"

She pointed towards the sky, where a huge hourglass now hung, counting down from three minutes. "We're being attacked!"

Song: Overdrive

Dan ducked behind the wall, on some instinct. Brandy instantly followed his example, although she did now know why.

There was a great shout from beyond the treeline, and a line of Troops rushed into view. They were 7 Wizards, confident in their destructive stride. From the color of their robes, it could be seen that they were of respectfully high level. They all walked in a line, deployed on the side of the village where all the Storages were. They laughed to themselves, as they saw the Heroes on the other side of the Village, towering over the walls they did not seem to be able to see over.

They had been deployed in order to clear out the more fragile side of the Village, due to their high damage. Then the Giants would draw the fire of the defenses, clearing the way for the army's Witches to clear out the rest of the Village. It was a fairly good strategy, would have worked- had it not been for a certain pair of very special Clan Castle Troops.

With a flash of green, a troop the Wizards had never seen before leapt over the walls. She slammed her hand down on the ground and pivoted in a circle, jumping up to face them.

"That's funny…", Brandy said, and crouched down. "They're all in a line."

She grinned, and silver rose off her body as she prepared to Dash. "It's almost as if they want me to take them down."

The first Wizard on the line had already started his assault. He shot a ball of flame at the first Elixir storage he saw, causing a crack down the glass and sending a spray of Elixir into the air. It was magically dissipated into the air- and would soon reform in the Elixir Storages back at his own base. But he would never live to see it, because a quick Dash-infused kick to the side splattered him across the ground in a puddle of Elixir.

"Wow, he went down fast.", Brandy said, and wiped her face clean. "Guess they must be even weaker over here."

Then she crouched down again, and Dashed for a second time.

Brandy slammed into the second Wizard, right as he had let loose his ball of flame. Just like the first, he exploded into purple rain upon contact with Brandy's bat, splattering upon the face of the third in line.

"Hey, what-", was the third Wizard's scared yell, before he too was swiftly destroyed.

"Holy frick-", came the fourth Wizard's shout, before he was cut down with a single chop to the neck.

Brandy skidded to a stop, noting with some dismay that her next target was around a corner wall. But that was no matter- she just straightened her hood, gripped her stick a little tighter, and jumped over the lava-soaked wall.

Far back in the attack force, the enemy Barbarian King staggered back in shock.

"Our Wizards!", he shouted, and pointed a finger towards the carnage. "What's destroying them?"

The Archer Queen next to him took a look, and gasped. She did not know what the whirling green dervish slicing their Wizards to bits was, but she knew it was too strong for them to handle.

"Drop the Poisons!", she yelled, sweeping her hand across the army to give orders. "Right on that… thing!"

A bunch of Minions flying high above heard her command, and grunted in compliance. As one, they selected a pair of Poisons, and flew directly over to where Brandy had just barely finished turning the Wizards to purple goop.

"Well, that was easy.", Brandy laughed, as she wiped the Elixir from her face. "What's next? Maybe a-"

But she was startled out of her celebration by two glass containers shattering on the ground next to her, spilling out a huge cloud of orange toxin.

"Gah!", Brandy spat, staggering back from the spell's radius. "This is Poison!"

Holding her hand in front of her face, she Dashed in the first direction she saw- back over the walls and into the village. She could tell that her health had dropped somewhat just from touching the Poison- and a chilling thought jumped into her head.

If I die out here…, she thought, only just now noticing the gravestones that the Wizards had turned into. There was also a disturbing lack of colors, either Blue or Red. No bench, nowhere to return to. Brandy felt her face grow pale, and her heart beat louder in her chest. Do I die for real?

"She's retreated!", shouted the enemy Archer Queen triumphant. "Now send in the Witches!"

There was the sound of a dozen Skeletons bursting forth from the ground, and a group of Witches strode out from the trees. The Giants had already been deployed, and many of the defenses were firing straight at them.

"Bring out the Clone spell!", the Barbarian King roared. "Make as many Witches as possible!"

The Minions flew overhead again with a sigh, and the oversized bottle of the Clone dropped down to the ground. Even more Witches magically sprung up out of the light blue liquid that now covered the small area of ground, packing the small space even tighter.

"Their area defenses are distracted!", the Barbarian King yelled, bringing his fists up the sky. "Now we can-"

But his words suddenly died in his throat, as a huge shadow fell over the group. The Witches all looked up, to see the shining figure of Dan hanging in the air.

With a mighty crash, Dan slammed himself down right in the middle of the Witches. There was a thunderous explosion, as the ground cracked under his mighty impact. The Witches all flew apart into bare Elixir with a chorus of collective screams, their Skeletons being crushed underneath Dan's metal bulk even as they were summoned. The Clone spell faded, it's area of effect destroyed by Dan's assault.

The Barbarian King stopped in his tracks, his finger still extended. It slightly twitched, as did his eyes. He looked at his attack force, now reduced to a bunch of half-health Giants within just a few seconds. He looked at the massive steel figure that had crushed his Witches to bits, having come out of seemingly nowhere. He looked at the Archer Queen, who stared back at him with an equally terrified expression, if such a thing was even possible.

They nodded, having come to a unanimous agreement within moments. They both stood up straight, gripped their weapons a little tighter, and turned around.

"Retreat!", they shouted, and took off into the woods. The Giants stopped what they were doing, looked at their leaders, and ran off after them without a sound.

Herb and Sophia watched the full attack force, or really what was left of it, which was just a handful of injured Giants and the Heroes, run off into the woods. Trees were knocked over and bushes destroyed from the speed and force of their escape from the two mysterious Troops that had dismantled their entire army.

The hourglass hovering magically above the village stopped, the last grain of sand falling in a soft trickle. A harsh alarm blared out over the sky, as the countdown stopped at 2 minutes and 30 seconds. It had taken hardly any time at all for their defeat.

"Well.", Herb said, and crossed his arms. He cast a look of approval at Dan, who still stood at the spot where the Witches had gone down. "That went well."

Sophia put her hand on her forehead, staring off at the horizon. "I estimate our trophies will be delivered by today at 4."

She looked over at Dan, who was staring at the ground with a look of shock and horror. He had let his metal gloves slide back into his wrists, exposing his rough hands.

"I… killed them.", he said quietly. "For real."

He stood up, and spun around to address Herb. "Did I?", he asked, his face worn with concern. "Did I just kill these Witches for good?"

Sophia gave Dan a weird look, leaning back on the wall. She spread her hand in front of her face, gently trimming her immaculate nails. "Yeah.", she said. "What did you think would happen?"

"I… thought they would reform?", Dan asked, clutching at straws. "Like normal."

Herb raised his eyebrow, now beginning to doubt Dan's mental health a little. "You're starting to sound a little weird there, son. What do you mean, like normal-"

A violent coughing fit erupted from the left, and Herb turned his eyes to look. There was Brandy, still looking a little Poisoned around the edges, as she leapt haphazardly over a wall.

"What are we talking about?", she asked, and looked up at the three towering figures. "Something?"

Dan looked down at her with distraught eyes. "I killed those Witches, Brandy.", he said. "I killed all of them."

Brandy tilted her head. "Of course you did, Dan.", she said. "Just like I killed those Wizards. What's wrong?"

"I don't mean like regular killed them, Brandy.", Dan whispered, and pointed to the gravestones that still adorned the grass. "I mean like…"

Brandy's gaze went from Dan, then to the gravestones, then back to Dan. Her face dropped, as the full realization of what she had done suddenly sunk in. Hadn't she too been thinking about this before the Poison spells had hit?

"Oh Se'th…", Dan and Brandy said in unison, much to the confusion of Herb and Sophia. Who was this Se'th they were talking about? And it was just a routine battle, why in Dar'ia's name where they freaking out about it? But then, way back in the edge of her mind, something clicked with Sophia.

"Hey, wait a minute.", she said, slowly walking forward. "I think I know what's going on here."

Dan and Brandy stopped talking, and gave each other a nervous look. Sophia reached the two, and stared closer at them, her hands on her hips.

"You're not like any Troops I've ever seen.", Sophia said. "You're totally unfamiliar with even the basic rules of the land. You've got me thinking…"

She leaned back, and folded her arms. "You're not really our Clan Castle Troops, are you?"

Dan looked at Brandy, who looked back at Dan. They both knew the jig was up. Brandy stepped forward to give some sort of explanation, perhaps about how they were vacationing and had gotten lost, or something made up like that- but to her surprise, Dan had already begun to talk.

"You got us.", Dan said, clear and loud. "We aren't exactly from around here. In fact, we're from the continent of Royale, all the way across the sea. We're here on a mission, to find a Dragon who wishes to save the world from an ancient evil that seems to be waking up. We've already encountered no less than four of its minions on our way here. They appear to be totally unique troops, unlike anything that really exists. We got lost in pursuit of a particularly nasty one, and ended up here as a result. We faked being your reinforcements in order to gain safe haven here, although I guess it did work out rather well."

A quick smile cracked his face as he saw the shocked expressions of Herb and Sophia, but most of all Brandy. He stepped aside a bit, and gestured downwards to her. "And I suppose that it's also worth mentioning that I am a user of the Star, and my wife here is a Stand user."

"Star?", Herb asked slowly, not really following all of a sudden. "Stand?"

"Yeah.", Dan said, and lit up his hand with golden light. "This is Star, and-"

He looked down to Brandy, who just shrugged. "And I suppose she can't really show you her Stand, because neither of you are Stand users. Or so she says."

"That is how it is, Dan.", Brandy said. "Plus The Dreamer isn't really a visual stand anyway."

"I'm sorry, I don't follow.", Herb said. "What is going on here? What are you talking about?"

"I think what they're talking about, dear…", Sophia said, taking Herb by the shoulder, "Is that they are both users of some bizarre magic. We should be honored to have them in our presence!"

With each stressed word, Sophia squeezed Herb's skeletal shoulder just a little tighter. He winced in pain, but managed to nod. "Oh.", he said. "I see."

"Well.", Sophia said, letting go and spinning around to face Dan. Herb rubbed his aching shoulder, and put on his best smile. "Seeing as how you're both on a quest and all, would you like to help us with one more thing?"

Dan folded his arms. "Well, that depends. What is that thing you want us to do?"

"Revenge.", Sophia said. "We want you to help us attack the Village who you just fought off."

"I don't know.", Dan said. "I don't want to kill any more people."

"Oh, is that the only problem?", Herb asked. "Huh."

He strode forward, and put one hand on Dan's shoulder. He pointed the other at the gravestone, which even now was free of any spilled Elixir. "Cause you see…"

He chuckled a little bit. "Yes, they died. But they didn't die permanently. Once they were defeated in battle, they became eligible for reincarnation."

"Reincarnation?", Brandy asked from the ground below. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's where they can be born again with all their same memories as a Troop in another village.", Herb explained, much to the relief of both Brandy and Dan. "So they die, but not really."

Dan and Brandy looked at each other, and smiled weakly. "That's good to hear.", Dan said.

"Yeah.", Brandy grinned. "Here I was thinking we were murderers."

"Heh heh, nope!", Herb said. Then his friendly manner suddenly turned serious. "However.", he said, with a darkened face. "That only applies in standardized battles such as that one. So if you ever die somewhere else in the world, say on the way to a battle, or somewhere in the mountains… well. That's too bad for you."

He looked up, and Brandy felt a chill run involuntarily down her body. "You're not ever coming back."

Then Herb became his cheery old self again, and grabbed a huge horn from his belt. Lifting it to his lips, he blew as hard as he could- very hard indeed, considering that he was still a skeleton.

"Battle Horn! Battle Horn!", a Bowler shouted simultaneously, and shot awake. "Battle Horn!"

Within mere seconds, with astonishing speed, the army had assembled from their various states of wakefulness, whether totally alert or dead asleep. Herb hoisted his sword into the air, and shouted a ferocious war cry. "We march!", he bellowed. "Towards the village of tocixlevor5!"

The army scrambled to march, the Heroes leading them on to battle. But elsewhere, something entirely different was happening.

Song: Himeru Omoi

Deep within the dark forest that covered the vast majority of the continent, many eyes watched. Some of those eyes were innocent, mere assorted forest creatures that meant no harm. Some of those eyes were malicious, those of the wild Goblins that held outposts all across the realm. And one particular pair seethed with raw hatred, purple skin twisting around them as he ever sought his elusive target.

"He's not here…", said the Mortis, and slung his shovel over his shoulder. "But he was. Just a little while ago."

Mortis dropped to the ground to inspect the dirt, and saw a trail of shallow footprints. Size 3, barefoot. Judging from the depth they were now, the tracks had been left not even 3 hours ago.

"Curse him…", Mortis growled, and stood up. He scratched at the side of his cheek, not noticing that he drew a tiny bit of black blood. "He continues to evade me. Every time I think I've caught up to that brat, he escapes my reach."

Mortis felt a breath of cold, controlling wind on his neck, and he clenched his fist. "But I will find him.", he said. "For you, my master."

Good, Mortis, good, came the soothingly hissed answer of the mysterious shadow. And once we do, he will be able to lead us to the other two. And they are what the master wants.

"Right…", Mortis said, and swung his shovel somewhere in front of him. "I should go. He won't find himself!"

Both Mortis and his enigmatic master shared a hearty laugh. Then the shadow faded, and Mortis was left alone as he slashed and dashed through the woods, his long black cape trailing far behind him.

But even though the dark machinations of evil were strong in the woods, and the heroic acts of the village of SpaceKrakenX were about to be known, they both still took place at the Continent of the Clans. And elsewhere, in a place known as the Hay Day Farms, strange things were afoot.

Farmer James stepped outside his house, making sure to wipe his feet on the mud flaps. He sighed, stretched deeply to the back, and cast a quick and quiet look around the farm. There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Taking a look upwards at the chaotic sky, he noticed it was looking unusually red today. That was bad- or so he thought. That's what the last visitor had told him, about 3 months ago. That Red was the color of evil, and Blue was the color of good.

"Well, shooey.", said Farmer James, and looked down at the chicken he held in his arms. "What do you think of that, Russell?"

Russell the rooster just looked up at Farmer James. He knew even less about the situation- in fact, he knew pretty much nothing at all. Only that he was a chicken, and that James took care of him, and he himself took care of the chickens, which in turn took care of Farmer James. It was a very nice, neat cycle- but of course, he knew nothing of all this.

"Aek.", said Russell, and Farmer James sighed.

"I knew you'd say that.", he said. "Just like you always do."

Russell tilted his head in confusion. At first he had thought that James would be angry- but then he saw him satisfied and happy. It was a bit much for his chicken brain, so he just hopped out of James's arms and back onto the ground. He resumed pecking.

Farmer James stared up again at the cloud blanketing the sky- and stopped in shock. For just a moment, he thought that he could see the outlined figure of a Dragon flying through the clouds. But that was impossible. The furthest west Dragons were known to live was 50 miles of the Hay Day Farms. For the Dragon to be big enough to have been seen from that distance, it would have to be almost large beyond comprehension.

But then the shadow vanished into the rising stormcloud, and James shook off his fear. He turned to watch Russell and his flock eating from a collective feed bowl, and grinned.

"Look how happy they are.", he said. "I should be that happy."

He gave a little time to think about how best to accomplish this goal. After a few seconds, he realized that the best time for him would be to go back inside his house and get a few jars of his favorite, slightly intoxicating drink.

Farmer James was just a farmer, yes. But he had been just that for a very long time. He had managed to pick up a thing or two- which is exactly why he was so worried about the cloud. It almost reminded him of something his father had told him a long time ago. Something about a Dragon. James picked his own brain attempting to remember, but came up with nothing of worth.

Oh well. It can wait, James thought, as he stood back up and went inside the house. Life was always busy on a farm.

Song: Yuuki Rendan

"Alright, everyone!", shouted Herb, as the sun began to hit the midway point of the sky. There was still a lot of time left in the day, but it was running out. Night battles were harder- that's why it would be best for them to attack now. "Stop walking!"

Many of the Troops looked up in confusion, but others knew what was going on. It wasn't exactly their first time fighting.

"Stop walking because…", Herb said, and gestured widely to Sophia. She smiled, and thrust out her bow towards a clearing up ahead. "We're here!"

Brandy opened her eyes, from where she had been taking a short nap on Dan's shoulder. She saw that they were now standing on a large hill, over the forest and a Village-sized clearing.

"Ooh.", she said. "Is that it, then?"

She pointed forward, grabbing Dan's neck for support. Dan strained his eyes to see where she was pointing, then saw the very tops of some Inferno Towers ever-so-slightly visible among the trees.

"Listen up!", Sophia yelled, slamming her fist into her hand. "We're one more star away from getting our bonus. These guys attacked us first. The upgrade of our X-Bow is hanging in the balance. Are you guys ready for this?"

The army cheered, and Sophia jabbed her bow into the air. "Yeah!"

She lifted her hand, and Herb gave her a massive high five. "Now, is everyone ready?"

As one, the army nodded. They were ready for anything. Herb looked to Dan and Brandy, who looked at each other with nervousness. But they too were ready.

"Well then.", Herb said, then gave a ferocious war cry. "Let's go!"

Song: I'm in Control

He charged forward, right at the forefront of the attack. Well, not exactly- he was right behind the Golems, which had been already charging while he gave his speech. They were slow after all, and needed some time to move forward so the much faster Barbarian King wouldn't outpace them. And although his HP was high, it was nowhere near the unparalleled bulk and durability of the level 5 Golems.

Behind him, slowly clanking down the hill with the creaking of metal, were the trio of level 6 Pekkas. They were deployed behind the Golems in order to take full advantage of their raw destructive potential, their purple armor glinting from the overhead sun and swords swinging back and forth.

Behind the trio of dangers was Sophia, running as fast as she could to get closer to the enemy village. While the enemy's defenses were busy slowly chipping at the Golems and Pekkas, she could use her mighty Queenbow to spread massive damage across the entire area.

Behind Sophia was the infamous quartet of Skeletons- four Wall Breakers. They didn't even struggle under the weight of their massive barrels of gunpowder as they streaked headlong towards the walls, eager to do some damage. Once the walls were destroyed, the Golems, Pekkas, and Herb would be able to wreak as much havoc as they were able.

Slowly walking up behind the initial shock force was the rest of the huge army- over a dozen Bowlers. Behind the tanks of the army, they could throw their boulders free of harm. And what boulders they would be, bouncing over and through walls, breaking down buildings, and freeing sweet, sweet, resources from their Storage prisons.

Above the invasion force flew a group of Spell Minions, ready to drop the army's Spells wherever they were needed. Normally it would be the Chief that did such actions, but this particular Village's Chief was taking a small leave of absence. There were a pair of Rages, ready to boost the attack's power as needed. There was a Heal, just in case an untimely Giant Bomb popped up or a Wizard Tower grew too lucky. There was a Clone, for when the Bowlers had managed to break through to the heart of the village. And there were a pair of Poisons in the back, just in case there were Heroes or Clan Castle Troops to worry about.

In the very back was a single Archer, deployable to take out corner Builder's Huts and Army Camps. She was mostly there because the army had one extra space left over, however.

Coming up behind even her, now, were Dan and Brandy. They watched the army rush headlong towards the enemy's walls, seemingly not even caring about the vast lines of defenses. It looked like a good strategy, however. Tanking for the DPS units seemed to be a common thing across both continents. Indeed, as Brandy heard Sophia yell "Heads up, morons! We're aiming for three stars today!", she grinned. Some things never changed.

It usually was a good strategy. However, today, some things were about to go wrong. The first one was that instead of blowing up the walls, as they were supposed to, the Wall Breakers went a totally different direction from where they had been deployed, ran directly into the path of a Mortar shell, and blew apart into bones and dust instantly.

Herb was the first to notice, as he swung his sword to pulverize an enemy Skeleton. He was less happy about his own Skeletons getting crushed.

"We just lost the Wall Breakers!", he roared to Sophia in frustration. "There goes our funnel!"

Sophia loaded, aimed, and shot a trio of crossbow bolts all in the same partial second, arcing high over the head of a Pekka and into an Archer Tower. "Don't worry about it!", she yelled back.

"Just tell the Pekkas to break through!"

"Right…", Herb muttered, then pointed his sword towards a crucial point in the Village's walls. "You three! There's a big old butterfly right here! Come and catch it!"

The three Pekkas had been busy crushing Barracks outside the walls, hardly even noticing the newly built Wizard Tower that had been attacking them. But upon hearing that there were suddenly now butterflies to chase, their focus changed dramatically.

"But. Ter. Fly.", they all said as one, and turned to march metallically towards the indicated wall. An onlooker probably would have found it creepy, what with their glowing eyes and all, had it not been both a normal thing for Pekkas, and in the heat of battle.

The Archer that had been deployed at the very edge of the Village looked at her target- a single Builder's Hut. The Builder inside and his son had run for the Town Hall as soon as SpaceKrakenX's army had appeared on the horizon, and were even now huddling in fear under the Town Hall along with the rest of the Villagers and Army.

The Archer sighed in disgust, casting a look behind her to stare at the rest of the army. Then she knocked an arrow, aimed at the Hut, and began to chip away at its HP.

"Dan!", Brandy shouted. "Look at the Clan Castle!"

Dan stopped, even though he was almost to the walls. The Pekkas had managed to break through a few segments, and much of the attacking force had already entered. A roaring purple dome hovered over a large segment of the Village, indicating that one of the two Rage spells had already been dropped. SpaceKrakenX's army tended to work hard and fast- and today was no exception.

"What?", Dan asked, then saw it. An Ice Golem was slowly emerging from the wide door, his grinning face echoing no semblance of intelligence. "Oh."

"That's an Ice Golem.", Brandy said, noting how massive it was compared to the Ice Golems back home. "But… it's gigantic."

They both already knew of an Ice Golem's death nova, dealing small damage and slow down in a a small area. But this one emerging seemed to be 10 to 15 times the size. If it burst…

"We have to take it down!", Dan shouted, and ran. "Before it gets to the army!"

Brandy freaked out a little bit, pulling on Dan's neck to get him to slow down. "Dan! Wait!", she shrieked, and Dan turned his head to look at her. "What?"

"We can't just attack it!", she said. "Use Star!"

"I can't!", Dan shouted back. "This is a standardized battle!"

Brandy thought for a moment. "Oh. Right."

"Hey!", shouted Herb, and swung his Tombblade all the way through a nearby Air Sweeper. "You two! Stop talking and fight!"

"Right.", Brandy said, and pointed forwards. "Dan?"

Dan nodded, and beat his chest. He bent low, gaining energy in his legs to jump, then flew- high into the air. He soared over the walls, past the first row of buildings, and landed with a gigantic crash on a pair of Gold Mines. A torrent of Gold mist flew out of them, magically transporting itself through the air to SpaceKrakenX's Village.

A Villager screamed as he landed, still running to the Town Hall. She had been outside the outskirts of the Village, and thus had not made it in before everyone had begun their attack.

"Sorry about this!", Brandy shouted, as she slid off of Dan's shoulder and punched a Gold Storage. "Just business."

"Oh, I know it is.", said the Villager, suddenly calm. "I have to scream whenever someone attacks. It's my job, you know."

"Oh.", Brandy said, pausing her attack for a bit. "Well, keep on then."

The Villager nodded, then threw her hands into the air and ran towards the Town Hall. It was currently being attacked by a pair of Bowlers, so that might not have been the best direction. But really, what other option did she have? Villagers always went to the Town Hall- they had no other choice.

Dan slammed his fists down on a Gold Storage, sending a large crack up the side. It was oddly satisfying, his first raid like this. It was more mindless than Arena battles. You didn't have to worry about placement or timing as much, you could just let loose and destroy to your heart's content.

"Dan!", he heard Brandy shout, and he looked down to below him. Brandy jerked a thumb at the massive level 3 Ice Golem, which was now coming even closer. "Ice Golem! Remember?"

"Oh, right.", Dan said, and stopped crushing the Gold Storage. Seeing it was at 1% health, Brandy gave it a swift kick which filled the air above with Gold and turned the Storage to a pile of shiny rubble.

"So how are we gonna take it on?", Dan asked. "If we kill it, it might freeze us."

Brandy stepped out from behind him, and flicked her teeth. "I'm not sure… but we've gotta try something. Come on."

She started running forward, Dashing over an Archer Tower's arrow. So focused was she on approaching the Ice Golem that she failed to notice that some of the grass in her path was lying apart, disturbed.

But Dan noticed. He noticed about half a second before she stepped on it, running headlong through the shattered walls. "Brandy, wait!"

Brandy cast a look over her shoulder, her face asking the question. "What?"

Dan knew there was no time to explain- he just jumped forward as fast as he possibly could. Brandy felt something give under her feet, and she looked down to see the grass collapse, revealing the wooden square of a Spring Trap.

The mechanism triggered, and the Spring Trap shot upwards. The wood caught Brandy's foot, sending her flying upwards- and right into Dan's waiting grasp.

Brandy looked at the spent trap, now motionless on the grass. She felt herself go a little limp in Dan's grasp, hyper as she was.

"That was close.", Dan said. "You almost just-"

"What?", Brandy asked. "What would have happened?"

There was the noise of another trap being deployed at the other end of the village, and they both looked up. A pair of Bowlers that had been destroying edge buildings were flung upwards into the sky, becoming mere twinkles in the blue air before vanishing completely out of sight.

Brandy shivered, and Dan slowly placed her on his shoulder. "Oh. That."

"Yeah.", Dan said. "We can't let that happen."

There was the sound of creaking ice from a few rows down, and they were both suddenly reminded of why they had been rushing.

"Ice Golem!", Brandy yelled, and pointed forward. "We can't forget!"

"Right!", Dan roared, and crouched down to jump. It was a bit weird to fight without using his Star at this point, but he still knew how to do it.

Brandy gripped him a little tighter, and Dan pushed off from the ground. He flew in a high arc, narrowly avoiding the sweeping beam of an Inferno Tower as it found another target, and landed in a massive blow right on top of the Ice Golem.

The icy monster groaned, as it noticed what was happening. It stumbled a bit, falling against a wall. Dan dug his hands out of the ground, and spun around on his foot to face the beast.

"This doesn't seem like the Ice Golems back home.", Brandy said. "It looks angry. I didn't even think that was possible."

"This isn't home, Brandy.", Dan said, and took a stance. The Ice Golem beat its fists on the ground, bellowed, and charged forward. "Only sort of close."

Brandy gripped Dan's shoulders tighter, as the Ice Golem reared up into the air. Dan caught both its fists in his own, growling with ferocious intent.

Dan pushed against the Ice Golem's larger bulk, with as much strength as he could. Despite being made of mere ice, it had a strength that seemed to rival actual stone Golems. Perhaps even exceed it.

"You…", Dan growled, and pushed harder. The grass was crushed underneath their feet, as he slowly pushed the Ice Golem backwards. "Suck!"

The Ice Golem roared in frustration, unable to accept that this strange troop was stronger than him. The thick ice that made up his arms creaked, as he pushed as hard as he could.

The ground underneath the two titans buckled and cracked, another Spring Trap going off from the pressure. It had gone off underneath the Ice Golem however, so nothing else happened.

"Brandy!", Dan spat out. "Help me out here!"

"Okay.", Brandy said- then stopped. "How? What do I do?"

"I don't know!", Dan said, pushing even harder. Sweat dripped down his face, turning red from the frustration of being Starless. "Hit it or something!"

"Alright, I will.", Brandy said, and prepared. The Ice Golem roared, and pushed harder- only for Brandy to land directly between his eyes in a Dash-infused kick. Particles of snow and ice flew off of the Ice Golem, and a crack at last appeared down one of his arms.

"We got him!", Brandy yelled, and stabbed her club into one of the eyes. "Dan, push!"

The Ice Golem's ever present grin vanished off his face, and was now replaced with another emotion- that of fear. "Gruh?", it asked.

"Haaaa!", Dan roared, and pushed as hard as he could. The damage from Brandy's kick had taken a toll on the Ice Golem's right arm. It wasn't a big one- but it was enough. Enough to amplify Dan's push, snapping the arm right in two.

With half of its pushing force gone, the Ice Golem now no longer had any chance of holding back Dan. It took the full force of his push head-on, and was flung against a wall.

Brandy landed back on Dan's shoulder after her backflip, and grabbed his neck. "You think that did it?"

"I don't know.", Dan said. "Maybe if-"

The Ice Golem rose to his feet, and growled. He beat his chest with one hand, not expecting that the wall behind him would break down and the sword of a Pekka would slice directly through his chest. But that is, of course, exactly what happened.

Brandy's eyes widened, and she tugged on Dan's shoulder. "Dan! Run! It's gonna-"

But Dan was already one step ahead of her. He jumped backwards into the closest thing available, which just so happened to be the enemy's Clan Castle, as the wave of ice rushed across the ground.

Song: Capture the Target

The doors of the Clan Castle slammed shut with an ominous thud, as the light within turned off. Dan picked himself up from the ground, and Brandy Dashed up his back to land on his shoulder.

"Where are we?", Brandy asked. "Is this… their Clan Castle?"

Dan thought for a moment, then slashed his fist against the wall. A flurry of sparks flew into the air, landing on a torch. There was a moment till it caught, then the room was bathed in a low red light. If he couldn't use Star at the moment, he had to use the next best thing.

"Hello?", he asked. "Anyone there?"

"Dan, what are you doing?", Brandy hissed. "We have to get out of here!"

But Dan just waved a hand, and kept on walking forward. "No. I feel like we should explore a bit more."

"Why?", Brandy asked. "What could be so important that-"

Then she saw it. A movement in the far corner of the room, looking to be from someone in a green and yellow dress.

"Dan!", Brandy said. "Over there!"

She pointed to the figure, who now raised her hand high into the air. "There's something over there!"

Then Brandy felt something rather odd. It felt like a bizarre sensation in her legs, then her stomach.

"Who's there?", Dan asked. "Show yourself!"

The figure threw her hand up even further. Brandy felt the feeling increase, and she flew upwards into the air.

"Fly upwards!", said the figure from the shadows, keeping her hand up. "To the sky, and vanish forever!"

Brandy hit the ceiling, cracking the stone with the force. The brick hit her back like a Mortar shell, and she spat out blood from the impact. "What the-"

Dan roared, and launched himself forward. He slammed his fists into the floor with a burst of anger, breaking apart the stone. But the figure simply leaped backwards almost a dozen feet, alighting on a nearby shelf with the grace of an airborne dancer.

"You think you can touch me?", she asked. "When you can't even free your own fists?"

She swiped her other hand downwards, still keeping Brandy up on the ceiling with the other. Dan's hands dropped down even further, breaking through the floor of the Clan Castle and hitting the dirt below. "Behold me!"

She gestured upwards to Brandy, the roof beginning to crack even more. "See your friend? She's only moments away from breaking through the roof. Once she does, she'll go all the way to space! Gone forever!"

Brandy, struggling mightily, managed to wrench her head free of the pressure. She looked down at the mysterious figure, and saw flowing blonde hair, with very long ears.

"She can control… gravity?", Brandy spat. "Or at least that's what it looks like-"

Then something clicked in her head. Something she had seen a very long while ago, that only now made sense.

"You…", Dan roared, and pulled his hands upwards as hard as he could. They started to rise against the pressure, but the figure slammed her foot downwards as well. Dan groaned, and his fists hit the dirt again. "What are you?"

"Dan!", shouted Brandy, then her head was slammed against the wall again. "She's that new card that was supposed to come out like two months ago! Remember? The-"

"Indeed!", shouted the figure, and at last walked out into the light.

She seemed to be around Brandy's height, although perhaps a little bit shorter. Her dress started below her shoulders, coming down all the way past her knees. It was made of a thick green material, accented with white trim and yellow dots. A strange symbol adorned the front, and long blonde hair trailed behind her. "The Gravity Elf!"

She thrust her right hand up further, and the brick that Brandy was pressed against began to break. "I hold the power to control your personal gravity. I can push you down into the ground, or fling you upwards into the sky."

She pressed down harder with her left hand, and the ground underneath Dan began to break. "What good is your strength and speed when you can no longer move?"

"Hey! Gravity Elf!", Brandy shouted, managing to push one hand to another part of the ceiling. She grabbed a torch holder in a death grip, refusing to let go. "Are you one of them?"

"One of who?", asked the Gravity Elf. "And my name's Sonjia, by the way. Not that it'll really matter once I'm done with you…"

"One of the weird Troops that have all attacked us.", Brandy said. She grabbed the torch holder tighter- and felt it start to break off. An idea popped into her head, and her heart began to beat a little faster. "Are you one of them?"

Sonjia leaned back on a shelf, and thought for a moment. "No… I don't think I am."

"Are you working with him, then?", Dan asked, relaxing his arms for a moment. He knew what Brandy was about to do, just as sure as he knew her. "The Dragon?"

"Dragon?", Sonjia asked with curiosity. "What Drago-"

Her words were cut off, as she saw a burst of movement from Brandy. One of her hands had managed to escape the Gravity well, and had broken the torch holder free from the ceiling.

"Hey!", Brandy yelled, and threw the torch holder like a knife. "Catch!"

The ceiling above Brandy at last began to give way, as it opened up to the sky. Brandy gritted her teeth, grabbed the furthest edge she could, and hoped.

Sonjia smirked, and put her hand up in front of her. "Gladly."

The torch holder stopped in its path, grinding to a halt a foot in front of her hand.
"Were you going to hit me with that?", Sonji asked. "Because I hope that wasn't your entire plan."

"Oh, don't worry.", Dan said, and wrenched his fists free from the ground. He stood up to his full height, now free of Sonjia's gravitational influence. "It wasn't."

Sonjia gulped in fear, only now realizing what the plan had been. She had used the hand that was holding down Dan to take care of Brandy's weapon. One threat taken care of, and another freed.

"Wait!", Sonjia screamed, throwing up her hand. The torch holder clattered to the ground, its momentum spent, and the gravity well began to form around Dan. "Don't touch me-"

"ORA!", Dan bellowed, and slammed his fist into Sonjia with the force of a Rocket. She screamed and flew backwards, skidding through furniture in the darkened room. There was a loud crack as she hit a wall, then she lay still.

Brandy's grip broke, as the reverse gravity on her finally faltered. She fell awkwardly to the ground, one leg tingling with sleep. The pain shot through her shin, and she winced.

In an instant, Dan was by her side. He picked her up in his massive arms, staring down at her.

"Brandy, are you alright?"

"Yeah.", Brandy said, and winced again. She grabbed her leg, running her hand down it to try and ward off the pain. "I'm fine."

"You sure?", Dan said, gently setting her down on the floor. "Because I can heal you, if you need it."

"Oh.", Brandy said. "Well then, you can-"

Dan didn't wait for her to finish her sentence. He just grabbed Brandy's leg, sweeping her up on the floor, and surrounded it with a haze of golden energy. Brandy felt the pain disappear, the bruised bones turning back to normal.
"I didn't know you could do that.", Brandy said, suddenly noticing the position that Dan held her in. "While holding me like that."

"I can.", Dan said. "Ever since I- what do you mean, holding you like this."

"Oh, you know.", Brandy said. "Spreading my legs?"

Dan's eyes widened, and he dropped Brandy's leg. "Oh, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's fine.", Brandy said, and stood a little closer to him. "I like it when you do that."

Dan's face turned a little hotter, and he looked to the back of the room. "We should check on the Gravity Elf."

"Right.", Brandy said. "I didn't see what happened to her."

Brandy crouched, then Dashed over the fallen furniture. She landed with a crash on the other side of the room, skidding to a stop. There lay the fallen Sonjia in front of her, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead.

"Huh.", Brandy said. "She's pretty tough. Took a punch from you and lived."

"Hmph.", Dan said. "In a standardized battle, sure. Wouldn't happen in the wilds, though."

I don't think this is a standardized battle anymore, Brandy thought to herself. She thought it would be best not to say it out loud.

"What should we do with her?", Brandy said. "She said she wasn't working with whoever those Troops were."

"Yeah, but she could be lying.", Dan said, and raised his fist. "Figures ones like that would."

"Now hold on.", Brandy said. "I'm not sure we should-"

Sonjia's eyes fluttered open, to see Dan's massive fist raised above her. She screamed, tried to jump back, and hit her head on the wall again, in the same spot.

"Wait!", she shrieked, and Dan paused. "Please, don't hurt me! I didn't mean to-"

"What?", Dan growled, and Sonjia shrank back. "You didn't mean to attack us? Didn't mean to almost send my wife into the stratosphere?"

"I'm sorry, I thought- I thought you came in here to kill me.", Sonjia admitted. "There are so many people after me, I assumed you were some of them."

"No.", Brandy said, and scratched her mask in thought. "We're being hunted too."

"Oh.", Sonjia said, and extended her hand. "Maybe we could… team up?"

She stared upwards with hope, but Dan was still not sure. He could sense there was no malice or trickery in her words, but…

"I don't know.", Dan sighed. "This is our second honeymoon, and-"

Sonjia leapt up, a disgruntled look on her face. "Fine then.", she huffed. "You're just like all the others."

"Sonjia, wait!", Brandy yelled, stretching out her hand, but Sonjia had already begun to run. She jumped up onto a windowsill, took one last angry look back, then jumped off, flying high into the sky.

"Dan!", Brandy said. "What did you do that for? She could have helped us!"

"Maybe.", Dan said. "But I think it would be better if we did this thing alone."

"Alone?", Brandy asked. "Dan, we're gonna need all the help we can get."

Dan thought for a moment. "Hmm. Maybe you're right."

They stood there for a second, neither one knowing what to say. Then Dan slowly bent down, and put a hand around Brandy's waist. "I love you, you know."

The irritation on Brandy's face melted away, and she fell backwards into Dan's arms. "I love you too."

She closed her eyes. So what if Sonjia was gone? She still had Dan by her side. And he was truly who mattered.

"Hey!", came the voice of Herb. The light flooded into the Clan Castle, and Dan and Brandy turned around. "If you two lovebirds could wrap it up in there, we can head back now."
"Oh shoot!", Brandy said, and slapped her mask. "The battle! We totally forgot!"

"What happened?", Dan asked. "Did we win?"

Herb nodded. "Yep. Easy three star. Or it would be, if you two weren't still in the Clan Castle. Now come on, let the boys break it."

"Okay.", Dan said. Brandy Dashed up onto his shoulder, and they walked out the broken doors to see a circle of Bowlers.

"They're out!", Herb shouted. "Let em have it, boys!"

The Bowlers cheered, and as one threw their stones. The already damaged Clan Castle was crushed underneath the weight of the assault, crumpling into a pile of bricks.

A massive white star appeared above the destroyed Village, and the remaining army let out a cheer.

"Let's go home!", Sophia yelled, and jabbed her Queenbow into the air. "And upgrade our X-Bow!"

"Yes.", Brandy said, and leaned up against Dan's head. She was kind of tired after two battles in a row. "Let's."

And so it was that the army of Spacekrakenx, Dan and Brandy alongside, headed on back towards their village.

Song: Ancientry

"Sophie?", came an unknowabley deep voice. "Are you awake yet?"

Sophie the Archer Queen slowly blinked her eyes open. She sat up and rubbed her head- noticing with a start that her crown was no longer on it.

"What the-", she started, and jumped to her feet. She saw the bed of straw that she had been laying on, with thick iron bars in front of her, only darkness beyond. She looked down at herself, and her heart sank. Her uniform of rich purple and green had been taken, leaving only a simple grey tunic behind. She reached to grasp her back- the Queenbow that would usually be there was gone as well. Her cloak had been taken as well, removing her special ability. She was only Sophie now, royal no longer.

"Ah, good.", said the voice again, and Sophie jumped back in fear as the massive eye of Rakastamos suddenly appeared in front of her cage. "It appears you are."

Sophie backed up, raising an arm to protect herself, but it was nothing compared to the sheer might of the Dragon. Rakastamos flicked a single finger, moving aside the bars and grabbing Sophie in a grip hundreds of times stronger than she. There was no hope of escape.

Rakastamos took a step back from the prison, hundreds of feet up in a cavern wall. With another flick of a finger, he swiped the bars back into place. "I was starting to get concerned."

"What…", Sophie groaned, her head still hurting like mad. "What are you talking about?"

"Well.", said Rakastamos. "Seeing as how you're going to be working for me now, I guess I should just show you around. Meet your fellow co-workers, get used to the layout of the whole place…"

His eyes shone with almost fatherly pride, at the evil lair he had constructed. "See the sights…"

Sophie looked up at the mighty face of the Dragonlord, and visibly shivered. His scales shone an evil red under the pale light, what seemed to be blood flowing through the cracks.

"You're mad.", Sophie said. "There's no way I'll help you."

Rakastamos just rolled his eye all the way back, and chuckled a little bit. "Oh, is that what you think? Here, let me show you."

He took a single mighty step, the ground shaking from his colossal weight. Although Sophie was in his grip, she could not see his entire body. Most of it was still covered in shadows. But she could see how tremendously vast he was just from his head, his body stretching far and deep into the further recesses of the cave.

Rakastamos pointed forwards, and a line of dragonfire torches lit as if by magic on the walls in that direction. The low orange light illuminated a monstrous structure on the far side of the cave, horrible sounds of screaming emanating from it.

"What is that?", Sophie whimpered, but she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know. A deep aura of unspeakable evil rose off the structure in waves, almost visible upon the dark air.

Rakastamos merely chuckled and drew closer, his mighty body changing the bottom of the cave as he walked by. "Oh, that? Why, that's my masterwork."

As Rakastamost kept on walking, the details of the infernal structure slowly came into view. Sophie could now see it consisted mainly of a large chamber and two pipes, one coming out either end. One was perched at the very edge of a long, rickety catwalk suspended by thin beams over empty space, and the other hung directly over a humongous glass vat.

The vat seemed to be about 3/4ths of the way full of a thick, deep red liquid, sloshing against the sides of the glass with a malicious intent.

"No…", Sophie whispered, her breath hoarse. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing, on the other end of the catwalk. "No."

A steady stream of Troops, all bound in chains, slowly made their way up the catwalk. A vast army of Skeletons and Robots led them up the wooden ramp, and to their doom.

At the very top, she could now see that the path led directly into the vast black tube. She cried out silently as an Archer and a Miner were both pushed in by a Robot, sliding down the tubing. She could not see what happened to them once they entered the main machinery- but given that a few drops of Blood Elixir came trickling out the other side a few seconds later, she guessed it was nothing good.

Rakastamos took a casual look at the expression of utter horror on Sophie's face. "Ah, I see you can tell what my contraption there does. I haven't quite come up with a name for it yet but…"

He gestured to it with his free hand, even as a Villager and a Barbarian were fed into the infernal tubing, their screams falling on uncaring and helpless ears. "Basically, it turns Troops into Blood Elixir. Very useful."

"Blood… Elixir?", Sophie managed to get out, her head still spinning from the shock.

"Yes.", Rakastaos said, apparently eager for somebody to ask. "It's brewed from the concentrated life essence of Troops. That vitality is, of course, directly transferred to the one who drinks it. A mere regular bottle can transform even one such as a King into a nearly unstoppable engine of death."

He gestured to the tank currently being filled, which looked to be at least 50 feet high and about as wide and deep. "So just imagine what would happen to one such as I, if I were to drink all of that!"

Sophie's face drained, and she began to lose consciousness. She wasn't sure how much of this horror she could take. "You… mean…"

"Of course, there's not need to imagine it.", Rakastamos mused. "I could always just tell you."

He stopped walking, close to the machine as he had gotten. He loomed over the tiny Troops, as a Giant to an ant. "Tell you of the times when I was at my fullest of strength, the time when I challenged the gods."

He clenched his fist with furious strength, recalling that bygone era. "When I had my true power as a heritage Dragonlord."

"Let me guess.", Sophie said, hoping she was wrong. "When you drink the Blood Elixir… you'll become that strong again?"

Rakastamos chuckled, and shook his head. "Oh, no. I won't."

Sophie sighed inwardly in relief, then stopped as she saw Rakastamos grin all the way to the back of his massive jaws. He clenched his fist, and laughed so hard the cavern shook.

"I will be stronger!", he roared. "Drinking that much Blood Elixir will make me strong. But once it fills to the top…"

He slammed his fist into the wall, and the thick Blood Elixir in the vat shook from the force. "My power will be endless. The critical amount of 1000000 Blood Elixir will trigger a reaction deep within me that will cause truly limitless growth. Every second, I shall grow stronger- until not even the gods can stop me. Truly, undefeatable…"

Rakastamos cast his gaze over the catwalk, the wood slightly increasing in temperature from his very presence. "I just need a little more. A little more Troops, and a little more time. In fact, if we continue on this current course…"

He snapped his massive fingers, sending a small shockwave through the air. "Tremon! How long will it take for the Blood Elixir to be filled?"

There was no answer. This was because Tremon the Aqua Wizard, like all the other forgotten, was currently off somewhere in the continent, patrolling for anyone who might wish to harm his master. It took a few seconds for Rakastamoss to realize and remember this, after which he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to wait.", Rakastamos rumbled. "Until someone gets back."

"Why?", Sophia asked quietly. Rakastamos's eyes rolled back in his head, and he slowly turned his face all the way around to face her. "Why?"

"Because my main intelligence, Tremon, is not here.", Rakastamoss explained. "Otherwise, I would have already-"

"No.", Sophia said, her quiet, determined voice somehow managing to pierce through Rakastamos's massive sound. "Why are you doing this? Once you get the Blood Elixir, what will you do?"

Rakastamos blinked. "Oh, that's right.", he said. "I haven't told you yet. Well…"

He suddenly slashed at the huge cave wall, cutting apart the rock. Great sheaves of stone fell apart and shattered upon the floor to reveal what seemed to be some sort of painting, left by mysterious makers long ago.

The painting depicted a stylized Dragon, looming high over the land. Underneath his mighty wings were hundreds of tiny figures, each depicting a Troop. This was another indicator of its age- there were no Royale Troops on it. The only Troops visible were Barbarians, Archers, Hog Riders, Witches, and Pekkas.

"Long ago…", Rakastamos said, gesturing to the painting as if it was proof rather than art. "Dragons used to rule the world indisputably."

His finger trailed down the wall, to where it now showed a world in flames. "But when the other, weaker, inferior Troops rose up, our rightful rule was taken from us. Now the world is ruled by Chiefs and Kings, mere humans."

Sophia was about to ask that if the other troops were weaker and inferior, then how did they usurp the Dragons, but she then decided that a cheap wisecrack would not be worth the loss of her life.

"We Dragons used to rule this world.", Rakastamos continued, almost in sorrow. "When the world was truly at peace, and understanding- a Golden Age of life. But now that these mortal heathens have overtaken… the world is wonderful no longer."

His face suddenly erupted into hot anger, and he slashed out with destructive force. The side of the wall fell away, the old painting crashing to bits and pieces upon the stony ground.

"There is only one way to fix the world now.", Rakastamos said. "It must be cleansed, of all the parasites that infect its once-beautiful surface. Truly…"

Rakastamos turned from the fallen painting, to once again stare over the catwalk of doom. "All humans must be exterminated. This is the only way to save the world. This, my Zero Mortal Plan. This, my…"

Then he whispered, the cracked and burned words etching a dark pattern on Sophie's trembling ears. "Final. Solution."

Then he straightened up, returning to his regular booming self. "Double time!", he roared, the Skeletons and Robots on the processing line suddenly snapping to attention. "I want double sacrifices, in half as much time!"

"But sir!", one of the Skeletons shouted. "We're bringing them in as fast as we can as it is! How are we supposed to-"

"Quiet!", Rakastamos erupted, the sheer heat from his vision vaporizing the Skeleton on the spot. He didn't even have time to splatter, merely transforming into a thin purple vapor upon the dark cave air. "You heard me!"

The Robots and Skeletons stopped for half a second, in shock, then went back to work. Rakastamos didn't usually kill his own. He must have been truly angry.

"Now then.", Rakastamos growled, and took a look at Sophie. "You…"

He stared blankly for a second, as if deciding her fate on some cosmic lottery. Sophie held her breath- then let it out again when Rakastamos merely sighed.

"I'll let you live.", he growled, and shot his hand towards the wall. He gently placed her inside of another cage, then slammed shut the bars. "So you can work for me, of course."

Sophie watched him as he turned around, odd frustration visible on his face. "Clean this place up!", he shouted, and a hundred crimson Mouse Droids attended to their duties. "I'm expecting visitors."

Song: Limit Break X Survivor (Relaxed)

It had taken about an hour for the army of SpaceKrakenX to return to their village. The sun was now hanging lower in the sky, the shadows of the trees beginning to lengthen. The Villagers, which had been lounging around on the various rocks, suddenly snapped to attention when they saw the Heroes enter.

"Sir, Herb, sir!", shouted a Villager, and ran up to him in a salute. "Message, sir!"

Herb looked down, and sighed. He massaged his skeletal forehead, running his fingers in through the eyeholes. "What is it, Moni?"

"I have a message.", Moni said, staring up at Herb with unblinking eyes.

"I know.", said Herb. "What is your message?"

Moni thought for a moment. Villagers typically weren't the smartest, given that all they had to ever do was pretty much just stand around. "Uh…"

She twiddled her fingers together, then realized what she had been about to say. "My message. Well. You see sir, my message is that…"

Herb leaned forward, gently encouraging her. "Yes?"

"My message is that I have a message.", said Moni with confidence, and smoothed down her skirt. "Sir."

Herb growled in frustration, and gripped his Tomb-Blade a little tighter. "Then why are you speaking to me, you insignificant little-"

Moni cowered at his anger and skeleton breath rushing over her, but Sophia stepped in between. "Woah. Hey. Herb, calm down."

As one hand kept Herb at bay, Sophia leaned down to address Moni.
"Sorry about that, Moni.", she said with a kind smile. "Herb just stepped on a Bomb in the battle and got a huge rock lodged in his foot. That's all."

"Excuse me?", Herb shouted, and thrust his weapon into the air. "That wasn't just a rock, that was a-"

Sophia clamped a hand over his mouth, and whispered a sssshh. "Go remember your message Moni. I'm sure you can."

Moni ran away to the far corner of the village, shaken, and Sophie stepped back from an angry Herb. He stared at her with an angry, but understanding expression.

"Sorry about that.", Herb sighed. "I probably shouldn't have been so angry at her."

"No, no, you're fine.", Sophia said, running her hand across his shoulder. "You just-"

"Hey, Herb!", shouted Brandy from behind the two. Herb twisted his skeletal head all the way around to see Dan approaching, Brandy leaning forward on his shoulder.

"We were wondering something.", said Dan. "Us two."

"Eh?", Herb asked. "What is it?"

"How are you a skeleton already?", Brandy asked.

"Isn't it still only September?", Dan continued. "Cause it would seem that-"

Herb's face twisted up in confusion, as much as his bone structure would allow. "What? What are you talking about?"

"It's still September.", Dan said. "How do you have a-"

"What are you saying, it's only September?", Herb growled. "Look, boy!"

He grabbed a scroll from his back, and unrolled it with a dramatic flourish. It read "Season Challenges" across it in big green letters, a few dozen empty boxes rolled out across it. He stabbed his finger at the part of the scroll where it showed the Skeleton King costume he was currently wearing. "Look! It says right there! October Season Challenges!"

Dan and Brandy both leaned down to look, an expression of utter bewilderment on both their faces. "But- but-", Brandy sputtered, and looked up. "How is that possible?"

"When we left Royale, there were still a few days left in the season!", Dan said, leaning in. "So how-"

"What, are your seasons different or something?", Herb huffed, and leaned in as well. "Cause it's October over here!"

"Well, it was September last time we checked.", Dan said, pushing his way forward. Brandy slipped a little bit, but managed to stay on. "So maybe-"

"Hey, hey.", said Sophia, striding her way confidently into the group. "What's going on?"

As one, Brandy, Dan, and Herb turned to face her. "Sophia?", they asked simultaneously. "What month is it?"

Sophia's confident air dropped, and she took a step back. "Um. Well.", she said, biting her lip a bit. "I was meaning to talk to you about that."

Herb noticed the nervousness in her, and cocked his head. "Sophia? What are you talking about?"

Sophia scratched the back of her neck. "It is September. That much is true."

"I knew it!", Dan whispered, but Brandy gave him a disapproving look.

"So…", Herb growled, as he unfolded the Season Scroll. It rolled down all the way to the ground, and Sophia flinched. "Explain this!"

Sophia stood there for a second, before closing her eyes and grabbing the sides of her head.

"I'm sorry!", she said. "I used 1000 Gems to buy access to the next season early!"

Herb's face twitched. He gently rolled the scroll back up, tucked it into his back, and closed his eyes. He turned to face Sophia, who took an anticipative step back.

"YOU WHAT?", Herb bellowed, shaking the air from the force of his scream. "1000 Gems and you didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry!", Sophia shouted. "I just wanted you to get your skin early! I should have told you!"

Herb's face, even though it was made of pure bone, turned red. His hand turned over in its socket, spinning faster and faster.

"Now, now…", Sophia said. "Let's not get all clacky fingers…"

Herb's hand stopped spinning, and clicked neatly back into place. Sophia relaxed a bit- then stopped relaxing when Herb's eyes narrowed.

"You think you can spend 1000 Gems like that and get away with it?", Herb yelled, and took off after Sophia. She had already begun to run away.

"I'm sorry!", Sophia yelled, running off towards the Town Hall. "It won't happen again!"

"Your're right it won't, woman!", Herb roared, although he knew that both of them were really just messing around. "Because when I catch you, I'm gonna-"

He didn't finish his sentence. Instead he skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding hitting Moni.

"What?", he snarled, almost scaring the poor Villager away. "What is it now?"

"Herb, sir?", Moni whimpered, holding up a large envelope. "I have a message for you now. A real one."

"A real one, eh?", he muttered, and brought it up to his face. A stern glare and a breath of charmed air was all it took for the envelope to slide open, and the letter to fall open into his hand.

Sophia had kept running for a bit, before a quick glance behind her revealed that Herb was no longer in pursuit. "Herb?", she asked, stopping at a Barracks. "What's going on?"

Herb unfolded the letter, not really taking in exactly what it said. "There's some kind of letter here. Seems to be-"

Then he stopped, once he finally began to read. His eyes shook, and his whole body trembled with some sort of primal fear. "Ch… ch…", he stammered, unable to continue.

"Herb?", Sophia asked, a little more worried this time. "What's going on?"

"Ch...Cha…", Herb continued, seemingly unable to say anything else. His fingers shook violently, dropping the letter out onto the grass.

"Okay, that's enough.", Sophia huffed, and walked over to where Herb stood. She plucked the letter from the ground, dusted it off, and began to read.

"It says… that the Champion is coming?", Sophia asked. A faint peal of alarm began to ring at the back of her mind, but it was mostly just confusion. "Who's… the Champion?"

The word he had been trying to say finally spoken, Herb unlocked himself from the position he had been stuck in. He fell to his knees, slapped his hands to the side of his face, and screamed.

"Ooooooohhhhh nnnnnooooooo!"

Far away from the Village, the trees shook from the thunder of a passing. Clearings were made, and simple backpaths were widened into roads. A vast parade of carts and caravans trekked through the forest, intent on reaching their goal in time.

The front of the line was mostly Troops on foot, a few Barbarians holding up the edge. A handful of Goblins ran ahead of the main group, scouting out for and removing any stumps or branches that might hold the line up. They also scouted out for any traps, thereby removing those as well.

Past the sparse heading came more vehicles, small at first, although they did increase in size. Bare rickshaws and small, hijacked donation carts weaved in and out among larger, Hog-drawn wagons. Past those were larger vehicles- very large ones indeed.

Tall, unstable Goblin wagons rolled down the road, their capacity filled almost to bursting and even beyond. Huge stacks of fine linen and cloth tottered back and forth, dozens of Goblins running over and burrowing through. The rich, detailed red and purple of the cloth was somewhat soiled by the Goblins- but then again, not really. Oddly shaped mazes of wooden blocks, for whatever reasons, were stacked inside of the carts beyond. Villager and Builder children ran and played inside of these makeshift playgrounds, their innocent laughter a sharp contrast to the caravan's dark intentions.

Nearing the center of the parade, the vehicles grew huge and strange. Entire Inferno Towers and X-Bows were rolled past, often carried on the back of a single Golemnite or even a pair of Hogs. Vast, automated crawlers slowly crept across the forest floor, chewing up the ground and dirt. A highly important looking group of Archers were carried high over the dirty ground by a large circle of Goblins, each Archer making sure not to drop a piece of whatever it was she or her sisters carried.

The middle of the parade itself was a bizarre smorgasbord of eclecticity, all manner of odd things gathered. A bunch of Goblins wandered by in what seemed to be an old, burned out mechsuit of a tyrannosaur. The corpse of a silver Mousedroid had been highly modified in order to fit a Villager and her small child. A high stone tower slowly moved along the forest floor on a set of square wheels, some unseen power pulling it along. But what towered above them all, in the very exact middle of the spectacle, put all the others to shame. It very nearly defied description.

The enormous box, or at least that's what it appeared to everyone there to be, a gigantic box on wheels, slowly creaked forward among the mobile celebration. The illustrious sides were richly decorated with all sort and manner of scenes, all vastly different. However, they all shared one common theme- they each had at least one depiction of a very particular Giant. One of the pictures was of that Giant, his spiky red hair flowing in some wind, slamming a Pekka down into the ground. Another was of him holding a small child, her terrified Villager mother nearby. The one right next to it showed the Giant's fist colliding with a level 7 Town Hall, shattering it into bits. It was just as likely that a carving depicted the Giant digging a river to help a Village with their cargo as showing him gleefully razing a Village to the ground, the Elixir of its previous inhabitants still staining his teeth. It was clear that whoever this Giant was, he was clearly a force to be reckoned with. And if one were to take a look inside the box, they could very swiftly see that they were right.

The titan sat in shadow against one edge of the box, his back scraping against the wall. Around him were trophies, taken from each and every one of his previous defeated opponents. These were not the type of Trophies that were won and lost in routine- no, these trophies were far more personal. The left arm sword of a Pekka. The headband of a Boxer Giant. The cannon of a Royal Giant. And even, slotted neatly into the wall as the pride of his entire collection, the ancient crown of a long since fallen Barbarian King.

As the behemoth slowly reached for a cigarette the size of a Witch against the wall, a small door at the very edge of the box opened. A Builder entered, looking very small and humble next to the absolute unit before him.

"Uh, sir?", the Builder whispered, not wanting to bother his lord. "We're almost to the first Village."

The immense Giant lit his cigarette with a snap of his fingers, the sheer friction involved starting fire to the end. He took a long, thick drag, the paper and cloth of the cigarette tearing to nothing with the sheer force. The Builder flinched, sure he was about to incur his master's wrath- but to his surprise, the Giant just leaned forward, out of the shadows, and smiled.

"Excellent!", roared Bonoome, throwing his fist up into the air. "That's very good to hear, Micheal."

He slapped his mighty knee, sending a shockwave through the box that very nearly knocked poor Micheal off his feet. "Send word to the chefs to prepare my favorite snacks. I want to make the first conquered village after so many years a bit of a celebration!"

Micheal bowed, and started his swift walk backwards. "Yes, sir.", he said as quickly as possible. "Right away, sir."

He bumped up into the back of the wall, and stood up awkwardly. "I will-"

"Micheal.", Bonoome said, moving forward a bit. "Why are you so… nervous?"

"Well, I don't know.", Micheal said. "Do I seem nervous?"

Bonoome leaned forward, staring at Micheal rather intently. His voice changed to his stage show one, the voice he used whenever he was in combat. "Bonoome thinks you do.", he said. "But Bonoome also knows that there is no reason to be afraid. This is just our first village. It's already been scouted out- there's nothing there to be afraid of. No Eagle Artillery, no Grand Warden. Just a Barbarian King to beat, and an Archer Queen to take."

Bonoome leaned back against the wall, and performed a deep stretch. "Just you watch. Bonoome's gonna clean this place up so fast, you'll hardly even know we were here."

"I'm… sure you will, sire.", said Micheal, and opened the door without looking. "But I have to go pass on word, you know. Your favorite snack won't prepare itself."

"Of course.", Bonoome said, then returned to his regular voice. "I will let you go."

"Thank you, sire.", Micheal said. "I will leave at once."

He immediately left the caravan, and ran down the road to back. He could have just stood there and let the back reach him, but that would require thinking. And it was difficult to do that after such an encounter with Bonoome. Once he got to the back, he could alert the Villager and Valkyrie chefs to make Bonoome's favorite. He was a tempermental master, one that no one liked to displease. Not if they wanted to remain below the upper stratosphere, that was.

Still in his box, Bonoome closed his eyes. He took another deep drag on a freshly lit cigarette, making sure not to inhale too hard this time. That would be a mistake.

And I…, he thought to himself, feeling his power swirl around deep inside him. "Do not make mistakes."

Song: Desperate Plan

Herb fell to his knees, his skeletal skull toppling from his shoulders. It rolled across the grass and came to a slow stop, still staring upwards at the sky.

"Oooohhh noooo!", he screamed again, one arm flailing randomly and the other groping for his lost head. "Nooooo!"

"Herb?", Sophia asked. "What's going on? What is this? Why are you so afraid?"

Herb just kept on yelling, until Sophia picked his head up and held it in her arms. "Herb? Baby? What is it?"

Once Sophia had begun rocking his head, Herb seemed to regain control of himself. He stopped his screaming, and rolled his head to what could be considered among some circles a sitting position. "Sorry about that. Just uh, freaking out a little is all."

"That's fine, you're alright now.", Sophia said, and walked over to his body. With a grunt and a satisfying click, she stuck Herb's head back onto his neck. It spun around in the socket for a second, then ratcheted neatly into place. Herb rubbed it a bit to make sure it was working, then stood up as straight as he could. "Now tell me…", asked Sophie, with a glint of fire in her eyes, "What's going on?"

Herb looked down at the ground, sighed, and gestured to where Sophia had left the paper on the ground. "Go read it.", he said. "You'll know everything."

Sophia nodded, not needing to use words. She turned to collect the paper- but stopped, when she saw that it was no longer on the ground where it had been dropped.

"What the-", she began, but stopped when she heard Brandy clear her throat 19 feet off the ground from behind her.

"Attention, all Villagers.", Brandy read, from the paper that Dan held up in front of them both. "Your prayers for real, high-quality wrestling entertainment have been heard, and the great and mighty Bonoome has returned. For the next season, he will be traveling from Village to Village, taking on any and all champions. Should you, against all odds, manage to best Bonoome in battle, your Village will receive a massive sum of 100000000 Gold! Hey, that doesn't sound too bad."

Then her gaze fell upon the lower part of the paper, and she almost immediately changed her mind.

"However, should you lose, there is a very small fee of having your entire Village permanently razed to the ground, every Troop, Villager, Builder, and Hero within it becoming sacrifices to the great and unknowable Rakastamos. This penalty also applies if you do not accept the legendary Challenge of Bonoome."

Brandy stared at the paper in silence. It appeared to show a highly decorated Giant smashing in the head of a high-level Pekka, while dozens of shocked Troops watched in the background. Various signs of Gold adorned the paper, seeming to advertise the tremendous cash prize. The penalty of loss, however, was far less advertised.

"Oh.", Brandy said. "I see."

"So.", said Dan. "He's… coming here?"

Herb had been hearing their conversation, and decided that now was the best time to add in. "Yes!", he shouted in despair. "For whatever reason, we seem to be one of the very first Villages on his tour's route. So now we're just screwed."

"Now hold on, hold on.", Dan said. "Why not, I don't know, just beat Bonoome?"

Herb stared at him, even through skeletal eyes, with such a withering look that Dan was forced to back up a little bit. "Oh, you think it's just that simple?"

He staggered towards Dan, clutching his shoulders and almost falling forward. He stared up at Dan's face, fear and sorrow etched on his own.

"Bonoome was once a figure spoken about only in legend.", Herb said. "The oldest Barbarian King I know, Trev, wasn't even born when Bonoome last walked these lands. Supposedly… he was the strongest Giant to ever live."

Herb's eyes clouded over, as he recalled the mythical tale. "He used to travel the land, his entire caravan of Troops and wonders in tow. When he came to a Village, he would fight their strongest champion. Win, and he would move on with you far richer. Lose, and your village would be no more."

"So we just win.", Dan said. "I really don't see what's the problem here-"

"The problem?", Herb hissed, clinging tighter to Dan's neck. "The problem is that Bonoome has never lost! Every single battle he's fought since becoming what he is has resulted with him victorious!"

"Well,", Dan said as he awkwardly tried to push Herb off, "He's clearly never met us."

"Yeah.", Brandy said, snuggling in a little tighter into Dan's neck. "We've done practically nothing but take down monsters since we started on this whole quest. We're 5 for 5 here. What's one more?"

"Bonoome isn't just one more!", Herb shouted, and drew himself up to his full height. "Listen to me! Bonoome is- well, he's… not normal. He was an ordinary Giant once, but he has become far more."

Dan had been only sort of half-listening to Herb's panicked rant, but something he had said caught his ear. "Used to be?", Dan asked, now suddenly curious. "What do you mean, used to be?"

Sophia decided that this was her turn to step in. She took a single great stride, and took the poster from Dan's hands.

"Look at him.", she said. "Those muscles. That facial structure. That bright red, almost sort of mohawk. All those badges. He's not a Giant- no, he is Bonoome. The very first of the Gladiator Giants."

Something clicked in Brandy's mind. "Oh.", she said. "That makes sense now."

Herb looked at her. "What?", he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"He's one of them.", Brandy said. "One of the strange Troops that have been following us. First there was the lizard thing and the Kraken, then the Zombie and the snaky lady, then the Gravity Elf and now Bonoome."

"Oh, right.", Dan said. "Yeah, that makes sense. And he said he was working for someone named-"

"Rakastamos.", all four of them said at once. A hint of a chill ran through the air at the group's collective mention of the name, but it went unnoticed.

"So… when's he coming?", Brandy asked, and slammed her fist into her other hand. "I wanna kick his butt."

"I admire your enthusiasm, Bandit.", Herb grunted. "But sadly, it is misplaced. If the strongest of this land could not defeat Bonoome of old, then I'm afraid you and your husband will never be able to beat him now that he is anew. Even with your odd, fantastic strength."

"You sure about that?", Dan asked, and took a deep breath in. Star flowed from the ground and air into him, lighting up his entire body with burning golden force. "Cause I think that-"

Dan flung his arms up to the sky, Brandy Dashing down to the ground to keep herself safe. He gave a mighty roar, two huge pillars of lightning flashing upwards to the sky. They connected with the small clouds that there were, spreading across them before disappearing.

"That.", Dan huffed, and let his arms fall. He was clearly at least a little bit exhausted, even though the feat had been very impressive. "That could be enough."

Sophia pursed her lips, and looked over her shoulder. "That is very impressive. But…"

"But what?", Dan asked. "What, is that somehow not enough?"

Brandy reappeared on his shoulder, and stroked him on the cheek. "I think it was very impressive, honey.", she purred. "We're gonna beat him for sure."

Dan reached up and stroked Brandy's back, and she closed her eyes and smiled.

"That's very nice that you two are getting all lovey like that.", said Herb, a growing nervousness creeping into his voice. "But if you haven't noticed…"

Both Herb and Sophia watched, as a small landspeeder vehicle zipped its way into the clearing. The top was a bucket of dark glass, totally obscuring whatever or whoever was inside. It rode along on only three wheels, one in the front and two in the back. "He's here!"

Brandy's eyes shot open in alarm, and she jumped up onto her feet. "Who? Bonoome?"

"No.", said Sophia, as the speederbike came skidding to a stop. The top sprung open, and the figure within stood up to reveal a very familiar face. "SpaceKrakenX."

"Oh.", Dan said, then realized what Sophia had said. "OH!"

Spacekrakenx wiped his brow free of sweat, and looked to his Village. "Hey guys, hows it's hangin-"

Then he saw Dan and Brandy, and his mouth dropped open in shock. "What?"

Brandy gave a small wave. "Hey."

Spacekrakenx stood there in surprise for a few more seconds, before he threw open his arms. "Well, how about that. Didn't expect in a lifetime to see you kids here. What are you two doing?"

"Uh, we're on our second honeymoon.", Dan said, as fast as he could.

"We're on a secret operation to save the entire world.", Brandy said, just as quickly. They both turned and stared at each other, apparently unaware of each other's previous plans.

"Uh…", said Spacekrakenx. "Okay. I can see you two doing either of those things."

"How are things back home?", Brandy blurted out, before Dan could say something. "Did anything happen while we were gone?"

"You've only been gone for like a day and a half.", said Spacekrakenx. "Not much happened, no."

"Really?", asked Brandy. "Really nothing important?"

Spacekrakenx scratched his head. "I mean, I left not that long after you did. So I was only there for maybe half a day…"

"There's got to be something that happened.", Dan said. "Come on, tell us."

Spacekrakenx thought for a second, his highly unconventional mind whirling in obtuse trapezoids. Finally he snapped his fingers, remembering what had happened.

"Oh yeah!", he said. "We found out Meg was a Stand User."

Brandy's eyes shone. "You DID? What- what's her Stand called? What does it do?"

Spacekrakenx tried to remember exactly. "She said it was called… uh… Sapphire Wind. It looks like it inhabits her gun, making it be able to shoot lots of different projectiles and even fly a little."

"Cool!", Brandy said. "When we get back, we'll have to check that out. Huh, Dan?"

"Yeah.", Dan said. "If I could see Stands, I'm sure it would be great."

"Oh, I'm sorry Dan.", Brandy said. "I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, no, it's fine.", said Dan. "I know you didn't."

Brandy had been about to say something else, but a huge blare of trumpets from beyond the edge of the woods broke her out of her thoughts.

Spacekrakenx flinched, as did Herb and Sophie. "Oh, shoot.", they all said together.

"What?", Dan asked, taking a step forward. "Is it-"

Herb gulped, and stared forward at the trees, already beginning to part from the Goblins that were pouring through in waves. "Yep."

Sophia took a step backwards, already seeing the huge rolling buildings approaching the Village. "It's Bonoome."

Spacekrakenx, upon seeing what was coming, merely turned around and ran. "I better get to somewhere else.", he said. "Because- you know- he's here!"

Herb took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do. With a lightning fast movement, he touched the side of his head. There was a bright flash, and his Skeleton suit unzipped all the way down the side. Herb stepped out of it, revealing his true form as an ordinary Barbarian King. He wound the magical fabric around one hand, and tossed it in the rough direction of the Clan Castle. He knew that he might not end up getting it back.

"Herb, what are you doing?", Sophia asked. "Are you-"

She grabbed his shoulder, staring up into his face. "Don't tell me you're fighting him."

Herb gave a grim nod, and started forward towards the woods. "I am. I'm a mighty Barbarian King. I'm supposed to protect my Village."

"Herb, you can't!", Sophia groaned, trying to stop Herb from moving forward. But he was far stronger, ignoring her desperate plea. "Bonoome's too strong! You'll die!"

Herb pushed Sophia aside, and drew his sword. He stared upwards at the massive array of bizarre vehicles and rolling buildings that were moving onto the outskirts of the Village, the legendary lost Parade of Bonoome. "Maybe. But I have to try."

Herb thrust his sword into the air, the sun glinting off the now-sharp blade. "Come on out, Bonoome! I'll rip to you pieces and eat them!"

A few Goblins that had been at the very forefront of the Parade looked up at him, and whispered among themselves. A decision was quickly made, and they ran further into the line of people to inform their master. A challenger was approaching.

Brandy and Dan had been watching these proceedings with interest, right up to the point where Herb had began to issue his challenge. Brandy had been about to say how they should step in- when Dan suddenly stumbled back, pressing his hand against his forehead.

"Dan?", Brandy asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Dan groaned, and staggered into a line of Walls. He almost fell over them, pitching Brandy off of his back, but somehow managed to keep his footing. "Oooh…"

"Dan?", Brandy asked again, nervousness and urgency creeping into her voice. "What's going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Brandy.", Dan growled, and starting stumbling off in the direction of the Clan Castle and the Laboratory. "I just… have a gigantic headache. Is all."

"A headache?", Brandy shouted, and tried to wrap her arms around Dan's head. She couldn't quite reach all the way, so she just squeezed him tighter instead. "You can't be having a headache now! We're about to go fight some weird Giant!"

"I know, I know.", Dan said, and slumped down against a Barracks. He closed his eyes in agony, almost cracking his teeth from clenching them too hard. "I just gotta… I just need to…"

Then his teeth unclenched, and his fists dropped open. Dan's head fell against the side of the Barracks, and did not move.

Brandy's face paled. She threw herself over his head, and landed on his chest. She grabbed Dan's face in her hands, but he did not respond. "Dan?", she yelled, trying to get him to wake up. But there was no answer. Brandy's heart started to beat faster, and her breathing grew shallow. She shrieked. "Dan!"

Herb slowly drew closer to the edge of the Village, noticing the frenzied operations of a pack of Builders. There were some Goblins helping them, as far as "jumping up and down on random Builder's heads" was helping, but it was mostly the Builders that were doing all the work.

They seemed to be making some sort of large, circular structure. Cheap wooden stands were arrayed in a circle around the far edge, away from the towering entrance. Torches lined the entire structure, even though it was well known they didn't do anything.

A Goblin stomped up and down on a Builder's head as he hammered in a decorative skull on the entrance arch- and then with a start, Herb realized exactly what they were building.

It was an arena. An arena for Bonoome. The stands were for the large audience, no doubt going to be made up of the dozens upon dozens of Troops Bonoome had brought.

But the realization would not frighten him. Herb set his jaw, pulling his bronzegold crown lower upon his head. He was his Village's mighty level 21 Barbarian King. He would protect his people, at all costs. Even if that meant dying against Bonoome. Even though Sophia's damage was greater, this was a relatively small arena. She would be crushed in close quarters. There was no time to train a Pekka before the match began. It had to be him.

Song: Powerful Enemy

Herb took a deep breath, steeling his mind and his quavering heart. He thrust his sword into the air once again, and bellowed his challenge for a second time.

"Bonoome!", Herb shouted. "Come out and fight me! Or are you afraid?"

Herb put his sword down by his side, and braced himself for whatever was coming. But he did not expect to hear what then came out of the trees- a chorus of laughter.

"Oi!", a Villager shouted. "You think Bonoome's afraid of you?"

"Bonoome's not afraid of nothing!", yelled a young Wizard. "He'll take you down easy!"

Herb spun around, about to yell at the Troops who dared to insult him so. But a sound from the treeline caught his attention, and he turned to see despair.

As he watched, the trees parted. A truly titanic figure stepped out of the forest, his muscles bulging with decorations and armor. So many broken bones of enemies long conquered adorned his body it was hard to tell when he ended and they began.

A spear and a shield were strapped across his back, though they might as well have been ceremonial compared to the sheer power contained within him. His bright red, soft mohawk stood up straight from his bald head, his rugged jawline nearly a square.

"Bonoome hears you, Barbarian King.", said Bonoome. He took a single gargantuan step into the makeshift arena, towering over Herb by a good 5 feet. He rolled and popped his neck, then leaned directly into Herb's face. His eyes lit up with both excitement and evil, ready to utterly destroy anyone and anything who dared to get in his way. "Bonoome hears you loud and clear."

Dan watched, as his body collapsed to the ground. He saw himself from the outside, mysteriously hovering in the air. He saw Brandy crawling over him, slapping his face, desperately trying to get him to wake up.

Am I… dead?, he thought, with strange calmness. It doesn't look like I've turned into Elixir yet. I couldn't be. So what…

"Daniel!", came a powerful voice from behind him, familiar in a silent way. Dan turned around, and his eyes widened with understanding.

"J- Jonathan!", Dan shouted, and dropped to one knee upon the grey air. "It's you!"

"Yes.", Jonathan said, an edge of urgency upon his voice. "It is I. Now get up."

Dan rose to his feet, and Jonathan put a hand on his shoulder. Even though he would tower over a regular Knight, Primal Troops were usually much larger than their mortal counterparts.

"Do you think you can defeat Bonoome?", Jonathan asked. "As you are right now?"

"Uh, yeah.", said Dan. "I think so. I mean, look at me. I'm strong as-"

"Incorrect.", Jonathan said, and Dan's face dropped. "You are powerful, yes, but Bonoome is far stronger. His title as Champion of the World did not come from out of nowhere."

"Champion… of the World?", Dan asked, and stumbled backwards in surprise. He looked at Jonathan strangely- he was being quite pushy compared to the other two times Dan had been lucky enough to speak with him. "But then- how- how can I beat him? If you're saying that I'm not strong enough, then-"

"Not yet.", said Jonathan, and spun around his sword. A shaft of golden light reflected off of it from an unknown source, shining onto Dan's heart. "I mean that you are not strong enough yet."

"Okay…", Dan said. "So do I have to train or something? Because if Bonoome is already here, then I don't think we have enough time."

Jonathan sighed. "No. We don't. However…"

He took a step forward, and raised the tip of his sword. "Hold still."

"Woah, woah.", Dan said, as Jonathan slowly moved the end of the blade closer to the center of his chest. "What are you doing there?"

Jonathan looked up and smiled, now seeming to be back to his old friendly self. "I think it's time we brought out some of the potential I've been talking about."

And with that, Jonathan stabbed his sword deep into Dan's chest.

Dan screamed, and fell to his knees. His soul felt like it was on fire, blazing with the heat of a million suns. His skin crawled with pure energy, his mouth and eyes lighting up from a fire deep within. Star flowed around him in massive amounts, as his very soul was affected. The metal on his chest where Jonathan had stabbed him warped and shifted, as the blade was pulled out and wiped clean. No longer was it a simple chest piece- it now bore a strange, arcane symbol.

When the pain subsided, Dan spat out a cough of blood. He put his hand to the gaping wound in his chest- or he would have, if there was one there. Or had he spat out any blood.

Instead, Dan sat up in surprise. He looked at his hands, now seeming harder and tougher. His metal armor, once of rather simple standard design, now flowed with elegant arches and curves. Although his helmet remained, it was now sleeker. Stronger. Just like him.

Dan stood, experimentally sending out a snap of Star. He had meant to just shoot a small bolt, one merely the width of his finger. Instead, a full blast erupted from his palm, one that looked capable of bringing down an entire Town Hall. His hand tingled for a few seconds afterward, as Dan stared in shock at his newfound strength.

"This power…", Dan whispered. "This strength…"

"Pretty good, eh?", Jonathan said. "Now, this isn't your full potential. That comes later."

Dan's eyes widened in excitement. "It's not?"

Jonathan smiled, the edges of his eyes crinkling together. "No. It's not. But-"

He slapped Dan on the back, and both their spirits began to fade, borne back to their bodies. "It's time for you to go. Your lady is getting worried."

"Right.", Dan said, and gave a smart salute. "I should."

They both grinned, as a father would to a son. Then they faded away, Dan back to his body below and Jonathan off to holy parts unknown.

"Dan!", Brandy screamed, tears of despair running down her face. "Dan, please wake up!"

She buried herself in his face, but he remained totally inert, unable to respond. Brandy's face trembled, and her entire body began to shake. "Dan…."

Then her despair turned to shock, as she saw the metal of his armor begin to flow. His thick metal gloves formed around his fists, his fingers becoming visible at least in form. His simple armor, standard for the Arenas, began to be shaped into a beautifully complex design. His helmet, once wide and bulky, slimmed and compacted to fit the shape of his head. Finally, to Brandy's relief, his eyes popped open, and he groaned in slight pain.

"Dan!", Brandy shouted, and wrapped her arms tightly around his still-recovering neck. "Oh Se'th! What happened?"

Dan was about to explain, when there was suddenly a great, unplaceable sound. They both looked down, and saw that Brandy was suddenly a few more feet from Dan's neck. The reason for this, upon slightly closer inspection, was that Dan had grown.

"Oh.", Brandy said. "You just-"

"Yeah.", Dan said. "I just grew."

"But…", Brandy said. "What happened? Why'd you faint? Why did you just change?"

"Oh.", Dan said, and slowly picked himself up off from the ground. He opened his hand, and Brandy let herself fall in. Dan dropped her onto his shoulder, and rolled and popped his neck.

"That was Jonathan.", Dan said, with a hint of glowing pride. "He said he just unlocked a little bit of my potential."

Brandy heard what he said, and nodded in understanding. Then she comprehended what he had said, and she stopped in shock. "Wait. The Jonathan? As in-"

"Yep.", Dan said with a nod. "The Primal Knight."

Brandy blinked. "Woah."

"Yes.", Dan said, and started walking forward. "Very woah."

"Where are you going?", Brandy asked. "Shouldn't we-"

"Bonoome.", Dan said. "We still have to go and fight him."

"Oh right.", Brandy said. She took her bat out from one of her many pockets, and spun it around. "Well then, my big, strong, Mega- no, Giga Knight. Lead the way."

"Giga Knight, eh?", Dan said, and ever so gently stroked Brandy's chin. "Yeah. I could get used to that."

Bonoome stood up to his full height, and Herb instinctively flinched. "So.", he boomed, and took a massive stride forward. Herb spun around to follow him, but Bonoome, even walking, was too fast. "You're the one who's going to battle Bonoome?"

"Yes!", Herb said, and spun around his sword. "I am!"

He tried to remain confident, aiming for a confident gait and a powerful swagger, but inside he was shivering with fear. Bonoome had no doubt defeated hundreds of Barbarian Kings over the years, probably all higher level than Herb. What chance did he stand, against the so-called Champion of the World?

"Well then…", Bonoome said, and suddenly jumped backwards. He took a ferocious stance, with blinding speed that belied his massive size. "What's your name, challenger? Tell Bonoome… so he can know who he just defeated."

Herb was noticeably unsettled by Bonoome's confident aura, not to mention his sheer size. "Well, I'm-"

Bonoome suddenly threw his arms up to the sky, startling Herb out of his sentence and sending him a step back. A microphone seemed to appear almost out of thin air, which Bonoome held to his lips. "It doesn't matter what your name is!"

He spun around to face the audience, pumping and waving his arms for maximum audience excitement. Screaming and stomping, they all were more than happy to play along.

"Because Bonoome's…", he bellowed, flexing and posing with his arms. Several of the female Troops in the audience dropped to their knees. "Gonna beat you into a pulp! And not even your friends will be able to recognize you!"

"Take my baby!", shouted a Villager, holding up a small child.

"I'll take your baby!", screamed a Valkyrie, somehow managing to keep herself from jumping over the side of the railing and running up to Bonoome. "Please!"

Bonoome just kept turning around, letting the screams of the audience soak into him. This was what he lived for. The glory, the combat, the thrill of crushing helpless foes underneath his massive feet- that was his ambition and his bliss.

He flexed again, ready to induce another round of fanscreams- when his ears somehow picked up a small sound from behind him. Bonoome turned around, and saw Dan and Brandy standing at the edge of the Arena.

"Sup.", Brandy said, and leapt down from Dan's shoulder. "Herb's not fighting you."

"He's not?", Bonoome asked with mock curiosity and false surprise.

"I'm not?", Herb asked, with real shock and unbridled relief. Then they both spoke together, with roughly the same emotions. "Then who's going to take on Bonoome?"

Brandy grinned, and spun around on one foot. She leaped high into the air, landing on the ground in a spunky pose. She looked up, and pointed to herself. "Me."

"You?", asked Bonoome. He chuckled a bit, and gestured to the audience. They, upon seeing Brandy, laughed as well. "You…"

Bonoome breathed in, collecting himself. He gave this speech often, and would hate to embarrass himself by getting a word wrong. Then finally, after a few seconds of waiting, he was ready to speak. "Hit Bonoome's music!"

At his command, a bunch of Goblins all ran over to an ancient looking speaker. After a few seconds of messing around with the mechanism, a powerful rap song started to blare out of it and over the entire area.

Song: Here Comes the Boom

"You know, they say all Troops are created equal!", he roared, pointing at Brandy with one massive finger. "But you look at Bonoome, and you look at you, and you can see that statement is not true! See normally, if you go one on one with another Giant, you got yourself a 50/50 chance of winning! But Bonoome's a genetic freak, and he's not normal! So you got a 10% chance at best, at beat me! You're just an Archer wearing a mask!"

"I'm not an Archer.", Brandy said indignantly. "I'm a Bandit. My name's-"

"It doesn't matter what your name is!", Bonoome roared, much to the delight of the crowd. Bonoome suddenly grew quiet, before launching back into his interrupted speech. "Now, as Bonoome was saying…"

Then he threw his arms up, and roared again. " And then you add my preliminary rounds to the mix, you chances of winning, drastic go down! So you got maybe a 25% chance of getting past all of them. But I got a 75% chance of not even having to bother fighting you, because my boys are gonna take you down! So little girl, you take your 10% chance of winning, if we were to go 1 one on one, and subtract your 25% chance, and you got a -15% chance of winning here! But I, I got a 165% chance of winning here, at this Village, right now!"

Brandy just stared at him, in complete astonishment. She had heard people say stupid things, but this was just on a whole other level. "Uh…", she said, trying not to laugh a little bit. "I'm not really an expert, but I'm pretty sure that's not how math works."

Bonoome stopped posing for a second, and sighed. "Well.", he said. "Looks like you're still not convinced."

Even though Bonoome put on a "big, strong, and stupid" act, he was actually quite smart. He had done his share of research on the other continents after waking up, and thus knew exactly what Brandy was. He knew exactly what to say next.

"Bandit!", he shouted, to Brandy's surprise. "You think that you're the best there is at what you do. But let me tell you something, girlie, you ain't no Surgical! And you just aren't enough to step up to a 15-time champion of the Grand Royal Rumble, first place finisher in the King's Volcanic Duelfest, 30 minute champion of the Roborush, 12 time attendee of the No-Holds-Barred Boom Beach Battle Royal, and Resident Ultimate Wrestlemania Champion years 750-812!"

He dropped his knee to the ground, making a massive crater. His face was red from all the shouting, but he kept on going, loud enough to deafen a small child.

"Do you know why you're doomed today, little girl?", he roared.

"I'm not a little girl!", Brandy fumed, but her words were drowned out by Bonoome's vocal eruption.

"Because the name's! Bonoome!", Bonoome bellowed, rising to his feet, slamming his hands out to the side in a dramatic pose.

"And it rhymes!", he shouted again, spreading his arms out in a T as he posed again. "With doom!"

"And yooooou're gonna be hurtin!", he screamed, doing another pose with his legs in the air. Each word he yelled, he took another pose- arms up to the sky, fist clenched to the right, and finally fully horizontal, only one leg keeping him upright. "All! Too! Sooooooooooooon!"

Brandy just continued to stare. She had thought that Bonoome's bizarre display couldn't possibly get any weirder and more flamboyant- and yet here she was.

"Uh…", she said, totally unsure how to respond. "Well. Um…"

Then in a flash of sudden inspiration, she knew how to respond. "Hit my music!", she said, jerking her thumb to somewhere behind her.

There was an awkward silence, save for Bonoome's theme music, which was still playing. But with a swift glance from Bonoome, one of the Goblins discreetly turned if off.

"Fine!", she shouted, and took a bold step forward. "Forget about the theme music. It's overrated, anyway. And I'm not the only one that's fighting you, you know."

"Oh?", Bonoome asked. "And who, Bonoome might ask, is joining you?"

"He is.", Brandy had been about to say, and would have been referring to Dan, had he not taken this precise moment in order to step into the Arena, pick Brandy up, place her ever so gently onto his shoulder, and turn to face Bonoome. "I am.", he said. "I'm going to help her fight."

Bonoome's eyes widened, as he took in Dan's massive bulk. Here, in his eyes, was a proper challenger. "Hoho!", he shouted, and took a step back. "Yes, yes. Bonoome can see it now. A fighting team, the little one the speed and the real one the power."

Brandy flared with anger upon hearing his words, but Dan blew a slight breath of air over her to calm her down. "Don't listen to him, Brandy honey. He's just trying to rile you up."

"I know, I know.", Brandy said. "But it's working…"

"However!", Bonoome bellowed, gesturing to the side of the arena. Several doors opened, presumably to let out enemy Troops. "You must first battle my preliminaries! And since the little one so graciously chose to challenge me first, she must face them all. Alone."

"Hey, wait a minute.", Dan said. "That's not fair-"

But Brandy, to both their surprises, had already slid down and off his shoulders. She landed on the ground with hardly a sound, then looked back up at him with a grin.
"Hey.", she said. "It's fine. I don't want to tire you out before you kill this guy."

Dan was about to ask her what she was doing- but then he knew. He knew Brandy better than anyone else, and knew without a doubt that she knew exactly what she was doing. So he just nodded, and took a step back.

"Okay!", Brandy shouted, and swung her club in a wide circle. She took a pose, and snarled at Bonoome. "Who's the first one to die?"

Bonoome didn't say a word. Instead, he just tapped the area of wood over the first door. The gate lifted, and the enemy Troop came out- an imposing Elite Barbarian.

Song: Nella Cerneria

Dan immediately began to regret his decision of letting Brandy do the preliminaries alone. He took a step forward, about to enter the arena himself- but Brandy held out a single hand.
"Hey. Dan.", she said. "I told you."

She crouched, ready to Dash, and blew him a kiss with a wink. "I love you. And don't worry about me."

The Elite Barbarian stepped forward, rotating his sword in his mechanical hand. "Aw, look at that pretty face.", he slurred, with the matter of his kind. "It's such a shame I have to destroy it-"

Then he stopped, as he saw that Brandy had already Dashed forward. He gave a wet gasp of shock, only now noticing what had happened to not only his right arm, but much of his torso.

It was gone, torn to shreds by Brandy's attack. A vast hole ran along the entire right side of his body, the edges of his body dripping into Elixir. It took a second for the pain to come- but once it did, he screamed like he had never screamed before. The sheer pain contained within it would have no doubt scarred many members of the audience, had it lasted for more than a few seconds. But the injury was massive and beyond critical, leading to his collapsing into Elixir only 3 seconds after he had been hit.

Brandy reappeared at the other edge of the arena, and wiped her mouth off from some Elixir that had spilled. She turned around, and took a classic pose- club behind the back, one leg bent up against the other. "Well, that was easy.", she said. "Now, who's next?"

Dan stared at her, astonished. She had just fought an Elite Barbarian, once the cause and root of all her torture. She had never even stood a chance even only about two months ago. And now, she had torn one apart with barely even a second glance. Perhaps…, Dan thought, and almost glowed with pride. I'm not the only one with vast potential.

Bonoome snorted with contempt, and moved on to the second gate. He lifted the heavy iron door, revealing the snarling beast that lay within. "Bonoome congratulates you. But do not think you can get past this next one so easily."

As the crowd roared in sheer anticipation, the next preliminary entered the arena. It seemed to be some sort of mutant Hog, 12 feet in length and 4 feet in girth. Factoring in all the solid muscle it was built from, it must have weighed anywhere from 1000 to 2000 pounds. It growled as it walked, swaying over the weight of its muscle as it moved from side to side, the cheers of the audience only further provoking its animalistic rage.

"A Hog.", Brandy said to herself, even as she noticed the line of foaming drool around the edges of its mouth. "I can handle a Hog. Even if it's some massive, souped up monster of one."

The Hog buried it's face into the ground, tearing up the grass for some reason only it knew.

"Then…", Brandy whispered. "Why am I so nervous? It is just because this Hog is so much uglier than regular ones, thereby acting as something unnatural and therefore fearful? Perhaps…"

Her hand, as if by acting on some bizarre instinct, slipped directly into her pocket. Her fingers closed around cold metal, and she stopped where she was.

With growing wonder, she pulled out the platinum mask charm she had stolen the day before setting out. It had somehow survived in her pocket this entire time, despite all that had happened.

"Huh.", Brandy said, and turned it over in her hand. She was so focused on the mysterious charm that she didn't even notice everything else around her, how it seemed to slow down and speed up all the same time. "Now isn't that interesting…"

Her eyes caught the light, reflecting off the shining metal of the mask. Her arm caught the Hog by the tusks, as it leapt out with intent to bite. It's ferocious expression suddenly turned to one of shock, as it realized Brandy had totally blocked the attack.

"Hey.", Brandy said, and let the charm fall back into her pocket. She slowly turned her gaze upwards to the Hog, then let it fall to the ground. "I'm trying to do something here."

The Hog snarled, its fear of her turning back to anger. "Eeeuaaaauuaooo…", it growled, and leapt forward. Its bloodshot eyes boiled with fury, foam boiling over by the side of its mouth. But Brandy just closed her eyes as it approached, and breathed in. Then with hardly even a motion, Brandy Dashed underneath it, landing on the other side. The Hog continued, not even noticing what had just happened for a few seconds. But as it slammed into the side of the arena wall, unable to stop its running feet, it gradually managed to come to a conclusion.

Brandy stood up from where she had slid down to, and held up her hand. Inside was a bundle of long, thin biological wires, dangling down from her fingers.
"Oh shoot, I think I got the nerves.", Brandy said. "Yeah, I meant to aim for the heart. Oh well."

The Hog squealed in pain, and tried to turn around, but its nervous system had been mostly destroyed. It just flailed, unable to control itself, as it slowly dissolved into Elixir that sunk into the already soaked ground.

Brandy looked at the nerves, shivered, and threw them up into the air, straight at Bonoome. They too turned to purple mist upon the wind, and disappeared.

"Bonoome!", she yelled, and pointed a finger right at him. "I'm tired of fighting your crap! How about you get down here and fight?"
She smiled, and spread her arms open. "Unless of course, you're scared…"

A single hair in Bonoome's scarlet mohawk suddenly snapped out of place. The corners of his mouth pulled down, exposing his Elixir-stained teeth. He took a gargantuan step forward, and leaned down directly to Brandy's height.

"Scared?", he roared, almost blowing Brandy over with the force of his anger. "The great Bonoome is never scared of anything!"

"Good.", said Brandy, and crouched down. She did a backwards flip through the air, landed on Dan's shoulder, and gestured for Bonoome to come and follow her. "Fight us, then."

Bonoome snarled, and beat his chest. He dropped his knuckles down to the ground, then spat off to the side. "I will!"

"No preliminaires.", Dan said, and slowly cracked his knuckles. "No crap. Just fight us, right here, right now-"

Then he decided that it was now time to stop talking. For Bonoome had gotten up from his stance, knuckles on the ground, and charged.

Bonoome bellowed as he rushed towards them, covering huge amounts of ground with every step. The dirt flew upwards every time he collided with it, sending plumes of grass flying up behind him. But his rampage was slowed, as he saw Dan holding up a hand.

"Hey!", Dan yelled. "You didn't let your opponent introduce himself!"

Bonoome thought for a moment, then stopped. "Oh.", he said, then stood up and gave a slight bow. He had indeed forgotten, in his haste, some of the ancient rules of honorable battle. "Bonoome apologizes."

"Right…", Dan said, then stepped forward. He posed as dramatically as he could, one hand over his face and one leg pulled upwards against his waist. Brandy, still on his shoulder, twisted herself around sideways, performing an intricate, striking, pose of her own.

"Hit my music!", Dan shouted, gesturing out somewhere in the general pose of where he had last seen Herb. Everyone waited a few seconds, during which nothing happened. Except for Herb politely beating his sword against the ground in an attempt to make a beat, and Sophia backing him up with a few off-key plucks of her bowstring, but they hardly even counted.

"Oh, forget this!", Dan shouted, and put his hands together. He breathed in as fast as he could, refusing to give Bonoome even a chance to respond.

"Wait, what-", Bonoome yelled, even as the golden light within Dan's hands grew larger.

"Overdrive Cannon!", Dan roared, and let the energy go.

Bonoome crossed his arms in defense, but it was too late. The massive blast of Star hit him head on, blasting him all the way out of the arena. The sides of the heavily makeshift structure blew aside, skidding along the ground until they stopped, now each over 100 feet away. Bonoome kept going, as Dan kept firing, the trail off from the blast of energy blowing away the grass and topsoil from the ground. Finally, with a massive explosion, the beam slammed into the side of a nearby hill, sending up a gigantic plume of smoke.

Dan let his beam fall, although he was not done. He breathed in again, and let loose a storm of smaller blasts that shot from his hands at high speed. Each volley of dozens streaked towards the spot where Bonoome had landed, detonating upon the hillside with another long round of violent explosions. The ground and arena shook from the force, and it was all Brandy could do to avoid being blown away.

Finally, Dan put his hands down, and took a deep, ragged breath. "Well.", he said, after not seeing any movement from the location he had just bombed. "That went better than I expected-"

Suddenly, the lingering smoke was disturbed. Dan stopped in the middle of his sentence, as the still-intact figure of Bonoome stood up from the hill.

"You didn't introduce yourself, challenger!", Bonoome shouted, as the smoke blew away entirely to reveal Bonoome. His shirt and armor were torn, and there were some hairs missing from his mohawk, but he was still very much alive.

"What?", Dan asked, and raised his fist. "How could you possibly just shrug that off?"

Bonoome grinned, revealing more than a few missing teeth. "Silly contender. The only thing Bonoome sells is autographed T-Shirts, mugs, and Elixir Collectors!"

Brandy looked up at Dan in confusion. "Did you get that?", she asked.

"No…", Dan whispered back. "Not unless he's suddenly taking the time to plug in his name brand."

Then Dan stood up to his full height of now 21 and a half feet, and flexed his massive muscles as far as they could go. "My name is Dan!", he shouted, and the crowd perked up. "Of King Oticat, and of Clan LosDementosCT!"

"And I am Brandy!", Brandy yelled, drawing up to her full height of 5 feet. "Of the same!"

"And we're here…", they said together, and once again posed. "To take! You! Down!"

Bonoome watched for a bit, then threw his head back in raucous laughter. "Wonderful!", he shouted, and pounded his fist into his hand. "You two sound like good challengers! Bonoome shall enjoy defeating you!"

"No.", Brandy said, and shook her head. "You'll enjoy no such thing."

Dan looked down at her, and she nodded. Brandy gave a ferocious war cry, Dan pounded on his chest a few times, and they both charged forward. Bonoome noticed their aggression, and decided to match it with some of his own. He too run straight towards them, once again pounding up the dirt with his bulk. The people in the arena booed in anger and disappointment, the majority of them now unable to see.

Dan, after just a few seconds, was now in close proximity of his opponent. He bent at the knees, and jumped into the air, golden Star crackling around him as he flew. Bonoome stopped, slamming his feet down deep into the dirt, and raised his own hands. Dan slammed his metal fists downwards, colliding with Bonoome's open palms. A shockwave spread out from where the two titans met, slamming into the spectator seats and blowing most of them down.

At the very edge of the Village, a small group of experts ran in. They had been running for almost a straight hour, and thus were totally exhausted- or at least they would have been, if they weren't directly on the trail of one of the largest stories in history.

"Larry…", breathed Jimmy Firecracker, laboring under the intensive weight of his own body. "Please tell me… you brought the spare camera."

His trusty cameraman, Larry, held up the small camera that he kept in his left hand. His other hand was full with a huge shoulder mounted number that he was currently using to film. "Sure did, Jimmy."

"Good.". Jimmy said, with a sigh of relief. "After what happened the last two times, we want to make sure that we're actually able to film."

The two, along with the rest of the small camera crew, immediately dropped to the ground, somewhere a bit distant from where the battle raged. Jimmy aimed the camera, a few others got out the sound and broadcasting equipment, and Jimmy straightened his tie and glasses.

"Get ready, Jimmy.", said Larry, and held up three fingers. Jimmy gulped, and turned around to face the camera. Larry began counting down from three. As soon as he reached zero, the live broadcast to a large portion of the world would begin. "We are live in three... two… one…"

He nodded, and flipped a switch. Jimmy took a deep breath, and gestured to somewhere behind him.

Bonoome and Dan pushed against each other, each struggling mightily to gain some upper hand. Sweat dripped down both their brows, the muscles in their arms turning sore from the massive effort involved.

"Bonoome's got to hand it to you.", grunted Bonoome, a small grin upon his face. "Dan, you're pretty strong."

"Pretty strong?", Dan growled, a small bit of anger suddenly bursting forth. "I'll show you more than just a little strong!"

Dan's eyes lit up slightly gold, and his pushing strength increased. Bonoome was pushed backwards just a bit, much to his and the audience's surprises.

"How's that… for strong?", Dan snarled, leaning a bit further in. Bonoome started to slide backwards along the dirt, breaking through the soft ground. "Huh?"

Bonoome grit his teeth, and set his sights on Dan's stomach. It was time to really fight. "Bonoome…"

"What?", Brandy asked, crouching in preparation to leap. "You sure are obsessed with saying your own name, but I think this now qualifies as ridiculous-"

"Kick!", yelled Bonoome, and planted his foot right into Dan's unprotected stomach. Dan sucked in a breath of pain broke off his grip, taking a step backwards. Brandy, unfortunately, had launched herself forward at exactly that moment, landing without support on Bonoome's forehead.

But if Bonoome had noticed that Brandy had landed right upon his head, he seemed to give no indication. "Bonoome…", he bellowed again, and wound up his fist for another strike.

Dan righted himself with a grunt of surprise and pain, raising a fist of his own. "Overdrive…"

Brandy, taking advantage of Bonoome's seeming unawareness, grabbed his eyebrow and swung down right in front of his eye. "Hey!", she yelled, and slashed her boot right across Bonoome's retina.

Bonoome howled in pain, and his non-punching hand flew up to his eye. Brandy attempted to dodge, but with speed beyond his massive size, Bonoome grabbed her in his giant hand.

"Fist!", he bellowed, clutching Brandy to his side, and threw his other punch forward.

"Blast!", Dan yelled, and launched a punch of his own.

The two forces collided right between them, sending out another massive shockwave. This one churned up the dust around them, sending up a smokecloud that obscured the vision of not only the spectators in the stands but Jimmy Firecracker's camera crew.

Brandy, still held tight at Bonoome's side, decided that now was the best time to make her move. She concentrated her Dash throughout her entire body, all while holding perfectly still- as still as she could remain in the iron grip of a Giant, that is. With luck, it would make her intangible, and able to just slip out.

"Larry!", shouted Jimmy Firecracker, clutching his microphone for all he was worth. "Please tell me you're getting this!"

Larry squinted, and held his hand up to his eyes. "Through all that smoke? Not really, sir. But we're getting a lot of views anyway."

"Good, good.", said Jimmy, pulling at his collar a bit. "How much?"

"Uh…", said Larry, and looked at the camera. "We've got 38 Castles watching right now."

"Nice.", said Jimmy, and gave Larry an appreciative thumbs up. "See if we can pump those numbers up."

Larry continued to film the battle, not really knowing or caring exactly who was watching. Why would he? But even though he did not care, a very particular Castle, and many Troops within, just so happened to be watching this fight.

Webert yawned, and scratched his prodigious belly. He fished around in the couch cushions for the remote, but failed to find it.

"Hey.", he grunted to Kars, who was sitting somewhere near him. "You see the remote anywhere? I kind of wanna change the channel."

Kars looked up from the sock puppets he was messing with to do a quick gaze around the room. Finding no remote after 2 entire seconds of searching, he once again ducked down and gave the sock puppets his undivided attention. "Nope. Sorry, mate!"

Webert let his head fall back down onto the back of the couch, just as Oticat walked in. "Hey guys.", he said. "Wassup?"

"Nothing.", said Webert, and gestured to the TV, which was currently playing a Goblin talk show/ cooking demonstration, which tended to be the same thing with Goblins. "Just like what's on."

"Hmmm.", said Oticat, and withdrew a spare remote from his pocket. He aimed it at the TV and clicked the Change Channel Up One button. "Well, why don't we just-"

Webert stared at the remote for a second, confused out of his semi-drunken brain, then quietly decided not to think about it anymore.

The channel buzzed and hummed, then abruptly changed to a live feed. It seemed to be of a Continent of the Clans Village, although outside of the actual Village walls. A huge cloud of smoke and dust tore up the ground, hiding the two massive figures that lay within.

"Eh?", Kars mumbled, looking up for a bit from his three-act drama. "Who's that?"

Webert waved a dismissive hand. "Probably just a couple of Boxer Giants. Maybe some Barbarian Kings. Why would it be anyone we know?"

"I don't know.", Kars shouted. "I just have a feeling!"

Webert rolled over, taking another long sip from his bottle of Dark Elixir. "Kars, that is ridiculous. Why would it be anyone we-"

As the two argued, Oticat stared at the screen. He too thought there was something very familiar about one of the figures, but he could not for the life of him figure out what. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself. Maybe it was the maddingly familiar shape. Or maybe it was the arcs of golden energy that flashed around him as the dust settled and-

Oticat jumped to his feet, pointed at the screen, and shouted something incoherent.

"What?", Kars yelled, jumping to his own feet. "What is it?"

"Look!", Oticat shouted again, jabbing his finger at the screen over and over again. "Look at him!"

Webert leaned down to look at the screen. He saw the dust finally blow away, and the figures fully revealed. "Holy Se'th.", he said. "Is that-"

"It is!", Oticat yelled, and fumbled for his communicator. Everyone would want to be seeing this. "It's Dan!"

Song: Overdrive

Dan and Bonoome's fists both flew at blisteringly high speeds, almost charring the air around them with their raw might and fury. Sparks of Star would fly off at random and streak across the ground, leaving a deep scar before exploding on a random tree or wall. They both stared at each other with fiery intensity, refusing to give up any ground.

"ORA!", Dan yelled, and suddenly thrust out his foot. Bonoome didn't see it coming, and Dan's leg slammed deep into the Giant's torso. Bonoome gasped, and spat out a spurt of blood and spit.

"Don't you move!", Bonoome growled, and held up his other hand. "I still have the girl in my-"

Then he took a better look. His brain slowly began to kick into some gear as realized that not only was his hand empty, it had been so for almost a full minute. He had also been using it to punch, which he was sure he would have noticed.

"Dora!", Brandy screamed, suddenly appearing right next to Bonoome's ear. She swung by his earlobe right onto his face, punching as hard as she could right into his other eye.

Bonoome growled in pain, and tried to swipe for her again, but Brandy had been expecting the move. She lightly jumped back, and landed on Dan's shoulder.

"ORA!", Dan yelled again, and slammed both his fists into Bonoome's chest. There was a massive explosion of dust from the sheer force, the only thing being able to be seen through the cloud Bonoome flying backwards. He hit the ground like a two-ton rock, skidding across the shattered grass until he slammed into the treeline. It broke.

"There.", Dan said, and let down his fists. Brandy noticed that his breathing was worryingly heavy. "Did that do it?"

But to his and Brandy's disappointments, Bonoome didn't even seem to be fazed. Placing both hands on the ground, he leapt off the treeline in a perfect handspring. He leaned all the way down, then back up again in a long stretch.

"You talking more smack, Dan?", he boasted, and posed once more. "Because the only smack anyone's allowed to give-"

The cheering audience finished his sentence. "Is the Bonoome Thunder Smack!"

Bonoome held up his flat palm, which seemed to be crackling with energy. "Uh uh. No spoilers."

He popped his neck to both sides, grinned, and charged. "Bonoome…"

"Brandy.", said Dan. "When I say the word-"

"Aim for his eyes again.", Brandy said. "Got it."

"What?", Dan asked, looking up at her. "No. I want you to reach inside his head and destroy his brain."

Brandy recoiled a bit. "Excuse me, you want me to do what?"

"You can turn parts of yourself intangible.", Dan said. "So just reach inside and-"

"Thunder Smack!", Bonoome roared, all too suddenly upon them. He swiped his hand downwards, right at Dan's shoulder where Brandy stood.

"Shoot!", Brandy cursed, and leapt in a random direction. Dan twisted as far as he could go, Bonoome's attack slashing through the empty air and hitting the ground. The dirt broke open, sending up another cloud of smoke.

Dan breathed in, drawing from his backwards momentum. The unspent energy he had gathered flowed from the air and nothing into his elbow, which now glowed a deep orange.

"ORA!", he bellowed, and threw his elbow at Bonoome's vulnerable face. There was a sickening crunch, as bone shattered and blood spilled. Bonoome staggered backwards, holding his broken nose in his hands.

"No!", he shouted in pain and anger. "Bonoome's prolific modeling career!"

"Is over!", Dan shouted, and thrust out his leg. "Ora!"

Dan's foot connected with Bonoome's stomach once again, sending him flying back.

"Brandy, now!", Dan shouted. "Finish him!"

Bonoome looked up from where he was expecting the attack- not knowing that it would not come from above. Instead, Brandy jumped up from the ground onto the back of Bonoome's neck, and raised her right hand.

"This is weird…", she muttered. "Let's hope this works."

Then she concentrated as hard as she could, and her hand glowed a brilliant bright blue. Silver light flowed around the edges. "Dora!", she yelled, and thrust her hand deep into the back of Bonoome's neck.

Brandy saw Bonoome's massive hands flail around, trying to grab her. But she didn't falter in her task, and soon felt her hand inside of his neck. She waved it around, trying to get a feel for where she was.

"Come on, come on…", she hissed, trying to hold on as Bonoome stumbled backwards. "Where's the brain?"

"Bonoome's gonna crush you!", Bonoome bellowed, and suddenly stopped moving. "Bonoome…"

"Does everything you do have to start with Bonoome-", Brandy snapped, then suddenly realized what he was doing. He had stopped moving backwards, and started moving down.

"Piledriver!", Bonoome roared, and launched himself downward. Brandy shrieked, yanked her arm out of his neck, and Dashed off of his shoulder a half second before he slammed into the ground. She tucked and rolled along the broken dirt, as the shockwave from Bonoome's impact shuddered through the ground like waves.

Brandy Dashed backwards, trying to find her way back to Dan. Bonoome lay upon the ground, growling in anger and pain. "Dan! I couldn't find his brain!"

She ran into something, which turned out to be Dan's hand. He scooped her up and placed her on his shoulder again, all while slowly creeping forward. "That's fine, Brandy. I think you did plenty to him anyway."

"Right.", Brandy said, noticing with dismay that her arm was coated in a mysterious grey fluid. She shook most of it off, but a great deal still remained. "Hopefully now we can finish him off."

Brandy put her hands to her mouth, cupping them around in order to get the best quality sound. "Hey! Big idiot! Are you dead yet?"

Song: A Fearsome Foe

Bonoome snarled, and slowly picked himself up off the ground. His breathing was labored, and he was injured in multiple places. Would it be so bad if I just retreated?, he thought to himself. He didn't refer to himself in the third person- what would be the point? Perhaps if I went back to Lord Rakastamos, I would be able to-

Then, through bloodstained eyes, he could see something that totally changed his mind- Jimmy's faraway camera crew. His eyes shot open, as the glory of the camera once again filled his mind.

"That's a camera.", he said to himself. "And they're probably filming. Which means that Bonoome has an audience all across the world!"

He stood up straight, all traces of his previous exhaustion suddenly gone. "And Bonoome… cannot let down… his fans!"

He concentrated on himself as hard as he could, flexing his already bulging muscles to truly exorbitant lengths. "Bonoome… will never… lose!"

"Dan?", Brandy asked, now able to observe how his energy had suddenly spiked. "What's he doing?"

"I don't know.", Dan said, instinctevely putting up his hand to shield Brandy from any incoming danger. "But I don't think it's good."

Bonoome opened up his eyes, and roared. A veritable storm of sonic energy erupted outwards, tearing up the already torn grass and dirt. The walls of the Village shook from his otherworldly bellow, and Jimmy's camera crew was very nearly blown off of their feet. The trees all bent outwards, in an opposite direction to the gargantuan roar.

"Bonoome…", shouted Bonoome, "Is… invincible. Bonoome… can never be… defeated!"

As Dan and Brandy watched in shock, Bonoome's muscles suddenly swelled. His fur shirt was torn to bits, and his pants swelled to nearly breaking. The air around him seemed to be heated to boiling from the sheer rage bubbling up within him, his eyes glowing pure Elixir Violet.

The ground shook as if from the force of an Earthquake, only on a much larger scale. The trees behind him began to fall, snapping into Gems once they did so. The paradees he had brought with him watched from the faraway, separated stands, their expressions a curious mix between horror and admiration. They had just seen their invincible champion tossed around like a doll- yet here he was now, about to do something none of them had ever seen.

"Hey…", Dan realized, as he squinted his eyes to protect against the storm of dust and force. "It's just like what you did during the final fight with Ryusei_Nakao69."

Brandy thought for a moment, then looked at Bonoome again. Her head slightly tilted. "Huh.", she said, remembering how she too had powered up. "Neat."

Bonoome kept on powering up, the air around him turning purple from all the concentrated anger. His muscles swelled and kept on swelling, his arms and torso growing to ridiculous proportions. The weapons that had been slung onto his back lay scattered and shattered, useless next to Bonoome's revealed strength. His crimson mohawk flew up into the air, snapping and curling in his own generated wind. His veins were visible through the skin, and foaming spit flew from his mouth as he continued to bellow.

"Folks at home!", Jimmy shouted to the camera, struggling to be heard over the deafening powerup. "Bonoome seems to have undergone a harrowing transformation! The other two were beating him back before, but now the odds may change! He was just a really powerful Giant before, but now-"

Bonoome's eyes flared up, and he gave one last roar. A nearly solid blast of red energy whipped out from him in all directions, Dan throwing up a quick shield. His screaming stopped, as the trees for a hundred feet all fell as one to the ground, destroyed by the force of the blast. A massive cloud of smoke obscured the area once again, much to the annoyance of the spectators- and a certain group at home.

Most of the Castle's Troops stood or sat huddled in front of the TV. There were enough Troops for two Kings there, although some of them had failed to show up. They were in the basement, or off visiting friends, or whatever it was Ice Golems did when no one else was looking.

But most of them were still there- and watching in a mixture of excitement, fear, and raw horror that events that were unfolding many miles away.

"Oh my Se'th…", Agatha whispered to herself, hands on her nose, watching as Dan and Brandy were enveloped by a massive cloud of smoke. "Please let them be alright…"

She shut her eyes and buried her head in Bowza's shoulder, no longer wishing to watch. Normally she was a calm and collected Witch, but this was too much.

"Where even are they?", Brenda shouted angrily, gesturing to the TV. She took a sip of Elixir and grabbed Meg on the shoulder. "What's going on? Who is he?"

Meg shivered, trying to keep herself from shaking at the sight on the screen. "I don't know. Why did you ask me? I don't know anything here!"

Brenda raised an eyebrow, then put her hands on Meg's cheeks. "Woah, woah. I didn't ask you-"

"You did.", Meg said, a bit louder than she normally would. "You asked me if- if… woah…"

Overloaded from the stress, Meg closed her eyes and gently fell into Brenda's arms. Brenda smiled a bit watching her sleep, then turned her attention back to the TV.

"Hmmm…", said Nicholas, and took a closer look. "Judging from the surrounding area… yes, and those are Town Hall 10 Walls, hmm… and from the mountains in the background, and then the-"

"They're in Spacekrakenx's Village.", Bowza said without a second thought. "Am I right?"

Nicholas turned to him, and grinned. The two put their arms up, and exchanged a ranged high five. "Yeah! Smart guys gang unite!"

"Wait.", said Oticat. "Space's Village? That's where they are?"

"Yes.", said Bowza with a slight nod. "That's what we said."
"How can you be sure?", asked Oticat. "And what-"

He was about to say what difference does it make, but then SpaceKrakenX himself popped up on the view in front of him. "Hey, everyone!"

Most of his Troops shouted in surprise. A sudden appearance by their collective King always warranted attention.

"I know you guys can see me.", said Spacekrakenx, trying to ward off Jimmy's security. "But don't worry about me, I'm fine! And don't worry about Dan and Brandy either. They're doing really well."

Spacekrakenx finally let himself be pulled away from the camera, his message sent. He knew it wouldn't mean anything to the vast majority of the viewers other than mad ravings, but that's what everyone saw him as anyway. Mad. But now that his mission was accomplished, he would have to go hide. Somewhere safe, and away from the battle.

He saw Sophie, off in the distance, pull the top off from her slap and slip underneath. Herb did the same, only with his own resting point.

Interesting…, Spacekrakenx thought. I have got to get myself one of those.

But he did not have one- yet. So for now, the best option was just to run off to where he had left his speederbike, and make a quick getaway to a high place. Which, of course, is exactly what he did.

As the dust slowly cleared from the surrounding area, Dan let his hands fall from his eyes. The shield flickered and vanished, huge cracks running all across its front.

"Where is he?", Brandy asked quietly, not wishing to give away their position. "Can you see him?"

Dan waited a bit to respond. He was waiting for Bonoome to appear. And after a few seconds, appear he did. Striding through the ruined, cracked ground, the parched dust blowing over him, a slight ring of fire rotating around his entire body. Bonoome stood even taller and even broader now, his entire frame dripping sheer destructive force. An insane smile crossed his face, and he swung his arms from side to side as he walked.
"Bonoome is ready now!", he boomed, shaking the trees with the might of his voice. "Come and fight!"

Dan flipped the visor of his helmet back into place, and slightly bent down. "Right, Brandy. Let's get this."

Brandy focused her Dash inside the palm of her left hand, getting ready to strike with the same thing she had hit the Kraken with. "Let's."

Brandy, Dan, and Bonoome all yelled at the same time, and charged forward, intent to kill written in all their eyes.

As soon as Bonoome came into range, and maybe even a bit before then, Dan was ready. He took a deep breath in, lighting up his arm with golden Star. It flowed and concentrated in his elbow, about to strike. "Take this, Bonoome!", Dan shouted, and attacked. "Concentrated-"

But Bonoome had powered up. Such an attack had worked once, but would most likely not work again. This time, Bonoome just grinned, ducked under Dan's arm, and landed a solid double punch right in the middle of his chest.

Dan gasped, and stopped in his tracks. Brandy, not noticing he had stopped until it was too late, kept on going, and flew over Bonoome's shoulder and onto the ground.

Dan crossed his arms in front of his chest to protect himself, but Bonoome had anticipated such a move. He grabbed Dan by the waist, and with a massive effort, hoisted him up into the air.

"Bonoome…", he shouted, not noticing that Dan was taking the opportunity to wind bits of rotating blue energy around his arms and legs. "Flying…"

Brandy got up from the ground, to see Dan held overhead by Bonoome. A flash of fear washed over her face, and she turned her head to face the ground.

"Launch!", Bonoome finished, and threw Dan as hard as he could. Dan sailed through the air, all the way to the Village, and landed on a row of walls. They shattered under the colossal impact, leaving Dan dazed on the ground.

Brandy looked up again in horror, suddenly realizing that she was alone on the battlefield. Bonoome was massive, fast, and way too strong. Even if she fought as hard as she could, she wouldn't stand a chance.

"Feeling afraid, are we?", Bonoome asked. "Little girl?"

Bonoome turned around, and gestured to the audience. "You know why? Bonoome'll tell you why!"

Bonoome threw his arms out to the side. "Because the name's! Bonoome!"

Then he turned around, raising one leg in the air in a long pose. "And it rhymes! With doom!"

He crossed his arms in an X over his chest, and tossed his head back. "And yoooou're gonna be hurtin!"

A quick lean back, arms up- "All!"
Arms extended, spinning around on both feet- "Too!"

Dropping to one knee, arms raised diagonally in a ferocious dab- "Soooooon!"

The audience cheered wildly, despite most of them not actually being able to see. But they had heard their lord, and that to them was enough.

"Yeah? Well?", Brandy asked definitely, and struck a pose of her own, one arm back, one arm in front, foot to the knee, leaning slightly backwards. "You might be bigger than me. You might be stronger, and much more experienced. But I'm still a whole lot faster than you. And I'll have you know-"

She pointed to herself, desperately hoping her bluff would hold under the Giant's scrutiny. "I'm a Stand User! So you better watch out!"

"Stand… User?", Bonoome asked, cracking his knuckles as he slowly walked forward. "What's that? Is it a type of move?"

Brandy backed up as Bonoome approached, trying to look for ways out. "No. It's a-"

But she stopped talking, as Bonoome suddenly dove. Instead she jumped straight up, Bonoome plowing underneath her like some kind of infernal tiller. He crashed into a giant rock at the edge of the village, breaking it into pieces. A single Gem popped out, and lay upon the ground.

"I just gotta get to his neck…", Brandy growled, sneaking a look behind her to check on Dan. Her heart dropped as she saw he still lay on the destroyed patch of wall. But his continued presence meant he wasn't dead- that was a very good thing indeed.

Bonoome stood up, and rubbed his head. He looked eerily towards Brandy, and bent down again. "Now, what move should I take you down with? The Bonoome Piledriver? The Bonoome Press? The Bonoome Dark Elixir Field Special? Or my patented Bonoome Ultra Miracle Fighting Explosion?"

Brandy stood there a bit, before realizing that Bonoome was actually waiting for her to respond. "Uh…", she said, pretending to think. "How about… the…"

"Yes?", Bonoome asked, and nodded. He shuffled from one foot to the other, in giddy anticipation of his next defeated foe.

Brandy flicked one finger into the air. "Your Bonoome Nosedive!"

Brandy had expected him to become confused, as she had listed an option that didn't exist. But, of course, Bonoome was smarter than most people gave him credit for.

"My Bonoome Nosedive…", he muttered, trying to act dumb. Then he brightened up, the fire around him slightly increasing in intensity. "Okay!"

"Wait what-", Brandy blurted out, before Bonoome began his charge straight for her.

"Oh my Se- I mean, Da'ria!", shouted Jimmy into the microphone, as he saw the chaos unfold. "It appears as though Bonoome's powerup really did the trick, folks! First he incapacitated the big one, and now he's heading straight for the little girl! She's less than 20 times his size- it's going to be an absolute massacre!"

I hope not though, Jimmy gulped. Those two seemed nice enough in the arena. Oh, if only Mr. Satan were here…"

"Uh, sir?", said Larry, pointing towards the camera. His expression seemed wide with utter shock.

"What?", asked Jimmy, looking where Larry was pointing. It only took a second for his expression, as well, to turn to total surprise.

Song: Virtuous Pope

Brenda, still focused on the TV, suddenly noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Meg's gun, which had been lying underneath her, had slipped underneath her, and began to rise into the air.

"Uh, Meg?", Brenda whispered, shaking her shoulder in order to wake her. "You might want to take a look at this."

Meg still lay on Brenda's lap, asleep from the stress. She rolled over a bit, but that was all. Brenda sighed internally, and summoned up the Phantom. With a rush of cold air, he appeared over her, and looked down at all the general chaos.

"Mistress, what is it-", he asked, then Brenda pointed her head downwards at Meg, asleep.

The Phantom nodded, and gently touched her forehead. There was a flash of white light, and the Phantom retreated back into Brenda at the same instant that Meg awoke.

"What?", Meg asked, sitting up in surprise, but Brenda grabbed her on the back and pointed her towards the TV.

"Look.", she said, and Meg gasped. For there hovered her gun, soft sapphire light leaking out of it, as it slid into the TV screen and out of sight.

"What- what's going on?", she asked, looking around in confusion. "Did my gun just-"

"That wasn't your gun, Meg.", Brenda said, slowly cracking a grin.

"It… wasn't?", asked Meg with wide eyes. "Then what was it?"

"That, you little purple hair,", said Brenda, using her pet name for Meg, "Was your Stand."

"Bonoome…", Bonoome bellowed, and slammed facefirst into the ground. "Nosedive!" The dirt flew up in a high arc, the shockwave nearly launching Brandy off her feet. But she did a good job of that herself- leaping off the ground using its momentum paired with her Dash, and ending up almost 30 feet in the air.

"Seriously, why do you keep on yelling your name before every attack you make?", Brandy shouted over the chaos, as she fell back to the broken ground. "Does it make you tougher or something-"

"Gotcha!", Bonoome suddenly shouted, and thrust out his hand from the ground. "Bonoome was only pretending!"

He lurched up from the ground, and jumped into the air. One fist was raised, an expression of sadistic glee written across his face. "Bonoome… Fury…"

"Brandy!", Brandy heard a voice shout, although it was no one she knew. "Dodge the first attack!"

"The first one?", Brandy asked aloud, and tensed in preparation to dodge. "I'd rather just dodge all of them."

But Bonoome attacked with a deafening "Punch!", and Brandy obeyed the voice. She flipped back as hard as she could, and Bonoome's fist hit the ground. The rest of him followed, again making a massive body sized crater.

Brandy flew into the air, aiming for a nearby rock. "Okay. I dodged the first punch… now what?"

Bonoome lifted his face up out of the dirt to see where he was going, and maniacally laughed. Brandy was still falling, with no way to get out of his reach. Once he had her, he could crush her with a single blow. Then there would only be the big one to contend with, if he wasn't already dead.

"Bonoome has you now!", Bonoome roared, and pushed himself up from the dirt. "It's over-"

Yet even as his hand reached for Brandy, he stopped in his tracks. A low, wet gasp came from his lungs, pain rippling through his head. He fell backwards onto the ground, and the crater he had made, as a thin blue line still rippled through the air.

Brandy turned to where the line seemed to have its origin, and saw a truly bizarre sight. The modified gun of a Musketeer was pointing outwards, blue smoke rising from its barrel.

"My Se'th…", Jimmy breathed, as the gun slowly snaked back in. "Folks at home, it appears we have just witnessed a miracle. Larry, what do you think?"

Larry blinked, and stared at the spot where the gun had been. "Jimmy, I have been finding heaven ever since we got here."

"You're right, Larry.", Jimmy said, and wiped away a tear from his eye. "You're so, so, right."

Everyone in the Castle watched in wonder, as Meg's gun fell back out of the TV. They had seen the magical azure gunshot hit Bonoome in the forehead, and knew exactly what must have happened.

"Uh, Meg?", asked Oticat, as everyone turned their attention from the TV to watch the gun slither across the floor and back into Meg's arms, who was now wide awake. "Would you care to explain what just happened?"

Meg grabbed her gun, took a deep breath, and stood up. She turned to face the crowd, hoping in vain that none of them would notice how much her hands were shaking. "Hey, everyone.", she said, and gave a shy smile. She hefted the gun up in her hand, and somehow managed not to drop it. "This is my Stand. Uh…"

She looked around, trying to decide on what to name it. Her eyes fell upon a plaque on the wall, and she nodded in decision. "Azure Sky."

Brandy stood in the middle of the battlefield, her breathing short. She hoped to anyone listening, whether it be the gods she knew or the gods of this new land, that Bonoome wouldn't be able to get up. But he had not dissolved into Elixir after the hit, so Brandy knew her hopes were in vain.

"Bonoome…", growled the Gladiator Giant, as he stood up. He rubbed his head, the gunshot wound still a bit tender- even with his natural regeneration. "Did not like that. Whoever did that… will pay!"

He looked to where he had thought the shot had come from, and growled. There, right in the middle of the path, was Jimmy and his camera crew.

"Sir?", asked Larry, suddenly deeply nervous. "Why is he looking at us like that?"

Jimmy gulped, noticing that Bonoome had begun to dig at the ground with his feet, seemingly in preparation for a devastating Bonoome Rush. "I don't know, Larry. Let's move to somewhere where he can't."

They hurriedly picked up the camera stuff and started to move towards the Village, but a loud roar from Bonoome stopped them in their tracks. "Hey! Hold still so Bonoome can crush you!"

Brandy thought quickly. It looks like he's easily distracted, she thought. I can use that to my advantage.

"Hey!", she shouted, and Bonoome looked down. "You're fighting me, remember?"

I'm not really sure who those people are, she thought, taking a look at Jimmy and his crew. But they're clearly innocent here. I can't let them die.

Bonoome looked back to Jimmy, who was almost behind the rock, then again down to Brandy. "You wish to fight Bonoome before Bonoome can fight them?"

"Yes.", Brandy said, and gathered more energy in her right hand. It crackled with sheer silver and blue force, ready to pull away skin and turn muscle into air. "You have to fight me."

She took a quick look behind her, to check on both Jimmy and Dan. Jimmy and his crew were now behind the rock, and Dan-

Her heart nearly stopped. Dan was nowhere to be found. He wasn't on the walls, and she couldn't see him anywhere else. A cold chill of panic and fear ran through her heart, as she considered the possibility that he was now mere Elixir.

"Bonoome…", she suddenly heard Bonoome yell, and she screamed. "Hey wait-"

"Kick!", Bonoome roared, and lashed out with his right leg, slamming directly into Brandy's front.

For a moment, Brandy couldn't breathe. She felt all the sound of the world around her just sort of fade away, the all-encompassing pain of Bonoome's kick flowing all the way through her. Color gradually stopped working, everything fading to a soft grey. She tasted her own blood for half a second, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Then she could breathe again, but not very well. Her lung felt like it had been collapsed. The sound came back into her head, only it was nothing but a rush of deafening wind. The pain was joined by a peculiar sensation of weightlessness, as she noticed herself flying backwards at a rather remarkable speed. The colors came back as well, all blurred together like a demented smoothie. She tasted more of her own blood, mixed with a bit of Elixir. She hoped it wasn't her own, but she really had no way of knowing.

Finally, as her senses returned completely, she noticed she was flying at a fast clip towards the edge of Bonoome's makeshift arena. Her leg seemed to be bent at a very bad angle, blood streaming out of her at several angles. She could hear a high pitched scream of absolute agony- it took her a few seconds to realize that it was her own.

And then with a sickening crunch, Brandy slammed into the stone side of the arena. She hit the side spread eagled, hanging there for a second, before the rocks fell on top of her and covered her completely.

Song: Un'altra Persona

Jimmy, watching the scene with wide eyes, struggled to hold his microphone. He pulled at his collar, not sure he could follow through with the next bit of his live report.

"Folks at home, I'm not sure what to say here.", he gulped, looking at the spot were Brandy had landed. "She's not coming out. I think… I think…"

Everyone at Oticat's castle leaned forward, watching the TV with frantic worry. A thin aura of fear began to descend over the entire group.

"Brandy…", Agatha whispered, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "No…"

Jimmy took one last look at the rock pile, which had still failed to move. If he looked hard, he could see a thin trail of pink slowly leaking out. "I think…"

His voice echoed loudly over the entire area, and through his microphone. "Good Se'th, I think she's dead!"

A total, dreaded silence descended over Oticat and Spacekrakenx's Castle. Everyone just stared at the screen, unable to comprehend what had just happened. It looked as though Dan and Brandy were both dead, fallen to the hands of the strange, mighty Giant who called himself Bonoome.

"But…", Sadie whispered, trying not to think about it. "They can't be both dead. They can't be."

"Agatha?", Bowza whispered, trying to get her attention. "What do you sense? Can you still feel them?"

But Agatha just stared straight ahead, not looking at anything. Her eyes were glazed over, and she fell limp in Bowza's arms.

"Brenda?", asked Meg, almost too quietly for either of them to hear. "Did they really… just lose?"

Brenda didn't answer. She silently summoned the Phantom with a wave of her hand, who hovered above their heads, trying desperately to listen for any sign of life.

Bonoome took a long look at the place that he had kicked Brandy into. Other than a few falling pebbles, there was no movement. He took a look at where he had last seen Dan- he was not there. Bonoome smiled, got up, and slowly began walking towards where Jimmy had hidden behind the rock.

"Bonoome saw you fire.", said Bonoome, as he drew ever closer. He punched one hand with his colossal fist, and Jimmy shuddered where he stood. "Bonoome didn't like that."

"Uh, sir?", asked Larry, and slowly reached for the off button on his camera. He wasn't sure he wanted to record whatever was going to happen next. "Should we leave?"

Jimmy nodded, his legs already beginning to move on their own. "Yes, we should Larry. We should definitely-"

There was a flash of movement, and Bonoome was suddenly upon them. He towered over them, lifting the entire rock they had been hiding behind with one massive hand.

"I don't think we thought this through.", Jimmy squeaked.
Bonoome leaned down, and raised his fist. "Bonoome agrees."

Jimmy and Larry's eyes met, as they turned to each other one last time.

"Where there's smoke…", Jimmy said with a single tear in his eye.

"There's firecracker, sir.", said Larry with a gulp.

Jimmy stepped forward, and they both bumped arms. "You're so right."

Then Bonoome grinned widely, and he swung his fist down to squash both of them flat.

Song: Stardust Crusaders

"ORA!", shouted a powerful voice. Bonoome was suddenly blasted off to one side, an impact that could shatter hills imprinted deeply to the side of his face. Jimmy looked up in shock, and almost jumped for joy.

There stood Dan, right in front of what seemed to be some kind of tunnel. His breathing was a little heavy, and bizarre blue light flickered around him, but he was very much alive.

Bonoome slammed face-first into the dirt, and groaned in pain. He tried to roll to one side- but before he could, Dan was already upon him, vengeance in his eyes.

"Ora!", he yelled, and hit Bonoome in the chest with a powerful punch. Golden light exploded around it, and Bonoome was flung spread eagled into the air.

"Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!", Dan bellowed, hitting Bonoome on every available inch of his body with a flurry of punches that a Pekka would envy. Shockwaves exploded out from him, Star plowing into his body and causing further damage with each and every strike. Bonoome bellowed in pain, but Dan did not let up his ruthless and well-deserved assault.

"Larry?", Jimmy said, beginning once again to get excited. "Please tell me that-"

"I'm recording this?", Larry asked, lifting the huge camera up onto his shoulders. "Oh yeah. I am."

JImmy clenched his fist, and brought his microphone closer to his mouth. "Fantastic, Larry. Now keep on tracking them."

Jimmy's eyes glinted with anticipation, and he slowly began to edge closer to the two dueling titans. "It's reporting time."

"Oraoraoraoraoraora!", Dan continued to yell, hitting Bonoome's vulnerable body with at least 50 more punches in that short time. But finally, he knew that he could do it no longer, and so stopped with one final, especially powerful blow. "ORA!"

Bonoome flew up into the sky, blood trailing from his broken face. The audience gasped in abject horror as their champion, now powered up, fell face-first into the ground with a sickening crunch. His body landed at a twisted angle, almost giving him the look of a vegetable just waiting to be picked. His legs twitched sticking up out of the dirt, but not much else.

"Oh my Da'ria.", said Jimmy excitedly, having finally picked up the new word. "It appears that this magical Mega Knight has just teleported from underground! What an astonishing comeback!"

Dan just stood there for a bit, still panting from the exertion. Using the Rotation to tunnel through the ground like that had taken a lot out of him, novice as he was. But it had all been worth it, just to get the real first hit on Bonoome.

"Brnuuume…", Dan heard from underground, and he took a step back in alarm. He also took a very deep breath, gathering the Star in his arms, just in case.

"Jibe!", Bonoome yelled, bursting forth from the ground and striking another pose. It wasn't a very accurate word to use, given that it was a sailing term, but Bonoome did not care. He just needed something to yell.

On the side of the arena building, the rocks slowly began to fall faster. The thin trail of Elixir between them halted, and a defiant fist punched through their ranks, out into the glorious sun.

"Ooohhh…", Brandy groaned, as she pushed the rocks covering her face free. "That hurt…"

With one last push and a Dash-infused jump, Brandy broke free of the rocks. She landed on the grass, stumbled, and almost fell over, but managed to keep herself on her feet.

"Darn it…", she growled, noticing the leak by her side. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a metal flask. There was a hole right in the middle of it, no doubt pierced through during the battle. "Bonoome broke my Elixir bottle. There was a lot in there, too."

But then Brandy bent down, adjusted her hood, gave her ears a quick rub, and grinned. "Don't worry, Dan.", she said. For a brief second, she thought she could somehow feel the feeling of how it felt to save someone you loved. Her eyes narrowed with chaotic justice. "I'm coming."

"Overdrive!", Dan yelled, and launched himself forward. The Star radiated outwards from his skin in waves, almost burning the air around him yellow. His fists glowed the very brightest, extended and ready to smash Bonoome into a tiny pulp.

"Bonoome…", Bonoome roared, and stood there for half a second trying to think up a good name. But he did get one, and so threw his fist forward as well. "Hammer Blow!"

Their attacks met in the attack center, sending out a shockwave that tore the very last layer of grass up off of the ground. Pain rushed down both of their arms, yet they did not falter. Both now knew each other's strength- there was no room for mistakes.

"You're… powerful.", said Bonoome, struggling as hard as he could in order to break the status quo. "Perhaps, after this fight is over… you could… join us? Join Rakastamos?"

It wasn't an innocent offer. Dan would have refused anyway. But when he heard those words, he was reminded just of what Chad had said to him, during the raid over a month ago.

"You…", Dan growled, and let the rage flow through him. His skin turned a light shade of purple, and his muscles bulged outwards even more than usual. "Don't you dare say that!"

He roared, the pupils in his eyes shrinking. And he pushed, as hard as he could possibly drive himself to do, until Bonoome's footwork began to slowly falter.

"Indeed, you are strong.", Bonoome grunted. His eyes flashed with determination, and he too began to push harder. "The strongest enemy Bonoome has ever fought."

With Bonoome's new strength, Dan's advantage suddenly vanished. He found himself pushed backwards, leading them both to the position where they were before.

"Fine then.", said Bonoome, and his eyes narrowed as he somehow prepared himself to push even harder than before. "Then Bonoome's just gonna have to kill ya-
"Dorra!", came another voice, and there was another blow.

Dan's eyes widened in joy, as he saw Brandy plant her foot right into the side of Bonoome's nose. Time seemed to slow down, every detail of the breaking cartilage and spurting blood perfectly outlined against her. "Brandy?"

As Bonoome faltered, Dan knew the advantage was finally his. He roared, and pushed as hard as he could. Bonoome fell backwards, hitting the dirt with a thunderous crash of pain.

Brandy leapt backwards from where she had hit the Giant onto Dan's shoulder, and wiped her mouth free of dirt. "Hey, honey."

"Where were you?", Dan asked, and rolled his shoulder. "I didn't see you for a bit."

Brandy stretched, and popped her back with a satisfied sigh. "I was behind a bunch of rocks. Where were you?"

Dan pointed to the tunnel he had spun through. "Underground."

Brandy nodded, only sort of understanding. "I see."

Then they both nodded, and shifted to face Bonoome. He was getting up now, anger staining his usually jolly face. His mohawk was torn, and multiple teeth were missing. A long, bleeding cut ran down the right edge of his face, dripping blood out onto the ground below.

"Can Bonoome get a Mirror?", he asked, to no one in particular. "He feels he may have lost a tooth."

"Oooh, what happened to his face?", Brandy asked, and winced as she elbowed Dan. "It looks even uglier than before!"

Upon hearing this, Bonoome raised a fist. He stared the two down, and did some quick calculations in his head. If they were 40 feet away, then he could… yes. He grinned. That was perfect.

"Do you still dare to battle Bonoome!", he shouted, flexing his muscles as hard as he could. "The great and terrible?"

Brandy cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted towards him. "We're crushing you, idiot!", she yelled, and saw Bonoome's face twitch. She had quite obviously hit a nerve. "Of course we're still gonna take you on!"

Bonoome grimaced, and struck a wild pose. "Well then!", he shouted. "The name's! Bonoome!"

He pawed at the ground with his feet, sending up another wild cloud of dust.

"And it rhymes!", Bonoome yelled, slamming his fists together like two great plates of stone. "With doom!"

The arena holding the audience slowly began to turn, as most of its strongest members pushed against the side in an effort to see their lord and master. Bonoome made sure to strike an extra powerful pose, causing much of the audience to swoon. "And you're gonna be hurtin! All! Too!"

He crouched down and bent all the way over, looking out between his legs with his arms straight up in the air. "Sooooooon!"

Then quick as a flash, he sprung out of it, and faced Dan down. The two titans both grinned, nodded, and began to charge.

Oticat gasped in relief, and put his hand over his eyes. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and almost laughed. "They're alive…"

He folded forward, wrapping his arms around himself. "I'm not sure what I would have done if they had died."

Meg was shaking, as usual, but this was more of a happy shake. She hugged Brenda as tight as she could, who returned the loving gesture with a light kiss on the cheek. "They're alive…"

Agatha opened up her eyes, Larry and Tarry popping up out of the ground from her stress. As soon as she saw Brandy and Dan together on the screen, she almost fainted with relief. "They did it.", she said weakly. "They survived."

"Yes.", said Bowza, and raised a hand to signal everyone to calm down. "They did. However…"

His face grew grim, as he looked again at what was happening on the screen right in front of them. "It's not over yet."

Song: The Power to Resist

Just as Dan and Brandy were about to reach Bonoome, they stopped. Dan ducked low, and Brandy jumped high. Bonoome's arms had already swung forward, hoping to catch both of them in a crushing bearhug, but his hands swung shut on empty air. Brandy spun in the air as she flew, making sure to get a good clip on the back of Bonoome's ear as she flew by. She Dashed down to the ground in order to get a good footing, and gritted her teeth in a mixture of ferocity, anger, anticipation, and truth be told,fear. Dan jumped up from his bent knees, stood still, and prepared all the energy he could.

"Come here, you little brat!", Bonoome shouted, turning around to snatch Brandy right off the ground. "Bonoome's gonna crush you!"

But as Bonoome's massive hands groped for Brandy's small body, she Dashed in and out of his grip, jumping and dodging every move he made. Even though Bonoome was faster than he had any right to being, he still wasn't as fast as her. "That's not an incentive!", Brandy yelled, and did a double backflip onto a nearby rock. "Try harder!"

"Try harder?", Bonoome shouted in anger, and his face turned red. "Bonoome shall show you try harder!"

Bonoome thrust out with both his hands at once, casting a veritable net across the ground. This, of course, did not bother Brandy in the least- she simply leapt up, and Dashed midair towards where Dan was still standing. "Then do it!", she shouted back, and stuck out her tongue. "Come on, big boy! Show me what you got!"

It would not be for several minutes that she would realize what she had just said, and every single one of the implications of it.

"Bonoome shall!", shouted Bonoome, and turned to follow her. "Bonoome will-"
He was about to say "crush you like an insect and drink all your Elixir", but he saw that Brandy, for whatever reason, was standing perfectly still. Right there in the middle of the grass.

Rather than ponder this fact, however, and what it might mean, Bonoome just decided to go for it. He spread his arms out wide, ready to grab her- when he suddenly felt them get pushed even further apart. He looked up in shock to find Dan in midair, holding Bonoome's arms open with his feet, arms crossed in front of his chest. There was a ferocious golden glow coming from somewhere within them.

"You fell for it, fool!", shouted Dan, and raised his arms to strike. "Thunder Cross Split Attack!"

"A- amazing!", shouted Jimmy Firecracker from behind his rock, craning to get a better look. "By attacking with his arms crossed, he can keep up his guard while going on the offensive! It's- it's perfect!"

Larry flinched at the use of the word "perfect", given his past experiences, but Jimmy either did not notice or did not care. "Things are really heating up, folks! I think Bonoome might just lose this fight!"

"Uh, sir?", asked Larry, jerking his head towards the camera, desperately trying to get Jimmy's attention. "Take a look at this."

"Huh?", Jimmy asked, and leaned down. "What is it-"

Then he saw what it was on the camera's digital interface that Larry had been pointing to, and his eyes very nearly bugged out of his head. "Wha- it's on 8% battery? Already? How?"

Larry, not really knowing, just nodded his head yes to all questions. "Uh…"

"I thought we brought a spare battery!", Jimmy yelled, leaning in close. "What happened to that?"
"We did, sir.", said Larry, gesturing to the camera again. "This is it."

Jimmy blinked, and turned around. "Ah.", he said, and stared semi-blankly at the sky. "I see."

Bonoome's face briefly reflected fear, as he saw Dan's crossed arms light up with pure Star. But then he grinned maniacally, and laughed. "You fool! Did you really think that such a thing would work on me-"

But Bonoome didn't get to finish his sentence. A quick slash across his ankle, and the words caught in his throat. He looked down and snarled- Somehow, he had forgotten about Brandy. But even if she hadn't attacked. Dan wasn't wasting any time. Instead, he just slammed his arms down right into Bonoome's face, directing the full flow of the energy right into him. "ORA!"

Bonoome's eyes grew wide, a half second before he was electrocuted. Then as the charge hit, they grew even wider. An otherworldly howl came out of Bonoome, as the powerful energy racked his entire body. His bones and nervous system could be seen even in the bright afternoon sun, illuminated through the skin. Dan kept up his mighty yell the entire time, projecting more and more force deep into Bonoome's head. Finally, after almost 8 seconds, the attack stopped. Dan jumped back down once more to the ground, and Bonoome was thrown back a good 40 feet against the Village walls.

Bonoome groaned, trying to push himself up off the ground. His skin was burned in many places, having received nearly the full brunt of Dan's Star. Blood pooled on the ground below him, darkening the dirt. His breathing was heavy, and he could barely even see out of one eye.

"You… think you can defeat Bonoome like this?", he snarled, taking a ragged step forward. "Bonoome… is… invincible!"

"Oh, give me a break.", Dan said, slowly beginning to walk towards him. "I've heard this one before. Do you know how many enemies I've beaten that think they're "invincible"?"

"They were wrong.", Bonoome said simply, and raised a fist. He made another quick set of calculations. Yes, this they would never see coming. "But Bonoome… Bonoome is right."

"Really?", asked Brandy, taking a few light steps towards Dan. "Because so far…"

She smoothed down her hood, letting the light catch on her hair. "Her eyes glinted with pure mischievous energy, and she gave a playful grin. "It looks like you're losing."

"Careful, Brandy.", Dan said, giving her a stern look. "We don't want to BM him too much. He might try something."

"What's he gonna try?", Brandy asked, and leaned up against Dan's leg. "We already beat him-"

"No, no, he's right.", Bonoome said, suddenly frightfully calm. He got up in a flash, seemingly without pain. "Bonoome might just try something."

He drew back a fist, and it began to vibrate with some unknown energy. "Bonoome… Thunderquake…"

Dan's eyes widened, and he threw an arm over Brandy to protect her. "Brandy, get down!"

"Wave Punch!", Bonoome finished, and struck at the air with a force he had not yet equaled. The speed of the blow tore right through the sound barrier, causing a sonic boom that damaged the hearing of anyone nearby. Brandy slapped her hands over her sensitive ears, tears suddenly streaming down her face.

Dan really tried not to, but he had no choice. The stream of debris blasted forward by Bonoome's punch scraped against his face so much, he had to close his eyes- even for just a second. And in that second, Bonoome struck.

Brandy felt Bonoome's massive hand close around her. "Gotcha!", he roared, and jumped back on his back.

"Dan!", Brandy screamed, suddenly knowing what Bonoome was about to do. A flicker of blue lights appeared behind her head, as she saw herself go through a cloud. "Help me-"

Dan opened his eyes again, and lunged for Brandy. But he was too late- Bonoome swung his hand up into the air and released, flinging Brandy up into the sky. She screamed as she soared ever higher, the air sucked from her lungs as she vanished into the clouds.

Jimmy stared at the sky, almost unable to process what he had just witnessed. "My Se'th…", he whispered to himself, then cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, folks at home, it appears that… Bonoome has just thrown that Bandit into the sky! Unless she's got wings, there's no way she'll be able to survive a fall like that!"

Bonoome grunted, and took a step back, as Jimmy kept talking. "It's just him vs the Mega Knight now! He might be able to win this one after all!"

Dan stared at the hand that had thrown Brandy. He stared at the exact spot where she had disappeared, a barely-visible hole in the square shaped cloud. His arm trembled, and an unspeakable rage began to boil up from deep inside him.

"Oh, I'm sorry.", Bonoome said, and Dan's head snapped up to stare at him. "It seems you had some sort of personal connection to her- was she your partner in combat?"

Dan's muscles swelled, and his eyes grew whiter and whiter. His pupils began to fade, the snarl on his lips becoming more and more evident. "You bastard…", he growled.

Something inside him snapped, and he rushed forward. "She was my wife!"

"Oh.", Bonoome said, then raised his fist. "Bonoome doesn't apologize."

Dan, barely able to control himself, raised two fingers. The blue lines that still hovered lightly around Bonoome glowed, and contracted against his flesh. "Rotation!", Dan shouted.

"What?", Bonoome grunted, then the traps blinked once. A burst of spinning energy shot out from each and every one of them, slicing deep into Bonoome's arms and legs. Dozens of spurts of blood shot out from each cut, and Bonoome screamed in agony.

"Overdrive Pummel!", Dan shouted, each of his fists lighting up with golden light. He slammed both of his hands into Bonoome's chest, launching him even further backwards. Bonoome raised a hand in defense, but Dan lashed out with a vicious kick to the side of the head. Bonoome slammed hard to the ground, his head bouncing back up from the force of the impact.

"My heart beats…", Dan said, and drew back his fists. "With heat enough to burn…"

Bonoome tried to scramble away, but his wrist broke from the pressure that had already been applied. He fell to the ground once again, unable to escape.

"My blood's beat…", Dan shouted, and his entire body lit up with golden light. His helmet broke from the sheer force. "Is razor sharp!"

He grabbed Bonoome by one hand, threw him up into the air, and attacked. "Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!"

Every single hit pounded Bonoome's body with the force of a Rocket. Shockwaves emanated out from each blow, the air rippling with raw power. Jimmy and his camera crew were almost blown away from the strength of Dan's Star, although it was Bonoome receiving 99% of the force. The attack continued for 8 long seconds, each one of which had over a hundred punches.

Finally, Dan broke off the attack. He concentrated all his remaining energy into one final blow, applying it directly to the side of Bonoome's head. "ORA!"

Bonoome shrieked through gurgles of blood, and flew high into the air. He flew in a glorious arc, every bit of his broken body visible, and landed in a bloody heap on the other side of the village.

The audience gasped in horror, to see their invincible champion in such a state. Jimmy and his camera crew just stood there stock still, not really knowing what was going on. Dan collapsed to his knees, totally exhausted. Such a magnificent attack barrage had taken pretty much everything out of him. But if he listened carefully, as hard as he could, he thought he could almost hear everyone back at home cheering his name. Which, in fact, they were.

"Oh my goodness…", said Sophia, sitting on a lawn chair atop her Queenpad. "Did you see that?"

Herb nodded, taking another sip of his drink. "I did. That was unbelievable!"

Spacekrakenx grabbed a handful and a piece of his experimental popcorn, which of course were both the same size. "I think he may have just outright killed Bonoome!"

"That would be great!", Herb said, and tried to peer at where Bonoome had fallen. "But do you think he really did it?"

"I don't know.", said Sophia, a hint of worry in her voice. "That Bonoome certainly seems to be one tough cookie."

Bonoome lay in the crater he had made when he hit the ground, barely conscious or alive. Blood ran out of him in a veritable river, and he could feel himself weakening. He couldn't move one arm, and both legs were totally unresponsive.

"Bonoome's…", he whispered, more trying to convince himself than impress anyone else. "Gonna… crush… you…"

He closed his eyes, and stopped moving. But even as his heartbeat slowed, his body was slowly knitting itself back together, a sickly green glow emanating from his chest. For Bonoome was not an ordinary Giant by any means. No, he was Bonoome, the mighty and only Gladiator Giant. And as such, he had the ability of regeneration, gifted from a peculiar jewel embedded in the middle of his chest.

His skull, broken nearly in half by Dan's final punch, ever so slowly slid back together. The holes and cuts in his limbs shrunk, and finally stopped bleeding. His shattered wrist and ankle warped back into their proper shape, and his spent strength began to gradually return.

"Heh.", he coughed out. It no longer hurt to speak. "Heh heh."

He slowly pushed himself to his feet, and looked at his arms. "Good as new."

Bonoome started walking to where Dan still was, a truly evil grin upon his face. "That was a good try, Dan.", he said to himself. "But I'm about to show you…"

He had dropped his whole wrestling persona at that point. His voice was deeper, softer, no longer proud and boastful. He didn't care about impressing an audience- he just cared about winning. He had finally revealed himself- no longer was he Bonoome the showoff, Bonoome the crowdpleaser. No, now he was Bonoome the killer, Bonoome the deathbringer, Bonoome the dreaded ender of life. He cracked his knuckles together, an evil grin flashing in his eyes. "Why I never lose."

Dan sat on the grass, his breathing heavy and ragged. He couldn't believe he had done it- but his victory was nothing, compared to the pain of losing Brandy. She had been flung up into the sky, far beyond anywhere that she could survive a fall from. Even if she did, finding her would take ages. But Dan refused to think about that. She had to be alive, somewhere. Otherwise…

Dan shut his eyes in a painful grimace, his shredded muscles still aching in pain. He couldn't even think about that.

"Hey!", came the voice of Bonoome, as he slowly hobbled around the Laboratory on the edge of the village.

Dan's eyes shot open, and his heart dropped in his chest. To his utter shock, there was Bonoome, still coming towards him, looking good as new.

"What?", Dan coughed, hardly believing what he saw. "I- I killed you. You-"

"Did you think you could kill one such as I?", Bonoome scoffed, beating one hand repeatedly into his open palm. "For I am the great Bonoome! It rhymes with doom! And you're gonna be hurtin, all… too…"

Dan knew that he had exactly the right opportunity to strike. His lungs may have been exhausted past the point of using Star, but he still had Rotation in the pocket. So he closed one eye, raised his finger, and fired right where a strange green glow was coming from Bonoome's chest. "Soon!", Bonoome shouted- then stopped cold.

He felt a sharp, dangerous pain pierce through the front of his chest. He looked down in confusion to see a small hole in his skin, green liquid dripping out, mixing with the running blood.

"Wha-", he gasped, and tried to wipe the stuff away. "My jewel!"

He snarled at Dan, suddenly taken aback. "You broke my sacred jewel of regeneration!"

"Yeah, that's right.", Dan said, and gave a snarl of his own. "Looks like I broke your style too. You're not talking in third person anymore. Like this."

"You think you're funny?", Bonoome growled, and started to run forward. "I'll show you funny!"

He soared over the ground, each colossal footstep breaking a new crater in the already tortured grass and soil. "I'll crush you to bits!"

Dan stood up from the ground, forcing himself to rise. He started to gather a thin thread of blue Rotation around his finger, and stared Bonoome down with a glare of utter defiance.

"I broke your regeneration.", he growled, barely able to be heard by anyone but himself. "The next time you go down, Bonoome… will be for good!"

Song: Decisive Battle

"Bonoome…", Bonoome bellowed, and raised his fist in a glorious display.

"ORA!", Dan shouted, hatred and anger clouding his voice, and slammed his punch directly into Bonoome's unprotected stomach. He may not have been able to use the Star in his condition, but he sure could still punch. Bonoome's eyes bugged out from the blow, and he forgot what he was going to say.

"Ora!", Dan yelled again, and hit Bonoome's vulnerable chin with a vicious double uppercut. Bonoome gurgled, and his head snapped back with a sound like a cracking sheet of glacial ice.

"Ora! Ora! Oraoraoraora!", Dan roared, hitting Bonoome's head with as many punches as he could manage in his exhausted state. Bonoome was flung up, down, and all the way around, before skidding to a shaky stop several dozens of meters away.

Dan slammed his hands down on the ground, grunting with the effort. He spun around on the dirt, jumping as he did so, and slammed his feet into the side of Bonoome's head. It wasn't the strongest blow, but it was all he could manage.

Bonoome groaned, and grabbed his jaw. "You…", he spat. "Bonoome will crush you! No matter what it takes!"

As Dan's feet fell to the ground, Bonoome's hand reached out and grabbed them. He roared in triumph, every muscle in his exhausted body aching, as he slowly lifted Dan off of the ground, feetfirst.

"I've got-", Bonoome said, and cleared his throat. He figured that now was the best time to reintroduce his wrestling persona. "Bonoome's got you now! There's no escape!"

He turned his head toward the crowd, who were mostly now hiding behind the ruins of the arena. It had been destroyed by the various shockwaves. "Because the name's! Bonoome! And it rhymes! With-"

"Hey!", shouted Dan, with full lungs. Bonoome's head instinctively snapped around, to see Dan's hand full of golden light. "You suck!"

Bonoome's eyes widened, and he tried to shelter his face with his arm. But he tried to lift the one that was holding Dan, so it didn't work.

Dan shouted in raw justice, and let loose his power. "Overdrive!"

The burst of golden Star exploded right in Bonoome's face, covering him in a cloud of white smoke. The watching crowd gasped, as did Jimmy's crew. Although Dan could not see them, everyone in Oticat's castle was glued to the screen, barely even breathing for fear of messing something up.

Bonoome fell backwards onto the dirt, his limbs going limp. The smoke still covered his face, obscuring whatever had happened from the watching everyone. Dan fell as well, although he was able to rise to his feet. "Ha. Take that… you… stupid…"

Then his eyes closed, and Dan fell forward onto the stony ground.

"My Se'th…", Jimmy breathed, almost dropping the microphone. "He might have just taken Bonoome's head off!"

"Come on, come on…", said Spacekrakenx, digging through the giant storage containers outside of the Spell Factory. "Where is it…"

He opened a particularly large one, and his eyes lit up with joy. "Ah!"

He grabbed the potion inside, and turned back towards the fight. "This will help them for sure."

Sophia leaned forward, checking the body of Bonoome for any sign of movement. She thought she could see the tips of his fingers beginning to turn into Elixir-

But no. There it was. His hands, somehow, against all odds, began to move.

Bonoome slowly rose from the ground, the white smoke dissipating to reveal a truly monstrous visage. Most of his skin had been melted away by the blast, revealing a face of mere bone and muscle. When he grinned, blood and melted skin dripped away from his teeth.

"Bonoome…", he hissed, his vocal cords nearly destroyed. "Is death. Bonoome… is the end."

One of his arms began to swell, the muscles growing to a monstrous size. He lifted it up, with intent for a killing blow. "Bonoome… will kill you."

Dan opened his eyes, and stared at despair at Bonoome's enormous figure. Despite everything that had been done to him, he was somehow still alive. He was alive, and Brandy was gone.

"I'm… sorry.", Dan choked out, closing his eyes again. "I'm-"

Then, Dan heard a peculiar sound. Bonoome, judging from the way he turned to the sky, heard it too. It was quite high pitched, and seemed to be coming from very high above.

"What?", Bonoome mumbled, the bright sun burning his exposed flesh. "What the-"

Then Dan saw it. A small figure, falling from above, silver Dash surrounding her as she plummeted. His eyes lit up with hope, even as they quivered. "Brandy?"

Brandy fell at terminal velocity through the air, tumbling head over heels in the slicing wind. Her hair blew wildly around her face, and her cloak was tangled up in her arms and legs. Her Dash protected her from any damage, as she could slowly begin to see Spacekrakenx's Village again. Once she had started falling, she had activated it- although she was not sure how long she could keep it up. Hopefully long enough to land a really good hit on Bonoome.

She screamed a ferocious war cry as she went, although most of it was lost to the wind. She was still tumbling, although somehow managing to focus herself into a more stable shape. As the 1000 feet above the ground mark hit, she straightened herself out into a line, one fist extended at the very front.

"Hey, frick!", she shouted at the ground, although Bonoome couldn't hear her. She slowly felt her Dash begin to fade, but it would hold long enough for her to reach the ground.

She was now only 200 feet above Bonoome's head, and falling fast. She closed her eyes, clenched her fist even tighter, and whispered a single word. "Sup."

Only then did Bonoome's brain begin to kick into gear, and he crossed his arms in front of his face. But by then it was too late- Brandy had already collided with him, in the devastating explosion of a top-yield missile.

The shockwave ripped out across the already devastated village, going over the walls and into the complex itself. Trees bent, and some broke. The last, stubborn grass of the village finally ripped away, and the makeshift arena collapsed in on itself, brick and cardboard falling to pieces side by side. Goblins and Barbarians flew out of the village's borders, from some unknown source. The flash of white energy slammed into the camera that Jimmy and his crew were using to film, with a worrying snap. The camera heated up from the force, and then exploded right in Larry's hands with an even more worrying crash.

Once the white light cleared, Bonoome lay on the ground unmoving. The skin on his back had been burned off as well, leaving him with an almost Zombie-like appearance. Smoke rose off the ground, from fires that had broken out randomly. Dan still lay on the ground as well, but Brandy stood over him. She offered him her hand, although she knew she would never be able to pull him up.

"Hey honey.", she said, with a smile as casual as she could offer. "Need some help?"

Everyone at Oticat's castle could hardly even believe their eyes. They had just seen Brandy fall out of the sky, flatten Bonoome, and emerge from a gargantuan explosion virtually unharmed. The buckling ocean of emotions they had all been going through had nearly reached a fever point, and several members of the audience just fainted dead away.

"Holy Se'th.", Sadie whispered. "She's alive. Brandy just survived."

"And it looks like that Giant's down for good this time.", said Webert, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "No offense, Thad."

Thad, a nearby Giant, looked down, then back up with an expression of boredom. "Uh, none taken."

Brenda just stared forward, trying as hard as she could to see Brandy, tiny as she was on the screen. She looked different somehow, different from when she had seen her leave on the boat. "Phantom!", she whispered, and the glowing, ethereal figure of her Stand appeared floating over her head. "Tell me what's different about Brandy."

The Phantom gave a single solemn nod, and closed his eyes. He stretched out his mental presence as far as it could possibly go, tasting bits of Brandy's essence on some magical wind. Then his eyes snapped open, and he instantly transmitted the information about Brandy that he had found.

Brenda breathed in, and let her mouth fall open. "Oh, my Se'th.", she said.

Dan looked up, and gave a weak grin. "Hey, my thief.", he groaned, and tried to get up. "Oooh…"

Brandy threw out her hands, trying to signal him from moving. "Woah, woah, hey. Don't get up. You're fine. Bonoome's-"

"Not dead yet.", Dan grunted, one eye still closed. "See, look. He's not Elixir..."

Brandy turned around, and saw that he was right. Bonoome, massively damaged as though he was, had still somehow managed to cling on to life. Brandy grit her teeth. He needed to be finished off.

"Right…", she said, and held out her hand. She slowly began to gather Dash energy into it, preparing for the final killing blow. "Let's change that, shall we?"

Blue light streamed from her hand, as she slowly stepped onto Bonoome's head. She could feel his muscles twitch beneath her, and knew that she only had a few seconds at most to finish the job. She drew back her hand, preparing to swipe through his neck and sever his brain stem. It didn't matter how durable he was, he couldn't survive that. Not unless-

A shadow fell over her. Brandy stopped, looked up, and almost yelled. There was a huge bottle of something flying towards her, about as large as she was.

"What the-", she spat, and Dashed backwards out of the range of impact. The bottle broke all over Bonoome, spilling a giant circle of yellow energy out for dozens of feet in all directions. It washed over Dan, the cuts and bruises on his arm and face healing up almost instantly. It sloshed against Brandy's legs, her exhausted muscles suddenly returning to new.

However, the gigantic, Clansgrade Heal spell also covered the entirety of Bonoome. And as the skin on his back began to regrow, Brandy began to get very, very, angry. Not only at whoever had thrown the Heal spell, for messing everything up, but also at Bonoome for even surviving this long. Also a little bit at herself, for talking instead of just finishing the job sooner.

As Brandy watched in horror and frustration, the titanic form of Bonoome slowly rose off of the ground and to his full height of 26 and a half feet. His torn flesh and roasted skin warped back to normal, the golden glow of the Heal still running across him. A broken wrist snapped back into place, and his missing teeth regrew. As the last of the ill-played spell faded from the ground and air, Bonoome's mohawk shot forth once again from his now smooth head.

"Well.", he laughed, taking a look at his restored hands. "I think whoever threw that Heal spell should really be given my thanks."

He chanced a look to the side, in the direction of the Village- and saw Spacekrakenx, hands still out in the air, a look of utter fear and embarrassment on his face. He squeaked.

"Yo!", shouted Dan, and Brandy gave him a ferocious, angry scowl. "What the frick, man?"
"I'm sorry!", Spacekrakenx yelled, and began looking for the right direction to run. "I didn't mean to do that! I didn't know it would heal up Bonoome!"

"Well, it did-", began Dan, but Bonoome finished his sentence. "And thank goodness for that!"

Bonoome slammed his hands together, and gave an evil grin. "Now, let's get back to pummeling both of you in the ground- shall we?"

Brandy leaned back, and took a stance. She looked up at Dan, and they both nodded. "We can take this guy, Dan."

Dan took a stance of his own, as well as a deep breath. Rich gold light flowed around his arms and chest, accented with flashing blue lines around his waist and legs. "Right."

"Oh no.", said Bonoome, with a shake of his head. "Oh no no no. Because you two- are going down! You know why?"

Brandy stuck out her finger. "Because the name's Bonoome, it rhymes with doom, and you're gonna be hurting, all too soon! Right?"

"Beca-", Bonoome began, then realized what Brandy had just said. He stood there for a second, his mouth agape, then snarled. "How the-"

"I'm a Bandit. I steal things.", said Brandy with a shrug, still not moving out of her stance. "And I just stole your catchphrase."

Bonoome growled again, and began to charge forward. "Well then, die!"

Song: Dream Tag Team Match

With a battle cry of pure fury, Brandy Dashed forward into the air. Dan startled a bit, then ran after her. "Brandy, wait!"

Bonoome stomped forward, tearing holes in the ground with every weighted step. He was mad now, not even caring what he looked like. Brandy's prediction of his catchphrase had touched a very deep nerve. "Bonoome's gonna kill you!"

"You said that already!", Brandy yelled, and suddenly lost altitude. She hit the ground, still Dashing, sliding along it in a plume of dirt. She sliced her club against Bonoome's ankle as he thundered overhead, hoping to inflict at least annoying damage. "Get new lines!"

Bonoome turned his head as he saw Brandy pass, and reached his arms down to grab her. But even as he did so, Dan's Star-infused elbow slammed into Bonoome's jaw with a satisfying crack and a mighty "ORA!"

Bonoome's eyes narrowed with rage, and he turned his head again to deal with this new threat. He reached out his hands, determined to grab Dan by the throat- when he suddenly felt part of his leg just sort of disappear. He bellowed in pain again, and swept his gaze downwards to see what had happened.

Brandy had not let go of her Dash energy- rather, she had just decided to use it somewhere else. She had swiped her hand directly through the back of Bonoome's thigh, swiping away part of his body onto the ground. "Ha!"

Bonoome, however, tried not to be phased. He threw his hands forward, blocking another one of Dan's blows. He lashed out with his non-slashed leg randomly behind him, trying to kick Brandy. "Bonoome's gonna crush you!", he shouted, rage turning his face a deep reddish purple. "Bonoome… is… the strongest there is!"

Brandy just smirked, and swung her bat in a circle. She scouted out Bonoome's ankles for weak points, ready to stab. She cast her gaze across his feet- there. There, right underneath his sandal strap, was a part that looked particularly tender. She kicked off the ground, did a double flip forwards, and stabbed her club right into the red spot.

Bonoome growled, and the pupils in his eyes began to fade. He gave up trying to block Dan, and twisted all the way around, trying all he could to stop Brandy from annoying him any further.

He bent down, and slammed his fists into the ground. The dirt buckled under the impact, throwing Brandy up into the air. She fumbled with her club, but managed not to drop it.

Bonoome leapt forward, his mouth wide open. If he couldn't catch Brandy with his hands, maybe he could do it with his teeth.

But that hope was dashed, as Brandy Dashed away in midair. Dan's fists, combined together in a double overhead, came right onto the top of Bonoome's skull, slamming him to the ground.

Bonoome snarled in utter frustration, and dug his hands into the ground. He threw himself upwards, landing shakedly on his feet. He stared at the two with bloodshot eyes, Brandy flipping back onto Dan's arm.

"That…", he snarled, shaking with barely contained fury. "Is it! Bonoome… Destroyer…"

He opened his mouth wide, and purple energy began to build within it, fueled by his undiluted rage. The air seemed to boil around it, as the beam built.

Dan quickly gathered up some energy in his own hands, but knew there was no point. The beam was more powerful than anything he could conjure up in so short of a time.

"Brandy, duck!", he yelled, before remembering that Brandy was still hanging from his arm. So he ducked himself, a half second before the beam flew overhead.

"GUN!", Bonoome finished, as he released the force. The Bonoome Destroyer Gun blasted over Dan's head, sizzling a bit of his hair, and right into the Village. It crashed through a line of buildings, shredding them all to bits and bricks, before continuing into the trees and exploding upon a nearby mountain.

"Ha!", shouted Brandy, once she checked no part of her was on fire from the heat the beam had cast. "You call that a beam attack?"

"Brandy, it's not a good idea to antagonize him any further.", Dan said, as he began to spin some energy around in his hand. "Look how angry he is already."

Brandy shrugged and closed one eye, calculating her next move. "Why not? He's just so easy to make fun of. Besides, it does make him less precise."

Dan looked up at Bonoome, who was currently foaming at the mouth. "Yeah, I guess."

Bonoome roared, unable at this point to even form words. He thrust his hands into the ground, and grabbed a massive boulder. "Grehahaaa!"

"Rotation…", Dan said, and plunged his own hand underground. He pumped as much Rotation into the ground as he could, bringing up vast quantities of mud and clay. "Burst!"

Brandy jumped off of his arm, and sped along the ground. She had seen an excellent target, exactly where Bonoome was most vulnerable. "Heh."

Bonoome yelled some ancient battle cry, and threw his rock forward. Dan roared as well, and fired his Rotation Burst. Brandy just kept running, and prepared to Dash.

A huge torrent of dirt and mud blasted up out of the ground, flew over Dan's head, and was immediately redirected towards Bonoome. It blew past his rock, and kept on going, splattering all over his face.

Bonoome, barely even able to think, started to claw at his face. He slashed off the mud in huge quantities, but more kept coming, accelerated to deadly speeds by Dan's Rotation.

Bonoome started to stumble backwards, the dirt still slamming into his face at high speed- when he felt something plunge deep into a very sensitive part of his body. He stopped roaring, only emitting a very high pitched, unplaceable sound.

Brandy dropped from where she had been hanging, having stabbed a sharp chunk of rock she had found directly into Bonoome's crotch. Judging from his reaction, it had hit the right place.

"Graaaahhh…", Bonoome groaned, and fell to the ground. Dan's Rotation Burst halted, as its target collapsed. Bonoome's face planted sideways into the dirt, sending up a spray of mud, wetted by all the blood.

Brandy skidded up to Dan, and stopped. She stared at where Bonoome had fallen- he didn't appear to be moving. His face stared blankly ahead, towards where the village was.

"He's… not moving.", said Brandy. "And he's not saying anything, either."
"Well, you did hit him in quite the sensitive spot.", Dan said. "Even I winced."

But as they talked, Bonoome was still conscious. His eyes slowly blurred back into focus, and he could just barely see, at the very edge of his detailed sight, his crowd of adoring fans.

He could see them as they cheered, screaming for him to get up. He could see the worry present upon their faces, refusing to believe that their invincible champion could lose. He could see them yell and cheer for him, the mighty Gladiator Giant, the one and only Bonoome.

Gradually, sense and reason began to trickle their way back into his beastly mind. He blinked, now able to see more clearly. "My… fans…"

He narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fists. A deep purple aura burned around him, as he pushed himself to his feet, and stood. The crowd exploded into cheers.

"We love you Bonoome!", shouted a Villager.

"Don't give up!", screamed a Witch, then silently motioned to her sisters. One by one, they slowly filed out of the arena, and began a slow walk towards Bonoome's battleground.

Bonoome closed his eyes, then thrust his fists into the air. "Because the name's! Bonoome!"

He spun around on one foot, pumping himself up even more than the crowd. "And it rhymes! With doom!"

He stopped spinning, and slammed one knee into the ground. "And you're gonna be hurtin! All! Too!"

He completed his maneuver of posing by striking one arm in front of his knee and face, ending in a ferocious dab. "Sooooon!"

Brandy looked up at Dan, who's hands started to instinctively sparkle. "Dan!", she shouted. "Let's try that attack we practiced last week!"

Dan raised an eyebrow, and they both jumped back to get some space. "The one where we-"

"Yes!", shouted Brandy, and crouched down. "Nothing else seems to get him down!"

Bonoome raised both his fists above his head, and slammed them down onto the ground. "Bonoome… Destructo… Wave!"

A pink wave of cutting energy sliced outwards from the impact point, jutting up from the crack. Brandy dodged out of the way as it flew past her, using the opportunity to sneak and roll behind Bonoome. But Dan wasn't so lucky- he knew he had to stay. So he had no choice but to take the hit, as it sliced open a thin cut in his chin.

"Take this, Bonoome!", Dan roared, and gathered up some energy of his own in his right palm. "Our duel, combined attack!"

The energy in his hand shaped itself into a sphere, and he threw it forward. "Mirrorcross Overdrive!"

The attack streaked forward at high speed, crackling with energy, and Bonoome jerked his head to one side. He also lifted his leg, because Dan had aimed it at the ground. It continued onwards, with no effect.

"Ha!", Bonoome shouted, and put his hands on his hips. "Was that supposed to-"

He was going to say "supposed to hurt", but he suddenly felt a massive heat build up from behind him. He twisted his arm to the right again, and saw the Mirrorcross Overdrive once again flash by.

"What?", he shouted, and turned his head around. There stood Brandy, feet firmly planted, one hand out- having reflected the attack.

"Every time it gets reflected, it grows more powerful!", Dan yelled, as the attack once again returned to his hand. "If you dodge it, it gets stronger! If you don't, well…"

He threw the orb again, and Bonoome instinctively dodged. He cursed himself inwardly, knowing that it was probably better to just take the hit now and be done with it.

"You die!", Brandy yelled, as she finished the sentence. She put her hands against the incoming orb and spun around, reflecting the power back at Dan. "What's it gonna be?"

Bonoome knew he had no choice. He stretched out his hand to take it- but to his surprise, Brandy had anticipated the move. The blast went far under his arm, almost upon the ground. Dan scooped it up with his leg, rolling it all the way to his shoulders, and thrust out his arm to fire it again.

"We've coded it to your body signature!", Dan yelled. "It will only explode upon contact with you!"

Bonoome jumped, trying to grab the ball, but Dan flicked his fingers. The Mirrorcross Overdrive swung underneath Bonoome's grasp by Dan's guide, and headed straight for Brandy.

"Is it worth it to just attack?", Brandy shouted, and flipped herself over. She kicked the sphere on its side, rolling it over Bonoome's thigh and once again out of his reach. "Because the moment you stop all that dodging you're doing-"

Dan flicked out his finger, and the energy rolled up his arm. He bounced it off of his head, and it arced far over Bonoome. "It hits!"

"Can you take that much energy, Bonoome?", Brandy grunted, as she flung the ball back at Dan. "Can even you take that much power?"

As the blast flew underneath his arm, Bonoome did some quick calculations. It had gotten ever faster and ever larger since the first throw, going from the size of a cantaloupe to the size of a huge beach ball. It had grown in brightness as well, going from a dim light to almost blinding.

"What'll you do, huh?", bellowed Dan, as he bounced it off of his elbow and knee. "Will you take the blast, before it grows any stronger? Or will you just keep on dodging like you're doing, and pray it doesn't hit you?"

Bonoome grimaced, and tried to grab for the ball again. But it flew just barely out of his reach, and Brandy was once again able to kick it underneath and between his legs. "Trying to touch it, huh? I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"No.", said Dan, as he spun the ball around on one finger, then threw it back. "By this point, it's far too powerful!"

Bonoome took one more careful look, and realized Dan was right. It was too strong at this point. If it hit him, Bonoome would be finished. He would just have to keep on dodging, hoping that he could figure something out. He would. He was, after all, the great and only Bonoome.

"Are you getting tired yet?", Brandy yelled, and spun it around on her back. She left a trail of Dash energy on the orb, further adding to its already immense strength. "I hope not!"

Dan spun his fingers around the ball as it passed by him, adding on a heaping dose of Rotation. The ball now swiftly phased between pink and blue, a crackling storm of raw power arcing around it. "Because look out, here comes some more!"

Dan and Brandy continued to throw the ball between them, each pass adding more and more explosive might. Bonoome gave up trying to catch it, and resorted to mere dodges. Every time it passed him, he could feel the heat from the blast increase. Every time he just barely managed to yank away his head, he could feel it getting more and more deadly. And every time he jumped onto one foot or stood on his hand to escape, he could feel the inescapable might of the Mirrorcross Overdrive grow even stronger.

"No!", Bonoome finally shouted, and snarled. "Bonoome will not have this!"

Brandy spun the blast around, grunting from the exertion. "Dan!", she shouted. "I can't do this much more! I think we should just-"

But Bonoome did not hear. He merely lunged forward, fist clenched so tight it was beginning to draw blood. He figured that if he took out one of them, the attack could no longer charge. "Bonoome's got you now, you little-"

Then he felt a powerful heat on his back. He stopped and turned around, to see the fully charged Mirrorcross Overdrive right in front of his face. There was no way to stop it.

"Oh, frick-", he said, just before the immense might of the double attack detonated directly upon him, in a dazzling display of lights, colors, and sound that could be heard and seen for miles.

Bonoome screamed in pain and terror, as the blast enveloped him. What little remained of his upper body armor was torn totally asunder, and cast upon the wind. His mohawk was ripped to shreds, it too vaporized in the overwhelming power of the blast. Brandy and Dan both rolled away, as a titanic shockwave of absolute force thundered outwards in an omnidirectional jet of destruction that swept throughout the entire village, temporarily blinding and deafening everyone that was there to hear and see it. The only ones to escape this fate was a small group of Witches, but they had been hiding behind a rather large rock.

Once the smoke cleared, everyone could hardly even believe their eyes. Bonoome lay in a massive crater, smoke still rising off of him. The hope of the audience soared, as his body was still intact- but then fell again, as they saw the edges of his limbs beginning to turn to Elixir.

Jimmy dizzily rose from a crater of his own, and gestured to Larry. The camera was broken, but they were still going to watch. "Larry, I… I think he's dead. I think they did it!"

He thrust his microphone into the air, and shouted in triumph and relief. "Ladies and gentlemen, Bonoome is dead!"

Brandy and Dan both fell to the ground, totally exhausted. They could see the sky overhead, as the smoke slowly cleared. They could see the three stars appear over the village, with a blast of ethereal trumpets that signaled both total victory, and total defeat.

"Heh.", said Brandy weakly, as she pointed at the sight. "Would you look at that."

"Huh.", said Dan, not even opening his eyes. "That's not something you see everyday. Three starring your own village."

"How d'you know so much about it?", Brandy asked, slurring her words. "Are you smart or something?"

Dan reached out blindly, trying to rub Brandy's head with his fingers, but instead just pushed her over onto her side. "You know I am, honey. You know I-"

He stopped, and opened his eyes. "Hold on. Do I hear… singing?"

Brandy tilted her head to listen, the sound reaching her sensitive ears. "Huh.", she mumbled. "Yeah, it does sound like chanting…"

She looked up, and her heart caught in her throat. She could see a circle of Witches all standing around Bonoome's crater, engaged in some sort of ancient dark ritual.

"Hey- hey!", she yelled, gesturing with her hand to try and shoo them away, but of course none of them responded. "Get away from there! He's already dead!"

The rightmost Witch turned to her, and Brandy felt a chill run down her spine.

"Oh no, he's not.", the Witch mused, with pure black eyes. "Not for long."

She turned back to the rest of the group, who held up their hands in triumph.

"Sisters!", she shouted. "Lord Bonoome shall never die!"

The Witch next to her continued the verse and chant. "Through our efforts, his death has been halted!"

"And now,"continued a third Witch. "Our great Emperor Bonoome does rise again!"

A vast flood of black energy shot out from the would-be tomb, and Brandy cried out. But it was too late- a vast, muscular arm gripped the side of the dirt.

"Behold!", the lead Witch shouted, and gave a mad cackle. "He lives!"

"No!", Brandy yelled, struggling to rise. "Are you kidding me?"

She clenched her fist and ground her teeth in anger, as the mighty figure of the restored Bonoome rose from the pit. He seemed even taller and more powerful now, his entire body crackling with black energy. His eyes glowed a sinister crimson, and his mouth was pulled back in a hideous grin. "Can't you ever just die?"

Bonoome laughed, the sound like claws against stone. "Of course not!", he bellowed, and spread his arms out open wide. "For I am Bonoome! I've haunted this land for thousands of years, and I always will!"

He cast a disapproving look down at Dan and Brandy, who were still exhausted upon the ground. "Of course, since you have given me such a good fight…"

He plunged both hands into the ground, and gave a long, loud, impossibly deep roar. "I'm going to finish this with a bang! Feel the wrath of the one, the only…"

Jimmy stopped jumping up and down with joy, and instead started looking back towards the woods. "Larry-"

But Larry was already running. After thinking for exactly .5 seconds, Jimmy decided that he should too. "Wait for me!"

Oticat slowly breathed in, trying to keep his breathing steady, watching from Spacekrakenx's personal cameradrone. But it was an impossible task. Next to him, Chloe had already begun to cry, her fragile mind overwhelmed by the sheer terror of what she was watching. "Daddy?", she asked Oticat, with trembling eyes and trembling lips. "Are Dan and Brandy gonna die?"

Oticat put his hands to his nose, not wanting to say anything. But he knew he had to- he was their King. "I don't know.", he whispered. "But I sure hope not."

"Bonoome…", Bonoome shouted with triumph, and a crackling dark aura began to build huge around him. "Ultra… Miracle… Fighting…"

Brandy looked back to Dan, who grit his teeth in frustration. "I'm… sorry, Brandy.", he said. "I can't… do anything."

"No, Dan.", said Brandy. She put a hand on his face, and managed one last smile. "You did alright."

"Infinite…", Bonoome continued. "All-Encompassing-"

Then something far behind him caught Brandy's eye. It seemed to be a streak of silver and green that shot out from a nearby mountain, approaching the Village with astonishing speed.

But she didn't think she would have time to know what it was.

"Super Exploooosion!", Bonoome yelled, and stood up. "Sorry, but you never stood a chance! You know why?"

Brandy stared up at him, blood dripping down her forehead, and a furious glint in her eye. She kept on trying to think of a way to get out of this situation, but there was none. She got angrier and angrier, until the very back of her heel gave off a single silver spark.

"Because the name's!", shouted Bonoome, and posed. His attack was ready to unleash- he just wanted to rub it in a little more before he did so. "Bonoome! And it rhymes! With doom! And yoooou're gonna be hurtin! All! Too-"

There was a flash of silver light, and the world went white. Then it came back on again, with a total, eerie, lack of sound. Brandy took a look up- and gasped in total shock.

Bonoome stood stock still- or at least half of him did, anyway. The other half had been completely blown away, by whatever had just appeared. He stood for another second in sheer, agonizing pain, his attack totally gone. Then as one last "Soon" escaped his lips, Bonoome the Gladiator Giant fell to the ground and broke apart into a purple river, decisively dead at last.

Brandy stood there in awe, as a tall figure stepped out from behind the column of smoke. She looked to be a Bandit- but different. She was much taller, and seemed to be far older than Brandy was. She shimmered with pure gold dust, leaving trails behind at every step.

"Good evening, Brandy.", she said with perfect pronunciation, little like Brandy's typically rushed speech, and suddenly appeared right in front of her. "I believe you have something of mine."

"Wha…", Brandy croaked, unable to form real words. "What?"

The Bandit brought up her hand, and Brandy's platinum mask charm she had stolen a few days ago appeared in her fingers. "Ah, yes. I was wondering where that had gone."
"Wha- wait!", Brandy said, grasping at air. "Who- what- who are you?"

The Bandit smiled, and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Why, my child. Don't you recognize me?"

At the mention of "my child", Brandy's ears perked up. "Mom?", she asked, in a wild guess.

The Bandit laughed, and shook her head. "No. I'm not your mother."

"Then… who are you?", Brandy asked. "Who?"

The Bandit just winked, and threw up her shoulders. "Why, I'm Juno.", she said. "I'm, well… The Bandit."