Author's Note: The penultimate chapter has arrived!
Chapter 50: Entombed Madness
While Malco was greatly concerned for his two friends going off by themselves again, he soon realized that he had more immediate troubles at the moment. Once he and Sue had made it out of the temple and past the ruined base camp from earlier, it became apparent that the helicopter was gone. This, he assumed, meant that Momorin and Itoh had indeed made it to the island's surface and escaped- hopefully bringing the Colons with them since he'd sent the four out earlier.
That was good for their sakes, but it also left him and Sue without a means of escaping themselves. The pair stood at the very edge of the crumbling island, staring off into the vast blue sky as the ground beneath them threatened to crack open and swallow them whole.
"Crap, there's nowhere to go!" Sue yelled. "We can't stay here or we'll fall back underground… come on, we need to jump!"
Malco knew it was a suicidal move; neither of them could possibly survive a seven-mile drop to the earth below. Despite that, there weren't really any other choices for them at the moment, and staying where they were didn't strike him as a good idea either. Sue had already jumped before he could respond, swiftly disappearing from view around the edge of the island. With a resigned beep, he leaped as far off the edge as his legs could carry him. The wind howled past his audio receptors as he plummeted through the air. He could see Sue not far ahead of him, her limbs flailing every which way, and he silently cursed himself for allowing the two of them to jump to their deaths.
That is, until his fall was abruptly broken by an impact with something firm. He snapped his head around in astonishment to see that he'd landed on a green, scaly figure that gently soared through the air. Malco realized what it was almost immediately: a dragon hatchling, just like the ones he'd battled in the Egg Corridor. He was draped across its back on his stomach, and seated just in front of him were two familiar humans, who he remembered as Kazuma and Professor Booster. Quote had told him about meeting them on the island's outer wall while he was unconscious, but Malco was no less surprised to see them again, having come to his rescue.
"That was close!" Kazuma said at the front, sitting just behind the dragon's long neck. "You're lucky I came by, you know."
"Sue!" the robot yelped, pulling himself up to sit more comfortably. "She jumped too! Where is-"
Her brother grinned at him.
"She's fine, I caught her. Just in time, I might add."
Kazuma was pointing toward the front of his dragon, where Malco could see Sue hanging from the tip of its jaws by nothing but the back her sweater. The human-turned-Mimiga was understandably terrified in her current position, shouting for help in a half desperate, half furious voice.
"See? Safe and sound. How's it hanging, sis?"
"I'm going to murder you, Kazuma!" she shrieked. "You and your- your dragon?! You hatched this?"
While the two had their very loud reunion, Professor Booster turned to Malco with a more serious look on his face.
"The island is falling, so I assume the Core was destroyed… where is Quote?"
He thought back to his friends who had gone off on their own. Malco couldn't detect them any more due to magical interference from whatever was pulling on the island, so he had no way of knowing what they were doing.
Quote and Curly had sprinted around the side of the temple and found themselves staring at something resembling a mausoleum. The small building was colored light orange with red pillars supporting its corners, and its roof held various ornate statues of figures armed with spears and swords. Along the front, in blocky yet finely-chiseled lettering, a simple greeting presented itself to the soldiers.
"Welcome to Hell!"
"This looks promising," Curly said. "Is whatever's dragging the island down in here?"
Quote stepped closer to the mausoleum, upon which its heavy stone doors flew open through some unseen force. A long spiral staircase awaited them inside, illuminated by gently flickering torches.
"No time to waste," he muttered. The island was still falling with them on top of it, but for some reason staring into the winding steps made him stop feeling the rumbling ground and replaced the sensation with an unknown dread. He mustered up his courage and began to descend.
Once they were both inside, the door slammed shut behind them and the stairs withdrew into the wall like some sick prank. The soldiers cried out in alarm as they fell down the semi-dark shaft, landing after twenty or so seconds in a heap with Curly on top. As if they hadn't suffered enough surprises, a disembodied voice began to speak to them.
"Did you know that the witch Jenka had a younger brother?" it crooned, echoing across the orange tiling of the strange underground sanctuary they'd fallen into. "His name was Ballos. Like his sister, he possessed magical powers unlike any living man. The siblings lived in a kingdom of humans on the surface world, using their powers to help those around them."
It was impossible to ignore the omnipresent voice, but even so they had bigger concerns. Curly's fall had been painful but hadn't harmed her much. The same couldn't be said for Quote, who not only had landed on the bottom but also directly on one of his feet at an awkward angle. He stared wide-eyed in shock at his right leg, which had snapped and was now hanging limply by his false skin. The limb had nearly broken off altogether; it couldn't possibly be walked on.
Quote was too stunned with disbelief to focus on the pain, as agonizing as it was. He'd come all this way, just to be crippled at the last hurdle of their mission. His partner wasn't helping matters, kneeling beside him and frantically stammering out reassurances that everything was going to be fine while clearly not believing it herself.
"Curly," he said in a much steadier voice than either of them had expected, "you need to keep moving. Find whatever's bringing the island down and take it out."
"And just leave you here?" she forced out shakily. "I can't! I won't!"
"You have to," Quote urged. "I can't walk with my leg like this, I'll just slow you down. Take the Booster and go on without me, okay? I'm counting on you to-"
He didn't get to finish, as she had shuffled behind him and was fiddling with the tow rope still attached to his waist. His eyes widened, but before he could protest, tell her that he couldn't be a burden in a time like this, Curly was already done. She had tied them together just like he'd done for her back in the Labyrinth and for Malco on the outer wall. Quote felt his legs hang loosely when she stood up straight, keeping them bound back-to-back with her carrying him. She began to jog through the orange tunnel, not accustomed to the feeling of his extra weight but refusing to let that stop her anyway.
"I'd never abandon you," she said in a kind but firm voice. "We're going to finish this together, even if I need to carry you out on my back the whole way."
Curly would have chuckled to herself if the situation was less dire; Quote had said something just like that before they battled General Miakido so long ago. Not that he remembered.
"Keep my back covered, got it? Who knows what we'll run into down here?"
Some inexplicable feeling was welling up in Quote's chest, but he didn't know how to respond other than nodding his head lamely. He allowed himself to be carried along, lightly bouncing with each step Curly took.
"Ballos in particular," the disembodied voice continued, "served the kingdom with his most potent magical powers. He warded off hurricanes and blizzards, summoned rains in times of drought, and amplified harvests to bountiful proportions. The people adored their guardian wizard… even more so than their own king."
"What's it talking about?" Curly asked as they kept moving, looking for any conspicuous object that could be the source of the island's collapse. Nothing stuck out to them; they were surrounded by a tunnel of nothing more than chiseled orange bricks.
"I don't know, but I've heard the name Ballos before," Quote replied. "When I almost drowned in the core, this voice whispered something about him to me… I don't remember what, really."
The pair forged ahead in silence, listening to the muffled rumbling of the island around them. Neither could predict how long they had before it impacted the earth, killing them and all of the inhabitants in the caves. Curly, forcing that thought out of her head, realized that they'd reached the end of the tunnel. A narrow hole in the wall led to another area of the sanctuary, and another story session from their unseen spectator.
"Jealous of Ballos' popularity, the resentful king had him caught and locked in a dungeon. He was tortured without end for weeks, learning a cruel lesson of how horrid mankind could be… eventually, the wizard snapped."
It was fortunate for them that the voice stopped talking there, as a new threat had presented itself to the soldiers. Crawling out of alcoves in the walls were swarms of small humanoids. The creatures wore blue robes that complimented their tanned skin and dark blonde hair. Behind each of them, a pair of feathery white wings flapped rapidly, keeping them airborne as they circled around the soldiers.
"Intruders!" one shouted in a highly nasal voice. "Butes, assemble! Don't let them through!"
Curly didn't slow down, running as fast as she could through the large chamber they'd entered. It, like the rest of the island, was beginning to fall apart, and chunks of the ceiling were falling toward them. Several Butes were crushed beneath the stones, but the others showed no fear and dove for them wielding thin spears. She took it all in stride, blasting her way through with Nemesis. Quote, tied to her back, did as requested and fended off the ones that were attempting to strike from behind. The sound of Spur's laser shots rang through the corridor, dropping countless Butes with each attack. None of the creatures got remotely near the soldiers, and before long those remaining had retreated further into the sanctuary.
"Nice work!" Curly praised while she kept moving. "Those things seemed really keen on stopping us. Maybe they're protecting what we're looking for!"
Quote grunted in agreement, as- sure enough- the narration began yet again.
"Ballos lashed out with unparalleled fury. The magic that had once brought joy to the kingdom instead brought devastation. His mind weakened significantly by his torture, he could do nothing to stop himself from engulfing the king, his domain, and all who lived in it with hellish flames. In but a single night, he completely eradicated the life he once held so dearly."
"That sounds awful…" Curly sighed. "But what's the point of it? Why are we hearing this?"
"There must be some significance to this story," Quote said, "we'll just have to find out as it continues. Anything up ahead?"
She narrowly avoided another falling chunk of the ceiling and looked down. A perfectly circular hole in the floor led into a lower section of the sanctuary, but it lacked a ladder or staircase for them to use, and the fall looked too great for either of them to withstand.
"Just a long drop into the next area. We'll both get hurt if I try jumping…"
Quote remembered what he had on his back. The Booster had thankfully not been damaged in their first fall, and it was still linked to his inner computer.
"I'll slow us down safely. Just go."
Curly didn't argue with him, confident that he knew what he was doing. She took a short hop form the ledge into the lower corridor, after which Quote activated his jetpack at half its maximum lifting power. They gently descended to the room below, where another horde of Butes awaited. The cherub-looking creatures had positioned themselves defensively throughout the long corridor, with some aiming bows at the soldier from above and others standing guard at narrow choke points between the elegant pillars supporting the roof. Slight tremors could still be felt, but otherwise it was impossible to tell the island was falling.
As she began to charge forward, Curly swept Nemesis in a wide arc in front of her. Butes scattered in every direction where her shots landed, loosening their defensive line. The guardians were more competent than before, however, and it didn't take long for them to close ranks.
"Quote, punch it again!"
The two rocketed into the air with the Booster, nearly scraping their heads against the ceiling. Arrows from the archer Butes zipped past but never struck their targets, as the soldiers had passed over their heads before their shared jetpack had to cool down again. They landed behind the first line of enemies, with Quote firing Spur to keep them away as Curly pushed ahead.
"With Ballos driven mad by his unjust punishment, he could easily have destroyed the world. Jenka knew this and responded by imprisoning him within the ruins of the kingdom, which she then raised high into the air for safekeeping. So far from the realm of humans, she thought, he was unable to further harm anyone. That was the most she could do, for Jenka would not bring herself to kill her own brother in spite of everything he had done..."
"This Ballos person must be what's making the island fall," Curly remarked as she dodged another volley of arrows. The Butes' defenses had tightened, and seemingly endless amounts of the winged creatures emerged from holes in the ground to confront them.
Quote blasted another row of their attackers.
"He could be hiding in the deepest part of this cave, but why is he pulling it down anyway?"
"Maybe he wants to free himself," she suggested. "Could he even survive the crash?"
"Let's not wait to find out. Are we almost out of here?"
Curly looked ahead to see that they were. Past the last line of Bute defenders was another narrow doorway. They were less than a hundred yards from it, but the air was filled with flying archers and spear-wielding enemies. Using the Booster would be too risky.
"I'm going to run straight through them! Hang on!"
Firing off a volley of Nemesis shots, she barreled through the final wave, even shoulder checking a Bute that tried to face her head-on. Curly felt their spears prod at her from multiple angles, tearing open her false skin more than once, but sure enough she made it through the door. A stone wall shut behind them, keeping the soldiers separated from their pursuers.
"We did it… you okay, Quote?"
"A little scratched up," he admitted, observing his own puncture wounds, "but I'll be fine. Where are we?"
"In an attempt to capitalize on Ballos' fragmented mind," the voice cut in again, "Jenka's daughter Misery forced him to create an artifact harnessing his unspeakable power: the Demon Crown. Little did she realize that one person in particular had survived the rampage of Ballos. His son, in an attempt to thwart the witch before she could cause further destruction, confronted her directly. The cousins battled atop the highest point of the island, but Ballos' son quickly found himself outmatched, and Misery tauntingly transformed him into a twisted, scaly beast."
"Scales?" Quote said aloud. "Could it be-"
"Shh! Don't interrupt!" Curly hissed, admittedly curious in the rest of the story.
"Misery's hubris did not go unpunished, however. What little sanity remained in Ballos' mind allowed him to comprehend her selfish behavior, and she was cursed by him to forever be enslaved to the Demon Crown, unable to wear it herself. If the artifact is destroyed, she will be freed from her curse. But…"
The voice died down before it could finish. Puzzled but nonetheless pressed for time, Curly began to descend the short spiral staircase before them. They were no longer in an illuminated area of the sanctuary, as the hall became darker and darker. Being careful not to bump Quote against the low ceiling, she felt her way forward in search of an exit.
"So long as Ballos lives, the Demon Crown cannot truly be destroyed. It is tied to his magical spirit and will reform itself endlessly while his heart beats. His eternally enraged soul forever powers his evil creation."
The soldiers shared a grim look. Based on what they had learned, Ballos was beyond reasoning. He was dragging the island toward its doom, which they obviously hoped to stop, but he was also directly responsible for the existence of the very artifact they'd been sent to destroy so many years ago.
After a few more seconds of groping blindly through the dark, Curly felt the shape of a curved door handle just in front of her. She pushed it down and flung the door open, after which a flash of light flooded the corridor. The exit to the sanctuary had led to a small tunnel in the side of the island with part of the rocky cliff open to give a sweeping view of the landscape below.
The worried realization that they had already fallen below the clouds struck both soldiers like a ton of bricks, and yet at the same time the island didn't appear to be descending as quickly as they'd imagined. Far beneath them, they could make out verdant green plains and hills. It would have been an entrancing sight had they not been more concerned with saving the island's inhabitants.
From in front of them, the familiar whirring sound of teleportation rang out. Cthulhu appeared between the soldiers and another door at the opposite end of the tunnel with a perfectly neutral expression on his scaly face. The mutations he'd suffered earlier were completely gone, but his robes were still in tatters.
"You have surpassed my expectations," he said quietly. "I knew you would be able to destroy the Core- even if I was forced to battle you- but I did not think you would brave the Blood-Stained Sanctuary…"
"It was you, wasn't it?" Curly asked. "You were the one telling us that story in there. You're Ballos' son, and Misery's cousin."
The green-hooded being nodded his head slowly.
"To prevent my father from trying to crush himself underneath the island, the Core was created by Jenka. I subtly guided the pair of you and your talkative friend toward it, as once it was dealt with this island would fall. It will finally grant my father the death he so madly desires, and so very much deserves."
His gnarled fingers were curled into tight fists.
"My mother died because of his outburst, and he believes me to be dead as well. I will not stop you from trying to kill him, soldiers. You may succeed, and save the island, or you may fail and allow him to destroy himself with it. The outcome matters not to me; Ballos will die in either case and justice will have been properly served regardless of any additional casualties."
With that, Cthulhu vanished just as quickly as he'd appeared. Quote and Curly looked to one another with slight apprehension for what would be their final battle together. If Ballos was really as strong as he'd said, then there was no guarantee he would die merely from the island crushing him. They couldn't risk the Demon Crown reforming and falling into the wrong hands again, so their only option was to kill the insane wizard personally.
"We can do it," Quote said as confidently as he could. "We've been through everything together, and we can't afford to lose here. I'll have your back the whole time"
Curly grinned at him, sharing his motivation. All the hopes of the island's residents rested with them, and she wouldn't let them down. Before opening the last door to what she assumed was Ballos' prison, she paused in her step.
"What is it?" her partner asked. "Is something wrong?"
Quote felt one of her hands rest gently on the back of his head and pull him forward. Already confused as to what she was doing, his bewilderment only increased when their mouths connected for just a moment. Their heads were both awkwardly turned (they were still tied back-to-back), but somehow he didn't mind that. Her gesture, whatever it was, just felt right to him despite only lasting a few short seconds. They pulled apart with her giving him a very soft smile.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
Curly turned her head away from Quote as her cheeks flushed in delight. She couldn't believe what she'd just done, or how satisfying it felt. There was no time to relish in it, however, as they still had a job to do. The soldier opened the door to their final battle, her rhetorical heart beating madly for more than one reason.
The final room of the sanctuary was a massive, cube-shaped crypt lit by rows of softly flickering torches. A pale orange light spread across the chamber without leaving any shadows, even behind the six red support pillars arranged hexagonally in its center. They each had various glyphs of eyes carved into their sides, which all seemed to stare down at the two soldiers as they walked in. The chamber was littered with bones, though their origin couldn't be determined. Positioned directly in the middle of the pillars was a rust-colored throne, very complex in its design with spines and ridges extending in various patterns throughout its sides. A man was seated in it; and there was only one person he could have been.
Ballos, Curly decided, bore practically no resemblance to his older sister. Jenka was centuries old and looked the part, whereas he- for all intents and purposes- resembled a middle-aged man, his deeply tanned but smooth skin not looking remotely elderly. He was draped in an elegant white robe, with green accents and a pair of deep red eye insignias on the front. His unnaturally round head was devoid of hair, as if to put more emphasis on his face. Ballos wore a pleasant, almost welcoming smile as they approached him in his throne. His right eye was the same shade of crimson as the gemstone in the Demon Crown, while his left seemed missing altogether. A white indentation in the side of his head stared back at Curly, and she wondered if his missing eye had been the very gem that powered the Crown. Mortified by the thought, she tightened her grip on Nemesis and turned slightly so Quote could see him too.
"Welcome!" the old wizard said in a booming voice. "I am Ballos. Who might you be?"
They stared at him uncertainly. Curly answered after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"I'm… Curly Brace, and my friend here is Quote."
"Such intriguing names!" Ballos laughed. "You are the first visitors I have had in a very long time… do you know why I am here?"
Her fists clenched even tighter.
"Your sister sealed you in this room so you wouldn't hurt anyone else in your rage…"
He smiled, to her disgust.
"Correct. Long ago, I allowed my magic to run out of control. My powers razed an entire kingdom to dust. The fires of my madness consumed even the wife who loved me, and the son who adored me…"
So Cthulhu had been telling the truth. Ballos really didn't know he was still alive.
"…and all I could do was laugh back then. I laughed and laughed at the carnage around me, delighting in my own twisted chaos."
Even now his wide smile didn't falter as he described the horrific scene. Both soldiers felt sick to their stomachs.
"Jenka sealed me in here after that," Ballos continued in such a nonchalant voice that Quote wanted more to punch him in the face than to shoot him. "My sister could not bear to kill me… perhaps she should have. In any case, here I am. I have waited a very long time for someone capable of bringing my untamed fury to an end. Come, brave warriors! Kill me! Or else..."
His eyes furrowed angrily, but his smile grew even giddier. Magical power streaked through his outstretched arms.
"I shall kill YOU!"
Kazuma's dragon eventually managed to catch up with the helicopter Momorin and Itoh had taken. To Malco's delight, the Colons were also visible within the vehicle. There was nowhere for them to land at the moment, but the dragon did place Sue down from its jaws into the open door of the aircraft. She leaped into her mother's arms, the two finally reuniting. Kazuma and Professor Booster remained on the dragon, but waved to their companions anyway.
Malco was still trying to detect his allies within the island, but whatever magic was bringing it down had suddenly spiked in power. It continued its descent toward the ground, now only about four miles in the air. Kazuma had promised that they wouldn't fly too far from the island yet in case the soldiers needed to be rescued, so he could do nothing but hope that they would make it out.
It still felt strange for him to consider just how important they were to him. Traveling with them had given him a greater sense of purpose than anything he'd done as a member of Retrieval Team 9. They were more than just soldiers, more than just his allies. They were his friends, and he never wanted to lose them.
"Quote... Curly... my calculations don't matter; I am 100% certain you'll succeed. If anyone can save the island, it's you, so don't you dare give up!"
Ballos didn't open with a magical strike as the soldiers had expected but rather charged across the room at a blinding speed as if planning to tackle them to the ground. Quote activated the Booster, launching them into the air and allowing him to pass harmlessly beneath the two. He skidded to a halt then leaped after them, closing the distance faster than either could react. Ballos was above them in mere seconds and smashed a fist down on the pair, slamming them back to the floor. Curly, ignoring the ache which was rapidly spreading through her body, scrambled to her feet to get out of the way as their opponent landed again. His sadistic grin didn't fade, not even when Quote shot him in the chest with a half-charged laser from Spur. The front of his robes smoldered, but he didn't show any sign of pain.
Curly was backpedaling, putting more distance between herself and their foe and showering him with Nemesis' lightning-shaped bullets. Ballos didn't even try to avoid them, taking several hits to the face as he charged yet again. His skin visibly burned where he'd been shot, but he didn't seem to care in his bloodthirsty rage. He swept a hand toward them, releasing a spontaneous wave of fire from his fingertips that traveled in a vertical crescent shape. Rather than use the Booster again, Quote threw his weight to the side as hard as he could, forcing Curly to stumble out of the way. Ballos had clearly been expecting them to dodge upwards again, as he leaped into the air a second time only to realize too late that the soldiers had moved in a different direction. Quote fired on his exposed left flank with as many shots as his trigger finger could manage. Even at its lowest possible charge, Spur was still impressively powerful. The numerous small lasers pelted the wizard's side, and judging by his smirk fading he definitely felt it this time.
"A little warning would've been nice," Curly muttered, having nearly fallen over. Even so, she realized that her partner's strategy had caused noticeable damage to their enemy and therefore didn't complain much.
Ballos was no longer smiling. His wide mouth had curled into a snarl, and his one remaining eye was a fiery orange. He stomped the floor, causing it to split apart and create a fissure beneath their feet. Curly jumped aside to stand on more stable ground and continued her barrage. Ballos protected his face by covering it with his forearms, leaving his stomach open to attack. Quote took advantage of this, unleashing a laser from Spur. The thick beam directly pierced his abdomen and came out the other side of his body, leaving a charred hole where it had hit.
Ballos stared wide-eyed at his wound, not saying a word. His gaze shakily turned up to look at them, and with a soft groan he sank to his knees. The soldiers stood with their weapons still gripped tight as his body faded from existence, like he was simply being erased before their eyes.
Neither of them had a chance to celebrate the victory, however, because the fight was evidently not over yet. Large chunks of stone tore themselves out of the walls and floor, congregating in midair and appearing to fuse. The resulting mass of rock was the same shade of light brown as Ballos' face, but the similarity didn't end there. A nose and mouth gradually took shape, carved by an invisible force into the stone just below a pair of eyes matching the wizard's. Its left eye hole was the same empty white, and its right glowed with a burning red energy. The boulders that hadn't joined the mass hovered in a circle around Ballos' reincarnated form, along with several of the square tiles that had been ripped from the floor.
"I'd say his weak spots are his eyes," Curly said, trying not to let herself be intimidated. She couldn't see any other part of the large rocky face that looked vulnerable. "Quote, can you get us up there?"
He nodded and activated the Booster, lifting the two up into the air toward their giant enemy. Curly landed on one of the floating tiles, inwardly surprised that it didn't collapse once she stepped on it. Either Ballos wanted to give them a better chance by providing makeshift platforms, or he was so far gone that even he couldn't tell what he was doing.
The boulders circling his new body continued to carve themselves, becoming perfectly spherical save for the numerous rocky spikes protruding from their centers. They rotated in midair, hurtling toward Curly one at a time and forcing the soldier to leap between the floating tiles to stay safe. Quote fired at the rocks with Spur to keep them away from his partner. The pistol, though powerful, didn't fire at a fast enough rate to ward off all of the attacks, and one particularly large rock slammed into them from the side.
By some miracle, none of its spikes hit either of the soldiers and just barely scraped between them. Unfortunately for Quote, the tow rope connecting them was torn in the process and he fell from the edge of the platform. Curly felt the sudden lack of his weight, reaching blindly behind her to try and grab him, but only wound up putting her hand on the hilt of King's sword. She yanked on it, pulling the blade from its sheathe but failing to save the person wielding it. Quote kicked on the Booster before he could crash into the floor, saving himself from a hard landing. He looked up toward the massive rock that Ballos had become, watching Curly continue to ride the floating tiles until she was directly above it with Nemesis in one hand and the sword in the other. To his shock, she leaped from her platform and fell straight into the glowing red eye, disappearing from sight as it swallowed her up.
"What's she doing?!"
Curly felt a burning pain rip across her body when the red energy passed through her, but it lasted only a moment before she found herself in the hollow center of the face-shaped stone. She wasn't sure what had compelled her to jump into it, and yet it had worked nonetheless so she decided to simply appreciate that. Her left hand tightly gripped the hilt of Quote's sword as she looked around the red-tinted interior for something to strike at. Perhaps a glowing orb, representing the source of Ballos' power?
She found more than that. The wizard himself was hovering in the air with his arms outstretched and his head bowed, seeming to have magically reformed. His stomach still bore the hole from Spur's laser, but Ballos didn't show any sign of pain. In fact, his eyes were closed and he appeared not to notice her at all. Curly stepped up to him and, feeling a brief flash of pity for the insane man, slashed across his chest with the sword. It cut deep into him, and his mouth parted with a shocked choking sound. Not letting up, she unloaded as many rounds as Nemesis could handle before needing to cool down into the wound. His body quivered gently where he floated.
Ballos opened his eyes at last, and Curly could see not twisted malice in them but a warmer, more stable expression despite his grievous wound. He stared at her unblinkingly, taking very short breaths.
"…t-thank… you…"
His body began to disappear again, but it was different this time. His skin cracked, with light shining through from inside until he finally shattered in a blinding flash. The rocky sphere started to rumble around the dazed Curly.
Outside, Quote was still trying to fend off the remaining spiky boulders when they suddenly fell to the ground along with the floating tiles. Ballos' new body sagged and collapsed just as abruptly, smashing into the floor and throwing chunks of rock everywhere. Instantly he was filled with concern for his friend, buried among the rubble. He holstered Spur and made his way over. His leg was broken and unusable, but that didn't stop him from dragging himself across the debris of their former enemy. Had he somehow been killed from inside?
"Come on, where are you? Please be okay…"
Quote's tired limbs screamed at him from the effort, but he ignored that and began shoving aside large chunks of the stone face until at last he spotted his fellow soldier. She was caked in dirt and dust, and the rips in her skin were painfully visible to him, but she was alive nonetheless. Curly's eyes fluttered open to look up at him, and she grinned with a cough.
"Ugh… nice to see you again… is it over?"
"I think so…"
He reached out a hand to help her sit up. Thankfully, she hadn't been pinned under any of the stone fragments, so she was able to move freely unlike him. She began wiping the dirt out of her face and hair, with reasonable success.
"You had me worried there," Quote remarked. "Why did you jump into him?"
"I don't really know. The idea just sort of came to me, but it worked anyway."
She paused, squinting her eyes and concentrating on something he couldn't determine.
"Quote, do you hear that?"
Frowning, he listened for whatever she meant.
"No, I don't. I can't even hear the rumbling anymore."
He stopped short upon realizing what he'd just said.
"No rumbling… have we stopped falling?"
Curly huffed a short laugh and threw her fists in the air triumphantly.
"Yeah! We did it, Quote! We saved the island!"
She was fully laughing now, relieved at having completed their seemingly impossible task. Moreover, with Ballos dead the Demon Crown would never return. They hadn't just saved the island, they finished their ten-year-long objective too. Quote had a grin of his own and sat down beside her, letting himself relish in their victory. Once she had quieted down a bit, Curly looked back at him with that beautiful smile of hers and put an arm around his shoulder.
"We're still a great team, you know that? I wish Malco could be here to see this. I wonder where he and Sue went. Do you think they found a way off the island?"
Before he had the chance to respond, a different voice cut him off.
"IT HURTS…"
Their eyes simultaneously widened in shock; it had definitely been Ballos speaking. He was nowhere to be seen, but his voice was loud and clear.
"SO HOT… THE PAIN… PLEASE, HELP ME…"
Quote wondered if they were even able to help themselves, as the walls were beginning to move inwards. The door they'd entered through was buried behind a large pile of rubble, leaving them with no visible way out. They backed up against one another, staring fearfully at the narrowing walls.
"Oh no… w-we're gonna be crushed!" Curly yelled. She grabbed Nemesis from where it sat on the floor and began desperately firing at one of the rocky surfaces. It didn't so much as budge, and the walls only continued to close in on them no matter what she did to it.
"No… this can't be the end…" she whimpered. Quote could feel her trembling against him, and looked her in the eyes sadly. With nowhere for them to run to, no way out, he wrapped his arms around Curly to comfort her as much as he could in their final moments together. She returned the embrace tightly, and they waited for the end without another word.
In that moment, Quote realized the full extent of what she meant to him. They had been partners for even longer than he could remember; their bond honed across their journey and tested against countless enemies of all varieties. The pair had even gone through a place calling itself Hell- and living up to that name- together, fighting as if they shared a mind. He valued Malco as a friend, no doubt, but with Curly it was something different. Something more.
Frustratingly, he was still unable to put to words what exactly that was even as they sat there in each other's arms.
Curly, unbeknownst to him, was struggling with nearly the same problem. She knew very well what she was feeling, the only problem was she couldn't bring herself to say it at the moment. Even though she knew that it might have been her only chance, her lips remained tightly sealed. She only hoped that Malco and the Colons would be able to move on without them.
A loud bang came from the ceiling, and they both heard and felt a crash a few feet to the side. A suitcase-shaped gray person was standing there, having burst in from above only seconds earlier. His expression was serious and urgent, which looked rather odd on his wide face.
"There you are! You look like you could use some help."
"Balrog?" Curly asked in disbelief, pulling herself apart from Quote.
"The one and only! Hold on tight, I'm getting you out of here!"
They wasted no more time talking and each grabbed onto one side of him. Once the two were secure, Balrog sprang back into the air through the tunnel he'd made on his way in, just barely getting out of Ballos' chamber before the walls slammed shut on where they had been a moment earlier.
Author's Note: Next time, the finale! Stay tuned for it in a few days!
