A/N: There is a large possibility that I won't be able to upload the final chapter by the 31st of October. That is all. Enjoy.
-Trial by Fire, Ice, and Sweets-
A door was opened, being slammed into the wall in the process. Several figures entered the cavernous room.
"I can NOT fucking believe this!" Shadow Aiko seethed. The blue-haired Shadow slammed her fist into the wall to drive her point home. "We wait for hours for Light Pop to show up…" Shadow Aiko removes her fist from the wall, which now has a sizable indention in it. "…only for her to have one of THOSE goddamn anti-Shadow devices!?"
"Calm down, Shadow Ai-chan," Shadow Hana cooed, "It's not like we can't beat her without magic."
"Hellooo?!" Shadow Onpu interjected, "Both of you! Get a brain! We can't beat her as we are now!"
"Because I never think these things through," Shadow Hazuki deadpanned, "Being the genius I am, why do you think I stocked up on conventional weaponry?"
"Because they looked nice?" Shadow Pop snorted.
"Because I'm a genius WITH some common sense and intuition!" Shadow Hazuki summoned a shotgun using her magic. "Didn't it ever occur to you that Light Pop would have something useful against us?"
"Well, I can't say the same for Shadow Doremi-chan's plan," Shadow Aiko replied, "Seriously! Those familiars you insisted on using are eating up all our wraiths and multiplying!"
"And the Wraith Generator we stole from Light Isabelle can't maintain their numbers," Shadow Hazuki added, "And that's NOT even factoring Light Pop into the equation either…"
Shadow Doremi could only stand in silence, looking at the far wall. She was lost in thought.
"Hellooo! Earth to Shadow Doremi!" Shadow Onpu called in frustration.
"Hmm? Oh," Shadow Doremi said, turning around, "Sorry, Shadow Onpu-chan."
Shadow Onpu sighed. "Y'know, you haven't been playing pranks as much as you used to. This doesn't have anything to do with what happened during that final battle with Light Isabelle, does it?"
"I think it does…"
Everyone sighed from the remark. Shadow Onpu turned around.
"Shadow Momo-chan, you don't have to be shy-" Shadow Onpu began. She then gasped. "Shadow Momo-chan?" Shadow Momo-chan?!"
"I thought she was with you!" Shadow Hana quickly shouted
Shadow Onpu grit her teeth in worry and anger. "Shadow Momo-chan is out there all by herself…WITH LIGHT POP!" Shadow Onpu suddenly stormed out of the room. Shadow Doremi gave chase and met her at the door to another room down the hall. "Don't try to stop me, Shadow Doremi-chan."
"Shadow Onpu-chan-" shadow Doremi began.
"It's my fault Shadow Momo-chan is lost!"
"Shadow Onpu-chan-!"
"And if I can't save her, then I'll never forgive myself!"
"SHADOW ONPU-CHAN!"
"Eh?"
Shadow Doremi gave a sad look towards the purple-haired Shadow. "Bring her back safely, okay?"
"I will!" Shadow Onpu entered the room. A few moments later, she came out, but she didn't have anything from within the room. "I've decided against using guns and knives." She then transformed her poron into a shield with dark purple spikes protruding from it. Whenever the Shadow Ojamajos use the weapon forms of their porons, they mean business. "I couldn't actually use any of the weapons we stole, so I'm stuck with this. At least the Anti-Shadow device Light Pop has won't stop these spikes!" Shadow Onpu attached her shield to her arm and vanished into the darkness, leaving Shadow Doremi by herself.
"Good luck, Shadow Onpu-chan."
Pop exited the storeroom in a stupor. Even though the Shadow Ojamajos had done something to her friends, she still felt bad about trying to drag them off. The rose-haired Ojamajo wanted to know what happened, but with the Shadow Ojamajos hiding somewhere, she had few other options.
She must hunt them down. One by one.
Pop exited the indoor swimming pool. At once, another arti-ghost appeared and rolled something at her. Pop side-stepped the projectile and stunned it with her flashlight. It fell the moment she started sucking it up. The rose-haired Ojamajo then decided to click on the new entry.
Yellow Bowler: A mischievous fiend that prefers ambush tactics. Their preferred method of attack is rolling bombs at their target and then vanishing after hitting. They keep attacking until they get a strike off. They are just as weak as White Taunters and Purple Bombers.
The most powerful and aggressive of arti-ghosts with no resilience, Pop mentally deadpanned, Better get going.
A sound came from around the corner. Pop thought it was the door to the foyer opening. She stealthily made her way to the corner and caught a glimpse of the door closing.
You can run, but you can't hide!
Pop quickly made her way to the door and returned to the foyer. Once there, she heard another door close. It was close, giving the red Ojamajo a good idea as to which door it was. At once, she went up the stairs and into parlor, entering just in time to see the other door close. Pop gave chase and went into the anteroom behind it. This time, she found out exactly who she was chasing.
"Don't move!" Pop ordered, aiming the hose at her, "If you know what's good for you."
The Shadow, Shadow Momoko, froze and slowly turned around, fear evident in her eyes. She stared back at the red Ojamajo, seeing a look of pure rage. The yellow-haired Shadow felt herself being pushed into a corner. She stumbled and fell to the ground, where she continued trying to put distance between herself and the angry Light Being approaching her.
"P-p-please! Have mercy!" Shadow Momoko begged, "N-none of us wanted to- We didn't-! Please! Black Queen-sama! She-!"
"SHUT UP!" Pop shouted, forgetting what happened back in the storeroom, "You and those others did something to Onee-chan and my friends!" She straightened her aim a bit. "For that…I won't forgive you!"
"But please! PLEASE! I can-!"
Pop gritted her teeth in anger. "Too little. Too late!"
With those words, Pop turned the suction on. Shadow Momoko immediately turned her poron into her signature weapon, a glaive, and jammed it into the floor to stop herself from being sucked in.
"Please, Light Pop! If you let me explain, please!" Shadow Momoko pleaded, "I'm not making excuses! Please!"
Pop ignore the yellow Shadow's pleas and approached. The force of the suction increased accordingly, leaving Shadow Momoko lesser and less able to maintain her grip. Eventually, her grip failed, and the Shadow's fate was sealed. Shadow Momoko went into full panic mode.
"No! No! Please! I'll do anything! Please! PLEASE!" Shadow Momoko pleaded. Her pleas landed on deaf ears as she was rapidly pulled closer to the hose's nozzle. She gave one final scream before vanishing into the Vac-Drive. "No! NO! NOOO! SHADOW ONPU-CHAN-!" This was quickly followed by a jingling sound and her poron reverting to normal.
Pop was breathing heavily through her teeth. "Good riddance!" she said bitterly, "You had this coming. You and every other damn Shadow Ojamajo!" Pop continued to glare at the nozzle as though she were glaring at Shadow Momoko. "After everything we went through against Majo Isabelle…and THIS is how you pay us back?!"
Pop put the nozzle away. A shining object on the floor caught her attention. She picked it up and found them to be a couple of keys.
These must've been on Shadow Momoko when she was sucked up.
Pop put the keys away and then pocketed the Shadow Poron. That's when her thoughts began drifting to Shadow Momoko.
Shadow Momoko. The most sensitive and fragile of the seven Shadow Ojamajos. Once, she was just as arrogant as the rest, but her abduction and torture at the hands of Kada had changed her drastically. Since then, she had been an emotional wreck, crying and panicking easily and generally showing little to no confidence. During that incident, Pop and the other Ojamajos felt sorry for her and agreed to go easy on the poor thing, despite knowing full well what she was and what she had done in the past.
Pop's thoughts over her made her realize what she had done. Shadow Momoko was easily the most defenseless of the Shadow Ojamajos and quite easily the most innocent right now. Come to think of it, Pop did notice that, back in the storeroom, Shadow Momoko showed signs of wanting nothing to do with whatever her friends were up to.
It was then that red Ojamajo recalled how fiercely protective Shadow Onpu was of Shadow Momoko, almost always lashing out at anyone who dared threaten her. She had prevented anyone from getting close to her when she was in suffering and generally soothed her and kept her company.
The rose-haired Ojamajo had no way of knowing whether or not the Vac-Drive prevented Shadows from using their telepathy. Pop had little time to ponder any further, especially now since she was certain that a familiar purple-haired Shadow was officially out for her blood. She wasted no time in getting out of the room and returning to the first floor hallway…
Pop made saw the shimmer once again and followed the fast-moving apparition to a door at the end of the hallway. It was right beside the door to the washroom.
The rose-haired Ojamajo tried the first key and found that it would go in properly. The second one opened it up, allowing her to enter…a bathroom. Pop face-palmed.
Uggghhhh, seriously? Pop thought, They wasted a key on a simple bathroom?! Pop kicked a metal can in frustration, knocking it over and causing a key to fall out. Nevermind. They're just trying to make me mad… "Rrgghhh, AND IT'S WORKING!"
Pop picked up the key and left in a huff. Immediately, she again caught sight of the shimmer and followed it, coming to a door beyond the first branch. Pop inserted the key and turned. One resounding click and Pop opened the door…
The room wasn't anything like the rest of the mansion. Instead of the carpeting and weird patterns that adorned them there was a hardwood floor. The walls were relatively featureless, reminding Pop of Hazuki's room. It even had what appeared to be a balcony overlooking Misora, though it turned out to be an image plastered onto another wall.
The only thing different from Hazuki's real room was a door to her left. Pop, ignoring the eerie feeling of being in Hazuki's room, inserted her last key got a resounding click. The door opened, and Pop, as always, went inside…
The room was large and looked just like any other empty room in the mansion. The main difference was an enormous mirror dominating an entire wall.
Pop felt an unusual warmth in the room; normally, the mansion was very cold due to the night and season, with the indoor swimming pool being colder just because. The red Ojamajo braced and pressed herself against the door, anticipating an ambush.
She saw two small clouds appear and dissipate and heard a familiar light snarl. She gave a quick glance at the mirror and saw them: The arti-ghosts that appeared before her resembled the Grips she ran into earlier, albeit having a bluish hue. Pop, relying on the mirror to see them, moved away from the arti-ghosts and ensured that she would get them both in a single suction. She succeeded and both were defeated though they took longer than the other Grips.
The lights didn't come on despite the arti-ghosts having been defeated, so Pop waited once again. She checked the newest entry to pass the time.
Turquoise Grip: This fiend has access to total invisibility in addition to being more resilient than its weaker cousins. It still casts reflections in mirrors, so use those to track them.
Why do I keep reading these AFTER I face the arti-ghosts they tell me about? Pop mentally berated herself, Oh wait, that's right: I risk getting attacked unless I'm in a safe spot. Pop gave an annoyed sigh.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to jump. Already, Pop was sweating. She tried the door, but found it locked tight. She turned back around. That's when it appeared. "It" was what appeared to be a larger version of the Grips she had faced, except it wasn't invisible, had a long tail, dragon-like wings, clawed hands, a white glow, and a fiery core. It let out a roar…followed by a gout of fire.
Pop dodged quickly, but the tail end of the attack got her regardless. She had to keep moving to stay out of its attacks, leaving no time to read its entry. At the same time, the room had been set ablaze by the powerful arti-ghost's attacks and Pop was finding it increasingly difficult to stay on her toes. Her eyes stung and her strength was fading rapidly.
Finally, after thirty seconds of evading, the arti-ghost grabbed Pop by the neck and pinned her against the wall, intending to strangle her. The red Ojamajo felt its hot breath begin to sear her exposed flesh. She was already weak from smoke inhalation and the intense heat in the room. Fighting it all off, Pop reached for the hose, switched it to Water-energy mode, and, mustering every last ounce of strength she had left, sprayed the arti-ghost with water.
Immediately, the draconic arti-ghost dropped Pop and withdrew, its core fading from being snuffed out. Immediately, the light being given off by the flames stunned it. Pop activated the Vac-Drive and began sucking it up. It dragged her along and fought violently against her hold, but Pop managed to keep it tethered. It then dragged the red Ojamajo through the flames, forcing her to let it go and vanish.
Pop regained her bearings and began using the Water to put out the flames. The arti-ghost returned once half of them were out and making sure there wouldn't be enough light stun it. By the time Pop got out her flashlight, the draconic arti-ghost had already regenerated its fiery core. She threw the flashlight to the side and tried to spray it again.
To her horror, the powerful monstrosity replied with a stream of fire, nulling her water attacks and creating a lot of steam. It bellowed angrily and blasted her again with more fire. Pop jumped out of the way, only to once again be caught by the tail end of the attack. What little strength she had left, she gathered into trying to spray the monstrosity again.
The powerful arti-ghost saw what Pop was doing and wasted no time in using its tail to grab and slam her against the wall. It then pressed its clawed thumbs down on her neck and began strangling her once more. Pop tried desperately to break free, but with heat and smoke rapidly draining her already failing strength, it was an effort destined for failure.
Pop could feel her consciousness fading. Everything started getting blurry and dark. Is…Is this…Is this how I die…? Pop weakly pondered, Onee-chan…everyone…forgive me…but I couldn't-
A loud noise from above interrupted her thought. Then, just like that, the entire ceiling followed by the floor of the room above collapsed, falling into the mirror room. The monstrosity, startled by the noise, didn't know that its grip had loosened, allowing Pop to take a deep breath. It was smoke laced, but had enough oxygen to give her some strength. She quickly took advantage of it and, regaining her grip on the Vac-Drive's hose, sprayed a stream of water directly into the arti-ghost's fiery core.
It did the trick. The monstrosity dropped Pop once again and withdrew a slight distance before being stunned by the light. Pop decided against sucking it in and continued the stream. More and more steam came off the arti-ghost, obscuring Pop's vision. Finally, the arti-ghost let out an agonized roar as it faded from existence.
Pop wasted no time in getting to the door. It was still locked but Pop tackled it. To her relief, the door had been badly damaged by the fire and easily shattered. She then collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath as she did. The ordeal had taken too much out of her. She passed out moments later.
Pop felt like she was on a cloud. The softness. The fluffiness. It was relaxing. She wished she could stay on it forever. And yet, she wanted to be more comfortable. She twisted and turned…and fell off.
The red Ojamajo landed on the floor with a thud. Reluctantly, she got back up and took a look around. It looked like Hazuki's room. It was Hazuki's room. But why was it so dark? And where was-
A whiff of smoke snapped Pop out of her dream-like trance. It stung her nose and eyes, just like when she was fighting-…It all came back to her now. The fight, the brush with death, the inferno she was trapped in, the falling ceiling, the way into the second floor, everything. Pop felt herself all over and quickly found herself devoid of wounds, both to her relief and confusion.
But…I…I thought I was done for, Pop thought, I couldn't have-!
Pop caught a glimpse of a familiar shimmer. In an instant, she turned to see it. Never before had she been this close to it. It was time to take in as many details a possible before it fled again.
It was transparent, just like the arti-ghosts. It had a roughly humanoid shape. And it had a slight orange glow.
That was all Pop could tell before it vanished through the wall. She burned these details into her head before wondering what to do next. She was neither sure if the burned room still had anything of interest nor was she certain whether the room above it had any unlocked doors for her to get to the second floor with. Ultimately, she decided to see what was left of the mirror room and went through the open doorway accordingly.
It was predictable. The room was a mess and still reeked of smoke. Debris and ash were everywhere, complicating the dust problem shared by the rest of the mansion. Pop spied the remains of a bed amid the wreckage; it had clearly been destroyed by the fall and further ruined by the flames. The mirror that once dominated the wall had either cracked or melted off.
I guess that arti-ghost didn't make it past its seven years of bad luck, Pop mentally deadpanned.
A red gleam caught Pop's attention. Taking a wild guess, Pop bent down and picked up the gleam's source: A red coin. The rose-haired Ojamajo gave a closer look and then pulled out the Water Medallion. It had a tear drop shape on it whereas the red coin had a flame. There was no mistaking it, but Pop had scored the Fire Medallion.
Then Pop remembered that she should look at that arti-ghost's entry in case she encounters any more of them in the future.
Burning Strangler: A wrathful and dragon-like fiend gifted with the power of fire. Its preferred method of attack is grabbing with its clawed hands and strangling its target. It will use its long tail to aid it, if possible, in addition to using its fire powers. A regular light won't work; anyone hoping to fight it must use water-based powers or magic to douse its core. Only then will it be vulnerable to the light.
I guess it still carries that weakness to water, even after losing its core. Oh well, its loss. That's one more Medallion for me. Only…five more to go…
Pop sighed and returned to the replica of Hazuki's room. She was about to return to the hallways when another gleam attracted her attention. It was another key, which Pop immediately picked up.
The shimmer floated a ways down the hall. Pop saw it and once again gave chase, coming to the opposite end and to a locked door. Pop, by instinct, used her new key and tried the lock. It opened easily enough, allowing passage. By then, the shimmer had once again vanished, leaving Pop frustrated and annoyed.
"Why can't you face me alone?" Pop called out, "Who are you?" Pop took a deep breath. "Maybe if you told me who you were and why you've been avoiding me, then maybe we could, you know, team up?"
Pop got no response. With an annoyed sigh, she looked around the new room. It resembled a laundry mat, albeit a small one fit for a mansion like this one.
I guess small laundry mats are perfect for badly-designed mansions…
And then, right beside the washing machine, a familiar arti-ghost appeared, followed by a familiar stench. Pop held her nose against it and tried to stun the Trashcan, but it was too late. By the time she could properly aim her flashlight, it had already vanished. The lights came on.
A gleaming metal object on the floor made Pop forget all about the Trashcan. It was, unsurprisingly, a key.
Have these Shadow Ojamajos ever heard of a Master Key?
Pop glanced at either side. On her right was a door. It lacked a mat, so Pop thought it to be another trap. Her left had another door. This one had shifting runes on it.
Not another witch…Oh well. It's not going to kill itself. And I do need to test out my new fire powers anyway!
"Pipitto Purito Puritan Peperuto!" Pop chanted, "Refill the meter!"
At once, Pop's spell extracted energy from the three Medallions she had. The meters for Darkness, Water, and Fire went to max.
Once all was said and done, Pop scanned the runes on the door with hopes for getting a clue about the Witch and how to beat her. They were arranged in a position like a clock.
1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_9_10_11_12
A Witch of time, huh? Pop swallowed hard, knowing that once she went inside, there will be no coming out unless she defeats the Witch. Here goes nothing!
Pop unlocked the door and grabbed the knob…and she was immediately beset by a rush of memories. Memories that were not her own. She quickly released the knob and clutched her head. She felt like she should hate the idiotic men who viewed her…but since when did idiotic men view her? And why was she suddenly feeling tremendous disgust?
Pop shook the strange feelings and opened the door, expecting the worst from this Witch…
The barrier was an endless expanse. Gears floated in the void and bird-like familiars flew around in the darkness. In the center of it all was a massive birdcage.
Pop, who was standing on one of the gears, summoned her broom and took flight towards the birdcage. She didn't want to get caught by surprise, so she hid on other gears as she made her approach. Once she got close enough, she pulled out the All-in-One and scanned the runes.
ROBERTA
Pop looked up her entry.
ROBERTA: The birdcage Witch. Her nature is rage. She continuously stamps her feet inside her cage, directing her rage at those who don't respond to her. This Witch is extremely fond of alcohol, and her minions are easy to burn.
And alcohol burns easily enough, so my new fire powers should do the trick!
GOTZ: The birdcage Witch's minion. His duty is to act with frivolous indiscretion. These birds that swarm together are idiotic men. Even though they are total good-for-nothings, they try to attract her attention by swarming around her feet and attempting to woo her. They are nothing more than objects of disgust to the Witch.
Then why make them to begin with? Pop thought, Why make minions that you know you'll hate?
Pop put the All-in-One away in disgust. She then stared from behind her hiding spot to get a better look at the Witch. It wasn't a Witch of time like she had previously thought, especially since it was the witch of birdcages. She thought that it made sense that the Witch would be a birdcage herself…until she noticed what was inside the thing. It resembled a pair of legs connected only by a lower abdomen and was stamping as though in anger.
It was just like what the description said: The actual Witch was inside a cage of her own accord and driving off the familiars that swarm around her. She realized that sudden hatred for idiotic men: The familiars represented something she hated in the past. Her past. Roberta's past. And this barrier-
Pop shook her head. She didn't have the time to ponder the Witch and she certainly didn't have the time to ponder what she may have been at some other point in time. She had to stop her. Destroy her. Put her out of her misery.
With those thoughts, Pop fired several fire balls at the birdcage. Several familiars were caught in the explosions and incinerated. The Witch stamped in rage at what was going on. Pop answered with another barrage of fire balls, blowing open the cage and knocking her out of it. Pop then spent the last of her fire energy and channeled it into a single blast. It hit dead center and the Witch was incinerated. Its final scream didn't sound like a monster, but a middle-aged woman.
Pop decided against seeing its demise and turned away, walking off as the barrier faded and reverted back to the room it once was. It seemed to be a dank room that a servant would live in rather than the –formerly- lavish rooms from elsewhere, complete with a minor workshop. The lights came on almost instantly, much to Pop's comfort.
Grabbing the Grief Seed, the red Ojamajo decided to search the room for anything useful. A gleam from a key caught her attention. As soon as she picked it up, the wall it was next to turned, bringing her with it and into another room. Pop reeled from the spin and fell over something. When she regained her bearings, she took in the sight of the new room. It was definitely a treasury, as one could discern from all the gold jewelry that had been stashed there. The thing Pop fell over was a red chest that likely had more treasure in it.
Pop wasn't interested in the treasure; she was more worried about why the room was even colder than the indoor swimming pool. The answer appeared quickly enough. It was yet another arti-ghost, one that looked like the pink gowns that had appeared far earlier. It was bigger, had a white glow, and had a core made of ice. It spread its arms and, just like that, the wall Pop had fallen through was frozen shut.
Pop immediately began trying to blast it with fire, but only dust came out, much to the arti-ghost's amusement. The red Ojamajo cursed herself for not refilling the gauge and instead began spraying water at it. The arti-ghost responded in kind by giving off an icy wind that froze the water right where it landed.
Pop smirked, knowing full well that a wall of ice could block out its ice powers and buy her enough time to recharge her fire powers and defeat it. It caught on quickly and ceased channeling frigid air. Pop's smirk quickly turned into a look of anxiety, promptly trying to do something else to buy time; the room's small size made didn't help. She just had to try and out maneuver its attacks while casting her spell.
"Pipitto…" Pop began chanting. She sidestepped a jet of cold air, though her boot was frozen. "Purito…" Pop leapt out of the way of a fist. The area where it landed froze instantly. "Puritan…" The monstrosity nailed Pop with a jet of ice, freezing her foot to the ground. "P-P-Pe-p-per-ruto!" Pop finished, shivering as she did so. "Fire gauge, f-fill up!" The monstrosity began charging up its power, intending to finish her off in one shot.
Pop's spell tapped into the Fire Medallion, extracting the energy and refilling the gauge. Pop pointed the hose in the powerful arti-ghost's direction and unleashed a stream of fire just as it launched its frozen hadouken. Both streams met and immediately began trying to push each other back. Pop pushed as hard as she could, but it was all too clear that the frozen arti-ghost's power was going to win out. Instead, she waited for the perfect moment and sidestepped the beam. Not a second later, she blasted the arti-ghost with fire just as the beam hit to opposite wall and froze it in a thick layer of ice.
The monstrosity reeled from the attack, its core evaporating. It shook it off and prepared to punch Pop, but she quickly launched another blast of flame, immobilizing it. She watched with determination as the arti-ghost grew weaker and weaker. At the same time, she was keeping an eye on the gauge, hoping that it would last long enough to finish the monster.
To her disbelief, it ran out. The monster survived the assault and prepared once again to strike. Pop made haste and got out her flashlight. Without its core, it was vulnerable to the light and was now stunned. Pop wasted no time in sucking it in; to her relief, it had been weakened enough to be captured in that one suction. When it finally vanished, the lights came on, revealing the now-frozen majesty of the room.
Pop took no interest in the room itself and quickly opened the chest. To her surprise, it was full of large jewels; they were a ruby, sapphire, emerald, silver diamond, and a gold diamond. Underneath them all was a key and a whitish coin. The rose-haired Ojamajo took the key and gave a good look at the coin.
"Eh? But, that arti-ghost I beat," Pop sputtered, "It used the power of ice!"
The symbol on the coin didn't depict a form of ice. Instead, it reminded Pop of swirling air currents. She tested out its energy and, sure enough, a blast of air came out instead of ice. She let out a sigh.
I guess not all Medallions are guarded by an arti-ghost that's using its power…But I can check the new entry.
Pop got out the All-in-One and went to the new entry.
Snow Dress: A flowing fiend with cold intentions. Like its cousins, the Pink Gowns, it likes to attack by punching. However, unlike them, it uses its power over ice to immobilize its targets first. If faced with fire, it'll try to charge up a powerful, ice-based hadouken. This attack can't be matched, so it is wise to try and evade it and get off a cheap shot.
Pop decided to refill the fire gauge again and melt the ice sealing the pass wall. Once all was said and done, Pop left the treasury, Medallion, keys, and jewels in hand.
A cabinet burst apart against the wall. A door was hanging off its hinges. And a beam of Shadow magic turned a table into splinters.
Shadow Onpu was beside herself. She had failed Shadow Momoko. She didn't make it in time, and now she had no idea where the one responsible was.
"That's it," Shadow Onpu said darkly, "No more Mrs. Nice girl." Shadow Onpu brandished her shield. "Light Pop…You will DIE for this!"
Shadow Onpu-chan! came Shadow Doremi's telepathic call, You can't! Black Queen-sama wants a full set! She wants ALL seven of them-
I know that! Shadow Onpu bit back, We'll just force another Shadow to bring her back once I'm done!
I don't think that's such a good idea, Shadow Aiko warned, Black Queen-sama specifically told us not to kill them this time! And for a very, very, VERY good reason!
Shadow Ai-chan's right! Shadow Hana called, If we don't follow Black Queen-sama's orders, then we're toast!
Yeah! She's still mad at us for teaming up with our light halves, Shadow Pop added, Especially Onee-chan for what happened…
Because doing that with your Light Half, even if it's against your will, is A-OK in her book… Shadow Hazuki deadpanned.
What we're trying to say is, just let them handle it, Shadow Doremi said, We'll get extra recognition if we did and she's already glad we pulled it off!
Shadow Onpu grit her teeth and then sighed in defeat. Then I'll just subdue her and get Shadow Momo-chan back that way. Shadow Onpu tightened her grip on her shield. But there's nothing stopping me from badly injuring her. See ya!
Shadow Onpu-chan! WAIT! The Shadow Ojamajos called. Too late. The purple Shadow Ojamajo had already shut off any further telepathic messages. She then left the parlor…or at least what's left of it.
That's one way to up our worry for her, Shadow Hazuki grumbled, sarcastically.
Pop stood in front of the door opposite to the indoor swimming pool. The runes had not changed, but that did nothing to light the red Ojamajo's mood. She had already unlocked the door but was afraid of the surge she would get if she touched the knob. That's when a thought struck her: Why not use magic to open it?
Pop looked at her poron. Six magic spheres left, she thought, That should be enough for this stretch. Maybe more than enough.
She threw caution to the wind and applied her spell. The magic wound around the knob…only to fizzle out with no effect. Pop's heart skipped a beat; she had just wasted a magic sphere through yet another violation of common sense. She face-palmed in bitterness and disgust.
Pop swallowed hard as she reluctantly reached out for the knob. Just like before, a surge of memories forced themselves into her head. Clutching her it, Pop released the knob and began fearing for the worst.
Her mother was in the hospital, stricken with cancer, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her father was going to be beside himself. And Doremi was going to be- No! This wasn't her mother. It was someone else's. These memories didn't make sense with her own. She had seen her mother just earlier that night, before she pretended to go to sleep. She was alive and well and definitely NOT a cancer patient.
Pop shook her head as hard as she could. The foreign memories were much more than the previous two surges. Was she going insane? Was her tactic of snarking her way through fallacies failing? Was it doomed from the start? Was it doomed from before she thought to use it? The stream of questions boring into her skull were already doing an excellent job so far.
Pop tossed aside what she could and opened the door…
This barrier was completely different from the last one. Not only was it cavernous, but it was also laced with sweets…or at least, they seemed to be sweets. Pop didn't want to find out, especially since there were familiars roaming about. Thankfully, the many crevices and movable objects provided excellent hiding spots, allowing Pop to move unnoticed.
The barrier was dark, but light small amounts of light were somehow able to come in. Pop kept a sharp eye out, checking to see when the familiars moved. They seemed to be looking for something, but Pop couldn't bother herself to find out what. What it did mean was that as long as they were distracted by their goal, she could have a better chance of moving undetected. It then occurred to her that it may have been her they were looking for. Pop shuddered at the thought and kept moving.
Pop scanned runes as she came across them.
CHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTE
Pop scanned a bit of actual German. It wasn't in runes and the German-English translator certainly worked better than the Japanese-German ever did.
Ich liebe Käse.
Ich will nur Käse.
Es gibt nirgends den Käse.
After scanning it to English, she had it translated to Japanese.
I love Cheese.
I want only Cheese.
There is no Cheese anywhere.
The Witch loves cheese? Pop thought in confusion, But why would a Witch love cheese as much as Onee-chan loves steak? Pop shook her head. She's not human, Pop. She can have ANY personality she wants.
Pop continued onwards, passing one sweet-themed rock after another. The deeper she went, the less cavernous the barrier seemed. The passages seemed more like hallways; more specifically, the hallways of a candyland-themed hospital, complete with needles and jars with body parts in them. The red Ojamajo shuddered at the disturbing sight. Just what has been going on in this Witch's head?
Finally, the rose-haired Ojamajo came across a brightly lit area. Familiars were everywhere, marching in rows. Pop feared that she may have to fight them, but she didn't want to waste the energy nor use magic spheres to replenish it. Ultimately, she settled for using magic to stop time and flying over their heads.
It was simple and made things effortless, but now Pop had only four magic spheres left. She had no idea how to fight this Witch or how much energy she would have to waste. She hid behind a donut within a massive circular area and reviewed the energy she had left. Her Fire, Water, and Dark energy were maxed out whereas her Sky energy was one notch below. Just enough, she thought.
Pop emerged from her hiding spot and gave a look around. There were no familiars in sight, much to her relief. On the other hand, there was no sign of the way she entered. That was fine too, since she would have to defeat this Witch anyway if she is to leave. The area was dotted with tables and chairs. What made them different from normal chairs was their sheer height; they had to be at least eighty meters tall.
One table stood out from the others. Pop squinted and gave a hard look at it. Two dolls sat at the impossibly tall table; one was pink while the other was blue. Pop contemplated flying up there and getting a closer look when the pink doll moved. It turned its head and stared at the red Ojamajo through hollow blue eyes.
Pop scanned the doll and looked at its entry.
Charlotte: The dessert Witch, with a tenacious nature. She desires everything. She will never give up. Though she is capable of creating infinite amounts of any dessert she desires, she is unable to make the cheese she loves most. One can always catch her off-guard with a piece of cheese.
I guess that explains the German quotes, thought Pop, Let's see about her minions then.
Pyotr: The dessert Witch's minion. His duty is to search for cheese. However, one shouldn't expect much from him.
So that's what they were looking for. But…I guess the Witch should've made better minions if all she wants is cheese…
Pop looked back up at the doll. It was still staring at her. "W-who are you?" Pop asked.
The doll didn't say anything in reply, opting instead to open its mouth. Immediately, something huge, like a giant worm or caterpillar emerged and rushed towards Pop with a big grin on its face. Pop watched in horror as it opened its mouth, revealing a full set of razor-sharp teeth. The red Ojamajo snapped out of her stupor and leapt back just as its jaws snapped shut. She then summoned her broom and took flight with the Witch in pursuit.
Pop used her Dark energy and formed the usual blade. She dodged another attempt at her life and flew down its back, slicing it open. The Witch screamed in pain, using a voice like a young girl. Pop shook off the feeling of guilt and continued flying. That's when she saw the unthinkable: The Witch opened its mouth, allowing another copy to emerge while the original became like a deflated canvas.
Pop kept ahead of it, luring it into biting and then swooping behind and slicing it open. Every time she pulled it off, another copy would emerge. It didn't seem interested in giving up and so continued to chase Pop.
This is getting me nowhere! Pop mentally yelled, At this rate, I'll run out of magic and energy before this thing goes down! Ironically, Pop's Dark energy had fallen to zero, causing her blade to vanish. Time to use Fire!
At once, a flaming blade erupted from the hose. Ultimately, it was a repeat of the last time and it wasn't long before her Fire energy fell to zero too. Gritting her teeth, Pop tried Water and used the tendril to get in multiple slices. It worked just as well as last two energies, and it too eventually fell to zero.
At this point, Pop was losing hope. Three energy types expended and nothing to show for it other than a powerful Witch that refused to give up. She wanted to know its weakness. She needed to know its weakness. But what?
She recalled the message: "I love Cheese. I want only Cheese. There is no Cheese anywhere." Maybe I have to burn another magic sphere after all, Pop mentally lamented. Problem is…When will I get the chance to even use it?
Pop thought all of this as she was dodging for her life. The Witch's expression shifted from a goofy grin to confusion to frustration and back again. Was it her idea of a game? Or was she just toying with the red Ojamajo? Maybe she thought Pop was cheese? Too many questions. No answers for any of them. Pop had to keep evading the witch's attacks. Unfortunately, sooner or later, she was going to slip up and become the thing's meal.
Pop recalled that she had one more energy to try out. But what was Sky going to do? What did its blade form look like and what were its capabilities? Could it work?
Pop wasted no time in using the Sky energy and formed the blade. It was long yet the only indicator of its presence was the wind spiraling around it. Maybe it could slice it multiple times like the water blade? Maybe it could go inside and slice it up before it could form a copy?
Pop shook her head. It was now or never, all or nothing. Pop dove straight at the Witch. The Witch responded in kind by opening its mouth wide. Pop grit her teeth as she flew right in. The Witch snapped her jaws shut and gave an expression that wouldn't be out of place on a person who had just eaten their favorite food.
Suddenly, Pop sprang into action and began slicing the Witch from the inside out. The length of the Sky blade and the inherent cutting power that Sky energy had made the damage far greater than it would've been had she used anything else. She emerged from the tip of the Witch's tail and flew out into the open. The red Ojamajo then surveyed her handiwork: The Witch had fallen to the ground in tatters and seemed to finally be dead.
Her sense of triumph was cut short by the Witch opening the remains of its mouth and allowing yet another copy emerge.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Pop shouted in disbelief as the Witch lunged at her.
Pop flew out of the way just in time, but now she was out of options. The first part of her gambit worked in that she caused tremendous damage to the Witch, but the second part failed because it couldn't stop the witch from spawning another copy. She was done for. The Sky energy, which had been her only hope, was now at only twenty-five percent. If she was going to do something, she had to figure out what and do it now before she was out. She would never get the time to cast a spell, so everything was riding the next few moments.
The red Ojamajo evaded another bite from the Witch. This time, it was close enough to nail Pop's broom with the star-shaped end of her nose, taking away her balance and sending her straight down. Pop was able to right herself, but ultimately only slowed her fall. She landed feet first on something soft and high up.
Before Pop could look down and see, the Witch turned towards her; Pop stared back into its multi-colored eyes. For reasons Pop could not explain, the Witch's once goofy expression transformed into a look of pure rage. Pop looked down and immediately knew why: She had crushed the blue doll. Wasting no time, Pop got back on her broom just in time to dodge another bite.
If I've lost this fight, then it wouldn't hurt to get off another strike before I die, Pop thought.
She looped back over the Witch one final time and sliced the Witch open. The length and inherent cutting power of the blade once again allowed for more damage than the others and the Witch was cut to the core. This time, the Witch let out a scream of agony and collapsed.
Pop looked on with disbelief. Why didn't it create another copy? It had no problems making them even after that brutal slashing I did! Pop's attention drifted to the crushed blue doll. She the recalled how angry the Witch looked when she saw it. Could it be that the blue doll made it somehow immortal? Maybe it was the real Witch after all and the worm was a decoy? Pop shook her head. Doesn't matter. It's dead now. Any more yammering is pointless.
Pop landed on the ground just as the barrier vanished. The room she was now in, which had become brightly lit, was very clearly a dining room, complete with chairs lined up and the table set to begin receiving guests. The plates were empty aside from a layer of dust. The middle of the table was now decorated by the Witch's Grief Seed. Pop took it and went over to the other door.
If this is a dining room, then this next one should be a kitchen, Pop surmised. She inserted her last key into the slot. It wouldn't turn. Maybe it's already unlocked? Pop tested her theory and tried turning the knob. She withdrew her hand the moment she touched it.
The knob felt cold. Not the same cold that the treasure room had, but an unnatural cold. Pop could tell from the way it felt, despite her wearing gloves. She immediately had a bad feeling of what was lurking behind that door. For now, she would have to wait; she had a good idea as to where this key went. At the same time, she was certain she wouldn't like what was waiting in that room.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the All-in-One beeping. Pop activated the transceiver. Like usual, Majo Toron was on the other end.
"Pop-chan!" Majo Toron called, "I'm sorry about not getting in contact sooner."
"Don't worry, Majo Toron," Pop replied, "I've been doing fine. I've even got the Fire and Sky Medallions! Oh, and I…" Pop gave a look that had a hint of regret. "…I got Shadow Momoko too."
Majo Toron did a double take. "One Shadow down, six to go. You're doing great!" Majo Toron's expression hardened. "Unfortunately, that's not why I called."
"You still want to send Shadow Ruka instead?"
Majo Toron shook her head. "No. The room next to the one you're in is the room where Momoko vanished. At the same time, the indoor swimming pool and the storeroom behind it have become dens for Witches."
Pop's eyes went wide. She never thought that rooms she had already cleared out would end up becoming infested by other Witches, even those that used to have barriers in them. The thought simply never occurred to her.
"I understand. We can't have any more Witches roaming about the mansion for fear that they will escape and begin terrorizing Majo Kai. I get it." Pop gave a sigh of frustration. "By the way, what took you so long to get in contact?"
Majo Toron gulped. "Uh, well, you see, a bit of clumsiness on Shadow Ruka's part, uh, 'damaged' her means of communicating with the rest of Kada's team. She's been using my communicator ever since. She's gone back to get it fixed and will be back shortly."
Pop face-palmed. "Great, I'm running low on magic spheres and now the only real means of reliably getting them to me is away for a bit?"
A puff of smoke could be heard in the background of the Center. "I'm back!" Shadow Ruka called, "And my cell is back in business! Thank you Shadow Isabelle!"
"…ok?"
"Well, I could send her there, but these are my last few magic spheres. Use them wisely." Majo Toron called for Shadow Ruka.
Pop heard what seemed to be an argument. It went on for several minutes before both sides sighed. Then, Shadow Ruka appeared in the dining room.
"Here you go!" Shadow Ruka said as she handed Pop a handful of the spheres, "And now I'm off!"
Shadow Ruka left out the door and quickly vanished. Pop counted the spheres and, together with the ones she already had, added up to nine. Majo Toron wasn't kidding when she said these were her last few magic spheres, Pop thought, I really have to ration them now!
Pop looked at the gauges. All of them were sitting on empty, except for Sky with was sitting on one notch. Reluctantly, Pop used a spell to refill each of them, dropping her spheres to eight.
"Good luck," Majo Toron said before she closed her end.
Pop was now by herself in the mansion. The area was as hostile as ever and she needed all the help she could get. She had four of the Medallions now, but she was running low on magic spheres. At least she was gaining some idea of how to fight better, but will that be enough to defeat the Shadow Ojamajos? On that topic, when was Shadow Onpu going to ambush her? She should've done so by-
Pop shook her head. She shouldn't think about that. Doing so could end up bringing her here, even though she couldn't read minds.
With a look of determination, Pop left the dining room and stared at the now-rune covered door on the opposite side of the hallway.
A/N: Used underscores for the runes on Roberta's door due to the Doc. system being a prick about numbers.