Hey! Another day another chapter, this time Willow comes to grips with her heritage...and maybe a few other things. Please enjoy!
Diamanda kept running, she had to find Sueronia. She had to go to it! She couldn't stay on Shuggazoom like her vessel decided to. She just had to find out who she really is.
She darted to the bridge, knowing the Hyperforce would be right behind her. She did not care, she had to leave. She entered the Zone of Wasted Years and was about to fly into the sky when she felt someone behind her. Diamanda looked to see Sage. She jumped and backed up.
"What do you want?" She asked.
Sage shrugged.
"To help you, what else?"
Diamanda frowned.
"Yeah sure. Now leave me be, I got a home to go to." She said and began to blast off when a hand grabbed her and threw her back down.
She coughed and got up, about to blast Sage into next week.
"Come on! Do you really think you should go back to that planet?! You still have all this power, all this evil, are you just going to squander it just because you wanna find your home planet and be with your kind?" Sage asked in a fake whiny voice.
Diamanda growled.
"I know what you're trying to do pal, and it ain't working for me! I need to know what the hell I am before I go back to evil!" She barked.
Sage looked around.
"I didn't take the time to figure out myself because I knew I had plans to carry out! You could rule galaxies with your power Diamanda!" Sage urged.
Diamanda growled and threw several white fireballs at him.
"You don't control me! No one does! I do whatever I please! The only reason I brought you out of Trent's body was so that I could use you, not the other way around!" She yelled as Sage kept dodging.
Sage's mouth gaped open in shock and amusement before quickly dodging the next fire ball.
"Oh Dia! I had no idea I was just a pawn!" He said, clearly not caring.
Diamanda growled as she fired at him again as Sage shot electrical shocks at her. She flinched before fully blasting Sage away. He quickly got up and sent blasts of dark energy at her before she dodged them and turned her fingers into dragon claws. Sage morphed his hands into knives as the two attempted to slash at each other. Diamanda was scratched in the face before she kicked Sage.
The two fought for a good several minutes before Sage even got another hit in. Diamanda breathed fire as Sage shielded himself. He noticed something behind her and dodged. Before Diamanda could react, Skelemandarin used his blaster on her. Diamanda was blasted into a rock and fell. She struggled to get up as Sage stood over her, Skelemandarin following right behind him.
"You know, in stories like these the kidnapped person would barely put up a fight. Yet you still fought as much as you did, I am impressed!" He said before staring at her choker.
He placed a foot on her stomach and held her up by her hair.
"Then again...I wonder if you'll put up much of a fight after this." He said before removing it.
He dropped Diamanda to the ground as she weakly got up. She tried to create a fire ball and throw it at him, but nothing happened. She looked at her hand, as if she couldn't recognize it. Diamanda looked up at Sage.
"What did you do?" She growled.
"Just testing." He said in a sing song voice.
Diamanda's eyes narrowed before she realized.
"Wait! You're not a-!"
Sage then placed the choker around his neck and felt his own power diminishing and new ones replacing it. He inhaled sharply in pleasure before sighing. That felt good.
Sage looked down at Diamanda, who couldn't comprehend what just happened.
"Not a what? Half Sueronian? Because I think that just answered your question." He said before grinning.
Amanda kept looking around for Diamanda, but nothing. She groaned and was about to go into the Zone of Wasted Years, but Jinmay placed a hand in her shoulder.
"Antauri is telling us to come back, don't worry we'll find her." She said.
Amanda looked towards the bridge, something felt wrong but...
She huffed but nodded. They'll have to find her later.
When they came back, Willow was just starting to wake up. She groaned and placed a hand on her head. The only person in the med bay was Mandarin.
"What...happened?" She muttered.
Mandarin handed her a wet cloth to dab her forehead with.
"Diamanda split from you." He simply said.
Willow's eyes widened.
"She did?! Why?!" She asked, shocked.
"I'm guessing because since she's a sueronian, she wants to find Sueronia and know about her origins." He suggested.
Willow let the suggestion sink in before nodding a bit. That does sound like something someone would do in a situation like this.
"Are the others trying to find her?" She asked, trying to ignore the elephant in the room.
Mandarin sighed.
"Trying being the key word here." He said.
Willow nodded, she was super fast. She then frowned a bit.
"Wait,if the others are out there...why are you here?" She asked.
Mandarin blinked before looking off to the side.
"Well someone had to wait until you woke up...that and..."
He raised one hand.
"Hi Willow." Tilamats voice chirped and Willow dipped her head in embarrassment.
"Oh my god I'm sorry!" She snickered.
"No problem, I seem to make appointments when drama happens." Tilamat said and Mandarin frowned.
"Hey! This isn't just some stupid daytime drama crap!" He snapped.
Tilamat let out a loud whoop.
"And Mandarin's mood swings are finally coming out to play!" He exclaimed.
"Silence they've been here for a while!" Mandarin snapped.
Willow blinked as the two went back and forth. Should a obstetrician and a patient really act like this towards each other? Or were they really that close? She had no clue but Tilamat sighed.
"Things seem to be going ok, I suggest eating a bit more sweets since I can tell someone hasn't been eating enough of them." Tilamat advised.
Mandarin raised an eyebrow.
"What? Should I eat a candy store or something?" He asked.
"Hmm now that would be a sight." Tilamat muttered.
Mandarin rolled his eyes.
"How you are a professional I will never know." He sighed.
"Only since you let me act unprofessional around you, you're more fun." Tilamat chirped before tapping a few more keys.
Mandarin sighed but smiled.
"Other than that, she's doing pretty good." Tilamat said.
Willow smiled a bit, glad that Lazuli was doing okay and to be focusing on something else.
"That's good, now that Willow is awake I'll have more stuff to deal with." Mandarin said.
"Oh have fun, no offense Willow." Tilamat said as Willow shrugged.
Soon Mandarin shut off his communicator and Willow got up.
"Well! Now that that's out of the way-!"
"Are you going to talk to your mother?" Mandarin asked, slowly getting up.
Willow paused and looked down. Should she? Arwen did have a pretty good reason for hiding her origins, but knowing that all she knew beforehand still hurt.
"I...I will." She said and she felt Mandarin push her out.
"Not now!"
"Yes now!" Mandarin huffed as she was pushed outside, where the others were waiting.
Everyone turned to her and Arwen flinched. Willow fiddled with her hands, silent.
"Erm...so..."
Brittany walked over to her.
"How do you feel? Now that you're no longer Diamanda's vessel?" She asked.
Willow paused.
"Actually, pretty good." She said, smiling a bit.
"That's good, but what about the other things?" She asked.
Willow's smile dropped and her gaze from Brittany dropped. Antauri motioned the others, minus Trent, Amanda, Arwen, and Brittany to leave the room for a while.
They left through the large transportation tube, leaving the five alone.
"You think they'll be ok?" Otto asked, who was now on Mandarin's shoulder.
Antauri nodded.
"I think so." He said.
The others sat down as Willow gripped her knees.
"So...you never told me." She said.
Arwen clasped her hands together.
"I couldn't, and that was a mistake on my part. That way all of the things that happened would have been avoided or you would have known what to do." She sighed.
Willow nodded slightly.
"But your father gave you that necklace and Amanda that ring so you two could one day go out and save not only Natulis, but other planets." Arwen explained.
Amanda looked over at her before looking down at her ring.
"Willow, Amanda, please understand what I did was to keep you two safe. Yes if I told you, Willow would have learned to control her aura but the hunters were getting clever in finding out where a Sueronian is. I had to keep you two safe." Arwen said.
Amanda looked down while Willow lo look at her.
"Mom stop, you don't have to keep explaining this to us. I get it, so don't worry about it now." Amanda sighed.
Willow looked at Amanda and nodded.
"Yeah, besides it's good we know now."
Arwen nodded, smiling a bit.
Trent looked over, a confused expression on his face.
"Then...what about me? I mean I got powers and stuff but I don't know what that means." He said.
Arwen smiled a bit.
"You are an interesting case, Trent. You are half sueronian too, but you come from a long line of half sueronians." She said and Trent gasped.
"Sometimes your powers and aura would skip a generation or two, but clearly that didn't happen with you. You're also one of the weaker Sueronians that only have a few powers and no noticeable aura. " Brittany said.
Trent's mouth hung open before a small smile formed.
"So that's why I got all these cool powers." He said.
Arwen nodded as Trent looked at her.
"Okay, now that's really cool." He said.
Arwen laughed.
"Well I'm glad that made you happy." She said.
Willow smiled a bit too, happy knowing she wasn't alone in this.
Brittany was about to say something but Willow put up a hand.
"Stop, you've already apologized enough and it's fine now." She said before smiling.
Brittany sighed in relief and a thought popped into Trent's mind.
"So wait...Arwen are you Arey by any chance?" He asked.
Arwen bit her lip, trying not to smile.
"Umm...yes. Ariella Luna Rosemary Ebony Aquamarine Clint." She said.
Trent was silent before yelling, "You mean I've already met one of the most famous members of Starlights but no one told me?!"
Antauri looked up at the ceiling, listening as the group talked. He smiled as the group laughed and Trent was trying to compose himself. At least that went well.
"Chiro why are you looking up caters?" Mandarin asked suspiciously.
Chiro froze before swiping away to another site.
"No reason, why?"
Mandarin huffed harshly.
"I already told you! I don't want a baby shower!" He said.
Nova nodded.
"Oh we heard don't worry, he might be looking up for a birthday party or something." She said, lying.
"Don't give me that I know your plans!"
"Mandarin trust us we're not throwing you a baby shower." Gibson said, holding back a smile.
"I mean it! Don't do it!"
Otto clung to him and kissed him.
"Don't worry, anywho movie night or park night?" Otto asked.
Mandarin groaned, knowing they were gonna plan it. He would have to think of something in order to stop it. He paused before answering.
"Park night, but only if there's no one else around." He huffed.
Otto grinned and smooched his cheek before nuzzling him.
"Sounds good to me."
Gibson watched the two before going back to finish the living room.
"All we need now is to just add the finishing touches and we're done with the living room." He announced.
"What else do we need to finish?" Sprx asked as he set down a chair in the kitchen, which just finished drying from wet paint.
"The guest rooms and the kitchen as far as I know." Antauri said.
Nova peeked into the nursery and all she saw was red walls with orange swirls and the cobra ornament hung over the nursery. She sighed, what the hell was Mandarin trying to accomplish in this room? Turn it into some Pharaoh's throne room and end up freaking his kid out? Although if Lazuli would be anything like Mandarin, she'd probably love it.
The team then saw the others come into the base.
"I'd just hope we'll find Diamanda soon, I still want to talk to her." Arwen said.
"Don't worry we will." Willow said before looking at the others.
Jinmay looked over at the five.
"So how'd it go?" She asked nervously.
Willow smiled.
"It went fine." She said before looking down a bit.
"Guys I'm sorry that my aura forced all of you to like me. I didn't know...and if I somehow turned it off I'm...I'm just scared that you'll all..." She said, finding it hard to speak.
Antauri shook his head and went to her.
"Willow don't worry about it. Aura or not we would still be your friends. All we've gone through these past few months, we won't throw them away because of something you couldn't control." He said as the others agreed.
Arwen smiled and motioned towards Mandarin.
"That's true, he's a prime example of what Antauri said." She said as everyone was confused.
Mandarin was taken back by what Arwen said, and she kept going.
"For many Sueronians, sometimes their aura to get others to instantly like them doesn't work on some people. It causes them to react to their behaviors in their own way." She explained as everyone looked at Mandarin.
Mandarin flinched and looked away.
"Despite all of the confusion and suspicion he had, Mandarin was still able to become your friend on his own."
Willow's mouth opened in shock before grinning playfully.
Mandarin kept looking away before noticing her walk up to him.
"You actually care about me don't you Mandy?" She asked, crossing her arms.
Mandarin's face flushed and he blinked rapidly, causing the others to snicker.
"Sh-shut up." He grumbled as everyone crowded him.
"Awww Mandarin! That's too sweet!" Jinmay chirped.
"Wow Mandarin actually has a heart!" Chiro said, faking shock.
"Yeah who would have thunk it?" Sprx snickered.
"It is good to show others you care for once Mandarin." Gibson said.
"Oh come on now, I said once that he had a good heart." Antauri said.
"I will obliterate all of you! Right here! Right now!" Mandarin barked, no doubt he was embarrassed.
Otto kissed his face as Willow giggled.
"It would kinda make sense you two being good friends, I mean you're both temperamental stubborn brutes." Sprx scoffed.
Everyone was silent as Sprx was confused.
"What? What'd I say?" He asked as Mandarin snickered.
"Your word choices are so moronic!" He snickered as Willow looked a bit pissed.
"Who's a brute now?" She asked as Sprx turned and quickly walked off.
"I said nothing!"
Arwen laughed as the others went back to socializing and working on the base, Otto and Mandarin soon leaving for the park.
They didn't know this either, but there was another who was unaffected by Willow's aura, and he was getting closer and closer with her.
"So Willow, since Sueronians have all this mystic stuff they make up what mystic stuff so you have?" Jinmay asked.
Willow blinked.
"Yeah what other stuff in your backstory do you have?" Chiro asked.
The others looked at her, interested. Willow twiddled her fingers.
"Well um...for one there's a lake here on Shuggazoom I rule over...and for the Dream Givers there are many people of royalty in them and I happen to be a princess...not that's real anymore." She said before sighing.
"Willow honey, your backstory is as real as you believe it to be." Arwen said, sitting next to her.
Willow was confused as Arwen stroked her hair.
"That's the fun part of being a Sueronian, you can do anything you want to your back story and it will be true. Your lake is still real, just as long as you believe in it." She said and Willow smiled a bit.
She really didn't want to change it, she loved and cared about all of the ideas and explanations of her past. It was precious to her...well except for one thing that did bother her.
"That's good...because to be honest the princess stuff didn't really sit well with me." Willow huffed and Amanda laughed.
"Then I'll take it! Please!" She begged.
Willow laughed and playfully punched her arm.
"Fine, just so you can get more girly."
Brittany twiddled her fingers.
"Can I see it sometime?"
Everyone looked at her.
"It just sounds so pretty." She said.
Willow nodded.
"Yeah, maybe sometime next week?" She asked as Brittany nodded.
Trent yawned as he stretched.
"This was one heck of a day, but I must sleep!"
"Trent it's only five thirty!"
"Sleep!" Trent chirped as he went up stairs.
Willow sighed but smiled. Today was a crazy day, but she felt that things were gonna get better now.
At least she hoped.
Willow was walking to her room, planning to read her magic book for a while when Antauri caught up with her.
"Willow!"
She turned to him.
"Yes Antauri?"
Antauri looked around a bit.
"Would it be alright if you took me to that lake?" He asked.
Willow smiled and nodded.
"Sure, I don't mind having another-"
"Right now?"
Willow blinked and Antauri froze.
"Oh I apologize, it's just I haven't heard of this lake and I'm not sure where-"
Willow placed two fingers over Antauri's lips.
"I guess we can make a quick stop there, Brittany's probably gonna get a bit mad though."
"I'll talk to her." Antauri said, smiling.
"Then let's go in my father's ship real quick." She said and the two went off.
Brittany watched the two and blinked. Then smiled as she went to find Gibson.
"Those two." She sighed.
They flew into the Savage lands, which made Antauri a bit paranoid but Willow assured him that Sage or Skelemandarin won't be able to follow them.
The then landed near a cave opening, covered by long vines. Willow urged Antauri to follow and the two made their way into the cave. They walked a bit before they came across a huge lake with a gorgeous waterfall and vegetation.
Antauri's eyes widened.
"You created this?" He asked.
Willow looked down at her necklace.
"I think the gem in my necklace did this...I don't know how but it did." She said, still surprised it was here.
Antauri walked onto the grass.
"It's still amazing that you can create something so beautiful." He said.
Willow smiled as she sat down near the edge of the lake.
Antauri looked at her, not noticing he began to stare at her beauty before clearing his throat.
"So does this lake have any magical properties?" He asked.
Willow thought about it.
"I don't know, I mean I think it did when I was little but now...I think I forgot about that." She said, touching the water.
Antauri sat next to her as a comfortable silence came over the two.
"It used to be able to heal, at least I think it did. It also had a crystal somewhere behind the waterfall...at least I think it's still there." Willow said, narrowing her eyes.
Antauri turned to her, paying attention.
"I don't remember what it did, but I remember if anyone took it bad things will happen." She continued.
Antauri nodded.
"It sounds really important."
Willow smiled.
"Yeah...there used to be a big tree here too that I would go to when I'm sad. Though, I think since I forgot about it..." She looked towards a large empty space near the lake.
Antauri noticed the sad look on her face and placed a hand on hers. Willow turned to him.
"If you believe in it, you can make a new one." He simply said.
Willow smiled and nodded. He was right.
They turned back to the lake, not noticing that a small tree was already starting to grow. One with light pink petals that symbolized the love between the two.
"So perhaps later when we go back we can work on practicing your powers a bit more." Antauri pointed out.
Willow nodded.
"That sounds good to me." She said.
The two continued to talk and enjoy themselves before they went home. The tree still continued to grow and at a much faster rate. There was something Willow could always go back to.
God damn it these two are too freaking cute. Anyway thanks for reading!