The witches and thief were led into the bridge of Achylls's ship. There they saw an effigy of a skeleton, his eyes covered with a weird, goop like substance. Akko gulped, figuring whatever that was, it was not good.
"Throughout all my years in this dreadful world, I have learned many religions. Something that is as recognizable such as Christianity or Judaism to something as obscure and hidden such as the nightsisters. But nothing calls closer to home than Voodoo, don't you girls agree?" Achyls asked, smiling an evil grin.
The girls did not answer as they watched in silent anger as Achyls talked. Achyls frowned when the girls did not respond. She walked towards Akko and ripped a piece of hair off of her head. Akko yelped in pain as a response, rubbing her head.
Walking back, Achyls dropped the hair into the skeleton's eyes. She then grabbed a knife and sliced her hand. Her hand bled red as she hovered over the mouth of the skeleton. Achyls waved her hands around as she was saying a spell in Latin. The skeleton glowed a dark red color, as streaks of dark light surrounded the room, hitting Akko.
Akko knelt down in pain, as she felt something was wrong. It was like swimming in a pool of gelatin as she felt herself submerging deeper into it. Diana and Lupin watched in horror as their friend was thrashing in pain.
"Akko, what's going on?" Diana asked, worried for her girlfriend.
"I…do…not…know," Akko said, as she was having a hard time breathing.
"Let the power consume you my young friend," Achyls said, as she watched with pleasure in her eyes.
Akko continued to fight whatever had a hold on her, as she struggled with this evil that is consuming her. Like an evil snake, it slithers across her body, taking hold of her. Lupin watched as he was thinking of a plan. He looked and saw the source of light streaks from the glowing skeleton. He freed himself from one of Achylls' guards and ran towards the skeleton. Pushing the skeleton away, Lupin broke the connection between the light and the young witch.
Lupin turned and saw Akko on the floor. Diana tried to comfort her girlfriend, but something was off. Lupin can sense it. Diana, even through her worriedness, could sense it. As Diana tried to comfort Akko, the Japanese witch began to laugh. The laugh was not one of happiness or cockiness but of something else. If it was described in a word, it was evil. Pure evil.
Diana, scared, backed up towards Lupin. "Akko, is that really you?" Diana asked, hoping that it is really her girlfriend in there.
Akko continued to laugh, her face looking down. Akko then looked towards her once friends and both Diana and Lupin gasped in horror and shock. Akko's face was contorted into something that was pure evil. Her face had a grin that sent shivers down her spine, while her eyes were filled with a black void.
Lupin turned to Acyhlls, anger in his eyes. "What the hell did you do?" he asked in anger.
"My friends, I just made your leader see the truth," Achylls said, as she walked towards Akko and proceeded to touch her hair, "She is now truly one of my kind."
Lupin was about to attack Achylls, but as he was about to, he felt a powerful push. He slammed against a wall, with Diana running after him. Diana checked if the thief was okay, as she was looking for any injuries.
"Are you okay, Lupin?" Diana asked.
"Yeah, just a scratch," Lupin said, with his eyes wincing in pain.
"Although I want to continue with playing with my new toy, work does come first," Achylls said.
"Akko is not your fucking toy," Diana cursed, as she was staring at Achylls, dagger in her eyes.
"That's cute of you to think that," Achylls said, "Akko, why not take your friends here to a cell, make them at home."
"As you wish, mistress," Akko said in a monotone voice.
Diana continued to stare at Achylls as she said, "Achylls, I do hope I will be seeing you burn in hell."
"That is only wishful thinking," Achylls laughed as Akko pushed her friends out of the room.
"Akko, please listen to me, this is not like you," Diana pleaded as she was being forced to the cell.
"Diana, I have found my calling, and if you do not want to join me, then you are my enemy," Akko said.
"Achylls is the enemy, you need to fight this kid," Lupin said.
"You will not speak ill of my mistress," Akko said.
Before the witch and thief could say anything, they saw Akko knelt down in pain. "D, Lupin, the skeleton was not the answered. Defeat the head in order to save the world. I am having trouble fighting this, so I will need your help," Akko said, in between her breaths, "Destroy the head and I will be free."
Akko's voice turned deep as she yelled back at herself, "Don't you even dare. This body is mine now. You must obey the mistress. We must obey the mistress," she yelled at herself.
Diana and Lupin watched with great intrest as Akko punched herself in the stomach. Akko then locked the cell door behind her and went back up to Achylls.
"I can't believe this. First Han, then Amanda, and now Akko. I just…I just wanna go back home. I do miss Luna Nova, and I do miss everyone there," Diana said, as she collapsed on the floor and went into a fetal postion.
"The game is not over yet," Lupin said, "We might still be able to rescue your friend. But we need to find a way to defeat Achylls."
"But how?" Diana asked.
"Well, we need to follow what your friend said," Lupin said.
"Destroy the head," Diana said, "We need to destroy Achylls."
"Exactly," Lupin said.
"Okay, first we need to find a way to escape," Diana said, as she examined the door.
"I don't think that will be a problem," Lupin said.
Diana stared at Lupin in confusion as she did not know what the thief meant. But she understood, once the door opened to reveal Hunter. Hunter looked at Diana and Lupin and saw there was no Akko.
"What happened to General Kagari?" Hunter asked.
"She has been compromised," Diana said, as she took out her secondary pistol and made sure she had enough bolts in it, "Achylls had done something to her and we need to rescue her."
"Copy, then we must hurry," Hunter said.
Lupin and Diana nodded as they followed Hunter through the halls of Achylls' ship. They ran into trouble as they had to battle their way through each hall that was surrounded by mercenaries. They were firing their weapons, as the witch, thief, and soldier was hiding behind cover.
The battle was fierce, as the guards were slowly overpowering our three heroes. As they were fighting, Diana's comm link buzz to life.
"Diana, this is Hannah, come in," Hannah voice rang out in the commlink.
"Diana here, oh am I so happy to hear your voice Hannah," Diana said, as she fired her blaster at the guards.
"Same to you, we heard from Hunter that you, Akko, and Lupin got captured," Hannah said.
"Yeah, Akko has been compromsied though. Some sort of weird magical ritual. She is not herself now. Achylls did something to her," Diana repeated.
"Shit. Barbara and her group are on the Shiny Chariot. Zenigata managed to bring in reinforcements and they will be accompany you here pretty soon. Just hold out a bit longer," Hannah said.
"That is the first good news I heard in a long time," Diana said, "What's the status on O'Neil?"
"She is stable right now. She made it through surgery and as of now, she is in recovery," Hannah said.
"Thank the force," Diana said, "We will continue our mission to stop Achylls. I have a feeling she will attack you and Amanda, so be prepared for that."
"I will, and Diana, make sure you give Achylls hell for us," Hannah said.
"I will, over and out, Hannah, and may the force be with all of us," Diana said.
"May the force be with us," Hannah said, as the comlink went dead.
Diana turned to Lupin and Hunter. "Cavalry will be coming shortly, we just need to hold on a bit longer," she said, as she fired her blaster.
"That will be a bit of an issue," Lupin said, as he fired his gun.
"Don't care, we need to stop Achylls before she makes Akko use the staff," Diana said.
"What's the plan, General?" Hunter asked.
"One person at a time will go in front. The two remaining will give covering until we are able to push them in our favor," Diana said.
"That sounds dangerous," Lupin said.
"Do you have any other plan?" Diana asked.
"Nope, your plan sounds fine by me," Lupin said, as a stray bullet almost hit him.
"Good, on my count give me covering fire," Diana said, "Now."
Diana ran behind a stack of crates as Lupin and Hunter gave covering fire. Once she reached the crates, she proceed to fire her weapon as Lupin moved in front of her. Lupin than accompany her as Hunter ran in front of him. Our small band of heroes slowly pushed the mercenaries out of the hall, into a bigger room.
Looking around, Diana saw this was a weapons room. The group managed to take out most of the mercenearies, as a few of them retreated back to a different room. Lupin and Hunter were about to run out to catch up to them, but Diana stopped them.
"Hold on," Diana said.
She walked towards one of the crates. Lupin and Hunter joined her as she opened it up. The crate was filled with weapons, most of them heavy blasters like the TL-51 repeating blasters and a few chainguns. It also consited of other blaster types such as the A280C blaster with an adjustable scope, the E11, and DC15. It also had a lot of thermal detontaors, and other grenades.
"Holy shit," Lupin said, with a smile.
"Yeah," Diana said, as she took out an A280C blaster, TL-51 repeating, and some grenades, "Take what you can."
Lupin and Hunter nodded as they took their own weapons and grenades. Lupin grabbed the TL-51 repeating blaster and a few grenades, while Hunter grabbed the DC15 blasters and two thermal detontaors.
"Now, let's go and rescue my girlfriend," Diana said.
"Achylls ship is in range," Echo said.
"Good," Barbara said, "Do you guys remeber the plan?"
"Yes ma'am, help give General Cavendish, Wolf, Hunter, and General Kagari some firing power," one of the Interpol agents said.
"That is correct, Achylls is our problem to deal with. She is powerful and someone you have to be careful with," Barbara said, "Echo, you and Zenigata will be leading the charge here. The rest of you guys, will be with me, regrouping with Alpha team."
"Yes, ma'am," everyone replied.
As they were approaching the ship, Zenigata looked out the window and saw stormy red clouds appearing around the ship. "Barbara, what is that?" he asked as he pointed out the window.
"Shit, it has already begun," Barbara said, "That is the corrupted power of the staff." She then reached for the commlink and buzzed it to life. "Diana can you read me?"
"I could read you," Diana replied.
"You need to hurry, it has already begun," Barbara replied, "We are near the ship to give you fire support, but you need to hurry."
"Copy," Diana said.
Reaching into another hallway, Diana felt Akko presence. The blonde witch stared as she saw her girlfriend standing in the middle of the hallway.
"Stand back you two, I am going to see if I can talk to her," Diana said.
The thief and clone did as they were told, as Diana walked towards Akko with caution. Akko just stared with those deep black eyes as an evil grin appeared on her face.
"Ahh, Ms. Cavendish, I see you want to join me in helping our mistress," Akko said.
"Akko, I know this not you. You need to fight it," Diana said.
"Not me? That's hilarious. This is me, I have become more powerful than you and your weak friends. Soon you will understand," Akko said.
"C'mon, Akko, this is not you. Whatever happened to believing in yourself is your magic?" Diana asked.
"Just mere childish obstacle," Akko said.
"Please don't let me hurt you, Akko," Diana cried out.
"And that is the problem. You let your silly attachments cloud your judgment. No wonder you weren't able to save your family name," Akko mocked.
"Fight it, Akko," Diana said, "Remember the love from your parents. From me. From yours friends and mentors. Remember who you truly are."
Diana watched as Akko's eyes went from the black voidless color to her normal red eyes.
"Diana?" Akko asked, her usual soft and child-like voice.
"No!" her evil voice shouted.
Akko fell on her knees as the internal battle of wits has begun. Her eyes changed from her usual red to the voidless black and vice versa.
"You can't win!" her evil side growled.
"I don't have to win," Akko said, as she pushed her evil side back, "I just have to make sure Achylls lose."
"But why, she gave you the power, the world," her evil side said.
"What can I do with that if I don't have my love ones with me?" Akko asked, as she reached for her wand.
"One in two, a Jeckyll and Hyde. Let them show now as two!" Akko chanted as her wand glowed.
The spell knocked Akko out on the floor. Diana ran towardss her girlfriend and saw that there was two. Lupin and Hunter caught up to the blonde witch and saw the issue that is at hand.
"Woah," one of the Akkos said as she looked at her doppleganger.
"How do we tell them apart?" Hunter asked.
"Um, I have an idea. Akkos?" Diana called out.
"Yes," both of the Akkos asked.
"Do you remember what I gave you that one snowy night, when you found out about Professor Urusla real identity?" Diana asked.
"How will I remember something as small as that," the Akko on the left said.
Diana took out her blaster and shot the imposter Akko. The real Akko winced as she saw her own dead body. "How did you know she was the evil one?" she asked.
"Because what I gave you wasn't small by any means. It was big and meaningful as it started our relationship," Diana said, as she held onto Akko's hand.
Akko looked into Diana's eyes as tears started to fall down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Diana, If only I was strong enough, I might of been able to prevent Achylls from controlling me," Akko started as she cried.
While she was apologizing, Diana gave Akko a long and passionate kiss, surprising her girlfriend. The two had a very passionate but short kiss, as magic began growing around them.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Akko. You were able to fight back and that is what it all matters," Diana said.
"But all those means things I said to you," Akko said.
"That wasn't you and I know it," Diana said.
"It just felt like I wasn't in control. It felt like I was watching a very distrubing movie," Akko said, looking down at her feet.
Diana put her finger on Akko's chin, raising it up. "But it is now over. We need to defeat Achylls."
Akko jumped a bit, "Um about that," Akko said.
"Yeah, Barbarba told me about the staff activating," Diana said.
"I am so sorry," Akko said.
"Again, it is not your fault. Right now, let's just make sure Achylls burn for the sins she have committed," Diana said.
Amanda was awoken by the disarray of nurses and doctors, running down the hall. Limping towards a window, she was joined by Hannah, who was staring out to a formation of red, storming clouds. The two witches watched as one of the nurses turned on the TV to the news network.
"No one knows where these strange phenomenons are coming from. Scientists believe that this is a once in a lifetime terrestrial experience that we will never get to see again," the news anchor announced.
Amanda looked at Hannah, as Hannah continued to watch the event that was unraveling from outside. "We need to make sure the patients is out of harm's way. Achylls will send a group down to finish us off, so we will need to be ready," Hannah said.
"I will let the doctors know," Amanda said as she limped her way towards the front desk.
Once Amanda arrived at the front desk, she watched as the nurses and the doctors were running around like chickens without heads. They were in a panic as the electricity was wavering in and out. Curses and prayers were heard from the nurses, as everyone, including visitors, feared for their life.
"What's…what's going on?" asked one of the patients.
"Mommy, I'm scared," a young boy said, in fear. Amanda saw the boy clinging to his mother.
"This is just a storm, it will pass," said an older patient.
Hannah joined up with Amanda, who was just staring with her heart aching for the innocent lives in this hospital. Amanda then turned to one of the doctors and grabbed his attention.
"Excuse me, sir," Amanda said, grabbing the doctor's attention.
"I'm sorry, miss, but right now I am a bit busy," the doctor said.
"I understand, but I have some really bad news to tell you," Amanda said.
"Go on," the doctor said.
"Well to put it lightly, I am afraid that it might be the end times for everyone. You see, my friend and I are very special and because of that this girl, whose name is Achylls, has ill intentions and is chasing us down. She ended up getting what she needed and proceeding with her plans to destroy humanity. The storm outside I guess is her plan of mass extinction," Amanda explained.
"Ma'am, that is a cute story, but I do not have time for this," the doctor said.
"Look, doc, she is telling the truth," Hannah said, backing Amanda's claims, "We are afraid that this girl is sending a group of terrible men to take care of us. Everyone in this building is in danger if we can not do anything."
"Look, you girls seem to be very kind and honest, but this is just a nice piece of fantasy you are telling right now," the doctor said.
Amanda, feeling frustrated, took out her wand and casted a spell that levitated the reception desk in mid air. Doctors, nurses, patients, visitors, everyone watched in shock and surprised to see what they were seeing. Magic is real, that is true, and these girls are responsible for it.
The doctor got out of his stupor as he asked the girls, "Ok, that is something you don't see everyday. What do you need of me?" the doctor asked.
"I need you and your nurses to bring everyone to a floor where they will be safe. These mercenaries are looking for two witches, that will be it. I do not want anyone to die for our cause," Amanda said.
"I will stay and fight for you," a police officer said.
"Me too," a young man said.
"If this Achylls lady plans to exterminate the human race, well, why not show her what us humans can do," said a mother.
Everyone murmured in agreement as Amanda and Hannah looked at each other. "Ok, to those who wish to stay and fight with us, then you may. Find something to fight with and stay in cover. The rest of you, go hide. To those who are able bodied, you will be the last line of defense between these Mercs and the hurt," Amanda said.
"The rest of you, we need to create a barricade," Hannah said, "Let's show Achylls what it means to be a human."
Everyone nodded as they all went to work. A few able bodied people helped move the patients who weren't able bodied to the second floor. Some of the teenagers that were there took the kids into hiding, watching them and comforting them. Police officers, some teenagers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends, everyone was staying in the lobby preparing for the defense of the hospital.
Akko, Diana, Lupin, and Hunter were running down the hall, firing their weapons towards the mercenaries. Red and blue blaster bolts were being fired from either side, as our heroes were hiding behind a wall.
"We need to find a way into the bridge,"Akko said.
"Echo, Barbara, do you guys copy?" Diana asked, reaching for her comns.
"We do copy," Echo answered.
"How far are you guys from the ship?" Diana asked.
"Not too far, but we are dealing with enemy fire out here," Echo answered, explosions were heard through the commns.
Diana looked at Akko, Hunter, and Lupin, as they were covering fire. "What if we create an opening for you guys?" Diana asked.
"How would you do that?" Echo asked.
"I will think of a way, just take out those turrets," Diana said.
"Copy, General," Echo said, as the comns went off.
Diana tapped onto Akko's arm, who did the same with Lupin and Hunter. "Change of plans, we need to create an opening for Echo to land the Shiny Chariot," Diana said.
"What do you have in mind, D?" Akko asked.
"We need to find a way to open up the cargo bay doors," Diana said.
Akko nodded as she said, "I will give you some covering fire."
Diana nodded as she turned and ran back towards the cargo bay doors. Hunter and Lupin followed the witch, as Akko was firing off her last bolts. They were running through the halls again, shooting down any of the mercenaries who were shooting at them. The battle was tight as each corridor spell doom for our small band of heroes.
The group finally made it to the cargo bay, where they were met with enemy fire. Akko, Diana, Hunter, and Lupin dive into cover as they are firing their weapons. Diana was looking around, trying to find a way to open the cargo doors. She was thinking through what they can do, and the blonde witch came up with an idea.
Grabbing her wand, she got Akko's attention and signaled her to do the same. Her girlfriend nodded as she took her wand out. Their wands glow an orange color as a stream of magic shoots out of the girls' wands. The stream caused the doors to the cargo bay to explode. The ship rocked violently from side to side, as the ship absorbed the explosion. There was a gaping hole in the ship as the large starship, known as the Shiny Chariot, came barrelling through the hole. Mercenaries were running away from the ship, with many of them being unlucky.
The ramp was lowered as blaster bolts and bullets were flying through the sky. The clones, in their gray armor and white patterns, ran down the ramp with Barbara, Constanze, and Lotte leading the charge. Lines and lines of ICPO agents were running down the ramp, rifles and pistols in hands. Joining them was Zenigata, Fujiko, and Jigen, as Goemon jumped forward, his blade out.
The room was filled with chaos as our heroes managed to push the mercenaries back. Akko, Diana, Hunter, and Lupin regrouped with the rest of the group.
"Thank the nine witches you guys came in," Diana said, "We didn't know if we were able to fend them off any longer."
"Yeah, we just came in the nick of time. It seems that Achylls has already started the process of the Staff," Barbara said.
"She is locked up there pretty well and security seems tight," Akko said.
"We can take care of security, you girls need to figure out a way to stop Achylls," Lupin said.
The girls nodded in agreement as they led the group towards the bridge. Reaching the bridge, Hunter led the Interpol agents, thieves, Zenigata, and the rest of the Bad Batch towards the hallway, firing their weapons at the enemy. Going behind cover, the group managed to give the witches covering fire, as they examined the door, finding a way into the bridge.
"We need to find a way to get this door opened," Diana said, as she examined the door, "Do we have any explosives?"
Barbara, Constanze, and Lotte looked into their bags and saw the only explosives they had were grenades. They shook their heads, as they say, "We don't have anything to blow this door open."
Akko and Diana were thinking for a bit as the Japanese witch glanced towards one of the clones. Smiling, Akko ran towards Wrecker, firing her weapons at the robed mercenaries. Sliding behind a crate, Akko grabbed her second pistol, dual wielding it.
"Hey Wrecker, we might need your assistance with something," Akko said, as she fired her weapons.
"What do you need, kid?" Wrecker asked.
"We need a way to open up the door to the bridge," Akko said.
Wrecker just laughed as he got up from his spot and started charging towards the door. Running back to her friends, Akko just laughed and said, "That's one way to open the door."
The group walked inside, weapons in hand. They walked in carefully, watching their step, and looking around. The room was filled with smoke and debris, with the consoles and the staff lighting a sinister red hue.
As they walked, they felt the wind push against them, as Wrecker flew past them, collapsing on the ground unconscious. The witches dodged out of the way, as they turned their attention to Achylls, who looked unhappy.
"Do you witches know how much you have been a thorn to my side?" Achylls growled, her eyes glowing red with anger.
"Oh, cry me a river," Barbara said, getting tired of Achylls antics.
"You know your attempts are futile. The corrupted magic is already working its way through the world. The first thing I will do is take care of your pests of friends and then I will destroy these non magical human beings you are so brave to protect. Then I can shape this world into my ideal paradise," Achylls said.
"We are the Witching Guardians, protectors of peace and justice. We will fight till the end for the normal beings and make sure you will burn in hell," Akko announced proudly.
"I would like to see you try," Achylls said, smiling.
The moment was tense as the witches gripped their blasters tightly and Achylls had her hand over her gun. They were both staring at each other, waiting for the first to make a move. Seconds began to dwindle down, until Achylls reached for her gun, but was shot in the hand by Diana.
"Cute," Achylls said, as she threw a dagger towards the witches.
The witches dodged it, firing their blasters at the being. "Barbara, you, Constanze, and Lotte check if Wrecker is okay and then figure a way to undo the magic the staff is producing," Diana ordered.
"Yes ma'am," they both said, as they made their way to Wrecker.
They checked if the big clone was still breathing, which he was, but faintly. The man was alive, just knocked unconscious. Barbara used the force to move the clone away from the danger zone. Once he was clear, they turned their attention to the staff, wondering what they are going to do.
Amanda and Hannah both watched the sky, seeing the battle that was taking place. They both had a bad feeling in their gut, as they saw the sky turning a blood red.
"Amanda," Hannah said.
"Yeah," Amanda said.
"I…I do hope we survive this," Hannah said, with a lump in her throat.
"Me too," Amanda said.
They change the focus to the outside as they saw an army of what seems to be deadmen with blasters approaching the hospital. The witches' eyes grew wide as they realized that this will be their final stand. The people who were fighting were given weapons they could fight with. Guns they found in the security office, small knives, fire extinguisher, anything they can hold. Amanda and Hannah walked towards some cover, as they made a quick prayer to the nine witches.
"Alright, we have what seems to be the night of the living dead," Amanda shouted, "People with guns, you will be protecting the line. The rest of you, will be following me and Hannah into battles. Aim for their heads and make sure they go down hard. Don't let them through these doors. And may god and the nine witches save us all."
Everyone waited with anticipation as the deafening sound of footsteps were heard. Amanda and Hannah drew both of their blaster pistols and proceeded to lead the defense of the hospital, taking their first shots at the undead mercenaries.
The shots landed on a few of the mercenaries who fell to the ground. The witches smiled, but their faces dropped as more enemies walked over their fallen comrades. Amanda and Hannah grabbed their wands, with one hand being used for the blasters and the other being used for the wands. Without saying a word, the witches' wands transformed into lightsabers, as they raised it up in the air.
The civilians watched in awe as the witches charged towards the living dead. The dead soldiers fired their weapons, as Amanda and Hannah fought them off one by one. The civilians were shaken out of their stupor as some of them fired their guns while the others joined in the fight.
The fighting was fierce, as Hannah and Amanda were slicing away at the dead soldiers. This was the witches' first time using lightsabers, so their fighting style was very amateur and choppy. But it did not stop the witches, as they managed to take down the soldiers one by one.
"There are too many of them," Hannah said.
"We will fight till the end, Han," Amanda said, as she fired her blaster towards one of the soldiers.
Hannah punched one of the dead soldiers face, stunning him. The civilians were fighting with the witches, trying to gain the upper hand. They were using whatever they could, in order to fend off the soldiers.
Amanda looked around and saw some of the soldiers overtaking a few of the civilians. Dashing and slicing her way through the crowd of the undead, Amanda managed to free some of the civilians, placing them in back of her. More dead soldiers were coming towards the defenders.
Amanda realized that they would be overpowered if they keep at it any longer.
"Retreat back to the hospital! Bring the barricades down!" Amanda shouted.
Amanda and Hannah gave covering fire to the civilians as the rest of the defenders ran back to the hospital. One of the defenders, the mother, fell on the ground, as the group was running back into the hospital. Hannah saw this as she ran towards the mother and defended her. The security guard helped the mother up, as they both ran towards the hospital.
Amanda and Hannah were the last people to retreat back, as they were backing up towards the door leading to the hospital. They were firing their blasters with one hand and doing their best to deflect the bullets with the other hand.
As they reached the door, the witches reached for a thermal detonator from their waist. Arming it, they both looked at each other and nodded. They threw the thermal detonator, blowing some of the dead soldiers up. The witches ran inside the hospital, with a few of the civilians closing the door and barricading it behind them.
Both of the witches were out of breath as they were thinking of a plan, quickly. "This is going to be more difficult than I thought," Amanda said in between her breaths.
"Is everyone okay?" Hannah asked.
"Just scratches and bruises, although Jimmy was shot in the arm. Nothing too bad though, just needed to be bandaged," the security guard answered.
"Make sure his wounds get treated," Amanda said.
One of the patients, a middle aged biker named Joey, was looking at the window. He was surprised to see the dead soldiers just stopped moving. He had a very bad feeling, as if the undead was waiting for their prey to come out.
"Hey, you witches should take a look at this," Joey said.
Amanda and Hannah walked over, with confusion plastered on their faces. Looking out the window, the girls saw the zombies just staring at them, coldly, with weapons brought up to a firing position. Something was stopping them for sure, but the witches had a huge knot in their stomachs.
"They are waiting for us to make a move," Hannah said.
"It's suicide attacking them head on. So, we need to outsmart them, somehow," Amanda said.
"We can get to higher ground and attack from there," the security guard, Larry, offered.
"There will be a lot of them and once you attack, they will try to find a way to flank you guys," Amanda said, "I will go with you, just in case they will try to counter us."
"I will stay behind and hold the line. We need to prevent them from gaining control of the lobby," Barbara said.
Amanda nodded, as she gave her friend a tight hug and a kiss. "You better stay safe, and may the force and the nine witches be with you," she said.
"You as well, now go," Hannah said.
Amanda lead her team towards the roof as Hannah and a small group of the defending civilians stayed behind. Hannah checked her explosives and saw she had some mines. She decided to place the mines behind the barricaded door, as her team hid behind desks and chairs, silently praying to themselves. Hannah ran back to join them, waiting for the next phase of the grueling defense.
Akko crashed through a console, as Achylls force pushed her out of the way. Diana ran to the front of her girlfriend, getting into a fighting position. Achylls just laughed, as she used the force to reach for her lightsaber. She ignited it, as a black blade glowed darkly in the room. Akko came to, as she slowly got up.
Looking at the lightsaber, both Diana and Akko gulped in fear, as they stared at the laser sword. The witches reached for their wands, as they conjured makeshift lightsabers, made of pure white magic. The color of the blade was a mixture of white, to resemble the purity and goodness of their souls, and blue, to resemble their ally of the force and magic. The magical sabers, were not as much plasmas, but magic that was solidified to be blades.
"See you little witches got yourselves a saber," Achylls mocked.
"Surrender now Achylls and we will give you mercy," Diana said.
"That's cute," Achylls said, as she charged at the two witches.
Diana managed to parry the attack, as Akko strikes against Achylls. The corrupted witch moved out of the way, as Akko fell. Although Diana had practiced with swords before, being a fencing champion, Akko was more of an amateur, using her strength first. The three witches dueled, moving along the bridge. Achylls was toying with the young generals, as Diana and Akko went on the offensive.
The duel was like a dance of death, with the young witches using their blades like cutlasses to Achylls' longer saber. Achylls countered another strike made by Diana, as she started attacking the two generals. The fighting was very fluid, almost like they were dancing. Achylls brought her hand forward and pushed Akko out of the window, breaking it, and towards the surface of the ship. The outside was a mix of lighting and rain, as Akko was trying to get a footing onto the surface.
"Akko!" Diana shouted, distracted for a moment.
Diana, Lotte, and Barbara watched as Akko lost her grip, as she slipped and fell off of the ship. But hope wasn't lost, as she was able to grab hold of a piece of cable.
"I guess not all witches can fly," Achylls said, laughing.
Diana turned, her eyes turning yellow. She seethed with anger, as she used her sword to strike hard against Achylls. Achylls managed to parry the attack, albeit not as fast, as she smiled in delight. Diana and Achylls continued their fight, as they moved from the bridge towards the broken glass of the surface of the starship.
The two were battling it out, blue against black clashing together. The fight was not only to see who comes out on top, but one of good versus evil. Diana reached out to the force, as she hoped it can give her some strength to defeat this monster. The blade felt like it was getting heavier for Diana, as she slowly lost her stamina. Achylls managed to get her blade locked with Diana's blade, as the two started to glow a blinding white hue.
Diana was slowly losing hope, as she started to fall on one knee, still bracing the saber. As Achylls' blade slowly reached her body, Diana closed her eyes accepting her fate. If she dies, at least she died fighting.
"Miss me, Achylls," a voice ranged out, as Diana opened her eyes.
She saw Akko, swinging from the cable towards Achylls. The Japanese general kicked the corrupted guardian away from Diana. Achylls skidded across the surface of the ship. She managed to get her footing as Akko landed on top of the ship, her feet planted to it. The Japanese witch ignited her wand up again.
The two witches charged towards Achylls, fighting to the death. They continued their dance of death, as they made their way across to the front of the ship. Akko on one side and Diana on the other side of Achylls, as the corrupted guardian was fighting on both sides. The sounds of their lightsabers ranged through their ears.
"Why do you witches not see the good I am bringing forth to humanity?" Achylls shouted.
"Because, you want to kill it," Akko said.
"So what, we are gods, they pray to us," Achylls said.
"We are neither gods nor conquerors. We are protectors, we are the Guardians of Time and Space. We protect those who need protecting, save those who need saving," Diana said, her eyes returning to its normal color.
"If you want to save these pathetic lives, then you can die just like these mortals," Achylls said, bringing her blade in front of her.
"You first," Akko said.
The witches attacks Achylls, as they continued their duel. Lightning is hitting the surface of the ship, making the battlefield very dangerous. But with grace, the trio manage to avoid the lightning.
As the duel continues, Barbara, Constanze, and Lotte was trying to find a way to grab the Staff. The Staff was in a stasis of some sort, floating in the air. They both look over it, trying to think of a plan.
"I have a plan. Remember book 79 of Knightfall?" Lotte asked.
"Isn't that the one where Edgar and Annabel had to stop that evil sorceress?" Barbara asked.
"Yeah, and remember how they were able to do that?" Lotte asked.
"Yeah, they had to team up with Arthur, one of the few times they did, and chanted out a spell, using all of their strength to remove the enchantment," Barbara said, "Which means…."
Barbara runs up to Wrecker, as he slowly gets up. "Wrecker, we need your help with the staff," Barbara said.
"Sure kid, what do you need me to do?" Wrecker asked.
"Just hold our hands and copy what we say," Lotte said.
Wrecker nodded as they ran back to the staff. Barbara, Constanze, Lotte, and Wrecker formed a triangle, as the witches started a chant. Wrecker followed what they were doing, copying each word verbatim.
"Hoc virgam tolle corruptionem, et lapsorum corda repone," the trio chanted, over and over again.
The Staff started to lose its red glow, as it slowly faded out. The magic flowed through the Staff as white and blue waves washed out. The witches and clone felt the magic of the staff as it was undoing the corruption that Achylls had formed. Clouds were clearing up, as the sky turned blue again.
Achylls looks up and saw her spell and charms were getting destroyed. Anger fueled her as she release a powerful force blast, knocking Diana and Akko on their feet, throwing them across the ship.
"I have had it with you witches ruining my plans for the last time," Achylls said, as she held her arm up.
Both Akko and Diana begin floating in the air, feeling their throats closing up. Out of habit, the witches were using their hand to free themselves from an imagery noose but it was to no use. Lights begin to fade for them both, as they continue to struggle. As the witches felt like this was the end, they heard a blaster going off. Akko and Diana hit the floor hard, as they try to gasp for air. Akko looked towards the source and saw that Constanze fired her pistol at Achylls.
Achylls was wounded from the shot, but not dead. "It's time to end this now," Akko said, as she charged towards Achylls, who was caught by surprise.
Akko tackled Achylls down, as they were tumbling down from the ship. They landed onto a flat surface of the ship, as Akko punched Achylls till she was a bloody pulp. Left, right, left, right, Akko used all of her strength to beat the powerful being down.
Achylls tasted silver and was surprised to see the sight of her blood. Achylls tried to choke Akko out, but Akko got the better of her as she wraps a loose cable from the ship around Achylls neck. In a blind fury for everything that Achylls has done, Akko began choking her out with the cable. The cable was tightly around Achylls' neck.
Achylls tries to fight back against the witch, but Akko didn't give her the chance as she proceed to kick her, causing the once powerful being to slide off the ship. The cable began to slack as it slowly fell off the ship. The cable tightens with tension, breaking Achllys' neck, killing her.
The Battle of the Hospital was tough and arduous, as the undead managed to break through the entrance of the hospital. Even though Amanda and her team managed to take a good chunk of the undead army, there were a few lucky soldiers who managed to break through the entrance.
Once the mine activated, there was a large explosion decimating a good chunk of the army, there were waves and waves of soldiers coming in, firing their weapons. A few of the volunteers were caught in the crosshair, as they lay on the floor bleeding. Hannah grabbed her wand and managed to pull them out of the way of danger.
Once the young red hair witch checked on the volunteers, patching them up, she led a counterattack, as she and the rest of the volunteers charged forwards with all of their strengths. The battle was fierce and deadly and some of the volunteers had a few near death experiences.
What felt like hours was merely thirty minutes as the army of the dead started to freeze and burst into ash.
"What the hell just happened?" the security guard asked.
"I…I think we just won," Hannah said out of breath, as she walked out of the hospital looking up in the sky.
Everyone else followed behind as they saw the beautiful blue sky, with a large ship soaring through the sky. The volunteers all cheer at the victory they have earned. Golden sparkles fell down from the sky, as if blessing the world into a better future.
Hannah reached down to her comm link and spoke into it, "Amanda, you seeing this?"
"Yeah, I am. I can't believe it, we…we won," Amanda said.
Amanda looked up and saw a large ship landing on the street in front of the hospital. Amanda made her way down the stairs, towards the first floor, and met up with Hannah. They both watched as the ship was landing, seeing the corpse of Achylls hanging off of the ship.
The platform lowered as the witches watched as people walked down the ramp. First were Achylls' men with their hands raised. Next were the Interpol agents, lead by Zenigata, after them were Lupin and his gang, then the Bad Batch, and lastly their friends. As they walked they down the ramp, the witches looks up and saw Amanda and Hannah standing there.
Smiles grew on their faces as Akko, Diana, Lotte, Constanze, and Barbara ran toward Amanda and Hannah hugging them tightly. Joyful tears were forming in their eyes as they cried into each other's arms. They were relieved that it was finally over, everyone is safe and Achylls is dead. The witches watched as the prisoners were being put in Interpol trucks, as they were being shipped off to prison
