Hello to all again, as we're back with another chapter. It's the beginning of the end now, and what better way to start it than with a chapter to set things up before the final battle.
Oh yeah, sorry about the over month long wait, I just have been struggling to get the motivation to do these because of school and other life problems, as well as trying to come up with ideas for these chapters.
Chapter 27: Gathering An Army
The moment had finally arrived. After many temples, trials, and friendship changing events, Molly had finally become the newest Ice Princess. After the event ended, the group had a meeting at a round table in the training building.
"I still can't believe you're a princess Molly!"
"Yeah, I still can't believe it either. It feels like a new extension of myself, like I gained some sort of deity status," Molly said, still surprised by her new role.
"And you better take good care of this new status, Molly. Being an Ice Princess is no easy task," Glacia said as she and Lady Snowa entered the room.
"Don't worry Ms. Glacia, I'll do my best," Molly assured her.
"That's wonderful. Now then, Princess Molly, you said the first thing we should do is gather an army, correct?" Glacia asked Molly.
"Yep, although I'm not sure how big of an army we're going to need," Molly said.
"If you're going to face my father, then you're gonna need a pretty big army," Alana spoke out.
"She's right. My dad's army is no joke, especially when he needs to do his ultimate plan," Cryo added. Everyone was confused on what Cryo meant.
"What do you mean Cryo?" Zooli asked him.
"Pyros's true plan is a full-world invasion, using his power and army to take over the entire world, and he starts tomorrow," Cryo explained his father's true plans, shocking everyone.
"The entire world?!" Molly said.
"Yes, he's been planning this since the day he broke out of his cell, and he could've done it from the very beginning," Cryo told them.
"How so?"
"He was able to kill all of you from the very beginning, even at the barrier when you first arrived," Cryo explained.
"Wait, but he told us couldn't break through that barrier," Goby said.
"Yeah, he was lying. My father could've easily broken through that barrier and ended all of you, but he didn't, because he wanted to see if you all were really a threat, especially her," Alana said, pointing to Molly.
"M-Me?" The new princess said.
"Yep. He told me that he wanted to see if you were really capable of facing him, so he let you and your friends go. But now he knows you have the potential, so he's going on with his plan of world domination," Alana explained.
"Do you think we have enough people to take him on?" Molly asked the older guppy.
"No, not even close," she immediately answered. Everyone was shocked by this.
"Well now what do we do?" Deema wondered.
"We'll never be ready by tomorrow!" Gil told Molly. The new princess was having a rough time processing this.
"How will we get enough people to take Pyros on?" people were blurting out.
"I don't know! We may have to go search for places to recruit people. Does anyone know any good places where we can find people?" Molly asked everyone. The group thought of good places to search.
"Ooh! I know one!" It was Oona who called out to everyone.
"What is it Oona?" Molly asked her friend.
"So…do you all remember when Deema got stung by that bee, and I went to Thunder Mountain?" Oona asked everyone.
"Don't remind me…" Deema responded, still disturbed by those events.
"Well, while I was up there, I ran into a group of people who I think may be able to help us, but I'll have to go alone," Oona explained.
"That's great! How about everyone else?" Molly said. Nelly and Cryo both raised their hands slightly.
"There's a ton of people at my old home who could help us, but they're still prisoners," Nelly explained.
"And while I was up in the mountains, I saw a huge labor camp with loads of people who would give us a huge boost," Cryo told them. Molly thought about this information, coming up with a plan.
"Alright, I have a plan," Molly said. Everyone gathered close to hear her idea.
"Zooli, Cryo, and Alana, you three can go up the mountains to help free the people from that labor camp," Molly told the three.
"We got this, right Cryo?" Zooli asked Cryo.
"Oh..uh, y-yeah!" He nervously answered. Alana nodded.
"Nonny and Deema, you two go with Nelly to her hometown to help save everyone there. Oona will be going with you too so that you can drop her off at Thunder Mountain," Molly said. "Meanwhile, Goby, Gilly, and the rest of us will stay here to try and come up with a plan. Everyone clear?" Everyone nodded their heads.
"If you need time to change or prepare, I suggest you do that now, no matter how long it takes," Molly said. Everyone left to change and/or prepare.
"Hey Oona, does Molly seem more confident than before?" Deema asked Oona.
"Well, I guess she does seem a little bit more confident than usual, but I like it. I missed this Molly," Oona said.
"Yeah I guess that's fair," Deema responded.
A little while passed, and soon everyone was ready, but we will focus on a conversation between two guppy girls. Deema came out of her room, all cleaned up, and her hair sparkling.
"Yo Oona! Ya done yet girl?" Deema called out to her friend.
"Almost done!" Oona shouted from inside. She left the room, wearing her outfit she wore while up at Thunder Mountain. She also had her mask, and her hair was similar to Zooli's.
"How do I look?" She asked Deema, who was dumbfounded at her look.
"You look cute, but doesn't that seem a bit too…revealing?" Deema asked the purple-haired girl.
"Believe me, I said the same thing, but it's necessary for where I'm going," Oona told her.
"Wait a minute!" Deema said. She ran into Oona's room, confusing her.
"H-Hey, what are you doing?" Oona called to Deema. Deema appeared again, holding Oona's katana.
"Don't forget this, you may need it!" Deema told her, but was confused to see Oona staring at the sword in a terrified look.
"Hey, you okay? You look like you just killed someone-ohhhh," Deema realized why Oona looked so scared. "You still remember that day, huh?" Oona nodded her head.
"Look, I know you don't like what happened, but it's a good idea to have this on hand. You may need it for self defense," Deema said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Oona took the sword, but with some hesitancy at first. After they left their rooms, everyone met outside for one last meeting before they each leave.
"Alright, so everyone knows where they're going?" Molly asked the guppies, who all nodded their heads.
"Alrighty then, good luck!" Molly said, waving as the two groups left. Everyone else waved goodbye too.
"Hey Molly, what was it we're supposed to do again?" Gil ask the young guppy.
"Yeah, you never really gave a good explanation of what we're doing," Goby added.
"Well, I'm gonna need some help getting the townsfolk ready for the war tomorrow. Could you two help me with that?" Molly asked the two boys.
"Sure, we'll help!"
"Yeah, how hard can it be?"
At Thunder Mountain, the group of Deema, Nonny, Nelly, and Oona arrive to drop Oona off. As she gets off Snowy, she stared at the mountain she once came to before, remembering the tribe she met down there.
"You sure you'll be okay Oona?" Deema asked her.
"I'll be fine, you guys go do your job," Oona told them, smiling.
Just be safe," Deema told her. They soon left her, leaving Oona alone to climb the mountain by herself. As she climbed to the cave she found them in, she thought about if they would recognize her still, or if they're still alive.
"I hope they're still there, or else things are going to go very wrong," Oona said to herself. Eventually, she reached the cave she got "kidnapped" in. There, she found a stone door.
"Huh, I don't remember this being here before," she said. Oona knocked on the door, and awaited for an answer. Just when it seemed no one was answering, Oona heard the door open, as two adult guppies, one male and other female appeared, but luckily, Oona recognized them.
"Guys!" Oona shouted, running to hug them, but they held swords at her.
"Who are you?" The male one said. Oona was confused at them not recognizing her.
"Wha-What? Guys, it's me, Oona!" Oona tried to tell them.
"Never heard of you, now what do you want?" The other one said. At that point, Oona gave up, and sighed.
"Nothing, I'll leave you both be," she said in sorrow, swimming away, but the two stopped her.
"Hey, we're just joking with you girl!" Ballem said.
"Yeah, coursed we recognized ya!" Heather said. Relieved and excited, Oona immediately ran to hug the two.
"So, what brings you back here Oona?" Heather asked the girl.
"Well, it's kind of a long story. Can I come in and explain it?" Oona asked the two.
"Of course you can. Oh and you don't need the mask anymore, the chief said we didn't need to wear them 24/7 anymore," Ballem said.
As the two took Oona inside, she explained to them everything that had happened since they last saw each other, from the temple fights, to Oona being controlled, to Molly becoming the Ice Princess.
"And that's why I'm here," she finished explaining.
"I see, so you came here to see if we would help you defeat the Fire Lord?" Ballem asked Oona, to which she nodded her head.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Well, you're going to have to ask the chief, and he's no easy guy to convince," Ballem told her.
"Well, I'll take those chances. Take me to this chief of yours," Oona demanded. Heather and Ballem complied with the pig-tailed guppy. They soon arrived at a large tent-like structure, which housed several groups of different people.
"Chief Berg, you have a visitor," Heather told the chief. Oona presented herself to him.
"Ah, I remember you. You're that young lad who needed the Frozen Orange," Chief Berg said, remembering when Oona first came there to get the Frozen Orange to save Deema.
"Um..hi…uh, I'm actually here for a different reason this time," Oona said.
"And what might that reason be?" Berg wondered.
"Well, my friend Molly recently became the Ice Princess, and said that we needed a bigger army to face Pyros. So I was hoping that you and your army would be able to join us so we can defeat him," Oona proposed to the chief. He thought about it for a few seconds.
"I don't know, how do I know you're not lying to me?" Chief Berg asked Oona.
"Wh-What? I'm not lying to you sir! One of his assassins cut a piece of my tail off, and now it's a prosthetic," Oona said, banging her fist on her lower tail, making a metal-like noise.
"Okay, so you might be telling the truth, but I'll need some further consideration," he said.
"L-Like what?"
"Is that a katana you have back there, young lad?" Berg asked Oona, pointing to her katana blade.
"Um..yes, it is. Why do you ask?" Oona asked the chief, confused. He chuckled to himself.
"Alright then, how about this? You face me in a 1 on 1 sword fight. If you win, I'll allow my tribe to join your resistance army. But if I win, you have to stay here with us for the rest of your life," Chief Berg proposed.
"Wh-WHAT?! I have to stay here forever?!" Oona was concerned now. If she lost, she couldn't leave and see the others again. She was starting to get nervous now
"Do we have a deal?" Chief Berg asked her, holding out his hand. Oona was hesitant, as knowing the consequences were very dire. However, she was determined to do this, and shook his hand.
"Deal."
"Good, now follow me to our arena," Berg told her.
"Oona, are you sure you're okay with this? You know you can't leave if you lose, right?" Heather reminded her.
"I'm sure. I can't let my friends down again," Oona said.
The arena had arrived. It was a small one, with no gates or fences as borders. There was a crowd of tribe members ready to watch the fight, cheering for both combatants.
"Now, are you sure you can take me on, young lad?" Berg tried to scare her again, but Oona didn't budge.
"Oh I'm sure," Oona said confidently. A bell rang, beginning the battle. Oona wasn't ready for Berg's speed, despite his size, but she managed to parry his sword attacks with hers. She used the metal part of her tail to deliver a kick to Berg's tail, making him groan in pain due to the force. Oona used this moment to try and attack him, but Berg only used on hand with his sword to block her attacks, but Oona had a small trick. She did a spin slash with her sword near his tail, making Berg jump back. Oona used this to deliver a sword slash, but it barely missed.
"Not bad, young lad. You clearly have skill with the blade," Berg complimented her.
"Thanks, you're pretty good too," Oona responded. Berg attacked again, and so did Oona, but her smaller size allowed her to dodge better, as well as move faster to strike quicker, something Chief Berg couldn't exploit. But what he lacked in speed, he made up for in reflexes, blocking Oona's attacks one after the other. However, he sensed something was off about her. As Oona attacked again, he blocked it, but noticed that she slowed down her attack right as she got close.
"You're holding back, aren't you?" Berg asked Oona.
"H-Huh?" Oona was confused.
"Your attacks. You're slowing down as you get near me. I sense something is wrong, right?" the chief told Oona. Oona got nervous.
"N-No, I'm fine, totally fine," Oona said.
"Then stop holding back and fight me!" Berg commanded her.
"Fine!" Oona shouted. As the chief went to attack, Oona swiftly swam forward and used her sword to launch Berg's sword away from him, making him fall down, to where she held her sword at his neck.
"Game over," Oona said. But Berg knew something about her.
"Oh, what's next, you'll kill me?" Berg said with a smirk. Oona stopped, remembering what happened from a while ago. She started breathing heavily.
"No.. nononono…" Oona was getting flashbacks to when she was mind controlled to kill. Berg used this to trip her and hold her own sword at her neck. Everyone gasped at what happened.
"Do you have something else? Or do you give up?" Berg asked her.
"I…I….I give up," Oona said. The whole crowd gasped in shock.
"I'm sorry, I just…I just….couldn't control myself again, and now…now I let everyone down," Oona began to cry at the fact that she lost, but Berg had something else for her.
"You've had some painful experiences, haven't you?" Berg asked her.
"Why do you care?" Oona wondered.
"Young lad, you don't need to be afraid of the sword. Tell me, why are you afraid?" Chief Berg said to Oona. She sniffled and wiped her tears.
"One of Pyros's group used me to kill innocent people, and I couldn't do anything about it. And when I broke free, I killed the man who did it without hesitation, and…and…I hate myself for that!" Oona explained. Berg took this seriously, but smiled.
"Say, what was your name again, young lad?" Berg asked her.
"O-Oona."
"Well, Oona, you don't need to be afraid. What YOU do with the the blade determines and shows who you are, and that anyone who uses you with the blade only shows what they are. Even master swordsmen like me make mistakes with the sword, but that only teaches us that we can improve and get stronger. I want you to think about that, and use your blade for what you think is good," Berg explained to Oona.
'O-Okay, I will, but I lost right? So that means I have to stay here now," Oona was upset.
"Oh yeah, about that, I lied!" Berg said, laughing to himself, yet shocking everyone.
"Pardon?" Oona was confused.
"I knew you were telling the truth the entire time young lad. I just wanted to see if you were really up for the fight, and you've shown me, even with your flaws, that you have the kindness, courage, and pride of a true warrior," Berg explained.
"So…does that mean?"
"Yes, we will join your army, but also because you were the first real challenge I've had in 200 years!" Berg said, laughing again.
"Wait what?! You're 200 years old?!" Oona was bewildered at his age, despite him looking young still.
"That's a story for another time. Now then, bring us to this base of yours," Berg said to Oona.
Meanwhile, Nonny, Nelly and Deema reached Nelly's hometown, where there were guards everywhere.
"Aw great, how are we gonna get past them?" Deema wondered.
"You two stay here, I got this?" Nelly said. Deema and Nonny looked at each other.
"Uh Nelly, are you sure?" Nonny questioned her.
"I'm sure big bro, cmon Snowy!" Nelly said. The large cat roared as the two ran in, while Deema and Nonny stayed behind.
"What do you think she's gonna do?" Deema asked Nonny.
"I'm not sure. We'll just have to wait and see," he responded. Suddenly, they heard shouting and screaming, along with several loud roars.
"What's that?" Nonny wondered.
"I dunno, sounds like they're at the guards," Deema said, When they looked, they saw things I probably should describe or say, but let's just say Nelly and Snowy make a deadly pair together. Nonny was shocked and surprised, while Deema was about to puke. Nelly then returned with the rest of the inhabitants.
"See, I told you," Nelly said.
"Thank goodness you're looking after her, Nonners, cause you are a crazy little one," Deema said.
"So how'd it go?"
"I got to convince them to join us!" Nelly happily said.
"Yeah!"
"We want to take back our home!"
"Also her pet would growl at us if we said no!"
"Works for me, let's go!" Deema shouted.
About 2 hours had passed, and we come back to BlizzardTucky, where the three remaining guppies are sitting down, exhausted from their task.
"Man, you weren't kidding, those people are tough to convince!" Goby said.
"Yeah, I felt like I was about to go crazy," Gil added.
"Yeah, but I'm glad we finally convinced them to help us, even after all we did. Now we just have to wait for the others to get back, and-" Molly was stopped by someone calling for them.
"Hey, I'm back!" It was Oona with the tribe members.
"Wow, she was not kidding," Gil remarked. Molly jumped down to her.
"Everyone, this is my friend Molly. She's the new Ice Princess I was talking about," Oona introduced Molly to everyone. "Molly, this is Chief Berg. He and his group are going to help us!" Oona said.
"Nice to meet you!" Molly greeted them.
"The pleasure is all mine, Princess," Chief Berg said. Soon after, Deema, Nonny, and Nelly arrived.
"We're back!" Deema said in dramatic fashion.
"Woah, that's a lot of people," Molly said.
"Yes, her home was holding a bunch of people, but we rescued them," Nonny said.
"Mind if I ask why Nelly is covered in blood?" Goby wondered.
"You don't wanna know," Deema said, disturbed.
"She's right," Nonny added.
"Hey! Not fair!" Nelly shouted, upset. Everyone laughed.
"So I guess that just leaves Zooli, Cryo, and Alana left, right?" Gil asked Molly.
"Yeah, but I don't know where they are," Molly said. Soon after, the third group finally returned, but a bit burnt up.
"Woah, what happened to you guys," Deema asked them.
"We uh…may have had some trouble with our task," Zooli said, chuckling.
"Yeah, I didn't think it would be that tough, but we managed to free everyone and convince them to join us," Cryo said.
"I did all the work. You guys got owned and almost killed, so I had to step in to free everyone," Alana said.
"Sis really?" Cryo said, annoyed, to which everyone chuckled.
"So, do you think this is enough people to face your dad?" Molly asked the siblings. Alana looked around at everyone gathered to fight, from the townsfolk to the tribe members to the prisoners.
"No," she said.
"Excuse me?"
"It's not enough. Just shy, but not enough to defeat his army. I'm sorry," Alana said.
"Oh come on, we went through all that just for nothing!" Deema shouted.
"Don't worry Deema, we'll think of something, right Molly?" Gil asked Molly, but she stood there silently. "Molly?"
"I'll be right back," Molly said deeply as she swam inside.
Molly sat in the meeting room, alone and all quiet. She kept thinking about Alana saying that even all that wasn't enough to take on Pyros. She was upset, and punched the wall, cracking it slightly.
"Even after all that, I still failed! Why can't I do anything good?" Molly shouted to herself. Suddenly, the door opened. Molly turned to see a familiar face.
"Sis, are you okay? I heard you yelling again," It was Mia, who came to check on Molly.
"Hey Mia, yeah I'm fine, just upset," Molly said. Mia decided to sit down next to her big sister.
"You'll figure something out sis, you always do!" Mia tried to cheer Molly up, but she didn't budge.
"I don't know if I can figure out something this time Mia. Where else are we going to get more people?" Molly said to Mia, who got up to look out the window, but noticed something strange.
"Hey sis, did we get more people to join?" Mia asked her sister. Molly got up to look, and saw that there were more people than before, a lot more.
"Wh-What the? When did we-" A servant opened the door to the two's room.
"Princess Molly and Mia, you have someone waiting for you at the front desk," the lobster servant said. The sisters were confused. They didn't invite anyone over, but they went over to the front desk anyways, where they were met with an unexpected surprise.
"Hello? Did anyone call us?" Molly tried to call whoever called them here.
"Long time no see sisters!" Someone in a cloak said. Mia instantly knew who it was, and swam towards them in delight.
"Big Bro!" Mia shouted, swimming into the person and knocking them down.
"Okay, okay Mia! I missed you too!" It was Mason, Molly and Mia's older brother.
"I missed you big bro!" Mia told him. Mason hugged his littler sister.
Molly couldn't believe her eyes. She was finally seeing her big brother again after months. She didn't know how to react or feel at this moment.
"Long time no see little sister," Mason said to Molly. Molly couldn't keep it together and swam right into a hug, crying tears of joy.
"I missed you so much!" Molly said with tears. "I thought you were gone for good!"
"Nah, Pyros can't take this family down that easily, when me and Mia escaped, I ran into the forest to hide, and ended up finding a whole bunch of rebels, who I eventually became their leader! Sorry we took so long, we had to go the long way around to get here," Mason explained.
"Oh, you're still the same goofball," Molly said.
"Don't do nicknames with me, Twirly Hair," Mason joked with her. Molly chuckled.
"You should learn manners when talking to a princess," Molly joked with him.
"You may be a princess, but I'm still your older brother, Icy," Mason joked. The siblings laughed.
"I still can't believe you're still here!" Molly said.
"So, you must be the brother of these two," Alana appeared.
"Who's she?" Mason asked Molly.
"Mason, this is Alana, Pyros's daughter. Alana, this is Mason, me and Mia's older brother," Molly introduced them to each other.
"Wait, did you say daughter?"
"Don't worry May-May, she's on our side," Molly said.
"I told you not to call me that in public!" Mason yelled at her. Alana chuckled.
"Well then, with this group of people, I'd say we have more than enough people to take my father down now," Alana said.
"Really?" All three said.
"Yep. So you best get prepared for the fight tomorrow, cause it's gonna be the most important day of your life," Alana said. She then left the room.
"Well then, guess we better get ready now," Molly said.
"You sure you're ready Molly?" Mason asked her.
"I have to be bro, because war is upon us,"
Well then, now that's finally over, I can rest for a good while so that I can prepare the final arc. I hope you all enjoyed this setup to the final battle. I'll answer reviews now.
Joeforit: I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I'm especially glad you brought up that age question, cause I think it's about time I answer it.
In my universe, the guppies are aged from 14-12, and in order of oldest to youngest: Deema (14), Gil (13), Zooli (13), Molly (12&13), Cryo (12), Goby (12), Nonny (12), Oona (12)
Thank you for asking that, as I've forgotten to explain that lol.
PrimroseRaspberry: I'm glad you enjoyed the dynamic between Molly and Cryo, as them still fighting might have proven to be a fatal problem. As for your questions, you'll just have to wait and see ;)
ReaderandWriter9000: Hello again, friend! Glad to see you enjoyed the chapter, and the secrets that have been revealed, especially the crossover. We are still working on it, and it'll be amazing!
That's all for now..well, I guess I leave you with one last part.
Post Chapter
We come to the Gentilella trio sitting on a log, looking at the night sky. The trio had finally been reunited again, and were spending some catch up time together.
"This is just like when Dad used to take us camping in Montana," Mason recalled.
"Yeah, I miss camping," Mia said. "Remember when you got marshmallow up your nose, so you had to put your head in a river?" Mia chuckled as she mentioned that.
"Mia that was a one time thing! I was stupid okay!" Mason yelled in annoyance. Molly giggled, happy she finally gets to be with her family again.
"Say Molly, you haven't spoken much, why's that?" Mason asked his little sister.
"Oh, I'm just thinking about the future, that's all, and how we all get to be together again," Molly said.
"All of us? Molly, are you-?" Mason thought something was up with her. "You miss Mom and Dad, don't you?" As soon as Mason said that, Molly let it all loose, breaking down into tears.
"Yes! I miss them! I want to see them again so badly, but it's all my fault that this all happened in the first place! I just want to see Mom and Dad again!" Molly cried as she covered her tearing face. Mia and Mason simply hugged their crying sister, not saying a word.
Meanwhile, Pyros was sitting on his throne, just minding his own business, when a guard came up to him.
"Lord Pyros, it's urgent news!"
"Speak with it!" Pyros commanded.
"We've received some intel that the Ice Princess has prepared a giant army, and is planning to stop your world invasion!" the guard explained. This intrigued Pyros.
"So she finally decided to step out of the shadows huh? No worries, with my army and the Fire Demon, nothing can stop me, not even her.
"What shall we do sir?"
"Go tell the general to get the army ready for tomorrow, war is upon us…"
Coming Soon
Molly The Ice Princess
Fire vs Ice
The Final Battle