Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
Parasitica was afraid.
No, that wasn't the right word for it.
She was terrified.
Why? This made no sense.
She was safe inside Swarmnest, surrounded by billions of her slaves, thousands of kilometers away from the surface of the planet.
Then why, she wondered as she gazed at Mibojin's new form through the eyes of Kamakiller, was she so afraid?
She hadn't felt this scared since… Since…
Since she had been severed from the Buzzing and banished from the Hive.
Since she had been forced to wander for eternity through the infinite emptiness of space, all alone.
Since she had ran completely out of food and her body was literally eating itself to survive, and she'd been sure this was it, this was how she died, alone and forgotten and far from home, despised by everyone she had ever loved.
In a moment of weakness, she had even regretted what she had tried to do to her sister.
And then, at her lowest, just when she was about to end it all…
She found the Swarm.
(Or had the Swarm found her?)
After her rebirth, she vowed she would never fear anything ever again.
Then why did that old terror creep up on her now? She had been certain she had conquered it.
(Or had it still been there all along, lurking deep within her, waiting for her to acknowledge it again?)
This made no sense. Mibojin wasn't in her presence. She had taken measures to make sure they could never get that close to her again.
Why was she afraid?
"So," she managed to sneer, struggling to keep her voice steady, unable to stop her body from shaking. "You're the next stupid monkey to achieve their final form, are you? Let's hear it, then. What grandiose titles have you come up with for yourself? Considering the ones the rest of your team have come up with so far, it'll have to be good to impress me."
Mibojin said nothing. She stared at her, utterly silent.
"Well?" Parasitica demanded, getting frustrated and even more afraid. "Out with it! Who are you?!"
Mibojin continued to stare. And then…
Darkness. Absolute, eternal, unending darkness. The lightless black that lay between galaxies, the never-ending night, the great void, an infinite abyss so empty of anything that no matter how hard you stared into it, nothing stared back.
She'd never left it. Reviving the Swarm, getting revenge on her sister, destroying the Hive and spreading virtually unstopped across the stars, nothing more than the silly delusions of a lost, broken, insane bug to distract herself from the ultimate reality, that she was all alone, that she was going to die and be forgotten, that her petty act of rebellion had accomplished nothing but doomed her to an ignominious end-
"I am death."
And the darkness faded as Kamakiller was ripped to shreds and Parasitica fell out of her throne, shrieking at the top of her lungs, her terrified screams echoed by every member of the Swarm across the universe.
Mibojin looked down at the remains of the Fungal Beast, completely impassive as the terrified screams of Funghouls echoed across the hall. She had killed the monster that had murdered her apprentice.
She felt nothing at all.
"We are not finished yet," Manti said.
"No," Mibojin said, looking up at the ceiling. "We aren't."
And just like that, every light in the convention hall switched off.
The Funghouls started screaming again.
Kagami had no idea what was going on.
Her lovers had informed her that Hood – her mother's apprentice, her sister – was dead, and she'd been so shocked that she wasn't able to stop the mantis Funghoul from trying to skewer her on its blade, only for it to be torn away from her at the last minute by an enraged Karai in full serpentine form, shrieking that Kagami was hers, and Shinigami disemboweled it, and-
Oh.
She was still in love with Karai, wasn't she?
She wanted to get back together with her. She would need to talk to her lovers about this later, though she was certain they would have no problem with it-
She was spiraling, she realized as she frantically tried to defend herself from some Shadowkhan, which normally she would been able to eviscerate in seconds. Her sister was dead, her mother's status unknown, and she was trying so hard not to think about it she couldn't concentrate. Her mother would be so disappointed-
Assuming she was alive.
No, she couldn't think like that, her mother was the best, she was everything she aspired to be, everything she couldn't be and never would-
No, don't think like that, don't think like that, don't think-
Arrows of light shot through the air and pierced the skulls of the Shadowkhan, causing them to dissipate in bursts of shadow as Sora Kazekiri glided into view. "Mantis clan! Get your head in the game!"
"Yesss, thisss isssn't like you!" Karai hissed. She looked so beautiful as a snake; she just wanted her to wrap around her with those coils and-
No. Focus. Focus.
"My sister is dead," she croaked.
"What? That's terrible!" Shinigami gasped. "Wait, I didn't didn't know you had a sister."
"Neither did I," Kagami whispered as a bugball whizzed past her head and caved in the skull of a Shadowkhan. "Until just now."
"Shit, she's going into shock," Mira realized, unloading bullet after bullet into the seemingly endless horde. "Dammit, those shadow ninjas just keep coming!"
"Nor will they stop until the mask that summons them is removed from its wearer," Sora said, converting his bow into a pair of blades and slashing through some more dark ninjas. "The good news is, I know where the summoner is."
"Great!" Scarabella exclaimed as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran past, shouting "COWABUNGA!"
"Unfortunately, we need the hair of a Japanese samurai to remove it."
There was a pause. The Spinjitzu Masters whirled by, generating tornadoes of elemental power.
"Thisss isss a ninja convention," Karai pointed out.
"I am aware," Sora said wearily. "Of course, given how long ago the original samurais lived, it's well within the realm of possibility that more than half of Japan shares samurai ancestry, so the hair of any one of us might work. Maybe."
"Aren't a lot of you guys purebred ninjas from clans whose lineage dates all the way back to the sengoku era if not beyond?" Mira pointed out.
"… There is that, yes," Sora admitted.
Shinigami raised a hand. "I'm not!"
"Neither am I," said Kagami. "Mother was adopted into the clan."
"I don't know much about my mother beside her name, but I know she's not from the…place I was born," Sora said evasively. "That means between us we might have a decent shot. So-"
Suddenly, Mira and Scarabella gasped.
"What? Did something happen to my mother?!" Kagami demanded.
"Yes, but nothing bad!" Mira emphasized.
"In fact, she-" Scarabella started, only to be interrupted when every Funghoul in the convention hall started screaming. The ninjas fighting them hesitated, startled, while the Shadowkhan froze in place, not even blinking.
"What the-" Yoshiharu, who was also there, started to say, when suddenly all the lights went out and the undead monsters started screaming even louder.
They weren't the only ones. A lot of the ninjas were understandably freaking out, trying to use their powers – or cell phones – to try to get some light back, but the darkness was so thick, so absolute not a single photon could pierce it…
And Kagami relaxed.
This darkness was warm, inviting. Familiar.
It was a mother's embrace.
Her mother.
"Kagami."
"Mother. I heard about Hood. I… I didn't realize…"
"No. Nor did I. This is all my fault."
"I don't believe that."
"It doesn't matter what you believe. I took her here on a mission she was not ready for. A mission I didn't bother to make her ready for. And she died for nothing. The scroll was blank."
"Oh. So Goro was right."
"Yes."
"You have unlocked a new power, though."
"The price was far too high."
"It was still paid."
"Yes."
They said nothing for a moment. Kagami gradually became aware that the screams of the Funghouls were starting to die out, and she could hear the telltale sounds of blade slicing through necrotic flesh all around her.
"Is it terrible," Mibojin said after a moment. "That I'm grateful it wasn't you who died?"
"I think it makes you human."
"… Am I?"
"Show me."
And just like that, the light returned. All around her, ninjas were gasping, as if they'd been unable to take a breath through the very long dark. More than a few collapsed, sobbing.
Pathetic. What Shinobi had anything to fear from the dark?
The ground was carpeted with the eviscerated remains of every Funghoul in the arena. Kagami had no doubt that the floor of the entire convention hall was probably decorated in a similar fashion.
She didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was what was before her eyes: her mother.
"You've changed," Kagami said, staring up at the black and yellow mantis looming over her, her friends gaping behind her.
"I have," Mibojin said solemnly.
Kagami stepped forward and hugged her. "I don't care. You're still you. You're still my mother."
Kagami's girlfriends cooed while the others couldn't help feeling a little awkward. "My mom never hugged me like that…" Shinigami muttered.
"I never met my mother," Karai hissed miserably.
"Likewise," Sora said, adjusting his glasses. "Hah. She's a giant mantis now. Well, she is Mantis Clan… That makes sense."
"You're from the pterodactyl tribe of the Shinobiryu clan and you're not a pterodactyl," Yoshiharu pointed out.
Sora sniffed. "Not yet." He frowned. "Wait… What happened to all the Shadowkhan?"
"They were dealt with," Mibojin said, still embracing her daughter.
"But how? Were you able to find the hair of a Japanese samurai for the removal spell?" Sora pressed.
Mibojin tossed the inert mask of Tarakudo at his feet. Sora picked up and grimaced when he realized there was flesh attached to the underside. "No. I just cut off the face of the Funghoul using it."
"… Well, I suppose that's one way to do it," Sora admitted, morbidly impressed.
"You really killed… Every last one of them?" An amazed Shinigami asked, prodding what could generously be called a corpse with one toe. "Under the cover of darkness?"
"Yes. Also, I was the darkness."
Shinigami squealed. "Would you adopt me? Wait, uh, not that I'm trying to replace the daughter you just lost or anything… I'll shut up."
"Good idea," Karai advised.
"I'm so happy you're okay," Kagami whispered into her mother's chest. "But are you? I know how hard you tried to cling to your humanity. As you are now…"
"I did what was necessary," Mibojin said. "I do not regret it. I only regret the circumstances that caused it."
"As do I," Manti said sadly. "The Queen and I have always been hoping you would take the next step… But… We never thought it would mean…" She bowed her head. "We never wanted it to happen like this."
"… Just as victory is worth any sacrifice, there can be almost no victory without sacrifice," Mibojin said after a moment. "Even if she died for nothing, she still died doing the thing she has aspired to do ever since we met. She died a ninja. And she will be remembered as one."
"This is the way," Kagami agreed.
"This is the way," Mibojin echoed.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking. A surprisingly intact Funghoul head nearby started laughing, startling quite a few ninjas.
"What now, Parasitica?" An irritated Mibojin asked.
"You FOOL!" The evil queen cackled. "Thanks to your incredibly grisly and graphic massacre of my forces, there is now enough fungal biomass for me to send in a Fungigas, and it's going to be a BIG one!"
"They are all big ones," Kagami pointed out.
"Oh shut up and die already!" Parasitica snapped.
"… Is it weird I kind of want to keep that talking head?" Shinigami asked.
"Don't," everyone told her.
The ground continued shaking, and then the head (if they even have those) of a Meggot, a gigantic maggot whose skin was covered in patches of cosmic fungus, rose over the distant booths and buildings. It unleashed an earsplitting shriek before bending down over the remains of the castle that had been destroyed in the battle between Mibojin, Hood, and Kamakiller, devouring what was left of the Fungal Beast. The great worm wriggled and undulated as the patches of fungus on the skin began to glow, the atrocity incorporating the deceased monster's DNA into its own. With another earsplitting shriek, the Meggot heaved upwards, smashing through the ceiling of the convention center.
"So, is this the part where you guys summon your giant robots, or…?" Shinigami yelled over the sounds of people screaming and the giant monster forcing its way out of the building.
"No."
Kagami stood alone, staring up at the ceiling, her mother nowhere to be found.
"My mother has this."
The Meggot exploded out of the top of the convention center, its screams echoing across the city. The massive barrier erected by Hive drones to keep the area contained rippled, and the large number of news crews who were far too close to the energy field than the Hive soldiers trying to keep everyone away would like started training their cameras on the Fungigas and taking pictures and demanding questions from the poor beleaguered bugs who wondered why nobody on this planet was even remotely sane.
The Meggot slammed into the top of the barrier, causing it to ripple again. It smashed into it a few more times to try to force its way through, shrieking in frustration, then stiffened as all the fungal patches on its skin lit up.
And then, to the horror of the reporters and the assembled public, the Meggot began turning inside out, its mouth opening far wider than should been possible, folding back onto his body, layer after layer of fat, putrid flesh peeling away to reveal an even more hideous sight. Hundreds, thousands of Funghouls were all clumped together, their bodies half dissolved and melting into each other, flesh sloughing off their forms as hissing centipedes wriggled about their innards. The body of bodies convulsed, contracted, and began to take shape, growing thinner and taller as its mass forced itself up and out, two limbs protruding out to the sides and ending in curved points, while a third lump began to swell from the top. Within moments, it became an exact duplicate of Kamakiller's upper body, but made of fused-together still animated corpses, all its mouths opening wide and screaming, shattering glass across multiple city blocks.
Parasitica cackled madly at the civilians and news and police helicopters outside the barrier. "You think that you are safe? That I am trapped in here? That I shall be dealt with like any other Fungigas?"
She grinned and raised a scythe, energy crackling along its length. "These blades can cut through almost anything… Let's see if these force fields will hold long enough for your precious heroes to assemble their walking toy advertisement and stop me before I break through and kill hundreds of you-"
And suddenly Mibojin was there.
Parasitica didn't know how she knew this. Had the temperature dropped? Had she spotted her moving out of the corner of one of the many eyes dotting her form? Regardless, she was here, where she hadn't been moments before.
Parasitica flinched – actually flinched – only to calm herself down when she reminded herself that, once again, she was nowhere near her in person, and aside from that, she was controlling a giant monster now. Confidence growing, she sneered down at the ninja, reveling at the stark difference in their size and power. She looked so much smaller now. How had she ever been afraid of her?
"So, you have come here to face me by yourself?" Parasitica sneered. "You must think very highly of yourself just because you got a new power up, human… Though I'm not sure that's the right term to use for you anymore, is it? You're not even going to wait for your teammates, or call upon your colorful and toyetic mecha?"
Mibojin stared at her in silence for a long, increasingly uncomfortable moment.
"I do not need their help to stop you," Mibojin said finally, much to the increasingly anxious Parasitica's relief.
Parasitica laughed with a tinge of anxiety. "And just what do you think you can do against me on your lonesome?" She reared back to point at the sky. "The circumstances have changed. Look around, Mibojin, we're outside. The sun is shining brightly. There are no dark corners for you to hide. You may have some new tricks, but not even you can possibly blot out the sun."
Mibojin tilted her head to the side a small amount, staring at Parasitica as if she were a very small child that had said something very stupid. "Even when the light is at its brightest… A shadow can always be found."
The grotesque amalgam's eyes widened in horror, glancing down to look at the very large shadow she was casting. "Wait-"
Mibojin lightly touched the shadow with a foot, and suddenly the entire enclosure turned pitch black, much to the disappointment of everyone watching outside.
Parasitica began hyperventilating. (Which meant the giant monster she was remotely piloting stared hyperventilating too, yes, it's just as weird as you're imagining it.) "No. No no no not again, not again-"
The patches of fungus on her body started glowing, illuminating the space around her, creating an island of light in an ocean of darkness.
A very, very large ocean.
"It's… It's not that big, this isn't space, she just blacked everything out, all I need to do is reach up and touch the barrier… Just… Reach up…"
She reached up and swiped at the air with a blade.
Nothing happened.
"What? That's… That's not…"
She stretched further, pulling as much of her maggot body as she could through the hole in the roof… Okay, maybe she should have chosen a different Fungigas, she felt kind of stuck… Still, she should hit the barrier any second now…
Any… Second…
Now.
She did not touch the barrier.
"No."
She frenziedly swiped her blades through the air all around her but failed to touch anything.
"No no no no."
Getting increasingly panicked, she started flinging energy blades in every direction. Much to her horror, they winked out the moment they left the circle of light around her.
"That's not… That's not possible…"
The giant undead horror took several deep breaths, then hesitated. "Wait. What am I doing? This is ridiculous. This is only one set of eyes I'm looking through; I can see everything else just fine through all my other drones. This is nothing more than an illusion."
She started laughing. "A nice try, Mibojin, but you will have to try much harder than that to frighten me. I passed through darkness like this once and came out the other side reborn. I am Queen Parasitica II, the only, and I shall not yield! I shall destroy you and your world as I have so many others!"
"Well done!"
"Hear hear!"
"All hail Parasitica the Great!"
"Who said that?!" Parasitica shrieked.
And then she saw forms around her.
Well, 'saw' wasn't the correct term, and technically neither was 'forms.' It was more like patches of darkness that were darker than everything else, so much so that if you looked at them long enough, they started to look like… People…
"What… What is…"
"Hail Parasitica II! Just like she failed to be first to be Queen, she has to settle for being a sequel, and therefore not as good as the original!" Someone who looked an awful lot like the mantis whose body she had warped into Kamakiller cried.
"Hail! Hail!" All surrounding her cheered, clapping.
There were so many. Why were there so many-
"Hail Parasitica the Beautiful! She is truly as lovely on the outside as she is on the inside!" A shape resembling the previous Yellow Mantis proclaimed.
"Hail! Hail!"
"What… What is happening-"
"Hail Parasitica the Brave! She who has slaughtered zillions upon zillions across countless galaxies, wiping out countless civilizations who never did anything to her, all from the safety of her flagship, ordering disposable puppets to die for her glory! So fair and unbiased is she, not even her own people are spared her wrath!" A shape looking like that stupid fat cicada who was still somehow causing her trouble, hollered.
"Hail! Hail!"
"It's not like that! And why are you still here-"
"Hail Parasitica the Compassionate! Incapable of creating life, she destroys and defiles all around her, even going so far as to harvest unborn children for their organs to cobble together one for herself in a sad, pathetic attempt to fill the gaping hole inside herself!" Philia and the infant princesses whom she had slaughtered to get the parts to make Vespi cheered.
"Hail! Hail!"
"Shut up!" Parasitica snarled, lashing out with her blades, slicing the dark figures to pieces…
And only making more in the process.
"Hail Parasitica the Evil! A loathsome tyrant who has cut a swath of devastation across the universe on her way to Earth, which she shall surely annihilate, completely unlike any of the dozens of other alien conquerors this world has faced before!" What looked like that human king everyone kept hoping would live forever for some reason sang.
"Rejoice!" what looked like that weird guy who was always following the aforementioned king added.
"Hail! Hail!"
Roaring in fury, Parasitica continued lashing out at the figures, who continued to multiply with everyone she cut apart, their applause getting louder and louder and LOUDER and LOUDER-
"Hail Parasitica the Magnificent! A paragon of cruelty and hatred and pointless, petty spite! Truly I was wrong to reject you!" The shadow of Anthoph cried.
"Hail! Hail!"
"Yes! You WERE!" Parasitica howled as she savagely tore the Divine Insect to pieces again and again, that calm, smug smile getting wider and wider and wider with every new clone that was generated.
"Hail Parasitica the Glorious! Truly hers will be a legacy that shall be remembered until the end of time, her pointless, petty, wanton acts of cruelty and spite greatly overshadowing the accomplishments of our ancestors, who established a dynasty going all the way back to the early days of the universe! Truly they were insignificant specks in comparison to her Majesty!" Her mother said proudly.
"Shut up, mother! This is all your fault!" Parasitica screamed, turning her ire to the previous queen next.
"Hail Parasitica the Sister! A better sibling I could not have asked for-" Apista began before an enraged Parasitica eviscerated her before she could finish her "compliment."
And all around her the ranks of the shadows continue to grow and grow. The previous Bugrangers were there now, and all the Divine Insects, and all her old friends and lovers – all dead now, when was the last time she'd even spared them a thought – and everyone she'd ever killed, and there was some random bat person with bizarre hair and a safe between her breasts who she didn't even know rambling about chimichangas for some reason and they just kept clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and clapping and cheering and
It wouldn't stop why wouldn't it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop oh divine insects why were there so many make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop
She kept slicing and slicing and slicing and slicing and slicing as the entire universe seemed to drill down to nothing more than the endlessly increasing fake applause, everything all her other minions, everything her real body was experiencing, being completely forgotten as she focused all her efforts on this. Surely if she killed enough of them, it would end eventually, wouldn't it?
Wouldn't it?!
And then the applause started to die down. Emboldened, Parasitica renewed her assault, getting even more energized with every cheer she cut down, the cacophony drowning out all other thoughts and sensations getting gradually quieter with every shadow she tore apart.
And then, finally, there was one left, and she eagerly thrusted forwards…
Only to freeze, realizing she was staring at herself.
Or rather, herself as she had used to be. Before her transformation. Before the darkness. Before her exile.
Before she had been consumed with hate.
(She'd been so beautiful then. How had she forgotten?)
The younger Parasitica (well, her shadow) stared up at her in horror, disgust, and despair. "Hail Parasitica," she whispered. "The kind of queen I always wanted to become."
And then she faded away on her own, leaving the possessed monster alone again.
And then there was Mibojin.
"What… What did you think that was going to accomplish?" Parasitica rasped, her many voices hoarse from all the screaming, her undead puppet's body beginning to disintegrate in places from the strain she'd put it through in her desperate attempt to kill the shadows. "Were you trying to make me feel guilty? Realize the error of my ways? Were you trying to make me so afraid I'd flee in terror and leave everyone alone?"
Her blade slashed through the air, but of course Mibojin was no longer there.
"Because I regret none of it!" Parasitica shouted. "I would do it all over again if I had the chance! And you… You think you can frighten me? ME? You fool! I FEAR NOTHING!"
"That is a lie."
Parasitica shrieked and reeled back in terror as a gargantuan mass of darkness in the form of Mibojin's head loomed over her, the faint light being generated by her fungal cultures starting to flicker and die. It had to be the size of Swarmnest!
"You have always been afraid. Fear is what drives every action you take," Mibojin said, sounding almost bored. "Fear of defeat. Fear of failure. Fear of being alone. Fear of the dark."
"I am not afraid of-"
Mibojin exhaled, and Parasitica screamed as for a split second, all her light went out, leaving her in total darkness.
"But that is not why I did that."
Trembling with indignation, humiliation, and fear, Parasitica lashed out, again just missing Mibojin.
"I was not trying to redeem you or drive you back into the depths of space."
Another strike. Another failure.
"I was trying to hurt you."
This last bit was spoken from right next to the Fungigas' ear (well, if it had any), and Parasitica whipped her head around so hard it almost came off, only to see nothing.
Parasitica trembled for a minute… Then burst into laughter. "HURT me? Is that what you think you've been doing?!" She cackled. "Tell me this. What do you think is going to happen if-"
"When."
"IF you defeat this Fungigas," Parasitica insisted. "Nothing changes. I'm still safe and secure in my fortress, and you're still stuck down there. I'll be free to plot a new scheme and have another monster ready by next week at the latest, and then we'll do this all over again. And, most importantly, that fat Cicada of yours will still be dead. Nothing you do here matters."
"I disagree."
Parasitica cried out as suddenly a huge gash was torn into the side of her maggot lower half.
"You're correct, this battle has done nothing to physically harm you. Not really."
Another gash was torn open in her side.
"But I believe my shadows have frightened you more than you let on. And there is much worse than this to come."
One of her arms was sliced off.
"You're correct that we shall clash again next week. And the week after that, and the week after that."
An eye was gouged out.
"But in every battle, I will be the first to transform. The first to kill a Funghoul. The first to land a strike on your Fungal Beasts. And I shall do my best to make sure that mine is the final strike as well."
Huge chunks of flesh were filleted.
"I will kill and kill and kill. I will take out more of your minions than any of my companions. My face will be the last thing so many of your puppets – and therefore, you – will see. My visage, burned into your memory."
She was gruesomely disemboweled.
"You will begin to dread deploying your forces, knowing that I will be waiting for them with new, even more vicious methods to kill them and give you terror. You will see me in your nightmares. You will not be able to stop thinking of me, even for a moment. You will jump at every shadow, every unexpected movement, for fear that I have somehow snuck onto your ship and am there to kill you."
Wailing in terror, Parasitica frantically flailed about, hurling energy blades in every direction, only for another large gash to be ripped open in her chest.
"Until finally, one day…"
Suddenly, the darkness dispelled.
Parasitica froze in place.
Mibojin stood behind the Fungigas on the opposite side of the roof, back turned.
"I will be."
Parasitica gurgled.
And then hemolymph exploded from all over her body as millions of cuts she hadn't even noticed burst open, painting the rooftop in the Fungigas' lifeblood, or the equivalent thereof. The gruesome Kamakiller replica collapsed onto the rooftop, severed at the waist, as the Meggot body collapsed upon itself, a foul stench filling the air.
Mibojin stood resolute, not a single drop of hemolymph or innards staining her body. There was a flash of black and yellow, and she reverted to her normal form…
Well. The new normal, anyway.
"Well done," Manti said proudly.
Mibojin smiled faintly as she examined her longer nails, her spines and chitin. The world looked different to her now, her eyes perceiving colors and wavelengths they could not have previously. This new form suited her, she admitted to herself, and would make her a better fighter. A better killer.
It was not something she'd asked for. Not something she'd wanted.
But this was her now, and she would have to accept it. As far as she knew, there was no turning back, and even if she could, she wouldn't.
Not until she carried out her vow and killed Parasitica, anyway.
"We are not done yet," Mibojin told her. "Our real fight is only just beginning."
"Gnnnh… So it… Has…"
Mibojin and Manti started and whirled around to see the Kamakiller knockoff, the flesh melting off its form, struggling to prop itself up. "That thing is still alive?! Or, er, less dead?!" Manti exclaimed.
"Not… For much longer…" Parasitica rasped, the Fungigas' body on the verge of crumbling. "You… Declare war on me… Ninja? You think I… Will be cowed… By you?! Such impudence… Let me show you who you're dealing with… You say I killed… One daughter… Already?"
She managed, with some effort, to raise her remaining limb into the air, sunlight gleaming off the blade.
"Let's make it… TWO!"
She began to bring the blade down, aiming for the spot right over where the arena, and thus Kagami, were.
Mibojin was already in motion. Exhausted as she was from her Ultimate form, she still had enough strength for this. "HENSHIN!" She yelled, slapping the microprocessor on Manti's head, only to get an error message.
"I can't transform you," the Divine Insect buzzed in horror. "We've used up too much energy!"
Desperate, even though she knew it futile, she reached out to Scarabella and Mira. "Both of you, get Kagami out of there!"
"We're trying! There are too many people here!" Scarabella cried.
"Dad, I-" Mira gasped.
"MIRA!" Goro shouted.
Parasitica's blade was in motion. It was too late. Despite everything, Parasitica would get the last laugh after all and take the only remaining family she had left, and there was nothing Mibojin or anyone else could do to stop her.
And then a giant Shuriken spun through the air and sliced through the Fungigas' shoulder, cutting off the arm, which dissolved and splattered as it hit the rooftop.
Mibojin's jaw dropped. "What?"
"What?!" Manti exclaimed.
"What?!" Parasitica shouted.
"WHAT?!" The entire Buzzing yelled.
The great Shuriken whirled about and returned to its housing, a pair of purple and black elytra slamming shut on top of its 'wings.' The giant mechanical cicada – smaller than Great Cicadoid, bulkier, purple and black in coloration, its legs ending in kunai, with red eyes and a head covered in yellow armor with a gray segmented "veil" and a pair of pointy horns in the back buzzed, flicking its elytra threateningly. "You've lost, Parasitica. Leave sensei and her family alone."
She sounded…
She sounded exactly like Hood…
And her presence on the Buzzing, it also…!
"It… Cannot be," an equally stunned Manti whispered.
Parasitica lost it. "No! NO! I killed you! I killed you! You can't be here! How do you continue to torment me from beyond the grave-"
She was cut off when the impossible cicada launched her Shuriken at her again, decapitating her and causing what was left of the Fungigas to finally lose cohesion and collapse into a disgusting semisolid mass.
Mibojin didn't care about any of that. Slowly, she stepped towards the Great Divine Insect who reminded her far, far too much of her late apprentice. "… Hood?"
The cicada offered her a sad smile. "Not quite, sensei."
"Mladshaya sestra! You are awake! After all this time!" An overjoyed Great Cicadoid boomed.
"Impossible… After the last battle, we thought you were gone for good!" Great Caelifer stammered.
"I was, more or less," the cicada admitted. "My wounds were so bad I had to shut down. I was so damaged and inactive for so long I suffered ego death. But even dead, I dreamed, and eventually my dreams became full of ninjutsu as Shurikon began to be held regularly over my tomb… Or did Shurikon begin because of my dreams?"
Great Manti choked back a sob. "You always did look up to me… You wanted to be a ninja so badly…"
"She was never thinking nearly so highly of me," Great Cicadoid grumbled.
"Sensei – Mibojin – when Hood died, everything she was… Her memories, her feelings, her spirit… Flowed through me as it was recorded in the Buzzing. It was… Imprinted on me," the cicada explained. "I no longer had a mind of my own, so there was plenty of room for a new me to be written. But… I am not Hood. No matter how much you would like it to be, I'm not her. I just… Have her memories and personality. Not a copy or a clone, more of a… Reincarnation? Descendent? Something like that."
"I know," Mibojin said softly, feeling her heart break a second time. "For a moment, I thought…" She shook her head. "What… What do I call you?"
"She used to be called Great Cadida," Great Cicadoid said solemnly, tinged with sorrow. "But… You… You aren't her either, are you? Not really."
"No, I'm not," the cicada agreed. "I'm something new." She looked down at Mibojin. "Sensei. What should I be called?"
"You… Think of me as…" Mibojin murmured hesitantly.
"Hood thought highly of you. As do I. In both my previous lives, I idolized ninjas and wanted to be one. I thought of Great Manti as my sensei, and… I guess that's also still the case," she admitted.
"… I have missed you more than I thought possible," the Great Divine Insect said somberly, voice thick with grief and longing and hope. "I would be more than happy to take you under my wing again, if that is your wish."
"It is," the nameless cicada said. "Just as I want to learn more from you as well, sensei Mibojin. So… I ask again. What shall I be called?"
"You… You want me to… Despite everything… Despite getting you – I mean, Hood killed-" Mibojin stammered.
"You aren't the reason Hood is dead, sensei," the cicada said gently. "Parasitica is. And if she hadn't died… I might not be alive right now. Cast aside your fears and doubts, your regrets. They are unbefitting of a ninja, aren't they?" She smiled. "So. Who am I?"
A single name leapt to the forefront of her thoughts. "Tomoe," Mibojin said immediately. "It… Was my mother's name."
"Tomoe," the newly named cicada murmured to herself. "Yes. That will do." She bowed to Mibojin. "I'm honored to make your acquaintance, sensei."
Mibojin's vision blurred. Oh. She was crying. And smiling. "The honor," she said hoarsely. "Is all mine."
Everyone stared at Dark Red Ladybug in trepidation.
"Miss Nushi," Philia said hesitantly. "We're, uh, we are glad that you came to help-"
"Albeit a bit late," Cutaros murmured, horrified the moment she realized what she had just said.
"But, um, I think it's over. The mean evil lady is back to normal, w-which means everyone she transformed is fine, so… So you don't need to do anything more, right? Veila did a really good job of it!" Philia said enthusiastically.
"V-verily! I hath vanquished the dastard who made fair Princess Ariel weep and caused Sirs Goro and Shin such distress! 'Tis over! 'Twas truly a glorious victory!" Veila agreed nervously, some of the anxieties from her previous incarnation beginning to surface in the face of such an inscrutable, indomitable being.
"Incorrect. The threat is not over yet."
Dark Red Ladybug didn't move. She simply went from a few meters away to lifting Beverly in the air by her neck one-handed with nothing in between.
"Oh shit, is she gonna break her neck?!" Mei gasped in excitement.
"Shitsuki has always wanted to see something like that," Shitsuki said calmly.
"Sometimes I wonder how I'm related to both of you," Jun whimpered.
"Lovebug, stop!"
Ariel and the rest of the Bugrangers and Arachrangers rushed into view.
"Nushi, you don't need to do this! Everyone's gone back to normal!" Goro insisted.
"This isn't like Doctor X, she's just a regular woman, albeit a bitchy one," Shin pointed out. "If you let her live, she's not going to cause us any problems down the road."
"I'll… Sue… You…!" Beverly rasped.
"Lady, you are not helping!" Shin snapped.
"Don't listen to them, end her!" Antares roared.
Everyone gave him astonished looks. "What? I haven't seen anyone die all day; I'm bored."
"Lovebug, please," Ariel pleaded. "Everything's fine now. My family has been restored. I'm not sad anymore. She's not going to hurt me or anyone else."
"Incorrect."
Ariel blinked. "Huh?"
"Unlike many similar monsters, defeating Hitotsuki doesn't miraculously mean their hosts can't relapse," Dark Red Ladybug said calmly. "The desires that made them susceptible to transformation in the first place don't necessarily disappear and can easily be set off again with the right impulse. Minoru Ono and Tsuyoshi Kijino have both demonstrated this, and they are not the only Hitotsuki host to demonstrate signs of recidivism."
"Well… Yes, that's true, because the DonBrothers are terrible at their jobs," Ariel admitted. "But that doesn't mean Beverly will-"
"Aranea, please run a productive weave to determine how likely it is that, as she is now, Beverly may relapse and become a Hitotsuki again," Dark Red Ladybug commanded. It was not a request.
Uneasy, Aranea formed a complex web which seemed to exist in more than just three dimensions between her hands. She manipulated for a few moments, the threads intersecting, intertwining, and forming patterns that hurt most of their heads trying to perceive. "… 77.9%," she reported finally, mouth set in a line.
The children gasped.
Goro grimaced. "Okay, that's… Bad, but that doesn't mean you need to kill her!"
"I didn't say I was going to kill her."
He blinked. "You're not?"
"I'm considering my options. Death is one possibility, but not necessarily the correct one," Dark Red Ladybug commented, much to their dismay.
"Why is it even on the table at all? Yeah, she caused a lot of problems as a monster, and she's kind of a terrible person, but that doesn't mean she deserves to die!" Shin argued.
"I think she does," Antares said.
"Nobody asked you!" Shin snapped. "Look, Nushi, she's just a civilian who went off the handle, she's not a monster-"
"She is responsible for the deaths of almost half a dozen people."
"I'm sorry what."
"Liar! Never… Killed… Anyone…" Beverly gasped, though from the look in her eyes it was clear she wanted to kill least one person right now.
"December 17, 2017: at 2:35 in the afternoon, Beverly discovered one of her necklaces was missing," Dark Red Ladybug recited with exact precision. "She immediately suspected it was one of the staff, who had been admiring it earlier, and called the police to have her deported. However, because all brown people look the same to her, she identified the wrong member of the staff – who was, in fact, a US citizen rather than an immigrant – but the police didn't particularly care and sent her across the border anyway. Far from home and in a hostile and unfamiliar country, she suffered for several days on the streets, homeless and starving before finally suffering a cruel, humiliating, and ignominious death at the hands of one of the cartels because she refused to put out for one of their members.
"On December 17, 2017; at 8:13 in the evening, Beverly discovered she'd misplaced the necklace. She didn't bother calling the police, which might have saved an innocent woman's life, because she figured that she was probably guilty of something."
"That's… She was! You know… What those people… Are like!" Beverly protested as everyone stared at her in disgust.
"She was guilty of nothing. You caused her death for no reason. You didn't even care, and you still don't," Dark Red Ladybug said bluntly.
"That's…" Ariel swallowed. "Okay, that's actually pretty awful, but-"
"April 3, 2020: at 10:43 in the morning, Beverly noticed her husband looking at the rear of one of the maids for a little too long. Suspecting he was sleeping with her, she immediately fired the maid… Who, ironically, was the only member of the staff he hadn't slept with," Dark Red Ladybug continued.
"He WHAT?!" Beverly croaked.
"With no income to support her ailing father's medical bills, she was forced to go back to her mobster ex-girlfriend for help," Dark Red Ladybug continued as if she hadn't said anything. "She was given a loan at absurdly high interest rates, though her ex-girlfriend was willing to waive off the late fees in exchange for certain favors of a sexual nature."
"Um, are we old enough to be hearing about this?" A deeply uncomfortable Aki asked.
"I'm much older than you and I'm not sure I am," Philia admitted.
"This eventually led to her death when the mobster, who always ignored the safe word, wound up getting a bit too much into their role-play and beat her to death," Dark Red Ladybug said matter-of-factly. "Also, her father died."
"Of course he did," Shin said morosely.
"June 19, 2022, at 6:35 in the evening-" Dark Red Ladybug started.
"Is this going to be another member of her staff?" Fuuka asked with morbid fascination.
"No, it's her daughter," Dark Red Ladybug replied.
"What? I don't have… A daughter," Beverly protested.
"Not anymore."
"No! Only… Sons…" Beverly insisted.
"Yes, you made that perfectly clear to Christine-"
"Christian!" Beverly snarled.
"Christine," Dark Red Ladybug emphasized, shutting her up.
"… This isn't going to end well, is it," Goro realized.
"Gee, you think?" Formic asked sarcastically.
"I still think we should just kill her," Antares said.
"I second that motion," said Scorpio.
"This isn't a democracy now shut up," Shin snapped.
"Don't you dare drag him into this-" Beverly started.
"Funny you should mention that word, seeing that's what you found her in the day she realized her sexuality," Dark Red Ladybug observed, earning her several oohs from the gallery for the clever wordplay.
"He was just confused-" Beverly insisted.
"She knew exactly what she was doing," Dark Red Ladybug insisted. "But you did not see it that way. You deliberately misgendered her. You insisted on calling her by her deadname. You didn't care about how she felt, but how she made you look… Or, more importantly, your husband, especially as he was running for governor and a little something like this could torpedo his campaign given his constituents and your home state."
"Which is…" Ariel asked hesitantly.
"Deep South."
"Of course it is."
"You sent her to conversion camp. It didn't work. You sent her to another, much harsher camp. It also didn't work," Dark Red Ladybug recited as Beverly looked angrier and angrier while everyone else looked increasingly uncomfortable. "You considered institutionalizing her, but oh no, you couldn't have that, especially given your husband's stance on the mentally ill. So you settled for ruthlessly, brutally cutting her off from all her friends, insisting on having her homeschooled, denying her Internet access, repeatedly telling both her and her siblings that she was sick in the head, and bombarding her with pro-masculine material to try and reinforce the belief that she was wrong to feel the way she did and she was a boy and always would be. And it seemed to work.
"And then, when your husband was hosting a dinner to thank all of his biggest backers for their support, Christine took the loaded gun from the unlocked drawer by her father's bed-"
"Because of course he did," Shin muttered, facepalming.
"Walked outside and shot herself in the head in front of everyone at precisely 6:35 PM, June 19, 2022," Dark Red Ladybug finished. "Needless to say, your husband lost his bid for governor, and has been scrambling to recover from that fiasco ever since."
There was a long silence. Goro, reminded very painfully of his own daughter's experience struggling with her gender identity, was trembling with rage.
"That… That wasn't my fault," Beverly said weakly. "He was sick, I was just trying to help-"
"It was your fault," Dark Red Ladybug interrupted, eyes starting to glow. "It was always your fault. As Aranea can attest to, every being in the universe is intertwined with every other being in the vast, insanely complex weave of space-time she calls the Tapestry of Fate. Every action affects everyone else in small, often inconsequential ways. But cruelty always hurts someone else, often very badly. Your daughter took her life because you refused to see her for what she was and tried to force her into a different mold because it was more convenient for you. It had nothing to do with religion or morality or whatever excuses people like you always whip up, and everything to do with your anger that the world and the people in it refused to fit your rigid, inflexible view of reality.
"Just like on October 31, 20-"
"That… I think that's enough," Shin said, looking very uncomfortable.
There was a very unpleasant silence.
"So, now can we-" Antares started, only for everyone to shoot him exasperated looks. He scowled but shut up.
Ariel took a few deep breaths, looking like she was struggling to control herself. "Lovebug," she said finally. "You've made your point. She's… A horrible, horrible person. But that doesn't mean that you should kill her. She's not a terrorist or super villain. You said yourself we are all connected. What would killing her accomplish? Would it magically make the world a better place? Won't her loss hurt the people that care about her?"
"There are no people that care about her," Dark Red Ladybug said dismissively. "Her children hate her and blame her for the death of their sister."
"Wh-what? That… That can't be-" Beverly protested.
"Her 'friends' despise her. The staff insult her to her face, fully aware that she doesn't know their language, and frequently spit in her food and drink."
"They what?!"
"And her husband is, at this moment, sleeping with his secretary. The whereabouts and well-being of his wife have not, and never have, crossed his mind."
"That's… No! You're lying!" Beverly shrieked.
"I do not lie. I cannot lie," Dark Red Ladybug said, her exposed brain flashing. "It is my fate and my burden to know all things. It is how I know everything I have previously revealed about you. It is how I know that your sons are named John and Michael, aged 13 and 10 respectively, both of them are into anime and manga but know that you would never permit it, that Michael is slowly starting to realize he's not interested in girls, and that the two of them are planning to run away to find shelter with a friend they met online because life at home is so intolerable they figured taking a risk on a complete stranger is better than living under the same roof as you for a minute longer-"
"They… They what?!" Beverly stammered, shocked.
"Thankfully, they aren't stupid, and are planning to take your husband's gun, which is still loaded and kept in an unlocked drawer next to his bed, with them for protection. And it is also how I know that there is no need for me to kill you – not that I necessarily was going to, merely that I was considering it – especially since your husband is strongly considering it himself," Dark Red Ladybug concluded.
There was a pause. "I'm sorry what," said Philia.
"Holy crap this is like a soap opera," Aki said in amazement. "But actually good!"
Luna scowled at her.
"So much drama!" Neycombe agreed. "Wait, where did you get popcorn from?" She asked Cutaros, who was munching on a bucket.
The Imagin shrugged.
"What are you talking about?!" Beverly demanded.
"Your husband does not and never has loved you," Dark Red Ladybug stated. "If he did, why would he be sleeping with his secretary, the staff, and so many of your friends? You don't mean anything to him. He's noticed you're starting to get old and believes he should trade up for a newer model, one without sagging breasts, crow's feet, or an unsightly amount of Botox."
"That's… What?" Beverly whispered, looking lost.
"But of course he can't have a divorce, because it might ruin his chances of becoming governor, and you know too much. So, he's contemplating having you killed so that he can exploit your death to get pity votes and additional support for his upcoming campaign," Dark Red Ladybug explained. "And the only reason he hasn't done it already is because he wants it to look like an accident and is debating whether or not there's any way he could do it himself and get away with it, or if he should hire someone else to do it, which could possibly leave a paper trail as well as potentially giving your killer power over him."
Everyone stared, aghast.
"… I'm… Actually starting to feel sorry for her now," an upset Galacta admitted.
"Well shit, now I can't enjoy her suffering anymore," Cutaros complained. "At least, not as much." She chewed on another handful of popcorn.
"I'd probably be more sympathetic if she hadn't literally whitewashed my entire family," Fuuka said coldly.
"Or ours," Mei growled.
"T-the way she treated her daughter… What happened to her… That could have been big sis, in another life," Jun agreed, looking uncharacteristically angry.
"Now I am certain we should kill her," Antares asserted, and when he received several exasperated looks, clarified, "Out of mercy. While she's a terrible person, it's clear her life is empty and meaningless, nobody likes her, her children have all but disowned her, and her husband is planning to murder her. It's only humane to put her out of her misery."
"That's… No. We are not going to kill her," Goro insisted. "I'm… Not sure what we are going to do, but it's not that."
"Agreed. I have reached a conclusion," Dark Red Ladybug announced. "Beverly. Look at me."
"What-"
"Look at me."
It was not a request.
Beverly looked in her eyes. She turned pale, started trembling, and sweat rolled down her face as a low moan began to rattle from her throat.
"Lovebug, wait, isn't this… Isn't this what you did to Argus?!" A dismayed Ariel protested.
"Do not worry. She is far less perceptive than he was. Her sanity will merely take a dent rather than completely breaking," Dark Red Ladybug said.
"Is that supposed to reassure us?!" Shin protested.
"No."
"No… No no no no no… That's not… That's not possible," Beverly wailed, tears running down her cheeks.
"It is."
"You're not… You can't… You can't be-"
"I'm not. Yet."
"It's so… It's so big… I didn't… No… I can't… I'm important! I matter!" She screamed in denial.
"Screamed the dust speck."
"He loves me! They love me! They love me! They… They…" Beverly whimpered, the blood draining from her face. "They all hate me…"
"Yes," Dark Red Ladybug said impassively, dropping her to the floor. "They do."
Beverly threw up several times and then curled into a fetal position, sobbing and hyperventilating.
"Oh, cool, she completely destroyed her!" Cutaros enthusiastically.
"What did you do?!" A horrified Ariel demanded.
"People like her try to make themselves feel better by making others feel small," Dark Red Ladybug explained. "So I simply showed her just how tiny she actually is."
"… So… Total Perspective Vortex from Restaurant at the End of the Universe?" A shocked yet fascinated Shin asked.
"Yes, but without the cake."
"Why?" Goro demanded.
"I assumed this form to keep her from ever being a threat to anyone ever again," she explained. She gestured at Beverly. "And now she won't be." She shrugged callously. "She will recover… Eventually."
"I still think we should have killed her," a disgusted Antares murmured. "It would've been kinder than this."
"Wait… But what about… Her husband, her kids-" an alarmed Ariel spoke up.
"Her husband has just suffered a heart attack," Dark Red Ladybug said dismissively. "Nonlethal. He will not be planning any murders or running any gubernatorial campaigns anytime soon. Her children will be fine, the person who agreed to take them in is on the level and will give them the love and consideration they did not receive at home."
"… Did… Did you do that?" A shocked Aranea whispered.
"Yes," she said simply. "As far as my mission is concerned, there is nothing I cannot do."
"And is it over, then?" Goro demanded, stricken. "Your mission?"
"Ariel?" Dark Red Ladybug asked the angel Fox. "Would you say my mission has been completed satisfactorily?"
Ariel stared at the pathetic, whimpering form of Beverly. Disgust swelled up within her, and not at the woman. "Yes," she hissed through her teeth. "Though 'satisfied' is not how I would describe myself right now. I hope you never assume this form again. I don't… I don't like it when you're like this."
"Neither do I," Dark Red Ladybug admitted, startling her as mechanical ladybug began to peel off her body. "Unfortunately, I fear we are both going to be disappointed on that front. Before I revert, there are two things you should know. First, I am going to be distraught at what I've just done, and all of you fear me now, which is only going to make it worse."
Ariel wanted to protest. To argue that she could never be afraid of her lovebug.
She couldn't say that, of course. She could not tell a lie.
"And the second thing?" Aranea, looking equally unhappy, asked.
"One way or another," Dark Red Ladybug said, almost all the ladybugs off her now. "The next time I assume this form will be the last time."
Ariel's eyes widened. "The… Last time? Wait, lovebug, what do you mean by-"
She was interrupted when the gathered loveliness of mechanical ladybugs blasted away from her lover, sweeping over the convention center, healing all wounds, repairing all damage, and causing everyone who'd been turned into a collectible by Gokamiki to change back to normal.
"Huh? What happened?" A confused Jiro asked. "And why do I taste plastic?"
"You were completely useless is what happened," Neycombe snapped sourly. "Even your leader did more to protect us than you, and he was a collectible action figure the whole time, same as you."
Jiro groaned. "Yeah, that sounds like Taro."
The man in question, Taro Momoi, looked down scornfully at Minoru Ono as he got off him. "25 points," he said dismissively before walking off, causing the poor man to burst into tears.
Haruka, Shinichi, Sonoza, and Sononi exchanged confused looks as the loveliness washed over them, Gokamiki abruptly changing back to normal. "What just happened?" A confused Sononi asked.
"Did that guy just change back from being a Hitotsuki without being defeated?" Sonoza wondered.
"Wait, someone else can do it? Does that mean… We're obsolete?!" Haruka demanded, outraged.
"As the seasons turn,
Our purpose and strength dwindle,
Time's relentless march," Shinichi recited.
"Oh shut up," she snapped.
Tsubasa staggered over, his mouth and the front of his shirt covered in red. "Guys, Kijino is dead! Also I think I was just a dog? Again?"
Haruka gasped. "He's dead?!" She paused. "I… Don't feel as bad about that as I should? Does that make me a terrible person?"
"I'm fine with it," Sonoza said casually.
"That really doesn't help."
"As the pheasant flies,
He never-"
"NOT NOW!"
"At least you're all right, darling!" A relieved Sononi gushed, rushing over… And frowning at his state. "But… Why are you covered in blood-"
"Oh, it's not blood, it's ketchup, I stopped for a bite to eat on the way over and made a mess of myself," Tsubasa said quickly.
"Wait, Tsuyoshi died, and the first thing you did wasn't calling the cops or finding us, but getting something to eat?" Haruka asked skeptically.
"I was really hungry," Tsubasa said, eyes darting about shiftily.
"That doesn't smell even remotely like ketchup-" a suspicious Sononi observed.
"How dare you or anyone else suggest that I ripped his throat out while I was a dog and began feasting on his innards!" Tsubasa yelled very loudly.
Everyone stared at him. "Absolutely nobody was suggesting that-" Sonoza started.
Tsubasa grabbed Sononi and started dragging her away. "Come on, Honey, let's go tell Miho the great I mean TERRIBLE news! And pack our bags in case we need to suddenly leave the city on a spontaneous cross-country trip. But if nothing goes bad because of course it wouldn't why would it we can throw a party I MEAN host the funeral at Café Donbura later!"
Everyone stared at them as they left.
"You know what, I think he did rip Kijino's throat out while he was a dog and began feasting on his innards," Sonoza said ponderously.
"Guys, do you know what this means?!" Haruka gasped. "I can branch out into murder mystery now! I'm gonna win so many awards!"
"And I shall serve as your editor, as always," Sonoza vowed.
"And I am already concocting numerous haiku about how fleeting and fragile life is and how death comes for us all, no matter how strong a hero you are!" A delighted Shinichi remarked. "Kijino truly was a good comrade, providing for us all after his death-"
"Where is Inuzuka?!" A livid Tsuyoshi, his clothes torn and his neck and chest covered in red stains, shrieked as he rushed over. "He ripped my throat out when he was a dog and began feasting on my innards! I'd be dead now if I hadn't been miraculously healed by a loveliness of magical robot ladybugs!"
Everyone groaned in disappointment.
"Kaito" and "Stacy" looked up in wonder as the loveliness washed over them, restoring all the booths they had destroyed in their fight, though the large cape they'd torn off a hero statue which the two of them were lying under, naked, remained where it was. "That was beautiful," the True Rival marveled.
"Yes, it is," the True Hero agreed, smiling at him, an Egyptranger gear falling out of the sky and landing in his hand.
His nemesis smiled back. "Shall we go for another round?"
"Of course, we haven't settled anything," the hero agreed, leaning towards him-
"I don't suppose the two of you would be willing to add a third?"
"Kaito" and "Stacy" gasped in delight, seeing a man looking suspiciously like Zox Goldtweaker but shirtless and wearing incredibly tight gray leather pants with a noticeable bulge standing over them, a smug look on his handsome face. "True Wildcard!"
"I was born a wildcard. I fight as a wildcard. I will always be a wildcard," the other man said, unbuckling his pants and letting them fall to the ground, to their delight and awe. "Yo-ho-hoy."
As the last of the ladybugs disappeared, Nushi staggered, her mind and body exhausted from the immense power and knowledge she had just been forced to divest herself of. "Ugh… What… What just-"
She stiffened, pupils shrinking as all her memories and all her emotions collided with each other at once. "Oh… Oh my Queen…"
Turning green, she threw up several times, and continued dry heaving for a bit longer afterwards. "What did I… Why did I… Oh God…"
Horrified, she turned towards Beverly. "I… I'm so sorry, I… I didn't-"
"Stay away from me!" Beverly shrieked, crawling away from Nushi on all fours. "You, you monster!"
Nushi froze as Beverly stumbled to her feet and ran away as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast because she was in heels. "… Monster? But… I…"
She began trembling. She stared at her shaking hands without seeing them, her breathing growing rapid and shallow as she started hyperventilating.
"Lovebug…" Ariel said, reaching out towards her, only to hesitate.
"She… She's afraid of me," Nushi almost screamed before spinning around to stare at Ariel, at all her friends, with frightened, heartbroken eyes. "You… You're all afraid of me! The Buzzing is full of terror, even Apista is…! She was right, they were all right, I'm not a genius, I'm not the hero who's going to save the world, I am a monster-"
Ariel hugged her. "Shh," she said, pressing her forehead to Nushi's. "I love you. We all do."
"You shouldn't," Nushi sobbed.
"And yet we do," Aranea said, embracing her with all her limbs.
Shin and Goro shuffled over and awkwardly joined the hug as well. Antares frowned and crossed his arms, but when Aranea glared at him and telepathically ordered him, he grunted and very reluctantly hugged them as well, careful not to crush them with his massive appendages. Nushi wept, and they wept with her, even Antares, though mainly it was because nobody died after all.
Coccinella was crying too. "The… The darkness," she gasped. "So strong… I can still feel it…"
"It's over now-" Lepidoptera tried to assure her.
"It's not!" She cried. "The dark magic… The corruption has gotten too strong. If Nushi changes into Dark Red Ladybug one more time… We'll never change back!"
As this horrific proclamation filled the air, an incredibly confused Jiro turned to the kids and asked, "Okay, can someone please explain what's going on, I am so confused."
"This has nothing to do with you! Your team sucks and nobody likes you!" An irate Philia yelled at him.
He burst into tears. "I know! My father was a penguin, and all my friends were illusions, even though it blatantly contradicts all my earlier interactions with them! Nothing about me makes sense! Oh, also, I think Master is going to want that sword back."
"Nay," Veila said, hugging the Ninjark Sword to her chest, Neycombe nodding in agreement.
"Okay."