Coven Fairy
"AAAAHHHHH!" Anne cried out, as she was sent careening by a strike from Andrias's tail mecha.
Andrias flew straight for Anne, hitting her with a backhand strike that came too fast for her to dodge, as it sent her through several buildings.
"Target locked." A robotic voice said, before Andrias's shoulder pads opened up, and missiles were launched at her.
Flying through the air, Anne maneuvered away from each of them, with only two remaining behind her.
'If I get hit with just one of those, Araña's gonna return to her Palisman form, and be completely vulnerable to attack.' Anne thought, as the last two missiles collided, creating a giant smoke screen. 'I can't let that happen. Kali's counting on me to protect her.'
From out of the corner of her eye, Anne saw the smoke part as Andrias came through with his fist pulled back.
"Oh shit!" Anne cursed, before Andrias's fist slammed into her, sending her spinning down, falling to the ground bellow, through the base of a building, causing it to fall, before being propped up by the neighboring building.
~Control Room~
Grime and Sasha cried out as they charged at Darcy. They'd managed to sneak their way into the Control Room where the Shield Generator was located, with Yunnan and Olivia holding off the stealth frog bots that had managed to sneak up on them. Just as it seemed their luck was changing, it became abundantly clear, that their task would be far from easy, as Darcy was personally guarding the Generator, wielding a plasma death scythe.
Sasha's blades, and Grime's hammer, slammed against Darcy's weapon, before pushing them back, knocking them into a pipe filled with one would assume, was coolant.
"I have an idea." Grime said. "You go for the Generator, while I distract her!"
"You call that an idea?" Sasha questioned, as Grim ran at Darcy.
Grime let out a mighty battle cry, as he charged at Darcy, with Barrels Hammer alight with power, and increasing his speed, with the rockets propelling him forward. As he was charging the villain, Darcy sent several mechanical tentacle arms towards him, to which the toad jumped and evaded them all. Swinging his hammer down, Grime's attack was on a clear course with its target, before the attack was blocked by the same mechanical tentacles he'd evaded. With the attack having been struck, Grim was knocked away from Darcy.
The villainess laughed at their attempts at harming her, before her ears picked up on the sound of running footsteps, and caught sight of Sasha, heading straight for the Generator.
"Oh, no you don't." Darcy said, pulling out a plasma knife from her cloak.
Sasha was making her way, ever closer to the Generator, but Darcy's blade came flying along the ground, slicing through her armor, and her ankle, while immediately cauterizing the wound it inflicted. This sudden injury caused Sasha to fall to the ground, as she cried out in pain. This opening was all Darcy needed as she ran for Sasha, intending to decapitate her with the final swing.
"NO!" Grime called out.
"Gotcha!" Darcy smirked.
"Sasha!" Grime shouted, appearing to the blonde's aid, and pushing her out of the way, just as Darcy swung her weapon at her.
Unfortunately, Grime wasn't that fast for very long, as Darcy's blade managed to slice through his skin, and removed his left arm. The sudden pain of losing his arm, caused Grime to fall to his knees, groaning in pain as he fell to his back; just like with Sasha's ankle, Grime's wound was immediately cauterized from the plasma of the blade.
"Grime!" Sasha called out, running to him while removing her cloak, using it to compress the wound. "You big dummy."
"Listen to me." Grime groaned. "Sasha, before I met you, I was nothing. Just a bully in a tower. But you, you inspired me to be so much more, and if you can do that, you can do anything."
"Don't talk like that, don't talk like you're dying." Sasha said.
"You can do this." Grime said, before he fell unconscious.
"Oops, looks like he's, disarmed." Darcy said, making a terrible pun at her own handy work. "Get it? Disarmed."
In the midst of her laughing, Darcy was left defenseless as Sasha came charging at her with both swords, only managing to notice the enraged blonde and move out of the way of her double swing, at the last moment. Sasha continued to put Darcy on the defensive, as she swung her blades at the possessed girl, and sliced through a mechanical tentacle, making Darcy realize only one thing.
"I'd miscalculated with this one." She scoffed, blocking the blades with her death scythe.
~Outside~
Kali stood on the ledge of the rooftop, one of the giant herons at her side, as she pet its head, while she stared up at the battle, taking place in the sky.
"Araña's not gonna last much longer." Kali hissed, as Andrias and Anne both knocked each other away with the shockwave of their colliding attacks. "Andrias's power is far more vast then I thought."
("Master!") Araña's voice echoed in Kali's head.
"Araña? What's wrong?" Kali questioned, as the building beneath her feet shook.
("I will not last much longer, you are aware. But I have isolated a fraction of Anne Boonchuy's power, and have integrated it into a single core.) Araña said.
"Who told you to do that?"
("I apologize, but I feel as though, this power is something that you may need, when the final fight with your father, takes place.") Araña stated. ("There is no telling, what kind of dark powers, he'll employ to obtain your heart, and the bile sack attached to it.")
"Fine, I suppose you have a point." Kali sighed. "Be sure to keep that core safe, and give it to me once you've recovered from this battle."
("Of course.") Araña said. ("Master, I would like to mention, this power could be just what you've needed, for powering the project you've been working on for so long. I believe that it could become self sustaining, if you were to mix it into a dollop of Crystallizing Titans Blood.")
"You think it could work?" Kali asked.
("If I were to produce the core in liquid form, yes.") Araña said.
"Then I guess we know, what I'll be doing right after I make a new blade to open a rift to bring Luz home." Kali sighed. 'I don't like that Araña stole that power from Anne, but if it'll power that ultimate shield I've been building, then I guess I can't be too harsh with punishing her when I do.'
Kali's attention was drawn back to the fight, as Anne cried out in pain.
"Why fight it Anne?" Andrias questioned, swinging his arms forward to grab her, only for the empowered girl to evade the grab. "Everything you love, will eventually crumble." He stated, hitting her with his tail, sending her crashing through multiple windows and frames. "Your world, your friendships…"
"So what? I'm supposed to give up, stop feeling things? Like you?" Anne questioned, her voice echoing as if multiple people were talking, as she charged back at Andrias, slamming her fists into his torso.
As soon as Andrias steadied himself, the ports on his mechs body and tail began to glow, before smaller salamanders made of plasma lasers, came flying out of the ports, and went straight for Anne.
"Honestly, I pity you." Anne said, drawing her sword, and encasing the blade in blue light and energy. "You shut yourself off from the rest of the world, didn't you?" With the blade coated in power, Anne threw it towards the salamanders charging at her, slicing them to pieces, and causing explosions to echo through the air as if they were fireworks, before Andrias moved his head to the side, evading the flying blade, before it returned to Anne's hand. "A thousand years of suffering, of burying your feelings, of hating yourself… That must have been hard."
"ENOUGH!" Andrias shouted, suddenly appearing in front of Anne, and slamming his fist into her, sending the girl back into the landing pad the fight began on.
As the dust settled and cleared, Anne could be seen struggling to get to her feet. Araña had reverted back to Palisman form, and was lying unconscious next to Anne's head.
"No… Araña." Anne gasped.
"You did good Anne."
The Boonchuy girl looked up to see Kali walking towards her on the helipad, her fists clenched tight in anger, before she looked straight up at Andrias, pulling out what Anne saw was a butterfly knife made out of a pure crystalline substance.
"Let me take it from here." Kali said, stepping in front of Anne as Andrias landed on the helipad.
"What's this? You're intervening in a one on one fight?" Andrias asked.
"No Kali… think about your babies." Anne said.
"You never said Anne couldn't tag out and let me tag in." Kali stated, practically ignoring what Anne said. "So I'm here, to take my turn. It's about time for our rematch as well."
"Very well, it's your funeral." Andrias said, throwing a punch at her.
Spinning the opened blade around her hand, Kali moved it in such a fluid motion, Anne thought she was a ghost, before she grabbed the hilt by both hands, and blocked the punch with her blade, building up a cloud of dust, blinding Anne, as well as the camera news-copters.
"Kali." Anne cried out.
There was a tense moment of silence, as the dust began to settle, before a shocking sight rocked the viewers.
Kali stood there, in a wide stance braced for the impact, with her butterfly knife, having turned into a wakizashi, held in the hanging right stance, holding back Andrias's fist.
"That blade." Andrias said. "It really is you. You are the girl I saw, four hundred years ago."
"I keep telling you, I'm not that old." Kali hissed.
Pushing back against Andrias's fist, Kali leaned to one side, allowing for the mecha's fist to land into the ground on the side, before she slammed her knee upward, and caused damage to the elbow joint.
(Cue Music… Savages: Marina and the Diamonds)
"Why you little… do you know how much that's gonna cost to repair?" Andrias questioned, swinging his leg at her.
Jumping into the air, Kali evaded the sweeping leg kick, before she was slammed down into the ground by Andrias's tail.
"Damn tail. I keep forgetting he can use that, to attack me." Kali groaned, lifting her arms, and raising the tail off the ground.
Giving one last heave, Kali gave herself an opportunity to role out from under the tail, before it slammed back down, and caused more damage.
Rolling forward, Kali landed a double kick to Andrias's torso, pushing him back, before she bit down on her thumb.
"Third Gear!" She called out, before blowing into her thumb. "Bone Balloon!"
Blowing the air into her thumb, Kali caused her arm to swell to giant proportions again, before she sent the air to her other fist, and pulled it back, slamming her fist into Andrias's torso. While the mecha took most of the damage, Andrias still felt the impact as it jostled him around inside the metal suit of armor, sending the monarch to the ground bellow.
As Andrias picked himself up, Kali's body released the air rather quickly, showing that the more she used Third Gear in a single fight, the less it lasted without proper rest between uses. As she blew the air out of her body, with her form shrinking, Andrias caught her in his giant metal hand, and gripped her tight, as he flew back up to the top of the tower, giving Anne a front row seat to the show that was Kali's struggle.
(End Song…)
"Look at you, such a puny, embarrassing form. You really are, nothing more then a child, aren't you?" Andrias questioned, as Kali attempted to break free from his grasp.
"I might be small, but I am no child." Kali growled. "This is just a side effect, of using Third Gear. Even though I'm like this now, I won't stop until you're beaten and this world is safe!"
"You really are, a hopeless fool." Andrias sighed, shaking his head as his mecha opened up again. "Why even fight us? This isn't even your world. Your home isn't here."
"So what?" Kali questioned. "I'm supposed to give up? Rollover and surrender while letting you commit mass genocide?"
"Please, I'd rather not have to harm a woman with child." Andrias said, noticing how he was starting to have trouble containing her. "This isn't your war to fight. The Human Realm will perish, and you can't save it. But I can spare you, the same fate, and return you, to your world using the Music Box."
"Spare me, your pity Andrias." Kali hissed, her eyes glowing red as she glared up at him. "I may not be from this world. But my heart aches, whenever I hear the cries of innocent people in pain, echoing through the air. I could never just sit by, and watch as others suffer. So yeah, I may not be from the Human Realm, and maybe you're right, maybe it is doomed. So if I can't protect it, then you can be damned sure, that I'll avenge it!" She declared, throwing her arms out, breaking free of the mecha's grip, and showing she returned to normal size, before throwing both her arms back, stretching them out quite a distance. "Now, Gum-Gum…"
"You cannot stop this Kali." Andrias said, his armor covering him entirely once more. "You cannot stop my Kingdom from continuing to conquer other worlds."
"WATCH ME!" Kali shouted, before she threw both her arms forward, covered in flames and Haki. "Crimson Bazooka!"
Kali's palms slammed right into Andrias's torso, causing a bell like sound to ring out, as she caused damage to the armored Mecha. On the inside, Andrias's face was twisted in agonizing pain, before he coughed up blood, as the Mecha fell from the skies once more.
"C'mon, I don't know how much time that bought us, but we have to get out of…" Kali stopped as she reached to grab Anne, before she froze in pain, Anne's eyes widening in Deja Vu horror, as a plasma salamander, pierced Kali, straight through the chest, just as Andrias's sword had done to Marcy when they learned the truth about the Newtopia King.
~Sasha~
Sasha let out a battle cry, as she swung both blades around her, landing on the ground with a menacing glare at Darcy, and hitting her with her pink blade. Darcy moved back, and landed on her feet, while remaining in a crouched position, death scythe in hand.
"That was for Grime." Sasha stated, pointing her blade at Darcy's new wound.
Darcy just growled, as she wiped away the green blood that flowed from the cut, before she smiled and vanished in an illusion of mist. Sasha, having a vague idea about Darcy's tricks, thanks to Olivia and Yunnan, kept her whits about her, as she became surrounded by a twister of dark mist.
"Hey Sash." Anne's voice echoed behind her, causing Sasha to jump a bit.
"Hey Sasha." Marcy's voice came next, as the funnel of mist began producing countless illusions of Anne and Marcy's heads.
"Hey Sasha!" They all said at the same time, their eyes opening to reveal newt eyes, and razor sharp teeth, before they came attacking her.
"You think these cheap tricks, will work on me?" Sasha questioned, cutting each one down as they came at her.
"Yep!" Darcy stated, running to Sasha with her blade pulled back, before she swung it forward, and sliced through Sasha's armor, and back, causing the blonde to cry out in pain. "Oh, too easy." She said, as she began to laugh evilly, before charging at Sasha once more.
~Anne~
"NO!" Anne shouted, finding her voice.
In a near instant, Anne's powers sky rocketed, giving her a boost in strength, as she destroyed the salamander, and caught Kali in her arms.
"You're gonna be okay Kali." Anne said, ignoring how Kali's blood was getting on her. "You and your babies."
"Anne…" Kali coughed. "In the event… of my death… the box will keep my babies alive… for three days."
"Stop talking like that. You're gonna be fine." Anne said.
"The box… is in a tree… with a Dragon Emblem, burned into the bark… Near the house of… Camila Noceda." Kali said. "Take care, of them for me, and find them, a good mother."
"No, you're gonna be fine. You're gonna be okay." Anne stated. "If this power can open rifts in reality, then there's nothing saying it isn't capable of healing wounds."
Anne looked to her hand, before she closed her eyes, in concentration. Focusing on her power, Anne visualized sending it to her palm, as she rested it on Kali's chest. Slowly, Anne allowed the power to travel through her skin, to the open wound, while picturing the power, sealing up the wound, while doing all she could for the girl.
"It's over. An' you were both so close, too." Andrias said, rising into the air.
"It's not over yet." Anne said, as Kali gasped for air, before coughing like she had pneumonia, spitting up the blood that had filled up her lungs.
"Oh but it is. You're both too weak, and powerless to stop me." Andrias said.
~Sprig~
"Anne, Kali." HP gasped.
"Oh no, there's gotta be something we can do to help them." Polly said.
"C'mon, c'mon. Boom Shrooms, Boom Shrooms." Sprig said, searching his pockets, while unwittingly dropping the blank piece of red paper he'd found in his families basement when he found one.
"Hey little man, you dropped your…" Mr. X began, before a corner on his classes lit up, deciphering a message, hidden on the paper. "What, a letter to Andrias?"
"Huh?"
"Say what now?" Polly asked.
"This letter, is encoded with special ink, that's only visible with red lenses." Mr. X said.
"An' you know this, how exactly?" HP asked.
"Spy glasses, secret messages, kinda my job." Mr. X said, before Sprig reached up and grabbed the glasses, and the letter from the human. "Hey!"
Sprig put the glasses on, and began reading the message, before he suddenly gasped.
"I have to get up there." Sprig said, before looking to the Herons, and using his tongue to swing from light post to light post, and jumped onto the head of one of them.
"Sprig wait!" HP called out.
"It's too dangerous." Polly cried, as the Heron flew off to the tower the fight was taking place at.
Up on the tower, Andrias had landed on the helipad, and pulled his mechanical arm back, to kill both girls with a punch. But his attack was stopped, as the Heron scratched its claws against the back of the mecha, causing damage. The Heron circled back, allowing for Sprig to hop down and onto the helipad, before Andrias shot the Heron out of the sky.
"Hey Andrias!" Sprig called out, shooting his last Boom Shroom at the tyrant, causing an explosion that distracted him with the damage. "Anne, Kali."
"Get out of here Sprig." Anne said.
"He's too much." Kali added.
"An' we're both useless now." Anne finished. "So take Kali and get out of here!"
"Three for one eh? Why not?" Andrias questioned, dispersing the smoke, before raising his giant fists into the air to slam down on them.
"Stop!" Sprig called out, holding up the paper. "I have a message from Leif!"
This caused Andrias to pause, as the sensors in his armored suit, focused in on the paper, and found the codded message.
"How… How do you know that name?" Andrias questioned.
"I found this letter in my family's basement." Sprig said. "She was the one who betrayed you, wasn't she?"
"If you found her letter, in your families basement…" Kali huffed, picking herself up. "Then, I think it would be safe to assume, she was your ancestor."
"So what if she was?" Andrias questioned. "Neither of those facts matter now, and the fact that you're her descendant, gives me even more reason, to hate the Plantars!"
"She still has something to say to you." Sprig said, pulling out Mr. X's glasses, before he began reading the message aloud.
"My Dearest Andrias… This message may never reach you, but I hope it does. I know you must hate me, but please hear me out. After hiding the Music Box on Earth, I knew I could never return to the Kingdom. Change was scary, and it was hard for me to open my heart to others again. But, I'm glad I did. We spend our lives, afraid of change. But, after many years, I've realized, the beauty of life, is the change. An' through it all, I had such wonderful memories of you. For even though you, Barrel, and I are no longer together, the two of you never really left my side. In the end, my only remaining wish is that somehow, someday, my love reaches you. So I'm begging you, my dearest friend, don't close yourself off. Open your heart, and follow it. With love always…"
"Your Leif." Sprig finished reading, before the paper flew from his hands in the breeze, and danced with it, until the mecha's fingers grabbed the parchment, and pulled it forward as Andrias opened up his mecha suit again, the shocking pain and emotions visible on his expression.
"All this time. I thought you had forgotten me." Andrias said, his heart and voice filled with sorrow. "Like I tried to forget, you. My dear friend." He sobbed, falling to his knees, and crying in a blubbering mess of emotions, allowing for a thousand years of pain, loneliness, and heartache, to flow freely. "But you're too late. The things I've done, the pain I've caused. There's no going back!" He stated, his voice echoing out as he caused the building to rumble.
"Hey… it's gonna be okay." Kali said softly, stepping up to him, and putting her hand on his head. "I know, you're in pain right now, but just let it flow, because that pain, will eventually blossom, into comfort. Yes, it's true that there's no going back to fix the mistakes we've made in the past. But that's the thing about mistakes." She said, removing the crown from his head, and put it on hers, allowing her circlet to merge it into one tiara like crown. "There's always a chance at redemption. For the journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step."
"No, take that off. If the Core gets into your mind you'll…"
"I'll be fine." Kali said, finding Andrias's concern for her, to be touching, as an eye opened up on the crown. "After all, I am a fearsome dragon that the Core shouldn't underestimate."
~Darcy~
Sasha grunted in pain, as Darcy slammed her to the ground. Gripping her shoulder, Sasha tried to push herself up, before she was forced to stay in place, as Darcy held her heated plasma blade to the blonde's throat.
"Well Sash, it's been fun." Darcy said with a smile.
"Do your worst." Sasha glared, not even scared of the blade at her throat.
"Sure!" Darcy smiled, pulling her blade back, before she paused as she heard the whispering of the other Core Members, speaking to her. "It can't be." She said, turning to a wall, before she waved her hand to the side, and it opened up like a camera shutter, revealing Andrias, stepping out of his armor, while Kali wore the crown. "Aldrich. That useless offspring of yours lost his crown to that Dragoness, and has lost his will to fight. Such a pathetic weakling."
Darcy let out an angered huff, before she sighed, and a smile spread across her face again.
"Though, this may prove to be the perfect opportunity, to bring that world destroying monster, under our control." Darcy snickered, before looking over her shoulder. "Hey Sasha, as a fellow control freak, I'm certain you'll really appreciate this!" She declared, before she threw her hand down, before powerful waves of energy washed from the palm of her hand. Unaware that Grime, had kicked one of Sasha's discarded blades, to her.
~Kali~
Kali sighed as she let out a deep breath. She still felt weak from being run through by that plasma salamander, and the wound was still somewhat fresh, even if the fatality of it was sealed. But even with that wound, Kali knew she was strong enough, to take on the Core when it invaded her mind. Kali felt the connection with the Core take root, as an eye opened up in the center of the tiara, before she closed her eyes, and opened them again, to find herself standing in the middle of a dark void, filled with nothing but emptiness and sorrow.
"Okay, Marcy has to be in here somewhere." Kali said, looking around the darkened void.
"You'll find, she won't be that easy to locate."
Kali turned around, and saw what looked like an older Andrias, with Darcy's multiple eyes, standing there, hands behind his back.
"Aldrich, I presume?" Kali asked. "Or at the very, least his subconscious uploaded to the core?"
"My, you know my name? How curious a creature you are." Aldrich said. "How in the world do you know who I am? I am quite curious."
"Nothing to it really." Kali said. "Olivia gave me a brief rundown on Andrias's family history. An' you look like an older version of him, so it's not all that hard to figure out."
"I see." Aldrich said. "Despite that, I must say I am disappointed."
"What for?" Kali asked, as Aldrich circled around him.
"I'd have thought a creature such as yourself, would have been smarter then to allow herself to be trapped within the mind of the Core." Aldrich said, as what looked like a fantasy world appeared around them, with the sun shining brightly.
"What did you just do?" Kali asked, not sounding too worried about her situation.
"Nothing much. I merely recreated the fantasy world I'd tried to ensnare Marcy Wu, with earlier. Though it pains me to say it, I underestimated her resolve, and so I was forced to take drastic measures, to keep her as the Core's body, when she refused to become one with the Core."
"An' let me guess… you wanna make the same offer to me?" Kali asked.
"You are a smart girl indeed." Aldrich said, turning around to look at Kali, her back still turned to him. "Think about it, a Dragoness, the Queen of all Reptilian Life, the Apex Predator of the entire Animal Kingdom, joining the never ending knowledge of the Core."
"Hmm…" Kali pondered. "It's a tempting offer, but there are a couple things you've gotten wrong there Aldrich. Three to be precise."
"Oh, and what might I have gotten wrong?" He questioned.
"One, dragons might be Apex Predators, but they're far from the Apex of the Animal Kingdom. That's a fact, as their natural enemies are Manticores and Titans." Kali said, as she slowly turned around to face him, her face covered in shadow. "Two, you clearly misread the kind of woman I am. Because if you think, I'd ever side with the likes of a genocidal maniac like the Leviathan Family, then you're dead wrong, because I'm Kali D. Clawthorne, granddaughter of Fairy Tail's third Master!"
"An' what's the third thing I got wrong?" Aldrich questioned, only to gasp as Kali looked up, a broad toothy smile across her face, with her eyes glowing an etherion blue.
"I'm not the one trapped in here with you. You're the one, who's trapped in here with me!" She said, with the Saphira's silhouette, appearing behind and around her in ethereal form, with her head low and in front of Kali. "For I am Kali, Daughter of the Dragon Queen Saphira, the most powerful, and terrifying Dragoness, to ever exist. So I'd hope you have an army with you in this mindscape, because nothing short of an army, larger then Newtopias population, with even begin to give you a fighting chance."
The scenery began to glitch, before it shifted, taking on a dense forest terrain.
"What is this place?" Aldrich questioned.
"This, is Fairy Tail's holy land. Tenrou Island." Kali said as the ethereal Saphira began to glow, before turning into a mass of magic particles. "Or at least what it looks like from my memories."
"This is impossible, no one alive, should have been able to take control of the mindscape, and change the terrain." Aldrich said, before his head shot up, as he heard the sound of tribal drums, echoing through the air. "What is that? What is that sound?"
"That?" Kali asked, her smile broadening on her face, as steam poured from the surface of her skin. "That's the sound of my heart beating. The sound of impending freedom. The Drums of Liberation!"
Aldrich turned back to Kali only to gasp as he saw her, standing there proudly, while her hair looked more like flowing clouds, with white draconic scales covering her body, and shoulders, with the scales leaving a completely exposed opening down the middle, all the way up her arms to the backs of her hands. From her backside sprouted a dragons tail, swaying back and forth in aggression as she smacked it on the ground. Her eyes a burning red, while her teeth were sharp as razors, with a hagoromo made entirely out of steam, with her tiara having reverted back to a circlet, and turned completely black gold. She kept a broad smile on her face, that never faltered, that told Aldrich, he wasn't dealing with just any Dragoness. He was dealing with something, way out of his depths.
"What are you?" Aldrich questioned, stepping back cautiously.
"Me?" Kali asked, her smile broadening before she began to laugh.
Aldrich watched as the laughing continued, while Kali's feet began wobbling underneath her, giving the young woman the appearance of a drunken dancer, as she moved wildly, while the ground beneath her feet, began to move, and ripple like rubber, with Kali bouncing around as if a woman possessed.
"What are you, what are you?" Aldrich questioned, following her movements as she bounced around, before Kali vanished from sight, and her arms wrapped around him like ropes, pulling him towards her, and showing that broadened smile on her face as she hung upside down, while stretching her neck to where she was looking at him properly.
"I'm just me, I'm Kali. But, I am a Warrior of Liberation!" She declared, swinging Aldrich in her arms as they twisted around like a twist tie, before she slammed him into the ground, causing it to cave in, before rapidly going upwards, and sending him flying into the air like he'd bounced off a trampoline.
"This, cannot be possible." Aldrich cried out, as he came falling back down towards Kali.
~Reality~
"No, this cannot be happening." Darcy cried out. "How could such an inferior creature, be capable of causing us such harm?"
As Darcy struggled to regain control, and take Kali's power for her own, she became aware of Sasha's presence, as the blonde let out a battle cry. Darcy quickly turned around, unable to do anything to block the oncoming attack, as Sasha swung her blade. The resonating echo of the blade hitting the ground caused Darcy to open her eyes, before she looked herself over, not finding any new injuries that would have killed her host.
"I am not, that person anymore." Sasha stated.
Darcy looked up towards Sasha, before she laughed as if hearing a funny joke.
"You missed." She said confidently.
"Wanna bet?" Sasha questioned, with a smirk.
Darcy's confidence left her, when she felt the cord connected to her helmet, suddenly become severed, and looked to the ground behind her to see, that it had been cut clean through, by Sashas blade, causing her to scream in terror.
"My connection. You fool, do you have any idea what you've done?" Darcy questioned, stepping up to Sasha in anger as power sparked around her.
"Ooh, sorry. You should have gone for a Bluetooth connection instead of cable." Sasha quipped, before Darcy's body was lit up with an immense amount of power, causing the tyrant core to cry out in pain.
The power surged around Darcy, destroying all the robotic eyes in the room, before the helmet powered down, before falling to her knees, and laying on her back. With a sound of decompression, the helmet popped off, revealing the unconscious Marcy Wu.
"Marcy! Marcy, wake up." Sasha said, taking the unconscious girl into her arms.
~Kali~
"Gum-Gum: Iron Pistol!" Kali cried out, slamming a flaming fist covered in Haki into the Dyloposaurus mecha, destroying it. "There, that should take care of that."
"An' you're sure, the Core is gone?" Andrias questioned.
"Well, his control on the crown is gone at least." Kali said, returning the monarch's headpiece to Andrias. "We still need to free Marcy from the Core's control. An' with the shields down, it'll be easier to get to the castle."
"What do you mean?" Sprig asked, before he gasped as Kali's arm stretched out, and wrapped around the three of them, like a rope. "What are you doing?"
"Oh no." Andrias and Anne said, recognizing this technique, as Kali stretched her arm out and grabbed one of the flying factories.
"Gum-Gum: ROCKET!" Kali cried out, jumping from the ground, and allowing for the momentum of her stretched arm, to pull them all forward. With careful aim, Kali was able to send them all through the opening Darcy had made, while crashing into the equipment.
"We could have easily gotten here on Domino or Frobo." Anne said, before the dust cleared, revealing the scene before them, with Sasha holding the unconscious girl. "Oh Marcy." She said softly, while Kali came over to them, and used healing magic.
"She's still alive, but she'll be unconscious for a while." Kali said, before looking to Grime. "What happened to you?"
"That death scythe happened to me." Grime said. "Darcy used it to cut off my arm, and then made a bad pun about it."
"I can fix that." Kali said, grabbing Grime's severed arm, and revealing the wound. "Yikes, cauterized on injury? I can still fix it, but it'll take time, and it'll leave a scar. An' I'm low on power, so I'm not gonna be able to do it all at once."
"Do what you must." Grime said.
"Yunnan, Olivia, I need one of you to come here, and hold Grime's arm in place for me, while I work." Kali said, as the two newts came into the control room, having finished their fight.
"I can take care of that." Yunnan said.
"Do what you can, I'll have a healing pod ready for him, when you finish." Andrias said.
"Andrias?" Yunnan, Olivia, and Grime questioned.
"It's okay, he's not a bad guy anymore." Kali said. "In fact, I'd say he's turned a page in his book."
Over with the girls, Sasha, and Anne were worrying over their friend, as she wasn't waking up.
"Marcy, please wake up." Anne said. "We love you, and…"
"We forgive you." Sasha added, as they took her hand. "Please, come back to us." She said, as their tears fell on Marcy's face.
With a groan, the two girls were alerted to their friend waking up, before they looked down at her in shock.
"Anne? Sasha?" Marcy questioned.
"Marcy? Marcy!" Anne cheered happily.
"You're alive, you're awake." Sasha cried, as they hugged each other.
"Anne, Sasha… I'm so sorry." Marcy said, sitting up. "I was so scared of moving away. The thought of losing you was just, so big." She said, hugging herself close. "I-I was afraid that if we weren't together, we wouldn't be friends anymore."
"I know it's hard Marcy." Anne said, taking her friends hand. "But, no matter how much we fight it, or deny it, things change. We can't stop it. But nothing, not distance, or time, can break the bond that we share. Because nothing, can take away the memories of the time we spent together. Those memories, will always be a part of who we are, and what brought us together as friends, no matter the trials."
Off near the entrance, Sprig held his arm in contemplation in hearing Anne's words, just as Polly, and HP came into the castle on Domino's back, with Frobo following them.
"Now come here." Anne cheered, hugging them both. "Can you believe we just defeated an ancient invading empire?"
"That's gonna look real good on future job applications." Sasha said.
"An' we'll have videos to prove it." Marcy smiled.
"Is this what they were like before the whole invasion happened?" Kali asked, looking at them with a smile.
"More or less." Andrias smiled. "Kali, I do hope I didn't cause a miscarriage for you."
"It's sweet of you to worry, but I'll be okay. I used magic to make an item that would allow me to fight, without risking a miscarriage." Kali said.
"The rest of you, get over here." Anne called out, resulting in Grime, the Plantars, and Frobo joining the group hug.
"Come on you guys." Sasha said, coming to Olivia and Yunnan.
"Uh, I don't do group hugs." Yunnan said, as she was dragged to the group embrace.
"Kali, what are you standing around for?" Anne questioned, grabbing her hands. "You're a part of this to."
"Wait, what?" Kali questioned, before Anne pulled her into the group hug.
"Grimesy." Sasha said in a singsong voice.
"Oh okay." Grime said, before he joined the hug.
The instant Grime was in the hug, Frobo came about and pulled them all into one huddle, and lifting them into the air in his death grip hug. Once the group hug ended, Anne and Sasha stood with Kali, as the others went to prepare for the transport back home, while introducing her to Marcy.
"Marcy, meet Kali. She's an actual Sorceress, a Dragoness, and…" Anne stopped and pulled on Kali's cheek, causing it to stretch like rubber. "She has the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit from One Piece."
"Oh my gosh, that is so cool." Marcy squealed. "Can you use 4th Gear, Haki, can you use Ryuo, can you turn into Nika?"
"Whoa, slow your role there Marcy." Kali snickered. "I can use up to Third Gear, but I'm still working on fourth. I can use Armament Haki, I cannot use Ryuo, and so far I've only used 5th Gear, in the mental scape where I kicked the Core's ass when it tried taking over my mind. But I looked far different from the manga, and I need to have a talk with Luz about that."
"What's Nika?" Sasha asked.
"It's Luffy's final form, his peak." Marcy said. "The spirit of Joy Boy, the Drums of Liberation, the Mythical Hito-Hito: No Mi Zoan Type model Nika."
"Whoa, slow down Mar-Mar, Sasha and I just finished episode 1,000 of the anime, before the whole Music Box to Amphibia fiasco happened." Anne said.
"I don't mind the spoilers, but you're gonna need to explain it at a human speed." Sasha said.
"Basically, the Gum-Gum Fruit, goes by another name, as I told you before." Kali said. "Mythical Zoan Hito-Hito No Mi: Sun God Nika."
"Joy Boy was the OG user of this Devil Fruit!" Marcy smiled. "An' legend of him says, his heartbeat, were the Drums of Liberation."
"I remember Joy Boy from the Fishman Island Arc." Anne said. "Robin asked about him to King Neptune, if I'm not mistaken."
"That's right. An' Zoan Types tend to have a will of their own, and there's no telling how many people had the Nika fruit before Luffy and…"
"Whoa Marcy, calm down. You're getting a little too invested right now." Sasha smiled. "We'll have more then enough time to continue this discussion afterwards. Right now, we just gotta make sure everyone gets home okay."
"Right. Let me just go change into my other clothes real quick. I think my room should still be how it was before the whole Core Possession thing." Marcy said.
"I'll accompany you, Master Marcy." Olivia said.
~LA Streets~
"Good birdie." Mr. X said, as the herons cleaned up the garbage and rubble of the mess the battle had caused, while Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy were on the phone.
"Now we just need to see everyone back safely to Amphibia, and make sure everyone's okay on the other side." Anne said.
~Castle~
"We'll hold down the fort here." Mrs. Boonchuy said.
"Just until you get back home." Mr. Boonchuy added.
"Mr. and Mrs. B., Could you let our parents know that we're okay?" Marcy asked.
"An' that we'll be back soon." Sasha added.
"Sure." Mrs. Boonchuy smiled. "Now that the robot attack was all over TV, it'll be easier to explain."
"See you soon." Marcy said.
"Love you." Anne added.
"Bye." Sasha waved.
"One more thing before you go Anne. Put Kali on the phone for me?" Mrs. Boonchuy asked.
"Uh, if she's back sure." Anne said, looking around the room. "Kali, you back yet? My mom wants to talk to you for a second."
"Right here, just got back." Kali said, coming to their group, while putting something in her bag. "What'd she want to talk about?"
"I don't know, but make it quick. We gotta go soon." Anne said, handing her the phone.
"Hey Mrs. Boonchuy." Kali said, before holding the device farther away from her.
"Khuṇ kảlạng khid xarị xyū̀ nı lok nī̂? Khuṇ mị̀ s̄ncı lūk k̄hxng khuṇ ley h̄e rx? Khuṇ ca thả xỳāngrị t̄ĥā khuṇ s̄eīy chīwit bn nận cring«?" Mrs. Boonchuy shouted in Thai. "Kār s̄eīys̄la k̄hxng sæffịr̒ mị̀mī khwām h̄māy s̄ảh̄rạb khuṇ xīk t̀x pị læ̂w h̄rụ̄x yạng?"
"What did she say?" Kali asked, as Mrs. Boonchuy stopped shouting.
"She's just mad at you for risking your life, and doesn't understand your babies are somewhere safe." Anne said. "At least that's what I'm guessing, I don't speak Thai all that well."
"Babies, cute little dragon babies?" Marcy asked, sounding intrigued.
"Yet to be born Marcy." Sasha said. "Apparently, Kali made something to keep her pregnancy in, that would allow her to fight without risking a miscarriage."
"I'll explain this to your mom, before we get going." Kali said, heading off to explain things to Mrs. Boonchuy.
"Alright, are we ready to head out?" Anne asked, looking to the other two.
"Ready Anne." Marcy smiled.
"Oh you know it girl." Sasha said.
"Okay, let's do this." Anne stated, before turning the key to the music box, and opening another portal to Amphibia.
~Amphibia~
The battlefield was raging on, with the rebellion continuing to fight against the robotic frog army, as Grime's sister continued to lead the charge.
Just as she sliced through another robot, the ground began to rumble, before the sky opened up with another portal, and the castle returned from the Human Realm, and landed back in the city that had been built around it.
"An' I stuck the landing." Kali said, while Polly angrily nibbled on her shoulder. "How long are you gonna keep doing that?"
"Until you admit I would have been a better driver." Polly said.
"You would have landed us, outside the city in the water." Kali stated, pulling the polliwog off her shoulder. "I spared us all some minor injuries."
"So, how'd the talk with my mom go?" Anne asked.
"Once I explained things to her, she calmed down. Missed what she said though, as the call cut out once we passed through the portal." Kali said, putting Polly in her hands. "Now, I gotta figure out a way back home."
"Before that, we have to address the masses, and let them know, the war is over, and that we've won." Grime said, his left arm in a cast.
"Careful, don't move around too much." Kali said. "I used the last of my power to reconnect the nerves. So don't go undoing my efforts, just because you wanna party."
"So, what did you have to leave the castle to grab?" Marcy asked.
"This." Kali said, pulling out a hexagonal box, with a small picture of her face, on one of the edges. "It's the box my pregnancy is being stored in. So long as I'm alive, the babies are as well, and they won't return to my body, until it's time for them to be born. But they'll also return to me if I, or someone else opens the box."
"What's this little groove on top?" Marcy asked, reaching to touch it.
"Careful, I wouldn't touch the groove. Not unless you wanna be someone the babies can be connected to." Kali said. "So far, I'm the only one they're connected to, but if someone leaves their finger in the groove for about five seconds, they'll be added among those the babies can connect to, the proof of that is, an image of your face will appear on one of the edges."
"Boop." Marcy said, poking the groove.
This took them by surprise, before Marcy's face appeared next to Kali's on the box.
"Marcy!" Anne gasped.
"What the hell girl?" Sasha questioned.
"I just wanted to make sure, Kali had someone to rely on when she needs to fight." Marcy said. "So if at any time you need to fight, but don't wanna risk the babies lives. Just switch them to me."
"How… how does that actually work?" Sasha asked.
"I just gotta press on the face, like I would for changing the channel with a remote on a crystal ball." Kali said, still a bit in shock that Marcy did what she did. "When they make the switch for provider, the new host will feel like a harmless jolt of electricity just ran through them."
"Crystal ball?" Anne asked.
"Must be Boiling Isles equivalent to a television." Sasha said.
"Enough jabbering, let's go greet the masses." Grime said, before heading for the balcony, with Olivia and Yunnan taking the lead.
"King Andrias and Darcy have been defeated. We are victorious." Olivia called out.
This caused the masses bellow to cheer in joy, and victory, while Kali looked to Andrias.
"Huh, everything's over." Sasha smiled. "Looks like we didn't even need that prophecy."
"Prophecy? What Prophecy?" Marcy questioned.
"So, what will you do, now that you've been freed from the Core's control?" Kali asked.
"I'm gonna restore the land, make amends for all the wrongs I've done." Andrias said. "It'll be hard, and it will take time, but I know I can do it, if I just have a little faith and love in myself."
"Hey Anne." Sprig began hesitantly. "Do you think, things between us, will change too? The way that things have changed between you, Sasha, and Marcy?"
"It's hard to say Sprig. But if they do, we'll face it together." Anne smiled.
As the celebrations continued, Sprig was looking over the balcony, before his gaze rose to the moon, and he was instantly surprised. Rubbing his eyes, the pink frog blinked a couple times, before he grabbed Anne's arm, and tugged on it to get her attention.
"Hey, uh, is it just me, or is the moon getting closer?" He questioned.
Kali looked to Sprig, then up to the sky, her eyes widening as she saw the red moon, growing bigger, as it drew closer to the planets surface, with only one thing, coming to mind as she realized, they were still in trouble.
"Of fuck!"