The Ink

Penny and Molly could not believe what they'd just seen. Gumball…had just been stabbed by the blades at the end of Green's tail and was then hurled across the street, his blood flying through the air and coating the ground as it gushed from his open wounds. It was all the more painful and traumatic for Penny, for, apart from Gumball being her boyfriend, she'd seen him change more than most had and was more capable of associating Gumball and the abyssalis cat as being the same person.

She'd basically just watched her boyfriend get stabbed horrifically.

And to make matters worse, Green apparently wasn't done, taking flight and perching on a nearby building. The light that constantly extruded from his mouth intensified and a beam shot forth, honing in on the downed Gumball. So, on top of everything else, Green was also capable of firing destructive beams of energy from his mouth? He truly is a monster. But, just as the beam was about to hit home, the abyssalis cat vanished in a puff of black smoke, the beam ripping apart the ground where he'd been laying and leaving a rather deep crater.

Wherever he reappeared wasn't in Molly and Penny's sight, but Green fired more and more beams from his perch, each one producing a powerful reverberation wherever they struck, the impacts shaking all of Elmore.

—

The abyssalis cat had managed to get a hold of his facilities long enough to evade the first beam fired at him from his adversary, teleporting away just in time. Though he was left without a respite as another beam soon came at him, and he had to teleport once again. Over and over this continued, the abyssalis cat always teleporting just in the nick of time, Elmore soon becoming pot marked with craters. However, these constant near misses began to aggravate him, eventually to the point where he could push past the throbbing pain in his side and begin planning to do something more than just dodging the blasts.

After yet another evasion via teleporting, the abyssalis cat let out a savage roar-cry and lunged forward, charging the building his adversary was taking refuge on top of. Green noticed this shift in tactics and fired more beams of energy, though this time the abyssalis cat dodged them utilizing his agility, rather than teleportation, sidestepping each beam before they had a chance to impact him.

Before long the abyssalis cat arrived at the base of the building, where he again used his ability to teleport, only this time he reappeared on the same roof that Green stood upon and lunged at him, knocking them both off the roof and plummeting to the ground below. However, Green spread his wings and took to the air, dragging the abyssalis cat along as a fierce aerial melee between them ensued.

—

Back with Penny and Molly, they could only watch as the great hulking feline and demonic serpent duked it out in mid air, the slashing of claws and the flaps of massive wings reverberating through the night. Penny knew that this couldn't continue. If this didn't stop Elmore would be leveled to the ground. But the only way to stop this was to vanquish Green and he proved to be beyond anything that they could handle on their own. What could they possibly do against an all powerful demon of strife…

There was the sound of a popping balloon and Carrie suddenly appeared before them.

"Penny! There you are!" shouted the ghost girl in relief. "I stopped by the wrecking yard first but Gumball wasn't there. Where is he?"

Molly and Penny gasped at seeing their ghostly classmate, Penny however, remembered the certain task she had been assigned herself the last time they met.

"Carrie!" she cried, making to grab Carrie by her shoulders, but found her hands phasing through her incorporeal being. "Did you get the ink?"

Carrie smirked triumphantly, flicked her fringe proudly and then held out her left arm, a transparent vial containing a luminescent white liquid appearing in her hand.

"Success!" she declared with a vast amount of pride, then a scowl appeared on her face. "Just don't ask what I had to do to get it."

—

Back at the van that is the Awesome Store a shadowy hand counted a rather tall stack of money under a candle light.

—

Penny just stared at the vial in Carrie's hand. This was it. Their only chances of ending Green's tyranny once and for all.

"What is that stuff?" asked Molly, indicating to the vial.

Carrie looked at Molly as if just now noticing her. "What's she doing here?"

"She's somewhat involved now, but we don't have time to explain everything," said Penny. She gave Molly the gist of it though. That the vial contained a special ink that could be used to cast a spell that would put a stop to Green's shenanigans for good and hopefully turn Gumball back to normal.

"But remember, we have to wait until Green is utilizing his connection to our world," clarified Carrie, though still didn't understand how Molly wound up in the loop. "Only then will it work."

Molly looked confused. "Does this Green guy coming over to our world completely count as him using this "connection"?"

"What do you mean "completely"?" asked Carrie.

As if in answer, the abyssalis cat and Green fell from the sky at that moment, the abyssalis cat having seized Green's right wing with his jaws and prevented him from flapping, both landing a few blocks away from Carrie, Molly and Penny's position. They rolled across the road for a second before Green whipped the abyssalis cat off him with his tail. He was sent rolling several yards, though immediately climbed to his feet to face down his opponent once more.

They stared at each other, the abyssalis cat crouched and growling, his side caked in his blood, while Green sneered, though had no visible wounds, despite the intense and repeated mauling. The abyssalis cat let out yet another roar-cry and bounded forward with thundering footfalls. Green retaliated by bringing his tendrils to bear, which lunged forward, fangs and curved spikes poised. The abyssalis cat swiftly dodged the tendrils one by one however, each one impacting the road, crashing through the concrete and leaving sizable holes. Before long the abyssalis cat had pounced Green yet again and they were sent sprawling once more.

Molly, Penny and Carrie observed, though Carrie's expression carried nothing but disbelief and dread.

"He…he's here?" she practically mumbled. "Green himself has crossed over fully into our world?" She asked this question to no one in particular, for the answer was obvious. Then…out of nowhere, Carrie scowled, summoned the book that held the information pertaining to Green and began to flip through it frantically. "Now is the time! We won't have a better opportunity than now!"

Penny couldn't agree more. After everything that had happened, she would like nothing more than to banish Green back to where he came from.

"Wait!" she suddenly said, putting a hand over the book to stop Carrie's progress. "You said it would only work when Green is utilizing his connection to our world, but he's in our world entirely now! If we cast the spell to sever the Dark Place's connection won't he just remain here in our world and we'll have to deal with him constantly, rather than just every thousand years?"

With her trademark deadpan expression, Carrie casually removed Penny's hand from the book and continued to flip through it while she explained: "Green's presence in our world isn't as simple as that, Penny . When he came here it wasn't like walking from one room to another through a door. His connection to his realm is vastly different from how we are connected to this world. Him and the Dark Place are basically one in the same. Once the connection is broken he will be dragged back from whence he came as if he were chained to an anchor. That anchor being his realm."

Penny blinked in astonishment and hope at Carrie's explanation. "So…we still have a chance!?"

"Yes!" said Carrie, finally arriving on the page she needed. "As long as we can trace out this spell circle using the Moonbeam Ink we should be able to break the connection and send Green back where he came from."

They both looked at the book, Penny looking over Carrie's left shoulder, but the euphoria of finally having a means to put a stop to all this quickly dissipated as they saw what was depicted on the page. The required spell circle had all the complexity of the xiuhpōhualli calendar of the Aztecs; with intricate patterns and glyphs. There was no telling how long it would take to draw it out.

"So…this is the thing that will stop Green?" asked Molly, now looking over Carrie's right shoulder. "And it needs to be drawn in the ink you brought to work?"

"Unfortunately!" said Carrie, grunting in frustration. "But look at this thing! I've never seen a spell circle so complex! It'll take hours to draw, and who knows if Green will even keep the connection active that long?!"

"What, you mean this simple little doodle?" inquired Molly, pointing at the overly complex image on the page. "Come on, it'll be easy. How big does it have to be?"

Penny and Carrie looked at Molly in confusion. Simple doodle? Were they looking at the same thing?

"About thirty feet in diameter," answered Carrie…

…and not a second later Molly had casually snatched the book and the vial of ink, strode over to a four-way turn section in the nearby road and popped the cork of the vial, revealing it had a fairly long paint brush attached to it.

"Molly, what are you doing?" Penny practically screamed in terror as she saw the sauropod unorthodoxly handle the one thing that could end all this, but soon paused in astonishment, Carrie as well.

With one final look at the picture in the book Molly began drawing on the concrete with the Moonbeam Ink. She was like a living printer, moving from here to there in a millisecond, her foreleg nothing but a blur as she drew. She only paused a few times to cast more brief glimpses at the book before resuming. In little more than a minute Molly suddenly skittered up beside Penny and Carrie, handing Carrie back the book and now half full vial of ink, a broad grin on her face.

Carrie and Penny were dumbstruck, looking between the book and the wide image now drawn on the ground. They were identical to the smallest detail.

"Oh my gosh!" murmured Penny, looking at Molly, perplexed. "How…how did you do that, Molly?"

"Oh, uh," said Molly, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "I…don't just collect pencils. I doodle with them quite often. I've gotten quite good at anything involving them, if I do say so myself."

Carrie and Penny exchanged a look of confusion and intrigue. They, along with most, had always viewed Molly as the definition of boring, but she had such an underlying talent that none were apparently aware of. They might just have to reassess their opinion of her. But they could do that later. There was a more pressing matter.

"Quick, Penny, into the circle," said Carrie hurriedly, gesturing. "Molly, you too."

Both girls complied, striding quickly into the luminescent circle drawn upon the ground, taking care not to step on any lines.

"Okay, what now?" asked Penny.

Carrie followed them within the circle and stood between them, the book and vial of ink vanishing, having served their purpose, and summoning two pieces of paper into her hands and handing each to Molly and Penny. She had intended for the Wattersons, as well as Penny, to do this part, but they apparently weren't around for some reason and they were at a point where they couldn't risk any more delays of any kind.

"Take my hands and begin reciting this chant," Carrie explained, reaching out her hands, which Molly and Penny each took, holding up the papers in their other hand. "And repeat it over and over! Whatever you do, don't stop!"

They could read the letters, but couldn't understand the words.

"What does it say?" asked Molly.

"No time, just read!" said Carrie, anticipation and dread in her voice.

This was it. The moment of truth.

"Per monstruosum lunae lumen claudimus opaca transitus! Per monstruosum lunae lumen claudimus opaca transitus! Per monstruosum lunae lumen claudimus opaca transitus!"

Molly and Penny read the short sentence written on their respective papers repeatedly, Carrie just reciting the chant unaided, having apparently just memorized the words. As they spoke in unison the luminous circle below them gradually began to shine brighter.

—

Green was holding the abyssalis cat away at arms length, the massive predator swiping and snarling in rage, when he heard something on the air. A sort of…chanting? At that moment his ever present gleeful smirk melted away for a brief look of confusion, before turning to the source of the voices. In the distance he could see Gumball's girlfriend Penny, standing with two other girls and reciting those ancient words he hadn't heard in millennia, a glowing circle beneath them, gradually growing brighter. And that's when Green became concerned for the first time during all this. Every setback up till now had been, while annoying, just minor inconveniences, but if they were casting "that spell" all of this, all his efforts, would have been for not.

For he wouldn't be around to relish in the aftermath of what is to come.

"No!"

A glow behind him caught his attention for a moment and he ducked just in time to avoid a blast of electricity from the abyssalis cat. He'd been having fun provoking the beast but the situation had turned drastically against him so now he could indulge in this farce of a fight no longer. He thrust his fist into the abyssalis cat's gut, who doubled over in an instant, gasping for breath.

His would be opponent momentarily incapacitated, Green spread his wings and tore off down the road in a low, but speedy glide.

—

Penny, Molly and Carrie saw him approaching and momentarily ceased their chanting in fear.

"Don't stop!" Carrie called out, and her and the others began their chant again.

Whatever was supposed to happen had better happen soon.

—

From where he knelt the abyssalis cat looked up, snarling as his adversary flew forward in the opposite direction and away from him, his sudden ignorance enraging. He wasn't going to stand for this. He was going to come out on top, no matter what.

He vanished in a puff of smoke.

—

Just when Carrie, Molly and Penny were certain that the spell wasn't going to work in time before Green reached them the abyssalis cat appeared in Green's path, halting him in place, though not just because he was in the way. The abyssalis cat had appeared at such an angle that his head was forced into Green's open mouth. The eyes of his tendrils and the eye on his chest widened in surprise for a second before the back of Green's head suddenly exploded outward, a stream of electricity flying off into the sky afterwards, having been fired by the abyssalis cat at point blank range.

All was still, Molly, Penny and Carrie had even ceased chanting.

Then Green tumbled limply to the ground and lay still.

"Did…did he kill him?" asked Penny with both horror and hope.

Carrie shook herself out of her shock. "No! Green operates under different rules of death than us, same as everything else! But now's our chance! Quick, chant, before he recuperates!"

Then Green's limp form levitated off the ground, jerked spread eagle in the air and then the tips of his tail-blades, the tips of his claws, and the tips of his wings stretched out like taffy and were drawn into his portal, which was now jiggling like Jell-O.

"Per monstruosum lunae lumen claudimus opaca transitus! Per monstruosum lunae lumen claudimus opaca transitus! Per monstruosum lunae lumen claudimus opaca transitus!"

The trio continued to chant, all the while the abyssalis cat stood over the limp form of Green, crying out in victory. Then, just when they thought that their voice boxes might break, a pillar of white light shot up from the spell circle, bent horizontally, twirled once in the air and then shot towards the dark vortex Green had emerged from. The pillar washed over the swirling darkness in a torrent for a second, then dissipated. At first, it appeared as if nothing happened, the spell circle fading away, leaving the girls standing on bare ground. They looked increasingly worried as it became clear that the spell may not have worked.

Then Green's limp form levitated off the ground, jerked spread eagle in the air and then the tips of his tail-blades, the tips of his claws, and the tips of his wings stretched out like taffy and were drawn into his portal, which was now jiggling like Jell-O.