Chapter 8 – Halloween's End

Arle's POV

"*weak moan* Ow~…my~…everything~…"

"Gu gu. Gu gu guu gu guu."

"Carby~? Wh-Where am I~?"

"Gu gu gu guu."

"Th-The hospital~? Wh-Why would I…" And then…as I sat there confused, weak, and still in tremendous pain, a sudden jolt came into my mind. Making me remember whatever happened that got me here in the first place.

Th-That's right! Halloween! All of that stuff with Wraith…a-and that perverted psycho girl…

"C-Carby…what day is it today?"

"Gu guu. Gu gu gu guu."

"N-November 7th? I've been knocked out for a week?"

"Gu gugugu gugu. Gugu. Gugugugu gu. Gu gu gu."

"W-Wow…they were THAT bad, huh?" I then sat up a little from the hospital bed. Taking a good look at all of the bandages and stitches littered all over my body.

I really am lucky to be alive right now. Everyone must've done their best to rescue me…I truly owe them all!

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Sorry, Carbuncle. I tried looking everywhere, but nobody around here sells curry-flavored…A-ARLE!"

"H-Hey, Ringo. How's it go…GAK!"

Before I was able to finish my sentence, Ringo latched onto me in a huge hug while tears ran down her face and onto mine.

"Y-You have no idea how worried I was about you, Arle! *sniff* I-I truly thought I was going to lose you~!"

"I-I'm glad to see you too, Ringo…b-but could you ease up with the hugging? M-My body…i-it's still…i-in pain…"

"O-Oh…right *sniff*s-sorry, Arle." Ringo said as she let go of me.

"*giggle* But really…I'm really happy to see you again, Ringo. Thank you so much for rescuing me."

"I would do it all over again. For my best friend and the love of my life."

"Ringo…"

With the two of us staring into each other's eyes, we leaned forward for a sweet passionate kiss. The first one in what felt like a lot longer than a week. And it was the most blissful of them all.

I'm so happy…I can still do this…

"Wow, so you guys wasted no time to initiate a make-out session, huh?"

"A-Amitie?!" We both yelled in shock after we noticed her standing next to the bed.

"*sigh* And once again, a lesbian romance makes me the forgotten one…"

"Don't worry. You somehow get used to it after a while…" And then next to her was a girl with short red hair and…m-missing her left eye?!

"Uh…Amitie…wh-who's your friend?" I asked.

"Oh, right. This is Akari Akaza. We met when I tagged along with Feli and Futaba to go to that "Comiket" thing last year."

"Last year? And you're still in contact with each other?" Ringo asked.

"Well, duh! It's because we're both…"

"Miracle Cure Fangirls for LIFE! Cutie!" Both Amitie and this Akari girl cheered loudly as they raised a peace sign into the air.

"Ah. Of course…" Which made both Ringo and I gain huge sweatdrops.

"Anyway…" Amitie continued. "…As to why she's here…she just wanted to see if her efforts really paid off in the end."

"Her efforts?" I asked.

"For starters, you are in the hospital…in Toyama."

"T-Toyama?!"

"Technically, you're in a hospital in Takaoka…but I guess you wouldn't know what that is." Akari said.

"Wh-What am I doing all the way over here?"

"Well, Arle…" Ringo said. "…Your injuries were so bad that no doctor in Primp could treat you. And with your life literally hanging by a thread, Amitie made the split-second decision to warp you both to Toyama and met up with Akari."

"There's a doctor that my friends and I are in close contact with. So, I asked him to help out." Akari added.

"I see…" I went silent for a bit. "…You guys really went the extra mile for me, huh?"

"Of course, we did, Arle. We are best friends." Amitie said.

"Best friends…" Hearing that made me gain a huge (but still weak) smile on my face.

Yeah…we're best friends! Ever since the day we met! And nothing's ever going to change that!

"Well, it seems like everything's working out…" Akari said. "…I'm sure you guys have a lot of "other-worldly stuff" you want to talk about, so I'll go ahead and leave."

"Ah. Okay, then." I said. "Thanks a lot for your help, Akari."

"Yeah, thanks again, Akari." Amitie added. "I TOTALLY owe you for this."

"Really now?" Akari said with a smirk. "Maybe now you can fulfill that promise you made before."

"Huh? What promise?"

"Don't you remember? You promised you would show me all of the Copy Abilities you have!"

"H-Huh?!" Ringo and I yelled in shock.

"O-Oh, yeah…that…" Amitie gained a sweatdrop. "…Well…a promise is a promise, I guess. Let's go to the nearest park and I can show them all off to you."

"YES! FINALLY! I get to see ACTUAL Copy Abilities! *squeal* The Kirby fangirl inside of me is going absolutely insane~!"

"Oh, boy. That doesn't sound good…" Ringo said with a sweatdrop as we watched the two girls leave the hospital room.

"Carby, you mind going with them to make sure Amitie doesn't do anything reckless to trigger her anger?" I asked him.

"Gu gu gu guu!" Carby agreed and went after Amitie and Akari. Easing our worries about something bad happening not long after I woke up from a week-long coma.

Speaking of which…

"H-Hey, Ringo…when exactly did I pass out from my injuries?"

"Well…I'd say it was shortly after Sultana fled." Ringo then gained an angry look. "The injuries were nightmare-ish…I really wish I had gotten my hands on her…"

"W-Wait…Sultana? Is that her name?"

"You mean she never told you?"

"She told me a lot of things. How she revived Wraith, how she planned all of that just so she could steal my power for her "Chaos Heart", how watching me use my power nearly made her cream herself…"

"Ew…" Ringo gained a sweatdrop.

"…But the one thing she never told me was her name. And it wasn't like I could've just asked her when I was busy fighting for my life at the time, so…"

"Yeah, that does make sense."

"But in all seriousness, Ringo…I'm really sorry for not telling you about my past. That memory in particular was so horrible…I'm surprised myself that I eventually forgot about it."

"Well, that was because of Satan. He did admit that he altered your memories in order to save you from yourself."

"*sigh* Normally, I would be mad that he invaded my privacy like that…but I guess I truly do owe him this time."

Especially since he's trying to capture Sultana…

"And in the case of your apology, Arle…I totally 100% understand. Having a dark memory like that suppressed in your mind for so long…I would struggle to tell people myself." Ringo then went silent as she gained a small smile and tears began forming in her eyes. "All that matters, really…is that you're finally able to move on. And I'll help you all the way through no matter what."

"Ringo…" Hearing that made me form tears in my own eyes. And we eventually brought our faces together for one more passionate kiss. Eagerly happy that we made it through this ordeal together.

"I love you…Ringo."

"I love you too, Arle."

*BOOM*

"WH-WHAT WAS THAT?!" Ringo yelled after we heard a huge explosion seemingly come from nowhere…

…That is until we looked outside the window and saw huge light-green electric currents spewing across multiple buildings. And we immediately knew what had just happened.

"*sigh* Goddamnit, Amitie…" We both said with huge sweatdrops.


It was another few days before I was able to leave the hospital and come back to Primp. Most of my injuries were healed enough at this point…but I was still kind of sore. Doing a lot of physical activity won't be an option for me for a good while.

I was well enough to start coming back to classes again. So, that's where I am today. Ensuring everyone there that I was physically, emotionally, and psychologically well enough to be there.

"You sure you're okay being here, Arle?" Ringo asked me. "You don't need more time to recover?"

"I'm fine, Ringo. Honest. I just…need to take it easy for a bit. Maybe not get into random Puyo battles for ridiculous reasons."

Especially since I don't have my power anymore…

"*groan* You're oddly relaxed about this, you know. I mean…you almost DIED, remember?"

"I know, but…now that my childhood memories are slowly coming back, I remember being in somewhat similar situations back in my world. So, that means I can handle this one much like the others, right?"

"It's because of that fact that makes me worry so much…" Ringo gained a sweatdrop.

"Okay, kiddies. Everyone to their seats." Ringo's constant worrying was interrupted once Ms. Accord came into the classroom. So, at least I can get a small break from that.

Although, I'm glad she still loves me like this. Especially after knowing what happened all those years ago…

"Now, then…" Ms. Accord said. "…I'm sure you're all eager for yet another school day filled with magical lessons and…"

"Sick-ass guitar riffs?!" Peruvis asked in excitement.

"No, Peruvis…"

"Chucking chemicals…pfft." Dalida asked in her usual unamused state.

"N-No, Dalida…"

"Ooh! Are we kicking people?!" Raina asked. Cheerful as always. "Cause I wanna kick Popoi!"

"Y-YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO KICK ME, MEOW!" Popoi yelled.

"E-Everyone please settle down." Ms. Accord spoke out. "*sigh* Before we start our NORMAL school lessons…"

"Aw~…" The previously mentioned trio whined in disappointment.

"…We have a new student joining our class today."

"Huh? New student?"

The entire class was definitely confused by this news. It isn't a common thing to get new students here. The last one was Dalida and that was a little over a year ago.

So we were definitely interested in whoever this new one was.

"Who's the new student, Ms. Accord?" Amitie asked.

"Well…she was supposed to be here once class began. Although, I had trouble finding her and…"

*CREAK*

*LOUDER CREAK*

*CRASH*

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" We all screamed in fear after something that looked like a body fell through the ceiling and landed in front of us. Dismantled into pieces.

Soon after…we saw the pieces move a little. And then they began reassembling themselves back together. Confirming my original thought that it was a body that fell.

This body, though…it looked EXTREMELY familiar.

N-No way…i-is that…?!

"Hello~…everyone~. Sorry you had to see that~."

"J…JULIA?!" A good chunk of us shouted in pure shock.

"G-Get real…you're ALIVE?!" Amitie asked.

"Yay! Julia's back!" Raina cheered. "Now I have a new person to kick!"

"DON'T!" Raffina shouted as she stopped her clone from continuing her kicking habit.

"I-I don't understand!" Ringo yelled. "We saw her die right in front of us! Her SOUL was absorbed into Sultana's Chaos Heart thing!"

"That's why she has a completely new one."

"HUH?!" We looked at Lidelle with total shock.

"Y-You can just GIVE people new souls?!" I asked.

"Well, the process is rather complicated. First, you have to actually find a soul that's no longer in use. Then you have to perform this ritual that takes about 5 days to complete…and even then, there's like a 65% chance that it'll actually work. Julia was one of the lucky ones, honestly."

"Wow…that's actually amazing, Lidelle!" Witch cheered.

"Even I have to admit…that's pretty impressive work." Klug added.

"*giggle* It was nothing for someone as amazing as the Demonic Princess of Hell~." Lidelle then gained a smug-like smile.

"You don't have to be cocky about it…" To which Amitie and Feli responded with exasperated sweatdrops.

"I am truly grateful for the efforts of the Demonic Princess~." Julia said. "Now that I am fully revived~…and with a more peaceful soul within me~…I can enjoy the life I had missed out on all those years ago~."

All those years ago…speaking of which, what I'm about to say is LONG overdue…

"H-Hey…Julia." I said as I stood up from my desk and went to stand right in front of her. "This maybe far too late for me to say this, but…I…I-I'm really sorry! I truly never meant to kill you that day! I felt so much guilt…back then and even now…I can only hope that you can forgive me. Even if this apology is coming later than it should've."

"Arle~…" Julia looked back at me with, ironically, her soulless red eyes. "…Thank you for the apology~. And I do forgive you, Arle~. In fact~…I was hoping you would forgive me~. For the damage and horror my original soul put you through~."

"Of course, I do. I mean…technically it wasn't your fault. But if we were to put the full blame on someone, it would obviously be Sultana."

"Ugh…the Princess of Chaos…it's still mind-boggling as to how she escaped from her prison." Lidelle said. "I really thought that seal Dad made was eternal…"

"Did she ever mention how she got out?" Ringo asked me. "Like maybe a slip-up or something?"

"Oddly enough, she didn't know either. Said that she was suddenly free and used the opportunity to come mess with me."

"*sigh* So, it was pure luck on her end." Ringo then gained an angry look. "I still want to make her pay for all she's done…"

"Don't we all, Ringo." Raffina said.

"Hey, before you guys get over-confident or anything…" Lidelle said. "…You should know that Sultana's a pretty serious threat. She didn't get the name "Princess of Chaos" because she thought of it on her own one day."

"Lidelle's right, everyone." Ms. Accord added. "This new foe shouldn't be treated like the others you've fought before. If she managed to nearly destroy this world all those years ago, then there's no telling how powerful she truly is."

Ouroboros…

Zero…

Ridel…

None of them ever came close to their goal of destroying the world. So, the fact that Sultana almost did it…SINGLE-HANDILY, even…and plans to do it again by stealing my power…

This truly may be Primp's biggest threat yet…

"But in any case…that's just something to keep in mind. For now…let's welcome our newest classmate, Julia Rycroft."

"Oh, right." I said before clearing my throat. "Welcome to the class, Julia!"

"Welcome to the class, Julia!" The others repeated the cheerful greeting.

"Thank you~…everyone~. It is a pleaser to be her~…"

*POP*

"Ah~…"

Julia had tried to bow in front of us…but her head popped off in the process and it rolled to the back of the classroom. The rest of her body fell to the floor soon after.

"A little help~…if you please~."

"Is…this going to be normal?" Ringo asked.

"Yeah…pretty much." Was all Amitie and I replied with.

Author's Note: GODDAMN! This story was NOT supposed to take nearly a year to finish, but…it's finally done! I can finally put it behind me and focus on other stories that REALLY need to be updated.

So, I'm going through with that idea I had about making this story part of a new series. It should be up and ready by the time this chapter goes up. This story in particular is going to be Story #2 in the series. #1 is going to be Comiket Crossover once I give it a proper ending (again, it'll be done by the time this chapter goes up).

In any case, thank you all for putting up with me delaying this story for longer than it was intended to be. Once last Halloween passed, I didn't know what to do, honestly. Considered letting this story rot at one point…

Thanks for reading. Later.