Lily did her best to avoid the fireballs that the God of Destruction threw at them, firing lasers at him in between each attack. The buggy was holding up great, even as Malroth hit the builders that the God threw at them, sending them flying back at the large beast. Lily reached up, grabbing the waist of Malroth's pants when the God curled up and started sucking them in. "Mal! The buggy can't withstand the gravitational pull!"

The God threw his arms out, hitting the buggy and sending it backwards as Hargon appeared before them, cackling again. "Muah, hah, hah, haaaaah! What do you make of the Master's true power?! Fearsome, is it not?!"

"Shut your fucking mouth." Malroth snarled as he jumped from the buggy, hitting Hargon square in the head, knocking him back. "Fucking idiot." He glanced back at Lily, frowning. "Despite what that old bat-eared freak says, I don't think that monster's anywhere near full strength yet. What are we gonna do?"

Another series of attack had the buggy faltering and threatening to plummet into the void that surrounded them. Hargon reappeared, clearly having not learned his lesson last time about getting too close. "Do you not see that you are utterly powerless? Do you not comprehend that death awaits you?"

"I think you're the one who doesn't get it, Hargon!" Malroth snarled as he jumped back onto the hood of the buggy, his club up and ready to swing. "What do you think's going to happen when everything's destroyed?! The Children will cease to exist! Your teachings, everything you believed in will be gone!"

"I know it! And I welcome it! I am already dead. The Scions of Erdrick made sure of that. But I shall not go along, they too shall die! Their dreams, their beliefs, everything will be reduced to nothingness! It's happening right now as we speak! Can you not feel the fabric of the world dissolving all around you? Is it not the most glorious sensation?!" Hargon cackled once more before throwing a wave of magic at Malroth.

Lily lunged, barely grabbing Malroth by the back of his pants, keeping him on the buggy when he went limp. "M-Malroth!" She yanked him back into the safety of the buggy, glaring up at Hargon.

Lily…

The builders head snapped up and she looked around, before realizing the voice had been in her head. "Right…" She glared up at Hargon who was grinning at her. "You want to destroy the very thing you created?" She slowly stood, lifting her chin so she could look down her nose at him. "Like Malroth said, your God isn't at full strength… and I can keep that from ever happening." Her hands worked quick as she began to upgrade the buggy. "Your little world of illusion was good while it lasted. Had it not been for you, Mal and I would have never met. And I would never be bound to the God of Destruction like this."

Hargon's eyes slowly widened as he watched the builder. She finished upgrading that wretched thing she rode in before climbing to the hood. "What are you doing?" He threw his arms over his eyes, growling when she was consumed by a brilliant light.


Malroth pushed himself up, gripping his head again. He looked up, seeing Hargon floating nearby. "H-Hey! Where's Lily you rat bastard!" Hargon glanced over, seeing Malroth climbing onto the hood of the buggy once again. He was scowling as he slowly lifted a hand, pointing to the tangle of green and white in front of them. Malroth's jaw dropped, seeing the God of Destruction was fighting off a slender white and gold beast. "Wait… what?"

"You shared your monstrous powers with a builder, creating what I'm guessing is a Beast of Creation with it. I never noticed it before, didn't even see the bond you two shared, the one she now shares with not only you, but Master." Hargon turned to Malroth, holding his scepter up. "I will kill you now and help the Master with that vile beast."

Malroth shook his head, laughing. "Hopefully in your next life, Hargon, you make some good friends. And build a few things. Speaking from experience, those two things can make a difference." He lashed out, hitting Hargon once more with his club.

The priest groaned as he doubled over, growling softly. "You know… if… and only if… you can destroy the Master of Destruction… will I consider what you have said, boy…" Hargon weakly lifted his hand, crying out when Malroth struck him again and again.

Malroth watched as Hargon vanished, leaving him alone at the buggy. He looked over, seeing the white beast wrapping around the God of Destruction. Malroth, the buggy is upgraded, attack him!

Malroth went slack when he heard Lily in his head. "I'll hit you. No way!"

I attacked you. Just do it, Mal! We'll be fine!

Malroth looked down at the controls, seeing a few buttons and he started pressing wildly. He gasped when a large ball of energy shot out, hitting the God of Destruction. "Woah! Alright! We can do this!" He laughed as he fired laser after laser at the God while the white beast bit and scratched, golden claws digging in deep on the monster that was three times her size.

She wrapped herself around the God's neck, barely holding him back when he tried to go in for the attack on Malroth and the buggy. Her feathered wings were working double time, but she cried out when two of the arms grabbed her long body, ripping her free from around his throat. Malroth! Red button!

Malroth slammed his fist down on the red button, watching as energy gathered in front of the buggy, hitting the God as he closed with Malroth. The red laser struck the God, doubling him over in agony.

NO… I CANNOT…

BE DESTROYED…

"I beg to differ!" Malroth jumped to the hood of the buggy, readying himself to pounce. "Let's do this!" He watched as Lily plummeted from wherever she had just been, her hammer swinging down towards the God's head as her partner pounced from the buggy, landing on the back of her hammer, and ending the old God.

Malroth flinched back when the dark energy started for him. He watched in awe as Lily held a jar up, most of the energy went into it before she sealed it shut. Some remnants slid around the jar and gathered within him. He fell back onto the seat of the buggy, groaning as his body began to burn. "Lily…"

"Let's get home and then we'll figure this out." Lily cupped his face, kissing him softly.

"What does it matter? The world is going to end… it's just an illusion." Malroth groaned as Lily started driving again, a frown set deep on his face. Until he looked at her again, she was smiling despite her eyes looking exhausted. "What kind of plan do you have up your sleeve?" He watched as she pushed a few buttons and the buggy drove through the red sky on its own. She set to work on something, handing over a large black sledgehammer that had silver spikes on it. "Lily… this is… it's my very own mallet! How did you know I've always wanted one?!" He gave a tilt of his head as he watched her go back to driving. "But… what am I supposed to do with it?"

"I'll explain on the way." She gave him her dopey smile, laughing when one of his own spread across his face.


Lily and Malroth slowly climbed from the buggy, frowning at how dark the world was around them. Lily gave Malroth a playful shove, grinning at him. "Alright, since you're our beacon, you can lead the way."

Malroth looked down at himself, gasping when he realized he was glowing. "Holy shit!" The two looked up when they heard shouting above them.

"Lily! Malroth!"

"They're back!"

"You… you came back to us!" Rosie wailed as she hugged Lily, squeezing her friend as she cried.

"I'm just 'appy to see the two o' ya lookin' so well!" Babs clasped her hands, smiling at her two friends.

"It's good to see you again!" Anessa saluted them, a wide grin on her lips. "I never doubted you would return from the battlefield!"

"It's good to see you too. But, uh… where's Lulu?" Malroth put his hands on his hips, scanning the area around them. And then he was hit from behind, two slender arms wrapping around Lily and him, dragging them into the sandy shore they stood on. "Wah!"

"You're home! Oh, you're home!" Lulu cried out as she rubbed her face against her two greatest friends. "What took you so long?! Didn't you stop to think I'd be worried sick about you?!" She pulled back, glaring at the two of them as she wiped tears from her face. "I hate you, both of you!"

Lily reached out, putting her hand on Lulu's head. "I'm sorry, Lulu. We're back now, everything will be alright."

Lulu looked between the two of them, her glare turning into a pout. "Did you two manage to patch things up?"

"I think so." Lily smiled at Malroth who gave a nod.

"Say… Malroth… you seem to be… uh… yellow." Lulu looked over her angry friend, frowning at him.

"Yellow?! That's all you gotta say? This glorious golden glow is all down to my secret godlike superpowers, I'll have you know!" Malroth beamed, pausing for a moment to look at Lily. "Why aren't you glowing?"

Lily laughed and shook her head. "I'm not a God, Malroth. No more than I am a hero." She started for the stairs, pointing up. "Shall we?"

"Lily…" Lulu grabbed the other girls' hand as they made their way up to the temple. "Did he say… 'godlike superpowers'? Did something hit him really hard in the head?"

"I did." Lily laughed when Lulu grumped at her. "Come on, we have a world to save!"


The group made it to the top, slowly, thanks to Lily stopping and checking on everyone they passed, surprised to see Saffron and Lillian holding onto each other with Clayton standing behind them. Even Jules was there with Digby and Dougie. Lily and Malroth looked up at the dark sky, wondering how they were going to start this when Bonanzo came running up the stairs, everyone following him. "Lily! Malroth! A word if you would!"

Perry ran up to them first, his eyes wide as he watched them. "You've gotta 'elp us! We don't wanna be illusions no more! We don't wanna blimmin' disappear!" The others roared in their agreement as Lily smiled at them, a hand on her hip while Malroth glowed next to her.

"You all act like we don't have a plan up our sleeve." Malroth shrugged as he turned to Lily. "Should we get started?" He held a hand out to her, grinning at her when she took his hand. "I gotta put these new godlike superpowers to work!"


Lulu pushed the other girls back when Lily and Malroth stood in the middle of the floor, a glowing orb collecting before them. "Hey, Lils?" Lily looked up at Malroth, seeing worry flash in his eyes for a moment.

"Before we get started… there's something I want to tell you first. I could never really find the words before…" Malroth kept his hold on her hands as the small orb pulsed between them. "Thank you for keeping the promise you made at Lulu's party. Thank you for coming to save me. I've got a lot more I want to tell you, and plenty of questions too, but that can all wait." He smiled, leaning towards her, and kissing her forehead. "For now, just let me say this – for a girl who's got building on the brain and a guy who only knows how to smash shit, we made a pretty good team, don't you think?"

"We make a rather good team, Mal. I never want to partner up with anyone else." Lily gave a small giggle when Malroth burst into laughter.

"I knew you'd say that!" Malroth breathed in deep and focused on the ball of energy between them. "Hargon said it was my destiny as the Master of Destruction to wipe this world out of existence. But he also said something else, right at the beginning of this whole thing. He said that it was destiny that I met you. He might have been right about that part, but do you know what I think? I think I've heard enough about this destiny bullshit to last me a lifetime." He closed his eyes as he laced his fingers with Lily's feeling her in front of him, and in the back of his head where their bond lay. "Let's do this."

The two set to work, Master Builder and Master of Destruction, working together to rebuild this illusionary world. They danced around each other, placing things like mountains and volcanos, rivers and ponds, valleys, and forests. They stopped for a moment, wiping the sweat on their brows before pulling out their sledgehammers and nodding at one another. The two hit the giant orb of light, sending it into the sky where it broke apart and rained down over the lands.


Lily gasped when Malroth wrapped his arms around her and swung her around as the sun began to rise behind the temple. "We did it! Nice work, Lily!" He held her against him, grinning down at her as he cupped her cheek. "Now that our world's really real, we can keep building here for as long as we like." His smiled turned mischievous as he gave a playful growl. "Among other things."

Lily was leaning her cheek into his hand, feeling her cheeks warm as she tried her best to hide her blush. "That is very true."

"Ya know… something's been bugging me ever since we first met…" Malroth turned her so she was looking out over their island as he rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. His other hand was quick, grabbing the book from her back. He stopped her lunge with a hand on her forehead as he held the book by the front cover, seeing the first page of it. "Builder…pedia…? So that's what this thing's called…?" He used his nose to flip to the next page, his smile growing at the words written there. "When I grow up… I want to be a builder… and make lots of nice things… for my friends." He flipped through more pages, seeing the Deitree, a golem and a castle. Along with a weird looking car with 'buggy-buggy' written next to it. "That's a stupid name- Hey!" He gasped when Lily dropped down, losing the contact he had with her forehead and stealing the book back. "Hold on! This oh-so-important book of yours…"

Lily hugged the book to her chest and pouted as she looked away from him, her cheeks bright red. "Shut it, Mal!"

"You made it, didn't you?" Malroth wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on the top of her head as he smiled. "When you were little… everything you built has been in that book since you were a kid." He burst into laughter, giving Lily a playful shove as he put his hands in his pockets and started down the stairs. "You're unbelievable, Lils!" He looked over his shoulder at her, smirking at her. "You really are obsessed with being a builder, aren't you?"

Malroth didn't make it far when Dracken appeared between them, his head tipped and his body loose. "Lily… we have a problem. You need to wake up."

"What? This world isn't an illusion anymore!" Malroth ran up next to Dracken, jumping back when he saw the gruesome face. "What's happening?" He froze when Lily suddenly went limp, eyes rolling back as she hit the ground. "Lily!" He turned a snarl to Dracken as he picked Lily up. "What did you do?!"