Cephiro's Sanctuary was on full alert as warnings of large enemy fleets approaching echoed throughout the crystal castle. With the three invading nations all already inside and on good terms, this only left one remaining option for the attacker. Their true enemy had sent out their fighting force, and was closing in for a direct conflict. Everyone capable of fighting made their way back to their ships, mechs, and mounts as quickly as possible, the enemy forces were slowly approaching. From the viscous clouds covering the abyss below Cephiro, four colossal cylindrical shapes were rising up.
These black behemoths measured several kilometers from front to back, matching the size of the battleships parked in front of the Sanctuary. Albeit obviously monsters, their shape more closely resembled those of spaceships. They had huge, singular orange eyes at the front, surrounded by three forward curving horns. Behind their neckless heads, several pairs of small limbs extended underneath their daikon radish shaped bodies, which resembled mantis's forelimbs. The bodies were covered in vast armored sheets of beetle-like dark carapace, with slight bits of orange visible between the gaps. The backs of their bodies were thicker than the fronts, with four fish-like tailfins running their sides at forty-five-degree angles. At their rears, several black tendrils followed suit, pushing the ships forth like swimming squids.
Seeing their large orange eyes staring at the Sanctuary even from several miles away, Clef gasped, "Those things are huge… Are you sure I shouldn't be staying at the Sanctuary?"
Flying next to Clef's gryphon and Alcyone, Hotaru answered, "We're gonna need all the firepower we have. Especially since I have no idea what these things are capable of."
Looking down at his wrist, Hotaru turned on a blue communicator he had received from Eagle. Although he still had the magic orb he had borrowed from Fuu and Ferio, it was only good for communicating with Umi. With this, he was able to communicate with FTO, GTO, and NSX, and from there with Bravada and Dome.
"Alright everyone, look sharp! Debonair is most likely still waiting for us in Cephiro's underside, so this is just the first wave! Do not allow these things to get near the Sanctuary!"
"Roger that!" Geo responded back from his mech. "Hmmm? Wait, what's that above them?"
Looking up at the pitch-black sky, it took Hotaru a moment to spot what Geo was referring to. A fifth, less massive black figure was flying over the giant organic ships. Although it was smaller, it was still gargantuan in scale, and much faster. As it flew closer to them, everyone could see its draconic shape, and hear a shrill voice communicate with them with telepathy.
(HOTARU!)
"What is that sound!?" Aska's voice screamed through the communicator.
"It's Stella!" Alcyone gasped, recognizing the voice and sensing her approach.
Peering more closely at the quickly approaching dragon, Hotaru could spot a figure dressed in white atop its head. Feeling the vampiric woman's crimson eyes peering at him even this far away, Hotaru's heart sank, for this was what he had wanted to avoid. He didn't want to fight Stella, but with her coming in atop a beast much larger than the Mashins, he knew no one else could do it.
"Figures this would happen…" Hotaru clenched his fist, before speaking to his communicator. "Listen, sorry to break formation, but me and Alcyone need to deal with this personally."
"Already!?" Tarta complained.
"We understand, Hotaru, Alcyone!" Hikaru yelled, trying to be heard via FTO. "Go and bring her back!"
Exchanging knowing glances with Alcyone, Hotaru spoke through, "We will be back soon. Titanium Power!"
Growing large enough to make Clef's Gryphon look like a quail, Hotaru extended his hand over to Alcyone. Lifting the sorceress behind his ear, Hotaru took off towards the dragon to intercept it. With Alcyone turning on her Barrier Circle spell, Hotaru was able to fly nearly at top speed, reaching the dragon quickly. But just as they were about to get close to the black monstrosity, the dragon accelerated. As but a single streak of blur, the dragon flew past Hotaru, making it hard for the paladin to follow its movements due to his helmet.
"So fast!" Alcyone gasped, her eyes widening as she turned around. "She's headed for the Sanctuary!"
"Don't tell me she is doing a suicide run!" Hotaru grunted, flying after the dragon.
Going at top speed, Hotaru steadily caught up with Stella and Diablo, but it was becoming clear the monster would reach Sanctuary first. Just as he thought the beast would smash through the castle's crystal towers, it made a sharp turn, flying upwards. Following after it, all four of them soon found themselves hovering over the top of the central tower.
Panting heavily from having survived the hypersonic race, Alcyone held onto Hotaru's locks, as she walked on top of his neck armor. Seeing Stella standing still on top of the dragon's head, she knew it was her responsibility to get her back.
"Stella! I don't know why you are helping Debonair, but please, come to your senses!" she pleaded, extending her arm out. "Come to me so that we may be one once more!"
Staring at the giant and her creator with a deadpan expression, Stella spoke out, "I don't think I want to."
"…Nani?" Alcyone gasped, surprised by the lucidity of the answer.
"You two just want me out of the way so you can live happily together without me bothering you!" Stella yelled at them, before holding out her hand. "But I won't be just pushed aside and forgotten! We will be together, forever!"
A bright purple light concentrated into a single spot above Stella's hand, as a large, perfectly round, shiny purple sphere appeared above it. The ball glowed an eerie light and hovered from her hand over to Diablo's face.
"That's…!" Hotaru gasped.
"Winter Elixir!" Alcyone yelled out.
Realizing what was about to go down, Hotaru quickly charged forth, leaving Alcyone floating in the air behind him. But despite his speed and reflexes, he was too late to prevent the dragon from closing its jagged jaws around the orb. Even as the jaws closed, Hotaru tried his best to pry them open with his bare hands, but the gluttonous beast swallowed too quickly.
Soon after, Diablo threw back its head and neck and let out a loud roar. Its body convulsed in pain and its horrifying sounds became louder and louder. Diablo's already black body quickly turned darker in color, before becoming fully pitch-black. It let out one last pained gargle, before its sharp and metallic scales started cracking up. From the cracks, a bright yet cold light shone in every direction. The trio only had time to yell out, before everything around them turned white.
"Hotaru!" Hikaru yelled out in horror, seeing the light above the Sanctuary grow out.
Expanding rapidly, a white sphere of light expanded over the Sanctuary's towers. The tops of the five main towers of the crystal structure were swallowed up by the giant snow globe, from which frost started trailing down them. Growing to a size as large as the base of the castle itself, the sphere eventually solidified, remaining suspended in the air. It was a perfectly round, massive, light-gray sphere, with cold winds and snowstorms swirling around it. Although they were already far away, everyone outside the battleships could hear the howl of the winds from where they were flying.
"We have to get them out of there!" Fuu yelled in a panic to the other Magic Knights.
"Right!"
Just as they were about to take off at the sphere, Umi's magic orb started pinging. At the same time, the Autozam's communicators also received a message. Although the message was somewhat crackly, it was clear who the caller was.
"Do not break formation!" Hotaru's voice sounded. "We'll be fine! Concentrate on the remaining enemies! This won't take long!"
Hearing the confidence in his voice, the Magic Knights nodded, before turning to face the remaining flying kaijus. With the black fleet now only a few ship's lengths away, they knew they were up for a fight of their lives.
After being blinded by the explosion of light emanating from Diablo, it took Hotaru a while to regain his senses. As he opened his eyes, the world around him seemed blindingly bright. Expecting to find himself in a frozen wasteland, he was shocked to see green as his eyes got used to the light. Furthermore, he could feel the warmth of sunlight on his skin, for the first time in many weeks.
The sun was shining, the sky was purple, the birds were singing in the trees. As he looked around, he could see himself standing in the middle of a beautiful and luxurious rooftop garden. The garden was filled with flower bushes, vines, trees, fountains, statues, and mosaics, all modeled after figures of mythology, magical creatures, and celestial bodies. The garden was walled off with gothic and baroque style spires, buttresses, towers, and walls. His body felt light and healthy, with his Double Armo shining to a mirror finish.
Remembering how he had ended up here, Hotaru knew not to let his guard down, for he knew dangerously little about Alcyone's Winter Elixir. Since he had been using Titanium Power when Winter Elixir activated, Hotaru wondered if everything around him was giant-sized too. If so, Alcyone and Stella could have been someone in the grass. But as he looked around, he heard a voice calling for him, causing him to turn around.
Rushing towards him, Alcyone yelled, "Hotaru!"
As the sorceress rushed into his arms, Hotaru caught her firmly, holding onto her to inspect her. He was used to Stella impersonating Alcyone, so he immediately figured this could be another trick. But no matter how closely he inspected Alcyone, he could not find a single flaw or divergence from the real one. Everything from her black outfit and hair to her white cape and red lips was accounted for. Feeling her hug him tightly and look him in the eye, there was no doubt in his judgement.
"…It really is you," Hotaru sighed in relief.
"We need to get out of here!" Alcyone insisted. "The longer we are in here the longer the others will have to fight without our help!"
Hearing the urgency in Alcyone's voice, Hotaru nodded, "Yes, but where are we?"
"Inside her dreams," Stella's voice echoed throughout the garden.
With particles of light gathering underneath one of the trees, Stella appeared in a flash before their eyes. Standing close to them, they could finally see the gray-skinned vampire up close. While Hotaru had expected to find Stella under Debonair's control, this didn't seem to be the case. Her crimson eyes were as sharp as always, and her voice and demeanor were also normal.
"This is the life that Alcyone always dreamt of when trying to conquer the world," Stella explained, staying in the shade of the tree. "A world totally under her and her beloved's rule, with no one to oppose them. Surrounded by wealth and art fitting of her tastes, with even the sky her favorite color."
Loosening his embrace on Alcyone, Hotaru asked, "Is this true?"
"Yes..." Alcyone admitted, slightly ashamed, but also confused, "but this isn't how Winter Elixir is supposed to work…"
"This is my own version that I created with Mother," Stella explained, leaning against the tree. "I call it the Summer Dream Elixir. Instead of a frozen wasteland, it creates a dream-like world where one's mind can create whatever they wish."
Holding her hand out, Stella gathered a handful of sunlight, which formed into a flock of small yellow bats. The bats quickly took flight, scattering into different directions, before eventually fading away into the skies. Smiling at her handywork, Stella then turned back to her prisoners.
"Those inside it need no food or water, as their real bodies are placed in suspended animation," Stella continued her explanation, smiling warmly. "It is one's own personal paradise, without the need to exploit others."
While Alcyone was trying to get over the ingenuity and complexity of the spell, Hotaru was less than impressed. He could see Stella wanting to create a world like this in response to Romeo's plans for ruling Cephiro, to accommodate for his dreams. But Stella creating a cruelty free knock off wasn't what bothered Hotaru. He had seen plenty of dream worlds like this during his previous life, and the moral of the story was always the same.
Crossing his arms, Hotaru looked at Stella sternly, "I hate to break it to you, but this isn't what I would call a paradise. Without real people, nature, or food, we are just living a lie while the world around us is destroyed by Debonair! I know it is hypocritical of me to call you out on wanting to live in a world of fantasy, but this is going too far!"
"Hotaru is right!" Alcyone backed him up, standing next to him. "If everything in this world is decided by your mind, that means anything we create is based on our minds, correct?"
"...That's right," Stella admitted, trying to figure out Alcyone's angle in this.
"In that case, could you create us a Chizetan mango?" Alcyone requested politely, holding her finger up.
Holding her hand out, Stella tried to create one, until her jaw eventually dropped, "I... I don't know what those are like."
"Neither do I or Hotaru," Alcyone shook her head. "This world is just a simulation of what we already know of. Which means we would never be able to experience anything new in this world. So while I am happy that you went through the effort of making a world out of my dreams, we cannot stay."
While Hotaru couldn't help but be impressed by Alcyone's insight into the illusion, Stella was biting her lip at the criticism for her spell. While she knew her Summer Dream Elixir was a cheap substitute to a shared Pillar system, she hadn't realized its full shortcomings.
Offering her hand to her, Alcyone spoke gently, "Please, let us leave here. There are people outside fighting for their lives who trust us to help them. We cannot abandon them."
"Abandon them?" Stella repeated, her bitterness quickly turning into anger. "Like how you abandoned Hotaru? You abandoned him at his most important moment! If you hadn't left, Hotaru wouldn't have reverted back into an infant from heartbreak! And if you hadn't been captured, Hotaru's dreams could have become reality already!"
"Hey!" Hotaru interrupted. "Last time I checked she left the Sanctuary because of your words!"
"No Hotaru… I left on my own accord. It was the action I thought best at the time," Alcyone admitted ashamedly, before looking at Stella adamantly. "But I am done running away. Whether it is Hotaru, my former colleagues, or the people of Cephiro, I do not want to desert them!"
"And I am DONE thinking about what others want!" Stella yelled, her eyes tearing up. "I just want to keep the two people I love the most, safe!"
"Safe!? You have any idea how many people you are putting at risk by keeping us here?!" Hotaru shouted back, feeling the constraints of time.
"And what difference does it make!?" Stella asked, her voice pained as she shrieked. "Better they be destroyed by Debonair than having to live under your rule!"
"My rule…?" Hotaru asked confusedly. "Stella, I have no intention to rule Cephiro once this is over!"
"Don't lie to me!" Stella yelled in tears. "Mother told me and you said it yourself! The moment you get bored, this world will become nothing but a playground for both of you! And I know exactly how you want to rule!"
Although they both wanted to refute Stella's accusations, they couldn't find it in them to lie to her. While Romeo had gotten a bit wild in his dreams of ruling Cephiro, Hotaru figured his reign wouldn't exactly be merciful either. As for Alcyone, she wanted to say there was no way Cephiro's next pillar would allow them to take over. But having been briefed of Cephiro's next pillar along with Clef, she knew Debonair had heard of it, and by that extent Stella probably also knew.
Bringing her hand to her sternum, Alcyone spoke with all the conviction she could muster, "If it means that much to you Stella, I promise that I will never again try to rule Cephiro."
Just as Hotaru was about to do the same, they both saw Stella shake her head.
"I don't want to deny you of what or who you truly are, because… I still love you both!" Stella gripped her chest. "I want you to be able to live out your cruel dreams without causing pain to others!"
"Stella…" Alcyone's jaw dropped, as she tried to comprehend her shadow's strife.
"Then why use this technique on us now!?" Hotaru asked impatiently. "You could have just used it after we defeated Debonair!"
"Because you cannot!" Stella shouted back, her heart aching. "Debonair is far more powerful than either of you can imagine! There is no hope of you defeating her! It is by her mercy that I am allowed to keep you two safe here!"
"You don't know that!" Hotaru insisted, gripping his armored gauntlets. "I have worked long and hard to make sure that Debonair can be defeated! It has been done once; it can be done again! Even if there is a chance of us losing, it is better than having everyone else die without us even trying!"
"I can't risk it!" Stella refused, covering her face. "I don't want to lose you again! Either of you! I just want us to stay together, so that I don't have to be alone again!"
Feeling equal amounts of pride and pity towards her shadow, Alcyone smiled warmly, "I understand how you feel. I too fear losing Hotaru again, even if he is confident that we can win."
"Alcyone…" Hotaru blushed.
"But I also want to help him in trying to create the future we both want," Alcyone approached Stella calmly. "A future where Cephiro can once again be a beautiful world like this, where we can live happily, regardless if we rule it or not. Maybe there will be hardships ahead of us, but we have sworn to meet them and deal with them together."
Extending her hand out to Stella, Alcyone smiled warmly, "Please, let us become one again, so we may work towards that future together."
A glint of longing shined in Stella's eyes, as she stared at Alcyone's hand. As Hotaru was getting hopeful to see the two of them reunite, a cold shiver blew across the garden. A cold white aura emerged around Stella, as both her expression and the temperature around them grew colder. As Hotaru watched from further away, he could see the visage of Debonair's shadow hidden in the aura.
"…There you go again!" Stella shrieked, squeezing her eyes shut. "You just want me out of your lives so that you can go on your merry ways without a single worry for others! You want to forget about me like the mistake that I was and either throw your lives away or ruin those of others!"
Seeing Stella's eyes gleaming threateningly as she opened them, Alcyone knew things couldn't be settled peacefully. Jumping away from Stella at the very last second, Alcyone avoided an eruption of icy spikes from the ground. Seeing her shadow summon her scythe, Alcyone conjured her bident, as her heart was beating quickly.
"Stella, we don't have to do this!" Hotaru warned her, summoning his spear and shield.
"You don't, but I do!" Stella said sternly, her black and red hair spreading out behind her like wings. "You think this is a dream world created for you? Wrong! It is a prison made to keep you two locked up in here! And I am the warden!"
After Hotaru and Alcyone had been swallowed up by Stella's spell, the united army of the four worlds was about to engage the enemy. The NSX had taken its time to observe the readings given off by the monstrous spaceships. However, aside from the immense readings of magical energy, they had learnt very little. With no idea what to expect of their colossal foes, the only option they had was to engage with them before they got too close to the Sanctuary.
"Geo," Eagle addressed his second-in-command. "Fire a few rounds of rockets into the middle left one. We need to figure out what sort of defensive capabilities they have."
"Roger," Geo replied, before taking aim with GTO's rocket launcher.
Firing off three orange glowing rockets, Geo watched his shots fly across the vast distance between the ships. Just as the rockets turned into no more than dots in the horizon, they exploded against the side of the monster, illuminating its black carapace. As the smoke from the explosions cleared, they could see next to no damage on the shiny black surface.
"No advanced defenses detected," Geo reported to the three ships. "The enemy seems to be relying only on heavy armor plating."
"Then we just need to hit them harder!" Aska yelled cheerfully, while grabbing a brush.
With her servants having already prepared brush and paper for her, Aska quickly drew the image of a cartoonish version of Sang Yung. As the drawing floated upwards and through the ceiling, she soon saw it appear on the imperial throne room's crystal ball. The drawing quickly grew larger and larger, until eventually forming a giant equal in stature with the other battleships.
Floating above the void, the giant aimed at the middle right monster, before charging up its attack. The giant's surroundings lit up with electric arches, before it opened its mouth so wide it took up most of its face. A massive, sparking, blue blast of pure energy fired from its mouth, that flew across the battlefield. Just as the beam was about to hit the monstrous ship, a dark barrier formed around the cycloptic beast.
The energy beam was dispersed by the shield, with the monster not even registering it, causing Aska to put more power into the attack. But despite channeling all her power into it, the beam didn't seem to put a dent into the shield. Before she would conk out, Aska relented on her assault, in order to spare her energy.
"That thing… is tough!" Aska panted, sitting down on the floor.
"Apparently it didn't see the first assault as enough of a threat, so it didn't use the barrier," Tatra pointed out. "Should we try a close quarters assault?"
Listening through the FTO, Hikaru was just about to charge in next, when she noticed something, "I don't think we have time, look!"
Being closer to the insectoid ships, Hikaru could see their carapace start to open up. Large black panels of chitin near the top of their middle torsos shifted open before spreading to the side like the elytra of a beetle. Instead of insectoid wings, what was revealed closer resembled orange, half melted rubber, that was stretched out by the elytra. On the surface of the orange mass, there were hundreds of pores that looked like holes on cheese.
"Ewww! That looks disgusting!" Umi shirked away from the exposed folds.
Agreeing with Umi, Aska was covering her mouth, "I feel like I am about to throw up…"
"Please do not, Lady Aska!" Sang Yung pleaded through the intercoms. "We don't need to see the giant me throwing up as well!"
As others were busy looking away from the folds, Fuu noticed movement within them, "SOMETHING IS COMING!"
As others looked closely, they could see hundreds of black dots appear in the holes of the orange folds. What at first seemed like black mold or spores, started flying towards them. As they got close enough, Hikaru, Umi, Fuu, Eagle, and Geo, could see that they were smaller monsters. Like their large counterparts, their bodies were cylindrical, with orange eyes at the front and squid-like tentacles in the back. However, their bodies were simplistic and smooth cylinders, looking more mechanical than organic. Although they looked small compared to their larger counterparts, they were still half the size of the Mashins and other mechs.
With Geo being in the front lines, the monsters first targeted him. Before he had time to activate his Auto Shield, a green barrier formed in front of him.
"Winds of Protection!" Fuu yelled, covering the front guard.
As the swarm of monsters impacted the emerald barrier, they exploded with immense force, causing the barrier to shake. The orange explosions were quick and intense, resembling modern explosives. Some of the cylindrical squids turned around, attaching themselves into the barrier with their tentacles, before exploding.
"Look sharp, they are organic homing missiles!" Geo informed the ships.
Seeing swarms heading their way too, the Bravada and Dome started activating their defensive barriers. Despite the two countries being confident in their defensive capability, the number of enemies was problematic. While the ships were capable of heavy fire power, large quantities of enemies were usually engaged by the crews directly. The only weapon they had that was capable of taking down the squids quickly, was the giant Sang Yung that was spinning its torso to deflect the smaller foes. But even as the first clusters of squids impacted and exploded against the see-through barriers, the enemy vessels were constantly spawning more.
Seeing the other vessels struggling, Eagle connected himself to NSX's intercoms, "Attention soldiers! Open all cannon bays and send out all the fighters and O-series!"
"Roger!" Zazu announced, activating NSX's weapons platforms.
Throughout the giant green and silver spaceship, dozens of weapon ports opened up and revealed their arsenal. Torpedo tubes, laser cannons, multi-emitter laser turrets, missile batteries, and Vulcans were revealed throughout the ship. Firing all of its small caliber weaponry at once, the battlefield was quickly lit up by a series of explosions.
"NSX shall provide cover! Everyone else, try to advance on the enemy!" Eagle commanded the fleet.
"Right!" the Magic Knights agreed unanimously.
As the magic knights started heading out, several mechs similar to GTO were being released from the NSX. At the same time, the tip of Bravada's spout started glowing, before the djinns Rakoon and Rasheen were released. Joining the fighters of Autozam, the two djinns provided muscle and distraction against the living missiles. Using their strength, speed and flexibility, the djinns grabbed hold of the tentacles of the monsters, before flinging them back towards their own kind.
Despite everyone's best efforts, some of the organic missiles managed to get through the blockade of ships. Making their way to the Sanctuary, the missiles quickly swam across the skies with a singular goal in mind. But before the monsters could even reach Cephiroan soil, they were intercepted by flashes of blue and white.
"Lightning Bolt Onslaught!" Clef yelled, with several white bolts with thin tails appearing around his staff.
The compact bolts flew across the skies, exploding in bright flashes of light upon impact with the monsters. This onslaught was further supported by Lantis, who fired a large beam of blue energy out of his magic sword, hosing down the monsters in waves.
Meanwhile in the front lines, the Magic Knights had their hands full trying to break through the deluge of enemies. Blue flaming dragons and glowing vortexes were creating waves of destruction and ripping through hundreds of enemies at once. At the same time, Geo, Fuu, and Eagle were providing cover fire with their rapid-fire weaponry and Fuu's Emerald Cyclone well. But even with Hikaru's and Umi's combo attacks, the number of enemies was starting to overwhelm them.
"There is… no end to these things… unless we take out… the big ones!" Hikaru grunted while swinging her sword in large arches.
"We really could use Hotaru right about now!" Umi yelled out.
"Eagle! Emergency!" Zazu's voice rang through the coms.
"What is it, Zazu?" Eagle asked, mowing down enemies with his Vulcan.
"We are getting some insane energy readings from the enemy vessels!"
As the attention of the combatants was redirected to the giant insectoid ships, the source of the readings became obvious. Between the forwards pointing horns and in front of the giant orange eyes at the heads of the ships. large spheres of dark energy were charging up. As the spheres grew larger, crackling sparks of dark red lightning could be seen around them. But while the charging beams were alarming enough, Eagle noticed the ships adjusting their positions.
Triangulating the angles of attacks of all the ships, the target became clear, "They are firing at the Sanctuary!"
"From that distance!?" Tarta asked in shock.
"Everyone, prepare to counter the assault!" Eagle yelled.
"Sang Yung! Prepare the Dragon Scroll Cannon!" Aska commanded.
"Coming right up!"
"Activate Queen's Fury!" Tatra commanded.
As the mouth of Dome opened up wide and the eyes on Bravada's figurehead started glowing brightly, the Magic Knights gathered close together. With the orbs on the Mashins' chests glowing brightly, the girls gathered all their magical powers together.
"Prepare to fire the Ragna Cannon!" Geo commanded NSX.
As the main weapon of NSX began to draw power, Zazu quickly called to his superiors, "We have a problem! Our other weapon systems are slowing down the charge time!"
"What?!" Eagle gasped.
Throughout the explosion riddled battlefield, a deafening silence swept over, as the four black ships fired all at once. Massive black beams of dark energy flew towards the battleships and the Sanctuary, in a coordinated effort. With perfect accuracy, these beams focused to a single point, before being stopped.
"SPIRAL LIGHT!" The magic knights yelled.
A multicolored beam of light countered one of the ships, pushing back against its beam and dispersing it. The second one was interrupted by two golden lights shining from Bravada's figurehead, which burnt through the darkness. The third beam was getting swallowed up by a massive fireball that slowly moved forward.
However, the fourth and right-most beam was left unchecked, firing past the blockade. The sinister blast of energy was too fast and powerful for Clef or Lantis to intercept on the other side. The beam struck the eastern tower of the Sanctuary, blasting right through the frozen crystal pillar with little effort. The ginormous crystal monolith fell over, in the direction of the mountains surrounding the castle, crushing two mountain peaks under it. Just as everyone was gasping at the destruction caused by it, they noticed the beam begin to move.
Worried that the beam would cut right through the sanctuary, it instead started deviating away from the castle. Looking back to the ship, everyone gasped in amazement as they saw a crudely drawn giant tilting the black behemoth. By wrapping its gigantic extendable arms around the ship, the giant Sang Yung forced the beam away from the Sanctuary, before turning the ship around.
"These monsters…" Aska grunted, as the giant Sang Yung was being bombarded by the smaller monsters, "they don't have shields on when firing!"
By forcefully turning the monster towards its friends, Aska redirected the beam to the other ships. The dark beam shot into the exposed folds of the ship next to it, blasting through it, before moving onto the next ship. The giant monsters let out deep, unnatural bellows, as they screamed in pain. Before Aska could aim the beam to the rightmost ship, she was forced to let go of her weapon. For the NSX had finished charging.
Two massive beams fired from the turbine-like cannons in front of the battleship. The bright blue sparking masses of energy spun around one another, before finally twisting together into a singular massive blast of energy. With little difficulty, the beam blasted through the left most ship's side, destroying its insides. At the same time, the middle ships were being finished off by Dragon Scroll Cannon and Queen's Fury, scorching the giant monsters to ashes. With the giant Sang Yung finishing the rightmost ship by firing its mouth beam into its eye, only the last one remained.
With no time for help to arrive, the Magic Knights knew they were alone in pushing back the final beam. However, instead of feeling fear or despair, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu could feel their hearts beating as one. Seeing the efforts of their allies in protecting Cephiro, they knew they had to fight with all they had. Bright auras in their respective colors shone around the Mashins, before their bodies turned into light, merging into one.
From the light appeared a red, gold, and white Mashin, with a pair of massive white feathered wings and a pair of black draconic wings below those. A red dragon tail grew out from between its armored white tassets. Its pauldrons were wide and sharp and above its head it had a seven horned crown with six golden horns and a white middle horn. Its fingers had golden claws and its feet had four golden talons, three in front, one in back. On its left arm, it wore a shield that resembled Rayearth's shield, but turned around and smaller. Its body had several orbs, each one colored red, green, or blue.
Holding the Spiral Light in its hands, the combined Mashin pushed forward, causing the spell to tear through the black beam. As the combination spell struck the monster's eye and interrupted the beam, the Magic Knights didn't stay to listen to its wails of pain. Summoning a large sword made entirely out of pure light in the Mashin's right hand, the girls charged in at full speed. The sword of light cut through the monster's eye as they entered it, before appearing behind the monster in a flash. The black insectoid ship had no time to react, before its body burst open from within, before disappearing along with its brethren.
"WE DID IT!" Hikaru yelled happily.
"HURRAY!" cheers erupted throughout the communications network.
"We won! We won!" Aska yelled cheerfully while running around the imperial throne room.
"Well done, Lady Aska!" Sang Yung complimented her through the coms.
Despite everyone celebrating, Eagle remained focused on the task at hand. On both of them, to be precise.
"Listen up everyone! Now that we have the opportunity, we must take the fight to the enemy!" Eagle informed everyone. "However, before that we must liberate Commander Hotaru and Lady Alcyone. The fight ahead of us will be even more difficult unless we…"
"KEEP PUSHING!" Eagle was interrupted.
Listening to the crackly voice, everyone could recognize it as Hotaru. Whether on the channels of the communications network or on the magic orb held by Umi, everyone could tell he was being serious.
"Do not stop your advance! The enemy is weak right now! You must continue your attack before they can regain their forces!" Hotaru's voice rang throughout the battlefield. "I will be joining you as soon as I can, but do not wait for me!"
There was a moment of silence as all the heads of the alliance looked at each other, before nodding together. Taking the advice of their master strategist, they headed towards Cephiro's underside.
Hearing the sounds coming from his communicator and magic orb, Hotaru yelled, "That is not my voice! Everyone! LISTEN TO ME!"
Before the paladin could know if his words had gone through or not, he was forced to raise his shield. A shoal of huge sharp icicles peppered the garden around him, impacting against his armor. While his Tungsten Defense would have kept him safe, the same couldn't be said for the wounded Alcyone crouching behind him. They had already been fighting Stella for a while, and it had become apparent her and Alcyone weren't on the same level anymore.
Stella's icicle barrage had torn through Alcyone's Barrier Circle like it was made out of paper, giving the sorceress several lacerations. The damage would have been worse, unless Hotaru had managed to run in front of her. While Alcyone was still able to stand and wield her staff, they couldn't afford for her to take another hit.
"Stella, you have to calm down!" Hotaru yelled over the thunderous assault of ice. "Alcyone will die at this rate!"
"It's fine!" Stella yelled callously. "This world was meant to serve your twisted desires! We can hurt and kill each other to our heart's content, with our bodies always recovering upon revival!"
While this sadistic idea had some merit to Hotaru, his trail of thought was quickly interrupted by Alcyone's groans of pain.
"She… she's wrong," Alcyone gasped, holding her wounded arm. "This pain is too real… for that to be true."
Hotaru's eyes widened underneath his helmet, before he spoke under his breath, "Damn that Debonair plays twisted games… Alcyone, can you teleport somewhere safer?"
"Yes… but she will be able to sense where I am," Alcyone warned him.
"I know, just trust me on this," Hotaru whispered.
Without another moment of hesitation, Alcyone teleported behind the largest statue in the garden. It was a statue made to look like the planet of Cephiro, with continents made out of jade and oceans of lapis lazuli. The planet was upheld by three spiraling pillars, made out of emerald, sapphire, and ruby. But Alcyone had no time to admire the statue, as she could hear Stella's voice.
"You cannot hide from me, Alcyone!" Stella yelled angrily, staring towards the statue.
Using her supernatural speed, Stella sprinted towards the statue, but was forced to come to a stop soon after. Dropping his shield and using his Silver Speed, Hotaru had caught up to the vampire with little difficulty. By activating everything but Aluminum Flight, Hotaru wrapped his arms around Stella, holding her in place. Although Stella's vampiric strength was powerful, she was unable to budge from Hotaru's strong and heavy embrace.
"Please… LET GO of me, Hotaru!" Stella struggled, trying to wriggle to face him.
With Hotaru squeezing her arms and waist tightly, Stella was unable to teleport away from him. With the paladin out powering her physically thousand to one, her only option was to look him in the eyes to put him to trance.
"I refuse!" Hotaru answered, embracing the vampire closer. "I will never let you go again, for I never make the same mistake twice!"
"Don't try to confess to your crimes now, for it is too late!" Stella yelled.
Finally managing to turn to face Hotaru, Stella's eyes glowed crimson for but a moment, before she noticed the look in his eyes. She could see her crimson glow reflected off of his moist lime-green eyes, as Hotaru gazed into her eyes gently and directly. His smile was faint, yet content, as he loosened his grip on her, embracing her firmly. Though Stella was now familiar with the past of the man she loved, she could tell there was no effort being put into being charming or tempting. Though she had felt Hotaru's love in her heart frequently through Alcyone, she could now feel it directly towards her.
But, the anger in her heart was quickly pushing those feelings aside, "…Do you think a hug is all that it takes to make up for what you did? Then embrace me forever! Frozen Finale!"
Launching her most powerful spell at point blank, cold winds and snow started quickly freezing the area around them. A dome of ice four meters in radius began to form around them, covering Hotaru and Stella bottom up. But before the ice could reach their shoulders, Hotaru's lime-green aura flared up, pushing the cold winds aside. Several times more intense than sunlight, Hotaru's nuclear aura started to melt the ice around them, causing Stella to shriek in slight pain. With her attack interrupted, the ice eventually melted away completely, at which point Hotaru turned down the heat.
"I will embrace you for as long as you want, but you don't have to lock us into it," Hotaru said calmly, holding the back of her head. "I… I didn't treat you right, when I first met you. I thought you were just another foe sent by Debonair. An obstacle to threaten my future with Alcyone. But I was wrong. You are the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given to me, born out of the purest of love."
Listening to Hotaru's words, Stella's expression and eyes slowly brightened up. Despite Hotaru's embrace still feeling hot to the touch, she couldn't stop holding onto him and leaning against his armor. But even as his words pushed back her doubts and stress, she still felt empty inside.
"...Then why did you leave me behind?" Stella asked, unable to look Hotaru in the eye. "Why didn't you stay with me when I asked you to? Why did you risk your life for Alcyone, and ignored me afterwards…"
"I needed to get her back, for I swore to myself to protect her. I am so sorry for not coming back to you as soon as I could have," Hotaru apologized, giving a sad smile. "I didn't mean to ignore you; I was just so tired and happy to have returned alive with Alcyone."
"…I could have waited for your return," Stella admitted, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, "but you said you didn't love me like you love Alcyone… So, I didn't want to stand in your way…"
Smiling warmly, Hotaru lifted Stella's chin up before leaning in and kissing Stella on her pink lips, causing the vampire's cheeks to blush. Though the kiss was unsolicited and sudden, Stella couldn't help but feel her knees getting weak. Before the kiss could turn more passionate, Hotaru pulled away from Stella gently, stroking her cheek.
"That was not what I meant," Hotaru smiled at her through the tears. "I wanted you to stay behind, so in case I failed, you would still be safe. I am sorry for not being clearer with you due to my impatience."
Staring up at Hotaru in confusion, Stella asked, "But you said…"
"That I cannot love you without loving Alcyone?" Hotaru asked, trying to remember his own words. "That goes both ways."
Turning towards the statue of Cephiro, Hotaru could see Alcyone still peeking from behind it. Instead of looking scared or jealous, she was smiling happily at the two of them, before heading towards them.
"…I fell in love with an amazing woman, with enough love in her heart to break the world," Hotaru said while smiling proudly. "Even when her love was split in half, I could still barely understand the true depths of her feelings. It was only when I was in danger of losing her that I truly understood how much she loved me and how much she meant to me. As such, I cannot only love either you or Alcyone, for you are both part of the woman I love more than the world itself. And I can only love her as a whole."
With both halves of his lover standing before him, Hotaru finally let go of Stella. The two women looked at each other for a moment, blushing while smiling at Hotaru's flattery, before holding each other's hands.
As they seemed to get along, Hotaru turned over to the younger of the two, "Stella, I understand if you do not want to reunite with Alcyone, and wish to remain as an independent person. I will make sure to give you both equal love and affection."
Bowing her head courteously, Stella smiled, "Thank you Hotaru. I will make sure to love you as much as Alcyone does. And that you two don't try anything nefarious…"
Seeing Stella squinting her crimson eyes at them impishly, Alcyone and Hotaru couldn't help but hug her tightly. Feeling their embrace, Stella hugged them back, finally knowing where she belonged.
Remembering they were still on the clock, Hotaru broke away from the hug before asking, "So how do we get out of here?"
"If it works like Winter Elixir, it is only a matter of dispelling it," Alcyone pointed out, before turning to Stella.
Nodding in unison with her creator, Stella raised her arms towards the sky, "Dream Over!"
Starting from the sky above Stella and the edges of the scenery around them, the world started to disassemble. In hexagonal pieces, the colorful scenery began to turn into a blank white space. As the illusion of the Summer Dream Elixir faded, Hotaru could feel his consciousness first sink deep into unconsciousness, before his eyes snapped open.
Expecting to wake up in Cephiro, Hotaru instead found himself in the middle of the most intense blizzard he had ever experienced. The world around him was but a singular light gray void, with hundreds of snowflakes the size of small towels flying past his vision. His body felt stiff and raw, as if he had been standing out in the cold for over an hour. Feeling no ground beneath him and seeing the lime-green orb on his chest glowing white, Hotaru realized his Titanium Power spell was still in effect.
Stella said her spell was supposed to put its targets in suspended animation. Maybe it meant freezing them? Because of my increased mass, I am still mostly lucid, but what about…!
"STELLA! ALCYONE!" Hotaru yelled over the howling winds, but there was no response.
Hearing no response back, Hotaru was ready to fear the worst, until he felt a cold sensation against his neck. At first, he thought it was snow, but as it crawled up against his skin, he could recognize the familiar shapes.
"Hotaru!" Alcyone yelled directly at his ear. "I am here!"
Sparing no time, Hotaru lifted the shivering Alcyone gently up into his helmet with his finger, letting her take shelter between his earflap and hair. Soon after, he could see Stella flying over and taking shelter on the other side, with her having found the giant thanks to his voice. Although Hotaru's giant body was cold, it was still much warmer than those of the two dark-haired women in revealing outfits.
Using his earlier trick to increase his body temperature via his magical aura, Hotaru asked the two women, "So how do we dispel this part of the spell?"
"I don't know!" Stella admitted, shouting over the blizzard. "The dispelling was supposed to get rid of it completely, but no matter what I do…"
"Debonair…" Hotaru grumbled annoyedly. "Figures she would have left behind a safety feature to keep us locked up in here."
"I am so sorry!" Stella apologized ashamedly. "I shouldn't have trusted mot… That monster!"
"We all live and learn," Alcyone and Hotaru said simultaneously.
As the three of them chuckled, Hotaru raised his arms, having warmed up enough, "Hold still, I will get us out of here. Let me show you that not even Debonair is an obstacle for us! Neptunium Barrage!"
All the lime-green gems on Hotaru's Double Armor shone brightly and his lime-green aura flared out even more. Launching an onslaught of lime-green energy balls in all directions, they were soon surrounded by miniature nuclear explosions. The combined heat of the blasts soon cancelled out the blizzard around them, leaving only the outer shell of their prison.
Raising his arm upwards, Hotaru yelled out, "Uranium Cannon!"
A massive conical blast exploded from his hand, blowing open the top of the giant snow globe. With the top gone, the sides of the spell's remnants began to crack and shatter, as they faded away as powdered snow. With the dark world around them visible once more, they were back to hovering above the Sanctuary. Four of the crystal towers were still covered in hoarfrost from Stella's spell, and one of the towers had collapsed.
Seeing no traces of the battleships or the monsters, Hotaru declared, "We need to go after the others. Debonair has definitely arranged a trap for them."
"Right," Stella nodded, getting out from underneath Hotaru's helmet along with Alcyone. "We need to go and undo the damage that I've— Ughu!"
Hearing Stella gasp, Hotaru quickly turned towards her, but couldn't quite turn around enough. Sensing a dark presence on his shoulder and hearing Stella start to scream in pain, a sense of dread took over him. Shrinking down to his normal size, Hotaru and Alcyone quickly flew next to the hovering Stella.
Seeing Stella up close, they could hear her cries of pain and fear, as a tendril of pure darkness appeared and wrapped around Stella. As it finished wrapping around her body from ankles to neck, it squeezed around her tightly, causing the vampire's screams to become choked. Fighting through the pain, Stella grit her fanged teeth and gripped the tendril tightly. Despite her best efforts and supernatural strength, she was unable to tear the tendril off of her.
"What is happening!?" Alcyone asked her lover, only to find Hotaru pale with shock.
"It's… It's the same!" Hotaru gasped, his jaw twitching.
Dramatic memories of the final episode of the anime flashed before Hotaru's eyes, which had plagued his nightmares for weeks now. Seeing Stella struggle before him like this, Hotaru could see Alcyone struggling in her night dress in his mind's eye, as punishment for betraying Debonair. The fate he had tried to protect Alcyone from, was now playing before his very eyes, despite all his efforts.
"No… NO! Not this time!" Hotaru roared as he came to grips with the situation, rushing towards Stella. "I WILL NOT LOSE YOU AGAIN!"
Grabbing hold of the dark tendril around Stella, Hotaru began to tear it away with all his might. As he did, purple currents of electricity ran down his body, shocking him and Stella painfully. Since they were floating in the air, Hotaru couldn't activate his defensive, pain nulling spell, lest his giant form would crush Stella. As such, he was forced to experience each shock at their full force.
Realizing this was Debonair's doing, Alcyone shouted, "Let go of her you monster!"
Doing her best to help Hotaru, Alcyone shoved her Escudo staff between the tentacle's coils, trying to pry them off of her shadow. But even as they all pulled as hard as they possibly could, the dark tendril didn't budge. Eventually, a deep electrical pink aura formed around Stella, as the dark tendril grew in mass, appearing like a portal to a dark dimension.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Stella screamed in pain, before painfully gasping. "I… I don't think I will make it…"
"Don't say that!" Hotaru yelled, pulling as hard as he could, tears in his eyes. "This is not how it ends! I will not allow it to end like this again! I will protect you!"
Seeing the pained expression on Hotaru's face, Stella could tell he was being hurt as badly as she was. Slowly reaching over to Alcyone's staff, she was able to grip it without a worry, as her creator was holding onto it. As she did, she began to push it upwards, sliding it out from underneath the tendrils. Seeing this, Alcyone's eyes widened in shock.
"What do you think you are doing, Stella!?" Alcyone asked, trying futilely to push against Stella's strength.
"…Don't worry, this is the fate that I brought upon myself," Stella admitted with a bittersweet smile, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I should have trusted you both, just as you trusted in me."
"We all make mistakes! It doesn't have to cost you your life!" Alcyone insisted,before her staff came loose.
Seeing Alcyone grab hold of Hotaru to pull as well, Stella closed her eyes, "Please, you have so many others to save instead of me. Save your strength, and use it to make a beautiful future..."
"Don't give up! You will be part of that futuretoo!" Hotaru insisted, trying to pry his fingers between the tendrils. "I will save you! I promise!"
"You already have…" Stella cried; her face barely visible anymore. "I thought that I was born to this world without a purpose, and wasn't deserving of happiness. But you showed me that the man I was born to love, did in fact exist…"
As Stella closed her eyes and was swallowed up by the darkness, they could hear her final words echo through it, "Thank you, for making me happy…"
With the end drowned out by ghostly howls, as the darkness began to converge, Alcyone and Hotaru were both left speechless. As they gasped and cried out, the darkness compressed into a single sphere, before disappearing in a flash. Overwhelmed by the loss of her shadow, Alcyone started sobbing, her heart feeling a crushing pain from the grief. But whereas Alcyone was overcome by grief, Hotaru was devastated by it.
Gripping the sides of his head, Hotaru screamed through the tears and sore throat, into the skies, "STELLLAAAAAAAAA!"
Alcyone watched from the side, as Hotaru's yell continued for what felt like an eternity. Eventually the man covered his face with his armored hands, and wailed into them. Seeing him grieve, Alcyone floated over to him, wrapping her arms around him gently to comfort him, despite her own pain.
"Was… Was that how I died?" Alcyone asked quietly.
"Mhm!" Hotaru groaned through his gloves, before forcing himself to ask. "Are… Are you okay? Is your heart… still intact?"
Remembering Clef's words from long ago, about how losing one's shadow meant losing part of oneself, Hotaru had to know if Alcyone was okay. The sorceress remained quiet for a moment, trying to feel out her inner self, to find an answer.
"I… I don't know," Alcyone admitted, her body still shaking from the shock.
Feeling the uncertainty of Alcyone's answer and a cold breeze chilling him to his core, Hotaru pulled his hands away from his face. He could still feel the tingle of the electricity in his fingers, reminding him of his failure. But instead of breaking down to cry again, Hotaru's rage started boiling over, causing his aura to flare up once more.
Looking at his shaking hands, Hotaru clenched his fists furiously, "You… will pay… for this… DEBONAIR!"
Author's Afterword: I… I don't feel like being humoristic about this ending. Not that I cannot come up with a joke to crack about it, I can think of several, I just don't want to.
I take pride in putting my characters through plenty of hardships and challenges, and pushing them to their limits. At the same time, I push myself as a writer to my limits. I also understand the importance of character deaths in fiction. With me having spared the lives of Presea, Alcyone, and Eagle, I almost halved the number of deaths in the series. As such I felt the need to balance things out.
However, while Stella only started out as a shadow for Alcyone, with this being planned out as her fate, I grew fond of her. She was a character who shaped up to be even more tragic than Alcyone or Emeraude, all on her own. While her purpose was to help Alcyone and Hotaru to grow as characters, it cannot be said she didn't take on a life of her own.
As I wrote the end, I considered sparing Stella, to let her live with Alcyone and Hotaru. But the fact of the matter is that her death will have greater implications to the plot going forward. In fact, her death is quite crucial.
Next chapter is going to be the season 2 finale. Whether it will be 30 or 40 pages long, I will post it as a single chapter. It is time for the big finish.
As always, reviews, questions, and critiques are welcome! Let me know what you thought of the chapter! I would like to thank merendinoemiliano for yesterday's review! Remember, even if you leave a review on an older chapter, I will always be grateful and make sure to mention you!
