Having obtained Rayearth, the third Mashin, our heroes knew that the time had come for the final battle against Zagato. The three Mashins, Selece, Windam, and Rayearth were very imposing when all together, lit up by the magma of the volcano. Although they had been overwhelmed by their presence when they first met them, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu now felt at ease next to their Mashins.
"So, this is what the Mashins look like…" Alcyone looked at them in awe. "What happens next?"
Before others could answer, Rayearth spoke in a deep and gentle voice, "Girls summoned from another world by the Pillar of Cephiro. Now is the time to don us and become true Magic Knights."
Hotaru leaned over to Alcyone and whispered, "I think we're about to get outshined."
The orbs on the chests of the Mashin started glowing in their representative colors of red, green, and blue. The symbols of each one's corresponding shrines shone on the orbs, surrounded by hexagrams. One by one, the Magic Knights turned into masses of energy, before being absorbed into the glowing orbs.
"Rayearth!" Hikaru called out, causing her Mashin's eyes to glow red and the flames spewing from its back to intensify.
"Selece!" Umi followed, before her Mashin spread its draconic wings and its yellow eyes gleamed.
"Windam!" Fuu finished, her Mashin spreading its multitudes of silvery feathers.
Inside the Mashins, the Magic Knights could see the world as if floating on the Mashins' eyelevel. They were surrounded by clear see-through orbs, with winding golden frames running around them. Each frame was decorated with the symbols of the Mashins, which glowed on large round bases.
"Is this the inside of a Mashin?" Hikaru thought out loud.
While she was inside a giant robot with bestial features, she could see everything around her clearly. There were no controls, no seat, just her floating inside an ethereal glass orb. She could see Hotaru and Alcyone on the ground, and Fuu and Umi floating little ways away from her.
"This is what they meant by donning the Mashin?" Alcyone blinked, seeing the girls now in control of the giant robots.
"What else could it have been?" Hotaru asked before yelling up at the girls. "Congratulations on becoming real Magic Knights!"
Mokona, who had reappeared from somewhere, was also congratulating them by jumping up and down, "Pu-puu! Pu-puu! Pu-puu!"
"So Mokona, where should we go next?" Umi asked while bowing Selece's face closer to Mokona.
"Pupu?" Mokona tilted its head.
There was an awkward moment of silence, as the blue giant robot and Mokona continued their staring contest.
"…Mokona, do you know where Zagato's fortress is?" Umi asked. "Or where Princess Emeraude is at least?"
"Pu-pu," Mokona shook its head.
Everyone watched awkwardly as Umi proceeded to facepalm while inside Selece, causing her to misjudge the distance to her own face. Annoyed by this, Umi started angrily stomping her foot down against the lava.
"Then how are we supposed to find the final boss fight!" she yelled out frustratedly.
Fuu pulled out the red orb she had received from Ferio, looking at it in her hand. She had only managed to exchange a few words with the young swordsman, but had learnt a few things. One, Ferio had wanted her to have the second communicator and two, Ferio could potentially be Princess Emeraude's brother. While Ferio could have given the orb to them for them to find his sisters, Fuu didn't know if Ferio knew of their true mission.
Before she had time to suggest using the orbs, Alcyone called out to them, "No worries! Me and Hotaru have been to the fortress before, so we know the way."
"I make no promises!" Hotaru added a disclaimer. "It was very hard to find last time and it may have moved since then."
Hikaru nodded, understanding the difficulty of things, "Right, just point us to where you last saw it, we will follow your lead. Let us go save Cephiro!"
The air around the Mashin began to swirl as the three mechs started rising upwards. As if rockets taking off, their ascent was slow at first but quickly picked up speed until they were soaring upwards. In order not to be left behind, Hotaru picked up Alcyone into princess carry and activated Silver Speed and Aluminum Flight. They all flew to the top of the volcanic cavern, from where they exited through the volcano's crater.
Each of the Magic Knights were feeling nervous about the upcoming fight as well as fulfilling their duties. At the same time, Hotaru and Alcyone were both cautious about returning to the crystal fortress. After Zagato brainwashed most of the Magic Knights' allies, Alcyone could only imagine what kind of tricks Zagato had in store. While Hotaru knew exactly what they would be facing, he was worried about their own safety.
Zagato is about to pull out the big guns. I wonder if it would be wiser for me to take Alcyone somewhere safe? Then again, I don't want to miss out on the giant robot fight… If it gets hectic, I will get her out of there.
At the darkest watery depths of the crystal fortress, a young-looking girl with fair skin, blue eyes, and incredibly long golden hair, laid in her self-imposed solitude. She wore a long white dress with a red undershirt, a golden tiara and a large golden pendant. Her pendant and tiara were decorated with large round emeralds, as well as some small sapphires.
Princess Emeraude was laying atop a giant pink rose that gave off soft light. For years now, this bed had been her only source of comfort. She had not eaten, slept, or felt the touch of any other living being for over a decade. Her inability to die even when in the crushing depths of her current dwelling, was the only reason she still lived. Had she been able to end all this, she would have done so as soon as her heart chose love over duty.
Emeraude still remembered how she had first met him. A tall handsome young man of less than fifty years old, who held the most powerful and compassionate heart she had ever seen. He had been Clef's top student and once his apprenticeship was over, had been nominated as her high priest by the Master Mage. Day in and day out, he helped her carry out her prayers for the wellbeing of Cephiro and its people. For decades he stayed by her side without complaint, performing his duties and keeping her company. Once he turned 100, Emeraude had gifted him the most powerful elemental she had ever created, as his loyal companion. For her 300th birthday, the young man had gifted her the rose she now lied on, to help her better rest up and recover. And yet, it had only filled her mind with more and more thoughts of him…
"Zagato…" she sighed wistfully, her entire body aching.
Please stop. At this rate, this world will really… Cephiro will be ruined.
With her heart feeling like it was about to break, Emeraude got up into a sitting position. She wanted to pray for the wellbeing of Cephiro, but it was useless if her heart couldn't commit. As much as she could mouth off endless amounts of prayers, none of them meant anything if she desired Zagato more.
Please, Magic Knights… Hurry… Please come quickly…
Despite it being of no use, she placed her hands together against her chest, and started praying, for there was nothing else she could do to help the situation.
Before I make an irreversible mistake… Hurry… Legendary Magic Knights… please, save Cephiro!
As our heroes made it out of the volcano and soared high in the sky, they could truly see the deterioration of Cephiro. Though only this morning they had seen some forests around the volcano, they were now gone. The land was completely void of any water or vegetation, as all that they could see was just rocky crags and ravines. The lands were covered by clouds of dust that flowed across the wasteland that had only a few weeks ago been a lush green world.
The sight above them wasn't much better. The sky had been dark with black clouds before, but now that the sun was getting ready to set, the clouds had an ominous red hue to them. Truly, if there was one remaining source of color and hope in this world, it was the red, green, blue giant robots up in the sky.
"Which way should we be headed?" Hikaru asked their small guides.
"Up! Much higher than this," Hotaru answered, still holding Alcyone in his arms.
"By the way, Fuu, are you alright without glasses?" Umi asked as she flew next to her.
Indeed, having received their new sets of armors and final evolutions of their swords, Fuu's glasses had disappeared. While she seemed a lot more confident without her round spectacles, she seemed slightly out of it.
"…Yes," she answered eventually. "I can see you, Ms. Hikaru, Mr. Hotaru, and Ms. Alcyone clearly without them, Ms. Umi."
"I wonder if that's because of this armor," Umi suggested.
"Cephiro is the world where the will determines all," Alcyone reminded them. "There have been a few occasions where a person who lost their eyesight managed to regain it through their will. Though most of the time people with such disabilities just sought help from Princess Emeraude."
"Princess Emeraude…" Hikaru muttered sadly. "I wonder how the people have been getting along without her around for so long."
"Not well," Alcyon admitted, ashamed of her past, "without Emeraude or the clergy, medicine makers such as myself became very popular. However, we couldn't help as much out on the battlefield as actual healers."
"Luckily we got Fuu with us, right?" Umi smiled.
"Right…" Fuu sighed.
As they continued flying upwards, there really wasn't much else for them to talk about. To break the awkward silence, Hotaru decided to take this time to learn more about Alcyone.
"So, what kind of medicine are you used to making?" Hotaru asked, remembering the effects of her Winter Elixir on Deucy.
"Simple medicines for diseases, antidotes, poisons, as well as salves that speed up natural healing," Alcyone answered, listing off some of her best work. "I also have some experimental drugs, but not many of them proved useful. Though I can't make many of them without my tools and ingredients."
"So, you're a sorceress and an apothecary. Impressive," Hotaru smiled while complimenting her. "I guess you will be the one to heal my wounds once the girls return to Tokyo."
Not used to compliments, Alcyone blushed and muttered, "I-I look forward to it…"
A nerve on Umi's forehead was pulsating as she listened to this. While she was happy that Hotaru and Alcyone had managed to get together, she was also slightly jealous of them and Fuu for having found love. However, what really got under her skin was how their lovey-dovey acting reminded her of her parents.
"Could you save the flirting for later and focus on finding that fortress you talked about?" she snapped eventually.
"Hey, I did not get myself a giant robot, so at least let me enjoy what I did get!" Hotaru barked back at her, before smiling at Alcyone. "The most beautiful woman in all of Cephiro."
Alcyone covered her face and let out a shrill whimper, trying her best to save face while blushing violently. While it couldn't be seen through the Mashins, the Magic Knights also blushed at this corny yet sincerer line. The overly sappy moment was brought to an end, as they heard a high pitched pinging sound.
Having received Fuu's original magical communicator, Hikaru pulled it out of her gauntlet's gem. Its central gem was beeping and giving off a bright pink link.
"The magic item is shining!" She let the others know.
"Mine too!" Fuu yelled out.
Eventually the pinging stopped, and a meek and tired voice sounded from the magic items, "I am Emeraude of Cephiro."
"Princess Emeraude!" the three Magic Knights yelled out.
As they came to a stop, Hotaru also halted his flying, before hovering between the technicolor mechs in order to hear what was being said.
"Magic Knights… there is no time left. Please grant me my wish…" the weak and pained voice spoke out once more. "Save this land, Cephiro."
"Princess Emeraude, where… Where are you right now?" Hikaru asked, her heart aching, knowing what they had to do.
High from the sky, somewhat off course to where they had been headed, a bright golden light descended from behind the clouds. It struck Rayearth's chest orb before piercing it and hitting the magic item Hikaru was holding in her hands.
"This light…" Hikaru's eyes widened.
Before she could finish, the light bounced off the magic item. It struck the chest of Windam, hitting Fuu's magic item, before bouncing back into the sky.
"I am where those light point, the place above the sky. Magic Knights, please…" Emeraude told them, her voice growing quieter.
"Wait just a moment, please!" Fuu yelled out. "Is it true that you are Ferio's sister?"
Before the voice cut off completely, they could hear, "Yes… I am his big sister…"
"Princess Emeraude!" Hikaru yelled out, but there was no answer.
"The voice is gone," Umi said worriedly.
"She must be drawing near to her limit," Hotaru said, trying to offer some advice.
Knowing that everyone's spirits were close to faltering, Hikaru slowly pointed her finger up into the sky. Gathering all her determination, she spoke out loud and clear.
"Let's go! Zagato is up there!"
"Right!" they all replied, before speedily flying in the direction of the light.
Forcing herself to keep her powers in check, Princess Emeraude had cut off communications. To hear the Magic Knights speak of her little brother, had reminded her of the importance of their mission. Not much longer and all this would be over. All she could do was pray and wait.
Magic Knights summoned from another world… Please, fulfill the legend and allow me… Allow me to…
As she was trying to pray, she could feel a familiar presence. As she opened her eyes, she could see a familiar dark figure, contrasted against the pitch-black darkness that surrounded him. A man with long black hair, wearing ornate, dark gray armor with dark purple orbs, and a crown-like helmet, stood before her. He was very tall and the black cloak wrapped around his body made him look even more imposing.
In the past, Emeraude had always found Zagato's smile to be the most comforting thing in the world. Now, it had been so long since she last saw him show a sincere smile. But even now, she could still see that same person behind all of his misdeeds. However, she also saw he was in pain.
"Please… Stop this Zagato," Emeraude begged. "This is the law of Cephiro. The promise of this land. I cannot do anything about it."
"I know that," Zagato answered dryly. "I was the one chosen to aid your prayers. The law of Cephiro, that heart determines, all is engraved in me deeper than anyone."
"Then please, just let me die with dignity," Emeraude begged him, shedding tears of desperation. "Then one day, we can be together again, once your time is up."
"I cannot let that happen," Zagato refused. "With a heart as powerful as mine, I would surely live for another 500 years at least. I cannot bear to wait that long. And if I am to die, I might as well do so by protectingt—"
Before Zagato could finish, the pain on his shoulder caused him to flinch. The cut he had received from the red Magic Knight was deeper than he had initially expected and now he felt the full brunt of it. He had to grab hold of it with his armored hand, so as to try and stop the bleeding.
"Zagato, you're hurt again!" Emeraude yelled out worriedly.
"It's nothing…" he gritted his teeth.
As he tried playing it off, he heard a familiar prayer escape from the lips of his captive. A golden shing ball formed in her hands before she reached over and pressed it against his shoulder. A gentle warmth spread through his wounded arm, fixing it good as new.
"The power of your prayers is still as potent as it ever was," Zagato spoke out, trying to understand her fluctuating powers.
"They only hold power, when you are involved…" Emeraude smiled, trying to hold back the tears.
"…I shall defeat the Magic Knights. What are you doing healing my injuries?"
Seeing Zagato's pained expression, Emeraude teared up once more, "…Because I cannot bear to see you go, before I do…"
Zagato knelt down and instinctively tried wiping the tears off of Emeraude's cheek. However, due to her incarceration, he could only touch her projection.
Despite knowing it only caused her further pain, Zagato could no longer keep it in, "Emeraude, I love you."
"Zagato…" Emeraude whimpered, trying her best not to sob in front of him.
With his body fully healed up, Zagato stood up, his tall armored figure clanging underneath his cloak. With the final battle approaching, he knew the destiny of their love and Cephiro would be decided soon. He cleared his mind and made peace with the fact that he had one last chance at saving Emeraude.
"I will shatter the legend of the Magic Knights," he spoke with a dead set determination.
"Wait Zagato…" Emeraude tried pleading, before Zagato's image started fading. "ZAGATO!"
With Emeraude's scream still ringing in his ears, Zagato took one last look at his surroundings. While the castle and the fortress around it had been his home for centuries, it was time for him to say goodbye to them. Soon the entire massive floating structure would be nothing but rubble, one way or another.
With determined steps, Zagato started walking forward towards the exit. His magical aura flared as purple glowing tendrils started rising up from it. By pouring all his heart and soul into it, he could feel his magical power rising rapidly. By the time he teleported outside the fortress, a second layer of black armor surrounded him.
With Emeraude's light as their guide, our heroes followed the path laid before them. The two beams of light created an intangible runway for them across the clouds. Compared to the amount of time it had taken Hotaru to fly from the Sky Shrine to Zagato's fortress last time, the journey felt a lot longer. The fortress had apparently floated quite far away from its previous destination.
"Alcyone, does Zagato's fortress often drift around the sky?" he asked his passenger.
"Not as far as I know. It would make teleporting to it and back much more difficult," Alcyone answered, holding onto Hotaru tightly as her hair fluttered in the wind. "Perhaps we flew in the wrong direction at the start or it is the anticipation."
"Maybe…"
As the two of them were talking, the Magic Knights were staring towards the lights, until finally Hikaru could spot something. A floating structure made out of crystals that pointed in every direction imaginable. At first it looked small, but as they got closer, it became clear just how humongous it was.
Hikaru gasped, "Is… that the castle where Princess Emeraude is at!"
"That would be it," Hotaru confirmed.
"It's huge!" Umi yelled out.
Indeed, while the Mashins were huge in their own right, each crystal that jutted out of the fortress was large enough for them all to stand on. In its entirety, the crystal fortress could have occupied an entire Tokyo district.
"Once Zagato took over, the original castle was encased in several layers of crystal spires," Alcyone explained to the others. "The actual castle is deep within those spires. To make absolutely sure no one could launch an offensive on it, it was hidden here in the sky."
"Talk about an overkill…" Hotaru sighed, before noticing something atop one of the crystals. "Speaking of which…"
"Everyone! Look over there!" Fuu yelled out, noticing what Hotaru had spotted.
Hidden amongst the darkness of the clouds, an armored figure stood tall on top of the crystal pointed in their direction. It was huge and mechanical, covered in black and red armor with minor golden decorations that resembled a knight. It had golden epaulet-like decorations on its broad black pauldrons with red orbs in the middle. Its knees resembled red shields with golden trims and a large black cape billowed in the wind behind it. A long, curved shield was attached to its wrist and forearm. Its chest was heavily armored and protruded into a point. Its feet and crotch were reinforced with heavy red armor pieces. Its armored tassets were formed of several plates that reached all the way to its knees. It had a black helmet with a red and gold visor and a head crest that burned with a crimson flame. Its face was dark silver and had yellow glowing eyes. In its hand, it held a black sword with a red hand guard that resembled a lance.
"I-Is that a Mashin?" Hikaru stuttered.
"There were more Mashins than these three?" Umi asked, horrified.
Alcyone jaw dropped seeing the black Mashin, but managed to utter, "N-No, I only ever knew there to exist three of them… So that would mean—"
"That's right, Alcyone," a voice echoed from the direction of the black Mashin, "your traitorous path comes to an end, as does the legend of the Magic Knights."
"That voice…" Fuu gasped.
"Zagato," Hikaru narrowed her eyes.
"Zagato has a Mashin too?" Umi stared in disbelief.
"We needed these three because the enemy also donned a Mashin…" Fuu shuddered.
"I get it… That's why reviving the Mashin was a requirement for the Magic Knights."
"I am afraid it is worse than that, Umi…" Hotaru corrected her. "I think that Mashin came about after the legend…"
"That's right. This is something I created using all of my strength and all of my heart," Zagato explained, before his voice turned more serious. "For the purpose of defeating the legendary Magic Knights!"
"For him to be powerful enough to create his own Mashin…" Alcyone shivered, unable to even grasp the power required to do so.
"Yeah, that is quite impressive, not gonna lie," Hotaru admitted, having always found this to be the coolest thing Zagato ever did. "However, we can still beat him together."
"Not you, Hotaru," Hikaru spoke out.
"Huh?" he responded dumbfounded. "Why not?"
Unable to tell what expression Hikaru was making due to her being inside Rayearth, he could only imagine it in his mind. But for the first time in either of his lives, Hotaru felt like he was being talked to by an older sister.
"You and Alcyone stay here. You don't have Mashins and while you are powerful, I do not want you to risk your lives against a foe like this."
"But Hikaru, Hotaru has always fought by our side!" Umi pointed out worriedly.
"While that is true, I can see why Ms. Hikaru doesn't want to get them involved," Fuu said, preparing for battle. "As things stand, they are the group's weakest link. Zagato is bound to target them first."
Hotaru and Alcyone looked at each other, feeling the weight of their words upon them. Neither of them wanted to lose the other in this battle, not after all they had been through. In addition, while Hotaru would have liked to fight, he knew this was a battle he didn't need to step in for. He had already seen the girls win this battle time after time.
Trusting that they could do it one more time, Hotaru agreed, "Very well. Knock him down, girls!"
Hotaru flew further back with Alcyone, so that they could watch the battle from afar. As the four giant robots prepared for a battle, Hotaru instinctively held onto Alcyone tighter, and vice versa.
"Do you think this is how it feels when the children leave the nest?" Alcyone asked Hotaru, shivering slightly.
"Maybe when they leave for war…"
"Let's go! Umi! Fuu!" Hikaru yelled out.
As Zagato charged at the Magic Knights with his Mashin, Hikaru was the first to intercept his sword. The black and silver swords clashed with great force, the impact ringing throughout the skies. By slamming his shield against Rayearth's face, Zagato managed to push Hikaru back. Umi attacked next from above, swinging her rapier down at the enemy, however, Zagato managed to block and push her back with great force. Fuu and Hikaru then tried attacking at once, but Zagato intercepted their attacks with his sword and shield.
As the battle waged on, Hotaru and Alcyone realized they were still far too close. The power of the clashes could be felt all the way to where they were floating at. When the four giant mechs started firing off their spells, things got even more heated up.
Blocking a shockwave with his body, Hotaru yelled, "It's no use, we need to get away from here!"
As Alcyone gazed over Hotaru's shoulder, an idea popped into her mind, "What if we go inside the fortress?"
With flashbacks to future events running through his mind, Hotaru shook his head, "That thing will probably crumble down upon us as this fight goes on."
"Maybe… but this would be a good time to loot the place," Alcyone suggested impishly. "There are a few things I would like to grab in there."
Hotaru tried to dissuade her, but his opportunistic side got the best of him, "…I like the way you think, my bandit queen."
The two of them started speeding away from the fortress at top speed first, before making a wide turn to the opposite side of it. The battle had turned severe enough that the giant combatants didn't notice the two of them sneak past them. Despite being outnumbered, Zagato's fury and determination allowed him to keep attacking nonstop. Using the extra mass and armor of his Mashin, he rammed into the Magic Knights at full power time after time.
Having received a shield to her jaw, Umi gritted her teeth, "Dammit! He is fighting like Hotaru on a bad day!"
"I learned a few tricks from him!" Zagato yelled out, before kicking Hikaru back, who had tried attacking from behind.
Hikaru was sent flying into a piece of rubble that had broken off of the fortress. She let out a pained gasp as Rayearth imprinted itself to the stone.
Umi flew further back from Zagato, before turning around, "Water Dragon!"
The dragon shaped water geyser was almost a hundred times larger than what it had been at the start of their adventure. It twisted and turned around in the air, approaching its target in an unpredictable fashion.
"Barrier Circle!" Zagato yelled out.
A black barrier surrounded the already bulky Mashin, just before the Water Dragon impacted with it. Once the spell dissipated, Zagato teleported behind Umi before tackling her down, sending her crashing into Hikaru.
As the two Mashins were right next to each other, Zagato extended out his arm, charging a mass of dark energy in it. Once it finished charging, he fired off a black ball of lightning at Umi and Hikaru.
"Onyx Lightning!"
As a black version of Hikaru's Ruby Lightning flew towards them, Fuu swooped in in a hurry.
"Winds of Protection!"
A green barrier appeared before Windam, blocking the black lightning ball. While she managed to protect her friends, the piece of debris they were standing on was blown apart. Using the bright explosion as a cover, Hikaru flew forward while charging up her spell.
"Flame Arrow!" she launched a powerful fireball from her hand.
Seeing the fiery projectile approaching him, Zagato brought his sword back, before swinging in a wide arch. Using his lance-like sword, he destroyed the Flame Arrow, directing its explosion towards the Magic Knights. The three of them were blown back by the force of it and could feel the heat of Hikaru's flames.
Seeing he had the Magic Knights on the ropes, Zagato started charging up a more powerful spell. The air around him crackled and flashed, as his magical power reached new heights. With his powers amplified by the Mashin, he could barely contain its power.
"The legend will not become reality," Zagato declared, his Mashin's cape billowing from the increasing magical intensity. "The legend of the Magic Knights… With these hands… I will crush it! Lightning Call"
A bright yellow lightning bolt struck down from the clouds and hit Zagato's Mashin. As the lightning intensified, his mech glowed bright blue, before he directed the spell towards the Magic Knights. A massive blue bolt of electricity was launched at them, which electrocuted them severely. The sounds of the girls screaming in pain, was quickly drowned out by an enormous blue explosion that lit up the crystal fortress.
At the fortress, Alcyone and Hotaru had just managed to navigate through the crystal barrier. While the barrier was impenetrable, Alcyone knew how to get through it with magic. While she herself now could just teleport in and out of the castle, there was a time when she had to use the difficult way in. Conjuring a magic circle on the side of one of the crystals, she created a portal that led through the barrier.
Inside, as Hotaru didn't quite remember all the details of the show, he was surprised to see how hollow the fortress was. While the walls were extremely thick, the core was mostly empty. Inside this hollow space, floated a cluster of rocky islands with large crystals growing on top of them. From between the crystals, flowed out several streams of water that fell down from the edges. In many ways, the islands reminded him of the Sky Shrine. However, what set them apart was the castle that dominated the landscape.
The castle consisted of several tiers of towers and spires, spaced between solid levels that eventually tapered into a single point. The outside walls of the upper floors were made out of blue crystal, but the lower floors were made out of reddish-brown stone. While the castle showed signs of beautiful architecture that Hotaru had never seen before, it was far from its glory days. The walls seemed cracked and rundown, as if the castle had been abandoned for decades. This combined with the fairytale atmosphere of the castle, gave off an eerie ambiance.
Before Hotaru could ask about the castle's past from Alcyone, a bright blue flash pierced through the crystal barrier from outside. While the barrier muffled the sound of it, they could tell things were getting dire.
"…We shouldn't waste time. Let's go."
"Right," Alcyone nodded.
The two of them flew inside through the front gate, which was enormous enough that even Mashins could fly through it. Once inside, the rundown aesthetic of the castle seemed to disappear. Despite it being dark and dank, the insides of the castle were well kept and polished. So as to not waste time, Hotaru allowed Alcyone to lead the way.
This brings back memories. I remember seeing these halls on the show before, but not how they connected to one another. It does make for a cool evil lair, shame it is about to come crashing down.
The trip down the memory lane came to a halt, as Alcyone brought Hotaru over to a pair of doors he had never seen before. They were lacquered wood with gold leaf decorations that depicted plants and magical symbols.
"This is the royal library. I would like to grab a few books before they are destroyed," Alcyone explained, before pressing her hand against the doors. "I know I was banished from here, but I doubt they would have… got it!"
The golden engravings glowed blue, before an internal locking mechanism snapped open. As the doors swung open, they revealed a vast multi-story library, full of tall bookshelves, spiral staircases, and walkways. The room was dark aside from a few light giving crystals on the walls and ceiling that acted as torches. While the library was free of dust and cobwebs, a musty odor lingered in the air. Without wasting time, Alcyone headed to one of the shelves and started going through the books.
"This is… so much information," Hotaru gasped, taken aback by the sheer number of books. "If this place gets destroyed, it will be like a second Alexandria…"
"Alexandria?" Alcyone looked at him confused.
"An ancient city in my world. It held one of the biggest libraries of its time, which was burnt to the ground," Hotaru gave a quick explanation. "They say that humanity's development was set back by a millennium because of it."
"That sounds horrible… but we can't save all of these," Alcyone admitted reluctantly, before continuing to gather books.
She gathered around two dozen tomes, before storing them inside her forehead gem. She had originally wanted to grab some of her favorite novels, but because of Hotaru's words, she focused on academic works instead.
Once she was finished, Hotaru smiled and rubbed his hands together, "Now off to the treasury."
"Treasury? I'm not sure if we can even get in…" Alcyone admitted. "I was planning on grabbing some tools and medicine from my quarters."
"We can do that after. For now… well, I kinda made a deal with Caldina," Hotaru admitted, stroking the back of his head awkwardly. "I promised her half of whatever reward Princess Emeraude would give me…"
Alcyone stared at him disappointedly, before facepalming, "And here I thought you were more of a master manipulator than that… Alright, follow me, but don't expect to get far."
With Alcyone's lead, they traversed the complex corridors of the castle. While they couldn't hear or see the battle being waged outside, they knew they were on the clock. Hence, they hurried along, walking at a brisk pace and staying focused. Eventually, Alcyone led Hotaru over to a pair of large crystal doors.
The doors were seven meters tall and curved at the top, clinging to the doorway's arch. The doors were ornate, covered in carvings of bell-like flowers of different colors. The flowers surrounded a statue of a beautiful female figure that was carved to the center of the doors. While the door seemed more decorative than protective, it posed a challenge to any would-be thief. There was no lock, no seams, and no hinges.
"Right… you can't exactly pick it open," Hotaru admitted, having hoped that his skills from his new life could be of use.
"Exactly, the door only opens to a select few individuals that it recognizes," Alcyone explained, staring up at the statue. "Those being Emeraude, Zagato, and Clef. Also, the doors are completely indestructible, so don't even think about brute forcing your way through it."
"Hmmm… let me try something," Hotaru said with a curious voice, before yelling. "Steel Strength! Tungsten Defense!"
Seeing Hotaru summon his giant sword, Alcyone facepalmed again, "Did you not listen to me! The door is completely… where you going?"
"Remodeling," Hotaru quipped.
As the sides of the vault doors were one solid wall, he couldn't exactly go around them. However, it didn't take a master criminal to see the path he had to take. He pulled back his giant sword, before swinging it at full force.
"Hiyah!"
A loud impact echoed throughout the hallway as his golden blade plunged into the crystal wall. While his arms felt like he had struck solid rock (which was the case) he couldn't help but smile. His sword had cracked the wall and carved out a hole about the size of a sheep.
"They never expect you to go through the walls," Hotaru smiled, before continuing to smash his way through.
"Of course not! The sound of doing so would alert all the… guards," Alcyone stopped, realizing what she was saying. "Never mind, just try to hurry it along."
For the next three minutes, shards of crystal were spraying everywhere as Hotaru kept digging. By his estimates, he was just about to reach the inside of the vault, when his sword struck something harder. There was a high-pitched sound as the blade struck a metal wall. Despite whacking it a few times, he only managed to dent it.
Giving the wall a knock, Hotaru could tell that it was very thick, "Well, I'm not getting past that. Care to try yourself?"
"Me? Oh alright," Alcyone sighed, before summoning her bident staff. "Step aside."
Hotaru hurried out of the way, as Alcyone took some steps back as well. A white bolt of lightning struck the purple orb at the tip of Alcyone's staff, lighting up the dark corridor. The lightning concentrated into a large ball, to which she then fed even more magical power into. She charged it up until the ball was almost as wide as she was tall.
"Astra!"
She fired the ball into the tunnel carved by Hotaru, causing the surrounding crystal wall to explode. While the damage Alcyone caused was far greater than what Hotaru had done, the inner metallic wall stood strong.
"It's no use," she shook her head. "That wall must be made out of solid Escudo or something."
"Dammit! I thought we had it!" Hotaru kicked the crumbling wall out of frustration, before calming down. "…What about the spell that allowed you to get through the crystal barrier?"
"That spell?" Alcyone raised her eyebrow while placing a hand on her hip. "That spell was specifically made to get through the barrier. I doubt it would work on this."
"You never know until you try. The barrier was created long after the creation of this vault," Hotaru pointed out, leaning against the metal. "So, whoever designed the vault, never knew of that spell."
Alcyone sighed before relenting, "You are a hopeless optimist."
Switching places with Hotaru, Alcyone placed her hands on the vault wall. She conjured a blue heptagram magic circle on the wall, before imagining it turning into a pathway.
"Barrier Path!"
Hotaru's and Alcyone's eyes widened, as a blueish white, glowing wormhole appeared before them. It was roughly two meters across with swirling glowing edges. On the other side, they could see a dark room, which Alcyone recognized as the treasury.
"…I can't believe that actually worked," she gawked in dismay.
Hotaru patted Alcyone on the shoulder, smiling, "Never underestimate a dumb solution, for they are often overlooked."
"…Not something I would like immortalized on the family coat of arms," Alcyone pouted.
The battle outside the crystal fortress kept on heating up with blows being traded back and forth. Both Zagato and the Magic Knights were throwing everything they had at each other, risking life and injury in each clash. While the sounds of the battle couldn't reach through the barrier, Princess Emeraude heard and saw everything going on outside.
"Stop… Stop!" she yelled out, despite no one being able to hear her.
Fire, wind, water, lightning, and darkness clashed throughout the skies. While the collisions of their attacks were deafening, what got to her the most was the clash between her lover and her executioners. As much as she desired for Zagato to win, she knew this should not happen. Soon it would be over, soon they could be together at last.
"Stop… Please stop… Zagato…" Emeraude begged, her heart aching.
How many times had she seen him hurt in the past? How many times had she stood back and watched as Zagato had gone to fight for her freedom? How many times had he slain the innocents, who only wished to help out their princess, as they didn't know she had failed them? How many times had she healed Zagato's injuries, since she had failed to protect him?
Please Zagato, I don't want to see you get hurt again! Stand down, let me pay for my foolish mistakes! Let me die so that others may live and so that I am free to love you without guilt!
"Please… Please stop!" "At this rate… If this keeps going on…"
Outside, the Magic Knights had been blown back once more and were all laying in the rubble surrounding the floating fortress. Their bodies were aching, but they couldn't stop, they had to go on.
"Umi… Fuu…"
"Hikaru…"
"Ms. Hikaru."
"Let's do our best…" Hikaru grit her teeth, the eyes of her mech glowing red. "If we defeat Zagato, and take down the Pillar, we can go back to Tokyo… We can save this world called Cephiro!"
Two slits in Rayearth's back started spewing fire, letting out a jet engine like sound as its flames started ramping up.
"We've fought together this far," Umi grunted, getting back up on her feet. "We can't afford to lose now."
"Right… we should do our best," Fuu nodded, trying to prepare her heart for what was to come.
Hikaru looked up at the black Mashin standing over them on one of the crystal spires. Though Zagato was a fearsome foe, she knew that they could do this, as they were Magic Knights.
"When we go back, the three of us go together," she said, smiling proudly. "We can't lose. We refuse… to lose!"
Unleashing Rayearth's flames at full force, Hikaru blasted herself like a rocket at Zagato. She brought her sword down, and even though Zagato managed to block it, she drove him against a wall.
"Zagato!" Hikaru yelled, before speaking empathically. "I know you want to protect Princess Emeraude, but you need to let her go! If this keeps going on, everyone she cares about is going to die!"
"I refuse!" Zagato roared back. "This rotten world has kept her imprisoned for over 400 years! She has had no life of her own and sacrificed everything she had!"
As Zagato's anger flared, his Mashin pushed Rayearth back with enough force to throw Hikaru to the opposite side of the crystal pillar. Fuu and Umi landed next to their friend to assist her, however, Zagato wasn't done.
"She sacrificed her family, her friends, her happiness, her freedom!" Zagato yelled out, raising his sword above his head. "I will do whatever it takes, to give all of that back to her!"
As Zagato brought his sword down, it sent out a powerful shockwave that knocked the Mashins of the Magic Knights back. They were sent flying back once more, but got back up soon after.
As Emeraude followed the fight, images of Zagato's bruised, crushed, slashed, and mangled body in the past few days filled her mind. The constant thoughts of his suffering amplified her protective instinct, which she had dedicated to Cephiro. Soon, the end would come, her mind knew that. But her heart was beating louder and louder, wanting to protect Zagato, no matter the cost.
Don't hurt Zagato… It's not his fault! I am the one at fault! I am the one who deserves to go down first!
"I am… I am… I am…" She breathed heavily, her heart about to hurst. "I am breaking!"
Having entered the treasure vault, Alcyone and Hotaru looked around the dark, heavily fortified room. The vault was five times longer than it was wide, and the walls were bright silverish color from the inside. Each wall had multiple rows of platforms for holding treasure chests, armor stands, weapon racks, and art pieces. There was a desk with large scales on top of it, as well as a set of weights. The floor was littered with burlap coin bags and jewelry boxes, to a point where the amber colored floor could barely be seen.
Looking at the vault, Hotaru couldn't help but utter, "This is… a lot emptier than I thought."
While the vault was lavish and fit for storing immense quantities of wealth, there was almost nothing in it. The armor stands and weapon racks were empty, the art pieces were missing, and almost all the chests were empty. The bags on the floor were deflated and all the jewelry was missing. The only thing left was a single medium sized treasure chest atop the desk, which was halfway filled with gold coins.
Whereas Hotaru was disappointed, Alcyone was devastated, "It's… it's all gone! This… this place used to be full of treasure and gold only ten years ago!"
"Fighting a war for over a decade costs money," Hotaru shrugged.
"Yes, but the vault should never get this empty!" Alcyone despaired, pulling on her hair. "You cannot rebuild a nation with funds this low! I… I… I was such a fool!"
Alcyone fell to her knees as her old fantasies of ruling Cephiro by Zagato's side came flooding back. She had made plans of how to rebuild once Emeraude was under their influence. Plans on how to allocate funds to improve the economy and make sure they would be wealthy and well set for the rest of their lives. But now that she knew Zagato never cared about rebuilding the world, those fantasies turned to self-imposed ridicule. As those bitter sweet memories turned painfully embarrassing, she was overcome by both sadness and self-mockery.
"Of course, there would be nothing here… He never planned on sticking around after the Magic Knights were dead," she laughed through the tears.
Hating to see her like this, Hotaru leaned against her back and wrapped his arms around Alcyone's shoulders. He kissed her on the cheek, while stroking her arms calmingly. Eventually, he could feel Alcyone lean back against him, calming down slowly.
"We will find another way to rebuild," Hotaru promised. "For now, let's just take what's left and go find your room."
Alcyone dried her tears into her arm-length glove and stood up, "Right… we mustn't dwell on the past."
Using her forehead gem, Alcyone stowed away the remaining gold coins. Hotaru grabbed a medium-sized sack off the floor, so that he would have something to store stuff into. They both then headed through the wormhole on the side of the vault.
As they walked up the stairs towards Alcyone's quarters, Hotaru had to ask, "So, how much did we get in the grand scheme of things?"
"Not much," Alcyone admitted, shaking her head. "My family used to spend this much per month."
Yeah, but you belonged to a great noble family! I guess she wouldn't be too familiar with the monthly spendings of regular citizens. Then again, once Cephiro is back to normal, I doubt money will have that much value for a while. All that matters is that it is enough to get Caldina off my back.
After climbing several flights of stairs, they reached the top of one of the castle's many spires. Alcyone's quarters were round and had two stories, with a set of stairs running alongside the dulled-out crystal and marble walls. Hotaru looked around the simple yet academic decorum with curiosity, while Alcyone let out a deep sigh. These two rooms had been her home for several decades now and full of memories both nostalgic and tragic.
"So, what are we taking with us?" Hotaru asked, looking at Alcyone's multiple workstations.
"Tools and ingredients," Alcyone reminded him. "Cephiro is but a dead wasteland, so any and all dried up herbs are like unique treasures."
"Alright."
As the two of them started storing away as many left-over ingredients as possible, Hotaru quickly came across a small set of drawers. He started opening them and noticed that they were full of small balls of different colors. At first, he thought they were seeds of some kind, until he remembered what Alcyone had told him before.
"Are these the drugs that you were talking about?" Hotaru asked, checking through the matte orbs.
"Yes, but don't put any of them in your mouth," Alcyone warned him. "Most of them are poisonous or otherwise harmful to the user."
"Any that aren't?"
"Nothing that was a success," Alcyone admitted. "The closest I got was a drug that temporarily increased its user's powers by tenfold."
"That doesn't sound like a failure to me…"
Knowing the look on Hotaru's face, Alcyone quickly added, "The downside was that after ten minutes of increased power, you will find yourself bedridden for the next ten hours."
Despite the warnings, Hotaru started dumping all the drugs into his bag, "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it."
Alcyone sighed, before letting out a light chuckle, "You really do grab everything that isn't nailed down, don't—"
Before Alcyone could finish her sentence, a sudden violent scream interrupted her. The voice seemed to echo throughout the castle from all directions, before being followed by a flash of golden light. Caught by surprise by this, Alcyone grabbed onto Hotaru, but soon she recognized the voice.
"Princess Emeraude…" she uttered, utterly terrified.
"I guess the Magic Knights finally defeated Zagato," Hotaru thought out loud, remembering what would happen next.
"No… something is wrong," Alcyone's eyes widened, sensing something below them. "Come on! We must hurry!"
Alcyone grabbed hold of Hotaru's arm and started running down the stairs. Seeing the hurry she was in, Hotaru activated Steel Strength and Silver Speed, after which Alcyone directed him. They quickly dashed, jumped, and ran across the multiple corridors, until they reached the bottom floor. Once there, Alcyone told Hotaru to slow down, as what she sensed was now close.
Following Alcyone's lead, the two of them snuck into a large multi storey room. The room was round and its lower level was surrounded by a massive waterfall. The upper level they were standing on, was mostly covered by large crystals. As they looked down into the center of the waterfall room, they saw a figure standing in the middle of it.
The woman was slightly taller than Alcyone and Hotaru and had bright blonde hair that reached the floor. She wore a long-sleeved white dress that hugged her figure, but sprawled across the floor around her ankles. On top of the dress, she had a set of black, red, and purple armor. It covered her ample chest, abdomen, and waist, in a tight armored corset as well as in a black and gold collar. She had red and purple pauldrons with massive downwards curving black decorations. On her forehead, she had a golden tiara with a large round emerald on it, with matching gems on her collar and belt.
"Princess Emeraude…" Alcyone whispered, stunned by her appearance. "W-Why does she look like that?"
"Jealous?" Hotaru joked quietly.
Alcyone turned to him angrily and shouted in a whispering voice, "Stop joking! This is serious! Something is definitely off with her."
Hotaru nodded, taking a grimmer expression. The situation was indeed far more dire now than at the beginning of the battle. Now that Zagato was dead, Princess Emeraude had lost herself to her grievance, starting the true final battle. While Zagato was a tough opponent, he was nothing compared to a fully unrestrained Emeraude.
If my memory serves me correctly, the Magic Knights should be arriving soon. They will break through the barrier, enter the castle, have a little chit chat, get attacked by Emeraude, and so on. At least this time they are…
"Zagato…" Emeraude spoke out in a deep womanly voice. "I am coming for you!"
"W…What?" Hotaru's eyes widened, forgetting all about being stealthy and switching to English.
Emeraude's surroundings started glowing bright gold as her aura flared up. Her hair began to rise up from the ground, followed by sparks and arcs of electricity. As she spread out her arms, the entire castle started shaking, causing Hotaru and Alcyone to hold onto each other. Eventually, the waterfall surrounding Emeraude exploded and then collapsed.
From the remains of the waterfall, rose a giant figure that looked like a female devil. On a closer look, it looked mechanical in nature, its body made out of sleek white and blue pieces.
"It's… a Mashin," Alcyone gasped in horror.
Instead of looking like an armored warrior like other Mashin's, Emeraude's giant robot looked almost naked and quite a bit taller. It had a smooth white abdomen, shins and thighs, with blue knees, breasts, and crotch. The feet were shaped like a pair of blue and gold high heels. Its hands and arms were slender and white, with some blue details around the shoulders and the forearms. Its pauldrons were wide, two-tiered, and spiky with a yellow orb on top of each. The Mashin's face looked feminine and had four large horns growing from the sides of its head. A pair of white ones below and a pair of gold ones on top of them. The robot had red eyes and a blue forehead, with a yellow gem on it. It had large black demonic wings on its back and long red hair growing from the back of its head.
A golden light shone upon Emeraude from the white Mashin's forehead gem, before she was absorbed into it. Soon after, the castle around them started crumbling apart, as the Mashin started moving.
"We need to get out of here!" Hotaru yelled, picking up Alcyone.
Running as fast as he could, Hotaru ran out to the front door, swapping Steel Strength out for Aluminum Flight to increase his speed. As they reached the outside world, Hotaru quickly hid amongst the crystals growing on the floating islands. Soon after, the devil-like Mashin burst out of the castle, looking up at the crystal barrier above.
"Hold on Zagato…" Emeraude's voice echoed as the Mashin raised its arms. "I am coming!"
A white ball of energy appeared in the Mashin's sharp clawed hands that grew larger and larger. Once it was half the size of the Mashin itself, Emeraude fired it up into the sky, where it impacted the crystal barrier. The shockwave echoed throughout the inside of the crystal fortress, before shattering the crystal spires above. Massive shards of the barrier rained down upon the once noble castle, crushing it to pieces.
"Tungsten Defense!" Hotaru yelled, before wrapping himself around Alcyone.
As the barrier crumbled, Zagato and the Magic Knights looked down into the hole created by the explosion. Their eyes widened as they spotted the white feminine robot that quickly ascended past the rubble.
"Is that…" Hikaru's eyes widened.
"It can't be!" Umi yelled out, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"…Emeraude," Zagato gasped.
Down below, Hotaru pushed pieces of crystals off of him and Alcyone. After making sure she was alright, he looked up into the sky, seeing five giant robots flying above them. While at first this excited his inner child, he was quickly overcome by absolute despair by the implications of it.
"…This is bad," he shuddered.
"You think!" Alcyone yelled out sarcastically. "Emeraude and Zagato fighting together, it doesn't get worse than this!"
Despite Alcyone's full-blown uproar, Hotaru's mind didn't even register her words. He stared at the white and black Mashins, his mind overwrought by terror, panic, and confusion. With their Mashins, both Zagato and Emeraude had been foes who required the combined power of all three Magic Knights to defeat. But now that they were both fighting together, they were about three knights short.
"Zagato, my love!" Emeraude called out for him. "Let us destroy these pests together!"
While Emeraude's change of tone and voice was sudden and unnerving, Zagato also found it exciting. This was what he had always wanted, to see Emeraude truly free from restraints.
"Emeraude, I am so glad you finally see things my way," he smiled before bringing his arms together. "Ebony Annihilation!"
"Ivory Eradication!" Emeraude swung her hands down.
A straight white-hot beam of energy was fired from Emeraude's hands as a purple spiraling mass of energy was launched from Zagato's. The snaking Ebony Annihilation wrapped around Ivory Eradication, causing the two attacks to empower one another. The Magic Knights managed to only barely move out of the way, as the gold and purple beam flew past them. The attack blew the clouds away from its path, revealing the rocky wasteland below. By the time only a small dot could be seen of the two spells, a massive explosion blew a sizable hole in the continent below them. In its depths, they could see magma erupting from the depths of Cephiro.
"…What… what kind of power is that?" Hikaru asked, cold sweat running down her neck.
Seeing the explosion through the broken remains of the crystal barrier, Hotaru fell to his knees.
Why!? Why is Emeraude already in full battle-mode! She was supposed to lose herself after Zagato died, not before it! What happened! What changed! …Me obviously, but what could have… done it…
His mind flashed back to when his armor had last evolved. He had faced Zagato in a one-on-one battle and left the former high priest with several injuries. In the original series, Zagato was only harmed by Hikaru's sword and was then healed by Emeraude. But if she would've had to heal him twice already.
"…It's all my fault…"
Alcyone stared at him in shock, "What do you mean it is your fault?"
"I was the one who defeated Zagato first!" Hotaru yelled out, still trying not to spill the beans completely. "If I hadn't injured him so badly, then maybe Emeraude would've been able to hold back her fury until after he was defeated…"
This time, it was Alcyone's turn to hug Hotaru from behind. She leaned against the back of his head and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto his chest plate. While the feeling of Alcyone's large breasts against the back of his head was nice enough, she followed this by kissing his forehead.
"You did it to free me," Alcyone reminded him, smiling with tears in her eyes. "If you hadn't pushed him to the brink of death, maybe he would never have told me the truth. Then I would never have gotten to experience what love truly feels like."
While Alcyone's words made him feel better, they also made him feel even worse. The fact that she thought so highly of him, while ignorant of all the changes he had caused, was heartbreaking. As he looked up into the sky, he saw the Magic Knight's getting eviscerated by Zagato and Emeraude. Their teamwork was immaculate and their spells complimented one another. He truly had doomed all of Cephiro, for the sake of Alcyone.
"If this is the end, then I am glad I get to spend it with you," Alcyone wept, still embracing her beloved.
Feeling his own tears starting to well up, Hotaru clenched his fists and stood up, "…No."
Alcyone was dazed by his words at first, worrying he might not have wanted her around. But as she let go of Hotaru's neck and looked at his tearful expression, it all became clear.
All this time I have just seen myself as an outsider, a tourist, a bodyguard, but we're way past that! I threw myself into all this to go on a fantasy adventure without worry or care of what the consequences would be! I tried minimizing the effects of my existence on the course of events, but I still managed to make things worse time after time. I thought the girls could do this on their own like last time, but I must help them!
"Even if it means throwing away my life, I refuse to let this world end, because of my actions!" Hotaru roared out into the skies.
Feeling the weight of Hotaru's words, Alcyone was quickly blinded as a bright light filled her field of view. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw Hotaru's Double Armor shone bright silver, lighting up the castle grounds.
The Escudo armor grew and expanded, covering up more of his body. Silver cuisses with golden decorations covered his thighs and similar rerebraces covered his upper arms. His chest armor extended upwards, covering the area around his neck completely. A lime-green orb that was larger than the rest appeared in the middle of the chest piece and two flat round gems appeared on the backs of his hands. By the time the Double Armor finished transforming, the only unarmored part of Hotaru was his head.
Staring at Hotaru, Alcyone's lip trembled, "Your armor… it evolved again."
Looking at his armor, Hotaru flexed his fingers and tried out its mobility. The Double Armor fit him like a glove and despite looking heavy, was almost weightless. While he didn't know if this new evolution was enough to save the day, he could feel the increase in his power.
"I guess this is its final form," Hotaru said, feeling a new spell echoing from his heart. "Alcyone, stay here. I'm gonna give it my all to save Cephiro."
"No!" Alcyone said sternly.
Before Hotaru could get a word in, Alcyone walked in front of him and pressed her finger against his chest, "I am coming with you and that is final! I too have my share of responsibilities of things going this far south!"
"I don't want you getting hurt!" Hotaru yelled, staring directly into Alcyone's eyes.
Without flinching, Alcyone stared back, "And I don't want you getting killed! There is no point in me living if you end up sacrificing your life!"
"…God, I love how stubborn you are," Hotaru sighed with a smile. "Alright, but make sure to hold on tight. Titanium Power!"
Author's Afterword: Chapter 17 came out at over 30 pages, so I split it in two. To be continued… right now!
As always, reviews and speculations are welcomed and appreciated!