Astrid and Bon Clay stared open-mouthed at Mala as she danced on the stage with a group of gender-confused people.
"It's really her… Mala," said Bon Clay.
"She isn't quite what I expected," said Astrid.
Mala finally stopped dancing, and everyone began to clap. Then she looked as if she was about to topple over.
"I guess I got a little too excited dancing and cutting loose; I'm getting dizzy," she said.
"Mala, are you all right?"
"I think I'm going to collapse now," she said. She then smiled at everyone before standing up straight. "Then again, maybe I won't."
Everyone then laughed and began to clap.
"You were joking?"
"You sure fooled me."
"Unless I'm very much mistaken, you're Mala the Miracle Worker, aren't you?" said Bon Clay.
"Ah, so you've heard of me," said Mala, looking at him.
"Hey, watch your mouth! Show some respect when you're talking to Mala!"
"She's royalty, pal; you got a bow down before the Queen of New Kama."
"Hail, Queen Mala!" everyone cried repeatedly.
"Hush now, darlings," said Mala. "I appreciate the admiration but don't sweat the small stuff. I am not worried about silly things like labels. People can call me whatever they like; they can even call me Duchy…" She then glared at everyone. "… never call me Duchy!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Is this really Mala the Miracle Worker?" Astrid asked, looking at Bon Clay. "The same one you worship from afar for so many years?"
Then, the door burst open, and everyone turned around to see a very muscular man carrying a bazooka, which he aimed directly at Mala.
"Mala Emporio!" he roared.
Immediately, the spotlight began to shine on him.
"I've been looking for you! You are the Queen of Defender of the Wing Island, weren't you?" he yelled. "About 15 years ago, my father, who was the king of my homeland, visited that country of yours, and then he… he came back to us at the Queen!"
Mala stood there unflinchingly, and Astrid and Bon Clay looked at one another, unsure if they heard him right.
"Do you have any idea how ashamed I was?" he said with tears in his eyes. "His family and his country were ruined, and I fell for my princely staters and became a lonely pirate. But all the days I've spent suffering in this living hell are worth it if I get one shot at the monster that destroyed my life."
"Now, when you even get that thing?" Mala asked curiously.
The man then aimed his bazooka directly at her.
"You'll need a lot more than that if you wish to eliminate me," she warned.
"You tell him, Mala!"
"She's so cool under pressure."
The man was not deterred and fired his shot directly at Mala without hesitation. However, she remained perfectly still and did not move a single muscle, almost as if she was willing to take the attack head-on.
"Death Wink!" she yelled as she winked.
Somehow, that single wind sent a shockwave that deflected the blast right back at the man, who exploded, writing on his face.
"Hell yeah, that's how Mala pattern eye girl! How about some Death Wink!"
Everyone immediately began to cheer, but Astrid and Bon Clay were stunned by what had just happened.
"With just a wink, she was able to turn back that shot?" Bon Clay stared.
"Makes you shudder to think what else she's capable of," said Astrid, stunned.
Her attacker slowly began to recover, but she clearly wasn't quite true with him just yet. She suddenly took off in the state, performing a spin in midair before landing right in front of him.
"Imperial Female Hormone!" she said.
Her nails suddenly became claws, and she pierced the man with them.
"What was that?" he asked as he crossed his shoulder.
What happened next left Astrid and Bon Clay speechless. His beard began to retract back into his skin, and he began to shrink, not just his body but also his muscles.
"Oh no, what did you do to me?" he asked, his voice becoming more feminine.
"You're throwing a fit because your father wanted to become a woman?" said Mala, looking down at him. "Tell me, what's wrong with that?"
"No, no, no!" he yelled as breasts began to stick out. "Stop it! You wouldn't dare!"
"Two mothers and one son? Two fathers and one daughter? What's wrong with that?" Mala asked. "You're all family."
"Anything but this!" he cried. "Please, no!"
He then screamed as he had suddenly became a woman in all respects.
"What?!" Bon Clay stared.
"Did that just happen?" Astrid stared.
"My body," said the former Prince.
Everyone immediately began to clap and cheer. Clearly, this had happened before.
Mala then turned to the crowd. "You can become a woman or become a man, or maybe you can be both. You should be able to make your own decisions, right? That's what you call gender. It is a label; it is nothing but a border. I have no need for it, though; everyone here is beyond it. We all crossed over that silly border. Which means you are looking at the new human race, New Kama! This is the garden of freedom, New Kama Land!"
"Mala rules!" everyone cheered repeatedly.
"She turned that guy into a woman," Bon Clay gasped.
"I know. I just saw," Astrid stared.
"She's truly a Miracle Worker."
Mala approached the newly transformed woman, who was doing her best to cover up her new body.
"I bid you welcome; perhaps you would like to join in on the fun now," said Mala as she offered her hand.
Instead, she merely ran out the door.
"This is so humiliating!" she cried.
"Looks like the poor thing is embarrassed; she's got a long way to go before becoming a proper citizen of New Kama," said Mala, turning to everyone.
Bon Clay then ran up to her and fell down on his hands and knees.
"What do you want, Bon Clay?" she asked.
"It's an honour to meet you, Mala," he said graciously. "I never stopped believing that you were still alive. I am so glad that we found you; you have no idea. If you would hear it, both Dear Astrid and I have a favour to ask of you."
"A favour?" said Mala.
Astrid then walked up. "We were travelling with a friend who had been poisoned by Magellan. Can you save his life?"
"Yes, no antidote can save him," Bon Clay cried. "He's dying, and there's nothing we can do. Please, we're begging you, I would give you my life."
"I assume you're talking about Hiccup Haddock," Mala assumed.
Moments later, Mala escorted the two of them down a dark corridor.
"Astrid… Bon Clay… did you ever stop to wonder why we treated your injuries in the first place?" Mala asked.
"To be quite honest, I didn't even notice," said Bon Clay, looking at the bandages.
"I have to admit I'm curious," said Astrid. "You may not be in prison uniforms, but you're all still prisoners, and criminals hardly look out for one another."
"True, we are all just prisoners down here," Mala admitted. "We do not have the means to simply take in and care for anyone we happened to find injured. We are not nearly so kind."
"Then why did you treat our injuries?" Astrid asked.
"I took the two of you in and treated your injuries because your boyfriend begged me to do it," said Mala.
"Dragon Boy did that?" Bon Clay gasped.
"And he's not my boyfriend," Astrid clarified. "Honestly, I don't know why everyone seems to think that?"
Mala remembered when Throk brought the three of them to her. Astrid and Bon Clay were out cold, but Hiccup was still conscious and in great pain.
"We've been watching you on the monitor, and I've got to say I'm impressed, Hiccup Haddock," said Mala. "I cannot tell if you're lucky or just plain crazy. Either way, congratulations on getting this far for all the good it has done for you."
"Astrid… Bon…" Hiccup winced. "…they were trying to help me… and they got attacked because of it. Please take care of them. They're my friends. I can't let them die."
Mala was quite surprised by this request.
"That's not something just anyone would say, not when on the verge of death," said Mala.
Astrid shook her head. "That's sounds like Hiccup. There was a time when I was really sick, and he had to climb up a mountain just to reach a doctor and got frostbite all over his body."
"I had no idea the flower friendship could bloom in a hellhole like this, but I do. If I didn't help him, I would be no better than a demon in human guise," said Mala.
"Dragon Boy," said Bon Clay.
"Anyhow, I've already started treatment on Hiccup Haddock about 10 hours ago," Mala informed them.
"You did?" Bon Clay beamed.
"Is he going to be all right?" Astrid asked.
"That remains to be seen because it's going to be rough," said Mala.
Meanwhile, Buggy and Mr 3 were trying to escape the Army Wolves, who continued to chase after them. Mr 3 had now created stilts for the two of them and were moving as fast as they could away from the wolves.
"How much longer can these beasts keep this up?" Mr 3 moaned. "Go on now, shush, shush!"
"Like that's going to stop them," said Buggy. "We've got to get off this floor; we'll never lose these things. Just keep running. Move! Move!"
"Where's the exit?" Mr 3 asked. "Somebody? Anybody?"
They tripped and fell to the ground, and the wolves quickly moved in.
Astrid and Bon Clay soon reached the end of the corridor, where there was a large door with chains wrapped around it. They could hear bloodcurdling screams coming from inside, and they belonged to Hiccup.
Both Astrid and Bon Clay just stared, shocked.
"That sounds awful. What's going on in there?" Bon Clay asked.
Astrid turned on Mala. "You call this healing?"
"He's been screaming like this the entire duration of his treatment, but I assure you that is part of the process," said Mala. "With locked away for safety. This should last another two days."
"Two days?!" Astrid stared.
Mala began thinking back to when she first started Hiccup's treatment, as well as giving him ample warning of the side effects.
They had tied Hiccup in chains to an iron slab.
"10 years of your life, that is what it's going to cost you if I administer this treatment," said Mala. "It is a high price, but that poison is serious Hiccup Haddock."
"Fine by me," said Hiccup.
"Just so we're clear, this is a high-risk treatment, and there is no guarantee it will save your life," Mala warned. "In your current condition, you have absolutely no chance of survival. The best I can do for you through this process is increase that chance by two to three per cent.
"What you face right now is a battle the likes of which you've never fought before. You must temper that will of yours to emerge victorious. If the poison wins, you will most assuredly die, but if your spirit wins, you'll walk away. It is as simple as that."
Hiccup nodded.
"All right then," said Mala, extending her nails. "I wish you a pleasant journey to the valley of death. Imperial Healing Hormone!"
She then injected Hiccup with her nails, and he instantly cried out in pain. She then injected him with the nails in her upper hand, and he did his best not to bite his own tongue off accidentally. However, none of this stopped him from writhing in pain and making anguish noises.
"Are you pulling my tail?" said Bon Clay as he fell to his knees. "Dragon Boy had been railing in agony like that for 10 hours."
"And he has to go through it for another two days?" said Astrid, shocked.
"Spirit and hormones, these are the vital forces of the human body," said Mala. "Combined, the two can bring forth a tremendous healing potential. I have drawn out his latent immunity and changed his body to enable him to battle against the deadly poison. Only time will tell which of the two is stronger. Within that battlefield of a body lies destruction and recovery, raging away at extraordinary speeds. He will survive only if he can withstand all that pain, and escaping from death does not come cheap."
Both Astrid and Bon Clay looked at her, horrified.
"You can take a look inside if you really want to," said Mala.
Astrid shook her head. "No, I don't want to look at him when he's in so much pain."
On the other hand, Bon Clay made his way over to the door. "Is there a window?"
He began to feel around the door until he found the window and pulled it back. He then looked inside and tried to spot a hiccup.
"Dragon Boy?" he asked.
Hiccup screamed so loudly that Bon Clay toppled over and immediately ran over to Mala.
"He's going to die!" he said. "It's going to tear him apart. His body will be destroyed from the inside out. That was even him in there; that was a living corpse! I'm begging you here, don't let him suffer like that. You have to do something, please. Unlock those chains, stop the bleeding and find a real way to cure him. You're the Miracle Worker, aren't you? I know he's a mess, but anything is better than this."
"Shut up the hell up!" Mala yelled, punching across the face. "I am helping him the only way I can. You should follow Astrid's example; she hasn't complained one bit because she does not underestimate Hiccup Haddock's will to live."
Bon Clay looked at Astrid, who just stood there. While it was clear that she was concerned for Hiccup's well-being, she just remained silent.
"Do you have any idea what it takes to strive against one's own mortality? To face the ultimate odds?" Mala asked. "I am not a goddess or an angel or anything like that. A Miracle Worker? You can call me whatever you want, but the truth is this: I could never say they are fools who don't have the will to save themselves.
"I saved an impoverished country and a country that was left in ruin in a defeated war, but in both cases, all I did was draw out their spirits to live. That can only happen to people who have the courage to keep fighting. Making miracles is never easy!"
"Bon, I know it's hard, believe me, but I'm sure that Mala would have found a more painless treatment if she was able to find it," said Astrid. "Like it or not, it's now up to Hiccup to CV has the strength of will to survive, and I know in my heart he does. So just have faith that he can get through this."
'Ace!' Hiccup cried.
Hiccup began thinking about the times he and Ace played together back on his father's ship before he left them on that island.
Hiccup then screamed, not knowing that he had only 16 hours remaining before Ace's execution.