God Killing, Chapter 12

I wasn’t sure how to end this chapter at first, or even what should happen in it. But in my first idea, there was WAY too much happening at the end, so I ended it in a calmer way. XD There’s still a lot that happens, but at least we have room for rest. Play “For True Story” from Sonic Adventure.

Chapter 12: Kill the Fleers

Shadow lunged at Miyuki with the Spin Dash, but as he expected her scythe-chop, Shadow Shaved to her left and resumed the attack. Miyuki merely performed a spin attack, but Shadow continued to Shave in random directions with his ongoing spin. Eventually, Shadow settled with targeting the back, but as Miyuki fell forward, it seemed that another spinning ball made of snow drilled into Shadow’s side and pushed him off-course. He took little damage from the attack, but he uncurled to see the culprit: Suki. George and MaKayla combined bending to slow Shadow down, allowing Miyuki to stab his hip, but the effect quickly wore off as Shadow flicked Finger Pistols at either King, then kicked Miyuki, who moved her scythe in defense. Shadow Shaved behind, but Lola was ready to spank—they forgot the next second as Shadow grabbed Lola’s hand and squeezed it, but Terry sent Tael to violently bite Shadow’s arm and make him retreat.

“Miyuki-chan, why’s this big hamster-man here?”

“He wants to kill Verglora, Suki.”

“And do I look like a hamster to you?!” Shadow threw Chaos Spears at each off—a forgetful second later caused Suki to be kicked in the head, but Miyuki vengefully chopped his leg, not that it cut him. “M-Maria?” Shadow saw Suki in the form of his childhood friend, laying injured from her fatal wound. MaKayla bashed his head with the Chrono Staff, her Recordance Clone whacking his chin afterward, but Shadow Shaved behind Terry next—only for the current Kayla to bash him then. George, meanwhile, expected Shadow to be there and had been hitting a Stopped pebble in the air. Momentum stored in the pebble as it Stasis Launched into Shadow with bullet speed. He switched to Paper Art to evade any follow-up attack, which came in the form of Lola’s Spank Hands. However, Terry locked him in Shadow Possession so his sister’s attacks could land, the hedgehog breaking free after two seconds and slashing a 360 Tempest Kick at all his foes.

“Then why don’t you let him have her?!” Terry shouted. “Don’t let him destr—oy the to—wn over that stupid-?!” He forgot ever speaking the middle of that sentence, and when Shadow’s Chaos Spears threatened him, his mother jumped in the way and countered the spears with Spank Hands.

“You shouldn’t talk in the middle of combat.” Shadow remarked.

“Well, I’m on your fucking side, buddy! I don’t want that thing around any more than you do! Even Suki couldn’t take it, anymore! Right, Suki?”

“I…I dunno. If Vergie’s darkness is g—one, Sister doe—sn’t need to…whuh?”

Miyuki sped her own time to dodge Shadow’s Chaos Pistols, then slashed her scythe behind her when he Shaved. “He’s using some tri—ck to skip ti—me and—HEY!” Miyuki suffered a punch to the face, flying back, but was saved in a giant snow glove.

“The Forgetful Glance is an art that cuts through Time Chi and wipes your memories of an instant.” Shadow explained for their satisfaction. “And my powers make me naturally gifted at it.” He began to leave afterimages, so MaKayla slowed time in the area to track his speed. She fired a Chrono Beam at the hedgehog’s back, then Shadow Shaved to Lola to punch her head. Terry stretched Tael to pull his sister away, and Shadow saw George preparing to Stasis Launch a trashcan. Shadow Shaved to grab and throw him into the can’s trajectory, but when it launched, MaKayla jumped to whack it, using Rewind Deflect to send it back into Shadow.

“Suki, listen.” Miyuki began. “You don’t have to help in this fight. And if you want me to hand Verglora over, I will. But I wanted—to say that I’—m sorry… Alright, I think that’s enough of that. Guys, keep him still for a second!” Shadow began rampantly Shaving and throwing Chaos Spears, but George and Kayla combined bending to Stop him. Miyuki fired a small Chrono Beam at his eyes. Shadow escaped and used Home Attack to rapidly bounce between the operatives, with Ginny using her hands as a shield and Suki freezing an ice shield. Shadow used Forgetful Glance, Shaved behind Miyuki, and tried to Pistol her, but she ducked and slashed at his legs. “Sorry, but I hit you with a sort of ‘mental lock’ attack. You won’t be using that trick for a while.”

“Then how about this?!” Shadow entered Dark Super Mode, using the Chaos Blast to release an explosion. The timebenders combined powers to Rewind the explosion, letting Suki form a giant snowman over it. The snow completely melted, but restrained the explosion. He resumed Shaves and flicked more heated Finger Pistols, burning and hurting Suki, Virginia, and George, while Kayla hit some back with Rewind.

“Suki, I wanted to say that I’m sorry!” Miyuki slashed her scythe to counter Shadow’s heated Tempests, and Suki nimbly skied around him while cutting Shadow with an ice scythe. “When I was training to control Verglora’s darkness, I had to think of you. I remembered how happy you always made me. I got so carried away that I didn’t bother to remember. But I…I want you with me for whatever happens next.”

“Sister-chan… okay, then…” Shadow unleashed another Chaos Blast. “Then I’ll go with whatever you decide!” And Suki unleashed her own explosion of ice, the forces of heat and cold colliding like two suns on Earth.

“MIYUKI!” While the explosion went on, Verglora burst out of the Spirit Ball. “I just remembered something!”

“Verglora, you shouldn’t be out now!”

“But I have to tell you… I think your timebending finally clicked with me. I just remembered the name of our leader!”

“Your leade-”

Shadow Home Attacked into Verglora and snatched them in a Black Box. “HEY!” The timebenders tried to slow him down, but Shadow made a swift getaway combining Shaves with his Mobian speed.

“WELL, DON’T GO AFTER HIM!” Terry shouted. “If he wants to kill Verglora, let him!”

“He’s got a point.” Virginia reasoned.

“I’m doing you fools a favor!” Shadow yelled back. The Kings accelerated Miyuki, but she could still barely catch up with Shadow to slash at him. “Once we’re rid of these monsters, the universe will be at peace!”

“Indeed it will.” Chase Young suddenly Apparated and touched Shadow. In that brief second before they Disapparated, Miyuki caught a glimpse of his own Black Box.

“VERGLORA!!”

…

The two returned to the hideout. “I had a feeling you’d need a quick exit.”

“Did you retrieve yours?”

“Right here. It’s a pity. I was starting to enjoy my fight with those two, but the mission took priority. I’ll go check on the others now.”

Ashland

“MICHELLE! What are you doing here?!” Anthony shouted, seeing his baby sister lunging toward the ground. As soon as Diancie crashed, Ashland was practically turned into a mountain scape. “AAAAAAHHHH!” Citizens cried as mountains erected everywhere, turning the neighborhoods vertical and the sewers to spill out. This was all to direct those mountains at Sephiroth, the Fallen Nimbi becoming crushed between them.

“GUYS!” Emily yelled. “Diancie’s rearranging the earth at a dramatic rate! The whole state’s gonna become unstable if she keeps it up!”

“MICHELLE!” Anthony forcefully pushed chunks of mountain away as he stomped toward his sister. “MICHELLE, STOP! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!”

“These men… they must pay for their insolence…”

“At least watch where you’re throwing us around!” Aurora cried.

“YEAH! WHOOOAAAA!” Carol screamed.

“I WON’T!” Diancie’s body began to rupture with cracks of lava. “I WON’T… I WON’T…BWAAAAHHH!”

“SHE’S GONNA BLOW AND IT’S GONNA HURT!” Tom cried. “She’s welling up with Lava Chi like a balloon!”

Angie used her Logia bending to completely bundle her daughter up in thick layers of rock. She could feel the intensity of the explosion inside, and Tom had to contribute some lavabending to restrain the outburst. After minutes passed… it finally settled. Angie hurriedly ran up to the molten bundle and ripped it open. “Michelle! Are you in there?! Answer me!”

“I can’t… feel her presence, anymore.” Emily frowned. A single scalding pebble bounced out of the bundle. Anthony held it, a tear welling up. The tear dropped and cooled the pebble.

A moment later, the mountains seemed to recede back into the earth. The town was left in complete ruins. “Sigh…” Sephiroth brushed some of the dirt off, left with a few cuts. “So, she took herself out. Fine by me. Hm?” He looked over at Carol’s crashed ship. The computer genius lay injured beside a sparking robot. Sephiroth smirked and willed Boly to gravitate toward him, grabbing it by the neck. “You look like that Earth Firstborn just now. I’ll wager you’re another one!”

An enraged Aurora flew up to cut his arm, but Sephiroth swiftly thrusted the other arm, grabbed her sword hilt, and kicked her away with the sword pulled from her grasp. Luckily, the sword vanished into lightning and returned to Aurora’s grasp. Sephiroth ascended to the sky, and though Aurora was determined to chase him, Chase Young Apparated to warp him away. “NOOOOO!”

“He got away with Boly…urgh.” Carol grunted.

“Finally…” Harvey sighed. “He’s gone.”

“!!!” Anthony spared no mercy in chucking a rock at Harvey’s face. “I’VE HAD IT WITH YOU!” He used earthbending to pull Harvey over to himself, grabbing and socking him repeatedly. “You’ve been upset about Sally all this time, being mean to us, telling us it’s all our fault, making us feel bad, and you didn’t give two cruds what happened to Michelle! You’re a hypocrite! I’m through trying to make up with you!”

Anthony tossed Harvey aside, marching back to the ruined treehouse. “If you’ll excuse me, I gotta tell Fybi what happened here. She ain’t gonna be happy… but we can sure still count on her!”

“Yeah… we better go.” Aurora agreed. “…?” She noticed the red gem on her sword was missing.

“Harvey…” Sonya and Lee propped their son up. Harvey was bruised and bloody, but he couldn’t bring himself to get back at Anthony. It only hit him then… how careless he was.

Moonbase

After her Exisal was destroyed, Miu whipped out an EMP Hammer and bashed Raleigh’s Magnemite and Pichu with it, essentially chi-blocking them. Raleigh knew then none of his Electric-types would work… so, he summoned his first Pokémon, Slurpuff. “Hah! What’s that sack of rotten ice cream gonna do?” Slurpuff answered her by emitting a Sweet Scent, intoxicating Miu’s nostrils. Once slowed by the scent, Raleigh ordered Slurpuff to use, “Draining Kiss!” Slurpuff planted its lips over Miu’s face and drained the rest of her stamina. Miu fell in defeat.

Ciel, meanwhile, had glued Kirumi to the floor with some kind of blue, malleable goo. “Funtomhive Fungoo has many fun uses! You can make silly masks, use it for clothing, or trapping your enemies! And if you think that’s a fun toy, wait’ll you see this!” Ciel withdrew a green devil toy. “When I pull this string,” he pulled it at the back, “watch what happens!” A huge burst of fire burned out of the toy’s mouth, setting Kirumi ablaze before she was unconscious.

“Uhh…that’s a pretty dangerous toy.” Raleigh said.

“It was fun 200 years ago!”

Apis had taken command of Korekiyo’s bramble whip using her telepathy, wrapping the prickly thorns around him. “You were a plantbender all along? Why didn’t you use it before?”

“I’m not. I’m an Animal Telepath who learned Cellular Telepathy, but I had to grab onto that whip a few times to establish a connection with its cells.” Her hands were bleeding as proof.

“Kehehehe…such remarkable talents. Indeed… between you girls, I may have found my 100 friends.”

“100 friends?” Aisa questioned.

“For my dear Sister. My poor Sister who waits for me in the Spirit World. I cannot go until I’ve sent her 100 friends.”

“What does that mean?! Have you… killed 100 people?!”

“No. Only 99. I wonder which one of you will be my lucky number?”

“So, you’re some kind of serial killer.” Apis glared. “Sorry… but you killed your last.” She sent a telepathic message to the cells to close the bramble tighter. The rose-covered whip squeezed all the blood out of his system.

“No! I was so close! So close… to 100…ack…”

Aisa had to look away from the grotesque sight. “Who’s gonna have to clean that up?”

“We’ll get one of the psychics to do it.”

In the portal room, Megumi landed a solid blow to Ryoma’s forehead, knocking him out with the iron paddle. “Phew. Gave me quite a workout there, partner. …You doin’ okay over there, friend?”

Lee Andrew sat on the floor, watching as Himiko pulled a rope of scarves out of her throat. “I’m not trying to fight, anymore.” Lee said. “It’s more fun to watch her try to fight.”

“Once my Scarf Snake is fully unleashed, it will destroy all in this Moonbase!” Himiko declared. “You will regret the day you…mmp. Mmp. Ulk…” She began choking. “Ack…it’s stuck…aaaack…cough, cough.”

“Here, let me help.” Lee approached and tugged on the rope—“Ew, this was a mistake. O…kay… is it budging? Hold still… just a little-”

“UAAAAHH!” A pair of pants were yanked out of her throat. “Darn it… I swallowed my dad’s long johns by accident. Oooog…my tummy hurts…”

“Yeah, that looked pretty painful. Want me to take you to lay down somewhere?”

“That would be nice…” Himiko held Lee’s hand and allowed him to lead. “I need to store up mana for my super snooze bubble bomb.”

GKND

“I think they like our Rainbow Song, Sugar!” April announced, holding five brushes between her fingers.

“Like we haven’t learned to copy that trick by now!” Kaede said as Angie painted her piano keys into a rainbow. The strum of the keys cast a Rainbow Song Road.

“But let’s try a different note.” April switched to monochrome paint instead as Sugar bellowed a Song Beam. She painted the beam black and white, and it flew around Kaede’s beam and struck Angie, turning her dull and gray.

“Atua’s voice… it has abandoned me…”

“Angie!”

“We can still bring color to YOUR day!” April switched back to rainbow brushes and painted Sugar’s next Song Beam. Kaede spun up a Songsheet Shield for herself, but it wasn’t enough to stop the lush rainbow. Her piano smashed against Sugar’s strong chi and the pianist fell in defeat. April then ran up to kick Angie off her feet, her head banging the floor and KOing her.

Sugar walked over to Kaede. “So, were you here to kill the Firstborn? Were you going to hurt Meloetta?”

“N-no… We were here to rescue our friend, Kaito, but Maki asked us to capture any Firstborn we see. Even so, I would never… wait… are you saying Meloetta’s still alive?”

“I wasn’t about to let the likes of those assassins kill her. So, we faked her death.”

“That’s… good. I’m glad…”

Kazuma countered Tenko’s aikido chops with his own and dealt spin kicks in turn. In his aim to punch, Tenko grabbed his arm and tried to flip him, but Kazuma reached his other arm to catch her neck and bring her down as well. He made sure to slam her with extra force, and afterwards, Kazuma hopped into the air like a bunny and stamped both shoes down onto her face. The martial artist was out cold. “You just got beat by a degenerate male. What does that make you?”

Gonta lured Rupert into a dark room, where his Mangoruby was waiting; a giant caterpillar with a leaf crown, flower eyes, and a body of electric bulbs. It was easy to have Yellow Pikmin gang up on the creature until all its bulbs were down, though it was able to devour 30 Pikmin. “Gonta won’t let you eat another bug!” The brute’s aura flared up into Entomologist Fury! “Now Gonta beat you himself!”

“PURPLES, GO!” Rupert summoned his Purple Platoon to engage the brute in combat. Together, their strength was just about par with his, pouring every ounce of strength into beating down the last of his stamina. Gonta managed to kill 20 Purples, but the Purples were able to overwhelm and KO him. “Sigh…I hope Mujika’s okay.” After he saved her, Mujika took some Wing-types and pursued the bugs that took Synthia.

Bender’s arms had been chopped off by K1-B0’s lasers and afterwards knocked on his back. Bender seemed to struggle to get up, so the white-haired robot returned to blasting the prison wing entrance. However, Bender stretched his legs to wrap and ensnare K1-B0, pulling him toward and planting his base against the robot’s back. “You may have fancy weapons, but your ass ain’t as shiny and metal as mine!”

“My ass was forged from quality ore!”

“I’m 40% quality ore!” Bender bent his legs to stamp them against K1-B0’s bottom and head. “But you’re at a 40% angle!” Putting almost-full effort into his trademark skill, Bender bent K1-B0’s body forward, his spine snapping.

“Bzzzzzt!” While he shorted out, Bender’s legs proceeded to bend K1-B0’s limbs. “S-Stop! My circuits don’t know which way to flow! OUAH!” One firm kick to the head caused K1-B0 to black out completely.

“Hoo! And that’s why Bender’s the greate-”

Until Maki sliced him to pieces with her pigtails. “That must be where they’re holding Kaito.”

The prison door opened as Haruka Dimalanta walked out. “WHOA!” Her neck was caught in Maki’s pigtails. “Who are you?!”

“She’s with the intruders! That means she’s bad!” Bender’s head shouted.

Haruka thrusted her arm and shot a few pills down Maki’s throat. Maki was horrified as her hair drifted off her head, losing her grip on Haruka. “Don’t worry, it’s not permanent. But I think you’re better off bald for now.” Maki angrily Shaved behind Haruka, but she burst gas out and caused her to cough. Haruka flicked a few throat lozenges into Maki, but they were a special brand that tasted extremely bad. The assassin cringed and gagged, crying. She fought the sensation, swinging Tempest Kicks like a madwoman. As she evaded the slashes, Haruka splashed a liquid medicine at Maki’s face, but she Shaved to Haruka’s back—she expected this and flicked some backup medicine over. The eye medicine blurred Maki’s vision, so she closed her eyes and used Observation Haki.

Haruka ate a bunch of sleeping pills and emitted a white gas, channeling them to Gas Bombs as she nuked the area around Maki. She tried to hold her breath and flick ranged Pistols, Haruka taking damage from some. Haruka stirred the Sleep Gas around Maki, and though she didn’t breathe it, just the feel of the gas on her skin softened and numbed it. “Cough…augh…” Maki fell to her knees, forced to take a breath as the gas seeped into her lungs. It didn’t help that she was exhausted fighting Cheren and Killua. “No! I should be immune to poison!” She willed herself to stand, using half-hearted Moon Walks to jump out of the gas cloud.

“You might be immune to lethal poisons, but my medicines are perfectly healthy! Though I may have oversaturated the healthy component.” Haruka bent the gas into a giant hand, thick enough to grab Maki and slam her into the floor. “You’ll wake up feeling perfectly healthy. …With hopefully lots of restraints.”

“What were you doing down there, anyway…” Maki asked lazily. “Is Kaito… down there?”

“Yes. I was just in the middle of treating him.”

“Treating him?”

“Did you know he had a sickness called Netherosis? Apparently, Kaito wound up in a Nether Rift a few years ago, back when they were pretty active. It’s sort of an allergic reaction some people experience when they fall through one. His organs would’ve eventually ruptured from the inside. I had Nebula phone a friend and send some medicine that should help.”

“The doctors said… his sickness was incurable.”

“Maybe they didn’t have the right resources.” Haruka smiled and shrugged sweetly.

“Kai…to…” Maki passed out.

With all the intruders successfully subdued, they were all tied and imprisoned in GKND’s prison wing. “Oh, my poor Himiko!” Tenko cried. “You look so pale! What did they do to you?!”

“Nothing. I just swallowed Dad’s pants.”

“AAAAH! The degenerate male clothing has poisoned you!”

“Man, you’re ridiculous.” Kazuma sighed.

“Wait… where’s Korekiyo?” Kaede asked.

“We were reported one of the intruders was killed.” Jerome answered. “It was a matter of self-defense and the operatives in question deemed it necessary.”

“YOU MONSTERS!” Tenko screamed. “YOU KILLED… Korekiyo?”

“We didn’t really like him, anyway.” Angie smiled.

“Yeah.” Kaede shuddered. “I wake up with shivers sometimes. As if he’s waiting outside my room, wanting to…”

“Glad we could… assist with that.” Jerome commented. You could really feel the friendship vibes between this group, he wanted to say.

Moonbase

In that brief span of time Akame’s sword stretched toward Index, they feared there was no stopping her… until a ring-shaped portal enveloped Akame’s sword, while another portal redirected the tip into Akame’s hip. “AGH!” The sudden event even surprised the assassin. Morgiana didn’t wait in kicking Akame away. Poison markings grew on Akame from the cut. “Kuh…I knew… it would show up if I…”

“She poisoned herself!” Goombella perked up. “And it looks bad… but I better keep an eye on her.”

“Index, you okay?!” Cheren rushed over. “Aren’t those portals…”

“Scheherazade.” A genie-like imp with red and purplish skin descended from above. “Did I make it in time?”

“Hoopa!” Index gasped. “Did you… sense something bad was about to happen to me?”

“I did… I warped to you as fast as I could. Haha, it was sure surprising!” He grinned jovially. “I bet you were shocked, too!”

“Hoopa, you really need to go! That woman wants to-”

“GUYS, LOOK OUT!” Goombella cried.

Akame lunged at them, the group jumping apart. Cheren rushed in to clash with the assassin, her sclera black with red irises. “I didn’t want to have to use this so soon!” Akame hissed, swiftly maneuvering around Cheren with faster speed. “You’re lucky this is only the lighter version!” She left an afterimage to fool him. Hoopa was in the midst of Ascending back to Spirit World, but Akame had flicked a poison-laced Finger Pistol at his face. Sickness overcame the Newborn as he sank. Morgiana and Nagisa closed in on her, but hesitated to get close as Akame sliced the air with her poisonous blade. The assassin zipped her way over and seized Hoopa, making a beeline for the hangar. “Sorry, Maki. I’ll have to return for you later…huh?”

Akame saw a small group of bugs, along with some Pikmin, fighting each other over a tiny Black Box near the juveniles’ ship. “Did they manage to catch one? Can’t let their efforts go to waste.”

“Oh, no!” Mujika panicked as Akame snatched the box and raced for the hangar’s rim.

“Is she not planning to take a ship?!” Killua asked, he and Nagisa in pursuit.

Akame threw on a space helmet she’d been saving and leapt right out of the Moonbase. Low gravity overtook her as she flew across the moon, the momentum of her leap taking her far. “About time you got out.” Chase Young Apparated to catch her in his arms. While he couldn’t Apparate inside the base, outside over the moon itself was free game. Once he had a firm hold on her and Hoopa, they teleported.

“They… got away.” Nagisa sighed.

“Hoopa…” Index sank to her knees, tears welling. “How…how will we ever find them…”

“Nagisa, do you know where CP0 is based?” Morgiana asked.

“They never let me wander around their hideout. I don’t really know where it could be…”

“I’ve just been informed some of the other agents got away, too.” Cheren mentioned. “If we don’t find them soon… that could be it for the Newborn.”

“Hey, Cheren.” Goombella called. “Some of that Akame girl’s blood spilled on the floor. It looks really nasty. You think we should clean it up?”

“Her blood…” Cheren stroked his chin. If that blood contained some of her poison… maybe he should call Haruka over.

CP0’s Hideout

The assassins relaxed in their base, treating their wounds, with Akame willing the poison in her veins to recede. “I couldn’t locate Lucci or Deadpool.” Chase frowned. “They might’ve been captured. Regardless… we’ve made a hefty bounty.” He smiled at the six Black Boxes on their shelves, along with Gourmerry’s Spirit Ball. “Seven of the Newborn stolen. Along with…”

Sephiroth and Akame held up the red gem from the Galaxia Sword, and the Infinity Trident. The Nimbi placed the gem on one of the prongs, awed as it glowed. They proceeded to place the gems from the Master and Phantom Swords. “All we’re missing is the Four Seasons gem.” Shadow said. “And we still have no clues. Without it… we have no hope of destroying them.”

“What’s next on our schedule?” Sephiroth asked. “Should we attempt to get back the gauntlets? It’ll be difficult pulling off further kills with just the arrow.”

ANK, ANK.

“The doorbell?” Shadow cocked a brow. The assassins were alert as they approached the monitor on the table.

CP0’s hideout was set underneath a parking garage in a mostly abandoned area of the city. The basement of the garage had a gate that required code clearance. It also had a doorbell button and a hidden camera, which faintly highlighted a hooded stranger. “Shadow, stay here.” Chase ordered. The other assassins moved out and made their way to the gate. The hooded stranger was there.

“Heeeey, girlfriend! Heard the latest gossip? Lucci and Deadpool just got their BUTTS KIIIIICKED! I guess that means we’re abandoning them, riiiiight?”

Akame gasped. “That voice… Mandy, is that you?!”

“Who I am ain’t important… what’s important is, WHAT IS THAT GUY DOIN’ HERE?!” Her hood flew off as she pointed her shoe-hand at Sephiroth.

“Oh, it’s you.” the Nimbi acknowledged.

“DON’T ‘OH, IT’S YOU’ ME! AKAME, why the hell did you hire THAT guy?! He frickin’ tried to KILL ME!”

“He wanted to join and, well… a spot opened up.” Chase smirked. “Still, this is surprising.”

“YA SURE DON’T SOUND SURPRISED! I’m back from the DEAD! The girl y’all abandoned! Where’s the emotion?! Where’s the jaw-dropping?!”

“Mandy, how are you alive?!” Akame asked. “Your head was cut off, and… it felt real! How?!”

“Akame gets points! Wanna know mah secret? Well, check THIS!” Mandy morphed into a large snake, slipping out of her cloak. “I ate the Snake-Snake Fruit, Double-headed Model!” The end of her body was a hollow void. “I was goin’ ta surprise you with it one day! It let me survive after that chump cut my other head off. I was waitin’ for you to finish the job for me, I didn’t think you’d take him and ditch me! Because of you, I couldn’t show myself in public! He turned me into a total FREAK!”

Mandy reverted to her human form, complete with her light-purple jumpsuit. …Her arms and legs were in swapped positions. “Uhhh…” Akame blinked in confusion.

“MY EXTRA HEAD COMES OUTTA MY BUTT! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO FIND A BOYFRIEND LIKE THIS?!”

“. . . . . .” It was then the two men decided to show some emotion. One of utter disbelief. “Well, this was informative. But how did you know about Lucci and Deadpool?”

“’Cause I was there! I waited, I watched, and I KILLED that little Shadow Firstborn ’soon as she thought it was safe! Awwww, you mad I didn’t try to save your friends? Ya sure didn’t bother to check on me!”

“I’m sorry, Mandy.” Akame bowed. “I didn’t want to replace you with this man, but… I was prepared to move on. I lost so many friends in the empire… and I had to leave them behind. I always hated it, but…”

“D’AAAWWW, I forgive you, Kame! I always liked you the best of these bozos! And wait’ll ya get this: I killed Jirachi and Celebi before I got Midna! Ain’t I just the BEST? I figured I could get by all on my own, and I did!”

“But now you have no other leads and want your job back, is that it?” asked Chase.

“YEAH, WELL… just how many gods have YOU killed?”

“A little more than half by now.” Sephiroth answered. “Unfortunately, we’re at a stalemate. We captured most of the Newborn, but have no way to end them.”

“But if you’ve killed Midna, that means we sent Fie on a wild goose chase.” Chase said, summoning a mirror to his hand. It was round with unique etchings around its surface. “I thought Midna retreated to the Twilight Realm, so I used magic to activate this mirror and send Fie there. I suppose we should go get her.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll turn up just fine.” A soft, feminine voice said. “You’ve all still got a busy schedule ahead of you.”

“Who was that?!” Akame gasped.

“Beats me!” Mandy whipped around, searching for the voice’s owner.

“You were followed, you idiot.” Sephiroth stated.

“No I wasn’t! There wasn’t no one around!”

They saw a figure walk around some pillars, an umbrella over their face as they approached. “That’s the woman who’s been showing up at my restaurant.” Sephiroth knew. He opened the gate and approached her, his katana raised. “Who are you?”

“Relax, moody feathers. Don’t scare away a frequent customer.” She raised her umbrella, revealing green eyes with slit pupils, horns, and a green scarf. “Though I’m not ordering meat this time.”

“You didn’t answer me.”

“I’m Didoderueo. And let’s just say I’ve been monitoring you ever since your first attack on Kyogre. You can’t really attack gods without them letting off huge energy signals. I followed you in secret back to your restaurant and, well, here we are. If I might inquire, a few of the gods on your hit list are trapped in Underworld Prison, aren’t they? I thought slipping you those blueprints might be of use to you.”

“But the only reason you could have such a thing is if you were a demon… which you seem to be. We may not be targeting high-ranked spirits, but you’re not exactly exempt from us either. Especially demons.”

“All I wanted to do was provide you a way to the Underworld. Unless you have one of your own?”

“It has always been a weighing issue to us.” Chase figured. “I know a dark incantation that can open a way there, but it usually requires connection with a demon. And the only demon I know is… indisposed.”

“Then look no further. I can provide you a pass to, not just the Underworld, but close to the prison. And all I ask in return is if you… rescue a few prisoners for me. I’ll even throw in some money if that makes you spark. That said, the Spirit World is a different story. You might be on your own with that one.”

“Sounds fine by me!” Mandy beamed. “Let’s do it, guys! I’ll SHOW you how strong I’ve gotten!”

“What do you think, Chase?” Akame asked.

“Let’s consult with our underboss about this.”

“Underboss?” replied Sephiroth.

“Now that Lucci is indisposed… it’s time for him to take the mantle.”

A flapping sound echoed from up the hall. The underboss showed himself in the garage and perched on Chase’s head: it was a small white pigeon with a white top-hat, tie, and trench-coat. His red eyes narrowed seriously, he said, “The more we talk, the more those brats are on our tail! We’ll accept this stranger’s help for now, but if she double-crosses us, I’ll peck her eyes out and mince them with my wormy casserole, coo-kachoo!”

“Very well, Underboss Hattori. However, we shouldn’t throw all our cards into such a dangerous play. Mandy… Akame… the two of you will be infiltrating the Underworld, while we watch the portal from outside.”

“Bring it on, baby!” Mandy retorted.

“Good, but first, let’s get us a snack!” Hattori flapped. “I’m mighty fine hungry after all this drama!”

Moonbase

All available operatives regrouped and recapped their recent endeavors. Needless to say it gave Cheren a headache. For one, the Sector MG members had been turned into animals except for Romeo and Wendy. Phil was in his mouse form, riding Kiki’s back. She in turn rode on Oliver, who became a lion cub, while Maria was turned into a turtle. “It’s okay, Romeo.” Wendy said consolingly. “You were just exhausted from Solaris. We’ll get him next time.”

In the infirmary, Anthony broke the news to Fybi. It hurt him to see her face filled with tears, to know that her victory came at a cost. He didn’t want to bring up the scuffle with Harvey to avoid making her feel worse… but between that and the loss of his sister, he was losing the will to fight as well.

“Hey, Cheren.” Miyuki approached the leader. “When I was fighting Shadow… well, he touched me a few times.”

“Not what I expected to hear.” Cheren cringed.

“N-no, not like that! My Past Sight sort of kicked in on its own… and I saw a vision of Shadow flying to Coruscant. And I saw him flying to a place with a parking garage.”

“Parking garage? You don’t think that might be a clue, do you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Do you remember where on the planet he flew to?”

“I might be able to recall if I went there…”

“Then we’ll give it a shot. We need whatever clues we can scrounge up to find them.” They took the trident… AND the gem from Aurora’s sword! Cheren thought in panic. Does that mean they have them all? Do they have the last piece of the Seasons Sword?

“And there’s one more thing. Before they were captured, Verglora said they remembered who their ‘leader’ was!”

“You mean… the Newborn’s leader?”

“If we get them back, maybe we’ll finally learn the truth. And… we’ll be close to ending this whole thing.”

“…” Cheren hadn’t completely forgiven Miyuki for her reckless actions. But he couldn’t deny being impatient for the end of this quest. If Index had captured Hoopa right then… just what would have happened?