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Deviation Actions
Literature Text
My step-grandpa died a few nights ago. May he rest in peace. …Anyway, this comes after Chapter 17, so if you’re confused by this chapter’s events, skim through that as a reminder.
Boogey Bay
Two Moblins carried Azula by the arms and brought her into Mandy’s dark cabin. The Fire Princess was still sniffling and crying; she had run out of tears, and her yellow eyes looked dehydrated. “Azula, what in Hell’s name has gotten into you?” Mandy asked.
“She accidentally killed a Sugar Fairy when she aimed for Augustus.” one of the impish Flare Dancers replied in its high, hoarse voice. “I guess that legend about them is true. They really do force you to cry!”
“Hmmm…” Mandy reached under Azula’s chin to make her face up. She studied her drying eyes. “Some kind of post-mortem spell, huh? Well, maybe this will cure it.” Her eyes lit with fear, and Azula reacted to the Scare Stare.
A seven-year-old Azula stood before her towering father, flames burning behind him. He smacked Azula for failing her lessons. Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her because they loved Zuko more. Her servants and soldiers betrayed her. She was renowned as the worst Fire Lord…
Azula was now shivering from imaginary cold, her eyes remained forced open wide. “Take off her armor, and bring her something to drink.” Mandy ordered.
The Moblins sat Azula on a bed and tore off her black armor. She only had a black bra and underpants underneath. There were scars around her body. “You took more than your current body heat would allow.” Mandy deduced as she poured some wine down Azula’s throat. “One of your biggest fears was imperfection… so you desperately seek to become Logia, a perfect firebender. That’s one of the things I liked best about you.” Mandy gestured with her hand for the other demons to leave. They obeyed and shut the door, making the cabin darker.
She had Azula lie down on the bed, rolled away from the captain as she quivered. “Your actions were reckless, but necessary, of course. Becoming a Logia means risking your life in your own element. If you’d digested just a bit more violet flames, you might have made it. Or… maybe you wouldn’t have. Perhaps we’ll find out in time.” Mandy shrugged.
“Are you about through wasting our time?” Lord Licorice questioned, walking out of the darkness.
“Well, for a minute, I was wondering if you were actually helping.” Mandy turned to him while drinking some rum.
“The Sugar Fairy Kingdom is just within our grasp! We can easily overpower those puny and pathetic creatures, destroy the core of their sugar, and secure both the Forest and Sugar Fairy Princesses.”
“The Flare Dancers told me that the Sugar Fairy warped the Forest Fairy and the Marzipans away. Storming their kingdom won’t do me any favors.”
“I said, we could destroy, their SUGAR Fuel!” Lord Licorice spoke insistently, stomping closer to Mandy with each emphasized word.
“You SAID you would give me the FOREST Fairy!” Mandy said with a deadly glare, inches from Licorice’s face. “You said that with Princess Aisling’s powers over life, I could become my own Grim Reaper! I could bring to life all the world’s evil pirates and force them to my whim! So unless your promises hold true to their word, I could care less about demolishing a silly fairytale kingdom!”
Lord Licorice gritted his teeth, drawing his gun to aim it at Mandy. “I… am The King’s apprentice. I, the most humble and generous Lord Licorice, am allowing you pirates to have fun. I can apprehend you now and haul you to Mariejoa… but I’m not. And all I’m asking of you… is to burn those wretched Sugar Fairies to ash.”
Mandy moved her glaring eyes closer to Licorice, who calmly backed up in fear. “The Grim Reaper told me… who The King is… and I have to wonder… Are you really not arresting me out of generosity? Or is it because… I’m a McKenzie?”
A sweatdrop trickled down Licorice’s face. The gun trembled in his hand as he took small steps back. “The ultimate flaw…” Mandy spoke again, “with rulers and officials alike… is that they always show bias… for the ones they hold dear.”
“…” Licorice sighed and regained his composure. He put his gun away and prepared to leave the cabin. As he stood in the doorway, he turned to Mandy and said, “His Majesty may have that flaw… but you’re only alive because I allow it. Consider that my gift… as your best friend.” He shut the door and was gone.
Posiverse Earth; about 195 million years ago
“Holy Mother of Monkey Milk!” Augustus gaped at the prehistoric sight before them. “Mother freaking Jurassic Park!”
“WHATCHU GAWKIN’ AT?!” Rallo shouted with fear. “That big thing just ate that little thing! We don’t watch our asses, we’ll get our things ate, too!”
“I’m astonished that Zeira can use time-travel magic.” Aisling said. “So these were the creatures that roamed Earth in ancient times.”
“How the hell are we supposed to find the Rock Nut in this mess?!” Stewie asked angrily. “Lick every rock until we find one that’s-”
“STEWIE, STEWIE.” Augustus interrupted. “I am not… even gonna let you finish that sentence. I just… saw where you were goin’, and I am like NO. You need to level down with those jokes.”
“Aaaahhh-AAAAAAaaaaahhhh!”
“Whuh was that?” Rallo asked.
“Over there!” Aisling pointed.
Not far away, a group of raptors were chasing something small across the plain. “AAAAAAAAHHHHH!” This creature, running on all fours, was a cavegirl, with messy cyan hair and big hazel eyes, wearing a green loincloth dress and a cracked skull mask on her head. She also had a reddish-purple line painted horizontally across her face.
“Hold on, kid!” Augustus grabbed his Gobstopper and rushed over, the Baby Trio joining.
“Wait, we’re in the past!” Aisling yelled after. “We shouldn’t interfere… Oh, who am I kidding. GROWL!” She bared her fangs and pranced on all fours.
The little cavegirl looked back at the raptors with fear in her adorable hazel eyes. She stopped and stared when something small and spherical struck a raptor’s jaws. It had been thrown by a taller Neanderthal, whose clothes didn’t look like any she recognized. Rallo blasted his boombox to blow another raptor away, and Stewie fired a net gun to catch another and shock it. Aisling tackled the fourth raptor and sank her teeth into its flesh. When the first raptor tried to help its friends, Augustus tackled and began to wrestle it.
“Tell this to all your amigos, the future belongs to HOMO sapiens!” the Spanish-German declared.
“NOOOOO!” The cavegirl pounced on Augustus’s back and began pounding his head like an angry child. “Get off of Nel’s frieeeeeeends!”
“Wha-… Friends?” Augustus looked at the raptor confusedly.
“Nel and dinos were playing ‘Catch Nel’! You ruined Nel and dinos’ game! Go awaaaaaay!” She cried and continued pounding the teen boy.
“Are you really her friends?” Aisling asked the raptor she was biting.
Yes. And you’re a weird-looking baby jaguar. The raptor replied telepathically.
Aisling calmly climbed off the creature, and the other ones recovered and showed no signs of vengeance. “Uh… Sorry.” Augustus said to the cavegirl clutching his shoulders. “We’re not familiar with… old timey games.”
The girl jumped off. “Nel invents game herself. Other cavepeople think Nel crazy, but Nel think… oh?” She stared at him. “Why does caveman know Nel’s language?”
Aisling gasped. “You can speak English?”
“English? English is Nel’s language!” she shouted. “Only Nel speak English. Nel know English well, because only Nel know English. So why other cavemen know English?”
“Because we’re from the future!” Augustus yelled.
“Futur? What Futur? Nel confused.” The girl picked her nose.
“Hold on, if she can speak English, perhaps she may be able to help us.” Stewie said as he approached the cave child, who was nearly his height. “Miss, do you know anything about a Rock Nut?”
“What weird caveman is this?” Nel touched either side of Stewie’s football head. “His head funny. Hee hee hee hee!” She rocked the head back and forth. “Look like funny rock!”
“Shyeah, but you should see Rallo without his afro!” Augustus laughed.
“NO, DON’T!” Rallo cried. “You tell this girl, she gonna tell everyone, then all o’ HISTORY’S gonna be laughin’ at me!”
“Nel like new cavepeople.” Nel clapped happily. “Nel think people funny. People be friends with Nel?”
“Eh, why not?” August shrugged. “I’m opening a babysitting service after this.”
“Yaaay!” She clapped. “New friends for Nel! New friends come to Nel’s cave?”
“Sure, we wouldn’t mind a place to rest! (Even though we kinda just got out of a cave.) Hey, can your raptor friends help us pull our plane?”
“You want pull plain?”
“Y-Yeah—I mean… just come see.”
The group led Nel and her raptors to the broken-down Ace Flyer. “This plain?” Nel began to climb it. “This smallest plain Nel ever see. It look like hard rock. Whoa!” She fell headfirst into the pilot’s seat, with her dirty feet flailing in the air.
“It’s not a plain like a field.” Augustus said as he grabbed Nel’s feet and pulled her up. “It’s like… a magic stone that we have and lets us fly.”
“It stone? It shaped like pterodactyl. Can Nel fly stone plane?”
“Heh heh… It’s not in best shape right now. Just help us pull it to your cave.”
They traveled a few miles across the field before they arrived at Nel’s cave. She had a few clothes hanging on the wall, so Augustus threw one of them over the biplane. “Here, Nel friends.” Nel carried two armfuls of rocks over to them. “Nel bring rocks. Nel hopes friends like.” She dropped them all. …Nel felt pain course through her. “YAAAAAAAH!” She grabbed the stubbed toes and hopped around.
“Calm down.” Aisling crouched down and softly rubbed the sore toes. “You should be more careful.”
“Can you actually eat these rocks?” Augustus asked curiously.
“Huh? Cavepeople always eat rocks. Well, rocks too big for Nel. She break into pebbles.” Nel stood up and picked up one of the heavy rocks. “Mmm, mmm,” she hopped to a wall, “MMM!” and chucked the rock to break it to pieces. “Pebbles yummy! Mmmmmm!” Nel picked some up and began chewing.
“Yeah… I don’t eat those.” Augustus replied with disgust. “See if you like this.” He pulled out a Gold Wonka Bar and handed it to the girl.
Nel stared at the chocolate as though it was the weirdest thing ever. Nel put her teeth around the bar and bit a piece. It was so much softer than pebbles, it felt like her teeth were munching nothing. She swallowed. “Mmmmmm…” Nel bore the expression of someone in Caveperson Heaven. “Nel feels a happy feeling on her toooooongue. Why is Nel tongue happy? Bllllll?” She stuck her tongue out.
“That, my soil-footed friend…” Augustus bent down with a knowledgeable smile, “was called taste.”
“Taste?” Nel grabbed her tongue and tried to pull it up in front of her eyes. “Nel don’t thee it.”
“It isn’t something you see. It’s something you feel.” The captain started a new lollipop. “It’s a mouthwatering feeling that outright says: if you eat this, your belly will be happy. The ability to taste was God’s greatest gift to man. If something tastes good, you swallow it.”
“You are setting, a very bad example in this case.” Aisling said.
“Nel like ‘taste.’ Nel never taste before. Except pretty rock on Terry mountain. Haaaa-omp.” She bit another piece of chocolate.
“A pretty rock?” This caught the teen’s attention. “What rock?”
Nel swallowed, and she spoke with chocolate around her mouth. “Nel climb to top of Terry mountain and find pretty rock. Nel try to break, but it don’t. Nel tried to eat, but too big. But when Nel tongue touch it, tongue feel happy. Nel think this ‘taste.’”
“It must be the Rock Nut!” Aisling beamed.
“Nel, can you take us to Terry Mountain?” Augustus asked.
“Mmmm…” Nel frowned. “Terry mountain belong to Terry. Nel climb when Terry gone because Nel wanted to see what up there. Does Nel friends want Terry’s tasty rock?”
“If it’s what we think it is, it’s imperative that we collect it.” Aisling said.
“But Terry scary!” Nel exclaimed. “Terry eat Nel friends! Nel don’t want friends to die!”
“I assume this ‘Terry’ is a pterodactyl.” Aisling replied. “An animal all the same. If I got close to her, I can communicate and reason with her.”
“Hee hee hee! Terry not her. Terry a male.”
“My mistake.”
“And even if she can’t, we can take him.” Augustus fist-palmed. “Listen, Nel, we really need that Rock Candy, not for us, but for a friend of mine. He’s a, uh… caveman who can’t leave his cave, and he’s gonna die soon. All he really wants is to taste that rock. So, will you take us?”
“Sniff…” Nel’s adorable eyes began watering. “Th-That saddest story… Nel ever hear! WAAAAAAAHHH!” She made a waterfall of tears that the others looked at with disbelief. She calmed down and spoke with a stutter, “N-Nel h-help friends find r-rock. J-Just promise Nel f-friends will be careful.”
“You got nothin’ to worry about!” Augustus lifted the cavegirl up over his shoulders. “Just point us the way!”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Nel swung her feet happily. “Nel gets to ride funny caveman!” She smacked his head and pointed vigorously, “RIDE, AUGHSUCKS!”
The captain’s motivation sunk at that name. “It’s… Augustus.”
“Nel said Aughsucks! Go, Aughsucks!”
His eye twitched. “Well-p, the past is ruined.”
Negaverse; DNK Moonbase
It was -11:55ma. Every DNK sector had gathered in the audience chamber, viewing the stage where Medusa, Ragus, and Lucifer stood. The massive chamber was filled with a dead silence, and everyone was impatiently waiting for the bride to make her appearance. “She’s just gonna turn it down, right?” Yllas whispered to her teammates.
“Shhh!” Ynohtna hushed her.
“Lady Medusa, my father will be killed after this, right?” Ragus asked her mistress.
“Sooner than you think.” Medusa smirked. “I sent Pandora and Thanatos down to Asorsserd to do the deed. Hope that gives you something to look forward to.”
“It does, My Lady. …Oh! The bride is coming.”
The right stage door opened as Sipa walked in with Asia at her side. She looked both pretty and scary in her black dress, holding a bouquet of dead grey flowers. They stopped three feet from Lucifer, who still possessed a black desert wolf. Sipa’s expression was morbid. “My bride…” The demon hissed. “You look beautiful…”
“A girl needs time to prepare, even in this world…” Medusa commented. “But better late than never. In three more minutes, I will join you two in eternal matrimony. If either of you have vows, you had better speak now.”
“I have a few things to say…” Sipa spoke lowly. “Ever since I was little… my deepest dream was to burn my mortal soul and become a small piece of the Underworld’s darkness. And with every sin I commit… I felt my soul steadily decaying away.” It was -11:59. Everybody’s hearts were racing from the tension. “And now… when I’m only a couple words away… from losing myself completely… to a demon as renowned and… feared as you…”
Lucifer hissed through his grinning, drooling fangs. Sipa’s lovely dark form reflected in his glowing red pupils. She looked so… delicious…
“…I realize…” Sipa resumed, “…that all I really want, more than anything… is…”
Ragus let the lifeless doll dangle in her hand. The soul which this doll was inhabiting was asleep. The person inside was no longer what he used to be, but a hideous amalgamation of Ragus’s creation.
. . . . The motionless toy shone, and its distorted body began to wobble. The froad and cat legs transformed into human legs in purple pants, the fish fin and octopus tentacle became human arms and hands, and the platypus nose retracted. Whatever this creature was, it became a brown-haired boy with sunglasses and dark-yellow eyes.
The minute the clock struck -12, it felt as though a light went off in everyone’s minds. Suddenly, they had weird memories of an alliance with the Nimbi DNK, how their acronym stood for the “Daring New Kids”, and some hogwash about a “happier” Negaverse where everyone’s nice to each other. And all these ideas were because of one boy whom they clearly remembered as their Supreme Leader.
“NEREHC!!” Sipa screeched after her moment of awestruck silence.
“What?!” Lucifer shouted.
“Ragus, what’s going on?!” Medusa shouted.
“I’m as confused as you are, Lady Medusa!” Ragus replied with her still smile and tone. “Out of the blue, I seem to have memory of Nosrednug’s real identity!”
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” Sipa whipped out her Devil’s Wand and struck Lucifer.
“UOOOH!” The black wolf died, and the dark energy left its body.
“YOU!” Sipa aimed the wand at Medusa’s possessed body. “LET NEREHC GO!”
“Better do what she says!” Sicnarf ordered as a troupe of guards trained their weapons on the goddess.
Before Medusa knew it, the whole of the DNK audience were scurrying down the stairs and jumping on stage, surrounding her and Ragus from every direction. “Grrr. This isn’t what was supposed to happen!” Medusa growled. “If it’d just been another minute, I would’ve had everything I needed to…”
“LOOK!” Ikuyim pointed excitedly. “That girl’s holding a Nerehc doll! I bet the real Nerehc’s trapped inside it!”
“Accio DOLL!” Sipa aimed her wand, and the Nerehc doll flew into her hand. “NEREHC!” She shook it frantically. “Are you in there?! PLEASE WAKE UP!”
Night Castle
“Damn it! I have to get out of this place!” Nerehc stated impatiently, trying to stomp Ragus’s sleeping body. However, his foot phased through her like she were a ghost. “How do I wake this chick up?!”
“I’m not sure if it will work,” Mr. Penguin said, “but since we’re in a Dream Realm, you might wake up if you die.”
“Hey, you’re right!” Nerehc drew his sword and aimed it at his chest. …He hesitated for a second. “Sure hope this works!” He shut his eyes and slowly moved the sword’s tip to poke his chest. …Poke.
Moonbase
“YAH!” The doll jumped out of Sipa’s hand and on the stage floor.
“YEEK!” Ininap and Yddam were startled and grabbed each other. The operatives backed away in fear when the doll pushed itself up on its feet.
The doll’s beady yellow eyes looked around at all the familiar faces. “Sipa! Sicnarf! Ydolem!” Nerehc’s voice spoke happily. “You guys…” He skimmed their bodies up and down. He was only as high as their feet. “…are really tall.”
“N-N-Nerehc…” Ininap crouched on all fours and crawled to her master like a curious puppy. “Y-You’re a… doll?”
Nerehc looked at his stubby hands and the knees he had trouble balancing on. “Huh… So I am. Anybody have any idea how I got this way?”
“They’re getting away!” Yddam yelled when Medusa opened a dark portal.
“Until next time, you fools!” Medusa pulled Ragus in with her.
“STOP!” Sipa grabbed the Nerehc doll and dove after them.
“AAAAH!” She, Ragus, and Medusa tumbled onto the floor of the first bridge, close to the hangar. “ENOUGH!” The Dark Goddess kicked Sipa off and got onto Nerehc’s feet, drawing his sword and holding it to his neck. “Back away or I’ll cut this boy’s neck! I’m curious to see where Demise’s spirit will go if he dies, anyway.”
“Sipa, throw me on the sword!” Nerehc’s doll yelled.
“Huh? Okay. NNNN!” Sipa hurled the little doll across the air, and his stubby arms wrapped around the Devil Sword’s white blade.
“Huh?” Medusa stared confusedly at the doll. The way he hugged the sword was adorable…
“GHIRAHIM!” Nerehc called. The white sword flashed, and the diamond-skin Demon Lord leapt out.
“Yaaaaaawn.” Ghirahim stretched his trim body. “It’s about time I was called out. I was getting a little tired of everyone saying ‘Who’s Nerehc’ all the time.” He turned to said boy with a devious smile. “Still, my master… you have seen better days.”
“You listen to ME, you hopeless servant.” Medusa aimed the sword at him while the Nerehc doll was still hugging it. “The body I’m possessing is the one that houses Demise’s soul. I am the one you answer to, not Nerehc!”
“Hmmm…” Ghirahim held a hand over his eyes, still smiling. “And so I’m faced with the conundrum… who do I listen to. It’s true that the body Medusa is inhabiting is the one that bears Demise’s energy… However, the body truly and officially belongs to Nerehc. The true one that has conquered both Devils and taken their power. Tell me, Medusa… could you defeat them?”
“You know this bitch couldn’t!” the Nerehc doll yelled. “Just kick her ass so I can get my body back!”
“Don’t even think about it!” Medusa smacked the doll off and held the sword to the body’s neck. “It’s true that I need Demise’s powers to revive Ganondorf, but if they retreated inside Lehcar or one of her children, I can easily persuade them to work for me!”
Ghirahim zipped up to her, kneeling to her face level as he licked his lips. “But will I… work for you?”
“Ouch! Ghirahim, you’re standing on me!” The Nerehc doll squirmed under the demon’s foot.
“There they are, they’ve over here!” Sicnarf and the operatives scurried onto the bridge to surround the villains.
“You’re not going to get away!” Hcaz stated firmly. “You’re overstepping your boundaries as a god. Ininap is praying to the other gods as we speak; they’ll be here pretty soon and see what you’re doing.”
“Hm hm hm hm.” Medusa chuckled, keeping the sword by Nerehc’s neck. “You ‘Daring New Kids’ think you’re so strong because of your loyalty and dedication to your leader. Nerehc may be leading you Negatives to a path of light… but this very path will destroy you! The Apocalypse will come at the end of this month, and your kind will never survive without MY assistance!”
“You…” Yddam’s fists trembled, and a nervous sweatdrop trickled down her face. She was wearing her Fishman Karate gloves. “J-Just… what do you want?”
Medusa’s snake green eyes looked at her, making Yddam step back in fright. “My child… don’t you know who I am? I am Medusa. The Seeker of the Thirteen Darknesses. The one who is destined to unite the Darknesses, and help the Negatives to find and awaken them! Only I know the identities and locations of each of the Darknesses. The universe will only be saved if they, along with the Seven Lights, are awakened. And the only way you can see for that to happen, is if you listen to me.”
The Negatives stood silent with hesitation. Medusa could read their mixed expressions of anger and contemplation. They wanted to attack her for stealing Nerehc’s body… but they also thought she could be right. They knew little about the Twenty Keys… so helping Medusa achieve her selfish gain may be their only chance of learning this knowledge.
The operatives looked at the smooshed Nerehc doll, who was back on his feet after Ghirahim got off. He slouched on one knee, but he faced up at Medusa. Even though his beady eyes showed no expression, Medusa could feel him glaring. “A god like you wouldn’t even care about us… if the Apocalypse didn’t affect you!!”
The operatives exchanged quiet murmurs. Medusa narrowed her eyes. “A Goddess of Evil would relish in our destruction!” Nerehc shouted. “The despair of trillions of souls, feeding her with power! The power to create her own era of darkness. The Apocalypse would be a buffet to you, but it’s not! Because the gods are in danger of dying, too! This Apocalypse is more than just the destruction of all life. It’s the destruction of anything and EVERYTHING we ever cared about! Isn’t it?”
Medusa bit her (Nerehc’s) teeth. If Ragus could make any other expression, it would be a quizzical frown. “That includes our existence.” Nerehc spoke further through everyone’s astonished murmurs. “Our souls, the gods.” Even the former DNKG felt anxiety from this knowledge. “The best we know is that only a handful will survive if it happens. This ‘Will of Sixes’ that Cheren mentioned. But even those people won’t understand a thing, even they won’t know if they’ll survive. …And you don’t either. That’s why you need us… don’t you?”
All eyes were on Medusa, including Ragus’s. The goddess looked at the floor with anger in her eyes. She stuck the sword into the floor and knelt down. “I…I’m really not sure what’s going to happen. I was told… that Palutena and I would clash at the end… and the winner would decide if the New World is controlled by Light or Darkness. It may be her influence getting to me… but I wonder… if this very prophecy is true. Can I really trust this… Bill Cipher.”
The Negatives looked confused. They haven’t heard that name before. And it was during this moment of confusion that the dark spirit lurking above seized his chance. Medusa glanced up and smirked, seeing him closing in.
“AAAAHH!” A dark energy seeped into Sipa’s body, and the girl began squirming.
“Sipa, what’s wrong?!” Nerehc ran up to his girlfriend.
“Given the horrid state your soul is in, I may not NEED to marry you to take over your body!” Lucifer’s monstrous voice sounded.
“NO! STOP! Get out of me! Get out of my head!!”
“I’ll help!” Ragus skipped up to Sipa and aimed her hand. “Sleep!”
Instantly, Sipa’s eyes turned dull and shut as she fell on her back. “Sipa!” Nerehc jumped up on her chest to study her face. “Whaddid you do?!” he yelled at Ragus.
“I have the power to control souls.” Ragus said with her creepy smile. “Even lay souls to rest. My powers may be limited to contracts… but dark or weak souls like Sipa or Lucifer’s are within my limits. At this moment, they are fighting in Sipa’s dreamscape. The winner will become the new owner of the body.”
“Are you kidding?! Sipa, wake up!” The doll smacked his girlfriend’s cheek, but dealt no pain. “Don’t let him control you, just wake up!”
“Even if she could hear you… Lucifer could easily overpower her, anyway.” Ragus said. “If you were in there to help, the outcome may be different. I can use my power to transport your soul into Sipa’s body, Nerehc. If you are able to save her, I will allow you back into your real body while Medusa leaves. However…” Her smile seemed to stretch wider. “If you are successful, then you must follow Lady Medusa’s instructions from now on. You must listen to what she has to say.”
“Mmmmnn… mmmmnn…” In her sleep, Sipa was biting her lip and sweating. Her body lightly shook from the struggle taking place inside her. Nerehc couldn’t bear to see his girlfriend this way. He couldn’t imagine how she may have been suffering. “We will.” he said firmly.
“You can’t be serious!” Ynohtna yelled. “Even if your reasonings are true, trusting someone as evil as Medusa is-”
“BUT.” Nerehc spoke louder to make him silence. “You must only give us instructions, if those instructions will help us find the Thirteen Darknesses, and ONLY the Darknesses! If any of your instructions are irrelevant to the cause, whether it’s burning a town or saving a puppy, the contract is off. Got it?”
“…It’s a deal.” Medusa smirked.
“Good. Now send me in.”
“As you wish… Prince Nerehc.” Ragus approached and used her power to remove Nerehc’s soul from the doll. She placed him inside Sipa’s head, and put him to sleep as well.
“I wish I could be a doll,” Nosam Atnalamid spoke with heart-shaped eyes, “then my lovely Lorac will cuddle with me as she sleeps, as I keep her safe from nightmares. Miss Ragus, could you perhaps do me such an honor?”
“I kinda hope Sipa’s head explodes from all this.” Akurah remarked.
“Three souls fighting inside one body, something like that would happen.” Asia said. (Play “Hazardous Highway” from Kingdom Hearts II!)
Stage B-8: Death Highway
Mission: Stop Lucifer from taking Sipa’s soul.
Nerehc immediately found himself skating down a red, vertical road, whipping past black buildings on either side. The road curved up at the bottom, so Nerehc’s rockets began to skate across a flat ground, and he gaped at the view of the horrific dimension. It was a black city suspended above a blood-red sky. There were giant gravestones with deathly skulls, and giant whitish-blue, ghostly flames. “THIS is Sipa’s dreamscape? !” he questioned. “More like a nightmare-scape!”
Nerehc skied across the road that swooped down, up like a hill, then down again as his speed increased. At the bottom, Nerehc zipped up a ramp that flew him to a Spring Pad on a floating piece of rubble, which bounced him around a series of Spring Pads before he finally landed on a path within a part of the dark city. Piles of bones rose up and became Stalfos, which charged over to attack Nerehc. When one Stalfos jabbed its blade, Nerehc leapt overhead, swung his sword, and beheaded that Stalfos and the one behind it. He then stabbed them both from behind, and dodged the remaining one’s sword. When the third Stalfos swung its blade down, Nerehc bashed it upward with his own sword before slicing the Stalfos across the chest.
Nerehc ran out of the alley and to the city square, where bone piles lay around a fountain of red water (to level down on grossness, he called it water). Each of these Stalfos sprouted to life, but Nerehc wouldn’t bother fighting them. Instead, he jumped into the fountain’s center, which propelled him up so he could collect a Fire Soul. Nerehc ran further down the street until some springs bounced him on top of the roofs. Fire Keese swooped around, but Nerehc cut each of them with one slice. He had view of the fountain square from this rooftop route, which would lead him to a grind rail. However, a gravestone blocked the rail’s base, sending Phantom Embers (green flames with yellow eyes) at Nerehc. Nerehc cut through each Ember as he approached the grave, then cut it to pieces.
Nerehc boosted across the rail as it swirled down, then turned straight as it led him between floating buildings. He had to jump between two rails as parts of buildings blocked parts of them, but once out of the midair alley, the rail swerved around numerous floating structures. It dropped Nerehc on another red highway, and the boy skied ceaselessly when a gigantic spiked tire with rockets began chasing him. A spring bounced Nerehc to a parallel road, where he had view of the skull on the wheel’s side. Another spring bounced him back on the road, so he kept running from the tire.
The Death Tire launched rockets that forced Nerehc to dodge left or right, and when he saw a bump coming up on the road, he had to jump. The tire was steadily catching up, but when Nerehc saw a smaller road that curved left, he seized the chance to take it while the wheel kept rolling the bigger road. Nerehc’s road zipped up a hill, with springs that launched him to a series of floating platforms. Nerehc cut away the Red Bubbles that were mindlessly bouncing around, and at the end of these platforms, he used his rockets to glide over to another city area.
Redeads were positioned around the ground, and their high-pitched screams froze Nerehc in place. One of the zombies quickly limped over to begin choking the Demon Prince, who stabbed its head with his sword to get it off. Another Redead limped over, but Nerehc set his sword aflame and chopped it. There was a Fire Soul in a right corner past some Redeads, but not wanting to waste time with the zombies, he stayed close to the left wall to avoid them and go down a city street. Nerehc jumped up some boxes, then Wall Kicked his away across the parallel buildings to avoid the Redeads down below. Once past the zombies, the road turned left, leading to a wide dead-end alley with a well. Nerehc bypassed the Redeads before they could turn to face him, and jumped down the well.
He was suddenly grinding across another rail, inside a pitch-black interior where he couldn’t see the way. Another rail appeared beside him, and when a gravestone popped up on his current rail, he jumped to the other, then switched back-and-forth when gravestones kept trying to surprise him. The rails brought him to a bigger underground graveyard, where Nerehc hopped across numerous rails, avoiding the stones popping up and the routes that would lead him into a death pit. He noticed a Fire Soul above a rail far to his right, having missed the route it led to. The last rail brought Nerehc through a tunnel, leading him outside as he skied across a lake of red water. He saw another Death Tire whoosh across a highway overhead. At the end of this lake, Nerehc bounced on some springs that would land him on a downward highway—just after the Death Tire sped down.
Nerehc was chasing the tire this time, and it made great distance ahead of him. The tire was dropping mines on the ground, but Nerehc could whip the bombs with his sword and fling them against the tire. At the bottom of this slope, Nerehc began to chase the tire across a wider road with many holes. Nerehc avoided the holes, but made sure to keep in position with the bombs so he could hit them against the tire. Once the tire sustained enough damage, it sped out of control and drove off the edge. Nerehc could now run through a city street at the end of the path—the entrance would’ve been blocked by the Death Tire if it were still active.
The city path was mostly straightforward except for a few crates Nerehc had to dodge. Once he was through, he arrived at a chasm area with giant skull torches that sprouted fire every few seconds. They were scattered around, so Nerehc jumped to the ones that were closer. The torches continued across the chasm as the path shifted left. Nerehc chopped down Red Bubbles that bounced over and threatened to ignite his torches. He made it to a wide area and jumped the torches to a far left corner so he could collect a Fire Soul. Afterwards, he jumped back and landed on a path on the left of the chasm.
The path directed up and around the wall above the giant torches. At every step, a gravestone releasing Phantom Embers blocked his way, so Nerehc chopped up each one. At the walkway’s end, Nerehc skied into a tunnel, which brought him to a steep narrow slope. A spring bounced him to another highway, where he was chased by the first Death Tire again. He dodged two missiles and jumped three bumps before a spring bounced him to the other road, where he was behind the second Death Tire. It dropped bombs that Nerehc whacked with his sword, exploding them on the tire three times before it spun out of control. Nerehc ran onto a wider path, going around the spinning tire and running ahead of both. Nerehc looked back, and gaped when an enormous Ghost Rider flew down from the sky on a motorcycle. The cycle attached itself to both Death Tires and chased Nerehc.
Strips on the front tire caught fire and burned a trail toward Nerehc, so he dodged to a segment of road that wasn’t burning. After a few easy dodges and jumping road bumps, the Ghost Rider’s motorcycle boosted, the bike tilting back as the front wheel was uplifted. It smashed back down, but Nerehc was now underneath the bike, between both wheels. The bike was moving faster, threatening to smash Nerehc with the back wheel. Since the front was dropping bombs, he batted the bombs into the front to do damage. However, he allowed some bombs to pass and hit the back wheel, and soon, the rear wheel popped off its hinge. The slanted backside dragged along the ground and would burn Nerehc if it caught up. Nerehc hit more bombs into the front wheel until it blew off.
The Ghost Rider activated the bike’s rockets and chased Nerehc from the air. He released rows of fireballs that singed spots on the road, forcing Nerehc to maneuver between the diagonal rows. Nerehc boosted to get away from the Rider, going into a city, and when the giant skeleton tried to maneuver down, his craft bumped along the buildings and exploded. His flaming skull flew off, munching loudly as it chased Nerehc, but the boy sped through a tunnel that the skull wouldn’t fit into. The tongue was chasing Nerehc like a snake, so with a look of disbelief, Nerehc jumped back and pierced his sword through the limb. With that, he kept running through the city until he overlooked a near-vacant, floating field. (End song.)
Nerehc saw the back of a girl wearing a black dress, with dirty blonde hair. “Sipa!” he called, recognizing her. “Sipa, can you hear me?!”
“I’m afraid she can’t…” Nerehc looked up at the source of the dark voice. His body was skinny and black, with boney feet and sharp claws. He had a cracked skull mask that looked like a demon’s, with horns, and he slowly flapped down with black feathered wings. “Her soul has gone past its limit…”
Nerehc gasped. “Are you… Lucifer?”
“Yes. I am the Royal Demon Saint, who ate a piece of Sipa’s soul long ago. And now… I will devour the rest and claim her body. Perhaps in a physical form… I can attain love…”
Nerehc clenched his teeth with malice. “SIPA, SNAP OUT OF IT! Don’t let him take you, run away!”
“…” Sipa slowly turned around. …The second her milky eyes faced Nerehc, broken areas with blood appeared on her body. Her left hand was missing, the front of her right foot was missing, the top left of her head… She looked less like a living, human being. “Sipa…”
“Has destroyed her soul with all of the sins she committed.” Lucifer knelt down and softly grasped both of Sipa’s arms. “Any human with moderate intelligence can protect their soul from me… but she is more than susceptible. There is no saving a soul like hers… not unless she becomes one with a demon like me.”
“DON’T TOUCH HER!” Nerehc blasted a jolt of lightning that struck Lucifer’s head and knocked him back. Nerehc skied up to his girlfriend. “Sipa, he’s wrong! It’s not too late to save your soul! You asked me to repair it, didn’t you? Well, I will! You just have to trust me!”
“It isn’t a matter of trust!” Lucifer hissed. “No amount of regret or repent can save this girl! She could not survive in Heaven OR Hell! She is doomed to fade away into nothing!”
“Sipa… please talk to me.” Nerehc grabbed the girl’s right hand, staring directly at her eyes as his own leaked tears. “Say something! Anything!”
“Haaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Nerehc kept his eyes sharply opened, hoping to witness some response from Sipa. But his tears made this impossible. He sniffled and let his head sink. …Nerehc felt something wet and gooey touch his right hand. It was the bloody stub on Sipa’s left arm. He looked up agape when Sipa leaned forward and put her head against his chest. “N…N…Nerehc…” Bloody tears leaked out of her eyes. “Please… save… me…”
“Sipa…” Nerehc put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up gently. He pressed his lips against hers. Sipa closed her eyes and allowed the embrace to transpire. The pain she was feeling in her soul felt weaker. The feeling she had lost when Nerehc went missing… she remembered what it was… the most beautiful feeling ever…
“What a horrible touching moment.” Malladus Uno’s thundering voice spoke as the Demon King’s torn-in-half spirit poked out of Nerehc’s back. “Why don’t I spare us all this display and heal her myself? I can bandage her soul, but the ‘good deed’ business will be up to her. It shouldn’t be as hard as curing my wife’s Candy Virus.”
“YOU!” Lucifer shouted. “Uncle… Malladus?!”
“Oh, Lucifer!” Malladus looked up with a casual smile. “I almost forgot you were here. Now I told you not to sneak out of the house, didn’t I?”
“Don’t tell me… Is Father in there, too?!”
“Oh, he’s asleep right now. I’m afraid you’ll have to talk to him another time.”
“NOOOO! Father, COME OOOUUUT!” The Black Demon lunged at them. (Play “Vs. Malladus Part 2” from Zelda: Spirit Tracks.)
Nerehc slashed his blade lit with violet flames and blew Lucifer back. “Keep him busy while I treat this girl.” Malladus said, sprinkling Sipa with a dark energy from his hand. Nerehc nodded and faced Lucifer with determination.
Boss fight: Lucifer
The Demon Saint crawled up to Nerehc on arms and legs, and when the boy suspected him to attack, Lucifer rolled to Nerehc’s right and SWIPED his claw, scratching the human’s face and knocking him back. Lucifer coughed Dark Balls at the Malladus soul, but Nerehc batted them away with his sword. The Demon Saint flew overhead and coughed a rainbow of Dark Balls, which Nerehc bonked away with a vertical spin attack. Lucifer flew far away along the ground, circled around them, and coughed Dark Balls, but Nerehc stylishly batted each one away. Angered, Lucifer shot up at whipping speed and slashed his claw, but Nerehc ducked before stabbing Lucifer in the skull.
He pulled the sword out as Lucifer flapped away. He swung his wings and launched bladed black feathers, which Nerehc blocked. Lucifer spun vertically with his wings sticking up, flying at Nerehc to smash the boy to the ground with them. Bullet-speed, he zipped to the opposite side from Sipa, but Nerehc shot a jolt of lightning that pushed him back. Nerehc got to that side and rapidly swung his blade when Lucifer unleashed a storm of furious claw-swipes. When it stopped, Lucifer suddenly tornado-spun and whipped Nerehc away with his devil tail. The demon focused his sights on Sipa, but Nerehc kicked on his rockets and flew at him, pushing Lucifer away.
“Grrrr!” Lucifer grabbed Nerehc and smashed him to the ground, applying more pressure in the hopes of splattering him. Nerehc lit his sword on fire and cut the monster’s arms, scaring him off so Nerehc could stand. Nerehc got up and swung his flaming sword to send fire waves, which Lucifer blocked with his wings. The wings caught fire so Lucy could launch the feather spears with extra power. Nerehc spun his sword to block some, but he got scratched and scorched, and his weak moment allowed Lucifer to fly up and grab him in his claw. “I’ll bite off every last ounce of flesh until I see my father again!”
“Expelliarmus!” A spell blasted forth and sent the Demon Saint whirling away. Nerehc turned and gaped at the spell’s caster: “SIPA!”
His girlfriend wore a proud smile as she aimed her wand, black bandages around the severed parts of her body. “Didn’t take much time at all.” Malladus said coolly. “You should’ve seen Amy’s Candy Virus.”
“Nerehc, let’s kick this bastard out of here!”
“You got it!” The boy and girl stood side-by-side with their weapons ready. The Demon Saint spun around and released feather arrows in every direction, which rounded like missiles and closed in on the kids. “Protego!” Sipa projected a shield to protect them, while Nerehc whipped other feathers away with his sword. Lucifer landed, and with his wings in a straight horizontal position, Nerehc grabbed Sipa and flew skyward—the Demon Saint zipped across with bullet-speed, and would’ve skewered them with a successful attack had they not dodged. Nerehc spun like a drill and shot down to pierce Lucifer’s back.
Nerehc and Sipa landed on the ground and readied for Lucifer’s next attack. The Demon Saint stabbed his claws in the ground and sent a scratchy trail to his opponents. While it did nothing at first, a sudden energy shot out of the cracks and scratched them. Lucifer flew up, gripped both kids by the neck, and flipped upside-down as he hurled them back. When the Demon Saint flew at them again, whipping around to slice his devil tail across them, Sipa called, “SECTUMSEMPRA!”
A white slash whipped across the air and sliced Lucifer’s tail clean off. Nerehc seized this chance to fly up and chop off Lucifer’s right wing. With his left wing standing up, Lucifer spun like a wheel and began to saw around the field. Different parts of the ground stuck up at different heights, so Lucifer took cover on a higher one next to the kids’. Feather arrows shot down to them from every direction, and they only had a few seconds to block them. Nerehc jumped up to view his enemy, but quickly ducked when Lucifer slashed his wing.
Nerehc looked at his girlfriend and nodded. He lifted her up so she could aim her wand in Lucifer’s direction and yell, “Reducto!” An explosion burst from the ground, so Nerehc grabbed his friend and flew up, hoping Lucifer was distracted by the blast. Suddenly, the Demon Saint zipped up above them and kicked them down, but Nerehc regained composure and set Sipa on the ground before flying up. Lucifer smirked and vanished in a blink, appearing below Nerehc and flying down to Sipa like a hawk. Sipa readied herself, but Nerehc merely warped in a Dark Portal beside his girlfriend. He thrusted his sword up and stabbed Lucifer’s skull. (End song.)
Lucifer stopped completely, and the kids’ hearts raced with anticipation. The demonic skull slowly cracked… it would crumble any second. “…Heh heh heh. Killing me… is something that could only happen in dreams.”
The kids gasped when the skull broke, and the demon’s dark soul began to ascend. “Oh, well. Perhaps I’ll find a different wife. I know we’ll meet again soon. After all, Sipa still has my soul in her. It is with that soul that she can command a Devil’s Wand. So she will be grateful. …Prince Nerehc…” The boy narrowed his eyes at his own name. “Medusa has already interacted with the Darknesses in the past. According to her, they come from the Original Worlds. I do not know what she wants your people to do… but I look forward to watching.”
DNK Moonbase
“Uuuuuhhh…” Sipa moaned awake with a sickening feeling in her head. “Heehee… I guess I need to visit… the Soul Doctor, huh, Nerehc?” She grinned weakly and picked up the Nerehc doll on her chest. “…Nerehc?” She shook the doll lightly. “Nerehc, are you in there?”
“No. I’m over here.” The Negatives directed their attention at the human boy. He had yellow eyes behind his sunglasses once again. “I guess Ragus switched me back after all?”
“Nah, Medusa ditched your body and left with her.” Hcaz explained. “You fell like an old rag doll.”
“She didn’t even wait to see if I would save her? That sucks.”
“To be fair, it was a -10% chance that you would.” Arorua figured.
“Hey, I’m the Negative Fi here.” Ghirahim remarked.
“So do we just wait around and wait for Medusa to give us instructions?” Atnort asked.
“That’s the best I can think of. Wait, whaddo you mean ‘we’?” Nerehc cocked his brow at the alien.
“Look, we were a little skeptical at first,” Beewv said, “…but you’re kinda starting to sell us with this Apocalypse business.”
“And we figure we don’t wanna be wiped off the plane of existence…” Avakam followed.
“Plus, we’re surrounded by a bunch of people who like you anyway, so…” Atnort shrugged.
“We will consider ourselves your allies.” Annaira sighed. “But I want the right to bloodbend someone every few hours!” The operatives glared at her. “…Once every day.”
“So is Lucifer gone?” Asia asked.
“For now, it looks like. Hey, do any of you guys know what an Original World is?”
“Hey, look out there!” Ynohtna pointed at the glass wall.
The moon was glowing a mystic white. A small light rose out of its surface and floated close to the window. A beautiful, majestic white bird, with wings and a head shaped like crescent moons, materialized. “Oh, look! She received my call!” Ininap beamed.
“It’s the Moon Goddess, Cresselia!” Ikuyim gaped.
“Sorry I’m late, Dialga and Palkia were arguing over trading cards… Did you children need something?” The crescent bird asked.
Nerehc gasped with realization. “Actually… you CAN tell us a few things!”
So I finally began my job working for Kroger. That means I’ll have less time to update. With that in mind, enjoy every chapter I post from now on. Cresselia is from Pokémon and Nel is from Bleach. Little fun fact, Terry was my grandpa’s name, but the Terry in this story is from somewhere else. Total coincidence. XP Next time, we’ll finish Wendy’s mini-arc, and the Darkness Seeker Arc will be reaching its conclusion shortly. Later.
Chapter B-11: Broken Soul
Boogey Bay
Two Moblins carried Azula by the arms and brought her into Mandy’s dark cabin. The Fire Princess was still sniffling and crying; she had run out of tears, and her yellow eyes looked dehydrated. “Azula, what in Hell’s name has gotten into you?” Mandy asked.
“She accidentally killed a Sugar Fairy when she aimed for Augustus.” one of the impish Flare Dancers replied in its high, hoarse voice. “I guess that legend about them is true. They really do force you to cry!”
“Hmmm…” Mandy reached under Azula’s chin to make her face up. She studied her drying eyes. “Some kind of post-mortem spell, huh? Well, maybe this will cure it.” Her eyes lit with fear, and Azula reacted to the Scare Stare.
A seven-year-old Azula stood before her towering father, flames burning behind him. He smacked Azula for failing her lessons. Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her because they loved Zuko more. Her servants and soldiers betrayed her. She was renowned as the worst Fire Lord…
Azula was now shivering from imaginary cold, her eyes remained forced open wide. “Take off her armor, and bring her something to drink.” Mandy ordered.
The Moblins sat Azula on a bed and tore off her black armor. She only had a black bra and underpants underneath. There were scars around her body. “You took more than your current body heat would allow.” Mandy deduced as she poured some wine down Azula’s throat. “One of your biggest fears was imperfection… so you desperately seek to become Logia, a perfect firebender. That’s one of the things I liked best about you.” Mandy gestured with her hand for the other demons to leave. They obeyed and shut the door, making the cabin darker.
She had Azula lie down on the bed, rolled away from the captain as she quivered. “Your actions were reckless, but necessary, of course. Becoming a Logia means risking your life in your own element. If you’d digested just a bit more violet flames, you might have made it. Or… maybe you wouldn’t have. Perhaps we’ll find out in time.” Mandy shrugged.
“Are you about through wasting our time?” Lord Licorice questioned, walking out of the darkness.
“Well, for a minute, I was wondering if you were actually helping.” Mandy turned to him while drinking some rum.
“The Sugar Fairy Kingdom is just within our grasp! We can easily overpower those puny and pathetic creatures, destroy the core of their sugar, and secure both the Forest and Sugar Fairy Princesses.”
“The Flare Dancers told me that the Sugar Fairy warped the Forest Fairy and the Marzipans away. Storming their kingdom won’t do me any favors.”
“I said, we could destroy, their SUGAR Fuel!” Lord Licorice spoke insistently, stomping closer to Mandy with each emphasized word.
“You SAID you would give me the FOREST Fairy!” Mandy said with a deadly glare, inches from Licorice’s face. “You said that with Princess Aisling’s powers over life, I could become my own Grim Reaper! I could bring to life all the world’s evil pirates and force them to my whim! So unless your promises hold true to their word, I could care less about demolishing a silly fairytale kingdom!”
Lord Licorice gritted his teeth, drawing his gun to aim it at Mandy. “I… am The King’s apprentice. I, the most humble and generous Lord Licorice, am allowing you pirates to have fun. I can apprehend you now and haul you to Mariejoa… but I’m not. And all I’m asking of you… is to burn those wretched Sugar Fairies to ash.”
Mandy moved her glaring eyes closer to Licorice, who calmly backed up in fear. “The Grim Reaper told me… who The King is… and I have to wonder… Are you really not arresting me out of generosity? Or is it because… I’m a McKenzie?”
A sweatdrop trickled down Licorice’s face. The gun trembled in his hand as he took small steps back. “The ultimate flaw…” Mandy spoke again, “with rulers and officials alike… is that they always show bias… for the ones they hold dear.”
“…” Licorice sighed and regained his composure. He put his gun away and prepared to leave the cabin. As he stood in the doorway, he turned to Mandy and said, “His Majesty may have that flaw… but you’re only alive because I allow it. Consider that my gift… as your best friend.” He shut the door and was gone.
Posiverse Earth; about 195 million years ago
“Holy Mother of Monkey Milk!” Augustus gaped at the prehistoric sight before them. “Mother freaking Jurassic Park!”
“WHATCHU GAWKIN’ AT?!” Rallo shouted with fear. “That big thing just ate that little thing! We don’t watch our asses, we’ll get our things ate, too!”
“I’m astonished that Zeira can use time-travel magic.” Aisling said. “So these were the creatures that roamed Earth in ancient times.”
“How the hell are we supposed to find the Rock Nut in this mess?!” Stewie asked angrily. “Lick every rock until we find one that’s-”
“STEWIE, STEWIE.” Augustus interrupted. “I am not… even gonna let you finish that sentence. I just… saw where you were goin’, and I am like NO. You need to level down with those jokes.”
“Aaaahhh-AAAAAAaaaaahhhh!”
“Whuh was that?” Rallo asked.
“Over there!” Aisling pointed.
Not far away, a group of raptors were chasing something small across the plain. “AAAAAAAAHHHHH!” This creature, running on all fours, was a cavegirl, with messy cyan hair and big hazel eyes, wearing a green loincloth dress and a cracked skull mask on her head. She also had a reddish-purple line painted horizontally across her face.
“Hold on, kid!” Augustus grabbed his Gobstopper and rushed over, the Baby Trio joining.
“Wait, we’re in the past!” Aisling yelled after. “We shouldn’t interfere… Oh, who am I kidding. GROWL!” She bared her fangs and pranced on all fours.
The little cavegirl looked back at the raptors with fear in her adorable hazel eyes. She stopped and stared when something small and spherical struck a raptor’s jaws. It had been thrown by a taller Neanderthal, whose clothes didn’t look like any she recognized. Rallo blasted his boombox to blow another raptor away, and Stewie fired a net gun to catch another and shock it. Aisling tackled the fourth raptor and sank her teeth into its flesh. When the first raptor tried to help its friends, Augustus tackled and began to wrestle it.
“Tell this to all your amigos, the future belongs to HOMO sapiens!” the Spanish-German declared.
“NOOOOO!” The cavegirl pounced on Augustus’s back and began pounding his head like an angry child. “Get off of Nel’s frieeeeeeends!”
“Wha-… Friends?” Augustus looked at the raptor confusedly.
“Nel and dinos were playing ‘Catch Nel’! You ruined Nel and dinos’ game! Go awaaaaaay!” She cried and continued pounding the teen boy.
“Are you really her friends?” Aisling asked the raptor she was biting.
Yes. And you’re a weird-looking baby jaguar. The raptor replied telepathically.
Aisling calmly climbed off the creature, and the other ones recovered and showed no signs of vengeance. “Uh… Sorry.” Augustus said to the cavegirl clutching his shoulders. “We’re not familiar with… old timey games.”
The girl jumped off. “Nel invents game herself. Other cavepeople think Nel crazy, but Nel think… oh?” She stared at him. “Why does caveman know Nel’s language?”
Aisling gasped. “You can speak English?”
“English? English is Nel’s language!” she shouted. “Only Nel speak English. Nel know English well, because only Nel know English. So why other cavemen know English?”
“Because we’re from the future!” Augustus yelled.
“Futur? What Futur? Nel confused.” The girl picked her nose.
“Hold on, if she can speak English, perhaps she may be able to help us.” Stewie said as he approached the cave child, who was nearly his height. “Miss, do you know anything about a Rock Nut?”
“What weird caveman is this?” Nel touched either side of Stewie’s football head. “His head funny. Hee hee hee hee!” She rocked the head back and forth. “Look like funny rock!”
“Shyeah, but you should see Rallo without his afro!” Augustus laughed.
“NO, DON’T!” Rallo cried. “You tell this girl, she gonna tell everyone, then all o’ HISTORY’S gonna be laughin’ at me!”
“Nel like new cavepeople.” Nel clapped happily. “Nel think people funny. People be friends with Nel?”
“Eh, why not?” August shrugged. “I’m opening a babysitting service after this.”
“Yaaay!” She clapped. “New friends for Nel! New friends come to Nel’s cave?”
“Sure, we wouldn’t mind a place to rest! (Even though we kinda just got out of a cave.) Hey, can your raptor friends help us pull our plane?”
“You want pull plain?”
“Y-Yeah—I mean… just come see.”
The group led Nel and her raptors to the broken-down Ace Flyer. “This plain?” Nel began to climb it. “This smallest plain Nel ever see. It look like hard rock. Whoa!” She fell headfirst into the pilot’s seat, with her dirty feet flailing in the air.
“It’s not a plain like a field.” Augustus said as he grabbed Nel’s feet and pulled her up. “It’s like… a magic stone that we have and lets us fly.”
“It stone? It shaped like pterodactyl. Can Nel fly stone plane?”
“Heh heh… It’s not in best shape right now. Just help us pull it to your cave.”
They traveled a few miles across the field before they arrived at Nel’s cave. She had a few clothes hanging on the wall, so Augustus threw one of them over the biplane. “Here, Nel friends.” Nel carried two armfuls of rocks over to them. “Nel bring rocks. Nel hopes friends like.” She dropped them all. …Nel felt pain course through her. “YAAAAAAAH!” She grabbed the stubbed toes and hopped around.
“Calm down.” Aisling crouched down and softly rubbed the sore toes. “You should be more careful.”
“Can you actually eat these rocks?” Augustus asked curiously.
“Huh? Cavepeople always eat rocks. Well, rocks too big for Nel. She break into pebbles.” Nel stood up and picked up one of the heavy rocks. “Mmm, mmm,” she hopped to a wall, “MMM!” and chucked the rock to break it to pieces. “Pebbles yummy! Mmmmmm!” Nel picked some up and began chewing.
“Yeah… I don’t eat those.” Augustus replied with disgust. “See if you like this.” He pulled out a Gold Wonka Bar and handed it to the girl.
Nel stared at the chocolate as though it was the weirdest thing ever. Nel put her teeth around the bar and bit a piece. It was so much softer than pebbles, it felt like her teeth were munching nothing. She swallowed. “Mmmmmm…” Nel bore the expression of someone in Caveperson Heaven. “Nel feels a happy feeling on her toooooongue. Why is Nel tongue happy? Bllllll?” She stuck her tongue out.
“That, my soil-footed friend…” Augustus bent down with a knowledgeable smile, “was called taste.”
“Taste?” Nel grabbed her tongue and tried to pull it up in front of her eyes. “Nel don’t thee it.”
“It isn’t something you see. It’s something you feel.” The captain started a new lollipop. “It’s a mouthwatering feeling that outright says: if you eat this, your belly will be happy. The ability to taste was God’s greatest gift to man. If something tastes good, you swallow it.”
“You are setting, a very bad example in this case.” Aisling said.
“Nel like ‘taste.’ Nel never taste before. Except pretty rock on Terry mountain. Haaaa-omp.” She bit another piece of chocolate.
“A pretty rock?” This caught the teen’s attention. “What rock?”
Nel swallowed, and she spoke with chocolate around her mouth. “Nel climb to top of Terry mountain and find pretty rock. Nel try to break, but it don’t. Nel tried to eat, but too big. But when Nel tongue touch it, tongue feel happy. Nel think this ‘taste.’”
“It must be the Rock Nut!” Aisling beamed.
“Nel, can you take us to Terry Mountain?” Augustus asked.
“Mmmm…” Nel frowned. “Terry mountain belong to Terry. Nel climb when Terry gone because Nel wanted to see what up there. Does Nel friends want Terry’s tasty rock?”
“If it’s what we think it is, it’s imperative that we collect it.” Aisling said.
“But Terry scary!” Nel exclaimed. “Terry eat Nel friends! Nel don’t want friends to die!”
“I assume this ‘Terry’ is a pterodactyl.” Aisling replied. “An animal all the same. If I got close to her, I can communicate and reason with her.”
“Hee hee hee! Terry not her. Terry a male.”
“My mistake.”
“And even if she can’t, we can take him.” Augustus fist-palmed. “Listen, Nel, we really need that Rock Candy, not for us, but for a friend of mine. He’s a, uh… caveman who can’t leave his cave, and he’s gonna die soon. All he really wants is to taste that rock. So, will you take us?”
“Sniff…” Nel’s adorable eyes began watering. “Th-That saddest story… Nel ever hear! WAAAAAAAHHH!” She made a waterfall of tears that the others looked at with disbelief. She calmed down and spoke with a stutter, “N-Nel h-help friends find r-rock. J-Just promise Nel f-friends will be careful.”
“You got nothin’ to worry about!” Augustus lifted the cavegirl up over his shoulders. “Just point us the way!”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Nel swung her feet happily. “Nel gets to ride funny caveman!” She smacked his head and pointed vigorously, “RIDE, AUGHSUCKS!”
The captain’s motivation sunk at that name. “It’s… Augustus.”
“Nel said Aughsucks! Go, Aughsucks!”
His eye twitched. “Well-p, the past is ruined.”
Negaverse; DNK Moonbase
It was -11:55ma. Every DNK sector had gathered in the audience chamber, viewing the stage where Medusa, Ragus, and Lucifer stood. The massive chamber was filled with a dead silence, and everyone was impatiently waiting for the bride to make her appearance. “She’s just gonna turn it down, right?” Yllas whispered to her teammates.
“Shhh!” Ynohtna hushed her.
“Lady Medusa, my father will be killed after this, right?” Ragus asked her mistress.
“Sooner than you think.” Medusa smirked. “I sent Pandora and Thanatos down to Asorsserd to do the deed. Hope that gives you something to look forward to.”
“It does, My Lady. …Oh! The bride is coming.”
The right stage door opened as Sipa walked in with Asia at her side. She looked both pretty and scary in her black dress, holding a bouquet of dead grey flowers. They stopped three feet from Lucifer, who still possessed a black desert wolf. Sipa’s expression was morbid. “My bride…” The demon hissed. “You look beautiful…”
“A girl needs time to prepare, even in this world…” Medusa commented. “But better late than never. In three more minutes, I will join you two in eternal matrimony. If either of you have vows, you had better speak now.”
“I have a few things to say…” Sipa spoke lowly. “Ever since I was little… my deepest dream was to burn my mortal soul and become a small piece of the Underworld’s darkness. And with every sin I commit… I felt my soul steadily decaying away.” It was -11:59. Everybody’s hearts were racing from the tension. “And now… when I’m only a couple words away… from losing myself completely… to a demon as renowned and… feared as you…”
Lucifer hissed through his grinning, drooling fangs. Sipa’s lovely dark form reflected in his glowing red pupils. She looked so… delicious…
“…I realize…” Sipa resumed, “…that all I really want, more than anything… is…”
Ragus let the lifeless doll dangle in her hand. The soul which this doll was inhabiting was asleep. The person inside was no longer what he used to be, but a hideous amalgamation of Ragus’s creation.
. . . . The motionless toy shone, and its distorted body began to wobble. The froad and cat legs transformed into human legs in purple pants, the fish fin and octopus tentacle became human arms and hands, and the platypus nose retracted. Whatever this creature was, it became a brown-haired boy with sunglasses and dark-yellow eyes.
The minute the clock struck -12, it felt as though a light went off in everyone’s minds. Suddenly, they had weird memories of an alliance with the Nimbi DNK, how their acronym stood for the “Daring New Kids”, and some hogwash about a “happier” Negaverse where everyone’s nice to each other. And all these ideas were because of one boy whom they clearly remembered as their Supreme Leader.
“NEREHC!!” Sipa screeched after her moment of awestruck silence.
“What?!” Lucifer shouted.
“Ragus, what’s going on?!” Medusa shouted.
“I’m as confused as you are, Lady Medusa!” Ragus replied with her still smile and tone. “Out of the blue, I seem to have memory of Nosrednug’s real identity!”
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” Sipa whipped out her Devil’s Wand and struck Lucifer.
“UOOOH!” The black wolf died, and the dark energy left its body.
“YOU!” Sipa aimed the wand at Medusa’s possessed body. “LET NEREHC GO!”
“Better do what she says!” Sicnarf ordered as a troupe of guards trained their weapons on the goddess.
Before Medusa knew it, the whole of the DNK audience were scurrying down the stairs and jumping on stage, surrounding her and Ragus from every direction. “Grrr. This isn’t what was supposed to happen!” Medusa growled. “If it’d just been another minute, I would’ve had everything I needed to…”
“LOOK!” Ikuyim pointed excitedly. “That girl’s holding a Nerehc doll! I bet the real Nerehc’s trapped inside it!”
“Accio DOLL!” Sipa aimed her wand, and the Nerehc doll flew into her hand. “NEREHC!” She shook it frantically. “Are you in there?! PLEASE WAKE UP!”
Night Castle
“Damn it! I have to get out of this place!” Nerehc stated impatiently, trying to stomp Ragus’s sleeping body. However, his foot phased through her like she were a ghost. “How do I wake this chick up?!”
“I’m not sure if it will work,” Mr. Penguin said, “but since we’re in a Dream Realm, you might wake up if you die.”
“Hey, you’re right!” Nerehc drew his sword and aimed it at his chest. …He hesitated for a second. “Sure hope this works!” He shut his eyes and slowly moved the sword’s tip to poke his chest. …Poke.
Moonbase
“YAH!” The doll jumped out of Sipa’s hand and on the stage floor.
“YEEK!” Ininap and Yddam were startled and grabbed each other. The operatives backed away in fear when the doll pushed itself up on its feet.
The doll’s beady yellow eyes looked around at all the familiar faces. “Sipa! Sicnarf! Ydolem!” Nerehc’s voice spoke happily. “You guys…” He skimmed their bodies up and down. He was only as high as their feet. “…are really tall.”
“N-N-Nerehc…” Ininap crouched on all fours and crawled to her master like a curious puppy. “Y-You’re a… doll?”
Nerehc looked at his stubby hands and the knees he had trouble balancing on. “Huh… So I am. Anybody have any idea how I got this way?”
“They’re getting away!” Yddam yelled when Medusa opened a dark portal.
“Until next time, you fools!” Medusa pulled Ragus in with her.
“STOP!” Sipa grabbed the Nerehc doll and dove after them.
“AAAAH!” She, Ragus, and Medusa tumbled onto the floor of the first bridge, close to the hangar. “ENOUGH!” The Dark Goddess kicked Sipa off and got onto Nerehc’s feet, drawing his sword and holding it to his neck. “Back away or I’ll cut this boy’s neck! I’m curious to see where Demise’s spirit will go if he dies, anyway.”
“Sipa, throw me on the sword!” Nerehc’s doll yelled.
“Huh? Okay. NNNN!” Sipa hurled the little doll across the air, and his stubby arms wrapped around the Devil Sword’s white blade.
“Huh?” Medusa stared confusedly at the doll. The way he hugged the sword was adorable…
“GHIRAHIM!” Nerehc called. The white sword flashed, and the diamond-skin Demon Lord leapt out.
“Yaaaaaawn.” Ghirahim stretched his trim body. “It’s about time I was called out. I was getting a little tired of everyone saying ‘Who’s Nerehc’ all the time.” He turned to said boy with a devious smile. “Still, my master… you have seen better days.”
“You listen to ME, you hopeless servant.” Medusa aimed the sword at him while the Nerehc doll was still hugging it. “The body I’m possessing is the one that houses Demise’s soul. I am the one you answer to, not Nerehc!”
“Hmmm…” Ghirahim held a hand over his eyes, still smiling. “And so I’m faced with the conundrum… who do I listen to. It’s true that the body Medusa is inhabiting is the one that bears Demise’s energy… However, the body truly and officially belongs to Nerehc. The true one that has conquered both Devils and taken their power. Tell me, Medusa… could you defeat them?”
“You know this bitch couldn’t!” the Nerehc doll yelled. “Just kick her ass so I can get my body back!”
“Don’t even think about it!” Medusa smacked the doll off and held the sword to the body’s neck. “It’s true that I need Demise’s powers to revive Ganondorf, but if they retreated inside Lehcar or one of her children, I can easily persuade them to work for me!”
Ghirahim zipped up to her, kneeling to her face level as he licked his lips. “But will I… work for you?”
“Ouch! Ghirahim, you’re standing on me!” The Nerehc doll squirmed under the demon’s foot.
“There they are, they’ve over here!” Sicnarf and the operatives scurried onto the bridge to surround the villains.
“You’re not going to get away!” Hcaz stated firmly. “You’re overstepping your boundaries as a god. Ininap is praying to the other gods as we speak; they’ll be here pretty soon and see what you’re doing.”
“Hm hm hm hm.” Medusa chuckled, keeping the sword by Nerehc’s neck. “You ‘Daring New Kids’ think you’re so strong because of your loyalty and dedication to your leader. Nerehc may be leading you Negatives to a path of light… but this very path will destroy you! The Apocalypse will come at the end of this month, and your kind will never survive without MY assistance!”
“You…” Yddam’s fists trembled, and a nervous sweatdrop trickled down her face. She was wearing her Fishman Karate gloves. “J-Just… what do you want?”
Medusa’s snake green eyes looked at her, making Yddam step back in fright. “My child… don’t you know who I am? I am Medusa. The Seeker of the Thirteen Darknesses. The one who is destined to unite the Darknesses, and help the Negatives to find and awaken them! Only I know the identities and locations of each of the Darknesses. The universe will only be saved if they, along with the Seven Lights, are awakened. And the only way you can see for that to happen, is if you listen to me.”
The Negatives stood silent with hesitation. Medusa could read their mixed expressions of anger and contemplation. They wanted to attack her for stealing Nerehc’s body… but they also thought she could be right. They knew little about the Twenty Keys… so helping Medusa achieve her selfish gain may be their only chance of learning this knowledge.
The operatives looked at the smooshed Nerehc doll, who was back on his feet after Ghirahim got off. He slouched on one knee, but he faced up at Medusa. Even though his beady eyes showed no expression, Medusa could feel him glaring. “A god like you wouldn’t even care about us… if the Apocalypse didn’t affect you!!”
The operatives exchanged quiet murmurs. Medusa narrowed her eyes. “A Goddess of Evil would relish in our destruction!” Nerehc shouted. “The despair of trillions of souls, feeding her with power! The power to create her own era of darkness. The Apocalypse would be a buffet to you, but it’s not! Because the gods are in danger of dying, too! This Apocalypse is more than just the destruction of all life. It’s the destruction of anything and EVERYTHING we ever cared about! Isn’t it?”
Medusa bit her (Nerehc’s) teeth. If Ragus could make any other expression, it would be a quizzical frown. “That includes our existence.” Nerehc spoke further through everyone’s astonished murmurs. “Our souls, the gods.” Even the former DNKG felt anxiety from this knowledge. “The best we know is that only a handful will survive if it happens. This ‘Will of Sixes’ that Cheren mentioned. But even those people won’t understand a thing, even they won’t know if they’ll survive. …And you don’t either. That’s why you need us… don’t you?”
All eyes were on Medusa, including Ragus’s. The goddess looked at the floor with anger in her eyes. She stuck the sword into the floor and knelt down. “I…I’m really not sure what’s going to happen. I was told… that Palutena and I would clash at the end… and the winner would decide if the New World is controlled by Light or Darkness. It may be her influence getting to me… but I wonder… if this very prophecy is true. Can I really trust this… Bill Cipher.”
The Negatives looked confused. They haven’t heard that name before. And it was during this moment of confusion that the dark spirit lurking above seized his chance. Medusa glanced up and smirked, seeing him closing in.
“AAAAHH!” A dark energy seeped into Sipa’s body, and the girl began squirming.
“Sipa, what’s wrong?!” Nerehc ran up to his girlfriend.
“Given the horrid state your soul is in, I may not NEED to marry you to take over your body!” Lucifer’s monstrous voice sounded.
“NO! STOP! Get out of me! Get out of my head!!”
“I’ll help!” Ragus skipped up to Sipa and aimed her hand. “Sleep!”
Instantly, Sipa’s eyes turned dull and shut as she fell on her back. “Sipa!” Nerehc jumped up on her chest to study her face. “Whaddid you do?!” he yelled at Ragus.
“I have the power to control souls.” Ragus said with her creepy smile. “Even lay souls to rest. My powers may be limited to contracts… but dark or weak souls like Sipa or Lucifer’s are within my limits. At this moment, they are fighting in Sipa’s dreamscape. The winner will become the new owner of the body.”
“Are you kidding?! Sipa, wake up!” The doll smacked his girlfriend’s cheek, but dealt no pain. “Don’t let him control you, just wake up!”
“Even if she could hear you… Lucifer could easily overpower her, anyway.” Ragus said. “If you were in there to help, the outcome may be different. I can use my power to transport your soul into Sipa’s body, Nerehc. If you are able to save her, I will allow you back into your real body while Medusa leaves. However…” Her smile seemed to stretch wider. “If you are successful, then you must follow Lady Medusa’s instructions from now on. You must listen to what she has to say.”
“Mmmmnn… mmmmnn…” In her sleep, Sipa was biting her lip and sweating. Her body lightly shook from the struggle taking place inside her. Nerehc couldn’t bear to see his girlfriend this way. He couldn’t imagine how she may have been suffering. “We will.” he said firmly.
“You can’t be serious!” Ynohtna yelled. “Even if your reasonings are true, trusting someone as evil as Medusa is-”
“BUT.” Nerehc spoke louder to make him silence. “You must only give us instructions, if those instructions will help us find the Thirteen Darknesses, and ONLY the Darknesses! If any of your instructions are irrelevant to the cause, whether it’s burning a town or saving a puppy, the contract is off. Got it?”
“…It’s a deal.” Medusa smirked.
“Good. Now send me in.”
“As you wish… Prince Nerehc.” Ragus approached and used her power to remove Nerehc’s soul from the doll. She placed him inside Sipa’s head, and put him to sleep as well.
“I wish I could be a doll,” Nosam Atnalamid spoke with heart-shaped eyes, “then my lovely Lorac will cuddle with me as she sleeps, as I keep her safe from nightmares. Miss Ragus, could you perhaps do me such an honor?”
“I kinda hope Sipa’s head explodes from all this.” Akurah remarked.
“Three souls fighting inside one body, something like that would happen.” Asia said. (Play “Hazardous Highway” from Kingdom Hearts II!)
Stage B-8: Death Highway
Mission: Stop Lucifer from taking Sipa’s soul.
Nerehc immediately found himself skating down a red, vertical road, whipping past black buildings on either side. The road curved up at the bottom, so Nerehc’s rockets began to skate across a flat ground, and he gaped at the view of the horrific dimension. It was a black city suspended above a blood-red sky. There were giant gravestones with deathly skulls, and giant whitish-blue, ghostly flames. “THIS is Sipa’s dreamscape? !” he questioned. “More like a nightmare-scape!”
Nerehc skied across the road that swooped down, up like a hill, then down again as his speed increased. At the bottom, Nerehc zipped up a ramp that flew him to a Spring Pad on a floating piece of rubble, which bounced him around a series of Spring Pads before he finally landed on a path within a part of the dark city. Piles of bones rose up and became Stalfos, which charged over to attack Nerehc. When one Stalfos jabbed its blade, Nerehc leapt overhead, swung his sword, and beheaded that Stalfos and the one behind it. He then stabbed them both from behind, and dodged the remaining one’s sword. When the third Stalfos swung its blade down, Nerehc bashed it upward with his own sword before slicing the Stalfos across the chest.
Nerehc ran out of the alley and to the city square, where bone piles lay around a fountain of red water (to level down on grossness, he called it water). Each of these Stalfos sprouted to life, but Nerehc wouldn’t bother fighting them. Instead, he jumped into the fountain’s center, which propelled him up so he could collect a Fire Soul. Nerehc ran further down the street until some springs bounced him on top of the roofs. Fire Keese swooped around, but Nerehc cut each of them with one slice. He had view of the fountain square from this rooftop route, which would lead him to a grind rail. However, a gravestone blocked the rail’s base, sending Phantom Embers (green flames with yellow eyes) at Nerehc. Nerehc cut through each Ember as he approached the grave, then cut it to pieces.
Nerehc boosted across the rail as it swirled down, then turned straight as it led him between floating buildings. He had to jump between two rails as parts of buildings blocked parts of them, but once out of the midair alley, the rail swerved around numerous floating structures. It dropped Nerehc on another red highway, and the boy skied ceaselessly when a gigantic spiked tire with rockets began chasing him. A spring bounced Nerehc to a parallel road, where he had view of the skull on the wheel’s side. Another spring bounced him back on the road, so he kept running from the tire.
The Death Tire launched rockets that forced Nerehc to dodge left or right, and when he saw a bump coming up on the road, he had to jump. The tire was steadily catching up, but when Nerehc saw a smaller road that curved left, he seized the chance to take it while the wheel kept rolling the bigger road. Nerehc’s road zipped up a hill, with springs that launched him to a series of floating platforms. Nerehc cut away the Red Bubbles that were mindlessly bouncing around, and at the end of these platforms, he used his rockets to glide over to another city area.
Redeads were positioned around the ground, and their high-pitched screams froze Nerehc in place. One of the zombies quickly limped over to begin choking the Demon Prince, who stabbed its head with his sword to get it off. Another Redead limped over, but Nerehc set his sword aflame and chopped it. There was a Fire Soul in a right corner past some Redeads, but not wanting to waste time with the zombies, he stayed close to the left wall to avoid them and go down a city street. Nerehc jumped up some boxes, then Wall Kicked his away across the parallel buildings to avoid the Redeads down below. Once past the zombies, the road turned left, leading to a wide dead-end alley with a well. Nerehc bypassed the Redeads before they could turn to face him, and jumped down the well.
He was suddenly grinding across another rail, inside a pitch-black interior where he couldn’t see the way. Another rail appeared beside him, and when a gravestone popped up on his current rail, he jumped to the other, then switched back-and-forth when gravestones kept trying to surprise him. The rails brought him to a bigger underground graveyard, where Nerehc hopped across numerous rails, avoiding the stones popping up and the routes that would lead him into a death pit. He noticed a Fire Soul above a rail far to his right, having missed the route it led to. The last rail brought Nerehc through a tunnel, leading him outside as he skied across a lake of red water. He saw another Death Tire whoosh across a highway overhead. At the end of this lake, Nerehc bounced on some springs that would land him on a downward highway—just after the Death Tire sped down.
Nerehc was chasing the tire this time, and it made great distance ahead of him. The tire was dropping mines on the ground, but Nerehc could whip the bombs with his sword and fling them against the tire. At the bottom of this slope, Nerehc began to chase the tire across a wider road with many holes. Nerehc avoided the holes, but made sure to keep in position with the bombs so he could hit them against the tire. Once the tire sustained enough damage, it sped out of control and drove off the edge. Nerehc could now run through a city street at the end of the path—the entrance would’ve been blocked by the Death Tire if it were still active.
The city path was mostly straightforward except for a few crates Nerehc had to dodge. Once he was through, he arrived at a chasm area with giant skull torches that sprouted fire every few seconds. They were scattered around, so Nerehc jumped to the ones that were closer. The torches continued across the chasm as the path shifted left. Nerehc chopped down Red Bubbles that bounced over and threatened to ignite his torches. He made it to a wide area and jumped the torches to a far left corner so he could collect a Fire Soul. Afterwards, he jumped back and landed on a path on the left of the chasm.
The path directed up and around the wall above the giant torches. At every step, a gravestone releasing Phantom Embers blocked his way, so Nerehc chopped up each one. At the walkway’s end, Nerehc skied into a tunnel, which brought him to a steep narrow slope. A spring bounced him to another highway, where he was chased by the first Death Tire again. He dodged two missiles and jumped three bumps before a spring bounced him to the other road, where he was behind the second Death Tire. It dropped bombs that Nerehc whacked with his sword, exploding them on the tire three times before it spun out of control. Nerehc ran onto a wider path, going around the spinning tire and running ahead of both. Nerehc looked back, and gaped when an enormous Ghost Rider flew down from the sky on a motorcycle. The cycle attached itself to both Death Tires and chased Nerehc.
Strips on the front tire caught fire and burned a trail toward Nerehc, so he dodged to a segment of road that wasn’t burning. After a few easy dodges and jumping road bumps, the Ghost Rider’s motorcycle boosted, the bike tilting back as the front wheel was uplifted. It smashed back down, but Nerehc was now underneath the bike, between both wheels. The bike was moving faster, threatening to smash Nerehc with the back wheel. Since the front was dropping bombs, he batted the bombs into the front to do damage. However, he allowed some bombs to pass and hit the back wheel, and soon, the rear wheel popped off its hinge. The slanted backside dragged along the ground and would burn Nerehc if it caught up. Nerehc hit more bombs into the front wheel until it blew off.
The Ghost Rider activated the bike’s rockets and chased Nerehc from the air. He released rows of fireballs that singed spots on the road, forcing Nerehc to maneuver between the diagonal rows. Nerehc boosted to get away from the Rider, going into a city, and when the giant skeleton tried to maneuver down, his craft bumped along the buildings and exploded. His flaming skull flew off, munching loudly as it chased Nerehc, but the boy sped through a tunnel that the skull wouldn’t fit into. The tongue was chasing Nerehc like a snake, so with a look of disbelief, Nerehc jumped back and pierced his sword through the limb. With that, he kept running through the city until he overlooked a near-vacant, floating field. (End song.)
Nerehc saw the back of a girl wearing a black dress, with dirty blonde hair. “Sipa!” he called, recognizing her. “Sipa, can you hear me?!”
“I’m afraid she can’t…” Nerehc looked up at the source of the dark voice. His body was skinny and black, with boney feet and sharp claws. He had a cracked skull mask that looked like a demon’s, with horns, and he slowly flapped down with black feathered wings. “Her soul has gone past its limit…”
Nerehc gasped. “Are you… Lucifer?”
“Yes. I am the Royal Demon Saint, who ate a piece of Sipa’s soul long ago. And now… I will devour the rest and claim her body. Perhaps in a physical form… I can attain love…”
Nerehc clenched his teeth with malice. “SIPA, SNAP OUT OF IT! Don’t let him take you, run away!”
“…” Sipa slowly turned around. …The second her milky eyes faced Nerehc, broken areas with blood appeared on her body. Her left hand was missing, the front of her right foot was missing, the top left of her head… She looked less like a living, human being. “Sipa…”
“Has destroyed her soul with all of the sins she committed.” Lucifer knelt down and softly grasped both of Sipa’s arms. “Any human with moderate intelligence can protect their soul from me… but she is more than susceptible. There is no saving a soul like hers… not unless she becomes one with a demon like me.”
“DON’T TOUCH HER!” Nerehc blasted a jolt of lightning that struck Lucifer’s head and knocked him back. Nerehc skied up to his girlfriend. “Sipa, he’s wrong! It’s not too late to save your soul! You asked me to repair it, didn’t you? Well, I will! You just have to trust me!”
“It isn’t a matter of trust!” Lucifer hissed. “No amount of regret or repent can save this girl! She could not survive in Heaven OR Hell! She is doomed to fade away into nothing!”
“Sipa… please talk to me.” Nerehc grabbed the girl’s right hand, staring directly at her eyes as his own leaked tears. “Say something! Anything!”
“Haaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Nerehc kept his eyes sharply opened, hoping to witness some response from Sipa. But his tears made this impossible. He sniffled and let his head sink. …Nerehc felt something wet and gooey touch his right hand. It was the bloody stub on Sipa’s left arm. He looked up agape when Sipa leaned forward and put her head against his chest. “N…N…Nerehc…” Bloody tears leaked out of her eyes. “Please… save… me…”
“Sipa…” Nerehc put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up gently. He pressed his lips against hers. Sipa closed her eyes and allowed the embrace to transpire. The pain she was feeling in her soul felt weaker. The feeling she had lost when Nerehc went missing… she remembered what it was… the most beautiful feeling ever…
“What a horrible touching moment.” Malladus Uno’s thundering voice spoke as the Demon King’s torn-in-half spirit poked out of Nerehc’s back. “Why don’t I spare us all this display and heal her myself? I can bandage her soul, but the ‘good deed’ business will be up to her. It shouldn’t be as hard as curing my wife’s Candy Virus.”
“YOU!” Lucifer shouted. “Uncle… Malladus?!”
“Oh, Lucifer!” Malladus looked up with a casual smile. “I almost forgot you were here. Now I told you not to sneak out of the house, didn’t I?”
“Don’t tell me… Is Father in there, too?!”
“Oh, he’s asleep right now. I’m afraid you’ll have to talk to him another time.”
“NOOOO! Father, COME OOOUUUT!” The Black Demon lunged at them. (Play “Vs. Malladus Part 2” from Zelda: Spirit Tracks.)
Nerehc slashed his blade lit with violet flames and blew Lucifer back. “Keep him busy while I treat this girl.” Malladus said, sprinkling Sipa with a dark energy from his hand. Nerehc nodded and faced Lucifer with determination.
Boss fight: Lucifer
The Demon Saint crawled up to Nerehc on arms and legs, and when the boy suspected him to attack, Lucifer rolled to Nerehc’s right and SWIPED his claw, scratching the human’s face and knocking him back. Lucifer coughed Dark Balls at the Malladus soul, but Nerehc batted them away with his sword. The Demon Saint flew overhead and coughed a rainbow of Dark Balls, which Nerehc bonked away with a vertical spin attack. Lucifer flew far away along the ground, circled around them, and coughed Dark Balls, but Nerehc stylishly batted each one away. Angered, Lucifer shot up at whipping speed and slashed his claw, but Nerehc ducked before stabbing Lucifer in the skull.
He pulled the sword out as Lucifer flapped away. He swung his wings and launched bladed black feathers, which Nerehc blocked. Lucifer spun vertically with his wings sticking up, flying at Nerehc to smash the boy to the ground with them. Bullet-speed, he zipped to the opposite side from Sipa, but Nerehc shot a jolt of lightning that pushed him back. Nerehc got to that side and rapidly swung his blade when Lucifer unleashed a storm of furious claw-swipes. When it stopped, Lucifer suddenly tornado-spun and whipped Nerehc away with his devil tail. The demon focused his sights on Sipa, but Nerehc kicked on his rockets and flew at him, pushing Lucifer away.
“Grrrr!” Lucifer grabbed Nerehc and smashed him to the ground, applying more pressure in the hopes of splattering him. Nerehc lit his sword on fire and cut the monster’s arms, scaring him off so Nerehc could stand. Nerehc got up and swung his flaming sword to send fire waves, which Lucifer blocked with his wings. The wings caught fire so Lucy could launch the feather spears with extra power. Nerehc spun his sword to block some, but he got scratched and scorched, and his weak moment allowed Lucifer to fly up and grab him in his claw. “I’ll bite off every last ounce of flesh until I see my father again!”
“Expelliarmus!” A spell blasted forth and sent the Demon Saint whirling away. Nerehc turned and gaped at the spell’s caster: “SIPA!”
His girlfriend wore a proud smile as she aimed her wand, black bandages around the severed parts of her body. “Didn’t take much time at all.” Malladus said coolly. “You should’ve seen Amy’s Candy Virus.”
“Nerehc, let’s kick this bastard out of here!”
“You got it!” The boy and girl stood side-by-side with their weapons ready. The Demon Saint spun around and released feather arrows in every direction, which rounded like missiles and closed in on the kids. “Protego!” Sipa projected a shield to protect them, while Nerehc whipped other feathers away with his sword. Lucifer landed, and with his wings in a straight horizontal position, Nerehc grabbed Sipa and flew skyward—the Demon Saint zipped across with bullet-speed, and would’ve skewered them with a successful attack had they not dodged. Nerehc spun like a drill and shot down to pierce Lucifer’s back.
Nerehc and Sipa landed on the ground and readied for Lucifer’s next attack. The Demon Saint stabbed his claws in the ground and sent a scratchy trail to his opponents. While it did nothing at first, a sudden energy shot out of the cracks and scratched them. Lucifer flew up, gripped both kids by the neck, and flipped upside-down as he hurled them back. When the Demon Saint flew at them again, whipping around to slice his devil tail across them, Sipa called, “SECTUMSEMPRA!”
A white slash whipped across the air and sliced Lucifer’s tail clean off. Nerehc seized this chance to fly up and chop off Lucifer’s right wing. With his left wing standing up, Lucifer spun like a wheel and began to saw around the field. Different parts of the ground stuck up at different heights, so Lucifer took cover on a higher one next to the kids’. Feather arrows shot down to them from every direction, and they only had a few seconds to block them. Nerehc jumped up to view his enemy, but quickly ducked when Lucifer slashed his wing.
Nerehc looked at his girlfriend and nodded. He lifted her up so she could aim her wand in Lucifer’s direction and yell, “Reducto!” An explosion burst from the ground, so Nerehc grabbed his friend and flew up, hoping Lucifer was distracted by the blast. Suddenly, the Demon Saint zipped up above them and kicked them down, but Nerehc regained composure and set Sipa on the ground before flying up. Lucifer smirked and vanished in a blink, appearing below Nerehc and flying down to Sipa like a hawk. Sipa readied herself, but Nerehc merely warped in a Dark Portal beside his girlfriend. He thrusted his sword up and stabbed Lucifer’s skull. (End song.)
Lucifer stopped completely, and the kids’ hearts raced with anticipation. The demonic skull slowly cracked… it would crumble any second. “…Heh heh heh. Killing me… is something that could only happen in dreams.”
The kids gasped when the skull broke, and the demon’s dark soul began to ascend. “Oh, well. Perhaps I’ll find a different wife. I know we’ll meet again soon. After all, Sipa still has my soul in her. It is with that soul that she can command a Devil’s Wand. So she will be grateful. …Prince Nerehc…” The boy narrowed his eyes at his own name. “Medusa has already interacted with the Darknesses in the past. According to her, they come from the Original Worlds. I do not know what she wants your people to do… but I look forward to watching.”
DNK Moonbase
“Uuuuuhhh…” Sipa moaned awake with a sickening feeling in her head. “Heehee… I guess I need to visit… the Soul Doctor, huh, Nerehc?” She grinned weakly and picked up the Nerehc doll on her chest. “…Nerehc?” She shook the doll lightly. “Nerehc, are you in there?”
“No. I’m over here.” The Negatives directed their attention at the human boy. He had yellow eyes behind his sunglasses once again. “I guess Ragus switched me back after all?”
“Nah, Medusa ditched your body and left with her.” Hcaz explained. “You fell like an old rag doll.”
“She didn’t even wait to see if I would save her? That sucks.”
“To be fair, it was a -10% chance that you would.” Arorua figured.
“Hey, I’m the Negative Fi here.” Ghirahim remarked.
“So do we just wait around and wait for Medusa to give us instructions?” Atnort asked.
“That’s the best I can think of. Wait, whaddo you mean ‘we’?” Nerehc cocked his brow at the alien.
“Look, we were a little skeptical at first,” Beewv said, “…but you’re kinda starting to sell us with this Apocalypse business.”
“And we figure we don’t wanna be wiped off the plane of existence…” Avakam followed.
“Plus, we’re surrounded by a bunch of people who like you anyway, so…” Atnort shrugged.
“We will consider ourselves your allies.” Annaira sighed. “But I want the right to bloodbend someone every few hours!” The operatives glared at her. “…Once every day.”
“So is Lucifer gone?” Asia asked.
“For now, it looks like. Hey, do any of you guys know what an Original World is?”
“Hey, look out there!” Ynohtna pointed at the glass wall.
The moon was glowing a mystic white. A small light rose out of its surface and floated close to the window. A beautiful, majestic white bird, with wings and a head shaped like crescent moons, materialized. “Oh, look! She received my call!” Ininap beamed.
“It’s the Moon Goddess, Cresselia!” Ikuyim gaped.
“Sorry I’m late, Dialga and Palkia were arguing over trading cards… Did you children need something?” The crescent bird asked.
Nerehc gasped with realization. “Actually… you CAN tell us a few things!”
So I finally began my job working for Kroger. That means I’ll have less time to update. With that in mind, enjoy every chapter I post from now on. Cresselia is from Pokémon and Nel is from Bleach. Little fun fact, Terry was my grandpa’s name, but the Terry in this story is from somewhere else. Total coincidence. XP Next time, we’ll finish Wendy’s mini-arc, and the Darkness Seeker Arc will be reaching its conclusion shortly. Later.
![[Commission] Captain Caveman Samurai Jack](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e3996a62-0c9d-42b6-b715-0b1fb85b5788/dgye8bg-eee274a1-7394-4ea8-8d2d-a7ca56d0b17f.jpg/v1/fit/w_300,h_900,q_70,strp/_commission__captain_caveman_samurai_jack_by_admiraldt8_dgye8bg-300w.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTA0MyIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2UzOTk2YTYyLTBjOWQtNDJiNi1iNzE1LTBiMWZiODViNTc4OFwvZGd5ZThiZy1lZWUyNzRhMS03Mzk0LTRlYTgtOGQyZC1hN2NhNTZkMGIxN2YuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.7Rld-IjYDrGzLe-gRDe__1bTnEg4now8N82MqR0DZYc)
In all's fairness, Azula is the strongest firebender. 
Zuko couldn't even beat her.
Main Story, Chapter 18: gamewizard-2008.deviantart.com…
Zuko couldn't even beat her.Main Story, Chapter 18: gamewizard-2008.deviantart.com…
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